cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing among men who have sex with men couples in the United States.

BACKGROUND Most men who have sex with men (MSM) within the United States acquire human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while in a same-sex relationship. Few studies have examined HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing rates among MSM couples. Interestingly, the patterns that MSM test for HIV while in their relationships remain largely unknown. The current study helps fill this gap in knowledge by assessing HIV testing patterns and HIV and STI testing rates from a large convenience sample of Internet-using MSM couples. METHODS The current study used a cross-sectional study design to collect dyadic data from 361 MSM couples who lived throughout the United States. A novel recruitment strategy that included placing paid targeted advertisements on Facebook enrolled both men in the couple to independently complete the confidential electronic survey. RESULTS Nearly half of the HIV-negative men indicated either not having been tested for HIV since their relationship started or only testing if they believed they were at risk. Few men reported testing every 3 to 4 months. HIV/STI testing rates varied among the sample of couples. Few men reported having been diagnosed with a recent STI. Testing patterns and rates were mostly similar, irrespective of whether unprotected anal intercourse was practiced within and/or outside the relationship. CONCLUSIONS HIV testing and prevention services must target men who are at risk for acquiring HIV within MSM couples. To help accomplish this goal, additional research is needed to examine the specific barriers and facilitators to HIV and STI testing among MSM in couples.
A 10 MS/s 11-bit 0.19 mm $^{2}$ Algorithmic ADC With Improved Clocking Scheme

A 10 MS/s 11-bit algorithmic ADC with an active area of 0.19 mm2 is presented. Using an improved clocking scheme, this design overcomes the speed limit of algorithmic ADCs. The proposed ADC employs amplifier sharing, DC offset cancellation, and input memory effect suppression, resulting in reduced area and power, and high linearity. The ADC implemented in a 0.13 mum thick gate-oxide CMOS process achieves 69 dB SFDR, 58 dB SNR, and 56 dB SNDR, while consuming 3.5 mA from a 3 V supply.
Recent advances in myelodysplasia: update from 2011 ASH annual meeting

Significant progresses have been made in genetic research in MDS. Through RNA interference technology, knock-down of RPS14 recapitulated the pathological process of decreased erythropoiesis [1]. Transgenic expression of RPS14 in 5q- MDS cells rescued the phenotype of insufficient erythropoiesis. This strongly suggests that haploinsufficiency of RPS14 is one of the molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of 5q- MDS. SF3B1 is a core component of RNA splicesome and involved in the regulation of the mitochondrial pathway. In a study of 533 patients (pts) with MDS, 150 (28.1%) was found to have SF3B1 gene mutation, which has a positive predictive value of 97.7% for RARS and correlates well with better overall survival (OS) and lower risk for AML transformation [2,3]. Hypomethylating therapy represents a significant milestone in myelodysplasia (MDS) management. TET2, IDH1/2, and DNMT3A are regulators of DNA methylation [4]. EZH2 and UTX were found to be involved in the histone H3K26 and H3K27 methylation. ASX1 was found to be deleted in 11-15% of MDS pts. In a study of 88 pts with MDS, mutations of DNMT3A, IDH1/2, and TET2 were found to be correlated with responses to azacytidine /decitabine(64% in mutated vs 35% wild type, P=0.01) [5]. microRNA-21 may also serve as a biomarker for therapy response to hypomethylating agents in MDS. In a study of 63 pts, lower level of serum miR-21 correlated with higher PFS and OS (p 0.003 and 0.001, respectively) [6]. In terms of therapy, azacytidine (75 mg /m2 x 5) was studied in combination with lenalidomide (10 mg x 21) in 36 refractory pts (IPSS=>1.5) . Overall response rate (ORR) was 71% (CR 40, PR 31) [7]. Azacytidine (75 mg /m2 x 5 ) was also studied in combination with vorinostat (200 mg TID x 5) in 30 untreated MDS pts with poor clinical status (Cr>=1.5, Bilirubin >=2.0). ORR was 30% (CR 27%) and OS was 7 months in these high-risk pts (expected pre-therapy OS <60 days) [8]. Several novel agents were also reported. Oral decitabine was reported in a phase I bioavailability trial [9]. The oral decitabine has a bioavailability of 3.9 to 14%. Oral doses of 30- 240 mg in MDS patients had similar safety profiles to that of the 20 mg /m2 IV administration. RAP-536 was found to promote erythropoiesis in a mouse model through an EPO-independent pathway [10]. IRAK1 is a serine /threonine kinase. miRNA-146a –deficient mice had IRAK1 overexpression and developed MDS-like phenotype. Phosphorylated IRAK1 was higher in MDS patients. A small molecule inhibitor of IRAK1 was studied in cell lines and in MDS sample cells. Increased apoptosis was seen in these cells. Interestingly, IRAK1 inhibitor spared the normal CD34+ cells [11]. Iron chelation therapy is increasingly used in MDS pts, especially when MDS patients are living longer with the current therapies. Retrospective analysis of iron chelation therapy in MDS pts was reported from Italy and Canada [12,13]. However, the efficacy in MDS cannot be clearly ascertained since there is no randomized prospective study specifically addressing this issue.
A self-calibrating multiband region growing approach to segmentation of single and multiband images

Image segmentation transforms pixel-level information from raw images to a higher level of abstraction in which related pixels are grouped into disjoint spatial regions. Such regions typically correspond to natural or man-made objects or structures, natural variations in land cover, etc. For many image interpretation tasks (such as land use assessment, automatic target cueing, defining relationships between objects, etc.), segmentation can be an important early step. Remotely sensed images (e.g., multi-spectral and hyperspectral images) often contain many spectral bands (i.e., multiple layers of 2D images). Multi-band images are important because they contain more information than single-band images. Objects or natural variations that are readily apparent in certain spectral bands may be invisible in 2D broadband images. In this paper, the classical region growing approach to image segmentation is generalized from single to multi-band images. While it is widely recognized that the quality of image segmentation is affected by which segmentation algorithm is used, this paper shows that algorithm parameter values can have an even more profound effect. A novel self-calibration framework is developed for automatically selecting parameter values that produce segmentations that most closely resemble a calibration edge map (derived separately using a simple edge detector). Although the framework ismore » generic in the sense that it can imbed any core segmentation algorithm, this paper only demonstrates self-calibration with multi-band region growing. The framework is applied to a variety of AVIRIS image blocks at different spectral resolutions, in an effort to assess the impact of spectral resolution on segmentation quality. The image segmentations are assessed quantitatively, and it is shown that segmentation quality does not generally appear to be highly correlated with spectral resolution.« less
Fantasy Baseball: The Case for Competitive Fandom

The authors propose the concept of competitive fandom to describe the learning, play, and engagement of fantasy sports. Competitive fandom draws together contemporary research on fan cultures and g...
An Online Adaptive Stator Winding Temperature Estimator Based on a Hybrid Thermal Model for Induction Machines

Conventional thermal models with a single thermal capacitor and a single thermal resistor are incapable of giving an accurate stator winding temperature estimate tailored to the specific motor's cooling capability. A hybrid thermal model is presented in this paper to account for the disparities in thermal operating conditions for different motors of the same rating, and of the same totally enclosed fan-cooled design. Through theoretical analysis as well as simulation, the change in the motor's thermal behavior under impaired cooling conditions, is found to be closely related to the change in this model's thermal resistance, R 1. An online parameter tuning algorithm is proposed in this paper. By updating R1 based on the rotor temperature estimated from the rotor resistance, the tuning algorithm adapts the hybrid thermal model to the changes in the motor's thermal operating conditions. Once the hybrid thermal model is properly tuned, an adaptive stator winding temperature estimator is established. It is capable of tracking the stator winding temperature for a motor with specific cooling capability to insure complete overload protection. Experimental results validate this temperature estimator based on the hybrid thermal model and the online parameter tuning algorithm
A mouse model linking viral hepatitis and salivary gland dysfunction

Objective: Viral hepatitis is known to cause xerostomia in humans, but this has not been reported in an animal model. We report a severe, acute, highly reproducible saliva deficiency occurring in BALB/c mice as a result of experimental viral hepatitis. Materials and Methods: BALB/c mice, splenectomized or carrying genetic mutations to detect immunological contributions to the saliva deficiency syndrome, were infected intraperitoneally with a non-lethal dose of murine cytomegalovirus. Pilocarpine-stimulated saliva volumes were determined between 0 and 15 days after infection. Salivary gland, liver, spleen, and sera were analyzed for the presence of virus, cytokines, inflammatory infiltrates, and tissue damage. Results: Saliva deficiency was detectable 2 days after cytomegalovirus infection, peaked at 88% below normal by day 7, and resolved partially in all mice by 15 days postinfection as sialoadenitis increased. Neither salivary gland viral titers, sialoadenitis, splenectomy, nor systemic inflammatory markers correlated with hyposalivation severity. Elevated liver enzymes did correlate with hyposalivation, and mice genetically resistant to murine cytomegalovirus-induced hepatitis were significantly protected. Conclusions: Murine cytomegalovirus-induced salivary gland dysfunction is biphasic, with an acute hepatitis-associated phase and a later sialoadenitis-associated phase. Acute murine cytomegalovirus infection of BALB/c mice may provide a model for investigation of hepatitis-associated xerostomia.
Physical symptoms associated with blood pressure.

Two experiments employed within-subject designs to assess the degree to which selected physical symptoms correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) fluctuations. In the first study, 30 normotensive undergraduates (15 male and 15 female) participated in a series of 20 tasks and 20 baseline sessions, each lasting 1–2 min. Following each task or baseline, readings of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, skin resistance, and finger pulse volume were taken. Immediately before the physiological measurements, subjects rated the degree to which they were experiencing each of 7 symptoms (e.g., sweaty hands, pounding heart). For each subject, simple correlations were computed between each of the symptoms and SBP across the 40 measurement periods. Forty-four percent of the subjects had at least one symptom-SBP correlation of + .70 or greater. Seventy-seven percent had at least one statistically significant symptom-SBP correlation. Between-subject analyses yielded no symptom-SBP relationships. The within-subjects correlation patterns varied from subject to subject, were internally consistent, and were related to sex and SBP variability. A second naturalistic experiment corroborated the findings. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
Work In Progress - Mathematical Modeling and Visualization: A Preliminary Course Design for Computational Science Curriculum

Mathematical Modeling and Visualization is a planned course of a new B.S. program in Computational Mathematics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Modeling methodology, formal process, modeling languages and software tools such as MatLab, Stella and Statemate will be integrated in this course to demonstrate the combined strength of mathematical formality and visual intuitiveness for conquering the complexity of real world problems
Optimal Job Releasing and Sequencing for a Reentrant Manufacturing Line with Finite Capacity Buffers

This paper presents an optimal policy for the problems of job releasing and sequencing in an adapted version of a benchmark Reentrant Manufacturing Line (RML). We consider a finite state space and an infinite horizon discounted cost optimization criteria. The resulting optimal policy provides a trade-off between throughput maximization (i.e., profits) and minimization of inventory costs. The policy is defined by two indexes of the inventory costs, profits, system parameters, and discount factor. Results show that when no profits are obtained, the policy also presents Blackwell optimality characteristics. In addition, the optimal policy reflects the effect of discounted and undiscounted profits during state transition intervals.
Electromechanical mode shape estimation based on transfer function identification using PMU measurements

Power system mode shapes are a key indication of how dynamic components participate in low-frequency oscillations. Traditionally, mode shapes are calculated from a linearized dynamic model. For large-scale power systems, obtaining accurate dynamic models is very difficult. Therefore, measurement-based mode shape estimation methods have certain advantages, especially for the application of real-time small signal stability monitoring. In this paper, a measurement-based mode shape identification method is proposed. The general relationship between transfer function (TF) and mode shape is derived. As an example, a least square (LS) method is implemented to estimate mode shape using an autoregressive exogenous (ARX) model. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by Monte-Carlo studies using simulation data from a 17-machine model. The results indicate the validity of the proposed method in estimating mode shapes with reasonably good accuracy.
Verification of magnetized electron series resonance from 1-D plasma diode noise current

A plasma diode appears resistive to an external observer at the magnetized electron series resonance (MESR). The authors derive the MESR resonant frequencies from an equivalent circuit model using linear cold plasma theory. The noise current from a decaying plasma is predicted to exhibit the MESR resonant frequencies and is verified by observing the spectra of the noise currents in 1d3v simulations. The spectra compare well with the theoretical values, which depend on the (central) plasma density and the sheath thickness. The latter is obtained from the (warm) plasma simulations.
Manualizing Manual Development

In response to Carroll and Nuro, I suggest that attention to three issues might help address some of the conflicts between proponents and critics of manualization (and, correlatively, between psychotherapy researchers and clinicians). The first is when and how clinicians should be integrated into manual development and dissemination. Both the clinical utility (external validity) and “marketability” of many experimentally derived treatments might improve by involving clinicians earlier in the manual development process rather than primarily at the dissemination stage. The second is what might be called the “uncommonly differentiated factors paradox” in experimental treatment research: the demands of experimental investigation in the real world often conflict with the demands of clinical practice in the real world. Experimental design considerations lead researchers to create “pure” treatments that attempt to minimize common factors, whereas the fluidity, tenacity, and comorbidity of symptoms in clinical practice lead clinicians to apply more “impure” treatments that maximize the benefits of both common and specific factors. The third issue is the likelihood that different kinds of manualization are appropriate for different kinds of treatments and disorders. Highly specific, prescriptive manuals may be more appropriate for shorter-term treatments and treatments focused on specific associative connections. Principle-oriented manuals may be more appropriate for longer-term treatments and treatments of generalized affect states and repetitive interpersonal patterns.
The softbot approach to OS interfaces

The authors have developed a software robot called a softbot that incorporates the artificial intelligence techniques of planning and machine learning. This flexible, extensible agent handles information requests by letting users specify, what must be accomplished; the system then determines how to accomplish it. >
Möbius Transformations For Global Intrinsic Symmetry Analysis

The goal of our work is to develop an algorithm for automatic and robust detection of global intrinsic symmetries in 3D surface meshes. Our approach is based on two core observations. First, symmetry invariant point sets can be detected robustly using critical points of the Average Geodesic Distance (AGD) function. Second, intrinsic symmetries are self-isometries of surfaces and as such are contained in the low dimensional group of Mobius transformations. Based on these observations, we propose an algorithm that: 1) generates a set of symmetric points by detecting critical points of the AGD function, 2) enumerates small subsets of those feature points to generate candidate Mobius transformations,and 3) selects among those candidate Mobius transformations the one(s) that best map the surface onto itself. The main advantages of this algorithm stem from the stability of the AGD in predicting potential symmetric point features and the low dimensionality of the Mobius group for enumerating potential self-mappings. During experiments with a benchmark set of meshes augmented with human-specified symmetric correspondences, we find that the algorithm is able to find intrinsic symmetries for a wide variety of object types with moderate deviations from perfect symmetry.
Conceptual engineering method for attenuating He ion interactions on first wall components in the Fusion Test Facility (FTF) employing a low-pressure noble gas

It has been shown that post detonation energetic helium ions can drastically reduce the useful life of the (dry) first wall of an IFE reactor due to the accumulation of implanted helium. For the purpose of attenuating energetic helium ions from interacting with first wall components in the Fusion Test Facility (FTF) target chamber, several concepts have been advanced. These include magnetic intervention (MI), deployment of a dynamically moving first wall, use of a sacrificial shroud, designing the target chamber large enough to mitigate the damage caused by He ions on the target chamber wall, and the use of a low pressure noble gas resident in the target chamber during pulse power operations. It is proposed that employing a low-pressure (∼ 1 torr equivalent) noble gas in the target chamber will thermalize energetic helium ions prior to interaction with the wall. The principle benefit of this concept is the simplicity of the design and the utilization of (modified) existing technologies for pumping and processing the noble ambient gas. Although the gas load in the system would be increased over other proposed methods, the use of a “gas shield” may provide a cost effective method of greatly extending the first wall of the target chamber. An engineering study has been initiated to investigate conceptual engineering methods for implementing a viable gas shield strategy in the FTF.
Learning Words and Their Meanings from Unsegmented Child-directed Speech

Most work on language acquisition treats word segmentation---the identification of linguistic segments from continuous speech---and word learning---the mapping of those segments to meanings---as separate problems. These two abilities develop in parallel, however, raising the question of whether they might interact. To explore the question, we present a new Bayesian segmentation model that incorporates aspects of word learning and compare it to a model that ignores word meanings. The model that learns word meanings proposes more adult-like segmentations for the meaning-bearing words. This result suggests that the non-linguistic context may supply important information for learning word segmentations as well as word meanings.
Potential Toxicity of Caffeine when Used as a Dietary Supplement for Weight Loss

Many dietary supplements being promoted for weight loss contain caffeine- or ephedra-related alkaloids to increase energy and suppress appetite. People may be unaware that supplements can contain caffeine, even if caffeine is not listed as an ingredient. Commonly used herbal dietary supplement ingredients, such as guarana, are natural sources of caffeine. Additions of these natural sources of caffeine to dietary supplements have increased in recent years. We describe a case of possible caffeine-induced seizure in a patient taking an over-the-counter weight loss supplement. A previously healthy 38-year-old female experienced blurring of vision and a new onset grand mal seizure. The patient had a 2-month history of taking the dietary supplement, Zantrex-3™. Zantrex-3™ is advertised as a weight loss supplement, which may provide rapid weight loss and extreme energy in one "power packed pill." Zantrex-3™ is a proprietary blend containing niacin, caffeine, and various herbs. After presenting to the hospital emergency room, the patient's chemistry panel, with the exception of potassium (2.9 mEq/L), was within normal limits. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was unremarkable. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed possible atrophy in the right frontal lobe. Findings from follow-up MRI and EEG ordered as an outpatient were within normal limits. After discontinuation of Zantrex-3™, the patient has experienced no further seizure activity.
Reaction of YBa2Cu3O7‐δ Powder with NOx Gas in an Aerosol Reactor

This paper reports on thermodynamic calculations predict, and experiments verify, that YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}} (123) powder which is unstable in the presence of NO{sub x}-containing aerosol reactor exhaust gases at temperatures below about 600{degrees} C. Powders collected above the stability temperature are single-phase 123, while powders collected at lower temperature contain Ba(NO{sub 3}){sub 2} formed by reaction of the powder with NO{sub x} after exit from the hot zone.
Evidence of THz diffraction by fabrics

In security applications, items or substances of interest are generally hidden and therefore, for body inspection, must be identified through clothes. We show that diffractive behavior of fabrics when illuminated by THz wave can complicate such approach. This effect is demonstrated performing an angle-resolved THz time-domain spectroscopy experiment and confirmed by a HFSS numerical simulation.
Polytope kernel density estimates on Delaunay graphs

We present a polytope-kernel density estimation (PKDE) methodology that allows us to perform exact mean-shift updates along the edges of the Delaunay graph of the data. We discuss explicit and implicit constructions of such a PKDE, where in the implicit construction one can exploit a smoother kernel such as the standard isotropic Gaussian. The resulting density estimate allows us to perform mean-shift clustering in a computationally efficient manner (similar to mediod shift), but in a manner that is exact and consistent with the underlying density assumption. The procedure also yields a hierarchical connectivity structure, a tree, that spans the dataset. We demonstrate how this tree, combined with density-weighted geodesic distance calculations between modal samples can be used to select number of clusters as well as a distance preserving dimension reduction technique.
Input Reconstruction Reliability Estimation

This paper describes a technique called Input Reconstruction Reliability Estimation (IRRE) for determining the response reliability of a restricted class of multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs). The technique uses a network's ability to accurately encode the input pattern in its internal representation as a measure of its reliability. The more accurately a network is able to reconstruct the input pattern from its internal representation, the more reliable the network is considered to be. IRRE is provides a good estimate of the reliability of MLPs trained for autonomous driving. Results are presented in which the reliability estimates provided by IRRE are used to select between networks trained for different driving situations.
Clustering Web Accelerators

Web Accelerators are increasingly becoming an integral part of a Web site content delivery infrastructure. As such, Web accelerators must address some common server issues such as: capacity, performance, and availability. A set of Oracle 9iAS Web Caches can be grouped into a loosely coupled cluster to help solve these issues. When clustered, Web Cache's capacity increases linearly. In addition, the number of cacheable miss requests sent to the application Web server is reduced linearly. Also, the impact on site availability and performance of an individual Web Cache node failure in a cluster is reduced considerably. In this paper, we describe the Web Cache clustering architecture, focusing on how this feature affects site capacity, performance, and availability.
Roskies’ crossing relations and a dynamical calculation of pion-pion phase shifts

The implications of Roskies’ crossing equations for dynamical-model calculations are discussed with a comparison to the conventional differential forms of the crossing-symmetry relations of Chew and Mandelstam. Also, low-energy pion-pion phase shifts forS andP waves are calculated by means of Roskies’ crossing constraints on the basis of general principles such as analyticity, unitarity and crossing symmetry. Our dynamical computations yield the broad sigma-resonance near 930 MeV and our optimal solution corresponds to the scattering lengthsa0 = 0.35 anda2 = −0.078.
Mindful and Self-Compassionate Leadership Development: Preliminary Discussions with Wildland Fire Managers

Decisionmaking in wildland firefighting is an evolving, dynamic reflection of a complex array of social and environmental factors that managers are expected to handle with fewer resources than in past eras. The need for new and effective ways of developing the capabilities to handle these factors is paramount. Seven focus group interviews with wildland fire managers (N 39) throughout the western United States were conducted to assess the meaning and utility of two potential tools that could aid in this development—mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn 1990) and self-compassion (Neff 2003). Individuals who integrate these processes in their lives have been found to maintain and build important personal resources. Managers in this study best resonated with the concepts of mindfulness and self-compassion through four main methods of relating them to personal fire experiences that offer guidance to other managers. They saw value in training fire personnel to use these tools with caution toward self-compassion.
OII‐C‐4

BACKGROUND Lactating women undergoing operations under general anesthesia are advised to pump and discard their milk for 24h after the procedure. We determined the kinetics of midazolam elimination in breast milk to ascertain its safety after midazolam administration. METHODS Five lactating women were studied after providing institutionally-approved written informed consent. Patients were premedicated with midazolam, 2 mg IV, 5 min before anesthetic induction with fentanyl, 100 μg IV, and propofol, 2.5 mg/kg IV. Anesthesia was maintained with potent volatile anesthetics. Milk was collected using an electric breast pump before and at 5, 7, 9, 11, and 24h after drug administration. Blood samples were collected before and at regular intervals up to 7h after drug administration. Plasma and milk midazolam concentrations were measured by LC-MS. Midazolam elimination in milk was modelled simultaneously with the plasma kinetics as the cumulative amount of drug in milk just as urinary elimination is modelled, albeit with a delay. RESULTS Plasma midazolam pharmacokinetics were consistent with those reported by ourselves and others. In 24h of milk collection, only 0.005 (± 0.005)% of the midazolam dose was eliminated in milk, representing 0.009 (± 0.005)% of the midazolam elimination clearance with a pharmacokinetic delay of approximately 9h. CONCLUSION The amount of midazolam appearing in breast milk over 24h after administering a single dose is very small and unlikely to affect a healthy term infant. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2005) 79, P7–P7; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2005.12.021
My fingers are discoloured.

A 52-year-old man presented to the emergency department, in September, with discolouration of his fingertips for approximately 1 week. He first noticed the problem after wearing wet gloves at work for a day. Initially the lesions were painful and ‘looked like blisters’; now he reports decreased sensation to the affected areas and notes that ‘they feel hard’, but are no longer painful. He denies any fevers, chills, chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, …
Therapeutic effects of Gypenosides on cerebral ischemia Reperfusion injury in rats

Objective To investigate the effect of Gypenosides(GP)on the injury induced by cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats and its protective mechanisms.Methods In this study,we set up cerebral ischemia reperfusion model in rats by blocking middle cerebral artery.Rats were randomly divided into six groups:sham group,model group,Shuxuening group and GP-treated groups(100、30和10mg·kg-1).To observe the neurologic deficit score,the level of SOD,MDA,NO,infarction area in the brain tissue and HE Histopathological change.Immunohistochemistry method was used to measure Bcl-2 and Bax expressions.Results Compared with model group,GP groups could significantly reduce the neurologic deficit score,increase the SOD activity,decrease the MDA contents and infarction area of the brain tissue.The Immunohistochemistry results showed that GP could significantly increase the expression of Bcl-2 and reduce the expression.Conclusion GP could protect the cerebral ischemia reperfusion in rats and the mechanisms may be related to its anti-oxidation activity of the enzyme,enhance the ability of removing free radicals and reduce the free radical from ischemia-reperfusion
Epidemiological characteristics of HFMD in Yizhou City of Guangxi Province in 2012

[Objective]To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of hand-foot-and-mouth disease( HFMD) in Yizhou City in2012,and provide evidence for developing effective control measures.[Methods]The descriptive epidemiology was used to describe the features of HFMD cases reported in Yizhou City.[Results]A total of 2 194 HFMD cases were reported in Yizhou City in 2012,with the reported incidence of 324. 04 /100 000,23 severe cases and 3 deaths. Qingyuan Town had the highest incidence of HFMD.Most cases were children appeared in April-July,0-4 years age group accounted for 87. 99% of total cases. The proportion of male to female was 1. 48∶ 1. All severe or fatal cases are caused by enteroviruses EV71.[Conclusion]HFMD is characterized by the apparent seasonal,regional and population difference in Yizhou City. HFMD prevention and control should focus on strengthening epidemic surveillance and health education,improving the joint prevention and control system,,and enhance the operation level of medical workers.
X-ray observation of a √3¯×√3¯ superlattice in KC 8 at high pressure

A single-crystal x-ray study under pressure reveals a phase transition from an in-plane 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2 commensurate potassium superstructure to a new \ensuremath{\surd}3 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} \ensuremath{\surd}3 commensurate superstructure. This is the first such transition to be observed; it is related to the recently discovered staging transition of ${\mathrm{KC}}_{8}$ under pressure. In addition, we observe this staging transition to occur more slowly and at much lower pressures than in the reported neutron-scattering experiment on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite samples.
Legislative Responses to Hate Crimes

The very first hate crime statutes occurred during the reconstruction era as the congressional response to hate-motivated violence directed toward newly liberated slaves. However, beginning with the enactment of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, contemporary hate crime statutes have been promulgated in 46 states and the federal government. These statutes generally take the form of penalty enhancement sanctions when hate has been established beyond a reasonable doubt as the motivation behind criminal conduct. States vary considerably in the evidentiary requirements to prove hate-motivated bias. Some states incorporate discriminatory selection criteria as evidence of bias; other states require proof of animus toward a predefined vulnerable group; several states require evidence that bias criminal conduct occurred “because of” or “by reason of” the status of a statutorily predefined vulnerable group.
Putting mHealth in Public Health

Advances in mobile technologies have the potential to transform public health today and for the future. However, the potential and promise of mHealth in public health initiatives are not guaranteed. There are entrenched legacy systems—technological, political, and social—in terms of public health infrastructure, health policy, and public health culture that pose significant challenges to goal achievement. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) actively promotes mHealth initiatives for the public good, notably in initiatives for maternal and child health, AIDS treatment, and teen sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy prevention. While state and local health programs receive little federal guidance or direction for digital initiatives, many local health departments are connecting with consumers through social media. Using the texting functionality of mobile phones is expected to become a common route of delivery of public health warnings and relevant news alerts. Without federal or private sector leadership, it is likely that state and local efforts to employ mHealth technologies will remain disconnected and disparate.
Note: A New Look at Constitutional Errors in a Criminal Trial

On appeal, an essential question in reviewing a constitutional error in a criminal trial is whether the error was a trial error or a structural error. The Supreme Court’s current framework for answering this question has led to widespread confusion and misapplication in both the courts and scholarship. In practice, that question — whether an error was trial error or structural error — can lead to antithetical results: structural error generally results in a new trial for the defendant without any showing of prejudice while trial error only requires the prosecution to prove that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Given the contrast between these two results, it is necessary that the framework under which courts evaluate constitutional errors in a criminal trial uphold the purposes of appellate review. This Note begins with an overview of the current standards of review for constitutional errors in a criminal trial and then details the history of structural error. Then this Note establishes a mode of analysis for evaluating the merits of the current framework, other scholars’ suggestions, and this Note’s proposal. Finally, this Note introduces a new framework for appellate review of constitutional errors in a criminal trial by removing structural errors as a class and requiring all constitutional errors to undergo harmless-error review. The chasm in scholarly work on structural error, coupled with the implications of the Court’s current framework on the chances of a defendant’s success on appeal, call for a revived discussion about the merits of Court’s current framework. This Note hopes to contribute to that discussion.
Synthesis and evaluation of 2-[18F]-fluorobutyric acid as a PET tracer for imaging prostate cancer

1596 Objectives Recently we have discovered that a small carboxylic acid, 2-[18F]-fluoropropionic acid can be used for detecting prostate cancers. Our goal was to identify other small fluorinated carboxylic acids, which hold promise as PET tracers for prostate cancer. In this regard, here we present PET imaging and biodistribution studies of 2-[18F]-fluorobutyric acid (2-[18F]-FBA) in nude mice with prostate tumor xenografts (CWR22rv1). Methods 2-[18F]-FBA was synthesized by treating methyl-2-bromobutyrate with [18F]-KF/Kryptofix in acetonitrile at 80 oC, purified by HPLC and followed by deprotection. The product was formulated in saline and used for in vivo studies. For the prostate tumor model, nude mice were implanted s.c. with 5 x 106 CWR22rv1 cells and used two weeks later for imaging. 2-[18F]-FBA (7.4 MBq) was injected via tail vein and the mice were imaged using MicroPET. For biodistribution studies, the mice were sacrificed at different times post administration of tracer and the activity in different organs was counted. Results 2-[18F]-FBA was synthesized in good yields (>40% dc) and high purity (>97%). MicroPET imaging and biodistribution studies revealed that the compound was taken up in the tumor. Activity was also observed in the heart and lungs and clears predominantly through renal pathway. Conclusions MicroPET imaging and biodistribution studies indicate 2-[18F]-FBA has good tumor accumulation, and clearance from non-target organs suggesting its potential as a prostate cancer imaging agent.
Identifying Peptide-Peptide Interactions with Lysenin Nanopores

Numerous peptides have been identified as biomarkers, providing valuable information about diseases such as cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's, and kidney disease. Similarly, the analysis of peptides has emerged as a powerful tool for various diagnostic, therapeutic, and biomedical applications. In this context, there is a tremendous need for investigating and characterizing peptides beyond the established methods such as mass spectrometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and immune staining.
Hormonal based treatment of ovarian anaplastic ependymoma with anastrozole

Abstract Objective Ovarian anaplastic ependymoma is a rare gynecologic malignancy that poses diagnostic and treatment challenges. Treatment of sub-optimally debulked disease usually portends poor prognosis. Molecular testing of tumor specimen can identify more specific targets for additional therapy such as estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR). Case A 29-year-old woman presented with incidental finding of large bilateral adnexal masses and elevated CA 125. Biopsy proved anaplastic ovarian ependymoma with high ER/PR expression. She underwent sub-optimal surgical debulking followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin (BEP) which resulted in a partial response. Due to extensive residual disease she has been maintained on anastrozole for over fifteen months without increased tumor burden. Targeted somatic mutation testing was negative for all high risk clinically useful variants. Conclusion Aromatase inhibitors may be considered in patients with extra-axial anaplastic ependymoma and can produce prolonged stable disease.
Factor Structure of the 10 WISC-V Primary Subtests across Four Standardization Age Groups.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler 2014a) Technical and Interpretation Manual (Wechsler 2014b) dedicated only a single page to discussing the 10-subtest WISC-V primary battery across the entire 6 to 16 age range. Users are left to extrapolate the structure of the 10-subtest battery from the 16-subtest structure. Essentially, the structure of the 10-subtest WISC-V primary battery remains largely uninvestigated particularly at various points across the developmental period. Using principal axis factoring and the Schmid–Leiman orthogonalization procedure, the 10-subtest WISC-V primary structure was examined across four standardization sample age groups (ages 6–8, 9–11, 12–14, 15–16). Forced extraction of the publisher’s promoted five factors resulted in a trivial fifth factor at all ages except 15–16. At ages 6 to 14, the results suggested that the WISC-V contains the same four first-order factors as the prior WISC-IV (Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory, Processing Speed; Wechsler 2003). Results suggest interpretation of the Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning indexes at ages 6 to 14 may be inappropriate due to the fusion of the Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning subtests. At ages 15–16, the five-factor structure was supported. Results also indicated that the WISC-V provides strong measurement of general intelligence and clinical interpretation should reside primarily at that level. Regardless of whether a four- or five-factor index structure is emphasized, the group factors reflecting the WISC-V indices do not account for a sufficient proportion of variance to warrant primary interpretive emphasis.
Public Perceptions of Citizen Science

Members of the public are the foundation and the backbone of citizen science, but much remains unknown about how the public views citizen science. We conducted a survey of public familiarity with, and perceptions of, citizen science. We found that less than half of respondents were familiar with the term “citizen science,” but over 70% were familiar with the concept by another name. Most respondents were more confident in hypothetical citizen science findings when professional scientists were involved to some degree, compared to situations in which only citizen scientists were involved. Confidence in citizen science findings tended to increase with age, despite the fact that self-confidence in respondents’ own abilities to perform citizen science tasks decreased with age. Fewer than half of respondents (31–47%), and more men than women, were confident in their own ability to perform science process tasks, with the exception of collecting data (53% confident), and only slightly more predicted they would enjoy such activities. Based on our findings, we suggest ways in which leaders of citizen science projects can better promote recruitment, retention, and engagement on the part of volunteers and the public as a whole.
Sample Preparation and Analysis of RNASeq-based Gene Expression Data from Zebrafish

The analysis of global gene expression changes is a valuable tool for identifying novel pathways underlying observed phenotypes. The zebrafish is an excellent model for rapid assessment of whole transcriptome from whole animal or individual cell populations due to the ease of isolation of RNA from large numbers of animals. Here a protocol for global gene expression analysis in zebrafish embryos using RNA sequencing (RNASeq) is presented. We describe preparation of RNA from whole embryos or from cell populations obtained using cell sorting in transgenic animals. We also describe an approach for analysis of RNASeq data to identify enriched pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) terms in global gene expression data sets. Finally, we provide a protocol for validation of gene expression changes using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). These protocols can be used for comparative analysis of control and experimental sets of zebrafish to identify novel gene expression changes, and provide molecular insight into phenotypes of interest.
Digital Participation Roles of the Global Jihad: Social Media’s Role in Bringing Together Vulnerable Individuals and VEO Content

The advent of the internet broadly changed the way society communicates. This is well-known and well-researched across standard populations. Niche or subpopulations, such as terrorist groups or other violent extremist organizations, are less well-understood and researched. However, as strategic outreach such as recruiting and advertising is more and more web-based, research’s limited understanding of such groups is a detriment to effective management strategies. This work is a foundational attempt to ground violent extremist organization’s internet usage into the theoretical lens of and discussion around digital participation and online communities. We analyze the spectrum of participation in violent extremist organizations’ online communities and elucidate existing behaviors of individuals involved with terrorism in a series of mini case studies. This work’s contribution is the expansion of the theoretical framework of digital participation in online violent extremist communities.
Hydrogen in silicon: surface modification and passivation of defects and impurities

The influence of an atomic H on the silicon surface are studied. New electronic states tentatively assigned to complexes of H with transition metals are observed. The mechanisms of deep defect and impurity levels passivation are discussed.
Collaborative Voluntary Programs: Lessons from Environmental Law

Voluntary and collaborative programs are potentially useful in addressing the pacing problem by expediting oversight mechanisms for new problems as well as minimizing outdated regulations. Because they can usually be negotiated or implemented more quickly than traditional regulations, as well as modified more easily in response to changing technologies and circumstances, voluntary agreements provide a degree of flexibility and adaptiveness that may be useful for managing rapidly emerging technologies. Yet, such voluntary programs also raise concerns, such as the lack of enforceability, and the limitations for participation of non-governmental organizations in some such programs. The environmental field offers a rich empirical set of examples in which the pros and cons of voluntary programs can be evaluated. Voluntary programs have had a mixed record of success in this field, but the lessons learned suggest that voluntary programs can provide a useful contribution to oversight when they are carefully designed to provide clarity, flexibility and appropriate incentives.
Bioethics and the Contributions of Otto Guttentag

Bioethics owes much of its popularity to Otto Guttentag, a German-trained homeopath who came to the United States in 1933. As a faculty member in the department of homeopathy at the University of California, San Francisco, he gained the respect of students and faculty. His experiences as a medical consultant in Germany after World War II convinced him about the importance of ethics in medical practice and research, a field in which he became a leader. He organized the first major bioethics conference and published the proceedings in Science in 1953. Later, Guttentag received NIH funding to study the effects of medical science on medical morality and ethics. Guttentag formulated the different roles of physician-friend and physician-researcher and believed that it was in the patient’s best interest for the two to be kept separate. He was instrumental in reorganizing German medical education after the war. Guttentag also introduced the teaching of medical ethics and humanities in US medical schools and created the Society for Health and Human Values, which eventually gave rise to the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities.
Developing Statistics Learning at a Distance Using Formal Discussions

The purpose of this paper is to report some preliminary empirical results of students enrolled in two graduate-level hybrid courses. A new design feature, the discussion board, was recently implemented in one section in order to increase overall interaction as well as to better monitor and assess student learning. The preliminary results of this study indicate that students who were more actively involved with the course materials, discussions, and others in the class performed better academically than students who were less involved. The results support formal asynchronous discussions as one teaching strategy that might facilitate the learning of statistics concepts online. There have been no empirical studies that focus on how effective asynchronous discussions might be utilized in an online/hybrid statistics course.