cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Evolutionary Divergence of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Is Reflected in Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR) Spacer Composition

ABSTRACT The Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains, including those of O157:H7 and the “big six” serogroups (i.e., serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145), are a group of pathogens designated food adulterants in the United States. The relatively conserved nature of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) in phylogenetically related E. coli strains makes them potential subtyping markers for STEC detection, and a quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based assay was previously developed for O26:H11, O45:H2, O103:H2, O111:H8, O121:H19, O145:H28, and O157:H7 isolates. To better evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of this qPCR method, the CRISPR loci of 252 O157 and big-six STEC isolates were sequenced and analyzed along with 563 CRISPR1 and 624 CRISPR2 sequences available in GenBank. General conservation of spacer content and order was observed within each O157 and big-six serogroup, validating the qPCR method. Meanwhile, it was found that spacer deletion, the presence of an insertion sequence, and distinct alleles within a serogroup are sources of false-negative reactions. Conservation of CRISPR arrays among isolates expressing the same flagellar antigen, specifically, H7, H2, and H11, suggested that these isolates share an ancestor and provided an explanation for the false positives previously observed in the qPCR results. An analysis of spacer distribution across E. coli strains provided limited evidence for temporal spacer acquisition. Conversely, comparison of CRISPR sequences between strains along the stepwise evolution of O157:H7 from its O55:H7 ancestor revealed that, over this ∼7,000-year span, spacer deletion was the primary force generating CRISPR diversity.
Ischemia‐Induced depressed systolic thickening is transiently augmented by remote coronary occlusion

To determine if ischemia-induced depressed myocardial thickening can be augmented by remote coronary occlusion, posterior wall function (pulsed Doppler crystal) was measured before and after left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion in the presence of reduced circumflex coronary artery flow (of sufficient severity to reduce resting function) in an anesthetized open-chest canine preparation in which the circumflex was pump-perfused with carotid arterial blood. Left anterior descending coronary occlusion elicited an immediate significant increase in posterior bed thickening fraction (TF%) (3.7 ± 1.5 to 5.9 ± 1.3%), but by 135 sec TF% had again deteriorated. The transient increase in thickening was not caused by increased flow to the posterior bed (microspheres, n = 3), nor was it related to a Frank-Starling mechanism (echocardiography, n = 3). Despite an ischemic-induced reduction in systolic shortening, systolic thickening can be transiently augmented by remote coronary occlusion. The etiology may be related to systolic unloading.
Adaptive endurance coding for NAND Flash

A fundamental constraint in the use of newer NAND Flash devices in the enterprise space is the low cycling endurance of such devices. As an example, the latest 2-bit MLC devices have a cycling endurance ranging from 3K to 10K program/erase cycles. Upcoming higher-density devices are expected to have even lower endurance. In this paper we propose a coding technique called Adaptive Endurance Coding (AEC) which increases the number of program/erase cycles that a Flash device can endure. The key insight leveraged by the proposed technique is the data-dependent nature of Flash cell-wear. Data-dependent wear implies that Flash chip/device lifetime can be significantly increased by converting data into bit-patterns, prior to programming, which cause minimal wear. AEC can be used to generate a capacity-wear trade-off; for compressible data, AEC can be adapted to data compressibility in order to maximize endurance gains with low system overhead costs. The technique can be implemented in the Flash device controller without requiring any hardware changes to the device itself. We present empirical results on SLC and MLC Flash chips demonstrating the improvements in retention and bit-error rate which can be obtained via this technique, and present device-level simulation results quantifying the gains achievable by the use of AEC.
Global solutions by parameter continuation for a class of nonlinear singular integral equations

Solution of non-linear singular integral equations from hydroelasticity and electroelasticity by analytic parameter continuation
The Empirical Content of Pay-for-Performance

Empirical evidence on the effect of pay-for-performance on output has been scarce. We propose that worker responses to marginal pay-for-performance changes can be related to their response to a measure of taxes. Using this approach, we suggest a short-run elasticity of output with respect to incentive pay for high earners in the United States of 0.25 or lower, and it is difficult to rule out very low responsiveness. (JEL J33, H24)
Three-dimensional echocardiography. In vivo validation for left ventricular volume and function.

BACKGROUNDCurrent two-dimensional echocardiographic measures of right ventricular volume are limited by the asymmetrical and crescentic shape of the ventricle and by difficulty in obtaining standardized views. Three-dimensional echocardiographic reconstruction, which does not require geometric assumptions or standardized views, may therefore have potential advantages for determining right ventricular volume. Three-dimensional techniques, however, have not been applied to the right ventricle in vivo, where cardiac motion and contraction could affect accuracy. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and accuracy of three-dimensional echocardiographic reconstruction for quantifying right ventricular volume and function in vivo. In particular, it was designed to test the accuracy of a newly developed system that provides rapid, efficient, and automated three-dimensional data collection (minimizing motion effects) and takes advantage of the full three-dimensional data set to obtain volume.ME...
A Laboratory Investigation of Networked Markets

When contracts are not perfectly enforceable, can interpersonal networks improve market efficiency? We introduce certain exogenous networks into laboratory markets in which traders can cheat in ‘international’ but not in ‘domestic’ transactions. We examine four network configurations, one of which has the potential to achieve 100% efficiency. Theoretical upper bounds correctly predict the main qualitative trade patterns across our network configurations but overpredict observed efficiency. Our networks increase international trade volume, reduce domestic volume and divert high surplus transactions to international networks.
Imaging of Hematogenous Osteomyelitis and Septic Arthritis in Children

■ When signs and symptoms of osteomyelitis cannot be localized, bone scintigraphy is the preferred imaging (limited evidence).
Afterword to: 'Anthropology and Human Rights in a New Key': The Social Life of Rights

In this article, I argue for an ethnographic approach to human rights that recognizes the plural and fragmentary nature of the international rights regime and the ideological promiscuity of rights talk. Instead of determining in advance the social or political character of rights, anthropologists could profitably draw from the insights of early 20th-century “legal realists” and look closely at the underlying assumptions and hidden practices of political and legal processes. Studying the “social life of human rights” would involve focusing on, inter alia, the performative dimensions of human rights, the dynamics of social mobilization, and the attitudinal changes of elite and nonelite social actors toward formulations of “rights” and “justice,” both inside and outside the legal process. I conclude with a review of recent anthropological research on human rights epistemology and evaluate its implications for human rights policy.
Measuring the Rates of Spontaneous Mutation From Deep and Large-Scale Polymorphism Data

The rates and patterns of spontaneous mutation are fundamental parameters of molecular evolution. Current methodology either tries to measure such rates and patterns directly in mutation-accumulation experiments or tries to infer them indirectly from levels of divergence or polymorphism. While experimental approaches are constrained by the low rate at which new mutations occur, indirect approaches suffer from their underlying assumption that mutations are effectively neutral. Here I present a maximum-likelihood approach to estimate mutation rates from large-scale polymorphism data. It is demonstrated that the method is not sensitive to demography and the distribution of selection coefficients among mutations when applied to mutations at sufficiently low population frequencies. With the many large-scale sequencing projects currently underway, for instance, the 1000 genomes project in humans, plenty of the required low-frequency polymorphism data will shortly become available. My method will allow for an accurate and unbiased inference of mutation rates and patterns from such data sets at high spatial resolution. I discuss how the assessment of several long-standing problems of evolutionary biology would benefit from the availability of accurate mutation rate estimates.
The intertemporal capital asset pricing model with dynamic conditional correlations

The intertemporal capital asset pricing model of Merton (1973) is examined using the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) model of Engle (2002). The mean-reverting DCC model is used to estimate a stock’s (portfolio’s) conditional covariance with the market and test whether the conditional covariance predicts time-variation in the stock’s (portfolio’s) expected return. The risk-aversion coefficient, restricted to be the same across assets in panel regression, is estimated to be between two and four and highly significant. The risk premium induced by the conditional covariation of assets with the market portfolio remains positive and significant after controlling for risk premia induced by conditional covariation with macroeconomic, financial, and volatility factors.
Femoral artery pseudoaneurysms: value of color Doppler sonography in predicting which ones will thrombose without treatment.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Doppler imaging characteristics of femoral artery pseudoaneurysms occurring after cardiac catheterization to determine if color Doppler sonography can be used to predict which pseudoaneurysms would ultimately thrombose spontaneously.Over a 30-month-period, 24 pseudoaneurysms were studied with serial color Doppler sonography. The color flow, B-mode, and Doppler spectral images and clinical records of patients whose pseudoaneurysms demonstrated spontaneous thrombosis were compared with those of patients who required surgical repair of the pseudoaneurysm.We found no statistically significant differences between the patients whose pseudoaneurysms demonstrated spontaneous thrombosis and those treated surgically in regard to clinical parameters or the volume of the pseudoaneurysm, percentage of flow within the pseudoaneurysm, ratio of forward to reversed flow velocity in the pseudoaneurysm neck, duration of diastolic flow in the pseudoaneurysm neck, or length of pse...
Youth Behavior, School Structure, and Student Risk of Victimization

Although a growing body of research on student safety focuses on school disorder, school climate, and the intersection of community/situational factors, comparatively less research has focused specifically on the individual‐ and school‐level factors that put students at risk of victimization in the immediate school environ. The present study is an attempt to broaden our understanding of the contribution of schools and school behavior to the victimization experiences of students. We compare traditional routine activity constructs to understand whether and how they differentially influence the risk of community and school victimization. Additionally, we investigate what school‐related variables (behavioral and structural) explain variation in young people’s risk for school victimization.
Evidence that mutation accumulation does not cause aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The concept that mutations cause aging phenotypes could not be directly tested previously due to inability to identify age-related mutations in somatic cells and determine their impact on organismal aging. Here, we subjected Saccharomyces cerevisiae to multiple rounds of replicative aging and assessed de novo mutations in daughters of mothers of different age. Mutations did increase with age, but their low numbers, < 1 per lifespan, excluded their causal role in aging. Structural genome changes also had no role. A mutant lacking thiol peroxidases had the mutation rate well above that of wild-type cells, but this did not correspond to the aging pattern, as old wild-type cells with few or no mutations were dying, whereas young mutant cells with many more mutations continued dividing. In addition, wild-type cells lost mitochondrial DNA during aging, whereas shorter-lived mutant cells preserved it, excluding a causal role of mitochondrial mutations in aging. Thus, DNA mutations do not cause aging in yeast. These findings may apply to other damage types, suggesting a causal role of cumulative damage, as opposed to individual damage types, in organismal aging.
Emerging intravesical therapies for management of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is the second most common urologic malignancy, and 70% of patients present with superficial or nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the most effective agent for preventing disease recurrence, and the only therapy able to inhibit disease progression. However, recurrence rates as high as 30% and significant local and systemic toxicity have led to increased interest in alternative intravesical therapies. In patients refractory or intolerant to BCG, BCG-interferon α2b, gemcitabine, and anthracyclines (doxorubicin, epirubicin, valrubicin) have demonstrated durable clinical responses. Phase I trials investigating alternative cytotoxic agents, such as apaziquone, taxanes (docetaxel, paclitaxel), and suramin are reporting promising data. Novel immunomodulating agents have demonstrated promise as efficacious alternatives in patients refractory to BCG. Optimization of existing chemotherapeutic regimens using hyperthermia, photodynamic therapy, magnetically-targeted carriers, and liposomes remains an area of active investigation. Despite enthusiasm for new intravesical agents, radical cystectomy remains the treatment of choice for patients with NMIBC who have failed intravesical therapy and selected patients with naive T1 tumors and aggressive features. This report provides a comprehensive review of contemporary intravesical therapy for NMIBC and refractory NMIBC, with an emphasis on emerging agents and novel treatment modalities.
Internalized discoloration of dentin under porcelain crowns: a clinical report.

This clinical report describes the situation of a patient who was concerned about the appearance of porcelain crowns that were placed on the maxillary incisors 4 years prior. The mechanicochemical gingival retraction technique combining the use of ferric sulfate and knitted retraction cord is described as a possible etiology of internalized discoloration of the dentin in this situation. The hypothesis is explained by the high acidity of gingival retraction fluids (GRFs) and the high affinity of iron for hard tooth tissues, resulting in an interaction with bacterial byproducts and precipitation of insoluble ferric sulfide in the porous demineralized dentin. A prospective clinical trial is warranted to track the effects of GRFs on tooth structure. This article describes the treatment of internalized discoloration of dentin under porcelain crowns. (J Prosthet Dent 2009;101:153-157)
Multi-probe LSH: efficient indexing for high-dimensional similarity search

Similarity indices for high-dimensional data are very desirable for building content-based search systems for feature-rich data such as audio, images, videos, and other sensor data. Recently, locality sensitive hashing (LSH) and its variations have been proposed as indexing techniques for approximate similarity search. A significant drawback of these approaches is the requirement for a large number of hash tables in order to achieve good search quality. This paper proposes a new indexing scheme called multi-probe LSH that overcomes this drawback. Multi-probe LSH is built on the well-known LSH technique, but it intelligently probes multiple buckets that are likely to contain query results in a hash table. Our method is inspired by and improves upon recent theoretical work on entropy-based LSH designed to reduce the space requirement of the basic LSH method. We have implemented the multi-probe LSH method and evaluated the implementation with two different high-dimensional datasets. Our evaluation shows that the multi-probe LSH method substantially improves upon previously proposed methods in both space and time efficiency. To achieve the same search quality, multi-probe LSH has a similar time-efficiency as the basic LSH method while reducing the number of hash tables by an order of magnitude. In comparison with the entropy-based LSH method, to achieve the same search quality, multi-probe LSH uses less query time and 5 to 8 times fewer number of hash tables.
A Petri-net-based approach to real-time program analysis

We propose to extend existing Petri-net-based tools for concurrency analysis to real-time analysis. The goal is to create a fully automated system, which starts from code in a higher level language for real-time programming, and answers programmers' queries about timing properties of the code. The key difficulty with all reachability-based approaches is that the state space quickly becomes intractably large. To circumvent this state explosion problem, we propose using a combination of several heuristics for model reduction and state space reduction that have been effective for untimed concurrency analysis. >
Assessing the Validity of the RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life Short Forms

Background In response to recommendations from the 2010 National Institutes of Health Asthma Outcomes Workshop, we developed a system for measuring the negative impact of asthma on quality of life (QoL), which was referred to as the RAND Negative Impact of Asthma on Quality of Life (RAND-IAQL) item bank. The bank contains 65 items that focus on the patient's perception of the impact or bother of asthma on his or her life. Objective Evidence for the validity of 2 short forms, the RAND-IAQL 4-item and 12-item Short Forms, from the bank is presented. Methods Using a sample of 2032 adults with asthma, we validated our short forms against the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire–Marks (AQLQ-M), the Asthma Control Test, and generic measures of QoL developed by the Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Discriminant validity was examined by comparing scores of respondents who differed according to multiple health indicators. Results Our sample ranged in age from 18 to 99 years (mean, 43 years), with 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 19% African American, and 56% non-Hispanic white race/ethnicity. Men had a significantly worse impact of asthma on QoL than women. The impact of asthma on QoL was greatest in African American and Hispanic subjects compared with that seen in non-Hispanic white subjects. Our measures correlated highly with the AQLQ-M and more strongly with the PROMIS global physical than mental scales. They differentiated between adults with asthma according to their perceived severity, level of control, presence or absence of exacerbations, and physical comorbidity. Conclusion The RAND-IAQL item bank, measuring the impact of asthma on QoL, will complement other patient-reported outcomes, such as measures of asthma symptoms, functioning, and control.
Gastric restrictive procedures to treat obesity: reasons for failure and long-term evaluation of the results of operative revision.

Background and objective Bariatric surgery has included a large number of operative procedures, some of which have become extinct and others, such as gastric restrictive procedures, which continue to be performed. While these operative procedures play an important role in the management of obesity, they are associated with significant failure rates. This study was performed to evaluate the results of operations performed on patients to revise failed gastric restrictive procedures. Methods During the past 15 years operative revision of gastric restrictive procedures was performed on 65 patients. The demographic, operative, and postoperative information has been prospectively collected. The patients were divided into 20 non-obese patients who weighed less than 250 pounds (range 90-247 pounds) and 45 obese patients weighing more than 250 pounds (range 256-527 pounds). The primary indications for operation on the non-obese patients were intragastric foreign body, gastric fistula, gastroesophageal reflux, and non emptying gastric pouch. The obese patients underwent revision for gastroesophageal reflux and failure to maintain weight loss. The obese patients frequently had obesity associated health problems including sleep apnea (N = 5), hypertension (N = 6), diabetes (N = 5) and ventral hernia (N = 30). The operative procedures in the non-obese patients consisted of revision of a gastroplasty in two patients, conversion of a gastroplasty to a gastric bypass in 12 patients and revision of a gastric bypass in eight patients. In the obese patient group, eight patients underwent revision of a gastroplasty, 19 patients had a gastroplasty converted to a gastric bypass and 14 patients underwent revision of a gastric bypass. The mean +/- SEM length of follow-up was 57 +/- 8 months. Results There were two postoperative deaths, one from a pulmonary embolus and one from unknown cause. There was no significant difference regarding the results of the various operations to revise gastric restrictive procedures on the weight of the non-obese patients at long-term follow-up. When obese patients underwent revision of a gastric bypass procedure, they lost 69 +/- 9 pounds which was significantly less than the 82 +/- 12 pounds lost by the patients who underwent revision of a gastroplasty. Conversion of gastroplasty operations to gastric bypass operations in obese patients resulted in the loss of 110 +/- 7 pounds at long-term follow-up. Conclusions Revision of gastric restrictive procedures can be performed with durable control of obesity; however, revision of gastric bypass restrictive procedures in obese patients produced the least benefit.
Drug-using ED assault-injured youth: 2-year prospective study of violent injury and mortality

Aims: Abused drugs activate dopaminergic (DA) “reward” regions (dorsal and ventral striatum, midbrain), promoting further drug-taking. While adverse effects lead most adolescents to limit risky drug use, some with genetic vulnerabilities to substance use disorders (SUD) and conduct problems, undeterred by risks, press on, developing SUD. We asked: (1) is the enhanced vulnerability of those youths mediated by excess reward-system activity, or by deficient inhibition of risky behaviors; (2) do those mechanisms differ by gender? Methods: Our fMRI analyses of 41 adolescent patients with severe SUD and conduct problems (20 males) and 40 comparison youths (20 males) continue. In each of 90 risky-decision trials youths decided between pressing a cautious button to earn 1 cent, or a risky one that either won 5 or lost 10 cents. Riskypress “win” odds gradually fell from 0.78 to 0.22. We analyzed brain activity during 4-sec pre-response deliberations with voxel-level and cluster-level FWE correction before risky, and separately before cautious, presses. Results: Making cautious responses required inhibiting the more-rewarded risky ones; to do so, bothmale and female comparison youths significantly activated frontopolar, temporal, parietal, or cerebellar regions, or DLPFC, more than patients; the regions differed by gender. No group activated DA regions before cautious responses. Before risky responses all four groups showed reward anticipation, activating DA regions. Comparison boys activatedmanymore, andcomparisongirlsmany fewer,DAvoxels than patients, but those differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Patients’ DA regions did not differ significantly from comparison youths’ at the power available here. Before cautious responses comparison youths more than patients activated other regions that may sustain cautious decisions despite temptations (e.g., drug availability, peer pressure). Those control-related regions may underlie patients’ and healthy youths’ differing vulnerabilities to SUD. Financial support: NIDA DA 011015; Kane Family Foundation.
Improved methodology for predicting the force on stalled spinning wings

A novel analytical method is presented for the prediction of the normal force increment due to spin on a stalled wing. This model is based on the concept of fluid in the stalled semi-elliptical-shaped region behind the wing being pumped radially outward by centrifugal motion and ejected at the wingtip, where the ejection of flow at the tip is a new assumption. In the regime of Re ≈ 100,000, the maximum normal force coefficient increment predicted in this investigation was approximately 1.4 based on the wing planform and aircraft pitch angle, θ . The analytical model was validated against wind tunnel tests conducted specifically as part of this research, where the relationship of CN to ω2 was confirmed. Good agreement was demonstrated between the presented model and full airplane rotary balance data for various wing planforms over the pitch range of 30 < θ < 90 deg and nondimensional spin parameter, ω , range −0.9 < ω < 0.9. This method, which advances the current state of the field and leverages recent research from other fields, should provide useful results for wing modeling to provide a better design-for-spin, help improve the fidelity of transport category aircraft simulators for upset, loss of control situations or within the FAA “extended envelope,” and aid in the simulations of flapping-wing aerodynamics for micro air vehicles or studies of insect flight.
Green Peach Aphids and the Spread of Beet Western Yellows Virus in the Northwest

The relationship between the number of green peach aphids, Mysus persieae (Sulzer), and the spread of beet western yellows virus was studied in 4 areas of the North-west where sugar beets are grown. No direct relationship was found between incidence of the disease and size of the aphid population. In the Yakima Valley, infection was higher in beet fields situated near drainage ditches, where small numbers of aphids in their summer form pass the winter on weed reservoirs of the virus, than in fields near peach orchards. The aphids were 25 times more abundant in fields near the peach orchards where aphids over winter in the egg stage. Early infection and a longer growing season (such as occur near Walla Walla, Washington) appear to be the reasons for greater incidence of beet western yellows virus.
Increased Temperatures Combined with Lowered Salinities Differentially Impact Oyster Size Class Growth and Mortality

ABSTRACT Changes in the timing and interaction of seasonal high temperatures and low salinities as predicted by climate change models could dramatically alter oyster population dynamics. Little is known explicitly about how low salinity and high temperature combinations affect spat ( 75mm) oyster growth and mortality. Using field and laboratory studies, this project quantified the combined effects of extremely low salinities ( 30°C) on growth and survival of spat, seed, andmarket-sized oysters. In 2012 and 2013, hatchery-produced oysters were placed in open and closed cages at three sites in Breton Sound, LA, along a salinity gradient that typically ranged from 5 to 20. Growth and mortality were recorded monthly. Regardless of size class, oysters at the lowest salinity site (annualmean = 4.8) experienced significantly highermortality and lower growth than oysters located in higher salinity sites (annual means = 11.1 and 13.0, respectively); fur...
The Romance of the '60s: Self, Community and the Ethical in The Crying of Lot 49

Thomas Pynchon's literary production resides almost entirely within the imaginative dimension of romance, where the everyday is brought into close contact with what is wholly other and ordinary characters become protagonists of the romantic quest, confronting mysterious powers which threaten to take control of their lives. Romance permeates the life of consumer capitalism. Pynchon envisions the true democratization of artistic modernism, in which ordinary citizens–the engineer, the investor, the disk jockey and the housewife–all trapped in suburban solipsism, are driven to develop individual and fantastically elaborate schemes of power and transcendence. Comic reconciliation, in which these many quests might fold into one, is unthinkable. The society which could confirm its identity by such means seems to have disappeared. What remains is a vast productive system integrating its members according to a logic of its own, a logic which from the point of view of the individual appears alien and manipulative. The Crying of Lot 49 is a late version of the quest-romance and an immanent critique of its form, measured against the historical situation of the mid-1960s with its special imaginative possibilities and limits.
The malignant potentiality of left atrial myxoma.

The clinical course of 3 men, ages 48 to 64 years, whose left atrial myxoma recurred or metastasized following resection is presented. One, whose tumor arose from the atrial septum, suffered two recurrences. In another, the lesion grew initially from the posterior atrial wall and recurred on the mitral valve, which was replaced with a prosthesis because of insufficiency. The third patient manifested slowly growing metastases in the spine, pelvis, sternum, and the shoulder musculature 7 years after “successful” removal of his intracardiac neoplasm. Review of the literature shows that 10 other patients have undergone open-heart surgery for locally recurrent left atrial myxomas, two of which rerecurred. Radical excision of the atrial septum with prosthetic replacement of the resulting defect is recommended not only to excise the tumor adequately but also to help eliminate foci of recurrence. Extraseptal tumors tend to be sessile and more likely to recur and rerecur because of implantation and the problem of removing enough atrial wall. Further growth of myxomatous emboli as demonstrated by our third case is consistent with isolated observations previously reported.
Awareness and Perceptions of Food Safety Risks and Risk Management in Poultry Production and Slaughter: A Qualitative Study of Direct-Market Poultry Producers in Maryland

The objective of this study was to document and understand the perceptions and opinions of small-scale poultry producers who market directly to consumers about microbial food safety risks in the poultry supply chain. Between January and November 2014, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of 16 owner-operators of Maryland direct-market commercial poultry farms. Three overarching thematic categories emerged from these interviews that describe: 1) characteristics of Maryland direct-market poultry production and processing; 2) microbial food safety risk awareness and risk management in small-scale poultry production, slaughter and processing; and 3) motivations for prioritizing food safety in the statewide direct-market poultry supply chain. Key informants provided valuable insights on many topics relevant to evaluating microbial food safety in the Maryland direct-market poultry supply chain, including: direct-market poultry production and processing practices and models, perspectives on issues related to food safety risk management, perspectives on direct-market agriculture economics and marketing strategies, and ideas for how to enhance food safety at the direct-market level of the Maryland poultry supply chain. The findings have policy implications and provide insights into food safety in small-scale commercial poultry production, processing, distribution and retail. In addition, the findings will inform future food safety research on the small-scale US poultry supply chain.
Some Ancient Roots of Modern Chinese Thought: This-Worldliness, Epistemological Optimism, Doctrinality, and the Emergence of Reflexivity in the Eastern Chou

Dealing with China's oldest and second oldest intellectual documents (Lun-yu and the genuine parts of Mo-tzu), this paper views them as “laying” the intellectual foundations of China's axial civilization” and sharing a distinctive concept of knowledge, “epistemological optimism.” Epistemological optimism, in turn, was a necessary corollary of “this-worldliness,” the preoccupation, especially intense in the case of Lun-yu, with evaluating people and distributing sanctions in a morally perfect way during this life, as opposed to depending on a bar of judgment in the afterlife. The combination of “this-worldliness” with epistemological optimism has dominated Chinese thought to this day, in striking contrast to the major role of “epistemological pessimism” in the intellectual world of the modern West. Mo-tzu was more reflexive than Confucius. Yet instead of leading to “epistemological pessimism,” his reflexivity was combined with not only epistemological optimism but also his assumption that the development of doctrine can resolve all moral questions and bring about moral action. This paper also explores other ways in which Mo-tzu was a seminal thinker, one introducing words and ideas that are missing in Lun-yu, and that came to be commonplaces of Chinese thought. It also argues that the emphasis on evaluation found in the thought of Confucius and Mo-tzu must be considered when we describe how these two thinkers envisaged the relation between self and group, and its methodology differs somewhat from the approaches used in previous studies of Chou thought.
Pills, Thrills, and Pharmacology Drills! Strategies to Increase Student Retention in an Entry-Level Nursing Pharmacology Course

Abstract The pharmacology course in a nursing curriculum should provide learners with a strong foundation in the knowledge of drugs. In many nursing programs, the attrition rate in pharmacology is often high. This article offers innovative strategies that can engage students in learning and promote successful completion of a pharmacology course. Nursing faculty provided extra learning sessions, in a face-to-face format, for students. Nursing faculty also created a hybrid classroom, using online learning strategies. Student retention in the course increased from 61% when the strategies were not used to 86% after the first semester of implementing the strategies and to 90% after two semesters.
Adaptive Real Domain Iterative K-Best Decoder

The chapter begins with a description of soft decision-based iterative LR-aided adaptive K-Best MIMO decoder [19]. All the detectors mentioned above have fixed use of K. Hence, an adaptive K-Best MIMO detector is proposed to include more adaptability and re-configurability. The proposed method has several advantages over adaptive conventional K-Best scheme for MIMO system.
Optimization design of the high speed loopback channel

In this paper, a novel design for a test application board connection method is presented with its signal integrity analysis and optimization. The objective of the optimization is to support over 30 Gbps data rates with very high signal integrity performance and mechanical flexibility. The full channel includes a test board, connectors, cables and an interposer connecting components together. This design allows single ended and differential high speed digital signals to be easily connected and disconnected from the test PCB through an interposer. Special concerns are given to analyzing the impact of mechanical deformations from practical installations to the signal delivery quality, such as the air gap generated by the interposer interfaces and the partial touching of the ground pin to the ground hole in the interposer housing. These effects have seldom been studied or addressed. Full wave finite element based methods are employed to model the parasitic properties of different parts of the design. Equivalent circuits are used to understand the signal transmission mechanisms. The TDR impedance path is utilized to help locate problems. Based on our analysis, optimizations are applied to achieve a high performance high speed loopback channel design.
EFFECT OF FLUORESCENT LIGHT ON THE FLAVOR AND SELECTED NUTRIENTS OF HOMOGENIZED MILK HELD IN CONVENTIONAL CONTAINERS1

Homogenized milk packaged in three conventional half-gallon containers, unprinted fiberboard, blown mold plastic, and clear flint glass, was held in a sliding door display case with fluorescent light exposure of 100 ft-c for 144 hr. The fiberboard container afforded protection from the light activated flavor up to 48 hr, whereas milk in plastic and glass containers developed the off-flavor following only 12 hr of exposure. No differences in organoleptic response could be demonstrated between milk held in glass and plastic half gallon containers. Similarly riboflavin destruction in plastic and glass was not significantly different and amounted to approximately 10–17% loss following 72 hr of exposure. No significant loss in riboflavin could be demonstrated in milk held in fiberboard as compared to the control. Ascorbic acid losses were evident in all milk samples independent of container material, however losses of this vitamin in milk held in plastic and glass were much more rapid than in milk held in fibe...
Defining and Creating Organizational Knowledge Performance

La literatura sobre l’aprenentatge organitzatiu ha estat descrita com a «volcanica» (Easterby- Smith, Crossan i Nicolini, 2000) pels continus estudis existents sobre el seu constructe i pels que tenen com a tema principal les teories organitzatives (Prange, 1999). No obstant aixo, existeixen controversies en la definicio i conceptualitzacio d’aquest terme (Crossan, Lane i White, 1999; Templeton, Lewis i Snyder, 2002). En aquest article es descriu l’evolucio de la teoria de l’aprenentatge organitzatiu en les teories de les organitzacions que aprenen i el seu conseguent impacte en el coneixement. Sens dubte, les bases de l’organitzacio que apren o de la capacitat d’aprendre de les organitzacions ajuden els liders a transformar l’aprenentatge organitzatiu en capacitats organitzatives. L’article conclou amb el rol de l’aprenentatge informal entes com a estrategia per crear una cultura d’aprenentatge i per potenciar el coneixement.
Combination Therapy of Bortezomib with Low-Dose Bendamustine in Elderly Patients with Advanced Multiple Myeloma.

Bortezomib has been approved for recurrent or therapy-resistent multiple myeloma in 2003. There is growing evidence that combination therapy of bortezomib with other agents considerably improves results (Richardson P, ASH 2004). Bendamustine is an alkylating agent widely used in Germany for treatment of multiple myeloma and indolent lymphoma. There is no cross-resistance to other alkylating agents. Weekly low dose application is well tolerated and highly effective in elderly patients with pretreated indolent lymphoma (Bremer K, ASCO 2003, Abstract 2410). Treatment modalities: We treated 17 pts (8 female, 9 male, median age 70 yrs (range 51–82) with relapsed multiple myeloma. Previous therapies ranged from 2 to 7 (median 4), and included 15 x thalidomide, 2 x tandem high dose melphalan, 2 x bortezomib/dexamethasone. Therapy regimen : bortezomib 1 – 1.3 mg/m 2 d 1,4,8,11; bendamustine 60 mg/m 2 d 1+8, dexamethasone 3x8 mg orally d 1–3 and d 8–10: ondansetrone 8 mg intravenously d 1,4,8,11. Cycles were repeated q3w until best response. The median number of cycles applied was 4 (range 3 – 6). Results : Outcome was evaluated according to SWOG criteria. ORR: 88%; CR (neg. immunofixation): 12% (n=2); PR 58% (n=10); MR 18% (n= 3); NC 12% (n=2). Median remission duration was 6+ months (range 3–12+ months). Until today, we observed 4 recurrences after 3 – 8 months. Toxicity comprised mild fatigue and thrombopenia. Lowest platelet count was 55/pL without bleeding, spontaneously reversible within 1 week. Three cases of neuropathia occurred, with controllable symptoms, in patients pretreated with thalidomide or bortezomib mono. Conclusion : Combination therapy of bortezomib with low dose bendamustine is well tolerated, induces a high rate of responses in spite of unfavourable patient characteristics, leads to early responses and can be limited to 3 months (i.e., 4 cycles), and can be done in an outpatient setting. Thus, bendamustine is a very promising agent to enhance bortezomib action, which warrants further study.
The Klüver-Bucy Syndrome

In 1937, Heinrich Kluver and Paul Bucy described a dramatic behavioral syndrome in monkeys after bilateral temporal lobectomy. The full Kluver-Bucy syndrome (KBS) - hyperorality, placidity, hypermetamorphosis, dietary changes, altered sexual behavior, and visual agnosia - is evident within 3 weeks following operation. Some KBS features (i.e., hyperorality, placidity, hypermetamorphosis) persist indefinitely, whereas others gradually resolve over several years. Kluver and Bucy were initially unaware of an earlier report of KBS by Sanger Brown and Edward Schafer in 1888. Human cases were recognized in the 1950s, as surgeons employed bilateral temporal lobectomies to treat seizures. Various attempts were made to localize the component features to specific areas of the temporal lobe, with mixed success. Bilateral ventral temporal ablations and bilateral temporal lobectomies produced marked impairment in visual discrimination, whereas lateral resections or unilateral lesions did not. Discrete bilateral lesions of the lateral amygdaloid nucleus produced a permanent "hypersexed state." By the 1970s, it was clear that the major symptoms of KBS are produced by destroying either the temporal neocortex or the amygdala bilaterally. KBS is now thought to be caused by disturbances of temporal portions of limbic networks that interface with multiple cortical and subcortical circuits to modulate emotional behavior and affect. The clinical features of KBS in man are similar to those in monkeys, but the full syndrome is rarely seen, probably because the anterior temporal lobe dysfunction is usually less severe than that following total temporal lobe ablation in monkeys. Human KBS does not occur in isolation, but is typically part of a complex behavioral syndrome that almost always includes amnesia and aphasia, and that may also include dementia and seizures. The treatment of KBS is difficult and often unsatisfactory.
Mexican cartel negotiative interactions with the state

This research applies pure sociology to the negotiation activity of Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). By operationalizing status along several social dimensions, the author employs crisp set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (cs QCA) to identify unique status configurations associated with negotiative interactions with the state. The results indicate that high status configurations are unique to groups that utilize negotiations in a particular territory. These findings provide further insight into the different positions of strength from which DTOs will pursue non-violent activity.
Strategic Collaborative Process for Cultural Heritage

Recent developments within national and supranational policies in Europe have come to understand cultural heritage as a “common good” that is pivotal to the sustainable development of territories and communities. In doing so, EU policies nudge member states to adopt participative approaches to development, to invest on citizens’ and stakeholders’ identification with the local cultural heritage, and to work together for its conservation.
Debunking the Myth of Loneliness in Late Life

The perception of aging and more specifically, loneliness, as social problems has emerged in tandem with what is colloquially known as the graying of America. In response to a changing demographic composition of our population in which people are living longer and are in greater need of medical and social services, a perception of the American aged as an economic and social burden has developed. One could argue that aging was recognized “officially” as a social problem when Congress passed the Older Americans Act in 1965 and established the Administration on Aging to provide health care services, adequate housing, (supplemental) income, and the opportunity for employment without discrimination for the elderly. However, social problems become social problems largely by their definition as such by the dominant forces in a society (Estes, 1979; Levin & Levin, 1980).
Mechanics and nanovoid nucleation dynamics: effects of polar functionality in glassy polymer networks

We use molecular simulations and experiments to rationalize the properties of a class of networks based on dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), a polymer with excellent fracture toughness and a high glass transition temperature (Tg), copolymerized with 5-norbornene-2-methanol (NBOH). DCPD is a highly non-polar hydrocarbon, while NBOH contains a hydroxy group, introducing polar functionality and hydrogen bonds (H-bonds). NBOH thus represents a possible route to improve the chemical compatibility of DCPD-based networks with less-hydrophobic materials. We systematically vary the NBOH content (polar chemistry) in DCPD networks, while keeping other network parameters nearly constant, including the molecular weight between cross-links, chain rigidity, and Tg. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we quantify the thermovolumetric and mechanical properties, including Tg, cohesive energy density, stiffness, and yield strength. We compare these results with experiments on networks of similar composition, finding good agreement. The relation between these properties and polar chemistry are studied by examining a secondary network of physical cross-links, formed by hydrogen bonds between NBOH units. Further, we examine nanovoid formation, an energy dissipation mechanism hypothesized to contribute to the toughness of pDCPD. Using metadynamics to accelerate sampling, we quantify the nanovoid nucleation rate under hydrostatic tension, similar to the stress state in the plastic zone preceding a crack tip. Small additions of NBOH have minimal effect, but the rate drops steeply with larger amounts. Several properties are mapped at nanometer scales, including stiffness and mobility, and associated with void nucleation. Estimates of the length- and time-scale of the plastic zone near a crack tip are used in discussing nanovoid formation as a plausible toughening mechanism in these materials. Overall, the results suggest that pDCPD tolerates the addition of some polar chemistry without degrading its excellent mechanical properties.