cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preparation and characterization of fibrinogen‐coated, reversibly adhesive, lecithin/cholesterol vesicles

We have developed a method for producing fibrinogen-coated, reversibly adhesive, lecithin/cholesterol vesicles. In this method, fibrinogen, which is acylated in the presence of preformed vesicles, spontaneously incorporates into vesicular membranes. The degree of incorporation is a function of the extent of acylation of the protein. Fibrinogen-coated vesicles aggregate in the presence of thrombin, a consequence of intervesicular fibrin formation. The rate and extent of thrombin-initiated aggregation depend on the fibrinogen surface concentration. Once aggregated, fibrin-coated vesicles can be dissociated by plasmin and by agents that disrupt intervesicular fibrin dimerization such as heparin and the tetrapeptide Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro. Fibrinogen-coated vesicles can be made to bind avidly to the surface of solution phase fibrin matrices and can be incorporated into solution phase fibrin clots. Fibrinogen-coated vesicles also bind to activated platelets. We propose that fibrinogen-coated vesicles will have practical applications as biomimetic hemostatic agents and as vehicles for the fibrin-specific targeting of drugs and other molecules.
Breast Cancer and Hormonal Replacement Therapy

Understanding the association between hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the diagnosis of breast cancer, and the clinical outcome of women who develop breast cancer in the setting of HRT continue to present important challenges for health professionals and the public. The general impression in the medical community is that breast cancer is diagnosed more frequently after prolonged HRT; however, whether a causative relationship exists between HRT and breast cancer remains uncertain. Despite the increase in breast cancer diagnosis, clinical outcome of the disease appears favorable for women who develop breast cancer after HRT; HRT users tend to present with more localized tumors that exhibit favorable histology, and overall death from breast cancer appears reduced. The history of breast cancer constitutes a contraindication for HRT as a general rule, based on the concern that HRT may activate dormant cancer cells. Direct evidence for this practice is very limited; available studies are small and mostly retrospective, but do not indicate an adverse effect of HRT on breast cancer recurrence. In reaching a clinical decision regarding HRT, the expected benefits (largely improvement of menopausal symptoms) must be weighed against the potential risks of HRT (especially breast cancer) for each individual woman.
Managerial applications of corporate social responsibility and systems thinking for achieving sustainability outcomes

There is a gap between organizations' intentions to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and their provision of a clear strategy and management tools for practically realizing such intentions. In particular, the literature to date has not yet developed a pragmatic, descriptive summary of firms' designs for CSR adoption, along with a practical menu of ways to implement their designs in organizational systems. To address these gaps, this paper aims to make three principle contributions. First, it defines CSR, sustainability and their relationship in practical terms. Second, it develops a typology of CSR standpoints that incorporates a number of other classifications. Third, it offers a menu of practical methods and measurement metrics based on interpretive and complex adaptive systems perspectives. The result is a hands-on guide to the process of achieving sustainability goals and objectives from a variety of ideological positions and systems designs, thereby contributing to both managerial practice and sustainability theory. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gallium arsenide. Its uses in photovoltaic applications

In the multitude of semiconductors today, there are only a few which stand out due to their unique properties. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is one. It is a compound III-V semiconductor made up of gallium (a group V element with an orthorhombic crystal structure) and arsenic (a group III element with a trigonal crystal structure). The unique property that gallium arsenide has is its ability to turn electricity into light. This property allows the semiconductor to be used in an array of applications, ranging from integrated circuits to photovoltaic applications. In this paper, the application of GaAs to solar cell panels is detailed by the author.
Towards Mobile Microrobot Swarms for Additive Micromanufacturing

In this paper, a novel approach to achieving the independent control of multiple magnetic microrobots is presented. The approach utilizes a specialized substrate consisting of a fine grid of planar, MEMS-fabricated micro coils of the same size as the microrobots (≤ 500 μm). The coils can be used to generate real magnetic potentials and, therefore, attractive and repulsive forces in the workspace to control the trajectories of the microrobots. Initial work on modelling the coil and microrobot behavior is reported along with simulation results for navigating one and two microrobots along independent desired trajectories. Qualitative results from a scaled-up printed circuit board version of the specialized substrate operating on permanent magnets are presented and offer proof-of-concept results for the approach. These tests also provide insights for practical implementations of such a system, which are similarly reported. The ultimate goal of this work is to use swarms of independently controlled microrobots...
Analysis of mode coupling on guided-wave structures using Morse critical points

New insight on mode coupling in waveguiding structures is obtained from the theory of Morse critical points (MCP's). It is shown that the traditional coupled-mode formalism has a clear analytical connection with functional properties of the characteristic determinant in the vicinity of the Morse critical point, which determines the minimum of coupling. The relationship between perturbed and independent modes in the mode-coupling region is obtained using the Taylor polynomial of order two about the Morse critical point, and it is found that the coupling factor is proportionally related to the value of a characteristic function at this point. The qualitative modal behaviour in the mode-interaction region is predicted by a simple normal form, which can be geometrically interpreted as a result of the intersection of a saddle surface and a plane corresponding to the minimum of the coupling factor. Numerical results for a variety of guided-wave structures, including printed-circuit transmission lines, planar-slab waveguides, and shielded microstrip-like lines demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach for the rapid identification of mode-coupling regions, and for reconstruction of dispersion behaviour in those regions via simple analytic (normal) forms.
Clinical inertia contributes to poor diabetes control in a primary care setting.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether “clinical inertia”—inadequate intensification of therapy by the provider—could contribute to high A1C levels in patients with type 2 diabet...
Amyloid-β deposition in mild cognitive impairment is associated with increased hippocampal activity, atrophy and clinical progression

Cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging studies using a memory task in patients with mild cognitive impairment have produced discordant results, with some studies reporting increased hippocampal activity--consistent with findings in genetic at-risk populations--and other studies reporting decreased hippocampal activity, relative to normal controls. However, previous studies in mild cognitive impairment have not included markers of amyloid-β, which may be particularly important in prediction of progression along the Alzheimer's disease continuum. Here, we examine the contribution of amyloid-β deposition to cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of hippocampal functional magnetic resonance imaging activity, hippocampal volume, global cognition and clinical progression over 36 months in 33 patients with mild cognitive impairment. Amyloid-β status was examined with positron emission tomography imaging using Pittsburg compound-B, hippocampal functional magnetic resonance imaging activity was assessed using an associative face-name memory encoding task, and hippocampal volume was quantified with structural magnetic resonance imaging. Finally global cognition was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination and clinical progression was assessed using the Clinical Dementia Rating (Sum of Boxes). At baseline, amyloid-β positive patients with mild cognitive impairment showed increased hippocampal activation, smaller hippocampal volumes, and a trend towards lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores and higher Clinical Dementia Ratings compared to amyloid-β negative patients with mild cognitive impairment. Longitudinally, amyloid-β positive patients with mild cognitive impairment continued to show high levels of hippocampal activity, despite increasing rates of hippocampal atrophy, decline on the Mini-Mental State Examination and faster progression on the Clinical Dementia Ratings. When entered simultaneously into the same linear mixed model, amyloid-β status, hippocampal activation, and hippocampal volume independently predicted clinical progression. These results indicate that amyloid-β positive patients with mild cognitive impairment are more likely on a path towards Alzheimer's disease dementia than amyloid-β negative patients. Increased hippocampal activity is discussed in relation to neuronal compensation and/or amyloid-β induced excitoxicity.
English in Colombia: a sociolinguistic profile

This paper intends to make a contribution to the study of the spread of the English language in Colombia. To characterize this social and cultural context, I draw a sociolinguistic profile following the framework provided by Berns (1990, 1992). Although English has no official status in Colombia and its functional range is still restricted, it has expanded at a pace not experienced before. There is a growing consensus that English has a role to play in Colombia's social and economical advancement in the international arena. This is evidenced in the educational policies and programs contributing to securing a prominent position for English in the national curriculum as well as in the unprecedented boom of the English language teaching industry. The paper begins by providing an overview of Colombia and its linguistic makeup, briefly tracing the presence of the English language from the eighteenth century to date. Then it goes on to characterize the users and uses of English documenting how the interpersonal, instrumental, and creative/innovative functions are manifested in this particular setting. Next, the paper describes the attitudinal range towards the English language, its speakers, and its study as well as the process of borrowing, adaptation, and innovation. It concludes by highlighting the need for additional research to further define this particular socio–cultural milieu of learning and use of English. It is argued that further research has a central role in informing the determination of relevant and appropriate models for language teaching in Colombia.
Assessing calibration of prognostic risk scores

Current methods used to assess calibration are limited, particularly in the assessment of prognostic models. Methods for testing and visualizing calibration (e.g. the Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration slope) have been well thought out in the binary regression setting. However, extension of these methods to Cox models is less well known and could be improved. We describe a model-based framework for the assessment of calibration in the binary setting that provides natural extensions to the survival data setting. We show that Poisson regression models can be used to easily assess calibration in prognostic models. In addition, we show that a calibration test suggested for use in survival data has poor performance. Finally, we apply these methods to the problem of external validation of a risk score developed for the general population when assessed in a special patient population (i.e. patients with particular comorbidities, such as rheumatoid arthritis).
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: neither deformation nor timing are preserved

This editorial refers to ‘Myocardial systolic and diastolic consequences of left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony in heart failure with normal left ventricular ejection fraction’ by Morris et al ., on pages 556–567. Despite its frequency, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains a riddle.1 This condition is highly heterogeneous and probably not uncommonly misdiagnosed, especially if the diagnosis is one of exclusion.2 For these and many more reasons, the pharmacological treatment of HFpEF remains difficult, with multiple negative survival studies, even though some medications have been linked to functional benefit.3 In this context, the paper of Morris et al .4 on the association of left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony with HFpEF is interesting, and may prove to be very important. In this work, the authors studied 325 patients, 85 with HFpEF and 240 with asymptomatic diastolic dysfunction in the absence of heart failure symptoms. The diagnostic criteria were proposed by the European Society of Cardiology,5 and patients with confounding diseases were excluded. In comparison to those with asymptomatic diastolic dysfunction, patients with HFpEF were more likely to be hypertensive, have type 2 diabetes mellitus, and have a history of coronary artery disease. They had LV hypertrophy, lower tissue velocity …
Evolution of specific spectra of immunological responsiveness.

INVESTIGATIONS are being carried out in this laboratory to examine the overall antigenic composition of cells and tissues by various immunological techniques. While preparing anticellular sera for immunodiffusion experiments, the following observations were made.
Decision-level fusion strategies for correlated biometric classifiers

The focus of this paper is on designing decision-level fusion strategies for correlated biometric classifiers. In this regard, two different strategies are investigated. In the first strategy, an optimal fusion rule based on the likelihood ratio test (LRT) and the chair Varshney rule (CVR) is discussed for correlated hypothesis testing where the thresholds of the individual biometric classifiers are first fixed. In the second strategy, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based procedure is proposed to simultaneously optimize the thresholds and the fusion rule. Results are presented on (a) a synthetic score data conforming to a multivariate normal distribution with different covariance matrices, and (b) the NIST BSSR dataset. We observe that the PSO-based decision fusion strategy performs well on correlated classifiers when compared with the LRT-based method as well as the average sum rule employing z-score normalization. This work highlights the importance of incorporating the correlation structure between classifiers when designing a biometric fusion system.
Consistency of theories of ideas

Inconsistency is a problem with first order predicate calculus theories in which ideas are treated as objects. This paper presents general results on inconsistency, including an interesting restriction on the relation of knowing. A theory having a uniform method of expressing ideas, ideas of ideas, and so on, is sketched. It is shown how to restrict some of the axioms of this theory in order to obtain consistency. The method of obtaining consistency seems to have some generality.
Influence of Free Flight Pitch and Yaw on the Performance of Kinetic Energy Projectiles

The influence of drag and angular motion on the perforation performance of kinetic energy projectiles is examined. It is well known that both degrade perforation, but a methodology to quantify the degradation is lacking for the general case of combined pitch and yaw. For the case of normal incidence into simple RHA targets, only the total yaw angle is of importance. With more complex targets, the components of the total yaw angle are shown to be of individual concern. *
Osteoporosis: Which current treatments reduce fracture risk?

Randomized controlled trials showed that several antiosteoporosis drugs decrease the incidence of fractures, which is a better measure of efficacy than are changes in bone mineral density or serum markers of bone turnover. With effective agents available, physicians should make osteoporosis treatment a priority, especially for patients at high risk, such as those who have already had a fracture.
Nonlinear Stability and Boundedness of Approximately Symmetric Large-Scale Systems

Abstract Stability and convergence properties of large-scale integrated systems are essential aspects of the development of truly useful and well-designed cyber-physical systems (CPS). Because of the desire for flexible, adaptive and reactive cyber-physical systems, i.e., global operation, nonlinear analyses and tools are especially important in CPS. Hence, Lyapunov methods are at the core of many critical control methodologies for such systems. This paper considers Lyapunov stability for approximately symmetric systems. Many robotic systems, such as swarms and fleets of mobile robots, distributed sensor networks, highly integrated cyber-physical systems, etc. , are comprised many identical interacting agents, and our prior work has developed computationally efficient stability analyses of the control and dynamics of such symmetric systems. This paper extends those results to the important case where all the agents are not identical, which is important for real-world applications where it is not possible to have exactly identical agents. Importantly, these results do not require the components to have small differences. However, the bounds on the nature of the solutions will obviously depend on how different the agents are.
Urinary Diversion and Drainage

Urinary diversion and drainage procedures include percutaneous nephrostomy in native and transplant kidneys, nephroureteral stent placement, ureteral stent placement, ureteral stricture management, ureteral embolization, suprapubic catheterization, and urinoma drainage. Collectively, these procedures represent minimally invasive, percutaneous strategies used to alter the flow of urine to relieve obstruction, to restore physiologic drainage, and to promote healing. This chapter describes the indications, techniques, and imaging guidance modalities related to urinary diversion and drainage procedures. Additionally, this chapter will discuss the management of the different types of catheters and stents.
Position Model of Six-DOF Electromagnetic Tracker and Near-Field Calibration Technique

To study the accuracy of magnetic-dipole position model,the parallel-finite difference time domain(parallel-FDTD) arithmetic is presented on a distributed network.The message passing module and space decomposition technique are applied.In FDTD application,simulation of low frequency exciting source is very difficult.The fast Fourier transform arithmetic is introduced to analyze the magnetic characteristic of some special frequency by using Gaussian pulse exciting source.The near-field position model and the calibration arithmetic are set up based on the Lagendre polynomial.The effects of position distance on magnetic-dipole position model and parameters position error rule are analyzed.Numerical results validates that the parameters accuracy could be improved by the Lagendre polynomial near-field calibration model.
A novel view of albumin-supported sperm capacitation: role of Lipid Transfer Protein-I * † ‡

Objective To determine if one mechanism of albumin-mediated support of human sperm capacitation is lipid (cholesterol) transfer activity and contamination of albumin with Lipid Transfer Protein-I (LTP-I). Design and Main Outcome Measures Measure lipid transfer activity in various bovine and human albumin preparations; relate this activity to albumin-supported capacitation (measured by zona-free hamster oocyte sperm penetration assay) and acrosome reactions; and attempt to detect LTP-I in active albumins. Remove LTP-I from albumin which supports capacitation and reassess this support. Reconstitute capacitation support by addition of purified LTP-I. Setting and Subjects Healthy sperm donors with normal semen analyses were recruited by the Reproductive Biology-Andrology Laboratory in a university medical center. Results Albumin preparations that effectively support capacitation have high levels of lipid transfer activity and of LTP-I, a protein responsible for lipid transfer activity. Preparations with lower levels of capacitation support have less lipid transfer activity. Removal of LTP-I from supportive albumin significantly reduces the capacitation support, and this is restored by purified LTP-I. Progesterone concentrations in these preparations are negligible. Conclusions The variable abilities of albumin preparations to support in vitro sperm capacitation are largely dependent on the presence of contaminating LTP-I. The cholesterol transfer activity of this protein, which is present in human serum and follicular fluid, may be one mechanism in the process of capacitation.
Effects of Formalin on Bladder Urothelium

Formalin instillation into canine bladders was followed by serial radiographic and histologic evaluation. A generalized slough of epithelial tissue was seen with the deposition of an amorphous substance. Telangiectasia resulted in moderate bleeding. No ureterovesical junction obstruction was seen and reflux occurring in 60 per cent of the animals reverted to normal. Correlation with clinical experience is made.
Function sets in genetic programming

This research examined how the function set influences performance in genetic programming. We find that performance can vary widely with different "appropriate" function sets. In general, functions that are likely to produce solutions with very low fitness degrade the results and are heavily selected against even when the function could produce very simple solutions.
A new reason for intraoperative blood flow measurement: improving liver allograft function.

Introduction: Our previous studies showed a correlation of intraoperative renal allograft blood flow and immediate functions. A similar relation is not well established for liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to assess the relation between hepatic blood flow on revascularization and immediate liver graft function (IF). Methods: Studies evaluating arterial and portal flow in newly transplanted livers were started in May 2004. Total hepatic artery and portal vein blood flow were assessed in 15 liver transplant recipients. Parenchymal flow was also recorded. Measurements were taken at 30 and 120 minutes after simultaneous arterial/portal reperfusion. Flow results were correlated with IF. Results: Mean arterial blood flow (ABF) was 16.3 mL/min/100 g in both measurements. Portal flow was reduced from 168 to 127 mL/ min/100 g from the first to the second measurement. Mean parenchymal flow (PF) did not alter over time (29.1 and 30.4 mL/min/100 g, respectively). Among recorded flow results we observed a significant correlation between PF with IF measured as: bile volume (R = 0.36 to 0.62; P <.05), serum AST (R = -0.4 to -0.68; P <.05), and ALT level (R = -0.2 to -0.71; P < .05), bilirubin level as well as INR (R = -0.39 to -0.61; P <.05) assayed; daily for 14 days. Similar observations were made between ABF and INR, hiatal parenchymal flow, and ALT as well as INR. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest hepatic blood flow may be a reliable predictor of graft viability and function. Of the variables measured, portal blood flow seems to be the most valuable indicator of liver function.
The Bacterial Cell

General concepts and basic informations, with data on structural components and functionning of the bacterial cell are provided, including descriptions of the cell wall, the secretion systems and the cytoskeleton organization. Basic informations about the functionning and organization of the chromosome and plasmids are shown, together with mechanisms of genetic recombination and DNA methylation. Other structural components of the bacterial cell like flagella and pili are also shown. Quorum sensing and functional processes like CRISPR systems involved in adaptation and metabolism are discussed, with basic concepts and data concerning bacterial identification.
Exact particle flow for nonlinear filters: Seventeen dubious solutions to a first order linear underdetermined PDE

We solve the important and well known problem with particle filters, called “particle degeneracy” or “particle collapse”. This new filter theory is a radical departure from all other particle filters in five ways: (a) we do not use any proposal density; (b) we never resample particles; (c) we compute Bayes' rule by particle flow rather than as a pointwise multiplication; (d) we compute the log of the unnormalized density rather than the normalized density; and (e) we do not use any MCMC methods.
Emergent Leadership Behaviors: The Function of Personality and Cognitive Ability in Determining Teamwork Performance and KSAs

This study investigated the theoretical underpinnings of individual differences in emergent leadership behaviors and their relationships to teamwork processes and outcomes. Both personality and cognitive ability were utilized to examine behaviors of leadership emergence, team performance, and KSAs. Three hundred and twenty undergraduate psychology students completed personality and cognitive ability tests and then formed sixty-seven mixed-gender teams. Members rated each other on emergent leadership behaviors as well as their team on specific interpersonal and self-management KSAs. Results revealed that extroversion, openness to experience and cognitive ability were predictive of emergent leadership behaviors. Conscientiousness and cognitive ability were associated with team performance. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.
Chapter 19 – Cancer as a Disease of Homeostasis: An Angiogenesis Perspective

Cancer is a systemic disease, which, as it develops, engages its environment, modifying it and causing a cascade of changes throughout the body, including dysregulation of many organ systems. Here I look at loss of homeostasis in cancer through the lens of blood vessel formation. Specifically, I focus on how the process of normal wound healing turns to unrestrained angiogenesis when tumor-produced angiogenesis regulators compete for binding cites in the tumor microenvironment in what can be seen as a biomolecular game of musical chairs. I then look at how this process can lead to variations in time to angiogenic switch in dormant tumors. I conclude with a hypothesis on how this mechanism may provide a possible explanation for accelerated growth of secondary tumors following resection of a primary tumor.
Scarcity Appeals in Advertising: Comparison of Product Uniqueness and Popularity Signals—An Abstract

This study examines young American consumers’ perceptions towards product uniqueness and product popularity signal in ads. Two theories, commodity theory and need for uniqueness theory, are used. Keller (2001) posits that consumers’ brand perceptions are driven by their unique needs. Aggarwal and McGill (2012) noticed that scarcity messages will interact significantly with the brand concept as there will be stronger effect on purchase intentions due to symbolism than functionality. In addition, Micu and Chowdhury (2010a, b) agreed that symbolic appeals of product will fulfill consumers’ experiential needs. On the other hand, when there is an excess demand, it means that the product is popular, and the perception of uniqueness and scarcity as a status symbol will decrease.
Diversifying Perspectives of the International Intellectual Property System

The Essay is a contribution to the volume celebrating the 50th Anniversary of CEIPI. It considers the future to development of the international intellectual property system by looking at how intellectual property is framed in international debates. The Essay contemplates the role of economics, trade, development, culture and human rights, and highlights the different approaches to the relationship between intellectual property and these different fields of knowledge. It argues that we must be pluralistic about the ways in which these five frames or bodies of knowledge interact with intellectual property law. That is because these different frames possess varying characteristics, and will operate effectively in different institutional settings. Indeed, we might not expect or want each frame to have equal weight in every setting.
Rural Property, Collective Action, and Place-Based Conservation

Place-based conservation is manifest in rural responses to planning and land-use change. Place meanings are often perceived as individualistic, subjective, and benign, when in fact they can also be viewed as collective, objective, and inherently conflictive. Described here is an extended case study that explores how modifications to an urban-based theory of place and property interests can more fully illuminate rural events and conservation planning. An in-depth exploration of rural property interests may help to provide greater understanding of the role of place in rural planning environments and bring greater attention to unique features of the rural landscape.
Explosively-Driven Opening Switches

Explosively-driven opening switches may be viewed as evolutionary developments from mechanical circuit breakers, fuses, or gas-quenched arc devices. For example, one explosive switch concept which can be viewed as a development from a mechanical circuit breaker uses an explosive charge to cut a metal conductor with a dielectric knife blade.1,2 With a solid conductor as the switching element, this switch has the advantage of conducting a very high current density for an unlimited time, until it is command-fired. The hold-off voltage of the switch is principally limited by the time-dependent breakdown strength of the explosive products. The opening time of the switch is dominated by the mechanical movement of the conductor and is limited by the conductor velocity. Ford and Vitkovitsky1 have reported opening times of about 10 μs and peak hold-off voltage of 35 kV.
Glaciation-Influenced Debris Flow Deposits: East Greenland Slope

Debris flow deposits dominate the acoustic profiles of the East Greenland continental slope (Figures 1 and 2). Huntec Deep Tow Seismic (DTS)® and 10 in3 sleeve gun provided the seismic source signatures. Huntec data recorded by the internal hydrophone were prefiltered between 1.0 and 6.0 kHz and digitized by the Ferranti SE880 at 50 µsec (20 kHz) with a data window of 400 to 500 µsec (i.e. between 8000 to 10000 samples per shot trigger). The boomer source was an ED10F/C powered by 4 kv (560 joules). The sleeve gun data were prefiltered between 100 and 1500 kHz and digitized by the Ferranti SE880 at 200 µsec (5 kHz) with a data window of 1 and 2 sec (at 5000 to 10000 samples per shot trigger). Details of the methodology are well described in Asprey et a 1. (1994).
Comprehending Technical Texts: Predicting and Defining Unfamiliar Terms

1http://www.reutershealth.com 2The Kappa statistic is a measure of agreement beyond the agreement expected due to chance. A Kappa above 0.8 means nearly perfect agreement among the subjects, while above 0.7 means substantial agreement. 3The training set was obtained by asking a human lay judge to annotate a randomized set of 100 terms, other than those used in our initial study. Of these terms, 60 were judged comprehensible and 40 incomprehensible. 4Precision and recall are standard evaluation metrics used in the Natural Language Processing community. Precision counts the ratio of correctly identified unfamiliar terms by a system, while recall measures the ratio of identified unfamiliar terms to all unfamiliar terms that should have been identified. A precision/recall curve plots the two measures on one graph. 5In our experience, it is difficult however, to find large collections of medical texts for lower-grade reading levels.
The Durability of Private Claims to Public Property

Property rights and resource use are closely related. Scholarly inquiry about their relation, however, tends to emphasize private property arrangements while ignoring public property — property formally owned by government. The well-known tragedies of the commons and anticommons, for example, are generally analyzed with reference to the optimal form and degree of private ownership. But what about property owned by the state? The federal government alone owns nearly one-third of the land area of the United States. One could well ask: is there a tragedy associated with public property, too?If there is, here is what it might look like: private claims to public property are remarkably durable. Consider private claims to the lands and resources owned and managed by the federal government. Once established, these claims — of which there are hundreds of thousands — seem, in many instances, to take on a life of their own. Mining claims, leases for the development of coal or oil and gas, grazing permits, hydropower licenses, ski resort leases, even residential leases — claims such as these are often extended, expanded, renewed, and protected by law and by bureaucratic practices in ways that shape, and often trump, other policy objectives with respect to federal land. Newer claim-ants, and policies that would favor new land uses or alter the mix of uses, tend to be disfavored. These tendencies create a set of managerial and policymaking difficulties that constrain lawmakers and land managers and that ultimately disserve the interests of the citizens in whose interest state property ostensibly is managed.This Article examines the durability of private claims to public property, first, by providing a set of examples, and second, by explaining how the American historical experience and legal system combine to give public property this character. Third, it suggests implications for both theory and practice, in particular cautioning that lawmakers should take into account the phenomenon described here before granting new forms of access to various public resources.
Special Collection of Perspectives on Broadening Participation.

This is an introduction to a special collection of perspectives on Broadening Participation by leaders in the field on how the life sciences community can cultivate and harness the talents of peopl...
Biogeography and Distribution of the Cryptic Species Rosyface Shiner Notropis rubellus and Carmine Shiner Notropis percobromus in Illinois

Conservation and management of cryptic species is particularly challenging since it can be difficult to determine their exact distributions. Knowledge of species distribution is required to recognize management units based on taxonomy and whether there are any pertinent biogeographic patterns that could be relevant to the development of a management plan. Such a situation exists in Illinois with the Rosyface Shiner Notropis rubellus and Carmine Shiner Notropis percobromus. There are no reliable anatomical characters to distinguish between the two species. Instead, they are distinguished by genetic data. Samples were obtained for these two species from across the state from each major watershed in which they are found. Based on cytochrome b sequence variation the two species can be distinguished by 44 species-distinct differences. Notropis percobromus is restricted to the Rock River watershed and nearby Mississippi River tributaries in northwest Illinois. Notropis rubellus is found in the Illinois River ba...
Using nationally representative survey data for external adjustment of unmeasured confounders: An example using the NHANES data.

Purpose To evaluate the use of data from population-based surveys such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for external adjustment for confounders imperfectly measured in health care databases in the United States. Methods Our example study used Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) data to estimate the relative risk (RR) for prenatal serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) exposure and cardiac defects. Smoking and obesity are known confounders poorly captured in databases. NHANES collects information on lifestyle factors, depression, and prescription medications. External adjustment requires information on the prevalence of confounders and their association with SNRI use; which was obtained from the NHANES. It also requires estimates of their association with the outcome, which were based on the literature and allowed us to correct the RR using sensitivity analyses. Results In MAX, the RR for the association between prenatal SNRI exposure and cardiac defects was 1.51 unadjusted and 1.20 adjusted for measured confounders and restricted to women with depression. In NHANES, among women of childbearing age with depression, the prevalence of smoking was 60.2% (95% Confidence Interval 43.2, 74.3) for SNRI users and 44.1% (39.6, 48.8) for nonusers of antidepressants. The corresponding estimates for obesity were 59.2% (43.2, 74.3) and 40.5% (35.9, 45.0), respectively. If the associations between smoking and obesity with cardiac defects are independent from each other and from other measured confounders, additional adjustment for smoking and obesity would move the RR from 1.20 to around 1.10. Conclusion National surveys like NHANES are readily available sources of information on potential confounders and they can be used to assess and improve the validity of RR estimates from observational studies missing data on known risk factors.
Leg Amputations Among Texans Remote From Experienced Surgical Care.

Abstract Background Surgical outcomes may differ between low-volume and experienced hospitals. We sought to identify characteristics of remote patients—those living more than 50 miles from an experienced center—who underwent leg amputations for peripheral artery disease (PAD) and foot complications at low-volume and experienced hospitals and identify regions of Texas where such patients live. Materials and methods Publicly available Texas hospitalization data from 2004 through 2009 were used to identify patients with PAD who underwent leg amputation for foot complications, including foot ulcers, foot infections, and gangrene. Geocoding was used to further identify a subset of remote patients and to estimate distances from zip code of residence to hospital in which care was received. Results Among all leg amputations, 850 (18.6%) were performed on patients classified as remote, and 3723 (81.4%) were performed on patients classified as nonremote. Compared with nonremote patients, remote patients were more often categorized as white and more frequently received Medicare and/or Medicaid. Of the subset of remote patients, those at low-volume hospitals were older, were less often categorized as Hispanic, more often had Medicaid coverage, were also more frequently admitted through the emergency department, and often had a foot infection compared with those at experienced centers. Geospatial analysis identified five concentrated geographic areas of remote patients who live more than 50 miles from an experienced center. Conclusions These findings suggest travel distance may at least influence, if not constrain, the choice of hospital for patients with PAD and foot complications. Efforts to decrease leg amputations among remote patients should be focused on five specific geographic areas of Texas.
Preoperative Education for Total Knee Replacement: A National Survey of Orthopaedic Nurses.

BACKGROUND Preoperative education aids in reducing the incidence of poor outcomes after total knee replacement (TKR) and increasing patient readiness for discharge home but is not well described in the literature. PURPOSE The purpose of the study is to describe the current design of preoperative education for TKR across the United States. METHODS A large, national sample of orthopaedic nurses completed an online survey to describe preoperative education at their facilities. RESULTS Most participants provided preoperative education as part of interprofessional teams in either a group format or combined group and individual education. Verbal instruction was the most common educational delivery method, followed by written instruction. Education typically lasted between 1 and 1.5 hours, was delivered in a single session, and included a variety of topics. CONCLUSION Results of this study describe preoperative educational practices and can support future research to improve patient outcomes following TKR surgery.
Anti-nerve growth factor antibodies for the treatment of low back pain.

The treatment of chronic low back pain (cLBP) often involves multimodal pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic strategies. There remain shortcomings with these tools with regards to both effect size a...
Blinded by Science? A Reexamination of the Bar Ninja and Silver Bullet Bar Program Cryptids

Claims being made by Florida International University (FIU) Law School’s academic support program that the school’s radically improved bar exam passage rates are due solely to the implementation of a “Scientific Academic Support Program” are gaining ground. Such assertions however fail to account for several confounding variables that could have contributed to the improved scores. A detailed review of the oft-overlooked but publicly available data provided by FIU in its annual ABA Standard Information Reports reveals two such variables: (1) significantly higher than average 1L attrition rates and (2) extensive incoming high GPA 2L transfer rates accounting for a substantial percentage of the class cohort. FIU’s geographic proximity to more expensive private law schools in combination with the State of Florida’s mere 1-year residency requirement for in-state tuition make transferring to FIU as a 2L uniquely appealing.
Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 17, Magnoliophyta Tetrachondraceae to Orobanchaceae

Flora of North America Editorial Committee. 3 June 2019. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 17, Magnoliophyta Tetrachondraceae to Orobanchaceae. (ISBN-13: 978-0-19-086851-2, hbk). Oxford University Press Inc., 198 Madison Ave., New York, New York 10016, U.S.A. (Orders: www.oup.com). $95.00 US, 737 pp., line drawings, 8½" × 11".
Through the Back Door : The Black Market in Poland 1944–1989: by Jerzy Kochanowski, Translated by Anda MacBride and Anna Wrobel, New York, Peter Lang GmbH, 2017, 436 pp., $94.45 (Hardcover), ISBN 978-3-631-65585-6

Through the Back Door: the Black Market in Poland 1944–1989 is the fifth volume in the Peter Lang series of Studies in Contemporary History. Originally published in 2010 in Polish as Tylnymi drzwia...
The paradox of conviction probability: Mock defendants want better deals as risk of conviction increases.

Objective: We examined how probability of conviction affects the maximum plea sentence mock defendants will accept. Hypothesis: Relying on Prospect Theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), we hypothesized that, relative to the expected value of trial, participants would need increasingly better sentences as conviction probability increased and would settle for sentences worse than the expected value of trial when probability was very low. Method: We manipulated conviction probability and potential trial sentence in a series of three between-subjects experiments, with Amazon Mechanical Turk participants assigned to the role of guilty defendants. Participants were majority White (75-82%) and non-Hispanic (92-94%); approximately half (45-51%) identified as female. Study 1 (N = 681) explored the effects of conviction probability (.05, .15, .50, .85, .90) and potential trial sentence (5, 20 years) on the maximum sentence accepted in exchange for a plea. Study 2 (N = 343; X¯age = 37.5) clarified results of Study 1 for the upper range of probabilities for two potential trial sentences (5, 10 years). Study 3 (N = 1,035; X¯age = 37.6) replicated the effects of probability (.05, .10, .15, .50, .85, .90) and potential trial sentence (5, 10 years). Results: Across all three studies, participants wanted increasingly better deals (relative to the expected value of trial) as conviction probability increased. For example, in Study 3, when probability of conviction was 0.90, plea sentences were, on average, 58% better than the expected value of trial; in contrast, when the probability was 0.05, sentences that were nearly 4 times the expected value of trial were acceptable. Conclusions: The most commonly used model of plea decision-making, Shadow of the Trial (SOT) (Mnookin & Kornhauser, 1979), assumes a direct and constant linear relationship between conviction probability and plea sentence. In contrast, our data suggest that the way conviction probability affects mock defendants' appraisals of plea offers may change across the probability spectrum. These results can facilitate development of a more comprehensive model of plea decision-making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Pharmacokinetically guided dosing of oral sorafenib in pediatric hepatocellular carcinoma: A simulation study.

Sorafenib improves outcomes in adult hepatocellular carcinoma; however, hand foot skin reaction (HFSR) is a dose limiting toxicity of sorafenib that limits its use. HFSR has been associated with sorafenib systemic exposure. The objective of this study was to use modeling and simulation to determine whether using pharmacokinetically guided dosing to achieve a predefined sorafenib target range could reduce the rate of HFSR. Sorafenib steady-state exposures (area under the concentration curve from 0 to 12-h [AUC0->12 h ]) were simulated using published sorafenib pharmacokinetics at either a fixed dosage (90 mg/m2 /dose) or a pharmacokinetically guided dose targeting an AUC0->12 h between 20 and 55 h µg/ml. Dosages were either rounded to the nearest quarter of a tablet (50 mg) or capsule (10 mg). A Cox proportional hazard model from a previously published study was used to quantify HFSR toxicity. Simulations showed that in-target studies increased from 50% using fixed doses with tablets to 74% using pharmacokinetically guided dosing with capsules. The power to observe at least 4 of 6 patients in the target range increased from 33% using fixed dosing with tablets to 80% using pharmacokinetically guided with capsules. The expected HFSR toxicity rate decreased from 22% using fixed doses with tablets to 16% using pharmacokinetically guided dosing with capsules. The power to observe less than 6 of 24 studies with HFSR toxicity increased from 51% using fixed dosing with tablets to 88% using pharmacokinetically guided with capsules. Our simulations provide the rationale to use pharmacokinetically guided sorafenib dosing to maintain effective exposures that potentially improve tolerability in pediatric clinical trials.
T T ¯ $$ \overline{T} $$ deformation in SCFTs and integrable supersymmetric theories

We calculate the $$ \mathcal{S} $$ -multiplets for two-dimensional Euclidean $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = (0, 2) and $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = (2, 2) superconformal field theories under the T $$ \overline{T} $$ deformation at leading order of perturbation theory in the deformation coupling. Then, from these $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = (0, 2) deformed multiplets, we calculate two- and three-point correlators. We show the $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = (0, 2) chiral ring’s elements do not flow under the T $$ \overline{T} $$ deformation. Specializing to integrable supersymmetric seed theories, such as $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = (2, 2) Landau-Ginzburg models, we use the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz to study the S-matrices and ground state energies. From both an S-matrix perspective and Melzer’s folding prescription, we show that the deformed ground state energy obeys the inviscid Burgers’ equation. Finally, we show that several indices independent of D-term perturbations including the Witten index, Cecotti-Fendley-Intriligator-Vafa index and elliptic genus do not flow under the T $$ \overline{T} $$ deformation.