cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Intravenous Tocolytics on Uteroplacental and Fetoplacental Doppler Flow Velocity Waveforms

The vasodilatory effects of ritodrine hydrochloride and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) were investigated by analyzing fetoplacental and uteroplacental Doppler flow velocity waveforms (FVWs) obtained from pregnant women about to undergo external version for abnormal fetal lie. These healthy women were chosen for study because they were known to have uncomplicated pregnancies at 37-38 weeks gestation by a reliable last menstrual period and confirming ultrasound. Twenty patients were studied with continuous wave Doppler ultrasound immediately prior to and at least 30 min after intravenous infusion of 100 μ.g/min of ritodrine, and 20 patients were studied before and after the administration of a 6 g intravenous bolus of MgSO4. No statistically significant alterations of maternal or fetal FVW systolic to diastolic (S/D) ratios were detected after administration of either ritodrine or MgSO4. We conclude that the intravenous infusion of 100 μ.g/min of ritodrine hydrochloride or 6 g of MgSO4 in normal healthy women at...
Refractive Corneal Surgery

Jose Ignacio Barraquer (Bogota) is the pioneer of the lamellar refractive corneal surgery. He began his endeavors 35 years ago and thanks to his enthusiasm, organizational talent and technical genius procedures have been developed which allow us to alter in a predetermined way the radius of curvature of the corneal surface.
The computer as an aid to teaching experimentation: an example in the thermal sciences

The authors describe the development of a self-contained computer environment to assist in the teaching and learning process involved in the art and science of experimentation. Six main components comprise this environment: an intuitive interface to data acquisition units, computer-based control of the experiment, an information base for the underlying theory describing the phenomena being investigated, experimental procedures for the experiment, experimental hardware descriptions, and tools to facilitate report writing and construction. All six components are equally important and should be provided to form a coherent teaching and learning environment. A heat exchanger experiment was constructed to provide the specific test stand to illustrate the use of the environment. It is noted, however, that this environment could be used in almost any experimental situation. Two different educational experiences with the experimental environment are described. In both experiences, the students were provided with an excellent illustration of how a computer can be used for control of the experiment, data collection, data reduction, and analysis of the data to illustrate the underlying phenomena being investigated. >
States Held Hostage: Political Hold-Up Problems and the Effects of International Institutions

This paper argues that the benefits of international institutions accrue disproportionately to pairs of states that find cooperation most difficult. It determines which states achieve the greatest gains from these institutions by identifying a central reason that states fail to cooperate in international relations: they fear being “held up” by other states for political concessions. Political hold-up problems occur when one state fails to undertake an otherwise productive investment due to the increased ability it would give another state to extract political concessions. Focusing on the World Trade Organization (WTO), I demonstrate that political hold-up problems are pervasive in international relations due to links between economic and political policies, but that international institutions can solve hold-up problems by helping to enforce agreements. I first formalize this argument and then empirically test the implications derived from the model, finding that the WTO increases trade most for politically dissimilar states by reducing states' abilities to hold up their trading partners for foreign policy concessions. I provide evidence of the causal mechanism by showing that WTO membership increases trade in contract-intensive goods and boosts fixed capital investment. I conclude that by solving political hold-up problems, international institutions can normalize relations between politically asymmetric states that differ in terms of capabilities, regime types, and alliances.
Diesel exhaust inhalation and assessment of peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene transcription effects: an exploratory study of healthy human volunteers.

Ambient fine particulate matter has been associated with cardiovascular and other diseases in epidemiological studies, and diesel exhaust (DE) is a major source of urban fine particulate matter. Air pollution's cardiovascular effects have been attributed to oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, with resulting perturbation of vascular homeostasis. Peripheral leukocytes are involved in both inflammation and control of vascular homeostasis. We conducted a pilot study using microarray techniques to analyze whether global gene expression profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) can elucidate effects of DE inhalation, for further investigation of mechanisms underlying vascular effects. In a double-blind, crossover, controlled exposure study, healthy adult volunteers were exposed in randomized order to filtered air (FA) and diluted DE in 2-h sessions. We isolated RNA (Trizol/Qiagen method) from PBMCs before and two times after each exposure. RNA samples were arrayed using the Affymetrix U133 ...
Strict Smoke-free Home Policies Among Smoking Parents in Pediatric Settings

Abstract Objective To examine strict smoke-free home policies among smoking parents assessed in pediatric offices. Methods We analyzed baseline parental survey data from 10 control practices in a national trial of pediatric office-based tobacco control interventions (Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure, CEASE). We used logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations to examine factors associated with strict smoke-free home policies. Results Subjects were 952 parents who were current smokers. Just over half (54.3%) reported strict smoke-free home policies. Few reported being asked (19.9%) or advised (17.1%) regarding policies by pediatricians. Factors associated with higher odds of policies were child 5 years or younger (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53, 3.86), nonblack race/ethnicity (aORs 2.17–2.60, 95% CIs 1.25–5.00), non-Medicaid (HMO/private (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.31, 2.58); self-pay/other aOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.12, 2.78); well-child versus sick child visit (aOR 1.61, 95% CI 1.11, 2.34), fewer than 10 cigarettes per day (aOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.31, 2.47), no other home smokers (aOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.26, 2.25), only father smoking (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.06, 2.83), and strict smoke-free car policy (aOR 3.51, 95% CI 2.19, 5.64). Conclusions Nearly half of smoking parents did not have strict smoke-free home policies. Parents were less likely to report policies if they were heavier smokers, black, living with other smokers, or attending a sick child visit; if they did not have a young child or smoke-free car policy; if they had a child on Medicaid; and if anyone other than only the father smoked. Few pediatricians addressed or recommended strict smoke-free home policies in an office visit. The pediatric office encounter represents a currently missed opportunity to intervene regarding smoke-free homes, particularly for high-risk groups.
Surface fluid absorption and secretion in small airways

Native small airways must remain wet enough to be pliable and support ciliary clearance, but dry enough to remain patent for gas flow. The airway epithelial lining must both absorb and secrete ions to maintain a critical level of fluid on its surface. Despite frequent involvement in lung diseases, the minuscule size has limited studies of peripheral airways. To meet this challenge, we used a capillary to construct an Ussing chamber (area <1 mm(2)) to measure electrolyte transport across small native airways (∼1 mm o) from pig lung. Transepithelial potentials (V(t)) were recorded in open circuit conditions while applying constant current pulses across the luminal surface of dissected airways to calculate transepithelial electrical conductance (G(t)) and equivalent short circuit current (I(eq)(sc)) in the presence and absence of selected Na(+) and Cl(-) transport inhibitors (amiloride, GlyH-101, Niflumic acid) and agonists (Forskolin + IBMX, UTP). Considered together the responses suggest an organ composed of both secreting and absorbing epithelia that constitutively and concurrently transport fluids into and out of the airway, i.e. in opposite directions. Since the epithelial lining of small airways is arranged in long, accordion-like rows of pleats and folds that run axially down the lumen, we surmise that cells within the pleats are mainly secretory while the cells of the folds are principally absorptive. This structural arrangement could provide local fluid transport from within the pleats toward the luminal folds that may autonomously regulate the local surface fluid volume for homeostasis while permitting acute responses to maintain clearance.
Effects of controls and displays on the use of rule-based supervisory control systems

In rule-based supervisory control users direct the automatic operation of a complex decision-support system through the specification, activation, and modification of conditional response rules. This is an important feature of certain naval combat direction systems. Interactions between users and developers involve an iterative process of prototype development and evaluation. This interaction has also motivated a research program aimed at obtaining a better understanding of users' interactions with these systems. We discuss the background of that program and report on experimental results. Those results indicate, among other things, that direct manipulation control of conditional response parameters can lead to more frequent modification of those parameters in response to changing environmental conditions and result in more effective use of the resulting automatic responses. >
Technique of Harvesting Buccal Mucosa for Urethral Reconstruction

AbstractPurpose: Buccal mucosa has been used increasingly by urologists for urethral substitution in complex hypospadias repair. We have found buccal mucosa to be useful in reconstruction of bulbar urethral strictures, and describe a simple and reliable technique for harvest.Materials and Methods: In 11 patients with refractory bulbar urethral strictures a nontubularized onlay patch of buccal mucosa was used for urethral reconstruction. All procedures were done with a 2-team approach in which 1 team (usually an oral surgeon and urologist) harvested the graft from the mouth, while the perineal team simultaneously exposed and calibrated the stricture.Results: The length of buccal mucosa used ranged from 3.5 to 17 cm. (average 6.4). All patients achieved excellent results. No oral complications were noted, even in patients in whom multiple buccal mucosal grafts were obtained.Conclusions: With the technique reported, buccal mucosa is a reliable, easily obtained tissue for patch graft urethroplasty. Our 2-team...
Provider perspectives of telemedicine encounter quality

Telemedicine systems have the potential to revolutionise healthcare by enhancing quality and efficiency through virtual access. To serve this goal, it is fundamental to understand the telemedicine encounter process. Holistic (sociotechnical) understanding of telemedicine encounter quality is still limited. We conduct this study from the position of the medical professionals who directly use the technology and are accountable for patient care. We use a field study comprising multiple methods (direct observation, interview, survey) and perspectives (researcher, provider) to collect and interpret data. Based on the data, we develop a rich model of telemedicine encounter quality attributes. We discuss the derived quality attributes (including the relevance of each attribute) and identify opportunities for their control in terms of who can apply control and when the control is best applied. Practical implications and future directions are presented.
Florida Panther Habitat Selection Analysis of Concurrent GPS and VHF Telemetry Data

Abstract Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) are listed as an endangered subspecies in the United States and they exist in a single Florida population with <100 individuals; all known reproduction occurs south of Lake Okeechobee. Habitat loss is the biggest threat to this small population and previous studies of habitat selection have relied on very high frequency (VHF) telemetry data collected almost exclusively during diurnal periods. We investigated habitat selection of 12 panthers in the northern portion of the breeding range using 1) Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry data collected during nocturnal and diurnal periods and 2) VHF telemetry data collected only during diurnal periods. Analysis of both types of telemetry data yielded similar results as panthers selected upland (P < 0.001) and wetland (P < 0.001) forested habitat types. Our results indicated that forests are the habitats selected by panthers and generally support the current United States Fish and Wildlife Service panther habit...
KILLER WHALE PREDATION ON SPERM WHALES: OBSERVATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

In October 1997 we observed a herd of approximately 35 killer whales (Orcinus orca) attack a pod of nine sperm whales (Pbyseter macrocephalus) 130 km off the coast of central California. During the four hours we watched, adult female killer whales, including some with calves, attacked in waves of four to five animals in what was apparently a “wound and withdraw” strategy. Adult male killer whales stood by until the very end when one charged in and quickly killed a seriously wounded sperm whale that had been separated from the group. The sperm whales appeared largely helpless: their main defensive behavior was the formation of a rosette (“marguerite”-heads together, tails out). When the killer whales were successful in pulling an individual out of the rosette, one or two sperm whales exposed themselves to increased attack by leaving the rosette, flanking the isolated individual, and leading it back into the formation. Despite these efforts, one sperm whale was killed and eaten and the rest were seriously, perhaps mortally, wounded. We also present details of two other encounters between sperm whales and killer whales that we observed. Although sperm whales, because of various behavioral and morphological adaptations, were previously thought to be immune to predation, our observations clearly establish their vulnerability to killer whales, We suggest that killer whale predation has potentially been an important, and underrated, selective factor in the evolution of sperm whale ecology, influencing perhaps the development of their complex social behavior and at-sea distribution patterns.
Wrapper generation for semi-structured Internet sources

With the current explosion of information on the World Wide Web (WWW) a wealth of information on many different subjects has become available on-line. Numerous sources contain information that can be classified as semi-structured. At present, however, the only way to access the information is by browsing individual pages. We cannot query web documents in a database-like fashion based on their underlying structure. However, we can provide database-like querying for semi-structured WWW sources by building wrappers around these sources. We present an approach for semi-automatically generating such wrappers. The key idea is to exploit the formatting information in pages from the source to hypothesize the underlying structure of a page. From this structure the system generates a wrapper that facilitates querying of a source and possibly integrating it with other sources. We demonstrate the ease with which we are able to build wrappers for a number of internet sources in different domains using our implemented wrapper generation toolkit.
Current‐Induced Segregation in Ionic Melts

The criteria for the electrochemically driven demixing of cations in ternary molten salts and silicates are analyzed for two cases of selective ion blocking electrodes. Mathematical expressions are derived for an anion flux case and a cation flux case which relate the concentration profiles and current densities at steady state to the differences of the electrical and chemical potentials applied at the melt surfaces. The analysis can be used to evaluate component demixing if three independent transport coefficients are known as a function of composition. Conversely, demixing experiments are proposed for use in determining such parameters as the inter diffusion coefficient and transference numbers of each ion for the composition range of segregation.
Gα Subunit Gpa2 Recruits Kelch Repeat Subunits That Inhibit Receptor-G Protein Coupling during cAMP-induced Dimorphic Transitions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

All eukaryotic cells sense extracellular stimuli and activate intracellular signaling cascades via G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and associated heterotrimeric G proteins. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae GPCR Gpr1 and associated Gα subunit Gpa2 sense extracellular carbon sources (including glucose) to govern filamentous growth. In contrast to conventional Gα subunits, Gpa2 forms an atypical G protein complex with the kelch repeat Gβ mimic proteins Gpb1 and Gpb2. Gpb1/2 negatively regulate cAMP signaling by inhibiting Gpa2 and an as yet unidentified target. Here we show that Gpa2 requires lipid modifications of its N-terminus for membrane localization but association with the Gpr1 receptor or Gpb1/2 subunits is dispensable for membrane targeting. Instead, Gpa2 promotes membrane localization of its associated Gβ mimic subunit Gpb2. We also show that the Gpa2 N-terminus binds both to Gpb2 and to the C-terminal tail of the Gpr1 receptor and that Gpb1/2 binding interferes with Gpr1 receptor coupling to Gpa2. Our studies invoke novel mechanisms involving GPCR-G protein modules that may be conserved in multicellular eukaryotes.
In vitro and in vivo association of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and benzo[a]pyrene with the yolk-precursor protein vitellogenin

These studies investigated the association of common environmental contaminants 2,3,7,8-tetraclorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) with the yolk-precursor protein vitellogenin (VTG). In vitro studies with purified VTG from the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) demonstrated that 3 H-TCDD and 3 H- B[a]P associated with VTG in a nonsaturable manner. The magnitude of this association (i.e., pmoles of radioligand/mg VTG) increased with increasing chemical concentrations until the point of chemical insolubility in the incubation medium. In vivo, time-course experiments with gravid female mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) exposed to either 3 H-TCDD or 14 C-B[a]P revealed time- and dose-dependent changes in total serum radiochemical content. In sera from female F. heteroclitus exposed to either chemical, >80% of detected radioactivity was associated with VTG and a second chromatographic peak, a lipoprotein fraction putatively identified as high-density lipoproteins. In experiments comparing radiochemical serum compartmentalization in estrogenized (E2+) versus control male fish, the presence of VTG in E2+ males significantly altered the overall quantity and profile of serum protein-associated radiochemical. In these experiments, serum VTG was present in very large quantities (40-50% of total serum protein) and the majority (62-81% for 3 H-TCDD; 56-71% for 14 C-B[a]P) of radiolabeled ligand was associated with VTG. The structure of the VTG protein, combined with the apparently nonsaturable nature of the association between VTG and these lipophilic compounds, suggests a VTG-ligand association that is both nonspecific and of significant capacity. Given the central role of VTG in egg production and early-life development, these findings suggest a significant role for VTG as a vector of xenobiotic maternal transfer. This role is further supported by companion studies (this volume) that examined oocyte accumulation of TCDD and B[a]P.
Technology Shocks in Multi-Sided Markets: The Impact of Craigslist on Local Newspapers

We empirically examine the impact of Craigslist, a website providing classified advertising services, on local newspapers in the United States. We exploit temporal and geographic variation in Craigslist's entry and compare the pricing strategies of local newspapers for which classified ads are likely to be a significant portion of their revenue to others before and after Craigslist's entry. We find that these newspapers drop their classified ad rates more after Craigslist?s entry. Relative to other newspapers, these newspapers also experience an increase in subscription price, decrease in circulation share, and decrease in display ad rates. We find no evidence that the content of these newspapers differs from other newspapers following Craigslist's entry. These findings are consistent with a model viewing the newspaper industry as a three-sided market where the impact of Craigslist's entry in the classified ad side propagates to the reader and display ad sides.
Early results of a highly selective algorithm for surgery on patients with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.

Objective Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (nTOS) encompasses a wide spectrum of disabling symptoms that are often vague and difficult to diagnose and treat. We developed and prospectively analyzed a treatment algorithm for nTOS utilizing objective disability criteria, thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS)-specific physical therapy, radiographic evaluation of the thoracic outlet, and selective surgical decompression. Methods Patients treated for nTOS from 2000-2009 were reviewed (n = 93). In period 1, most patients were offered surgery with documentation of appropriate symptoms. A prospective observational study began in 2007 (period 2) and was aimed at determining which patients benefited most from surgical intervention. Evaluation began with a validated mini- Quick DASH (QD) quality-of-life scale (0-100, 100=worse) and duplex imaging of the thoracic outlet. Patients then participated in TOS-specific physical therapy (PT) for 2 to 4 months and were offered surgery based on response to PT and improvement in symptoms. Results Thirty-four patients underwent first rib resection in period 1 (68% female, mean age 39, 18% athletes, 15% workers comp). In operated patients undergoing duplex imaging, 47% showed compression of their thoracic outlet arterial flow on provocative positioning. Based on subjective improvement of symptoms, 56% of patients at 1 year had a positive outcome. In period 2 during the prospective cohort, 59 consecutive patients were evaluated for nTOS (64% female, mean age 36, 32% athletes, 12% workers comp) with a mean pre-PT QD disability score of 55.1. All patients were prescribed PT, and 24 (41%) were eventually offered surgical decompression based on compliance with PT, interval improvement on QD score, and duplex compression of the thoracic outlet. Twenty-one patients underwent surgery (SURG group) consisting of first rib resection, middle and anterior scalenectomy, and brachial plexus neurolysis. There were significant differences between the SURG and non-SURG cohorts with respect to age, participation in competitive athletics, history of trauma, and symptom improvement with PT. At 1-year follow-up, 90% of patients expressed symptomatic improvement with the mean post-op QD disability score decreasing to 24.9 ( P = .005) and 1-year QD scores improving down to 20.5 ( P = .014). Conclusions This highly-selective algorithm for nTOS surgery leads to improvement in overall success rates documented subjectively and objectively. Compliance with TOS-specific PT, improvement in QD scores after PT, young age, and competitive athletics are associated with improved surgical outcomes. Long-term follow-up will be necessary to document sustained symptom relief and to determine who the optimal surgical candidates are.
On the stability of different cubic lattices for the ionic compounds of AC-type

The stability of cubic CsCl, NaCl, and ZnS type lattices at zero pressure is considered. Assuming completely ionic bonding and Huggins-Mayer repulsion potential, the lowest-energy criterion and the mechanical stability conditions are combined into a new stability criterion. The combined criterion is presented in a form of a diagram which is divided into the stability regions for the three cubic lattices, in terms of two parameters: the range of repulsive forces and the difference between ionic radii. Data on all alkali halides and eight compounds of zinc and cadmium are compared with theory. In 25 cases, out of 28 considered, the combined stability criterion correctly predicts the stable lattice. In the three cases where the theory fails the measured elastic constants disagree with the Cauchy relations to such an extent that the central force model is, presumably, inadequate. In addition, diagrams are presented in which the elastic constants of all three cubic structures are plotted as functions of the range of the repulsive forces and the difference in ionic sizes. Es wird die Stabilitat der drei kubischen Gitter vom Typ CsCl, NaCl und ZnS bei verschwindendem Druck betrachtet. Das Energieminimum-Kriterium und das mechanische Stabilitatskriterium werden unter der Annahme kombiniert, das reine Ionenbindung und ein Huggins-Mayer-Abstosungspotential vorliegt. Das kombinierte Kriterium wird in einem Diagramm veranschaulicht, welches die Stabilitatsbereiche der drei kubischen Gitter zeigt. Diese Stabilitatsbereiche hangen von der Reichweite der Abstosungskrafte und der Differenz der Ionenradien ab. Meswerte fur alle Alkali-Halogenide und fur acht Zink- und Cadmium-Verbindungen werden mit der Theorie verglichen. In 25 von 28 betrachteten Fallen sagt das kombinierte Stabilitatskriterium das stabile Gitter richtig voraus. In drei Fallen versagt die Theorie. Die gemessenen Elastititatskonstanten stimmen in diesen Fallen so schlecht mit den Cauchy-Bedingungen uberein, das das Zentralkraftmodell dort wohl unzutreffend ist. Es werden auserdem Diagramme gezeigt, in welchen die Elastizitats-konstanten aller drei kubischen Kristallstrukturen als Funktion der Reichweite der Abstosungskrafte und der Differenz der Ionenradien dargestellt sind.
Race, Ethnicity, and the Changing Context of Childbearing in the United States

In what ways do childbearing patterns in the contemporary United States vary for white, black, and Hispanic women? Why do these differences exist? Although completed family size is currently similar for white and black women, and only modestly larger for Hispanic women, we highlight persistent differences across groups with respect to the timing of childbearing, the relationship context of childbearing, and the extent to which births are intended. We next evaluate key explanations for these differences. Guided by a proximate determinants approach, we focus here on patterns of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and postconception outcomes such as abortion and changes in mothers' relationship status. We find contraceptive use to be a particularly important contributor to racial and ethnic differences in childbearing, yet reasons for varying contraception use itself remain insufficiently understood. We end by reflecting on promising directions for further research.
Impact of Improved Initialization of Mesoscale Features on Convective System Rainfall in 10-km Eta Simulations

A 10-km version of the NCEP Eta Model has been run over a roughly 1000 km 3 1000 km domain centered over the upper Midwest for 20 cases where heavy warm season rainfall occurred from mesoscale convective systems to investigate the response of the precipitation forecasts to improvements in the depiction of mesoscale features at initialization time. Modifications to the initial conditions included (i) use of a cold pool initialization scheme, (ii) inclusion of mesonetwork surface observations using the model’s own vertical diffusion formulation to allow the surface data to be assimilated into a deeper layer through a simulated initialization period, and (iii) addition of water vapor at points covered by radar echo to ensure relative humidities greater than 80%. All of these modifications were implemented in runs using both the operational Betts‐Miller‐Janjic (BMJ) and Kain‐ Fritsch (KF) convective parameterizations. In addition, simulations were also run with a doubling of the convective time step, alternation of the two convective schemes within one run, and exclusion of a convective scheme in another run. For all 20 cases, 14 variants in the model initilization/moist physics were used, creating a high grid resolution (10-km grid spacing) ensemble. Although techniques (i) and (ii) both resulted in initial surface fields agreeing better with available observations, average skill scores for precipitation forecasts did not change appreciably when (i) was used, with (ii) resulting in a modest improvement in equitable threat score (ETS), with an increase in the bias that already exceeded 1.0 for most precipitation thresholds in the BMJ runs. Skill scores among the cases varied widely; no single adjustment consistently improved the scores. Interestingly, the simplest modification, the addition of water vapor in relatively dry atmospheric regions at points where radar echo was present, had the greatest positive impact on ETSs for most precipitation thresholds. Although the impacts were greatest in the first 6 h of the forecasts, some improvements occurred through the full 24-h integration period. Variations among the runs for a given case were far greater when different convective schemes were used than when initialization modifications were made, further supporting other recent research suggesting that high grid resolution short-range ensembles may benefit from the use of a variety of models or physical parameterizations.
Scientific Referential Metadata Creation with Information Retrieval and Labeled Topic Modeling

The goal of this research is to propose an innovative method of creating scientific referential metadata for a cyberinfrastructure-enabled learning environment to enhance learning experiences and to help students and scholars obtain better understanding of scientific publications. By using information retrieval, topic modeling, and meta-search approaches, different types of resources, such as related Wikipedia Pages, Datasets, Source Code, Video Lectures, Presentation Slides, and (online) Tutorials, for an assortment of publications and scientific (labeled) topics will be automatically retrieved, associated, and ranked. In order to test our method of automatic cyberlearning referential metadata generation, we designed a user experiment for the quality of the metadata for each scientific keyword and publication and resource ranking algorithms. Evaluation results based on MAP, MRR, and NDCG show that the cyberlearning referential metadata retrieved via meta-search and statistical relevance ranking can effectively help students better understand the essence of scientific keywords and publications.
Unmet needs in the treatment of allergic asthma: potential role of novel biologic therapies.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a review of the current status of the treatment of asthma and introduce new and developing forms of therapy by means of a review of published literature on asthma and publications on new and emerging therapies. Increased public awareness of asthma, improved patient and provider education, implementation of national treatment guidelines, and availability of safe and effective therapies have combined to provide an effective response to the increase in asthma prevalence. However, the number of persons with poorly controlled asthma and asthma-related complications remains unacceptably high. This is particularly true for the relatively small cohort of patients with moderateto-severe asthma that is poorly controlled with inhaled corticosteroids and other standard-of-care medications. Consequently, these patients often experience frequent exacerbations, leading to a disproportionate consumption of asthma health care resources and a poor quality of life. The National Committee on Quality Assurance suggests that the negative impact of asthma can be minimized if health care providers implement aggressive asthma management programs that include patient education and appropriate medications. Newer therapies such as injectable anti-IgE may provide a benefit for many patients. SUMMARY: Currently available asthma medications have been proven to be generally safe and effective for most asthma patients. However, the subset of patients with difficult-to-treat asthma who experience frequent exacerbations requiring emergency department visits or hospitalizations may benefit from novel therapies designed to target specific mechanisms underlying airway inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: New therapies may help in the treatment of patients whose asthma is not controlled. These include anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, cytokine modulators, and DNA vaccinations. Future research will determine if these targeted biologic therapies are a cost-effective means to improve the clinical and economic outcomes of asthma management.
Sharing Individual Participant Data (IPD) within the Context of the Trial Reporting System (TRS)

Deborah Zarin and Tony Tse of ClinicalTrials.Gov consider how sharing individual participant data can and cannot help improve the reporting of clinical trials.
Posterior lingual gestures and tongue shape in Mangetti Dune !Xung clicks

Abstract Clicks differ from pulmonic stops in that, in addition to containing lingual gestures that shape the filtering mechanism of the vocal tract, they also contain lingual “rarefaction gestures” that form the source of the lingual ingressive airstream. The current study uses mid-sagittal lingual ultrasound imaging to investigate (1) overall tongue shape, (2) tongue dorsum and root positions, and (3) dynamic rarefaction gestures involving the tongue dorsum and root, in the four coronal click types recognized by the IPA. The study provides quantitative evidence that the four click types differ in overall tongue shape. Additionally, results show that the palatal click has a farther back dorsal constriction than the three pre-palatal clicks, and the tongue root is raised and bunched in the upper pharynx in one variant of the palatal click, but involves retraction of the tongue root proper in the lower pharynx in the alveolar click. A second variant of the palatal click involves posterior gestures more similar to those found in the alveolar click. Results provide evidence that the kinematics of the posterior part of the tongue are important in describing click production, and shed light on synchronic and diachronic sound patterns involving the palatal click in Kx’a languages.
When human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment goals conflict with guideline-based opioid prescribing: A qualitative study of HIV treatment providers

ABSTRACTBackground: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients have a high prevalence of chronic pain and opioid use, making HIV care a critical setting for improving the safety of opioid prescribing. Little is known about HIV treatment providers' perspectives about opioid prescribing to patients with chronic pain. Methods: The authors administered a questionnaire and conducted semistructured telephone interviews with 18 HIV treatment providers (infectious disease specialists, general internists, family medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) in Bronx, NY. Open-ended interview questions focused on providers' experiences, beliefs, and attitudes about opioid prescribing and about the use of guideline-based opioid prescribing practices (conservative prescribing, and monitoring for and responding to misuse). Transcripts were thematically analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Results: Eighteen HIV treatment providers included 13 physicians, four nurse practit...
Mechanical Properties of Colloidal Gels Subject to Particle Rearrangement

We have simulated colloidal gels under restructuring using an aggregation model which also allows particles to unbind. The unbinding probability is proportional to a Boltzmann factor which takes into account the effect of the interparticle attraction energies. We have shown that at high concentrations, the largest-cluster size increases exponentially with particle concentration and the slope of the logNm vs. ϕ increases with a decreasing interparticle attraction energy. The exponential concentration dependence is due to restructuring of the particulate networks. By approximating the largest cluster at high concentration as spanning parallel springs, we argued that the modulus and hence the pressure are linear with the size of the largest cluster. The exponential concentration dependence of Nm In the simulations reflects the exponential concentration dependence of the shear modulus and the pressure found in the experiments. The trend of an increasing slope in the Nm vs. ϕ plot with a decreasing interparticle attraction energy is in agreement with that found In the experimental log P vs. ϕ plot. Furthermore, we have shown that at high concentrations, the first-layer concentration near a hard wall, which is used as a measure of the pressure, also increases exponentially with concentration. When the concentration is increased to about ϕ = 0.45, on average, a particle is constantly surrounded by other particles, and aggregation is less limited by the diffusion of particles and clusters.
Identification of a cellular polypeptide that distinguishes between acute lymphoblastic leukemia in infants and in older children.

We analyzed the polypeptide pattern of leukemic cells of infants and older children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), using two- dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Patterns were analyzed for the occurrence of a previously detected cytosolic polypeptide, designated L3. Quantitative analysis of L3 in 12 infants and 91 older children with non-T ALL indicated lack of expression of polypeptide L3 in leukemic cells of infants which, in most cases, expressed HLA-DR and CD19 and lacked CD10. Quantitative analysis of L3 in relation to cell surface marker expression revealed that L3 was limited in its occurrence to non-T ALL and was not coordinately expressed with any of the surface markers included in the study. Among patients in the HLA-DR-positive, CD19-positive, and CD10-negative group, different levels of polypeptide L3 were observed between infants and older children. These results indicate differences in leukemic cell constituents between infants and older children with ALL and an otherwise similar cell surface marker phenotype.
Turn-off Time as a Precursor for Gate Bipolar Transistor Latch-up Faults in Electric Motor Drives

In this paper, effects preceding a latch-up fault in insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are studied as they manifest within an electric motor drive system. Primary failure modes associated with IGBT latch-up faults are reviewed. Precursors to latch-up, primarily an increase in turn-off time and junction temperature, are examined for the IGBT. In addition, the relationship between junction temperature and turn-off time is explained by examining the semiconductor properties of an IGBT. To evaluate the effects preceding latch-up, seeded fault testing is conducted using aged transistors induced with a fault located in the die-attach solder layer. Since junction temperature cannot be directly measured, the transistor turn-off time is used as a measured system parameter to correlate between healthy and fault conditions. The experimental results provide statistically signiﬁcant evidence (within 99% conﬁdence) that an IGBT latchup event, caused by elevated junction temperatures, can be detected by monitoring the transistor turn-off time insitu.
The Mimesis Effect: The Effect of Roles on Player Choice in Interactive Narrative Role-Playing Games

We present a study that investigates the heretofore unexplored relationship between a player's sense of her narrative role in an interactive narrative role-playing game and the options she selects when faced with choice structures during gameplay. By manipulating a player's knowledge over her role, and examining in-game options she preferred in choice structures, we discovered what we term the Mimesis Effect: when players were explicitly given a role, we found a significant relationship between their role and their in-game actions; participants role-play even if not instructed to, exhibiting a preference for actions consistent with their role. Further, when players were not explicitly given a role, participants still role-played -- they were consistent with an implicit role -- but did not agree on which role to implicitly be consistent with. We discuss our findings and broader implications of our work to both game development and games research.
Single-Cell RNA-Seq of Neurons in the Human Nervous System

The human nervous system comprises highly heterogeneous neuronal populations. Our group has applied patch clamp electrophysiology, fluorescence microscopy, and next-generation single-cell RNA sequencing to correlate function, morphology and gene expression profiles at the single-cell level in both developing and mature human central nervous system. We performed whole cell patch clamp followed by cytoplasm extraction and single-cell RNA sequencing of neurons in acute slices and organotypic brain slice cultures from human adult cerebral cortex and cerebellum; and fetal brain and spinal cord of gestational age 10-20 weeks.We sequenced the mRNA with a modified aRNA method alongside with Truseq stranded RNA kit (Vn gelder et al., 1990). On average, we can detect ∼6,000 genes for each sample. Heterogeneity in gene expression and function was evident between neurons from different types of tissue when data were analyzed for Principle Components. Cajal-Retzius neurons are of special interest, as they are morphologically distinct and large neurons, located in the outermost layer of the developing cortex, where they are believed to contribute to defining the layered structure of the cortex. We showed that Cajal-Retzius neurons separate from subplate neurons with PC analysis and identified sets of genes that are significantly differentially expressed in Cajal-Retzius neurons compared to subplate neurons. Electrophysiological recordings revealed for the first time, spontaneous synaptic activity and action potential firing in human Cajal-Retzius neurons. Our data are significant for demonstrating the synergistic potential of combining functional and transcriptome analysis at the single-cell level.
Acceleration of multidimensional discrete ordinates methods via adjacent-cell preconditioners

The adjacent-cell preconditioner (AP) formalism originally derived in slab geometry is extended to multidimensional Cartesian geometry for generic fixed-weight, weighted diamond difference neutron transport methods. This is accomplished for the thick-cell regime (KAP) and thin-cell regime (NAP). A spectral analysis of the resulting acceleration schemes demonstrates their excellent spectral properties for model problem configurations, characterized by a uniform mesh of infinite extent and homogeneous material composition, each in its own cell-size regime. Thus, the spectral radius of KAP vanishes as the computational cell size approaches infinity, but it exceeds unity for very thin cells, thereby implying instability. In contrast, NAP is stable and robust for all cell sizes, but its spectral radius vanishes more slowly as the cell size increases. For this reason, and to avoid potential complication in the case of cells that are thin in one dimension and thick in another. NAP is adopted in the remainder of this work. The most important feature of AP for practical implementation in production level codes is that it is cell centered, reducing the size of the algebraic system comprising the acceleration stage compared to face-centered schemes. Boundary conditions for finite extent problems and a mixing formula across material and cell-size discontinuity are derived and used to implement NAP in a test code, AHOT, and a production code, TORT. Numerical testing for algebraically linear iterative schemes for the cases embodied in Burre's Suite of Test Problems demonstrates the high efficiency of the new method in reducing the number of iterations required to achieve convergence, especially for optically thick cells where acceleration is most needed. Also, for algebraically nonlinear (adaptive) methods, AP generally performs better than the partial current rebalance method in TORT and the diffusion synthetic acceleration method in TWODANT. Finally, application of the AP formalism to a simplified linear nodal (SLN) method similar, but not identical, to TORT's linear nodal option is shown to possess two eigenvalues that approach either one or infinity with increasing cell size regardless of the preconditioner parameters. This implies impossibility of unconditionally robust acceleration of SLN-type methods with cell-centered preconditioners that have a block-diffusion coupling stencil. Edge-centered acceleration methods, or methods that do not require the linear moments of the flux to converge, might have an advantage in this regard but at a significant penalty to computational efficiency due to the larger system solved or the inability to utilize the computed linear moments.
The onion router: understanding a privacy enhancing technology community

Internet technologies have made mass surveillance prevalent and much easier to carry out, while at the same time making personal privacy more difficult to protect. The ubiquity of personal data processing has raised public awareness about the infringement of information privacy. To protect users' information privacy, several initiatives have been developed to provide Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs). One of the most well-known PETs is the Onion Router (Tor) network, which provides users with online anonymity. The Tor network is supported by a group of volunteers who contribute their resources to sustain the availability and quality of the service. However, Tor Volunteers may find themselves in a tough spot at times because Tor network is often monitored by law enforcement, which makes this PET community different from any other open-source initiatives. To explore this volunteer community's motivation for providing their services despite the risks, we conducted an online survey. Our study results reveal that one of the main motivations for these volunteers is to advocate and provide privacy for online users. In addition, Tor-relay operators report on their views about anonymous networks, the challenges they face, and how their belief in providing an opportunity for everyone to access information without interference or censorship is a key component of their volunteer participation.
99.9% Accurate R Wave Extraction from ECG Signal using Wavelet Transform

ElectroCardiogram(ECG) is used to measure and diagnose electrical activity of heart. R peak detection from ECG signal is our main concern. It is the basic mark for the identification of different arrhythmias. In this paper, R wave extraction is performed by using Wavelet Transform. The wavelet transform has risen over late years as an effective time– frequency analysis and it is efficiently analyze complex non stationary signals. In this research, R wave is extracted accurately then heart beat is analyzed by the detection of RR intervals. R wave extraction is performed and implemented in the most familiar multipurpose tool, MATLAB .In this research,99.9% accurate R peak is detected by this type of approach. By accurate detection of R peak, cardiac diseases can easily be identified such as Sinus tachycardia, Sinus bradycardia, Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), Atrial fibrillation (AF), Ventricular tachycardia and Heart block.
Minimal relation algebras

A relation algebra is said to be minimal if it is generated by the empty set, or equivalently, if it is generated by the identity element. These algebras were already discussed in Section 6.7 in the context of minimal subalgebras; however, that discussion was necessarily incomplete because the tools required for a systematic analysis of these algebras were not yet available.