cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Not-So-Beautiful Game

Although football (soccer) is often referred to as ‘the beautiful game’, to take that idea very seriously — by aestheticizing the target of spectating — is to misunderstand a purposive sport (deploying David Best’s contrast) such as football. Yet such a view seems required by Stephen Mumford’s endorsement of the purist spectator, in contrast to the partisan, as attending to ‘… only aesthetic aspects of sport’ (p. 372). But, first, not all non-purposive appreciation is thereby aesthetic appreciation, as Mumford assumes. And, second, while a technical understanding of the aesthetic includes both positive and negative aesthetic concerns, an everyday version (as well as Mumford’s) addresses only positive aesthetic value. Now, there are concepts of grace, line and so on, applicable to football: that is, concepts suitable to aesthetic appreciation. And sometimes, for instance, in TV’s ‘Goal of the Month’ competition, such appreciation sets aside the purposive dimension of such sports. Yet that dimension is fund...
A high-throughput assay for the comprehensive profiling of DNA ligase fidelity

DNA ligases have broad application in molecular biology, from traditional cloning methods to modern synthetic biology and molecular diagnostics protocols. Ligation-based detection of polynucleotide sequences can be achieved by the ligation of probe oligonucleotides when annealed to a complementary target sequence. In order to achieve a high sensitivity and low background, the ligase must efficiently join correctly base-paired substrates, while discriminating against the ligation of substrates containing even one mismatched base pair. In the current study, we report the use of capillary electrophoresis to rapidly generate mismatch fidelity profiles that interrogate all 256 possible base-pair combinations at a ligation junction in a single experiment. Rapid screening of ligase fidelity in a 96-well plate format has allowed the study of ligase fidelity in unprecedented depth. As an example of this new method, herein we report the ligation fidelity of Thermus thermophilus DNA ligase at a range of temperatures, buffer pH and monovalent cation strength. This screen allows the selection of reaction conditions that maximize fidelity without sacrificing activity, while generating a profile of specific mismatches that ligate detectably under each set of conditions.
Safety and acid-suppressant properties of histamine2-receptor antagonists for the prevention of stress-related mucosal damage in critical care patients

Therapeutic intervention for the prevention of stress-related mucosal damage (SRMD) is currently directed at decreasing mucosal exposure to endogenous hydrochloric acid. We conducted a double-blind, parallel-group study in critically ill patients to investigate the comparative safety and acid-suppressant properties of the intravenously administered H2-receptor antagonists cimetidine and famotidine. This is a preliminary analysis. Study patients received either famotidine 20 mg q12h or cimetidine 300 mg q6h or q12h. Cimetidine dosing intervals were based upon the degree of renal and hepatic dysfunction due to pharmacokinetic considerations. In critically ill patients with severe renal impairment, a pH of ≥4.0 was maintained more consistently with famotidine 20 mg q12h compared with treatment with cimetidine. In terms of safety, a greater number of patients receiving cimetidine reported adverse clinical experiences than those receiving famotidine and a greater number of cimetidine patients had to be withdra...
What is the role of clinical genetics in the patient-centered medical home?: A commentary from the Medical Home Workgroup of the Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative

What is the role of clinical genetics in the patient-centered medical home?: A commentary from the Medical Home Workgroup of the Heartland Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative
A GABAergic projection from the zona incerta to cortex promotes cortical neuron development

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the major inhibitory transmitter in the mature brain but is excitatory in the developing cortex. We found that mouse zona incerta (ZI) projection neurons form a GABAergic axon plexus in neonatal cortical layer 1, making synapses with neurons in both deep and superficial layers. A similar depolarizing GABAergic plexus exists in the developing human cortex. Selectively silencing mouse ZI GABAergic neurons at birth decreased synaptic activity and apical dendritic complexity of cortical neurons. The ZI GABAergic projection becomes inhibitory with maturation and can block epileptiform activity in the adult brain. These data reveal an early-developing GABAergic projection from the ZI to cortical layer 1 that is essential for proper development of cortical neurons and balances excitation with inhibition in the adult cortex.
Review: “When All of Rome Was Under Construction”: The Building Process in Baroque Rome by Dorothy Metzger Habel

Dorothy Metzger Habel “When All of Rome Was Under Construction”: The Building Process in Baroque Rome University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2013, 320 pp., 119 b/w illus. $99.95 (cloth), ISBN 9780271055732 Any reader who loves Rome, studies the early modern period in art history, and holds dear the history of architecture will find much to admire in Dorothy Metzger Habel’s study of construction and urban planning in seventeenth-century Rome. “When All of Rome Was Under Construction”: The Building Process in Baroque Rome digs deep into archival records to tell compelling stories about how the building trades functioned and who got to boss whom around, along with what were the obstacles, snags, and goals faced by those who helped to shape baroque Rome. One who studies urbanism is going to relish her accounts and revel in this insider’s view of how architecture and urban development worked when the pope was the king of Rome. Habel’s chronicle of the building industry in seventeenth-century Rome begins with urban renewal in Piazza Colonna (with spillover into Piazza Navona), followed by a detailed study of the ways in which one of the most ambitious projects of the seventeenth century, the building of Piazza San Pietro, both collided with and influenced nearly every other building project in Rome during the reign of Pope Alexander VII (1655–67). We learn from the author that she “hears voices” from the past. Such a phrase sounds ever-so-slightly eerie, as it is meant to do. Rome itself is, after all, haunted by its past and has been, off and on, built and built over many times. In the introduction, Habel tells us that her original conception of this project was to write essays, a way of proceeding that calls upon an early modern form of prose. To “essay” is to attempt or try. Her essaying, she had assumed, would include archival research and also follow fairly well-established methods in architectural history. But, in the end, she turns to what she calls something …
Aeromedical Transport of Pediatric Patients Less Than Three Months of Age

The published literature on infants undergoing aeromedical transport is limited to observational studies of healthy infants. Aeromedical transport is a common modality of transporting critically ill infants to facilities with intensive care units, but it is not without risk. One potential risk is the exposure to altitude hypoxia. Infants have an increased tendency for ventilation-perfusion mismatch in response to hypoxia, making them susceptible to hypoxemic episodes, apnea or hypoventilation. The complications associated with altitude hypoxia do not arise until atmospheric pressure drops to between 3,000-3,500 meters, …
Abstract A109: Intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids and distal large bowel cancer risk in whites and African Americans

Experimental and clinical data suggest anti‐neoplastic properties of long‐chain ω‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the colon. Epidemiologic evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between intakes of different polyunsaturated fatty acids and distal large bowel cancer in a population‐based case‐control study of 1,509 whites (716 cases and 787 controls) and 369 African Americans (213 cases and 156 controls) in North Carolina (2001–2006). Dietary intake of 19 different polyunsaturated fatty acids was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for distal large bowel cancer risk in relation to quartiles of polyunsaturated fatty acid intake. Increased consumption of long‐chain ω‐3 fatty acids was associated with reduced risk of distal large bowel cancer. Compared to the lowest quartile, the multivariable odds ratios for the second, third and highest quartile were: OR=0.96 (95% CI: 0.71–1.31), OR=0.75 (95% CI: 0.54–1.04), and OR=0.61 (95% CI: 0.44–0.86), respectively; P for trend Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A109.
The Role of p75NTR and Its Signaling Pathways in Fenretinide (4HPR)-Induced Apoptosis in Neuroblastoma Cells (P06.003)

Objective: The overall goal is to understand the role of p75NTR and its signaling pathways in Fenretinide (4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide - 4HPR) induced apoptosis in neuroblastoma cells and determine some of the signaling pathways that mediate this effect. Understanding the role of p75NTR in mediating 4HPR-induced apoptosis will facilitate development of targeted therapies for the treatment of neuroblastoma by providing insight into pathways that could be targeted for combination chemotherapy. Background 4HPR is well tolerated in clinical trials and has been shown to cause apoptosis by increasing ROS generation in cancer cells. Targeting minimal residual disease in neuroblastoma involves sensitizing these tumors to chemotherapeutics by manipulating receptor signaling. p75NTR has a pro/anti-apoptotic role depending on the intracellular conditions. Design/Methods: S-type neuroblastoma cells (SH-EP1, SK-N-AS, SK-N-MC) with varying amounts of p75NTR are used to determine the effect of p75NTR signaling on the 4HPR-concentration curve. Changes in oxidative stress as a result of 4HPR treatment are recorded using western blotting and fluorescent microscopy. Results: 4HPR reduces cell viability in a variety of neuroblastoma cell lines when they are treated for 24(15%)-72 hrs (40%). p75NTR expression is pro-apoptotic and sensitizes SH-EP1 cells by decreasing viability, metabolic health and upregulating 4HPR-induced apoptosis. Treatment of SH-EP1 cells with 4HPR for 72 hours revealed no change in production of cellular OH- or cytoslic O2- but a sharp increase was observed in mitochondrial O2- production(Scr>p75shRNA transfected SH-EP1). Scavenging oxygen radicals in the mitochondria or inhibiting Complex II inhibits the pro-apoptotic effect of Fenretinide. Akt signaling is upregulated in SH-EP1 cells with p75shRNA compared to native SH-EP1 cells. Conclusions: This will facilitate the sensitization of minimal residual disease and preventing recurrence using combination chemotherapeutics for treatment by creating conditions of increased oxidative stress and enhance response by tumors to conventional chemotherapeutics causing apoptosis. Disclosure: Dr. Ganeshan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schor has nothing to disclose.
A Comparison of Clinical and Laboratory Methods in Monitoring Human Menopausal Gonadotropin Therapy

Twenty infertile, anovulatory women were treated with human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) for a total of 61 treatment cycles. Cervical scores (all cycles) and vaginal maturation indices (23 cycles) were compared with serum concentrations of total immunoreactive estrogens to determine their clinical efficacy in monitoring hMG treatment. All courses of therapy were judged to have induced ovulation. Singleton pregnancies occurred in nine patients, and one patient conceived twice. All pregnancies were uncomplicated. There was good clinical correlation between cervical score and increasing estrogen levels in approximately one-third of the cycles. Most of these good correlations occurred in patients with low estrogen status. Very poor correlation was found with vaginal cytologic changes. Therefore, in conjunction with serum estrogen determinations, the cervical score is a safe and less expensive means of monitoring hMG therapy in selected patients.
Acid and bile salts induce different effects on cell proliferation in human esophageal keratinocytes and Barrett's esophagus cells.

Fifth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Nov 12-15, 2006 A222 Barrett's esophagus is a pre-malignant condition that develops in the context of mucosal injury from chronic gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). This condition develops in 10-15% of patients with GERD. BE patients are at an elevated risk (30 to 45 times greater than the normal population) of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma. Barrett's esophagus occurs when the normal stratified squamous epithelium of the esophagus is replaced with a single layer of specialized columnar epithelium. The aim of this study is to determine if pulses of acid and bile, both alone and together, have different effects on cell proliferation of squamous cells and Barrett's esophagus cells both individually and in competition. A normal squamous cell line, EPC2, and four Barrett's Esophagus-derived columnar cell lines were used. In monoculture, total cells were counted at the end of each exposure, either to acidic media (pH 3.5) (n=4) for three minutes or bile salts (pH 7.4) (n=3) for 6 minutes and 1 hour daily for three days. The bile salt mixture was 1mM total of sodium glycocholate hydrate, taurocholic acid, glycocholic acid, and taurochenodeoxycholate. Multiple exposures of each treatment had a different effect on each cell line. Acid affected the cell lines differently, having a more dramatic effect on total cell number of squamous cells than the BE cells (p < 0.05). In the early BE cell line derived from non-dysplastic metaplasia, KR-42421, daily treatment with acid over 3 days did not reduce growth rate after the initial decline observed from the first acid exposure. EPC2 cells were equally affected from 1 to 3 days of acid pulses. However, the remaining BE cell lines, derived from high-grade dsyplasia, did demonstrate a decrease in growth rate after 3 days of acid pulses. In experiments with pulsed conjugated bile acids, 60 minutes of bile affected all cell lines approximately equally. However, with multiple pulses of bile for 6 minutes, EPC2's were more affected than some (KR-42421 and CP-52731, p<0.05) but not all of the BE cell lines. Some of the BE cell lines were equally susceptible as the squamous cells to bile's effects on cell proliferation (CP-94921 and CP18821). Most of the cell lines decreased growth rate compared with their respective controls over three days, with exception of EPC2 and CP18821. BE cell lines are more resistant to acid and bile exposure than normal esophageal squamous cells, in vitro. These differences suggest that BE cells are able to out compete squamous cells in the esophageal environment of acid-bile reflux. Our bile exposure results may also explain why the suppression of acid in patients, without suppressing bile reflux, generally does not lead to regression of BE.
Audit of Group Financial Statements

While auditing a group financial statements, the group engagement partner is responsible for the direction, supervision, and performance of the group audit engagement. To that end, the group engagement partner is required to be satisfied that those performing the group audit engagement, including component auditors, collectively possess the appropriate competence and capabilities. Therefore, he should assess materiality, including performance materiality, for the group financial statements as a whole when establishing the overall group audit strategy.
Pancreatic cancer in Illinois. A report by 88 hospitals on 2,401 patients diagnosed 1978-84.

A retrospective study of survival results for pancreatic cancer was performed. The study had two objectives: 1) to relate the extent of disease and management to survival, and 2) to determine whether newer treatment combinations have altered prognosis. Cancer registrars from 88 Illinois hospitals reviewed original medical records and submitted standardized report forms on 2,401 patients diagnosed between 1978-84. Three-year survival time was longer after laparotomy/bypass plus radiation/chemotherapy than for laparotomy/bypass alone (P less than .02). But the difference in survival between resection versus resection, radiation, and chemotherapy was not significant (P = .16). After resection, the median survival for 78 Stage I patients was 12.5 months, whereas for 181 Stage I patients after laparotomy/bypass it was 6.8 months (P less than .00001). For patients without metastases, 3-year survival was significantly better for 249 patients in whom cancer was resected versus 568 unresected patients (P less than .001). Survival was longer for 568 unresected patients without gross metastases than for 954 patients with metastatic disease found at laparotomy (P less than .05). From this study the authors concluded that: 1) since 3-year survival results were higher than expected after resection for localized cancers, resection is still desirable when it can be done with acceptable complication risks, and 2) the use of multiple treatment modalities for pancreatic cancer warrants further study in organized trials.
Reducing Size Variation in Hybrid Catfish Culture through Graded Partial Harvest

AbstractHybrid catfish (female Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus × male Blue Catfish I. furcatus) have quickly become a major contributor to ictalurid catfish aquaculture in the United States. Hybrid catfish have unique production characteristics compared with Channel Catfish, and rapid adoption of the hybrid by fish farmers has outpaced research on appropriate management practices. This study was conducted to determine the effect of midsummer partial harvest of faster-growing fish on production characteristics in ponds with hybrid catfish in single-batch culture. Twelve 1.0-acre ponds were stocked with 10,000 year-class 1 hybrid catfish (~0.12 lb/fish) in mid-March 2015. In August 2015, six random ponds were partially harvested to remove fish larger than ~1.25 lb using an in-pond, flexible-panel, grading sock. In October 2015, all ponds were completely harvested. Partial harvest of faster-growing fish removed ~26% of fish from ponds in August. Removal of faster-growing fish resulted in 0.9% of the tota...
Reasons for admission and predictors of national 30-day readmission rates in patients with end-stage renal disease on peritoneal dialysis

BACKGROUND The number of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on peritoneal dialysis (PD) has increased by over 30% between 2007 and 2014. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has identified readmissions in ESRD patients to be a quality measure; however, there is a paucity of studies examining readmissions in PD patients. METHODS Utilizing the National Readmission Database for the year 2013, we aimed to determine reasons for admission, the associated rates of unplanned readmission and independent predictors of readmissions in PD patients. RESULTS The top 10 reasons for initial hospitalization were implant/PD catheter complications (23.22%), hypertension (5.47%), septicemia (5.18%), diabetes mellitus (DM) (5.12%), complications of surgical procedures/medical care (3.50%), fluid and electrolyte disorders (4.29%), peritonitis (3.76%), congestive heart failure (3.25%), pneumonia (2.90%) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (2.01%). The overall 30-day readmission rate was 14.6%, with the highest rates for AMI (21.8%), complications of surgical procedure/medical care (19.6%) and DM (18.4%). Concordance among the top 10 reasons for index admission and readmission was 22.6% and varied by admission diagnosis. Independent predictors of readmissions included age 35-49 years compared with 18-34 years [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.35; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.68; P = 0.006], female gender (aOR 1.27; 95% CI 1.12-1.44; P < 0.001), and comorbidities including liver disease (aOR 1.39; 95% CI 1.07-1.81; P = 0.01), peripheral vascular disease (aOR 1.33; 95% CI 1.14-1.56; P < 0.001) and depression (aOR 1.22; 95% CI 1.00-1.48; P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the most common reasons for admission and readmissions in PD patients and several comorbidities that are predictive of readmissions. Targeted interventions towards these patients may be of benefit in reducing readmission in this growing population.
A Highly Potent Class of Halogenated Phenazine Antibacterial and Biofilm-Eradicating Agents Accessed Through a Modular Wohl-Aue Synthesis.

Unlike individual, free-floating planktonic bacteria, biofilms are surface-attached communities of slow- or non-replicating bacteria encased within a protective extracellular polymeric matrix enabling persistent bacterial populations to tolerate high concentrations of antimicrobials. Our current antibacterial arsenal is composed of growth-inhibiting agents that target rapidly-dividing planktonic bacteria but not metabolically dormant biofilm cells. We report the first modular synthesis of a library of 20 halogenated phenazines (HP), utilizing the Wohl-Aue reaction, that targets both planktonic and biofilm cells. New HPs, including 6-substituted analogues, demonstrate potent antibacterial activities against MRSA, MRSE and VRE (MIC = 0.003-0.78 µM). HPs bind metal(II) cations and demonstrate interesting activity profiles when co-treated in a panel of metal(II) cations in MIC assays. HP 1 inhibited RNA and protein biosynthesis while not inhibiting DNA biosynthesis using 3H-radiolabeled precursors in macromolecular synthesis inhibition assays against MRSA. New HPs reported here demonstrate potent eradication activities (MBEC = 0.59-9.38 µM) against MRSA, MRSE and VRE biofilms while showing minimal red blood cell lysis or cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. PEG-carbonate HPs 24 and 25 were found to have potent antibacterial activities with significantly improved water solubility. HP small molecules could have a dramatic impact on persistent, biofilm-associated bacterial infection treatments.
Evaluation of Sulfentrazone for Weed Control and Phytotoxicity in Field-Grown Landscape Plants

Abstract Research was conducted in 1996 and 1997 at the Horticulture Research Farm in Lexington, KY, to evaluate full season weed control and phytotoxicity for rates of sulfentrazone alone and in combination with Gallery (0.55 kg ai/ha) (0.49 lb ai/A), Treflan (2.18 kg ai/ha) (1.94 lb ai/A), and Pennant (3.27 kg ai/ha) (2.92 lb ai/A). In general, by 12 WAT, control provided by all treatments was only fair to moderate. The greatest reductions in weed cover were observed with the high rate of sulfentrazone (0.55 kg/ha) (0.49 lb ai/A), the combination of sulfentrazone (0.41 kg/ha) (0.37 lb ai/A) plus Pennant, and combinations of sulfentrazone plus Treflan. In all cases, weed control was improved with the use of a higher rate of sulfentrazone, and not necessarily associated with the presence of the partner herbicides. Phytotoxicity was mainly associated with contact of the herbicide with developing foliage, but sulfentrazone was particularly damaging to the herbaceous species Liriope and Hemerocallis, where d...
Nutrition and Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is no longer considered an inevitable consequence of the aging process. The etiology is complex, involving several genes and possible environmental factors. Nutrition support is important in the treatment of people with Alzheimer's disease.
Towards acoustic localization for biobotic sensor networks

A cyberphysical network of insect biobots or biological robots could aid first-responders for search-and-rescue applications in uncertain disaster environments. In such networks, the nodes are insect biobots equipped with miniature backpacks utilizing a system-on-chip. These applications demand fine-grained, real-time localization of the sensor nodes. In this paper, we use a combination of radio-frequency and acoustic signal transmission to estimate the distance between two nodes with an aim of localizing the biobotic sensor nodes. We describe how digital processing, peak detection, and noise mitigation can be applied to meet the severe resource constraints of the specific application, yet yielding average localization errors of 12 cm within the effective range.
Instruction Set — A More Intensive Evaluation

The instruction set that the MC68000 uses truly makes this device a programmer’s dream. The MC68000 is a processor for the implementation of high-level languages. The “orthogonality” of the processor provides significant assistance to compiler designers.
Simple lipid-preserving optical clearing for fluorescent imaging (Conference Presentation)

Optical clearing is a useful tool for investigating large biological tissues in 3D, but it has not been widely adapted in regular biomedical research community, partially due to the high complexity and low speed of the current optical clearing methods. Therefore, we developed an optical clearing technique, termed lipid-preserving index matching for prolonged imaging depth (LIMPID), that simplifies the clearing procedure while maintaining the advantages of the state of the art clearing methods. (1) LIMPID is designed as an aqueous solution that directly diffuses into the tissue and makes the refractive indices uniform. It is capable of clearing the tissue in a single step, simply by immersing fixed and pre-labeled samples in the clearing solution. In contrast, most current clearing techniques involve multiple steps and some of steps are complicated and time consuming. (2) LIMPID clears the tissue quickly. The solution has low viscosity and rapidly diffuses into the tissue at room temperature. For samples with submillimeter thickness, it clears the tissue within an hour. Clearing times for larger samples are also impressive. (3) LIMPID preserves fluorescence and tissue morphology while maintaining high transparency. No dehydration, organic solvent exchange or lipid extraction is required. We have used LIMPID to study several animal and disease models. For instance, it revealed abnormal peripheral nerve innervation in the embryonic quail heart in a fetal alcohol syndrome model. We believe this simple, quick method with no discernable disadvantages could become the optical clearing protocol of choice for many microscopy applications.
Mobile product image search by automatic query object extraction

Mobile product image search aims at identifying a product, or retrieving similar products from a database based on a photo captured from a mobile phone camera. Application of traditional image retrieval methods (e.g. bag-of-words) to mobile visual search has been shown to be effective in identifying duplicate/near-duplicate photos, near-planar and textured objects such as landmarks, books/cd covers. However, retrieving more general product categories is still a challenging research problem due to variations in viewpoint, illumination, scale, the existence of blur and background clutter in the query image, etc. In this paper, we propose a new approach that can simultaneously extract the product instance from the query, identify the instance, and retrieve visually similar product images. Based on the observation that good query segmentation helps improve retrieval accuracy and good search results provide good priors for segmentation, we formulate our approach in an iterative scheme to improve both query segmentation and retrieval accuracy. To this end, a weighted object mask voting algorithm is proposed based on a spatially-constrained model, which allows robust localization and segmentation of the query object, and achieves significantly better retrieval accuracy than previous methods. We show the effectiveness of our approach by applying it to a large, real-world product image dataset and a new object category dataset.
High-level waste: the problem

In a rational world it would seem convenient to classify the many kinds of radioactive waste as high-level, medium-level, and low-level, according to the intensity of radiation they emit. This is sometimes done, but there is no agreement as to where the boundaries should be drawn. More commonly, but not very logically, the designation ‘high-level’ is restricted to waste produced directly by operation of a nuclear reactor, with or without subsequent chemical treatment, and all other waste is lumped into ‘low-level’. It is the high-level waste (HLW) from reactors that poses the most troublesome problems of geologic disposal, and to these problems the next seven chapters are devoted. As a preface to the problems, we look first at the ways in which different kinds of HLW are generated.
Predation by Enallagma nymphs (Odonata, Zygoptera) under different conditions of spatial heterogeneity

Macrophyte beds of the lake littoral host a diverse community of macroinvertebrates, from primary consumers to top predators. Different macrophyte species often support different macroinvertebrate communities. Complex leaf morphologies (plants with finely dissected leaves) usually support richer and/or more diverse invertebrate assemblages, probably because of the larger availability of microhabitats and refuges (spatial heterogeneity)that allow for coexistence of otherwise mutually exclusive species.
Design of an SDN Security Mechanism to Detect Malicious Activities

Software Defined Networks (SDN) is a modern networking paradigm that introduces lots of benefits to the next-generation networks. It offers the necessary programmability that allows the dynamic configuration of the networks and thus the deployment of new services on the fly to meet the different use cases. This programmability allows the development of a plethora of third-party applications that can be used by network administrators in order to implement different networking functionalities. However, this programmability also induces various threats regarding potential malicious activities against the SDN networks. In this paper, we propose the design and implementation of an SDN security mechanism that helps in the detection of malicious activities that might target the SDN network. The design we are proposing leverages the benefits of centralized control and programmability of SDN in order to periodically monitor the system calls utilization of the different SDN applications installed and statistically correlates such information to the baseline/benchmark information, thus detecting the existence of an unusual activity or a malicious application.
Prediction of Clinical Outcomes of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Using Motion Tracking Data and Elastic Net Regression

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common muscle disease that can lead to high rate of infant mortality. It is important to be able to quickly and accurately diagnose SMAs as well as track disease progression throughout the treatment process. This study introduced a framework for deriving movement features from motion tracking data, and applied a regularized regression method to predict the gold standard clinical measures for SMA, the CHOP INTEND Extremities Scores (CIES). Our results showed the CIES could be predicted with good accuracy using derived motion features and Elastic Net regression. An RMSE of 8.5 points on CIES was achieved in both cross-validation and prediction on the held-out set. A high ROC-AUC of 0.91 was achieved for discriminating SMA infants from Controls on both session and subject levels. It was concluded that motion tracking devices could potentially be used as a low-cost yet effective method to assess and monitor infants with SMA.
Utility of CT texture for identification of FGFR2 fusion in cholangiocarcinoma: A radiogenomic pilot study.

e15626Background: FGFR2 fusions are found in 10-15% of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. Individuals with FGFR2 fusions have a better prognosis and more indolent natural history. More recently FGFR...
A Novel EMG-driven Functional Electrical Stimulator for Post- Stroke Individuals to Practice Activities of Daily Living

Prior research has demonstrated that hand function can be recovered in individuals with mild stroke through an intervention that is both ‘intense’ and ‘functional’. However, in individuals with moderate to severe post stroke hand paresis, current evidence for an effective intervention to regain hand function is almost absent. A possible contributor to such poor recovery in these individuals may be the inability to intensively practice with the paretic hand during activities of daily living (ADLs). Many ADLs require use of the paretic arm and hand. Due to post-stroke abnormal muscle synergies, functional arm movements, such as lifting or reaching, often result in unwanted activity in the wrist/finger flexors. This makes voluntary hand opening more difficult. A possible solution to enable these individuals to practice with their paretic hand in a functional context is using devices to assist hand opening. Unfortunately, most of currently available hand rehabilitation devices do not sufficiently address hand opening with the appearance of abnormal muscle synergies. We, therefore, developed a synergy resistant, electromyographic (EMG)-driven electrical stimulation device that allows for $\mathbf {Re}$liable and $\mathbf {In}$tuitive control of the hand (ReIn-Hand) opening while using the paretic arm during lifting and reaching.
Statistical assessment of nonpoint source pollution in agricultural watersheds in the Lower Grand River watershed, MO, USA

The water quality in many Midwestern streams and lakes is negatively impacted by agricultural activities. Although the agricultural inputs that degrade water quality are well known, the impact of these inputs varies as a function of geologic and topographic parameters. To better understand how a range of land use, geologic, and topographic factors affect water quality in Midwestern watersheds, we sampled surface water quality parameters, including nitrate, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, bacteria, pH, specific conductance, temperature, and biotic index (BI) in 35 independent sub-watersheds within the Lower Grand River Watershed in northern Missouri. For each sub-watershed, the land use/land cover, soil texture, depth to bedrock, depth to the water table, recent precipitation area, total stream length, watershed shape/relief ratio, topographic complexity, mean elevation, and slope were determined. Water quality sampling was conducted twice: in the spring and in the late summer/early fall. A pairwise comparison of water quality parameters acquired in the fall and spring showed that each of these factors varies considerably with season, suggesting that the timing is critical when comparing water quality indicators. Correlation analysis between water quality indicators and watershed characteristics revealed that both geologic and land use characteristics correlated significantly with water quality parameters. The water quality index had the highest correlation with the biotic index during the spring, implying that the lower water quality conditions observed in the spring might be more representative of the longer-term water quality conditions in these watersheds than the higher quality conditions observed in the fall. An assessment of macroinvertebrates indicated that the biotic index was primarily influenced by nutrient loading due to excessive amounts of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) discharge from agricultural land uses. The PCA analysis found a correlation between turbidity, E. coli, and BI, suggesting that livestock grazing may adversely affect the water quality in this watershed. Moreover, this analysis found that N, P, and SC contribute greatly to the observed water quality variability. The results of this study can be used to improve decision-making strategies to improve water quality for the entire river basin.
Turbulent flow over urban-like fractals: prognostic roughness model for unresolved generations

ABSTRACTLarge-eddy simulation (LES) has been used to model turbulent channel flow over urban-like, fractal topographies, constructed via iterated function system (IFS). By using the IFS approach, t...
Advertising, industry innovation, and entry deterrence

Abstract With the advent of the Internet and social media platforms, advertising has become cheaper and more effective in reaching consumers. This paper studies the effect of better informative advertising on innovation and industry growth. This paper finds that improvements in informative advertising can lead to costly entry deterrence. Because advertising and innovation are complementary, better advertising raises the threats of entry. When innovation spillover is present in an industry, an incumbent firm has incentives to strategically lower its own innovation to deter entry. As a result, better advertising in innovation-intensive industries can have negative consequences on industry growth and consumer welfare. This paper also investigate the role of innovation spillover on entry deterrence.
Robust Reconstruction of CRISPR and Tumor Lineage Using Depth Metrics

Summary Lineage reconstruction using CRISPR edited barcodes are becoming wide-spread and methods robust against noise are in need. Neighbor-Joining (NJ) algorithm is a robust distance based algorithm extensively used in phylogeny field. NJ is also used for CRISPR-encoded-lineage (CEL) reconstruction with proper re-rooting since NJ is unrooted algorithm. However, we found NJ works without re-rooting for reconstructing CEL when the lineage contains multiple trees but not for a single tree. Examining why this is the case leads to the idea of “depth metrics”. The notion of depth metrics also naturally explains why Russell-Rao metric, previously found best metric for CEL reconstruction, works well. Furthermore, based on the probabilistic model of CEL, we constructed a new metric that performs better than Russell-Rao metric. We also propose inferring ancestral code during reconstruction instead of using a linkage method. These, together with Nearest-Neighbor-Interchange resulted in a new robust method for reconstructing CEL or tumor-cell-lineages which share same assumptions as CEL.
Early results of augmented anatomic glenoid components.

Background Augmented glenoid components restore the native joint line and preserve bone in shoulders with posterior glenoid bone loss. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of augmented total shoulder arthroplasties (TSAs) vs. case-matched shoulders with standard implants to assess the early performance of a full-wedge augmented glenoid component. Methods Between 2010 and 2015, all TSAs using a full-wedge posteriorly augmented glenoid component with a minimum 2-year follow-up from a single institution were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 37 augmented TSAs were matched with 37 control shoulders with unaugmented glenoid components. The primary outcomes were revision and radiographic glenoid lucencies. Secondary outcomes included range of motion (ROM) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Results Both augmented and standard TSAs produced similar improvements in all ROM and PRO measures. Patients with augmented glenoid components were more likely to have type B2 or B3 deformities (P = .004). At final follow-up, 54% of augmented glenoids showed implant lucencies compared with 46% of control shoulders (P = .5). The mean Lazarus score remained similar between groups (1.5 vs. 1.2, P = .8). When 8° and 16° augmentations were compared, the 16° augmentation demonstrated a significantly higher mean Lazarus score (4.2 vs. 1.1, P = .03). Reoperation rates were similar between groups (5% vs. 3%, P = .6). Discussion Patients with posteriorly augmented glenoid components demonstrate similar improvements in ROM and PROs to patients with standard anatomic glenoid components. Radiographic loosening and revision rates were similar. However, a higher failure rate was seen with the 16° full-wedge augmentation, which is no longer used in our practice.
Globally-Consistent Rule-Based Summary-Explanations for Machine Learning Models: Application to Credit-Risk Evaluation

We develop a method for interpreting specific predictions made by (global) predictive models by constructing (local) models tailored to each specific observation (these are also called "explanations" in the literature). Unlike existing work that "explains'' specific observations by approximating global models in the vicinity of these observations, we fit models that are globally consistent with predictions made by the global model on past data. We focus on rule-based models (also known as association rules or conjunctions of predicates), which are interpretable and widely used in practice. We design multiple algorithms to extract such rules from discrete and continuous datasets, and study their theoretical properties. Finally, we apply these algorithms to multiple credit-risk models trained on real-world data from FICO and demonstrate that our approach effectively produces sparse summary-explanations of these models in short period of time. Our approach is model-agnostic (that is, can be used to interpret any predictive model), and solves a minimum set cover problem to construct its summaries.
Genomic changes and environmental factors in causation of birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders

Abstract In the chapter examples of genetic and environmental factors and their interactions in birth defects causation are presented. Birth defects discussed include segmental overgrowth, holoprosencephaly, cleft lip and palate. Specific neurodevelopmental disorders and gene and environmental factors putatively related to these disorders are presented. Aspects of developmental trajectories of neuronal circuits and networks are discussed. Information on Autism, syndromic and non-syndromic is presented in some detail, including data on epidemiology, epigenetics, genetic risk factors, functional magnetic resonance imaging. Aspects of Epilepsy. including rare and common epilepsy, molecular defects in specific proteins in rare epilepsies, mosaicism in epilepsy and research efforts to obtain insight into the molecular basis of common epilepsy are discussed.
The medical avatar and its role in neurorehabilitation and neuroplasticity: A review.

Background One of the most interesting emerging medical devices is the medical avatar - a digital representation of the patient that can be used toward myriad ends, the full potential of which remains to be explored. Medical avatars have been instantiated as telemedical tools used to establish a representation of the patient in tele-space, upon which data about the patient's health can be represented and goals and progress can be visually tracked. Manipulation of the medical avatar has also been explored as a means of increasing motivation and inducing neural plasticity. Objective The article reviews the literature on body representation, simulation, and action-observation and explores how these components of neurorehabilitation are engaged by an avatar-based self-representation. Methods Through a review of the literature on body representation, simulation, and action-observation and a review of how these components of neurorehabilitation can be engaged and manipulated with an avatar, the neuroplastic potential of the medical avatar is explored. Literature on the use of the medical avatar for neurorehabilitation is also reviewed. Results This review demonstrates that the medical avatar has vast potentialities in neurorehabilitation and that further research on its use and effect is needed.
A Self‐Consistent Model for Sorption and Transport in Polyimide‐Derived Carbon Molecular Sieve Gas Separation Membranes

Demand for energy-efficient gas separations exists across many industrial processes, and membranes can aid in meeting this demand. Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) membranes show exceptional separation performance and scalable processing attributes attractive for important, similar-sized gas pairs. Herein, we outline a mathematical and physical framework to understand these attributes. This framework shares features with dual-mode transport theory for glassy polymers; however, physical connections to CMS model parameters differ from glassy polymer cases. We present evidence in CMS membranes for a large volume fraction of microporous domains characterized by Langmuir sorption in local equilibrium with a minority continuous phase described by Henry's law sorption. Using this framework, expressions are provided to relate measurable parameters for sorption and transport in CMS materials. We also outline a mechanism for formation of these environments and suggest future model refinements.
Tris(carbene) Stabilization of Monomeric Magnesium Cations: A Neutral, Nontethered Ligand Approach

Herein, we describe the syntheses and structural characterization of bis(carbene)- and tris(carbene)-stabilized organomagnesium cations. The reaction of the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) stabilized ...
Identifying label noise in time-series datasets

Reliably labeled datasets are crucial to the performance of supervised learning methods. Time-series data pose additional challenges. Data points lying on borders between classes can be mislabeled due to perception limitations of human labelers. Sensor measurements may not be directly interpretable by humans. Thus label noise cannot be manually removed. As a result, time-series datasets often contain a significant amount of label noise that can degrade the performance of machine learning models. This work focuses on label noise identification and removal by extending previous methods developed for static instances to the domain of time-series data. We use a combination of deep learning and visualization algorithms to facilitate automatic noise removal. We show that our approach can identify mislabeled instances, which results in improved classification accuracy on four synthetic and two real publicly available human activity datasets.
Compression Pressure Variability in Upper Limb Multilayer Bandaging Applied by Lymphedema Therapists.

Background: Multilayer bandaging (MLB) is often used for lymphedema treatment. Even experienced lymphedema therapists have difficulty applying bandages correctly. The aim of this study was to demon...
Healing time: the experience of body and temporality when coping with illness and incapacity.

The lived body has structures of ability built up over time through habit. Serious illness, injury, and incapacity can disrupt these capacities, and thereby, one’s relationship to the body, and to time itself. This paper focuses attention on a series of healing strategies individuals then employ on the “chessboard” of possibilities intrinsic to lived embodiment. This can include restoring past abilities (pointing to the future to recreate the past); and/or transforming one’s bodily structure or use-patterns, or the external environment, to compensate. With many conditions, including progressive aging, no full rehabilitation is possible. Nevertheless, one can also seek consolation, richness, or hope by remembering the past; anticipating the future; or presencing, that is, living fully in the now. Insofar as past, present, and future are interwoven in one’s life experience, many also meet adversity by a life-story revision, constructing a new narrative to render events meaningful. Some also access a sense of transpersonal timelessness, whether through anticipation of an afterlife, or a sense of the eternal present. There is a literature on the adaptive coping mechanism used by the chronically ill, but with its diverse patient populations, methodologies, and categories, it has proved difficult to systematize. This article suggests that the structures of lived embodiment, as explored by phenomenology, provide a way to understand the modes of wholeness individuals access over time, and in relation to time—what is here termed chronic healing.