cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RESOLVING THREE-DIMENSIONAL AND SUBSURFICIAL FEATURES OF CARBONACEOUS COMPRESSIONS AND SHELLY FOSSILS USING BACKSCATTERED ELECTRON SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (BSE-SEM)

Paleontologists routinely study fossils using high-magnification and high-resolution backscattered electron (BSE) images acquired via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In BSE imaging, contrast corresponds to differences in backscattering of primary electrons and BSE detection among points in the electron beam raster scan. In general, BSE images are known for compositional contrast corresponding to backscattering monotonically related to average atomic number. However, two other types of contrast are relevant to BSE-SEM of fossils: (1) topographic contrast corresponding to backscattering and BSE detection varying with specimen shape and (2) mass-thickness contrast corresponding to backscattering varying with the relative masses and thicknesses of materials in the uppermost few microns of a sample. Here, we demonstrate the significance of these contrast mechanisms for resolving three-dimensional and subsurficial features of fossils. First, we show—through study of mass-thickness contrast in BSE images of carbonaceous compressions from the Triassic Solite Quarry Lagerstatte (Virginia)—that some tissues (e.g., leaf and insect wing veins) are preserved as thicker carbonaceous films than others (e.g., leaf laminae and insect wing membranes), possibly reflecting taphonomic differences among anatomical tissues. Second, we show that the problematic phosphatic shelly fossil Sphenothallus (lower Cambrian, China) is covered by low-relief transverse ribs and made up of exteriorly sculptured and interiorly unsculptured carbon- and phosphorus-rich layers with microstructures. Taking advantage of both topographic and mass-thickness contrast mechanisms, these case studies demonstrate that BSE imaging elucidates morphological details that are not obvious in surficial light microscopy or secondary-electron SEM and are otherwise only evident via tomography.
Survival outcomes of radiotherapy with or without androgen-deprivation therapy for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer using the National Cancer Data Base

Abstract Purpose Presently no reported prospective, randomized trials have clearly defined the role of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer in the setting of radiation therapy (RT) dose escalation. This study׳s objective was to evaluate the survival benefit of adding ADT to high-dose RT for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer using the National Cancer Data Base. Materials and methods The National Cancer Data Base was queried for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated from 2004 to 2006, with available data for Gleason Score, prostate-specific antigen, TNM staging, and receipt of radiation and ADT. Start of RT was within 1 to 180 days of ADT; radiation included external beam alone (≥70 Gy) or external beam RT plus brachytherapy boost. Overall survival was evaluated using multivariate (MVA) Cox regression and propensity score-matched (PSM) analyses. Results A total of 14,126 patients were included of which 7,568 (53.6%) received no ADT and 6,558 (46.4%) received ADT. Median follow-up was 85.8 months (6.0–119.9 mo). Median RT dose was 75.6 Gy in 42 fractions. Under MVA, the addition of ADT for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer had no overall survival benefit compared with RT alone (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.97, P = 0.316). PSM also confirmed no survival benefit with the addition of ADT for the entire intermediate-risk cohort (HR = 0.98, P = 0.560). On subset analysis, those with 3 intermediate-risk factors had a survival benefit with the addition of ADT on both MVA (HR = 0.69, P = 0.037) and PSM (HR = 0.61, P = 0.026). Limitations include retrospective design and incomplete data on the type of ADT and duration. Conclusions With the exception of men who present with all 3 intermediate-risk factors, a significant association with decreased all-cause mortality risk and ADT was not observed for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
Clustering with complex constraints: algorithms and applications

Clustering with constraints is an important and developing area. However, most work is confined to conjunctions of simple together and apart constraints which limit their usability. In this paper, we propose a new formulation of constrained clustering that is able to incorporate not only existing types of constraints but also more complex logical combinations beyond conjunctions. We first show how any statement in conjunctive normal form (CNF) can be represented as a linear inequality. Since existing clustering formulations such as spectral clustering cannot easily incorporate these linear inequalities, we propose a quadratic programming (QP) clustering formulation to accommodate them. This new formulation allows us to have much more complex guidance in clustering. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in two applications on text and personal information management. We also compare our algorithm against existing constrained spectral clustering algorithm to show its efficiency in computational time.
Rasmussen number greater than one

This essay describes the ramifying influence of Jens Rasmussen, illustrating how his work lives on through people whom he has influenced, even though they may have never directly collaborated. I approach this in three ways: a social network analysis of the 'Rasmussen number' (an analogue of the Erdos number); and two citations network analyses based on different search domains and different network structures.
Integration of IP telephony with SIP standards and connectivity peering: Case study of Catholic University of Temuco

The development of SIP protocols has allowed for the implementation of IP telephone services, which have been using existing data connectivity infrastructures since the early 21st century. However, while there' currently a large variety of solutions and devices, there is no noticeable movement towards international standardization of VolP services. Instead, local and global implementation still depends on the willingness and skill level of engineers and technicians in each project area. This article discusses the implementation of locally and globally connected standard IP telephony — examined through two case studies — in which various free software technologies are successfully integrated.
Bias in the log5 estimation of outcome of batter/pitcher matchups, and an alternative

Although originally developed to estimate the probability of winning percentage when two teams from the same league are matched, the log5 formula suggested by Bill James has often been applied to evaluate probabilities of events resulting from specific batter/pitcher matchups in baseball. However, this odds-ratio based formula may have biases of estimation that become apparent as event probabilities differ increasingly from .500. A series of Monte Carlo simulations across all plausible combinations of batter, pitcher, and league average characteristics demonstrates that the log5 formula yields estimates that are increasingly skewed at more asymmetrical probabilities and that this skew will likely result in overestimates of proportions, particularly among the statistical leaders in various categories. In addition, testing this hypothesis in the prior 18 seasons of Major League Baseball revealed that log5 estimates of home run results among predictive matchups of positive outlier batters and pitchers resulted in overestimated HR% for all 18 seasons. An alternative estimation procedure, named the Morey-Z formula, is proposed that estimates outcomes from the same inputs as the log5 procedure, but yields estimates that demonstrate greater accuracy in estimating outcomes of low probability events in outlier matchups.
An Overview of Hydrology and Water Resources Studies on Climate Change: the California Experience

There is an increasing threat of potential climate change impacts on water resources. The California water system is especially vulnerable to these impacts due to its dependence on snow accumulation and snowmelt process. Since 1983 there have been almost 50 studies related to the field of climate change impacts on hydrology and water resources in California. These studies can be categorized in three major areas: 1) Those studies that look at the historical trend of streamflows and other geophysical variables in order to determine if there is any evidence of climate change in the historical record; 2) Studies of the potential future effect of climate change on streamflow and; 3) Studies that use those changes in natural runoff to determine their economic, ecologic, or institutional impacts. In this paper we provide a review of these studies explaining at each step the methodological aspects involved. We provide for each category of studies their significant conclusions and potential areas for future work.
Molecular phylogenetics of Ramaria and related genera: evidence from nuclear large subunit and mitochondrial small subunit rDNA sequences

Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Ramaria and additional related taxa were examined through phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence data. Related gen- era included Clathrus, Clavariadelphus, Gautieria, Gomphus, Hysterangium, Kavinia and Pseudocolus. Outgroup genera included Bondarzewia, Favolus, Ganoderma, Lactarius and Russula. The nuclear large
Ion mobility-mass spectrometry reveals the influence of subunit packing and charge on the dissociation of multiprotein complexes.

The composition, stoichiometry, and organization of protein complexes can be determined by collision-induced dissociation (CID) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The increased use of this approach in structural biology prompts a better understanding of the dissociation mechanism(s). Here we report a detailed investigation of the CID of two dodecameric, heat-stable and toroidally shaped complexes: heat shock protein 16.9 (HSP16.9) and stable protein 1 (SP-1). While HSP16.9 dissociates by sequential loss of unfolded monomers, SP-1 ejects not only monomers, but also its building blocks (dimers), and multiples thereof (tetramers and hexamers). Unexpectedly, the dissociation of SP-1 is strongly charge-dependent: loss of the building blocks increases with higher charge states of this complex. By combining MS/MS with ion mobility (IM-MS/MS), we have monitored the unfolding and dissociation events for these complexes in the gas phase. For HSP16.9 unfolding occurs at lower energies than the ejection of ...
Comparative response to radiation of T:Y(wp+)30C genetic sexing strain and a wild-type strain of the Mediterranean fruit fly (Diptera : Tephritidae)

The response to radiation of a wild-type strain of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and different generations of the genetic sexing strain, T:Y(wp+) 30C, isolated at the International Atomic Energy Agency Laboratories, Seibersdorf, Austria, was studied. Sexual competitiveness of males of these strains was compared after each had received from 70 to 105 Gy of radiation. Males of the genetic sexing strain were sterilized at a lower dose of radiation than the wild-type strain. Flight ability in two generations of the genetic sexing strains was negatively correlated with dose of radiation. Flight ability and sexual competitiveness of the wild-type strain was higher than the flight ability and competitiveness of the genetic sexing strain. Sexual competitiveness of irradiated males of the genetic sexing strain was 5-10 x times lower than the wild strain at 105 Gy but indicated some improvement at the 70 Gy dose. Efforts to increase the competitiveness of males of this strain or develop new and more competitive genetic strains are warranted.
Osteosarcoma: clinical practice and the expanding role of biology.

prognostic factors and therapeutic targets. Prognostic factors can be used to develop modifications in risk-based therapy, to improve the curability of “high risk” patients and minimize toxicity to the “good risk” patients. New agents with activity in the treatment of osteosarcoma needing to be identified as escalating the dose of the agents of proven activity have failed to change patient outcome. The large number of new drugs under development must be prioritized as realistically few can be tested in human osteosarcoma clinical trials, given the rarity of the disease. Therapeutic targets need to be critically evaluated to prioritize trials of drugs already in testing and to guide new drug development.
Comparison of Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Saphenous Vein Graft Stenting Who Were or Were Not Enrolled in the Stenting of Saphenous Vein Grafts Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective We sought to compare the characteristics and outcomes of patients who were enrolled versus those who were not enrolled in the Stenting of Saphenous Vein Grafts (SOS) randomized controlled trial. Methods and Results We identified all patients who underwent saphenous vein graft stenting during the SOS Trial enrollment period (May 2005 and October 2007) at our institution. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes were compared between patients who were versus those who were not enrolled in SOS. Of the 97 patients who underwent saphenous vein graft stenting during the study period, 62 patients (64%) were enrolled in SOS. In the enrolled group, 62 patients with 91 lesions were randomized to a bare metal stent (BMS) (n = 39) or paclitaxel-eluting stent (n = 41). In the nonenrolled group, 35 patients with 44 lesions received a drug-eluting stent (DES) (n = 27) or BMS (n = 8). During a median follow-up period of 2.66 years, nonenrolled patients had higher mortality (31.4% vs 14.5%, P = 0.039), but lower rates of myocardial infarction (5.7% vs 32.3%, P = 0.005) and target vessel failure (37% vs 61.3%, P = 0.023). Overall, patients who received DES had lower incidence of myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, target vessel failure and major adverse cardiac events, and similar mortality compared with the BMS group. Conclusions Compared with nonenrolled patients, those who were enrolled in SOS had lower mortality. Patients receiving DES had better outcomes than those receiving BMS in both groups.
Epidemiological survey on 99 hydrophobia cases in Wenshan City from 2008 to 2012

Objectives Epidemiological survey on 99 hydrophobia cases in Wenshan City from 2008 to 2012 was conducted to discuss the incidence factors of hydrophobia and understand its epidemic regularity so as to provide targeted and corresponding measures for hydrophobia control and prevention. Methods Epidemic information and case data of hydrophobia in Wenshan City from 2008 to 2012 were collected to describe the epidemiological analysis. Results Hydrophobia cases ℃ curred in the four seasons every year with no seasonal variation. Hydrophobia incidence rate in rural area was higher than that of urban area,in where 99 cases were found within the 5 years with mortality of 100%. Conclusion Dog raising increase,low immunization rate,inadequate wound management and untimely vaccine injection are the main causes for hydrophobia incidence.
Anti-CD40 antibody binding modulates human multiple myeloma clonogenicity in vitro.

Ligand binding of the B-cell lineage antigen CD40 enhances growth and interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion in human B cells (the CD40/IL-6 loop). IL-6 has an autocrine and paracrine role in human multiple myeloma (MM) cell growth. With the use of the CD40 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) G28–5, we examined CD40 expression and the effect of CD40 binding on MM clonogenic colony (MCC) formation to characterize the IL-6/CD40 loop activity in MM. CD40 was expressed on plasmacytoid cells in 21 of 28 plasma cell dyscrasia (PCD) bone marrow (BM) biopsies tested (10 of 14 MM, 2 of 2 Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia [WM], 2 of 2 plasma cell leukemia [PCL], 6 of 8 monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance [MGUS], and 1 of 2 primary amyloidosis [AL]). G28–5 binding increased MCCs by 35% to 150% in 11 of 17 CD40+ PCD BM cultures, but did not affect MCC formation in CD40- specimens or normal BM colony forming units (CFU-GEMM, CFU-GM, BFU-E). Responsive cultures originated from BM of patients with MM (2 of 5 cases tested), WM (2 of 2), PCL (2 of 2), and MGUS (5 of 6). CD40-responsiveness was not significantly inhibited by the presence of an anti-IL-6 MoAb (2 of 2 MGUS cultures tested), and did not correlate with the capacity to respond to IL-6 stimulation (n = 17, P > .05) or a detectable level of endogenous IL-6 (n = 15, P > .05). Additional studies were performed with PCD cell lines to characterize the interrelationship of CD40 activation and IL-6 production. Fifty percent to greater than 95% of cells from the RPMI 8226 and ARH77 lines expressed CD40, whereas 6% of U266 cells were CD40+. For RPMI 8226, ARH-77, and U266 cells, the increased MCC formation after anti-CD40 stimulation was not affected by the presence of an anti-IL-6 neutralizing MoAb and was not accompanied by detectable IL-6 secretion. There was no apparent increase in IL-6 mRNA transcription following G28–5 treatment of U266 or RPMI 8226 cells. Our observations indicate that CD40 is expressed in a subset of human myeloma cells present in various PCDs. Cell-line studies suggest that the CD40+ myeloma cell may regulate MM clonogenic colony formation without activating the IL-6 pathway.
Lack of glucuronidation products of trans-resveratrol in plasma and urine of cats

Author(s): Burnett, K; Puschner, B; Ramsey, JJ; Lin, Y; Wei, A; Fascetti, AJ | Abstract: Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Resveratrol has generated interest in cats due to reported health benefits. Cats have low activity of β-glucuronidase, and we hypothesized they could not form two common resveratrol metabolites, resveratrol-3-O-glucuronide and resveratrol-4′-O-glucuronide. Resveratrol, 3 mg/cat/day, was given orally to intact male (n = 5) and female cats (n = 5) for 4 weeks. A control group (8 intact males) was used for comparison. Plasma and urine were collected weekly and analysed using high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Resveratrol and resveratrol-3-O-sulphate, but no glucuronide metabolites, were detected in plasma and urine. Median (range 10–90th percentile) plasma resveratrol for control and treatment groups was 0.46 ng/ml (0.02–1.74 ng/ml) and 0.96 ng/ml (0.65–3.21 ng/ml). Median (range) plasma resveratrol-3-O-sulphate for control and treatment groups was 6.32 ng/ml (2.55–10.29 ng/ml) and 11.45 ng/ml (1.47–53.29 ng/ml). Plasma resveratrol differed from control in week 4, while plasma resveratrol-3-O-sulphate was different in all weeks (p l 0.05). Median (range) urine resveratrol for control and treatment groups was 0.28 ng/ml (0.05–1.59 ng/ml) and 19.98 ng/ml (8.44–87.54 ng/ml). Median (range) urine resveratrol-3-O-sulphate for control and treatment groups was 26.71 ng/ml (10.50–75.58 ng/ml) and 108.69 ng/ml (11.83–231.05 ng/ml). All time points for urine resveratrol and resveratrol-3-O-sulphate were significantly different from control (p l 0.05), except for weeks 1, 3 and 4 for resveratrol. The results support our hypothesis that cats are unlikely able to glucuronidate resveratrol, most likely due to a reduction in the activity of β-glucuronidase.
Accurate Classification of RNA Structures Using Topological Fingerprints.

While RNAs are well known to possess complex structures, functionally similar RNAs often have little sequence similarity. While the exact size and spacing of base-paired regions vary, functionally similar RNAs have pronounced similarity in the arrangement, or topology, of base-paired stems. Furthermore, predicted RNA structures often lack pseudoknots (a crucial aspect of biological activity), and are only partially correct, or incomplete. A topological approach addresses all of these difficulties. In this work we describe each RNA structure as a graph that can be converted to a topological spectrum (RNA fingerprint). The set of subgraphs in an RNA structure, its RNA fingerprint, can be compared with the fingerprints of other RNA structures to identify and correctly classify functionally related RNAs. Topologically similar RNAs can be identified even when a large fraction, up to 30%, of the stems are omitted, indicating that highly accurate structures are not necessary. We investigate the performance of the RNA fingerprint approach on a set of eight highly curated RNA families, with diverse sizes and functions, containing pseudoknots, and with little sequence similarity–an especially difficult test set. In spite of the difficult test set, the RNA fingerprint approach is very successful (ROC AUC > 0.95). Due to the inclusion of pseudoknots, the RNA fingerprint approach both covers a wider range of possible structures than methods based only on secondary structure, and its tolerance for incomplete structures suggests that it can be applied even to predicted structures. Source code is freely available at https://github.rcac.purdue.edu/mgribsko/XIOS_RNA_fingerprint.
Understanding the Context of Romantic Partner Relational Victimization: Links between Relationship Satisfaction, Depressive Symptoms, and Alcohol-Related Problems.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine links across romantic partner relational victimization, depressive symptoms, and drinking problems during young adulthood. We were interested in evaluating depression as a mediator of the association between relational victimization by one's romantic partner, drinking problems, and the conditional indirect effects of relationship satisfaction. METHOD: 269 individuals aged 18 to 26 years (68% female, Mage = 22.78 years, SD = 4.70) participated in the study. They completed self-report measures online. RESULTS: Mediation results indicated that depression significantly mediated the association between relational victimization and alcohol-related problems. Furthermore, tests of conditional indirect effects suggest that depression mediated the association between romantic partner relational victimization and alcohol-related problems among those who were lower in relationship satisfaction, but not among those who were higher in relationship satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are discussed with attention to the developmental significance of romantic relationships during the transition to young adulthood. Specifically, the current findings add to the existing literature, which has suggested that both relationship aggression and depression are associated with problematic drinking. Language: en
Defining the limitations of transcutaneous bilirubin measurement in late preterm newborns

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of postnatal age on the bias between transcutaneous (TcB) and total serum bilirubin (TSB), and evaluate a TcB screening protocol. Preterm and term infants had paired TcB and TSB performed on days 1 to 3 of life; a subset of preterm infants had measurements on days 4 to 7. Sensitivity and specificity of TcB (plotted on an age-specific TSB nomogram) for prediction of high-intermediate (HIR) or high-risk TSB were calculated. Median TcB bias was 2.6 and 2.5 mg dl−1 for term and preterm infants in the first 3 days of life, respectively. However, median bias was 2.2 mg dl−1 for preterm infants at 4 to 7 days of life. TcB in preterm infants predicted HIR or high-risk TSB with 94% sensitivity and 56% specificity. TcB screening protocols developed for term infants can be used for late preterm infants in the first 3 days of life.
Leading Organizational Design

This note presents an overview of some fundamental characteristics of organizational design, and builds on Peter Senge's notion that effective leaders must also be effective designers of organizations. The note briefly discusses various forms of structure, introduces Charles Handy's model of emerging organizations, recognizes the growing reality of virtual organizations, and comments on four key systems to which leaders should pay attention: recruiting, development, reward, and information. Excerpt UVA-OB-0657 Rev. Sept. 25, 2014 LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN The design of the context in which people work is an often ignored and underutilized aspect of effective leadership. Even if a leader has a clear strategic vision and is effective at communicating that to followers, unless the organization in which they are asked to work has been designed to facilitate their contributions, little progress is likely to be made. Good leaders understand the nature of organizations and are insightful about how to design and shape them. But it's not only design. There is a fit question too. Some people may have leadership styles that would allow them to function well in many kinds of organizations, while others will thrive only in a narrower range of organizational parameters. Effective leaders are effective designers of organizations. Depending on your authority and power base, you may or may not have the opportunity to design or redesign an organization or parts thereof. If you are wise, though, you'll recognize that you cannot get good results if the hiring, work design, appraisal, reward, and educational systems of your organization aren't aligned with your strategic goals. As Peter Senge has pointed out, leaders are designers. In fact, decisions made in the designs of organizations may, ultimately, be more powerful than subsequent decisions about allocations of resources within those designs. Further, the basic assumptions you have about people are likely to have a huge influence on your design influence. If you trust people, you may design systems one way. If you believe people are lazy, you are likely to design systems another way. Your leadership assumptions about people will shape the organizations you create–and hence, designing organizations is one way or the other a Level Three activity. Let's see how this plays out in organizations. . . .
Comparison of 4 and 10 days of Doxycycline Treatment for Urinary Tract Infection

AbstractA total of 105 ambulatory patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of cystitis was allocatedrandomly to a 4 or a 10-day course of doxycycline therapy. Of these patients 62 (59 per cent) had documented infections and 41 (66 per cent) were infected with doxycycline-sensitive organisms: 24 were randomized to a 4-day course and 17 to a 10-day course of antibiotic. The groups were similar with respect to age, history of urinary tract infection, bacteriology and site of infection. Of the 4-day treatment group 90 per cent were free of infection 42 days after completion of therapy, compared to 92 per cent in the 10-day treatment group. Thus, patients with symptoms of cystitis may be treated with a short course of an appropriate antibiotic, provided careful followup is made 4 to 6 weeks after cessation of therapy. The site of urinary infection of doxycycline-resistant and sensitive organisms was determined by the antibody-coated bacteria techniques in 56 episodes: 13 (23 per cent) originated in kidneys...
A scalable modular heterogeneous system for home and office automation

The modern electronics era has improved the quality of life in many ways, from residential lighting to indoor living environments to entertainment choices. As gadgets and systems remain powered up and ever ready to meet human demands, a significant portion on their up-time is spent in stand-by or low-power mode — if one is available. Unless these gadgets and systems are capable of low-power mode and controlled by a centralized control unit or individually programmed; power savings cannot be achieved. A retro-fit after-market automation scheme is needed to achieve smart power saving capabilities in a traditional (non-automated) household with multiple gadgets and systems with differing functionalities and capabilities from various manufactures. This paper describes a system architecture for retro-fitting after-market automation using a smartphone as the unifying or controlling master device.
Abstract 18831: Utilization of Palliative Care Consultation During Therapeutic Hypothermia Following Cardiac Arrest

Background: Palliative care (PC) is integral in the care of patients with advanced medical illnesses. The significant morbidity and mortality associated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH) after cardiac arrest calls for improved end-of-life care. The goal of this descriptive study was to review our institutional experience with PC consultation in this critically ill population. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 319 consecutive patients undergoing TH post-cardiac arrest at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from May 2007 to April 2014. We compared intensive care unit characteristics of patients who received PC consultation (n=125) to those who did not (n=194). We performed Wilcoxon rank sum analyses for time on mechanical ventilation and vasopressor support and Pearson chi-square analyses for inpatient mortality, placement of a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order and withdrawal of life support. Results: The number of TH patients and PC consultations in this population increased over time (Figure 1). In the overall cohort, the mean age was 57.3 years (+/- 15.3), and 61% of patients were male. The PC group was mechanically ventilated longer (mean 5.18 vs. 3.45 days, p Conclusions: In our TH population, PC consultation increased over time, corresponding to our institution’s expansion of staffing, opening of a PC unit and integration of this service into our published TH protocol. Future studies may delineate the appropriate patient selection for PC consultation to better facilitate goals of care and medical decision-making.
Neutronics and activation analysis for the National Ignition Facility cryogenic target positioner

During yield operations, the materials within the National Ignition Facility (NIF) cryogenic target positioner will be exposed to high fluences of high-energy neutrons. If left unchecked, these neutrons could deposit unacceptably high amounts of energy within the cryogenic fluids. In addition, these neutrons will induce residual radioactivity within the target positioner and may lead to intolerable dose rates for maintenance personnel. Through careful design and selection of materials, however, these effects may be mitigated. The present work uses nominal design characteristics for the cryogenic target positioner to show that traditional cryogenic and structural materials will not produce an acceptable design. Further, the authors develop an alternate design that addresses the issues of neutron shielding and activation.
Detecting Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early-Gestation Ethanol Exposure: A Nonhuman Primate Model of Ethanol Drinking During Pregnancy.

Background Gestational ethanol (EtOH) exposure is associated with multiple developmental abnormalities, collectively termed fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). While the majority of women abstain from EtOH following knowledge of pregnancy, one contributing factor to the high FASD prevalence is that pregnancy is not detected until 4 to 6 weeks. Thus, EtOH consumption continues during the initial stages of fetal development. Methods An experimental protocol is described in which rhesus macaques self-administer 1.5 g/kg/d EtOH (or isocaloric maltose dextrin) prior to pregnancy and through the first 60 days of a 168-day gestation term. Menstrual cycles were monitored, including measurements of circulating estradiol and progesterone levels. The latency to consume 1.5 g/kg EtOH and blood EtOH concentration (BEC) was measured. Results Twenty-eight fetuses (14 EtOH and 14 controls) were generated in this study. EtOH did not affect menstrual cycles or the probability of successful breeding. No EtOH-induced gross adverse effects on pregnancy were observed. Individual variability in latency to complete drinking translated into variability in BEC, measured 90 minutes following session start. Drinking latencies in controls and EtOH drinkers were longer in the second gestational month than in the first. All pregnancies reached the planned experimental time point of G85, G110, or G135, when in utero MRIs were performed, fetuses were delivered by caesarean section, and brains were evaluated with ex vivo procedures, including slice electrophysiology. Fetal tissues have been deposited to the Monkey Alcohol Tissue Research Resource. Conclusions This FASD model takes advantage of the similarities between humans and rhesus macaques in gestational length relative to brain development, as well as similarities in EtOH self-administration and metabolism. The daily 1.5 g/kg dose of EtOH through the first trimester does not influence pregnancy success rates. However, pregnancy influences drinking behavior during the second month of pregnancy. Future publications using this model will describe the effect of early-gestation EtOH exposure on anatomical and functional brain development at subsequent gestational ages.
25.1 A 562F 2 Physically Unclonable Function with a Zero-Overhead Stabilization Scheme

Internet of Things (IoT) devices bring a growing demand for secure, low-power, and low-cost secret key and ID storage solutions. Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are one of the most promising alternatives to conventional non-volatile memory (NVM) solutions, which usually incur extra cost and are vulnerable to physical attackers. In recent years, significant research efforts have been devoted to improving the stability of PUF responses/keys across PVT variations, while maintaining the low-cost and low-power benefits. PUF design involves circuit topologies, stabilization methods, and error correction schemes. While redundancy-based stabilizing methods, such as extensive unstable bit masking and error correction codes (ECCs), are powerful to achieve 100% reliable keys [1, 2, 7], the on-chip area cost for redundancy, energy and latency during key extraction, and testing cost grow super linearly with the percentage of unstable bits in most cases (Fig. 25.1.1). Therefore, PUF designs with native reliability and lossless stabilizing methods are desirable. PUFs using metastability are fast and efficient [1, 2], but suffer from transient noise. PUFs relying on shared digitizers [3, 4] save area but require accurate comparators and suffer from noise during readout. PUF cells with static operation and local digitizing are shown to achieve the best stability [5–7], among which the amplifier chain structure shown in Fig. 25.1.1 demonstrates best native stability and low cost [6, 7]. A NAND-based design [7] suffers from high power consumption and large area, while a 2T amplifier-based PUF [6] achieves a good trade-off among desired properties. However, the 2T amplifier in [6] does not scale well with technology, limited by its amplification gain and asymmetrical headroom (Fig. 25.1.1, top right). In this paper, a $562\mathrm {F} ^{2}$ PUF cell, which can be reconfigured to a different PUF cell locally for lossless stabilization with zero area overhead (Fig. 25.1.1, bottom right), is implemented in 65nm CMOS. It features: 1) a 0.00182% native bit error after lossless stabilization and 0.44% across the military temperature range (-55 to $125^{\circ }\mathrm {C}$); 2) a low-cost stabilization scheme combining a reconfigurable PUF cell with a body-bias-based V/T emulation method, which improves bit error rate (BER) by $149 \times $ and bit instability by $120 \times $; 3) sub-threshold operation with only 0.062fJ/b core energy.
Coping, Discrimination, and Physical Health Conditions Among Predominantly Poor, Urban African Americans: Implications for Community-Level Health Services

African Americans and ethnic minorities experience racial discrimination in a variety of settings. Racial discrimination is a potent stressor that has been linked to psychosocial stress and poor physical health. To cope with discriminatory experiences and daily life event stressors, African Americans frequently use the concept of John Henryism (a high effort coping strategy with prolonged exposure to stress). This cross-sectional analysis explored the relationship between racism/discrimination, John Henryism, and health problems in a predominately African American sample. Data were collected through health care screenings for hypertension, diabetes, and obesity and a self-report survey to assess experiences of discrimination and use of John Henryism. Logistic and linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between the John Henryism score, racism/discrimination score, and health problems among 352 participants. John Henryism was associated with a decrease in systolic blood pressure (b = - 12.50, 95% CI = - 23.05, - 1.95) among men, after adjusting for experiences of racism/discrimination and demographic characteristics. Experiences of racism/discrimination were associated with an increase in systolic blood pressure (b = 11.23, 95% CI = 0.38, 22.09) among men, after adjusting for John Henryism and demographic characteristics. Among women, there was no association found between John Henryism and experiences of racism/discrimination with systolic blood pressure. No association was found between John Henryism and experiences of racism/discrimination with being overweight/obese in women nor men. The study found that John Henryism was positively associated with the health of men, while experiences of racism/discrimination were negatively associated with their health. Limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations are made to guide future research exploring the concept of John Henryism as a relevant factor between stress, racial discrimination and poor health.
Research to Support the Development of a Campaign to Increase Physical Activity Among Low-Income, Urban, Diverse, Inactive Teens

Abstract Objective To ascertain inactive teens’ insights regarding the types of physical activities (PAs) they would be willing to do, and to inform a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education PA social marketing campaign targeting this audience. Design Formative, qualitative research via focus groups. Setting Low-income, urban New Jersey areas between September, 2013 and April, 2014. Participants Low-income, urban, ethnically diverse, inactive teens. Phenomenon of Interest Teens’ favored PAs and insights into how to develop a successful marketing campaign. Analysis Edited audio-transcriptions were coded and a constant comparative analysis was employed to identify emergent themes. Results Data from 5 focus groups’ teens (n = 31), 58% of whom were Hispanic, 23% of whom were African American, and 19% of whom were of mixed race, revealed 3 themes. To be appealing, PAs (1) must be fun (eg, dancing, with friends and families) and (2) need to be comfortable (indoors, not sweaty, not physically competitive or embarrassing), and (3) they must be promoted by “cool” and relatable people (eg, teens like themselves or young comedians). Conclusions and Implications Nutrition and health educators and social marketers may be well advised to consider the unique preferences of inactive teens to improve their PA levels. Additional research in varied geographic regions is advisable.
Use of Arbitrary Yield Functions in FEM

Many standard yield functions allow derivation of closed-form equations relating the effective strain rate to principal strain rates. Such yield functions are easily implemented in finite element modeling (FEM) programs, which require explicit equations and directional derivatives. Newer anisotropic yield functions (for example, those introduced by Hosford, Bassani and Barlat) do not allow this simple approach. A numerical method is proposed to solve this problem. The method is found to be efficient, accurate and robust. As a demonstration of the capability, Hosford’s yield function was introduced into a rigid-visco-plastic FEM program, SHEET-3, for calculation of forming limit diagrams (FLD) and simulation of punch stretching.
High-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy appears safe in patients with high baseline International Prostate Symptom Scores.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the study was to report our institutional quality of life data for those undergoing high-dose-rate brachytherapy with an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) ≥15 compared with those with an IPSS Methods and Materials The charts of 95 patients with localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate treated with high-dose-rate as monotherapy or as a boost after external beam radiation therapy at a single institution between 2012 and 2015 were reviewed. All patients completed the IPSS and Expanded Prostate Index for Prostate Cancer–Clinical Practice quality of life assessments before treatment and at least one followup survey. Linear mixed models were performed to test for significant changes and differences in each outcome over time. Results Median followup in the IPSS 24 months time point, these scores had decreased below baseline and were not significantly different from those with a baseline IPSS 0.1). 12.5% in the IPSS ≥15 group developed a new Grade 2 genitourinary toxicity requiring an alpha blocker compared with 26.5% in the IPSS Conclusions Given the low rates of genitourinary toxicity, this technique appears appropriate even for those with high baseline urinary symptoms.
Un cadeau d'amour empoisonné : Les paradoxes de l'autobiographie postcoloniale dans L'Amour, la fantasia d'Assia Djebar

The Algerian novelist Assia Djebar has expressed her reluctance to write about herself in the French language, that of her country's colonizers. In her novel L'Amour, la fantasia, the author explores this conflict, yielding a text rich in paradox. Linguistic tension appears most clearly in one particular chapter of the novel, "La Tunique de Nessus." I analyse the chapter with respect to two models, Plato's pharmakon and the tunic referred to in the chapter's title. Like them, the language adopted by the young narrator to tell her story functions both as a burden and as a blessing; it can be considered a poisoned gift. Djebar has thus found an appropriate symbol for the problematic nature of postcolonial autobiography. The novel can be read as a liberating rewriting of the models, reproducing cultural and linguistic tension as a means of preserving individual postcolonial identity.
Application of Embedded Dynamic Mode Decomposition on Epileptic Data for Seizure Prediction

The underlying spatio-temporal mechanism that leads to the formation of seizures in the brain has been an interesting topic for decades. Different techniques have been proposed to extract the dynamics of epileptic recordings that are involved in seizure formation. Methods have been used to measure the synchrony between two or more epileptic recordings. These techniques are often model-based or suffer from poor time-frequency resolution. In this paper, we introduce a data-driven tool called the Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) with time-delay embedding to extract the underlying spatio-temporal dynamics of seizure formation. These techniques will enable us to focus on similarities among seizures in our attempt to better understand, detect, and predict seizures.
Circular distribution analysis on seasonality of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Dongcheng district of Beijing

Objective To analyze the time distribution characteristics of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in Dongcheng district of Beijing, so as to provide supports for the prevention and treatment of HFMD. Methods The monthly incidence data of HFMD cases with current addresses within Dongcheng district from 2010 to 2018 were sorted out from the disease surveillance information reporting management system according to the dates of onset. The concentration ratio and circular distribution index were used to analyze the trend of clustering in dates of onset of HFMD. The Rayleigh test was used to test the existence of the average angle. Results A total of 5 958 cases were reported in Dongcheng district from 2010 to 2018, with an average annual incidence of 68.28/100,000. For the clustering analysis, the concentration ratio (M) was 0.52 and the average angle () was 195.31° while the incidence peak of HFMD was on July 18 and the peak period was from May 28 to September 6. Different peak dates, length as well as the start and end dates of peak period were observed in each year. Conclusions The incidence of HFMD showed obvious seasonality characteristics. The peak period of incidence was mid-July. The concentration ratio and circular distribution can describe the seasonal epidemic characteristics of HFMD. Key words: Hand, foot, and mouth disease; Circular distribution; Concentration ratio
Using Genetic Algorithms to Optimize Control of a Ball-and-Beam System

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to tune a PID controller, which will stabilize a ball-and-beam system. A brief overview of GAs will be given followed by a short introduction of the ball-and-beam system, to which a GA will be applied. Next, the method of applying a GA to a PID controller for optimization is discussed. A conventional PID controller and an LQR controller will be designed for the purpose of evaluating the cost associated with these controllers against the cost associated with the GA optimized PID controller. The final results show that a PID controller tuned using the GA is more cost efficient than a conventionally tuned PID controller, but less cost efficient than a conventionally tuned LQR controller.
Applied Nonparametric Regression Techniques: Estimating Prepayments on Fixed-Rate Mortgage-Backed Securities

We assess nonparametric kernel-density regression as a technique for estimating mortgage loan prepayments—one of the key components in pricing highly volatile mortgage-backed securities and their derivatives. The highly nonlinear and so-called irrational behavior of the prepayment function lends itself well to an estimator that is free of both functional and distributional assumptions. The technique is shown to exhibit superior out-of-sample predictive ability compared to both proportional-hazards and proprietary-practitioner models. Moreover, the best kernel model provides this improved predictive power utilizing a more parsimonious specification in terms of both data and covariates. We conclude that the technique may prove useful in other financial modeling applications, such as default modeling, and other derivative pricing problems where highly nonlinear relationships and optionality exist.
RUNX3: Promoter 1 methylation status

1576 RUNX3 is a transcription factor that is involved in hematopoiesis and the TGF-beta signaling pathway. The RUNX3 gene can either work to activate or repress the transcription of genes. It is regulated by two promoters which code for two separate proteins that differ at the N terminus by 19 amino acids. Promoter 1 (P1) is a non CpG dense promoter, whereas promoter 2 (P2) lies within a 3000 bp CpG island. In mouse, RUNX3 P2 is expressed in almost all tissues and P1 expression is limited to a few lineages or physiological states (activated T cells), which show there is differential promoter usage. It has been reported that in various cancers there is P2 hypermethylation and loss of expression of this transcript. Not much focus is put on the methylation of areas with a low density of CpG sites in gene promoters; therefore the methylation status of RUNX3 P1 has not been studied. We hypothesize that DNA methylation plays a role in the limited expression of this non CpG dense promoter. In our study, the methylation status of RUNX3 P1 was examined in normal human tissues, including EBV-transformed B cells, and blood-fractionated lymphocytes and granulocytes. RUNX3 P1 was highly methylated in most normal tissues studied, however there were lower methylation levels in granulocytes, EBV-transformed B cells, and bone marrow. Interestingly, lymphocytes were devoid of methylation. This suggests a lineage specific methylation pattern in these tissues and blood cell types. Moreover, the EBV-transformed B cells were shown by bisulfite sequencing to either have completely methylated or unmethylated strands in a 1:1 ratio. This data suggests monoallelic methylation in B cells. Based on these findings, methylation may play a role in the expression of RUNX3 P1 in normal tissues.