cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of Over-the-Counter Medication Misuse and Adverse Drug Events on HIV Patients' Health-Related Quality of Life

Background: Over-the-counter (OTC) medication use has increased among HIV-infected patients. Inappropriate use of OTC drugs may increase the risk of potential adverse drug events (ADEs), thus decreasing health-related quality of life (HRQL). Objective: To examine the effect of OTC medication misuse and associated ADEs on HRQL of HIV-infected patients. Methods: A cross-sectional field study with HIV-infected patients from an HIV clinic in Houston, Texas, was conducted from April 1, 2005, to June 30, 2005. A validated questionnaire (including questions on OTC medications used; ADEs experienced; and HRQL, Short Form-12, version 2 scale) was administered using self-administered and personal interview techniques. Cronbach’s α was estimated to evaluate internal consistency for HRQL scores and χ2 and t-test analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of OTC misuse on ADEs and on HRQL. Results: Of the 215 respondents, 80 (37.2%) misused OTC medications. Thirty-six participants (16.7%) experienced ADEs due to OTC use or misuse. ADE incidence was significantly higher in patients misusing OTCs. Significantly lower HRQL scores for the physical component summary score domains were observed in patients reporting ADEs versus those who did not. Conclusions: HIV-infected patients had lower HRQL scores when they experienced an OTC-associated ADE. Patients misusing OTC medications had a higher incidence of associated ADEs. Interventions by healthcare providers and patients aimed at reducing misuse and ADEs due to OTC medications would improve care and the quality of life for HIV-infected patients.
Evaluation of naturally aged non-ceramic insulators

Field aged non-ceramic insulators using weathersheds of silicone and ethylene propylene (EP) rubber, were evaluated for aging produced changes in material and electrical performance. The insulators had been in service for 13 years (EP) and 7 years (silicone rubber), respectively. The insulators were removed from a transmission line located in a relatively clean, subtropical environment. Electrical measurements performed included determination of the flashover voltage, evaluation of the contamination withstand capability and surface resistance, using the clean fog method. Material diagnostic tests were performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Cross Over Voltage (COV) measurements were carried out. The results demonstrate that both types of weathersheds experienced loss of material and electrical properties (contamination performance) when compared with new samples. Nevertheless, the functionality of both types of insulators was not impaired as their contamination withstand capability was considerably higher than the existing contamination level in the field, for the particular location from which the insulators were removed.
Effects of therapeutic ceftiofur administration to dairy cattle on Escherichia coli dynamics in the intestinal tract.

The goal of this study was to follow ceftiofur-treated and untreated cattle in a normally functioning dairy to examine enteric Escherichia coli for changes in antibiotic resistance profiles and genetic diversity. Prior to treatment, all of the bacteria cultured from the cows were susceptible to ceftiofur. Ceftiofur-resistant E. coli was only isolated from treated cows during and immediately following the cessation of treatment, and the 12 blaCMY-2-positive isolates clustered into two genetic groups. E. coli bacterial counts dropped significantly in the treated animals (P < 0.027), reflecting a disappearance of the antibiotic-susceptible strains. The resistant bacterial population, however, did not increase in quantity within the treated cows; levels stayed low and were overtaken by a returning susceptible population. There was no difference in the genetic diversities of the E. coli between the treated and untreated cows prior to ceftiofur administration or after the susceptible population of E. coli returned in the treated cows. A cluster analysis of antibiotic susceptibility profiles resulted in six clusters, two of which were multidrug resistant and were comprised solely of isolates from the treated cows immediately following treatment. The antibiotic treatment provided a window to detect the presence of ceftiofur-resistant E. coli but did not appear to cause its emergence or result in its amplification. The finding of resistant isolates following antibiotic treatment is not sufficient to estimate the strength of selection pressure nor is it sufficient to demonstrate a causal link between antibiotic use and the emergence or amplification of resistance.
Biology and Impacts of Pacific Island Invasive Species. 11. Rattus rattus, the Black Rat (Rodentia: Muridae)

The black rat, roof rat, or ship rat (Rattus rattus L.) is among the most widespread invasive vertebrates on islands and continents, and it is nearly ubiquitous on Pacific islands from the equatorial tropics to approximately 55 degrees latitude north and south. It survives well in human-dominated environments, natural areas, and islands where humans are not present. Rattus rattus is typically the most common invasive rodent in insular forests. Few vertebrates are more problematic to island biota and human livelihoods than R. rattus; it is well known to damage crops and stored foods, kill native species, and serve as a vector for human diseases. Rattus rattus is an omnivore, yet fruit and seed generally dominate its diet, and prey items from the ground to the canopy are commonly at risk and exploited as a result of the prominent arboreal activity of R. rattus. Here we review the biology of this invasive species and its impacts on humans and the insular plants and animals in the Pacific. We also describe some of the past management practices used to control R. rattus populations on islands they have invaded.
Gait variability and basal ganglia disorders: Stride‐to‐stride variations of gait cycle timing in parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease

The basal ganglia are thought to play an important role in regulating motor programs involved in gait and in the fluidity and sequencing of movement. We postulated that the ability to maintain a steady gait, with low stride-to-stride variability of gait cycle timing and its subphases, would be diminished with both Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). To test this hypothesis, we obtained quantitative measures of stride-to-stride variability of gait cycle timing in subjects with PD (n = 15), HD (n = 20), and disease-free controls (n = 16). All measures of gait variability were significantly increased in PD and HD. In subjects with PD and HD, gait variability measures were two and three times that observed in control subjects, respectively. The degree of gait variability correlated with disease severity. In contrast, gait speed was significantly lower in PD, but not in HD, and average gait cycle duration and the time spent in many subphases of the gait cycle were similar in control subjects, HD subjects, and PD subjects. These findings are consistent with a differential control of gait variability, speed, and average gait cycle timing that may have implications for understanding the role of the basal ganglia in locomotor control and for quantitatively assessing gait in clinical settings.
Pilot Design for IEEE 802.16 OFDM and OFDMA

In this paper we apply a new pilot design optimization technique to the IEEE 802.16a wireless MAN standard. Using the specifications from 802.16a, we demonstrate that significant SER improvements are possible for 802.16a in a Rayleigh fading channel by judiciously choosing where the pilots are placed and the power contained in each pilot. Specifically, for the OFDM mode, we show that up to 13 dB SNR improvement is possible by simply modifying the pilots. For the OFDMA mode we demonstrate that a more modest but still significant improvement of 1.8 dB is possible with proper pilot design.
The internodal pathways of the human heart.

During a surprisingly brief period of time (less than 20 years) near the beginning of the last century, most of our current knowledge about the anatomy of the human cardiac conduction system was described carefully. Paradoxically, the chronological sequence of these reports was directly opposite to the sequence of normal activation and conduction of the rhythm of the heart. First, His1 described a muscular connection between the atria and the ventricles, which was later followed by a report by Tawara2 about the atrioventricular (AV) node, His bundle, and the bundle branches. Soon thereafter, Keith and Flack 3 described the
A pilot program for e-waste education and research

This paper discusses a pilot program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to approach the challenges of electronic waste (e-waste) from an interdisciplinary perspective. The elements of the program, from development and teaching of two new courses on the e-waste topic, to research, and a design competition, are explained.
Seniors with Parkinson's Disease: Initial Medical Treatment

Parkinson's disease most often presents after age 60, and patients in this age group are best managed with levodopa therapy as the primary treatment modality. Unlike young-onset parkinsonism (onset <age 40), this older age group is much less prone to subsequent development of levodopa responsive instability (dyskinesias, fluctuations). When these problems do occur in seniors, they usually can be managed by medication adjustments. The treatment goal is to keep patients active and engaged; levodopa dosage should be guided by the patients' responses and not arbitrarily limited to low doses, which may compromise patients' lives.
A quantitative supplement to the definition of software quality

This paper proposes a new quantitative definition for software quality. The definition is based on the Taguchi philosophy for assessing and improving the quality of manufacturing processes. The Taguchi approach, originally developed for manufacturing processes, define quality in terms of "loss imparted to society " by a product after delivery of the product to the end user. To facilitate the use of the Taguchi definition, several "loss functions" have been developed. These loss functions allow quality to be quantitatively measured in monetary values (e.g. US dollars). To illustrate the application of the Taguchi definition to a software product, examples that utilize some of the loss functions are presented. The proposed definition of software quality shows good correlation to other popular qualitative and quantitative definitions for software quality.
Burial and exhumation history of Pennsylvanian strata, central Appalachian basin: an integrated study

Abstract An inferred burial and exhumation history of Pennsylvanian strata in the central Appalachian foreland basin is constrained by integrating palaeothermometers, geochronometers and estimated palaeogeothermal gradients. Vitrinite reflectance data and fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures indicate that burial of Lower and Upper Pennsylvanian strata of the Appalachian Plateau in West Virginia exceeded ∼4.4 km during the late Permian and occurred at a rate of ∼100 m Myr−1. Exhumation rates of ∼10 m Myr−1 from the late Permian to the early Cretaceous are constrained using maximum burial conditions and published apatite fission track (AFT) ages. AFT and radiogenic helium ages indicate exhumation rates of ∼30–50 m Myr−1 from the early to late Cretaceous. Radiogenic helium dates and present day sampling depths indicate that exhumation rates from the late Cretaceous to present were ∼25 m Myr−1. Exhumation rates for Upper and Lower Pennsylvanian strata within the Appalachian Plateau are remarkably similar. Early slow exhumation was possibly driven primarily by isostatic rebound associated with Triassic rifting. The later, more rapid exhumation can be attributed to thermal expansion followed by lithospheric flexure related to sediment loading along the passive margin.
Leptin-sensitive neurons in the arcuate nuclei contribute to endogenous feeding rhythms

Neural sites that interact with the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) to generate rhythms of unrestricted feeding remain unknown. We used the targeted toxin, leptin conjugated to saporin (Lep-SAP), to examine the importance of leptin receptor-B (LepR-B)-expressing neurons in the arcuate nucleus (Arc) for generation of circadian feeding rhythms. Rats given Arc Lep-SAP injections were initially hyperphagic and rapidly became obese (the “dynamic phase” of weight gain). During this phase, Lep-SAP rats were arrhythmic under 12:12-h light-dark (LD) conditions, consuming 59% of their total daily intake during the daytime, compared with 36% in blank-SAP (B-SAP) controls. Lep-SAP rats were also arrhythmic in continuous dark (DD), while significant circadian feeding rhythms were detected in all B-SAP controls. Approximately 8 wk after injection, Lep-SAP rats remained obese but transitioned into a “static phase” of weight gain marked by attenuation of their hyperphagia and rate of weight gain. In this phase, Arc Lep-SAP rats exhibited circadian feeding rhythms under LD conditions, but were arrhythmic in continuous light (LL) and DD. Lep-SAP injections into the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus did not cause hyperphagia, obesity, or arrhythmic feeding in either LD or DD. Electrolytic lesion of the SCN produced feeding arrhythmia in DD but not hyperphagia or obesity. Results suggest that both Arc Lep-SAP neurons and SCN are required for generation of feeding rhythms entrained to photic cues, while also revealing an essential role for the Arc in maintaining circadian rhythms of ad libitum feeding independent of light entrainment.
Face fixer: compressing polygon meshes with properties

Most schemes to compress the topology of a surface mesh have been developed for the lowest common denominator: triangulated meshes. We propose a scheme that handles the topology of arbitrary polygon meshes. It encodes meshes directly in their polygonal representation and extends to capture face groupings in a natural way. Avoiding the triangulation step we reduce the storage costs for typical polygon models that have group structures and property data.
Freestanding block overturning fragilities: Numerical simulation and experimental validation

The overturning fragilities of symmetric and asymmetric freestanding blocks, ranging in height from 0.54 to 3.6m and with height-to-width ratios ranging from 2.1 to 6.6, are determined numerically. A probabilistic formulation regularizes the overturning responses when exposed to earthquake-like random-vibration waveforms. The peak amplitude of the forcing excitation (peak ground acceleration or PGA) is parameterized as a function of the block size, block shape, overturning probability, and either the PGA normalized peak ground velocity (PGV/PGA), spectral acceleration at 1 s (S a (1)/PGA), or spectral acceleration at 2s (S a (2)/PGA). These later intensity measures are correlated with the duration of the predominant acceleration pulse. The overturning fragilities are compared with shake table experiments using blocks ranging in height from ∼0.2 to 1.2m and with height-to-width ratios ranging from ∼2 to 10. Excitations utilized in the shake table experiments include recordings of the 1979 Imperial Valley, 1985 Michoacan, 1999 Duzce, 1999 Chi-Chi, and 2002 Denali Earthquakes along with synthetic waveforms. The overturning fragilities accurately represent the overturning responses of blocks with simple basal contact conditions. Objects with multiple rocking points, such as precariously balanced rocks, are more fragile than predicted. Nondestructive tilting tests are used to account for blocks with complex basal contact conditions, demonstrating that these blocks overturn similarly to more slender blocks with simple contact conditions.
An image decoding ASIC for space-based applications

The multi-anode microchannel array (MAMA) is a photon counting detector with primarily astronomical applications which decodes the position of an event through coincidence discrimination. The decoding algorithm which associates a given event with the appropriate pixel is determined by the geometry of the anode array. A space-based realization of the MAMA detector requires that the decoding circuit be an application specific integrated circuit because of power, size and weight constraints. A 1.5 micron CMOS gate array version of the decoder has been fabricated and tested. The chip's development and characteristics are presented, and the ASIC decoder is contrasted with existing discrete component decoders in terms of size, speed, power, reliability, and operational flexibility. A new algorithm incorporated into the ASIC decoder which doubles the pixel spatial resolution is also described. >
Diagnosis of thymoma in myasthenies using anti‐striated muscle antibodies: Predictive value and gain in diagnostic certainty

Assay of anti-striated muscle antibodies (StrAb) is used as a diagnostic test for thymoma in individuals with myasthenia gravis. Unfortunately, false positive results are common, and their effect on test accuracy is magnified by the relatively low frequency of thymoma in myasthenies. We estimated the predictive values of positive and negative StrAb assays (PV + and PV - ) and gain in diagnostic certainty using values for sensitivity, specificity, and thymoma frequency previously reported in the literature. Sensitivity for indirect immunofluorescence assays ranged from 0.83 to 0.84 (pooled estimate = 0.84; n = 68). Specificity ranged from 0.73 to 0.88 (pooled estimate = 0.77; n = 898). Frequency of thymoma ranged from 0.07 to 0.17 (pooled estimate = 0.12; n = 4,515). The expected gain in diagnostic certainty from StrAb was minimal in those aged 0 to 20 and those aged 60 +. In those aged 20 to 60, a negative test helped to exclude thymoma, and a positive test raised diagnostic suspicion but was not sufficient to establish a diagnosis of thymoma (PV + = 0.46).
The Paradoxical Anthropology of Leslie White

The many contradictions in the anthropology of Leslie White derive mainly from the fact that he embraced two contradictory models of culture: the sui generis conception that he received from his Boasian education, and the materialist-utilitarian framework that developed out of his concern with cultural evolutionism. White never reconciled the two, but in any instance of conflict he gave preference to the sui generis, Boasian-derived conception. This led him eventually to repudiate significant aspects of his utilitarian-adaptive framework.
Do North American women need supplemental vitamin D during pregnancy or lactation

Studies in European and other countries have shown that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may adversely affect fetal growth, bone ossification, tooth enamel formation, and neonatal calcium homeostasis. Whether effects of vitamin D deficiency on pregnant or lactating mothers differ from effects observed in nonpregnant or nonlactating women is not clear. Poor maternal vitamin D status during lactation results in low breast-milk vitamin D. However, human milk usually contains small vitamin D amounts and, under normal circumstances, the sunshine exposure of human-milk--fed infants is the major factor affecting their vitamin D status. Mothers at risk of vitamin D deficiency are those who avoid dairy products, which are routinely vitamin D fortified, and live in more northern latitudes. Dark-skinned women also are theoretically at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Sunshine exposure is a major vitamin D source, and given adequate exposure, supplemental vitamin D is not necessary. However, defining adequate sunshine exposure is difficult.
On Race, Nationhood, and Citizenship, A Book Review of Laura E. Gomez's 'Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race'

This Article is a book review of Laura E. Gomez's 'Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race' (New York University Press 2007). This book review examines the primary tenets of Gomez's rich historical work, which provides insight to contemporary social, political and legal issues: 1) counternarratives to the dominant narratives of European colonization of lands we currently know as Mexico and the western United States; 2) the intersection of race, ethnicity, religion and notions of American citizenship and nationhood; and 3) the socio-legal construction of race, namely the claim that Mexican Americans occupied a fluid racial status in the United States, which Gomez characterizes as 'off-white'.
Working Toward Normalcy Post-Treatment: A Qualitative Study of Older Adult Breast and Prostate Cancer Survivors.

Purpose/objectives To develop a better understanding of how older adult survivors of early-stage breast and prostate cancer managed the work of recovery. . Research approach Multiple case study design embedded in a larger randomized, controlled trial of a nurse-led patient navigation intervention. . Setting Community-based research conducted via in-home visits and by phone with participants residing in non-metropolitan areas of a mid-Atlantic state. Participants Rural-dwelling adults aged 60 years or older with early-stage breast or prostate cancer and the people who support them (11 dyads). Methodologic approach An approach to grounded theory analysis was used to evaluate the fit between existing theoretical knowledge and case findings and to generate new knowledge about the cancer recovery process. Findings Working toward normalcy was a core process of cancer recovery prompted by participants' internal experiences and external interactions with their environments. This ongoing, iterative, and active process involved multiple concurrent strategies that were not necessarily medically oriented or cancer specific. Working toward normalcy resulted in movement along a continuum of self-appraisal anchored between participants experiencing life as completely disrupted by cancer to a life back to normal. A greater sense of normalcy was associated with higher engagement in valued activities and increased physical and psychological well-being. Conclusions In addition to the core process of working toward normalcy, multiple theories from nursing, sociology, psychology, and gerontology helped to explain case findings. This knowledge could serve as a foundation on which to design survivorship care that supports the goals of cancer survivors working toward normalcy post-treatment. Interpretation Post-treatment wellness goals can include a desire to reestablish or maintain a sense of normalcy. Nursing actions that promote survivors' efforts to be perceived as capable, stay engaged in valued activities and roles, maintain a sense of control over their lives and bodies, and make plans for the future may help meet this goal. Existing theories about identity, dignity, inner strength, and the work of illness can inform nursing interventions.
Residential Real Estate Assessment Fairness in Four Urban Areas

The authors look at the fairness of real estate assessments in Allegheny County, PA; Baltimore, MD; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; and the District of Columbia. Black residents face higher assessments than Hispanics or Asians in all of these jurisdictions except for Cuyahoga County, the authors estimate.
Embedded system considerations for advanced algorithms in electric drives

Implementation of advanced control algorithms can result in improved drive performance, reliability and efficiency, but may increase embedded system hardware requirements. Through use of tunable automated optimization methods, development of controller code for embedded systems is refined to reduce performance requirements of the target hardware. Computational costs in clock cycles per sample (CCPS), flash memory usage and total stack consumption are compared for open- and closed-loop control systems in addition to an advanced efficiency-enhancement closed-loop controller. The effects of applied optimization techniques on the embedded coding side are discussed.
Accelerating robust 3D pose estimation using c*-images

The spin-image pose estimation algorithm is a robust and accurate method for estimating pose of threedimensional objects in the presence of clutter and sensor noise. Unfortunately, the algorithm has a high computational complexity, thus preventing its use in applications that require an intelligent system to interact with a dynamic environment. The spin-image algorithm can be broken down into five portions where a single portion called spin-image matching commands 96% of the computation time in estimating pose. Spin-image matching involves the identification of likely match candidates between a single spin-image and a large training set of spin-images called the spin-image stack. Because of the large number of spin-images in the spin-image stack and the relatively large number of arithmetic operations required to match a single spin-image, a reduced order representation of the spin-image is desired such that unlikely matches can be pruned from the stack in an efficient manner. This paper introduces the c ∗ -image, a reduced order representation of the spin-image that enables rapid discrimination between spin-images without compromising the spin-image algorithm’s robustness and accuracy. The c ∗ -image is shown to prune 86% of the spin-image stack for a 3D object of interest. This results in a speed-up of spin-image matching of 5.96x and a total algorithmic speed-up of 5.18x out of a theoretical maximum of 26.0x. The c ∗ -image helps extend the use of the spin-image algorithm towards practical real-time intelligent system applications.
Evidence of Positronium Bloch States in Porous Crystals of Zn 4 O -Coordination Polymers

Positronium (Ps) is shown to exist in a delocalized state in self-assembled metalorganic crystals that have large 1.3--1.5 nm cell sizes. Belonging to a class of materials with record high accessible specific surface areas, these highly porous crystals are the first to allow direct probing with simple annihilation lifetime techniques of the transport properties of long-lived triplet Ps in what is hypothesized to be a Bloch state. Delocalized Ps has unprecedented (high) Ps mobility driven primarily by weak phonon scattering with unusual and profound consequences on how Ps probes the lattice.
Endometrial cell imprints as a source of antigen for antinuclear antibody detection.

The indirect immunofluorescent imprint technic and the lupus erythematosus cell test were used to test 700 sera for antinuclear factors. Touch imprints of endometrium were employed as nuclear substrates for the indirect fluorescent antibody procedure. The results obtained were reproducible and reliable. Controls were consistent. Because of an abundant source of material, many slides can be prepared rapidly and stored for varying periods of time. The test procedure, easy to perform and interpret, is economical and less time consuming than the routine lupus erythematosus preparation.
The low temperature oxidation of lithium thin films on HOPG by O2 and H2O

Abstract Lithiated graphite and lithium thin films have been used in fusion devices. In this environment, lithiated graphite will undergo oxidation by background gases. In order to gain insight into this oxidation process, thin (
Inspect, Embody, Invent: A Design Framework for Music Learning and Beyond

This paper introduces a new framework to guide the design of interactive music learning systems, focusing on the piano. Taking a Reflective approach, we identify the implicit assumption behind most existing systems-that learning music is learning to play correctly according to the score-and offer an alternative approach. We argue that systems should help cultivate higher levels of musicianship beyond correctness alone for students of all levels. Drawing from both pedagogical literature and the personal experience of learning to play the piano, we identify three skills central to musicianship-listening, embodied understanding, and creative imagination-which we generalize to the Inspect, Embody, Invent framework. To demonstrate how this framework translates to design, we discuss two existing interfaces from our own research-MirrorFugue and Andante-both built on a digitally controlled player piano augmented by in-situ projection. Finally, we discuss the framework's relevance toward bigger themes of embodied interactions and learning beyond the domain of music.
Development of Vision in Infants and Young Children

Behavioral improvement in the quality of infant vision parallels neuroanatomic and neurophysiologic brain development. Progressive refinement of acuity can be tracked by means of tests that employ fixation and following, optokinetic nystagmus, preferential viewing, and pattern-evoked visual responses. These methods of evaluating vision in the preverbal child differ from each other in several respects; their relative advantages and disadvantages are discussed.
Ceramic composites by infiltration-processing

ABSTRACT The infiltration of partially-sintered porous powder compacts at or near room temperaturewith suitable infiltrants has been used to form multiphase ceramic systems. The infiltration step is normally followed by a heat treatment to bring about such processes as decomposition, solid-state reaction and sintering, depending on the system. Some of the advantages of the process are reviewed and the various design considerations outlined. The fabrication of mullite/alumina and alumina/Y-TZP particulate composites using this technique is discussed and a comparison of the two systems is presented.
Maps of cone opsin input to mouse V1 and higher visual areas

Studies in the mouse retina have characterized the spatial distribution of an anisotropic ganglion cell and photoreceptor mosaic, which provides a solid foundation to study how the cortex pools from afferent parallel color channels. In particular, the mouse's retinal mosaic exhibits a gradient of wavelength sensitivity along its dorsoventral axis. Cones at the ventral extreme mainly express S opsin, which is sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. Then, moving toward the retina's dorsal extreme, there is a transition to M-opsin dominance. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the retina's opsin gradient is recapitulated in cortical visual areas as a functional map of wavelength sensitivity. We first identified visual areas in each mouse by mapping retinotopy with intrinsic signal imaging (ISI). Next, we measured ISI responses to stimuli along different directions of the S- and M-color plane to quantify the magnitude of S and M input to each location of the retinotopic maps in five visual cortical areas (V1, AL, LM, PM, and RL). The results illustrate a significant change in the S:M-opsin input ratio along the axis of vertical retinotopy that is consistent with the gradient along the dorsoventral axis of the retina. In particular, V1 populations encoding the upper visual field responded to S-opsin contrast with 6.1-fold greater amplitude than to M-opsin contrast. V1 neurons encoding lower fields responded with 4.6-fold greater amplitude to M- than S-opsin contrast. The maps in V1 and higher visual areas (HVAs) underscore the significance of a wavelength sensitivity gradient for guiding the mouse's behavior.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Two elements of this study are particularly novel. For one, it is the first to quantify cone inputs to mouse visual cortex; we have measured cone input in five visual areas. Next, it is the first study to identify a feature map in the mouse visual cortex that is based on well-characterized anisotropy of cones in the retina; we have identified maps of opsin selectivity in five visual areas.
Developments in Artificial Intelligence in manufacturing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most watched fields in computer applications today. A vast number of changes are seen in this field, although AI has been in existence for several decades in more primitive forms. This paper reviews the most salient events in recent AI history and looks at some hands–on type applications in contemporary manufacturing. Matching the growing AI capabilities to manufacturing requirements planning systems, user needs, and design and control factors is a serious challenge that faces systems engineers, computer scientists and manufacturing managers. Strategies appropriate to uses of AI are discussed, as well as prospects for AI use in manufacturing into the 1990s.
Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Revascularization Versus Conservative Therapy

Background— Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a nonatherosclerotic acute coronary syndrome for which optimal management remains undefined. Methods and Results— We performed a retrospective study of 189 patients presenting with a first SCAD episode. We evaluated outcomes according to initial management: (1) revascularization versus conservative therapy and (2) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) versus conservative therapy stratified by vessel flow at presentation. Demographics were similar in revascularization versus conservative (mean age, 44±9 years; women 92% both groups), but vessel occlusion was more frequent in revascularization (44/95 versus 18/94). There was 1 in-hospital death (revascularization) and 1 late death (conservative). Procedural failure rate was 53% in those managed with PCI. In the subgroup of patients presenting with preserved vessel flow, rates of PCI failure were similarly high (50%), and 6 (13%) required emergency coronary artery bypass grafting. In the conservative group, 85 of 94 (90%) had an uneventful in-hospital course, but 9 (10%) experienced early SCAD progression requiring revascularization. Kaplan–Meier estimated 5-year rates of target vessel revascularization and recurrent SCAD were no different in revascularization versus conservative therapy (30% versus 19%; P =0.06 and 23% versus 31%; P =0.7). Conclusions— PCI for SCAD is associated with high rates of technical failure even in those presenting with preserved vessel flow and does not protect against target vessel revascularization or recurrent SCAD. A strategy of conservative management with prolonged observation may be preferable.
Development of an extensible SSVEP-BCI software platform and application to wheelchair control

Visual-evoked potential (VEP)-based BCIs have been shown to provide the highest information transfer rates and reliability among BCI approaches. However, to date, no flexible software platform exists that allows investigators and end-users to easily evaluate and optimize VEP stimulus parameters such as size, position, flashing rate, color, etc., with seamless integration to an application environment. This paper provides an overview of the development of such a customizable VEP-BCI software platform called Visual Evoked Stimulation and SELection Software (VESSELS), and its implementation for control of a motorized wheelchair.
Cell Penetrating Polymers Containing Guanidinium Trigger Apoptosis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells unless Conjugated to a Targeting N-Acetyl-Galactosamine Block

A series of 3-guanidinopropyl methacrylamide (GPMA)-based polymeric gene delivery vehicles were developed via aqueous reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The polymers have been evaluated for their cellular internalization ability, transfection efficiency, and cytotoxicity. Two homopolymers: P(GPMA20), P(GPMA34), were synthesized to study the effect of guanidium polymer length on delivery efficiency and toxicity. In addition, an N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc)-based hydrophilic block was incorporated to produce diblock polymers, which provides a neutral hydrophilic block that sterically protects plasmid–polymer complexes (polyplexes) from colloidal aggregation and aids polyplex targeting to hepatocytes via binding to asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGPRs). Polyplexes formed with P(GPMAx) (x = 20, 34) homopolymers were shown to be internalized via both energy-dependent and independent pathways, whereas polyplexes formed with block polymers were internalized through endoc...
Cloned and non-cloned Java methods: a comparative study

Reusing code via copy-and-paste, with or without modification is a common behavior observed in software engineering. Traditionally, cloning has been considered as a bad smell suggesting flaws in design decisions. Many studies exist targeting clone discovery, removal, and refactoring. However there are not many studies which empirically investigate and compare the quality of cloned code to that of the code which has not been cloned. To this end, we present a statistical study that shows whether qualitative differences exist between cloned methods and non-cloned methods in Java projects. The dataset consists of 3562 open source Java projects containing 412,705 cloned and 616,604 non-cloned methods. The study uses 27 software metrics as a proxy for quality, spanning across complexity, modularity, and documentation (code-comments) categories. When controlling for size, no statistically significant differences were found between cloned and non-cloned methods for most of the metrics, except for three of them. The main statistically significant difference found was that cloned methods are on an average 18% smaller than non-cloned methods. After doing a mixed method analysis, we provide some insight for why cloned methods are smaller.
The Marketing of Sustainability and CSR Initiatives by Luxury Brands: Cultural Indicators, Call to Action, and Framework

This conceptual study addresses the sustainable development (SD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of global luxury brands and their lack of information dissemination on these endeavors to the luxury consumer market. Strategies for global luxury companies to connect their consumers to the sustainability messages that underlie their core values and inform their business operations are still nascent in the luxury brand management literature. A case study tracing the SD and CSR initiatives of leading luxury conglomerate, LVMH, since the inception of its environmental department (i.e., 1992–2017) was conducted alongside an in-depth historical review of the larger luxury goods industry. This approach allowed for concurrent examination of LVMH’s sustainability initiatives over time and within the context of the evolving luxury goods environment (e.g., changing luxury consumer motivations and values). Data were collected from primary and secondary data sources. Two theoretical foundations, experiential marketing (e.g., Atwal & Williams, 2009; Pine & Gilmore, 1998) and sustainable luxury value (Hennigs et al., 2013), shaped the study. Findings revealed a conceptual framework for sustainable luxury brand communication (SLBC) that can serve as a guide for global luxury brands with sustainability programs in varying stages of development. The SLBC framework proposes the order in which brands communicate their SD and CSR initiatives to the luxury market, with the goal of educating and helping fuel the shift in consumer values toward a more sustainable paradigm. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on luxury brands’ sustainability programs and their impact at the consumer and corporate-level.
The use of nitrogen mustard in the management of two pregnant lymphoma patients.

1. It is possible to use nitrogen mustard therapeutically in the management of a patient with "lymphoma" in the second trimester of pregnancy and obtain a viable infant. 2. In view of the findings noted in one of the infants, it is not possible to make a categorical statement with regard to possible deleterious effects of nitrogen mustard on the fetus.
Automating recommender systems experimentation with librec-auto

Recommender systems research often requires the creation and execution of large numbers of algorithmic experiments to determine the sensitivity of results to the values of various hyperparameters. Existing recommender systems platforms fail to provide a basis for systematic experimentation of this type. In this paper, we describe librec-auto, a wrapper for the well-known LibRec library, which provides an environment that supports automated experimentation.
Association Between Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction and Cognition in Older Adults.

BackgroundThe association between olfactory dysfunction (OD) and cognitive decline is becoming apparent in the emerging literature. However, the literature demonstrating a similar effect between gu...
Identification of long non-coding RNA-related and –coexpressed mRNA biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma

While changes in mRNA expression during tumorigenesis have been used widely as molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of a number of cancers, the approach has limitations. For example, traditional methods do not consider the regulatory and positional relationship between mRNA and lncRNA. The latter has been largely shown to possess tumor suppressive or oncogenic properties. The combined analysis of mRNA and lncRNA is likely to facilitate the identification of biomarkers with higher confidence. Therefore, we have developed an lncRNA-related method to identify traditional mRNA biomarkers. First we identified mRNAs that are differentially expressed in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) by comparing cancer and matched adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues. Then, we performed mRNA-lncRNA relationship and coexpression analysis and obtained 41 lncRNA-related and -coexpressed mRNA biomarkers. Next, we performed network analysis, gene ontology analysis and pathway analysis to unravel the functional roles and molecular mechanisms of these lncRNA-related and -coexpressed mRNA biomarkers. Finally, we validated the prediction and performance of the 41 lncRNA-related and -coexpressed mRNA biomarkers using Support Vector Machine model with five-fold cross-validation in an independent HCC dataset from RNA-seq. Our results suggested that mRNAs expression profiles coexpressed with positionally related lncRNAs can provide important insights into early diagnosis and specific targeted gene therapy of HCC.
Suicide Typologies in the United States Air Force: A Hierarchical Cluster Analysis.

OBJECTIVE This study describes characteristics of United States Air Force (USAF) suicide decedents and determines subgroups. METHOD Retrospective review of demographic, psychiatric, event-related, and psychosocial variables for USAF suicide decedents in the Suicide Event Surveillance System database was conducted between February 1999 and July 2009 (N = 376). Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to determine initial clusters and cluster centroids. RESULTS Analyses identified three clusters. Cluster 1 (n = 149) individuals were mostly single or divorced, E-1-E-6 rank, living alone, and less likely to have psychiatric disorder diagnoses or engage with most helping resources. Cluster 2 (n = 126) decedents were mostly married, living with a partner, higher ranking, and least likely to communicate suicide intent. Cluster 3 (n = 101) individuals were mostly E-4-E-6 rank, with the highest rates of most psychiatric diagnoses, previous suicide-related events, engagement with multiple helping resources, communication of intent, and psychosocial precipitants. Clusters differed significantly in marital status, rank, psychiatric diagnoses, precipitants, service utilization, previous suicide-related events, risk factors, communication of intent, location and method of death, and residential status. CONCLUSIONS This study identifies empirically based suicide typologies within a military decedent sample. While further research and replications of findings are needed, these typologies have clinical and policy implications for military suicide prevention.
Classifying Stage IV Lung Cancer From Health Care Claims: A Comparison of Multiple Analytic Approaches.

PURPOSECancer stage is a key determinant of outcomes; however, stage is not available in claims-based data sources used for real-world evaluations. We compare multiple methods for classifying lung ...
Protecting the Consumer

Quality assurance for mental health services has been around for many years primarily as a function of oversight agencies such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Quality assurance has been housed in semi-obscure offices within hospitals and clinics given the task of making sure their particular organization complies with various regulations. More recently, as managed health care has grown, there has been increasing interest in quality among purchasers, health care plan administrators, practitioners, and consumers. Purchasers want to know the value of what they are buying, plan administrators want to demonstrate quality services as well as cost containment, practitioners want to know that cost management does not interfere with the provision of appropriate and necessary treatment, and consumers are concerned about access to good quality care. New models of quality measurement and management are emerging in response to these varied interests.
MARBLE: mining for boilerplate code to identify API usability problems

Designing usable APIs is critical to developers' productivity and software quality, but is quite difficult. One of the challenges is that anticipating API usability barriers and real-world usage is difficult, due to a lack of automated approaches to mine usability data at scale. In this paper, we focus on one particular grievance that developers repeatedly express in online discussions about APIs: "boilerplate code." We investigate what properties make code count as boilerplate, the reasons for boilerplate, and how programmers can reduce the need for it. We then present MARBLE, a novel approach to automatically mine boilerplate code candidates from API client code repositories. MARBLE adapts existing techniques, including an API usage mining algorithm, an AST comparison algorithm, and a graph partitioning algorithm. We evaluate MARBLE with 13 Java APIs, and show that our approach successfully identifies both already-known and new API-related boilerplate code instances.
Experimental Demonstration of the Noisy Origins of Soliton Self-Mode Conversion

We experimentally demonstrate that solitons generated through the newly discovered phenomenon, soliton self-mode conversion, are purely noise-initiated although they yield record high energy fs pulses that are strictly transform limited.
Video-Based Intervention to Improve Storytelling Ability in Job Interviews for College Students With Autism:

Job seekers with autism will likely benefit from explicit instruction in job interviewing skills given their social communication support needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects...
Third and fifth harmonic generation by tightly focused femtosecond pulses at 2.2 μm wavelength in air.

We report experiments on the generation of third and fifth harmonics of millijoule-level, tightly focused, femtosecond laser pulses at 2.2 μm wavelength in air. The measured ratio of yields of the third and fifth harmonics in our setup is found equal to 2 · 10−4. This result contradicts the recent suggestion that the Kerr effect in air saturates and changes sign in ultra-intense optical fields.
Mechanical and thermal properties of stainless steel parts, manufactured by various technologies, in relation to their microstructure

Abstract This work provides comparative analysis of the effect of manufacturing processes and process parameters on mechanical and thermal properties of stainless steel 316L. The properties are compared for the parts produced by additive manufacturing (Selected Laser Melting), thermal spraying, casting, hot/cold rolling, hot-isostatic pressing, and forging technologies. Each of these manufacturing processes leads to formation of its own microstructure formed by pores and cracks of different shape and orientation, as well as by dislocations and grain boundaries. A comprehensive analysis of the data available in literature is supplemented by our measurements of the mechanical properties of hot rolled and 3D printed samples.
The bridge from bio-inspired molecular catalysts to fuel cell electrocatalysts

In this issue of Chem Catalysis, Coutard et al. synthesized molecular-engineered bio-inspired catalysts and integrated them into anodes of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Various nickel catalysts were immobilized on carbon nanotube supports and integrated with Nafion to form optimized catalyst layers active toward the hydrogen oxidation reaction.