cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Prevalence of Stroke in Parkinson's Disease Is High: A Risk Factor Assessment (PD7.003)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and the risk factors for stroke in idiopathic parkinson9s disease patients and to evaluate the risk that antiparkinsonian medications play in stroke occurrence. BACKGROUND: Several studies have documented a low risk of stroke in previously diagnosed Parkinson9s disease patients, but no studies have been done to specifically assess stroke risk factors in these patient population. DESIGN/METHODS: We conducted a case-control retrospective study, 820 consecutive medical records of patients with iPD were reviewed from the Movement Disorder Center at the Cleveland Clinic Florida from January 2005 to December 2010. Patients with atypical PD or previous history of atrial fibrillation were excluded. Thirty four patients with iPD were identified to have suffered an ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). These patients were compared with the iPD patients without stroke or TIA. RESULTS: The study population was composed of 820 patients: 786 controls and 34 cases. The calculated prevalence of stroke in IPD patients was 4.15%. The mean age was 75 (SD=13) in the controls and 72.7 (SD=11.1) in the cases. Hyperlipidemia (OR 4.1; 95%, CI 1.97 to 8.58) and diabetes (OR 2.6; 95% CI, 1.18-5.70) were significantly associated with increased risk of stroke in the iPD/stroke-TIA group. High doses of levodopa (OR 2.2; 95% CI, 1.09 to 4.41), antiplatelet therapy (OR 2.0; 95% CI, 1.00 to 3.97) and statins (OR 2.0; 955 CI 1.025 to 4.07) were also associated with a higher risk of stroke. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of stroke in iPD was found to be higher than in the general population. We found a 3 and 4 fold increased risk of having stroke or TIA in iPD patients with diabetes and hyperlipidemia, respectively. In addition, antiplatelet medications and high dose of levodopa were found to have a 2 fold increased risk of having a stroke in iPD patients. Disclosure: Dr. Garcia-Gracia has nothing to disclose. Dr. Khan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Reyes has nothing to disclose. Dr. McMahan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Galvez-Jimenez has received personal compensation for activities with GlaxoSmithKline, Inc. and Allergan, Inc. as a speaker.
Molecular dynamics simulations of concentration-dependent defect production in Fe-Cr and Fe-Cu alloys

Molecular dynamics simulations are conducted to study the effects of alloying elements on the primary damage behaviors in three Fe-based ferritic alloy systems: (1) a Fe-Cr system in which the heat of mixing changes its sign with the Cr concentration; (2) a Fe-Cu system that has a positive heat of mixing; and (3) an ideal but artificial Fe-Cr system that has a zero heat of mixing, which is used as a reference system to investigate solute interstitial formation based on probability. It is found that in these alloys, the solute type and concentration do not have a significant effect on the total number of surviving Frenkel pairs. However, the fraction of solute interstitials has distinct behaviors. In Fe-Cr, the Cr interstitial fraction is much higher than the Cr solute concentration and the Cr interstitial production efficiency decreases with the increasing Cr concentration. By contrast, in Fe-Cu, Cu interstitials are barely produced. In the ideal alloy, the solute interstitial fraction is close to the sol...
First-Principles Study of Lithium Cobalt Spinel Oxides: Correlating Structure and Electrochemistry.

Embedding a lithiated cobalt oxide spinel (Li2Co2O4, or LiCoO2) component or a nickel-substituted LiCo1–xNixO2 analogue in structurally integrated cathodes such as xLi2MnO3·(1–x)LiM′O2 (M′ = Ni/Co/Mn) has been recently proposed as an approach to advance the performance of lithium-ion batteries. Here, we first revisit the phase stability and electrochemical performance of LiCoO2 synthesized at different temperatures using density functional theory calculations. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the occurrence of low- and high-temperature structures (i.e., cubic lithiated spinel LT-LiCoO2; or Li2Co2O4 (Fd3m) vs trigonal-layered HT-LiCoO2 (R3m), respectively) can be explained by a small difference in the free energy between these two compounds. Additionally, the observed voltage profile of a Li/LiCoO2 cell for both cubic and trigonal phases of LiCoO2, as well as the migration barrier for lithium diffusion from an octahedral (Oh) site to a tetrahedral site (Td) in Fd3m LT-Li1–xCoO2, has been c...
pIRES-CD4t, a dicistronic expression vector for MACS- or FACS-based selection of transfected cells.

To facilitate the selection of cell lines expressing transfected genes of interest, a plasmid vector has been constructed that directs the co-expression of heterologous cDNAs and a 3′-positioned ca...
De facto departures from insanity instructions

De facto departures form the law (de jure) have been noted in such areas as jury revolts, jury nullification, extralegal concerns, and insanity. The thesis developed here is that (a) when such departures have occurred in insanity cases, acritical rather thaninstructive view of jurors has prevailed; (b) this critical view impedes efforts to empirically understand jurors' constructs of insanity and thereby restricts considered legal changes; (c) the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 is illustrative of such narrowly considered changes, and, based on empirical findings, this act fails to instruct jurors or produce verdicts different from its predecessors; and (d) based on empirical findings, the common sense construals ofsane andinsane do emerge, complex though they be. Suggestions toward an empirically derived “common law” test of insanity, one that harmonizes legal, psychological, and common sense perspectives, are offered.
Stock Market Price-to-Earnings Ratio and Credit Spread: Dynamic Response and Causality

This study examines the dynamic response of the S&P 500 price-to-earnings ratio (PE) to credit spread (CS) shock and causal direction between these two variables. Based on the analysis of monthly data from 1919M1 to 2013M8, the VAR results reveal that PE significantly jumps immediately following the shock to CS. The results obtained from Granger causality Wald tests also confirm a significant causal linkage between PE and CS. The variance decomposition results show that PE forecasts about 7.41%, and 12.43% at the 6-month and 12-month horizons respectively.
An unusual case of action-induced jerking.

A right-handed 62-year-old man developed a persistent involuntary jerky movement of the right arm when initiating movements like getting up from a chair or opening the door, persisting while the task is performed (video 1). CT head scan was normal. Elsewhere, a functional movement disorder was diagnosed. An MRI head revealed an old hemorrhage in the left supplementary motor area (SMA) (figures 1 and 2), an area involved in movement initiation and sequencing complex movements. EEG and Bereitschaftspotential were normal. A year later, he developed generalized nocturnal seizures. Misdiagnosis of an SMA stroke as a functional movement disorder has previously been reported.1
Phylogeny of the Australian Solanum dioicum group using seven nuclear genes, with consideration of Symon’s fruit and seed dispersal hypotheses

The dioecious and andromonoecious Solanum taxa (the “S. dioicum group”) of the Australian Monsoon Tropics have been the subject of phylogenetic and taxonomic study for decades, yet much of their basic biology is still unknown. This is especially true for plant-animal interactions, including the influence of fruit form and calyx morphology on seed dispersal. We combine field/greenhouse observations and specimen-based study with phylogenetic analysis of seven nuclear regions obtained via a microfluidic PCR-based enrichment strategy and high-throughput sequencing, and present the first species-tree hypothesis for the S. dioicum group. Our results suggest that epizoochorous trample burr seed dispersal (strongly linked to calyx accrescence) is far more common among Australian Solanum than previously thought and support the hypothesis that the combination of large fleshy fruits and endozoochorous dispersal represents a reversal in this study group. The general lack of direct evidence related to biotic dispersal (epizoochorous or endozoochorous) may be a function of declines and/or extinctions of vertebrate dispersers. Because of this, some taxa might now rely on secondary dispersal mechanisms (e.g. shakers, tumbleweeds, rafting) as a means to maintain current populations and establish new ones.
Sacral agenesis and fecal incontinence: how to increase the index of suspicion.

Sacral abnormalities range from missing the coccyx, a few sacral vertebrae, or hemi-sacrum, to complete absence with fused iliac bones. The purpose of this study was to review the association between sacral agenesis and fecal incontinence to help inform patient prognosis. A retrospective review was performed of patients who presented for bowel management due to sacral agenesis at a tertiary care children’s hospital between 2016 and 2017 (n = 10). Data collection included: gender, time of diagnosis, sacral ratio, and associated anomalies. Patients with anorectal malformation and sacrococcygeal teratomas were excluded. Four patients were female. Seven patients had a delayed diagnosis ranging from 22 months of age to 9 years. Most common symptoms included failure of age-appropriate toilet training and severe diaper rash. The sacral ratio was zero (6), 0.3 and 0.4 (2), and hemi-sacrum (2). Associated anomalies were present in five patients. Sacral abnormalities should be suspected in patients who present with early severe diaper rash and those who fail to toilet train. An abdominal radiograph can evaluate the sacrum, when the sacral ratio is 0.4 or less, parents should be counseled regarding fecal incontinence and neurogenic bladder.
Analyzing the production of a non-standard form: Variable use of preterit andar in bogotano Spanish

Although the Spanish verb andar ‘to walk' has a prescriptively irregular preterit conjugation (e.g., anduve ‘I walked'), adult native speakers may produce an innovative, regularized form (e.g., ande ). Nevertheless, researchers have had difficulty documenting this form of variation. The current study presents the first systematic, variationist analysis of andar regularization. We sought to answer three research questions: 1) Do speakers in Bogota, Colombia produce regularized forms of preterit andar ? 2) If so, at what rate do bogotanos produce regularized forms? 3) Do any independent factors predict regularization? We designed a 25-item cloze task in which we manipulated person/number, with 164 bogotanos participating. In addition to providing the first systematic study of andar regularization, we demonstrate that the phenomenon is constrained by independent linguistic and social variables, while appealing to changes in the overall frequency of use of andar diachronically and to the relationship between the frequency of use of each person/number and regularization.
Stability Analysis and Control of a Rotary Transformer-Based Synchronous Motor Field Excitation System

This paper analyses the stability and control of a rotary transformer-based field excitation system. Rotary transformers enable wireless and contactless power transfer to rotating components of a system such as the rotor of a wound field synchronous motor. Their use in the field excitation of synchronous motor for electric vehicle and similar applications overcomes the disadvantages associated with the traditional slip rings-brushes arrangement such as frequent maintenance requirement, significant friction losses at high speed, contact cooling issues, increased overall motor weight and size and reduced reliability and life. The rotary transformer studied in this paper is series-series compensated with the transmitter coil supplied from a single-phase inverter, and the receiver coil connected to a full bridge diode rectifier that feeds the rotor field winding. Harmonic balance technique is used to obtain a complex variable dynamic model of the system. Using this model and the concept of the bimatrix, the controllability and observability of the rotary transformer is analyzed for different output variables. The controllability and observability matrices are not of full rank indicating the existence of states which are unaffected by the control input. The concept of zero dynamics of the system is used to determine these states and the condition for the stability of the zero dynamics is determined.
Fear and Loathing (of others): Race, Class and Contestation of Space in Washington, DC

Our article explores the cultural politics of public space and the placemaking politics of urban redevelopment in the Atlas District of Washington, DC, a popular commercial district undergoing rapid gentrification. The major questions we address are, how do race and class impact the ways public space is controlled and/or managed in the context of rapid changes in the built, economic and social environments of the neighborhood? What role do those narratives play in justifying changes in and management of public space? We focus on uses of public space and describe how various forms of power are linked to the control of space in the context of gentrification. Our analysis focuses on designated public space in the Atlas District—the Starburst Plaza. By analyzing everyday practices around community control at the Starburst Plaza, this case study focuses on the discrete methods by which the symbolic and material inequities promulgated by the neoliberal state are reconfigured through struggles to define and manage contested public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Management of Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Stenosis

The goal of this paper is to provide the reader with a review of the evidence supporting the surgical and medical management of patients with asymptomatic internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis. Based on the results of earlier clinical trials, surgical intervention with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) has long been the preferred method of management for patients with asymptomatic severe carotid stenosis. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is another less invasive surgical option that has similar outcomes over the long-term. However, more recent improvements in medical management have reduced the risk of stroke in this population to comparable rates seen with CEA. As a result, medical management alone is advocated as well for patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. In addition to stenosis severity, there are a number of features of plaque morphology associated with vulnerable plaque that predict future stroke risk. Rates of stroke in patients with asymptomatic severe carotid stenosis with modern surgical techniques, CEA and CAS, are similar to modern medical therapy alone. Both surgery and medical therapy are good treatment options but it is not known which treatment is superior. The Carotid Revascularization and Medical Management for Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis Trial (CREST-2), an NIH-sponsored, multicenter, randomized trial that aims to answer this important management decision.
RandR: record and replay for Android applications via targeted runtime instrumentation

The ability to repeat the execution of a program is a fundamental requirement in many areas of computing from computer system evaluation to software engineering. Reproducing executions of mobile apps, in particular, has proven difficult under real-life scenarios due to multiple sources of external inputs and interactive nature of the apps. Previous works that provide record/replay functionality for mobile apps are restricted to particular input sources (e.g., touchscreen events) and present deployment challenges due to intrusive modifications to the underlying software stack. Moreover, due to their reliance on record and replay of device specific events, the recorded executions cannot be reliably reproduced across different platforms. In this paper, we present a new practical approach, RandR, for record and replay of Android applications. RandR captures and replays multiple sources of input (i.e., UI and network) without requiring source code (OS or app), administrative device privileges, or any special platform support. RandR achieves these qualities by instrumenting a select set of methods at runtime within an application's own sandbox. In addition, to enable portability of recorded executions across different platforms for replay, RandR contextualizes UI events as interactions with particular UI components (e.g., a button) as opposed to relying on platform specific features (e.g., screen coordinates). We demonstrate RandR's accurate cross-platform record and replay capabilities using over 30 real-world Android apps across a variety of platforms including emulators as well as commercial off-the-shelf mobile devices deployed in real life.
A Skeleton in the Legal Closet: The Discovery of

When a 9,000 year-old Causasoid skeleton dubbed "Kennewick Man" was discovered in the Pacific Northwest in 1996, scientists began to research why such a person was in that geographic area when people of that morphology were not supposed to be present yet. Native American tribes claimed ownership of the remains under the Native American Graves and Repatration Act (NAGPRA) through the Department of Interior and sought to obtain and rebury the discovery. This article considers the divergent perspectives brought to bear on disposal of such unique ancient human remains and the litigation it has spawned in what has become a philosophical tug-of-war between those who want to advance science and those who want to recapture a lost history.
A Single-Center Experience with Balloon Atrial Septostomy as an Unloading Strategy in Patients on ECMO

Purpose Peripheral veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is used in refractory cardiogenic shock. However, the retrograde arterial perfusion can result in left ventricular (LV) distention and overloading, which leads to pulmonary edema and failure of LV recovery. Various LV unloading strategies have been utilized, including creation of an LV vent, use of temporary percutaneous left ventricular assist devices, and balloon atrial septostomy (BAS). Of these, BAS is a less common strategy. We sought to assess outcomes of LV unloading with BAS at our center. Methods Thirty-seven patients undergoing VA-ECMO for cardiogenic shock between July 2018 and September 2019 were included in the study. Of these, 7 patients underwent BAS. Three of them had concurrent intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). These patients all had the IABP inserted prior to VA-ECMO initiation and BAS. Thirty patients underwent either no unloading or unloading with LV venting, the Impella device, or IABP. The causes of cardiogenic shock and pre- and post-BAS left atrial pressures were evaluated, along with outcomes. Results The causes of cardiogenic shock are listed in the corresponding figure. Of the seven patients who were unloaded with the BAS strategy, three patients recovered, two died, one received an LVAD, and one underwent heart transplant. The patient who underwent LVAD implantation passed away due to post-operative RV failure. One patient in this study was converted from peripheral VA-ECMO to central VA-ECMO. Of the 7 patients, 4 of them had pre- and post-BAS left atrial pressure measured. There was a mean decrease of 5.75 mmHg. Of the patients who underwent other unloading strategies or no venting, thirteen recovered, thirteen died, and four underwent transplant or LVAD implantation. Conclusion This small, single-center experience suggests that BAS could be a viable strategy of LV unloading. Further investigation needs to be undertaken to better understand patient selection.
Governing beyond the closet: Remaking stigma, identity, and sexual behavior in a post-disciplinary rehab:

Combining historical and ethnographic research, this article analyzes changing logics of control shaping addiction care for sexual minorities at a drug treatment facility in the US. While 30 years ...
Turán-Type Reverse Markov Inequalities for Polynomials with Restricted Zeros

Let $$\mathcal{P}_n^c$$ denote the set of all algebraic polynomials of degree at most n with complex coefficients. Let $$\begin{aligned} D^+ := \{z \in \mathbb {C}: |z| \le 1, \text { Im}(z) \ge 0\}\,. \end{aligned}$$ For integers $$0 \le k \le n$$ let $$\mathcal{F}_{n,k}^c$$ be the set of all polynomials $$P \in \mathcal{P}_n^c$$ having at least $$n-k$$ zeros in $$D^+$$ . Let $$\begin{aligned} \Vert f\Vert _A := \sup _{z \in A}{|f(z)|} \end{aligned}$$ for complex-valued functions defined on $$A \subset \mathbb {C}$$ . We prove that there are absolute constants $$c_1 > 0$$ and $$c_2 > 0$$ such that $$\begin{aligned} c_1 \left( \frac{n}{k+1}\right) ^{1/2} \le \inf _{P}{\frac{\Vert P^{\prime }\Vert _{[-1,1]}}{\Vert P\Vert _{[-1,1]}}} \le c_2 \left( \frac{n}{k+1}\right) ^{1/2} \end{aligned}$$ for all integers $$0 \le k \le n$$ , where the infimum is taken for all $$0 \not \equiv P \in \mathcal{F}_{n,k}^c$$ having at least one zero in $$[-1,1]$$ . This is an essentially sharp reverse Markov-type inequality for the classes $$\mathcal{F}_{n,k}^c$$ extending earlier results of Turan and Komarov from the case $$k=0$$ to the cases $$0 \le k \le n$$ .
Exploring pupils’ and teachers’ perspectives on face-to-face promotive interaction in cooperative learning

This study reports on pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of face-to-face promotive interaction (FtFPI) in cooperative learning (CL) at two primary schools in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). U...
Gilteritinib administration in a hemodialysis patient

IntroductionGilteritinib is a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3 ...
Iterative learning control of single point incremental sheet forming process using digital image correlation

Abstract Single Point Incremental Sheet Forming (SPIF) is a versatile forming process that has gained significant traction over the past few decades. Its increased formability, quick part adaption, and reduced set-up costs make it an economical choice for small batch and rapid prototype forming applications when compared to traditional stamping processes. However, a common problem with the SPIF process is its tendency to produce high geometric error due to the lack of supporting dies and molds. While geometric error has been a primary focus of recent research, it is still significantly larger for SPIF than traditional forming processes. In this paper, the convergence behavior and the ability to reduce geometric error using a simple Iterative Learning Control (ILC) algorithm is studied with two different forming methods. For both methods a tool path for the desired reference geometry is generated and a part is formed. A Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system takes a measurement and the geometric error along the tool path is calculated. The ILC algorithm then uses the geometric error to alter the tool path for the next forming iteration. The first method, the Single Sheet Forming (SSF) method, performs each iteration on the same sheet. The second method, the Multi Sheet Forming (MSF) method, performs each iteration on a newly replaced sheet. Multiple experiments proved the capability of each method at reducing geometric error. It was concluded that using the MSF method allows for negative corrections to the forming part and, therefore, leads to better final part accuracy. However, this method is less cost effective and more time consuming than using the standard SSF methodology. In addition, it was found that in order to effectively correct a part with an ILC algorithm, steps must be taken to increase the controllability of the part geometry.
Clinical concordance with Image Gently guidelines for pediatric computed tomography: a study across 663,417 CT scans at 53 clinical facilities.

Managing patient radiation dose in pediatric computed tomography (CT) examinations is essential. Some organizations, most notably Image Gently, have suggested techniques to lower dose to pediatric patients and mitigate risk while maintaining image quality. We sought to validate whether institutions are observing Image Gently guidelines in practice. Dose-relevant data from 663,417 abdomen-pelvis and chest CT scans were obtained from 53 facilities. Patients were assigned arbitrary age cohorts with a minimum size of n=12 patients in each age group, for statistical purposes. All pediatric (<19 years old) cohorts at a given facility were compared to the adult cohort by a Kruskal-Wallis test for each of the four scan parameters — (1) x-ray tube kilovoltage (kV), (2) tube-current-by-exposure-time product (tube mAs), (3) scan pitch and (4) tube rotation time — to assess whether the distribution of values in the pediatric cohorts differed from the adult cohort. The same was repeated with volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) and size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) to assess whether pediatric cohorts received less dose than adult cohorts. A P-value of <0.05 was deemed significant. Across the 150 pediatric cohorts, 134 had scan parameters that were more child-sized than their adult counterparts. In 128 of these 134 pediatric cohorts, the CTDIvol was less than the adult counterpart. In 111 of these 128 pediatric cohorts, the SSDE was less than the adult counterpart. The study reaffirms that in practice, Image Gently’s suggestions of lowering tube mAs and peak kilovoltage are commonly employed and effective at reducing pediatric CT dose.
Price Discovery and Dissemination of Private Information by Loan Syndicate Participants

We delineate key channels through which flows of confidential information to loan syndicate participants impact the dynamics of information arrival in prices. We isolate the timing of private information flows by estimating the speed of price discovery over quarterly earnings cycles in both secondary syndicated loan and equity markets. We identify borrowers disseminating private information to lenders relatively early in the cycle with firms exhibiting relatively early price discovery in the secondary loan market, documenting that price discovery is faster for loans subject to financial covenants, particularly earnings-based covenants; for borrowers who experience covenant violations; for borrowers with high credit risk; and for loans syndicated by relationship-based lenders or highly reputable lead arrangers. We then ask whether early access to private information in the loan market accelerates the speed of information arrival in stock prices. We document that the stock returns of firms identified with earlier private information dissemination to lenders indeed exhibit faster price discovery in the stock market, but only when institutional investors are involved in the firm's syndicated loans. Further, the positive relation between institutional lending and the speed of stock price discovery is more pronounced in relatively weak public disclosure environments. These results are consistent with institutional lenders systematically exploiting confidential syndicate information via trading in the equity market.
The People, Rhetoric, and Affect: On the Political Force of Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk

In recent decades, the concept of “the people” has received sustained theoretical attention. Unfortunately, political theorists have said very little about its explicit or implicit use in thinking about the expansion of the American polity along racial lines. The purpose of this article in taking up this issue is twofold: first, to provide a substantive account of the meaning of “the people”—what I call its descriptive and aspirational dimensions—and second, to use that description as a framework for understanding the rhetorical character of W.E.B. Du Bois's classic work, The Souls of Black Folk, and its relationship to what one might call the cognitive–affective dimension of judgment. In doing so, I argue that as a work of political theory, Souls draws a connection between rhetoric, on the one hand, and emotional states such as sympathy and shame, on the other, to enlarge America's political and ethical imagination regarding the status of African-Americans.
Salvaging hope: Representing the objects of Mediterranean migration

Abstract This article contributes to a scholarly conversation about humanitarianism and the representation of refugees by interpreting how and why visual artists use maritime safety objects to intervene in the European migrant crisis. The amalgamated detritus of life jackets, parts of rubber dinghies, and other refuse from migrant crossings that have been left behind on the island of Lesbos, Greece have inspired contemporary artistic interpretations. This article argues that images and installations of emergency floatation devices mobilize affective qualities associated with maritime survival objects as a way to convey the promise and failure of contemporary nation-states to maintain humanitarian goals toward refugees. Analyzing Ai Weiwei's film and installations in Central Europe as a case in point, this article argues that representations of such devices draw critical attention to discourses of crisis, emergency, safety, and waste. This article challenges the idea that these kinds of object-centered artistic works further marginalize refugees. It proposes instead that such works function as powerful mediators in bringing together places proximate and distant from the scene of crisis, and in doing so promote a kind of ethical solicitation for change. Looking critically at these projects, this article closes by assessing the possibilities and limits of such object-centered appeals.
Series Solution of Stochastic Dynamic Programming Equations

Abstract In this paper we consider discrete time stochastic optimal control problems over infinite and finite time horizons. We show that for a large class of such problems the Taylor polynomials of the solutions to the associated Dynamic Programming Equations can be computed degree by degree.
Minimizing printing time and volumetric error by GPU-accelerated adaptive slicing

Abstract Staircase defects in additive manufacturing significantly reduce the surface roughness, dimensional accuracy, and fatigue strength of printed parts. Adaptive layer thicknesses are promising to reduce the printing time and staircase defects simultaneously. However, conventional adaptive slicing algorithms aim to minimize the number of layers, instead of the actual printing time, and are computationally expensive to evaluate all possible slicing combinations and find the optimal ones. This paper presents a GPU-accelerated slicing algorithm to minimize both the printing time and the volumetric error explicitly and find all the optimal solutions among all possible combinations of layer thicknesses. The experimental results validated that the algorithm could obtain not only the optimal slicing but also the dimension accuracy along the printing direction.
Quantum physics of single systems

By representing each occurrence of a closed quantum system by an operator which factors into a tensor product of a retarded and an advanced solution to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, a local and objective description is obtained for each of the remote parts of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-type situation.
Detection of urinary bladder mass in CT urography with SPAN

Purpose: The authors are developing a computer-aided detection system for bladder cancer on CT urography (CTU). In this study, the authors focused on developing a system for detecting masses fully or partially within the contrast-enhanced (C) region of the bladder. Methods: With IRB approval, a data set of 70 patients with biopsy-proven bladder lesions fully or partially immersed within the contrast-enhanced region (C region) of the bladder was collected for this study: 35 patients for the training set (39 malignant, 7 benign lesions) and 35 patients for the test set (49 malignant, 4 benign lesions). The bladder in the CTU images was automatically segmented using the authors’ conjoint level set analysis and segmentation system, which they developed specifically to segment the bladder. A closed contour of the C region of the bladder was generated by maximum intensity projection using the property that the dependently layering contrast material in the bladder will be filled consistently to the same level along all CTU slices due to gravity. Potential lesion candidates within the C region contour were found using the authors’ Straightened Periphery ANalysis (SPAN) method. SPAN transforms a bladder wall to a straightened thickness profile, marks suspicious pixels on the profile, and clusters them into regions of interest to identify potential lesion candidates. The candidate regions were automatically segmented using the authors’ autoinitialized cascaded level set segmentation method. Twenty-three morphological features were automatically extracted from the segmented lesions. The training set was used to determine the best subset of these features using simplex optimization with the leave-one-out case method. A linear discriminant classifier was designed for the classification of bladder lesions and false positives. The detection performance was evaluated on the independent test set by free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results: At the prescreening step, the authors’ system achieved 84.4% sensitivity with an average of 4.3 false positives per case (FPs/case) for the training set, and 84.9% sensitivity with 5.4 FPs/case for the test set. After linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classification with the selected features, the FP rate improved to 2.5 FPs/case for the training set, and 4.3 FPs/case for the test set without missing additional true lesions. By varying the threshold for the LDA scores, at 2.5 FPs/case, the sensitivities were 84.4% and 81.1% for the training and test sets, respectively. At 1.7 FPs/case, the sensitivities decreased to 77.8% and 75.5%, respectively. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the feasibility of the authors’ method for detection of bladder lesions fully or partially immersed in the contrast-enhanced region of CTU.
Information policy and mobile privacy

EDITOR'S SUMMARY With mobile devices now Americans' primary source of Internet access, privacy issues have prompted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue voluntary best practices for the industry to respect consumer privacy and avoid enforcement scrutiny. The FTC calls on mobile platform operating system providers, mobile app developers, advertising networks and analytics firms and others to build in privacy disclosures, alerts and management tools. California has issued mobile privacy recommendations, and the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunication and Information Administration is developing a consumer data privacy code of conduct. Recent cases illustrate the need for governmental oversight, and industry stakeholders and consumer groups agree in principle, but the degree and details are debatable. Regulators should not delay laying groundwork for firm mobile privacy legislation.
The Front Tracking Method and Standard Riemann Semigroups

A method is described in this chapter for constructing solutions of the initial value problem for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws by tracking the waves and monitoring their interactions as they collide. Interactions between shocks are easily resolved by solving Riemann problems; this is not the case, however, with interactions involving rarefaction waves. The random choice method, expounded in Chapter XIII, side-steps this difficulty by stopping the clock before the onset of wave collisions and reapproximating the solution by step functions. In contrast, the front tracking approach circumvents the obstacle by disposing of rarefaction waves altogether and resolving all Riemann problems in terms of shocks only. Such solutions generally violate the admissibility criteria. Nevertheless, considering the close local proximity between shock and rarefaction wave curves in state space, any rarefaction wave may be approximated arbitrarily close by fans of (inadmissible) shocks of very small strength. The expectation is that in the limit, as this approximation becomes finer, one recovers admissible solutions. The implementation of the front tracking algorithm, with proof that it converges, will be presented here, first for scalar conservation laws and then in the context of genuinely nonlinear strictly hyperbolic systems of conservation laws of any size.
MediaWeaver—A Distributed Media Authoring System for Networked Scholarly Workspaces

We describe MediaWeaver—a software framework for composing distributed media in the context of university research and instruction. Authors compose networked media, software tools and mediastreams, and can freely annotate media by media of any form using schema of their own design. Faculty and student authors compose distributed media using common Macintosh, World Wide Web and NeXTSTEP applications, supported by services from UNIX workstations. The MediaWeaver system mediates between network multimedia services and interface kits with which novice programmers and non-programmers may easily create radically different interactive views into shared mediabases. The network services include search engine abstractions, filters, relational modeling frameworks. MediaWeaver has supported collaborative projects in history, drama, music, art, anthropology, environmental studies, and other fields since 1993. Applications range from traditional relational text databases and indexed HTML WWW sites to course readers, research archives, journals and seminar spaces.
Unsupervised discovery of activity primitives from multivariate sensor data

This research addresses the problem of temporal pattern discovery in real-valued, multivariate sensor data. Several algorithms were developed, and subsequent evaluation demonstrates that they can efficiently and accurately discover unknown recurring patterns in time series data taken from many different domains. Different data representations and motif models were investigated in order to design an algorithm with an improved balance between run-time and detection accuracy. The different data representations are used to quickly filter large data sets in order to detect potential patterns that form the basis of a more detailed analysis. The representations include global discretization, which can be efficiently analyzed using a suffix tree, local discretization with a corresponding random projection algorithm for locating similar pairs of subsequences, and a density-based detection method that operates on the original, real-valued data. In addition, a new variation of the multivariate motif discovery problem is proposed in which each pattern may span only a subset of the input features. An algorithm that can efficiently discover such “subdimensional” patterns was developed and evaluated. The discovery algorithms are evaluated by measuring the detection accuracy of discovered patterns relative to a set of expected patterns for each data set. The data sets used for evaluation are drawn from a variety of domains including speech, on-body inertial sensors, music, American Sign Language video, and GPS tracks.
An essay on the past and future (?) of information science education—II: Unresolved problems of “externalities” of education

Abstract The essay examines the basic issues confronting information science education, issues that must be resolved if information science itself is to evolve in an orderly fashion. The essay is organized in three parts. In the first part definitions were considered and in a historical context the emergence, evolution and current state of information science and its education. This second part considers the problems and unresolved questions that deal with external aspects (“externalities”) of information science education: (i) academic affiliation, (ii) degree levels, (iii) admission requirements, (iv) jurisdiction and (v) financing. The third part will deal with problems and unresolved questions in respect to internal aspects (“internalities”) of education: (i) objectives, (ii) content, (iii) teachers and (iv) teaching. It is suggested that information science cannot prosper or even survive if concentrated action is not undertaken in the “externalities” and “internalities” of its education. A majority of the specific situations discussed pertain to North America, however, general aspects are valid for information science education everywhere. Recommendations about areas that need action are made.
Studies on prolactin: 40. Chemical modification of tyrosine residues in the ovine hormone

Abstract The seven tyrosine residues in ovine prolactin have been modified, in separate experiments, with tetranitromethane and iodine at 0 °C. Both the nitration and iodination studies indicate Tyr-44 to be the most reactive; this residue was converted almost completely to the dinitro and diiodo derivative under the reaction conditions employed. All other reactive tyrosine residues formed the monosubstituted derivative. The relative chemical reactivity of the seven tyrosine residues can be described as follows: Tyr-44 and Tyr-195 are highly reactive, Tyr-147, Tyr-169 and Tyr-185 are partially reactive, with Tyr-96 and Tyr-28 being relatively unreactive under the conditions employed. The various derivatives have been characterized by exclusion chromatography, circular dichroism, rate of tryptic digestion, and biological activity. The modification of Tyr-44 possibly produces a conformational change which is observed on Sephadex G-100 as an equilibrium between two monomeric forms eluting at slightly different positions. These two forms also appear to display different side-chain CD spectra. Nitration or limited iodination does not appear to decrease the biological activity of the hormone, as measured in the pigeon crop-sac assay, although more extensive iodination does produce a significant loss in potency.
Therapeutic Plasma Exchange for Renal-Related Conditions in the Elderly: Ten Years Experience in One Center

The elderly people, 65 years old and above, are growing in number. The structural and functional changes associated with aging place the elderly at risk when challenged by extracorporeal therapies, such as therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE). We retrospectively analyzed data on all patients who underwent TPE for renal indications at our institution between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2010 and compared renal indications and mortality associated with the use of TPE in older versus younger patients. During this period, 621 patients underwent 4722 sessions of TPE. Of them, 191 patients were elderly (30.7%) and they underwent 1289 sessions (27.3%) of TPE. A total of 104 patients (16.7%) underwent 593 sessions of TPE because of renal-related indications: 26 patients in the elderly group and 78 in the younger. Side effects of dyspnea and hypotension were documented in only two patients, both in the elderly cohort. The main indication for TPE in the elderly was glomerulonephritis (GN) as compared with renal allograft rejection in the younger cohort, with a trend toward more death in the elderly (p = 0.07). The multivariable regression model which included age as a category, serum albumin, and initial serum creatinine were unable to predict mortality in this group of patients. In our experience, the main renal indications for TPE in elderly are different from those for younger patients, with GN being the most common renal indication in the elderly. The TPE used for renal indications in the elderly is relatively safe. Trends toward death in the elderly may be multifactorial and not necessarily related to TPE.
Detection of multiple viral agents in nasopharyngeal specimens yielding respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). An assessment of diagnostic strategy and clinical significance.

Abstract A retrospective study of 6 years (1981–1987) experience with clinical specimens of pediatric patients submitted for identification of respiratory viruses was undertaken to determine the prevalence of multiple viral isolates and to assess the impact of dual infections on severity of clinical disease. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the most frequently identified agent, was detected in cell culture and/or by immunofluorescence (IF) in 666 of 2,415 specimens examined. A second virus was isolated in cell cultures from 51 of the 666 specimens (7.6%). Cytomegalovirus, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, influenza and parainfluenza viruses, echoviruses, vaccine strain polio viruses, and herpes simplex virus were identified with RSV. The diagnosis of a dual viral infection would have been missed in 37 of 51 instances (79%) had rapid diagnosis for RSV been employed without inoculation of cell cultures. Demographics and clinical presentations were similar in patients with dual infections or RSV alone. A case-control study comparing patients with dual isolates and patients with RSV alone to determine the effect of multiple viral infections on severity of disease revealed no significant difference. The combined use of rapid methods and isolation in culture provides more complete viral diagnosis and could have an impact on the choice of antiviral agents and the institution of appropriate infection control measures.
A Review of the Compatibility of Structural Materials with Oxygen

Consideration of the problem of ignition and combustion of structural materials, particularly metals, which may come in contact with oxygen during its production, transport, and use. Following a review of the historical development of compatibility problems and research, a detailed account is given of compatibility testing methods aimed at detecting probable ignition sources, such as mechanical impact, electric sparks or flashes, heat, sound waves, abrasion, and surface fractures. A summary is presented of the ignition and combustion research reported in the literature, dwelling particularly on papers concerning oxygen-related accidents and the compatibility of metals with high-pressure oxygen. The relative oxygen compatibility of a number of common materials is discussed, including that of nickel and copper alloys, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, and titanium alloys. Finally, an effort is made to pinpoint research areas which would enhance understanding of the compatibility of bulk materials.
Identifying Speech Acts from Contextual and Linguistic Information

We conducted an experiment to examine the comprehension of interrogatives such as Could you make the pencil roll?, which can be intended as yes-no questions, as directives to perform an action, or as both. Clark (1979) has claimed that the comprehension of such sentences is governed by, among other things, the answer obviousness rule; that is, listeners are more likely to interpret such a sentence as a question if the question posed is nonobvious to the speaker. One purpose of the present experiment was to test Clark's claim. A second purpose was to begin identifying the types of contextual information listeners use in comprehending speech acts. The final purpose was to provide data relevant to the controversy about whether listeners evaluate the syntactically direct, literal meaning of a sentence in the course of arriving at a syntactically indirect interpretation. We found that listeners follow an answer obviousness rule, utilize their knowledge of objects and the actions they allow as context for sentence interpretation, and do sometimes evaluate the syntactically direct reading of a sentence before arriving at an indirect speech act.