cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Robust 3-D-3-D pose estimation

The correspondence focuses on the robust 3-D-3-D pose estimation, especially, multiple pose estimation. The robust 3-D-3-D multiple pose estimation problem is formulated as a series of general regressions which involve a successively size-decreasing data set, with each regression relating to one particular pose of interest. Since the first few regressions may carry a severely contaminated Gaussian error noise model, the MF-estimator (Zhuang et al., 1992) is used to solve each regression for each pose of interest. Extensive computer experiments with both real imagery and simulated data are conducted and results are promising. Three distinctive features of the MF-estimator are theoretically discussed and experimentally demonstrated: It is highly robust in the sense that it is not much affected by a possible large portion of outliers or incorrect matches as long as the minimum number of inliers necessary to give a unique solution are provided; It is made virtually independent of initial guesses; It is computationally reasonable and admits an efficient parallel implementation. >
Production Characteristics of Pasture-Fed Beef

Twenty pasture-fed steers and 10 pasture-fed heifers were evaluated for relationships among daily BW gain, grazing period, frame size, final weight, and carcass traits (fat thickness, ribeye area, marbling score, and YG). Cattle were wintered for a BW gain of 0.69 ± 0.03 kg/d for 156 d postweaning and were maintained in adjacent, rotationally grazed paddocks containing primarily cool-season grasses. Cattle were slaughtered at a constant age (532.9 d ± 5.7 d) in 6 slaughter groups and carcass data were collected. Three LM steaks were taken from each of the carcasses and consistently labeled for position on the 9th- to 12th-rib section of the LM. One steak was evaluated for Warner-Bratzler shear force. An additional steak was used to determine the total lipid, fatty acid, and cholesterol composition of the steaks. Correlations were determined for the relationship of production and carcass traits with the fatty acid and cholesterol profile. Animal, growth, and carcass traits were generally not strongly related to fatty acid and cholesterol content of cooked steaks from pasture-fed cattle slaughtered at 533 d of age.
Impact of user context on song selection

The rise of digital music has led to a parallel rise in the need to manage music collections of several thousands of songs on a single device. Manual selection of songs for a music listening experience is a cumbersome task. In this paper, we present an initial exploration of the feasibility of using song signal properties and user context information to assist in automatic song selection. Users listened to music over the course of a month while their context and song selections were tracked. Initial results suggest the use of context information can improve automated song selection when patterns are learned for each individual.
Integral Solution for the Mean Flow Profiles of Turbulent Jets, Plumes, and Wakes

Integral methods are used to derive similarity solutions for several quantities of interest including the cross-stream velocity, Reynolds stress, the dominant turbulent kinetic energy production term, and eddy diffusivities of momentum and heat for axisymmetric and planar turbulent jets, plumes, and wakes. A universal constant is evaluated for axisymmetric and planar plumes
A unilateral injection-locking type active phased array for beam scanning

An active phased array using unilateral injection-locked oscillators was developed. The phase shift is controlled by electronic tuning and the beam scanning is demonstrated. Amplifiers inserted between oscillators eliminate reverse injection locking and control the locking bandwidth. Both theory and experimental results are presented and discussed. >
On higher order noise immune perceptrons

Details a systematic method for significantly enhancing the noise margins of very fast threshold gates. The method is based on adding nonlinear terms determined from the Boolean form of the linearly separable (threshold) function to be implemented. It follows that linearly separable functions can be computed with high noise immunity by higher order perceptrons. Simulation results support our theoretical claims. Finally, two methods for drastically reducing the dissipated power of such higher order perceptron gates down to <50%, and respectively <10% are suggested.
Characterization of Microbial Activities and U Reduction in a Shallow Aquifer Contaminated by Uranium Mill Tailings

A characterization of the Shiprock, NM, uranium mill tailing site focused on the geochemical and microbiological factors governing in-situ uranium-redox reactions. Groundwater and aqueous extracts of sediment samples contained a wide concentration range of sulfate, nitrate, and U(VI) with median values of 21.2 mM, 16.1 µM, and 2.7 µM, respectively. Iron(III) was not detected in groundwater, but a median value of 0.3 mM in sediment extracts was measured. Bacterial diversity down gradient from the disposal pile reflected the predominant geochemistry with relatively high numbers of sulfate- and nitrate-reducing microorganisms, and smaller numbers of acetogenic, methanogenic, nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing, Fe(III)-reducing, and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. In aquifer slurry incubations, nitrate reduction was always preferred and had a negative impact on sulfate-, Fe(III)-, and U-reduction rates. We also found that sulfate-reduction rates decreased sharply in the presence of clay, while Fe(III)-reduction increased with no clear impact on U reduction. In the absence of clay, iron and sulfate reduction correlated with concentrations of Fe(III) and sulfate, respectively. Rates of U(VI) loss did not correlate with the concentration of any electron acceptor. With the exception of Fe(III), electron donor amendment was largely unsuccessful in stimulating electron acceptor loss over a 2-week incubation period, suggesting that endogenous forms of organic matter were sufficient to support microbial activity. Our findings suggest that efforts to accelerate biological U reduction should initially focus on stimulating nitrate removal.
Thoracic Spinal Stability: Decision Making

Injuries to the spine can have devastating and permanent consequences. The thoracic spine is unique due to the presence of the ribs, sternum, and associated articulations with the vertebral bodies. These structures create a relatively rigid structure that helps to prevent fractures and dislocations. Unfortunately, when these injuries do occur, they are frequently accompanied by significant neurologic deficits. Postinjury, spinal stability is evaluated via clinical exam and radiographic studies and via using various classification schemes. The definitive treatment of an injury depends on that patient’s structural stability and clinical symptoms.
Finiteness in Infinite-Dimensional Systems Applied to Regulation

After describing existing mathematical representations of linear infinite-dimensional systems, we consider the problem of regulating a system’s output so that it tracks a given reference. Using a general operational framework possessing certain finiteness properties, we pursue a particular aspect of this problem by first considering the concept of bounded-time controllability. New results are then given on the construction of time-invariant input/output regulators that drive the output response (resulting from nonzero initial states) to the zero function in finite time. An example is given to illustrate that such regulators can be constructed by using ideal time delays in the feedback loop.
Click Here to Cloud: End User Issues in Cloud Computing Terms of Service Agreements

Four Terms of Service (TOS) agreements offered by commercial providers of cloud computing services are reviewed in order to identify those provisions that are problematic from the perspective of the end user. The following services were reviewed: iCloud, OpenDrive, Dropbox and Amazon Cloud Drive. The legality of the mass-market licenses is assessed. Specific provisions are reviewed with the goal of understanding the consequences on the user/consumer of cloud computing services; particularly those provisions that may result in unintended or detrimental consequences for users/consumers are identified. The effect of the law of contract (license) is contrasted with the law of copyright. Recommendations are made throughout the discussion to improve TOS provisions for the end user. Developments in the law of contract are surveyed to determine the enforceability of specific provisions as well as the potential avenues of challenge to problematic clauses discussing whether such clauses might be unconscionable.
Genome Sequences of Two Strains of Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis Isolated from Shell Eggs

ABSTRACT This report presents the complete genome sequences of two Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis strains bearing the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profile JEGX01.0004, which were isolated from the internal contents of eggs.
Heberlein, Thomas A. Navigating Environmental Attitudes.

With clever metaphorical references to running a river, Navigating Environmental Attitudes elucidates the contexts in which attitudes are most significant while providing guidance on how to work wi...
Poliomyelitis in Sigmodon hispidus littoralis Rats.

ConclusionThe Lansing strain of virus isolated by Armstrong easily produces disease in Sigmodon hispidus littoralis rats. Thus far, we have been unable to produce poliomyelitis with any of the 9 stock virus strains carried in our laboratory and named in this paper.
Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas) (protozoa: Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in invertebrate and vertebrate hosts from Brewster County in Trans-Pecos Texas

Trypanosome-free laboratory mice injected with fecal material from field-collected Triatoma spp. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) produced antibodies for Trypanosoma cruzi, Triatoma lecticularia Stal, T. recurva Stal, and T. gersaeckeri Stal had infection rates of 21.4, 23.1, and 25.8%, respectively, based on indirect hemagglutination assays (IHA). Infection rates in pack rats ( Neotoma spp.), dogs, horses, and humans was determined by the IHA test. Infection rates for packrats ranged from 38.9 to 50%. Eight of 32 dogs had positive titers, and 2 of 5 horses had positive titers. None of the three humans had a positive titer for T. cruzi .
Observations on a Dog Maintained for Five Weeks Without Adrenals or Pancreas

We have previously reported1 some preliminary observations on totally adrenalectomized-depancreatized cats. Several workers in the past have attempted this double operation upon dogs and in no instance have the animals survived more than a few hours. Such results as have been obtained have led to the conclusion that total adrenalectomy had no influence upon the subsequent course of the diabetes. During the past year we have completed the double operation upon a dog which was observed over a period of 5 weeks.The dog (a male weighing 11.2 kilos) was totally depancreatized on March 9th, 1934, the left adrenal removed on March 20th, 1934, and the right on May 4th, 1934. The animal lived until June 8th, 1934.Following the pancreatectomy the animal was easily stabilized on a diet of 300 gm. liver, 50 gm. raw pancreas and 20 gm. sugar daily with 20 units of insulin administered in 2 doses. On this regime the urinary glucose averaged about 4 gm. per day. The fasting overnight blood sugar ranged from 191–254 mg. ...
Self-testing for Trichomonas vaginalis at home using a point-of-care test by women who request kits via the Internet

We offered a point-of-care test for Trichomonas vaginalis to women via the Internet to determine if it was acceptable to women to perform the test at home. Most of the 102 participants felt that it was easy to collect the specimen, follow the instructions, and read and interpret the results for the trichomonas self-testing assay.
Fuelling museums and art fairs in Peru’s capital: the work of the market and multi-scale assemblages

This article examines the transformation of museums and the rise of art fairs as arenas for assembling Latin American art and agents at regional and larger scales, and as channels through which the work of the market and its templates has spread. It approaches this topic through the analysis of the Lima art scene and its mechanisms of articulation. This article connects to studies of the rise of ‘new art worlds’, but not as celebration of their position on the ‘global art map.’ In contrast, with a focus on multi-scale assemblages, this work traces actors’ – particularly art collectors’, curators’ and art fair directors’ – strategies and articulations to promote Peruvian and Latin American art. I argue that while current assemblages are strengthening the region and mobilizing – some – new interpretations, they are also fuelling market logics and spreading similar values and protocols.
Judicial Review in New Democracies: Conclusion: Comparing Constitutional Courts

An old proverb says that when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled. So it is with political conflict and democracy. When political conflict becomes too severe, democracy can be trampled by political institutions run amok. By transforming political conflicts into constitutional dialogues, courts can reduce the threat to democracy and allow it to grow. To play this important role of contributing to democratic stability and deliberation, courts must develop their own power over time. Constitutional courts play games of power in legal arenas. Courts are empowered by constitutional designers and given tools to protect the constitutional bargain. But the subsequent choices courts make as they play their games can supplement or deplete their arsenals. Courts can challenge others or can seek powerful allies. They can cautiously accumulate policy gains in an incremental fashion or boldly battle for large pieces of territory. They can choose their battles carefully, limiting conflicts to those they can win and thus making future threats credible; or they can blunder badly and provoke crippling counterattacks. This chapter draws some comparative conclusions from the three case studies of courts in new democracies. These cases, though unusual in the sense that they have been heretofore understudied, illustrate the universal political logic of judicial review and present a range of outcomes that can serve as the basis for broader theory. THE DESIGN OF SYSTEM: JUDICIAL REVIEW AS INSURANCE Chapter 1 analogized the decision to adopt judicial review to the decision to purchase insurance in uncertain contracting environments.
Una aproximación a la lengua y a la cultura centrada en el discurso

En oposicion a los desarrollos de la hipotesis Sapir-Whorf, centrados exclusivamente en vislumbrar la relacion lenguaje-cultura en la gramatica de las lenguas, en el presente articulo se plantea que es realmente en la dimension del discurso donde se plasma esta relacion en toda su profundidad. Por medio del analisis de ejemplos se demuestra como recursos gramaticales utilizados en la construccion del discurso son vias economicas y eficientes para la expresion del significado cultural y social. Se demuestra la relacion lenguaje-cultura- sociedad, manifiesta en expresiones metaforicas de significados socioculturales implicitos en categorias gramaticales que contienen un toque poetico.
Exploring individual differences as factors to maximize interactive learning environments for future learning

ABSTRACTIdentifying characteristics of individuals who will be negatively impacted by interactive learning environments (ILE) was explored in a field study conducted among learners whose high-stake...
A Study of the Effectiveness of Rifaprim in Chronic prostatitis Caused Mainly by Staphylococcus Aureus

AbstractRifampicin plus trimethoprim (rifaprim) was used to treat 20 patients with chronic prostatitis in exacerbation: 11 received 2 tablets at bedtime for 15 days followed by 1 tablet at bedtime for another 105 days, and 9 received 1 tablet in the morning and 2 tablets at bedtime for 15 days, then 2 tablets at bedtime for 15 days followed by 1 tablet at bedtime for another 90 days. All patients had an enlarged tender prostate and all but 2 were symptomatic. In 10 patients previous treatment, including co-trimoxazole in 5, had failed. Cultures of the expressed prostatic secretions yielded Staphylococcus aureus in 17 patients and gram-negative micro-organisms in 3. At the end of treatment 6 of 11 patients given the lower dosage were cured clinically and bacteriologically compared to 8 of 9 given the higher dosage. After 2 to 3 years of followup 5 of 9 patients in the first group and all 7 in the second group had not suffered relapse. From our study it is evident that rifaprim is a potent drug in the treat...
The use of film in opinion measurement

The virtual absence of the use of film in measurement of opinion is surprising in view of the efficiency, control, and flexibility afforded by the use of motion pictures. The present article reports one usage of films in measurement of opinion about India.
IMPLEMENTATION OF ECONOMIC THRESHOLDS FOR WEEDS IN SOYBEAN

Herbicide selection for soybean is a complicated task, and consideration of the weed species present, weed density, crop value, potential yield of the field, herbicide and application cost, and the grower’s management style are all necessary in making the best decision. Many growers are now making use of remedial tactics for weed control, including the use of postemergence herbicides. The best use of these remedial treatments is after careful consideration of the potential losses from a weed population compared to the potential economic gain from treatment, or economic thresholds. Field competition studies have been used to develop economic thresholds for weeds in soybean, and these thresholds have been used to create a computerized decision aid for herbicide selection in that crop based on net economic return from the selected treatment. This computer software program (HERBTM) is currently being sold in the U.S., and a similar program for other crops is under development.
How to Study Group Cognition

Understanding how a collaborative group as a whole constructs ­knowledge through joint activity in a CSCL setting is what sets the research field of CSCL apart from other approaches to the study of learning. Successful collaboration involves not only the incorporation of contributions of individuals into the group discourse, but also the effort to make sure that participating individuals understand what is taking place at the group level. The contributions of individuals to the group and of understandings from the group to the individuals cannot be studied by analyses at the individual unit of analysis, but only by studying the interactions at the group level. The group knowledge construction process synthesizes innumerable resources from language, culture, the group’s own history, individual backgrounds, relevant contexts and the sequential unfolding of the group discourse in which the individuals participate. Although the group process is dependent upon contributions and understanding of individuals, their individual cognition is essentially situated in the group process. Group cognition is the science of cognitive processes at the group unit of analysis. These group processes—such as the sequential flow of proposals, questioning, building common ground, maintaining a joint problem space, establishing intersubjective meanings, positioning actors in evolving roles, building knowledge collaboratively and solving problems together—are not analyzable as individual behaviors. This chapter will describe how the Virtual Math Teams project was designed as a prototypical CSCL environment in which the relevant resources and interactions could be recorded for the micro-analytic study of group cognition.
The Political Economy of Geoengineering as Plan B: Technological Rationality, Moral Hazard, and New Technology

Geoengineering would mask and reproduce capital’s contradictory needs to self-expand, on the one hand, and maintain a stable climate system, on the other. The Plan B frame, which presents geoengine...
Predictors of Bullying Behavior: An Adlerian Approach

Bullying is a serious problem that affects schools, individuals, families, peers, and community systems. The 2005–2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC; Iannotti, (2012) ICPSR28241-v1. Ann Arbor, MI, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2012-02-29. doi:10.3886/ICPSR28241.v1) dataset (n = 2946) was used to determine the systemic risk factors that predicted bullying behavior within 30 days. Statistically significant findings were found, and 6% of the variance was explained by a combination of six predictors. Adolescents who (a) drank alcohol and smoked, (b) who felt their parents were almost always loving as well as those who treated them like babies, and (c) who had above average feelings about school and reported good teacher’s opinion about school performance were more likely to bully.
Implementation of Recovery Education on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit.

INTRODUCTION: There is a national agenda in the United States for the establishment and implementation of an evidence-based recovery model of care in patients with psychiatric illness. Recovery pri...
Brief Alcohol Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults in Emergency Department Settings: A Descriptive Review and Meta-analysis

Brief interventions have shown promise for reducing alcohol use among adolescents and young adults. However, research on the efficacy of these programs has largely ignored one potentially useful approach—interventions which take place in emergency department settings. The current study combines quantitative and descriptive approaches to synthesize the available literature examining the efficacy of brief interventions for alcohol usage among adolescents and young adults in emergency department settings. One-hundred-thirty-eight effect sizes from 11 studies contributed to an overall weighted average effect size as well as effect sizes for variations related to participant demographics, study characteristics (recruitment, instrumentation, and assessment delay) and intervention details (personnel, focal modality, and intervention components). Descriptive analyses examined many of these variations in more detail. Overall, quantitative summary provided little evidence supporting the efficacy of brief interventions in emergency department settings while descriptive analyses revealed primarily a lack of consistency, especially in the definition of adolescence and operationalization of alcohol usage. In many cases, a lack of detailed enough reporting prevented the identification of patterns which might have been present. The discussion includes a call for more agreement in the field regarding operationalization of adolescence and drinking behavior.
Fountain-Coded Multicast in Tactical Packet Radio Networks: Throughput Improvements Provided by Relay Nodes

We describe a method for employing relay nodes to enhance the performance of fountain-coded multicast for the delivery of a file from the source to multiple destinations in a tactical multi-hop networks of half-duplex packet radios. Our method uses a spanning tree, but it also permits relay nodes not on the tree to assist in the delivery of the file to the destinations. Each node exploits the broadcast nature of the wireless medium by attempting to overhear fountain-coded packets from senders other than the node's parents on the tree. No radio in the network is required to transmit multiple packets simultaneously or receive packets from multiple senders simultaneously. An adaptive modulation and channel coding protocol is used to mitigate the effects of time-varying propagation loss on the radio links of the network.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SHOCK IN CONTEMPORARY CARDIAC INTENSIVE CARE UNITS: DATA FROM THE CRITICAL CARE CARDIOLOGY TRIALS NETWORK (CCCTN) REGISTRY

Clinical investigations of shock in CICUs have focused on cardiogenic shock (CS) in pts with acute MI. Few studies have evaluated the full spectrum of shock admitted to contemporary CICUs. The CCCTN is an investigator-initiated multicenter network of 16 advanced CICUs in the US & Canada. During a 2
The Metropolitan Effect: Colonial Influence on the Internationalization of Francophone African Firms

Drawing on the experience of firms of various sizes from Francophone Africa, we explore how the internationalization trajectories of frontier economy firms may vary from those predicted by theory. The firms studied followed social, linguistic, cultural, and institutional gradients to internationalize first to France, rather than to neighboring countries, and did so in search of not only markets and resources but also legitimacy. In turn, the sales, resources, and legitimacy acquired in France supported further international expansion, sometimes even to neighboring countries. Although our insights derive from the experience of Francophone firms from Africa, we argue that for firms from all former colonies, the internationalization trajectory leads through the colonial center. Our findings underline the roles of legitimacy-seeking and network ties in the internationalization of frontier market firms and serve as a salutatory reminder of the lingering influence of colonial ties on international business.
UNA CONTRIBUCIÓN AL CORPUS FILOSÓFICO COLONIAL CHILENO: LOS CURSOS DE ANIMÁSTICA

espanolResumen: El siguiente texto pretende contribuir a la identificacion y difusion de una parte del corpus filosofico de la epoca colonial chilena: los cursos dedicados al estudio de la animastica. Se abordan las fuentes primarias conservadas en el Archivo Nacional Historico y el Archivo de la Provincia Franciscana (Santiago de Chile) y se comenta brevemente su estructura, contenidos y particularidades. Con ello, se ofrece material, hasta ahora inedito, que facilitara y orientara futuras investigaciones en esta aun poco explorada area de la disciplina filosofica. EnglishAbstract: This paper aims to contribute to the identification and diffusion of an element of the philosophical corpus that emerged from colonial Chile: the courses dedicated to the study of the animastics. The paper first addresses the primary sources preserved in the National Historical Archive and in the Franciscan Historical Archive in Santiago, Chile, and subsequently provides a brief commentary of the structure, contents and particularities of these documents. Thus, this paper offers an approach to unpublished material, which aims to facilitate and guide future research in this relatively unexplored area of the discipline.
The Bulgarian PEN Club: A Study in Interwar Cultural Internationalism:

This article reconstructs the history of the Bulgarian section of the International PEN. The PEN (initially standing for Poet, Essayists and Novelists) remains a global society of writers, founded ...
Protein Signatures and Tissue Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Background Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration fails to diagnose up to 25% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Proteomics can help to overcome this clinical dilemma. We hypothesized that soluble protein signatures can differentiate PDAC from benign tissues. Study Design Tissues were obtained from resected surgical specimens, lysed, and homogenates collected for analysis with a 41-protein multiplex assay. Analyte concentrations were normalized to total protein. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate for differences in PDAC vs benign tissue. Results Tissues were obtained from 159 patients, 82 patients with PDAC naive to therapy and 77 with benign pancreatic pathology. Fourteen analytes had a receiver operating characteristic curve area of >0.75 for predicting PDAC vs benign tissue. A recursive partitioning model using only 2 analytes, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist and transforming growth factor-α, provided an accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 91.2%, 90.2%, and 92.2%, respectively. A penalized logistic regression model found 12 analytes that provide diagnostic value to a protein signature. The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic after 50 tenfold cross-validations was 0.951. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of this model were 91.2%, 87.8%, and 94.8%, respectively. Applying the scenario of 80% disease prevalence in patients undergoing endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration for a pancreatic head mass, positive predictive value is 98.5% (95% CI 93.0% to 99.7%) and negative predictive value is 66.0% (95% CI 54.9% to 75.6%). Conclusions Protein signatures from pancreatic specimens can differentiate PDAC from benign tissue. Additional work to validate these findings in a unique sample set is warranted.
Probiotics and oxytocin nasal spray as neuro-social-behavioral interventions for patients with autism spectrum disorders: a pilot randomized controlled trial protocol.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication. Oxytocin (OXT), as a neuropeptide, plays a role in emotional and social behaviors. Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) supplementation led to an OXT-dependent behavioral improvement in ASD mouse models. Despite some promising results from animal studies, little is known about the efficacy of supplementation with L. reuteri, alone or with exogenous OXT therapy, on social-behavioral functions in ASD patients. This paper presents a protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a full trial comparing oral supplementation of L. reuteri probiotics and intranasal OXT spray to placebo on the effect of social and behavioral functions in ASD patients. The study will also capture preliminary estimates of the efficacy of the proposed interventions in ASD patients. This pilot trial is a two-staged, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Throughout the study (0–24 weeks), 60 patients with ASD will be randomly assigned to receive either oral L. reuteri probiotics or placebo. In the second study stage (13–24 weeks), all participants will receive intranasal OXT spray. As primary outcomes, serum OXT levels will be assayed and social behaviors will be assessed via the Autism Behavior Checklist and the Social Responsiveness Scale which are validated questionnaires, an objective emotional facial matching test, and a new video-based eye-tracking test. Secondary outcomes include the GI-severity-index and Bristol Stool Chart to assess GI function and gut microbiome/short-chain fatty acids. All the outcomes will be assessed at baseline and weeks 12 and 24. This pilot study will provide important information on the feasibility of recruitment, blinding and concealment, treatment administration, tolerability and adherence, specimen collection, outcome assessment, potential adverse effects, and the preliminary efficacy on both primary and secondary outcomes. If successful, this pilot study will inform a larger randomized controlled trial fully powered to examine the efficacies of oral L. reuteri probiotics and/or intranasal OXT spray on social-behavioral improvement in ASD patients. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03337035. Registered 8 November 2017.
CORRELATION OF AVERAGE 4D-CT BASED STRAIN ASSESSMENT (SQUEEZ) WITH GLOBAL LONGITUDINAL STRAIN BY ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE AORTIC STENOSIS

Reduced global longitudinal strain (GLS) by echocardiography is associated with worse survival in those who have aortic valve replacement. We developed Average Stretch QUantification of Endocardial Engraved Zones (SQUEEZ) as an automated imaging analysis technique that measures strain from 4D-cine
The long-distance flight behavior of Drosophila suggests a general model for wind-assisted dispersal in insects

Despite the ecological importance of long-distance dispersal in insects, its underlying mechanistic basis is poorly understood. One critical question is how insects interact with the wind to increase their travel distance as they disperse. To gain insight into dispersal using a species amenable to further investigation using genetic tools, we conducted release-and-recapture experiments in the Mojave Desert using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We deployed chemically-baited traps in a 1 km-radius ring around the release site, equipped with machine vision systems that captured the arrival times of flies as they landed. In each experiment, we released between 30,000 and 200,000 flies. By repeating the experiments under a variety of conditions, we were able to quantify the influence of wind on flies' dispersal behavior. Our results confirm that even tiny fruit flies could disperse ~15 km in a single flight in still air, and might travel many times that distance in a moderate wind. The dispersal behavior of the flies is well explained by a model in which animals maintain a fixed body orientation relative to celestial cues, actively regulate groundspeed along their body axis, and allow the wind to advect them sideways. The model accounts for the observation that flies actively fan out in all directions in still air, but are increasingly advected downwind as winds intensify. In contrast, our field data do not support a Levy flight model of dispersal, despite the fact that our experimental conditions almost perfectly match the core assumptions of that theory.
Rotator cuff repair in HIV-infected patients: an analysis of postoperative complications:

Objectives:Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a major challenge to global health. However, advances in treatment have transformed HIV infection into a more manageable chronic disease, drama...
The crystal structure of 5-(tri-fluoro-meth-yl)picolinic acid monohydrate reveals a water-bridged hydrogen-bonding network.

The title compound [systematic name: 5-(tri­fluoro­meth­yl)pyridine-2-carb­oxy­lic acid monohydrate], C7H4F3NO2·H2O, is the acid hydrate of a pyridine with a carb­oxy­lic acid group and a tri­fluoro­methyl substituent situated para to one another on the aromatic ring. The mol­ecule forms a centrosymmetric water-bridged hydrogen-bonding dimer with graph-set notation R44 (12). Hydrogen-bonding distances of 2.5219 (11) and 2.8213 (11) A are observed between the donor carb­oxy­lic acid and the bridging water acceptor, and the donor water and carbonyl oxygen acceptor, respectively. The dimers are further linked into a two-dimensional sheet via two longer inter­molecular hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between the second hydrogen atom on the bridging water mol­ecule and both a pyridine nitro­gen atom and carbonyl oxygen with distances of 3.1769 (11) and 2.8455 (11) A, respectively. The tri­fluoro­methyl groups extend out the faces of the sheet providing for F⋯F and C—H⋯F contacts between the sheets, completing the three-dimensional packing.
Authenticity orientation as an attitude: Scale construction and validation

Abstract This study developed an authenticity orientation scale to measure the attitudes of tourists toward object-based authenticity of cultural and historic artifacts, attractions, and tourist sites. The attitudes underlying the scale have been described in authenticity literature as a continuum of attitude orientations ranging from predominantly realist to constructivist to postmodernist. To numerically distinguish tourists with respect to their attitudes, the researchers employ Thurstone's method of equally appearing intervals (Thurstone, L.L. 1928. Attitudes can be measured. The American Journal of Sociology, 26, 249–269) with subsequent validation. The newly developed scale has undergone rigorous construction and testing procedure. Its predictive validity was ensured through hypothesis testing using an online survey with a panel of 514 American tourists. The theoretical significance of the study lies in understanding the mechanism of “authentication” of various artifacts, attractions, and tourist sites by visitors. Implications for tourism management and directions for further research are discussed.
Trending Now: News Habits of Generation Z

An exploration of literature addressing the interest and engagement of young adults, and their novel approach to seeking information. We find that Generation Z adults are engaged with similar public policy issues as other adults; seek information about those issues daily; seek news via social media significantly more frequently than even Millennials; consume news from more liberal-leaning news outlets; understand the political biases of publications; and do not differ across a variety of US geopolitical regions. Implications are discussed.
On the Design of SMR HDD Block Device Driver

This paper studies the design of host-managed SMR HDD. To obviate any changes to existing filesystems and applications, this paper focuses on making the host-side block device driver solely responsible for managing SMR HDD. The key is to make block device driver elastically utilize the host-side memory resource to realize address translation and mitigate SMR HDD performance degradation. Under this framework, this paper presents a set of techniques, including defragmentation-centric write buffer management, fragmentation-adaptive tree-based address mapping, and fragmentation-aware GC, which together can efficiently utilize host memory resource to realize address translation and mitigate drive performance degradation. Using a variety of disk access IO traces and benchmarks, we carried out experiments that well demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design techniques.
Outcomes of Treatment and Return to Play: The Evidence

There is no consensus in the literature on the optimal treatment for lateral epicondylitis, although studies have indicated that the majority of patients improve with conservative or expectant management at one year. The outcomes of management of tennis elbow, both conservative and surgical, are thus primarily positive.
Why Prosecutors Misbehave

The author, perhaps the nation's top authority on prosecutorial misconduct, raises and analyzes two questions: Why does this misconduct occur? (It often pays off.) And why does it continue? (There are no effective sanctions.)
The Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) Protein Involved in 11q23 Translocations Contains a Domain That Binds Cruciform DNA and Scaffold Attachment Region (SAR) DNA

Translocations involving chromosome band 11q23, found in acute lymphoid and myeloid leukemias, disrupt the MLL gene. This gene encodes a putative transcription factor with regions of homology to several other proteins including the zinc fingers and other domains of the Drosophila trithorax gene product, and the “AT-hook” DNA-binding motif of high mobility group proteins. We have previously demonstrated that MLL contains transcriptional activation and repression domains using a GAL4 fusion protein system (2l). The repression domain, which is capable of repressing transcription 3-5-fold, is located centromeric to the breakpoint region of MLL. The activation domain, located telomeric to the breakpoint region, activated transcription from a variety of promoters including ones containing only basal promoter elements. The level of activation was very high, ranging from 10-fold to more than 300-fold, depending on the promoter and cell line used for transient transfection.
BARYON CURRENT SOLVING SU(3) CHARGE-CURRENT ALGEBRA.

The group dynamical prescriptions for constructing conserved currents of baryons of fixed internal quantum numbers are extended as to apply to the whole SU(3) octet of weak and electromagnetic curents.
Trait theories of personality.

For anyone who truly wishes to understand human personality, trait psychology is not an option. For decades, most personality psychologists opted for one or another of the major schools of psychology and attempted to understand human beings from its perspective. Psychoanalysts pondered free associations, behaviorists recorded behaviors, and self psychologists inventoried the self-concept. Although eclectic integrations were sometimes advanced (e.g., Murphy, 1947), most personality psychologists regarded perspectives other than their own with scorn and hostility. Dissension was the rule even within schools: Jun-gians and Freudians disputed the nature of the unconscious; Cattellians and Eysenckians argued about the true number of personality trait dimensions.
Anesthesia Report Card --- A Customizable Tool for Performance Improvement

Measuring and providing performance feedback to physicians has gained momentum not only as a way to comply with regulatory requirements, but also as a way to improve patient care. Measurement of structural, process, and outcome metrics in a reliable, evidence-based, specialty-specific manner maximizes the probability of improving physician performance. The manner in which feedback is provided influences whether the measurement tool will be successful in changing behavior. We created an innovative reporting tool template for anesthesiology practitioners designed to provide detailed, continuous feedback covering many aspects of clinical practice. The literature regarding quality metric measurement and feedback strategies was examined to design a reporting tool that could provide high quality information and result in improved performance of clinical and academic tasks. A committee of department leaders and information technology professionals was tasked with determining the measurement criteria and infrastructure needed to generate these reports. Data was collected in a systematic, unbiased manner, and reports were populated with information from multiple databases and software systems. Feedback would be based on frequently updated information and allow for analysis of historical performance as well as comparison amongst peers. A template for an anesthesia report card was created. Categories included compliance, credentialing and qualifications, education, clinical and operating room responsibilities, and academic achievements. Physicians were able to choose to be evaluated in some of the categories and had to meet a minimum number of criteria within each category. This allowed for customization to each practitioner’s practice. Criteria were derived from the measures of academic and clinical proficiency, as well as quality metrics. Criteria were objective measures and data gathering was often automated. Reports could be generated that were updated daily and provided historical information, and information about peers in the department and within each subspecialty group. We demonstrate the creation of an online anesthesia report card that incorporates metrics most likely to engender positive changes in practice and academic responsibilities. This tool provides timely and customized information for each anesthesia practitioner, designed to be easily modifiable to improve the quantity, quality, and substance of metrics being measured. Finally, our tool could serve as a template for a performance measuring tool that can be customizable to a wide variety of practice settings, and upon which both monetary and non-monetary incentives might be based in the future.
Interaction between the solar wind and interstellar gas: A comparison between Monte Carlo and fluid approaches

[1] The solar wind is a highly supersonic stream of ionized gas which creates a large bubble of plasma around the Sun. This bubble, termed the heliosphere, is stretched like a raindrop by the supersonic flow of partially ionized interstellar gas. In this paper we present a detailed comparison between the kinetic Monte Carlo and multiple neutral fluid approaches to modeling hydrogen atoms of interstellar and heliospheric origins within an axisymmetric heliosphere, coupled through charge exchange to the ionized plasma. We choose a set of parameters and boundary conditions which allow a further comparison with existing independently obtained results. Our results show a similar overall heliospheric structure, with a heliopause in approximately the same place, for both the kinetic and fluid models. The termination shock, on the other hand, is moved about 5 AU inward and the bow shock is weakened and moved about 8 AU farther out in the kinetic model. More critically, the hydrogen wall amplitude is about 50% above the interstellar value in the fluid case but only 25% in the kinetic case, and the level of hydrogen inside the termination shock is about 20% higher in the kinetic model. The velocity distributions at various locations along the symmetry axis show that while the kinetic model predicts a smooth distribution, the total fluid distribution is more disjointly structured. We also find that neutral atoms produced in the inner heliosheath have a “half-Maxwellian” distribution outside the heliopause, something which cannot be realized within the fluid model.
Effects of modification of the β2 subunit and of the α2β2 complex of tryptophan synthase by α-cyanoglycine, a substrate analog

α-Cyanoglycine inactivates the pyridoxal-P forms of the β2 subunit and the α2β2 complex of tryptophan synthase; an intense chromophore at 430 nm forms concomitantly. The slow reactivation of the modified β2 subunit upon dialysis (t12 = 24 hours) is prevented by addition of α subunit, which presumably acts by changing the environment of the chromophoric derivative. These data and the observed protection from inhibition by L-serine indicate that α-cyanoglycine acts as a substrate analog which undergoes a second, largely irreversible reaction at the active site of the β2 subunit. Modification of the β2 subunit increases its affinity for the α subunit. Modification of the α2β2 complex increases its stability to heat, urea, and low pH.
Primary stuttering at the onset of stuttering: a reexamination of data.

This reexamination of certain data in Study III of Johnson’s The Onset of Stuttering found that: (1) Among experimentals, children labeled as stutterers by at least one parent, at least 63% at onse...
Assessment and Monitoring of Pediatric Procedural Sedation

As emergency medicine physicians and other nonanesthesiologists continue to take more prominent roles in pediatric procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA), the significance of a standardized approach to insure patient safety becomes paramount. Appropriate preparation includes the recognition of sedation as a continuum and assembling equipment and trained staff accordingly. A detailed focused assessment of a child will help to identify those at risk for adverse events. This assessment will further help the practitioner decide which PSA medication regimen is most appropriate, as well as the most appropriate timing and setting for the procedure. Although no clear relationship exists between preprocedural fasting and increased adverse outcomes, appropriate assessment and risk-benefit analysis should be completed. Informed consent of parents and clarification of sedation expectations remain an important part of any preprocedural routine. Finally, newer modalities such as end-tidal CO 2 and bispectral index monitoring may enhance the safety and refine the use of PSA when used as adjuncts to standard pulse oximetry and hemodynamic monitoring parameters.
Effects of Glass Additions on (Zr,Sn)TiO4 for Microwave Applications

The effects of glass additions on the properties of (Zr,Sn)TiO4 as a microwave dielectric material were investigated. The (Zr,Sn)TiO4 ceramics with no glass addition sintered at 1360°C gave Q= 4900 and K= 37 at 7.9 GHz. Several glasses, including SiO2, B2O3, 5ZnO–2B2O3, and nine commercial glasses, were tested during this study. Among these glasses, (Zr,Sn)TiO4 sintered with ZnO-B2O3–SiO2 (Corning 7574) showed more than 20% higher density than that of pure (Zr,Sn)TiO4 sintered at the same temperature. A 5-wt% addition of SiO2, to (Zr,Sn)TiO4, when sintered at 1200°C, gave the best Q: Q= 2700 at 9 GHz. Results of XRD analysis and scanning electron microscopy and the effect of glass content are also presented.