cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Los Sangurimas, una obra narrativa polémica

espanolCon la literatura ecuatoriana de los anos treinta se produce un cambio importante, tanto en la tematica como en la estructura de su narrativa. Dentro del romanticismo, durante el siglo XIX, dos escritores llaman ya la atencion en este movimiento: Juan Montalvo Fiallos y Juan Leon Mera. El primero, por la pureza del lenguaje, el aspecto combativo de su tematica y por ser precursor del modernismo. El segundo, por la calidad de su trabajo literario, al cumplir con lo canones dictados por los maestros europeos. En el siglo XX y, dentro de la vanguardia hispanoamericana, dos escritores se imponen por lo innovador de sus enunciados: Pablo Palacio y Jose de la Cuadra. Palacio, al romper tabues sociales y De la Cuadra, por tener la reputacion de ser uno de los iniciadores mas fuertes del realismo magico en Sur America. Los Sangurimas, de Jose de la Cuadra, es una obra narrativa que describe el comportamiento de una dinastia que impone su presion. Las personas -familiares y vecinos- estan sometidas al proceder hegemonico de un hombre que hace imperar su voluntad y arrasa con todo enunciado o individuo que se cruce en su camino. Esta obra denuncia y, a la vez, afirma el abuso de un caciquismo que operaba en cualquier aldea, grande o pequena, que se convertia en victima de este mal endemico de los siglos XIX y XX en Hispanoamerica. Asimismo, en Los Sangurimas encontramos analogias en la estructura, el tema y los personajes que estan cargados de pasiones, bajo el ojo director del tropico. Todo esto para hacer hincapie y analizar el tratamiento de lo improbable, del mito y de la leyenda. EnglishIn the thirties, the Ecuadorian literature experiments an important change in its themes as well as in its narrative structure. When romanticism was in vogue in the 19th Century, Two Ecuadorian writers already call our attention powerfully: Juan Montalvo for the purity of his prose, the spirited aspect of his themes and because he was a precursor of modernism. Juan Leon Mera, on the other hand, was highly regarded for his excellent narrative work, especially for following the norms dictated by the European masters. In the 20th Century, in the Hispanic American vanguard era two writers stand out: Pablo Palacio when he breaks social taboos and De la Cuadra one of the stronger initiators of magic realism in South America. Los Sangurimas, by Jose de la Cuadra, is a narrative work that describes the outrageous behavior of a dynasty. The people �family and neighbors- are submitted to one man� hegemonic power, abuses and repression are intolerable. Los Sangurimas denounce and, at the same time, affirms the cruelty of caciquismo which acted in any village, large or small, becoming an endemic characteristic of the 19th and 20th Centuries in Latin America. Likewise, in this work we find analogies in the structure, the themes, and the characters which are introduced by the geography. All this is done, with the purpose to emphasize and to analyze the improbable, the mythic and the legendary.
The impact of rotator cuff deficiency on structure, mechanical properties, and gene expression profiles of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT): Implications for management of the LHBT during primary shoulder arthroplasty.

The long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) occupies a unique proximal intra-articular and distal extra-articular position within the human shoulder. In the presence of a rotator cuff (RC) tear, the LHBT is recruited into an accelerated role undergoing potential mechanical and biochemical degeneration. Intra-articular sections of the LHBT were harvested during primary shoulder arthroplasty from patients with an intact or deficient RC. LHBTs were stained (H&E, Alcian Blue) and subjected to histologic analysis using the semiquantitative Bonar scale and measurement of collagen orientation. LHBTs (n = 12 per group) were also subjected to gene-expression analyses via an RT(2) -PCR Profiler Array quantifying 84 genes associated with cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. LHBTs (n = 18 per group) were biomechanically tested with both stress-relaxation and load-to-failure protocols and subsequently modeled with the Quasilinear Viscoelastic (QLV) and Structural-Based Elastic (SBE) models. While no histologic differences were observed, significant differences in mechanical testing, and viscoelastic modeling parameters were found. PCR arrays identified five genes that were differentially expressed between RC-intact and RC-deficient LHBT groups. LHBTs display signs of pathology regardless of RC status in the arthroplasty population, which may be secondary to both glenohumeral joint arthritis and the additional mechanical role of the LHBT in this population.
Stomatal regulation in Douglas fir following a fungal-mediated chronic reduction in leaf area

Pathogens can cause chronic premature needle abscission in coniferous species. To assess the potential impacts on tree productivity, stomatal regulation was investigated in Douglas fir with chronic stomatal occlusion and defoliation from varying levels of the Swiss needle cast (SNC) fungus, Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii. Levels of SNC disease and subsequent defoliation were manipulated by choosing six sites with varying levels of disease and by foliar applications of fungicides on six trees per site. Diurnal measurements of leaf water potential (Ψleaf), stomatal conductance (gs) and vapor pressure deficit (D) were made on six fungicide treated and six control trees per site. In addition, leaf specific hydraulic conductance was calculated on a single branch (KL_B) from three trees per treatment per site. Stomatal conductance at D=1 kPa (gsref) was negatively correlated with fungal colonization (number of fruiting bodies present in needle stomata) and positively correlated with KL_B. Despite reduced needle retention in diseased trees, KL declined due to a reduction in sapwood area and permeability (i.e., increasing presence of latewood in functional sapwood). In general, stomatal sensitivity to D for all foliage was consistent with stomatal regulation based on a simple hydraulic model [gs=KL(Ψsoil−Ψleaf)/ D], which assumes strict stomatal regulation of Ψleaf. However, when fungal presence reduced maximum gs below the potential maximum supported by hydraulic architecture, stomatal sensitivity was lower than expected based on the theoretical relationship: dgs/dlnD=0.6·gsref. The results indicate that losses in productivity associated with physical blockage of stomata and defoliation are compounded by additional losses in KL and a reduction in gs in remaining functional stomata.
Characterization of a Staphylococcus aureus USA300 protein signature using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Staphylococcus aureus strain type USA300 is an important human pathogen. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry has been used successfully for rapid identification of S. aureus at the genus and species levels. Here, it was hypothesized that MALDI-TOF could be used to identify USA300 organisms at the strain level. A genetic algorithm model using ClinProTools software (Bruker Daltonics) was built using 47 isolates of USA300 S. aureus and 77 non-USA300 S. aureus isolates. Three mass/charge peaks (5932, 6423 and 6592) were found to be discriminators between the groups of isolates. The model was validated using 224 test isolates: 197 of 224 test isolates were correctly classified as ‘USA300 family’ or ‘non-USA300’. The sensitivity of the model was 0.87, with a specificity of 0.89, positive likelihood ratio of 8.19 and negative likelihood ratio of 0.15. The three-peak intensity MALDI-TOF model designed and tested in the current study can be used to rapidly identify USA300 family S. aureus isolates with reasonable sensitivity and specificity.
Constrained Flow Optimization with Applications to Data Gathering in Sensor Networks

We focus on data gathering problems in energy-constrained wireless sensor networks. We study store-and-gather problems where data are locally stored on the sensors before the data gathering starts, and continuous sensing and gathering problems that model time critical applications. We show that these problems reduce to maximization of network flow under vertex capacity constraint, which reduces to a standard network flow problem. We develop a distributed and adaptive algorithm to optimize data gathering. This algorithm leads to a simple protocol that coordinates the sensor nodes in the system. Our approach provides a unified framework to study a variety of data gathering problems in sensor networks. The efficiency of the proposed method is illustrated through simulations.
Adrenomedullin as a renal regulator peptide

belongs to the CGRP superfamily. The human ADM precursor (preproADM ) is 185 amino acids in length and is processed to 164-amino acid peptide, proADM, and then to a 52-amino acid peptide, the biologically active form of ADM. The genomic DNA of human
Oil and Gas Applications in Saudi Aramco - Challenge Partners

This is an industry paper. Full text not available. Please contact the author for more information.
Constructing radio signal strength maps with multiple robots

Communication is essential for coordination in most cooperative control and sensing paradigms. In this paper, we investigate the construction of a map of radio signal strength that can be used to plan multirobot tasks and also serve as useful perceptual information. We show how nominal models of an urban environment, such as those obtained by aerial surveillance, can be used to generate strategies for exploration and present preliminary experimental results with our multi-robot testbed.
Human Dimensions of Great Lakes Fishery Management: New Research Thrust of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

ABSTRACT The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, recognizing the importance of social impacts on Great Lakes fisheries and the shortage of information on “human dimensions,” launched a new research theme. It seeks to fill knowledge gaps in the areas of legal and institutional frameworks governing fisheries, constructing effective processes that better inform management decision making, and the role and impact of stakeholder involvement in Great Lakes fisheries management.
A literature review of laboratory-acquired brucellosis

Brucellosis is a bacterial zoonotic disease which has been associated with laboratory-acquired infections. No recent reviews have addressed the characteristics of laboratory-acquired brucellosis (LAB). English-language literature was reviewed to identify reports of laboratory exposures to Brucella spp. and LAB cases between 1982 and 2007. Evaluation of 28 case reports identified 167 potentially exposed laboratory workers, of whom 71 had LAB. Nine reports were identified that summarized an additional 186 cases of LAB. Only 18 (11%) exposures were due to laboratory accidents, 147 (88%) exposures were due to aerosolization of organisms during routine identification activities, and the circumstances of 2 (1%) exposures were unknown. Brucella melitensis was the causative agent in 80% (135/167) of the exposures. Workers with high-risk exposures were 9.3 times more likely to develop LAB than workers with low-risk exposures (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.0 to 38.6; P < 0.0001); they were also 0.009 times likelier to develop LAB if they took antimicrobial PEP than if they did not (95% CI, 0 to 0.042; P < 0.0001). The median incubation period in case and summary reports was 8 weeks (range 1 to 40 weeks). Antimicrobial PEP is effective in preventing LAB. The incubation period may be used to identify appropriate serological and symptom surveillance time frames for exposed laboratory workers.
Motion marker discovery from inertial body sensors for enhancing objective assessment of robotic surgical skills

Robotic surgery simulators are increasingly being used for education in several surgical specialties. However, the surgical skills assessment provided by the robotic simulator is only the statistical evaluation of the stimulus input from the surgeons to the hand and foot actuators, ignoring other body movements and postures that are critical to surgical performance. As a result, performance assessments to surgical experts are not significantly higher than those achieved by novices, and surgical residents do not get the meaningful feedback to improve their skills. In order to enhance the assessment of robotic surgical skills, we employed inertial body sensors and developed a novel motion marker discovery method to determine the differences in motion patterns between expert surgeons and novices on a robotic simulator (Mimic Technologies, Seattle, WA). 4 wireless inertial body sensor nodes capable of 6 degree of freedom sensing were unobtrusively attached to a subject on left wrist, right wrist, right upper arm, and left ankle and used to measure motion during a task. 6 experts and 26 novices participated and performed the Energy Dissection task. Preliminary findings suggested that training with inertial sensor nodes can enhance the robotic surgical training process in a limited amount of time.
A paradigm for parallel matrix algorithms: scalable cholesky

A style for programming problems from matrix algebra is developed with a familiar example and new tools, yielding high performance with a couple of surprising exceptions. The underlying philosophy is to use block recursion as the exclusive control structure, down to a 2p× 2p base case anyway, where hardware favors iterative style to fill its pipe. Use of Morton-ordered matrices yields excellent locality within the memory hierarchy—including block sharing among distributed computers. The recursion generalizes nicely to an SPMD program where such sharing is the only communication. Cholesky factorization of an n × n SPD matrix is used as a simple nontrivial example to expose the paradigm. The program amounts to four functions, two of which are finalizers for the other two. This insight allows final blocks to be shared with inter-node communication ∈ Θ(n2) for this algorithm ∈ Θ (n3) flops.
Technical tips: beyond the double banana.

ABSTRACT.We illustrate the utility of T1 and T2 electrodes (Silverman 1960) and of the lower circumferential tier of electrodes in improving the detection, localization, and confirmation of potential epileptiform signatures. We occasionally employ current source density (CSD) maps.
The Grammar of Repetition: Nupe grammar at the syntax-phonology interface

Displacement is a fundamental property of grammar. Typically, when an occurrence moves it is pronounced in only one environment. This was previously viewed as a primitive/irreducible property of grammar. Recent work, however, suggests that it follows from principled interactions between the syntactic and phonological components of grammar. As such, the phonetic character of movement chains can be seen as both a reflection of and probe into the syntax-phonology interface. This volume deals with repetition, an atypical outcome of movement operations in which displaced elements are pronounced multiple times. Although cross-linguistically rare, the phenomenon obtains robustly in Nupe, a Benue-Congo language of Nigeria. Repetition raises a tension of the descriptive-explanatory variety. In order to achieve both measures of adequacy, movement theory must be supplemented with an account of the conditions that drive and constrain multiple pronunciation. This book catalogs these conditions, bringing to light a number of undocumented aspects of Nupe grammar.
The benefits of gastrointestinal preparation for thyroid cancer patients in radioiodine imaging

2724 Objectives RAI therapy for thyroid cancer could cause a number of side effects such as damages to the peripheral tissues and structures, as well as GI discomfort and diarrhea depending on the dose administered. Since the I131 particles are readily secreted by the salivary glands post administration, patient images often display increased activity in the bowels. This increased activity may cause various difficulties for physicians and technologists. The GI is notably radiosensitive, therefore an extended exposure of the bowel to the I131 may cause irradiation damages. The observed activity due to I131 in the bowels during imaging is highly problematic in a metastatic survey due to the potential of over-shadowing any possible peripheral uptake near the abdominal area. For these reasons, the practice of bowel preparation prior to imaging over the course of RAI therapy is highly effective in preventing patients from prolonged GI exposure and may greatly reduce overshadowing of possible metastases. Methods Multiple case studies of thyroid CA patients were reviewed over their course of pre-treatment prep, RAI treatment, and imaging. The reviewed cases contain studies with the practice of bowel-prep as well as those without to exhibit differences in imaging. Primary literature and protocols of the institution were reviewed. Endocrinology expert was consulted on the benefits and deficiencies of such practice. Results Patients that have undergone bowel-prep prior to imaging presented a greatly reduced activity in the abdominal region than those that have not. However, due to the preparation an increased activity in the anal region was observed. Conclusions Bowel-prep is not a standard practice for thyroid CA patients; however patients who have undergone such preparation produced images with significantly reduced bowel activity. This is highly beneficial to the patient in reducing the amount of exposure, and aids in producing a more conclusive study
The Development and Implementation of a Student-Led Farmers’ Market on a Public University Campus

Farmers’ markets are increasingly promoted for their potential to improve access to healthful foods. University campuses are strategic settings for farmers’ markets, because they could improve access to fresh, local produce for large and diverse communities—including college students, who are at risk for poor dietary intake. Universities also offer resources that facilitate farmers’ markets, such as built-in communication channels, common areas, and student volunteers. However, literature describing how to establish campus-based farmers’ markets is limited. We describe the process of developing and operating a student-driven, campus-based farmers’ market at a public university in the Appalachian region of the United States.
Pair formation in the two forms ofMacrophthalmus japonicus De Haan (Crustacea: Brachyura) at a co-occurring area

Pair formation in 2 forms ofMacrophthalmus japonicus was observed where both occurred sympatrically. Both forms showed 2 types of sexual behavior leading to either (1) surface copulations or (2) entry into the male's burrow. In the latter, the 2 forms differed according to which sex entered the burrow first. In all observations, pair formations were confined to members of the same form. These results suggest that the 2 forms are reproductively isolated from one another.
Vegetation Coverage Fraction Calculation and the Mesoscale Modeling in Heihe River Basin

Monthly vegetation coverage fraction data were obtained by dimidiate pixel model.The normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) derived from NOAA-CHAIN preprocess system was used.It was compared with global vegetation coverage data developed by Gutman in 1998,in the upper and middle reaches of the Heihe river basin,it is found that vegetation degraded in 2002 compared to the end of 1980's,it is same as conclusion from monitoring of Northwest China land cover.These two sets of vegetation coverage fraction data were used in atmospheric mesoscale model MM5,specifically.The conclusion is that the bias between simulated air temperature from Heihe vegetation coverage fraction and observation is smaller than using climatic vegetation coverage fraction.The spatial correlation coefficient is the highest between vegetation coverage fraction distribution and latent heat flux distribution.While,as for the spatial correlation coefficient between vegetation coverage fraction change and soil/atmosphere element change fields,2 m temperature is the highest.
Assessing the relation of USDA conservation expenditures to suspended sediment reductions in an Iowa watershed

From 1936 to 2010, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies spent $293.7 billion (value adjusted for inflation at the 2009 level) on conservation programs. Of these expenditures, $75.2 billion (26%) were allocated for technical assistance (TA; it is related to costs associated with USDA field staff providing their expert advice to farmers) and $218.5 billion (74%) for financial assistance (FA; monetary incentives for farmers to adopt conservation programs). A major environmental goal of these programs was to reduce soil erosion and sediment leaving the land. In this study, we correlate expenditures on FA and TA programs to a unique long (1937-2009) record of total suspended solids (TSS) and sediment load (SL) for the Raccoon River at Van Meter, Iowa. Study results suggest that three predictors (rainfall, TA and FA) are important in explaining the temporal changes in annual TSS and SL and provide evidence that USDA expenditures helped reduce TSS and SL in the Raccoon River. TA was more effective than FA in reducing TSS levels in the watershed. Our empirical model represents an initial, broad-scale attempt to correlate conservation expenditures to a specific water quality outcome, although more work is needed to disentangle the impacts associated with other unexplored factors.
K(+)-H+ exchange, a fundamental cell acidifier in corneal epithelium.

Rabbit corneal epithelial cells, loaded with the pH-sensitive fluorescent dye 2',7'-bis(2-carboxy-ethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein, show a profound acidification (pH 7.33 to 6.75) in HCO3(-)-free Rin...
Platelet 5-Hydroxytryptamine Storage in the Carcinoid Syndrome: An Electron Microscopic Autoradiographic Study

The uptake and storage of 5-hydroxytryptamine by human platelets from normal donors and patients with the carcinoid syndrome are reported. When platelets were incubated in the presence of 3H-5-hydroxytryptamine (50 microM), an initial phase of rapid uptake was observed until 5-hydroxytryptamine levels of 1--2 microgram/10(9) cells were reached. Further accumulation occurred more slowly. Electron microscopic autoradiography of cells after 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake for 60 minutes revealed that in platelets from normal donors most of the label was localized in membranes (52%), alpha granules (27%), and cytoplasm (4%). Dense bodies were associated with 18% of the silver grains. Similar membrane (50%) and alpha-granule (27%) labeling was found with platelets from patients with carcinoid syndrome. However, more cytoplasmic labeling (10%) and less dense-body labeling (11%) were found with these cells. The results support a hypothesis of two or more sites for storage of 5-hydroxytryptamine in mammalian platelets and suggest that minimal exchange between cytoplasmic and dense-body amines occurs in carcinoid platelets.
The motivations for Walter Burley’s theory of the proposition

ABSTRACTWalter Burley (born c. 1275; died. c. 1344) claims throughout his career that the mind can make a statement (propositio) out of things. Since things include entities that exist outside of the mind, Burley appears to be claiming that the mind can form a statement out of things that exist outside of it. Most scholars of Burley offer a deflationary reading of this claim, arguing that it confuses two distinct but closely related philosophical issues: the nature of propositional content, on the one hand, and the role of facts in a compelling account of truth, on the other. But I argue that Burley means exactly what he says: that the mind can, quite literally, form statements out of things that exist outside of it. In Burley’s account, statements of this sort function as the propositional contents of our thoughts and written or uttered sentences. This account of propositional content is motivated by three more fundamental theses to which Burley is committed: referentialism, compositionality, and a claim...
An improved synthesis of the radiolabeled prostate-specific membrane antigen inhibitor, [18F]DCFPyL

The radiosynthesis of [18F]DCFPyL on 2 distinct automated platforms with full regulatory compliant quality control specifications is described. The radiotracer synthesis was performed on a custom-made radiofluorination module and the Sofie Biosciences ELIXYS. The radiofluorination module synthesis was accomplished in an average of 66 minutes from end of bombardment with an average specific activity at end of synthesis (EOS) of 4.4 TBq/μmol (120 Ci/μmol) and an average radiochemical yield of 30.9% at EOS. The ELIXYS synthesis was completed in an average of 87 minutes with an average specific activity of 2.2 TBq/μmol (59.3 Ci/μmol) and an average radiochemical yield of 19% at EOS. Both synthesis modules produced large millicurie quantities of [18F]DCFPyL while conforming to all standard US Pharmacopeia Chapter acceptance testing criteria.
Editorial: Signals to sociality: how microbial communication fashions communities

The unicellular and liquid-dwelling lifestyles of bacteria have historically dominated microbiological studies, yet most bacteria exist in nature in multifaceted communities that are often associated with living and non-living surfaces. Within these communities, bacteria are exchanging information with other bacteria and other organisms, including eukaryotes, to generate coordinated behaviors. Central to this microbial information exchange is communication between cells. The act of communication exists in many forms and is often considered essential for organized group behaviors between individuals and for the development of multicellular organisms. The collection of reviews presented in the thematic issue ‘Signals to sociality: how microbial communication fashions communities’ (bit.ly/MicrobialCom) addresses several outstanding questions in microbial cell–cell communication. These reviews highlight aspects of cell–cell communication through the lens of microbial linguistics (which signals are communicated and how), microbial ecology and evolution (how communication impacts individuals within communities over time), microbial sociology (‘sociomicrobiology’ (Parsek and Greenberg 2005), how communication impacts group behaviors), and microbial chemistry (what the intrinsic nature of these signaling molecules is). Our knowledge of microbial cell–cell communication is vast and rapidly expanding. Traditional quorum sensing was the first mode of cell–cell communication to be described (Nealson, Platt and Hastings 1970; Engebrecht, Nealson and Silverman 1983; Kaplan and Greenberg 1987; Bassler et al . 1993) and is generally considered to be the control of gene expression in response to cell-population density through the production of and response to freely diffusible small molecules. A large number of organisms produce and respond to more than one quorum-sensing molecule, enabling many ‘conversations’ to be conducted simultaneously. In this issue, Hawver et al . consider the fascinating question of how Vibrio cholerae , and other bacteria, distinguish between the quorum-sensing molecule(s) they produce and those to which they respond and adjust their behavior accordingly, a behavior that … [↵][1]* Corresponding author: Tel: +1 617-496-1637; E-mail: kagibbs{at}mcb.harvard.edu [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Refinement of Protein Docking with Atom-Atom Contact Potentials, Backbone Flexibility and Side-Chain Repacking

Protein-protein docking is a challenging task for proteins with large conformational changes upon binding (unbound/bound interface RMSD g (ii) a neighbor-dependent Ramachandran probability distributions for the backbone loops torsional degrees of freedom; and (iii) our library of protein-protein interface side-chain rotamers. The procedure was benchmarked on the Dockground (http://dockground.compbio.ku.edu) X-ray unbound set 4.0, which contains 396 co-crystallized protein-protein complexes and corresponding unbound structures for both proteins. The procedure was evaluated by CAPRI assessment criteria for its ability to refine docking predictions with ligand RMSD < 10 A, classified as incorrect, to the acceptable or better quality category, using only the atom-atom contact potentials and the rotational/translational degrees of freedom.
Nutrient Transport Across the Integument of Marine Invertebrates

Since the turn of this century there has been recurrent interest in the ability of aquatic organisms to make direct nutritional use of dissolved organic material (DOM). Upon examination, it is a particularly compelling idea, i.e., routine exposure of an animal’s integument to its surroundings results in an accumulation of exogenous material to support nutritional and/or other physiological needs. Indeed, some animals, for example, pogonophorans, and others lacking a gut, would seem dependent on integumental uptake. In fact, all animals should (it would seem) benefit from such a capacity. Evidence to support this contention, however, has only recently been generally accepted. We are currently in a period of renewed interest in integumental transport of DOM, stemming from studies using several new technical innovations and experimental systems. It is increasingly apparent that the integument of marine invertebrates not only serves as an effective barrier that protects the animal from intrusion of the sea, but also permits the regulated exchange of organic materials between organism and environment. Furthermore, it is now clear that this exchange can play a significant role in animal nutrition.
Nerfs, Buffs and Bugs - Analysis of the Impact of Patching on League of Legends

While traditional software patches primarily fix bugs, modern online computer games use patches to change gameplay, as well. Despite the importance of gameplay changes for both game players and game designers, to the best of our knowledge, there are no published results nor available 3rd party Websites that analyze game data and patch data. We analyzed the effects of patches on gameplay in League of Legends (LoL), a popular online game created by Riot Games. Our methods: a) harvested all available patch data — over 160 patches with over 7700 changes — classifying patches based on a novel taxonomy; b) gathered game statistics from over 11,000 players in over 465,000 games; and c) analyzed both the patch data and game data, with emphasis on correlations. In addition, we developed a publicly accessible Web site that allows for interactive exploration of the game data and patch data. Analysis of the data shows that Riot patches LoL gameplay an average of twice each day, about ten times more often than Riot patches LoL bugs. Patches tend to keep all player-chosen champions close to a win rate of 50%. While most patch gameplay changes can be categorized and even quantified numerically, the impact of combined changes are not always straightforward and interpretation of patch text is required in order to understand the full impact.
A Characterization of State Spill in Modern Operating Systems

Understanding and managing the propagation of states in operating systems has become an intractable problem due to their sheer size and complexity. Despite modularization efforts, it remains a significant barrier to many contemporary computing goals: process migration, fault isolation and tolerance, live update, software virtualization, and more. Though many previous OS research endeavors have achieved these goals through ad-hoc, tedious methods, we argue that they have missed the underlying reason why these goals are so challenging: state spill.State spill occurs when a software entity's state undergoes lasting changes as a result of a transaction from another entity. In order to increase awareness of state spill and its harmful effects, we conduct a thorough study of modern OSes and contribute a classification of design patterns that cause state spill. We present StateSpy, an automated tool that leverages cooperative static and runtime analysis to detect state spill in real software entities. Guided by StateSpy, we demonstrate the presence of state spill in 94% of Android system services. Finally, we analyze the harmful impacts of state spill and suggest alternative designs and strategies to mitigate them.
Hydrodynamic phonon drift and second sound in a (20,20) single-wall carbon nanotube

Two hydrodynamic features of phonon transport, phonon drift and second sound, in a (20,20) single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) are discussed using lattice dynamics calculations employing an optimized Tersoff potential for atomic interactions. We formally derive a formula for the contribution of drift motion of phonons to total heat flux at steady state. It is found that the drift motion of phonons carries more than $70%$ and $90%$ of heat at 300 and 100 K, respectively, indicating that phonon flow can be reasonably approximated as hydrodynamic if the SWCNT is long enough to avoid ballistic phonon transport. The dispersion relation of second sound is derived from the Peierls-Boltzmann transport equation with Callaway's scattering model and quantifies the speed of second sound and its relaxation. The speed of second sound is around 4000 m/s in a (20,20) SWCNT and the second sound can propagate more than 10 \textmu{}m in an isotopically pure (20,20) SWCNT for frequency around 1 GHz at 100 K.
Roles of nonlocal conductivity on spin Hall angle measurement

Spin Hall angle characterizes the rate of spin-charge current conversion and it has become one of the most important material parameters for spintronics physics and device application. A long-standing controversy is that the spin Hall angles for a given material measured by spin pumping and by spin Hall torque experiments are inconsistent and they could differ by as much as an order of magnitude. By using the linear response spin transport theory, we explicitly formulate the relation between the spin Hall angle and measured variables in different experiments. We find that the nonlocal conductivity inherited in the layered structure plays a key role to resolve conflicting values of the spin Hall angle. We provide a generalized scheme for extracting spin transport coefficients from experimental data.
Failed epilepsy surgery deserves a second chance.

Abstract Objectives Resective epilepsy surgery has been shown to have up to 70–80% success rates in patients with intractable seizure disorder. Around 20–30% of patients with Engel Classification III and IV will require reevaluation for further surgery. Common reasons for first surgery failures include incomplete resection of seizure focus, incorrect identification of seizure focus and recurrence of tumor. Patient and methods Clinical chart review of seventeen patients from a single adult comprehensive epilepsy program who underwent reoperation from 2007 to 2014 was performed. High resolution Brain MRI, FDG-PET, Neuropsychometric testing were completed in all cases in both the original surgery and the second procedure. Postoperative outcomes were confirmed by prospective telephone follow up and verified by review of the patient’s electronic medical records. Outcomes were classified according to the modified Engel classification system: Engel classes I and II are considered good outcomes. Results A total of seventeen patients (involving 10 females) were included in the study. The average age of patients at second surgery was 42 (range 23–64 years). Reasons for reoperation included: incomplete first resection (n = 13) and recurrence of tumor (n = 4). Median time between the first and second surgery was 60 months. After the second surgery, ten of the seventeen patients (58.8%) achieved seizure freedom (Engel Class I), in agreement with other published reports. Of the ten patients who were Engel Class I, seven required extension of the previous resection margins, while three had surgery for recurrence of previously partially resected tumor. Conclusions We conclude that since the risk of complications from reoperation is low and the outcome, for some, is excellent, consideration of repeat surgery is justified.
Neural Response to Pleasant Pictures Moderates Prospective Relationship Between Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls.

Adolescent girls are at increased risk for depression, which is thought to result from the interaction of biological vulnerabilities and life stressors common to adolescent girls. A blunted late po...
Prohibiting Versus Discouraging: Exploring Mental Health Organizations Varied Stances on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE)

ABSTRACTResearch has shown that sexual orientation change efforts results in more mental health damages than positive outcomes; yet a recent study found that 19.4% of mental health practitioners believe it is ethical to practice sexual orientation change efforts. The purpose of this paper is to highlight existing literature on sexual orientation change efforts, showcase mental health professional organization's stances on ethically prohibiting versus discouraging sexual orientation change efforts, and propose suggestions and learning objectives to mental health organizations. By doing so, we hope all mental health professional organizations enforce a clear ethical code against the practice of sexual orientation change efforts.
A Connectivity Reduction Strategy for Multi-agent Systems

This paper considers the connectivity reduction of multi-agent systems which are represented with directed graphs. A simple distributed algorithm is presented for each agent to independently remove some of its incoming links based on only the local information of its neighbors. The algorithm results in an information graph with sparser connections. The goal is to reduce computational effort associated with communication while still maintaining overall system performance. The main contribution of this paper is a distributed algorithm that can, under certain conditions, find and remove redundant edges in a directed graph using only local information.
Pathophysiology of Neonatal Calf Diarrhea

Neonatal calf diarrhea caused by bacterial enterotoxins, bacterial or parasitic-induced inflammation, or virus-induced villous atrophy leads to intestinal hypersecretion, malabsorption, or both. Mechanisms of secretion and malabsorption differ depending on the agent, suggesting that different modes of treatment must be employed to be effective. Currently, oral rehydration solutions and the pharmacologic blockade of secretory processes are being evaluated in these various diseases.
Sexual Dimorphism in the Growth of Homo sapiens: Facts, Inferences and Speculation

Sexual dimorphism in body size is a common feature of most animal species. While in many species, the female is the larger sex, in mammals, males are commonly larger, and greater male body mass and height are typical of primates. Growth of H. sapiens, however, is characterized by a number of unusual features, including rapid in utero growth, a prolonged childhood phase, a pubertal spurt in stature, and a relative lack of sexual dimorphism, with adult male height averaging only 107% of that of females. The recent report of a female patient with a homozygous mutation of the gene for STAT5b, a critical component of the growth hormone (GH) signaling cascade responsible for insulin-like growth factor (IGF) gene transcription, has demonstrated that growth in both females and males is strongly pulsatile GH-STAT5b-IGF-dependent. This common dependence of both human females and males on the GH-STAT5b-IGF pathway may explain the relative lack of dimorphic growth characteristic of H. sapiens.
Abnormalities of the Coronary Microcirculation in Acute Murine Chagas' Disease*

Abstract Chronic Chagasic heart disease has many features characteristic of other congestive cardiomyopathies, including ventricular and atrial chamber enlargement, hypertrophy, focal scarring, and mural thrombi. Histologically, there is often lymphocytic inflammation, spotty necrosis, and few parasites. Although immunologic mechanisms have been invoked to explain the development of myocardial degeneration, there have been suggestions that the focal alterations in the heart are secondary to abnormalities of the coronary microcirculation. Based on work from our laboratories which has demonstrated microvascular hyperreactivity in several other models of congestive cardiomyopathy, we investigated whether the cardiac microcirculation of mice acutely infected with Trypanosoma cruzi was also abnormal. We perfused animals at 15–17 days post-infection with silicone rubber which fills the arterioles, capillaries, and venules of the beating heart. After clearing the tissue, we observed numerous areas of focal vascular constriction, microaneurysm formation, dilatation, and proliferation of microvessels which were not present in control animals. These lesions were similar to those we have observed in other congestive cardiomyopathies. Since at this stage of infection there is minimal cardiac degeneration or fibrosis, the presence of these vascular lesions even early in Chagas' disease, may be significant for the pathogenesis of focal myocardial damage. These observations during acute infection provide additional support for the suggestions of others that the myocardial microcirculation is abnormal in Chagas' disease.
Governmental Policy and Biological Control

Biological control embraces activities undertaken by farmers, businesses, researchers, and government employees. Governmental policies in several areas influence the breadth, efficiency, and effectiveness of the application of biological control to the pest problems of a nation or region. This chapter reviews those policies that directly affect biological control, as well as considers the indirect effects of such other policies as those on the use of pesticides, pest eradication, crop exportation standards, and cosmetic grade standards. Specific areas addressed include: (1) pesticide use, including applicator training and licensing, product safety testing, subsidies, taxes, and commercial development of pathogens as pesticides; (2) quarantine and eradication; (3) agricultural development; (4) pest management; (5) biological control, including introduction of new species of natural enemies; and (6) use of genetically-modified organisms.
Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Theories of Cognition and Depression in Multiple Sclerosis and Guillain–Barré Syndrome

The most commonly seen and studied demyelinating disorder in medical neuropsychology is multiple sclerosis (MS). As such, most of this chapter will focus on MS. Because Guillain–Barre syndrome is the most common demyelinating disorder of the peripheral nervous system, the limited neuropsychological data on this disorder will be reviewed in a brief section at the end.
Free Vascularized Medial Femoral Condyle Bone Graft After Failed Scaphoid Nonunion Surgery.

Background Outcomes following revision surgery for scaphoid nonunions with osteonecrosis are guarded. We hypothesized that use of free vascularized medial femoral condyle (MFC) bone grafts can lead to healing of the nonunion, increase vascularity of the proximal pole, and restore scaphoid architecture, resulting in acceptable functional outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective review of 49 patients who were treated with an MFC bone graft, between May 2005 and September 2016, after prior failure of operative treatment for scaphoid nonunion. The mean time from the injury to the revision surgery with the MFC bone graft was 24 months, and the mean time from the prior, failed surgery was 15 months. Thirty-six of the 49 patients had had a prior bone graft procedure and 6 patients had had 2 previous surgical procedures for the nonunion. The initial internal fixation of the scaphoid fracture was with a scaphoid screw in 43 patients. All patients had documented osteonecrosis of the proximal pole at the time of our surgery. Carpal indices, time to union, pain scores, functional outcomes, and complications were recorded. Results Forty-one (84%) of the 49 previously operated on scaphoid nonunions healed at a mean of 16 weeks (range, 9 to 31 weeks) after the MFC bone-grafting as confirmed on computed tomography (CT). Radiographs demonstrated significant improvement in carpal alignment following the surgery with the MFC bone graft. Comparison between preoperative and postoperative values showed a trend toward improved grip strength and no important change in total wrist range of motion. Subsequent procedures were performed in 29 patients, 21 of whom had planned Kirschner wire removal. All 24 patients in whom scaphoid union had been achieved and who were available for follow-up were able to work or attend school full-time, and 88% were satisfied or very satisfied with their wrist function. Age, smoking status, body mass index, time to surgery, and preoperative radiographic findings were not found to be significant predictors of failure. Conclusions MFC grafts increase vascularity and restore scaphoid architecture, promoting union in most patients with the combination of proximal pole osteonecrosis, carpal collapse, and failed prior scaphoid nonunion surgery. Level of evidence Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Disparate Interactions: An Algorithm-in-the-Loop Analysis of Fairness in Risk Assessments

Despite vigorous debates about the technical characteristics of risk assessments being deployed in the U.S. criminal justice system, remarkably little research has studied how these tools affect actual decision-making processes. After all, risk assessments do not make definitive decisions---they inform judges, who are the final arbiters. It is therefore essential that considerations of risk assessments be informed by rigorous studies of how judges actually interpret and use them. This paper takes a first step toward such research on human interactions with risk assessments through a controlled experimental study on Amazon Mechanical Turk. We found several behaviors that call into question the supposed efficacy and fairness of risk assessments: our study participants 1) underperformed the risk assessment even when presented with its predictions, 2) could not effectively evaluate the accuracy of their own or the risk assessment's predictions, and 3) exhibited behaviors fraught with "disparate interactions," whereby the use of risk assessments led to higher risk predictions about black defendants and lower risk predictions about white defendants. These results suggest the need for a new "algorithm-in-the-loop" framework that places machine learning decision-making aids into the sociotechnical context of improving human decisions rather than the technical context of generating the best prediction in the abstract. If risk assessments are to be used at all, they must be grounded in rigorous evaluations of their real-world impacts instead of in their theoretical potential.