cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An analysis of generated fractal and measured rough surfaces in regards to their multi-scale structure and fractal dimension

Abstract This work studies the methods used to extract fractal dimensions from surface profiles and the applicability of fractals to measured surfaces. The work used generated surfaces to first evaluate these methods, and later applies the methods to measured surfaces. Two methods for generating surface profiles are used. The fractal dimension values of all generated profiles are calculated by four methods, then the results are compared. It is also found that self-similarity occurs at different fractal dimensions for the power spectrum and the Weierstrass-Mandelbrot generation methods. The analysis indicates that real measured rough surfaces are not easily represented as perfect fractals as researchers and engineers often assume.
SP0103 Apoptotic Cell Engulfment Machinery and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Specific recognition and removal of apoptotic cells is a process that occurs throughout life in all tissues, as part of homeostasis and during pathological conditions. In active rheumatoid arthritis, apoptotic cells are seen in the synovial fluid of human patients and in mice with experimental arthritis, but their contribution to disease severity is not well understood. Recently, many components of apoptotic cell clearance machinery have been identified. Using global and conditional knockout mouse strains and primary cell cultures, we have addressed specific components of the engulfment machinery for their role in rheumatoid arthritis. We observe that molecules linked to apoptotic cell clearance can affect both the extent of inflammation and bone erosion seen during arthritis in mouse models. These data suggest that targeting the components of the engulfment machinery might be a viable therapeutic approach. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Chronic Type B Aortic Dissection: Endovascular and Hybrid Aortic Management

Chronic and subacute type B aortic dissection (TBAD) management has advanced drastically over the past decade. We review the major progress reported in the scientific literature. Since early twenty first century, endovascular aortic repair has been on the rise for management of chronic and subacute TBAD. The technique has shown a mortality benefit in comparison to the open approach. High-risk patients who cannot tolerate open procedure and had challenging aortic anatomy benefit from hybrid approaches. More recently, total endovascular approaches are being investigated to treat these high-risk populations. With growing popularity of endovascular approach, light is casted on its shortcomings. Higher reintervention rates, endoleak prevention, subclavian artery revascularization, and spinal cord protection remain as areas of investigation. Endovascular surgery is an important addition to the repertoire of TBAD management. It remains an area of vigorous research and evolving industry.
Past Developments and Future Directions of 3D Cardiac Printing: A Surgeon’s Perspective

Medical imaging has evolved rapidly and 3D printing has played an increasingly important role in congenital cardiac surgery. Its application in surgical training, preoperative diagnosis and operative planning has proven to be valuable. The advance in 3D printing and imaging technology holds the promise of future therapeutic achievements as it serves as a platform for the development of bioprinting and virtual hemodynamic simulation. These developing modalities have great potential for improving the management of congenital heart disease.
Neutrons from the B11(p, n)C11 reaction

Abstract Time-of-light techniques have been used to study neutrons from the B11(p, n)C11 reaction for proton energies from 4.0 to 11.5 MeV. Neutron groups were observed from the formation of C11 in its ground state and excited states at measured excitation energies of 2.01, 4.32, 4.81, 6.33 and 6.48 MeV. Excitation functions for these groups were obtained at laboratory angles of 0° and 90° and angular distributions were taken at 25 proton energies. The excitation functions show structure near proton energies of 4.10, 4.62, 5.07, 5.50, 6.00, 6.4, 7.4, 7.7, 8.2, 8.6, 9.25, 9.7, 10.1 and 10.9 MeV. This structure is superimposed on a more smoothly varying background.
Cartel and Oligopoly Pricing of Nonreplenishable Natural Resources

Few real-world market structures correspond well to either of the textbook polar cases of absolute monopoly and perfect competition. Formal models of two intermediate structures have been thoroughly and usefully analyzed under static conditions.† The first model assumes that a single firm or a stable cartel controls a sizable fraction of industry capacity and faces a competitive fringe of many small suppliers, each too tiny to have any noticeable effect on market price. Fringe members thus take price as beyond their control and choose output to maximize profit. The dominant firm or cartel maximizes its profit subject to the constraint imposed by fringe supply behavior. The second model deals with noncooperative or Cournot-Nash oligopoly. A finite number of sellers is assumed, each large enough to have some control over price. Market equilibrium is defined as a situation in which no individual seller can increase its profits by changing only its own output, given the outputs of the other sellers.
Platelet-Rich Fibrin Clot-Augmented Repair of Horizontal Cleavage Meniscal Tear.

Although horizontal tears of the meniscus have historically been treated with partial meniscectomy due to poor vascularity within the tear, evidence suggests that repair of horizontal meniscal tears may be advantageous to partial meniscectomy. Furthermore, the addition of platelet-rich plasma has shown promise in improving meniscal healing. We present our technique of platelet-rich fibrin clot–augmented repair of horizontal cleavage meniscal tear.
Effects of a Standard American Diet and an anti-inflammatory diet in male and female mice.

Background Obesity and chronic pain are prevalent concerns. Pain is frequently experienced in weight-bearing joints, but is common in other areas of the body as well, suggesting other factors. Poor diet often contributes to obesity and can directly influence the immune system. We have shown that poor diet prolongs recovery from inflammatory injury. Therefore, our goal was to determine whether poor-quality diet-induced consequences could be prevented or reversed by an anti-inflammatory diet (AID). Methods A Standard American Diet (SAD) was developed to investigate the effects of poor diet on pain. The SAD includes amounts of refined sugar, carbohydrates and fats that better model the typical American diet, as compared to high-fat diets. We developed an AID to explore whether the effects of the SAD could reverse or whether the AID would enhance recovery prophylactically. The AID was developed using ingredients (epigallocatechin gallate, sulforaphane, resveratrol, curcumin and ginseng) with known anti-inflammatory properties. Following 15 weeks of diet [SAD, AID or regular (REG)] exposure, male and female mice underwent inflammatory injury, at which point some animals had their diets switched for the remainder of the study. Results Animals who consumed the SAD showed longer recovery compared to the AID- and REG-fed animals. Animals switched off the SAD had faster recovery times, with AID-fed animals recovering as fast as REG-fed animals. Conclusions Poor diet prolonged recovery from inflammatory injury. Substitution of SAD with AID or REG promoted faster recovery. These findings suggest diet can be used as a non-pharmacological intervention following injury. Significance Obesity may increase susceptibility to chronic pain often due to poor diet. Diet has potential to be used as treatment for pain. This study investigates the use of a novel translatable diet to act as a preventative (i.e. prior to surgery) or an intervention (i.e. following an injury).
David Oliver: What might Health Education England's workforce strategy mean for doctors?

It may seem extraordinary but, in the NHS’s entire history, we’ve never seen anything resembling a comprehensive, medium term workforce strategy. The NHS has tended to rely rather complacently on staff from overseas, while failing to consider the growing number of less than full time workers or the effects of new roles in the clinical workforce. Last week we learnt from NHS Improvement that around 100 000 NHS posts (one in 11) are unfilled, including 8% of medical posts.1 I therefore commend Health Education England’s timeliness in publishing a draft workforce strategy, Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future , in December 2017.2 For this to have happened may have taken a huge workforce crisis—and a storm of protest from …
Vladimir Iowa Lenin, Part 1: A Bolshevik Studies American Agriculture

ABSTRACTA busy year for Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, 1917 also marked the publication of his study of American agriculture. The report reads as more than a historical curiosity, offering insights, however era-bounded, on a variety of topics of substantive and epistemological interest today. Lenin writes of the history of American agriculture, its dynamic regionalism, and its sector-specific class conflicts. Along the way, despite his obvious structural tendencies, we meet an anti-foundational author who, while upbraiding bourgeois economists for their expedient technicism, often in scathing terms, also warns that sweeping conclusions about the sizes of farm and capitalization are problematic in the face of historically dependent and contradictory trends. Here, in the first of the paper’s two parts, we begin to place Lenin’s project in the broader stream of critical agrarian studies, including the classic contrast with agricultural economist Alexander Chayanov, but also the diseconomies of ...
Allergic Contact Dermatitis to Poison Oak and Ivy: Feasibility of Hyposensitization

The author reviews the literature on the induction of tolerance to urushiol, the catecholic plant allergen responsible for poison ivy and oak dermatitis. Basic science data indicate that suppressive factors are generated during tolerization against allergic contact dermatitis. Many clinical studies have confirmed that sensitive adults can be tolerized by ingesting large amounts of active urushiol, but untoward side effects have limited acceptance of the procedure to date. Investigational studies under way suggest that use of a modified, “blocked” urushiol may have solved the toxicity problem. An alternative approach would be to actively tolerize young, nonsensitive children of hypersensitive parents.
Some Properties of Boundaries of Symmetric Spaces of Rank One

M. Cowling, A. H. Dooley, A. Koranyi and F. Ricci used groups of Heisenberg type in order to study the symmetric spaces of rank one of noncompact type in a unified manner. This paper extends this work by using the same formulation to investigate the boundaries of these spaces. In particular, we prove a conjecture of Koranyi concerning metrics on the boundary and demonstrate that the classical Cayley transform extends to a 1-quasiconformal map of the boundary.
Software Implementation and Applications of the Generalized Information System

We have previously developed a powerful and flexible model to describe information flow based on the concept of a Generalized Information System (GIS). Recently, we have expanded and enhanced the capabilities and understanding of this system. We define information in terms of its effect on the uncertainty in making decisions, and we develop simple, useful relationships and parameters that provide a formal and quantitative framework for describing the flow of information. One new concept is an information measure, which indicates quantitatively the change in a DM’s certainty for making a decision after the receipt of a document, message, or other data. Another concept is the information profile, which is a measurable relationship that shows how much a particular document can improve effectiveness of various decision makers. In addition to our interest in establishing the foundation of a general information science, our goals include the development of applications our model to practical situations. We report here on the systematic design and development of software that is being used for simulations of mathematical formulations of our model, for experiments to collect data to test our model, and for the development of applications. A first use of this software is a “game’ by which human subjects are presented with problems and are asked to make decisions. This paper describes the software system and prototype experiments.
The diagnosis and treatment of bone metastases in breast cancer

Bone metastases from breast cancer can cause clinically relevant skeletal morbidity. These skeletal-related events (SREs) can undermine patient quality of life and functional independence. Early diagnosis of bone metastases could provide important benefits to patients. Although there is no clear consensus, some guidelines suggest bone scans for patients with advanced breast cancer. Skeletal scintigraphy should be the first choice for screening, and confirmation of diagnosis should be made with plain radiography, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging. All patients with advanced metastatic disease should receive systemic anticancer therapy. Furthermore, supplementation of systemic anticancer therapy with bisphosphonates or other therapeutic approaches is suggested for prevention of SREs. Bisphosphonates have demonstrated significant reductions in the risk of SREs in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer. Zoledronic acid has demonstrated benefits beyond those of pamidronate in patients receiving cytotoxic or hormonal therapy for advanced breast cancer. Other palliative therapies and other therapies that reduce skeletal morbidity associated with malignant bone lesions are also discussed. Considering the increasing survival of patients with breast cancer achieved with emerging therapies, monitoring for, and treatment of, bone metastases to maintain the quality of patient survival are critical.
Panel Data and Difference-in-Differences Estimation

This article reviews some of the benefits and limitations of panel data. It also discusses fixed and random effects estimation and reviews some health economics applications that use these methods. Next, the difference-in-differences estimator, the Hausman test and the Hausman and Taylor estimation method are discussed and illustrated with empirical health applications. Dynamic panel data as well as limited dependent variable panel data models are discussed and once again illustrated with applications from health economics. This article ends by referring the reader to further extensions of these basic panel models and providing the appropriate references.
Interactive Technology to Foster Creativity in Future Mathematics Teachers

This chapter discusses ways in which the use of interactive technology in a problem-based course that integrates mathematics, science, and technology fosters creativity among future secondary mathematics teachers in their first year in college. The course was built on research-based principles to learn mathematics for understanding. We found that creativity is fostered naturally by teaching mathematics based on those principles. Creativity is fostered, promoted and developed when (a) learners themselves grapple with concepts and make concepts explicit; (b) learners actively build new understanding on previous knowledge; (c) learners engage with mathematics as a social process; (d) learners use multiple representations and connections to enhance their understanding; (e) learners pose and solve problems; and (f) learners exercise multiple modes of learning—when they read, talk, write, draw, analyze, apply, present, and reflect. We discuss the use of technology and issues related to future teachers’ creativity as they solve problems; design experiments and collect, represent, and analyze data; develop mathematical models for phenomena in the physical, biological, and social sciences; and build and program their own robot.
Online Channel-state Clustering And Multiuser Capacity Learning For Wireless Scheduling

In this paper we propose an online algorithm for clustering channel-states and learning the associated achievable multiuser rates. Our motivation stems from the complexity of multiuser scheduling. For instance, MU-MIMO scheduling involves the selection of a user subset and associated rate selection each time-slot for varying channel states (the vector of quantized channels matrices for each of the users) – a complex integer optimization problem that is different for each channel state. Instead, our algorithm clusters the collection of channel states to a much lower dimension, and for each cluster provides achievable multiuser capacity trade-offs, which can be used for user and rate selection. Our algorithm uses a bandit approach, where it learns both the unknown partitions of the channel-state space (channel-state clustering) as well as the capacity region for each cluster along a pre-specified set of directions, by observing the success/failure of the scheduling decisions (e.g. through packet loss). We propose an epoch-greedy learning algorithm that achieves a sub-linear regret, given access to a class of classifying functions over the channel-state space. Finally, we empirically validate the performance of our algorithm through simulations.
Impact of Patient-Level Characteristics on In-hospital Mortality After Interhospital Transfer to Medicine Services: an Observational Study.

National administrative datasets have demonstrated increased risk-adjusted mortality among patients undergoing interhospital transfer (IHT) compared to patients admitted through the emergency department (ED). To investigate the impact of patient-level data not available in larger administrative datasets on the association between IHT status and in-hospital mortality. Retrospective cohort study with logistic regression analyses to examine the association between IHT status and in-hospital mortality, controlling for covariates that were potential confounders. Model 1: IHT status, admit service. Model 2: model 1 and patient demographics. Model 3: model 2 and disease-specific conditions. Model 4: model 3 and vital signs and laboratory data. Nine thousand three hundred twenty-eight adults admitted to Medicine services. Interhospital transfer status, coded as an unordered categorical variable (IHT vs ED vs clinic), was the independent variable. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included unadjusted length of stay and total cost. IHT patients accounted for 180 out of 484 (37%) in-hospital deaths, despite accounting for only 17% of total admissions. Unadjusted mean length of stay was 8.4 days vs 5.6 days (p < 0.0001) and mean total cost was $22,647 vs $12,968 (p < 0.0001) for patients admitted via IHT vs ED respectively. The odds ratios (OR) for in-hospital mortality for patients admitted via IHT compared to the ED were as follows: model 1 OR, 2.06 (95% CI 1.66–2.56, p < 0.0001); model 2 OR, 2.07 (95% CI 1.66–2.58, p < 0.0001); model 3 OR, 2.07 (95% CI 1.63–2.61, p < 0.0001); model 4 OR, 1.70 (95% CI 1.31–2.19, p < 0.0001). The AUCs of the models were as follows: model 1, 0.74; model 2, 0.76; model 3, 0.83; model 4, 0.88, consistent with a good prediction model. Patient-level characteristics affect the association between IHT and in-hospital mortality. After adjusting for patient-level clinical characteristics, IHT status remains associated with in-hospital mortality.
An enhanced frequency dependent subtraction algorithm for removal of cardiac interference from fMEG by using minimum norm projection operator.

Abstract Background A frequency dependent subtraction method, SUBTR, is developed to remove maternal and fetal magnetocardiography (mMCG and fMCG) interference from fetal magnetoencephalography (fMEG). But channels close to fetal head cannot be used as references for SUBTR in order to protect fMEG from subtraction and this results in cardiac residual when these channels have important fMCG frequency components. Cardiac residual creates noise in evoked response (ER) which results in poor ER detection. New method We developed an enhanced SUBTR algorithm, which we call SUBTR with minimum norm projection operator (SUBTRwMNPO), by employing covariance based minimum norm projection operators (MNPO). mMCG and fMCG signals are extracted from the raw data using MNPO and they are subtracted in the frequency domain from raw data to extract fetal Evoked Response (fER). Results When tested on 87 datasets, SUBTRwMNPO is shown to attenuate cardiac interference almost totally resulting in a clean fER signal. Comparison with existing methods Cardiac attenuation with SUBTRwMNPO is either as good as or better than SUBTR. SUBTRwMNPO has higher attenuation rate for the datasets where SUBTR leaves cardiac residual. Conclusions SUBTRwMNPO is successful in removing cardiac interference regardless of the orientation of fMCG and fMEG signal spaces. It can also be used to remove cardiac interference when there is no prior knowledge of fetal head location.
Fenretinide inactivation of Mcl-1 enhanced activity of the Bcl-2 family inhibitor ABT-737 in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines

1800 We previously reported that ABT-737, a BH3-mimetic, synergistically increased cytotoxcity in combination with 4-HPR, a cytotoxic retinoid in acute lymphobastic leukemia (ALL) cell lines (Proc AACR, abstract #1336, 2006). We further investigated the mechanism of synergy and the differential cytotoxicity between leukemia cells and normal cells of ABT-737 + 4-HPR. Cytotoxicity was determined using a fluorescence-based digital imaging assay (DIMSCAN). Changes in Bcl-2 family proteins were detected by immunoblotting. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (DCFDA fluorescence) and phospho-Jun kinase (p-JNK) were measured by flow cytometry. ABT-737 increased Mcl-1 protein only in ABT-737-resistant ALL cell lines, while 4-HPR inactivated Mcl-1 via reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and JNK phosphorylation. In CEM cells the antioxidant ascorbic acid (AA), completely abrogated ROS generation (43.5 ± 2.67-fold increase by 10 μM 4-HPR alone versus 0.75 ± 0.07-fold increase by AA + 4-HPR relative to untreated control), JNK phosphorylation and Mcl-1 inactivation, and attenuated the cytotoxicity of 4-HPR (p
Impact of perforator sparing on anterior component separation outcomes in open abdominal wall reconstruction

Anterior component separation (ACS) is a well-established, highly functional technique to achieve fascial closure in complex abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR). Unfortunately, ACS is also associated with an increased risk of wound complications. Perforator sparing ACS (PS-ACS) has more recently been introduced to maintain the subcutaneous perforators derived from the deep epigastric vessels. The aim of this study is to evaluate wound-related outcomes in patients undergoing open AWR after implementation of a PS-ACS technique. A prospectively collected database were queried for patients who underwent open AWR and an ACS from 2006 to 2018. Patients who underwent PS-ACS were compared to patients undergoing ACS using standard statistical methods. Patients undergoing concomitant panniculectomy were included in the standard ACS group. In total, 252 patients underwent ACS, with 24 (9.5%) undergoing PS-ACS. Age and specific comorbidities were similar between groups (all p > 0.05) except for the PS-ACS groups having a higher rate of prior tobacco use (45.8% vs 19.6%, p = 0.003). Mean hernia defect area was 381.6 ± 267.0 cm2 with 64.3% recurrent hernias, and both were similar between groups (all p > 0.05). The PS-ACS group did have more complex wounds with more Ventral Hernia Working Group Grade 3 and 4 hernias (p = 0.04). OR time and length of stay were similar between groups (all p > 0.05). Despite increased complexity, wound complication rates were much lower in the PS-ACS group (20.8% vs 46.1%, p = 0.02), and all specific wound complications were lower but not statistically different. Hernia recurrence rate was similar between PS-ACS and ACS groups (4.2% vs 7.0%, p > 0.99) with mean follow-up of 27.7 ± 26.9 months. In complex AWR, preservation of the deep epigastric perforating vessels during ACS significantly lowers the rates of wound complications, despite its performance in more complex patients with an increased risk of infection. PS-ACS should be performed preferentially over a standard ACS whenever possible.
Embolic protection devices for stroke prevention during cardiac interventions

Abstract Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has emerged as a preferred method of treatment for high-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) and is a preferred alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients at intermediate risk. Despite advances in transcatheter valve devices, stroke remains as one of the most clinical devastating complications following TAVI. Stroke rates following other transcatheter procedures also demonstrate a need for a clinically effective solution for the prevention of stroke. In this section we review the incidence of neurologic injury following various procedures, proposed definitions for neurologic events, and current evidence for neuroprotection and adjunctive pharmacotherapy.
Appendectomy or not in middle-aged male with non-inflamed appendix in Amyand's hernia? Case report and literature review.

Abstract Introduction An Amyand’s hernia is a rare disease where a vermiform appendix is found within an inguinal hernia sac. It is reported in the literature as having an incidence between 0.4%–1.0% of reported hernia cases. Typically, an incidental finding, Amyand’s hernia is consequently found more frequently intra-operatively rather than preoperatively. Presentation of case This case is a recount of a 56-year-old male, who presented in an outpatient setting for the evaluation of right inguinal pain and bulge. The patient was diagnosed with a vermiform appendix within the indirect hernia. The patient underwent elective repair of his inguinal hernia via Transabdominal Preperitoneal (TAPP) approach of the hernia with avoidance of appendectomy. Discussion An Amyand’s hernia presents a challenging diagnosis and the treatment algorithm is contingent on the condition of the appendix in individual cases. This case presents a Type 1 Amyand’s hernia that was repaired through laparoscopic approach using prosthetic mesh. The aim of this case study highlights the approach to surgical decision making in the diagnosis and treatment of Amyand’s hernia proposed in the current literature. Conclusion This case presents a rare condition known as Amyand’s hernia followed by a discussion on the epidemiology, diagnostic workup, and treatment options. Treatment is dependent on the state of the appendix found in the hernia sac and the clinical scenario. Comprehensive literature review shows that the true prevalence of this disease is lower than classically described and still has no clear standardized approaches.
Cerebral endothelial cell-derived small extracellular vesicles enhance neurovascular function and neurological recovery in rat acute ischemic stroke models of mechanical thrombectomy and embolic stroke treatment with tPA.

Treatment of patients with cerebral large vessel occlusion with thrombectomy and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) leads to incomplete reperfusion. Using rat models of embolic and transient middle...
Forecasting Asymmetries in Stock Returns: Evidence from Higher Moments and Conditional Densities

Chen, Hong, and Stein's (2001, JFE) time series test on Hong-Stein's (2002, RFS) Differences-of-Opinion model is not able to generate convincing results because of the lack of statistical power. This paper proposes a model that can be utilized to conduct this time series test with sufficient statistical power. Unlike Chen, Hong, and Stein, who use six-month sample skewness of daily returns as the estimate of the population skewness, this paper uses daily conditional skewness to estimate population skewness. An autoregressive conditional density model with an asymmetric Generalized t distribution is used to estimate the time-varying daily skewness. By modeling the distribution parameters as functions of prior return and turnover, we are able to estimate the time-varying effects of these two variables on the skewness. Different from the cross-sectional results in Chen, Hong, and Stein, in which the effect of prior turnover on skewness is found to be a negative constant and therefore supports the Hong-Stein model, this paper provides time series evidence that cannot be explained by the Hong-Stein model: If the prior return or the current conditional skewness is positive, the prior turnover cannot have a negative effect on skewness. Therefore, the implication of the Hong-Stein model that negative skewness is more pronounced if prior turnover is higher can possibly be true only if the prior return is negative and, conditional on this negative prior return, the conditional skewness is also negative.
Changes in PD-L1 tumor proportion score are associated with CD274 gene (encoding PD-L1) copy number variation in non-small cell lung cancer.

9029Background: PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) is often used to determine eligibility for first line therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSC...
How Ageist and Sexist Framing Is Used in Turkish Media To Normalize Femicide: A Content Analysis

More than 2,800 women in Turkey were murdered by male partners or family members between 2010 and 2020. Research on domestic violence against women in Turkey indicates that exposure to physical or sexual domestic violence increases with age, yet femicide against older women is rarely studied. We conducted a content analysis of 66 publicly archived Turkish mainstream media news stories about the murders of older women from 2010 to 2017. Textual and visual content was analyzed to examine how the femicide of older women was portrayed. Story writers used three primary communication frames in the text and visual content and structure: (1) attribution of responsibility, (2) morality, and (3) human interest. Word choice, sentence structure, and story content used ageist and sexist biases to portray the victim as morally reprehensible or troublesome, while promoting sympathy and excusing responsibility for the perpetrator. Implicit and explicit ageism and sexism in Turkish news deflect from the social injustice of femicide, normalizing violence against aging women.
Asymptotic Analysis of Factored LT Codes for Distributed Matrix Multiplication

This work considers the asymptotic analysis of factored LT (FLT) codes which we proposed previously for distributed matrix multiplication. We show that all nodes in the Tanner graph of a randomly sampled code have a treelike neighborhood with high probability. This ensures that the density evolution analysis gives a reasonable estimate of the average error performance of FLT codes. In addition, using Azuma-Hoeffding inequality, we derive concentration results to show that the error performance of a randomly chosen FLT code is close to the ensemble average. Our simulation results indicate that the error performance concentrates around the ensemble average for moderate values of blocklength.
Ganglion cells in larval zebrafish retina integrate inputs from multiple cone types.

Ganglion cells in larval zebrafish retina have complex spectral responses driven by seven different cone opsin types. UV cone inputs are significant and excitatory to ganglion cells, whereas green ...
Publisher Correction to: Signomial and polynomial optimization via relative entropy and partial dualization

In the original publication of the article, the reference list in the pdf version has been published with an error.
The Cossack Myth: History and Nationhood in the Age of Empires

In the years following the Napoleonic Wars, a mysterious manuscript began to circulate among the dissatisfied noble elite of the Russian Empire. Entitled The History of the Rus', it became one of the most influential historical texts of the modern era. Attributed to an eighteenth-century Orthodox archbishop, it described the heroic struggles of the Ukrainian Cossacks. Alexander Pushkin read the book as a manifestation of Russian national spirit, but Taras Shevchenko interpreted it as a quest for Ukrainian national liberation, and it would inspire thousands of Ukrainians to fight for the freedom of their homeland. Serhii Plokhy tells the fascinating story of the text's discovery and dissemination, unravelling the mystery of its authorship and tracing its subsequent impact on Russian and Ukrainian historical and literary imagination. In so doing he brilliantly illuminates the relationship between history, myth, empire and nationhood from Napoleonic times to the fall of the Soviet Union.
Multi-column multi-layer computational model of neocortex

We present a multi-layer multi-column computational model of neocortex that is built based on the activity and connections of known neuronal cell types and includes activity-dependent short term plasticity. This model, a network of spiking neurons, is validated by showing that it exhibits activity close to biology in terms of several characteristics: (1) proper laminar flow of activity; (2) columnar organization with focality of inputs; (3) low-threshold-spiking (LTS) and fast-spiking (FS) neurons function as observed in normal cortical circuits; and (4) different stages of epileptiform activity can be obtained with either increasing the level of inhibitory blockade, or simulation of NMDA receptor enhancement. The aim of this research is to provide insight into the fundamental properties of vertical and horizontal inhibition in neocortex and their influence on epileptiform activity. The developed model was used to test novel ideas about modulation of inhibitory neuronal types in a developmentally malformed cortex. The novelty of the proposed research includes: (1) design and implementation of a multi-layer multi-column model of the cortex with multiple neuronal types and short-time plasticity, (2) modification of the Izhikevich neuron model in order to model biological maximum firing rate property, (3) generating local field potential (LFP) and EEG signals without modeling multiple neuronal compartments, (4) modeling several known conditions to validate that the cortex model matches the biology in several aspects,(5) modeling different abnormalities in malformed cortex to test existing and to generate novel hypotheses.
Competition and Adaptation Among Diploid and Polyploid Clones of Unisexual Fishes

During the development of population biology as a science, genetic variation has been regarded as adaptive, maladaptive, or simply waiting to be drawn upon during times of environmental change. Attempts to evaluate the importance of variation, either in the production of heterosis or as adaptive polymorphisms in homogeneous, heterogeneous, or fluctuating environments, are generally confounded by two major problems: (1) identifying the forces of selection that are operational and (2) determining the phenotype (and associated genotype) upon which selection operates. In sexually reproducing organisms the effects of selection are continually obscured by recombination. Asexual organisms provide a simpler system for investigating the adaptive significance of genetic variation. Here, the genetic variation of a population is contained in the form of multiple genetic clones that, in the absence of recombination, magnify the effects of selection in successive generations.
Bacteriophage: Biology and Genetics

Terminology Taxonomy Structure and Pathogenesis Pathogenesis Basic Genetics of RNA and DNA Phage Keywords: bacteriophage; bacteriophage, genetics of; genetics of bacteriophage; phage
Prenatal diagnosis of the RhD fetal blood type on amniotic fluid by polymerase chain reaction

Objective: To assess the accuracy of a molecular assay for the determination of the fetal RhD status on amniotic fluid (AF) samples. Methods: Amplification of DNA by polymerase chain reaction of a common sequence of the RhD and CE genes and of a unique sequence of the RhD gene was performed on AF directly or after DNA extraction. Samples of AF obtained from patients undergoing amniocentesis for standard obstetric indications were used for the study. Results: Amplification of DNA was successful on 112 of 114 samples. One hundred four fetuses were found to be RhD positive and eight were found to be RhD negative. Serologic confirmation of the RhD blood type was available on 108 samples and DNA diagnosis was correct in all cases. Conclusion: Polymerase chain reaction can be used to determine accurately the fetal RhD blood type from AF samples.
Target Tracking and Engagement for Inertial Fusion Energy - A Tabletop Demonstration

In the High Average Power Laser program, we have developed an integrated target tracking and engagement system designed to track an inertial fusion energy target traveling 50-100 m/s in three dimensions and to steer driver beams so as to engage it with ±20 μm accuracy. The system consists of separate axial and transverse detection techniques to pre-steer individual beamlet mirrors, and a final fine-correction technique using a short-pulse laser "glint" from the target itself. Transverse tracking of the target uses the Poisson spot diffraction phenomenon, which lies exactly on axis to the centroid of the target. The spot is imaged on a digital video camera and its centroid is calculated in ∼10 ms with 5 μm precision. In our tabletop demonstration, we have been able to continuously track a target falling at 5 m/s and provide a fast steering mirror with steering commands. We are on the verge of intercepting the target on-the-fly and of verifying the accuracy of engagement. Future work entails combining transverse tracking, axial tracking, triggering and the final "glint" system. We also will implement a verification technique that confirms successful target engagement with a simulated driver beam. Results and integration progress are reported.
Methods for Mortals: Sociology for a New Sociological Methodology

AbstractThree challenges haunt all social research: How to minimize the temptations to professional narcissism when intermediating the relationship of readers and subjects? How to test findings on the understanding that the social world of prior studies can never be reentered? How to rationalize the inevitable leap beyond the geographic boundaries of what one has studied? Relative to the quantitative researcher, the qualitative researcher remains naked in the face of the seductions of self-reflective imagery, the hubris of denying the ceaseless passing of the known social world, and the absurdities of generalization. But qualitative researchers can find a logic for their methods by shaping the sociology of the research process to create relationships with readers and subjects that challenge narcissism; draw readers into an ongoing research process; and avoid the concerted ignorance of academic clubs in favor of empowering subjects to falsify claims.
Features of fear and anxiety

This chapter provides an overview of anxiety disorders and associated forms of distress, and their developmental trajectory. The anxiety disorders refer to a cluster of fears and anxieties that persist at a level that interferes with normal functioning. Anxiety disorders all involve fear, anxiety, worry, and avoidant or corrective behaviors. They differ from each other in the primary object of threat. Anxiety disorders are common in youths and adults. Symptoms of anxiety disorders tend to shift during childhood, but children often remain anxious or depressed in one form or another when adults. In addition, anxiousness possibly becomes more stable with age, particularly from adolescence to adulthood. Occasional symptoms of distress in adulthood carry little predictive value for the development of anxiety disorders without the additional influence of other risk factors. Females are at greater risk than males for anxiousness and anxiety disorders across all ages. The epidemiology of sex differences is reviewed in this chapter before concluding with an overview of the principal factors believed to contribute to anxiety disorders.
String loop divergences and effective lagrangians

Abstract We isolate logarithmic divergences from bosonic string amplitudes on a disc. These divergences are compared with “tadpole” divergences in the effective field theory, with a covariant cosmological term implied by the counting of string coupling constants. We find an inconsistency between the two. This might be a problem in eliminating divergences from the bosonic string.
Present your ideas effectively

One of the more effective techniques for developing presentations of ideas, particularly for management, is to try to anticipate all possible questions and objections to the idea and then build into the presentation the answers or solutions to those questions or problems. Often an idea “sells” better if others are allowed or encouraged to become contributors and reasonable revisions or modifications are warmly accepted. Visuals are usually beneficial to any presentation, and an extemporaneous — but not unrehearsed — presentation is dynamic and flexible. Further advice on preparation and delivery is included.
Modulation recognition via sequential probability ratio test

ABSTRACT We examine the design of the modulation classifiers, which identify the modulation type of receivednoisy signals in this research. The family of modulation schemes of our concern is the quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM), which has been widely used in modern digital communication. Mod-ulation recognition has been traditionally viewed as a hypothesis test problem with a fixed samplesize. Because the amount of received data increases with time, we formulate the problem as a van-able sample size test, and propose an iterative recognition procedure. The new approach called thesequential probability ratio test (SPRT) has important advantages, including low error nate, lowcomputational complexity and flexible tradeoff between performance and speed.Keywords: modulation recognition, sequential probability ratio test, multihypothesis test. 1. Introduction For traditional fixed station communication links, the modulation scheme is usually fixed becausethe channel condition is quite stable and the transmitted data type is unchanged. However, for someapplications such as mobile communication or transmission of multimedia data, it is desirable to usemodems with variable constellation schemes to adapt to the fast changing channel and accommodatea wide range of data transmission rates, bit error rates and data types[19]. In this research we areinterested in designing receivers which can identify the QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)constellation schemes from the received signal with unknown transmitted symbol sequence.Two different approaches have been reported in the previous works. The first approach formulatesthe problem with hypothesis tests by given exact statistical descriptions of received signals [1] ,
Measuring thermodynamically-interpretable solubilities at high pressures and temperatures

Abstract Solubilities are useful only if measured in defined systems where at least the minimum number of intensive variables required by the Gibbs' phase rule for invariancy are either fixed, measured, or controlled in the experiment. The array of determined intensive variables and any necessary buffers should be selected also to provide maximum resolution in identifying stoichiometries of solute species and in evaluating equilibrium constants of solubility-controlling reactions. Simultaneous measurements of volumetric properties of solutions and gases present during solubility measurements are practical and simplify thermodynamic analysis of solubilities. Equilibration is best demonstrated by equal solubilities for the same conditions approached from opposite directions. In solubility experiments at high pressures and temperatures, continuous analyses are possible using spectra, cell potentials, or radioactive tracers but they are uncertain indicators of total solute concentration. Methods providing only a single data point per experiment, by nutrient weight-loss or by analysis of quenched fluids, are comparatively slow and are not reversible. Better are periodic sampling and analysis of quenched, filtered fluids from two types of experimental systems. Condensed fluids are investigated effectively with an external-fluid-supported flexible cell but vapor-containing or supercritical experiments are less complex in a fixed-volume, rocking vessel. In both systems the parent solution remains virtually isothermal and isobaric during sampling, replicate sampling is possible, and reversing of reactions is simple. The less-complicated, fixed-volume system also permits P-V-T measurements on liquids and gases together with sampling. The stoichiometry of the dominant solute species is given, commonly with satisfactory resolution, by the exponential dependence of the solubility on the concentration of each potential ligand. The exponent closely approximates the stoichiometric coefficient of the ligand in the solute species. From these ligand and solute concentrations and tabulated or calculated activity coefficients, activities are obtained for dominant solute species, ligands, and gases corresponding to each solubility measurement. These activities permit the calculation of an equilibrium constant for each principal reaction representing equilibration among the solute, its dissolved species, and reacting ligands. The resulting constants, based on individual solubility measurements may then be compared for consistency both isothermally and polythermally. Measurements of solubilities at high temperatures and pressures are now impeded primarily by the lack of (1) well-calibrated buffers of oxidation state and acidity with known reaction rates for hydrothermal use, and (2) inert high-strength alloys that are resistant to hydrogen embrittlement, nonreactive with acidic and other high temperature fluids, and with mechanical properties compatible with use in the bodies or liners of reaction vessels.
Statistical signals in bioinformatics

The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences, “Frontiers in Bioinformatics: Unsolved Problems and Challenges,” organized by David Eisenberg, Russ Altman, and myself, was held October 15-17, 2004, to provide a forum for discussing concepts and methods in bioinformatics serving the biological and medical sciences. The deluge of genomic and proteomic data in the last two decades has driven the creation of tools that search and analyze biomolecular sequences and structures. Bioinformatics is highly interdisciplinary, using knowledge from mathematics, statistics, computer science, biology, medicine, physics, chemistry, and engineering.
A test of the theory of reasoned action in the context of condom use and AIDS

The theory of reasoned action (TRA) was employed as a framework for understanding adolescents’ behavior that could put them at risk for contracting AIDS. The TRA focuses on the role of subjective norms and attitudes toward behavior to predict behavioral intentions and risk‐avoidance behavior (condom use). Adolescent participants (N = 492) in three groups (8th grade, 11/12th grade, and early college) filled out questionnaires. Results supported Ajzen and Fishbein's contentions regarding the role of attitude and subjective norms, but subjective norms also functioned as a predictor of attitudes. Additional evidence indicated models by gender and sexual experience were different. For sexually active adolescents, attitude was a better predictor of both behavioral intentions and condom use than subjective norms, but for sexually inactive adolescents, subjective norm was a better predictor. For male adolescents, subjective norm was a better predictor of both behavioral intentions and condom use than attitude, bu...