cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Support for adaptivity in ARMCI using migratable objects

Many new paradigms of parallel programming have emerged that compete with and complement the standard and well-established MPI model. Most notable, and successful, among these are models that support some form of global address space. At the same time, approaches based on migratable objects (also called virtualized processes) have shown that resource management concerns can be separated effectively from the overall parallel programming effort. For example, Charm++ supports dynamic load balancing via an intelligent adaptive run-time system. It is also becoming clear that a multi-paradigm approach that allows modules written in one or more paradigms to coexist and co-operate will be necessary to tame the parallel programming challenge. ARMCI is a remote memory copy library that serves as a foundation of many global address space languages and libraries. This paper presents our preliminary work on integrating and supporting ARMCI with the adaptive run-time system of Charm++ as a part of our overall effort in the multi-paradigm approach.
Pediatric aspects of the Michigan polybrominated biphenyl contamination.

Abstract In 1973, Michigan cattle feed was accidentally contaminated with polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and subsequently PBB has been found in the serum, body fat, and breast milk of most Michigan residents. Because of numerous complaints of ill health, a survey of Michigan farm children, the most heavily exposed group, was undertaken in 1976 to determine the nature and scope of the problem. Examination of the data from 292 Michigan children showed that the prevalence of symptoms was related to the quarantine status of the farm and to the method of invitation into the study. Serum PBB levels were related to the quarantine status of the farm but not to the method of invitation into the study. No significant effects of age or sex were found on the prevalence of symptoms or serum PBB levels, except that the teenage (13–16) males had somewhat higher PBB levels. Despite the frequent reporting of symptoms of ill health, physical examination failed to reveal any objective alterations that could be attributed to PBB. The most striking finding has been a statistically significant negative correlation between the prevalence of symptoms and the serum-PBB levels. So far, the reason for this negative correlation is unexplained.
The Effect of Early Childhood Intervention and Subsequent Special Education Services: Findings from the Chicago Child-Parent Centers

This article explores patterns of special education services during the elementary grades among children who participated in either the Child-Parent Center (CPC) Preschool Program or other early childhood programs in the Chicago Public Schools. The study sample included 1,377 low-income, racial minority children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Controlling for family background characteristics that might affect educational performance, children who participated in Child-Parent Center preschool had a significantly lower rate of special education placement (12.5%) than the comparison group (18.4%), who participated in an alternative all-day kindergarten program. The estimated impact of CPC preschool intervention was best explained by the cognitive advantage hypothesis. This article provides support for the long-term impact of the CPC preschool intervention on special education outcomes.
Increased heterologous protein production in Aspergillus niger fermentation through extracellular proteases inhibition by pelleted growth.

The dependence of filamentous fungal protease secretion on morphology was investigated by employing the recombinant Aspergillus niger strain AB4.1[pgpdAGLAGFP] which contains a gene for the glucoamylase-GFP (green fluorescence protein) fusion protein. Different inoculum levels were used to obtain different sizes of pellet or free mycelia. The extracellular protease activity of the cultures varied with the pellet size and decreased dramatically when the morphology was changed from free mycelia to pellets. The culture with an optimal pellet size of 1.6 mm was obtained from an inoculum of 4 10 6 spores/mL. It resulted in a specific protease activity of 158 units/ L, only one-third of that in free mycelial growth, and a maximum specific GFP yield of 0.98 mg/g (cell mass) compared to 0.29 mg/g for free mycelial growth with an inoculum of 10 7 spores/mL. The results indicate that this bioprocessing strategy can be effectively used to inhibit protease activity in filamentous fungal fermentation and thereby to enhance heterologous protein production.
A naming specification language for syntax-directed editors

A naming specification language, NSL, is described, which supplements existing syntax and semantics specification techniques for syntax-directed editor generation. NSL allows the editor implementor to define language-specific naming and scoping features in terms of a set of high-level abstractions. This facilitates editor generation by requiring considerably less work than either hand coding or specification using techniques more general than NSL. A modified editor-generator kernel architecture is described that efficiently implements the abstractions of NSL. This architecture supports NSL by a naming layer, which supplements the tree structure with graph edges, providing additional paths for semantic information propagation. The principal source of efficiency in this architecture is the direct propagation of incremental semantic evaluation from name declarations to name references. Also described are means by which NSL could be supported using previously proposed techniques for enhancing the performance of the attribute grammar paradigm. >
Virtual pebble: A haptic state display for pedestrians

We present a wearable haptic feedback device for the foot, which gives the sensation of a small pebble in a shoe when actuated and no sensation otherwise. Because it stimulates slowly-adapting as well as fast-adapting mechanoreceptors it is useful for displaying a condition that may persist over time, as well as the occurrence of an event. The feedback, which we call the “virtual pebble” due to its ability to appear on command, is intended as a complement to vibration feedback. We performed a user study to quantify perception accuracy during standing, walking, and jogging for haptic feedback combinations on the foot and knee from vibrotactors and the virtual pebble. We also quantified absolute perception thresholds for single vibration and virtual pebble actuations. Results show that subjects are able to correctly perceive a combination of the pebble and vibration much more accurately than a combination of two vibrations. In addition, subjects are most sensitive to vibration feedback while stationary but most sensitive to virtual pebble feedback while jogging. These findings suggest that the virtual pebble is useful as an additional channel of haptic feedback during ambulatory locomotion.
The Magnetic Fields of Mercury, Mars, and Moon

Mariner observations have shown a significant global magnetic field at Mercury with a dipole moment at a tilt of 14 + or - 5 deg relative to the normal of the orbit plane. A presently active dynamo is the most likely origin for the planet's magnetic field. Limited evidence for an intrinsic magnetic field on Mars was obtained by USSR spacecraft in 1971 and 1974. The Martian magnetic field, if it exists, may result from either remanent magnetism or an active dynamo. On the moon, local magnetic fields have been detected by the Apollo and Lunokhod missions, but no global correlation of the steady state values has been noted.
Using cultural tools to develop scientific literacy of young Mexican American preschoolers

Building on the home cultural practices related to science can facilitate scientific literacy development of preschoolers. Using a sociocognitive and sociocultural approach and funds of knowledge as a theoretical framework, this article describes how Mexican American parents and young children identified the science concepts and knowledge learned from common activities found in their homes through the Family Institute for Early Literacy Development. Science skills and concepts were found in many activities related to Mexican American cultural practices such as gardening, cooking and home remedies. Parents were informed of the type of scientific readiness knowledge that schools expect children to bring from home, and in turn parents were able to explain to their children those concepts during the institute and at home. The success of the institute is founded on the opportunity given to parents to understand and implement school expectations for their young children.
Moderate Caloric Restriction Prevents the Age-Related Decline in Growth Hormone Receptor Signal Transduction

A decline in plasma concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has been hypothesized to contribute to a decrease in tissue protein synthesis and function in aging animals and man. In this study, the effects of aging and long-term caloric restriction on growth hormone receptor signal transduction were assessed in hepatic tissue to determine whether alterations in tissue responsiveness to growth hormone contribute to the decline in IGF-1 gene expression. Liver slices from female C57/BL mice (10, 17, and 31 months) were prepared in media and stimulated with growth hormone (2 nM). An increase in growth hormone receptor binding was observed in 31-month ad libitum-fed animals (p < .01) compared to 10- or 17-month-old animals), and this effect was partially attenuated by moderate caloric restriction. However, growth hormone (2 nM)-induced IGF-1 gene expression was significantly lower in old ad libitum-fed animals (p < .05 compared to 10-month-old ad libitum and 31-month-old caloric-restricted animals). Further analysis revealed that growth hormone receptor and JAK2 kinase phosphorylation as well as mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activity were significantly lower in old animals compared to the adult or middle-age groups (p < .05). Old caloric-restricted animals demonstrated a significant increase in growth hormone receptor and JAK2 kinase phosphorylation and MAP kinase activity in response to growth hormone. The results demonstrate that growth hormone increases growth hormone receptor and JAK2 kinase phosphorylation as well as MAP kinase activity in liver. These responses decrease with age and are attenuated by moderate, long-term caloric restriction.
Low-temperature ac conductivity of mixed mobile ion germanate glasses

The conductivity of alternating current in the xAg{sub 2}O: (1 {minus} x)Rb{sub 2}O:4GeO{sub 2} glass series has been measured between 5.0 K and room temperature where x is varied from 0.0 to 1.0. The typical low-temperature conductivity region is observed below 200 K. The temperature and frequency dependence of conductivity in this region can be explained by the thermal excitation of asymmetric double well potential configurations. Further, the classical mixed mobile ion effect is essentially absent, which shows that the effect is associated with the independent movement of the mobile ions.
Catheter ablation of cardiac autonomic nerves for prevention of vagal atrial fibrillation.

Background—Vagal stimulation shortens the atrial effective refractory period (AERP) and maintains atrial fibrillation (AF). This study investigated whether the parasympathetic pathways that innervate the atria can be identified and ablated by use of transvenous catheter stimulation and radiofrequency current catheter ablation (RFCA) techniques. Methods and Results—In 11 dogs, AERPs were determined at 7 atrial sites during bilateral cervical vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) and electrical stimulation of the third fat pad (20 Hz) in the right pulmonary artery (RPA). VNS shortened the AERP at all sites (from 123±4 to 39±4 ms, P<0.001) and increased the covariance of AERP (COV-AERP) (from 9±3% to 27±13%, P<0.001). RPA stimulation shortened the AERP at all sites from 123±4 to 66±13 ms (P<0.001) and increased the COV-AERP from 9±3% to 30±12% (P<0.001). In 7 dogs, transvascular RFCA of the parasympathetic pathways along the RPA was performed, and in 3 dogs, additional RFCA of parasympathetic fibers along the inferi...
Reward Allocation by Impartial Allocators to Friend or Stranger Co-workers under Equal and Unequal Ability and Performance

Abstract The effects of a relationship variable (friends, strangers), an ability variable (equal, unequal), and a performance variable (equal, unequal) were studied in 40 male and 40 female university students. Eight versions of a hypothetical vignette were prepared to manipulate the eight treatment combinations. After reading an assigned vignette, subjects were asked to allocate $90 between two stranger or friend co-workers. Among other effects, the Relationship by Ability by Performance interaction was significant. The stranger, unequal ability, unequal performance allocations to the lower ability co-worker were significantly higher than the stranger, equal ability, unequal performance allocations, and the stranger, unequal ability, unequal performance allocations were higher than the friends, unequal ability, unequal performance allocations; this difference approached significance (p < .06). The questionnaire data revealed that, despite having favored strangers, the impartial allocators expected strang...
Resolution and structure of the wall pressure field beneath a turbulent boundary layer

The power spectrum of the wall pressure that would be measured by a transducer of vanishingly small size and the corrections to the power spectra measured by finite-size transducers are determined from the spectra measured by four transducers of different diameters. The root-mean-square wall pressure measured by a transducer of vanishingly small size is , approximately 13% higher than the root-mean-square pressure measured by the transducer used in the earlier investigations of Willmarth & Wooldridge (1962). Corrections to the power spectrum measured by a finite-size transducer are computed using the theory of Uberoi & Kovasznay (1952, 1953). The computations require information about the correlation of the wall pressure for very small spatial separation of the transducers. Unfortunately, these measurements have never been made. Corcos's (1964) similarity of the cross-spectral density is assumed to represent the missing information, but the computed corrections fail at high frequencies because the similarity expression is not valid when the spatial separation is small. The range of validity of the similarity is determined, and the average radial derivative of the cross-spectral density is inferred from the measured power spectra.
Abridgment of losses in armored single-conductor lead-covered A-C. cables

Besides the copper loss and the dielectric loss, the losses occurring in single-conductor armored cables, whose sheath and armor are bonded and grounded at more than one point, are the circulating-current losses in the sheath and in the armor, and the additional iron losses in an armor of magnetic material. The circulating-current losses are due to the currents induced in the sheath and armor circuits by the fluxes linking these circuits when these circuits are closed by the bonds or grounding connections. The sheath and armor losses have been analyzed for a steel-wire armored cable, a copper-wire armored cable, a steel-tape armored cable, and a cable enclosed in an iron pipe, and have been compared with the losses occurring in a plain lead-covered cable without armor. The data used include test data and calculated values. It is shown that a steel-wire armored 350,000-cir. mil single-conductor cable with sheath and armor short-circuited by low-impedance bonds had a total loss (exclusive of dielectric losses), of 2.8 times the conductor loss, by test in a single-phase 60-cycle circuit at 4 ft. cable spacing, at 260 amperes. The corresponding loss in a similar cable without armor, with lead sheath short-circuited, was 2.4 times the conductor loss. Thus the steel-wire armored cable had an additional loss due to the armor of about 20 per cent. A steel-tape armor or an iron pipe surrounding a single-conductor cable usually introduces considerably higher losses. Under the same condition, a cable similar to the steel-wire armored one but having an armor of copper wires has a calculated total loss (exclusive of dielectric loss) of only 1.3 times the conductor loss, the armor current being 92 per cent of the conductor current. The reduction of losses due to diminished cable spacing in a single-phase circuit is shown. When the cable spacing is reduced from 10 ft. to 1 ft. the over-all losses for a steel-wire armored 350,000-cir. mil cable (exclusive of dielectric losses) are reduced about 8 per cent, while those for a similar cable with copper-wire armor drop only about 3 per cent. The relative total annual costs of a steel-wire armored cable and of a similar copper-armored cable, both cables having a conductor cross-section of 350,000 dr. mils, were compared. In view of the lower operating cost of the copper-armored cable, it was found to have a lower total annual cost than that of the steel-wire armored cable at load factors above 60 per cent, the steel-wire armor having the advantage economically at lower load factors.
Inactivation of p53 and Retinoblastoma Family Pathways in Canine Osteosarcoma Cell Lines

Canine osteosarcoma (OS) has been used as a model system for the study of cancer biology and treatment despite the lack of information regarding its pathogenesis. Expression of tumor suppressor genes known to participate in malignant transformation were studied in five different OS cell lines. Each of the cell lines exhibited properties of transformed cells, and those that were tested grew in soft agarose and formed osteoid-containing tumors when injected subcutaneously into nude mice. p53 function was determined to be defective in each cell line as indicated by the lack of induction of p53-responsive genes, p21 and mdm2, following treatment with 5-fluorouracil. p53 mRNA and protein levels were elevated in three cell lines and were extremely low in two cell lines. p53 protein overexpression correlated with the presence of mutations within the DNA binding domain. Four cell lines appeared to contain normal retinoblastoma (Rb) mRNA and Rb protein and no detectable p16 mRNA or protein. In contrast, the remaining cell line contained high levels of p16 mRNA and protein and significantly reduced levels of Rb, p107, and p130 proteins. These results underscore the importance of inactivating p53 and Rb family pathways in canine OS and suggest that unlike human OS, cells derived from canine OS contain mutations that simultaneously inactivate all three Rb family members.
Learned social preference in zebrafish.

Summary of pigment patterns at a level not previously achieved. Here, we used a pigment pattern mutant that differs How social aggregations arise and persist is central dramatically from wild-type to determine if D. rerio exto our understanding of evolution, behavior, and psy- hibits variation in their shoaling preference, if that preferchology [1–3]. When social groups arise within a spe- ence is mediated through visual signals, and what roles cies, evolutionary divergence and speciation can reinternal and external factors play in the acquisition of sult [4, 5]. To understand this diversifying role of social such a preference. behavior, we must examine the internal and external As a first step in dissecting the behavioral roles of the influences that lead to nonrandom assortment of phe- zebrafish pigment pattern, we compared the shoaling notypes [6]. Many fishes form aggregations called preferences of wild-type fish and nacre w2 mutants (Figshoals that reduce predation risk while enhancing for- ure 1). nacre mutants completely lack melanophore
Feedback residual generator with decoupled faults and disturbances

We develop a new residual generator design which decouples the faults and disturbances in a linear time-invariant system. The decoupling is achieved using feedback to endow the residual generator with additional robustness to modeling errors and disturbances. We provide feasibility conditions for feedback decoupling. We illustrate the new approach using a design example.
The Genome of Bacteriophage K1F, a T7-Like Phage That Has Acquired the Ability To Replicate on K1 Strains of Escherichia coli

Bacteriophage K1F specifically infects Escherichia coli strains that produce the K1 polysaccharide capsule. Like several other K1 capsule-specific phages, K1F encodes an endo-neuraminidase (endosialidase) that is part of the tail structure which allows the phage to recognize and degrade the polysaccharide capsule. The complete nucleotide sequence of the K1F genome reveals that it is closely related to bacteriophage T7 in both genome organization and sequence similarity. The most striking difference between the two phages is that K1F encodes the endosialidase in the analogous position to the T7 tail fiber gene. This is in contrast with bacteriophage K1-5, another K1-specific phage, which encodes a very similar endosialidase which is part of a tail gene “module” at the end of the phage genome. It appears that diverse phages have acquired endosialidase genes by horizontal gene transfer and that these genes or gene products have adapted to different genome and virion architectures.
Nurturing Reflection and Connection through the Kiva

The Kiva, originating from Southwestern Native American governance processes, provides a structured group experience that encourages critical reflection and selfanalysis through multiple, sequenced consideration of an issue by juxtaposing public and private self, and eliciting affective and reflective responses. As a sacred space and place of connection, the Kiva process accommodates personal and often emotional topics in leadership education.
Social choice and information: the informational structure of uniqueness theorems in axiomatic social theories

Abstract The paper introduces the category of algebraic axioms and investigates when a social rule of decision-making can be uniquely characterized with such axioms. The first result shows that every set of axioms that characterize a given rule is equivalent to a set of three algebraic axioms. The second result suggests a method for constructing an algebraic proof of uniqueness via finding an appropriate path of maps. It says that we can characterize a rule if and only if we can find a path. Both theorems are then used to prove and analyze various characterization results in May's binary social choice, Nash bargaining theory, and Sen's social choice theory.
Hydro-businesses: National and Global Demands on the São Francisco River Basin Environment of Brazil*

The Sao Francisco River provided very obvious, close-by forms of sustenance for local communities. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the river became the place for large hydro-electric facilities, large-scale flooding, and population resettlement. A decade later, the federal government began working on pilot irrigation projects that would lead to areas described today as the Brazilian California. Hydro-power for Brazilian cities such as Recife and Salvador and irrigation for grapes and mangoes destined for the United States and Europe are among the eco-system services this river supplies. The purpose of federal policies for the north-east went beyond mitigation of the consequences of droughts, the hydraulic approach, and started to follow an economic approach based upon development; as a consequence, river and user came to be distant from one another. The two major intensive uses of the river, electricity and irrigation, threaten the long-term sustainability of this system.
MENTAL RETARDATION GENES IN DROSOPHILA: NEW APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING AND TREATING DEVELOPMENTAL BRAIN DISORDERS

Drosophila melanogaster is emerging as a valuable genetic model system for the study of mental retardation (MR). MR genes are remarkably similar between humans and fruit flies. Cognitive behavioral assays can detect reductions in learning and memory in flies with mutations in MR genes. Neuroanatomical methods, including some at single-neuron resolution, are helping to reveal the cellular bases of faulty brain development caused by MR gene mutations. Drosophila fragile X mental retardation 1 (dfmr1) is the fly counterpart of the human gene whose malfunction causes fragile X syndrome. Research on the fly gene is leading the field in molecular mechanisms of the gene product's biological function and in pharmacological rescue of brain and behavioral phenotypes. Future work holds the promise of using genetic pathway analysis and primary neuronal culture methods in Drosophila as tools for drug discovery for a wide range of MR and related disorders.
High intertidal community organization on a rocky headland in Maine, USA

A mosaic patchwork of the barnacle Balanus balanoides L., the mussel Mytilus edulis L., and the alga Fucus vesiculosus L. was found in the transitional region between the mid and high intertidal zones on a rocky headland on Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA. The development of the mosaic was observed by following recruitment and survival of B. balanoides in denuded patches located at the same tidal level along a 60 m stretch of shore. Barnacle recruitment was least under canopies of F. vesiculosus and greatest in open areas kept moist at low tide by surf. Barnacle survival after settlement was least under the F. vesiculosus canopy due to the whiplash effect of the algal fronds in the surf and greatest in open areas free from competition from mussels. In open areas, early mortality was correlated with settlement density. In areas of dense settlement (60 spat cm-2) up to 90% mortality resulted within 5 months from crowding associated with growth. In older individuals crowding produced hummocks of elongated, weakly attached barnacles which were more prone to removal by surf than uncrowded barnacles. Mussels exerted competitive dominance over barnacles for space and the presence of mussel beds prevented further barnacle recruitment. Mussels suffered extensive mortality during winter storms when surf removed dense mats of weakly attached mussels. The patchy distribution of mussels and barnacles results from irregular rock substrata producing numerous environmental patches with respect to wave exposure and drainage at low tide, and from densitydependent mortality of both mussels and barnacles which creates patches of new colonizable space within each environmental patch.
Mapping the effects of drugs on the immune system

Understanding how drugs affect the immune system has consequences for treating disease and minimizing unwanted side effects. Here we present an integrative computational approach for predicting interactions between drugs and immune cells in a system-wide manner. The approach matches gene sets between transcriptional signatures to determine their similarity. We apply the method to model the interactions between 1,309 drugs and 221 immune cell types and predict 69,995 interactions. The resulting immune-cell pharmacology map is used to predict how five drugs influence four immune cell types in humans and mice. To validate the predictions, we analyzed patient records and examined cell population changes from in vivo experiments. Our method offers a tool for screening thousands of interactions to identify relationships between drugs and the immune system.
The Limitations of Diversification Return

Diversification return is the amount by which the geometric mean return (i.e., average compounded return) of a portfolio exceeds the weighted average of the geometric means of the portfolio’s constituent assets. Diversification return has been touted as a source of added return, even if markets are informationally efficient. Portfolio rebalancing has been advocated as a valuable source of diversification return. The authors demonstrate that diversification return is not a source of increased expected value. However, portfolio rebalancing can be an effective mean-reverting strategy. Any enhanced expected value from rebalancing emanates from mean-reversion, rather than from diversification or variance reduction.
Peritoneal Lavage. Effective Elimination of Nitrogenous Wastes in the Absence of Kidney Function

The experiments of one of us have demonstrated that nephrectomized dogs eliminate considerable amounts of ammonia in vomiting. These results have been amply confirmed and extended by others. Martin has studied the elimination of ammonia, urea and other nitrogenous wastes lost in this manner.During a similar study on elimination of both urea and ammonia in the vomitus, we have demonstrated that really considerable quantities of urea and ammonia are thus eliminated. However, the prospect of this method of elimination serving as a therapeutic measure to tide patients over temporary periods of deficiency in kidney function is not bright. Elimination by way of the stomach becomes quantitatively important only when nitrogen retention has reached a very serious stage, and in our hands this mode of excretion has always failed to keep pace with nitrogen accumulation.During the course of these experiments we encountered edema of massive proportions. The ascitic fluid in these cases was found to be rich in urea and ...
Vagueness and Context

A number of recent accounts for vague terms postulate a kind of context-sensitivity, one that kicks in after the usual ‘external’ contextual factors like comparison class are established and held fixed. In a recent paper, ‘Vagueness without Context Change’(Mind 116 (2007): 275–92), Rosanna Keefe criticizes all such accounts. The arguments are variations on considerations that have been brought against context-sensitive accounts of knowledge, predicates of personal taste, epistemic modals, and the like. The issues are well known and there are variety of options available in reply. More important, the arguments rely on an overly narrow conception of context-sensitivity, suggesting that one size fits all. If Keefe’s arguments were cogent, they would tell against the context-sensitivity of just about any expression, beyond the typical indexicals, including the variation of vague terms with comparison class. However, the criticisms raised by Keefe do highlight certain questions that must be answered by an advo...
TWO SPECIALLY DESIGNED CLAMPS FOR USE IN THE SURGICAL RELIEF OF VASCULAR EMBOLISM AND THROMBOSIS.

SUMMARY Two specially designed vascular instruments, which have facilitated the removal of thromboembolic and atherosclerotic material, have been described.
High Failure Rate of Indwelling Ureteral Stents in Patients with Extrinsic Obstruction: Experience at 2 Institutions

AbstractThe indwelling ureteral stent commonly is used to bypass 2 types of obstruction: 1) intrinsic obstruction usually due to stones or ureteropelvic junction abnormalities or 2) extrinsic compression, for example by retroperitoneal tumor. To determine the success of this intervention at 2 institutions the medical records of all patients undergoing cystoscopic placement of a stent for ureteral obstruction were reviewed. Procedures were classified by several parameters, including the type and location of the ureteral obstruction, indications for stent placement and success of the procedure. Stent failure was defined arbitrarily as clinical occlusion of the stent within 30 days of placement. X-rays were reviewed as available to measure stricture length and location in patients with extrinsic obstruction. Of the procedures at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where silicone stents are used almost exclusively, 23 perforated indwelling stents placed for intrinsic obstruction were uniformly successful....
Rapid Postnatal Expansion of Neural Networks Occurs in an Environment of Altered Neurovascular and Neurometabolic Coupling

In the adult brain, increases in neural activity lead to increases in local blood flow. However, many prior measurements of functional hemodynamics in the neonatal brain, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in human infants, have noted altered and even inverted hemodynamic responses to stimuli. Here, we demonstrate that localized neural activity in early postnatal mice does not evoke blood flow increases as in the adult brain, and elucidate the neural and metabolic correlates of these altered functional hemodynamics as a function of developmental age. Using wide-field GCaMP imaging, the development of neural responses to somatosensory stimulus is visualized over the entire bilaterally exposed cortex. Neural responses are observed to progress from tightly localized, unilateral maps to bilateral responses as interhemispheric connectivity becomes established. Simultaneous hemodynamic imaging confirms that spatiotemporally coupled functional hyperemia is not present during these early stages of postnatal brain development, and develops gradually as cortical connectivity is established. Exploring the consequences of this lack of functional hyperemia, measurements of oxidative metabolism via flavoprotein fluorescence suggest that neural activity depletes local oxygen to below baseline levels at early developmental stages. Analysis of hemoglobin oxygenation dynamics at the same age confirms oxygen depletion for both stimulus-evoked and resting-state neural activity. This state of unmet metabolic demand during neural network development poses new questions about the mechanisms of neurovascular development and its role in both normal and abnormal brain development. These results also provide important insights for the interpretation of fMRI studies of the developing brain. Significance statement This work demonstrates that the postnatal development of neuronal connectivity is accompanied by development of the mechanisms that regulate local blood flow in response to neural activity. Novel in vivo imaging reveals that, in the developing mouse brain, strong and localized GCaMP neural responses to stimulus fail to evoke local blood flow increases, leading to a state in which oxygen levels become locally depleted. These results demonstrate that the development of cortical connectivity occurs in an environment of altered energy availability that itself may play a role in shaping normal brain development. These findings have important implications for understanding the pathophysiology of abnormal developmental trajectories, and for the interpretation of functional magnetic resonance imaging data acquired in the developing brain.
A systematic review of troponin T and I values as a prognostic tool for patients with chest pain.

OBJECTIVE The accuracy of the troponin T and I test as a prognostic tool for patients with chest pain varies considerably depending on the patient population, the cutoff for an abnormal test result, and other factors. The goal of our systematic review was to synthesize the best available evidence on this topic. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched the MEDLINE database, bibliographies of identified articles, and articles identified from a previous meta-analysis of diagnosis. SELECTION CRITERIA We included cohort studies that had at least 80% follow-up and reported useful data. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Data from each study were abstracted by 2 investigators. We calculated sensitivity and specificity for the prediction of death, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or any cardiac event for each combination of patient population, troponin test, interval from admission to blood draw, and cutoff for an abnormal test result. MAIN RESULTS For patients with chest pain and a normal electrocardiogram, the peak troponin I level drawn 6 or more hours after the onset of chest pain is useful for identifying patients at low risk of death or nonfatal MI at 30 days (negative likelihood ratio=0.07; probability of outcome=0.3% with a negative test, given a pretest probability of 4.4%). For patients with unstable angina, the sensitivity of troponin I for the identification of patients who die or have a nonfatal MI in the next 30 days is only 59%, and the specificity is only 79%. The sensitivity and specificity varied widely for patients with unstable angina or non-Q-wave MI depending on the inclusion criteria, cutoff used, timing of the blood draw, duration of follow-up, aim other factors. CONCLUSIONS If the peak troponin T or I level measured at least 6 hours after the onset of chest pain symptoms is in the normal range in a patient with a normal electrocardiogram, it is very unlikely that the patient will die or have a nonfatal MI in the next 30 days (< or =1%). The initial troponin value is not as helpful as the peak value at least 6 hours after the onset of chest pain. An abnormal troponin test result for patients with unstable angina or non-Q-wave MI identifies a subset at greater risk of death.
Coactivation of Default Mode Network and Executive Network Regions in the Human Brain

The executive network (EN) is activated during higher-level cognition; however, the default mode network (DMN) is deactivated during cognitive tasks. Therefore, their relationship was described as anticorrelational. During the task period, the EN increases its activity and the DMN decreases its activity, whereas the DMN is activated and the EN is deactivated during the rest period. However, recent studies reported that the two networks are not necessarily anticorrelated, and instead they actually show coactivation during some cognitive tasks. In addition, recent research also reported that the relationship between the DMN and EN dynamically changes during different phases within a cognitive task. For example, the EN and DMN regions were coactivated during a task preparation period, whereas the EN was activated and the DMN regions were deactivated during a task execution period. The results suggest that the relationship between the EN and DMN could change dynamically depending on task demands.
Introduction: The Shrinking City Phenomenon

Global urban development is currently characterized by varied combination of metropolitan growth and urban core shrinkage. Simultaneously with metropolitan expansion, shrinking cities have emerged in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries as a crisis. From the 1960s, cities around the globe have faced shrinkage in population due to various factors like deindustrialization, suburbanization, and post-socialism. While much of the shrinkage is concentrated in central cities, edge cities and suburbs are now facing the same problem. This book explores whether Warren, a first suburb of Detroit, can offer valuable lessons to address this crisis in the urban periphery. Specific opportunities can be imagined at the shrinking edge of large central cities in terms of strategic location, diverse housing choices, and large spaces for green infrastructure.
Advanced Idiosyncratic Risk and Multi-Factor Models – Short Version

We introduce advanced idiosyncratic risk (“AI-Risk”), a parsimonious correlated residual correction to a predictive stress CAPM-like factor model, aimed to get more accurate stock-stock correlations. We find that AI-Risk can be significant for stock portfolios. Inclusion of AI-Risk gives a more realistic risk assessment, consistent with real-world correlation constraints. We also indicate the generalization of AI-Risk to cross-sectional regression factor models, of interest to PMs. This paper is an abridged version.
The Baseline Bar

“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own Government to save our environment.” (Ansel Adams) The road to sustainability for the planet’s people and natural ecosystems does not include rampant extractivism. A recent study suggests that more than 80 percent of the world’s known hydrocarbon reserves must remain in the ground to avoid runaway climate change. This article challenges the dominant paradigm as to why the “no action” alternative provision of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is used more as a tool of assessment to move a project forward than instead as a tool of prohibition to halt a project and its deleterious environmental impacts. To strengthen the “no action” alternative, this article recommends a more detailed analysis to conserve delicate environmental spaces and alleviate the phenomenon of environmental racism. Increased detail and specificity would establish what I refer to as “the baseline bar,” the point at which environmental, social, and economic metrics for a proposed federal agency action lead to a recommendation of “no action.” The baseline bar can be achieved through NEPA’s “no action” alternative as well as through other environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, inter alia. The baseline bar would operate to halt project development once specific metrics are not satisfied or delay them so they become economically unfeasible. Manifestations of the baseline bar have led up to the earlier rejection of extractive industry projects, such as Alaska’s Pebble Mine and TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline. Yet these projects and many other hydrocarbon and mining enterprises now face rebirth. Adherence to NEPA’s procedural requirements could delay or inhibit such projects. The lack of a baseline bar is evident in the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and the armed standoff over grazing rights in Oregon. Further, this analysis of the baseline bar will work toward understanding the next wave of environmental lawsuits and dispute resolution.
Rotors exhibit greater surface ECG variation during ventricular fibrillation than focal sources due to wavebreak, secondary rotors, and meander.

Introduction Ventricular fibrillation is a common life-threatening arrhythmia. The ECG of VF appears chaotic but may allow identification of sustaining mechanisms to guide therapy. Hypothesis We hypothesized that rotors and focal sources manifest distinct features on the ECG, and computational modeling may identify mechanisms of such features. Methods VF induction was attempted in 31 patients referred for ventricular arrhythmia ablation. Simultaneous surface ECG and intracardiac electrograms were recorded using biventricular basket catheters. Endocardial phase maps were used to mechanistically classify each VF cycle as rotor or focally-driven. ECGs were analyzed from patients demonstrating both mechanisms in the primary analysis and from all patients with induced VF in the secondary analysis. The ECG voltage variation during each mechanism was compared. Biventricular computer simulations of VF driven by focal sources or rotors were created and resulting ECGs of each VF mechanism were compared. Results Rotor-based VF exhibited greater voltage variation than focal source-based VF in both the primary analysis (n = 8, 110±24% vs 55±32%, p = 0.02) and the secondary analysis (n = 18, 103±30% vs 67±34%, p = 0.009). Computational VF simulations also revealed greater voltage variation in rotors compared to focal sources (110±19% vs 33±16%, p = 0.001), and demonstrated that this variation was due to wavebreak, secondary rotor initiation, and rotor meander. Conclusion Clinical and computational studies reveal that quantitative criteria of ECG voltage variation differ significantly between VF-sustaining rotors and focal sources, and provide insight into the mechanisms of such variation. Future studies should prospectively evaluate if these criteria can separate clinical VF mechanisms and guide therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Explaining Multisensory Experience

Our experience of the world involves a number of senses, including (but perhaps not limited to) sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. These senses are not isolated from one another. They work together, providing a robust and coherent awareness of our environment. Consider entering a good restaurant: one sees the decor and the other patrons, smells the pleasing odors wafting from the kitchen, hears the pleasant music and sound of conversation, feels the comfort of the seating, and, finally, savors the taste of the food. It seems obvious that, in some sense at least, our perceptual awareness of the restaurant is multisensory. Saying exactly what it is for perceptual awareness to be multisensory is more challenging than it appears, however.
Disclosure of Sexual Violence Among Girls and Young Women Aged 13 to 24 Years: Results From the Violence Against Children Surveys in Nigeria and Malawi.

Understanding factors that are associated with disclosure of sexual violence (SV) is important for the delivery of health services as well as developing strategies for prevention and response. The Violence Against Children Surveys were conducted in Malawi and Nigeria. We examined the prevalence of SV, help-seeking behaviors, and factors associated with disclosure among girls and young women aged 13 to 24. The self-reported prevalence of SV was similar in Nigeria (26%) and Malawi (27%). Among females who experienced SV, approximately one third (37%) in Nigeria and one half (55%) in Malawi ever disclosed their experience of SV. Females in Nigeria were significantly more likely to disclose to their parents (31.8%) than females in Malawi (9.5%). The most common reason for nondisclosure in Nigeria was not feeling a need or desire to tell anyone (34.9%) and in Malawi was embarrassment (29.3%). Very close relationships with one or both parents were significantly associated with disclosure among Nigerian females ...
Analysis of phosphorus retention in free-water surface treatment wetlands

Wetlands have become the focus of numerous research and restoration efforts due to their ability to assimilate phosphorus and nitrogen from urban wastewater and stormwater runoff. Long-term data collected at Boney Marsh, Florida, USA, and the USEPA wetland database were analyzed to develop a simple tool that can be used to predict and optimize phosphorus retention in wetland treatment systems. Wetland properties such as water loading rate, water depth, P-loading rate, and water retention time were examined for their influence on phosphorus retention. The relationship between wetland properties and phosphorus removal efficiency was reduced to a simple quantitative diagram, 'The Phosphorus Removal Efficiency Diagram.′ The proposed diagram provides a simple management tool that predicts expected treatment range using controllable hydrologic conditions.
Detecting and analyzing clusters of low-birth weight incidence using exploratory spatial data analysis

Low birth weight incidence remains a very important public health issue, not least because of the prevalence of race as a major risk factor in low birth weight occurrence. In the United States, the rate of low birth weight incidence among African-Americans is over twice that of the rate among the white population. However, since low birth weight incidence is associated with many other risk factors, knowledge of the spatial variability of low birth weight incidence rates becomes an important aid in assessing the role of these other risk factors. This paper seeks to demonstrate the application of a linked statistical-GIS methodology for identifying statistically significant spatial clusters of abnormally high rate and low rate levels of low birth weight incidence, by race. The methodology is based on kernel density estimation with random-labeling Monte-Carlo simulation providing the inferential framework for statistical significance. Once these spatial clusters are detected, a descriptive comparison of some underlying socio-demographic variables is undertaken for different types of cluster for the two major population regions in Florida, namely the central Florida I-4 corridor, incorporating the major cities of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Orlando, and the urbanized parts of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, incorporating the major cities of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.