cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perforated Meckel’s Diverticulitis

A Meckel's diverticulum is a vestigial remnant present in approximately 2% of the population. Fewer than 10% of patients with a Meckel's diverticulum develop clinical complications, and such findings are exceedingly rare in the geriatric population. We present a case of perforated Meckel's diverticulitis with a fistulous tract involving the anterior abdominal wall in an 85-year-old male.
Partition Level Constrained Clustering

Constrained clustering uses pre-given knowledge to improve the clustering performance. Here we use a new constraint called partition level side information and propose the Partition Level Constrained Clustering (PLCC) framework, where only a small proportion of the data is given labels to guide the procedure of clustering. Our goal is to find a partition which captures the intrinsic structure from the data itself, and also agrees with the partition level side information. Then we derive the algorithm of partition level side information based on K-means and give its corresponding solution. Further, we extend it to handle multiple side information and design the algorithm of partition level side information for spectral clustering. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our method compared to pairwise constrained clustering and ensemble clustering methods, even in the inconsistent cluster number setting, which verifies the superiority of partition level side information to pairwise constraints. Besides, our method has high robustness to noisy side information, and we also validate the performance of our method with multiple side information. Finally, the image cosegmentation application based on saliency-guided side information demonstrates the effectiveness of PLCC as a flexible framework in different domains, even with the unsupervised side information.
A “Seleno Effect” Differentiates the Roles of Redox Active Cysteine Residues in Plasmodium falciparum Thioredoxin Reductase

Here, we introduce the concept of the “seleno effect” in the study of oxidoreductases that catalyze thiol/disulfide exchange reactions. In these reactions, selenium can replace sulfur as a nucleophile, electrophile, or leaving group, and the resulting change in rate (the seleno effect) is defined as kS/kSe. In solution, selenium accelerates the rate of thiol/disulfide exchange regardless of its chemical role (e.g., nucleophile or electrophile). Here we show that this is not the case for enzyme catalyzed reactions and that the magnitude of the seleno effect can differentiate the role of each sulfur atom of a disulfide bond between that of an electrophile or leaving group. We used selenium for sulfur substitution to study the thiol/disulfide exchange step that occurs between the N-terminal redox center and the C-terminal disulfide-containing β-hairpin motif of Plasmodium falciparum thioredoxin reductase (PfTrxR), which has the sequence Gly-Cys535-Gly-Gly-Gly-Lys-Cys540-Gly. We assayed a truncated PfTrxR enz...
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Gynecologic Malignancies

This chapter provides a review of the applications of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) as a treatment modality for gynecological malignancies.
Field Experimentation in Education

Field experiments have been an important element in the accumulated base of knowledge for a number of applied fields. Agriculture, medicine, and social welfare, for example, are three fields that have made good use of the methodology of field experiments. In contrast to these fields, education has been slow to make use of field experiments. Over the past decade, however, the field of education has witnessed a significant increase in the use of this design option. As a function of reformulated federal priorities, for both research and for practice, the use of field experiments is no longer a rarity in the field of education. The purpose of this article is to describe the most critical design features of field experiments and to highlight the importance of the planning and implementation of field experiments. A limited number of options for field experiments are described to illustrate the relative strengths and weaknesses of different design features. The different design features demonstrate how the inclusion of pretests, posttests, and control groups may be used to strengthen the quality of inferences drawn from field experiments. A number of additional issues, such as implementation variation, pre-randomization blocking, cluster sampling, intraclass correlations, and the problem of design effects, are also considered as special topics within the discussion of field experiments.
Different dimensions of religiousness/spirituality are associated with health behaviors in breast cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE Religiousness/spirituality (R/S) may influence cancer survivors' health through multiple pathways. We aimed to examine one potentially key pathway that has seldom been examined: relationships between survivors' R/S and their health behaviors. METHODS The present study investigated links between four core dimensions of R/S (beliefs, behaviors, identity, and coping) and three health behaviors (fruit/vegetable consumption, physical activity, and maintenance of a healthy weight) in 172 breast cancer survivors. RESULTS Both spiritual identity and use of religious coping were positively related to fruit and vegetable intake, while private prayer was marginally positively related. Both service attendance and religious identity (marginally) were related to engaging in less physical activity, while private prayer was positively related. Afterlife beliefs and private prayer were positively associated with BMI. CONCLUSIONS R/S has complex but meaningful associations with health behaviors in breast cancer survivors. More research is needed to understand these relationships and to determine whether different dimensions of R/S may play useful roles in lifestyle change interventions.
Integrating SHRM and HR Legal Issues Work: Getting a Clearer Picture by Looking Through Both Lenses

I offer a literature review that integrates scholarly work being done on strategic human resource management (SHRM) and human resource management (HRM) legal issues. The objectives were to address ...
Patients' Perceptions of the Role of Physicians in Questioning and Educating in Firearms Safety: Post-FOPA Repeal Era.

OBJECTIVES In this study, we determined patients' attitudes toward discussing firearms and issues of firearms safety with emergency department physicians. We assessed whether patients feel discriminated against should physicians discuss firearms safety, and whether they believed that physician counseling may change how patients store firearms. METHODS From June to October 2017, we conducted a cross-sectional institutional review board-approved survey of 200 consenting adult patients (convenience sample) not requiring critical care presenting to the emergency department of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. The survey consisted of 22 questions about perceptions of physicians inquiring about firearms, demographics, firearms statistics, and firearms knowledge. Results on firearms owners and nonowners were compared with the Fisher exact test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS Ninety percent of patients said they felt comfortable discussing firearms safety with a physician (firearms vs no firearms owner, 100% vs 87.5%, P = 0.028). Ninety percent (firearms 90.7% vs no firearms owners 89.9%, P = 1.0) of patients did not believe that physicians were discriminating against patients who are firearms owners when discussing firearms safety. Seventy-six percent (firearms 76.4% vs no firearms owners 77.3%, P = 0.367) of patients believed that physicians should be educating their patients about firearms safety, and 71% (n = 142) believed that education provided by physicians will change how people store their firearms (firearms 75% vs no firearms owners 70.2%, P = 0.67). CONCLUSIONS Firearms safety is a difficult but important public health matter that requires significant intervention to help prevent future firearms incidents. This study supports physicians' efforts to help educate patients about the dangers of firearms, along with proper firearms storage techniques, showing that patients are largely open to this discussion. We propose that training of physicians in strategies for initiating clinical discourse and addressing firearms safety is needed.
Health burden in cancer survivors: below the tip of the iceberg.

In recent decades, cancer survival has improved dramatically, resulting in a growing population of cancer survivors with chronic health needs and disease risks. While large epidemiological studies are useful in tracking broad trends in health outcomes of cancer survivors, they lack the level of detail needed to inform the delivery of appropriate clinical care and optimal allocation of resources.
Comparing the Biogeochemistry of Storm Surge Sediments and Pre-storm Soils in Coastal Wetlands: Hurricane Irma and the Florida Everglades

Hurricanes can alter the rates and trajectories of biogeochemical cycling in coastal wetlands. Defoliation and vegetation death can lead to increased soil temperatures, and storm surge can variously cause erosion or deposition of sediment leading to changes in soil bulk density, nutrient composition, and redox characteristics. The objective of this study was to compare the biogeochemistry of pre-storm soils and a carbonate-rich sediment layer deposited by Hurricane Irma that made landfall in southwest Florida as a category 3 storm in September 2017. We predicted that indicators of biogeochemical activity (e.g., potential soil respiration rates, microbial biomass (MBC), and extracellular enzyme activities) would be lower in the storm sediment layer because of its lower organic matter content relative to pre-storm soils. There were few differences between the storm sediment and pre-storm soils at two of the sites closest to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This suggests that marine deposition regularly influences soil formation at these sites and is not something that occurs only during hurricanes. At a third site, 8 km from the GOM, the pre-storm soils had much greater concentrations of organic matter, total N, total P, MBC, and higher potential respiration rates than the storm layer. At this same site, CO2 fluxes from intact soil cores containing a layer of storm sediment were 30% lower than those without it. This suggests that sediment deposition from storm surge has the potential to preserve historically sequestered carbon in coastal soils through reduced respiratory losses.
Pick Interpolation, IV: Commutant Lifting Proof

In this chapter, we’ll present a proof of Pick’s theorem, Theorem 16.4, due to Sarason [294], that relies on the Hardy spaces H2 and H∞.
A Pareto-based beam orientation optimization method for spot scanning intensity-modulated proton therapy.

Purpose To provide a proof of principle of a Pareto-based method to automatically generate optimal intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans for various noncoplanar beam orientations. Methods A novel multicriteria beam orientation optimization (MCBOO) method was developed to generate Pareto database of optimal plans. The MCBOO method automatically explores the beam orientations and the scalarization parameters of the IMPT plans simultaneously. The MCBOO method is based on multicriteria bilevel optimization (i.e., hierarchical optimization with two nested levels, named the upper and lower level optimization). In MCBOO, the upper level optimization explores the noncoplanar beam orientation space, while the lower level explores the scalarization parameters for a given beam orientation. Differential evolution method was used in both levels, and the Pareto optimal plans were aggregated from the bilevel optimizations to construct the Pareto database. The MCBOO method was implemented on a multinode multi-GPU cluster, and it was tested on three brain tumor patient cases. The Pareto database of the three patients was generated for a set of DVH-based objectives. A statistical analysis was performed between a selected set of MCBOO plans and the manual plan (plan with manually selected beam orientation based on the clinical experience and optimized with the same single plan iterative optimizer used in the MCBOO). The selected set of MCBOO plans consisted of plans that matched the performance of the manual plan [i.e., MCBOO plans that have the same target coverage (within 2%) as the manual plan or better and achieved the same dose (within 2%) or lower to all of the organs at risks (OARs) but one OAR]. Additionally, a dosimetric comparison between of one of the selected MCBOO plans vs the manual plan was conducted. Results The multicriteria beam orientation optimization algorithm automatically generated Pareto plans for the three noncoplanar brain tumor cases. The MCBOO plans provided an alternative objective trade-offs to the manual plan. The selected MCBOO plans showed a reduction in dose to multiple organs at risk vs the manual plan with a maximum value which ranged between 10.8 and 12.9 Gy for the three patients. The trade-off of the OAR dose reduction resulted in higher dose to no more than one OAR for each of the selected MCBOO plans vs the manual plan. The maximum dose increase in the MCBOO plans over the manual plan ranged from 7.8 to 11.8 Gy. Conclusions A novel multicriteria beam orientation optimization method was developed and tested on three IMPT patient cases. The method automatically generates Pareto plans database by exploring the noncoplanar beam orientations. The method was able to identify beam orientations with Pareto optimal plans that are comparable to the manually created plans with varying objective trade-offs.
SEX DIFFERENCES IN CARDIAC SARCOIDOSIS

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is an uncommon inflammatory cardiomyopathy for which sex differences have not been well characterized. Patients meeting Heart Rhythm Society criteria for CS were evaluated at a single institution (n=283). Presenting characteristics including demographics, symptoms,
The Use of Psychological Patient Reported Outcome Measures to Identify Adolescent Athletes at Risk for Prolonged Recovery Following an ACL Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND Psychological response to injury and the recovery process impact return to play and can put an athlete at risk for prolonged recovery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological changes that occur surrounding an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction utilizing a set of patient reported outcomes measures (PROMs) that focus on psychological factors. METHODS Consecutive patients undergoing a primary ACL reconstruction, ages 12 to 18, were recruited. Patients were included if they verbalized a desire to return to the same sport and a baseline Tegner of >6. Functional and psychological PROMs were administered preoperatively, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. A Y-Balance Test was utilized to assess for clearance. RESULTS Of the 68 participants, 36 were female (52.9%) and 32 male, with a mean age of 14.5 years. On average, participants were cleared to return to sport 259.1 days postoperatively. Of the measures given preoperatively, only the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI)-28 correlated with delayed recovery time (rs=-0.291, P=0.04). Lower baseline ACSI-28 subscale scores in coachability (rs=-0.298, P=0.03) and Coping with Adversity (rs=-0.341, P=0.01) were correlated with delayed recovery. Participants that took longer than average to recover scored significantly lower on the ACSI-28 preoperatively than those with a shorter recovery time (62.04 vs. 54.8, P<0.01). Participants that scored <58 on their preoperative ACSI-28 took 2 months longer to recover than participants who scored ≥58 (9.6 vs. 7.65 mo, P<0.01). At 6 months postoperatively, higher ACSI-28 subscale Concentration (rs=-0.357, P<0.01) and Peaking Under Pressure (rs=-0.274, P=0.04) scores correlated with shorter recovery time. CONCLUSIONS The ACSI-28 significantly correlated with recovery time following ACL reconstruction. A baseline score of 58 may be a valuable cutoff to identify youth athletes at risk for prolonged recovery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level II-prospective study.
Survey on lane detection techniques

Every year, a large number of persons are killed in highway departure crashes due by driver inattention. Because safety is the primary goal of these systems, lane detecting systems can help prevent accidents. Such systems are designed to detect lane markings and alert the driver if the vehicle is drifting out of its lane. Several lane identification systems have been proposed and effectively proven in recent years. The hybrid median filter was used in this study to provide a noble strategy for lane detecting. Lane detection is used in a variety of intelligent vehicle applications, including lane trip recognition and warning boards, intelligent journey control, and autonomous driving. The majority of previous research has ignored the use of image filtering algorithms.
Mechanics of ascending aortas from TGFβ-1, -2, -3 haploinsufficient mice and elastase-induced aortopathy.

Abstract Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ-1, -2, -3) ligands act through a common receptor complex yet each is expressed in a unique and overlapping fashion throughout development. TGFβ plays a role in extra-cellular matrix composition with mutations to genes encoding TGFβ and TGFβ signaling molecules contributing to diverse and deadly thoracic aortopathies common in Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS). In this investigation, we studied the TGFβ ligand-specific mechanical phenotype of ascending thoracic aortas (ATA) taken from 4-to-6 months-old Tgfb1+/−, Tgfb2+/−, and Tgfb3+/− mice, their wild-type (WT) controls, and an elastase infusion model representative of severe elastolysis. Heterozygous mice were studied at an age without dilation to elucidate potential pre-aortopathic mechanical cues. Our findings indicate that ATAs from Tgfb2+/− mice demonstrated significant wall thickening, a corresponding decrease in biaxial stress, decreased biaxial stiffness, and a decrease in stored energy. These results were unlike the pathological elastase model where decreases in biaxial stretch were found along with increases in diameter, biaxial stress, and biaxial stiffness. ATAs from Tgfb1+/− and Tgfb3+/−, on the other hand, had few mechanical differences when compared to wild-type controls. Although aortopathy generally occurs later in development, our findings reveal that in 4-to-6 month-old animals, only Tgfb2+/− mice demonstrate a significant phenotype that fails to model ubiquitous elastolysis.
Circadian rhythm disruption with high-fat diet impairs glycemic control and bone quality

Biological functions, including glycemic control and bone metabolism, are highly influenced by the body's internal clock. Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that run with a period close to 24 hours and receive input from environmental stimuli, such as the light/dark cycle. We investigated the effects of circadian rhythm disruption (CRD), through alteration of the light/dark schedule, on glycemic control and bone quality of mice. Ten-week-old male mice (C57/BL6, n = 48) were given a low-fat diet (LFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) and kept on a dayshift or altered schedule (RSS3) for 22 weeks. Mice were divided into four experimental groups (n = 12/group): Dayshift/LFD, Dayshift/HFD, RSS3/LFD, and RSS3/HFD. CRD in growing mice fed a HFD resulted in a diabetic state, with a 36.2% increase in fasting glucose levels compared to the Dayshift/LFD group. Micro-CT scans of femora revealed a reduction in inner and outer surface expansion for mice on a HFD and altered light schedule. Cancellous bone demonstrated deterioration of bone quality as trabecular number and thickness decreased while trabecular separation increased. While HFD increased cortical bone mineral density, its combination with CRD reduced this phenomenon. The growth of mineral crystals, determined by small angle X-ray scattering, showed HFD led to smaller crystals. Considering modifications of the organic matrix, regardless of diet, CRD exacerbated the accumulation of fluorescent advanced glycation end-products (fAGEs) in collagen. Strength testing of tibiae showed that CRD mitigated the higher strength in the HFD group and increased brittleness indicated by lower post-yield deflection and work-to-fracture. Consistent with accumulation of fAGEs, various measures of toughness were lowered with CRD, but combination of CRD with HFD protected against this decrease. Differences between strength and toughness results represent different contributions of structural and material properties of bone to energy dissipation. Collectively, these results demonstrate that combination of CRD with HFD impairs glycemic control and have complex effects on bone quality.
Wet oxidation of a spacecraft model waste

Wet oxidation was used to oxidize a spacecraft model waste under different oxidation conditions. The variables studied were pressure, temperature, duration of oxidation, and the use of one homogeneous and three heterogeneous catalysts. Emphasis is placed on the final oxidation state of carbon and nitrogen since these are the two major components of the spacecraft model waste and two important plant nutrients.
High wall volley test for women's volleyball.

Abstract One hundred and eleven freshman and sophomore university women students were given the Liba and Stauff volleyball passing test and a new high wall volley test with a target area 3 ft. wide and 10 ft. from the floor and no restraining line. The high volley test was found to be reliable and valid when the better of two 30-sec. trials was used. The validity of the high volley test as a measure of volleyball playing ability with these subjects was significantly greater than that for the Liba and Stauff passing test.
Prudential Standing and the Dormant Commerce Clause: Why the 'Zone of Interests' Test Should Not Apply to Constitutional Cases

In a unique decision, the Fifth Circuit in National Solid Waste Management Ass'n v. Pine Belt Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) used the prudential zone of interests standing test to bar the plaintiffs, who met constitutional standing requirements, from filing a facial, per se challenge under the dormant Commerce Clause. Six Mississippi counties and cities that are members of the Pine Belt Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (the Authority) had enacted flow control ordinances that required all solid waste collected in their six jurisdictions be sent to the Authority's facilities, and, thus, prohibited the export of waste to alternative, cheaper in-state or out-of-state sites. Under the dormant Commerce Clause, the Supreme Court had invalidated as facially discriminatory a similar flow control ordinance requiring all local waste be processed by a government-approved processor. This Article will demonstrate that applying the murky zone of interests standing test to the ill-defined dormant Commerce Clause doctrine is counterproductive. In general, courts should require Commerce Clause plaintiffs and most other constitutional litigants to show only that they have constitutional standing without the additional hurdle of meeting the zone of interests standing test. Following the spirit of Clarke v. Securities Industry Ass'n, courts should recognize that intrastate waste carriers harmed by a discriminatory ordinance that discriminates against both intrastate and interstate commerce are usually reliable plaintiffs that may raise dormant Commerce Clause challenges. If it abolishes the zone of interests test for constitutional cases, the Court's Article III standing requirements are sufficiently restrictive to prevent frivolous constitutional suits, and courts could still apply other prudential limitations to standing.
Radiative correction to the ν ¯ e ( ν e ) spectrum in β decay

We derive an analytic expression for the $\mathcal{O}(\ensuremath{\alpha})$ radiative correction to the ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}({\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e})$ spectrum in allowed $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay. The $m\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ limit is convergent and leads to a very simple result ($m$ is the electron mass). This is in sharp contrast to the correction to the ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}({e}^{+})$ spectrum, that diverges as $m\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$, an important difference that we explain on theoretical grounds. After discussing some of their general properties, we use the corrections to the ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ and ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ spectra to derive the corresponding correction to the conversion from the ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ spectrum to the ${\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{e}$ spectrum, a relation that is of considerable interest for reactor studies of neutrino oscillations.
Evaluating Techniques for Multivariate Classification of Non-collocated Spatial Data

Multivariate spatial classification schemes such as regionalized classification or principal components analysis combined with kriging rely on all variables being collocated at the sample locations. In these approaches, classification of the multivariate data into a finite number of groups is done prior to the spatial estimation. However, in some cases, the variables may be sampled at different locations with the extreme case being complete heterotopy of the data set. In these situations, it is necessary to adapt existing techniques to work with non-collocated data. Two approaches are considered: 1) kriging of existing data onto a series of "collection points" where the classification into groups is completed and a measure of the degree of group membership is kriged to all other locations; and 2) independent kriging of all attributes to all locations after which the classification is done at each location. Calculations are conducted using an existing groundwater chemistry data set in the upper Dakota aquifer in Kansas (USA) and previously examined using regionalized classification (Bohling, 1997). This data set has all variables measured at all locations. To test the ability of the first approach for dealing with non-collocated data, each variable is reestimated at each sample location through a cross-validation process and the reestimated values are then used in the regionalized classification. The second approach for non-collocated data requires independent kriging of each attribute across the entire domain prior to classification. Hierarchical and non-hierarchical classification of all vectors is completed and a computationally less burdensome classification approach, "sequential discrimination", is developed that constrains the classified vectors to be chosen from those with a minimal multivariate kriging variance. Resulting classification and uncertainty maps are compared between all non-collocated approaches as well as to the original collocated approach. The non-collocated approaches lead to significantly different group definitions compared to the collocated case. To some extent, these differences can be explained by the kriging variance of the estimated variables. Sequential discrimination of locations with a minimum multivariate kriging variance constraint produces slightly improved results relative to the collection point and the non-hierarchical classification of the estimated vectors.
Recovering Perishable Technologies through Use Wear on Tools: Preliminary Evidence for Upper Paleolithic Weaving and Net Making1

Recent research on textile impressions conducted in collaboration with Czech, German, and Russian scholars has documented that a wide range of plant-based perishable items was produced in Upper Paleolithic Europe by a number of additive methods (Adovasio et al. 1998, 1999, 2001; Soffer, Adovasio, and Hyland 2002). Similar evidence has also been recovered from Late Pleistocene sites in the New World, including both North and South America (Adovasio et al. 1998 with references). The Eurasian inventory includes diverse cordage, knotted netting, plaited wicker-style basketry, and textiles, including simple and diagonal twined pieces and plain woven and twilled objects. Furthermore, some of these pieces show conjoining of two pieces of fabric by a whipping stitch to produce a seam, or sewing. The widespread use
Biomechanics of Turtle Shells: How Whole Shells Fail in Compression†

Turtle shells are a form of armor that provides varying degrees of protection against predation. Although this function of the shell as armor is widely appreciated, the mechanical limits of protection and the modes of failure when subjected to breaking stresses have not been well explored. We studied the mechanical properties of whole shells and of isolated bony tissues and sutures in four species of turtles (Trachemys scripta, Malaclemys terrapin, Chrysemys picta, and Terrapene carolina) using a combination of structural and mechanical tests. Structural properties were evaluated by subjecting whole shells to compressive and point loads in order to quantify maximum load, work to failure, and relative shell deformations. The mechanical properties of bone and sutures from the plastral region of the shell were evaluated using three-point bending experiments. Analysis of whole shell structural properties suggests that small shells undergo relatively greater deformations before failure than do large shells and similar amounts of energy are required to induce failure under both point and compressive loads. Location of failures occurred far more often at sulci than at sutures (representing the margins of the epidermal scutes and the underlying bones, respectively), suggesting that the small grooves in the bone created by the sulci introduce zones of weakness in the shell. Values for bending strength, ultimate bending strain, Young's modulus, and energy absorption, calculated from the three-point bending data, indicate that sutures are relatively weaker than the surrounding bone, but are able to absorb similar amounts of energy due to higher ultimate strain values.
Bone and brain: a review of neural, hormonal, and musculoskeletal connections.

Nerves have been identified in bone. Their function has recently become the focus of intense study. Metabolic control of bone is influenced by the nervous system. Potential transmitters of this influence include glutamate, calcitonin gene-related protein (CGRP), substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), leptin, and catecholamines. Disorders of nerves - central or peripheral - can have substantial influence on bone health and repair. Specifically considered are the potential neural influences at work in such conditions as osteoporosis, fracture healing, Charcot osteoarthropathy, musculoskeletal pain syndromes, heterotopic ossification, skeletal growth and development, and obesity-related increased bone density. In this article, we review the current state of experimental and clinical evidence implicating the role of nervous tissue in regulating bone biology and discuss the current understanding of molecular signaling between nervous and osseus tissue in the homeostatic maintenance of the skeleton.
A remark on worst-case output estimation and identification

The problem of estimator/identifier design is considered where the objective is to estimate the uncorrupted system output given its noisy measurements. Here it is shown that if the system has at least one unstable mode then any algorithm that assumes there is no measurement noise and gives an estimate consistent with the measurements is optimal for all l/sub p/ induced norms from noises to the output prediction error. Moreover, for such an estimation problem, worst-case performance cannot be improved by incorporating the future information, i.e., smoother estimates are no better than filter estimates. A special case of this class of problems is the standard identification problem with a worst-case performance criterion. From these observations one concludes that good worst-case performance for output estimation by an identification algorithm, by itself, does not guarantee good performance of the identification scheme.
Shallow Information Extraction from Medical Forum Data

We study a novel shallow information extraction problem that involves extracting sentences of a given set of topic categories from medical forum data. Given a corpus of medical forum documents, our goal is to extract two related types of sentences that describe a biomedical case (i.e., medical problem descriptions and medical treatment descriptions). Such an extraction task directly generates medical case descriptions that can be useful in many applications. We solve the problem using two popular machine learning methods Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Conditional Random Fields (CRF). We propose novel features to improve the accuracy of extraction. Experiment results show that we can obtain an accuracy of up to 75%.
Film Review: The Act of Killing

Three years after the release of Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing (2012), which explores the 1965-1966 massacres from the perspective of the killers, I review the impact of the documentary on national and international audiences. I argue that the victims themselves, and the pervasive forms of sexualized forms of violence during the massacres, are felt through their absence in the film.
Natural intelligence applications for business intelligence in online and catalogue retailing firms: a case study

The rapid proliferation of business intelligence (BI) applications and customer relationship management (CRM) over the past decades has created many opportunities for natural intelligence theory to be used in business applications. The theory of natural intelligence can help to explain some of the strategies in the e-commerce arena. Indeed, companies have been using herd behaviour and swarm applications of natural intelligence to solve complex business operation problems. The sudden and unexpected failure and liquidation of one of the largest catalogue sales companies in the USA presents an opportunity for a unique case study for natural intelligence (NI) applications in retailing. This paper uses the experiences of three separate Fingerhut Companies (now Bluestem Brands) to validate the NI and BI concepts. For nearly two decades the authors have had the rare opportunity to interview executives and other representatives of critical members of the Fingerhut community. The paper ends with lessons learned and discussions of new insights.
Correlation between response of human cell line and distribution of sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls on Palos Verdes Shelf, California, USA

Sections of a sediment core collected from Station 7C near the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, California, USA, outfall were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In addition, the biological responses to extracts from the same samples were determined using the P450 reporter gene system (RGS) assay. The profiles of TOC, PAHs, and PCBs were consistent in illustrating the predischarge baseline and the effects of improving wastewater treatment. Induction of the CYP1A1 gene using P450 RGS was correlated with total PAHs (r2 = 0.47) and better correlated with the B[a]P toxic equivalency quotients (r2 = 0.63) calculated using toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) derived from P450 RGS analyses of individual high molecular weight (4 to 6 rings) PAHs. Results from short (6 h) and long (16 h) exposures using the RGS assay suggested that a portion of the induction was from the slower acting chlorinated hydrocarbons (coplanar PCBs, dioxins, furans, etc.). Coplanar PCBs in the amounts of 0.9 to 3.1 μg/g were found in three core sections analyzed; hence, the induction of RGS was likely produced by both PAHs and coplanar PCBs. Since dioxins and furans were not analyzed, their contributions to the RGS responses are unknown. The RGS assay may be used to screen samples for potential toxicological importance before conducting costly chemical analyses.
Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Venography is Correlated With Intravenous Pressures Before and After Venous Sinus Stenting: Implications for Treatment and Monitoring.

BACKGROUND Endovascular stenting is an effective treatment for patients with clinically significant cerebral venous sinus stenosis. Traditionally, stenting is indicated in elevated intravenous pressures on conventional venography; however, noninvasive monitoring is more desirable. Quantitative magnetic resonance angiography is an imaging modality that measures blood flow noninvasively. Established in the arterial system, applications to the venous sinuses have been limited. OBJECTIVE To examine quantitative magnetic resonance venography (qMRV) in the measurement of venous sinus flow in patients undergoing endovascular stenting and to identify a relationship with intravenous pressures. METHODS Five patients with intracranial hypertension secondary to venous sinus stenosis underwent cerebral venous stenting between 2009 and 2013 at a single institution. Preoperatively, venous sinus flow was determined by using qMRV, and intravenous pressure was measured during venography. After stenting, intravenous pressure, qMRV flow, and clinical outcomes were assessed and compared. RESULTS A mean prestenotic intravenous pressure of 45.2 mm Hg was recorded before stenting, which decreased to 27.4 mm Hg afterward (Wilcoxon signed rank test P = .04). Total jugular outflow on qMRV increased by 260.2 mL/min. Analysis of the change in intravenous pressure and qMRV flow identified a linear relationship (Pearson correlation r = 0.926). All patients displayed visual improvement at 6 weeks. CONCLUSION Venous outflow by qMRV increases after endovascular stenting and correlates with significantly improved intravenous pressures. These findings introduce qMRV as a potential adjunct to measure venous flow after stenting, and as a plausible tool in the selection and postoperative surveillance of the patient who has cerebral venous sinus stenosis.
Finite rank harmonic operator-valued functions

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to characterize when a harmonic function with values in the finite rank operators on a Hilbert space is expressible as a harmonic matrix-valued function. We show that harmonic function with values in the rank 1 normal operators is expressible as a harmonic matrix-valued function. We also prove that for any natural number, n , a harmonic function with values in the rank n non-negative operators is expressible as a matrix-valued function and we give examples showing that these decomposition theorems fail when various hypotheses are relaxed.
Galán Pa dxandí‘.”That would be great if it were true”: Zapotec women's comment on their role in society

Abstract This paper discusses outsiders and insiders representations of Isthmus Zapotec women of Oaxaca, Mexico. Zapotec society has often been portrayed as a matriarchal one, ruled by sexually‐liberated women. Ethnographic and artistic materials written by Mexican and foreign writers sustain this image and misrepresent Zapotec women. This work tries to present Zapotec women's voices and compare how they conceive of themselves as opposed to how they have been portrayed.
Gulliver dormido: un espacio para la reflexión y la crítica

Este articulo se enfoca en la figura del gigante dormido que viene a conmocionar a las diferentes instituciones de la sociedad costarricense con su aparicion en la Sabana. El gigante despierta la curiosidad, el miedo, la expectativa de los diferentes sectores politicos que no saben como interpretar la aparicion de este hombre descomunal. Cada grupo piensa como usarlo para su propia conveniencia. Al comprobar que el gigante tiene su propia agenda tratan de paralizarlo para que no destruya la armonia que segun ellos vive la sociedad costarricense. La ironia, la satira y la parodia que caracteriza este texto crean un ambiente critico sobre la sociedad costarricense, sus instituciones sociales y politicas.
Synthesis and properties of an oligomeric divinyl-terminated aromatic ether containing resin

The synthesis of a novel oligomeric divinyl-terminated aromatic ether containing resin and polymerization with silane containing compounds utilizing a hydrosilylation reaction is demonstrated. The transparent, clear polymers exhibit high thermal and oxidative stability while exhibiting elastomeric and plastic properties depending on the curing temperature and curing agent.
A perceptual user interface for recognizing head gesture acknowledgements

We present the design and implementation of a perceptual user interface for a responsive dialog-box agent that employs real-time computer vision to recognize user acknowledgements from head gestures (e.g., nod = yes). IBM Pupil-Cam technology together with anthropometric head and face measures are used to first detect the location of the user's face. Salient facial features are then identi ed and tracked to compute the global 2-D motion direction of the head. For recognition, timings of natural gesture motion are incorporated into a state-space model. The interface is presented in the context of an enhanced text editor employing a perceptual dialog-box agent.
Prostaglandin E2Inhibits the Nuclear Transcription of the Human Interleukin 2, but Not the IL-4, Gene in Human T Cells by Targeting Transcription Factors AP-1 and NF-AT

Abstract Prostaglandin E2(PGE2) release from activated macrophages and/or stimulation of T cells is associated with cAMP formation and activation of protein kinase A (PKA). cAMP inhibits Th1- but not Th2-cytokine production and may influence the nature of the immune response to a given antigen. Using DNA transfection and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), we have examined the mechanisms for the transcriptional regulation of human IL-2 and IL-4 genes by PGE2. Stimulation of Jurkat cells with ionomycin and PMA in the presence of PGE2inhibited the IL-2- but not the IL-4-promoter activity. In EMSAs, nuclear extracts from primary human T cells stimulated with ionomycin and phorbol esters in the presence of PGE2demonstrated decreased binding at the AP-1 and NF-AT sites of the human IL-2 promoter; binding to the OCT-1 and NF-κB sites was not affected. These results suggest that cAMP regulates IL-2 production in human T cells by a transcriptional mechanism which involves discrete transactivating pathways for IL-2-promoter activation.
Empathy, Sadness, and Distress Three Related but Distinct Vicarious Affective Responses to Another's Suffering

A negative state relief explanation for the empathy-helping relationship (e.g., Cialdini et al., 1987) rests on the two-part assumption that empathy, sadness, and distress are (a) related but (b) distinct vicarious affective responses to another's suffering. This assumption received support in two studies from principal components analyses of subjects' self-reported affective responses to situations in which another college student was in need. In Study 1 subjects reported their response to three different need situations described as having occurred in recent psychology experiments, and in Study 2 subjects reported their response to a current need situation. Oblique rotations of three components extracted from affective responses to each need situation revealed that all components were intercorrelated. Orthogonal rotations, however, yielded component structures suggesting that empathy, sadness, and distress are quantitatively distinct. Correlations between indices of empathy, sadness, and distress further elucidated the relationships between the three affective responses. It is concluded that motivational models of helping and models of vicarious affect should include sadness as a response that is distinct from but related to both empathy and distress.
From POET to PISTOL: Reflections on the Ecological Complex*

Some macroecologists study population characteristics using a single variable, while others specify a system of interrelated variables. The purpose of this paper is to offer an ecological model which is theoretically appropriate and correctly bounded. Based on population (P), information (I), space (S), technology (T), organization (O), and level of living (L), or PISTOL, it is argued that the addition of two variables to the most famous ecological model (POET), namely L and I correctly bounds the POET model since each component is theoretically important.
Relationship between cooling rate and cooling age of a mineral: Theory and applications to meteorites

— We reviewed here the recent development on the mathematical formulation of closure temperature of a cooling geochronological system, which permits direct retrieval of cooling rate from cooling age when the diffusion parameters, grain size and initial temperature are known. This formulation is used to show how the cooling rate can be retrieved by comparing the core and bulk age of a mineral determined by a single decay system. The cooling rates of seven H chondrites of the metamorphic types H4, H5 and H6 were retrieved from the available data on the Pb-Pb model ages of the phosphates and the diffusion kinetic data of Pb in apatite. The results are in excellent agreement with the metallographic cooling rates and show an inverse relation with the metamorphic grade of these chondrites. We also addressed the problem of ∼90 Ma younger Sm-Nd mineral isochron age, defined by orthopyroxene, phosphate and plagioclase, of the Morristown mesosiderite compared to the Pb-Pb age of the Estherville mesosiderite. It is shown that this younger age could have been a consequence of resetting during cooling instead of an “impulsive heating” event, as suggested earlier.
Worker-Writer in America: Jack Conroy and the Tradition of Midwestern Literary Radicalism, 1898-1990

Jack Conroy, a coal miner's son who apprenticed at age thirteen in a railroad shop, later migrated to factory cities and experienced the privation and labor struggles of the 1930s. As a worker and writer he composed "The Disinherited", one of the most important working-class novels in American literature. As the editor of a radical literary journal, "The Anvil", he nurtured the early careers of Richard Wright, Nelson Algren, and Meridel Le Sueur before his own literary work was eclipsed in the Cold War years. Wixson draws upon a wealth of letters and manuscripts made available to him as Conroy's literary executor, as well as numerous interviews with Conroy and his former contributors and colleagues. Wixson explores the origins and development of worker-writing, the numerous "little magazines" that welcomed it, and the history of its reception. He examines the differences between the midwestern and East Coast literary worlds, and the milieu in which Conroy and others like him worked - the Depression, job layoffs, factory closings, homelessness, and migration.