cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of corticosteroid use by dose on the risk of developing organ damage over time in systemic lupus erythematosus—the Hopkins Lupus Cohort

Objectives The impact of corticosteroids on the risk of organ damage in the context of clinical end points endorsed in some systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) clinical trials is underexplored. Methods We analysed data from the Hopkins Lupus Cohort using Cox proportional hazards models to understand the impact of exposure to different corticosteroid doses on the risk of developing any new organ damage or any new organ damage at the individual organ systems over time. Results Mean prior prednisone dose, recent disease activity and immunosuppressant use during follow-up, as well as organ damage score at cohort entry, were significant independent predictors of the risk of developing any new organ damage. Even after adjustment for recent disease activity, there was a dose-response relationship across the different levels of exposure to prednisone during follow-up and the risk of developing any new organ damage. The risk more than doubled in patients exposed to a mean prior prednisone dose of ≥20 mg/day versus Conclusions Organ damage in SLE is multifactorial; corticosteroid treatment and disease activity play a role.
A microelectromechanical accelerometer fabricated using printed circuit processing techniques

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) capacitive-type accelerometer fabricated using printed circuit processing techniques is presented. A Kapton polymide film is used as the structural layer for fabricating the MEMS accelerometer. The accelerometer proof mass along with four suspension beams is defined in the Kapton polyimide film. The proof mass is suspended above a Teflon substrate using a spacer. The deflection of the proof mass is detected using a pair of capacitive sensing electrodes. The top electrode of the accelerometer is defined on the top surface of the Kapton film. The bottom electrode is defined in the metallization on the Teflon substrate. The initial gap height is determined by the distance between the bottom electrode and the Kapton film. For an applied external acceleration (normal to the proof mass), the proof mass deflects toward or away from the fixed bottom electrode due to inertial force. This deflection causes either a decrease or increase in the air-gap height thereby either increasing or decreasing the capacitance between the top and the bottom electrodes. An example PCB MEMS accelerometer with a square proof mass of membrane area 6.4 mm × 6.4 mm is reported. The measured resonant frequency is 375 Hz and the Q-factor in air is 0.52.
Transmissibility of a Neurofibromatosis-like Disease in Bicolor Damselfish

A neoplastic disease that affects a common species of marine fish, the bicolor damselfish (Pomacentrus partitus), on Florida reefs consists of multiple, disseminated neurofibromas (including plexiform lesions), malignant schwannomas, and hyperpigmented epidermal lesions. Based on similarities to von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis, we have termed this disease damselfish neurofibromatosis. Previous surveys of the prevalence of fish with damselfish neurofibromatosis on Florida reefs demonstrated a distribution pattern of cases consistent with what would be expected for an infectious disease. The transmissibility of damselfish neurofibromatosis was assessed by inoculations of homogenized tumor tissue s.c. and i.p. into healthy bicolor damselfish. This protocol resulted in the development of Schwann cell tumors, identical to the naturally occurring lesions, at the injection sites in approximately 84% of inoculated fish. These tumors appeared within an average of 5 mo of inoculation for juvenile fish and 14 mo for adults. Experimentally produced tumors appeared to arise in host fish by the neoplastic transformation of host nerves rather than by transplantation and proliferation of tumor cells from the donor fish. This finding suggests that an infectious, transmissible agent such as a virus may be the etiological agent responsible for production of neurofibromas and other Schwann cell tumors in this species of fish.
Movement of Saugers in the Lower Tennessee River Determined by Radio Telemetry, and Implications for Management

Abstract Since 1979, abundances of sauger Stizostedion canadense have declined in the Tennessee River system. Reasons for this decline may include overharvest, loss of spawning habitat, and low recruitment due to extreme flows. The purpose of this study was to investigate the movements of saugers following winter concentration below Pickwick Dam, Tennessee. Thirty-seven saugers were implanted with radio transmitters directly below Pickwick Dam and were tracked between December 1992 and June 1993. Four saugers moved upstream through the locks at Pickwick Dam: the remaining fish stayed within the first 30 km of the tailwater throughout the spawning season. Three areas below Pickwick Dam were identified as possible March prespawn staging sites. After April 1, saugers in the tailwater area began a rapid downstream migration to the main basin of Kentucky Lake. Some fish moved downstream more than 200 km in less than 10 d in this semiclosed system. Movements encompassed four states (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississ...
Adaptation to variation in growing season length in arctic populations of Saxifraga oppositifolia L.

Summary At high latitudes Saxifraga oppositifolia exists with distinct ecotypes adapted to differences in growing season length. In areas with late snow-lie and cold, wet soils increased metabolic rates and rapid shoot production compensate for ultra-short growing seasons but do not conserve carbohydrate or water for adverse periods. An opposing strategy is evident in ecotypes living in sites with an earlier resumption of growth where soils are warmer and drier and the growing season longer. Here metabolic rates are lower and result in a greater ability to conserve both carbohydrate and water. The existence of opposing strategies for survival in warm and cold habitats, suggests that even in the minimal thermal conditions of the high Arctic a high degree of biodiversity gives the species as a whole a wide ecological amplitude. This degree of diversity not only increases the sites in which the species can survive but confers an ability to adapt to climate change by changing ecotype frequencies to accommodat...
A dual-mode architecture for a phased-array receiver based on injection locking in 0.13µm CMOS

Phased arrays have long been used by the military for radar applications, but have only been recently applied to consumer applications. In a phased array system, one or more narrow beams are generated by transmitting (or receiving) a common RF signal that is phase shifted at the output of each antenna in the array such that the direction of the beams can be varied by controlling the phase difference between consecutive antennas. Microwave transceivers for phased-array radar applications have traditionally been fabricated in III–V technologies like GaAs and InP due to their superior ƒ T and ƒ max . However, modern-day CMOS and BiCMOS technology nodes are now exhibiting ƒ T and ƒ max in the range of 200 to 250GHz, tipping the scales in favor of silicon due to its higher integration capability, lower costs and the availability of significant digital signal processing. Recent designs in CMOS have shown its capability to handle millimeter-wave frequencies [1–3].
A comparison of bulk cable injection to reverberation chamber methods on a fault tolerant flight control computer

The Systems and Airframe Failure Emulation Testing and Integration (SAFETI) Laboratory at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has been established to study radiated field effects on complex avionics systems and control system components. Established in the first quarter of 2000, it works hand in hand with the High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) laboratory by using the mode stirred chambers that were constructed and certified during 1995-96. This paper describes the conducted tests, the data collected, and conclusions derived from comparing the reverberation chamber environment to bulk cable injection technique using a quad-redundant flight control computer as a test article. This information will be used to determine if bulk cable injection techniques can be used as a possible alternative to reverberation chambers in pre-testing for radiation fields susceptibility.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm anatomic severity grading score predicts implant-related complications, systemic complications, and mortality.

Objective The aim of our study was to examine the predictive value of the anatomic severity grading (ASG) score for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) on implant-related complications, systemic complications, and mortality at 30-day and midterm, defined as 2 years, follow-up assessments. Methods Patients who underwent endovascular aneurysm repair for infrarenal AAAs between 2009 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed, and ASG scores were calculated from three-dimensonal computed tomography reconstructions. Two independent patient groups were created: those with a low ASG score (score Results We identified 190 patients (77% male), with a mean age of 73 years, and 84% Caucasian, with 104 patients in the low-score group and 86 in the high-score group. Within 30 days of the index endovascular aneurysm repair, 10 implant-related complications occurred in six patients (3%) and 25 systemic complications in 18 (9%). The incidence of 30-day implant-related complications was not significantly different between the low-score group (2 [2%]) and the high-score group (4 [5%]; P = .41). The incidence of patients with 30-day systemic complications was significantly different between the low-score group (5 [5%]) and the high score group (13 [15%]; P = .023). A composite end point of combined implant-related and systemic complications at 30 days showed there was a statistically significant difference between the low-score (7 [7%]) and high-score group (17 [20%]; P = .007). At a midterm follow up of 26 months (range, 1-64 months), implant-related complications occurred in 21 patients (11%), and systemic complications occurred in 29 (15%). The incidence of implant-related complications was significantly different between the low-score group (7 [7%]) and the high-score group (14 [16%]; P = .037). The incidence of midterm systemic complications was significantly different between the low-score group (11 [11%]) and the high-score group (18 [21%]; P = .048). A composite end point of combined implant-related and systemic complications at midterm follow-up resulted in a statistically significant difference between the low-score group (16 [15%]) and the high-score group (26 [30%]; P = .014). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the low-score group had fewer overall complications (combined implant-related and systemic) at 1 year (14% vs 34%) and 2 years (15% vs 45%) compared with the high-score group ( P P = .047). Conclusions The AAA ASG score can be used to predict patients at risk for midterm implant-related complications, 30-day and midterm systemic complications, and all-cause mortality.
The Practice and Culture of Accounting in Renaissance Florence

This article explores cultural aspects of the unique archival patrimony of private account books that survive for Florence from the fourteenth to the early seventeenth century, a period corresponding to the city’s greatness as a center of both Renaissance culture and early capitalism. The discussion first surveys the diffusion and the standardization of accounting practice throughout the society, the educational process behind this development, and the emergence of the professional accountant. It then analyzes double entry in its application to both business (including industrial) and domestic accounts in the attempt to extend our knowledge of the accounting reality in this pre-modern capitalist economy beyond the traditional view derived from manuals and theoretical notions. The conclusion examines the cultural functions of Florentine accounting practice ranging from the so-called spirit of capitalism in the business world to some particular characteristics that disposed Florentines in general toward this kind of record keeping.
Control of mitochondrial apoptosis by the Bcl-2 family.

Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is important for the development and homeostasis of tissues. Too little cell death can result in autoimmune diseases or cancer, whereas excessive cell death can lead to debilitating degenerative diseases of the heart or nervous system. The realization that
Blue-Collar Discourses of Workplace Dignity: Using Outgroup Comparisons to Construct Positive Identities:

People generally possess a strong desire to construct positive, dignified work identities. However, this goal may be more challenging for some people, such as blue-collar workers, whose occupations...
On biological pattern formation by contact inhibition

Many patterning events in multi-cellular organisms rely on cell-to-cell contact signaling. We study a model which employs a graph to describe which cells are in contact, and examine its spatio-temporal dynamics. We first give an instability condition for the homogeneous steady-state. We then show that, for bipartite graphs, this instability condition also guarantees the existence and asymptotic stability of steady-states that exhibit a pattern of alternating high and low values in adjacent cells. Finally, we establish a strong monotonicity property of this model for bipartite graphs, which implies that almost every bounded solution converges to a steady-state.
Application of the integral definition of the curl operator to numerical solutions in electromagnetics

The definition of the curl operator in terms of an integral is shown to lead to a method for numerical solutions that facilitates the use of mixtures of cells having different shapes and different dielectric properties. The derivation is followed by examples for, waveguides, mixtures of different cells, and a method for increasing the accuracy when an equation is known for the field on the outer boundary. Thus, these results suggest that the formal definition of the curl operator has more than pedagogical value. This definition is taught in an undergraduate class at Florida International University. >
Characterization of Polyprenylation of Drosophila Nuclear Lamins

In the late 1970’s studies on the structures of peptides involved in fungi mating responses resulted in discovery of a novel post-translational modification; the covalent attachment of isoprene groups (Kamiya, et al., 1978). More recently, similar lipid modifications have been identified by the incorporation of an isoprene precursor, mevalonic acid into numerous proteins in a variety of higher eukaryotes (Schmidt, et al., 1984; Bruenger and Rilling, 1986; Maltese and Sheridan, 1987; Beck, et al., 1988). Most isoprenylated proteins contain a carboxy-terminal CaaX sequence consisting of a cysteine residue followed by two aliphatic amino acids and any amino acid. The isoprenyl groups are bound to the cysteine via a thioether linkage (Rilling, et al., 1989). In most proteins studied the three terminal residues are subsequently removed by proteolysis and the modified cysteine is carboxymethylated (Anderegg, et al., 1988). Chemical characterization shows that different isoprenoid species may be attached to different proteins; famesol (C15) and geranylgeraniol (C20) have been identified in covalent linkages to proteins (Maltese, 1990). The significance of these differences is not yet known but recent studies indicate that the precise carboxy-terminal sequence may define the type of polyprenyl group attached to cysteine.
Modeling and Simulation of Asteroid Capture Using a Deformable Membrane Capture Device

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration have recently been investigating a mission concept known as the Asteroid Redirect Mission, aimed at collecting a large amount of asteroid material and transporting it into lunar orbit for inspection by human astronauts. Of the two mission options that have been considered, one involves the capture of an entire near-Earth asteroid in the 10-m class by a robotic spacecraft. The spacecraft would first make contact with the asteroid through a deformable membrane, before securing it inside a large flexible bagging mechanism. In this paper we describe the development and implementation of a model designed for simulation of the capture process, which includes a low-complexity representation of the interaction dynamics.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Bilateral pelvic discontinuity: a unique condition characterized by high failure rates of current treatment

Abstract Background Bilateral pelvic discontinuity is characterized by complete dissociation of the superior and inferior pelvis secondary to bone loss or fracture. The end result is a freely mobile inferior pelvis at the level of each discontinuity which presents a significant reconstruction challenge. This clinical entity has not been described previously, and the results of surgical treatment are not known. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all identified cases of pelvic discontinuity (PD) treated with revision THA at one institution. We identified 133 pelvic discontinuities. Within this group, 6 patients had bilateral simultaneous PDs. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data and radiographic imaging were reviewed preoperatively and postoperatively for the characteristics of the dissociation and assessing PD healing and fixation of components after surgery. Results There were no preoperative factors that could distinguish these patients from the rest of the group of discontinuities (3 rheumatoid arthritis, 2 osteonecrosis of the femoral head, 1 developmental dysplasia). The reconstructions performed included 2 cup/cage, 5 posterior plating and uncemented cup, 3 cage alone, and 2 cups only. Ten of 12 hips had at least 1 complication postoperatively. At final follow-up, only 1 patient (17%) had radiographic evidence that both discontinuities had healed (posterior plate with uncemented cup). Conclusions Bilateral pelvic discontinuity is rare but presents the surgeon with a major reconstructive challenge. Only 1 patient went on to radiographic healing with current treatment strategies. Continued motion of the contralateral pelvic dissociation may account for the high failure rates. Surgeons should be aware of the challenges presented by this diagnosis and develop strategies to improve outcomes.
Tools, Not Rules: Are We Teaching the Wrong Principles of Economics in the Introductory Course?

The teaching of introductory economics is often organized around a set of principles. Those principles provide a useful structure around which additional discussion can be organized. Having these principles is pedagogically efficient; they make grading easier, and help students remember the material. Critics of economics often object to these economic principles, arguing that we are teaching the wrong principles. I disagree; the principles we teach are fine, as long as they are presented with the appropriate nuance, by which I mean that we emphasize that the principles are tools, not rules. Used appropriately, these principles can be highly useful. Used inappropriately, these principles can undermine student’s understanding of economics. Many professors add the needed nuance in their lectures, and textbooks generally add it in their in-depth discussions. Unfortunately, students often have a hard time integrating the inclass presentation of nuance into their understanding of the principles. They focus on memorizing the principles because that’s what they believe that the exam will focus on. The problem is getting worse. More and more, the teaching of economics is being built into online learning systems structured around the principles found in the texts. The online learning systems are structured so that they highlight only the principles; they purposely blur out the discussion where the nuance generally exists so that students aren’t distracted by the discussion. That, in my view, is a problem. It means that unless the nuance is directly embedded in the highlighted principle, the nuance is lost.
Temple Sites in Kahikinui, Maui, Hawaiian Islands: their orientations decoded

Hawaiian temple sites of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries have diverse orientations previously thought to be random. Using precise measurements and nineteenth-century native Hawaiian sources, the author shows that the temples cluster into groups whose orientation was deliberate and likely to relate to a particular god.
Computer-aided diagnosis in breast imaging: Where do we go after detection?

Computer-aided detection or CAD refers to automated screening systems that localize suspicious regions in an image for a radiologist to consider (e.g., the computer marks the location of a suspicious mass or clustered calcifications using symbols on the screen). As the saying goes, "X marks the spot." These techniques can serve as a âsecond readerâ to improve sensitivity such as to detect subtle lesions in mammography that might otherwise be missed by the radiologist. There has been a considerable body of work in this area over the past few decades. In fact, commercial detection systems are now available that reportedly identified 77% of overlooked breast malignancies and increased screening sensitivity by 20%. These automated detection systems are not constrained by the limits of human vision, should be more consistent, and have the potential to improve the performance of less experienced radiologists. Taking this one step further, predictive computer models have also been developed to characterize the status or make some recommendation for a lesion already detected by a radiologist or CAD system. Such diagnoses may go beyond a lesion to apply to a whole image, imaging study, or patient. For example, the model may predict whether a lesion is benign or malignant, or recommend a cancer patient for some therapy or not based on the likelihood of complications. This predictive modeling work is often called computer-aided diagnosis (CADx) or computer-aided classification or characterization (CAC). This is the focus of this chapter. Unfortunately, this characterization work is sometimes abbreviated to CAD, the same acronym as for detection. To add to this confusion, most detection and characterization algorithms actually include elements of the other, such that there is no clear delineation between them anymore. For example, an algorithm to detect suspicious breast masses must not only find regions of suspicion in a mammogram, but also consider features describing each region in order to predict which ones have the highest likelihood of cancer, so as to reduce the number of false positives. Both CAD and CADx often share the same tools for image processing, machine learning, and statistical analysis. Many people simply refer to the general field encompassing both areas as computer-aided diagnosis.
Stellate Ganglion Block in the Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Historical and Recent Literature.

Concerns over the rising prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly among military service members returning from combat, and over barriers that hinder individuals from seeking out or adhering to standard therapies have contributed to interest in alternative therapies for the disorder. A novel alternative therapy for PTSD—stellate ganglion block (SGB)—may be considered lacking in formal evidence of efficacy despite having shown considerable promise. This review of the recent and historical literature related to SGB finds evidence of substantial beneficial psychiatric effects and substantiates that this fast-acting, somatic treatment may provide positive results for patients with PTSD and may reduce barriers to therapy, particularly among military populations.
A Perspective on the Particle-Based Crystal Growth of Ferric Oxides, Oxyhydroxides, and Hydrous Oxides

The iron oxides, oxyhydroxides, and hydroxides, which are commonly referred to as simply the iron oxides, are important materials at and near the Earth’s surface and in a wide range of industrial settings. The reactivity, phase transformations, and aggregation state of iron oxide minerals are fundamentally linked. The size, microstructure, and morphology of iron oxide crystals are path dependent, and specific features can potentially be linked directly to the crystal growth mechanism(s) that produced them. Many conclusions regarding crystal growth mechanism rely on characterization of the final crystals, and this approach has been fruitful. The iron oxides literature contains many reports of crystals with textures, morphologies, and microstructures that are consistent with particle-based crystal growth. However, multiple crystal growth mechanisms can operate simultaneously, which lead to erasure of features produced at earlier stages of crystal growth. Thus, time-resolved and in situ materials characterization is crucial to elucidating the crystal growth mechanisms of iron oxides.
Surprise and Otherness in Self-revelatory Performance

If the essential distinguishing feature of self-revelatory performance (Self-Rev) as defined by Renee Emunah (2015) is that the actor is working through current issues both during the rehearsal and performance phases, instead of merely presenting autobiographical material, then it is incumbent that a firm understanding of the concept of working through is achieved. Though it is assumed that a certain degree of working through takes place during the preparatory phases and rehearsals, as a collaborative process between actor and director, Emunah posits that working through also takes place during the performance; otherwise the performance would technically be an autobiographical performance about a previously completed therapeutic process. The actor’s real emotional presence and vulnerability are crucial components in a Self-Rev performance that distinguish it from standard theatre (Emunah, 2015).
Effects of Generational Cohorts on Brand-Self Congruity, Emotional Brand Attachment, Perceived Investment, and Repurchase Behavior regarding Luxury Goods

The global luxury market reached €223 billion in sales in 2014 (Bain & Company, 2014). There are various factors surrounding the behavior of luxury consumption, such as emotional brand attachment, brand-self congruity, perceived investment, and repurchase intentions. This study investigated influences of generational cohorts—older BB, younger BB, generation X, and Millennials—on consumer trait variables introduced earlier and repurchase intentions of luxury goods among affluent US consumers to offer insights regarding the variances and/or similarities among the cohorts to the luxury marketing and retail industries.
Thermochemistry of Hydroxyl and Hydroperoxide Substituted Furan, Methylfuran, and Methoxyfuran

Reaction pathways are influenced by thermochemical properties, species stability, and chemical kinetics. Understanding these factors allows for an understanding of the reaction paths and formation of intermediate species. Enthalpies of formation (ΔHf,298°), entropies (S298°), heat capacities (Cp(T)), oxygen–hydrogen (O–H), oxygen–oxygen (O–O), and (R–O) bond dissociation energies (BDEs) are reported for hydroxyl and hydroperoxide substituted furan, methylfuran, and methoxyfuran species. Standard enthalpies of formation for parent and radical species have been determined using density functional theory B3LYP/6-31G(d,p), B3LYP/6-311G(2d,2p), and M06-2X/6-31G(d,p) along with higher-level CBS-QB3 and CBS-APNO composite methods. Isodesmic work reactions were employed to improve accuracy by canceling error and show consistency between the levels of theory. Corresponding O–H and O–O BDEs are determined and compared to other similar structures. The stability of the furan moiety coupled with the double-bond-formin...
A frequency-modulated continuous-wave reflectometer for the Lithium Tokamak Experiment

The frequency-modulated continuous-wave reflectometer on LTX (Lithium Tokamak Experiment) and the data analysis methods used for determining electron density profiles are described. The diagnostic uses a frequency range of 13.1–33.5 GHz, for covering a density range of 0.21–1.4×1013 cm−3 (in O-mode polarization) with a time resolution down to 8 μs. The design of the diagnostic incorporates the concept of an “optimized” source frequency sweep, which minimizes the large variation in the intermediate frequency signal due to a long dispersive transmission line. The quality of the raw data is dictated by the tuning characteristics of the microwave sources, as well as the group delay ripple in the transmission lines, which can generate higher-order nonlinearities in the frequency sweep. Both effects are evaluated for our diagnostic and best practices are presented for minimizing “artifacts” generated in the signals. The quality of the reconstructed profiles is also improved using two additional data analysis me...
Investigating barriers and facilitators to wearable adherence in fine-grained eating detection

Energy balance is one component of weight management, but passive objective measures of caloric intake are non-existent. Given the recent success of actigraphy as a passive objective measure of the physical activity construct that relieves participants of the burden of biased self-report, computer scientists and engineers are aiming to find a passive objective measure of caloric intake. Passive sensing food intake systems have failed to go beyond the lab and into behavioral research in part due to low adherence to wearing passive monitoring systems. While system accuracy and battery lifetime are sine qua non to a successfully deployed technology, they come second to adherence, since a system does nothing if it remains unused. This paper focuses on adherence as affected by: 1) perceived data privacy; 2) stigma of wearing devices; 3) comfort. These factors highlight new challenges surrounding participant informed consent and Institutional Review Board (IRB) risk assessment. The wearables examined include neck- and wrist-worn sensors, and video camera-based systems. Findings support the potential for adherence using wrist- and shoulder-based video cameras, and personalized style-conscious neck-worn sensors. The feasibility of detecting fine-grained eating gestures to validate the machine learning models is shown, improving the potential of translation of this technology.
Developing and Maintaining Foster Family Identity Through Foster Parents’ Identity Work

ABSTRACTThere are hundreds of thousands of children in foster care in the United States, nearly a majority of whom are placed with nonrelative foster parents (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Few scholars (e.g., Nelson, 2014) have explored the communicative process through which a sense of family is created and maintained in foster families, despite the potential positive impact that developing a foster family identity may have on foster family functioning. The purpose of the present study was to understand the communicative strategies that foster parents use to create family identity. Data from interviews with 18 current and former foster parents revealed that through their talk inside and outside of the family, foster parents engaged in integrating biological and foster families, ritualizing, explaining, labeling family roles, and reframing. I discuss the importance of these findings for foster families.
Decoding the evolution of species

In the middle of the 20th century, researchers identified DNA and proteins and began to understand how they shape organisms. At first, scientists assumed that differences in protein sequence, structure, and function uniquely define any animal, including humans. Yet these building blocks are extraordinarily similar among animals, and human proteins can substitute for their counterparts in far simpler species ( 1 – 3 ). The modern dogma is that differences between species are largely a result of mutations in the noncoding instructions that determine when, where, and how much of a gene is expressed. On page 921 of this issue, Burga et al. ( 4 ) show that scientists may have underestimated the contribution of protein-coding mutations to evolution.
A National Study of the Quantity and Cost of Informal Caregiving for the Elderly with Stroke

56 Background: As the US population ages, increased stroke incidence will result in higher stroke-associated costs. While estimates of direct costs exist, little information is available regarding informal caregiving costs for stroke patients. Objective: To determine a nationally representative estimate of the quantity and cost of informal caregiving for elderly stroke patients. Methods: We used data from the first wave (1993) of the Asset and Health Dynamics (AHEAD) Study, a longitudinal study of people over 70 living in the community, to determine average weekly hours of informal caregiving. Multivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine association of stroke and other covariates and assess the probability of receiving informal care. Average annual cost for informal caregiving was calculated. Results: Of the 7443 respondents, 656 (6%) reported a history of stroke. Of those, 375 (57%) reported stroke-related health problems (SRHP). After adjusting for cormorbid conditions, social support and sociodemographics, the proportion of patients receiving informal care increased with stroke severity, and there was a significant association of weekly hours of caregiving with stroke category (p Conclusions: The economic burden of informal caregiving following stroke has not been studied previously. Informal caregiving occurs frequently; associated costs are substantial and should be considered when estimating the cost of stroke treatment.
The Compromised chronotope of Christminster: Hardy and Hopkins’s medieval Oxford

Centered on the unique chronotope of Oxford, this essay traces the ways Gerard Manley Hopkins and Thomas Hardy invoke and compromise our ability to relate past to present. In the sonnet ‘Duns Scotus’s Oxford’ and the novel Jude the Obscure, Hopkins and Hardy respectively present the city of Oxford as a central confluence of medieval and early modern pasts with a Victorian present. To further link past and present, the poet and novelist both enter into the medieval conceit of the wind, wherein a lover gains intimacy with the beloved through mutually shared breath, but they do so for cross-purposes. Whereas a connection to the past is preserved in Hopkins’s sonnet by a theological understanding of the ether, any such connection is a dangerous illusion in Hardy’s novel. Yet, even with this divergence, Hardy, like Hopkins, still leads the reader into a shared sacramental intimacy suggested through medieval influences on the novel.
Reactivation of ancient Antarctic rift zones by intraplate seismicity

Buried deep beneath the Antarctic polar ice sheet, the geological structure and tectonic activity of East Antarctica have long remained unknown. The apparent lack of tectonic seismicity was thought to be anomalous relative to other continental interiors and has been attributed to a lack of intraplate stress due to the surrounding spreading ridges and low absolute plate velocity or to the weight of ice sheets increasing the normal stress. Here we report 27 intraplate tectonic earthquakes detected by the AGAP/GAMSEIS seismic array during 2009 in the interior of East Antarctica, which represents locally recorded seismicity in the region. The earthquakes are primarily extensional and located at shallow to mid-crustal depths beneath sedimentary basins aligned linearly adjacent to the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains. The basins may be part of an ancient continental rift system, which provides a zone of pre-existing tectonic weakness that focuses the seismicity. These events, when combined with events in published catalogues of Antarctic seismicity, indicate levels of seismicity in East Antarctica of the same order of magnitude as that of other stable cratons, such as the Canadian Shield.
Anesthesia for Lung Resection

Anesthesia for lung resection surgery is challenging and requires knowledge of the patient’s pathology and anatomy as well as excellent communication with the surgical team. The most common indication for lung resection surgery is lung cancer which offers the chance for a cure in patients with non-small cell carcinoma without metastases. Anesthesiologists need to perform a careful preoperative evaluation given the frequent occurrence of significant co-morbidities in patients presenting to the operating room for lung resection. Intraoperatively, the anesthesiologist will be called upon to provide one-lung ventilation, hemodynamic support, appropriate volume management, and optimal pain control. The current review will discuss important components that need to be understood and applied to provide general anesthesia for patients undergoing lung resection. Specific areas of relevance for open thoracic surgery and lung resection will be discussed. Suggested techniques for patient management and a brief discussion of postoperative complications will be included as well.
Solar Forcing of Climate Change in Recent Millennia

Solar radiation varies continuously; so too does Earth’s global environment. Numerous empirical relations exist among assorted solar and climate parameters. Reliable specification of the true extent of Sun-climate connections requires continuous solar monitoring with sufficiently high stability to specify long-term solar irradiance variability and to characterize spectral irradiance variability at all wavelengths. A suite of cavity-type electrical substitution radiometers on various spacecraft have tracked day-to-day and solar cycle fluctuations in the Sun’s total irradiance during the past two decades. Space-based spectroradiometers have also measured concomitant changes in the shorter wavelength ultraviolet spectrum. Primary irradiance variability mechanisms — dark sunspots and bright faculae — have been identified, and models developed that replicate much of the observed variance in the extant irradiance databases. When extended to centennial time scales, the models predict irradiance variability in the range 0.2 to 0.5%. General circulation model simulations are beginning to explore the physical pathways through which the climate system responds to changes in total solar irradiance. These models suggest that surface warming of order 0.5°C may be associated with increasing solar activity since the 17th Century Maunder minimum. Improved knowledge of Sun-climate connections requires future simulations that include an adequate representation of the spectral nature of the Sun’s radiative output changes, and of the indirect pathways that solar UV irradiance variability may influence climate via its control of ozone concentrations and the stratosphere. Since the increase in solar activity from anomalously low Maunder Minimum levels to presently high Modern Maximum levels is the most recent of similar episodes apparent throughout the Holocene, improved understanding of both solar forcing and climate response in the past 400 years, will likely contribute new understanding of climate change in past millennia.
Irregular meshes and the propagation of solution errors

This paper attempts to provide an estimate of the solution error that is induced by an irregular mesh. The analysis is developed initially for the linear advection equation and then applied to the Blasius solution for incompressible high Reynolds number flow over a flat plate. The influence of artificial viscosity is ignored so that mesh induced errors arise directly from the discretization of convective fluxes and, for Navier Stokes calculations, from the true viscous fluxes. The solution of these equations on an unstructured mesh consisting of a uniform array of triangles is examined and expressions are found for the error that is induced by a single column of non-centrally symmetric control volumes.
Effects of melatonin administration and pinealectomy on the electroencephalogram of the chicken (Gallus domesticus) brain.

Abstract Melatonin, injected into chickens, lowers the frequency and increases the amplitude of the electroencephalogram (EEG) within 2 minutes. EEGs of chickens, 10–12 weeks of age, that had been pinealectomized when less than a week old, displayed fewer higher amplitude cycles, suggesting a long-term effect of pinealectomy on brain electrical activity. These results indicate that the pineal gland, perhaps through the action of melatonin, has an influence on brain function in birds.
Cryogen -Free 40mm-Bore 1 TESLA BSCCO Magnet Cooled By Refrigerator

A large-bore, 40mm I.D., (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 high-Tc superconducting magnet was wound by react & wind technique using flexible multifilamentary wire. The magnet was constructed with 12 double-pancake coils and current leads was made of same wire. A Gifford-MacMahon type refrigerator was used to cool the magnet. The magnet successfully generated 1 Tesla, and was stably operated for over a hundred hours at 21K From these results, it can be expected that non-cryogen magnet using a refrigerator will be the near future application of high-Tc superconducting magnet.
CrowdIA: Solving Mysteries with Crowdsourced Sensemaking

The increasing volume of text data is challenging the cognitive capabilities of expert analysts. Machine learning and crowdsourcing present new opportunities for large-scale sensemaking, but we must overcome the challenge of modeling the overall process so that many distributed agents can contribute to suitable components asynchronously and meaningfully. In this paper, we explore how to crowdsource the sensemaking process via a pipeline of modularized steps connected by clearly defined inputs and outputs. Our pipeline restructures and partitions information into "context slices" for individual workers. We implemented CrowdIA, a software platform to enable unsupervised crowd sensemaking using our pipeline. With CrowdIA, crowds successfully solved two mysteries, and were one step away from solving the third. The crowd's intermediate results revealed their reasoning process and provided evidence that justifies their conclusions. We suggest broader possibilities to optimize each component, as well as to evaluate and refine previous intermediate analyses to improve the final result.
Unique Building Identifier: A natural key for building data matching and its energy applications

Abstract Measuring and tracking building energy use and other data is essential for cities, utilities, and service providers. Currently, buildings are conceived as "places/locations" and therefore are identified with a street address or with a single geographic coordinate point (latitude and longitude). However, the address-based system is insufficient to uniquely identify buildings, and to append and join data from disparate sources due to address name duplicates, incorrect entries, and lack of an input format standard. As a result, essential building energy data for energy efficiency policy decision making is difficult to leverage. The Unique Building Identifier (UBID) was developed as a natural key to match building energy and attribute data between databases and to facilitate matching across datasets. Our methodology converts a two-dimensional building footprint into a unique alphanumeric code based on an open source grid reference system. The UBID is designed to be easily overlaid on publicly available, web-based mapping platforms and enable fast and accurate spatial matching with minimal computational resources. In this paper, we present the UBID methodology, discuss the use cases in energy efficiency, and present the results of tests in three major US cities (San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City) to verify the uniqueness and effectiveness of the proposed building identifier.
Complementary Convolutional Coding

This paper presents a method of error control coding based on complementary convolutional codes. Complementary convolutional code is a block of convolutional codes and their complements. These code blocks are used to map a block of data and design coded modulation schemes. It is shown that multiple codes can be used simultaneously to improve the coding gain, which leads to Shannon’s capacity limit. BER performance analysis is presented to verify the concept.
The Impact of Locoregional Treatment on Survival in Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: A National Cancer Database Analysis.

Abstract Background Although systemic therapy is the standard treatment for metastatic breast cancer, the value of locoregional treatment (LRT) of the primary tumor and its impact on survival is controversial. This study evaluates survival outcomes in patients with metastatic breast cancer after receiving LRT (surgery and/or radiation therapy) of the primary tumor. Materials and Methods The National Cancer Database was used to identify 16,128 qualifying cases of metastatic breast cancer who received systemic therapy with or without LRT from 2004 to 2013. Treatment modality was divided into surgery (Sx), radiation therapy (RT), surgery followed by RT (Sx + RT), and no LRT. The median survival and 3-year actuarial survival rates (OS) were analyzed for each treatment group. On multivariate analyses, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using Cox regression modeling to adjust for patient and clinicopathologic characteristics. Results Overall, the median follow-up was 28.3 months, and the median survival for all patients was 37.2 months. With 9761 deaths reported, the estimated 3-year OS was 51.3%. The Sx + RT group (n = 2166) had the highest 3-year OS of 69.4%, followed by the Sx group (n = 4293) with 57.6%, the no LRT group (n = 8955) with 44.3%, and the RT group (n = 714) with 41.5% (P Conclusion LRT, especially surgery followed by RT, in addition to systemic therapy, was associated with improved survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
An up-to-date overview of computational polypharmacology in modern drug discovery.

In recent years, computational polypharmacology has gained significant attention to study the promiscuous nature of drugs. Despite tremendous challenges, community-wide efforts have led to a variet...
Redundant meta-analyses are common in genetic epidemiology.

Abstract Objectives The massive growth in the publication of meta-analyses may cause redundancy and wasted efforts. We performed a metaepidemiologic study to evaluate the extent of potential redundancy in published meta-analyses in genetic epidemiology. Study Design and Setting Using a sample of 38 index meta-analyses of genetic associations published in 2010, we retrieved additional meta-analyses that evaluated identical associations (same genetic variant and phenotype) using the Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) Navigator and PubMed databases. We analyzed the frequency of potential duplication and examined whether subsequent meta-analyses cited previous meta-analyses on the exact same association. Results Based on 38 index meta-analyses, we retrieved a total of 99 duplicate meta-analyses. Only 12 (32%) of the index meta-analyses were unambiguously unique. We found a mean of 2.6 duplicates and a median of 2 duplicates per meta-analysis. In case studies, only 29–54% of previously published meta-analyses were cited by subsequent ones. Conclusion These results suggest that duplication is common in meta-analyses of genetic associations.
Kinetic and equilibrium study of the 2,3-furan ortho-quinodimethane - 4,5-dihydrocyclobuta[b]furan and 9,10-phenanthrene ortho-quinodimethane - 1,2-dihydrocyclobuta[l]phenanthrene interconversions and related studies

ion may occur from either the singlet or triplet state and that the resulting enol is an o-xylylene derivative. This photochemical intermediate (or the biradical precursor) has been trapped with a variety of dienophiles.3/4 Similar in reactivity to the o-alkylphenyl ketones are the o-alkylstyrenes. Through deuterium labelling studies by Scully