cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A switching approach to visual servo control

In the recent past, many researchers have developed control algorithms for visual servo applications. In this paper we introduce a new switching approach, in which a high-level decision maker determines which of two low level visual servo controllers should be used at each control cycle. We introduce two new low-level controllers, one that relies on the homography between initial and goal images, and one that uses an affine transformation to approximate the motion between initial and goal camera configurations. Since an affine transformation can only approximate a restricted set of camera motions, this choice of low-level controllers illustrates the strength of the switching approach. We evaluated our approach with several simulations using three candidate switching rules. Although our results are preliminary, we believe that the proposed method is very promising for visual servo tasks in which there is a significant distance between the initial and goal configurations.
Graph partitioning using a Simulated Bee Colony algorithm

Graph partitioning is a problem which has great practical importance. Because graph partitioning is an NP-complete problem, there has been much research attention focused on developing heuristics which find reasonably good approximations to optimal solutions. This study presents a Simulated Bee Colony (SBC) graph partitioning algorithm which is based on the foraging behavior of honey bees. A computer program which implemented the SBC algorithm was executed against 12 benchmark graph partitioning problems. The SBC algorithm produced partitions with better quality than the best published results for 10 of the 12 benchmark problems. The results suggest that Simulated Bee Colony algorithms are a highly effective technique for partitioning graphs in situations where partition quality is more important than real-time performance and that using SBC graph partitioning algorithms may be particularly useful in problem scenarios where the partition result is intended for reuse such as analyses of large communication graphs.
EAKOS: VAST 2009

In this article, I describe the tools and techniques used to generate competing hypotheses for the VAST 2009 Flitter mini challenge. I will describe how I approached solving the social networks and the importance of the geospatial relationships to determine that ldquoSocial Structure Form Ardquo was the best matching social network.
ECOLOGY OF ECOTONES: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SALAMANDERS ON A COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENT

We investigated factors that define boundaries between assemblages of streamside and terrestrial plethodontid salamanders by manipulating the moisture gradient in the ecotone between headwater streams and upland forests in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that microhabitat distributions of species change in response to competitors whose distributions are controlled by variation across the landscape at a larger scale. In the first experiment we created replicated seeps (continuously moist patches) 3 m and 15 m from streams. Desmognathus fuscus, a streamside species, began to increase in density at streamside seeps and to colonize distant seeps within 1.5 mo of their construction. Plethodon cinereus, a small terrestrial species, initially responded favorably to distant seeps but was displaced as seeps were colonized by streamside species. The D. fuscus colonists remained on distant plots with seeps 22 mo after water to seeps was turned off and the habitat had return...
Evaporation of Polydisperse Multicomponent Oil Droplets

During machining, polydisperse mist droplets are generated from multicomponent oils used as metalworking fluids. As these droplets travel with an airstream, they are subject to evaporation. The resulting vapor will pass through mist collectors and enter factory air where it may recondense on particles or surfaces, be inhaled by workers, or be emitted to the atmosphere. Maxwell's equation for evaporation of an isolated drop can be used to model the evaporation of polydisperse multicomponent oil droplets at normal temperatures. Within each droplet size, relationships describing the change in mass with time for small droplets (diameter<20 µm) are numerically integrated over time for the most prevalent compounds in the oil. Decreases or increases in mass for individual droplets are linked by their combined influence on vapor concentrations. Experiments conducted with mineral oil mist demonstrate that the model predicts evaporation accurately. The model indicates that under some conditions as much as 65% of th...
Health-related services provided by public health educators.

This study identifies the health-related services provided by public health educators. The investigators, with the help of practicing public health educators, created the list of health-related services. Respondents received questionnaires in 2001 and 2007. Thus, this study determined the changes in health-related services provided over a 6-year period. Respondents ranked up to five health-related services by the amount of time spent delivering each health-related service. The list of health-related services presented in a 2001 survey and a 2007 survey were identical. As in 2001, this list in the 2007 survey captured the breadth of health-related services provided, with one exception. In 2007, several participants wrote-in “emergency preparedness/bioterrorism.” The types of health-related services provided did not change over the 6-year period; however, the ranking of these services did change. Most notably, nutrition education and involvement with physical activity moved up in the ranking in 2007.
Calculation of temperature-oxygen fugacity tables for H2-CO2 gas mixtures at one atmosphere total pressure: Summary

The initial CO 2 volumes yielding selected oxygen fugacities at specified temperatures have been computed for H 2 -CO 2 gas mixtures at one atmosphere total pressure. The calculations are based on the thermochemical data of the JANAF Tables for the species CO 2 -H 2 -H 2 O-CO-O 2 -CH 4 and are carried out using the Newton-Raphson method of successive approximation. The new values replace older ones where the effects of CH 4 in the system were treated only in an approximate manner.
Past Ecosystem Dynamics in Fashioning Views on Conserving Extant New World Vegetation1

Abstract In the Cretaceous there were eight New World terrestrial ecosystems that were distinct or only shadowy versions of those present today. Now, 65 Ma later, 12 ecosystems constitute the recognizable subdivisions of the Earth's living and physical envelope. Knowledge of the intervening history is useful for conservation in several regards. It reveals how heterogeneous modern systems are in age and origin (e.g., lowland Neotropical rainforest formed between ca. 60 and 58 Ma; tundra and paramo between ca. 5 and 3 Ma), how individualized the response of component species to previous environmental change has been, and how levels of biodiversity have fluctuated through time. History provides approximate analogs for conditions anticipated in the near future and estimates of the biotic response. In addition, history documents that climatic events originally discovered and formerly associated with the high latitudes also affected tropical regions, and that discovery constitutes a valuable context for assessi...
Bioanalytical challenges for analytical chemists

Analytical chemistry contributes significantly to the life sciences through developing measurement techniques that provide quantitative chemical information. Developments in biological research present new challenges for analytical chemistry and call for revolutionary methods and new thinking. Dana Spence outlines here some key and unique challenges encountered when making measurements on samples of a biological nature, supported with real examples from his own research.
Opto-mechanical model of surface micromachined tunable optoelectronic devices

Summary form only given. Surface micromachining of deformable mirror has been widely applied in wavelength tunable optoelectronic devices. The reconfigurable structure make it very robust in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems. However, changes in the reflective surface structure have not been characterized mathematically. It is also essential to combine the mechanical model to determine the deformed shape of the mirror. In this paper, we construct the first comprehensive opto-mechanical model to estimate losses and linewidth broadening of the cavity.
Modular Design and Modular Program for High Gradient Quadrupoles

A modular design and modular program is introduced here for high gradient quadrupoles. The proposed quadrupole design is based on simple flat racetrack coil modules. Even though many high gradient quadrupole designs using flat racetrack coils have been considered earlier, they have not been able to generate the same maximum quench gradient as produced in conventional cosine (two) theta designs. The proposed modular design is able to overcome those limitations. In addition, a systematic, flexible and cost-effective modular R&D program is also proposed that can be used in developing both high gradient quadrupoles and a variety of high field dipoles. A rapid turn around magnet R&D program based on flat racetrack coils has been found very useful and efficient in the past. Since the proposed modular design is based on simple flat racetrack coils with large bend radii, it offers good likelihood of success in both React & Wind and Wind & React technology for building magnets with brittle superconductors.
Modeling and control of elementary 2D-Traffic systems using Petri nets and minplus algebra

We present in this paper the modeling of an elementary 2D-Traffic system, basing on Petri nets and minplus algebra. Our aim is to derive fundamental diagrams of 2D-traffic on a system of one circular road with one junction without turn, taking shape of the number eight (8). The fundamental diagram is the relation between the flow and the density of vehicles on a road. Two possibilities of managing the junction are considered: using the priority-to-the-right rule, or using a signal traffic light control. We show that in both two cases, modeling a traffic junction needs the use of negative weights on Petri nets. Although our models are simplistic, they permit to obtain significant qualitative results. In the first case where the junction is managed by the priority-to-the-right rule, some analytical results are given, which are completed and confirmed by numerical results. The second case, where the junction is controlled by using a signal light, is solved analytically. The resulting fundamental diagrams are given and compared.
The relation of rainfall to elavation in the southern Appalachian region

An investigation of the relation of elevation to the variation in annual rainfall at a number of rainfall-stations in western United States was made about 1899 by Mr. J. B. Lippincott [see 1 of “References” at end of paper]. This study was extended by Dr. Daniel W. Mead [2] in 1919 so as to include additional stations in Europe and the United States. These investigations indicated rather conclusively that in most mountain areas the amount of mean annual rainfall was greater, the higher the elevation of the station considered.
D-SIFTER: a collaborative information classifier

The enormous growth of the World Wide Web has led to a vast amount of unsolicited information being transmitted to many users. Information filtering is a useful technique to combat such an undesired information overload. In this paper, we present a distributed environment for information classification, called D-SIFTER. D-SIFTER (distributed smart information filtering technology for electronic resources) consists of many networked filters communicating to achieve a collaborative classification of incoming documents. Our preliminary experiments show a 44% increase in the number of successful classifications in D-SIFTER as compared to the isolated environment called SIFTER (smart information filtering technology for electronic resources).
Impacts of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Forest Certification in North America

We conducted e-mail surveys of organizations that had received forest management certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in the United States and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) in the United States and Canada to determine if forest certification has changed forest management practices and if the changes are practically and statistically different between systems. The results indicate that forest certification prompted substantial changes in practices. On average, firms implemented 13‐14 changes in forestry, environmental, social, and economic/system practices to obtain or maintain forest certification. Although there was no statistical difference between systems in the total number of changes, there were many differences in the implementation of specific forest practices, with FSC firms required to make more environmental/forest management changes and SFI firms required to make more economic/system changes. Forest managers believed that the benefits of forest certification were greater than the disadvantages. SFI managers rated the benefits of forest certification higher than FSC managers, but also rated the disadvantages higher. Most organizations felt certification accomplished their objectives and were likely to recertify, thus indicating their endorsement of the process.
Control of Microorganisms by Retarding Growth

By altering the factors (discussed in Chapter 4) to retard or inhibit the growth of microorganisms, the storage life of foods can be extended. These factors included temperature, water activity, acidity, oxidation-reduction potential, chemical inhibitors, and microbial interactions. Besides these factors, microorganisms can be affected by electrical current (Shimada and Shimahara 1981) as well as homologous phage (Greer 1986).
How Does Emergency Department Crowding Affect Medical Student Test Scores and Clerkship Evaluations

Author(s): Wei, Grant; Arya, Rajiv; Ritz, Z. Trevor; He, Albert S.; Ohman-Strickland, Pamela A.; McCoy, Jonathan V. | Abstract: Introduction: The effect of emergency department (ED) crowding has been recognized as a concern for more than 20 years; its effect on productivity, medical errors, and patient satisfaction has been studied extensively. Little research has reviewed the effect of ED crowding on medical education. Prior studies that have considered this effect have shown no correlation between ED crowding and resident perception of quality of medical education.Objective: To determine whether ED crowding, as measured by the National ED Overcrowding Scale (NEDOCS) score, has a quantifiable effect on medical student objective and subjective experiences during emergency medicine (EM) clerkship rotations.Methods: We collected end-of-rotation examinations and medical student evaluations for 21 EM rotation blocks between July 2010 and May 2012, with a total of 211 students. NEDOCS scores were calculated for each corresponding period. Weighted regression analyses examined the correlation between components of the medical student evaluation, student test scores, and the NEDOCS score for each period.Results: When all 21 rotations are included in the analysis, NEDOCS scores showed a negative correlation with medical student tests scores (regression coefficient= -0.16, p=0.04) and three elements of the rotation evaluation (attending teaching, communication, and systems-based practice; pl0.05). We excluded an outlying NEDOCS score from the analysis and obtained similar results. When the data were controlled for effect of month of the year, only student test score remained significantly correlated with NEDOCS score (p=0.011). No part of the medical student rotation evaluation attained significant correlation with the NEDOCS score (p≥0.34 in all cases).Conclusion: ED overcrowding does demonstrate a small but negative association with medical student performance on end-of-rotation examinations. Additional studies are recommended to further evaluate this effect.
Effects of aerobic exercise training on fitness and walking-related outcomes in ambulatory individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury

Single group, pretest–post-test study. To determine the effects of a non-task-specific, voluntary, progressive aerobic exercise training (AET) intervention on fitness and walking-related outcomes in ambulatory adults with chronic motor-incomplete SCI. Rehabilitation research center. Ten ambulatory individuals (50% female; 57.94±9.33 years old; 11.11±9.66 years postinjury) completed voluntary, progressive moderate-to-vigorous intensity AET on a recumbent stepper 3 days per week for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measures were aerobic capacity (VO2peak (volume of oxygen that the body can use during physical exertion)) and self-selected overground walking speed (OGWS). Secondary outcome measures included walking economy, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), daily step counts, Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI-II), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Nine participants completed all testing and training. Significant improvements in aerobic capacity (P=0.011), OGWS (P=0.023), the percentage of VO2peak used while walking at self-selected speed (P=0.03) and daily step counts (P=0.025) resulted following training. The results indicate that total-body, voluntary, progressive AET is safe, feasible, and effective for improving aerobic capacity, walking speed, and select walking-related outcomes in an exclusively ambulatory SCI sample. This study suggests the potential for non-task-specific aerobic exercise to improve walking following incomplete SCI and builds a foundation for further investigation aimed at the development of exercise based rehabilitation strategies to target functionally limiting impairments in ambulatory individuals with chronic SCI.
Expressing Concern

A consultant system's main task is to provided helpful advice to the user. Consultant systems should not only find solutions to user problems, but should also inform the user of potential problems with these solutions. Expressing such potential caveats is a difficult process due to the many potential plan failures for each particular plan in a particular planning situation. A commonsense planner, called KIP, Knowledge Intensive Planner, is described. KIP is the planner for the UNIX Consultant system. KIP detect potential plan failures using a new knowledge structure termed a concern. Concerns allow KIP to detects plan failures due to unsatisfied conditions or goal conflict. KIP's concern algorithm also is able to provide information to the expression mechanism regarding potential plan failures. Concern information is passed to the expression mechanism when KIP's selected plan might not work. In this case, KIP passes information regarding both the suggested plan and the potential caveats in that plan to the expression mechanism. This is an efficient approach since KIP must make such decisions in the context of its planning process. A concern's declarative structure makes it easier to express than procedural descriptions of plan failures used by earlier systems.
Intravitreous ranibizumab for persistent macular edema in retinal vein occlusion unresponsive to bevacizumab.

PURPOSE To report successful treatment of persistent retinal edema associated with retinal vascular occlusion with ranibizumab after initial failure with bevacizumab intravitreal injections. METHODS A retrospective chart review of all patients undergoing treatment with intravitreal bevacizumab for retinal vascular occlusion was undertaken. Clinical features of patients who were switched to monthly ranibizumab because of persistent and/or worsening retinal edema despite multiple (six or more) monthly intravitreal bevacizumab injections were selected for review. The type of retinal vascular occlusion, age of the patient, visual acuity at each visit, number of intravitreal bevacizumab injections, optical coherence tomography findings at each visit, fluorescein angiography, and number of intravitreal ranibizumab injections with optical coherence tomography findings at each subsequent visit were recorded. RESULTS Six patients (five women and one man) were identified. Age ranged from 56 years to 74 years. Five had central retinal vein occlusion and one a branch retinal vein occlusion. All were treated with at least 6 sequential intravitreal bevacizumab injections (range, 6-13) before treatment with ranibizumab. All demonstrated an immediate and marked reduction in retinal edema that had not occurred with any of the previous treatments. The average central foveal thickness on optical coherence tomography was 592 µm before ranibizumab injection and 346 µm after the injection. Visual acuity improved in four of the six patients and was stable in the remaining two patients. CONCLUSION Eyes of patients with persistent macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion despite bevacizumab may experience prompt improvement after initiation of intravitreal ranibizumab injections.
Realization of Cu-Doped p-Type ZnO Thin Films by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Cu-doped p-type ZnO films are grown on c-sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Photoluminescence (PL) experiments reveal a shallow acceptor state at 0.15 eV above the valence band edge. Hall effect results indicate that a growth condition window is found for the formation of p-type ZnO thin films, and the best conductivity is achieved with a high hole concentration of 1.54 × 1018 cm–3, a low resistivity of 0.6 Ω cm, and a moderate mobility of 6.65 cm2 V–1 s–1 at room temperature. Metal oxide semiconductor capacitor devices have been fabricated on the Cu-doped ZnO films, and the characteristics of capacitance–voltage measurements demonstrate that the Cu-doped ZnO thin films under proper growth conditions are p-type. Seebeck measurements on these Cu-doped ZnO samples lead to positive Seebeck coefficients and further confirm the p-type conductivity. Other measurements such as X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron, Raman, and absorption spectroscopies are also performed to elucidate ...
Abstract 160: Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) Associated with Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Comorbidities in Patients with Diabetes

Objectives: Diabetes (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are a significant threat to public health. We have previously estimated utility scores for CVD and diabetes-related comorbidities in a general population without diabetes. However, utility estimates may differ for those with pre-existing DM. The objective of this research was to estimate the utility associated with DM-related and CVD health states in patients with pre-existing DM. Methods: A comprehensive list of health states and corresponding ICD-9 codes related to DM was developed by clinicians. EQ-5D-3L responses were mapped from SF-12 questionnaire responses in the 2000-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. EQ-5D scores were estimated using tariffs from the US, UK, France and Spain. Regression analysis was used to estimate the disutility of each DM-related condition, controlling for comorbidity, geographic region, age, gender, race, ethnicity, education and family income. Censored Least Absolute Deviations (CLAD), Tobit and OLS regression me...
STUDY ON SIMULATION TEST AND MEASUREMENT OF GROUND POTENTIAL OF SUBSTATION IN CITY PROPER

In civic power construction it is very important to research the feature of ground potential distribution while fault current occurs to prevent the dangerous affect of the rising of ground potential on communication facilities and computer systems. Because there are lots of underground metal pipelines and buildings, therefore, it is rather difficult to establish an effective model to calculate the ground potential distribution. Here, using such a simulation method as large current with various frequencies, the ground potential distribution of civic substation in the city proper is tested and measured, and the influences of underground metal pipelines, the reinforced concrete beds of the buildings, the other grounding meshes near the substation and the metal sheathes of the cables connected with the grounding mesh of the substation on the distribution of grounding potential are analyzed. To reduce the grounding potential, some problems which should be paid attention to in the civic power construction are pointed out.
Nutrition,food security assessment and development prospects of Maca

Three areas were reviewed about Maca:the basic information,the nutritional composition analysis and functional components analysis,safety assessment(including population data,acute toxicity,genetic toxicity,mouse sperm abnormality test,sub-chronic toxicity,chronic toxicity,carcinogenicity),research and development prospects(including the growing base,new resources food development,functional components and associated functional studies) were discussed.
Dexterity Analysis and Optimization of Belt Grinding Robot

The current developments and major stumbling blocks that prevent widespread use of belt grinding robot are concluded.Based on the requirements of the complex surface grinding task,a new type of grinding robot,PPPRRR,is proposed.The robotic type features its high accuracy and high structural stiffness.Product of exponentials formula in twist theory is used to derive the kinematical and inverse kinematical equations of the belt grinding robot.Simulated annealing algorithm is used to analyze the dexterous grinding workspace with respect to the coordinate system of end effector,and the cross section drawings of the dexterous grinding space are drawn.Furthermore,the belt grinder's position with respect to the robot base is optimized with the pattern search method to obtain the maximum volume of the dexterous grinding workspace,which improves the dexterity of the robotic belt grinding system.
The experimental transfer of adult Fasciola hepatica between various mammalian hosts

Summary Adult F. hepatica were aseptically removed from the bile ducts of experimentally infected animals and placed into the body cavities of recipient hosts: they survived well when transferred immediately and also after they had been held in vitro for a few hours. In the rat transfened worms survived for at least 6-7 weeks inside a well formed cyst. Within this cyst the flukes laid eggs normally and they appeared normal histologically. Cysts were not formed in rabbits but a small number of the transferred flukes survived for 7 weeks although they did not appear to thrive or feed normally and contained very few if any eggs in their uteri.
The problems no one wants to see: mental illness and substance abuse among women of reproductive age in North Carolina.

igh rates of infant mortality and morbidity persist in North Carolina despite efforts at the state and federal level to improve women’s physical health and access to prenatal care in order to promote healthy birth outcomes. While infant mortality and low birth weight rates have declined over the past decade, more focused attention to women’s behavioral health, specifically mental illness and substance use disorders, is needed to further close this gap. Women’s mental health and substance use are often overlooked as determinants of both preconceptional health and pregnancy outcomes. This is regrettably shortsighted: addiction and mental illness not only pose risks to prenatal development and birth outcomes but also impair women’s ability to be safe and sober mothers. Promoting positive birth outcomes requires that health care providers, policymakers, and communities in North Carolina collaborate to create a system of comprehensive care in order to support women’s recovery from mental illness and substance abuse.
Operational Excellence through Schedule Optimization and Production Simulation of Application Specific Integrated Circuits.

Upcoming weapon programs require an aggressive increase in Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) production at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). SNL has developed unique modeling and optimization tools that have been instrumental in improving ASIC production productivity and efficiency, identifying optimal operational and tactical execution plans under resource constraints, and providing confidence in successful mission execution. With ten products and unprecedented levels of demand, a single set of shared resources, highly variable processes, and the need for external supplier task synchronization, scheduling is an integral part of successful manufacturing. The scheduler uses an iterative multi-objective genetic algorithm and a multi-dimensional performance evaluator. Schedule feasibility is assessed using a discrete event simulation (DES) that incorporates operational uncertainty, variability, and resource availability. The tools provide rapid scenario assessments and responses to variances in the operational environment, and have been used to inform major equipment investments and workforce planning decisions in multiple SNL facilities.
Long-term results of the phase II trial of the oral mTOR inhibitor everolimus (RAD001) in relapsed or refractory Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

8043 Background: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signal pathway controls cell proliferation and survival. The trial's goal was to determine the anti-tumor activity and safety of single-age...
Acute oxygen sensing by the carotid body: from mitochondria to plasma membrane

Maintaining oxygen homeostasis is crucial to the survival of animals. Mammals respond acutely to changes in blood oxygen levels by modulating cardiopulmonary function. The major sensor of blood oxygen that regulates breathing is the carotid body (CB), a small chemosensory organ located at the carotid bifurcation. When arterial blood oxygen levels drop in hypoxia, neuroendocrine cells in the CB called glomus cells are activated to signal to afferent nerves that project to the brain stem. The mechanism by which hypoxia stimulates CB sensory activity has been the subject of many studies over the past 90 years. Two discrete models emerged that argue for the seat of oxygen sensing to lie either in the plasma membrane or mitochondria of CB cells. Recent studies are bridging the gap between these models by identifying hypoxic signals generated by changes in mitochondrial function in the CB that can be sensed by plasma membrane proteins on glomus cells. The CB is important for physiological adaptation to hypoxia, and its dysfunction contributes to sympathetic hyperactivity in common conditions such as sleep-disordered breathing, chronic heart failure, and insulin resistance. Understanding the basic mechanism of oxygen sensing in the CB could allow us to develop strategies to target this organ for therapy. In this short review, I will describe two historical models of CB oxygen sensing and new findings that are integrating these models.
Focusing attention for observational learning: the importance of context

A significant component of human observational learning is the ability to focus attention toward important or relevant input features. Amechanism with this capability can serve as an inductive bias to facilitate learning in both humans and machines. Past attempts to model attentional focus for human learning have postulated a single salience value for each feature, such that features with greater salience command more attention. These models, however, assume that the feature's salience is not dependent on context, whereas studies of human attention show sensitivity to context. This paper presents a mechanism for contextually focused attention in observational learning.
Bridge between type 1 diabetes in mouse and man.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) manifested with hyperglycemia is an autoimmune disease resulting from destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic β cells (1, 2). The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse is the preclinical model closest to T1D in man and has provided an invaluable understanding of basic immune pathogenesis, genetic and environmental risk factors, and immune-targeting strategies (3). However, investigators observed that histopathology in T1D patients differs significantly from that in NOD mice (4), and therapies developed with NOD mice are not easily directly translated into treating T1D patients (5). Due to ethical issues, much research on pathogenesis and therapies cannot be directly performed in T1D patients. Therefore, investigators have been attempting to develop humanized mouse models to better mimic pathogenesis and therapy in T1D patients. Humanized mice are generally defined as immunodeficient mice engrafted with human hematopoietic cells or tissues or mice that transgenically express human genes (6). In PNAS, Tan et al. (7) combined these two approaches and developed a new humanized model of T1D. T1D pathogenesis in both NOD mice and humans is associated with a particular MHC haplotype (designated H2 in mice and HLA in humans), H2-IAg7 with H2-KdDb in NOD mice (8⇓–10) and HLA-DQ8 or DR4 with HLA-A2 in humans (11, 12). In NOD mice, T1D is mediated by both autoreactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in collaboration with B cells and innate immune cells (3). Autoreactive CD4+ T cells in T1D recognize a variety of autoantigens … [↵][1]1Email: dzeng{at}coh.org. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Moral Disengagement in Legal Judgments

We investigated the role of moral disengagement in a legally-relevant judgment in this theoretically-driven empirical analysis. Moral disengagement is a social-cognitive phenomenon through which people reason their way toward harming others, presenting a useful framework for investigating legal judgments that often result in harming individuals for the good of society. We tested the role of moral disengagement in forensic psychologists’ willingness to conduct the most ethically questionable clinical task in the criminal justice system: competence for execution evaluations. Our hypothesis that moral disengagement would function as mediator of participants’ existing attitudes and their judgments—a theoretical “bridge” between attitudes and judgments—was robustly supported. Moral disengagement was key to understanding how psychologists decide to engage in competence for execution evaluations. We describe in detail the moral disengagement measure we used, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses across two separate samples. The four-factor measure accounted for a total of 52.18 percent of the variance in the sample of forensic psychologists, and the model adequately fit the data in the entirely different sample of jurors in a confirmatory factor analysis. Despite the psychometric strengths of this moral disengagement measure, we describe the pros and cons of existing measures of moral disengagement. We outline future directions for moral disengagement research, especially in legal contexts.
A simulation-based quality variance control system for the environment-sensitive process manufacturing industry

Optimizing the process parameters with respect to the future environmental conditions is an immediate challenge for environment-sensitive process manufacturing industry to achieve more consistent production quality. In this paper, we propose a simulation-based quality variance control system consisted of three core components: an indoor environment calibration module, a quality prediction module and a simulation engine. We then demonstrate the use of this system by analyzing a typical manufacturing process consisted of four sub-processes. The studies show that the proposed system can achieve better performances by integrating a future indoor environment calibration module than that of without such module. In addition, the simulation-based method can provide more acceptable outcome which outperforms the collaborative filtering algorithm. Such system is feasible to be applied in real industry scenarios which are sensitive to environmental changes to precisely control the quality variances.
Early Origins of Autism Comorbidity: Neuropsychiatric Traits Correlated in Childhood Are Independent in Infancy

Previous research has suggested that behavioral comorbidity is the rule rather than the exception in autism. The present study aimed to trace the respective origins of autistic and general psychopathologic traits—and their association—to infancy. Measurements of autistic traits and early liability for general psychopathology were assessed in 314 twins at 18 months, ascertained from the general population using birth records. 222 twins were re-evaluated at 36 months. Standardized ratings of variation in social communication at 18 months were highly heritable and strongly predicted autistic trait scores at 36 months. These early indices of autistic liability were independent from contemporaneous ratings of behavior problems on the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (which were substantially environmentally-influenced), and did not meaningfully predict internalizing or externalizing scores on the Achenbach Scales of Empirically Based Assessment at 36 months. In this general population infant twin study, variation in social communication was independent from variation in other domains of general psychopathology, and exhibited a distinct genetic structure. The commonly-observed comorbidity of specific psychiatric syndromes with autism may arise from subsequent interactions between autistic liability and independent susceptibilities to other psychopathologic traits, suggesting opportunities for preventive amelioration of outcomes of these interactions over the course of development.
Physiologically inspired model of the skin for use in electrical impedance tomography

A new model for the skin-electrode interface in electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is presented in which electric current is transmitted through sub-macroscopic skin features. The results of a FEM implementation are compared to measured EIT voltages collected on a human volunteer.
Retrospect: July 13–16, 1863: NYC Draft Riots

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, officials in charge of the Union Army initially felt confident they could rely on volunteer regiments to supply the forces necessary to suppress the r...
Chapter 28 – Matrix Degrading Proteinases in COPD and Asthma

Publisher Summary This chapter explores host proteinases with potential extracellular matrix degrading capacity, excluding intracellular cysteine proteinases, such as caspases, that regulate cell death, and nonhost serine proteinases of dust mites and other allergens that may also play a role in asthma. Serine proteinases have diverged evolutionarily from a single gene product; as a result of duplications and mutations, enzymes with diverse biological functions. Host serine proteinases associated with COPD and asthma largely belong to the SA clan, S1(trypsin/chymotrypsin) family. Conserved His, Asp, and Ser residues characterize S1 serine proteinases. Distinct subsets of serine proteinases are expressed in a lineage-restricted manner in immune and inflammatory cells. Serine proteinases are also expressed in a developmentally specific manner. Additional low molecular weight serine proteinase inhibitors are abundant in airway fluid and hence thought to represent the primary defense against proteinase-mediated airway damage. Secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (SLPI) is a12kDa protein produced by mucus-secreting and epithelial cells in the airway. Airway mucus contains several other substances that partially inhibit NE including polyanionic molecules such as mucins, other glycosaminoglycans, and fatty acids. DNA, released from inflammatory leukocytes, binds to SLPI greatly enhancing its rate of association with NE.
Laboratory Detection of Clostridium difficile A Comparison of Media and Incubation Systems

Parallel testing for culture recovery of Clostridium difficile was performed using three selective media in each of four anaerobic incubation environmental systems. Testing was completed on 67 stool samples from 60 hospitalized patients in whom C difficile -associated diarrhea was suspected. Three different media were evaluated: CCFA (modified cycloserine-cefoxitin-fructose agar), CCFA-PRAS (CCFA, prereduced-anaerobically-sterilized) and CMBA (modified cycloserine-mannitol-blood agar). The incubation systems compared were an anaerobic chamber (Model 800 Anaerobic Environmental System, Anaerobe Systems, San Jose, CA), the anaerobic jar (BBL, Cockeysville, MD), the anaerobic Bio-Bag (BBL), and the anaerobic pouch (BBL). C difficile was found in 16 samples collected from 15 patients. Comparing recovery on the various types of media in all four anaerobic atmospheres, C difficile was recovered on all (64) CCFA plates, 56 of 64 CCFA-PRAS plates, and 43 of 64 CMBA plates ( P < .03 comparing CCFA and CMBA). Of the 48 plates in each incubation system that were inoculated with specimens positive for C difficile , the organism was recovered from 43 plates in the anaerobe chamber, 41 incubated in an anaerobe jar, 40 in the Bio-Bag, and 39 incubated in the GasPak pouch, all providing similar recovery of C difficile ( P = .08). The CCFA-PRAS and CMBA media demonstrated less inhibition of normal stool flora compared to the CCFA. Overall CCFA that was anaerobically reduced at least 4 hours before use, and contained the original concentration of antimicrobial agents described by George and colleagues, was superior to CMBA for recovery of C. difficile .
Personalized book recommendations created by using social media data

Book recommendation systems can benefit commercial websites, social media sites, and digital libraries, to name a few, by alleviating the knowledge acquisition process of users who look for books that are appealing to them. Even though existing book recommenders, which are based on either collaborative filtering, text content, or the hybrid approach, aid users in locating books (among the millions available), their recommendations are not personalized enough to meet users' expectations due to their collective assumption on group preference and/or exact content matching, which is a failure. To address this problem, we have developed PBRecS, a book recommendation system that is based on social interactions and personal interests to suggest books appealing to users. PBRecS relies on the friendships established on a social networking site, such as LibraryThing, to generate more personalized suggestions by including in the recommendations solely books that belong to a user's friends who share common interests with the user, in addition to applying word-correlation factors for partially matching book tags to disclose books similar in contents. The conducted empirical study on data extracted from LibraryThing has verified (i) the effectiveness of PBRecS using social-media data to improve the quality of book recommendations and (ii) that PBRecS outperforms the recommenders employed by Amazon and LibraryThing.
PW 2468 Development of a predictive modeling approach to analysis of patient outcomes related to traumatic brain injury at a emergency center in a low income country

Prognostic models to support clinical decisions is an innovative solution to mitigate the increasing burden of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in low and medium income countries (LMIC). Hospitals, equipped with predictive models, can make data driven decisions based on patient prognosis to improve efficiency, productivity and outcomes. Furthermore, attempts to implement TBI predictive models are limited in both high and LMIC. The main objective of this study was to develop a predictive model for TBI outcomes. Our study is categorized as retrospective, with diagnostic temporal perspective, using the classification approach. Data comprising 3138 patients admitted with TBI were collected from 2014 to 2017. Data about demographics, injury type, vital signs, Glasgow Coma Score, surgeries and outcome observed were analyzed for each patient. Our model considered the good recovery obtained through the Glasgow outcome score extended scale as a result measure. Data were analyzed using Bayesian Generalized Linear Model. The average age of patients were 31.18% and 82.02% were men. Of all TBI patients 67.87% were victims of road traffic injury. Considering the good recovery as outcome our model achieved an accuracy of 0.865 (95% CI 0.859, 0.870), with a sensitivity level of 0.890 and specificity of 0.713. our detection rate of a good recovery due TBI interventions based on admission data were of 0.762. The main predictors of a good recovery were: Glasgow coma level score, pulse oximetry, availability of intensive care unit bed. A predictive model with high accuracy and kappa level can be generated from data available at patient admission in a low resource setting such as Tanzania, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre hospital. To our knowledge, this is the first prognostic model for severe TBI using machine learning techniques in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transient T3 toxicosis associated with Hashimoto's disease.

In its early course, Hashimoto’s disease may present as thyrotoxicosis (Hashitoxicosis). This usually manifests as elevated free T4 and suppressed thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). We report the unusual occurrence of an elevated T3 level in a patient with Hashimoto’s disease. A 27-year-old woman presented with an incidental finding of elevated free T3 levels, normal free T4 levels, and low TSH levels, which were confirmed with follow-up testing. Her only medication was a birth control pill. There was no family history of thyroid disease. Physical examination was normal. She tested positive for thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies. Thyroid heterogeneity was noted on ultrasound. Two months later, her TSH, free T3, and free T4 were normal and remained normal on subsequent testing. No treatment was administered due to spontaneous resolution of her T3 toxicosis. This case highlights a novel presentation of T3 toxicosis in the setting of Hashimoto’s disease with spontaneous resolution.
Swallow (deglutition) syncope: An evaluation of swallowing‐induced heart rate and hemodynamic changes in affected patients and control subjects

Background Syncope triggered by swallowing is a well-known but uncommon condition that has been the focus of case reports but is otherwise largely unstudied. To better understand swallow syncope we examined heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) changes during swallowing in clinically suspected swallow syncope patients and asymptomatic control subjects. Methods The study population comprised four individuals with a history suggesting swallow syncope (three men, 53 ± 14.9 years) and 15 (nine men, 46 ± 17.1 years, P = NS vs patients) asymptomatic volunteer control subjects. Studies in all individuals comprised noninvasive beat-to-beat HR and BP measurement during swallowing 150 mL of cold liquid while standing. Additional tests in swallow syncope patients included: active standing, Valsalva maneuver, carotid sinus massage (CSM), and head-up tilt (HUT). Results Swallowing resulted in a greater decrease of both HR (-22 ± 22.1 vs -3 ± 11.7 beats/minute [bpm]; P = 0.045) and BP (-22 ± 17.4 vs - 2 ± 11.8; P = 0.036) in swallow syncope patients than in controls. Further, in swallow syncope patients the time to lowest HR and BP differed (9 ± 5.5 vs 19 ± 7.2 seconds; P = 0.02), suggesting that both cardioinhibitory (CI) and vasodepressor (VD) mechanisms are present but operate independently. Other autonomic studies were normal in swallow syncope patients except for CSM pause more than 3 seconds in two patients. Conclusion Swallow syncope is associated with transient and temporally independent CI and VD features, consistent with reflex syncope. Potentially, a swallowing test during autonomic evaluation may be useful to unmask relative magnitudes of CI and VD responses, thereby facilitating treatment strategy decisions.