cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
From Tweets to Intelligence: Understanding the Islamic Jihad Supporting Community on Twitter

ISIS’ ability to build and maintain a large online community that disseminates propaganda and garners support continues to give their message global reach. Although these communities contain trained media cadre, recent literature suggests that large numbers of “unaffiliated sympathizers” who simply retweet or repost propaganda explain ISIS’ unprecedented online success [1, 2]. Tailored methodologies to detect and study these online threat-group-supporting communities (OTGSC) could help provide the understanding needed to craft effective counter-narratives however continued development of these methods will require collaboration between data scientists and regional experts. We illustrate the potential of this partnership using two ongoing projects at the Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS) at Carnegie Mellon University. First we present the CASOS Jihadist Twitter Community (CJTC), an online community of over 15,000 Twitter users that support one or more of the Islamic extremist groups engaged in the ongoing conflicts in Northern Iraq and Syria. We briefly discuss the methods used to detect and monitor these communities and highlight forms of information that can be extracted from them. We then present an active social botnet that attempts to elevate the social influence of users supportive to Jabhat al-Nusra’s agenda. In each case we highlight the ability of these methods to incorporate regional expertise for better performance and recommend future research.
Mitochondria mediates caspase-dependent and independent retinal cell death in Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis.

Bacterial endophthalmitis, a vision-threatening complication of ocular surgery or trauma, is characterized by increased intraocular inflammation and retinal tissue damage. Although significant vision loss in endophthalmitis has been linked to retinal cell death, the underlying mechanisms of cell death remain elusive. In this study, using a mouse model of Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis and cultured human retinal Muller glia (MIO-M1 cell line), we demonstrate that S. aureus caused significant apoptotic cell death in the mouse retina and Muller glia, as evidenced by increased number of terminal dUTP nick end labeling and Annexin V and propidium iodide-positive cells. Immunohistochemistry and western blot studies revealed the reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential (JC-1 staining), release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, translocation of Bax to the mitochondria and the activation of caspase-9 and -3 in S. aureus-infected retina/retinal cells. In addition, the activation of PARP-1 and the release of apoptosis inducing factor from mitochondria was also observed in S. aureus-infected retinal cells. Inhibition studies using pan-caspase (Q-VD-OPH) and PARP-1 (DPQ) inhibitors showed significant reduction in S. aureus-induced retinal cell death both in vivo and in vitro. Together, our findings demonstrate that in bacterial endophthalmitis, retinal cells undergo apoptosis in the both caspase-dependent and independent manners, and mitochondria have a central role in this process. Hence, targeting the identified signaling pathways may provide the rationale to design therapeutic interventions to prevent bystander retinal tissue damage in bacterial endophthalmitis.
Topic-based Index Partitions for Efficient and Effective Selective Search

Indexes for large collections are often divided into shards that are distributed across multiple computers and searched in parallel to provide rapid interactive search. Typically, all index shards are searched for each query. This paper investigates document allocation policies that permit searching only a few shards for each query (selective search) without sacrificing search quality. Three types of allocation policies (random, source-based and topic-based) are studied. Kmeans clustering is used to create topic-based shards. We manage the computational cost of applying these techniques to large datasets by defining topics on a subset of the collection. Experiments with three large collections demonstrate that selective search using topic-based shards reduces search costs by at least an order of magnitude without reducing search accuracy.
Positional Headache Without a Previous Lumbar Puncture: Would a Blood Patch Be Useful?

You are paged by a neurology colleague who asks you to perform an epidural blood patch (EBP) for a 30-year-old female with severe, debilitating positional headache. You agree to evaluate the patient but do not commit to an intervention yet. The patient has been suffering from acute onset of severe positional headaches for 1 month. She was initially treated by her primary care physician with ibuprofen and hydrocodone, but these medications offered little relief. Her pain is throbbing, severe, and primarily temporal, less so in the frontal and occipital areas. The pain is much worse when she sits and stands and decreases slightly when lying flat. No other symptoms are found. She states that she can no longer care for her 4 children because of debilitating pain.
Impact of Affective Disorders on Recovery of Baseline Function in Patients Undergoing Spinal Surgery: A Single Institution Study of 275 Patients.

Background Decompressive spinal surgery patients have high expectations of recovering functionally, both at work and with leisurely activities. Affective disorders, such as depression or anxiety, are increasingly prevalent in this population and are associated with poorer baseline quality-of-life measures and worse postoperative outcomes. The study examined the results of affective disorders on self-reported recovery of baseline function (RBF) following decompressive spinal surgery. Methods Medical records of 275 patients undergoing elective decompressive spinal surgery at a major academic institution were reviewed. There were 101 (36.7%) patients (with diagnosed anxiety or depression) in the affective disorder cohort (ADC) and 174 (63.6%) patients in the control cohort. The main outcome measure was self-reported RBF 3 months after surgery. Multivariate regression analysis was also used to determine whether affective disorders were a risk factor for poor RBF. Results Baseline demographics, comorbidities, and perioperative variables between the two cohorts were similar, except for a higher proportion of females, more smokers, and longer length of stay in the ADC. On patient-reported outcome measures, the ADC had significantly decreased baseline scores and decreased improvement in scores over time. On univariate analysis, the ADC had significantly lower rates of RBF at 3 months after surgery. On regression analysis, affective disorders were an independent risk factors for poor RBF. Conclusions This study suggests that affective disorders are an independent risk factor for decreased recovery of baseline functionality after decompressive spinal surgery. Preoperatively identifying these patients could improve management of postoperative expectations and thereby improve surgical outcome.
Sharing notes with patients: A review of current practice and considerations for neurologists

Improved patient engagement is a critical consideration in the new payment climate. Releasing progress notes for patients to view may improve patient involvement and engagement in their care. Patients perceive benefit from viewing physician progress notes. As initial studies involved only primary care physicians, specialist physicians may have specific considerations when releasing notes to patients. This article provides a framework for neurologists to implement a note release policy in their practice.
The use of Harrington rods in thoracolumbar fractures.

SUMMARY It would appear that in carefully preselected circumstances, dual Harrington distraction rods may be successfully utilized in a large percentage of thoracolumbar fractures. Mechanistic classification of these fractures offers insight into the extent of soft-tissue disruption. As the circumferential soft-tissue damage increases, the degree of spinal stability obtained with distraction fixation decreases. This is especially true when considering the anterior longitudinal ligament. In compression flexion and vertical compression, the anterior structures are predominantly intact, and thus distraction fixation offers excellent stability. Utmost care must be offered to hook placement and stability, particularly in the proximal area. In the torsional flexion and lateral flexion groups, complex mechanisms of soft-tissue disruption require special consideration when distraction rods are to be employed. Likewise, analysis of soft-tissue and bony disruption in the distractive extension, dis-tractive flexion, and translation injury groups suggests that serious consideration be given to spinal stability prior to the routine use of distraction rods in these patients. Surgically, the posterior approach does not preclude removal of bony fragments from the canal, either by rod distraction and reduction alone or via canal exploration. Below L1, laminectomy with direct access to the fragments is possible. Above L1, pedicle resection and cos-totransversectomy have been eminently successful procedures in fractures less than 3 weeks old. None of these surgical procedures preclude a subsequent anterior approach if necessary. In no instance was a patient neurally damaged in our series by this surgical protocol. We are loath to allow only internal support during the fusion maturation period and strongly urge external support during this phase. Removal of the rods prior to solid fusion is to be discouraged, as this may predispose to persistent pain and return of deformity. CT scan appears to represent an essential tool preoperatively and postoperatively, particularly in complete neural lesions. We have gleaned some presumptive evidence relative to posterior superior body fragment position, pedicle integrity and position, and possible posterior longitudinal ligament integrity. With the information available through radiographs and CT, we are in the process of attempting to determine prospectively where posterior distraction rods alone may suffice. Thus, we would hope to circumvent the concomitant need for laminotomy, pedicle resection and fragment removal, or reduction or anterior corpectomy. It is hoped that this information will be available soon.
Swimming together: adaptation through emergence of knowledge and learning in networked watershed governance

Networked governance plays an important role in watershed planning and management to address complex environmental problems in social-ecological systems (SESs), in large part attributable to the need for multi-disciplinary knowledge. Networks integrate and make available different types of knowledge and foster social learning needed to respond to and cope with uncertainties, critical for building adaptive capacity for the governance of an SES. Through the case of a self-organized governance network of public, private, and nongovernmental organizations in the Chagrin River watershed in northeastern Ohio, we explore how such learning happens, revealing the types of learning that built adaptive capacity, the settings in which learning took place, and the practices that gave rise to learning. We also discuss how the network became the mechanism through which collaboration for watershed governance became adaptive.
Abstract 088: JNK2 Impairs Atrial Conduction And Enhances Arrhythmogenicity In Mouse Atria

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a stress-activated kinase that is important in the development of cardiovascular diseases. We have previously shown that enhanced JNK activation was associated with suppressed gap junction Cx43, slow conduction, and increased atrial fibrillation (AF) in aged rabbit left atrium (LA). In an atrial cellular model (HL-1), we further demonstrated that JNK activation downregulated Cx43 and enhanced arrhythmogenicity. However, direct evidence for JNK inducing atrial arrhythmia in vivo is lacking. In the present study, we found that JNK activator anisomycin (aniso) treatment in wild-type (WT) mouse in vivo resulted in a 30% decrease in Cx43 protein in LA vs that of vehicle-treated WT LA (p
A Vision-Based System for In-Bed Posture Tracking

Tracking human sleeping postures over time provides critical information to biomedical research including studies on sleeping behaviors and bedsore prevention. In this paper, we introduce a vision-based tracking system for pervasive yet unobtrusive long-term monitoring of in-bed postures in different environments. Once trained, our system generates an in-bed posture tracking history (iPoTH) report by applying a hierarchical inference model on the top view videos collected from any regular off-the-shelf camera. Although being based on a supervised learning structure, our model is person-independent and can be trained off-line and applied to new users without additional training. Experiments were conducted in both a simulated hospital environment and a home-like setting. In the hospital setting, posture detection accuracy using several mannequins was up to 91.0%, while the test with actual human participants in a home-like setting showed an accuracy of 93.6%.
Validation of SMAP radiometer extreme wind speed data product with rapid scatterometer and stepped frequency microwave radiometer

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission was launched January 31st, 2015. It is designed to measure the soil moisture over land using a combined active / passive L-band system. Due to the Aquarius mission, L-band model functions for ocean winds and salinity are already mature and may be directly applied to the SMAP mission. In contrast to Aquarius, the higher resolution and scanning geometry of SMAP allows for wide-swath ocean winds and salinities to be retrieved. We have found that the SMAP radiometer displays sensitivity all the way up to the most extreme wind speeds, possibly as high as 70 m/s, far beyond what is capable with typical C and Ku-band ocean wind scatterometers. In this work we use the Rapid Scatterometer (RapidScat) and Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) to further validate these SMAP radiometer-only high-wind speed retrievals.
Truth in the Realm of Thoughts

This chapter presents and provides motivation for a deflationary approach to the task of analyzing semantic concepts – an approach that I call “simple substitutionalism.” Simple substitutionalism is a first approximation to the approach that seems to me to be ultimately correct. I begin with an account of Paul Horwich's theory of semantic concepts that is more comprehensive than the account offered in Chapter 1. Section II argues that Horwich's account has a couple of priceless virtues, and Section III presents an argument to the effect that, despite having these virtues, Horwich's theory is badly and irreparably flawed. Together these sections show that it is desirable to seek a theory that is structurally similar to Horwich's theory (so as to share the virtues described in Section II), but that mobilizes a more powerful conceptual framework (so as to be immune to the objection formulated in Section III). Sections IV and V describe an alternative version of deflationism that meets these conditions. This alternative view, simple substitutionalism, is further elaborated in Section VI, and is defended against two particularly pressing objections in Sections VII–IX. Two appendices spell out the reasons for my claims about the virtues of simple substitutionalism in some detail. In the present chapter I will be concerned only to explain that portion of our semantic thought and talk that is concerned with nonindexical concepts and nonindexical thoughts. This is a substantial restriction.
Issues in Corrections from Both Sides of the Bars

Including prisoners in class with social work students and using the prison as the campus introduced powerful dynamics to a social policy course
Duress is no excuse

This article engages with Joshua Dressler's theory of duress and develops an alternative account of that defense. My disagreement with Dressler involves four issues: 1. the character of the defense of duress; 2. the meaning of duress; 3. the effect of duress; and 4. the need for this defense in criminal law.
Operating the Helium Ion Microscope

As noted in the previous section, the present ALIS helium ion source is a descendant of the original work based on FIM technology (for a historical overview see Muller and Tsong 1993) although important research in this area has also been carried out by several other prominent groups (e.g. Orloff and Swanson 1977). In order to be suitable for application, in a high-performance particle beam microscope, the source should ideally not only be bright, but also be as compact as possible to ensure mechanical stability, provide highly stable emission over time periods of several hours, be capable of operating at energies at least in the 10–50 keV range, and be capable of being re-formed and then reused multiple times without a significant change in performance. An overview of history of the helium ion microscope can be found in the literature (Economou 2011), while other technical details can be found in the published patents listed at the end of the bibliography.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

In this final chapter, autism spectrum disorder is described including prevalence considerations, comorbidities, and diagnostic practices, as well as areas of specific challenge in joint attention and theory of mind. The gold standards for assessment are highlighted, and considerations for interventions are presented guided by the National Standards Project and the National Professional Development Center.
Abstract TP345: A Systematic Review of Statins in Animal Models of Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Proposal of a Modified STAIR Criteria for Evaluation of Preclinical Studies in ICH

Background and Purpose: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a severe form of stroke with limited medical and surgical treatment. Similarly to clinical trials in acute stroke, none of the medications that appeared promising in preclinical testing have panned out in human clinical trials. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (e.g. statins) show promise as a therapy for ICH in both animal and human studies. Our aim is to review and assess the quality of preclinical studies on the role of statins in ICH recovery. Methods: We identified preclinical trials assessing the efficacy of statins in ICH via a systematic review of the literature according to PRISMA guidelines. In total, 16 studies were identified that described the use of statins in an animal model of ICH and assessed changes in histological outcomes, behavioral scores, or both. Design characteristics were analyzed using Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Roundtable (STAIR) criteria modified for ICH. Results: Behavioral outcomes were assessed in 12 of the studies ...
ProtoGENI experiments

ProtoGENI experiments are an important aspect of decision making on preferred mechanisms to achieve the intended features of future internet development. ProtoGENI experiments are also a way to evaluate the strength of its infrastructure and functions which can facilitate researchers for innovative experiments. ProtoGENI requires rigorous observation and implementation improvements to achieve the intended functionality in global environment for network innovations GENI. This work's focus is stating and explaining the initial and essential setup for ProtoGENI experiments. Experiments are performed to observe the alternate, multiple, functioning options to set and execute network experiments. Observations are documented to understand the complexity of experimental setup, which also underlines the points of conflicts, inconsistency, and non-functionality of some ProtoGENI operations. Documentation of experiments environment, experiments design, results, and analysis including many observations is helpful to understand the basic functioning to improve the overall functioning of ProtoGENI.
Resting with Pines in Nida – attempts at performing with plants

Is it possible to respond to the challenge of a philosopher with artistic means, rather than on the one hand by attempting to philosophize, or on the other hand by resorting to illustration or application? Perhaps it is not. This text is nevertheless an attempt at responding to the challenge posed to artists by Michael Marder who, in volume 1 of this journal, challenged philosophers and artists ‘to include the spatiality, movement, and perspective of the vegetal in their work’ (Marder 2015, 192). The artistic research project ‘Performing with plants’ could be understood as a response to this challenge. In this text I will briefly outline the plan for the project, relate it to the current interest in plant thinking, plant theory and new materialist feminist theory and then focus on some works loosely related to the project, which seem to resonate with Marder’s challenge in some sense. The variations of Resting with Pines performed in September 2017 in Nida Art Colony on the Curonian spit in Lithuania will serve as attempts to include and even emulate the vegetal, and as an example of a characteristic common to many performance practices, namely the tendency to go on, to ‘keep growing’.
Can transcatheter PDA closure be performed in neonates ≤1000 grams? The Memphis experience.

Objective Advancements in transcatheter technology have now made it possible to safely close patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. The objective of this article is to describe our technique for transcatheter PDA closure (TCPC) in ELBW infants. Design The techniques employed are very specific to this population and are drastically different when compared to the procedure performed in patients weighing >5 kg. Setting A multidisciplinary team approach should be taken to evaluate and manage ELBW infants in order to achieve success. It is important that specific techniques with venous-only approach outlined in this article be followed to achieve optimal results with low risk of complications. Patients To date, in Memphis, 55 ELBW infants have had successful TCPC at a weight of ≤1000 g with minimal procedure-related complications. Interventions It is important that specific techniques with venous-only approach outlined in this article be followed to achieve optimal results with low risk of complications. Outcome measures This procedure entails a steep learning curve and should be limited to specialized centers with expertise in these thanscatheter procedures. Results There has been 100% procedural success of performing TCPC in children ≤1000 g. There have been only two procedure-related complications which happened to the first two patients, ≤1000 g, that we performed TCPC on. Conclusions It is feasible and probably safe to perform TCPC in children ≤1000 g. The techniques described in this article represent our institutional experience and have helped us improve clinical outcomes in ELBW infants.
Estrogen, Stress, and Depression: Cognitive and Biological Interactions

This article reviews the interactions of estrogen changes and psychosocial stress in contributing to vulnerability to major depressive disorder (MDD) in women. Estrogen modulates brain networks and processes related to changes in stress response, cognition, and emotional dysregulation that are core characteristics of MDD. Synergistic effects of estrogen on cognitive and emotional function, particularly during psychosocial stress, may underlie the association of ovarian hormone fluctuation and depression in women. We propose a model of estrogen effects on multiple brain systems that interface with stress-related emotional and cognitive processes implicated in MDD and discuss possible mechanisms through which reproductive events and changes in estrogen may contribute to MDD risk in women with other concurrent risk factors.
Prolongation of the Agonal Phase in the DCD Donor Results in Impairment of Myocardial Contractility Following DCD Heart Resuscitation

Purpose Circulatory arrest follows withdrawal of supportive therapy in the DCD donor. The agonal phase following withdrawal can be prolonged and may be associated with hypoxia and hypotension. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of the duration of the agonal period on the capacity for cardiac resuscitation. Methods Rats (n = 6/group) were subjected to hypoventilation using a mechanical ventilator and exposed to either brief (5 mins), moderate (30 mins) or prolonged (60 mins) hypoxia and hypotension prior to circulatory arrest. This method was used to simulate an agonal phase of varying duration. Following circulatory arrest 15 minutes of warm ischemia was observed prior to reperfusion with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ECMO reperfusion was followed by cardiac resuscitation. Load independent left ventricular (LV) contractility was assessed at baseline and following resuscitation via the end-systolic pressure volume relationship (ESPVR). Results Hypoventilation was followed by a decrease in oxygen saturation (pre 96% vs post 48%), mean arterial pressure (pre 72 +/- 14 vs. post 41 +/- 5 mm Hg) and pH (pre 7.49 +/- 0.1 vs. post 6.99 +/- 0.1). There was no difference between groups in LV contractility at baseline. Following circulatory arrest and cardiac resuscitation all groups demonstrated a decline in contractile function from baseline. There was marked reduction in LV contractility in animals with a 60-minute agonal phase (ESPVR: 60 minutes; 0.17 +/- 0.08, 30 minutes; 0.66 +/- 0.16, 5 minutes; 0.47 +/- 0.09, p Conclusion Brief or moderate exposure to hypoxia and hypotension prior to circulatory arrest was associated with satisfactory recovery of contractile function. Prolonged exposure to these conditions was associated with a significant decline in LV contractility. In the human DCD donor marked prolongation of the agonal phase may limit cardiac donation.
Symbolic Regex Matcher

Symbolic regex matcher is a new open source .NET regular expression matching tool and match generator in the Microsoft Automata framework. It is based on the .NET regex parser in combination with a set based representation of character classes. The main feature of the tool is that the core matching algorithms are based on symbolic derivatives that support extended regular expression operations such as intersection and complement and also support a large set of commonly used features such as bounded loop quantifiers. The particularly useful features of the tool are that it supports full UTF16 encoded strings, the match generation is backtracking free, thread safe, and parallelizes with low overhead in multithreaded applications. We discuss the main design decisions behind the tool, explain the core algorithmic ideas and how the tool works, discuss some practical usage scenarios, and compare it to existing state of the art.
Facile C–H bond activation for deuterium and tritium labeling of glycoconjugates conducted in ultrasonic and microwave fields: a review

Deuterium and tritium labeling of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates has very wide applicability in the biochemical and biophysical fields. Carbohydrates function as receptors for a variety of hormones and play critical roles in cell recognition and differentiation. Deuterium labeled compounds are frequently utilized in the conformational analysis of oligosaccharides, as well as other glycoconjugates, to alleviate resonance overcrowding in 1 H NMR spectroscopy. Raney® nickel catalyzed 1 H→ 2 H ( 3 H) isotopic exchange is conducted under mild conditions using Ni catalysts, singular metal catalysts, or multi-phasic catalysts were ineffective or caused substrate decomposition. We have explored new digestion conditions for the preparation of highly active Raney nickel catalysts and have developed new protocols for the stereospecific incorporation of 2 H ( 3 H) in a wide variety of glycoconjugates using our facile C-H→C-D (C-T) exchange reactions. The regioselectivity of isotope incorporation is controlled by the judicious use of modified catalysts, co-solvents, and the isotopic source. formula. chem. either ultrasonic or microwave irradiation. The initial and overall rates of isotopic exchange are modulated by the presence of transition metals. Only the Raney-nickel® type alloys afforded stereospecific C- 1 H → C- 2 H isotopic exchange in an ultrasonic or microwave field. Typical supported precious metal catalysts, supported Reactions are easily performed using either a dedicated ultrasound probe, a slightly modified commercial microwave oven, or a dedicated commercial microwave synthesis unit. Research over the past several years is the subject of this attenuated review.
CYTOCHROME b5 AND THE INTEGRATED MICROSOMAL ELECTRON TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an investigation that is centered on the characterization of the interaction of cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome b 5 in their native environment of the microsomal membrane to further define their organization and properties as components of the microsomal mixed function oxidase system. The quantitative analysis of the reduction of the microsomal hemeproteins in the presence of 0.5 μM NADPH revealed that only about 65% of the electron equivalents added can be accounted for by the concentrations of ferrous cytochrome b 5 and carbon monoxy-cytochrome P-450 regardless of the absence or presence of exogenous substrates. This observation suggests the existence of a significant concentration of additional electron acceptor reducible by NADPH in microsomes. Cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome b 5 are capable of participating in reverse electron transfer reactions equatable with oxidation–reduction equilibria. A re-evaluation of the redox properties of microsomal cytochrome P-450 is of particular interest because the observed extent of carbon monoxide complex formation of ferrous cytochrome P-450 relative to the extent of the reduction of cytochrome b 5 is incompatible with the separation of their reductant energy levels.
Effect of Packaged Product Size, Weight and Shipping Location on Mean Drop Heights in the Small Parcel Shipping Environment

This project evaluated the effects of package weight and size on the equivalent free fall drop height of instrumented packaged products traveling through the small parcel supply chain. To evaluate the relationship between package weight and drop height, the package size was kept constant and the weight of the overall system was varied. To evaluate the relationship between package size and drop height, the package weight remained constant and changes were made to the dimensional size of the container. A total of 13 round trip shipments were performed where the instrumented packages were shipped via small parcel Ground transport. Results from the study showed package dimensional size does have an affect the average drop height of a packaged product (P 0.05). The results from this study indicate current package test standards should incorporate package dimensional size as a factor when determining the test drop height for a packaged product.
Infarct Zone: a Novel Platform for Exosome Trade in Cardiac Tissue Regeneration

The global incidence of coronary artery diseases (CADs), especially myocardial infarction (MI), has drastically increased in recent years. Even though the conventional therapies have improved the outcomes, the post-MI complications and the increased rate of recurrence among the survivors are still alarming. Molecular events associated with the pathogenesis and the adaptive responses of the surviving myocardium are largely unknown. Focus on exosome-mediated signaling for cell-cell/matrix communications at the infarct zone reflects an emerging opportunity in cardiac regeneration. Also, cardiac tissue engineering provides promising insights for the next generation of therapeutic approaches in the management of CADs. In this article, we critically reviewed the current understanding on the biology of cardiac exosomes, therapeutic potential of exosomes, and recent developments in cardiac tissue engineering and discussed novel translational approaches based on tissue engineering and exosomes for cardiac regeneration and CADs.
On the Feasibility of High Throughput mmWave Backhaul Networks in Urban Areas

In this paper, we investigate the design of high throughput relay-assisted millimeter-wave (mmWave) backhaul networks in urban areas. Different from most related works, we consider the deployment of dedicated simple mmWave relay devices to help enhance the line-of-sight (LoS) connectivity of the backhaul network in urban areas with abundant obstacles. Given a set of (logical) backhaul links between base stations in the network, we propose an algorithm to find high-throughput LoS paths with relays for all logical links by minimizing interference within and between paths. We also propose methods to modify the backhaul topology to increase the probability of finding high-throughput paths using our algorithm. Extensive simulations, based on a 3-D model of a section of downtown Atlanta, demonstrate that high-throughput topologies, with minimal inter-path and intra-path interference, are feasible in most cases. The analyses also yield some insights on the mmWave backhaul network design problem.
Contrasting animal movement and spatial connectivity networks in shaping transmission pathways of a genetically diverse virus.

Analyses of livestock movement networks has become key to understanding an industry’s vulnerability to infectious disease spread and for identifying farms that play disproportionate roles in pathogen dissemination. In addition to animal movements, many pathogens can spread between farms via mechanisms mediated by spatial proximity. Heterogeneities in contact patterns based on spatial proximity are less commonly considered in network studies, and studies that jointly consider spatial connectivity and animal movement are rare. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which movement versus spatial proximity networks determine the distribution of an economically important endemic virus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), within a swine-dense region of the U.S. PRRSV can be classified into numerous phylogenetic lineages. Such data can be used to better resolve between-farm infection chains and elucidate types of contact most associated with transmission. Here, we construct movement and spatial proximity networks; farms within the networks were classified as cases if a given PRRSV lineage had been recovered at least once in a year for each of three years analyzed. We evaluated six lineages and sub-lineages across three years, and evaluated the epidemiological relevance of each network by applying network k-tests to statistically evaluate whether the pattern of case occurrence within the network was consistent with transmission via network linkages. Our results indicated that animal movements, not local area spread, play a dominant role in shaping transmission pathways, though there were differences amongst lineages. The median number of case farms inter-linked via animal movements was approximately 4.1x higher than random expectations (range: 1.7–13.7; p < 0.05, network k-test), whereas this measure was only 2.7x higher than random expectations for farms linked via spatial proximity (range: 1.3–5.4; p < 0.05, network k-test). For spatial proximity networks, contact based on proximities of <5 km appeared to have greater epidemiological relevance than longer distances, likely related to diminishing probabilities of local area spread at greater distances. However, the greater overall levels of connectivity of the spatial network compared to the movement network highlights the vulnerability of pig populations to widespread transmission via this route. By combining genetic data with network analysis, this research advances our understanding of dynamics of between-farm spread of PRRSV, helps establish the relative importance of transmission via animal movements versus local area spread, and highlights the potential for targeted control strategies based upon heterogeneities in network connectivity.
Stigmatized Industries: Implications for Director Characteristics

In recent years, research has explored stigma at the organizational and industry level. However, most studies have exclusively explored sin industries which are subset of stigmatized industries. To...
Weather Fluctuations, Expectation Formation, and Short-Run Behavioral Responses to Climate Change

One premise adopted in most previous studies is that weather fluctuations affect economic outcomes contemporaneously. Yet under certain circumstances, the impact of weather fluctuations in the current year can be carried over into the future. Using agricultural production as an example, we empirically investigate how past weather fluctuations affect economic decision-making by shifting agents’ subjective expectations over future climate. We find that agricultural producers do not form expectations on future climate using only long-run normals, and instead engage in a combination of heuristics, including the availability heuristic and the reinforcement strategy. Adopting these learning mechanisms causes farmers to significantly over-react to more recent fluctuations in weather and water availability when making ex ante acreage and crop allocation decisions.
Choosing recovery: postfeminist empowerment and the embodied self-brand

This paper examines “recovery vlogging” as a mode of postfeminist empowerment, and considers how the public disclosure of one’s recovery from an eating disorder can serve to foster community, while...
Breast Cancer in Developing Countries Opportunities for Improved Survival

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death and disability among women, especially young women, in low- and middle-income countries. Though incidence and overall mortality rates continue to be lower than in most highincome countries, case fatality rates from breast cancer are very high. These high case fatality rates are likely due to a lack of awareness of the benefits of detection and treatment and a scarcity of adequate facilities for detection and diagnosis, as well as poor access to primary treatment. Remarkable improvements have been achieved in the probability of survival for women diagnosed with breast cancer in the USA as compared to 60 years ago. Early detection through the use of mammography, high-quality surgery, and adjuvant therapies including chemotherapy and targeted therapies, such as hormonal therapy and, more recently the HER2-directed agent trastuzumab, can be credited for much of the recent improvement in outcome for women with breast cancer in the USA. However, even prior to the routine use ofmammography or adjuvant therapy, significant improvements were made in breast cancer survival, and these can be traced to relatively low-cost interventions that are still in use in high-income countries. Understanding which healthcare interventions were available and how they resulted in improvements in the probability of survival could be important, especially for designing programs in resourceconstrained settings where breast cancer case fatality is high and many of the most costly and technology-intensive diagnostic and therapeutic options are not available.
Adapted Human Pose: Monocular 3D Human Pose Estimation with Zero Real 3D Pose Data.

The ultimate goal for an inference model is to be robust and functional in real life applications. However, training vs. test data domain gaps often negatively affect model performance. This issue is especially critical for the monocular 3D human pose estimation problem, in which 3D human data is often collected in a controlled lab setting. In this paper, we focus on alleviating the negative effect of domain shift by presenting our adapted human pose (AHuP) approach that addresses adaptation problems in both appearance and pose spaces. AHuP is built around a practical assumption that in real applications, data from target domain could be inaccessible or only limited information can be acquired. We illustrate the 3D pose estimation performance of AHuP in two scenarios. First, when source and target data differ significantly in both appearance and pose spaces, in which we learn from synthetic 3D human data (with zero real 3D human data) and show comparable performance with the state-of-the-art 3D pose estimation models that have full access to the real 3D human pose benchmarks for training. Second, when source and target datasets differ mainly in the pose space, in which AHuP approach can be applied to further improve the performance of the state-of-the-art models when tested on the datasets different from their training dataset.
APEX-MODFLOW: A New integrated model to simulate hydrological processes in watershed systems

Abstract APEX ( A gricultural P olicy/ E nvironmental e X tender) is an oft-used agroecosystem model but has limited use in groundwater-driven watersheds due to a simplistic representation of groundwater processes. This paper presents the linkage of APEX and the groundwater flow model MODFLOW into a single modeling code. The mapping of recharge, groundwater head, and groundwater-surface water interactions are handled internally via subroutines. The APEX-MODFLOW model is applied to three watersheds in the United States for testing code accuracy and hydrologic state variables and fluxes: the Animas River Watershed, Colorado and New Mexico (3543 km2); the Price River Watershed, Utah (4886 km2); and the Middle Bosque River Watershed, Texas (470 km2). Whereas the hydrology of the Animas River and Price River watersheds is driven by snowmelt and spring runoff, the hydrology of the Middle Bosque River Watershed is driven by summer thunderstorms. The model can be used for scenario analysis in groundwater-driven watersheds.
Context Matters: Understanding the Relationship Between Instructor’s Beliefs and the Amount of Time Spent Lecturing

Prior studies have identified the impact beliefs have on mathematics instructors’ instructional practice, such as their choice to (or not to) lecture. However, the role of instructional context role in influencing beliefs and instruction has not been thoroughly researched. This paper explores how course context and beliefs could impact mathematics instructors’ propensity to lecture by investigating two very different instructional contexts in undergraduate mathematics in the United States: Calculus and Abstract Algebra. The results of our regression analyses were significant in both data sets and, we did find beliefs in each context that predicted the amount of time spent lecturing. For instance, the more calculus instructors believed in the effectiveness of teacher-centered instructional practices, the more likely they were to lecture. Whereas the more abstract algebra instructors believed in their student’s capacity to learn the less likely they were to lecture. However, while the regression model for the abstract algebra instructors accounted for 37.8% of the variability in the reported amount of time spent lecturing, the model for Calculus instructors only accounted for 2.7% of the variability. Thus our analyses indicate that there are contextual differences, such as course coordination, student demographics, and the job security of the instructors, that may be mitigating the extent to which beliefs impact instructional practice.
Challenging Our Stories as Teacher Educators for Social Justice: Narrative as Professional Development

In this paper we report on a collaborative self-study in which we reflect upon our practice as teacher educators through a critical multicultural and white studies framework. We developed a pedagogical tool for our own professional development as teacher educators, modeled on the type of narrative assignments we ask of our students. We wrote stories about difficult moments in our practice, shared these with colleagues and reflected upon their responses. In this activity, we aimed to practice what we preach, as we model our commitment to being life-long learners; our respect for the power of listening to others and considering multiple perspectives; and our constant desire to critique and transform our practice in ways that are more effective and contribute to the educational success of all students. Our analysis of our experience demands that we reconsider our assumptions about student learning, how we hold our students accountable, and how we are socialized as white women within the academy of higher education. Keywords : narrative; teacher education; multicultural education
Hadronic Transport Model with A Phase Transition

We specify a tractable transport model with thermodynamic properties close to those expected for the strongly interacting matter. In particular, at high temperatures, the matter undergoes a phase transition, such as to the quark-gluon plasma, with a drop in masses of elementary excitations and a rapid increase in the number of degrees of freedom. We show that a softening of the equation of state such as associated with the transition to quark-gluon plasma should be observable in the elliptic-flow excitation function from heavy-ion reactions.
Ottoman Notables and Participatory Politics: Tanzimat Reform in Tokat, 1839-1876

Focussing on events in the Anatolian town of Tokat during the final two decades of the great Ottoman legal and administrative reforms known as the Tanzimat (1839-76), this book applies elements of social networking theory to analyze and assess the establishment of local governments across the Middle East. The author’s key finding is that the state’s efforts to centralize authority succeeded only when and where locals acted as the primary agents of change. Independent notables, such as the military a‘yân, demanded wealth and state offices in exchange for meting out reform measures according to local idioms of power. Newly created administrative bodies also offered greater social mobility to a growing multiconfessional middle-class in small towns like Tokat. The state was desparate to reform, but opportunistic provincials were eager to have it only on their own terms. Challenging false assumptions about the limited scope of participatory politics in the Middle East during the nineteenth century, Ottoman Notables and Participatory Politics will be of interest to students and scholars of Political Economy, History and Middle East Studies.
Two-Dimensional Ferroelectric Models

The two-dimensional ferroelectric configuration is an array of arrows drawn on the bonds of a usual square lattice, one arrow for each bond. The ice constraint (I.C.) is that precisely two arrows point into and two point out of each vertex of the lattice. A lattice with N vertices has 2N bonds, so that without the ice constraint there are Z=22N configurations. It has been shown recently1) that asymptotically the number of configurations is given by .
Do Managers Use Pro Forma Earnings to Exceed Analyst Forecasts

The popular and growing use of issuing 'pro forma' earnings along with GAAP earnings has raised some concerns among regulating bodies such as the SEC and the FASB as well as participants on Wall Street. Some suggest that managers may be excluding small amounts of recurring expenses opportunistically in an attempt to meet benchmarks such as analyst forecasts. We provide evidence suggesting that these concerns are warranted. Specifically, we find that the probability of meeting or beating analyst forecasts increases when managers choose to exclude small expenses from GAAP and report a pro forma earnings number. We also find that the likelihood of just meeting or beating analyst forecasts increases when firms exclude small expenses from their pro forma earnings. These results are robust after controlling for other factors that are known to be associated with exceeding analyst forecasts.