cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Global Citizenship and Moral Interdependence: Protecting Individual Positive Identity and Ecological Balance

The ideas of global citizenship and moral interdependence are explored in this paper through two case studies which present challenges to the central human rights norms of individual positive identity and ecological balance. The case studies are: (1) the brutalization, arrest, and (in some cases) killing of gay men in Africa, and (2) the ecological devastation in China. While the suffering occurring in Africa and China seems distant and unrelated to our lives in the US, both examples demonstrate the ways in which we are morally interdependent.
Voorbeeldig botherstel (1)

Parodontale abcessen vreten bot. Om dit proces te stoppen en zelfs te kunnen keren, is abcesbehandeling noodzakelijk. Als de situatie vervolgens systematisch gecontroleerd en subgingivaal gescaled wordt, is herstel van verloren gegaan bot de beloning. Bijgaand de parodontale situatie bij twaalf patienten bij hun intake en na kortere of langere tijd na de start van de behandeling (afbeeldingen 1-12).
Identifying peer experts in online health forums.

Online health forums have become increasingly popular over the past several years. They provide members with a platform to network with peers and share information, experiential advice, and support. Among the members of health forums, we define “peer experts” as a set of lay users who have gained expertise on the particular health topic through personal experience, and who demonstrate credibility in responding to questions from other members. This paper aims to motivate the need to identify peer experts in health forums and study their characteristics. We analyze profiles and activity of members of a popular online health forum and characterize the interaction behavior of peer experts. We study the temporal patterns of comments posted by lay users and peer experts to uncover how peer expertise is developed. We further train a supervised classifier to identify peer experts based on their activity level, textual features, and temporal progression of posts. A support vector machine classifier with radial basis function kernel was found to be the most suitable model among those studied. Features capturing the key semantic word classes and higher mean user activity were found to be most significant features. We define a new class of members of health forums called peer experts, and present preliminary, yet promising, approaches to distinguish peer experts from novice users. Identifying such peer expertise could potentially help improve the perceived reliability and trustworthiness of information in community health forums.
Guest Editorial Special Section on IEEE EMBS Conference on Micro and Nanotechnology in Medicine

The 4th IEEE EMBS Conference on Micro and Nanotechnology in Medicine was held in Kauai, Hawaii, on December 10–14, 2018. This meeting gathered together 200 scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and medical researchers to leverage our collective expertise towards developing improved biomedical solutions. This biennial conference combines single-track oral sessions, an emphasis on sharing new approaches and data, extended free time in an intimate venue, and a group of extremely talented and enthusiastic individuals, creating a tremendously dynamic and creative experience.
Computational neural mechanisms of goal-directed planning and problem solving

Abstract The question of how animals and humans can solve arbitrary problems and achieve arbitrary goals remains open. Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning methods have addressed these problems, but they generally lack the ability to flexibly reassign reward value to various states as the reward structure of the environment changes. Research on cognitive control has generally focused on inhibition, rule-guided behavior, and performance monitoring, with relatively less focus on goal representations. From the engineering literature, control theory suggests a solution in that an animal can be seen as trying to minimize the difference between the actual and desired states of the world, and the Dijkstra algorithm further suggests a conceptual framework for moving a system toward a goal state. He we present a purely localist neural network model that can autonomously learn the structure of an environment and then achieve any arbitrary goal state in a changing environment without re-learning reward values. The model clarifies a number of issues inherent in biological constraints on such a system, including the essential role of oscillations in learning and performance. We demonstrate that the model can efficiently learn to solve arbitrary problems, including for example the Tower of Hanoi problem.
Heat transfer enhancement associated with electrostatic suppression of Leidenfrost droplets

Abstract A liquid drop levitates on its own vapor on a sufficiently hot surface (the Leidenfrost effect). Application of an electrical potential difference across the vapor gap suppresses the Leidenfrost state via electrostatic attraction of liquid towards the surface. The resultant transient solid–liquid contacts significantly reduce the thermal resistance to heat transfer across the insulating vapor gap. This work is an indepth study on the heat transfer enhancement accompanying electrostatic suppression of the Leidenfrost state. A purely analytical model is developed to predict the heat transfer enhancement based on the transient wetting dynamics observed during suppression. This model is based on semi-infinite conduction heat transfer coupled with a physics-based prediction of the voltage-dependent wetted fraction. The model is strongly validated by comparison with inhouse experiments and related experimental data from literature. These experiments measure the heat transfer enhancement associated with electrostatic suppression of the Leidenfrost state for three fluids, at various applied voltages and superheats. The experimentally-validated model predicts that heat transfer enhancement scales as the square of the wetted fraction. Results show a 4X enhancement in heat transfer by electrostatic suppression of the Leidenfrost state of water droplets; higher enhancements are measured for organic solvents.
Abstract P378: Higher Non-exercise Estimated Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Midlife is Associated With Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in Later Life: The Framingham Heart Study

Introduction: Studies have demonstrated that higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. However, exercise CRF test is not ...
Lighthouse Localization of Wireless Sensor Networks for Latency-Bounded, High-Reliability Industrial Automation Tasks

We present the results of a latency-bounded, high-reliability conveyor belt control system for a cart containing a self-localizing wireless sensor node. The node is equipped with an ARM Cortex-M3 microprocessor, 802.15.4 transceiver, 9axis inertial measurement unit (IMU), and an infrared-sensitive photodiode which allows the wireless node to localize itself using a high-precision localization system for small, resource-constrained, low-cost wireless sensor nodes known as “lighthouse” localization. The cart moves across the conveyor belt, and upon reaching a specified position sends a wireless signal to a set of receiving nodes attached to the conveyor belt’s motor to reverse direction. Using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) running on-board the cart’s wireless sensor node to estimate the position and velocity of the cart, we are able to achieve 3ms response latency, equivalent to the response latency of industrial photoelectric sensors used in a related implementation. We also show the lighthouse system used in this implementation has no outlier measurements outside the $\pm 1 mm$ error range when stationed 3 meters away from the conveyor belt. This, in addition to use of the EKF, enables high-reliability control with strong occlusion tolerance. We show the wireless sensor node is able to continue estimating its position along the conveyor belt when occluded from the lighthouse base station with a median standard deviation reported by the EKF of 0.875mm after 10 cm of occlusion compared to a median 0.109mm standard deviation of the position estimate when not occluded.
Small and Invisible, Yet Strong and Impactful : North Carolina's Montagnard Community Responds to COVID-19.

As COVID-19's impact disproportionately affects minority communities, North Carolina's Montagnard refugee and immigrant community has been no exception. Montagnards, a multi-tribal group, were resettled to the United States from the Vietnam highlands after suffering retribution for supporting American troops during the Vietnam war. The Montagnard Dega Association (MDA) and its youth branch, the Montagnard American Organization (MAO), estimated 50 COVID-19 positive cases by September 10, 2020 (Montagnard Dega Association, email communication, September 10, 2020). But community cases could well be higher (more than 100+) at the writing of this correspondence, since not all affected Montagnards have contacted MDA/MAO regarding infection.
A behavioral syndrome linking boldness and flexibility facilitates invasion success in sticklebacks

Understanding the factors that allow a species to expand its range and adapt to changing habitats is essential for mitigating anthropogenic change. We evaluated how behavior and cognition facilitate colonization of new environments and evolve post establishment during natural biological invasions. Marine threespined sticklebacks are expert colonists with a penchant for invading freshwater environments and rapidly adapting to them. However, the role of behavior in facilitating rapid adaptation in this system has received little attention. By rearing replicate populations of sticklebacks under common garden conditions in the lab, we tested the hypothesis that boldness is favored in dispersers and that neophilia and flexibility are favored in recently-arrived immigrants. We found that dispersing populations comprised bold individuals, while sticklebacks from the invaded region were flexible in their behavior. Moreover, boldness and flexibility were negatively correlated with each another at the individual, family and population levels. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that there is a heritable component to boldness and flexibility, therefore their divergence is likely to be evolutionary in origin. If boldness is favored in invaders during the initial dispersal stage, while flexibility is favored in recent immigrants during the establishment stage, then the link between boldness and flexibility could generate positive correlations between successes during both the dispersal and establishment stages, and therefore play a key role in facilitating colonization success in this important model organism. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTFor a species to expand its range, it needs to be good at dispersing and also capable of exploiting resources and adapting to different environments. Therefore, behavioral and cognitive traits such as boldness, neophilia and behavioral flexibility could play key roles in facilitating invasion success. Here, we show that dispersing sticklebacks are bold, while sticklebacks that have recently established in a new region are flexible. Moreover, boldness and flexibility are negatively correlated with one another. If boldness is favored in dispersers while flexibility is favored in immigrants, then this behavioral syndrome could play a heretofore underappreciated role in facilitating rapid adaptation in this important model organism.
Characteristics and overall survival in pediatric versus adult pituitary adenoma: a National Cancer Database analysis

Pituitary adenomas in the pediatric population are extremely rare, resulting in limited information in the literature on these patients. In this study, data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to compare pituitary adenoma clinical presentations, treatment management patterns, and overall survival between pediatric and adult patients. The NCDB was queried for all cases of histologically confirmed pituitary adenoma treated between 2004 and 2015. Patients were primarily stratified as either pediatric (< 18 years) or adult (≥ 18 years). Patient demographics/socioeconomics and resulting outcomes were then compared. 1893 pediatric and 77,993 adult patients with pituitary adenomas were evaluated. Average tumor size for pediatric and adult patients was 13.6 ± 13.2 mm and 20.1 ± 13.1 mm, respectively (p < 0.001). Pediatric patients were more likely to undergo gross total resection, less likely to receive adjuvant radiation, more likely to receive medical therapy, more likely to undergo active surveillance, and exhibited improved 5-year and 10-year overall survival (OS) (all p < 0.001). Temporal analysis demonstrated a significant increase in endoscopic approach over time (from 48 to 65%) in the pediatric population (R2 = 0.722, p = 0.03). On univariate analysis in the pediatric population, African American race compared to Caucasians (HR: 5.85, 95% CI 1.79–19.2, p < 0.003), patients with government insurance compared to those with private insurance (HR: 5.07, 95% CI 1.31–19.6, p < 0.02) and uninsured patients compared to those with private insurance (HR: 14.4, 95% CI 2.41–86.5, p < 0.003) were associated with decreased OS. Lastly, patients who underwent GTR had improved OS compared to those who underwent subtotal resection (HR: 0.08, 95% CI 0.008–0.93, p < 0.04) in the pediatric population. Compared to adults, children with pituitary adenomas more commonly underwent GTR, less frequently underwent adjuvant radiotherapy, more frequently underwent medical management and active surveillance, and had improved survival. Temporal analysis demonstrated increasing utilization of the endoscopic approach for surgical treatment of pediatric and adult pituitary adenoma patients. Level III.
Mental health among pregnant women with COVID-19-related stressors and worries in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have evaluated whether pandemic-related stressors, worries, and social distancing have affected the mental health of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Data came from an online survey of United States pregnant women (n = 715), conducted in May 2020. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale were used to assess depressive symptoms, thoughts of self-harm, and moderate or severe anxiety. Multiple logistic regressions were used to examine the associations of COVID-19 experiences with mental health outcomes. RESULTS: Participants were racially diverse. The prevalence of adverse mental health outcomes was 36% for probable depression, 20% for thoughts of self-harm, and 22% for anxiety. Women who reported family members dying from COVID-19 had four times higher odds of having thoughts of self-harm than women who did not experience family death. Depression was more prevalent among women who canceled or reduced medical appointments. Women were more likely to have worse mental health outcomes if they expressed worry about getting financial or emotional/social support, about their pregnancy, or about family or friends. Strict social distancing was positively associated with depression. A higher proportion of adults working from home was inversely associated with depression and thoughts of self-harm. CONCLUSION: High percentages of pregnant women had symptoms of depression or anxiety, suggesting an urgent need to screen and treat mental health conditions among pregnant women during the pandemic. Pandemic-related risks and protective factors are relevant to developing tailored interventions to address the mental health of pregnant women during pandemic circumstances.
Clinical presentation and survival outcomes of well-differentiated thyroid cancer in Filipinos.

Background Filipinos have higher recurrence rates compared to other racial/ethnic groups, which might suggest a higher propensity for aggressive disease. The goal of this study was to perform a population-based analysis of disease extent at diagnosis and survival outcomes in Filipino patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer relative to other racial/ethnic groups. Methods The study cohort comprised adult patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer diagnosed between 2004 and 2015, identified in the California Cancer Registry. Rates of extrathyroidal extension, nodal metastasis, and distant metastasis were compared between Filipinos, Non-Filipino Asians, and Non-Asians using multilevel logistic regression models. Survival outcomes were compared using Cox regression models, utilizing a sequential modeling approach. Results Filipino ethnicity was associated with extrathyroidal extension (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.11-1.63) compared with non-Asians and non-Filipino Asians. Filipino ethnicity was also associated with nodal metastasis (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.18-1.46), and with worse OS (Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.45, 95% CI 1.20-1.75) and DSS (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.12-2.04). After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, Filipino ethnicity was no longer associated with OS (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.84-1.25) or DSS (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.68-1.28). Conclusion Filipino patients with thyroid cancer are more likely to present with locoregionally advanced disease compared with non-Filipino Asians and non-Asians. Furthermore, Filipino patients have worse survival outcomes compared with non-Filipino Asians and non-Asians. However, this appears to be driven by the higher rates of locoregionally advanced disease in Filipino patients.
Case report: successful emergent transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement within failing pulmonary artery conduit in the setting of cardiogenic shock with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support.

Background To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support with successful decannulation as a bridge to recovery in a young adult with complex congenital heart disease. Case summary We describe a 24-year-old male patient with a history of D-transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect status post-Rastelli repair at age three lost to follow-up and presenting with severe biventricular failure, left ventricular thrombus, and critical pulmonary conduit stenosis, deemed non-surgical and non-transplant candidate, who underwent conduit stenting and TPVR in the setting of cardiogenic shock. Upon intubation for general anaesthesia, the patient suffered from ventricular tachycardia arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation and veno-arterial ECMO. Once stabilized, conduit stenting and TPVR was performed with significant haemodynamic improvement and immediate ECMO decannulation with subsequent biventricular function improvement. Discussion In critically ill patients with complex congenital heart disease that are neither surgical nor transplant candidates, ECMO support can be used as a means of support during a transcatheter intervention to improve haemodynamics and a bridge to recovery, allowing time for future potential candidacy for surgery or transplantation as indicated. Patients with congenital heart disease need regular follow-up in specialty clinics to prevent the development of such critical illness.
Interpersonal Techniques Boost your "Hospitality Batting Average"

The ability to listen and comprehend the intrinsic meaning behind the words people are saying is an important skill for those in the hospitality industry. The author provides some prescriptions for "winning friends and influencing people.”
Semi-discrete Methods

The methods discussed so far have all been fully discrete methods, discretized in both space and time. At times it is useful to consider the discretization process in two stages, first discretizing only in space, leaving the problem continuous in time. This leads to a system of ordinary differential equations in time, called the “semi-discrete equations”. We then discretize in time using any standard numerical method for systems of ordinary differential equations. This approach of reducing a PDE to a system of ODEs, to which we then apply an ODE solver, is often called the method of lines.
Estimates of the optimal density of sphere packings in high dimensions

The problem of finding the asymptotic behavior of the maximal density ϕmax of sphere packings in high Euclidean dimensions is one of the most fascinating and challenging problems in discrete geometry. One century ago, Minkowski obtained a rigorous lower bound on ϕmax that is controlled asymptotically by 1∕2d, where d is the Euclidean space dimension. An indication of the difficulty of the problem can be garnered from the fact that exponential improvement of Minkowski’s bound has proved to be elusive, even though existing upper bounds suggest that such improvement should be possible. Using a statistical-mechanical procedure to optimize the density associated with a “test” pair correlation function and a conjecture concerning the existence of disordered sphere packings [S. Torquato and F. H. Stillinger, Exp. Math. 15, 307 (2006)], the putative exponential improvement on ϕmax was found with an asymptotic behavior controlled by 1∕2(0.77865⋯)d. Using the same methods, we investigate whether this exponential im...
Vibrational and rotational temperature measurements in a shock tube

Vibrational and rotational temperatures in nitrogen test gas relaxing behind a normal shock are measured using the emission spectra of N2 + (1-) and N2(2+) band systems in an electric-arc driven shock tube, at a shock velocity of 6.2 km/sec. The results are compared with similar data obtained by AVCO-Everett Research Laboratory during the 1960s. The vibrational and rotational temperatures in the equilibrium region obtained in the present experiment agreed with those of AVCO, but those in the nonequilibrium region are greatly different fron the AVCO results. The measured rotational temperature seems to be in nonequilibrium with the translational temperature, contradicting the two-temperature model widely used in CFD. Also, the relaxation rates for both N2 + and N2 molecules seem to be of the same order.
EFFECTS OF THE GRAM STAIN ON MICROSPHERES FROM THERMAL POLYAMINO ACIDS

Fox, Sidney W. (The Florida State University, Tallahassee) and Shuhei Yuyama. Effects of the Gram stain on microspheres from thermal polyamino acids. J. Bacteriol. 85:279-283. 1963.-Microspheres produced from acid proteinoid accept the Gram stain. The stain is negative, but microspheres produced from mixtures containing a sufficient proportion of lysine proteinoid stain positive. Microspheres produced from mixtures containing the appropriate proportions contain individuals which stain positive and others which stain negative.
Comparison of intraoperative outcomes using the new and old generation da Vinci® robot for robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 OBJECTIVE • To review and compare intraoperative outcomes for robotic prostatectomy procedures performed on two generations of the da Vinci robotic surgery platform. MATERIAL AND METHODS • We reviewed 100 consecutive robotic prostatectomy cases and compared intraoperative outcomes for procedures randomly performed on either the da Vinci S robot or first-generation standard robot. • Baseline demographic data and intra-operative variables potentially impacting outcomes were reviewed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS • Mean total operative time was 191 min using the standard da Vinci robot (range 132–266) versus 169 min with S robot (range 98–230), representing a mean difference of 22 min (P = 0.002). • This difference was statistically significant despite no difference in mean patient BMI of 30.6 (range 19–51) for standard versus 29.3 (range 21–37) for S (P = 0.31), no difference in mean prostate size of 54.6 g (range 26–101) for standard versus 57.3 g (range 32–151) for S (P = 0.55), and no difference in frequency of nerve-sparing (P = 0.99). • There was also no difference in the portions of procedues performed by residents, which in some cases was none and some the entire procedure, but the standard was more often used for the surgeon’s first case of the day (P = 0.006). • There was no difference in blood loss (P = 0.08), positive margins (P = 0.87), or mean number of lymph nodes removed (10.7 vs 10.6). CONCLUSIONS • Both generations of da Vinci robotic technology are equally effective for PALP, but the S robot appears to allow shorter procedure times. • Further such evaluations are necessary to guide institutions and public policy decision-makers on investments in newer generations of robotic technology as incremental advances continue.
Studies on cell division in mammalian cells: IV. A temperature-sensitive cell line defective in post-metaphase chromosome movement

Abstract A temperature-sensitive mutant with defective post-metaphase chromosome movement, ts-687, was isolated from a hamster cell line. When incubated at the non-permissive temperature of 39 °C, cell number increase stops within 3 days after which time temperature effects become irreversible. Mutant cells at 39 °C continue to enter mitosis, but anaphase chromosome movement is abnormal with lagging chromosomal material remaining in the cleavage furrow preventing its progression. In some cells regression of the furrow occurs resulting in the formation of enlarged mono-nucleate, bi-nucleate and variable sized multi-nucleate cells, while in other cells cytokinesis proceeds to completion after a prolonged delay period. This mutant complements a previously reported metaphase mutant, ts-546, demonstrating that more than one gene locus is active in determining successful post-metaphase mitotic progression in mammalian cells.
Prediction of One‐Dimensional Structural Properties Of Proteins by Integrated Neural Networks

Proteins are linear polymeric chains made of various combinations of 20 amino acid residues. The exact sequence of residues for each protein is encoded in the DNA sequence. Despite their underlying chemical simplicity, proteins can perform a wide range of biological functions from molecular signaling and transportation, molecular motors, structural support to catalyzing chemical reactions as enzymes. Such a multifaceted functionality is made possible by their ability to form different three dimensional structures/shapes for different sequences of combinations of residues. A direct prediction of three dimensional structures from protein sequences has proven challenging, as discussed in several chapters in this book. As a result, many scientists search for other structural properties that are easier to predict and are useful for aiding three dimensional structure prediction as restraints and/or protein specifi c scoring functions. Many of those structural properties can be classifi ed as one dimensional structural properties because they can be represented as a one dimensional vector along the protein sequence. This type of one to one prediction has been a computationally
The prognostic significance of carcinoembryonic antigen in the plasma and tumors of patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma

Abstract Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in plasma and the immunocytochemical detection of tumor CEA were studied in patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma treated at the University of Kentucky Medical Center from 1973 to 1976. The incidence of CEA elevation in a group of 60 patients varied directly with uterine size, histologic differentiation, and stage of disease. Immunoperoxidase staining for CEA was performed on 42 specimens, and four were positive, indicating a tissue concentration of CEA of at least 5 μg per gram. Following operation, CEA levels returned to normal within eight weeks in all but two patients, both of whom were later shown to have persistent or recurrent cancer. These data suggest that serial plasma CEA determinations may be useful in predicting occult recurrence of endometrial cancer in patients in whom the plasma or tumor initially contains elevated concentrations of this antigen.
Implementing Adaptive Fuzzy Logic Controllers with Neural Networks: A Design Paradigm

This article proposes a design of adaptive fuzzy logic based control systems FLCSs with neural networks. A detailed discussion of effects of different reasoning methods on fuzzy controls is given and used to illustrate the need for an adaptive implementation of fuzzy controls. The procedure of decision-making of a FLCS leads to a neuro-fuzzy network consisting of three types of subnets for pattern recognition, fuzzy reasoning, and control synthesis, respectively. The unique knowledge structure embedded in this structured network enables it to carry out adaptive changes of fuzzy reasoning methods and membership functions for both input signal patterns and output control actions, and then recover these changes individually and completely later from its sub nets. Gradient methods for optimization have been used to derive off-line training rules and on-line learning algorithms for the structured neuro-fuzzy network. Issues related to rule modification and generation for an FLCS are addressed based on its network implementation.
Emergency Physician Attitudes, Preferences, and Risk Tolerance for Stroke as a Potential Cause of Dizziness Symptoms.

Introduction: We evaluated emergency physicians’ (EP) current perceptions, practice, and attitudes towards evaluating stroke as a cause of dizziness among emergency department patients. Methods: We administered a survey to all EPs in a large integrated healthcare delivery system. The survey included clinical vignettes, perceived utility of historical and exam elements, attitudes about the value of and requisite post-test probability of a clinical prediction rule for dizziness. We calculated descriptive statistics and post-test probabilities for such a clinical prediction rule. Results: The response rate was 68% (366/535). Respondents’ median practice tenure was eight years (37% female, 92% emergency medicine board certified). Symptom quality and typical vascular risk factors increased suspicion for stroke as a cause of dizziness. Most respondents reported obtaining head computed tomography (CT) (74%). Nearly all respondents used and felt confident using cranial nerve and limb strength testing. A substantial minority of EPs used the Epley maneuver (49%) and HINTS (head-thrust test, gaze-evoked nystagmus, and skew deviation) testing (30%); however, few EPs reported confidence in these tests’ bedside application (35% and 16%, respectively). Respondents favorably viewed applying a properly validated clinical prediction rule for assessment of immediate and 30-day stroke risk, but indicated it would have to reduce stroke risk to <0.5% to be clinically useful. Conclusion: EPs report relying on symptom quality, vascular risk factors, simple physical exam elements, and head CT to diagnose stroke as the cause of dizziness, but would find a validated clinical prediction rule for dizziness helpful. A clinical prediction rule would have to achieve a 0.5% post-test stroke probability for acceptability.
Estimating the Impact of Adherence to and Persistence with Atypical Antipsychotic Therapy on Health Care Costs and Risk of Hospitalization

Study Objective To estimate the impact of adherence to and persistence with atypical antipsychotics on health care costs and risk of hospitalization by controlling potential sources of endogeneity. Design Retrospective cohort study using medical and pharmacy claims data. Data Source Humana health care insurance database. Patients A total of 32,374 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and who had a prescription for noninjectable atypical antipsychotics (aripiprazole, asenapine, clozapine, iloperidone, lurasidone, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone, or ziprasidone), after a washout period of at least 180 days during which there was no use of any atypical antipsychotics, between January 2007 and June 2013. Measurements and Main Results The effects of adherence (proportion of days covered by all atypical antipsychotic prescription fills) to and persistence (time from initiation to discontinuation of therapy) with atypical antipsychotics on outcomes (all-cause total health care costs, medication costs, medical services costs, and inpatient admissions) were examined. To exclude potential bias due to mutual causality between drug use patterns and health care utilization, the effects of adherence and persistence measured in the first year on outcomes measured in the second year were investigated. Instrumental variable regressions using reimbursement rate and mail order as instrumental variables were conducted to correct potential endogeneity due to omitted variable bias. Being adherent decreased total costs by $19,497 (p<0.05), increased medication costs by $8194 (p<0.001), decreased medical services costs by $27,664 (p<0.001), and reduced hospitalization risk by 27% (p<0.001). Being persistent decreased individual total costs by $23,927 (p<0.05), increased medication costs by $10,278 (p<0.001), and decreased medical services costs by $34,178 (p<0.001). We could not identify a significant association between persistence and the risk of hospitalization. Conclusion Good adherence to and persistence with atypical antipsychotics led to lower total costs than poor adherence and persistence. Thus efforts should be made to improve adherence and persistence in patients taking atypical antipsychotics.
Single-equation, multiple-regression methodology: Is it an appropriate methodology for the estimation of the structure-performance relationship in banking?

Abstract Tests of the structure-performance paradigm of the industrial organization literature have been carried out almost exclusively using a single-equation, multiple-regression methodology. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that where the firms being considered are multiple product in nature and may pursue objectives in addition to maximizing the value of the firm, such a methodology may be inappropriate. The results presented in this paper suggest that the absence of a consistently strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between market concentration and bank profitability may be traced in part to such an inappropriate methodology.
Magnetic Structures of Metallic Erbium

Single-crystal neutron-diffraction data were obtained for metallic erbium at sample temperatures from 4.2 to 298\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Three distinct regions of long-range magnetic order were observed. In the high-temperature region (52-80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K) the ordered moments are confined to the $c$-axis direction and are sinusoidally modulated with a modulation wavelength of $3.5{C}_{0}$. The amplitude of this modulation saturates at 52\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K with ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{z}(max)=7.6$ ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}_{\mathit{B}}$${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$. Below 52\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K the basal-plane component of the moment begins to order, and a third-order modulation along the $c$ axis is observed. These effects are interpreted on the basis of a squared elliptical spiral with its major axis tilted relative to the crystal $c$ axis. However, the structural details in this region are obscured by a temperature variation of the modulation wavelength and by the incommensurability of the modulation and the lattice. In the low-temperature region (4.2-20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K) a ferromagnetic spiral structure is indicated. At saturation the ferromagnetic $c$-axis component is 7.9 ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}_{\mathit{B}}$${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$ and the spiral basal-plane component is $4.3{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$. The total ordered moment is then the free-ion value of $9.0{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$.
The regulation of vesicle trafficking by small GTPases and phospholipids during pollen tube growth

Polarized and directional growth of pollen tubes is the only means by which immotile sperm of flowering plants reach the deeply embedded female gametes for fertilization. Vesicle trafficking is among the most critical cellular activities for pollen tube growth. Vesicle trafficking maintains membrane homeostasis during rapid tube growth and provides polarity information by regulating protein/lipid compositions of different membrane compartments. In this review, we will focus on two classes of factors that orchestrate vesicle trafficking, small GTPases and phospholipids. We discuss the features of small GTPases and phospholipids that make them ideal components to regulate vesicle trafficking, review recent advances in understanding their involvement in vesicle trafficking, and propose directions for future research.
Neural network adaptive wavelets for signal representation and classification

Methods are presented for adaptively generating wavelet templates for signal representation and classification using neural networks. Different network structures and energy functions are necessary and are given for representation and classification. The idea is introduced of a "super-wavelet," a linear combination of wavelets that itself is treated as a wavelet. The super-wavelet allows the shape of the wavelet to adapt to a particular problem, which goes beyond adapting parameters of a fixed-shape wavelet. Simulations are given for 1-D signals, with the concepts extendable to imagery. Ideas are discussed for applying the concepts in the paper to phoneme and speaker recognition.
Motion and structure from multiple cues; image motion, shading flow, and stereo disparity

We investigate the recovery of 3-D motion and structure from the stereo images of a stationary environment. A Kalman filter-based framework is proposed for the reconstruction of 3-D structure from multiple visual cues, through the integration of image motion and stereo disparity with the shading flow that is induced by the rotational motion of the source. A common scenario involves the coupled motion of artificial source(s) and stereo cameras that are installed on mobile submersible vehicles. Utilizing shading flow with the image motion leads to devising a more robust 3-D motion estimation algorithm, in addition to the important role in depth recovery/refinement by constraining the local surface gradients. Collectively, use of multiple cues enhances robustness with respect to perturbation in any of the cues. Results of experiments with synthetic and real imagery are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, including the construction of a composite 3-D depth map of an underwater scene from a sequence of stereo pairs.
Hillslope soils and vegetation

Abstract Assessing how vegetation controls hillslope soil processes is a challenging problem, as few abiotic landscapes exist as observational controls. Here we identify five avenues to examine how actively eroding hillslope soils and processes would differ without vegetation, and we explore some potential feedbacks that may result in landscape resilience on vegetated hillslopes. The various approaches suggest that a plant-free world would be characterized by largely soil-free hillslopes, that plants may control the maximum thickness of soils on slopes, that vegetated landforms erode at rates about one order of magnitude faster than plant-free outcrops in comparable settings, and that vegetated hillslope soils generally maintain long residence times such that both N and P sufficiency for ecosystems is the norm. We conclude that quantitatively parameterizing biota within process-based hillslope models needs to be a priority in order to project how human activity may further impact the soil mantle.
Lotung large-scale seismic experiment and soil-structure interaction method validation

Abstract This paper describes the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) current on-site large-scale soil-structure interaction (SSI) research. The objectives of the research are: (1) to obtain an earthquake database which can be used to substantiate SSI models and analysis methods; (2) to develop realistic SSI analysis guidelines and procedures based on experimental-analytical correlation; and (3) to quantify nuclear power plant reactor containment and internal component's seismic margin based on earthquake experience data. To meet the objectives, two model structures were sited in a high seismic region, Lotung, Taiwan, under the joint sponsorship of EPRI and the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower). The model structures which simulate scaled-down nuclear containments ( 1 4 - and 1 12 - scale ) were constructed and instrumented within an existing strong motion array (SMART-1) deployed by U.C. Berkeley under a U.S. National Science Foundation grant. The instrumentation layout associated with the model structures included accelerometers on the models, on the internal components, on the ground surface, and in the ground. These instrumentations are to provide information required for validation and qualification of SSI models. Between September 1985 and November 1986, 18 earthquakes ranging from Richter magnitude 4.5 to 7.0 were recorded. The analysis phase of the research was conducted with the cooperation of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Taipower. A round-robin approach was utilized with emphasis on blind predictions and independent assessment of existing methodologies. A total of 13 research teams from the United States, the Republic of China, Japan, and Switzerland participated in the effort. A workshop was held in December 1987 where research results and findings were presented. Further effort is ongoing to synthesize the results and findings for providing technical bases of developing improved SSI analyses guidelines and procedures.
Accelerated hydrolysis of α-halo and α-cyano pyridinium relative to uracil derivatives: a model for ODCase-catalyzed hydrolysis of 6-cyanoUMP.

α-Halo and α-cyano pyridiniums were found to undergo facile hydrolysis, in contrast to the sluggish reactions of corresponding uracils. The greatly enhanced rates found with pyridinium compounds have indicated a possible source of the rate acceleration seen in the hydrolysis of 6-cyanouridine 5′-monophosphate catalyzed by orotidine 5′-monophosphate decarboxylase.
Characterization of contour shapes achievable with a MEMS deformable mirror

An important consideration in the design of an adaptive optics controller is the range of physical shapes required by the DM to compensate the existing aberrations. Conversely, if the range of surface shapes achievable with a DM is known, its suitability for a particular AO application can be determined. In this paper, we characterize one MEMS DM that was recently developed for vision science applications. The device has 140 actuators supporting a continuous face sheet deformable mirror having 4mm square aperture. The total range of actuation is about 4μm, achieved using electrostatic actuation in an architecture that has been described previously. We incorporated the MEMS mirror into an adaptive optics (AO) testbed to measure its capacity to transform an initially planar wavefront into a wavefront having one of thirty-six orthogonal shapes corresponding to the first seven orders of Zernike polynomials. The testbed included a superluminescent diode source emitting light with a wavelength 630nm, a MEMS DM, and a Shack Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS). The DM was positioned in a plane conjugate to the SHWS lenslets, using a pair of relay lenses. Wavefront slope measurements provided by the SHWS were used in an integral controller to regulate DM shape. The control software used the difference between the the wavefront measured by the SHWS and the desired (reference) wavefront as feedback for the DM. The DM is able to produce all 36 terms with a wavefront height root mean square (RMS) from 1.35μm for the lower order Zernike shapes to 0.2μm for the 7th order.
A general system for automatic biomedical image segmentation using intensity neighborhoods

Image segmentation is important with applications to several problems in biology and medicine. While extensively researched, generally, current segmentation methods perform adequately in the applications for which they were designed, but often require extensive modifications or calibrations before being used in a different application. We describe an approach that, with few modifications, can be used in a variety of image segmentation problems. The approach is based on a supervised learning strategy that utilizes intensity neighborhoods to assign each pixel in a test image its correct class based on training data. We describe methods for modeling rotations and variations in scales as well as a subset selection for training the classifiers. We show that the performance of our approach in tissue segmentation tasks in magnetic resonance and histopathology microscopy images, as well as nuclei segmentation from fluorescence microscopy images, is similar to or better than several algorithms specifically designed for each of these applications.
The Role of Vacancies and Dopants in Si Solid-Phase Epitaxial Crystallization

The role and interaction of vacancies and dopants in the crystallization of amorphous Si (a-Si) by solid-phase epitaxy (SPE) was investigated. To this end, we studied: (i) the solid-phase epitaxy rate measured by time-resolved reflectivity (TRR), (ii) the dopant and carrier concentrations measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and spreading resistance (SR) analysis, and (iii) the vacancy concentration measured by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). Phosphorus was implanted into a-Si on Si (001), which was previously amorphized by 29Si+ implantation, to create a nonuniform P doping profile. Phosphorus doped samples compensated with a similar boron profile were also studied. Samples were vacuum annealed for various times so that the amorphous-crystal interface was stopped at various depths providing frozen frames of the SPE process. These samples were then studied with PAS to investigate the vacancy population and to identify the impurity-defect complexes. Using this method, we have observed a population of phosphorus-vacancy complexes in the epitaxial layer.
Fréchet differentiability of regular locally Lipschitzian functions

Abstract This paper considers Frechet differentiability almost everywhere in the sense of category of regular, locally Lipschitzian real-valued functions defined on open subsets of a Banach space. It is first shown that, for separable Banach spaces, Clarke's generalized gradient of such a function is a minimal, convex- and compact-valued, upper semicontinuous multifunction. Using a theorem of Christensen and Kenderov it is then shown that, for separable Asplund spaces, such a function is Frechet differentiable on a dense Gδ subset of its domain.
Guided UT wave inspection of insulated feedwater piping using magnetostrictive sensors

Due to failures in power plant feedwater piping, inspection of these components has become a priority item. The major reason for the failures is wall loss due to flow-accelerated corrosion on the inside diameter (ID) of the pipes. It can be very costly to use standard nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques for a comprehensive inspection due to the need to remove large areas of insulation. Guided UT waves can travel through the pipe over long distances and detect cross- sectional changes in the pipe wall with minimal insulation removal. This makes the guided UT wave an excellent candidate for locating significant wall loss due to corrosion and pitting. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a simple and robust technology for generating and receiving guided UT waves based on magnetorestrictive sensors. Signals are generated and detected in the pipe via multi-turn coils acting as transmitters and receivers. Insulation removal is only required where the coils are attached to the pipe and this allows many meters of pipe to be inspected from a single location. Guided UT waves detect cross-sectional changes from corrosion on both the ID and outside diameter of the pipe and can also be used to map weld locations. This paper describes SwRIs systems and the preliminary results from testing on a feedwater pipe mockup containing simulated flow-accelerated corrosion.