cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Take the wheel: Effects of available modalities on driver intervention

While automated driving systems will become increasingly capable and common in the future, there will still be instances when human drivers want or need to make corrections to the car's automated driving behavior. We conducted two studies exploring how driving interfaces could be designed to better execute the drivers' intentions. In our first study, adult participants (N=40) experienced a simulated driving scenario that varied the behavior of the car's automation (perfect driving and imperfect driving) and the intervention modalities (takeover and takeover+influence). At certain segments, the car's automation would drive perfectly or weave within the lane. During those times, participants could intervene using the available modalities. When experiencing instances of imperfect driving, drivers who had the ability to takeover+influence intervened more often than drivers who were only given the option to takeover. As intervening would require them to resume full control, drivers in the takeover condition were more tolerant of the imperfect driving. Also, most drivers tried to intervene initially by influencing the car, even those drivers who were only given the ability to takeover. In our second study, we examined how participants (N=40) of different demographics (high school students and seniors) would respond when they were subjected to the imperfect driving scenarios. High school drivers intervened just as much as the adult drivers. However, senior drivers intervened far less. These two studies suggest that when intervention is necessary, human drivers have a desire for shared control, which allows them to act as supervisors rather than operators of automated vehicles.
Characterizing distortions in first-person videos

First-person videos (FPVs) captured by wearable cameras often contain heavy distortions, including motion blur, rolling shutter artifacts and rotation. Existing image and video quality estimators are inefficient for this type of video. We develop a method specifically to measure the distortions present in FPVs, without using a high quality reference video. Our local visual information (LVI) algorithm measures motion blur, and we combine homography estimation with line angle histogram to measure rolling shutter artifacts and rotation. Our experiments demonstrate that captured FPVs have dramatically different distortions compared to traditional source videos. We also show that LVI is responsive to motion blur, but insensitive to rotation and shear.
Hybrid MPI/OpenMP programming on the Tilera manycore architecture

This work assesses the viability of different programming models for large-scale manycores using an MPI-like abstraction, the vendor's OpenMP, and a combination (hybrid) of both. Experiments with Tilera's TilePro64 demonstrate that MPI and OpenMP both scale while the hybrid model performs inferior to the others. Further, network-on-chip contention significantly affects performance and its variance, especially if the number of utilized cores is high. These findings provide an early insight on trends for single die/chip solutions with large numbers of cores, which will become mainstream in HPC in the coming years. Prior work lacks such a study on large manycores with an efficient native on-chip message passing on shared memory on the same hardware platform.
On-the-fly load data value tracing in multicores

Software testing and debugging of modern multicore-based embedded systems is a challenging proposition because of growing hardware and software complexity, increased integration, and tightening time-to-market. To find more bugs faster, software developers of real-time embedded systems increasingly rely on on-chip trace and debug resources, including hefty on-chip buffers and wide trace ports. However, these resources often offer limited visibility of the system, increase the system cost, and do not scale well with a growing number of cores. This paper introduces mlvCFiat, a hardware/software mechanism for capturing and filtering load data value traces in multicores. It relies on first-access tracking in data caches and equivalent modules in the software debugger to significantly reduce the number of trace events streamed out of the target platform. Our experimental evaluation explores the effectiveness of the proposed technique as a function of cache sizes, encoding mechanism, and the number of cores. The results show that mlvCFiat significantly reduces the total trace port bandwidth. The improvements relative to the existing Nexus-like load data value tracing range from 15 to 33 times for a single core and from 14 to 20 times for an octa core.
Combining modern spectral estimation with Time-Frequency representation

With Joint Time-Frequency Analysis (JTFA), one can estimate the speed of moving targets from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. These targets are usually compact. JTFA estimation of water surface speeds is more difficult since the radar returns are weak and generated by Bragg scattering patches, randomly distributed within the radar's footprint, both in time and space. To increase the signal strength, JTFA is applied to multiple range lines, which requires a generalization of the Time-Frequency representation (TFR). To do this, modern spectral estimation (MSE) techniques, which depend on estimating the data covariance matrix, are weaved into the framework of a TFR. The resulting TFR formed along azimuth-lines naturally integrates the data across multiple range-lines. We discuss and illustrate this technique on simulated data and then apply it to estimate the speed of moving water in a single-phase center SAR image. This method also enhances the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR).
The Case of One Dimension

In the case of ℝ1, the special geometry leads to new questions and concepts. At the same time, simpler analysis is often available and yields fuller results. We shall emphasize those aspects of the general theory which do not have ready extensions to higher dimension. In particular, we shall treat the gaugeability of an infinite interval.
Experimental immune activation using a mild antigen decreases reproductive success in free-living female Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)

Seasonal animals time breeding so that offspring rearing coincides with favorable conditions. Offspring rearing is energetically demanding; therefore, additional energetic challenges during this life-history stage may allocate energy away from offspring care, decreasing reproductive success. Activation of the immune system may be one such energetic challenge, and may have a disproportionately higher impact on reproductive success earlier in the breeding season when resources are less abundant and thermoregulatory demands are greater. We monitored nestling growth and survival in incubating female Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis (L., 1758)) injected with a mild antigen to stimulate antibody production and induce an energetic challenge. We found nests of treated females were more likely than controls to fail prior to 6 days post hatch, coinciding with timing of peak antibody production. No effect of season was detected. Offspring mass did not differ between treatments prior to failure, suggesting that failu...
Secondary cancers in long-term survivors of primary glioblastoma.

e20616 Background: Overall survival in primary glioblastoma (GBM) has been poor with 5% at 2 years, but recent advances have improved overall survival in this population. Long-term survivors (LTS),...
Differential Fragmentation of Mobility-Selected Glycans via Ultraviolet Photodissociation and Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry

The alternative dissociation pathways initiated by ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) compared with collision-induced dissociation (CID) may provide useful diagnostic fragments for biomolecule identification, including glycans. However, underivatized glycans do not commonly demonstrate strong UV absorbance, resulting in low fragmentation yields for UVPD spectra. In contrast to UVPD experiments that leverage covalent modification of glycans, we detail the capacity of metal adduction to yield comparatively rich UVPD fragmentation patterns and enhance separation factors for an isomeric glycan set in a drift tube ion mobility system. Ion mobility and UVPD-MS spectra for two N-acetyl glycan isomers were examined, each adducted with sodium or cobalt cations, with the latter providing fragment yield gains of an order of magnitude versus sodium adducts. Furthermore, our glycan analysis incorporated front-end ion mobility separation such that the structural glycan isomers could still be identified even as a mixture and not simply composite spectra of isomeric standards. Cobalt adduction proved influential in the glycan separation by yielding an isomer resolution of 0.78 when analyzed simultaneously versus no discernable separation obtained with the sodium adducts. It is the combined enhancement of both isomeric drift time separation and isomer distinction with improved UVPD fragment ion yields that further bolster multivalent metal adduction for advancing glycan IM-MS experiments. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
CENSE: A Cognitive Navigation System for People with Special Needs

Mass Transportation provides people with access to education, employment and places in the community. However, navigating around public transportation for the visually impaired and physically challenged sections of society is a challenging task. With rapid proliferation of technology, there has been a pressing need to develop enhanced methodologies to help people with disabilities access public transportation. While there are many navigation systems, some of them leverage Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, which is useful in outdoor environments but is not effective in navigating indoor environments. Beacons are emergent sensors that are becoming popular for indoor positioning in malls and airports. They use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which is extensively supported by all modern day smartphones. In this paper, we propose a proof of concept (POC) for a mobile application which uses BLE beacons to provide assistance to people with special needs. This application would provide an easy to use voice interface for navigating inside stations, buses and trains. As a part of our research, we aim to use existing beacons on some regional transit centers and deploy new beacons. We plan to analyze VTA's (Valley Transportation Authority) ridership data to extract contextual data about the commuter's current environment to provide commuter with cognitive solution and assistance during travel. The end goal of our research is to enhance the VTA travel experience for special need travelers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Principles of Photochemistry of Metal Complexes

Many of the principles that govern the photochemistry of metal complexes are the same as those that have been developed for understanding the photochemistry of organic compounds. Photochemical reactions differ from thermal reactions in that they are initiated by the absorption of light rather than by the application of heat. Photochemical reactions can therefore only occur if the compounds being activated have a chromophore in the electromagnetic spectrum that corresponds in wavelength with that of the exciting radiation. The number of thermodynamically favorable products that are accessible from photochemical reactions are greater than those that are obtainable from thermal reactions. This situation is a result of the excess energy that is possessed by the excited state after the absorption of a photon. The addition of this photon energy to the ground state energy of the molecule results in the excited state having considerably more stored energy; as a result, the excited state molecule can be considered to be quite different from its ground state precursor. This difference usually leads to the excited state having different bond distances and angles than does the ground state. These molecular distortions that the molecule undergoes after absorption of the photon can be either isotropic over the entire molecule, or anisotropic where the differences from the ground state are primarily located in one region of the molecule.
Smartphone audio port data collection cookbook

The audio port of a smartphone is designed to send and receive audio but can be harnessed for portable, economical, and accurate data collection from a variety of sources. While smartphones have internal sensors to measure a number of physical phenomena such as acceleration, magnetism and illumination levels, measurement of other phenomena such as voltage, external temperature, or accurate timing of moving objects are excluded. The audio port cannot be only employed to sense external phenomena. It has the additional advantage of timing precision; because audio is recorded or played at a controlled rate separated from other smartphone activities, timings based on audio can be highly accurate. The following outlines unpublished details of the audio port technical elements for data collection, a general data collection recipe and an example timing application for Android devices. Received: 5 January 2018, Accepted: 20 April 2018; Edited by: A. Marti, M. Monteiro; Reviewed by: P. Jeanjacquot, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon – Institut Francais de lEducation, France; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4279/PIP.100006 Cite as: K Forinash, R Wisman, Papers in Physics 10, 100006 (2018) This paper, by K Forinash, R Wisman , is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 .
Neurologic disorder and criminal responsibility

Sufferers from neurologic and psychiatric disorders are not uncommonly defendants in criminal trials. This chapter surveys a variety of different ways in which neurologic disorder bears on criminal responsibility. It discusses the way in which a neurologic disorder might bear on the questions of whether or not the defendant acted voluntarily; whether or not he or she was in the mental state that is required for guilt for the crime; and whether or not he or she is deserving of an insanity defense. The discussion demonstrates that a just determination of whether a sufferer from a neurologic disorder is diminished in his or her criminal responsibility for harmful conduct requires equal appreciation of the nature of the relevant disorder and its impact on behavior, on the one hand, and of the legal import of facts about the psychologic mechanisms through which behavior is generated, on the other.
The autoimmune myopathies

The autoimmune myopathies (also known as myositis) comprise an important group of disorders in which skeletal muscle is one of the primary targets of the autoimmune response. The immune responses in these disorders target a limited set of ubiquitously expressed autoantigens, and there is a striking association of specific autoantibodies with distinct clinical phenotypes. Several features of these diseases, including the association with cancer, the induction of disease in response to statins, and the preferential expression of myositis-specific autoantigens in regenerating but not resting muscle cells, have provided important insights into the initiating and propagating mechanisms. Emerging data suggest a model of disease in which initiation and propagation may be separated in time and, potentially, space. In this model, increased expression of myositis-specific autoantigens in regenerating cells focuses immune injury on cells healing muscle injury, establishing a self-sustaining loop of immune-mediated muscle injury and repair. Such loops may be amenable to novel therapeutic interventions.
High-Pressure Processing of Fluid Foods

Publisher Summary High-pressure processing (HPP) is a method of food processing where food is subjected to elevated pressures (up to 87,000 pounds per square inch or approximately 600 MPa), with or without the addition of heat, to achieve microbial inactivation or to alter the food attributes in order to achieve consumer-desired qualities. Unlike high-pressure homogenization where the food is exposed to high velocity, turbulence, and shear forces, during HPP the food is subjected to isostatic pressure treatment. High-pressure pasteurization treatments inactivate pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, yeasts, molds, and viruses. However, the treatment has limited efficacy against spores and enzymes. The extent of bacterial inactivation also depends on the type of microorganism, food composition, pH, and water activity. High pressures at ambient or chilled temperatures have been employed for processing a number of liquid and semi-solid foods such as fruit juices, purees, smoothies, jellies, and guacamole. Several studies have evaluated the beneficial effects of pressure treatment over conventional treatment on preserving quality attributes of foods. However, high capital expenditure and limited throughput are some current limitations of this technology for fluid-food processing. With wider industrial adaptation and technology innovation, it is expected that the cost of equipment will come down.
Through the Student's (or Physician's) Eyes: Sag.

A poem about the different reactions a staff surgeon and a medical student have to the same painting of a patient displayed on a hospital wall and the emptiness that binds them. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Tilted Leg Design for a Rapid-Prototyped Low-Voltage Piezoelectric Running Robot

This paper describes design and experimental testing of a simple rapid-prototyped, piezoelectrically-actuated legged robot. The 2 cm long by 3 cm wide robot is intended to serve as a large-scale testbed for concepts applicable to millimeter-scale, thin-film piezoelectrically-actuated micro-robots. It achieves high-speed, low-voltage operation through tilted orientation of cantilever-like legs. Tethered locomotion is achieved at 36 mm/s (> 1 body length per second) at as little as 10 V or at speeds as large 400 mmls at 80 V. Electronic loading characteristics of the piezoelectric actuators at low voltage conditions are similar to those of millimeter-scale prototypes. Free dynamics of the robot feet are measured experimentally to gain further insight into cantilever orientation effects on locomotion speed.
Recent advances in low moisture food pasteurization

Low-moisture foods such as cereals, seeds, nuts and jerky have been linked to outbreaks. Technologies available to pasteurize low moisture foods include conventional thermal processes such as baking, roasting and extrusion, controlled condensation steam processes, and energy-based technologies such as irradiation, radio frequency heating and cold atmospheric plasma. Moist heat is much more effective than dry heat in inactivating pathogens Low dose (
Multi-modal system to detect on-the-road driver distraction

The number of traffic accidents is increasing year on year. Studies show that distraction during driving is one of the major causes of traffic accidents. Lack of attention to the primary task of driving due to involvement in activities such as phone conversation, eating, texting, conversation with the co-passenger lead to serious injuries and fatalities. In order to reduce the traffic accident due to driver distraction, in this work, a monitoring system is developed using physiological, behavioral and vehicle signal. Motion signal (accelerometer and gyroscope), electrocardiogram (ECG), galvanic skin response and CAN-Bus signal were collected during the on-road driving session undertaken by 8 participants. Features were extracted from these signals. Feature space from each signal was evaluated independently to identify driver distraction. To improve the recognition accuracy the multimodal feature space was fused and evaluated. Since the high dimension of fused feature space suffers from the curse of dimensionality, feature selection techniques were applied to obtain optimal multi-modal feature space. An average accuracy of 99.85% was obtained when multimodal feature space was generalized using ensemble bagged classifier. An average accuracy of 99.1% was obtained when the multimodal feature space was reduced to 10-D space using the Relieff feature selection technique and generalized using ensemble bagged classifier.
Further Heat Treatment Optimizations for Nb 3 Sn Conductors: From Wires to Cables

Accelerator magnets made with Nb3Sn superconducting coils are currently the most viable candidate technology for increasing the luminosity and energy of particle accelerators like the LHC. Today, the most developed Nb3Sn wire technology is the restacked rod process (RRP) wire manufactured by Bruker. RRP wires normally undergo a reaction heat treatment after coil winding which consists of three stages, one at 210 °C, one at 400 °C, and one at ∼660 °C spending roughly 48 h at each stage. The last stage of this heat treatment activates the solid-state diffusion which forms the Nb3Sn, whereas the first two stages have been historically used to “mix” the Cu and Sn in order to avoid liquefaction of the low melting temperature phases. Recently, the second stage was studied and optimized to improve critical current density in RRP wires by controlling the kinetics triggered when the Cu–Nb–Sn ternary phase (“Nausite”) forms; the first stage however, has a negligible impact on the critical current density of RRP wires, and instead focuses on reducing the probability of Sn leaking from the wires. These instances of Sn leaks are often referred to as “Sn bursts.” In this paper, we explore Sn bursting on Rutherford cables made with RRP wires in an attempt to better understand the threat of Sn bursts for future accelerator magnets using modern RRP wires. It was found that the Sn burst prevention mechanism, facilitated by the 210 °C stage, can be achieved in a fraction of the time, and that the modern RRP wires are less likely to observe Sn bursting. This new knowledge has enabled us to further understand and optimize the heat treatment of RRP wires for future accelerator magnets.
Understanding Impacts of Outflow on Tropical Cyclone Formation and Rapid Intensity and Structure Changes with Data Assimilation and High-resolution Numerical Simulations

Abstract : Understanding the processes that contribute to tropical cyclone (TC) formation, intensity and structure changes is essential for improving the predictability of TCs. Previous studies have focused mostly on the low- to mid-level processes leading to TC formation and rapid intensity and structure changes. The influence of upper-level atmospheric processes, especially the evolution of the outflow layer has not received much attention until recently. Therefore, the long-term goal of the proposed work is to improve our understanding and prediction of the tropical cyclone outflow layer, its evolution, and relation to tropical cyclone (TC) formation and intensity and structure changes.
NOISE IN AIR TRANSPORT

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the basic problems of noise in relation to jet transport. Noise involves three primary elements—the source, the transmission path or medium, and the receiver. Correction or control of noise may involve any or all of these. Reduction of noise at its source is the most rewarding, as it automatically reduces the problems and required corrections of transmission and reception. However, efforts to prevent or reduce the generation of noise at its source are often only partially successful, so all possible recourse must be taken to control, or subdue, noise in transmission and to minimize any unpleasant, or harmful, effects on the receiver. The noise situations of special significance to jet transport are (1) the cockpit and flight crew, (2) the cabin and passengers or cabin crew, (3) the airport ramp and passengers, visitors or service personnel, (4) the more remote airplane maintenance areas and shops and mechanics or other personnel working in those areas, (5) the neighboring airport community and its relation to take-off, landing and run-up operations, and (6) damage to aircraft structure and equipment.
Models in Chemical Respiratory Carcinogenesis

The first landmark conference on respiratory carcinogenesis was that held in Perugia, Italy in 1965 (SEVERI, 1966). It is of interest to note that at this conference, much of the discussion is related to the search for appropriate techniques and the search for an ideal animal model. FRANCIS ROE outlined specifications for the ideal model (ROE, 1966). These specifications can be summarized as follows: 1. Realistic exposure (inhalation) 2. Small species in large numbers 3. Short lifespan 4. Low incidence of spontaneous lung cancer 5. No interference by other respiratory disease 6. Anatomical similarity to man 7. Similar histologic types and sites.
A New Look at Infant Preference for Infant-Directed Speech

Infants' preference for infant-directed speech has been reliably demonstrated throughout the first year of life using looking time measures. Though widely used in developmental science, interpretations of looking time are often rich, making assumptions about underlying mental states. In addition to being driven by preference, infant visual fixations can be caused endogenously by other factors such as arousal. We present a new methodology for measuring infant preference - the conditioned place preference paradigm (CPP), a widely used tool in animal research - that allows researchers to disentangle arousal and preference. Using CPP, infants' preference for infant-directed speech was replicated, but only when the speech was paired with a video of a social partner. We propose a new hypothesis, that preference for infant-directed speech is driven by its strong social signal value.
Unraveling the ‘female teacher effect’: The positioning and agency of female teachers in girls’ education reform

Concerns about the academic performance of students from marginalized groups underscore calls for students to be taught by teachers of similar racial, ethnic, or gender identities (e.g., Miller, 2018). In sub-Saharan Africa, projects enlist women teachers as role models for girls in an effort to redress persistent gender disparities in education. However, in casting women teachers as inherent role models to girls, these projects run the risk of reinforcing long-standing portrayals of women in the Global South as a monolithic group with heightened responsibility for development (Chant, 2006; Mohanty, 1988). I identify one policy pilot in Malawi as a window for examining this phenomenon, and I pair discourse analysis and ethnographic analysis to investigate how women teachers are constructed in this policy and how these constructions unravel in practice. Drawing on anthropology of policy, I first trace how female teachers are created as particular types of “policy subjects” (Ball, Maguire, Braun, & Hoskins, 2011). Then, I examine how teachers at one school grapple with these narrowly constructed roles. This study’s findings caution against a disproportionate reliance on same-gender teachers for role-modelling, particularly when these teachers also belong to marginalized groups.
What Are Two Days Worth? Facing Dilemmas Together at the End of Life.

What Are Two Days Worth? At 35, Mr. J. was dying of an invasive pelvic sarcoma and had a tolerance to opioids. Despite his pain, he wanted to be present with his family and friends. When his physic...
Non-Communicable Diseases in the Developing World: Addressing Gaps in Global Policy and Research.

Non-Communicable Diseases in the Developing World: Addressing Gap in Global Policy and Research by Galambos and Sturchio (2014) provides an exploration and analysis of how various world health syst...
Rolf Huisgen's Classic Studies of Cyclic Triene Diels–Alder Reactions Elaborated by Modern Computational Analysis

Rolf Huisgen explored the Diels-Alder reactions of 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (CHT) and cyclooctatetraene (COT) with the dienophiles maleic anhydride and 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD) to determine the kinetics and mechanisms of various electrocyclizations and Diels-Alder reactions. These reactions have been examined with density functional theory. Modern computational chemistry has provided information not previously available by experiment. Transition states for all the reactions have been identified, and their Gibbs energies are used to explain the experimental reactivities. Zwitterionic intermediates were not found in the [4+2] cycloadditions of both CHT or COT with PTAD and are thus not involved in these reactions. [2+2+2] cycloadditions, as an alternative path to the Diels-Alder products, are highly disfavored. Rapid double nitrogen inversion was found for the cycloaddition products with PTAD.
Functional Analysis of Mitochondrial Acyl Carrier Proteins.

Fatty acid synthesis is a ubiquitous pathway in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Plants synthesize fatty acids for a variety of uses, including membrane bilayers and seed energy reserves, but also for the production of lipoic acid, which is a cofactor for some enzymes. The multistep biosynthetic
Enhancing classroom instruction with online news

This paper investigates how school teachers look for informational texts for their classrooms. Access to current, varied and authentic informational texts improves learning outcomes for K-12 students, but many teachers lack resources to expand and update readings. The Web offers freely available resources, but finding suitable ones is time-consuming. This research lays the groundwork for building tools to ease that burden.,This paper reports qualitative findings from a study in two stages: (1) a set of semistructured interviews, based on the critical incident technique, eliciting teachers' information-seeking practices and challenges; and (2) observations of teachers using a prototype teaching-oriented news search tool under a think-aloud protocol.,Teachers articulated different objectives and ways of using readings in their classrooms, goals and self-reported practices varied by experience level. Teachers struggled to formulate queries that are likely to return readings on specific course topics, instead searching directly for abstract topics. Experience differences did not translate into observable differences in search skill or success in the lab study.,There is limited work on teachers' information-seeking practices, particularly on how teachers look for texts for classroom use. This paper describes how teachers look for information in this context, setting the stage for future development and research on how to support this use case. Understanding and supporting teachers looking for information is a rich area for future research, due to the complexity of the information need and the fact that teachers are not looking for information for themselves.
Product review and demonstration of the Invisalign clear aligner system

This article will report on the Invisalign (Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif) product and highlight the features of this appliance. In addition, patients will be shown using the features discussed. Invisalign has changed the orthodontic specialty forever, pushing into the forefront the possibility of comprehensively treating malocclusions with clear aligners. Although now, there may be more competitors inside and outside of our practices, the name Invisalign has certainly become synonymous with clear aligner therapy, especially to the public. Invisalign has existed for over 20 years, allowing for significant investment into technology, allowing for more predictable tooth movement with Invisalign aligners. This evolution has improved the ability to treat malocclusions with a great degree of difficulty with Invisalign. Three patient studies will be reviewed, demonstrating some of the range of what is possible with the present-day appliance.
The Public’s Perceptions of Government Officials’ Communication in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Early news coverage in the US about the COVID-19 pandemic focused on information released from local, state and federal government officials. With an emphasis on US government at these levels, this...
Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis subcommittee report to the Tick-borne Disease Working Group.

Abstract Ehrlichioses and anaplasmosis have undergone dramatic increases in incidence, and the geographic ranges of their occurrence and vectors have also expanded. There is marked underreporting of these diseases owing to deficient physician awareness and knowledge of the illnesses as well as limited access to appropriate diagnostic tests. Human monocytic ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are life threatening diseases with estimated case fatality rates of 2.7 and 0.3%, respectively. However, knowledge of their full range of signs and symptoms is incomplete, and the incidence of subclinical infections is unknown. Currently available laboratory diagnostic methods are poorly utilized, and with the exception of nucleic acid amplification tests are not useful for diagnosis during the acute stage of illness when timely treatment is needed. The Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis Subcommittee of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group recommended active clinical surveillance to determine the true incidence, full clinical spectrum, and risk factors for severe illness, as well as standardized surveillance of ticks for these pathogens, and enhanced education of primary medical caregivers and the public regarding these diseases. The subcommittee identified the needs to develop sensitive, specific acute stage diagnostic tests for local clinical laboratories and point-of-care testing, to develop approaches for utilizing electronic medical records, data mining, and artificial intelligence for assisting early diagnosis and treatment, and to develop adjunctive therapies for severe disease.
Anthracyclines in a patient with acute leukemia and severe cardiomyopathy requiring mechanical support: A case report:

IntroductionFor young adult patients with acute leukemia, both the efficacy and cardiotoxicity of anthracycline-based regimens have been documented. We report the case of a patient with severe card...
Unusual osteochondroma of the medial part of the clavicle causing subclavian vein thrombosis and brachial plexopathy. A case report.

Benign primary bone tumors, including osteochondromas, rarely occur in the clavicle. We report an atypical case in which an osteochondroma developed in the medial part of the clavicle and caused thoracic outlet syndrome with primary subclavian vein thrombosis (Paget-Schroetter syndrome), brachial plexus paresthesias, and mechanical sternoclavicular pain in an otherwise healthy young man. To our knowledge, we are the first to report a case of thoracic outlet syndrome that was caused by an osteochondroma of the medial part of the clavicle. The two other medial clavicular tumors that have been reported in the literature were asymptomatic1,2. We present the natural history of this lesion and report the outcome after local excision through a clavicular osteotomy followed by internal fixation. We also discuss clavicular embryology and speculate on the pathoanatomic origin of a medial clavicular osteochondroma. The patient and his family were informed that data concerning this case would be submitted for publication. A sixteen-year-old male high-school student who worked part-time as a butcher presented to a vascular surgeon with a six-week history of insidious swelling in the left, non-dominant arm. The patient also complained of diffuse brachial plexus paresthesias. He smoked one pack of cigarettes per year but was otherwise healthy. A laboratory evaluation for thrombophilia revealed normal findings. The family history was negative for hereditary bone tumors and thromboembolism. A venogram revealed complete occlusion of the left subclavian vein along with adjacent partial obstruction of the axillary vein. Increased collateral venous drainage was present, suggesting external compression. This finding was consistent with a primary subclavian thrombosis resulting from thoracic outlet syndrome, also known as Paget-Schroetter syndrome. Routine radiographs of the chest were initially interpreted as normal, although a later retrospective review ultimately revealed the lesion. Magnetic resonance images of the shoulder revealed no obvious extrinsic …
Effect of Boundary Conditions on the Thermo-Mechanical Response of Hastelloy® X Plates Subjected to Shock Loading

The effect of boundary conditions on the thermo-mechanical structural response of Hastelloy® X plates under shock loading was experimentally studied. Three different boundary conditions were considered in the experiments namely, simply supported, clamped and loaded. A series of experiments were conducted at room temperature, 400 and 800 °C. High speed cameras were used to capture the real time images of the specimen. An optical band pass filter was used to aid the image capturing at high temperatures. The technique of digital image correlation (DIC) was used to obtain the displacement and strain data.
Specificity of interaction between carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and nuclear proteins: widespread occurrence of a restricted pattern of histone binding in intact cells.

Publisher Summary The first steps in the induction of malignancy by chemical carcinogens involve covalent interactions with cellular macromolecules. For the widespread environmental contaminant benzo[a] pyrene (B[a]P), metabolic activation by cellular enzymes produces a number of potentially reactive metabolites. The end products of one metabolic pathway, 7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-oxy-7,8,9,10 tetrahydro-B[a]P (BPDE), are responsible for essentially all DNA adduct formation in animal cells treated with B[a]P, and a particular stereoisomer, designated (+)-anti-BPDE is thought to be the ultimate carcinogenic derivative of B[a]P. It has been shown that in hamster embryo cell nuclei treated with (+)-anti-BPDE, two of the histones of nucleosomal core, H3 and H2A are covalently modified, while the remaining core histones—H4 and H2B—are essentially unmodified. All four purified core histones, however, serve as the targets for (+)-anti-BPDE in vitro .
Human growth hormone therapy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a drama in three acts

PROLOGUE In 1963, at about the time when research on human growth hormone had reached the point at which large-scale clinical trials could be envisioned, a child was born who within the first 2 years of life was found to have deficiencies of thyroid hormone, insulin, and growth hormone. He was begun on replacement therapy and, among other attributes of growth during his childhood, accumulated several pounds of medical records, first in Los Angeles and later at Palo Alto, CA. According to his mother, he was always a happy, optimistic, and talkative youngster; perhaps because of his tenuous medical condition, he was also somewhat of a stoic. Therefore, when he complained, it behooved people to listen. ACT I Scene I In May 1984, the young man and his family flew from San Francisco to Atlanta en route to Maine to visit his grandparents. As he rose from his seat to change planes, he complained of dizziness. His mother, who was experienced in the diagnosis of hypoglycemia, gave him some candy and watched him closely for the rest of the trip. Nothing more happened, and the incident was forgotten. Several days later, however, in Maine, he turned down an offer to go for a spin on the lake in his grandfather9s motorboat, saying that "he didn9t need to go for a spin because he was already dizzy." On his return from Maine, the patient went back to school, but his dizziness persisted, and now his speech seemed slightly changed. He was seen by a local practitioner, who was unable to find any physical basis for the complaints but was concerned about a possible middle ear problem and suggested that he be seen at Stanford, where he was already being followed for his endocrine problems.
Intelligent sequential mining via alignment: optimization techniques for very large DB

The shear volume of the results in traditional support based frequent sequential pattern mining methods has led to increasing interest in new intelligent mining methods to find more meaningful and compact results. One such approach is the consensus sequential pattern mining method based on sequence alignment, which has been successfully applied to various areas. However, the current approach to consensus sequential pattern mining has quadratic run time with respect to the database size limiting its application to very large databases. In this paper, we introduce two optimization techniques to reduce the running time significantly. First, we determine the theoretical bound for precision of the proximity matrix and reduce the time spent on calculating the full matrix. Second, we use a sample based iterative clustering method which allows us to use a much faster k-means clustering method with only a minor increase in memory consumption with negligible loss in accuracy.
A Review of “Loris Malaguzzi and the Reggio Emilia Experience”

In giving us Volume 23 in Continuum's Library of Educational Thought, Hall et al. were hampered by the fact that the “key architect” (p. 1) of the Reggio Emilia preschool movement, Loris Malaguzzi ...
From pigeons to humans: grounding relational learning in concrete examples

We present a cognitive model that bridges work in analogy and category learning. The model, Building Relations through Instance Driven Gradient Error Shifting (BRIDGES), extends ALCOVE, an exemplar-based connectionist model of human category learning (Kruschke, 1992). Unlike ALCOVE which is limited to featural or spatial representations, BRIDGES can appreciate analogical relationships between stimuli and stored predicate representations of exemplars. Like ALCOVE, BRIDGES learns to shift attention over the course of learning to reduce error and, in the process, alters its notion of similarity. A shift toward relational sources of similarity allows BRIDGES to display what appears to be an understanding of abstract domains, when in fact performance is driven by similarity-based structural alignment (i.e., analogy) to stored exemplars. Supportive simulations of animal, infant, and adult learning are provided. We end by considering possible extensions of BRIDGES suitable for computationally demanding applications.
Abstract 388: Epigenome-wide profiling identified significant differences in DNA methylation between African-American and European-American men with prostate cancer

Background: DNA methylation is a dynamic epigenetic mark that is essential for mammalian organismal development. For human prostate cancer (PCa), abundant evidence has accumulated to suggest that somatic epigenetic alterations may appear early during cancer development, as well as more commonly and consistently, than genetic changes. Several cancer-associated genes have been reported to show significant differences in DNA methylation pattern in prostate tissues from African-American (AA) and European-American men, but the genome-wide pattern and extent of these differences are largely unknown. The current study investigated genome-wide DNA methylation differences in AA and EA prostate tissue samples with the aim of assessing the variation of genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation. Methods: To comprehensively examine the DNA methylation pattern in AA and EA samples, we used illumina 450 K methylation platform (Infunium Chip) to conduct genome-wide large scale analysis of DNA methylation changes in 7 normal and 3 PCa tissue samples from AA versus 8 normal and 3 PCa tissue samples from EA. This chip interrogates >485,000 CpG methylation sites per sample at single-nucleotide resolution and assigns each site an average beta value for quantitative methylation level. Results: Pathway analysis of the genes with altered methylation patterns identified top canonical pathways for the involvement of cancer related network for genes involved in axonal guidance, antigen presentation, androgen signaling and protein ubiquitination pathways in prostate cancer tissues compared with normal prostate tissues obtained from AA men. On the other hand, the top canonical pathways identified in prostate cancer tissues compared with normal prostate tissues obtained from EA men are genes involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition, p53 signaling, nucleotide sugars metabolism and germ cell-sertoli cell junction signaling pathways. Conclusion: Using this quantitative sequencing-based approach, our work uncovers significant global DNA methylation alterations in AA versus EA prostate tissues and provides a mechanistic explanation for the disease disparity. Citation Format: Bernard Kwabi-Addo, Songping Wang, Joseph Devaney. Epigenome-wide profiling identified significant differences in DNA methylation between African-American and European-American men with prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 388. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-388
Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs : Lessons from Latin America

Unlike most development initiatives, conditional cash transfer programs recently introduced in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have been subject to rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness. These programs provide money to poor families, conditional on certain behavior, usually investments in human capital-such as sending children to school or bringing them to health centers on a regular basis. Rawlings and Rubio review the experience in evaluating the impact of these programs, exploring the application of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation methods and summarizing results from programs launched in Brazil, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Evaluation results from the first generation of programs in Brazil, Mexico, and Nicaragua show that conditional cash transfer programs are effective in promoting human capital accumulation among poor households. There is clear evidence of success in increasing enrollment rates, improving preventive health care, and raising household consumption. Despite this promising evidence, many questions remain unanswered about the impact of conditional cash transfer programs, including those concerning their effectiveness under different country conditions and the sustainability of the welfare impacts.
Structure and function of von Willebrand factor.

Introduction: The reader will find here a concise summary of established notions on the structure and function of von Willebrand factor (vWF), followed by a brief discussion of selected recent advances that illustrate how this molecule supports platelet function in hemostasis and thrombosis. A comprehensive review of the topic is beyond the scope of this chapter and may be found elsewhere.
Surface Operators and Knot Homologies

Topological gauge theories in four dimensions which admit surface operators provide a natural framework for realizing homological knot invariants. Every such theory leads to an action of the braid group on branes on the corresponding moduli space. This action plays a key role in the construction of homological knot invariants. We illustrate the general construction with examples based on surface operators in N=2 and N=4 twisted gauge theories which lead to a categorification of the Alexander polynomial, the equivariant knot signature, and certain analogs of the Casson invariant.