cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toward a Midlatitude Ocean Frequency–Wavenumber Spectral Density and Trend Determination

Abstract The time- and space-scale descriptive power of two-dimensional Fourier analysis is exploited to reanalyze the behavior of midlatitude variability as seen in altimetric data. These data are used to construct a purely empirical and analytical frequency–zonal wavenumber spectrum of ocean variability for periods between about 20 days and 15 yr and on spatial scales of about 200–10 000 km. The spectrum is dominated by motions along a “nondispersive” line, which is a robust feature of the data but for whose prominence a complete theoretical explanation is not available. The estimated spectrum also contains significant energy at all frequencies and wavenumbers in this range, including eastward-propagating motions, which are likely some combination of nonlinear spectral cascades, wave propagation, and wind-forced motions. The spectrum can be used to calculate statistical expectations of spatial average sea level and transport variations. However, because the statistics of trend determination in quantitie...
GO Is Polynomial-Space Hard

It is shown that, given an arbitrary GO position on an n × n board, the problem of determining the winner is Pspace hard. New techniques are exploited to overcome the difficulties arising from the planar nature of board games. In particular, it is proved that GO is Pspace hard by reducing a Pspace-complete set, TQBF, to a game called generalized geography, then to a planar version of that game, and finally to GO.
On-Road Exposure to Highway Aerosols. 1. Aerosol and Gas Measurements

On-road experiments were conducted to determine the sensitivities of rats to real-world aerosol. This article summarizes the on-road aerosol and gas measurements and provides background information for the companion paper on the rat exposures. Measurements were carried out over 10 days, 6 h/day, driving a route from Rochester to Buffalo. Aerosol instrumentation used in this study included two scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS) to determine the aerosol size distribution from 10 to 300 nm, 2 stand-alone condensation particle counters to determine the total aerosol number concentration, and an electrical aerosol detector to determine the aerosol length concentration. A thermal denuder (TD) was used with one of the SMPS instruments to determine the size distribution of the non-volatile fraction. Filter samples were collected and analyzed for elemental carbon, and gas analyzers measured ambient levels of CO, CO2, and NO. Average daily total aerosol number concentration ranged from 200,000 to 560,000 part...
JIRiSS - an Eclipse plug-in for Source Code Exploration

JIRiSS (Information Retrieval based Software Search for Java) is a software exploration tool that uses an indexing engine based on an information retrieval method. JIRiSS is implemented as a plug-in for Eclipse and it allows the user to search Java source code for the implementation of concepts formulated as natural language queries. The results of the query are presented as a ranked list of software methods or classes, ordered by the similarity to the user query. In addition to that, JIRiSS includes other advanced features like automatically generated software vocabulary, advanced query formulation options including spell-checking as well as fragment-based search.
Modeling Wisdom of Crowds Using Latent Mixture of Discriminative Experts

In many computational linguistic scenarios, training labels are subjectives making it necessary to acquire the opinions of multiple annotators/experts, which is referred to as "wisdom of crowds". In this paper, we propose a new approach for modeling wisdom of crowds based on the Latent Mixture of Discriminative Experts (LMDE) model that can automatically learn the prototypical patterns and hidden dynamic among different experts. Experiments show improvement over state-of-the-art approaches on the task of listener backchannel prediction in dyadic conversations.
"Run That You May Obtain the Prize" : Using St. Paul as a Resource for the Spiritual Exercises

The underlying themes of Paul’s writings show a clear congruence with major themes in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. In recent years, as scholars have augmented traditional understanding of the texts, the parallels become even more striking. Structuring an entire retreat around these key concepts provides a refreshing perspective, but one that remains true to the dynamics of the Exercises.
Comprehensive foot examination and risk assessment: a report of the task force of the foot care interest group of the American Diabetes Association, with endorsement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

It is now 10 years since the last technical review on preventative foot care was published (1), which was followed by an American Diabetes Association (ADA) position statement on preventive foot care in diabetes (2). Many studies have been published proposing a range of tests that might usefully identify patients at risk of foot ulceration, creating confusion among practitioners as to which screening tests should be adopted in clinical practice. A task force was therefore assembled by the ADA to address and concisely summarize recent literature in this area and then recommend what should be included in the comprehensive foot exam for adult patients with diabetes. The committee was cochaired by the immediate past and current chairs of the ADA Foot Care Interest Group (A.J.M.B. and D.G.A.), with other panel members representing primary care, orthopedic and vascular surgery, physical therapy, podiatric medicine and surgery, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The lifetime risk of a person with diabetes developing a foot ulcer may be as high as 25%, whereas the annual incidence of foot ulcers is ∼2% (3–7). Up to 50% of older patients with type 2 diabetes have one or more risk factors for foot ulceration (3,6). A number of component causes, most importantly peripheral neuropathy, interact to complete the causal pathway to foot ulceration (1,3–5). A list of the principal contributory factors that might result in foot ulcer development is provided in Table 1. View this table: Table 1— Risk factors for foot ulcers The most common triad of causes that interact and ultimately result in ulceration has been identified as neuropathy, deformity, and trauma (5). As identification of those patients at risk of foot problems is the first step in preventing such complications, this report will focus on key components of the …
Time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography of the canine brain at 3.0 Tesla and 7.0 Tesla.

Objective—To evaluate the ability of 2-D time-of-flight (ToF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to depict intracranial vasculature and compare results obtained with 3.0- and 7.0-T scanners in dogs. Animals—5 healthy Beagles. Procedures—2-D ToF-MRA of the intracranial vasculature was obtained for each dog by use of a 3.0-T and a 7.0-T scanner. Quantitative assessment of the images was obtained by documentation of the visibility of major arteries comprising the cerebral arterial circle and their branches and recording the number of vessels visualized in the dorsal third of the brain. Qualitative assessment was established by evaluation of overall image quality and image artifacts. Results—Use of 3.0- and 7.0-T scanners allowed visualization of the larger vessels of the cerebral arterial circle. Use of a 7.0-T scanner was superior to use of a 3.0-T scanner in depiction of the first- and second-order arterial branches. Maximum-intensity projection images had a larger number of vessels when obtained by use of a 7.0-T scanner than with a 3.0-T scanner. Overall, image quality and artifacts were similar with both scanners. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Visualization of the major intracranial arteries was comparable with 3.0- and 7.0-T scanners; the 7.0-T scanner was superior for visualizing smaller vessels. Results indicated that ToF-MRA is an easily performed imaging technique that can be included as part of a standard magnetic resonance imaging examination and should be included in the imaging protocol of dogs suspected of having cerebrovascular disease. (Am J Vet Res 2011;72:350–356) only a limited number of institutions around the world have commercial 7.0-T MRI scanners. 4 Consequently,
Fuel–Air Mixing Experiments in a Directly Fueled Supersonic Cavity Flameholder

In the present study, planar laser-induced acetone fluorescence was used to quantify the streamwise concentration distribution of an ethylene fuel surrogate (acetone-seeded nitrogen) injected directly into the recirculation region of a cavity flameholder embedded in a nonreacting supersonic airflow. The effect of injection configuration and fueling rate were studied. Parallel injection from the cavity front wall resulted in an ultra-fuel-rich recirculation region (beyond the upper flammability limit of an ethylene–air mixture) with a mixing efficiency that degraded with increased fueling rate. Downstream angled injection from the cavity floor yielded a substantial improvement in terms of the spatial uniformity and flammability of the local mixture. Its mixing efficiency was observed to be independent of fueling rate. The superior mixing ability of the latter injection configuration has the potential to provide increased cavity flameholder operability through a broader range of ignition and blowout limits ...
Observation of individual Josephson vortices in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7¿d bicrystal grain-boundary junctions

The response of YBCO bicrystal grain-boundary junctions to small dc magnetic fields (0 - 10 Oe) has been probed with a low-power microwave (rf) signal of 4.4 GHz in a microwave-resonator setup. Peaks in the microwave loss at certain dc magnetic fields are observed that result from individual Josephson vortices penetrating into the grain-boundary junctions under study. The system is modeled as a long Josephson junction described by the sine-Gordon equation with the appropriate boundary conditions. Excellent quantitative agreement between the experimental data and the model has been obtained. Hysteresis effect of dc magnetic field is also studied and the results of measurement and calculation are compared. Grain-boundary junctions in high-temperature-superconducting (HTS) thin films have been studied extensively 1–9 due to their importance in both device applications and fundamental physics. The dynamics of Josephson vortices in Josephson junctions, which are analogous to the Abrikosov vortices in type II superconductors, 10,11 is a very interesting subject, because of the mesoscopic physics involved. Much effort has been devoted to understanding the collective behavior of Josephson vortices in situations such as flux-flow devices. 12 The study
Low temperature cofired ceramic microfluidic microsystems for high temperature and high pressure applications

As an alternative material to glass, silicon, and plastics, Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) substrate technology is becoming increasingly important for enabling microfluidic microsystems and devices for integrated chemical and biological analysis. LTCC's simple fabrication method and unique ability to withstand high temperatures and high pressures make it well-suited for applications not possible with traditional materials. As part of Sandia's initiative to develop an automated sample preparation system for the μChemlab™ bioagent detector, an integrated microfluidic lyser using LTCC technology has been fabricated, which enables the use of aqueous buffers at high temperatures without boiling by using a pressurized system. Thermal lysing of bacterial spores in a flow-through microfluidic device at temperatures as high as 220°C and pressures up to 10.3 MPa (1,500 psi) represents a new method for solubilizing spore proteins for identification and analysis, eliminating the reliance on harsh chemical red...
CLIPB8 is part of the prophenoloxidase activation system in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.

In insects and other arthropods the formation of eumelanin (melanization) is a broad spectrum and potent immune response that is used to encapsulate and kill invading pathogens. This immune response is regulated by the activation of prophenoxidase (proPO), which is controlled by proteinase cascades and its serpin inhibitors, together forming the proPO activation system. While the molecular composition of these protease cascades are well understood in insect model systems, major knowledge gaps remain in mosquitoes. Recently, a regulatory unit of melanization in Anopheles gambiae was documented, comprised of the inhibitory serpin-clip-serine proteinase, CLIPB9 and its inhibitor serpin-2 (SRPN2). Partial reversion of SRPN2 phenotypes in melanotic tumor formation and adult survival by SRPN2/CLIPB9 double knockdown suggested other target proteinases of SRPN2 in regulating melanization. Here we report that CLIPB8 supplements the SRPN2/CLIPB9 regulatory unit in controlling melanization in An. gambiae. As with CLIPB9, knockdown of CLIPB8 partially reversed the pleiotropic phenotype induced by SRPN2 silencing with regards to adult survival and melanotic tumor formation. Recombinant SRPN2 protein formed an SDS-stable protein complex with activated recombinant CLIPB8, however did not efficiently inhibit CLIPB8 activity in vitro. CLIPB8 did not directly activate proPO in vitro nor was it able to cleave and activate proCLIPB9. Nevertheless, epistasis analysis using RNAi placed CLIPB8 and CLIPB9 in the same pathway leading to melanization, suggesting that CLIPB8 either acts further upstream of CLIPB9 or is required for activation of a yet to be identified serine proteinase homolog. Taken together, this study identifies CLIPB8 as an additional player in proPO activation cascade and highlights the complexity of the proteinase network that regulates melanization in An. gambiae.
Effect of Repetitive Sub-concussive Head Impacts on Ocular Near Point of Convergence

This study intended to examine effects of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts on ocular near point of convergence (NPC). 20 healthy young adult soccer players were assigned to either a heading or control group. Heading subjects completed 10 headers of soccer balls projected at a speed of 11.2 m/s. Control subjects did not perform heading. Linear head acceleration was measured with a triaxial accelerometer. The NPC assessment was performed at pre-, 0 h post-, and 24 h post-heading. During the NPC assessment participants were seated and a visual target was moved towards the eyes at 1cm/sec. The participant signaled when he/she experienced diplopia or deviation of the eye was observed, and the distance was recorded. The assessment was repeated twice and average NPC scores were used for further analysis. Soccer heading induced mean group head accelerations of 14.49±5.4 g. Mild head impacts led to an increased NPC distance, which was supported by a significant Group x Time interaction. In the heading group, 0 h post- and 24 h post-heading NPC scores were significantly receded compared to baseline. Conversely, NPC scores for the control group showed no difference over time. Our findings indicate that mild frontal head impacts affekt NPC for a minimum of 24 h-post heading, suggesting that oculomotor processes are disrupted, at least transiently, by repetitive mild head impact.
Sorting through Differences: The Problem of Planning as Reimagination

Communities are sorted through differencing, the social construction of distinction. This, in turn, enables what we term social rendering: erasure of existing community and reimagination of an alternative one. This practice is founded upon an evolutionary notion of development as ecological succession, involving the intersectionality of race, class, and other markers. Such social genotyping leads to a genitocracy built around systems of differences. We examine the effect of present-day redevelopment practice on the Southern California community of Santa Ana. We illustrate how the processes of differencing and rendering undermine the sociocultural fabric of authentic community life.
Comparison of the Hemagglutination-Inhibiting and Neutralizing Antibody Responses of Volunteers Given 400 Chick Cell-Agglutinating Units of Influenza A/New Jersey/76 Split-Virus Vaccine

Thirty-two volunteers 25 years of age or older who were employees of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Md.) were given 400 chick cell-agglutinating units of influenza A/New Jersey/76 virus vaccine (Wyeth Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pa.) intramuscularly. Sera were assayed for hemagglutination-inhibiting (HAI) and neutralizing antibody before and after inoculation. All 32 subjects had a fourfold rise in titer of HAI antibody, and 25 of 32 had a similar rise in titer of neutralizing antibody. The average log2 rise was 4.5 for HAI antibody and 4.1 for neutralizing antibody. Therefore, this vaccine is believed to be capable of stimulating HAI and neutralizing antibodies to an equal extent.
Behold the Man: Baha’u’llah on the Life of Jesus

Selon la conception du prophete iranien du XIX e siecle, Baha'u'llah, la plupart des religions mondiales furent fondees par des manifestations de Dieu. Le prophete utilise la vie de Jesus et le Nouveau Testament afin de relativiser l'heritage islamique. Il associe les sources variees de la vie de Jesus disponibles dans le monde musulman et accepte l'autorite du Nouveau Testament en interpretant les autres sources a la lumiere de ce dernier. Baha'u'llah peut ainsi parler aux chretiens en amis et en convertis potentiels a sa religion. Son attitude contraste ainsi avec celle des principaux leaders musulmans
Theory of Control of Insect Populations by Sexually Sterile Males

The theory of control of insect populations by the release of sexually sterile populations or by treating field populations is examined by establishing basic premises and deriving algebraic equations. The effect of multiple mating is shown to depend on the fertility of females mated to both sterile and fertile males. The effect of release of males alone will be the same as release of both males and females when the released females are sterile; the effect of release of females alone will depend on the number of times males can mate. If a population is seasonally cyclic, the timing of initial releases will have no effect on the number of sterile adults or the time required for extermination, but the initial reduction will be greater and the population before extinction will be lowered if releases are started when the increment of increase is least. The increment of increase of a population and the factors determining the increment are important in determining plant capacity and cost of control. When the cost of the rearing plant, the cost of operation, and the number of generations required to reach extinction are considered, we appear to have an optimum size of plant and rate of release; higher rates of release are costly and save little time. Sterilization of the males in a natural population is a more effective method than the release of sterile populations if both males and females are killed or sterilized. The relative efficiency of different treatments of the 2 sexes in the field depends on the mating ability of the males, the proportion of the 2 sexes that survive treatment, and the fertility of the survivors.
Study on Multiple Factors Influencing Total Numbers of Colony in Water Samples

Objective To investigate the major factors influencing total numbers of colony in water samples.Methods Total numbers of colony in water samples were measured at the culture time of 24,48,and 72 hours,culture temperature of 35,37,and 40℃,inoculating duration of 0,20,40,60,90,and 120 minutes,nutrient agar pouring temperature of 45,48,50,and 55 ℃ respectively.And the statistical analysis was performed.Results There was a significant difference in total numbers of colony between culture duration of 24 and 48 hours,and however no significant difference was found between culture duration of 48 and 72 hours.When at the culture temperature of 37℃,the total numbers of colony were slightly increased,without significant difference among the varying culture temperatures.No considerable difference was noted in total numbers of colony at the time of between immediate inoculating and inoculating within 20 minutes,but there was a marked difference when compared with that at the inoculating time of 40 minutes.And no significant difference was found between at nutrient agar pouring temperature of 45 and 48℃,but there were considerable differences at the temperature of over 50℃.Conclusion The culture duration of 48 hours is suitable for the measurement of the total numbers of colony,with a slightly higher detection rate when at the culture temperature of 37 ℃.The inoculating time of the sample within 20 minutes is appropriate and the nutrient agar pouring temperature is at 45℃ or so and under 50℃.
Halothane-sensitivity gene and muscle contractile properties in malignant hyperthermia.

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) results from the presence of the halothane-sensitivity gene and is characterized by abnormalities in muscle function. Populations of genetically defined pigs were used to determine the in vivo and in vitro expression of this gene in both the homozygous and the heterozygous condition. On exposure to halothane, isolated muscle bundles from the homozygous halothane-sensitive pigs exhibited decreased tetanus tension and increased tetanus half-relaxation time and contracture and were clearly distinguished from homozygous normal muscles. The heterozygous and homozygous normal muscles were similar in contractile responses except for the occurrence of halothane-induced contractures in the heterozygotes. The heterozygous halothane-negative pigs did not exhibit the characteristic signs of an MH episode in response to halothane succinylcholine, although some metabolic responses were significantly altered (e.g., increased venous partial pressure of CO2 and arterial and venous K+ concentration). Thus the heterozygous pigs were not MH susceptible but did represent a phenotype distinct from the homozygous normal pigs both in vitro and in vivo. These data provide the first convincing evidence for the expression of the halothane-sensitivity gene in heterozygotes.
Derived GFR (dGFR) Values from Technetium-99m-MAG3 Data: A Comparison with the 24-Hour Creatinine Clearance

Objective: Glomerular filtration can eliminate a substance only from the filtered fraction of the renal plasma flow. Since that fraction normally is 20%, ERPF agents clear from the kidneys about five times as fast as GFR agents. In most chronic renal diseases, the filtration fraction (GFR divided by ERPF) is largely unaffected, so the GFR can be estimated by dividing the ERPF by five. The aim of this study was to test this hypothesis. Methods: ERPF determinations were made in 52 patients. The results were then divided by five to derive GFR values. Each patient had a 24-hr creatinine clearance test within three days of the 99mTc MAG3 study. Patients with acute renal failure or transplant rejection were excluded from the protocol. Results: There was a high degree of correlation between the 24-hr creatinine clearance and the derived GFR values (dGFR) obtained from the 99mTc MAG3 data, r = 0.97, p Conclusion: Reliable dGFR values can be easily calculated in most chronic renal states using 99mTc MAG3 data; these derived values are well correlated to those obtained by the 24-hr creatinine clearance.
Optical fibers for flexible networks and systems [Invited]

The attributes and characteristics of optical transmission fibers have evolved over the years to accommodate different system technologies and optimize overall system performance. In the emerging era of elastic or flexible networks, optical fibers will continue to play a key role in determining system reach and capacity. In this paper, we examine key characteristics of optical fibers for coherent transmission systems and review recent results that highlight the performance differences observed between fiber designs and between data rates such as 100 and 200 Gbits/s per channel that describe transceivers in current and near-future flexible networks.
DPLL with a trace: from SAT to knowledge compilation

We show that the trace of an exhaustive DPLL search can be viewed as a compilation of the propositional theory. With different constraints imposed or lifted on the DPLL algorithm, this compilation will belong to the language of d-DNNF, FBDD, and OBDD, respectively. These languages are decreasingly succinct, yet increasingly tractable, supporting such polynomial-time queries as model counting and equivalence testing. Our contribution is thus twofold. First, we provide a uniform framework, supported by empirical evaluations, for compiling knowledge into various languages of interest. Second, we show that given a particular variant of DPLL, by identifying the language membership of its traces, one gains a fundamental understanding of the intrinsic complexity and computational power of the search algorithm itself. As interesting examples, we unveil the "hidden power" of several recent model counters, point to one of their potential limitations, and identify a key limitation of DPLL-based procedures in general.
Detection of Monoclonal B-Cell Populations by Polychromatic Flow Cytometry in Cerebrospinal Fluid Specimens From Patients With Demyelinating Disease

Flow cytometric immunophenotyping is an established method for the detection of occult leptomeningeal disease in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and is increasingly being used in the evaluation of patients without an established diagnosis of lymphoma who present with signs and/or symptoms referable to the central nervous system. However, the specificity of flow cytometric immunophenotyping …
Evaluation of a 900 V SiC MOSFET in a 13.56 MHz 2 kW resonant inverter for wireless power transfer

This paper demonstrates the performance of a 900 V silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFET operating at 13.56 MHz in a 2 kW resonant inverter targeted for wireless power transfer (WPT) systems. Operating at multi-MHz switching frequency leads to smaller passive components and has the potential to improve power density and reduce weight for weight-sensitive applications. In addition, the advent of wide band gap (WBG) power semiconductors with higher breakdown voltages than silicon (Si) allows the design of high-power (2 kW or more) inverters even when operating at MHz frequencies. Previous work described the design and implementation of a class Φ 2 inverter using an enhancement mode gallium nitride (eGaN) FET at output power of 1.3 kW and switching at 13.56 MHz [1]. While eGaN FETs have promising electrical characteristics for high-frequency operation, SiC MOSFETs are becoming available with higher temperature ratings, higher breakdown voltages and higher avalanche ratings to operate at tens of MHz switching frequency. In this work, we study and evaluate the electrical characteristics of a 900 V, 7L D2PAK SiC MOSFET and demonstrate the design of a 2 kW single-ended resonant inverter operating at 13.56 MHz.
The Cognitive Significance of Children's Play: A Review of Selected Research:

This review focuses on research studies that have investigated the effects of play on children's cognitive growth. Three groups of investigations are reviewed: (1) correlational studies, (2) experi...
Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Swine Production in the United States: Impact and Opportunities.

ABSTRACT The discovery of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in U.S. swine production is troubling and underscores a tumultuous period where the outlook on the battle against superbugs is bleak. However, all is not lost. This commentary highlights both the good and the bad that can come from such findings, including those of a recent study published by Mollenkopf et al. (Antimicrob Agents Chemother 61:e012198-16, 2017, https://doi.org/doi:10.1128/AAC.01298-16).
Congress Should Adopt a “Do No Harm to Children” Standard in Changes to Public Health Insurance

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics ACA — : Affordable Care Act ADHD — : attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ASD — : autism spectrum disorder CHIP — : Children’s Health Insurance Program In 2015, 21% of children, 15 000 000, were living in poverty (<100% of the federal poverty level).1 Forty-three percent of children, 31 000 000, were living below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is a better measure of economic hardship for families in the United States. Children are the poorest age group in our society and more than twice as poor as older adults. It is well documented that poor children are more likely to have poor health outcomes, including chronic conditions such as asthma. They are also at greater risk for poor social, emotional, and behavioral problems, including disobedience, impulsivity, and anxiety.2 Behavioral and mental health problems are common comorbidities of chronic conditions in children living in poverty. In this issue of Pediatrics , Pulcini et al3 present the results of their secondary analyses of the National Survey of Children’s Health for the years 2003, 2007, and 2011–12. Their purpose was to identify trends in parent-reported lifetime … Address correspondence to Benard P. Dreyer, MD, 564 1st Ave, Apt 23 E, New York, NY 10016-6469. E-mail: benard.dreyer{at}nyumc.org
General Practice Review

To provide the general practitioner as well as the specialist with concise, readily available information on the latest, proved methods of treatment of conditions commonly encountered in an average practice, Postgraduate Medicine offers this department to its readers. It is not, of course, intended to present these discussions as the only acceptable therapeutic procedures to be used, but rather to offer simple regimens and recommendations based on the extensive experience of the physicians who prepared these summaries.
Distribution based nearest neighbor imputation for truncated high dimensional data with applications to pre-clinical and clinical metabolomics studies

High throughput metabolomics makes it possible to measure the relative abundances of numerous metabolites in biological samples, which is useful to many areas of biomedical research. However, missing values (MVs) in metabolomics datasets are common and can arise due to both technical and biological reasons. Typically, such MVs are substituted by a minimum value, which may lead to different results in downstream analyses. Here we present a modified version of the K-nearest neighbor (KNN) approach which accounts for truncation at the minimum value, i.e., KNN truncation (KNN-TN). We compare imputation results based on KNN-TN with results from other KNN approaches such as KNN based on correlation (KNN-CR) and KNN based on Euclidean distance (KNN-EU). Our approach assumes that the data follow a truncated normal distribution with the truncation point at the detection limit (LOD). The effectiveness of each approach was analyzed by the root mean square error (RMSE) measure as well as the metabolite list concordance index (MLCI) for influence on downstream statistical testing. Through extensive simulation studies and application to three real data sets, we show that KNN-TN has lower RMSE values compared to the other two KNN procedures as well as simpler imputation methods based on substituting missing values with the metabolite mean, zero values, or the LOD. MLCI values between KNN-TN and KNN-EU were roughly equivalent, and superior to the other four methods in most cases. Our findings demonstrate that KNN-TN generally has improved performance in imputing the missing values of the different datasets compared to KNN-CR and KNN-EU when there is missingness due to missing at random combined with an LOD. The results shown in this study are in the field of metabolomics but this method could be applicable with any high throughput technology which has missing due to LOD.
PPARs as determinants of the estrogen receptor lineage: use of synthetic lethality for the treatment of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer

// Robert I. Glazer 1 and Levy Kopelovich 2 1 Department of Oncology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, NW, Washington, D.C., USA 2 Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA Correspondence to: Robert I. Glazer, email: // Keywords : PPAR δ , PPAR γ , ER Received : December 05, 2016 Accepted : March 02, 2017 Published : April 20, 2017 Abstract The Dilemma: Estrogen receptora-negative (ER-) breast cancer lacks a specific critical target to control tumor progression. The Objective: To identify mechanisms that enable increased expression of the ER+ lineage in an otherwise ER- breast cancer. Preface: The nuclear receptor superfamily members PPARγ and PPARδ regulate gene expression associated with a multitude of pathways, including intermediary metabolism, angiogenesis, proliferation and inflammation (see reviews [ 1 - 3 ]). Recent developments using transgenic and knockout mice, as well as pharmacologic intervention with PPARγ and PPARδ agonists, have revealed a previously unknown relationship between PPARγ suppression and PPARδ activation that leads to the appearance of ER+ tumors, enabling a synthetic lethality approach by anti-ER therapy. The ability to selectively affect the ER+ lineage by modulating PPARγ and PPARδ activity represents a new clinical paradigm and opportunity to treat ER- cancer with PPARγ and PPARδ modulating agents, ultimately rendering them more responsive to adjuvant therapy.
Using machine learning to emulate human hearing for predictive maintenance of equipment

At the current time, interfaces between humans and machines use only a limited subset of senses that humans are capable of. The interaction among humans and computers can become much more intuitive and effective if we are able to use more senses, and create other modes of communicating between them. New machine learning technologies can make this type of interaction become a reality. In this paper, we present a framework for a holistic communication between humans and machines that uses all of the senses, and discuss how a subset of this capability can allow machines to talk to humans to indicate their health for various tasks such as predictive maintenance.
Capitalism and Sub-Saharan African human capital

AbstractThis paper situates Sub-Saharan African migration to the global core, especially the United States, within a historical-structuralist framework and in the process connects migration from the region to global capitalism in a political economy. It considers mechanisms adopted in exploiting the region’s human capital in three regimes of accumulation under capitalist expansion: slavery, colonialism, and globalization. The paper uses both the historical record and empirical data from American Community Survey in analyses. It concludes that recent migration from the region is a continuation of the historic exploitative relationship between the global core and Sub-Saharan Africa. By connecting African human capital utilization to global capitalism, the findings of this paper emphasize the continued need to consider migration as part of the broader postcolonial project. The policy implication of these findings for the region is that countries need to focus on economic development, rather than focusing sol...
The Psychological Contracts of Undergraduate University Students: Who Do They See as Exchange Partners, and What Do They Think the Deals Are?

The relationship between students and their academic institution is based on exchange. However, we have limited knowledge regarding how many exchanges students perceive, who (or what) the perceived exchange partners are, and what the perceived terms of those exchanges contain. To address this gap, we utilized a mixed-method approach to explore and describe the psychological contracts of two sets of undergraduate university students: newly entering freshman, and experienced university students. Results clearly demonstrated that students perceive numerous psychological contracts relevant to their education with a variety of partners both inside and at the boundaries of the institution. Results also demonstrated that these contracts are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct. The overarching implication of these findings is that students navigate a web of diverse exchange partners, and it would be a mistake for educators and researchers to focus exclusively on one or few relationships presupposed to be most important.
Anion Gap and Immunoglobulin Concentration

The serum anion gap is often decreased in patients who have multiple myeloma or monoclonal gammopathy, presumably owing to the unmeasured contribution of cations by the paraprotein. In 83 patients who had moderate-to-severe diffuse (polyclonal) elevations in immunoglobulin concentration (> 3 g/dl), the mean serum anion gap was significantly lower than in patients who had normal concentrations of immunoglobulin. In the subgroup with immunoglobulin levels greater than 4 g/dl, the mean anion gap was 8.7 mEq/l, compared with 11.9 for the control group (P < 0.001). Known causes of decreased anion gap, such as hyperkalemia or hypercalcemia, were absent. The albumin concentration had a minimal effect on the anion gap. The mean anion gap was independent of the patient's diagnosis and the relative contribution of each immunoglobulin class to the total immunoglobulin. Thus, patients who have diffusely elevated immunoglobulin concentrations, as well as those who have monoclonal elevations, have a significantly lower mean anion gap. This low anion gap should be considered in the evaluation of the acid-base status of these patients.
Electric Force Microscope, Capacitive Coupling, and Scanning Magnetoresistive Probe

Electric force microscope (EFM) testing is based on Coulombic force interactions between an EFM probe and a test point. An electric signal on an interconnected line creates an electric force between the tip and the device under test which causes a detectable bending of the cantilever. This bending amount is optically detected and electrically analyzed by a lock-in amplifier. In capacitive coupling method, an electrode is placed in close proximity to a pad on the wafer. The voltage transients on the pad induce weak displacement currents on the electrode. This effect can be used to detect electrical pulses propagating through an IC. For current measurements, scanning magnetoresistive probe has also been suggested to detect currents in a contactless manner.
Design and Validation of an Instrumented Uneven Terrain Treadmill

Studying human and animal locomotion on an uneven terrain can be beneficial to basic science and applied studies for clinical and robotic applications. Traditional biomechanical analysis of human locomotion has often been limited to laboratory environments with flat, smooth runways and treadmills. The authors modified a regular exercise treadmill by attaching wooden blocks to the treadmill belt to yield an uneven locomotion surface. To ensure that these treadmill modifications facilitated biomechanical measurements, the authors compared ground reaction force data collected while a subject ran on the modified instrumented treadmill with a smooth surface with data collected using a conventional instrumented treadmill. Comparisons showed only minor differences. These results suggest that adding an uneven surface to a modified treadmill is a viable option for studying human or animal locomotion on an uneven terrain. Other types of surfaces (eg, compliant blocks) could be affixed in a similar manner for studie...
An AC Magnetohydrodynamic Microfluidic Switch for Micro Total Analysis Systems

In this paper, a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) microfluidic switch, which could form the basis for general microfluidic circuits, is reported. The switch uses an AC MHD pumping mechanism in which the Lorentz force is used to pump electrolytic solutions. By integrating two AC MHD pumps into different arms of a Y-shaped fluidic circuit, flow can be switched between the two arms by activating one of the micropumps and setting the other one at a counteracting pressure to prevent flow. Flow could be switched from one microchannel to another at a velocity of 0.3 mm/sec. This type of switch is easily integrated with other biochips and can be used to produce complex fluidic routing, which may have multiple applications in micro total analysis systems (μTAS). Examples of applications include on-chip combinatorial chemistry for drug discovery and drug testing, connectors for routing samples to different detectors, and general reconfigurable assays.
Prospective study of serum and ionized magnesium pharmacokinetics in the treatment of children with severe acute asthma.

Intravenous (IV) magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is clinically useful as adjunct therapy in treating acute asthma exacerbations. Despite its clinical utility, the disposition of magnesium in children is poorly described. The purpose of this study is to describe the pharmacokinetics (PK) of ionized and total serum magnesium following IV MgSO4 administration in children with severe acute asthma. Thirty-two children receiving 50 mg/kg IV MgSO4 for acute asthma exacerbations at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT, were prospectively enrolled in the study. Blood samples were collected before, as well as 30 min and 2 h after each child’s IV MgSO4 dose, and used to determine total serum and ionized magnesium concentrations. The collected data were analyzed using population PK techniques using NONMEM® software. Total serum magnesium concentrations were used to externally validate our previously published model constructed with retrospective data (median prediction error 10.3%, median absolute prediction error 18.1%). The mean (%CV) observed endogenous ionized magnesium concentration was calculated to be 6.0 mg/L (12%), approximately one third of the same value for endogenous total serum magnesium (17.6 mg/L (22%)) in this dataset. Weight was a significant predictor of both clearance and volume in a population PK model describing ionized magnesium concentrations. No adverse events were observed in this pediatric cohort. This prospective study supports and extends our previous PK analysis of total serum magnesium concentrations. Ionized and total serum magnesium followed similar PK profiles following IV MgSO4 administration in children. A single bolus infusion of IV MgSO4 was safe in this small sample of children receiving it for acute asthma.
Parental and family predictors of fruits and vegetables in elementary school children's home-packed lunches across a school week

Home-packed lunches have been found to be of lower nutritional quality than school-bought lunches, yet little is known about family-based factors associated with lunch packing. The current exploratory study examines parental and family predictors of fruits and vegetables packed in lunches, hypothesizing parents' nutrition knowledge and authoritative parenting as well as children's involvement in lunch decisions would relate to packing more fruits and vegetables, while financial difficulties would relate to packing fewer. Ninety parent-child dyads from 4th-6th grade participated for 5 consecutive school days. Lunch contents were recorded using a digital imaging procedure to capture the number of days a fruit or vegetable was packed, and servings of fruits and vegetables in lunches each day. Parents completed family and parenting questionnaires and daily reports of child involvement in lunch decisions. Count-based regression models and longitudinal analyses within a multilevel modeling framework were used to examine predictors of lunch contents. Higher nutrition knowledge was associated with packing more fruit across the week and more vegetables on Monday. Authoritative parenting was associated with packing fewer vegetables on Monday, but more servings across the week. Financial stress was related to higher rates of never packing vegetables and when vegetables were packed including fewer servings, while child involvement in lunch decisions was associated with packing more fruits across the week, packing vegetables on more days and more servings of vegetables on Monday. Findings suggest parental and family factors impact the foods in packed lunches, with implications for children's dietary intake at school. Outreach programs can help parents pack more fruits and vegetables by providing nutrition education and suggestions for affordable, healthy lunch options as well as encouraging child involvement in the lunch packing process.
The Thai Economy: A Lost Decade?

The Thai economy has been underperformed during the last decade. The average annual GDP growth during 2007-2016 was merely 3.2 percent. Not only was this growth rate one of the lowest among all of the economies in Southeast Asia, it was also far below what Thailand experienced during the glorious “Asian Miracle” years in the early 1990s. What happened to the Thai economy in the last decade? Many critics blame the global economic slowdown following the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Others accuse the post-2006 political instability in the country. This chapter argues that although both factors undoubtedly contributed to the underperformance of the Thai economy, the root of the problem goes deeper — the Thai economy is fundamentally weak regardless of what recently took place in domestic politics or in the global economy. The weaknesses include a lack of productivity improvement, outdated export commodities, aging society, troublesome education system, and high inequality. Political problems and unfavorable global economic environment just exacerbate the situation.
Consideration of Context and Meanings of Neuro-Cognitive Enhancement: The Importance of a Principled, Internationally Capable Neuroethics.

Conrad, Humphries, and Chaterjee (2019) have examined and analyzed public opinions about cognitive enhancement (CE) for various purposes. They gather good evidence that framing metaphors and contex...
The Life Cycle of Adpositions

Adpositions are used, universally, to mark the roles of nominal participants in the verbal clause, most commonly indirect object roles. Practically all languages seem to have such markers, which begin their diachronic life as lexical words -- in this case either serial verbs or positional nouns. In many languages, however, adpositions also seem to have extended their diachronic life one step further, becoming verbal affixes. The main focus of this book is the tail-end of the diachronic life cycle of adpositions. That is, the process by which, having arisen first as nominal-attached prepositions or post-positions, they wind up attaching themselves to verbs. Our core puzzle is thus fairly transparent: How and why should morphemes that pertain functionally to nominals, and begin their diachronic life-cycle as nominal grammatical operators, wind up as verbal morphology? While the core five chapters of this book focus on the rise of verb-attached prepositions in Homeric Greek, its theoretical perspective is broader, perched at the intersection of three closely intertwined core components of the study of human language: (a) the communicative function of grammar; (b) the balance between universality and cross-language diversity of grammars; and (c) the diachrony of grammatical constructions, how they mutate over time. While paying well-deserved homage to the traditional Classical scholarship, this study is firmly wedded to the assumption, indeed presupposition, that Homeric Greek is just another natural language, spoken before written, designed as an instrument of communication, and subject to the same universal constraints as all human languages. And further, that those constraints--so-called language universals--express themselves most conspicuously in diachronic change. Lastly, in analyzing the synchronic variation and text distribution of prepositional constructions in Homeric Greek, this study relies primarily on the theory-laden method of Internal Reconstruction.