cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coiled Impella Drive Line in the Left Ventricle: A Rare Complication of a Left Ventricular Assist Device.

CASE REPORT A 71-year-old man with hypertension, chronic renal insufficiency, a right subclavian automatic implantable cardioverterdefibrillator for congestive heart failure secondary to cardiac amyloidosis, an ejection fraction of 15%, and in-home inotropic support was admitted for acute cardiac decompensation. His condition deteriorated to cardiogenic shock not responsive to pharmacologic interventions, requiring an emergent insertion of a left ventricular mechanical support device. Under general anesthesia, a microaxial flow device (Impella 5.0, Abiomed, Inc., Danvers, MA) (Fig 1) was inserted through an 8-mm tube graft sutured to the left axillary artery and its proper positioning guided by TEE. Device flows were appropriate (4.5 L/min). The device was secured to the tube graft and the wound closed. There was no notation done of device depth insertion. The Impella insertion would serve as a potential bridge to a permanent left ventricular assist device. Due to patient advanced age and the fact that heart transplantation survival in patients with amyloidosis is reduced significantly, this option was not considered. 1,2 Routinely, TEE is used to assist Impella
The role of backbone motions in ligand binding to the c-Src SH3 domain.

Abstract The Src homology 3 (SH3) domain of pp60 c-src (Src) plays dual roles in signal transduction, through stabilizing the repressed form of the Src kinase and through mediating the formation of activated signaling complexes. Transition of the Src SH3 domain between a variety of binding partners during progression through the cell cycle requires adjustment of a delicate free energy balance. Although numerous structural and functional studies of SH3 have provided an in-depth understanding of structural determinants for binding, the origins of binding energy in SH3-ligand interactions are not fully understood. Considering only the protein-ligand interface, the observed favorable change in standard enthalpy (Δ H = −9.1 kcal/mol) and unfavorable change in standard entropy ( T Δ S = −2.7 kcal/mol) upon binding the proline-rich ligand RLP2 (RALPPLPRY) are inconsistent with the predominantly hydrophobic interaction surface. To investigate possible origins of ligand binding energy, backbone dynamics of free and RLP2-bound SH3 were performed via 15 N NMR relaxation and hydrogen-deuterium (H/ 2 H) exchange measurements. On the ps-ns time scale, assuming uncorrelated motions, ligand binding results in a significant reduction in backbone entropy (−1.5(±0.6) kcal/mol). Binding also suppresses motions on the μs-ms time scale, which may additionally contribute to an unfavorable change in entropy. A large increase in protection from H/ 2 H exchange is observed upon ligand binding, providing evidence for entropy loss due to motions on longer time scales, and supporting the notion that stabilization of pre-existing conformations within a native state ensemble is a fundamental paradigm for ligand binding. Observed changes in motion on all three time scales occur at locations both near and remote from the protein-ligand interface. The propagation of ligand binding interactions across the SH3 domain has potential consequences in target selection through altering both free energy and geometry in intact Src, and suggests that looking beyond the protein-ligand interface is essential in understanding ligand binding energetics.
Phylogenetic considerations of clonality, coloniality, and mode of germline development in animals

The hypothesis that individuality is a derived trait in animals (Buss, '87, The Evolution of Individuality, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; Michod, '99, Darwinian Dynamics, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press) can be further tested by a "tree-based" analysis utilizing a comparative methodology and recent phylogenies. We conducted a maximum parsimony analysis in which we mapped character states for clonality, coloniality, and mode of germline development onto four recent phylogenetic hypotheses (Peterson and Eernisse, 2001, Evol Dev 3:170-205). Clonality appears to be a shared primitive character for metazoans. Coloniality, on the other hand, is a derived trait found in relatively few phyla. The germline appears to have been derived at or near the origin of the first bilaterians. The stem-lineage metazoan thus appears to have been a clonal, acolonial organism that exhibited somatic embryogenesis. The stem-lineage bilaterian also was likely clonal and acolonial. Nevertheless, this lineage likely exhibited preformation, i.e., its germline was determined during embryonic development. In addition to supporting the hypothesis that the germline is a derived feature in animals, this analysis is relevant to current debates concerning the nature of the latest common ancestor of the bilaterians.
The centre cannot hold: tales of hierarchy and poetic composition from modern Rajasthan

L'A. etudie les mythes et legendes relatifs aux rois et aux bardes chez les Bhats, chanteurs de cour de statut inferieur dans l'etat indien du Rajasthan. Il s'interesse ainsi au point de vue exprime par ses informateurs a propos d'une question sur laquelle a longtemps achoppe la theorie des castes en Inde, a savoir le meilleur moyen de caracteriser le statut des pretres par rapport a celui des guerriers et des rois. Dans leurs recits, les Bhats montrent de quelle maniere les personnes de haute caste comme les rois dependent profondement des services des bardes, de sorte que le chanteur lui-meme occupe une place centrale tandis que le roi ne joue qu'un role peripherique. Dans la polemique sur la preeminence des rois ou des pretres dans la hierarchie des peuples du sud de l'Asie, les Bhats se considerent eux-memes comme une troisieme classe : les bardes. L'A. suggere en outre que ses informateurs, en insistant sur le role social central de leur habilite a manier la parole, font preuve d'une reflexivite particulierement adaptee a la construction discursive des hierarchies sociales. Enfin, il cherche a expliquer pourquoi les Bhats, bardes des anciens Intouchables, vivant dans une democratie moderne ou le systeme des castes a ete officiellement aboli, continuent aussi assidument a parler de rois et de bardes royaux. Sa reponse est qu'en fabriquant ces identites fictives de bardes royaux, les Bhats peuvent s'approprier des roles et statuts sociaux aujourd'hui abandonnes par l'ancienne elite des bardes dans le Rajasthan de l'apres-independance.
Combined effect of a peptide-morpholino oligonucleotide conjugate and a cell-penetrating peptide as an antibiotic

A cell-penetrating peptide (CPP)–morpholino oligonucleotide (MO) conjugate (PMO) that has an antibiotic effect in culture had some contaminating CPPs in earlier preparations. The mixed conjugate had gene-specific and gene-nonspecific effects. An improved purification procedure separates the PMO from the free CPP and MO. The gene-specific effects are a result of the PMO, and the nonspecific effects are a result of the unlinked, unreacted CPP. The PMO and the CPP can be mixed together, as has been shown previously in earlier experiments, and have a combined effect as an antibiotic. Kinetic analysis of these effects confirm this observation. The effect of the CPP is bacteriostatic. The effect of the PMO appears to be bacteriocidal. An assay for mutations that would alter the ability of these agents to affect bacterial viability is negative.
Experimental infection of Culicoides lahillei (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) with epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2 (Orbivirus: Reoviridae).

To evaluate the vector competence of Culicoides lahillei Lutz for epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) viruses, wild-caught females were allowed to feed on 4 viremic white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann, experimentally infected with EHD virus serotype 2 (EHDV-2). Colonized C. variipennis sonorensis (Coquillett) were included as a positive control. Virus was not isolated from 13 C. lahillei tested 4–15 d after feeding on deer with viremias of 3.0 or <2.1 log10 tissue culture infectious doseso (TCID50) virus per milliliter of blood. Virus was isolated from 6 of 69 (8.7%) C. lahillei tested 4–15 d after feeding on deer with viremias of 5.3 or 6.0 TCID50 virus per milliliter of blood. The average amount of EHDV-2 ingested in the blood meal ranged from <log10 1.5 to log10 1.9 TCID50 per C. lahillei . Titers of EHDV-2 in C. lahillei that tested positive 4–15 d after feeding peaked at log10 2.7 TCID50 EHDV per fly. Replication of EHDV-2 also occurred in control C. variipennis . This report of infection of C. lahillei with an EHD virus serotype indicates that C. lahillei may be a vector of EHD viruses.
L-Shape 2-D DOA Estimation with Second-Order Statistics for Coherently Distributed Source

A computationally efficient method for 2D direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation of coherently distributed source is presented. The key idea is to construct second-order statistics calculated analytically based on the Schur-Hadamard product steering vector. So a closed form solution to 2D DOA estimation can be derived, which does not involve any eigendecomposition or singular value decomposition as in common subspace techniques. The proposed algorithm is also a blind estimator without any prior knowledge about angular signal intensity. The method is illustrated by some numerical examples.
Asthma hospitalizations continue to decrease in schoolchildren but hospitalization rates for wheezing illnesses remain high in young children.

Aim: To analyse changes in hospitalization rates for asthma in children during recent years. Methods: In a population-based analysis, changes in asthma hospitalization rates were studied in children in Goteborg (Gothenburg), the second largest city in Sweden, during 1985-2000. The changes in different age groups have been correlated with the delivery of inhaled corticosteroids to the age groups. Results: In the 5 to 18-y age group, there was a continuous, significant decrease in number of hospital days, admissions and individual patients admitted for asthma not only for the entire study period, 1985-2000, but also during the past 10-y period. The number of hospital days in the year 2000 was only 6% of the figure for 1985. An inverse correlation between delivery of inhaled corticosteroids and hospitalization for asthma was seen not only during 1985-1995, when use of inhaled corticosteroids became widespread (rS=−0.95, p= 0.007 for hospital days), but also when the entire period from 1985 to 2000 was analysed. Conversely, in the 0 to 1-y and 2 to 4-y age groups, there was no decrease in hospitalizations for wheezing illnesses or asthma-like symptoms during the past 10-y period, 1991-2000. Conclusion: During the period 1985-2000 the number of hospital days owing to asthma decreased by more than 90% in the 5 to 18-y age group. The marked decrease in asthma hospitalization rates among schoolchildren represents a great advance in paediatric respiratory medicine, which has been continuous during the past 10-y period. However, in young children admissions for wheezing have apparently not decreased.
Transcatheter fenestration dilation and/or creation in postoperative Fontan patients

There are very few therapeutic options for severely symptomatic Fontan patients after spontaneous complete or virtual fenestration closure. Its reopening in 14 such patients led to dramatic hemodynamic improvement in most. The clinical experience with transcatheter fenestration creation and/or dilation in symptomatic Fontan patients is reported demonstrating feasibility, safety, and a novel management option for these patients.
Action potential initiation and propagation: upstream influences on neurotransmission

Axonal action potentials initiate the cycle of synaptic communication that is key to our understanding of nervous system functioning. The field has accumulated vast knowledge of the signature action potential waveform, firing patterns, and underlying channel properties of many cell types, but in most cases this information comes from somatic intracellular/whole-cell recordings, which necessarily measure a mixture of the currents compartmentalized in the soma, dendrites, and axon. Because the axon in many neuron types appears to be the site of lowest threshold for action potential initiation, the channel constellation in the axon is of particular interest. However, the axon is more experimentally inaccessible than the soma or dendrites. Recent studies have developed and applied single-fiber extracellular recording, direct intracellular recording, and optical recording techniques from axons toward understanding the behavior of the axonal action potential. We are starting to understand better how specific channels and other cellular properties shape action potential threshold, waveform, and timing: key elements contributing to downstream transmitter release. From this increased scrutiny emerges a theme of axons with more computational power than in traditional conceptualizations.
The effects of encoding strategy training on foreign language learning

THE EFFECTS OF ENCODING STRATEGY TRAINING ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING Olla Najah Al-Shalchi Old Dominion University, 2015 Director: Dr. Ginger S. Watson Vocabulary of a language makes up approximately 75% of comprehension (Nagy & Scott), and researchers agree that learning vocabulary is more effective when learners are given strategies to learn the vocabulary (Cheng, 2011; Lee, Lim, & Grabowski, 2010; Liu, 2010; Teow, Ismail, & Kabilan, 2010). Research will allow instructional designers to determine what strategies work best for different groups of learners while taking into consideration the amount perceived workload to ensure that it is not too much or too
Child Sexual Abuse and the State: Applying Critical Outsider Methodologies to Legislative Policy

Sexual assaults are punished as serious felonies, often resulting in the lengthiest terms of incarceration meted out by the state. When the perpetrator is an adult and the victim is a child, many states further enhance the penalty for sexual assault by increasing the minimum available sentence and creating more stringent conditions for release. However, many states offer a discounted criminal charge to perpetrators of child sexual assault who are related to their victims. Loopholes written into state laws permit related perpetrators who have been convicted to escape penalties which would otherwise be mandatory for child sexual offenders, including imprisonment, mandatory sentence enhancements, and sexual offender registration. Prosecutors may offer probation-only sentences and forms of judicial diversion available only to related perpetrators. In some cases, the convicted perpetrator may return to live in the home of the child-victim. The article employs a problem-solving methodology rooted in critical outsider theory to critique these loopholes in state child protective systems as dangerously unsound policy. Using California as a case study, the article details the laws that authorize a prosecutor to permit convicted child sexual offenders to sidestep the charges, penalties, and administrative safeguards required by state law, as long as they are related to their victims. It examines the legal history of state incest laws and the social and political responses during the last century to the problem of sexual abuse of children in their homes. Criminal and medical studies are adduced to demonstrate that related and non-related perpetrators cannot be differentiated, either in their criminal acts or their psychological makeup. The article concludes with model legislation drafted to correct the flaws identified in state penal code.
Evaluation of a Multi-Vehicle Merging Strategy Under Different Lateral Maneuvers in the Presence of Sudden Braking

The ability for multiple vehicles to merge into an ongoing platoon is an important task in the field of intelligent transportation system (ITS). For such task, first a strategy is required to include a set of rules and actions which allows the incoming vehicles to join the platoon, and second; a safe lateral trajectory generator which always ensures the safety of lateral maneuver in terms of lateral acceleration. In this paper we evaluated the multi-vehicle merging strategy using different lateral trajectory functions under sudden breaking. Simulation results show that for merging task, a switching function is necessary to switch from an adaptive lateral function to a constant lateral trajectory function in case of sudden decelerations.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Preparing and Partnering with Families to Support the Adoption of Children from Foster Care

ABSTRACTThis investigation evaluated the effectiveness of a pre-placement education and preparation curriculum (PREP) for prospective foster/adoptive parents in improving attitudes toward children with prenatal substance exposure and their substance-using birth parent and increasing willingness to adopt these children. Participants included 1,836 prospective parents seeking adoption through foster care who received three 3-hour sessions of PREP. Prospective parents completed questionnaires assessing their knowledge about important issues involved in adopting a child from foster care, attitudes, and willingness to adopt children with a variety of characteristics. Changes from pre- to post-intervention were examined. Results indicated significant increases in self-reported knowledge; significantly more positive attitudes toward substance-abusing parents and children with prenatal substance exposure; and significantly increased willingness to adopt children with a variety of potential difficulties, including...
Novel Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm Based on Fractional Calculus and Alpha-stable Distribution

For the traditional particle swarm optimization(PSO)algorithm converges slowly and it is easy to fall into local minimum point,an improved PSO algorithm was proposed.The new algorithm combines memory character of fractional differential,reflects the historical information of particles' movement and therefore improves the optimization process.Using Alpha-stable distribution instead of uniform distribution to generate random value can make the particle to escape from local minima in a certain probability and therefore there is more effective global search capability in new algorithm.Simulation results show that there is not only faster convergence speed and more effective global search capability under the single function in new algorithm,but also more satisfactory results under a complex and deceptive function.It is confirmed that the Alpha-stable distribution and fractional calculus can improve the performance of the PSO algorithm.
Synthesis of renin inhibitors.

1. To examine the substrate specificity of renin a series of analogues of a noctapeptide previously shown to be an effective substrate (Skeggs, Lentz, Kahn & Hochstrasser, 1968) were synthesized. 2. These peptides were studied both with respect to their actions as competitive inhibitors and as substrates. 3. This resulted in the identification of two peptides which were potent competitive inhibitors but could not be cleaved by renin.
Women Deacons in the Maronite Church

The study investigates the inclusion of women deacons in the canons of the National Synod of Mount Lebanon of 1736, which formalized Latinization of the Maronite Church, providing for codification of its particular law. The canons were approved in forma specifica by Pope Clement XII and have never been modified or overruled, thereby giving evidence of the liceity of ordaining women deacons in the Catholic Church.
CHAPTER 14 – INTERNAL BALANCING AND MODEL REDUCTION

This chapter presents internal balancing, model reduction via internal balancing and Schur decomposition, and Hankel-norm approximation. The problem of constructing a reduced-order model such that the Hankel-norm error is minimized is called an Optimal Hankel-norm approximation problem. A widely used practice of model reduction is to first find a balanced realization and then to truncate the balanced realization in an appropriate manner to obtain a reduced order model. The chapter discusses the balancing of a continuous-time system, where two algorithms are described. The first algorithm constructs internal balancing of a stable, controllable, and observable system, whereas the second algorithm is designed to extract a balanced realization, if the original system is not minimal. The chapter presents that a reduced order model constructed by truncating a balanced realization remains stable and the H ∞ -norm error is bounded. The chapter shows that the transfer function matrix of the reduced-order model obtained by the Schur method is the same as that of the model reduction procedure via internal balancing. The advantages of the Schur and the square-root methods can be combined into a balancing-free square-root algorithm. The chapter states a state-space characterization of all solutions to optimal Hankel-norm approximation and then describes an algorithm to compute an optimal Hankel-norm approximation.
Joint distributions of some indices based on correlation coefficients

Publisher Summary This chapter presents joint distributions of some indices based on correlation coefficients. One of the most important and commonly used scale-free measures of association is the product-moment correlation coefficient. Most data analytic problems require at least two generalizations of the bivariate product-moment correlation, namely, the partial and the multiple correlations. The chapter presents a general theorem on the asymptotic joint distribution of the determinants of arbitrary correlation matrices of variables. This theorem is the fundamental tool used to obtain the joint distributions of partial, multiple, and partial-multiple correlations. Determinants or elements of the inverse of correlation matrices are involved in the definitions of many indices based on correlations, for example, multiple and partial correlations. Because correlation matrices of normal variates are functions of sample moments, they can have asymptotic normal distributions. The distribution of the determinants of correlation matrices is a starting point for obtaining the distributions of functions of such determinants. In some cases, the asymptotic covariance matrix has a simple, compact form.
Age-Related Increases in Tip-of-the-tongue are Distinct from Decreases in Remembering Names: A Functional MRI Study

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experiences increase with age and frequently heighten concerns about memory decline. We studied 73 clinically normal older adults participating in the Harvard Aging Brain Study. They completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task that required remembering names associated with pictures of famous faces. Older age was associated with more self-reported TOT experiences and a decrease in the percentage of remembered names. However, the percentage of TOT experiences and the percentage of remembered names were not directly correlated. We mapped fMRI activity for recollection of famous names and TOT and examined activity in the hippocampal formation, retrosplenial cortex, and lateral prefrontal cortex. The hippocampal formation was similarly activated in recollection and TOT experiences. In contrast, the retrosplenial cortex was most active for recollection and lateral prefrontal cortex was most active for TOT experiences. Together, the results confirm that age-related increases in TOT experiences are not only solely the consequence of age-related decline in recollection, but also likely reflect functional alterations in the brain networks that support retrieval monitoring and cognitive control. These findings provide behavioral and neuroimaging evidence that age-related TOT experiences and memory failure are partially independent processes.
Versatile Homoallylic Boronates by Chemo‑, S N 2′‑, Diastereo‑ and Enantioselective Catalytic Sequence of Cu−H Addition to Vinyl‑B(pin)/Allylic Substitution

A highly chemo-, diastereo- and enantioselective catalytic method that efficiently combines a silyl hydride, vinyl-B(pin) (pin=pinacolato) and (E)-1,2-disubstituted allylic phosphates is introduced. Reactions, best promoted by a Cu-based complex with a chiral sulfonate-containing N-heterocyclic carbene, are broadly applicable. Aryl-, heteroaryl-, alkenyl-, alkynyl- and alkyl-substituted allylic phosphates may thus be converted to the corresponding homoallylic boronates and then alcohols (after C−B bond oxidation) in 46–91 % yield and in up to >98 % SN2′:SN2 ratio, 96:4 diastereomeric ratio and 98:2 enantiomeric ratio. The reasons why an NHC−Cu catalyst is uniquely effective (vs. the corresponding phosphine systems) and the basis for different trends in stereoselectivity are provided with the aid of DFT calculations.
Multistatic Detection for Passive Radar With Direct-Path Interference

This paper examines the target detection problem in a multistatic passive radar with one noncooperative illuminator of opportunity (IO) and multiple distributed receivers. Specifically, we consider how to address the direct-path interference (DPI), which refers to the direct transmission from the IO to a receiver, to enhance passive detection performance. The DPI is in general much stronger (by many tens to even over a hundred dB) than the target echo. It is standard for a passive radar to apply some kind of interference cancellation by using, e.g., an adaptive array, to reduce the DPI. However, due to practical limitations of such techniques and the significant difference in strength between the DPI and target signal, the residual DPI after cancellation is often at a nonnegligible level. Unlike most existing passive detectors which ignore such residual DPI, we consider explicitly its effect and develop two new detectors under the conditions when the noise level is known and, respectively, when it is unknown. Another distinction from existing solutions is that the proposed detectors exploit the correlation of the IO waveform for passive detection. The proposed detectors are developed within the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) framework, which involves nonlinear estimation that is solved using the expectation-maximization algorithm. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed methods and several well-known passive detectors.
Alfabetización científica en física El cambio curricular no ha sido suficiente

A partir de la problematica manifestada en Chile debido a los deficientes resultados que presentan los estudiantes en las pruebas internacionales, junto con un bajo nivel de Alfabetizacion Cientifica (A.C.), se realizo una investigacion para identificar los elementos que la causan. Esta se sustento en un enfoque constructivista, integrando una aproximacion cualitativa y cuantitativa en tres ejes fundamentales de la educacion: El curriculo, empleando la tecnica de Analisis de Contenido; los docentes a traves de la entrevista y los estudiantes a partir de un test. Se logro constatar el grado de A.C. en fisica de los alumnos en estudio.Los resultados obtenidos de la aplicacion de los instrumentos permitieron reconocer la relevancia que adquiere la A.C. a nivel Ministerial en Chile. No obstante, la disonancia manifestada por los docentes permitio establecer una referencia en los procesos de ensenanza y aprendizaje, y en consecuencia, de los bajos niveles de A.C. en fisica, en las areas analizadas que ha permitido comprobar esta investigacion.
Cell Death in Ischemia-Reperfusion-Induced Liver Injury

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is incurred in a variety of disease processes and leads to profound local and systemic effects through hepatic cell death and the associated inflammatory response. Understanding mechanisms of cell death after hepatic IRI is essential for developing strategies to ameliorate its widespread effects. Classically, cell death has been attributed to apoptotic and necrotic pathways, both of which remain important in IRI. However, as we describe, numerous other pathways, including necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, and NETosis, may also play a role in this disease process.
Shift-invariant bi-inner product functionals are inner products

Bi-inner product functionals generated by a pair of Bessel sequences of L2 functions are introduced. It is shown that these functionals are constant multiples of the inner products of L2 and l2, if and only if they are shift-invariant both in space (or time) and in phase. This result is then applied to characterize dual frames and bi-orthogonal Riesz bases of L2.
Learning Geometry Intuitively with the Aid of a New Computer Tool: The Geometer's Sketchpad

The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 1989) recommends that students in elementary and middle school grades should be studying geometric properties and relationships through practical experiences with shapes and patterns, integrating mathematical experiences with their art work, and through the use of geometric computer programs. The Standards emphasize that “Insights and intuitions about twoand threedimensional shapes and their characteristics, the interrelationships of shapes, and the effects of changes to shapes are important aspects of spatial sense” (p. 48). These geometric experiences are critical for our young students. Research based on the van Hiele levels of geometric thinking (van Hiele, 1986; Fuys, Geddes & Tischler, 1988; Scally, 1990) has indicated that students entering high school have very little knowledge or experience of geometric properties and relationships; most are operating at the visual level of geometric thought in terms of the van Hiele model. These students can do little more than recognize different geometric shapes. They do not realize that a square is also a rectangle and a rhombus, or that all three are also parallelograms. Many do not realize that a square must have four right angles or that all four sides are congruent. Most have never heard of a “line of symmetry” let alone understand why a square has four lines of symmetry while a non-square rectangle has only two. It is not surprising, then, that results of the Fourth National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate that less than a third of 7th grade students, and only a quarter of the 11th grade students not taking geometry, could identify perpendicular lines, and that for the same set of students, responses to items involving properties of simple figures, such as triangles and circles, were very poor (ranging from 8 to 42 percent correct) (Lindquist, 1989). It is no wonder then that less than one third of our high school students make it through high school geometry (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). During the past twelve months, faculty and students in the Department of Mathematics Education at the University of Georgia have been involved with the prepublication (beta) testing of a new software environment for exploring geometry called The Geometer’s Sketchpad (Jackiw, 1991). This computer software environment provides teachers and students with an opportunity to explore geometric properties and relations both intuitively and inductively. Its dynamic nature makes it both exciting and accessible for even elementary students.
Cristina Rivera Garza: escribir en la frontera en tiempos de guerra

En este ensayo Oswaldo Estrada analiza la mirada critica de Cristina Rivera Garza con respecto a la frontera entre Mexi- co y los Estados Unidos. Tomando en cuenta varios de sus en- sayos, incluidos en las colecciones Dolerse. Textos desde un pais herido (2011) y Los muertos indociles. Necroescrituras y desapropiacion (2013), asi como diversos textos escritos en reaccion a las recientes elecciones presidenciales en los Estados Unidos, el critico estudia la manera comprometida en que la autora registra el pesar de los migrantes, la agonia de los que parten al Norte y los que se quedan en el Sur, los conflictos que surgen del contacto incomodo entre una primera lengua y otra segunda lengua de adopcion, asi como el acto politico de escribir en espanol desde un lugar donde este idioma carece de Estado. Hacer esto, asegura el critico, es comportarse como una verdadera intelectual que trabaja con una serie de limitaciones, dentro de un orden establecido, abriendo grietas, creando fisuras que poco tienen que ver con el deseo de agradar a muchos y mucho, en cambio, con una consigna personal, la de ejercer la critica con una lucidez insobornable. Si bien la obra entera de Rivera Garza es un cruce de fronteras, Estrada ofrece esta lectura de la autora mexicana en respuesta a la actual situacion politica de los Estados Unidos, saturada por discursos oficiales que promueven el odio y la discriminacion, el miedo al otro, el racismo y la misoginia.
Conservative Management of Constipation

A stepwise approach to medical therapy for constipation should start with a high-fiber diet, fiber supplement, and adequate fluid intake. An emollient such as ducosate would be suggested next. Although almost any laxative can be used on an infrequent basis, osmotic laxatives such as Milk of Magnesia or lactulose are preferred if chronic laxative use is needed or desired by the patient. For patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, tegaserod can be added for patients refractory to the simpler therapies.
Cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary care in mild to moderate chronic kidney disease in the United States: A modeling study.

Background Multidisciplinary care (MDC) programs have been proposed as a way to alleviate the cost and morbidity associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the US. Methods and findings We assessed the cost-effectiveness of a theoretical Medicare-based MDC program for CKD compared to usual CKD care in Medicare beneficiaries with stage 3 and 4 CKD between 45 and 84 years old in the US. The program used nephrologists, advanced practitioners, educators, dieticians, and social workers. From Medicare claims and published literature, we developed a novel deterministic Markov model for CKD progression and calibrated it to long-term risks of mortality and progression to end-stage renal disease. We then used the model to project accrued discounted costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) over patients’ remaining lifetime. We estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of MDC, or the cost of the intervention per QALY gained. MDC added 0.23 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.42) QALYs over usual care, costing $51,285 per QALY gained (net monetary benefit of $23,100 at a threshold of $150,000 per QALY gained; 95% CI: $6,252, $44,323). In all subpopulations analyzed, ICERs ranged from $42,663 to $72,432 per QALY gained. MDC was generally more cost-effective in patients with higher urine albumin excretion. Although ICERs were higher in younger patients, MDC could yield greater improvements in health in younger than older patients. MDC remained cost-effective when we decreased its effectiveness to 25% of the base case or increased the cost 5-fold. The program costed less than $70,000 per QALY in 95% of probabilistic sensitivity analyses and less than $87,500 per QALY in 99% of analyses. Limitations of our study include its theoretical nature and being less generalizable to populations at low risk for progression to ESRD. We did not study the potential impact of MDC on hospitalization (cardiovascular or other). Conclusions Our model estimates that a Medicare-funded MDC program could reduce the need for dialysis, prolong life expectancy, and meet conventional cost-effectiveness thresholds in middle-aged to elderly patients with mild to moderate CKD.
Abstract 15358: Improving Visualization and Interaction During Transcatheter Ablation Using an Augmented Reality System: First-in-Human Experience

Introduction: A novel augmented reality (AR) based system that displays a real time intraprocedural hologram of cardiac geometry, electroanatomic maps, catheter localization with a controllable via...
Analyzing Technical and Economic Interrelationships in Hawaii's Longline Fishery

This paper provides an analysis of technical and economic interrelationships among species harvested in Hawaii's pelagic longline fishery. The results indicate that this multispecies fishery is characterized by a joint production process, meaning that the regulation of one species would affect the harvest of other species. It implies that a single species regulation may not be appropriate in managing the longline fishery. Estimates of own-price output supply elasticities suggest that fisher's decisions on the amounts of each species harvested are independent of own expected prices. However, as evidenced by the estimates of cross-price elasticities, there are a number of significant technical-economic interactions among species. Failing to reject the null hypothesis of input-output separability suggests that management of the entire fishery as a whole by partial area/seasonal closure or by a 'limited entry' system as in the past is justified instead of regulating a few key species.
Effects of heterophoria on stereopsis.

The effects of horizontal heterophoria on Howard-Dolman stereopsis scores were investigated in a population of 1765 stereophotogrammetrists with no obvious impediment to binocular vision as determined in a vision screening. Exophoria over the 1 to 7 Δ range showed no systematic and statistically valid effect on stereopsis but esophoria did show an effect. In a related population of 1339 stereophotogrammetrists, subjects with as little as 1 Δ (±0.5 Δ) of vertical heterophoria exhibited a small but statistically significant decrease in stereopsis test scores compared to those with vertical orthophoria. Therefore, a heterophoria had different effects on stereoacuity depending on whether it was in the exo, eso, or vertical direction. An explanation for the difference is proposed using the known dependence of heterophoria and stereoacuity on fixation disparity.
Preface to Part XVIII

Nathalie Sinclair’s Knowing More Than We Can Tell is the penultimate chapter in this book, and it turned out so as to deliver the pen-ultimatum of this book covertly! (pun intended). It sets the stage for the reader to ponder over what the frontiers of mathematics education ought to be. Being a self-critical person, I realize that some chapters in this book have re-cast the past but they have come with new commentaries that hopefully shed new light on “old ideas”. There are also numerous other chapters that are truly at the frontiers of mathematics education today. Nathalie’s chapter is avant garde in many respects, ahead of its time for a reader unaware of her work. However, if one has paid attention to her evolution as a scholar, it reveals a slow and steady progress from her doctoral dissertation that examined the aesthetic dimension in mathematical thinking and learning, with another component of her training being the analysis of Leone Burton’s qualitative data with 70 practicing mathematics in the UK and Northern Ireland, it should come as no surprise that the groundwork has been carefully laid to posit aesthetics as the redeeming feature (albeit ignored commonalty) of mathematical thinking and learning.
Polly Wants a Cracker

A 3-year-old girl is admitted to the emergency department with fever of 101.6°F accompanied by poor feeding over the prior 3 days and a persistent cough with dyspnea. Chest x-ray reveals left lower lobe pneumonia, and blood cultures are positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. The child was born prematurely at 34 weeks by vaginal delivery and weighed 2.5 kg (current weight 12.4 kg). Laboratory values are as follows: white blood cells (WBC) 20.0 K/μL, hemoglobin (Hgb) 7.2 g/dL, hematocrit (Hct) 24%, platelet count 62 K/μL, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 800 U/L, prothrombin time (PT) 17.2 s, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) 48.5 s, total bilirubin 5.0 mg/dL, and creatinine 4.2 mg/dL. An ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant sample is submitted to the blood bank for type and screen.
Dynamic Energy Optimization in Chip Multiprocessors Using Deep Neural Networks

We investigate the use of deep neural network (DNN) models for energy optimization under performance constraints in chip multiprocessor systems. We introduce a dynamic energy management algorithm implemented in three phases. In the first phase, training data is collected by running several selected instrumented benchmarks. A training data point represents a pair of values of cores’ workload characteristics and of optimal voltage/frequency (V/F) pairs. This phase employs Kalman filtering for workload prediction and an efficient heuristic algorithm based on dynamic voltage and frequency scaling. The second phase represents the training process of the DNN model. In the last phase, the DNN model is used to directly identify V/F pairs that can achieve lower energy consumption without performance degradation beyond the acceptable threshold set by the user. Simulation results on 16 and 64 core network-on-chip based architectures demonstrate that the proposed approach can achieve up to 55 percent energy reduction for 10 percent performance degradation constraints. In addition, the proposed DNN approach is compared against existing approaches based on reinforcement learning and Kalman filtering and found that it provides average improvements in energy-delay-product (EDP) of 6.3 and 6 percent for the 16 core architecture and of 7.4 and 5.5 percent for the 64 core architecture.
Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities: 4th Edition

The fourth edition of Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities critically examines the breadth of research on this complex and controversial topic, with the principal aim of helping the reader to understand where sex differences are found – and where they are not. Since the publication of the third edition, there have been many exciting and illuminating developments in our understanding of cognitive sex differences. Modern neuroscience has transformed our understanding of the mind and behavior in general, but particularly the way we think about cognitive sex differences. But neuroscience is still in its infancy and has often been misused to justify sex role stereotypes. There has also been the publication of many exaggerated and unreplicated claims regarding cognitive sex differences. Consequently, throughout the book there is recognition of the critical importance of good research; an amiable skepticism of the nature and strength of evidence behind any claim of sex difference; an appreciation of the complexity of the questions about cognitive sex differences; and the ability to see multiple sides of an issues, while also realizing that some claims are well-reasoned and supported by data and others are politicized pseudoscience. The author endeavors to present and interpret all the relevant data fairly, and in the process reveals how there are strong data for many different views. The book explores sex differences from many angles and in many settings, including the effect of different abilities and levels of education on sex differences, pre-existing beliefs or stereotypes, culture, and hormones. Sex differences in the brain are explored along with the stern caveat to "mind the gap" between brain structures and behaviors. Readers should come away with a new understanding of the way nature and nurture work together to make us unique individuals while also creating similarities and differences that are often (but not always) tied to our being female and male. Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities, Fourth Edition, can be used as a textbook or reference in a range of courses and will inspire the next generation of researchers. Halpern engages readers in the big societal questions that are inherent in the controversial topic of whether, when , and how much males and females differ psychologically. It should be required reading for parents, teachers, and policy makers who want to know about the ways in which males and females are different and similar.
Predicting Treatment Response Based on RNA Expression in Large Datasets

PD-L1 expression levels derived from >16,000 samples guided the selection of tumor types likely to benefit from pembrolizuamb monotherapy in clinical trials. Although not fail-proof, FDA approvals for most of the prioritized indications speak to the power of RNA expression profiling and the value of large genomic datasets. See related article by Ayers et al., p. 1564
When Courts Collide: Court Pluralism, Domestic Violence, and System Reform

Scholarship about domestic violence-related judicial system reform tends to focus on criminal justice, leaving the civil system under-analyzed. Moreover, the pluralistic nature of the justice system - which consists of both criminal and civil justice - is often ignored. This article explores claims for specialized domestic violence courts that integrate civil and criminal cases into a single court and argues that the value of court pluralism is overlooked. Part I of this article introduces the problem of integrated courts in a pluralistic court system. Part II examines the normative function of criminal courts in relation to domestic violence cases and contrasts the remedies available to victims in criminal and civil courts. Part III critiques the rationale for integrated domestic violence courts from the standpoint of litigation strategy and other avenues for system reform. This Part also examines the ways in which integrated courts compromise the autonomy-enhancing functions of civil courts. Part IV shows that despite the advantages of civil courts for victims, the characterization of civil justice as relatively unproblematic is inaccurate, and revisits the normative role of the criminal courts. This Part concludes that given the risks and lack of benefits to victims of integrating criminal and civil court functions, this reform strategy should be reconsidered in light of its impact on court pluralism.
Using phonotactics to reconstruct degrammaticalization: The origin of the Sirva pronoun be

The principle of directionality is an important part of the comparative method: in order to arrive at a reconstruction, historical linguists need a robust theory that informs them in what direction linguistic change is likely to proceed. But any such theory will have exceptions. How are these to be spotted? I examine one case in which a counter-directional change, degrammaticalization, can be reconstructed by invoking the phonotactics of the proto-language. The degrammaticalized form is the Sirva 3sg pronoun be, and the proto-language is Proto-Sogeram. After making this reconstruction, I also demonstrate that it can be used to enhance our understanding of degrammaticalization. Be spawned a small family of related forms, which shows us that degrammaticalized forms can become polygrammaticalized in the same way as other grammatical morphemes.
Straggling for Covert Message Passing on Complete Graphs

We introduce a model for mobile, multi-agent information transfer that increases the communication covertness through a protocol which also increases the information transfer delay. Covertness is achieved in the presence of a warden who has the ability to patrol the communication channels. Furthermore we show how two forms of redundancy can be used as an effective tool to control the tradeoff between the covertness and the delay.