cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tai Chi on psychological well-being: systematic review and meta-analysis

Physical activity and exercise appear to improve psychological health. However, the quantitative effects of Tai Chi on psychological well-being have rarely been examined. We systematically reviewed the effects of Tai Chi on stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance in eastern and western populations. Eight English and 3 Chinese databases were searched through March 2009. Randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled studies and observational studies reporting at least 1 psychological health outcome were examined. Data were extracted and verified by 2 reviewers. The randomized trials in each subcategory of health outcomes were meta-analyzed using a random-effects model. The quality of each study was assessed. Forty studies totaling 3817 subjects were identified. Approximately 29 psychological measurements were assessed. Twenty-one of 33 randomized and nonrandomized trials reported that 1 hour to 1 year of regular Tai Chi significantly increased psychological well-being including reduction of stress (effect size [ES], 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 1.09), anxiety (ES, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.29 to 1.03), and depression (ES, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.31 to 0.80), and enhanced mood (ES, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.69) in community-dwelling healthy participants and in patients with chronic conditions. Seven observational studies with relatively large sample sizes reinforced the beneficial association between Tai Chi practice and psychological health. Tai Chi appears to be associated with improvements in psychological well-being including reduced stress, anxiety, depression and mood disturbance, and increased self-esteem. Definitive conclusions were limited due to variation in designs, comparisons, heterogeneous outcomes and inadequate controls. High-quality, well-controlled, longer randomized trials are needed to better inform clinical decisions.
Who Tube? How YouTube’s News and Politics Space Is Going Mainstream

In its drive to make a profit and avoid copyright challenges, YouTube, the largest online video platform, is becoming a more hospitable place for news organizations that are targeting the medium’s ...
Multiple roles of BRIT1/MCPH1 in DNA damage response, DNA repair, and cancer suppression.

Mammalian cells are frequently at risk of DNA damage from both endogenous and exogenous sources. Accordingly, cells have evolved the DNA damage response (DDR) pathways to monitor and assure the integrity of their genome. In cells, the intact and effective DDR is essential for the maintenance of genomic stability and it acts as a critical barrier to suppress the development of cancer in humans. Two central kinases for the DDR pathway are ATM and ATR, which can phosphorylate and activate many downstream proteins for cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, or apoptosis if the damages are irreparable. In the last several years, we and others have made significant progress to this field by identifying BRIT1 (also known as MCPH1) as a novel key regulator in the DDR pathway. BRIT1 protein contains 3 breast cancer carboxyl terminal (BRCT) domains which are conserved in BRCA1, MDC1, 53BP1, and other important molecules involved in DNA damage signaling, DNA repair, and tumor suppression. Our in vitro studies revealed BRIT1 to be a chromatin-binding protein required for recruitment of many important DDR proteins (ATM, MDC1, NBS1, RAD51, BRCA2) to the DNA damage sites. We recently also generated the BRIT1 knockout mice and demonstrated its essential roles in homologous recombination DNA repair and in maintaining genomic stability in vivo. In humans, BRIT1 is located on chromosome 8p23.1, where loss of hetero-zigosity is very common in many types of cancer. In this review, we will summarize the novel roles of BRIT1 in DDR, describe the relationship of BRIT1 deficiency with cancer development, and also discuss the use of synthetic lethality approach to target cancers with HR defects due to BRIT1 deficiency.
Geometry dependence of the sign problem in quantum Monte Carlo simulations

The sign problem is the fundamental limitation to quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the statistical mechanics of interacting fermions. Determinant quantum Monte Carlo (DQMC) is one of the leading methods to study lattice fermions, such as the Hubbard Hamiltonian, which describe strongly correlated phenomena including magnetism, metal-insulator transitions, and possibly exotic superconductivity. Here, we provide a comprehensive dataset on the geometry dependence of the DQMC sign problem for different densities, interaction strengths, temperatures, and spatial lattice sizes. We supplement these data with several observations concerning general trends in the data, including the dependence on spatial volume and how this can be probed by examining decoupled clusters, the scaling of the sign in the vicinity of a particle-hole symmetric point, and the correlation between the total sign and the signs for the individual spin species.
The Justice of Inequality: Argumentation Ethics and Radical Non-Aggression

Questions of inequality of wealth frequently arise during times of economic hardship. The stagnant recovery from the 2008 global financial crisis is no exception. Many are quick to condemn inequality as an unjust social phenomenon. This article considers the ethical status of such claims by examining whether inequality is fair or not. Using a neo-Kantian framework first put forward by Hans-Hermann Hoppe, the paper elucidates the presuppositions implied by human action and uses these as a basis for political rights. Once inviolable rights to ownership of one’s person and property are established, it follows that income inequality in the absence of coercion is fair. However, since such a condition does not describe modern society, little can be immediately said about the justice of current levels of inequality.
A population-based approach to the management of depression in a patient-centered medical home

Objective This article describes the implementation of a population-based strategy to manage depression in a patient-centered medical home. Methods Review of English language articles; description of specific protocols utilized in one medical home. Results Depression is a global concern estimated to affect 350 million people worldwide. Rates for depression vary between the United States and the Peoples’ Republic of China, possibly due to significant factors in under diagnosis of this often hidden burden. Given the comorbidity of depression with other health factors and the need for ongoing monitoring and care of this chronic illness, primary care has become a significant part of treatment interventions. Utilizing electronic health records (EHR), our strategy included the creation of a patient registry; selection of evidence-based treatment guidelines and protocols for point of care procedures; patient outreach and screening. Conclusion The population-based program we outline is highly dependent on the EHR and the flexibility of roles and responsibilities of clinical staff. Further investigation is warranted into improved patient outcomes.
Effects of Lingualized and Linear Occlusion Schemes on the Stress Distribution of an Implant Retained Overdenture Using Finite Element Analysis

This study compares the effects of lingualized and linear occlusion schemes on the stress distribution of an implant retained mandibular overdenture (IRO) using finite element analysis (FEA). A high fidelity solid model of mandibular overdenture incorporating cusps and fossae of occlusal surface with two anterior implants in the canine regions and residual ridge support in the posterior region of the alveolar bone was modeled in SolidWorks and imported to ANSYS for stress analysis. The load was applied vertically to the central grooves and buccal cusp tips of the premolars and molar teeth for the lingualized and linear occlusion respectively. The loading magnitudes were 200 N on the premolars and 200 N on the molar teeth with multiple contact locations. The results show that the linear occlusion scheme generated higher stress in the implants and the prosthetic bar than the lingualized occlusion. The locations of high stress concentrations were the neck of the implants and the implant-prosthetic bar intersection for both the occlusion schemes. However, in the cortical bone lingualized occlusion loading scheme generated higher stress (max principal stress) than the linear one suggesting possibility of greater bone loss. The results of this study could be used to comprehend the stress distribution in the denture teeth, base, bone-implant interface and surrounding bone for the two occlusion concepts and may be of help to the clinicians in choosing the right scheme for the edentulous patients.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Feeding Behavior of Melipotis indomita (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a Herbivore of Mesquite (Prosopis spp.)

The mesquite cutworm, Melipotis indomita (Walker), is the major defoliator of mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa Torrey, in central Texas. Larvae consumed an average 181 cm2 of foliage during their development and active last instars consumed 20–30 cm2 per day. Early instars fed and developed only on young mesquite leaves. The ability to feed on mature leaves increased with age, but only last instars developed normally when provided with mature leaves only. In an outdoor insectary, larvae fed mostly at night, a tendency that was much stronger during the later instars. In the field, large larvae fed in the tree at night and hid in crevices or holes in the tree or under litter on the ground during the day. The possible relationship between this feeding behavior and predator avoidance is discussed.
Nonthermal Atmospheric Plasmas in Dental Restoration

It is well known that the service life of contemporary composite restoration is unsatisfactory, and longevity of dentin bonding is one of the major culprits. Bonding is essentially a hybridization process in which dental substrate and adhesive resin interact with each other through an exchange process. Thus, the longevity of dentin bonding can only be improved with enhanced qualities in substrate, adhesive resin, and their interaction within the hybridization zone. This review aims to collect and summarize recent advances in utilizing nonthermal atmospheric plasmas (NTAPs)-a novel technology that delivers highly reactive species in a gaseous medium at or below physiologic temperature-to improve the durability of dentin bonding by addressing these 3 issues simultaneously. Overall, NTAP has demonstrated efficacies in improving a number of critical properties for dentin bonding, including deactivation of oral pathogens, modification of surface chemistry/properties, resin polymerization, improvement in adhesive-dentin interactions, and establishment of auxiliary bonding mechanism. While a few preliminary studies have indicated the benefit of NTAP to bond strength and stability, additional researches are warranted to employ knowledge acquired so far and to evaluate these properties in a systematic way.
Impact of age and gender in patients with thin melanoma

8056 Background: The incidence of thin melanoma (≤ 1mm) continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to characterize the incidence and prognosis of thin melanoma among the various age group...
Capacity configuration of multi-element composite energy storage system in distribution system with microgrid

An improved calculation method of power supply reliability index is proposed for the distribution network with microgrid,which considers the frequency and cumulative time of sensitive composite outages caused by voltage swell and sag to improve the authenticity of traditional reliability index calculation methods. The method of load point reliability evaluation based on the minimal path algorithm and the mechanism of distribution system overall power supply reliability enhancement by the multi-element composite energy storage system are analyzed,based on which,the charging / discharging strategies under normal and fault conditions are worked out and the capacity configuration calculation of multi-element composite energy storage system is proposed. The simulative results of IEEE reliability test system show the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
The development of 2μm wave band laser

Two methods about genetating2μm lasers are discussed,A detailed description about the development of 2μm all-solid-state lasers with direct pumped and 2μm Optical Parametric Oscillator(OPO) is given,and application prospect of 2μm laser is induced
Junctioning adjacent fields using border films and table top measurements.

Abstract We present a technique for matching adjacent treatment fields over the spine. Our approach relies on identifying vertebral bodies and correlating their position to the table top markings present on the simulator table. The vertebral body levels are verified with films taken with the isocenter at the borders (nondivergent border films) so the “true” borders are identified. This is in contrast to using the usual divergent films, which may misrepresent the field borders with respect to the vertebral body level. An additional space between fields may be added as a precaution against overlap.
True time delay beamspace wideband source localization

A novel method for signal subspace processing in the beamspace of a true time delay (TTD) beamformer bank is presented. The method permits the directions of arrival of broadband sources to be estimated accurately, efficiently and non-iteratively. This is achieved by exploiting the properties of the TTD beamformer bank, which simultaneously introduces spatial diversity into the data set while maintaining the broadband nature of the data. The beamspace manifold is derived and simulation results are presented. The method is shown to improve on the processing efficiency of previous broadband methods while maintaining source location estimation accuracy superior to conventional methods. It is also shown to resolve closely spaced and disparately spaced sources in a single algorithmic pass. The method is compared to previous method in terms of bias and RMSE.
Racial equality in France and the United States: media coverage of professional tennis players

ABSTRACTI engage debates about racial media bias by analysing newspaper coverage of professional tennis players in France and the United States. Tennis is an elite sport that typically does not have many non-white players and may be especially sensitive to racial boundaries. Tennis also offers a new solution to the methodological challenge of establishing that any difference in newspaper coverage across racial groups is due to bias and not actual differences across the groups. I use the professional tennis ranking system, which assigns an objective marker of how good a player is (and therefore the media coverage that s/he should receive) at any point in time. I explore two types of bias (the amount and tone of media coverage) and uncover no systematic racial differences in the relationship between ranking and media coverage. My findings have several implications for our understanding of racial boundaries and the media.
Evaluation of Military Field-Water Quality. Volume 8. Performance of Mobile Water-Purification Unit (MWPU) and Pretreatment Components of the 600-GPH Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU), and Consideration of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Bypass, Potable-Water Disinfection, and Water-Quality Analysis Techniques

Abstract : A comparison is made between the performances of the 600-gph Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) operated in the bypass mode and the Mobile Water Purification Unit (MWPU). Generally, the performance of the MWPU is significantly better than the pretreatment units of the ROWPU in terms of removing both turbidity and pathogenic organisms. It is recommended that the practice of bypassing the reverse osmosis (RO) components of the ROWPU be avoided unless it can be demonstrated clearly that the cartridge filters will remove the cysts of infectious organisms effectively and reliably. If the ROWPU must be operated in the bypass mode, it is recommended that the dose of disinfectant used be made equal to that currently employed in the field for untreated raw water. The analytical methods used to determine total dissolved solids (TDS) and residual free chlorine with the new Water-Quality Monitor (WQM) are also reviewed briefly. The limitations of the methods used to calibrate the TDS and free-chlorine probes of the new WQM are discussed.
Behind the Body-Filled Scenes:

This chapter is a deconstructive analysis of excerpts from the prior chapter, offering the authors an opportunity to highlight and question “out-takes” from that empirical data and subsequent text, and to reconsider the methodological complexities of capturing and theorizing those moments. Together, they think through the scholars and scholarship who helped them consider the data, and synthesize how “many scholars across the globe are reaching to find more theoretically complex ways to understand and produce the body and its role in education.” They argue that their work is connected to these emerging and expanding ways of explaining the material-discursive world researchers and participants inhabit and produce.
The Response of Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Tuber Phosphoglucomutase to Fluoride

Summary Phosphoglucomutase (E.C. 2.7.5.1) was partially purified form potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) tubers and was found to be relatively insensitive to the presence of fluorideions in vitro. The enzyme was activated by Mg 2+ but not by Mn 2+ , and was not inhibited by F − in the presence of Mn 2+ . The enzyme was relatively insensitive to F − when Mg 2+ was present, but the amount of inhibition was dependent on the level of Mg 2+ and, more importantly, on the order of mixing the reagents prior to the assays.
Biotoxicity of Chemotherapy

With successful treatment of many malignancies, long-term toxicities began to emerge and are becoming increasingly important in the growing number of cancer survivors. Research has begun to investigate management options to mitigate these chemotherapy-related toxicities without compromising the therapeutic outcomes. This chapter will discuss these late adverse effects based on organ system, including cardiotoxicity, pulmonary toxicity, nephrotoxicity, peripheral neuropathy, ototoxicity, reproductive toxicity, cognitive impairment, and risks of second malignant neoplasms. We will review the underlying pathophysiology of each of these long-term complications and will provide the most up-to-date evidence-based prevention, follow-up and monitoring guidelines. In the latter part of the chapter, we will review the current literatures regarding the molecular basis of germline genetic susceptibility to some of the late effects of chemotherapy, including peripheral neuropathy, ototoxicity and therapy-induced myeloid leukemia. This rapidly emerging field within cancer survivorship does not only provide invaluable insights and inform the development of therapeutic agents to target the underlying molecular pathway of these adverse effects, but it may also allow development of a risk-classification system that incorporates genetic markers to predict risks of chemotherapy-related side effects. The final part of this chapter will attempt to look at future research directions in the development of genetic markers as well as therapeutic agents to prevent or treat late-effects of chemotherapy.
Abstract 222: Exercise Training Prevents Rarefaction of Pial Collaterals, Promotes Cerebral Arterial Remodeling, and Lessens Severity of Stroke in Aging Brain

Variation in anatomic extent of the collateral circulation is an important determinant of variation in the severity of ischemic stroke and efficacy of revascularization therapies. Yet pial collateral number and lumen diameter decrease with age, at least in mice. It is not known if this can be mitigated. We tested whether exercise training can accomplish this and if it also affects diameter of the posterior communicating collalterals (PComs) and primary cerebral arteries (ICA, BA, MCA, ACA, PCA). We randomized 30 male and 30 female, 12 months-old (~40 human years, hy) C57BL/6J mice to either sedentary or voluntary wheel-running (daily distance run was measured). At 25 mos-age (~70 hy), permanent MCA occlusion was followed 24h later by vascular casting after maximal dilation and by determination of infarct volume. Controls for aging were 3 mos-old sedentary mice (~16 hy). Training effect was confirmed by muscle fiber-type switching, body weight and cardiac hypertrophy (all p
Stable DOA estimation with sparse sensor arrays

Some recent works on direction of arrival (DOA) estimation using sparse arrays have centered on a difference co-array approach, where DOA estimation is performed with respect to the source variances rather than the source complex amplitudes. This formulation advertises big gains in the available degrees of freedom (DOF) which makes it of interest to sparse arrays. Here we seek to quantitatively compare four super-resolution DOA estimation methods as applied to the difference co-array formulation. Our study assesses performance in terms of stability with respect to the number of data snapshots used and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). While none of the four methods presented here are able to fully exploit the DOF offered by the difference co-array, we do find that two of the four methods however do exhibit significantly more stable performance in terms of snapshots and SNR.
Getting beyond Superheroes versus Trojan Horses: Career Motivations of State Court Prosecutors

As part of a broader effort to reshape criminal justice, voters in some U.S. cities recently have elected more progressive prosecutors. While these campaigns promised a change in prosecution priorities, real transformation requires commitment not just from elected chief prosecutors but also from line prosecutors, the attorneys who handle the daily caseloads of the office. But their motivations, amenability to reform goals, and sense of professional identity may be at odds with the leadership and hard to gauge from the outside. To better understand this group of criminal justice professionals and their power to influence system reforms, we set out to learn what motivates state prosecutors to do their work. Using original interview data from more than 260 prosecutors in nine different offices, we identify four principal career motivations for working state prosecutors: reinforcing one’s core absolutist identity, gaining trial skills, performing a valuable public service, and sustaining a work-life balance. However, only two of these motivations – fulfilling one’s core identity and serving the public – are acceptable for applicants to voice in the hiring context, even in offices that employ a significant number of former defense attorneys. From this finding we offer a cautionary tale to job applicants as well as to office leaders, particularly in offices hoping to adopt a new vision of the prosecutor’s job.
Estimating Statistically-Distributed Grain-Scale Material Properties from Bulk-Scale Experiments

This research effort studies the use of an inverse optimization method to extract statistically-distributed grain/meso-scale material property parameters (e.g. Weibull shape parameter used to express the grains’ fracture strength) from spatially-integrated Kolsky (Split Hopkinson) Pressure Bar data. The compaction of particulate material samples is simulated with specified grain-scale material properties to create standard axial stress-engineering strain plots. These data plots are then analyzed to determine the statistically-distributed grain/meso-scale fracture strength properties. An iterative optimization approach is used to converge upon the most-likely material property parameters for comparison with initial simulation values. General stress–strain trends are illustrated as a function of meso-scale properties like variability in particle size and fracture strength and the strengthening effect of crushed nearest-neighbor grains. Sample inverse analyses are shown.
Expression on Government Land, by Government Workers, and in Non-Governmental Associations

The use of publicly accessible government land, expressive activity by government workers, and expressive acts within and on behalf of non-governmental associations all raise distinctive problems, but the principles elaborated in previous chapters show how these problems can be satisfactorily addressed.
Spring 2005: The Case of the Smuggled Chinese Goods Rocks the FSS and Patrushev

Putin decides to move against head of the secret police (Federal Security Service (FSS)), Patrushev, because the FSS has been performing so badly, e.g., smuggling goods for its own profit and bungling the Ukrainian election. So Patrushev and an ally move into the Sechin group’s orbit to find defense. But Putin had the FSS’s ill deeds publicized, tried to launch an investigation of all its economic activities, and dismissed a top aide of Patrushev’s. However, Putin met determined resistance, and, not liking tough personnel decisions, eventually let Patrushev remain.
Association of Peripheral Artery Disease With Incident Atrial Fibrillation: The ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study.

Background Although peripheral artery disease as defined by ankle‐brachial index (ABI) is associated with incident atrial fibrillation (AF), questions remain about the risk of AF in borderline ABI (>0.90 to 1.4). We evaluated the association of borderline ABI and ABI >1.4 in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study, a population‐based prospective cohort study. Methods and Results We included 14 794 participants (age, 54.2±5.8 years, 55% women, 26% blacks) with ABI measured at the baseline (1987–1989) and without AF. AF was identified from hospital records, death certificates, and ECGs. Using Cox proportional hazards, we evaluated the association between ABI and AF. During a median follow‐up of 23.3 years, there were 2288 AF cases. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval) for AF among individuals with ABI 1.4 was not associated with increased AF risk. ABI ≤0.9 and borderline ABI were associated with a higher risk of AF compared with ABI 1.0 to 1.4. Demographics‐adjusted HRs (95% confidence interval) were 1.43 (1.17–1.75) and 1.32 (1.16–1.50), respectively. However, the associations of ABI ≤0.9 and borderline ABI with AF were attenuated after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors (HR [95% confidence interval], 1.10 [0.90–1.34] and 1.14 [1.00–1.30]), respectively. Conclusions Peripheral artery disease indicated by low ABI, including borderline ABI, is a weak risk factor for AF. ABI >1.4 is not associated with an increased AF risk. The relationship between peripheral artery disease and AF appears to be mostly explained by traditional atherosclerotic risk factors.
Urinary Incontinence: Minimally Invasive Techniques and Evidence-Based Results

Mid-urethral slings (MUS) have become the cornerstone in the treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This minimally invasive approach has been widely adopted by gynecologists and urologists and has achieved standard of care status. As the surgical technique has been standardized, patient selection for each type of sling type is critical to optimizing success and minimize complications. Transobturator (TO) slings are most useful for mild to moderate severity SUI, while retropubic (RP) slings are indicated for greater severity of SUI (intrinsic sphincteric deficiency). Complications are relatively minor with TO slings (groin pain) but can be more severe with RP slings where the needle passage tract is rather blind. Newer single-incision approaches have become popular but have not reached widespread acceptance.
Voyager Observations of Dust Scattered Starlig

There are many different processes contributing to the diffuse ultraviolet radiation field: including heliospheric, Galactic, and extragalactic sources. Unfortunately, there are very few reliable observations of the ultraviolet background (see Murthy and Henry 1995), both due to the faintness of the signal and the need for space-based instrumentation. In this context, there has been a surprising neglect of the Voyager ultraviolet spectrometer (UVS) archives. Comprising more than 17 years of data from the long stretches when the two spacecraft were between their highly successful planetary encounters, these archives contain observations of a wide variety of astrophysical targets in the spectral region between 550 and 1700 A. In the best cases, limits of about 100 photons cm-2 s-1 sr-1 A-1 (Murthy, J. et al. 1991) can be set on the diffuse radiation field - sufficient to significantly constrain the various components of the UV background.
The Birthday and Matching Problems

In this chapter, we offer a glimpse into some problems that have earned the status of being classics in counting and combinatorial probability. They have an entertainment value, and they also present some surprises in their solutions and the final answers. The problems we present are generally known as the birthday problem and the matching problem. For greater exposure to the material in this chapter, we recommend Feller, W. (1968), Diaconis and Holmes (2002), Blom et al. (1994), DasGupta (2005), Mckinney (1966), Abramson and Moser (1970), Diaconis and Mosteller (1989), Barbour and Hall(1984), Barbour et al. (1992), Gani (2004), Ivchenko and Medvedev (1997), Johnson and Kotz (1977), and Karlin and McGregor (1965).
The role of insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease: implications for treatment.

An emerging body of evidence suggests that an increased prevalence of insulin abnormalities and insulin resistance in Alzheimer’s disease may contribute to the disease pathophysiology and clinical symptoms. It has long been known that insulin is essential for energy metabolism in the periphery. In the past 2 decades, convergent findings have begun to demonstrate that insulin also plays a role in energy metabolism and other aspects of CNS function. Investigators reported 20 years ago that insulin and insulin receptors were densely but selectively expressed in the brain, including the medial temporal regions that support the formation of memory. It has recently been demonstrated that insulin-sensitive glucose transporters are localised to the same regions supporting memory and that insulin plays a role in memory functions. Collectively, these findings suggest that insulin may contribute to normal cognitive functioning and that insulin abnormalities may exacerbate cognitive impairments, such as those associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Insulin may also play a role in regulating the amyloid precursor protein and its derivative β-amyloid (Aβ), which is associated with senile plaques, a neuro-pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. It has been proposed that insulin can accelerate the intracellular trafficking of Aβ and interfere with its degradation. These findings are consistent with the notion that insulin abnormalities may potentially influence levels of Aβ in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The increased occurrence of insulin resistance in Alzheimer’s disease and the numerous mechanisms through which insulin may affect clinical and pathological aspects of the disease suggest that improving insulin effectiveness may have therapeutic benefit for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The thiazolidinedione rosiglitazone has been shown to have a potent insulin-sensitising action that appears to be mediated through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ). PPAR-γ agonists, such as rosiglitazone, also have anti-inflammatory effects that may be of therapeutic benefit in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This review presents evidence suggesting that insulin resistance plays a role in the pathophysiology and clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this evidence, we propose that treatment of insulin resistance may reduce the risk or retard the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Nonlinear Multiscale Transforms

We present in this paper several approaches for performing nonlinear multiscale transforms to an image. Both redundant and non-redundant transformations are discussed. The median based multiscale transforms and some of their applications are detailed. Finally we show how a multiscale vision model can be used to decompose an image, and how several transformations can be combined in order to benefit of the advantages of each of them.
Signal Transduction Mechanisms: Pathophysiologic Alterations

To transmit their messages, water-soluble extracellular messenger molecules (e.g., endo- para-, or autocrine agents, neurotransmitters, growth factors) reversibly combine with specific receptors in the plasma membrane of their target cells. In certain cases the messenger-receptor combination results in the activation of an enzyme or an ion channel which is an integral part of the receptor’s molecular structure, e.g., insulin receptor-tyrosine protein kinase [1], and acetylcholine receptor — cation channel [2]. Thus the activation of the enzyme or the ion channel by the messenger directly contributes to a cellular response. In many other cases, the reversible combination of the messenger with the receptor leads to a sequential activation of (a) an enzyme or an ion channel regulatory protein (the guanine nucleotide binding protein, G protein) and (b) an intracellular messenger-generating enzyme or ion channel. The latter step then results in the generation of one or more intracellular messengers (e.g., cyclic adenosine monophosphate, AMP, Ca2+, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, IP3, 1,2-diacyl glycerol, DAG). The intracellular messenger(s) in turn elicit(s) the specific cellular response(s). This last step often involves a reversible adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-linked phosphorylation of a “response protein” by a protein kinase. The covalent modification of the intracellular protein appears to be the final common pathway of the signal transduction processes.
Patient-Specific Modeling of Structure and Function of Cardiac Cells

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major cause of death in the developed world. Also, CVDs produce significant economic burden on society [37]. Development and implementation of approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CVDs constitute large-scale and long-term efforts of healthcare systems, industry, and academia. Despite significant advances in technologies such as cardiac imaging and medical devices in the last decades, there are still major gaps in our basic knowledge of CVDs and their diagnosis and treatment, in particular, in individual patients.
Extensions of the Basic Multiperiod Dynamic Model

The basic model treated in Chap. 2 is the building block for several extensions. In many cases, these extensions are suggested by specific applications. Other extensions provide a wide range of applications of the basic theory.
Tree Shade, Temperature, and Human Health: Evidence from Invasive Species-induced Deforestation

Abstract By providing shade and through evapotranspiration, trees and forests moderate temperatures, and thus, can indirectly affect human health, an economic variable of interest. In this paper, we measure the temperature and temperature-induced health effects of quasi-random tree cover loss caused by an invasive species, the emerald ash borer (EAB). We use monthly temperature data on the near-universe of US counties containing the invasive over 1995–2014 to estimate a temperature dose-response relationship. Then, dose-response results are integrated into a bioeconomic-health model to study the mortality and morbidity consequences of temperature fluctuations. We find that highest and mean monthly temperatures are increased by 0.28 °F and 0.09 °F, respectively, after EAB detection. There is also a 2.1% higher probability of experiencing at least one ≥90 °F day per month after EAB. Bioeconomic model results suggest that an invasive-caused 10% loss of forest canopy leads to increases in mean temperature that result in a maximum of 0.12 per 100,000 additional annual deaths and a maximum of 10.0 per 100,000 additional annual emergency department visits. At peak impact, invasive-induced tree loss creates $1 million in annual mortality and morbidity temperature-related costs. Cumulative health costs of a 10% loss of tree canopy are $17.9 million over 25 years.
Human disease mutations highlight the inhibitory function of TIM-3

A new study identifies loss-of-function mutations in HAVCR2, which encodes TIM-3, in patients with a rare cutaneous T cell lymphoma associated with aberrant immunological activation. These mutations lead to loss of the TIM-3 immunological checkpoint, thus promoting inflammation and malignancy.
Analysis of achieving an "ideal" outcome following midline unifocalization

OBJECTIVE Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries is a complex form of congenital heart disease. Midline unifocalization has been developed for the surgical treatment of this condition. There are 3 outcome measures that determine long-term success: patients are alive, patients have achieved complete repair (i.e. ventricular septal defect closure), and patients have a relatively low right ventricle-to-aortic pressure ratio (<0.45). However, to date, no studies have combined these 3 outcome measures to analyze the likelihood of achieving an ideal outcome. METHODS This was a retrospective review of 255 patients who underwent midline unifocalization for pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. The median age at unifocalization was 4.5 months. RESULTS Two hundred thirty-five (92%) patients were alive at a mean follow-up of 5.3 years. Two hundred and seventeen (85%) patients underwent single-stage complete repair, and 38 (15%) had an initial unifocalization and shunt. Twenty-four of the 38 palliated patients have subsequently undergone repair. Thus 241 (94%) patients ultimately achieved complete repair. Of the 241 patients who were repaired, 219 (86%) had a right ventricle-to-aortic peak systolic pressure ratio <0.45. Combining these outcome measures, 77% of patients achieved an ideal outcome at one month, 73% at 6 months, 76% at one year, and 80% at 4 years. CONCLUSIONS Most (80%) patients can achieve all 3 measures of favorable outcome at 4 years following midline unifocalization. We speculate that this will be a favorable portend for the future of these patients.
chainABF: Sending Multiple-Bit Messages and Improving the Reliability with Multiple Rounds of Analog Bloom Filter

Analog Bloom Filter (ABF) is a recent technique, with which network nodes can send one-bit information to the base station simultaneously within a very short period of time, such as one OFDM symbol. In this paper, a novel method called chainABF is proposed, which, by transmitting multiple ABF symbols, allows the nodes to send multiple bits to the base station reliably with error ratio around 10-4 under typical conditions.In addition, the False Positive and False Negative error ratios are reduced by an order of magnitude when compared to the raw error ratios. The gain of chainABF is due to an intelligent coding scheme, which are the key contributions of this paper. chainABF is a wrapper over ABF, making it applicable to any network employing any kind of ABF on various physical layer signals.
A High-Throughput, Whole Cell Assay to Identify Compounds Active Against Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella Pneumoniae

Enteric Gram-negative rods (GNR), which are frequent causes of community-acquired and nosocomial infections, are increasingly resistant to the antibiotics in our current armamentarium. One solution to this medical dilemma is the development of novel classes of antimicrobial compounds. Here we report the development of a robust, whole cell-based, high-throughput metabolic assay that detects compounds with activity against carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. We have used this assay to screen approximately 8,000 fungal extracts and 50,000 synthetic compounds with the goal of identifying extracts and compounds active against a highly resistant strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae. The primary screen identified 43 active fungal extracts and 144 active synthetic compounds. Patulin, a known fungal metabolite and inhibitor of bacterial quorum sensing and alanine racemase, was identified as the active component in the most potent fungal extracts. We did not study patulin further due to previously published evidence of toxicity. Three synthetic compounds termed O06, C17, and N08 were chosen for further study. Compound O06 did not have significant antibacterial activity but rather interfered with sugar metabolism, while compound C17 had only moderate activity against GNRs. Compound N08 was active against several resistant GNRs and showed minimal toxicity to mammalian cells. Preliminary studies suggested that it interferes with protein expression. However, its direct application may be limited by susceptibility to efflux and a tendency to form aggregates in aqueous media. Rapid screening of 58,000 test samples with identification of several compounds that act on CR-K. pneumoniae demonstrates the utility of this screen for the discovery of drugs active against this highly resistant GNR.
Identifying and Allocating Resources for Learning Improvement: A Study of Sustainably Improving Rural Schools

This article investigates efforts by rural superintendents and rural principals to identify and leverage the local resources available to them to support learning improvement agendas within their schools. This study investigates practices within a diverse range of rural schools located in Washington State to understand how resources can be identified and allocated to best support student learning. In addition, this article explores the importance of family and community engagement in administrators' school improvement agendas. The conceptual framework for this study is informed by literature investigating resource allocation for educational improvement. This study was designed to better understand how rural education leaders identify, leverage, and allocate supports and resources, particularly those available within their immediate communities, to meet the needs of their staff and students. The rural schools represented in this study demonstrate trends in student achievement gains, despite challenges facing rural schools, such as increasing economic stratification in rural communities and diseconomies of scale in operating small schools and districts. Administrators meet these challenges by (a) maximizing teacher's instructional time through assuming duties often performed by nonadministrative personnel in other settings, thereby reaffirming the particularly multifaceted nature of rural school leadership; (b) forging formal and informal partnerships within the immediate community and geographic region to support student learning; and (c) leveraging the interconnected nature of rural communities in ways that increase community engagement in schools. Thoughtful community engagement strategies help manage the external politics of resource distribution within schools and ultimately materialize support for student learning.
Moving beyond Fidelity: Assessing Implementation of a Comprehensive Treatment Program for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Assessing implementation of comprehensive treatment programs is a multifaceted process that should extend beyond measuring solely treatment fidelity. The purpose of this article is to describe and ...
The Protection of Minorities in the Middle East: The Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and the Arabs in Israel (1981)

The Jewish minorities in Tunisia and Morocco and the Arab minority in Israel have a broad array of political rights and economic opportunities. Nevertheless, as religious minorities in Non-Secular states, they have a political status that is unavoidably inferior to that of each country’s majority. This chapter presents and compares the ways in which these three minorities work to protect and advance their interests. Jews in Tunisia have a weak organization base and little established procedure. As a result, its most widely employed tool for protection is personal interventions to influential Tunisian officials. Although the Moroccan situation is in some ways similar, Jews in that country had a well-developed and nationally integrated set of community institutions at the time of this study. In Israel, attempts to organize and exert influence through elections and through legal appeals and petitions to the courts were central to Arab efforts to protect their interests. The chapter’s objectives are not only descriptive. It makes explicit and considers the explanatory power of minority group and host society attributes, laying a foundation for the derivation of explanatory insights that may apply beyond Jews in Tunisia and Morocco and Arabs in Israel. The chapter treats these attributes as situational variables that give rise to and thus help to explain the patterns of protection observed among the three groups. Similar patterns suggest explanatory relationships that may be applicable to other minority groups; differing patterns suggest conditionalities that specify when a particular pattern of protection is and is not likely to be operating.
BM25 Beyond Query-Document Similarity.

The massive growth of information produced and shared online has made retrieving relevant documents a difficult task. Query Expansion (QE) based on term co-occurrence statistics has been widely applied in an attempt to improve retrieval effectiveness. However, selecting good expansion terms using co-occurrence graphs is challenging. In this paper, we present an adapted version of the BM25 model, which allows measuring the similarity between terms. First, a context window-based approach is applied over the entire corpus in order to construct the term co-occurrence graph. Afterward, using the proposed adapted version of BM25, candidate expansion terms are selected according to their similarity with the whole query. This measure stands out by its ability to evaluate the discriminative power of terms and select semantically related terms to the query. Experiments on two ad-hoc TREC collections (the standard Robust04 collection and the new TREC Washington Post collection) show that our proposal outperforms the baselines over three state-of-the-art IR models and leads to significant improvements in retrieval effectiveness.
Sex differences in cognitive and moral appraisals of infidelity: Evidence from an experimental survey of reactions to the petraeus affair

Abstract We investigated sex differences in cognitive and moral appraisals of sexual infidelity using the case of General David Petraeus as an example. Because visual stimulation may impact psychological evaluations of other people's behavior, including infidelity, participants were randomly assigned to view either a photograph (n = 127) of General Petraeus with his wife plus a photograph of him with his mistress, or a photograph (n = 195) of General Petraeus alone. Both conditions included an identical brief description of the scandal following his affair with his biographer. Participants provided their moral appraisal and cognitive appraisal of infidelity after viewing the visual stimuli. As predicted, men more than women reported lower scores of moral appraisal (“condemnation”) and higher scores of cognitive appraisal (“understanding”) across both conditions. Men who viewed photographs of General Petraeus with his wife and with his mistress reported higher cognitive appraisal than did men who viewed a photograph depicting General Petraeus alone. These results suggest sex differences in appraisals of infidelity, which are particularly salient when participants are presented with visual stimuli contrasting the wife and the more attractive mistress of the unfaithful man.