cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Construction of balanced incomplete block designs with partial cycles of blocks

When considering systems statisfying balanced incomplete block design structure, one is interested only in distinct configurations in the sense of isomorphism. We have determined additional non-isomorphic solutions to designs with previously established solutions through consideration of automorphism groups. This effort utilizes a classic technique of direct construction, namely, symmetrically repeated differences, modified slightly when constucting designs with partial cycles of blocks. To determine te base blocks, we utilize the computer to expedite some formidable enumeration
Thinking Ahead: Strategic Foresight and Government

The technique of strategic foresight — developing policy based on long-run scenario planning — has much to offer Australian governments. By paying greater attention to identifying emerging issues, and drawing on a broad range of information sources, policies are more likely to prove durable and effective. Drawing on examples from the private sector, and from governments in the UK, USA and Australia, I outline what strategic planning entails, and how it might be implemented. In the early 1970s it [the US birthrate] hovered around 3 million births per year; forecasters at the US Census Bureau projected that this ‘trend’ would continue forever. Schools, which had been rushed into construction during the baby boom of the fifties and early sixties, were now closed down and sold. Policy-makers did not consider that the birthrate might rise again suddenly. But a scenario might have considered the likelihood that the original baby boom children, reaching their late thirties, would suddenly have children of their own. In 1979, the US birthrate began to rise; it is now over the 4 million per annum of the fifties. Demographers also failed to anticipate that immigration would accelerate. To keep up with demand, the state of California (which had been closing schools in the late 1970s) must build a classroom every day for the next seven years.
Sulfur Contents of Spiders and Insects in Desert Riparian Habitat

Sulfur is an essential element in plants and animals. I measured amounts of sulfur in 4 families of spiders and 22 families of insects collected from created riparian habitat next to the Colorado River in western Arizona. Relation between sulfur mass and body dry-mass, S µg = 7.2 (body mg), in spiders and insects combined was not allometric. Sulfur concentration, as a mean percentage of body dry-mass, was higher in spiders (1.4%) than in insects (0.65%). Coleoptera contained the lowest sulfur concentration (0.35%) among orders. Sulfur contents also varied among arthropod families but not genera. Similar concentrations of sulfur were measured in insect herbivores (0.64%) and predators (0.73%). Taurine, an amino acid-like compound found in spider venom and silk, likely increased sulfur contents in spiders. Variation in sulfur content among riparian spiders and insects, resulting from concentrations of compounds including taurine, the amino acids methionine and cysteine, and their metabolites, may influence foraging by insectivorous birds.
Effect of Highly Strained Superlattices on the Threading Dislocation Behavior in GaAs Grown on Silicon

GaAs films grown on silicon substrates suffer from a high density of threading dislocations. One technique to reduce these dislocations is the use of strained layered superlattices (SLS) InGaAs-GaAsP as buffer. We found that the effectiveness and interactions of the SLS with the threading dislocations strongly depend on the dislocation type and the strain field of the superlattices. Because of the high dislocation density in GaAs/Si, the SLS acts as a medium for dislocation interactions and annihilations. Highly strained SLS (∼ 2%) is required to bend the dislocations and keep them bent at the strained interfaces. We found that the combination between annealing and a highly strained superlattice coupled with selective epitaxy is an effective approach to reduce the threading dislocations in GaAs grown on Si. Transmission electron microscopy is used to study these effects.
A Musculoskeletal Model of the Equine Forelimb for Determining Surface Stresses and Strains in the Humerus—Part II. Experimental Testing and Model Validation

The first objective of this study was to experimentally determine surface bone strain magnitudes and directions at the donor site for bone grafts, the site predisposed to stress fracture, the medial and cranial aspects of the transverse cross section corresponding to the stress fracture site, and the middle of the diaphysis of the humerus of a simplified in vitro laboratory preparation. The second objective was to determine whether computing strains solely in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the humerus in the mathematical model was inherently limited by comparing the strains measured along the longitudinal axis of the bone to the principal strain magnitudes and directions. The final objective was to determine whether the mathematical model formulated in Part I [Pollock, 2008, ASME J. Biomech. Eng., 130, p. 041006] is valid for determining the bone surface strains at the various locations on the humerus where experimentally measured longitudinal strains are comparable to principal strains. Triple rosette strain gauges were applied at four locations circumferentially on each of two cross sections of interest using a simplified in vitro laboratory preparation. The muscles included the biceps brachii muscle in addition to loaded shoulder muscles that were predicted active by the mathematical model. Strains from the middle grid of each rosette, aligned along the longitudinal axis of the humerus, were compared with calculated principal strain magnitudes and directions. The results indicated that calculating strains solely in the direction of the longitudinal axis is appropriate at six of eight locations. At the cranial and medial aspects of the middle of the diaphysis, the average minimum principal strain was not comparable to the average experimental longitudinal strain. Further analysis at the remaining six locations indicated that the mathematical model formulated in Part I predicts strains within ±2 standard deviations of experimental strains at four of these locations and predicts negligible strains at the remaining two locations, which is consistent with experimental strains. Experimentally determined longitudinal strains at the middle of the diaphysis of the humerus indicate that tensile strains occur at the cranial aspect and compressive strains occur at the caudal aspect while the horse is standing, which is useful for fracture fixation.
The 17 Å structure of the 420 kDa lobster clottable protein by single particle reconstruction from cryoelectron micrographs

Crustaceans form clots by the rapid crosslinking of a hemolymph clottable protein (CP) to form long, branched polymers. Clotting limits hemolymph loss from wounds as well as playing a part in the innate immune response. CP is a 420 kDa homodimer with a large quantity of associated lipid, primarily the carotenoid pigment astaxanthin. The three-dimensional structure of CP from the lobster Panulirus interruptus has been determined to 17 A resolution by single particle reconstruction from electron micrographs of the protein embedded in vitreous ice. The most prominent feature of this structure is a large cavity spanning the length of the molecule, which is the likely lipid binding pocket. The EM structure has been used in a low resolution molecular replacement search with data from orthorhombic CP crystals, and a solution is presented which describes the crystal packing.
Procedural justice and organizational staffing: a tale of two paradigms

Abstract This paper proposes that greater attention to procedural fairness can enhance the overall effectiveness of human resource assessment practices. Recent work on the attributes of fair assessment tests is examined. Following this review, we discuss test-taker reactions to a variety of widely used instruments and procedures. Some selection techniques that show acceptable levels of statistical validity are often seen as violating norms of social justice. To alleviate this problem, suggestions for increasing justice are offered. These include (a) substituting a test that is perceived to be unfair with one that is viewed as fair, (b) modifying an existing test to improve fairness perceptions, (c) explaining to or educating the public as to the validity of existing selection devices, and (d) developing composite assessment technologies through various combination strategies.
Introduction to Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is not a brand new type of computing, but it is emerging in the mainstream as a powerful and important force of change in the way we manage information and consume and provide information services. This is an introduction to the landscape of cloud computing, the characteristics by which it is defined, and its strengths and its weaknesses. This is also an initial foray into the life of the cloud for medical libraries, a foray that will be completed in follow-up columns.
Enduring Bonds Politics and Life Outside Freedom as Autonomy

This essay questions assumptions about agency expressed in prevailing concepts of freedom understood as autonomy. It also turns to contexts of bondedness, where one endures and negotiates one’s emb...
Nanoplasmonic lenses for bacteria sorting (Presentation Recording)

We demonstrate that patches of two dimensional arrays of circular plasmonic nanoholes patterned on gold-titanium thin film enables subwavelength focusing of visible light in far field region. Efficient coupling of the light with the excited surface plasmon at metal dielectric interface results in strong light transmission. As a result, surface plasmon plays an important role in the far field focusing behavior of the nanohole-aperture patches device. Furthermore, the focal length of the focused beam was found to be predominantly dependent on the overall size of the patch, which is in good agreement with that calculated by Rayleigh-Sommerfield integral formula. The focused light beam can be utilized to separate bio-particles in the dynamic range from 0.1 μm to 1 μm through mainly overcoming the drag force induced by fluid flow. In our proposed model, focused light generated by our plasmonic lenses will push the larger bio-particles in size back to the source of fluid flow and allow the smaller particles to move towards the central aperture of the patch. Such a new kind of plasmonic lenses open up possibility of sorting bacterium-like particles with plasmonic nanolenses, and also represent a promising tool in the field of virology. © (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Genetic Conditions Associated with Congenital Adrenocortical Insufficiency or Glucocorticoid and/or Mineralocorticoid Resistance

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the genetic defects associated with congenital adrenocortical insufficiency (CAI) or glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid resistance. The genetic defects that cause CAI and treatment options and disorders associated with CAI are discussed. These disorders include, CAI and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis defects, CAI associated primary adrenocortical developmental defects, CAI associated with adrenal calcifications or hemorrhage and CAI associated with metabolic disorders among others. The genetic conditions associated with resistance to glucocorticoids or mineralocorticoids do not affect the development of the adrenal glands but affect its function at a young age. Primary familial or sporadic generalized glucocorticoid resistance is a rare hereditary disorder that is characterized by hypercortisolism and absence of stigmata of Cushing syndrome. The cause of glucocorticoid resistance is defects in the glucocorticoid receptor gene that mediate glucocorticoid actions. Pseudohypoaldosteronism (Type-I) is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder manifesting early in infancy with salt wasting, vomiting and feeding difficulties that lead to severe dehydration and mortality.
Ablation of retinal ciliopathy protein RPGR results in altered photoreceptor ciliary composition.

Cilia regulate several developmental and homeostatic pathways that are critical to survival. Sensory cilia of photoreceptors regulate phototransduction cascade for visual processing. Mutations in the ciliary protein RPGR (retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator) are a prominent cause of severe blindness disorders due to degeneration of mature photoreceptors. However, precise function of RPGR is still unclear. Here we studied the involvement of RPGR in ciliary trafficking by analyzing the composition of photoreceptor sensory cilia (PSC) in Rpgrko retina. Using tandem mass spectrometry analysis followed by immunoblotting, we detected few alterations in levels of proteins involved in proteasomal function and vesicular trafficking in Rpgrko PSC, prior to onset of degeneration. We also found alterations in the levels of high molecular weight soluble proteins in Rpgrko PSC. Our data indicate RPGR regulates entry or retention of soluble proteins in photoreceptor cilia but spares the trafficking of key structural and phototransduction-associated proteins. Given a frequent occurrence of RPGR mutations in severe photoreceptor degeneration due to ciliary disorders, our results provide insights into pathways resulting in altered mature cilia function in ciliopathies.
Not Without a Trace: Resilience and Remembering among Bosnian Refugees (Commentary on “A Family Survives Genocide”)

(1997). Not Without a Trace: Resilience and Remembering among Bosnian Refugees (Commentary on “A Family Survives Genocide”) Psychiatry: Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 40-43.
Poly(3-hexylthiophene) End-Functionalization via Quenching Resulting in Heteroatom-Bond Formation

End-functionalized poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) has contributed to continued advancements in conjugated polymer applications, especially within organic electronics. P3HT synthesized using Kumada catalyst-transfer polymerization (KCTP) has many favourable attributes such as controlled molecular weight, high regioregularity, and narrow dispersity. With the addition of reactive end-groups, P3HT plays an important role in advancing the development of hybrid materials and preparation of block copolymers. Exploring methods of end-functionalization that result in heteroatom-bond formation, giving a non-carbon atom bonded to the terminal thiophene, could help control and understand the p–n junction of hybrid materials. This research highlight focuses on the development of a novel and facile way of end-functionalizing P3HT with chalcogens.
Age-related macular degeneration: a guide for the primary care physician.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual loss in Americans over the age of 50 years. AMD often results in profound disability due to the disease destroying the macula, the part of the retina responsible for central visual acuity and color vision. Risk factors for AMD include age greater than 50, female gender, Caucasian race, cigarette smoking, and family history of AMD. African Americans and other racial or ethnic groups can be affected by AMD. Although there is no cure for AMD, early diagnosis and treatment may slow disease progression and minimize irreversible visual dysfunction. Individuals suffering from central vision loss from AMD often retain peripheral vision. These affected individuals can benefit from low vision therapy, visual rehabilitation, or both to maintain or enhance activities of daily living
Beyond the politics of reception: Jacques Rancière and the politics of art

Jacques Ranciere’s work has become a major reference point for discussions of art and politics. However, while Ranciere’s negative theses (about what “political art” is not) are becoming widespread and well understood, his positive thesis is still poorly understood, owing partly to Ranciere’s own formulation of the issue. I first clarify Ranciere’s account of the links between politics and art. I then explore a gap in this account; Ranciere has stuck too closely to a politics of art’s reception. I argue for a politics of art production, which would expand the possible engagement between politics and art.
Algorithms in the diagnosis and management of exotic diseases. I. Schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis, a chronic helminth infection afflicting more than 200 million people in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America, has become a significant problem in the continental United States. Although the lack of suitable snail intermediate hosts precludes the transmission of schistosomiasis in this country, it has been estimated that one-tenth of the 1.5 million resident Puerto Rican population had this chronic infection when they entered the country [1]. In addition, some 100,000 individuals from other areas of the world that are endemic for schistosomiasis (principally the Philippines, but also the West Indies, Africa, and Brazil) migrate to America each year. For example, a recent survey among Yemeni agricultural workers in the San Joaquin Valley of California revealed that 56% were infected with Schistosoma mansoni [2]. Two other factors have also contributed to the presence of infected individuals in the United States: international jet travel, which has led to exposure of increasing numbers of tourists and businessmen, and the return of American troops from their deployment in endemic areas of the world. Thus the number of infected persons in the continental United States has become and will continue to be a diagnostic and therapeutic problem with which the American physician should be more familiar.
Interference phenomenon in animal infections with rickettsiae of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Summary1. Eighty to 90% of the guinea pigs infected intraperitoneally with a strain of low virulence of R. rickettsii were protected against a simultaneous injection of a highly virulent strain of spotted fever, or boutonneuse fever, provided the low virulent strain was given in about 10 to 30 times the concentration of the virulent strain. 2. Infection with rickettsiae of Q fever, scrub typhus, endemic typhus, and epidemic typhus protected guinea pigs against a virulent strain of spotted fever under the above conditions. 3. Columbian ground squirrels, field mice (Microtus), and cottontail rabbits were infected by exposure to many D. andersoni containing a low virulent strain of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and a few D. andersoni containing a highly virulent strain. Uninfected ticks fed upon these animals were found to contain only the low virulent strain.
PMP22 and its related diseases

Mutations in human genes may cause peripheral neuropathies,which are collectively called as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease(CMT) . CMT affects one in 2 500 people,and is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders. There are now over 53 chromosomal loci and 35 specific genes that are linked to different types of CMT. Peripheral myelin protein-22(PMP22) was discovered to be causal gene for the largest group of patients with CMT. The biology of PMP22 and the pathophysiology of its related diseases,were reviewed here.
Admittance Comprehensive Assessment of Large Customers' Direct Power Purchase Based on Matter-Element Extension Model

At present,direct power purchase of large customer is still in the pilot phase,and it is an important move of electric power market reform.In order to normalize the transaction between large customer and power plant,as well as open the direct power purchase market orderly.it is necessary to establish a complete admittance mechanism for large customers' direct power purchase.Therefore,an admittance assessment indicator system of large customers' direct power purchase is set up under the consideration of existing policy,then assess the admittance of large customers with matter-element extension model,so as to rank the large customers' admittance priority.The analysis results show that the matter-element extension based assessment model is helpful for priority partition of large customers' admittance,and also promote the progress of direct power purchase for large;customer.
Detection of contamination of Enterotoxin of Staphylococcus Aureus in Foods

Objective To understand the contamination status of food products with Staphylococcus aureus in Huizhou,to detect the enterotoxin-producing property and drug resistance of Staphylococcus aureus isolated, and to provide reference forformulation of HACCP(Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point). Methods Three hundred and one samples of 6 kinds offood were collected randomly from major shopping malls, supermarkets, farmers' markets, hotels and other places, andStaphylococcus aureus was detected according to the method of GB/T 4789.10-2008, and then the entertoxins produced bythe positive strains were detected and drug resistance of the positive strains were tested. Results Twenty-two Staphylococcusaureus strains were isolated from 361 samples occupied 6.09%.The positive rate of the bean products, cold food was 30% and10.4%, respectively, and Staphylococcus aureus was not isolated from puffed food and infant food. The detection rate ofStaphylococcus aureus in the food collected from farmers' markets was the highest(11.1%).Enterotoxin was detected from the22 Staphylococcus aureus strains and 6 were positive with a positive rate of 46.15%.Six strains showed multiple drug resistanceto oxacillin, penicillin G, amoxicillin, erythromycin and azithromycin. Conclusion Some foods were contaminated withStaphylococcus aureus, especially bean products and cold food.Foodborne Staphylococcus aureus has reltively high capabilityof producing enterotoxin and resistant to a variety of drugs. Selection of antibiotics for clinical treatment should be based on theresults of drug sensitive test in vitro.
The use of video-conferencing as a mechanism to facilitate and assess project-based learning

The focus of my thesis work is on the development and testing of an authentic assessment program to be used with Project-Based learning (PjBL). The student projects utilized in this study are conducted by high school students working over extended periods of time (minimum, one semester) to select and solve scientific or mathematical problems. The student subjects are high school seniors who are involved in a computational science class in which the completion of the project(s) is a primary component of the curriculum. The subjects are from two distinctly different locations in Missouri. The first site is located in a small agriculturally based town of northwestern Missouri. Site two is an upper-middle class suburban community located just outside Kansas City. Classes from both sites are taught by a team of two experienced (math and science) teachers and have a similar levels of computer technology available to facilitate the projects. The available technology includes direct internet access within the classroom, video conferencing capabilities, multiple (> 10) Macintosh, Windows and UNIX computers, and various software programs. Both sites are also part of NSF funded research program which provides them with technical support from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
5.2 Lipid Bilayer Structure

Biological membranes are complex mixtures of various molecular species, including many kinds of lipids and proteins. The goal of physical studies of biomembranes is to use physical principles derived from thermodynamics to describe how molecular interactions govern biological functions.
Family Physicians Are Well-Suited to Prescribe Isotretinoin.

A few minutes (and a few clicks on the computer) can open up rewarding therapeutic opportunities when registering with iPledge to prescribe isotretinoin.
Development and Evaluation of a Lactation Rotation for a Pediatric Residency Program.

Background:The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians promote and help manage breastfeeding. However, research has shown that they are not adequately prepared. To address this gap, a 2-week mandatory lactation rotation program was developed for first-year pediatric residents.Research aim:The aim of the study was to provide a lactation education program and to measure the residents’ knowledge and perceived confidence regarding breastfeeding.Methods:This longitudinal self-report pretest/posttest study was conducted with a convenience sample of 45 first-year pediatric residents. Each resident spent a minimum of 50 hours with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. To measure breastfeeding knowledge and clinical confidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Breastfeeding Residency Curriculum pretest was used 4 times: first and last day of the rotation and at 6 and 12 months postrotation.Results:Test and confidence scores were evaluated. Statistically significant differen...
Evaluation of serotypes 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides in protection against Staphylococcus aureus in murine models of infection

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of nosocomial and community-acquired infections, including soft tissue and skin infections and bacteremia. However, efforts to develop an effective vaccine against S. aureus infections have not been successful. We evaluated serotypes 5 and 8 capsule polysaccharides (CP) CRM197 conjugates as vaccine candidates in murine models of bacteremia, lethal sepsis, and skin infection. The conjugate vaccines elicited a good antibody response, and active immunization of CP5-CRM or CP8-CRM conjugates protected against staphylococcal bacteremia. In the skin infection model, CP8-CRM but not CP5-CRM protected against dermonecrosis, and CP8-CRM immunization significantly decreased the bacterial burden in the lesion. However, neither CP5-CRM nor CP8-CRM protected against mortality in the lethal sepsis model. The results indicate the capsular vaccines elicit protection against some, but not all, aspects of staphylococcal infection.
A Multi-way Multi-task Learning Approach for Multinomial Logistic Regression*. An Application in Joint Prediction of Appointment Miss-opportunities across Multiple Clinics.

Objectives: Whether they have been engineered for it or not, most healthcare systems experience a variety of unexpected events such as appointment miss-opportunities that can have significant impact on their revenue, cost and resource utilization. In this paper, a multi-way multi-task learning model based on multinomial logistic regression is proposed to jointly predict the occurrence of different types of miss-opportunities at multiple clinics. Methods: An extension of L1 / L2 regularization is proposed to enable transfer of information among various types of miss-opportunities as well as different clinics. A proximal algorithm is developed to transform the convex but non-smooth likelihood function of the multi-way multi-task learning model into a convex and smooth optimization problem solvable using gradient descent algorithm. Results: A dataset of real attendance records of patients at four different clinics of a VA medical center is used to verify the performance of the proposed multi-task learning approach. Additionally, a simulation study, investigating more general data situations is provided to highlight the specific aspects of the proposed approach. Various individual and integrated multinomial logistic regression models with/without LASSO penalty along with a number of other common classification algorithms are fitted and compared against the proposed multi-way multi-task learning approach. Fivefold cross validation is used to estimate comparing models parameters and their predictive accuracy. The multi-way multi-task learning framework enables the proposed approach to achieve a considerable rate of parameter shrinkage and superior prediction accuracy across various types of miss-opportunities and clinics. Conclusions: The proposed approach provides an integrated structure to effectively transfer knowledge among different miss-opportunities and clinics to reduce model size, increase estimation efficacy, and more importantly improve predictions results. The proposed framework can be effectively applied to medical centers with multiple clinics, especially those suffering from information scarcity on some type of disruptions and/or clinics.
Commentary on Nawar

I offer an interpretation of the Stoic “peculiar qualification” (ἰδία ποιότης) which provides for the identity of individuals over time and the distinguishability of discrete individuals. This interpretation is similar to but not the same as one of the strands in Lewis’s interpretation as presented by Nawar. I suggest that the “peculiar qualification”—what makes the individual be the individual—is the particular ἕξις or φύσις or ψυχή that is in an individual. That is, the peculiar quality is not the kind of πνeῦμα an entity has, nor some further qualification or disposition of the kind of πνeῦμα that it has, such as acquired characteristics of the tenor or nature or soul in its particular lived history, but simply the discrete soul or nature or tenor, extended in its own particular spatial location. The so-called peculiar quality is that portion of πνeῦμα that is proper to that individual.
High performance supercomputing on a budget

This paper describes the inspiration, development, and evolution of a supercomputing project at Humboldt State University. It is an open collaborative project between faculty and students that could serve as a test case for budget supercomputing in education. Initially a small cluster was built to run particle simulations for plasma physics as part of a summer REU. Later, after realizing the potential of processing with graphics cards, a larger more capable machine was designed and built with supercomputing capabilities. The availability of this high performance hardware on campus continues to inspire student involvement and it is believed that sharing design goals, choices, and benefits will likely help others with their supercomputer projects.
Spenser’s Dragon Fight and the English Queen: The Struggle Over the Elizabethan Settlement

Spenser’s representation of Elizabeth in the dragon fight at the climax of Book I of The Faerie Queene is surprising. On the one hand, the episode allegorizes the Parliamentary struggle of 1559 in remarkable detail, including initial defeats, the impact of marriage talks with Philip II, Elizabeth’s dramatic initiatives at Easter establishing a Protestant Eucharist and humiliating the Catholic bishops, and her ultimate success in enacting and enforcing the settlement. On the other hand, Spenser marginalizes the queen in the figure of Una, sending her to watch and pray from a distance as the Redcrosse Knight defeats the dragon. The most likely explanation seems to be that the poet was seeking to separate the queen from the tactics and the near failure of the campaign.
Linkage of Medicare Records to the Interagency Registry of Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support.

Background The Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) is a United States registry for adults receiving durable United States Food and Drug Administration–approved mechanical circulatory support devices (MCSDs). We merged INTERMACS records with Medicare claims to investigate the uncertainty of penetrance of Medicare beneficiaries within INTERMACS. Methods INTERMACS records and Medicare claims (January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2013) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) were linked using a deterministic matching methodology. Results There was annual growth of CMS and INTERMACS centers performing durable MCSD implants among adults from 2008 through 2013 (54% and 87% increase, respectively). The number of CMS centers outnumbered INTERMACS centers throughout all years, with the 68% to 88% of CMS centers being represented in INTERMACS. Although annual patient volume was greatest for INTERMACS, the absolute number of patients significantly increased annually across both data sets from 2008 through 2013 (149% increase in CMS; 268% increase in INTERMACS). As a proportion of all INTERMACS registrants, Medicare beneficiary representation grew from 30% in 2008 to a high of 48% in 2010 and remained stable thereafter. Representation within INTERMACS of MCSDs implanted in Medicare beneficiaries more than doubled, from 36% in 2008 to 77% in 2013. Conclusions Using a merged data set of MCSDs implanted between 2008 and 2013, we report that the vast majority of CMS centers and Medicare beneficiaries receiving MCSDs are increasingly captured in INTERMACS. Accordingly, contemporary studies in INTERMACS are relevant and generalizable to the Medicare population.
The DARK Side of Total Synthesis: Strategies and Tactics in Psychoactive Drug Production.

Humankind has used and abused psychoactive drugs for millennia. Formally, a psychoactive drug is any agent that alters cognition and mood. The term “psychotropic drug” is neutral and describes the entire class of substrates, licit and illicit, of interest to governmental drug policy. While these drugs are prescribed for issues ranging from pain management to anxiety, they are also used recreationally. In fact, the current opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history. While the topic is highly politicized with racial, gender, and socioeconomic elements, there is no denying the toll drug mis- and overuse is taking on this country. Overdose, fueled by opioids, is the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years of age, killing ca. 64,000 people in 2016. From a chemistry standpoint, the question is in what ways, if any, did organic chemists contribute to this problem? In this targeted review, we provide brief historical accounts of the main classes of psychoactive drugs and discuss ...
Floridian heatwaves and extreme precipitation: future climate projections

Observational analysis and climate modeling efforts concur that the frequency, intensity, and duration of heatwaves will increase as the Earth’s mean climate shifts towards warmer temperatures. While the impacts and mechanisms of heatwaves have been well explored, extreme temperatures over Florida are generally understudied. This paper sheds light on Floridian heatwaves by exploring 13 years of daily data from surface observations and high-resolution WRF climate simulations for the same timeframe. The characteristics of the current and future heatwaves under the RCP8.5 high emissions scenario for 2070–2099 were then investigated. Results show a tripling in the frequency, and greater than a sixfold increase in the mean duration of heatwaves over Florida when the current standard of heatwaves was used. The intensity of heatwaves also increased by 4–6 °C due to the combined effects of rising mean temperatures and a 1–2 °C increase attributed to the flattening of the temperature distribution. Since Florida’s atmospheric boundary layer is rich in moisture and heatwaves could further increase the moisture content in the lower troposphere, the relationship between heatwaves and extreme precipitation was also explored in both the current and future climate. As expected, rainfall during a heatwave event was anomalously low, but it quickly recovered to normal within 3 days after the passage of a heatwave. Finally, the late 21st-century climate could witness a slight decrease in the mean precipitation over Florida, accompanied by heavier heatwave-associated extreme precipitation events over central and southern Florida.
Life Course Adversity and Prior Miscarriage in a Pregnancy Cohort.

Abstract Background Prior studies indicate associations between preconception adversities and risk of miscarriage, but few have considered type (e.g., financial, substance use, abuse) or timing (e.g., childhood, adulthood) of adversities. We examined relationships between life course adversities in multiple domains and probability of miscarriage. Methods Data came from women with at least one previous pregnancy in the Pregnancy Outcomes and Community Health (1998–2004) study (n = 2,106). Life course adversities in domains of abuse/witnessing violence, loss of someone close, economic hardship, and substance abuse were assessed via questionnaire and categorized as occurring during childhood only, adulthood only, both childhood and adulthood, or neither. We also calculated a cumulative adversity score. We used logistic regression models to estimate associations between life course adversity measures and the probability of miscarriage, and examined effect modification by race/ethnicity and maternal education. All models were adjusted for maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, and marital status. Results The odds of miscarriage were higher among women experiencing legal adversities during both childhood and adulthood (odds ratio [OR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3–2.8) compared with women not experiencing legal adversities, and higher among women experiencing substance use adversities in childhood only (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1–1.7) compared with women not experiencing substance use adversities. Each additional adversity was marginally significantly associated with a 10% increase in odds of preterm birth (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0–1.1). Among women with only one prior miscarriage, no adversity measures were associated with miscarriage. Conclusions Exposure to adversity in certain domains and across the life course modestly increased the odds of miscarriage.
Zebrafish as a Model for Toxicological Perturbation of Yolk and Nutrition in the Early Embryo

Developmental toxicity assessments often focus on structural outcomes and overlook subtle metabolic differences which occur during the early embryonic period. Deviant embryonic nutrition can result in later-life disease, including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Prior to placenta-mediated nutrient exchange, the human embryo requires maternally supplied nutritional substrates for growth, called yolk. Here, we compare the biology of the human and zebrafish yolk and review examples of toxicant-mediated perturbation of yolk defects, composition, and utilization. Zebrafish embryos, like human embryos, have a protruding yolk sac that serves as a nutritional cache. Aberrant yolk morphology is a common qualitative finding in fish embryotoxicity studies, but quantitative assessment and characterization provides an opportunity to uncover mechanistic targets of toxicant effects on embryonic nutrition. The zebrafish and the study of its yolk sac is an excellent model for uncovering toxicant disruptions to early embryonic nutrition and has potential to discover mechanistic insights into the developmental origins of health and disease.
Removing the public from public housing: Public–private redevelopment of the Ellen Wilson Dwellings in Washington, DC

ABSTRACTIn the United States, urban regimes have long brought together public and private actors to provide public services. Given this, how do public–private partnerships (PPPs) change public housing? To answer this question, I examine a public housing project: the Ellen Wilson Dwellings in Washington, DC. In 1993, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded one of the first federal HOPE VI grants to a PPP to demolish the Ellen Wilson Dwellings and construct the mixed-income Townhomes on Capitol Hill in its place. The redevelopment that was supposed to help the residents of the Ellen Wilson Dwellings, in fact, permanently displaced nearly every one of them. I argue that the PPP, within the context of the 1990s dismantling of the state’s democratic accountability and welfare functions, allowed business groups and homeowners to stage a coup and take control of the Ellen Wilson Dwellings.
Expertise Drift in Referral Networks

\emphLearning-to-refer is a challenge in expert referral networks, wherein Active Learning helps experts (agents) estimate the skills of other connected experts for different categories of tasks that the initial expert cannot solve and therefore must seek referral to experts with more appropriate expertise. Prior research has investigated different reinforcement action selection algorithms to assess viability of the learning setting both with uninformative priors and with partially available noisy priors, where experts are allowed to advertise a subset of their skills to their colleagues. Prior to this work, time-varying expertise drift (e.g., experts learning with experience) has not been considered though it is an aspect that may often arise in practice. This paper addresses the challenge of referral learning with time-varying expertise, proposing \textttHybrid, a novel combination of \textttOptimistic Thompson Sampling, \textttPessimistic Thompson Sampling and Distributed Interval Estimation Learning (\textttDIEL ). In our extensive empirical evaluation, considering both biased and unbiased drift, the proposed algorithm outperforms the previous state-of-the-art (\textttDIEL ) and approaches the drift-aware oracle upper bound.
Serious Learning in Serious Games

Serious Games are promising tools for fostering learning and for transforming players’ behavior and perspectives on particular topics. But can serious games satisfy these high expectations on an educational, learning theoretical, and empirical level? This chapter investigates different learning levels in serious games and follows the question, how serious learning in serious games proceeds. Based on Gregory Bateson’s concept of learning, three essential learning processes in games are compared and examples of serious games are analyzed critically. The main focus hereby lies on transformative, deep and meaningful learning processes that have a serious impact on players’ perspectives. Furthermore the educational concept of transformative learning is applied to the field of serious games, and their potential and limits for game design and education are discussed.
Controversy in Organ Preservation

SUMMARY Renal preservation has contributed to improvements in human cadaver kidney transplantation in terms of viability testing and logistics. Unfortunately, the antigenicity of a kidney has not been reduced by our present preservation methods; consequently, immunologic problems in cadaver kidney transplantation still remain. Simple cold storage is an acceptable method for kidneys subjected to minimal warm ischemia. It can be used where anticipated storage time will not exceed 10 to 15 hours. Pulsatile or nonpulsatile machine perfusion will give better results especially when kidneys have sustained up to 60 minutes warm ischemia. Where there is also a need for storage time longer than 15 hours, perfusion should be used. Cryoprecipitated millipore-filtered plasma remains the most commonly used perfusate. Preservation really begins before the harvesting. Present preservation techniques cannot revive a dying kidney. No single test will determine the degree of viability of a kidney. A systematic multidisciplinary effort is needed to augment our understanding and knowledge about the effect of hypothermia on organs. Hopefully these efforts will result in the development of an organ bank whereby many more kidneys will be available for transplantation.
Signal Production and Amplification in Birds

Studies of avian vocal mechanisms provide new insights into an important form of animal communication that has both striking parallels with and important differences from various aspects of human speech production. Birdsong is produced in a distinctive vocal organ, the syrinx, which in some groups contains two independently controlled sound generators. This article summarizes the current understanding of the mechanisms by which birds regulate the temporal and spectral characteristics of their vocal signals, including the role of sensory feedback, lateralization of neural function, and modulation of song by vocal tract filter. Together, these data suggest production constraints have strongly influenced the motor strategies for achieving vocal diversity.
Isoleucine requirement of growing (25 to 45 kg) pigs

Three pig bioassays and two digestibility trials were conducted to determine the true digestible Ile requirement for maximal weight gain and minimal plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) of growing (25 to 45 kg) pigs. In Exp. 1, an Ile-deficient basal diet was developed and confirmed to be markedly deficient in Ile, yet fully efficacious when fortified with surfeit Ile. This diet contained corn, red blood cells, and soybean meal as Ile sources, and was analyzed to contain 15.5% crude protein, 0.34% Ile, and 0.95% lysine; metabolizable energy was calculated to be 3,430 kcal/kg. True digestibility of Ile in the basal diet was 89% based on digestibility trials in ileal-cannulated pigs and cecectomized roosters. The first growth trial (Exp. 2) involved six dose levels of true digestible Ile (0.38 to 0.58%), which resulted in a quadratic (P < 0.02) response in weight gain by growing pigs over a 21-d period. The weight-gain data were fitted to both a single-slope broken line and a quadratic fit, and when the quadratic response curve was superimposed on the broken line, the point at which the quadratic curve first intersected the plateau of the broken line occurred at 0.50% true digestible Ile. This (objective) requirement estimate was similar to that determined by taking 90% of the upper asymptote of the quadratic fitted line. In Exp. 3, a replicated 5 x 5 Latin square, five barrows (square 1) and five gilts (square 2) together with five 4-d feeding periods and five levels of true digestible Ile were utilized. A linear (P < 0.01) decrease in PUN occurred as Ile was incremented, with an apparent plateau occurring at 0.50% true digestible Ile. The results of these experiments suggest that the true digestible Ile requirement of grower (25 to 45 kg) pigs is 0.50% of the diet, or 1.46 g/Mcal of metabolizable energy, somewhat higher than the 1.38 g/Mcal metabolizable energy estimated by the 1998 National Research Council Subcommittee on Swine Nutrition.
Public Health Experiences From Interwar Croatia (Yugoslavia) and Making Western Medicine in the 1930s China

To gain control and domination over a particular territory, medicine was often used as a tool for promoting different interests. Using the activities of the League of Nations Health Organization and the Rockefeller Foundation on the territory of China in 1930s, this paper analyses the interconnection of the international and local factors in the transformation of the traditional Chinese milieu to suit the new and trendy public health projects. These activities were conducted not only to improve the public health conditions in the country, but also to introduce the Chinese public health to the processes of internationalization and standardization to the west oriented type of medicine and medical education. Initiated processes necessarily interfered with the political influences, economical interests and cultural environment as well as with military actions in this very turbulent time of Chinese history. Public health activities were carried out by the group of international experts. Among them the main position took two Croatian physicians: Andrija Stampar (one of the founders of the World Health Organisation later) and Berislav Borcic (a director of the School of Public Health in Zagreb). On the basis of correspondence between these two physicians, as well as the travel diary of Andrija Stampar, this essay presents some less known details about the situation in China and the interlacing between politics and medicine.