cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Saturation-aware human attention region of interest algorithm for efficient video compression

We propose a saturation-aware human attention region-of-interest (SA-HAROI) video compression method that performs a perceptual adaptive quantization algorithm on video frames as a function of the distribution of their luminance, motion vector, and color saturation. Our work is an application of a psycho-visual study that demonstrated that human attention automatically enhanced perceived saturation. Consequently, the adaptive quantization phase of our compression algorithm is characterized by a luminance and saturation-aware just noticeable distortion (JND) function. After running multiple experiments on 18 videos with various resolutions ranging from QCIF to 4 K, results showed that our method achieves higher compression than that of both the H.264/AVC JM and the HEVC HM while maintaining subjective quality. We observed that in comparison to both implementation of the standards (JM and HM), for an IPPP coding structure, the performance of our algorithm culminated with HD and 4 K videos yielding a bit rate reduction averaging 15% and an encoding time reduction of about 20% in certain cases. Finally, after comparing our method to other similar techniques, we concluded that saturation is a significant parameter in the improvement of video compression.
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a longitudinal study.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) often occur in children with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). A 14-year longitudinal study of PAVMs in children with HHT was undertaken to ...
Investigation of Mechanisms for the Formation of Ash Deposits for Two Powder River Basin Coals

Two subbituminous coals from the Powder River Basin were fired in a pilot-scale combustor to study ash deposit formation under low-temperature fouling conditions. The two coals were chosen as they are similar in composition, but behaved differently when fired in a utility boiler. This study focuses on the mechanisms governing the formation of the initial deposit layer and is limited to deposition times of approximately 3 hours.
HUMAN CELL SURFACE ANTIGENS STUDIED WITH MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the studies of human histocompatibility antigens. The most interesting feature of this system is its extraordinary polymorphism. It is the most polymorphic system of genes known in the species. HLA-C and HLA-DR have been studied much more recently than HLA-A and HLA-B. As large population blanks at HLA-C and HLA-DR occur, the number of HLA-C and HLA-DR alleles can be expected to increase. Monoclonal antibodies permitted an advance in a different area relating to histocompatibility antigens. These areas include (1) the purification of the HLA-A, B, C antigens, (2) the identification of novel surface proteins, (3) the separation of subsets of HLA-DR antigens, (4) cloning a gene for the α chain of HLA-DR antigens and the elucidation of the structure of Class II proteins, and (5) the identification of subsets of human lymphocytes.
Major Mental Disorders and Crime in the Community

The public has a fear of the mentally ill. It has long believed that mentally ill individuals are more prone to crime, especially violent crime, than other members of society (Gerbener, 1980; Monahan, 1992; Rabkin, 1979). The media perpetuates this view with news stories revealing the psychiatric history of gunmen involved in shooting sprees. In some cases, as in the recent shooting in a Colorado high school that left 14 children and a teacher dead, it seems as if the public desperately looks for evidence of mental disorder to explain criminal acts that seem otherwise unexplainable.
Evaluation of the Cranial Nerves

Electrophysiological testing of the cranial nerves remains an important and perhaps under utilized area of neurophysiological evaluation. Motor responses from individual branches of the facial nerve can be obtained to assist in the diagnosis and prognosis of facial neuropathies. In blink reflex testing, the first division of the trigeminal nerve is stimulated and responses from the orbicularis oculi are obtained. This form of testing can be used for a variety of purposes including helping to localize disorders of the Vth and VIIth cranial nerves, assisting in the evaluation of Guillain-Barre syndrome, and even in the assessment of brainstem disorders. It is also useful in the assessment of hemifacial spasm. The masseter reflex and master silent period can also be assessed when clinically indicated. Although less commonly pursued, other cranial nerves can also be evaluated electrophysiologically, including the XIth and XIIth cranial nerves. Assessment of these cranial nerves can be important in assessing other diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Robotic Grasping and Manipulation Competition: Future Tasks to Support the Development of Assembly Robotics

The Robot Grasping and Manipulation Competition, held during the 2016 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in Daejeon, South Korea was sponsored by the IEEE Robotic and Automation Society (RAS) Technical Committee (TC) on Robotic Hands Grasping and Manipulation (RHGM) [1]. This competition was the first of a planned series of grasping and manipulation-themed events of increasing difficulty that are intended to spur technological developments and advance test methods and benchmarks so that they can be formalized for use by the community. The coupling of standardized performance testing with robot competitions will promote the use of unbiased evaluation methods to assess how well a robot system performs in a particular application space. A strategy is presented for a series of grasping and manipulation competitions that facilitate objective performance benchmarking of robotic assembly solutions. This strategy is based on test methods that can be used for more rigorous assessments and comparison of systems and components outside of the competition regime. While competitions have proven to be useful mechanisms for assessing the relative performance of robotic systems with measures of success, they often lack a methodical measurement science foundation. Consequently, scientifically sound and statistically significant metrics, measurement, and evaluation methods to quantify performance are missing. Using performance measurement methods in a condensed format will accommodate competition time limits while introducing the methods to the community as tools for benchmarking performance in the developmental and deployment phases of a robot system. The particular evaluation methods presented here are focused on the mechanical assembly process, an application space that is expected to accelerate with the new robot technologies coming to market.
Sensitivity of Error: An Examination of the Impact of Human Mistakes on Offender Risk Classification Validity

ABSTRACTHuman error in offender risk assessment can take many forms, including assessment staff bias and mistakes in official records. The effect of these human mistakes on outcomes depends on the “sensitivity of error” of the risk assessment instruments. Yet how these human errors influence risk classification outcomes has remained speculative. To disentangle this relationship and fill the research gap, simulated human error was injected into two risk datasets to determine how unreliability and invalidity affects classification validity. Two main conclusions are drawn. First, risk devices are highly sensitive to human errors, and their use should be met with caution. Second, new techniques are needed to measure and convey model validity. The findings and the conclusions of this study are critical given that more accurate risk assessments give rise to higher levels of public safety. Methods of reducing the sensitivity of error in risk instruments are offered.
National estimates of case-mix, mortality, and economic outcomes among inpatient HIV/AIDS mono-infection and hepatitis C co-infection cases in the US

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES To assess inpatient clinical and economic outcomes for AIDS/HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) co-infection in the United States from 2003 to 2014. METHOD This historical cohort study utilized nationally representative hospital discharge data to investigate inpatient mortality, length of stay (LoS), and inflation-adjusted charges among adults (≥18 years). Outcomes were analysed via multivariable generalized linear models according to demographics, hospital and clinical characteristics, and AIDS/HIV or HCV sequelae. RESULTS Overall, 17.8% of the 2.75 million estimated AIDS/HIV inpatient cases involved HCV from 2003 to 2014, averaging 48.5 ± 9.0 years of age and 68.0% being male. Advanced sequalae of AIDS and HCV incurred a LoS of 10.3 ± 11.9 days, charges of $88 789 ± 131 787, and a 16.9% mortality. Many cases involved noncompliance, tobacco use disorders, and substance abuse. Although mortality decreased over time, multivariable analyses indicated that poorer outcomes were generally associated with more advanced clinical conditions and AIDS-associated sequalae, although mixed results were observed for specific manifestations of HCV. Rural residence was independently associated with a 3.26 times higher adjusted odds of mortality from 2009 to 2014 for HIV/HCV co-infection (P < 0.001), although not for AIDS/HCV (OR = 1.38, P = 0.166). CONCLUSION Given the systemic nature and modifiable risks inherent within coinfection, more proactive screening and intervention appear warranted, particularly within rural areas.
Enabling Approximate Storage through Lossy Media Data Compression

As compute capabilities continue to scale, memory capacity and bandwidth continue to lag behind. Data compression is an effective approach to improving memory capacity and bandwidth; but prior works have focused primarily on lossless compression and retrieval for data-critical applications. While data integrity is critical to many applications, a growing number of memory-bound applications contain non-critical program data; this property can be exploited to improve memory performance and capacity. In this work, we enable approximate storage to exploit the inherent error resilience of multimedia and other applications, through lossy compression, to improve storage without adversely affecting application functionality. We realize an incidence of approximate storage through modification of the Base-Delta-Immediate algorithm to create a lossy memory compression algorithm. We conclude that approximate storage is an effective and promising technique for improving effective memory capacity and decreasing the energy cost of memory access; results show that memory capacity can be increased by 15% with only 3% loss in image recognition application quality.
Effect of laser power on roughness and porosity in laser powder bed fusion of stainless steel 316L alloys measured by X-ray tomography

Abstract The quality of metal objects fabricated via laser powder bed fusion are highly affected by process parameters, and their influence on final products is yet to be fully explored. In this wo...
Inappropriate Opioid Prescribing in Oregon's Coordinated Care Organizations.

Objectives The objective of this study is to identify demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with a pain diagnosis who fill potentially inappropriate opioid prescriptions within the Oregon Medicaid population. Methods Using de-identified Oregon Medicaid claims data (2010-2014), a series of logistic regression models was estimated to identify factors associated with receipt of potential inappropriate opioid prescriptions among patients with acute or chronic pain. Analyses included a total of 204,364 records, representing 118,671 unique patients. Results The percentage of patients with a pain diagnosis filling at least 1 inappropriate opioid prescription decreased over the study period, falling from 32.5% in 2010 to 22.3% in 2014. Multivariate logistic regression results indicated that white and older enrollees were more likely to fill an inappropriate prescription over the study period. The odds of filling an inappropriate opioid prescription were also greater for patients with chronic health conditions, psychiatric disorders, and substance use disorder. Results were similar for patients diagnosed with either acute or chronic pain, chronic pain only, or acute pain only. Conclusions Inappropriate opioid prescribing for patients with pain diagnoses decreased over the study period, which stands in stark contrast to other state Medicaid programs. However, in 2014, almost 23% of patients in the Oregon Medicaid program filled at least 1 inappropriate opioid prescription, suggesting additional strategies are needed to further reduce potential inappropriate prescribing. Medicaid programs may consider adopting enhanced prescription drug monitoring program features, enacting pain clinic legislation, and implementing additional prior authorization policies to reduce inappropriate prescribing of opioids.
Direct PCR detection, cloning, and characterization of fungi communities in soils and compost

A procedure was developed to detect and identify fungi in garden soil, forest soil, and compost samples. Microbial DNA was extracted using the Zymo Microbe DNA MiniPrep protocol. Fungi ribosomal internal transcribed space sequences (ITS) were amplified by PCR using primers ITS1 and ITS4. DNA fragments of approximately 640 base pair were detected in all positive samples. Clone libraries were constructed with amplified DNA by ligating the detected fragments with vector pCR®4-TOPO. Transformations were performed using competent Mix and Go Escherichia coli cells. Plasmids were isolated from each clone using the Zyppy plasmid miniprep protocol and inserts were screened by PCR using M13 DNA primers. Most of the identified fungal species were aligned to the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. BLAST analysis of clone libraries showed that sequences from compost samples were only comprised of the Ascomycota species Thermomyces lanuginosus. Clones from garden soils were mostly unidentified species closely aligned to Ascomycota and Zygomycota while the most abundant sequences in forest soils were related to the Basidiomycota species Cortinarius flexipes. In garden soil more than 50% of ITS sequences belonged to the Kingdom Plantae with species such as Cardamine hirsute, Stellaria media, and Cerastium dinaricum. However, there were no plant ITS sequences in compost and forest soil. Fungal species belonging to the phylum Ascomycota were widely distributed in the 3 environments studied with the forest soil showing the highest fungal diversity.
Using multiple character strengths to inform young adults’ self-compassion: The potential of hope and forgiveness

Self-compassion is an adaptive means of relating to the self during times of distress. Character strengths include a set of traits and values that ultimately uplift the self and others. Although se...
Identification of a new strain of mouse kidney parvovirus associated with inclusion body nephropathy in immunocompromised laboratory mice.

Inclusion body nephropathy (IBN) and kidney fibrosis in aged immunodeficient mice and, to lesser extent, in immunocompetent mice have been recently linked to infection of mouse kidney parvovirus (MKPV), also known as murine chapparvovirus (MuCPV). Knowledge about its prevalence and the complete genome sequence of more MKPV strains is essential for understanding phylogenetic relationships and pathogenicity among MKPV strains. In the present study using PCR and genome walking, we determined the complete 4440-nucleotide genome of a new MKPV strain, namely MIT-WI1, which was identified in IBN-affected Il2rg-/-Rag2-/- c-Kit W-sh/W-sh mice housed in the vivarium at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (WI). The overall nucleotide (>94%) and deduced amino acid sequences (>98%) of p10, p15, NS1 (replicase), NS2 and VP1 (capsid protein) within the MIT-WI1 genome, are closely related to MKPV/MuCPV strains described in laboratory and wild Mus musculus mice. In addition, PCR and qPCR assays using newly designed primers conserved among the known MKPV/MuCPV genomes were developed and utilized to assess MKPV status in selected laboratory mice. MKPV was also detected in immunodeficient (NSG) and immunocompetent (Crl:CD1(ICR), UTXflox) mouse strains/stocks. The abundance of the MKPV genome copies was significantly correlated with the severity of IBN. Our data indicate that MKPV is present in selected mouse strains/stocks, and provides new insights into the genome evolution of MKPV.
Polarizable continuum models provide an effective electrostatic embedding model for fragment-based chemical shift prediction in challenging systems

Ab initio nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shift prediction provides an important tool for interpreting and assigning experimental spectra, but it becomes computationally prohibitive in large systems. The computational costs can be reduced considerably by fragmentation of the large system into a series of contributions from many smaller subsystems. However, the presence of charged functional groups and the need to partition the system across covalent bonds create complications in biomolecules that typically require the use of large fragments and careful descriptions of the electrostatic environment. The present work shows how a model that combines chemical shielding contributions from non-overlapping monomer and dimer fragments embedded in a polarizable continuum model provides a simple, easy-to-implement, and computationally inexpensive approach for predicting chemical shifts in complex systems. The model's performance proves rather insensitive to the continuum dielectric constant, making the selection of the optimal embedding dielectric less critical. The PCM-embedded fragment model is demonstrated to perform well across systems ranging from molecular crystals to proteins.
Everyday Statistics: A Story of the Meteorologist, the Football Coach, the Gambler, and the Student

Statistics has an influence on our daily lives which can be hard to fathom. From the advertisements that we watch, to the risk that we take, to the understanding of what a statistic truly means. The everyday world of statistics is much more influential and much more a part of our everyday lives than one would ever dream.
Administration of pilocarpine by microneedle patch as a novel method for cystic fibrosis sweat testing.

The sweat test is the gold standard for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF). The test utilizes iontophoresis to administer pilocarpine to the skin to induce sweating for measurement of chloride concentration in sweat. However, the sweat test procedure needs to be conducted in an accredited lab with dedicated instrumentation, and it can lead to inadequate sweat samples being collected in newborn babies and young children due to variable sweat production with pilocarpine iontophoresis. We tested the feasibility of using microneedle (MN) patches as an alternative to iontophoresis to administer pilocarpine to induce sweating. Pilocarpine-loaded MN patches were developed. Both MN patches and iontophoresis were applied on horses to induce sweating. The sweat was collected to compare the sweat volume and chloride concentration. The patches contained an array of 100 MNs measuring 600 μm long that were made of water-soluble materials encapsulating pilocarpine nitrate. When manually pressed to the skin, the MN patches delivered >0.5 mg/cm2 pilocarpine, which was double that administered by iontophoresis. When administered to horses, MN patches generated the same volume of sweat when normalized to drug dose and more sweat when normalized to skin area compared to iontophoresis using a commercial device. Moreover, both MN patches and iontophoresis generated sweat with comparable chloride concentration. These results suggest that administration of pilocarpine by MN patches may provide a simpler and more-accessible alternative to iontophoresis for performing a sweat test for the diagnosis of CF.
Combining Source Rock Kinetics and Vitrinite Reflectance in Source Rock Evaluation of the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, USA.

The elements of Bakken Petroleum System consist of two source rocks with high underlying burial depths for significant hydrocarbon generation. However, this deep hydrocarbon generation process is dependent on its kinetic properties, thermal maturity, and geochemical properties. The statistical compensation effect is a complicating factor in the kinetic analyses of the Bakken Formation. In this study, we experimentally determined the kinetics of the Bakken formation source beds, observed the presence of the residual compensation effect, and numerically established a correlation between the kinetic parameters, thermal maturity indices (Tmax), and the vitrinite reflectance (VRo) and bitumen reflectance (BRo). First, we conducted source rock analysis to determine kinetic properties and the organic geochemical assays of reactive kerogen in the Bakken source beds. Finally, we incorporated previous established studies to generate numerical correlation for Tmax in terms of VRo and BRo reflectance. Our kinetic results show evidence of the residual compensation effect in the Bakken Formation when samples are repeatedly analyzed. The simultaneous linear expression of the residual compensation effect and the regression analysis of the solutions to the Kissinger equation for heating rate, yielded a kinetic parameter solution that correlates with Tmax. Furthermore, recalculated Tmax values established a correlation between the kinetic parameters, Tmax, VRo, and BRo. The application of state-of-the-art numerical correlations to measure subsurface kinetics, source rock richness, and burial-depth temperatures will enhance the accuracy of reservoir exploration and hydrocarbon production within the Bakken Formation.
Tuaimenal A, a Meroterpene from the Previously Unexplored Deep-Sea Irish Soft Coral of the Genus Drifa , Displays in Silico Binding of the Main Protease of SARS-CoV-2 (preprint)

Cold water benthic environments are a prolific source of structurally diverse molecules with a range of bioactivity against human disease. Specimens of a previously chemically unexplored soft coral, Drifa sp., were collected during a deep-sea cruise that sampled marine invertebrates along the Irish continental margin in 2018. Tuaimenal A (1), a compound representing new carbon scaffold with a highly substituted chromene core, was discovered through the exploration of the secondary metabolome of the soft coral through NMR-guided fractionation. VCD analysis was used to determine absolute stereochemistry. This molecule demonstrates a strong profile for inhibition of the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 based on in silico docking experiments.
It is Still Time to Voluntarily Turnover Theories of Voluntary Turnover: A Response to Commentary

This was written in response to commentaries made on an article I wrote titled “Is it time to voluntarily turnover theories of voluntary turnover.” A change in editorial policy precluding focal author responses to subsequent commentary precluded its publication in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Ipatasertib, an oral AKT inhibitor, effectively inhibits cell proliferation and migration, and induces apoptosis in serous endometrial cancer cell lines in vitro: Endometrial Cancer Molecularly Targeted Therapy Consortium

Objectives: Ipatasertib (IPAT) is an orally administered selective protein kinase B (AKT) inhibitor that has demonstrated clinical activity in triple-negative breast and metastatic prostate cancer. Given that the AKT/mTOR pathway is altered in the vast majority of endometrioid endometrial cancers (ECs), it is logical that IPAT may also have efficacy in EC. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the anti-proliferative effects of IPAT in human endometrioid cell lines as well as in the LKB1fl/flp53fl/fl genetically engineered mouse model of endometrioid EC. Methods: The human endometrioid EC cell lines ECC-1 (PTEN mutant) and HEC-1A (PTEN wild type, PIK3CA mutant, KRAS mutant) were exposed to varying concentrations of IPAT (Genentech). Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT and colony assays. Cell cycle progression was measured by Cellometer. Apoptosis was assessed by cleaved caspase-3 assay. Cellular stress was assessed using tetramethylrhodamine ester (TMRE) and DCFDA assays. Western immunoblotting determined effects of IPAT on BCL-2, MCL-1, Bip, CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1, pAKT, pS6, PERK, calnexin, and PDI in both cell lines. LKB1fl/flp53fl/fl mice were used to evaluate the effect of IPAT on endometrial tumor growth. The mice were treated with placebo or IPAT (15mg/kg daily intraperitoneally for 4 weeks) starting 8 weeks after tumor induction via AdCre injection. Results: IPAT inhibited cellular proliferation in a dose dependent fashion in both cell lines after 72 hours of treatment. Median IC50 was 0.18µM in ECC-1 and 3.5µM in HEC-1A. IPAT induced the activity of cleaved caspase 3 by 15.6-fold in ECC-1 and 1.41-fold in HEC-1A (p Conclusions: IPAT significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis and cellular stress via inhibition of the AKT/mTOR pathway in human endometrioid EC cell lines. Furthermore, IPAT reduced tumor growth in a transgenic mouse model of endometrioid EC. These results suggest that IPAT is worthy of further exploration in clinical trials for EC.
Scientific Exploration During Voyages of Discovery

The age of exploration developed from scientific discoveries that took place in England’s two great universities, Cambridge and Oxford. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the study of geography helped generate the growth of new ideas. Advances in mathematical geography and cartography fed the scientific revolution and spurred naturalists to take part in voyages of discovery, allowing them to collect many species of flora and fauna hitherto unknown in the developed world. The work of England’s foremost mathematical geographer, Edward Wright (1561–1615), and the contributions of mathematician, astronomer, and physicist, Thomas Harriot (1560–1621), aided nautical exploration by putting the theoretical information they learned to practical use in navigation. Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820) stood out among naturalist-voyagers. He made several important voyages on his own before his presence as naturalist on Cook’s first epic journey; his travels on H.M.S. Endeavour (1768–71) helped prepare several young naturalists in botanical exploration. Banks helped shape the development of botany, earth science, art, horticulture, and other aspects of English science and culture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries after his voyage on the Endeavour. His experience on the Endeavour, particularly the botanical investigations and the information spawned by the naturalists, artists, draftsmen, and collectors serving under him, the herbarium and library he assembled upon his return, and his relationship with Kew Gardens (“the King’s Garden”), the first botanic garden in Europe, were some of the gains realized by this and other voyages of exploration.
The Biogeographic Implications of Early Hominin Phylogeny

The biogeographic implications of early hominin phylogeny were investigated using cladistic analysis. Geography was treated as a cladistic character with three states (eastern, southern and central Africa). The geography character was plotted onto a cladogram derived from a recent study of early hominin phylogeny, and each change in character state was interpreted as a dispersal event. Results indicate that hominins dispersed at least four times between African regions, and that most hominin speciation events took place in eastern Africa. Many adaptively significant morphologies also evolved in eastern Africa, although the possibility exists that bipedalism originated in central Africa.
High-Field Intraoperative MR-Guided Neurosurgery

The story of intraoperative MR (iMR)-guided neurosurgery began in the 1990s with the implementation of the first such site at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA [1, 2]. The Brigham installed the first truly open architecture magnetic resonance (MR) scanner, in which a patient’s head was directly accessible to a neurosurgeon at all times during the procedure. Although somewhat physically confining, for the first time, this breakthrough approach allowed neurosurgeons to undertake brain tumor removal under the dual observations of the surgeon’s eyes through an operating microscope and the radiologist’s eyes through the MR scanner’s images. Thus, in addition to the surface imaging afforded by direct visual inspection, surgeons could now see beyond the limits of their surgical field, and for the first time, they could visualize the completeness or, as was soon discovered, the incompleteness of their tumor resection.
A Critique and an Appraisal of VLSI Models of Computation.

Considerable attention has been paid to the definition of a suitable model of computation for Very-Large-Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits [1], [2], [3], [4]. The basic parameters of any VLSI computation model are chip area A and computation time T. VLSI systems display a trade-off between these two parameters, each of which represents a well-defined cost aspect: chip area is a measure of fabrication cost and computation time is a measure of operating cost. VLSI Models of Computation
The Weyl Character Formula

The character formula of Weyl [129] is the gem of the representation theory of compact Lie groups.
Goals for Undergraduate Social Work Research: A Survey of BSW Program Directors.

Abstract This study examines research curricular goals for undergraduate social work education. Two hundred fifty-six BSW program directors were surveyed about the appropriateness of eight research goals derived from CSWE's Curriculum Policy Statement (CPS). The findings indicate a very high level of support for seven of the eight goals. The goal to prepare students to contribute to the generation of knowledge for practice received the least amount of support. Implications of the findings for possible revisions of the CPS and for undergraduate social work education are discussed.
Ant Colony Optimization for Genome-Wide Genetic Analysis

In human genetics it is now feasible to measure large numbers of DNA sequence variations across the human genome. Given current knowledge about biological networks and disease processes it seems likely that disease risk can best be modeled by interactions between biological components, which can be examined as interacting DNA sequence variations. The machine learning challenge is to effectively explore interactions in these datasets to identify combinations of variations which are predictive of common human diseases. Ant colony optimization (ACO) is a promising approach to this problem. The goal of this study is to examine the usefulness of ACO for problems in this domain and to develop a prototype of an expert knowledge guided probabilistic search wrapper. We show that an ACO approach is not successful in the absence of expert knowledge but is successful when expert knowledge is supplied through the pheromone updating rule.
Storage-Efficient Stateless Group Key Revocation

Secure group communication relies on secure and robust distribution of group keys. A stateless group key distribution scheme is an ideal candidate when the communication channel is unreliable. Several stateless group key distribution schemes have been proposed. However, these schemes require all users store a certain number of auxiliary keys. The number of such keys increases as the group size grows. As a result, it is quite challenging to use these schemes when the users in a relatively large group have memory constraints. Thus, it is desirable to develop new schemes that can reduce the memory requirement. This paper introduces two novel stateless group key revocation schemes named key-chain tree (KCT) and layered key-chain tree (LKCT), which combine one-way key chains with a logical key tree. These schemes reduce the user storage requirements by trading off it with communication and computation costs. Specifically, these schemes can revoke any R users from a user group of size N by sending a key update message with at most 4R keys, while only requiring each user to store 2log N keys.
Social networks and social norms are associated with obesity treatment outcomes

Objective To examine whether overweight social network members and normative influence for obesity are associated with weight loss outcomes during obesity treatment.
Partner violence and medical encounters: African-American women's perspectives.

Abstract Objective: To examine the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and patient satisfaction with medical encounters among an African-American population. Design: Cross-sectional, self-administered, anonymous survey. Setting: Community-based, primary care center. Patients: Consecutive African-American women recruited from an urban health center. A total of 102 women provided sufficient information to reveal whether they were currently experiencing IPV and to allow us to assess their experiences in their most recent primary care encounter. Measurements: Patients’ perceptions of their most recent encounter using questions adopted from the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale and Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire. We used the Conflicts Tactics Scale, supplemented with questions measuring sexual violence and emotional abuse, to assess IPV “in the past year.” Results: Women who reported current IPV rated several aspects of the encounter more negatively than did women who did not report current abuse. The IPV victims were less likely to report that they felt respected and accepted during the encounter, and they provided lower ratings of the quality of communication with their providers. Conclusions: It is unclear why victims of partner violence experience medical encounters as less satisfactory. Researchers need to expand studies of medical encounters as experienced by abused women to determine whether IPV status adversely affects general medical care.
Loss of autoreceptor functions in mice lacking the dopamine transporter

Autoreceptors provide an important inhibitory feedback mechanism for dopamine neurons by altering neuronal functions in response to changes in extracellular levels of dopamine. Elevated dopamine may be a component of several neuropsychiatric disorders. However, evidence concerning the state of autoreceptors in such conditions has remained elusive. The function of dopamine autoreceptors was assessed in mice lacking the dopamine transporter (DAT). Genetic deletion of the DAT gene in mice results in a persistent elevation in levels of extracellular dopamine. Direct assessment of impulse-, synthesis- and release-regulating autoreceptors in these mice reveals a nearly complete loss of function. These findings may provide insight into the neurochemical consequences of hyperdopaminergia.
Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

Increased wildfire activity and recent bark beetle outbreaks in the western United States have increased the potential for interactions between disturbance types to influence forest characteristics. However, the effects of interactions between bark beetle outbreaks and subsequent wildfires on forest succession remain poorly understood. We collected data in dry mixed conifer forests across Idaho and western Montana to test whether vegetation responses differ between sites experiencing single and repeated disturbances. We compared tree seedling density and age, surface fuel loading, and stand structure characteristics in stands that experienced either high severity wildfire, large-scale tree mortality from bark beetles, or stands that experienced high bark beetle mortality followed by severe wildfire within 3–8 years of attack. Tree seedling density was 300–400% higher in gray bark beetle-affected stands than burned sites, but there was no evidence that a beetle and wildfire interaction affected seedling de...
Precipitating pharmakologies and capital entrapments: narcolepsy and the strange cases of Provigil and Xyrem.

Since the mid-1990s, Americans have been made more aware of chronic sleep deprivation and sleep disorders exacerbated by dominant temporal regimes of work, school, and family life, primarily through increased medical and media attention. Concomitantly, Americans have turned to medical treatments and pharmaceutical cocktails to achieve normalcy rather than attending to the social and cultural causes of sleep sickness. This turn toward pharmaceuticalization is aided in part by the proliferation of medical disorders and the pharmaceuticals marketed to treat them (e.g., “excessive daytime sleepiness” requires treatment once reserved for narcoleptics). These cocktails have explicit and implicit components: the former consist of pharmaceuticals, the latter of capital dependencies, including ties to medical insurance companies, stable employment, and familial networks. In this article, I examine the proliferation of pharmaceutical cocktails through the concept of the pharmakon—something simultaneously remedy and...
Chronic fatigue syndrome.

The present study had two objectives: 1) to determine the characteristics that differentiated subjects with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), chemical sensitivities (CS), and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); and 2) to evaluate the psychiatric and neuropsychological complaints of these groups relative to normal controls. A cross-sectional comparison was made of the following groups matched for age, sex, and education: 1) patients whose sensitivities to multiple low level chemical exposures began with a defined exposure (MCS; N = 23); 2) patients with sensitivities to multiple chemicals without a clear date of onset (CS; N = 13); 3) patients meeting CDC criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS; N = 18); and 4) normal controls (AT = 18). Subjects with sensitivities to chemicals (MCS and CS) reported significantly more lifestyle changes due to chemical sensitivities and significantly more chemical substances that made them ill compared with chronic fatigue and normal controls. MCS, CS, and CFS patients had significantly higher rates of current psychiatric disorders than normal controls and reported significantly more physical symptoms with no medical explanation. Seventy-four percent of MCS and 61% of CFS did not qualify for any current Axis I psychiatric diagnosis. Chemically sensitive subjects without a defined date of onset (CS) had the highest rate of Axis I psychiatric disorders (69%). On the MMPI-2, 44% of MCS, 42% of CS, 53% of CFS, and none of the controls achieved clinically significant elevations on scales associated with somatoform disorders. With the exception of one complex test of visual memory, no significant differences were noted among the groups on tests of neuropsychological function. Standardized measures of psychiatric and neuropsychological function did not differentiate subjects with sensitivities to chemicals from those with chronic fatigue. Subjects with sensitivities to chemicals and no clear date of onset had the highest rate of psychiatric morbidity. Standardized neuropsychological tests did not substantiate the cognitive impairment reported symptomatically. Cognitive deficits may become apparent under controlled exposure conditions.
Quantifying Dynamic Stability of Genetic Memory Circuits

Bistability/Multistability has been found in many biological systems including genetic memory circuits. Proper characterization of system stability helps to understand biological functions and has potential applications in fields such as synthetic biology. Existing methods of analyzing bistability are either qualitative or in a static way. Assuming the circuit is in a steady state, the latter can only reveal the susceptibility of the stability to injected DC noises. However, this can be inappropriate and inadequate as dynamics are crucial for many biological networks. In this paper, we quantitatively characterize the dynamic stability of a genetic conditional memory circuit by developing new dynamic noise margin (DNM) concepts and associated algorithms based on system theory. Taking into account the duration of the noisy perturbation, the DNMs are more general cases of their static counterparts. Using our techniques, we analyze the noise immunity of the memory circuit and derive insights on dynamic hold and write operations. Considering cell-to-cell variations, our parametric analysis reveals that the dynamic stability of the memory circuit has significantly varying sensitivities to underlying biochemical reactions attributable to differences in structure, time scales, and nonlinear interactions between reactions. With proper extensions, our techniques are broadly applicable to other multistable biological systems.
Effect of a peroxisome proliferator on 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase

To better understand the changes that occur following exposure to peroxisome proliferators, we utilized mRNA differential display and microarray to screen for peroxisome proliferator target genes apart from those involved in lipid metabolism in male C57B6 mice by using the ubiquitous plasticizer, di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). One noted change was the dose-dependent suppression of the mouse hormone metabolizing 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase V (HSD3b5), which is specifically expressed in the male mouse liver. Northern analysis showed that HSD3b5 mRNA levels decreased dramatically upon one-day exposure to 2.0% dietary DEHP, and were nearly undetectable by one week of treatment. Food restriction also significantly suppressed HSD3b5 expression; however, in this case the suppression was delayed and to a lesser extent. Another mouse 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, HSD3b4, predominantly expressed in kidneys, was also regulated by DEHP and food restriction. The sex-specific gene, HSD3b5, was affected more by DEHP and food restriction than the tissue-specific gene, HSD3b4.
Pharmacokinetics (PK), Pharmacodynamics (PD) and Integrated PK/PD Modeling of a Novel Long Acting FGF21 Clinical Candidate PF-05231023 in Diet-Induced Obese and Leptin-Deficient Obese Mice

Pharmacological administration of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) improves metabolic profile in preclinical species and humans. FGF21 exerts its metabolic effects through formation of beta-klotho (KLB)/FGF receptor 1c FGFR1c complex and subsequent signaling. Data from various in vitro systems demonstrate the intact C- and N-terminus of FGF21 is required for binding with KLB, and interaction with FGFR1c, respectively. However the relative roles of the termini for in vivo pharmacological effects are unclear. Here we report PF-05231023, a long-acting FGF21 analogue which is unique in that the half-life and subcutaneous (SC) bioavailability of the intact C-terminus are significantly different from those of the intact N-terminus (2 vs. 22 hr for half-life and 4~7 vs. ~50% SC bioavailability). Therefore, this molecule serves as a valuable tool to evaluate the relative roles of intact C-terminus vs. N-terminus in in vivo pharmacology studies in preclinical species. We determined the effects of PF-05231023 administration on body weight (BW) loss and glucose reduction during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) following SC and intravenous (IV) administration in diet-induced obese (DIO) and leptin-deficient obese (ob/ob) mice, respectively. Our data show that the intact N-terminus of FGF21 in PF-05231023 appears to be sufficient to drive glucose lowering during OGTT and sustain BW loss in DIOs. Further, PK/PD modeling suggests that while the intact FGF21 C-terminus is not strictly required for glucose lowering during OGTT in ob/ob mice or for BW reduction in DIO mice, the higher potency conferred by intact C-terminus contributes to a rapid initiation of pharmacodynamic effects immediately following dosing. These results provide additional insight into the strategy of developing stabilized versions of FGF21 analogs to harness the full spectrum of its metabolic benefits.
Inheritance as a Factor in Poultry Disease

Abstract DURING the past three decades the poultry industry in the United States has undergone tremendous changes. From the family flock basis, where birds were kept principally as a source of meat and eggs, it has gradually changed until today poultry keeping in its various aspects is the primary enterprise of thousands of farmers. With this change many problems that were not of great concern in the family flock have developed. Of first rank among these problems is that of flock mortality, which instead of being on the wane seemingly is becoming a more serious menace year by year. Significance of Disease Loss The seriousness of mortality in commercial flocks has been emphasized in economic studies of poultry farming in various states. In New Jersey in 1915–16 the mortality was 7 percent (App et al., 1919); in Oregon in 1926–28 the average mortality was 13 percent (Scudder et al., . . .
Integrated approach for studying adaptation mechanisms in the human somatosensory cortical network

Magnetoencephalography and independent component analysis (ICA) was utilized to study and characterize neural adaptation in the somatosensory cortical network. Repetitive punctate tactile stimuli were applied unilaterally to the dominant hand and face using a custom-built pneumatic stimulator called the TAC-Cell. ICA-based source estimation from the evoked neuromagnetic responses indicated cortical activity in the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (SI) for face stimulation, while hand stimulation resulted in robust contralateral SI and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) activation. Activity was also observed in the secondary somatosensory cortical area (SII) with reduced amplitude and higher variability across subjects. There was a significant difference in adaptation rate between SI and higher-order somatosensory cortices for hand stimulation. Adaptation was significantly dependent on stimulus frequency and pulse index within the stimulus train for both hand and face stimulation. The peak latency of the activity was significantly dependent on stimulation site (hand vs. face) and cortical area (SI vs. PPC). The difference in the peak latency of activity in SI and PPC is presumed to reflect a hierarchical serial-processing mechanism in the somatosensory cortex.
IL4 is not required for proliferative responses in B cells stimulated by anti-IgD-dextran conjugates even under limiting conditions of cell-cell interaction.

Abstract The experiments in this manuscript confirm and extend our previous finding that IL4 has minimal enhancing activity on B cell activation stimulated by anti-Ig-dextran conjugates. The absence of significant IL4-mediated enhancement is seen also under conditions which are limiting for optimal B cell proliferation. Thus, even when B cells are cultured at low cell densities where cell to cell contact is minimized and are stimulated with picogram per milliliter concentrations of anti-Ig-dextran, IL4 mediates low levels of enhanced proliferation, if at all. The low level of IL4-induced enhancement does not reflect the anti-Ig-dextran-mediated downregulation of IL4 receptors on B cells, since anti-Ig-dextran stimulates an increase in IL4 receptors similar in magnitude to that stimulated by IL4 by itself. To exclude the possibility that anti-Ig-dextran was stimulating IL4 secretion by B cells and thus masking an effect of added IL4, we added inhibiting concentrations of monoclonal anti-IL4 antibody with the B cells and found that it was without effect on anti-Ig-dextran-stimulated proliferation. Our results suggest that IL4 may not have a prominent role in influencing B cell growth that is stimulated by multivalent T cell-independent antigens.