cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Timer-based mechanisms in reliable transport protocol connection management

Abstract There is a need for timer-based mechanisms (in addition to retransmission timers) to achieve reliable connection management in transport protocols designed to operate in a general network (datagram and internetwork) environment where packets can get lost, duplicated, or missequenced. This need is illustrated by discussing the timer mechanisms or assumptions (1) in the Department of Defense Transmission Control Protocol, initially designed using only a message exchange mechanism; and (2) in the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Delta-t protocol, designed explicitly to be timer based. Some of the implementation and service implications of the approaches are discussed. The bounding of maximum packet lifetime and related parameters is important for achieving transport protocol reliability and a mechanism is outlined for enforcing such a bound.
POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF DRILL HOLES IN ARTHROSCOPIC AND OPEN TIGHTROPE FIXATION FOR ACROMIOCLAVCULAR JOINT RECONSTRUCION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BASED ON 3D CT SCAN AND CADAVERIC DISSECTION

Tightrope fixation is known method for reconstructing acromioclavicular joint and the presence of good bone stock around the two drillholes is the most important determining factor for preventing failure. Aim Arthroscopic-assisted tightrope stabilisation involve drilling clavicle and coracoids in a straight line. This leads to eccentric drillholes with inadequate bone around it. Open tightrope fixation involves drilling holes under direct vision, independently and leading to centric hole with adequate bone around it. Our study assesses the hypothesis of tightrope fixation in relation to location of drillholes using CT-scan and cadaveric models for arthroscopic and open technique for ACJ fixation. Methods CT-scans of 20 shoulders performed. Special software used to draw straight line from distal end of clavicle to coracoid. Bone volume around coracoid drillhole was calculated. Cadaveric shoulder specimens were dissected. The arthroscopic technique was performed under vision by drilling both clavicle and base of coracoid holes in one direction. Same specimens were used for open technique. Base of coracoid crossectioned and volume calculated. Results 40 shoulders were included(20 cadaveric specimens&20 CT). Bone stock was adequate in both techniques. Variable angle for insertion of drillholes using arthroscopic technique were needed depending on shape of shoulder. Conclusion Tightrope allows nonrigid anatomic fixation of acromioclavicular joint. Published studies showed high rate of fixation failure with tightrope system but with patient satisfaction and high functional results. Our study showed adequate bone stock around coracoid in both open and arthroscopic technique. Mode of failure remains unclear and we recommend further biomechanical studies to assess failure factors
An Evaluation of the Proposed Worker Protection Standard with Respect to Pesticide Exposure and Parkinson’s Disease

Citing a lack of information, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prudently did not account for the benefits of averting many chronic diseases in analyzing the Worker Protection Standards (WPS) revisions. We demonstrate that sufficient information can exist, using the example of the benefits to agricultural workers of reduced Parkinson’s disease (PD) due to reduced pesticide exposure. We define the benefits as the monetary value gained by improving quality of lives of people who would otherwise develop PD, plus the value of medical care cost averted and income not lost due to being healthy. For estimation, we use readily available parameters and obtain odds ratios of developing PD by conducting a meta-analysis of studies linking pesticide exposure to PD. The sensitivity analysis varies the number of agricultural workers affected by the regulation, the probability of being diagnosed with PD, the measurement and the timing of the benefits. Our initial assessment is that the reduced PD benefits would be a small fraction of the total WPS revision costs. However, if we define benefits as the common environmental economics willingness to pay to avoid PD incidence, then they become a substantial fraction of the costs. Our analysis demonstrates that the benefits of averting PD from the WPS revisions can be estimated using existing information, and that the results are most sensitive to the choice of valuation of benefits to the worker. We encourage other researchers to extend our framework to other chronic ailments.
Antibody-Based Affinity Cryoelectron Microscopy at 2.6-Å Resolution

The affinity cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) approach has been explored in recent years to simplify and/or improve the sample preparation for cryo-EM, which can bring previously challenging specimens such as those of low abundance and/or unpurified ones within reach of the cryo-EM technique. Despite the demonstrated successes for solving structures to low to intermediate resolutions, the lack of near-atomic structures using this approach has led to a common perception of affinity cryo-EM as a niche technique incapable of reaching high resolutions. Here, we report a ∼2.6-A structure solved using the antibody-based affinity grid approach with low-concentration Tulane virus purified from a low-yield cell-culture system that has been challenging to standard cryo-EM grid preparation. Quantitative analyses of the structure indicate data and reconstruction quality comparable with the conventional grid preparation method using samples at high concentration.
SIZING YOUR MODULAR IMPLANTS: APPROXIMATING ANATOMY

Humeral head size is defined by the radius of curvature and the thickness of the articular segment. This ratio of radius to thickness is within a narrow range with an average of 0.71. The articular surface of the normal humeral head measured within the AP plane is defined by three landmarks on the non-articular surface of the proximal humerus. The perfect circle concept can be applied for assessment of the anatomic reconstruction of the post-operative x-rays and more importantly can be used intra-operatively as a guide when choosing the proper prosthetic humeral head component. The humeral head is an elliptical shape with its AP dimension being approximately 2 mm less than the SI dimension. This shape contributes to the roll and translation of the normal shoulder but is not replicated by the spherical shape of the prosthetic humeral head. The glenoid vault has a consistent 3D shape and use of the vault model within 3D planning software can define the patient9s pre-morbid anatomy, specifically the location of the joint line and patient specific version and inclination. Use of this tool can assist the surgeon in defining the optimal implant and its location. In patients with little or no bone loss, a symmetric glenoid implant is often ideal for resurfacing. When there is asymmetric bone loss, often seen posteriorly with osteoarthritis, an asymmetric posteriorly augmented component can improve the ability to correct the deformity while maintaining the native joint line. It is suggested that these augmented implants in selected patients will help restore and maintain humeral alignment and lessen the risk for residual posterior humeral head subluxation and eccentric loading of the glenoid component.
Shedding light : understanding energy efficiency and electricity reliability

Overloaded electrical systems are a major source of unreliable power (outages) in developing countries. Using a randomized saturation design, we estimate the impact of energy efficient lightbulbs on household electricity consumption and local electricity reliability in the Kyrgyz Republic. Receiving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) significantly reduced household electricity consumption. Estimates not controlling for spillovers in take-up underestimate the impacts of the CFLs, as control households near the treated are likely to take-up CFLs themselves. Greater saturation of CFLs within a transformer leads to aggregate reliability impacts of two fewer days per month without electricity due to unplanned outages relative to pure controls. Increased electricity reliability permits households to consume more electricity services, suggesting that CFL treatment results in technological externalities. The spillovers in take-up and technological externalities may provide an additional explanation for the gap between empirical and engineering estimates of the impacts of energy efficient technologies.
Differential selective pressure alters rate of drug resistance acquisition in heterogeneous tumor populations

Recent drug discovery and development efforts have created a large arsenal of targeted and chemotherapeutic drugs for precision medicine. However, drug resistance remains a major challenge as minor pre-existing resistant subpopulations are often found to be enriched at relapse. Current drug design has been heavily focused on initial efficacy, and we do not fully understand the effects of drug selective pressure on long-term drug resistance potential. Using a minimal two-population model, taking into account subpopulation proportions and growth/kill rates, we modeled long-term drug treatment and performed parameter sweeps to analyze the effects of each parameter on therapeutic efficacy. We found that drugs with the same overall initial kill may exert differential selective pressures, affecting long-term therapeutic outcome. We validated our conclusions experimentally using a preclinical model of Burkitt’s lymphoma. Furthermore, we highlighted an intrinsic tradeoff between drug-imposed overall selective pressure and rate of adaptation. A principled approach in understanding the effects of distinct drug selective pressures on short-term and long-term tumor response enables better design of therapeutics that ultimately minimize relapse.
Do the FASB's Standards Add Shareholder Value?

ABSTRACT: We examine the cost-effectiveness, from the shareholders' perspective, of the accounting standards issued by the FASB during 1973–2009. We evaluate (1) the stock market reactions of firms affected by the standards surrounding events that changed the standard's probability of issuance; and (2) whether the market reactions are related, in the cross-section, to agency problems, information asymmetry, proprietary costs, contracting costs, and changes in estimation risk. The average standard is a non-event from the investors' perspective because 104 of the 138 standards examined are associated with no change in shareholder value. Nineteen (15) standards are associated with a decrease (increase) in shareholder value. Surprisingly, 25 standards are associated with an increase in estimation risk. In the cross-section, firms with higher levels of information asymmetry, lower contracting costs, and a decrease in estimation risk experience most positive returns.
Comparing the Structure, Size, and Performance of Local and Mainstream Food Supply Chains

A series of coordinated case studies compares the structure, size, and performance of local food supply chains with those of mainstream supply chains. Interviews and site visits with farms and businesses, supplemented with secondary data, describe how food moves from farms to consumers in 15 food supply chains. Key comparisons between supply chains include the degree of product differentiation, diversification of marketing outlets, and information conveyed to consumers about product origin. The cases highlight differences in prices and the distribution of revenues among supply chain participants, local retention of wages and proprietor income, transportation fuel use, and social capital creation.
Central limit theorem for functionals of a generalized self-similar Gaussian process

Abstract We consider a class of self-similar, continuous Gaussian processes that do not necessarily have stationary increments. We prove a version of the Breuer–Major theorem for this class, that is, subject to conditions on the covariance function, a generic functional of the process increments converges in law to a Gaussian random variable. The proof is based on the Fourth Moment Theorem. We give examples of five non-stationary processes that satisfy these conditions.
Involuntary attention in the absence of visual awareness

ABSTRACTPrevious studies have found a dissociation between voluntary attention and awareness. Here, we examined the relationship between involuntary attention and awareness. We presented a masked cue such that participants were unaware of the cue. This was followed by a search array, for which participants detected the presence of a shape target. Even though the cue was task irrelevant and unconscious, we observed faster reaction times when either the cue’s location or colour was congruent with shape target. We conclude an unconscious stimulus can elicit both space- and feature-based attention. These results provide further evidence for the dissociation between attention and consciousness.
Magnetic current sensors for Space Station Freedom

Instrumentation on Space Station Freedom will require an accurate, isolated, and low-powered method of measuring high-DC currents. The magnetic current sensor presented here was created under the guidance of the NASA Lewis Research Center and is dependable, stable over time and temperature, and lightweight. Flexible topology allows the design of a pin-programmable hybrid package that contains analog and digital circuitry necessary for both bidirectional and unidirectional current sensing. >
Risk-based forecasting and planning and management earnings forecasts

This study examines the association between a firm’s internal information environment and the accuracy of its externally disclosed management earnings forecasts. Internally, firms use forecasts to plan for uncertain futures. The risk management literature argues that integrating risk-related information into forecasts and plans can improve a firm’s ability to forecast financial outcomes. We investigate whether this internal information manifests itself in the accuracy of external earnings guidance. Using detailed survey data and publicly disclosed management earnings forecasts from a sample of publicly traded U.S. companies, we find that more sophisticated risk-based forecasting and planning processes are associated with smaller earnings forecast errors and narrower forecast widths. These associations hold across a variety of different planning horizons (ranging from annual budgeting to long-term strategic planning), providing empirical support for the theoretical link between internal information quality and the quality of external disclosures.
TRAUMATIC SOFT TISSUE DEFECTS AROUND THE HEEL TREATED WITH FASCIOCUTANEOUS PEDICLE FLAP COVER COMBINED WITH CIRCULAR EXTERNAL FIXATION: A RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF EIGHT PATIENTS

Background: Various surgical flaps have been described for the reconstruction of post traumatic soft tissue defects of the heel. These techniques are not all familiar to orthopaedic surgeons. The presented technique is based on the use of a reverse flow island sural flap combined with a circular external fixator. Material: This presentation is a review of 8 cases performed between 2003 and 2012. Results: All cases were males with an average age of 39 years (16–56) with a follow up period between 2 and 10 years. The soft tissue defects were located around the heel and Achilles tendon as a result of road traffic accidents involving motor cycles. Six patients had associated bony injuries of the foot and ankle related to the soft tissue defect. All flaps remained viable, and cover was easily achieved with direct closure. Three cases required debridement of subsequent superficial necrosis and additional split skin grafting. Although the flaps are insensate per design, there were no associated problems of late onset pressure ulcers. The circular fixation added the additional benefit of protection and easy access of the posterior flap during the post-operative period. Mild venous congestion was a temporary feature, of no long term consequence. Conclusion: The sural fasciocutaneous flap is a useful adjunct for the treatment of complex soft tissue defects around the heel and ankle. The main advantages include simplicity of design and easy execution, avoids the need for complex microsurgical techniques and can be performed with simple loupe magnification, and thus realistically falls within the realm of the treating orthopaedic surgeon.
Design of Synchronous Reluctance Motor Utilizing Dual-Phase Material for Traction Applications

While interior permanent magnet (IPM) machines have been considered the state-of-the art for traction motors, synchronous reluctance (SynRel) motors with advanced materials can provide a competitive alternative. IPM machines typically utilize neodymium iron boron permanent magnets, which pose an issue in terms of price, sustainability, demagnetization at higher operating temperatures, and uncontrolled generation. On the other hand, SynRel machines do not contain any magnets and are free from these issues. However, the absence of magnets as well the presence of bridges and center post limit the flux-weakening capability of a SynRel machine and limit the achievable constant power speed ratio for a given power converter rating. In this paper, a new material referred to as the dual-phase magnetic material will be evaluated for SynRel designs. This material allows for nonmagnetic regions to be selectively introduced in the bridge and post regions, thereby eliminating one of the key limitations of the SynRel designs in terms of torque density and flux weakening. This paper will focus on advanced SynRel designs utilizing dual-phase material targeting traction applications. The paper will provide a detailed comparison between a dual-phase SynRel design, a conventional SynRel design, and a spoke PM design with rare-earth-free magnets. It will highlight the key tradeoffs in terms of power density, efficiency, and flux-weakening capability.
Monitoring stealthy diffusion

A broad variety of problems, such as targeted marketing and the spread of viruses and malware, have been modeled as maximizing the reach of diffusion through a network. In cyber-security applications, however, a key consideration largely ignored in this literature is stealth. In particular, an attacker who has a specific target in mind succeeds only if the target is reached before the malicious payload is detected and corresponding countermeasures deployed. The dual side of this problem is deployment of a limited number of monitoring units, such as cyber-forensics specialists, to limit the success of such targeted and stealthy diffusion processes. We investigate the problem of optimal monitoring of targeted stealthy diffusion processes. While natural variants of this problem are NP-hard, we show that if stealthy diffusion starts from randomly selected nodes, the defender's objective is submodular and can be approximately optimized. In addition, we present approximation algorithms for the setting where the choice of the starting point is adversarial. We further extend our results to settings where the diffusion starts at multiple-seed nodes simultaneously, and where there is an inherent delay in detecting the infection. Our experimental results show that the proposed algorithms are highly effective and scalable.
Presentations for subsemigroups of $PD_n$

Let [n] = {1,…, n} be an n-chain. We give presentations for the following transformation semigroups: the semigroup of full order-decreasing mappings of [n], the semigroup of partial one-to-one order-decreasing mappings of [n], the semigroup of full order-preserving and order-decreasing mappings of [n], the semigroup of partial one-to-one order-preserving and order-decreasing mappings of [n], and the semigroup of partial order-preserving and order-decreasing mappings of [n].
Cluster expansion formulas and perfect matchings

We study cluster algebras with principal coefficient systems that are associated to unpunctured surfaces. We give a direct formula for the Laurent polynomial expansion of cluster variables in these cluster algebras in terms of perfect matchings of a certain graph G T,γ that is constructed from the surface by recursive glueing of elementary pieces that we call tiles. We also give a second formula for these Laurent polynomial expansions in terms of subgraphs of the graph G T,γ.
Microfluidic-based mini-metagenomics enables discovery of novel microbial lineages from complex environmental samples

Metagenomics and single-cell genomics have enabled genome discovery from unknown branches of life. However, extracting novel genomes from complex mixtures of metagenomic data can still be challenging and represents an ill-posed problem which is generally approached with ad hoc methods. Here we present a microfluidic-based mini-metagenomic method which offers a statistically rigorous approach to extract novel microbial genomes while preserving single-cell resolution. We used this approach to analyze two hot spring samples from Yellowstone National Park and extracted 29 new genomes, including three deeply branching lineages. The single-cell resolution enabled accurate quantification of genome function and abundance, down to 1% in relative abundance. Our analyses of genome level SNP distributions also revealed low to moderate environmental selection. The scale, resolution, and statistical power of microfluidic-based mini-metagenomics make it a powerful tool to dissect the genomic structure of microbial communities while effectively preserving the fundamental unit of biology, the single cell.
Difficult Development Areas and the supply of subsidized housing

Abstract The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) provides a subsidy to developers who construct housing with maximum tenant incomes and contributions towards rent. The designation of a metropolitan area as a Difficult Development Area (DDA) by the U.S. Government increases the generosity of the subsidy that private developers receive under the program, but does not increase the aggregate dollar amount of tax credits available to be allocated. Regression discontinuity methods are used to compare how DDA designation affects the quantity, composition, and location of LIHTC units based on the restriction that no more than 20% of metropolitan areas can receive the designation annually. Results indicate a significant reduction in LIHTC subsidized construction occurs at the 20% population limit, although increases the share of subsidized units located in higher-income neighborhoods.
The statistical recurrent unit

Sophisticated gated recurrent neural network architectures like LSTMs and GRUs have been shown to be highly effective in a myriad of applications. We develop an un-gated unit, the statistical recurrent unit (SRU), that is able to learn long term dependencies in data by only keeping moving averages of statistics. The SRU's architecture is simple, un-gated, and contains a comparable number of parameters to LSTMs; yet, SRUs perform favorably to more sophisticated LSTM and GRU alternatives, often outperforming one or both in various tasks. We show the efficacy of SRUs as compared to LSTMs and GRUs in an unbiased manner by optimizing respective architectures' hyperparameters for both synthetic and real-world tasks.
The Long Slow Death of the HBT Puzzle

At the onset of the RHIC era femtoscopic source sizes inferred from two-particle correlations at RHIC defied description with hydrodynamic models. This failure, which became known as the HBT puzzle, now appears to be solved. The source of the discrepancy appears to be a conspiracy of several factors, each of which contributed to making the evolution of RHIC collisions more explosive. These included pre-equilibrium flow, using a stiffer equation of state and adding viscosity.
Textbook Writers’ Perspectives on Theoretical Frameworks in Beginning and Intermediate Chinese Textbooks

This article explores textbook writers’ perspectives on theoretical frameworks in beginning and intermediate Chinese textbooks. Four prominent textbook authors were interviewed, and modified structured interviews were used. Interview data reflect the following three trends. (1) Four textbook authors had different foci in applying in their textbooks widely accepted principles of second language acquisition and approaches to second language teaching. (2) While all four textbook authors guide the teaching of language structures by communicative functions and relate the teaching with culture, they use one of the two methods in the process: practicing language structures and then completing communicative activities or completing communicative activities to learn grammatical structures. (3) The four textbook authors show distinctive features in their textbooks: grounding communicative Chinese language instruction in U.S.-specific language, educational and social contexts; enabling communication through setting up frameworks of language structures; developing proficiency by providing relevant materials in practical and manageable steps; motivating students by engaging them in communicative activities. Pedagogical application of the above findings in teaching Chinese as a foreign language is discussed.
Boosting Alignment Accuracy by Adaptive Local Realignment

While mutation rates can vary markedly over the residues of a protein, multiple sequence alignment tools typically use the same values for their scoring-function parameters across a protein’s entire length. We present a new approach, called adaptive local realignment, that in contrast automatically adapts to the diversity of mutation rates along protein sequences. This builds upon a recent technique known as parameter advising that finds global parameter settings for aligners, to adaptively find local settings. Our approach in essence identifies local regions with low estimated accuracy, constructs a set of candidate realignments using a carefully-chosen collection of parameter settings, and replaces the region if a realignment has higher estimated accuracy. This new method of local parameter advising, when combined with prior methods for global advising, boosts alignment accuracy as much as 26% over the best default setting on hard-to-align protein benchmarks, and by 6.4% over global advising alone. Adaptive local realignment, implemented within the Opal aligner using the Facet accuracy estimator, is available at facet.cs.arizona.edu.
Rising Inequality in Life Expectancy by Socioeconomic Status

Inequality in life expectancy is growing in the United States, but evidence is mixed regarding how much it has grown. Some studies have found that life expectancies have decreased for those with th...
The Hedonic Approach to Vineyard Site Selection: Adaptation to Climate Change and Grape Growing in Emerging Markets*

This paper shows how the hedonic approach to vineyard site selection can be used in the adaptation of vineyard land to climate change, natural disasters or other exogenous events. The basic idea is that, if the relation between weather and grape quality is known for each grape type in existing growing areas, then it is possible to predict the quality of grapes that would be produced in other locations, or in the same location with a changed climate. This permits the optimization of grape type selection for a location and also provides an indication of the value that a particular planting should produce. The relation of grape quality to the weather is provided for several well-known viticultural areas, including Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rioja, and the Piedmont. An application of the method to a new vineyard area in the Czech Republic following the demise of Communism is used to demonstrate the method. (JEL Classifications: O21, Q16, Q18, Q54)
Retrosynthetic Reaction Prediction Using Neural Sequence-to-Sequence Models

We describe a fully data driven model that learns to perform a retrosynthetic reaction prediction task, which is treated as a sequence-to-sequence mapping problem. The end-to-end trained model has an encoder–decoder architecture that consists of two recurrent neural networks, which has previously shown great success in solving other sequence-to-sequence prediction tasks such as machine translation. The model is trained on 50,000 experimental reaction examples from the United States patent literature, which span 10 broad reaction types that are commonly used by medicinal chemists. We find that our model performs comparably with a rule-based expert system baseline model, and also overcomes certain limitations associated with rule-based expert systems and with any machine learning approach that contains a rule-based expert system component. Our model provides an important first step toward solving the challenging problem of computational retrosynthetic analysis.
LiveSynth: Towards an Interactive Synthesis Flow

Currently, one of the major bottlenecks in digital design is synthesis. Each iteration of a design takes several hours to synthesize, putting pressure on designers to carefully consider when to submit jobs and wait for the delayed feedback. This delay is especially important in FPGA emulation, when synthesis is performed frequently while fixing the system functionality. This work proposes LiveSynth, a different approach for digital design with relatively quick feedback after small, incremental changes. Our approach delivers results with close-to-optimal quality--within a few seconds of processing time in most cases. LiveSynth was able to improve synthesis time by about 10x with minimal impact on QoR.
Chronic Hypernatremia From a Congenital Defect in Osmoregulation of Thirst and Vasopressin

An infant with microcephaly and delayed development was found to have chronic asymptomatic hypernatremia. Computerized brain tomography disclosed dysplasia of the midline structures, septum pellucidum and corpus collosum. Evaluation revealed defective osmoregulation, hypothalamic hypothyroidism, and hypogonadotropinism. He showed no desire to drink at plasma osmolalities over 330 mOsm/kg. His plasma vasopressin levels (≦1.4 pg/ml) were inappropriately low relative to his high levels of plasma osmolality (≧310 mOsm/kg), which might be accounted for by either deficient neurohypophyseal vasopressin stores or disturbance of the hypothalamic osmoreceptors governing vasopressin. The first possibility was ruled out by demonstrating normal vasopressin response (167 pg/ml) to nonosmotic (emetic) stimulation. Under baseline conditions, his urine was concentrated up to 747 mOsm/kg and urine volume was low. With water loading, maximal water diuresis developed (urine osmolality 68 mOsm/kg), but his plasma osmolality remained in the hyperosmolar range (312 mOsm/kg). Treatment with a vasopressin analogue, desamino- d -arginine vasopressin, and forced hydration restored plasma osmolality and plasma sodium to normal. These findings indicate a severe defect in the hypothalamic osmoreceptors controlling thirst and vasopressin secretion with normal vasopressin stores and preserved vasopressin responsiveness to nonosmotic stimuli. To our knowledge, this report provides the first documentation of selective osmoreceptor defect in conjunction with congenital dysplasia of midline brain structures.
Properitoneal Prosthetic Inguinal Hernioplasty Through a Pfannenstiel Approach

The recurrence rate after conventional inguinal hernia repair remains a matter of discussion and controversy. Reoperation for a postoperative recurrent hernia, especially when the defect is large, may be difficult if more than one operation has been performed. The idea of interposing a large surface of prosthetic mesh between the peritoneum and the deficient inguinal wall instead of "mending" the defect, represents a radical departure from previous methods of hernia repair. The mesh interposed between the properitoneal space and the musculofascial structures is the only obstacle to peritoneal and visceral protrusion. The mesh must be much larger than the defect, since it is not sutured in place and only intra-abdominal pressure maintains it in place over the hernia defect. This operation constitutes a prosthetic hernioplasty in contrast to the classic reparative herniorrhaphy. It can be carried out through an inguinal, midline or Pfannenstiel incision. During a period of 14 years, 767 patients underwent hernioplasty while 1,382 underwent conventional herniorrhaphy. The number and severity of septic complications was comparable in two groups--2 per cent. The reliability and efficiency of the technique described is demonstrated by the low recurrence rate after reoperation for recurrent hernia: only three (1.2 per cent) recurrences after 239 hernioplasty operations. Of the three techniques for hernioplasty, the "Pfannenstiel" appears to be the easiest, safest and most comfortable for the patient.
Migration and Granulomatous Reaction After Periurethral Injection of Polytef (Teflon)

Although patients with urinary incontinence have been treated successfully by periurethral injection of polytef paste, this study in continent animals demonstrates migration of polytef particles from the injection site. We injected polytef paste periurethrally into female dogs and male monkeys. Particles were found at 50 to 70 days in pelvic nodes in six of seven animals and lungs in four of seven (the kidneys and brain were not studied); and at 10 1/2 months in pelvic nodes, lungs, and brain in seven of seven; kidneys in four of seven; and spleen in two of seven. X-ray microanalysis confirmed that the particles were polytef. At 10% months, polytef granulomas were found at all injection sites and some sites of distant migration. Since these granulomas signify chronic foreign-body reaction, we believe that until the long-term effects in humans are known, polytef paste should not be used in children or young adults with normal life expectancy. (JAMA1984;251:3277-3281)
Magic Pools: Parallel Assessment of Transposon Delivery Vectors in Bacteria

Transposon mutagenesis coupled to next-generation sequencing (TnSeq) is a powerful approach for discovering the functions of bacterial genes. However, the development of a suitable TnSeq strategy for a given bacterium can be costly and time-consuming. To meet this challenge, we describe a part-based strategy for constructing libraries of hundreds of transposon delivery vectors, which we term "magic pools." Within a magic pool, each transposon vector has a different combination of upstream sequences (promoters and ribosome binding sites) and antibiotic resistance markers as well as a random DNA barcode sequence, which allows the tracking of each vector during mutagenesis experiments. To identify an efficient vector for a given bacterium, we mutagenize it with a magic pool and sequence the resulting insertions; we then use this efficient vector to generate a large mutant library. We used the magic pool strategy to construct transposon mutant libraries in five genera of bacteria, including three genera of the phylum Bacteroidetes. IMPORTANCE Molecular genetics is indispensable for interrogating the physiology of bacteria. However, the development of a functional genetic system for any given bacterium can be time-consuming. Here, we present a streamlined approach for identifying an effective transposon mutagenesis system for a new bacterium. Our strategy first involves the construction of hundreds of different transposon vector variants, which we term a "magic pool." The efficacy of each vector in a magic pool is monitored in parallel using a unique DNA barcode that is introduced into each vector design. Using archived DNA "parts," we next reassemble an effective vector for making a whole-genome transposon mutant library that is suitable for large-scale interrogation of gene function using competitive growth assays. Here, we demonstrate the utility of the magic pool system to make mutant libraries in five genera of bacteria.
DARVIZ: deep abstract representation, visualization, and verification of deep learning models

Traditional software engineering programming paradigms are mostly object or procedure oriented, driven by deterministic algorithms. With the advent of deep learning and cognitive sciences there is an emerging trend for data-driven programming, creating a shift in the programming paradigm among the software engineering communities. Visualizing and interpreting the execution of a current large scale data-driven software development is challenging. Further, for deep learning development there are many libraries in multiple programming languages such as TensorFlow (Python), CAFFE (C++), Theano (Python), Torch (Lua), and Deeplearning4j (Java), driving a huge need for interoperability across libraries. We propose a model driven development based solution framework, that facilitates intuitive designing of deep learning models in a platform agnostic fashion. This framework could potentially generate library specific code, perform program translation across languages, and debug the training process of a deep learning model from a fault localization and repair perspective. Further we identify open research problems in this emerging domain, and discuss some new software tooling requirements to serve this new age data-driven programming paradigm.
Dopants Promoting Ferroelectricity in Hafnia: Insights from a comprehensive Chemical Space Exploration

Although dopants have been extensively employed to promote ferroelectricity in hafnia films, their role in stabilizing the responsible ferroelectric nonequilibrium Pca21 phase is not well understood. In this work, using first-principles computations, we investigate the influence of nearly 40 dopants on the phase stability in bulk hafnia to identify dopants that can favor formation of the polar Pca21 phase. Although no dopant was found to stabilize this polar phase as the ground state, suggesting that dopants alone cannot induce ferroelectricity in hafnia, Ca, Sr, Ba, La, Y, and Gd were found to significantly lower the energy of the polar phase with respect to the equilibrium monoclinic phase. These results are consistent with the empirical measurements of large remnant polarization in hafnia films doped with these elements. Additionally, clear chemical trends of dopants with larger ionic radii and lower electronegativity favoring the polar Pca21 phase in hafnia were identified. For this polar phase, an ad...
Immunotherapeutic Concepts to Target Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Focusing on the Role of Monoclonal Antibodies, Hypomethylating Agents and the Leukemic Microenvironment

Intensive chemotherapeutic protocols and allogeneic stem cell transplantation continue to represent the mainstay of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment. Although this approach leads to remissions in the majority of patients, long-term disease control remains unsatisfactory as mirrored by overall survival rates of approximately 30%. The reason for this poor outcome is, in part, due to various toxicities associated with traditional AML therapy and the limited ability of most patients to tolerate such treatment. More effective and less toxic therapies therefore represent an unmet need in the management of AML, a disease for which therapeutic progress has been traditionally slow when compared to other cancers. Several studies have shown that leukemic blasts elicit immune responses that could be exploited for the development of novel treatment concepts. To this end, early phase studies of immune-based therapies in AML have delivered encouraging results and demonstrated safety and feasibility. In this review, we discuss opportunities for immunotherapeutic interventions to enhance the potential to achieve a cure in AML, thereby focusing on the role of monoclonal antibodies, hypomethylating agents and the leukemic microenvironment.
High Risk for Invasive Meningococcal Disease Among Patients Receiving Eculizumab (Soliris) Despite Receipt of Meningococcal Vaccine

Use of eculizumab (Soliris, Alexion Pharmaceuticals), a terminal complement inhibitor, is associated with a 1,000-fold to 2,000-fold increased incidence of meningococcal disease (1). Administration of meningococcal vaccines is recommended for patients receiving eculizumab before beginning treatment (2,3). Sixteen cases of meningococcal disease were identified in eculizumab recipients in the United States during 2008-2016; among these, 11 were caused by nongroupable Neisseria meningitidis. Fourteen patients had documentation of receipt of at least 1 dose of meningococcal vaccine before disease onset. Because eculizumab recipients remain at risk for meningococcal disease even after receipt of meningococcal vaccines, some health care providers in the United States as well as public health agencies in other countries recommend antimicrobial prophylaxis for the duration of eculizumab treatment; a lifelong course of treatment is expected for many patients. Heightened awareness, early care seeking, and rapid treatment of any symptoms consistent with meningococcal disease are essential for all patients receiving eculizumab treatment, regardless of meningococcal vaccination or antimicrobial prophylaxis status.
An Introduction to Corporate Accounting Standards: Detecting Paton's and Littleton's Influences

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to trace the principal ideas in Paton and Littleton's influential 1940 monograph to their previous and contemporaneous writings, and thus to uncover the ideas' origins in the literature.
Allocating Scarce Organs: How a Change in Supply Affects Transplant Waiting Lists and Transplant Recipients

Vast organ shortages motivated recent efforts to increase the supply of transplantable organs, but we know little about the demand side of the market. We test the implications of a model of organ demand using the universe of US transplant data from 1987 to 2013. Exploiting variation in supply induced by state-level motorcycle helmet laws, we demonstrate that each organ that becomes available from a deceased donor in a particular region induces five transplant candidates to join that region's transplant wait list, while crowding out living-donor transplants. Even with the corresponding demand increase, positive supply shocks increase post-transplant survival rates.
Feasibility of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for diagnosis of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Rationale Desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) has demonstrated utility in differentiating tumor from adjacent normal tissue in both urologic and neurosurgical specimens. We sought to evaluate if this technique had similar accuracy in differentiating oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from adjacent normal epithelium due to current issues with late diagnosis of SCC in advanced stages. Methods Fresh frozen samples of SCC and adjacent normal tissue were obtained by surgical resection. Resections were analyzed using DESI-MS sometimes by a blinded technologist. Normative spectra were obtained for separate regions containing SCC or adjacent normal epithelium. Principal Component Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis (PCA-LDA) of spectra were used to predict SCC versus normal tongue epithelium. Predictions were compared with pathology to assess accuracy in differentiating oral SCC from adjacent normal tissue. Results Initial PCA score and loading plots showed clear separation of SCC and normal epithelial tissue using DESI-MS. PCA-LDA resulted in accuracy rates of 95% for SCC versus normal and 93% for SCC, adjacent normal and normal. Additional samples were blindly analyzed with PCA-LDA pixel by pixel predicted classifications as SCC or normal tongue epithelial tissue and compared against histopathology. The m/z 700-900 prediction model showed a 91% accuracy rate. Conclusion DESI-MS accurately differentiated oral SCC from adjacent normal epithelium. Classification of all typical tissue types and pixel predictions with additional classifications should increase confidence in the validation model.
The Role of Savings and Credit in Coping with Idiosyncratic Household Shocks

AbstractThis study examines the effect of access to formal banking services on households’ ability to smooth consumption in response to illness of adult workers. The institutional peculiarities of Indonesia’s largest commercial bank are exploited to separately estimate the effects of access to formal credit from savings. The means by which households smooth consumption differs depending on their access to formal services. Those with access to formal credit increase borrowing from banks, while those with access only to formal savings, but not credit, draw down on savings. Households without access to formal banking services end up liquidating productive assets.
Trade and income in the long run: Are there really gains, and are they widely shared?

In the cross‐section of countries, there is a strong positive correlation between trade and income, and a negative relationship between trade and inequality. Does this reflect a causal relationship? We revisit the Frankel and Romer (1999) identification strategy, and exploit countries’ exogenous geographic characteristics to estimate the causal effect of trade on income and inequality. Our cross‐country estimates for trade’s impact on real income are consistently positive and significant over time. In addition, we do not find any statistical evidence that more trade increases aggregate measures of income inequality in the long run. A decile‐level decomposition reveals that the positive effect of trade on income decreases monotonically along the income distribution, suggesting that trade integration should be an integral part of long‐run development agendas under any reasonable social welfare function. Addressing previous concerns in the literature, we carefully analyze the validity of our geography‐based instrument, and confirm that the IV estimates for the impact of trade are not driven by other direct or indirect effects of geography through non‐trade channels.
Test-Retest Reliability and Interpretation of Common Concussion Assessment Tools: Findings From the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium

Concussion diagnosis is typically made through clinical examination and supported by performance on clinical assessment tools. Performance on commonly implemented and emerging assessment tools is known to vary between administrations, in the absence of concussion. To evaluate the test-retest reliability of commonly implemented and emerging concussion assessment tools across a large nationally representative sample of student-athletes. Participants (n = 4874) from the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium completed annual baseline assessments on two or three occasions. Each assessment included measures of self-reported concussion symptoms, motor control, brief and extended neurocognitive function, reaction time, oculomotor/oculovestibular function, and quality of life. Consistency between years 1 and 2 and 1 and 3 were estimated using intraclass correlation coefficients or Kappa and effect sizes (Cohen’s d). Clinical interpretation guidelines were also generated using confidence intervals to account for non-normally distributed data. Reliability for the self-reported concussion symptoms, motor control, and brief and extended neurocognitive assessments from year 1 to 2 ranged from 0.30 to 0.72 while effect sizes ranged from 0.01 to 0.28 (i.e., small). The reliability for these same measures ranged from 0.34 to 0.66 for the year 1–3 interval with effect sizes ranging from 0.05 to 0.42 (i.e., small to less than medium). The year 1–2 reliability for the reaction time, oculomotor/oculovestibular function, and quality-of-life measures ranged from 0.28 to 0.74 with effect sizes from 0.01 to 0.38 (i.e., small to less than medium effects). This investigation noted less than optimal reliability for most common and emerging concussion assessment tools. Despite this finding, their use is still necessitated by the absence of a gold standard diagnostic measure, with the ultimate goal of developing more refined and sound tools for clinical use. Clinical interpretation guidelines are provided for the clinician to apply with a degree of certainty in application.