cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Paternal antigen-bearing cells transferred during insemination do not stimulate anti-paternal CD8+ T cells: role of estradiol in locally inhibiting CD8+ T cell responses

Maternal immunological tolerance of the semiallogeneic fetus involves several overlapping mechanisms to balance maternal immunity and fetal development. Anti-paternal CD8+ T cells are suppressed during pregnancy in some but not all mouse models. Since semen has been shown to mediate immune modulation, we tested whether exposure to paternal Ag during insemination activated or tolerized anti-paternal CD8+ T cells. The uterine lumen of mated female mice contained male MHC I+ cells that stimulated effector, but not naive, CD8+ T cells ex vivo. Maternal MHC class I+ myeloid cells fluxed into the uterine lumen in response to mating and cross-presented male H-Y Ag to effector, but not naive, CD8+ T cells ex vivo. However, neither unprimed nor previously primed TCR-transgenic CD8+ T cells specific for either paternal MHC I or H-Y Ag proliferated in vivo after mating. These T cells subsequently responded normally to i.p. challenge, implicating ignorance rather than anergy as the main reason for the lack of response. CD8+ T cells responded to either peptide Ag or male cells delivered intravaginally in ovariectomized mice, but this response was inhibited by systemic estradiol (inducing an estrus-like state). Subcutaneous Ag induced responses in both cases. Allogeneic dendritic cells did not induce responses intravaginally even in ovariectomized mice in the absence of estradiol. These results suggest that inhibition of antiallogeneic responses is restricted both locally to the reproductive tract and temporally to the estrous phase of the menstrual cycle, potentially decreasing the risk of maternal immunization against paternal Ags during insemination.
Autonomous navigation using an adaptive hierarchy of multiple fuzzy-behaviors

Adaptive behavioral capabilities are necessary for robust mobile robot navigation in non-engineered environments. Robust behavior requires that uncertainty be accommodated in the robot control system, especially when autonomy is desired. Fuzzy logic control technology enables development of controllers which can provide the necessary computational intelligence in real-time. This paper presents the incorporation of fuzzy logic, into the framework of behavior-based control. An architecture for hierarchical behavior control is presented in which control decisions result from a consensus of behavioral recommendations. Multiple fuzzy-behavior coordination is discussed and applied to autonomous navigation without explicit maps. Performance and robustness is demonstrated by implementation on a mobile robot with significant mechanical imperfections.
Pharmacomechanical thrombectomy and catheter-directed thrombolysis of acute lower extremity deep venous thrombosis in a 9-year-old boy with inferior vena cava atresia

Lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is uncommon in the pediatric population, but it can be associated with severe symptoms and potential long-term morbidity secondary to post-thrombotic sy...
Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering with Ag Nanoparticles Optically Trapped by a Photonic Crystal Cavity

We demonstrate a reusable and reconfigurable surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platform by optically trapping Ag nanoparticles with a photonic crystal cavity integrated with a microfluidic chip. High-performance SERS is performed in a very reproducible manner, owing to the fact that Ag aggregates are produced by optical trapping in a controllable process that is monitored in real-time by the cavity resonance shift that occurs with the trapping of each additional nanoparticle.
Measuring current profiles on a moored buoy through an acoustic window

The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) operates and maintains a network of over one hundred data buoys that provide real time meteorological and oceanographie data to the National Weather Service (NWS) for use in forecast and prediction models. Traditional measurements have included wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, air temperature and humidity, sea surface temperature and waves. Initiatives through the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) funded the enhancement of these platforms to include current profiles and salinity measurements. Early efforts at integrating the Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) into the buoy systems through the use of an in-line mooring cage yielded intermittent performance, with the majority of the failures being attributed to mechanical abrasion and fatigue of sensor cables across the bridle-mooring interface. Additional failures resulted from severed cables due to fishing gear entanglement and similar issues. These failures resulted in loss of real-time data pending availability of a service vessel and frequently damage to the equipment. Additionally, persistent bio-fouling would often require more frequent overhauling of the ADCP. The end result was poor long-term current profile data availability. To improve operational efficiency and data availability, NDBC applied the concept of an acoustic window to the buoy platform. Acoustic windows are used effectively on research and naval vessels. The window was developed in conjunction with a simultaneous development of an NDBC Standard Buoy which was being designed to streamline the buoy design across the major programs within the organization. Initial concerns with the buoy-mounted acoustic window were the effect of near surface bubbles on data quality and depth attenuation due to the presence of the window. The prototype was developed to determine the operational trade-off between weather-dependent data availability and reduced range of the acoustic window versus the possibility of complete data loss and a vulnerable instrument. The prototype was deployed on an engineering test buoy with an RD Instruments 300 KHz Sentinel This paper evaluates these trade-offs by examining several months of hourly data near Point Conception, Calif. In particular, the effect of sea state, wind speed, concentration of backscatters and buoy motion on data quality will be explored. The effective range of the ADCP in this new configuration is determined and compared to ranges determined from past deployments and configurations. Additionally, the design details of the acoustic well will be presented and discussed, including acoustic well-specific test procedures.
Wave propagation in dissipative materials

The laws of wave propagation cast light upon the nature of material response by analysis. They show how the material reacts, locally and instantaneously, to a small change or impulse in a tiny region. To compose the small effects into a motion of the body as a whole is a much harder problem even in the simplest of theories, a problem generally too hard to solve, yet we gain insight and assurance by taking the preliminary step even though we rarely follow through. The term “small” has two distinct meanings: that the disturbance itself is small, and that it is confined to a small region. There are several different approaches to wave motion, resting upon different concepts of smallness. In the commonest of these, the differential equations of motion are shorn of their non-linear terms so as to yield a linear system which may be visualized as an assembly of harmonic oscillators, whose motions may be described in the terms hallowed by centuries of contemplation of the pendulum: frequency, amplitude, wave length, phase shift. It was to this method that HUGONIOT referred when, in 1885, he wrote: “… hypotheses have been imposed upon the equations of hydrodynamics which are disguised, it is true, by the word of approximation, but which singularly alter the value of such results as can be deduced from them.” Hugoniot himself developed in fairly general terms a different concept of wave propagation in which the disturbance is limited, rigorously, to a region of no volume at all, namely, a surface, but the disturbance itself may be of any amount.
Principal decomposition of time-frequency distributions

The authors present a novel time-frequency analysis technique which uses principal components analysis to map any given time-frequency distribution (TFD) of a signal into a set of three 1-D principal decomposition functions. These three functions may then be considered to be 'separable' components of a time-frequency function which they refer to as the principal approximation function for the original TFD. They show how principal decomposition analysis is useful for the enhancement and frequency-tracking of nonstationary harmonic signals. >
Magnamosis III: delivery of a magnetic compression anastomosis device using minimally invasive endoscopic techniques ☆

Abstract Purpose Magnamosis creates a secure sutureless anastomosis through magnetic compression. In this study, we further develop and test delivery devices capable of creating a secure duodeno-colonic anastomosis using available minimally invasive endoscopic techniques. Methods Eight pigs underwent general anesthesia. Colonoscopy was used to deliver 1 magnetic ring to the hepatic flexure. Simultaneously, upper endoscopy delivered the other magnetic ring into the duodenum using a variety of techniques. The 2 magnetic rings were brought into magnetic proximity under laparoscopic guidance. The pigs were recovered and examined daily followed by sacrificing at 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Results The device designed to deliver and release each magnetic ring evolved from using a guide wire and balloon devices to redesigning the magnetic ring casing with a groove to accommodate an endoscopic snare. Laparoscopic visualization assured safe magnet mating of intestinal segments. The duodeno-colonic anastomoses created with the snare yielded widely patent anastomoses. In vitro testing revealed excellent burst pressure. Histology revealed complete healing as early as 1 week. Conclusion We redesigned the magnamosis device to facilitate delivery by endoscopic techniques. The snare technique allows endoscopic positioning and controlled release of the magnetic rings for a secure side-to-side duodeno-colonic anastomosis.
Age and Pay Valence in a Production Field Setting

Abstract The relationship between age and the perceived value of pay (valence) was investigated for a sample of 453 nonunionized female employees at an American apparel plant. Pay valence was determined using a “pay addressing needs” format, suggested by Lawler (1971). For workers up to age 40, pay valence appeared higher for younger workers, but for workers older than 40 pay valence was unrelated to age. The ability of pay to satisfy specific Maslowian needs decreased with age (except with respect to physiological needs) for workers up to age 40.
The Origins of Eukaryotic Gene Structure

Most of the phenotypic diversity that we perceive in the natural world is directly attributable to the peculiar structure of the eukaryotic gene, which harbors numerous embellishments relative to the situation in prokaryotes. The most profound changes include introns that must be spliced out of precursor mRNAs, transcribed but untranslated leader and trailer sequences (untranslated regions), modular regulatory elements that drive patterns of gene expression, and expansive intergenic regions that harbor additional diffuse control mechanisms. Explaining the origins of these features is difficult because they each impose an intrinsic disadvantage by increasing the genic mutation rate to defective alleles. To address these issues, a general hypothesis for the emergence of eukaryotic gene structure is provided here. Extensive information on absolute population sizes, recombination rates, and mutation rates strongly supports the view that eukaryotes have reduced genetic effective population sizes relative to prokaryotes, with especially extreme reductions being the rule in multicellular lineages. The resultant increase in the power of random genetic drift appears to be sufficient to overwhelm the weak mutational disadvantages associated with most novel aspects of the eukaryotic gene, supporting the idea that most such changes are simple outcomes of semi-neutral processes rather than direct products of natural selection. However, by establishing an essentially permanent change in the population-genetic environment permissive to the genome-wide repatterning of gene structure, the eukaryotic condition also promoted a reliable resource from which natural selection could secondarily build novel forms of organismal complexity. Under this hypothesis, arguments based on molecular, cellular, and/or physiological constraints are insufficient to explain the disparities in gene, genomic, and phenotypic complexity between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
A Unified Framework for MR Based Disease Classification

In this paper, we employ an anatomical parameterization of spatial warps to reveal structural differences between medical images of healthy control subjects and disease patients. The warps are represented as structure-specific 9-parameter affine transformations, which constitute a global, non-rigid mapping between the atlas and image coordinates. Our method estimates the structure-specific transformation parameters directly from medical scans by minimizing a Kullback-Leibler divergence measure. The resulting parameters are then input to a linear Support Vector Machine classifier, which assigns individual scans to a specific clinical group. The classifier also enables us to interpret the anatomical differences between groups, as we can visualize the discriminative warp that best differentiates the two groups. We test the accuracy of our approach on a data set consisting of Magnetic Resonance scans from 16 first episode schizophrenics and 17 age-matched healthy control subjects. The data set also contains manual labels for four regions of interest in both hemispheres: superior temporal gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus, and para-hippocampal gyrus. On this small size data set, our approach, which performs classification based on the MR images directly, yields a leave-one-out cross-validation accuracy of up to 90%. This compares favorably with the accuracy achieved by state-of-the-art techniques in schizophrenia MRI research.
An Algebraic Family of Distributed Space-Time Codes for Wireless Relay Networks

This paper studies the design of distributed space-time codes for use in wireless relay networks. Earlier work suggested that a suitable family of codes can be obtained by using linear dispersion codes, provided the basis matrices were unitary. In this paper we construct an explicit algebraic family of such codes where full diversity is proved. The construction uses cyclotomic field theory and yields basis matrices that are indeed unitary. Simulation results show that the codes have better performance than codes designed earlier by ad hoc and random methods, and thus with less encoding complexity.
Eating vegetables first: the use of portion size to increase vegetable intake in preschool children

Background: Serving larger portions of low-energy-dense vegetables at a meal could have beneficial effects on children’s food and energy intakes. Objective: We investigated whether increasing the portion size of vegetables served at the start of a meal leads to increased vegetable consumption and decreased meal energy intake in children. Design: In a crossover design, 3- to 5-y-old children in a daycare center were served a test lunch once a week for 4 wk (n = 51). In 3 of the meals, a first course of raw carrots varied in portion size (30, 60, or 90 g), and no first course was served in the control meal. Children consumed the first course ad libitum over 10 min and then were served a main course of pasta, broccoli, applesauce, and milk, which was also consumed ad libitum. Results: Total vegetable consumption at the meal increased as the portion size of carrots increased (P , 0.0001). Doubling the portion size of the first course increased carrot consumption by 47%, or 12 6 2g( P , 0.0001). Tripling the portion size of carrots, however, did not lead to a further increase in intake (P = 0.61). Meal energy intake was not significantly affected by the amount of carrots served in the first course. The effect of portion size on intake was not significantly influenced by the children’s age or body weight status. Conclusion: Increasing the portion size of a vegetable served as a first course can be an effective strategy for increasing vegetable consumption in preschool children. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91: 1237‐43.
Low-Dose Aspirin for Prevention of Morbidity and Mortality From Preeclampsia: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal death. This systematic review, conducted to support the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, assessed the benefits and harms of low-dose as...
Electronic Tuning of Nickel‐Based Bis(dicarbollide) Redox Shuttles in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Rational design of a new series of boron-functionalized Ni{sup III}/Ni{sup IV}–bis(dicarbollide) clusters results in a family of robust and tunable redox shuttles (see diagram; EDG and EWG denote electron-donating and -withdrawing groups, respectively). This offers a means to rationally control the redox properties in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), leading to exceptionally high open-circuit voltages.
Routine screening for the presence of adulteration in raw materials using automated nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

In an effort to increase the security of the supply chain for raw materials used in the manufacture of human therapeutics, a routine screen to detect the presence of adulteration using fully automated nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been developed and qualified for use in quality control laboratories. The method involves the collection of one-dimensional 1H and 13C spectra, which are subsequently processed to identify and quantitate raw material constituents by comparison to a spectral database. The resulting method is an easy-to-use limit test that can automatically determine the integrity of incoming raw materials. The method is intended to be used in good manufacturing practice production facilities and is suitable for excipients and aqueous soluble raw materials used in biopharmaceutical processes. LAY ABSTRACT: In an effort to increase the security of the supply chain for raw materials used in the manufacture of human therapeutics, a routine screen to detect the presence of adulteration using fully automated nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been developed and qualified for use in quality control laboratories. The method involves the collection of NMR spectra, which are subsequently processed to identify and quantitate raw material constituents by comparison to a spectral database. The resulting method is an easy-to-use limit test that can automatically determine the integrity of incoming raw materials. The method is intended to be used in good manufacturing practice production facilities and is suitable for excipients and aqueous soluble raw materials used in biopharmaceutical processes.
A High-Throughput Multivariate Optimization for the Simultaneous Enantioseparation and Detection of Barbiturates in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography—Mass Spectrometry

The R- and S-configurations of barbiturates display differences in potency and biological activity. In this study, multivariate micellar electrokinetic chromatography-mass spectrometry (MEKC-MS) approach for the simultaneous analysis of three chiral barbiturates (mephobarbital, pentobarbital, and secobarbital) is developed using a polymeric chiral surfactant. After screening 11 amino acid polymeric surfactants, polysodium N-undecenoxycarbonyl-L-isoleucinate (poly-L-SUCIL) was found to be the best chiral selector. The multivariate central composite design (CCD) is used to optimize the chiral resolution, decrease the total analysis time, and improve the ESI-MS signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. In the preliminary set of experiments, the ranges of the factors investigated in the multivariate approaches are determined. Next, the CCD design is conducted to determine the best overall chiral resolution with shortest possible run times. This optimization resulted in simultaneous enantioseparation in less than 32 min of all three barbiturates with 3-5 fold higher sensitivity by MS compared to UV detection. The adequacy of the multivariate model is validated by three replicate experimental runs at the predicted optimum conditions. The predicted results of MEKC-MS are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data for migration times, resolution, and S/N ratio. The optimized method provided good results in terms of linearity and recovery values of chiral barbiturates spiked in human serum after solid-phase extraction procedure.
Cryptochromes mediate rhythmic repression of the glucocorticoid receptor

Mammalian metabolism is highly circadian and major hormonal circuits involving nuclear hormone receptors display interlinked diurnal cycling. However, mechanisms that logically explain the coordination of nuclear hormone receptors and the clock are poorly understood. Here we show that two circadian co-regulators, cryptochromes 1 and 2, interact with the glucocorticoid receptor in a ligand-dependent fashion and globally alter the transcriptional response to glucocorticoids in mouse embryonic fibroblasts: cryptochrome deficiency vastly decreases gene repression and approximately doubles the number of dexamethasone-induced genes, suggesting that cryptochromes broadly oppose glucocorticoid receptor activation and promote repression. In mice, genetic loss of cryptochrome 1 and/or 2 results in glucose intolerance and constitutively high levels of circulating corticosterone, suggesting reduced suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis coupled with increased glucocorticoid transactivation in the liver. Genomically, cryptochromes 1 and 2 associate with a glucocorticoid response element in the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 promoter in a hormone-dependent manner, and dexamethasone-induced transcription of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 gene was strikingly increased in cryptochrome-deficient livers. These results reveal a specific mechanism through which cryptochromes couple the activity of clock and receptor target genes to complex genomic circuits underpinning normal metabolic homeostasis.
List identifies threatened ecosystems

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced on 9 September that it will develop a new Red List of Ecosystems that will identify which ecosystems are vulnerable or endangered. The list, which is modeled on the group's Red List of Threatened Species™, could help to guide conservation activities and influence policy processes such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, according to the group. “We will assess the status of marine, terrestrial, freshwater, and subterranean ecosystems at local, regional, and global levels,” stated Jon Paul Rodriguez, leader of IUCN's Ecosystems Red List Thematic Group. “The assessment can then form the basis for concerted implementation action so that we can manage them sustainably if their risk of collapse is low or restore them if they are threatened and then monitor their recovery.”
Acute p38 MAPK activation decreases force development in ventricular myocytes.

Evidence suggests that p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation influences cardiac function on an acute basis. The characterization and mechanisms by which this occurs were investigat...
An eight MESFET periodic spatial power combiner

An X-band eight-MESFET two-dimensional spatial periodic power combiner has been designed and fabricated. The theoretical analysis and experimental results obtained are described. The effective radiated power of this combiner is 8.5 W at 9.73 GHz. This combiner is small, lightweight, and suited for monolithic implementation. This power combiner is not sensitive to bias variations. A large signal analysis of the structure has been performed, and no other mode of oscillation was excited. >
Assessment of EEG event-related desynchronization in stroke survivors performing shoulder-elbow movements

It is unknown whether electroencephalography (EEG) signal characteristics in stroke survivors with motor deficits register enough activity for use with brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). This research studied pre-movement EEG from shoulder-elbow movement in stroke survivors to identify signal characteristics potentially useful for robot-assisted stroke rehabilitation. Pre-movement event-related desynchronization (ERD) was examined in the alpha band mu rhythm for control (n = 7) and stroke subjects (n = 11). Subjects were all right-hand dominant; stroke subjects used their impaired arm and controls were assigned a side to match stroke subjects. Both non-dominant-arm-tested stroke and control subjects exhibited greater ERD intensity vs. those using their dominant arm (p < 0.05). Also, pre-movement ERD was detected in stroke survivors, which suggests at the possibility of using ERD as a BCI system control signal. However, the peak ERD of stroke survivors was significantly lower than that of healthy subjects (p < 0.05), which brings doubt to whether the intensity of ERD in stroke survivors is large enough to be used as a BCI system control signal
Linear convex stochastic control problems over an infinite horizon

A stochastic control problem over an infinite horizon which involves a linear system and a convex cost functional is analyzed. We prove the convergence of the dynamic programming algorithm associated with the problem, and we show the existence of a stationary Borel measurable optimal control law. The approach used illustrates how results on infinite time reachability [1] can be used for the analysis of dynamic programming algorithms over an infinite horizon subject to state constraints.
Towards race-related face identification: research on skin color transfer

We developed a novel skin-color transfer algorithm in order to explore the potential information from human racial groups to improve the face identification. We attempt to find a general technique for transferring human skin colors of different races. The idea is to match the intensity values of two images and transfer the entire mood of the source image to the target image. Further enhancement can be achieved in two ways. One is facial multi-region subdivision to limit the color transfer between corresponding regions. The other is to use "region growing" method based on hue values for color transfer in sub-areas, such as lip, where H channel is dominant in determining pixel colors. The technique appears to be quite simple and results turn out to be encouraging. Our new algorithm is analyzed and compared to other existing algorithm, and evaluated through the psychological study on race related identification. The experiment shows that skin color is amongst one of the factors for race identification, but not the dominant one. This is the first preliminary step as an initial screening process towards the race-related face identification.
Effect of an intrauterine device on sheep oviduct fluids: chemical composition and stimulation of spermatozoan respiration in vitro.

Sheep oviduct fluids were studied to determine whether the presence of an IUD had any effect on the chemical composition of the fluids. The effect of oviduct fluids on ram sperm was also studied. IUD presence did not affect either volume or composition of oviduct fluid. Oviduct fluid from IUD-bearing sheep did not stimulate sperm respiration more than control oviduct fluid. There was a statistically significant (p less than .01) correlation between lactate content of oviduct fluid and sperm respiration. No histological changes were noted in IUD-bearing uteri.
Phylogeny: Evolution and Behavior

Chapter 1 introduced Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and its corollary, the principle of common descent, which states that all species evolved from a common ancestor. That chapter also described how Darwin’s theory of natural selection paved the way for a science of behavior, especially human behavior. Specifically, some researchers, including Pavlov, Thorndike, and Skinner, began to study nonhuman behavior in order to learn about human behavior. Doing so was based on the assumption that species differed from one another only by degrees, and not in fundamental ways. As a result, scientific psychologists discovered that humans and nonhumans possesssed similar learning processes confirming the evolutionary relatedness of all species.
Application of a Conceptual Framework for Distance Learning in Dental Hygiene Education and Allied Health Disciplines

Purpose: Distance education (DE) and distance learning (DL) technologies use continues to experience exponential, global growth. Various DE delivery platforms are being used for dental hygiene and allied health programs offered in post–secondary education. However, a need exists to analyze factors of program and student success using DL modalities. Administrators and educators should consider building educational programs on sound pedagogical principles when using DL for their delivery mechanism. This paper offers an applied conceptual framework as a model when developing DE/DL programs for preparing professionals in dental hygiene and allied health careers.
Abstract 4087: Microbiomic subprofiles and MDR1 promoter methylation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Background: Clinical observations and epidemiologic studies suggest that the incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) correlates with dental hygiene, implying a role for bacteria-induced inflammation in its pathogenesis. Differences in microbiota in HNSCC compared to matched normal oral mucosa, and whether these differences are accompanied by epigenetic modifications in selected HNSCC-associated genes and clinico-pathologic features has not yet been investigated. Standard microbiologic culturing techniques miss many fastidious organisms. Methods: Human genomic DNA and associated microbial DNA were isolated from 42 prospectively accrued consecutive HNSCC tumors and paired normal oral mucosae. Microbiomic profiling was carried out by serially characterizing bacteria-specific 16S rRNA and taxa classified by the presence of specific polymorphisms in the 16S rDNA genes. Promoter methylation and microbial populations of each sample was determined. Microbiomic profiles were compared between HNSCC and matched normal mucosa, to specific promoter methylation in four genes (MDR1, IL8, RARB, TGFBR2) previously linked to HNSCC or inflammation, and to clinico-pathologic features. Results: Specific microbiomic profiles significantly associate with HNSCC over normal mucosae. While methylation of both MDR1 (p<10-9) and IL8 (p<0.02) genes significantly associate with HNSCC, only MDR1 methylation associates with specific microbiomic profiles in HNSCC over normal mucosae. Furthermore, MDR1 methylation correlates with regional nodal metastases in the context of two specific bacterial taxa, Enterobacteriaceae and Tenericutes. Additionally, microbial populations can separate tumors by tobacco status (p<0.005), but not by alcohol status (p=0.37). Conclusions: Specific microbial populations may contribute to HNSCC pathogenesis, possibly by triggering inflammation and consequent aberrant DNA methylation. These associations could lead to better understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of HNSCC, suggesting novel roles for demethylating agents and probiotic adjuncts particularly for patients with advanced or refractory disease. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4087. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4087
Dermatologic laser surgery.

The current laser technology in dermatology is reviewed. The clinical cutaneous applications for the carbon dioxide, argon, tunable dye, and neodynimum: yttrium-aluminum-garnet lasers are presented. Newer laser systems are also discussed, incuding the heavy metal, vapor, excimer, and low-energy lasers.
Aspirin anticoagulation in children with mechanical aortic valves

The optimal method of anticoagulation in children with mechanical heart valves is controversial. Between 1975 and 1986, aspirin or aspirin with dipyridamole has been used for anticoagulation in children receiving a mechanical aortic valve at the University of California, San Francisco. Fifty-one patients (ages 1 to 23 years, mean 12.9 years) were treated with aspirin (n = 45) or aspirin with dipyridamole (n = 6) and observed a mean of 36.5 months (range 3 to 100 months). There were four late deaths: two from endocarditis and two from other medical problems, but none related to thrombosis or embolus. Follow-up was accomplished by direct contact with the patient, parent, or referring physician. Two patients (3.9%) were lost to late follow-up. One minor neurologic event occurred perioperatively and resolved spontaneously. There were no postoperative thromboembolic events. Eleven asymptomatic children were recently studied by magnetic resonance imaging or computed axial tomography of the brain and had no evidence of prior silent cerebral thromboembolic defects. There were four patients (5.9%) who had minor hemorrhagic complications: Three patients had nosebleeds and one patient had an upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Five patients were changed to warfarin anticoagulation: the patient with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and four older patients because of physician preference, all after uncomplicated aspirin therapy. There were no mechanical valve failures, although one patient required reoperation 9 months later for perivalvular leak. All children have remained in normal sinus or paced rhythm during follow-up. These results show that children with mechanical aortic valves in normal sinus rhythm can be safely treated with aspirin (or aspirin with dipyridamole) with little risk of thromboembolic events, valve thrombosis, or valve failure. Hemorrhagic complications resulting from aspirin are minor and easily treated.
Occupational health physicians and prevention

Occupational medicine has added the promotion and maintenance of employee health to the traditional concerns of safety and workplace exposures. Attention to these areas of health management has been spurred by growing recognition of the adverse impact of preventable or controllable risk factors in health benefit and disability costs and employee productivity. The four major prevention opportunities for occupational physicians are helping to inculcate effective preventive services in health benefit plans, providing cost-effective and health-effective services directly to employees, initiating and coordinating work site health promotion and employee assistance programs, and using results of health surveillance of employees to formulate preventive strategies and to evaluate their effectiveness.
Consumer Knowledge and use of Energy Information in Purchase Decisions

One of the major social and economic problems facing the United States today is the supply and demand of energy. At the present time very little knowledge exists on the consumer’s knowledge and understanding of energy-related terms and the customer’s use of energy information in his or he r decision making process. This study of 240 respondents was conducted to 1) determine the level of knowledge with respect to energy terms, concepts and trends, 2) determine the degree to which consumer use energy information in their decision making with respect to energy-related products and, 3) determine the types of energy conservation activities that consumers have undertaken.
Morpheus: creating application objects efficiently for heterogeneous computing

In high performance computing systems, object deserialization can become a surprisingly important bottleneck---in our test, a set of general-purpose, highly parallelized applications spends 64% of total execution time deserializing data into objects.This paper presents the Morpheus model, which allows applications to move such computations to a storage device. We use this model to deserialize data into application objects inside storage devices, rather than in the host CPU. Using the Morpheus model for object deserialization avoids unnecessary system overheads, frees up scarce CPU and main memory resources for compute-intensive workloads, saves I/O bandwidth, and reduces power consumption. In heterogeneous, co-processor-equipped systems, Morpheus allows application objects to be sent directly from a storage device to a co-processor (e.g., a GPU) by peer-to-peer transfer, further improving application performance as well as reducing the CPU and main memory utilizations.This paper implements Morpheus-SSD, an SSD supporting the Morpheus model. Morpheus-SSD improves the performance of object deserialization by 1.66×, reduces power consumption by 7%, uses 42% less energy, and speeds up the total execution time by 1.32×. By using NVMe-P2P that realizes peer-to-peer communication between Morpheus-SSD and a GPU, Morpheus-SSD can speed up the total execution time by 1.39× in a heterogeneous computing platform.
Influence Maximization on Complex Networks with Intrinsic Nodal Activation

In many complex networked systems such as online social networks, at any given time, activity originates at certain nodes and subsequently spreads on the network through influence. Under such scenarios, influencer mining does not involve explicit seeding as in the case of viral marketing. Being an influencer necessitates creating content and disseminating the same to active followers who can then spread the same on the network. In this work, we present a simple probabilistic formulation that models such self-evolving systems where information diffusion occurs primarily because of the intrinsic activity of users and the spread of activity occurs due to influence. We provide an algorithm to mine for the influential seeds in such a scenario by modifying the well-known influence maximization framework with the independent cascade diffusion model. A small example is provided to illustrate how the incorporation of intrinsic and influenced activation mechanisms help us better model the influence dynamics in social networks. Following that, for a larger dataset, we compare the lists of influential users identified by the given formulation with a computationally efficient centrality metric derived from a linear probabilistic model that incorporates self activation.
Prevalence of non-febrile seizures in children with idiopathic autism spectrum disorder and their unaffected siblings: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized not only by deficits in communication and social interactions but also a high rate of co-occurring disorders, including metabolic abnormalities, gastrointestinal and sleep disorders, and seizures. Seizures, when present, interfere with cognitive development and are associated with a higher mortality rate in the ASD population. Methods To determine the relative prevalence of non-febrile seizures in children with idiopathic ASD from multiplex and simplex families compared with the unaffected siblings in a cohort of 610 children with idiopathic ASD and their 160 unaffected siblings, participating in the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange project, the secondary analysis was performed comparing the life-time prevalence of non-febrile seizures. Statistical models to account for non-independence of observations, inherent with the data from multiplex families, were used in assessing potential confounding effects of age, gender, and history of febrile seizures on odds of having non-febrile seizures. Results The life-time prevalence of non-febrile seizures was 8.2% among children with ASD and 2.5% among their unaffected siblings. In a logistic regression analysis that adjusted for familial clustering, children with ASD had 5.27 (95%CI: 1.51–18.35) times higher odds of having non-febrile seizures compared to their unaffected siblings. In this comparison, age, presence of gastrointestinal dysfunction, and history of febrile seizures were significantly associated with the prevalence of non-febrile seizures. Conclusion Children with idiopathic ASD are significantly more likely to have non-febrile seizures than their unaffected siblings, suggesting that non-febrile seizures may be ASD-specific. Further studies are needed to determine modifiable risk factors for non-febrile seizures in ASD.
Pupil-size asymmetry is a physiologic trait related to gender, attentional function, and personality

A small difference in the size of the two pupils is common in healthy individuals, a condition termed benign or physiologic anisocoria (BA). Past research indicates that BA is probably caused by asymmetry in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) function [e.g., Rosenberg (2008). Physiologic anisocoria: A manifestation of a physiologic sympathetic asymmetry. Neuro-Ophthalmology, 32, 147-149]. This study is the first to show that BA varies with psychological factors linked to brain asymmetry and autonomic arousal, including gender, attention, and personality. Males exhibited a more directional BA than females, consistent with greater hemispheric lateralization in males. BA also varied with a self-report measure of attentional function, consistent with evidence of hemispheric asymmetry in visuospatial attention networks. Finally, BA varied with personality traits linked to autonomic arousal. Individuals exhibiting higher Meanness and Boldness, and lower Empathy scores tended to show more directional BA. This link between personality traits and BA may be related to brain asymmetries in autonomic arousal and emotion-related processing. If future studies employing direct measures of lateralized brain activity confirm the link between BA and SNS asymmetries, this new metric may prove useful in discovering new relationships between brain organization and psychological function, and how these relationships vary across individuals.
Don’t Give Up! A Cyber-ethnography and Discourse Analysis of an Online Infertility Patient Forum

Infertility affects women across the socioeconomic spectrum; however, it is by no means egalitarian in its distribution, nor uniform in its lived experience. Evidence shows striking disparities by income, race, and education in infertility prevalence, access to infertility services, and success rates after receiving infertility treatments. However, few studies so far have investigated disparities in patients' access to psychological support during the infertility journey. This paper undertakes a cyber-ethnography of the online patient forum, "Finding a Resolution for Infertility," hosted by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. It also draws from interviews with 54 infertility patients recruited from the forum. Our aim was to examine how social support operates within this virtual realm, by examining how the forum's language, norms, and values create and enforce categories of deserving and belonging among site users. We find that the forum's discourse privileges an infertility narrative we term the "persistent patient," in which a patient exhaustively researches treatment options, undergoes multiple cycles of treatment despite repeated failures, and ultimately achieves success (a healthy baby). Meanwhile, there is little to no discursive space for discussion of the financial and social resources necessary to act in accordance with this script. Thus, women without such resources can be alienated, silenced, and denied mental health support by this online community.
Does Question Wording Predict Support for the Affordable Care Act? An Analysis of Polling During the Implementation Period, 2010–2016

ABSTRACTThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to be the subject of fierce political debate in the United States. Drawing on issue framing theory, together with research on wording effects in survey responding, we tested how common differences in the wording of ACA surveys relate to apparent public support for the law. We report on a content analysis of N = 376 U.S. national opinion surveys fielded during a more than six-year period, beginning 23 March 2010 (when President Obama signed the bill into law) and ending 8 November 2016 (Election Day), and use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models to predict public support for the law as a function of variation in question wording. We coded questions gauging general sentiment toward the law for differences in issue labeling (e.g., Obamacare, Affordable Care Act), whether or not they referenced particular political entities (e.g., President Obama, Congress) or segments of the public (e.g., You, Your Family), various opinion metri...
Investigation of Hot Pressed Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Assemblies via X-ray Computed Tomography

Abstract The hot pressing process for fabricating polymer electrolyte fuel cells membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) has been widely adopted, yet little is known of its effects on the microstructural properties of the different components of the MEA. In particular, the interaction of the electrolyte, electrode and gas diffusion layer (GDL) due to lamination is difficult to probe as conventional imaging techniques cannot access the internal structure of the MEA. Here, a novel approach is used, which combines characterisation of hot-pressed membrane electrode assemblies using X-ray computed tomography, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and atomic force microscopy, with electrochemical performance measurements from polarisation curves and high-frequency impedance spectroscopy. Membrane electrode assemblies hot pressed at 100 °C, 130 °C and 170 °C reveal significant differences in microstructure, which has a consequence for the performance. When hot pressed at 100 °C, which is lower than the glass transition temperature of Nafion (123 °C), the catalyst only partially bonds with the Nafion membrane, leading to increased Ohmic resistance. At 170 °C, the Nafion membrane intrudes into the electrode, forming pinholes, degrading the catalyst layer and filling pores in the GDL. Finally, at 130 °C, the interfacial contact is optimum, with similar roughness factor between the catalyst and Nafion membrane surface, indicating effective lamination of layers.
A Simple Yet Effective Balanced Edge Partition Model for Parallel Computing

Graph edge partition models have recently become an appealing alternative to graph vertex partition models for distributed computing due to both their flexibility in balancing loads and their performance in reducing communication cost. In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective graph edge partitioning algorithm. In practice, our algorithm provides good partition quality while maintaining low partition overhead. It also outperforms similar state-of-the-art edge partition approaches, especially for power-law graphs. In theory, previous work showed that an approximation guarantee of O(dmax√(log n log k)) apply to the graphs with m=Ω(k2) edges (n is the number of vertices, and k is the number of partitions). We further rigorously proved that this approximation guarantee hold for all graphs. We also demonstrate the applicability of the proposed edge partition algorithm in real parallel computing systems. We draw our example from GPU program locality enhancement and demonstrate that the graph edge partition model does not only apply to distributed computing with many computer nodes, but also to parallel computing in a single computer node with a many-core processor.