cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Elementos Narrativos que Sirven para Generar Convergencias e Inteligibilidad en Narrativas Transmediáticas o Narrativas Interactivas Lineales.

El termino transmedia fue acunado por Marsha Kinder (1991) para referirse a la intertextualidad entre peliculas, series de television de dibujos y los juguetes para ninos y jovenes preadolescentes. En dicha publicacion participaba Henry Jenkins, quien posteriormente profundizo en el termino de transmedia en Media Convergence (2006) y posteriormente en narrativa transmedia. La presente investigacion analiza el uso de los elementos narrativos y de las caracteristicas de los medios de comunicacion utilizados para generar narrativas transmedia para poder utilizarlas en productos comunicativos independientes. Este articulo se concentra en el analisis transmedia del universo narrativo generado por los comics, peliculas, web, videos de fans y videojuegos de Batman. El objetivo es el estudio de los elementos narrativos de las acciones, personajes, espacios y tiempos utilizados para generar convergencia e inteligibilidad comunicativas transmedia que retroalimentan coherentemente el universo de Batman, sus narrativas interactivas lineales y circulares. De esta forma es posible aplicar dichas tecnicas narrativas transmedia a la construccion de productos comunicativos independientes y de edutainment . ANEXO I DESCARGAR
A second set of XEGIP-encoding genes resides on chromosome 8 of potato and tomato

Xyloglucan-specific endoglucanase inhibitor proteins (XEGIPs) are present in a wide range of dicots, where they are believed to play a role in defense from pathogens. XEGIPs are generally present as two or three copies; however, they are reported to be present as a cluster of 10 copies in potato and tomato on chromosome 1. We have identified a second set of XEGIP-encoding genes, where two inverted copies are present on chromosome 8 of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). The same set exists in the same order on chromosome 8 of tomato (Solanum pennellii Correll). Transcript expression analysis indicates that XEGIP10 is transcribed only in roots, while XEGIP11 transcripts were not detected under normal growth conditions. Transformed potatoes (‘Bintje’ and ‘Kennebec’) overexpressing these genes did not show any changes in phenology. Foliar screening of transgenic lines for resistance to the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary did not demonstrate a large reduction in disease progression or p...
Sister chromatid exchange in lymphocytes from patients with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequencies were studied in peripheral lymphocytes from 16 patients with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) prior to the initiation of chemotherapy. The mean SCE frequency ( $$\bar x$$ ±SE) for these patients was 12.2±0.2 per metaphase, which was significantly higher (P(0.001) than the mean SCE score for 14 agematched controls, 7.6±0.2. Five of these patients were studied again while they were receiving maintenance therapy consisting primarily of daily 6-mercaptopurine and weekly methotrexate. Their remission SCE levels remained significantly higher than controls (P(0.005). In addition, SCE levels were studied in 7 long-term survivors of ALL. Three of these patients had been receiving continuous maintenance therapy for at least 3 years. Their mean SCE scores were significantly greater than controls (P(0.005). The other 4 patients had finished their final course of chemotherapy at least 8 months prior to the time of sampling, and their mean SCE scores were not significantly different from controls (P>0.10). These data indicate that untreated patients with ALL have increased SCE levels which remain elevated during periods of remission maintained with chemotherapy. However, longterm survivors of ALL who are in remission and off chemotherapy do not demonstrate significantly increased SCE frequencies.
The Cognitive and Social Psychological Bases of Bias in Forensic Mental Health Judgments

This chapter integrates the basic science of bias in human judgment from cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and social psychology as relevant to judgments and decisions by forensic mental health professionals. Forensic mental health professionals help courts make decisions in cases when some question of psychology pertains to the legal issue, such as in insanity cases, child custody hearings, and psychological injuries in civil suits. The legal system itself and many people involved, such as jurors, assume mental health experts are “objective” and untainted by bias. However, basic psychological science from several branches of the discipline suggests that this assumption about experts’ immunity against bias is wrong. Indeed, several empirical studies now show clear evidence of (unintentional) bias in forensic mental health experts’ judgments and decisions. In this chapter, we explain the science of how and why human judgments are susceptible to various kinds of bias. We describe dual-process theories from cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and social psychology that can help explain these biases. We review the empirical evidence to date specifically about cognitive and social psychological biases in forensic mental health judgments, weaving in related literature about biases in other types of expert judgment, with hypotheses about how forensic experts are likely affected by these biases. We close with a discussion of directions for future research and practice.
Basic Concepts in the Effects of Mass Transfer on Immobilized Enzyme Kinetics

The observed kinetics of immobilized enzymes can often be influenced by mass transfer effects. To ensure straight-forward and useful analysis of data, these influences should be anticipated at the early stages of design and execution of kinetic experiments. With adequate care, it is then possible to interpret meaningfully values of commonly reported immobilized enzyme kinetic parameters, such as the “apparent Michaelis constant,” even if severe mass transfer effects are present when rate data are obtained.
An active metasurface for real-time multifunctional elastic wave control (Conference Presentation)

We design and experimentally demonstrate a linear active elastic metasurface for real-time and simultaneously multifunctional wave control on a steel plate. The metasurface consists of an array of circuit-controlled piezoelectric patches bonded on the plate separated by thin slots for active wave phase modulations. Our experiments illustrate that by properly programming digital circuits of metasurface unit cells, wave steering directions and paths can be arbitrarily tuned in real-time, which also has an excellent agreement with numerical simulations. We further explore that multiple wave control functions can be integrated into one within the circuits to achieve a simultaneously multifunctional wave control device by using only one metasurface layer. Our numerical results prove the feasibility of the design for broadband and oblique incident applications. The active metasurface breaks the time-revisal symmetry and behaves nonreciprocal propagations of elastic waves. Our design can be simply extended for other elastic wave mode control and wave mode conversion. We believe that the proposed active elastic metasurface could open new avenues for novel and unconventional real-time elastic wave control applications.
Enterobius vermicularis (Pinworms)

Pinworms are one of the most common human parasites. Prevalence is highest among children aged 5–10, and it has been reported that pinworm infections of the GI tract affect 4–28% of children worldwide. These nematodes have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in cold or temperate climates and in developed countries. They are extremely common in the United States and Northwestern Europe. The infective egg resides in dust and soil, and transmission is believed to be via the fecal–oral route. Pinworms are known as Oxyuris vermicularis in the older literature.
Impact of Knowledge, Attitude, and Beliefs about AIDS on Sexual Behavioral Change Among College Students in Nigeria: The Case of the University of Nigeria Nsukka

More than two decades after the HIV/AIDS epidemic took root, Africa continues to record the greatest number of HIV infections and deaths. The United Nations estimates that 34.3 million people in the world have AIDS, more than 50% higher than what the World Health Organization’s Global Program projected in 1991, with 24.5 million of them in Sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations 2000). Of the 2.8 million who died of AIDS in 1999, 2.2 million or 85 % of them were in Africa. In spite of this alarming statistic, the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the African continent is still spreading rapidly. Although the governments in Africa are searching ways of dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, political leaders in many countries have failed to demonstrate the leadership needed to raise AIDS awareness among their people. Heterosexual relationships became one of the major means in the spread of AIDS amidst the decline in its transmission from blood and blood products (Taylor, 1990; Wahdan, 1995). Individual behavioral change, particularly sexual behavioral change, appears to be the most effective means to prevent further AIDS/HIV spread under the current circumstance in Africa.
Chapter 18 The autonomic neuropathies

Publisher Summary The core features of immune mediated autonomic neuropathy (IMAN) are acute or subacute onset, widespread and severe sympathetic and parasympathetic failure, and relative or complete sparing of the somatic nerve fibers. The acute or subacute onset of combined sympathetic and parasympathetic failure develops in previously healthy individuals. Widespread sympathetic failure is manifested as orthostatic hypotension and anhidrosis. Dry eyes, dry mouth, and disturbances of the bowel bladder and sexual function indicate parasympathetic failure. Abdominal pain, often colicky, is very common and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as early satiety, bloating, nausea, vomiting, pain, diarrhea, or alternating constipation–diarrhea, may persist for years. Patients may have a fixed heart rate (HR) and pupils. The acute onset, frequent antecedent viral infection, selective involvement, by autonomic postganglionic fibers, and presence of perivascular mononuclear cell infiltration on nerve biopsy suggest an immune mediated mechanism. More recently, autonomic ganglionic antibody has been found to be increased in half the cases. Neurologic examination confirms the presence of orthostatic hypotension and abnormalities that indicate autonomic involvement. These might include fixed HR, fixed dilated pupils, dry skin, and urinary retention. Strength and sensation are usually normal. The site of the lesion is usually peripheral and postganglionic.
Teaching sociological theory through organizational cases

Concepts developed by classical and contemporary thinkers serve as guides to the details of organizational environments and help investigators determine the efficacy of given organizational patterns. Students of sociology develop the application component of the major, in part, when provided the opportunity to gain experience with real organizational cases. The organizational projects conducted by students are founded upon four theoretical perspectives: functionalist, interactionist, exchange, and conflict.
Educational justice and transnational migration

In this paper I address the distributive, inclusive, and relational dimensions of educational justice individually in relation to transnational migration. First, I thematize distributive issues wit...
Synthesis of Spherical Nano- to Microscale Core−Shell Particles Li[(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)1-x(Ni0.5Mn0.5)x]O2 and Their Applications to Lithium Batteries

Spherical nano- to microscale core−shell Li[(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)1-x(Ni0.5Mn0.5)x]O2 was successfully synthesized via a coprecipitation route. The structure, chemical composition, and morphology of the core−shell powders can be tailored by tuning the reaction conditions. The core−shell-structured material provides a significant breakthrough in the development of high-capacity lithium batteries with respect to energy density, cycle life, and safety.
Perceived Social Norms and Concussion-Disclosure Behaviours Among First-Year NCAA Student-Athletes: Implications For Concussion Prevention and Education

Timely disclosure and identification of concussion symptoms are essential to proper care. Perceived social norms are a potential driving factor in many health-related decisions. The study purpose w...
PREDICTORS AND TEMPORAL TRENDS OF TYPES OF CORONARY ARTERTY STENTS USED IN HIV PATIENTS

Disparities may exist in management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in HIV patients. We investigated the factors associated with types of coronary stents placed in HIV patients with AMI. We used the 2010-2014 National Inpatient Sample to identify adults ≥18 years with AMI. We evaluated
Mapping tracts in the human subthalamic area by 11.7T ex vivo diffusion tensor imaging

The cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical feedback loops that consist of distinct white matter pathways are important for understanding in vivo imaging studies of functional and anatomical connectivity, and for localizing subthalamic white matter structures in surgical approaches for movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. Connectomic analysis in animals has identified fiber connections between the basal ganglia and thalamus, which pass through the fields of Forel, where other fiber pathways related to motor, sensory, and cognitive functions co-exist. We now report these pathways in the human brain on ex vivo mesoscopic (250 μm) diffusion tensor imaging and on tractography. The locations of the tracts were identified relative to the adjacent gray matter structures, such as the internal and external segments of the globus pallidus; the zona incerta; the subthalamic nucleus; the substantia nigra pars reticulata and compacta; and the thalamus. The connectome atlas of the human subthalamic region may serve as a resource for imaging studies and for neurosurgical planning.
Selective dynamics in polymeric materials: Insights from quasi-elastic neutron scattering spectroscopy

Polymeric materials exhibit a rich hierarchy of dynamics from fast sub-molecular motions to collective segmental relaxations and slow chain diffusion. Such dynamical hierarchy dictates that the performance of polymeric materials is tightly linked to fast molecular dynamics, necessitating a thorough understanding of the dynamic behavior of polymers on the nanoscale. Recent advances in the synthesis of polymer composites with nanoscale fillers further amplify the need to probe polymer dynamics over spatial and temporal nanoscales to achieve reliable engineering of materials with well-defined properties. This tutorial focuses on the efficacy of neutron spectroscopy techniques, combined with judicious hydrogen/deuterium labeling, in selectively probing local and collective dynamics that underlie macroscopic properties in polymeric materials with varying degrees of complexity.
Heat shock protein 90-targeted photodynamic therapy enables treatment of subcutaneous and visceral tumors.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) ablates malignancies by applying focused near-infrared (nIR) light onto a lesion of interest after systemic administration of a photosensitizer (PS); however, the accumulation of existing PS is not tumor-exclusive. We developed a tumor-localizing strategy for PDT, exploiting the high expression of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in cancer cells to retain high concentrations of PS by tethering a small molecule Hsp90 inhibitor to a PS (verteporfin, VP) to create an Hsp90-targeted PS (HS201). HS201 accumulates to a greater extent than VP in breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in increased treatment efficacy of HS201-PDT in various human breast cancer xenografts regardless of molecular and clinical subtypes. The therapeutic index achieved with Hsp90-targeted PDT would permit treatment not only of localized tumors, but also more diffusely infiltrating processes such as inflammatory breast cancer. Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is highly expressed in cancer cells. Kaneko et al show that targeting Hsp90 on the cancer cell surface with a photosensitizer tethered to an Hsp90 small molecule inhibitor improves the efficacy of photodynamic therapy in various human breast cancer xenografts, suggesting a therapeutic avenue for human disease.
10 – Display and Storage Systems

Publisher Summary A microcomputer may be used in an intelligent terminal or in a personal computer. Such systems require a display. Any microcomputer requiring the display of more than the hundred or so digits that an LED or LCD is able to handle, can use a cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. In addition to communicating with other computers, microcomputers may also have to communicate with humans using LCD displays or using more complex CRT displays. This chapter introduces two common interfaces: CRT display and secondary storage. Also, a microcomputer may have to store data on a magnetic tape or disk. This stored data can be used by the microcomputer later, or it may be moved to another computer. Thus, on an abstract level, a magnetic storage medium can be an alternative to an electronic communications link.
A Quantum-Chemical Insight into the Role of Charge-Transfer States in Organic Emitters for Electroluminescence

The rapid progress of the design and development of efficient organic electroluminescent emitters without heavy transition metals has been achieved in recent experimental investigations. In this mi...
“A Larger System is Placing People in this Predicament”: A Qualitative Exploration of Living Amongst Urban Violence and the Impact on Mental Health and Relationships in the Black Community

It is estimated that 18.6% of African American adults are living with a mental illness. Research suggests that poverty, neighborhood disorder, and neighborhood violence are linked to negative mental health outcomes. However, an understanding of what specific mechanisms are associated with violent neighborhoods and mental health needs further exploration. In addition, there is limited research examining how living in the context of urban violence affects partner relationships, parent–child relationships, sibling relationships, or families in general. Using a structural violence framework and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Methodology, this study explored the lived experience of being Black and living in urban neighborhoods plagued with violence and the impact it has on mental health and relationships. Four main themes emerged: (1) systemic injustice, (2) impact on mental health, (3) impact on relationships, and (4) cultural and communal strengths. All participants discussed that the crime and violence that happens within low-income urban communities is not an individual problem, but rather a product of larger systemic oppression, such as a lack of resources in the community. They also discussed how living within such neighborhoods impacted their mental health (i.e., causing symptoms of anxiety) and had both negative and positive impacts on romantic and familial relationships. Finally, participants described strengths and resiliencies in their communities, such as the connectedness experienced through religion and food. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Meeting the Grand Challenges in a Rural Community: An IPE Case Study

Three of the Grand Challenges identified by the social work profession are specifically related to health care: healthy youth development, closing the health care gap, and advancing long and productive lives. Idaho State University (ISU) initiated a collaborative interprofessional health education project (IET) over 30 years ago. This collaborative includes ten health care disciplines across five colleges and provides in-depth assessment and referral to three families annually. This study describes the development of a collaborative, high impact, teaching exemplar, and examines the knowledge, perceptions, and competency of participating students using the framework of the IPEC competencies and the CSWE practice competencies for social work education. Results are derived from a pre-post survey administered during the previous two years. The project includes two groups of students: those that engaged in a hands-on experience with a client and those that only observed clients. The Observation-Only group completed the SPICE-R2 and the IEPS. Students that had direct interaction with clients completed the IEPS (pre-post engagement with clients) as well as the ICCAS. Attitudes, perceptions, and perceived competency improved amongst students participating in the IET course from pre-assessment to post-assessment with moderate to large effects being observed.
A guide to membrane protein X-ray crystallography.

Membrane proteins play critical physiological roles in all organisms, from ion transport and signal transduction to multidrug resistance. Elucidating their 3D structures is essential for understanding their functions and this information can also be exploited for structure-aided drug discovery efforts. In this regard, X-ray crystallography has been the most widely used technique for determining the high-resolution 3D structures of membrane proteins. However, the success of this technique is dependent on efficient protein extraction, solubilization, stabilization, and generating diffracting crystals. Each of these steps can impose great challenges for membrane protein crystallographers. In this review, the process of generating membrane protein crystals from protein extraction and solubilization to structure determination are discussed. In addition, the current methods for pre-crystallization screening and a few strategies to increase the chance of crystallizing challenging membrane proteins are introduced.
Interpretable Factors in scRNA-seq Data with Disentangled Generative Models

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) experiments measure transcriptional profiles that encode diverse sources of variation, both biological and technical, and complex coordinations among them. PCA is a popular method for interpretable dimension reduction. However, it assumes a linear mapping between data and latent components and this may not be warranted in complex data. Single cell variational inference (scVI) offers a nonlinear method for latent space mapping, but the latent factors are not in general interpretable. In light of disentangled representations that learn independent data generative factors of single cell data in an unsupervised way, we propose factor variational inference (factorVI). FactorVI learns the disentangled factors among biologically relevant latent variables directly by penalizing correlations between them. We evaluate the factorVI through clustering in publicly available datasets and we observe high accuracy. We also propose biological interpretation of the latent factors.
The (Mis) Use of Language in Nigerian Political Campaigns (NPC): Moral Philosophical Perspectives

Language is an important instrument of communication in every society. Through it, human beings interact, relate, and forge ahead. Through language, human beings are able to adapt to their environment and make meaning out of life. It can be used for good or for evil. Language can be used properly or it can be abused or misused. This paper examines the use of language in political campaigns in Nigeria. It argues that language is often misused or abused in political campaigns in Nigeria. Language is used to cajole, intimidate, demean and degrade human dignity in Nigeria. Ethically the way language is used in political campaigns in Nigeria is unacceptable. The paper used a critical analytic and hermeneutic method to decipher the issues involved. It finds and concludes that there is a need for politicians to behave morally in their use of language during political campaigns to build a better society.
Balancing Cost Effectiveness and Incentive Properties in Conservation Auctions: Experimental Evidence from Three Multi-award Reverse Auction Mechanisms

Government agencies are increasingly using economic incentives to encourage landowners to adopt conservation practices. Auctions enable agencies to identify land conservation practices with low opportunity costs. At the same time, landowners’ opportunity costs contain useful information for government agencies to rank conservation priorities. This paper introduces a new reverse auction mechanism that performs well both from the cost effectiveness and cost-revelation perspectives and compares three multi-award reverse auction mechanisms. The first mechanism is called the Uniform Price Reverse (UPR) auction, where each winning bidder is paid the lowest rejected bid. The second mechanism is called the First Price Reverse (FPR) auction, where winning bidders are paid their submitted bids. The third, novel, mechanism is called the Generalized Second Price Reverse (GSPR) auction, where each winning bidder is paid the bid that is immediately higher. Theoretically, I derive the equilibrium bidding strategy for each auction mechanism and show that a symmetric equilibrium strategy may not exist under the GSPR auction. Empirically, lab experiment results show that UPR and GSPR auctions lead to a higher efficiency level compared to FPR, while UPR auction yields the lowest auctioneer surplus and is the least cost effective. As a result, GSPR maintains good incentive properties similar to UPR and presents potential large cost-saving opportunities to the auctioneer.
Features That Aid Identification of Autoimmune Gastritis in a Background of Active Helicobacter pylori Infection.

Context.— Helicobacter pylori-associated and autoimmune gastritis may coexist in a subset of patients who require treatment for both disorders. Objective.— To delineate findings that identify autoimmune gastritis in the background of H pylori infection. Design.— We examined cases of (1) patients with H pylori-associated gastritis who had successful eradication therapy and subsequent biopsies diagnostic of autoimmune gastritis and (2) H pylori-associated gastritis wherein pathologists noted features of autoimmune gastritis during original interpretation. Control patients underwent H pylori eradication but lacked evidence of autoimmune gastritis or H pylori infection after 10 years of follow-up. Results.— Eight subjects had H pylori-associated gastritis followed by H pylori-negative sampling that showed autoimmune gastritis. Review of original samples showed full-thickness inflammation of oxyntic mucosa in 8 of 8 and oxyntic gland loss in 7 of 8 cases. Enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell hyperplasia, pyloric metaplasia, and intestinal metaplasia were present in 4 of 8 (80% of 5 tested cases), 4 of 8, and 3 of 8 cases, respectively. Features of autoimmune gastritis were noted at the time of their original H pylori diagnosis in 11 study subjects. Ten of 11 samples displayed full-thickness inflammation of oxyntic mucosa and/or partial loss of oxyntic glands, 8 of 11 had ECL cell hyperplasia (all tested cases), 6 of 11 showed pyloric metaplasia, and 4 of 11 harbored intestinal metaplasia. Except for full-thickness oxyntic mucosa inflammation, these features were absent in control cases. Conclusions.— Full-thickness inflammation combined with oxyntic gland loss and ECL cell hyperplasia may help to identify autoimmune gastritis in patients with concomitant H pylori infection.
Packaging Information as Fact versus Opinion: Consequences of the (Information-)Structural Position of Subjective Adjectives.

How do we distinguish fact from opinion? We tested whether people’s ability to detect opinion-based content—as indicated by the use of subjective adjectives (e.g., amazing, frustrating)—depends on ...
Microaggressive Hierarchical Intersectionalities: Small Stories of Women of Color in Higher Education

This article uses methods from narrative analysis to consider how the macro-level experiences of racism and sexism appear in micro-level small stories about hierarchical microaggressive intersectionalities (HMI) in higher education. Small stories shared by university faculty and administrators reveal that microaggressions were simultaneously experienced along the lines of race, gender and role in the institution. Themes emerge that link deprofessionalization, invisibility, and fatigue to these small stories. On a nuanced level, the narratives in this paper demonstrate how broader societal notions of women’s and women of color’s roles in institutions translate into a negative campus climate for those who experience HMI.
Youth‒Police Contact: Burdens and Inequities in an Adverse Childhood Experience, 2014‒2017.

Objectives. To assess police contact as a potential adverse childhood experience by measuring its prevalence, nature, and distribution among urban adolescents. Methods. Detailed US population-based...
Routine-Biased Technological Change and Declining Employment Rate of Immigrants

We find that routine-biased technological change decreases the employment-to-population ratio of foreign-born population over the last three decades (1980–2010). This impact is greater for foreign-born population with lower English proficiency. As computerization and automation substitute for workers in routine occupations, switching from routine jobs to non-routine cognitive jobs may be more challenging for foreign-born workers than for native workers.
De Valois, Russell L. 1926–2003

Russell De Valois was born on December 14, 1926 in Ames, IA, to missionary parents with whom he spent much of his early years in India. In 1947, he received a degree in zoology and physiology at Oberlin College in Ohio and in 1948 an MA degree in psychology. At Oberlin, he also was a player and for a year the coach of the soccer team.
The Predictive Value of Post-Treatment PET-CT Imaging for Patients With Curable Anal Canal Cancer.

Purpose/objective(s) According to 2020 "NCCN" guidelines, post-treatment positron emission tomography (PET) - computed tomography (CT) imaging of the body is not recommended to predict outcomes of patients undergoing curative intent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for anal canal cancer. This study used PERCIST (Positron Emission tomography Response Criteria In Solid Tumors) to evaluate CRT response and outcomes for our patient population at a single institution. Materials/methods Our "IRB"-approved anal canal database was queried for patients who have undergone CRT, modified "NIGRO" protocol, for carcinoma of the anal canal. The evaluable patient dataset comprised those with both pre- and post-CRT PET-CT imaging of the body. The primary study endpoint was relapse-free survival (RFS) calculated from date of diagnosis to date of first known appearance of disease or death from any cause. Overall survival (OS) was defined using elapsed time between date of diagnosis and date of death and surviving patients were censored using date of last follow-up. Also, the range and median time to first post-CRT PET-CT imaging was determined. RFS and OS were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method. Complete response rate (CRR) and objective response rate (ORR) were calculated along with 95% confidence intervals using Fisher's exact method. All tests were two-sided, and statistical significance was considered when P Results Out of an initial 392 patients in our database registry, 62 had pre/post-CRT PET-CT imaging from June 2008 until May 2020. There were 18 males and 44 females. The median age at diagnosis was 57.7 years (range: 38-84 years). "AJCC" (7th edition) staging distribution was as follows: 3 Stage I, 13 Stage II, 41 Stage III, and 5 Stage IV. The median total dose of external beam irradiation was 54 Gy (range: 45-60 Gy). Time to post-CRT PET-CT imaging ranged from 0.2 to 27.8 months (mos) [median: 2.9 mos]. Respective PET-response rates regarding primary tumor (N = 62); largest groin node (N = 33); and largest pelvic node (N = 39) were as follows: 31 CR (Complete Response), 26 PR (Partial Response), 5 SD (Stable Disease), and 0 DP (Disease Progression); 30 CR, 3 PR, 0 SD, 0 DP; and 36 CR, 1 PR, 2 SD, 0 DP. Patient follow-up ranged from 6.8 to 114 mos (median: 38.6 mos). At time of last follow-up, there were 53 alive and 9 dead. Estimated 3-year RFS was 72% (95% "CI": 58.2-81.9%). Estimated 3-year OS was 88.8% (95% CI: 76.6-94.9%). Respective CRRs and ORRs for the primary tumor were 50% (95% CI = 37-63%) and 91.9% (95% CI = 82.2-97.3%); for the groin node 48.4% (95% CI = 35.5-61.4%) and 53.2% (95% CI = 40.1-66%); and for the pelvic node 58.1% (95% CI = 44.8-70.5%) and 59.7% (95% CI = 46.4-71.9%). CRRs and ORRs were not significant prognostic factors for either RFS or OS. Conclusion After applying PERCIST to our institutional study cohort, the use of post-treatment PET-CT imaging to predict outcomes for this patient population remains unproven.
Testosterone might not be necessary to support female aggression in incubating northern cardinals

Testosterone's (T) influence on male aggression has been well established in many vertebrate species, but the impact of T on female aggressive behaviour is poorly understood. Among birds, a link between T and female aggression is plausible, as females of many species exhibit a seasonal peak in T concentrations at the onset of breeding when social instability is greatest and they may have circulating T through much of the breeding season. However, investigations examining the relationship between T and female aggression are few and have yielded conflicting results, with experimentally or endogenously elevated T supporting aggressive behaviour in females of some species but not others, and T elevating with aggression at some points of the reproductive cycle but not others. We examined the relationship between endogenous levels of T and female aggression in the northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, a resident temperate species in which pairs exhibit prolonged territoriality and females have measurable levels of T year-round, including all stages of reproduction (incubation, nestling feeding, etc.). Using simulated nest intrusions, we assessed aggressive responses of incubating females to intrasexual ‘intruders’ at the nest and quantified T levels after each aggressive encounter. Displays of aggression towards ‘intruders’ varied among females; yet, individuals showing greater levels of aggression did not demonstrate higher levels of T. These results imply that T might not support maternal aggression in this species.
Optimization in a Logic Based Language for Knowledge and Data Intensive Applications

This paper describes the optimization approach taken to ensure the safe and efficient execution of applications written in LDL, which is a declarative language based on Horn Clause Logic and intended for data intensive and knowledge based applications. In order to generalize the strategy successfully used in relational database systems we first characterize the optimization problem in terms of its execution space, cost functions and search algorithm. Then we extend this framework to deal with rules, complex terms, recursion and various problems resulting from the richer expressive power of Logic. Among these is the termination problem (safety), whereby an unsafe execution is treated as an extreme case of poor execution.
The U Visa Unveiled: Immigrant Crime Victims Freed from Limbo

On october 28, 2000, the u.s. congress signed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA), which included the U visa — a new form of immigration relief intended to provide legal status to undocumented immigrant victims of crimes if they suffer substantial physical or mental abuse from the crime, and they help law enforcement officials investigate or prosecute the crime. Victims and their advocates expected that the U.S. government would promptly implement the U visa and integrate it into immigration law by releasing specific regulations. While Congress allocated 10,000 U visas per year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not issue a single U visa for almost seven years. On September 5, 2007, DHS finally issued U visa regulations, making these crime victims immediately eligible for relief. As a result of the delay, thousands of victims failed to obtain full benefits of the U visa legislation. Undocumented women and men from around the world have suffered human rights abuses in the United States without a safe and practical opportunity to seek justice. For example, an undocumented Pakistani woman endured a decade of domestic abuse from her partner thought she could come out of hiding, report the criminal, separate from him, and continue her life in the United States free from abuse. An undocumented Mexican man, a victim of assault and attempted murder by unknown assailants, thought he could help investigators locate the criminals and reciprocally remain in the United States. A Japanese college student, who recently lost her U.S. immigration status, was raped as she walked home from class. She had reason to believe that if she reported the crime and helped the police convict the rapist, she could continue to study in the United States legally. Although the Pakistani, Mexican, and Japanese immigrants described above likely qualified for the U visa, they remained in limbo. This article examines how the DHS delay in implementing the U visa — despite Congressional intent and legislation — caused pernicious effects for potential recipients and their advocates. Further, the article evaluates how a series of class action lawsuits against DHS, with both individual and institutional plaintiffs, effectively addressed these problems. The author’s perspective stems from experience working with U visa victims and immigration attorneys. The author reviews strategies that did and will achieve justice for U visa victims, exemplifying how diverse actors can collaborate to address human rights abuses resulting from U.S. immigration policy. DelayS in iMpleMenting the vtvpa anD iSSuing u viSa regulationS
Low phase-noise 5 GHz AlGaN/GaN HEMT oscillator integrated with Ba/sub x/Sr/sub 1-x/TiO/sub 3/ thin films

A C-band MMIC oscillator in GaN HEMT technology with Ba/sub x/Sr/sub 1-x/TiO/sub 3/ (BST) film capacitors integrated as DC block capacitors has been designed, fabricated and characterized. The lumped LC resonator works with the common gate HEMT to generate negative resistance. The oscillator, based on AlGaN/GaN HEMT with 0.7/spl mu/m gate length and 200/spl mu/m gate width, delivers 20.5 dBm output power when bias at V/sub ds/ = 15 V and V/sub gs/ = -3 V, with dc-to-RF efficiency of 12.5%. Phase noise was measured to be -105 dBc/Hz at 100 KHz offset from 5.3 GHz carrier. The results show that AlGaN/GaN HEMTs are attractive to both high power and low noise microwave source application.
On new sufficient conditions for stability of switched linear systems

This work aims to connect two existing approaches to stability analysis of switched linear systems: stability conditions based on commutation relations between the subsystems and stability conditions of the slow-switching type. The proposed sufficient conditions for stability have an interpretation in terms of commutation relations; at the same time, they involve only elementary computations of matrix products and induced norms, and possess robustness to small perturbations of the subsystem matrices. These conditions are also related to slow switching, in the sense that they rely on the knowledge of how slow the switching should be to guarantee stability; however, they cover situations where the switching is actually not slow enough, by accounting for relations between the subsystems. Numerical examples are included for illustration.
Hypogammaglobulinemia in newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Natural history, clinical correlates, and outcomes

BACKGROUND Although hypogammaglobulinemia is a well recognized complication in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), its prevalence at the time of CLL diagnosis, and association with novel prognostic markers and clinical outcome is not well understood. METHODS All patients at the Mayo Clinic between January 1999 and July 2013 who had newly diagnosed CLL and had a baseline assessment of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) were included. The relation between hypogammaglobulinemia at diagnosis and the novel prognostic parameters time to first treatment (TFT) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. RESULTS Of 1485 patients who met the eligibility criteria, 382 (26%) had hypogammaglobulinemia (median IgG, 624 mg/dL), whereas the remaining 1103 patients (74%) had normal serum IgG levels (median IgG, 1040 mg/dL). Patients who had hypogammaglobulinemia at diagnosis were more likely to have advanced Rai stage (III-IV; P = .001) and higher expression of CD49d (P < .001) compared with patients who had normal IgG levels. Although the median TFT for patients who had hypogammaglobulinemia was shorter compared with that for patients who had normal IgG levels (3.8 years vs 7.4 years; P < .001), on multivariable analysis, there was no difference in OS between these 2 groups (12.8 years vs 11.3 years, respectively; P = .73). Of 1103 patients who had CLL with normal IgG levels at diagnosis and who did not receive CLL therapy, the risk of acquired hypogammaglobulinemia was 11% at 5 years and 23% at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS Hypogammaglobulinemia is present in 25% of patients with newly diagnosed CLL. Approximately 25% of patients who have CLL with normal IgG levels at diagnosis will subsequently develop hypogammaglobulinemia on long-term follow-up. The presence of hypogammaglobulinemia does not appear to impact overall survival. Cancer 2015;121:2883–2891. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
Decrease in growth cone-neurite fasciculation by sensory or motor cells in vitro accompanies downregulation of Aplysia cell adhesion molecules by neurotransmitters

Cell adhesion molecules play important roles in axon guidance and synapse formation. Recent studies suggest that the expression of some of these molecules can be regulated either by electrical activity or by specific neurotransmitters. The expression of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM)-like molecules in Aplysia, designated apCAM, is downregulated from the surface of sensory neurons by 5-HT, a transmitter known to evoke long-term changes in the structure and function of these neurons. We tested whether the distribution of apCAM on the surface of other neurons can be regulated by treatments with other neurotransmitters known to evoke long-term functional and structural changes in Aplysia neurons, and we examined the consequences of treatments with the neurotransmitters on the pattern of growth cone- neurite interactions. We report that applications of the neuropeptide Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-amide (FMRFamide) that evoke long-term synaptic depression also reduce apCAM expression on the surface of motor cell L7 via a mechanism that appears to be similar to the mechanism mediating the 5-HT-induced change in the sensory cells. Specific treatments that affect apCAM distribution on the surface of their respective cells, 5- HT on sensory cells or FMRFamide on motor cell L7, mimic treatment with monoclonal antibodies against apCAM by evoking a significant reduction in the fasciculation of growth cones with other neurites extending from homologous cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Successful Hypospadias Repair With Ventral Based Vascular Dartos Pedicle for Urethral Coverage.

ABSTRACTPurpose: We describe an easy technique to reliably harvest a vascularized dartos pedicle for urethral coverage at the time of urethroplasty in hypospadias surgery. The complication of urethrocutaneous fistula in hypospadias surgery as a result of using this technique is also evaluated.Materials and Methods: A retrospective review (July 1999 to September 2002) identified 180 pediatric patients who had undergone primary hypospadias surgery by a single surgeon. A modified technique of harvesting a vascularized dartos pedicle was incorporated in 111 hypospadias repairs. A ventral based vascularized dartos pedicle of tissue was used to cover a modified urethroplasty as described by Snodgrass.Results: The intraoperative meatal position before urethroplasty was subcoronal in 95 cases, penile/midshaft in 11 and penoscrotal in 5. The majority of patients (90 of 111) were younger than 12 months at surgery. Ages ranged from 5 months to 16 years (mean 21.1 months). Of the 111 patients reconstruction using the...
Discussion: “Involuntary Benchmarking and Quality Improvement: The Effect of Mandated Public Disclosure on Hospitals”:

This paper addresses an important empirical question: Does the mandated public disclosure of quality information cause predictable changes in managerial behavior? Evans et al. find that a new requirement for the disclosure of relative performance measures for Pennsylvania hospitals results in hospitals with higher quality (lower mortality rates) gaining market share. Anticipating this customer reaction, those hospitals with poorer quality levels, those facing more intense competition, and those small in size exhibit a greater improvement in their quality performance. However, the hospitals with higher mortality rates also exhibit the least improvement in productivity (as measured by length of stay).1
Estimating missing data values for georeferenced poisson counts

Empirical scientists often are faced with incomplete data and desire imputations for their missing data values. The expectation–maximization algorithm is a generic tool that offers maximum likelihood solutions for such data sets. This article pursues this type of solution for Poisson random variables, utilizing a generalized linear model extension that mirrors the linear analysis of a covariance regression specification. This formulation allows a mixed model to be implemented and contrasted with a Poisson-gamma mixture (i.e., negative binomial) model. Simple comparisons are made between model specification results for a population counts example, with and without a constraint on the total of the missing counts. 实证研究常面临数据缺失问题，需要相应的数据插补方法。最大期望算法（EM）为此类数据集进行最大似然求解提供了通用工具。本文通过提出一个可包含线性协方差回归(ANCOVA)等在内的扩展广义线性模型，将该类解决方案拓展到泊松随机变量。该方法允许建立混合模型，并可与泊松-伽玛混合模型（即负二项式）对比。以人口计数为案例对有无缺失数据条件下模型的设定与结果进行了简要的对比。
Porosity effects on coplanar waveguide porous silicon interconnects

Oxidized porous silicon (OPS) has the potential to produce low loss designs for high-density RF passive and CMOS integrated circuits. Herein are findings on porosity effects on finite ground coplanar waveguide (FGCPW) lines printed on OPS material up to 50 GHz. At 51% porosity, measured effective dielectric constant data (/spl epsi//sub r,eff/) is approximately 2.8 and is consistent with Bruggeman models. For similar low (low-rho) and high (high-rho) resistivity silicon designs, OPS attenuation (dB/cm) exhibits 78% less loss than low-rho designs with 1.5 and 9.5% less than and greater than, the high-rho design at 10 and 20 GHz, respectively. Furthermore, wideband 50-ohm impedance matching is achieved. These findings, therefore, support consideration of oxidized porous silicon for RFIC design.
An efficient method for scene cut detection

Abstract In many applications such as video browsing, indexing of relevant scenes in a video sequence is important for their efficient retrieval. Such indexing is most commonly done by identifying scene cuts which represent the boundary between video shots. Scene cut detection involves the identification of frames at which the content of the scene is significantly different from that of the previously retained frames. This requires computing an appropriate metric that characterizes the change in video content between two frames and a threshold to determine whether the change is large enough for the frame to be defined as a scene cut frame. In this paper, we propose a novel method to detect scene cuts adaptively using a difference metric based on the color histograms of successive frames of a video sequence. An entropic thresholding method is used to obtain the threshold automatically for identifying scene cuts. We further apply a refinement procedure to remove false detection. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the good performance of the method.