cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intergenerational Transmission of Marital Violence Results From a Nationally Representative Sample of Men

The present study assesses the association between childhood exposure to parental violence and perpetration of marital violence as adults among a representative sample of 3,396 men in Bangladesh. We used secondary analysis of survey data from the nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007 to examine factors associated with perpetration of martial violence among 3,396 ever-married men between the ages of 16 and 50 years. Outcome measure, marital violence perpetration, was measured using a modified Conflict Tactics Scale, and predictor variables included childhood exposure to parental violence, justification of marital violence, marital duration, religion, and demographic variables. Results indicate that marital violence perpetration is significantly associated with childhood exposure to marital violence, suggesting a cycle of violence that is maintained across generations. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Acoustic cues underlying auditory distance in barn owls.

Conclusions. We conclude that: (1) among several cues examined, the monaural cue of direct-to-reverberant (D/R) ratio in the ipsilateral ear provides the most information about sound-source distance; (2) interaural level difference (ILD) provides less information about sound-source distance; and (3) a comprehensive theory of three-dimensional auditory localization must incorporate the fact that all of the major acoustic cues change with distance. Objective. Neural mechanisms underlying auditory localization of distance are poorly understood. The present study was an initial step toward filling this gap in knowledge. Materials and methods. The binaural room impulse responses of adult barn owls were measured. The sound source was placed at various distances (up to 80 cm) and azimuths (0–90°) relative to the owl's head, with the elevation kept at 0°. Results. We determined the value of each cue for a 3–10 kHz band, and found that: (1) D/R ratio of signal amplitudes provided the most information about sound-s...
Fatal myocarditis in a child with systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis during treatment with an interleukin 1 receptor antagonist.

Background The pathologic diagnosis of isolated myocarditis without pericardial involvement is uncommonly encountered in systemic onset Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (soJIA).
HMM-based speech recognition using dynamic spectral feature

A description is presented of a fenonic Markov-model-based speech recognizer that can evaluate not only instantaneous spectral features but also dynamic spectral features, without requiring so many parameters and training data as some conventional models representing these features. The author first shows that the correlation between the features is very small. On the basis of this result, the features are vector-quantized separately and then independently evaluated in a multiple-feature-based fenonic Markov model. This recognizer was tested in speaker-dependent and speaker-adaptation-based isolated word recognition tasks using 150 confusable Japanese words. For each task, the recognition error rate was 45-75% lower than that of the conventional fenonic Markov-model-based recognizer, which evaluates only instantaneous features. >
The ethics of medical involvement in torture: commentary

Torture does need to be defined if we are to know exactly what we are seeking to ban; but no single definition will do, because there are many possible ones, and we may want to treat different practices that might be called torture differently. Compare the case of homicide; we do not want to punish manslaughter as severely as murder, and may not want to punish killing in self-defence at all. There are degrees of torture as of murder. Unclarities simply play into the hands of would-be torturers. Downie is unsuccessful in deriving the duty of doctors not to be involved in torture from an analysis of the word `doctor9. It may be contrary to the role-duty of doctors to participate in torture; but there might be other duties which overrode this role-duty. The right approach is to ask what principles for the conduct of doctors have the highest acceptance-utility, or, as Kant might have equivalently put it, what the impartial furtherance of everyone9s ends demands. This approach yields the result that torture (suitably defined) should be banned absolutely. It also yields prescriptions for the conduct of doctors where, in spite of them, torture is taking place.
Network Cities and the Global Structure of the Internet

Cities have played an important role in the process of globalization as centers for information exchange. Urban scholars note that a handful of dominant financial services centers—so-called global ...
Resistance to d-tubocurarine in lower motor neuron injury is related to increased acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction.

The hypothesis that lower motor neuron injury, with its associated proliferation of acetylcholine receptors (AChR), induces resistance to the neuromuscular effects of d-tubocurarine (dTC) was tested in the rat. The left gastrocnemius was denervated by a 75-80% lesion of the sciatic nerve. The effective dose for 95% twitch depression (ED95) was studied in the denervated gastrocnemius and compared to the contralateral undenervated and sham-injured (control) gastrocnemius muscles approximately 2 weeks after injury. The AChR number was quantitated by the specific ligand 125I-alpha-bungarotoxin (125I-alpha-BT). Plasma dTC concentrations, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), were correlated to twitch tension during spontaneous recovery from neuromuscular blockade in the denervated animal. The ED95 (mean +/- SE) of dTC for the denervated leg was significantly (P less than 0.05) higher (0.26 +/- 0.06 mg.kg-1) than contralateral (0.16 +/- 0.03) and sham-operated left (0.13 +/- 0.03) legs. The twitch tension recovered to 50% of control twitch height at significantly (P less than 0.05) higher plasma dTC concentrations in the denervated (0.78 micrograms.ml-1) compared to contralateral (0.24 micrograms.ml-1) limb. The AChR number was significantly increased in the denervated limb (1041 +/- 96 fmol.mg protein-1) compared to contralateral right (109 +/- 4) and control left limb (113 +/- 11). There was a significant (P less than 0.05) positive correlation (R2 = 0.73) between ED95 and AChR number; that is, 73% of the variability in ED95 could be explained by changes in AChR. This study, therefore, confirms the hypothesis that proliferation of AChR after nerve denervation results in resistance to the neuromuscular effects of dTC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Laser Spike Annealing: A Novel Post-Porosity Treatment for Significant Toughening of Low-k Organosilicates

Laser thermal treatment of organosilicate coatings in a process characterized by extremely short dwell times and extremely high temperatures, generally referred to as laser spike anneal (LSA) appears to be a viable approach to post-porosity enhancement of mechanical properties. Exposure of organosilicates in both the dense and porous state to very high temperatures (500-1300 degC) for extremely short periods of time, ranging from 200 to 800 musecs, yielded increases in the modulus by a factor of 3-5times without adversely affecting the dielectric constant. Chemical analysis of the treated methyl silsesquioxane structure indicated significant changes in the chemical composition of the film as evidenced by the disappearance of the methyl infra-red absorption associated with methyl groups attached to silicon. However, this disappearance in the methyl absorption was not reflected by a concomitant decrease in the carbon content of the film as determined by Rutherford back scattering (RBS) measurements. RBS analysis yielded a chemical composition which could be represented empirically by SixOyCmHn, the exact composition depending on the exact processing conditions
Best practices for building interoperable systems for translational research

Research databases, clinical systems, and lab systems all have different standards, formats and drivers for data capture, operation, analysis and integration. For interdisciplinary nutritional researchers, however, there is a dependence on all of these areas and technologies. While building and integrating these systems can be difficult, using agile practices including short iterations, testing and continuous integration methods, and close engagement with all stakeholders to create useful systems for translational research. Interoperability also requires good data standards, including the use of structured data dictionaries and existing data standards such as HL7, UMLS, LOINC, ICD, and OBO foundry ontologies.
Fighting Amongst Ourselves: Intra-Party Ideological Tensions Over Immigration in the Netherlands and Belgium

Recent scholarship on immigration politics in Europe highlight the variance in approaches taken by mainstream parties in contesting the issue. While some downplay the issue, others embrace a focus on immigration and parties on both the centre-right and centre-left have made it central to their campaigns, often in response to electoral challenges from anti-immigrant parties. As an ideologically loaded issue, parties must also contend with the divisions within their own ranks stemming from the ways in which immigration cuts across both economic and cultural cleavages.Rather than focusing on supply and demand side explanations of party approaches to competition over immigration, this article instead explores the relevance of intra-party ideological tensions which immigration has the capacity to inflame by using a case study of ‘the immigration issue’ in the Netherlands and Flemish-speaking Belgium. While operating in very different institutional settings, the mainstream parties have in both cases faced very similar political challenges stemming from ‘the immigration issue’.The article proceeds as follows. First, it presents data on the levels of inter-party agreement regarding the direction of immigration and integration policy; trust and ownership of these policies; and the extent to which ideological tensions have been observed. Next, drawing on a party manifesto analysis, the article discusses immigration’s saliency level and the ideological approach(es) taken by the Dutch and Belgian parties. Finally, it investigates three hypotheses. The data present little support for the hypothesis that parties adopt a competence approach when there is broad agreement on the direction of policy, and moderate support for parties emphasizing those aspects of immigration they own. However, the extent to which parties address immigration is best explained by their ability to manage the internal ideological tensions raised by immigration. Not only does factoring in ideological tensions account for the emphasis on, or avoidance of, immigration, but it also sheds light on the apparent anomaly of Green Party behaviour observed in previous studies of immigration and elections.
Evidence of an association between brain cellular injury and cognitive decline after non-cardiac surgery.

Abstract Background Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is common after non-cardiac surgery, but the mechanism is unclear. We hypothesized that decrements in cognition 1 month after non-cardiac surgery would be associated with evidence of brain injury detected by elevation of plasma concentrations of S100β, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and/or the brain-specific protein glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP). Methods One hundred and forty-nine patients undergoing shoulder surgery underwent neuropsychological testing before and then 1 month after surgery. Plasma was collected before and after anaesthesia. We determined the relationship between plasma biomarker concentrations and individual neuropsychological test results and a composite cognitive functioning score (mean Z-score). Results POCD (≥−1.5 sd decrement in Z-score from baseline) was present in 10.1% of patients 1 month after surgery. There was a negative relationship between higher plasma GFAP concentrations and lower postoperative composite Z-scores {estimated slope+−0.14 [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.24 to −0.04], P+0.005} and change from baseline in postoperative scores on the Rey Complex Figure Test copy trial (P+0.021), delayed recall trial (P+0.010), and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (P+0.004) after adjustment for age, sex, history of hypertension and diabetes. A similar relationship was not observed with S100β or NSE concentrations. Conclusions Decline in cognition 1 month after shoulder surgery is associated with brain cellular injury as demonstrated by elevated plasma GFAP concentrations.
The Rise of Private Authority and the Decline of Embedded Liberalism Across the OECD, 1982-2008

Does corporate authority complement or substitute for public regulation and institutionalized social solidarity? While there has been considerable interest in the use of private regulation in developing countries and weak governance zones, private regulation in developed countries has been understudied. A small but growing literature addresses the institutional determinants of private governance and corporate self-regulation in these countries. This literature has debated whether the self-regulation of firms functions as a complement or a substitute for the welfare state, trade unions, market correcting regulation and other institutions of what Ruggie called ‘embedded liberalism.’This paper examines the relationship between private and public regulation in thirty capitalist democracies from the early 1980s until the late 2000s. It uses business-led Corporate Responsibility organizations to measure the state of private regulation at the country level. Their establishment dates and membership levels serve as proxies for the timing and quantity of private regulation. Independent variables include wage bargaining centralization, labor market regulation and employment protection, and industry regulation. The results suggest that corporate self-regulation is associated with declining regulatory density – deregulation – for a variety of different variables. This confirms qualitative historical evidence that the emergence of business activity promoting self-regulation was deeply bound together with the rise of neo-liberal economic policies since the 1980s. During this period of deregulation and privatization, business leaders put out a distinct call for business to taken on new social responsibilities. The notion of responsible business and of business self-regulation played an important role in legitimating the institutional transformation of OECD economies toward neo-liberalism, as the institutions of the post-war compromise were breaking down. A recurring theme propagated by business leaders is the unmistakable idea of corporate responsibility as being a domain of voluntary activity, which must be free of state regulation. The paper suggests that in OECD countries, private authority may be as much the source of our contemporary problems as part of their solution.
Medication Errors: The Role of Societal Attributes

Copyright 2016 (in press), IGI Global. This chapter to appear in Organizational Culture and Ethics in Modern Medicine, eds. Anna Rosiek and Kryzsztof Leksowski.
Angioblastic Tumors of Bone and Skin

A unique case of angioblastic lesions involving the skin and tibia of one leg is presented. The histological similarity of the two lesions suggests a similar histogenetic origin. It is preferred to classify these tumors as angioblastic tumors of skin and bone.
Komplementsystem und Komplementdefekte

Definition, Aufbau und Funktion des Komplementsystems. Komplement ist ein Teil der unspezifischen humoralen Abwehr. Einschlieslich seiner Regulatorproteine besteht es aus ca. 25 verschiedenen Plasmaeiweisen. Viele Komplemenfaktoren liegen normalerweise als inaktive Vorstufe vor. Erst durch einen Aktivierungsvorgang, oft eine partielle Proteolyse, werden sie in biologisch wirksame Eiweise mit enzymatischer Aktivitat uberfuhrt. Komplement steht bereits bei Geburt zur Abwehr zur Verfugung, wenn auch mit etwas reduzierter Aktivitat verglichen mit Erwachsenen.
In-air and pressurized water reactor environment fatigue experiments of 316 stainless steel to study the effect of environment on cyclic hardening

Abstract Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), under the sponsorship of Department of Energy's Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program, is trying to develop a mechanistic approach for more accurate life estimation of LWR components. In this context, ANL has conducted many fatigue experiments under different test and environment conditions on type 316 stainless steel (316 SS) material which is widely used in the US reactors. Contrary to the conventional S ∼ N curve based empirical fatigue life estimation approach, the aim of the present DOE sponsored work is to develop an understanding of the material ageing issues more mechanistically (e.g. time dependent hardening and softening) under different test and environmental conditions. Better mechanistic understanding will help develop computer-based advanced modeling tools to better extrapolate stress-strain evolution of reactor components under multi-axial stress states and hence help predict their fatigue life more accurately. Mechanics-based modeling of fatigue such as by using finite element (FE) tools requires the time/cycle dependent material hardening properties. Presently such time-dependent material hardening properties are hardly available in fatigue modeling literature even under in-air conditions. Getting those material properties under PWR environment, are even harder. Through this work we made preliminary attempt to generate time/cycle dependent stress-strain data both under in-air and PWR water conditions for further study such as for possible development of material models and constitutive relations for FE model implementation. Although, there are open-ended possibility to further improve the discussed test methods and related material estimation techniques we anticipate that the data presented in this paper will help the metal fatigue research community particularly, the researchers who are dealing with mechanistic modeling of metal fatigue such as using FE tools. In this paper the fatigue experiments under different test and environment conditions and related stress-strain results for 316 SS are discussed.
Filamentous Algae an Additional Food for the Predatory Anostracan Branchinecta Gigas

We observed Branchinecta gigas Lynch of a size known to feed by raptorial predation feeding on a clump of filamentous algae in the genus Spirogyra. A review of feeding in the Anostraca points to great diversity and suggests there is much yet to be learned.
SP0180 How do We Treat Early Ssc: Consequences for Clinical Practice

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) has the highest case-specific mortality of any of the auto-immune rheumatic diseases, as well as causing major morbidity. There are emerging data supporting efficacy for some treatment approaches for early patient group together with a growing number of exciting potential novel approaches to treatment that are moving into the clinical arena. This presentation will discuss practical management of early SSc in clinical practice. Disclosure of Interest D. Khanna Grant/Research support from: Actelion, Astra-Zeneca, Bayer, Biogen-Idec, BMS, DIGNA, Genentech/Roche, Gilead, InterMune, Merck, Takeda, Sanofi-Aventis, Savient, and United Therapeutics, Consultant for: NIH, Scleroderma Foundation, Pulmonary Hypertension Association DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.6246
New insights on equid locomotor evolution from the lumbar region of fossil horses.

The specialization of equid limbs for cursoriality is a classic case of adaptive evolution, but the role of the axial skeleton in this famous transition is not well understood. Extant horses are extremely fast and efficient runners, which use a stiff-backed gallop with reduced bending of the lumbar region relative to other mammals. This study tests the hypothesis that stiff-backed running in horses evolved in response to evolutionary increases in body size by examining lumbar joint shape from a broad sample of fossil equids in a phylogenetic context. Lumbar joint shape scaling suggests that stability of the lumbar region does correlate with size through equid evolution. However, scaling effects were dampened in the posterior lumbar region, near the sacrum, which suggests strong selection for sagittal mobility in association with locomotor–respiratory coupling near the lumbosacral joint. I hypothesize that small-bodied fossil horses may have used a speed-dependent running gait, switching between stiff-backed and flex-backed galloping as speed increased.
On Fixed Points, Diagonalization, and Self-Reference

We clarify the respective roles fixed points, diagonalization, and selfreference play in proofs of Godel’s first incompleteness theorem. The character of a Festschrift, I understand, allows for personal recollections of the honoree, so indulge me when I start out with a few of those . . . It must have been 1998–99—Volker Halbach had joined our ranks in 1997 and we had started our weekly logic colloquium with Ulf Friedrichsdorf, a colleague in mathematics—when I stepped into Wolfgang’s office and saw a copy of Boolos’ The Logic of Provability on his desk. Me: “Oh, what’s this about?” Wolfgang: “I want to check out what you guys are doing,” followed by an impromptu sketch of his own completeness proof for modal logic he had devised while still being a graduate student but never published. I do not know whether he liked the book; I never asked. But there was another area where I remember Wolfgang ready to defend the importance of diagonalization, namely, in the philosophy of language and here in particular Kaplan’s explication of intensions as diagonals of characters. Despite my sustained interest in formal methods, I have never been able to ignore what makes philosophy a discipline in the humanities. That was one of the reasons to write my Habilitation on a historical topic. It speaks to Wolfgang’s greatness as a person that he tolerated my heresy. Later, however, he would force me to speak on Bayesianism and the catch-all problem at my Habilitationskolloquium to find out whether all was lost; he probably concluded it was. So, when I was sifting through potential topics for my contribution, anything even remotely historical or in a humanistic vein was out of the question and diagonalization came out on top as something we share an interest in. I developed the line of thought presented below in response to a blog post by Richard Zach and an unpublished draft by Richard Heck, included it to a lecture once, but would otherwise not have taken the time to write it up. I am therefore grateful to the editors for giving me an incentive to do so. True to its character as an incidental piece, I suppress almost all scholarly references; they can be found in Buldt 2014. ∗Uncorrected draft. Final version in Wolfgang Freitag et al., Von Rang und Namen. Essays in Honour of Wolfgang Spohn, Munster: mentis (2016), 47–63 (page numbers tentative).
Cytochrom-P450-Enzyme und ihre Bedeutung für Medikamenteninteraktionen

Durch gleichzeitige Behandlung mit zwei oder mehr Medikamenten konnen unerwunschte Arzneimittelwirkungen infolge von Interaktionen auftreten. Die meisten Medikamenteninteraktionen sind pharmakokinetischer und/oder pharmakodynamischer Natur. Zwar kann jedes Gewebe Arzneimittel metabolisieren, jedoch ist die Leber als das zentrale Organ des Medikamentenstoffwechsels und das uberwiegend hier lokalisierte Cytochrom-P450-Enzymsystem fur zahlreiche Medikamenteninteraktionen verantwortlich. Die Kenntnis der in Frage kommenden Mechanismen sowie der Substanzen, bei denen die Moglichkeit einer Interaktion besteht, sind von Bedeutung, um potienziell lebensbedrohliche Zwischenfalle zu vermeiden. In dieser Ubersicht werden die pharmakologischen Grundlagen der Medikamenteninteraktionen und die Rolle des Cytochrom-P450 in diesem Zusammenhang besprochen. Haufig in Anasthesie und Intensivmedizin verwendete Substanzen wie Benzodiazepine, Opiate, antihypertensiv und antiarrhythmisch wirksame Substanzen, Antibiotika und Antimykotika, Antiemetika, Histamin-Rezeptor-Antagonisten, Theophyllin und Paracetamol werden berucksichtigt. Grundsatzlich sind Medikamenteninteraktionen vorhersehbar, wenn der Stoffwechselweg der beteiligten Substanzen und die individuelle Enzymaktivitat bekannt sind. Leider fehlen bis heute praktikable Methoden, um in der klinischen Routine die auserordentlich variable Enzymaktivitat des Cytochrom-P450-Systems zu bestimmen.
Recovering Women’s Voice: Communicative Empowerment of Women of the South

This chapter argues for focusing on the communicative empowerment of “women of the South” (women living in poverty and deprivation in every region of the world) in the conviction that it is by learning from these women that alternative visions for a more just and sustainable future can be created. Through a review of literature, this chapter documents the ways in which women of the South are silenced within (a) colonial discourse, (b) news and academic discourses, and (c) development discourse. The chapter then reviews literature describing a number of efforts by women to use traditional and modern communicative practice to create social change. This chapter derives insights from the literature on both the obstacles and possibilities that exist in the path to the communicative empowerment of women of the South.
Comparing TSPOT assay results between an Elispot reader and manual counts.

Abstract Background The interferon gamma release assay, TSPOT.TB (TSPOT) can be read by several methodologies, including an Elispot reader or manually by technician. We compared the results from these two counting methods. Methods Automated and manual TSPOT results among 2481 United States health care workers were compared. Cohen's kappa coefficient was used to determine the inter-rater agreement. Univariate and multiple logistic regression were used to investigate selected variable contributions. Results No prognostic factors were associated with agreement of TSPOT results between counting methods. Agreement between TSPOT results were 92.3%, 89.5%, 93.0%, and 93.1% at baseline, and at follow-up at 6, 12, and 18 months, respectively. The inter-rater agreement for all test results was good (kappa = 0.71). There was a significant difference between individual technicians kappa coefficients (p Conclusion Commercial Elispot readers and manual counts have good agreement of TSPOT results in a low TB burden setting. Levels of agreement differed between individual technicians and automated reader from moderate to very good, indicating borderline results may be misinterpreted due to inter-rater variability. With no latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) gold standard, it cannot be determined if one TSPOT reading method is better than another.
Stevin’s Works on Mechanics (1957)

Stevin is one of those to whom we owe the regrettable custom of publishing in a vernacular rather than a learned language. Therefore his works are mainly known only in Snel’s translation into Latin. Instead of making this acknowledged version available again, the present edition provides a new translation into English which may well be accurate but certainly is not fluent. Comparison with the originals in Dutch, which are reproduced on the facing pages, shows how much the art of printing has regressed since Stevin’s day. Short, careful notes are adjoined.
Method and apparatus for safety using inflated bags through smart sports clothes

This paper provides mechanism and apparatus for safety using inflated cloths. These inflated cloths are internally associated with airbag along with some computer readable history which is used to start filling the bags and to detect the fall. In this paper, the mechanism of smart cloths is proposed with internally sense the fall and smart circuitry will fill the bags to save the sport person. The smart cloths having inflated bags are also being useful for old age people to whom a small drop can also lead to a big damage to body.
Strengthening Family Connections with Letters of Gratitude in the Family Science Classroom

This manuscript discusses a letters of gratitude assignment based on gratitude research and on the family strengths framework. Instructors can use this assignment in various family science courses. The assignment represents a relatively simple, cost-effective strategy to strengthen family ties and improve health in emerging adults. This paper provides information on the importance of gratitude, on academic and familial benefits of the assignment, and an explanation of the assignment.
Dark matter models with uniquely spin-dependent detection possibilities

With much higher sensitivities due to coherence effects, it is often assumed that the first evidence for direct dark matter detection will come from experiments probing spin-independent interactions. We explore models that would be invisible in such experiments, but detectable via spin-dependent interactions. The existence of much larger (or even only) spin-dependent tree-level interactions is not sufficient, due to potential spin-independent subdominant or loop-induced interactions. We find that, in such a way, most models with detectable spin-dependent interactions would also generate detectable spin-independent interactions. Models in which a light pseudoscalar acts as the mediator seem to uniquely evade this conclusion. We present a particular viable dark matter model generating such an interaction.
Radiographic detection of porosities in removable partial denture castings

The purpose of this study was to discern the existence of structural defects in removable partial denture frameworks by means of radiographs. A simple technique was described using a dental radiograph unit and routine periapical dental films. All components of removable partial denture castings were radiographed with different angulations. The visibility of defects was clear. Structural defects were located and classified in two brands of removable partial denture base metal alloys (Ticonium and Nobilium) commonly used in fabrication of removable partial denture castings. The technique described is simple, inexpensive, not time-consuming, and can be implemented with minimum instrumentation. Future studies with this radiographic method for investigation of internal defects in fixed prostheses or dental implants are recommended.
Ketoconazole therapy for fungal urinary tract infections.

Abstract: Ketoconazole was used in 11 patients to treat 12 episodes of fungal urinary infections: 6 inthe upper urinary tract and 6 presumed to be in the lower urinary tract. Five patients had catheters in place. Of the 12 infections 8 were caused by Candida species, 1 by mixed Candida tropicalis and Torulopsis glabrata, and 3 by Torulopsis glabrata. Ketoconazole was administered orally at doses of 200 to 800mg. per day for courses ranging from 5 days to more than 2 years. Five episodes of Candida urinary tract infection resolved in association with ketoconazole therapy, while only 1 of the Torulopsis glabrata infections improved. Our findings suggest that ketoconazole may be of some benefit in yeast urinary tract infections. However, the role of ketoconazole in relation to other antifungal drugs is not yet clear.
Hypervalent Iodonium Alkynyl Triflate Generated Phenylcyanocarbene and Its Reactivity with Aromatic Systems

Phenylcyanocarbene was generated by the reaction of azide with a hypervalent iodonium alkynyl triflate and reacted in situ with 21 different carbocyclic and heterocyclic aromatic compounds. These reactions led to more complex products that frequently underwent subsequent rearrangements. The reactivity was further explored in a mechanistic study to ascertain the chemoselectivity and stereospecificity.
Comparison of indoor air sampling and dust collection methods for fungal exposure assessment using quantitative PCR

Evaluating fungal contamination indoors is complicated because of the many different sampling methods utilized. In this study, fungal contamination was evaluated using five sampling methods and four matrices for results. The five sampling methods were a 48 hour indoor air sample collected with a Button™ inhalable aerosol sampler and four types of dust samples: a vacuumed floor dust sample, newly settled dust collected for four weeks onto two types of electrostatic dust cloths (EDCs) in trays, and a wipe sample of dust from above floor surfaces. The samples were obtained in the bedrooms of asthmatic children (n = 14). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze the dust and air samples for the 36 fungal species that make up the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI). The results from the samples were compared by four matrices: total concentration of fungal cells, concentration of fungal species associated with indoor environments, concentration of fungal species associated with outdoor environments, and ERMI values (or ERMI-like values for air samples). The ERMI values for the dust samples and the ERMI-like values for the 48 hour air samples were not significantly different. The total cell concentrations of the 36 species obtained with the four dust collection methods correlated significantly (r = 0.64–0.79, p < 0.05), with the exception of the vacuumed floor dust and newly settled dust. In addition, fungal cell concentrations of indoor associated species correlated well between all four dust sampling methods (r = 0.68–0.86, p < 0.01). No correlation was found between the fungal concentrations in the air and dust samples primarily because of differences in concentrations of Cladosporium cladosporioides Type 1 and Epicoccum nigrum. A representative type of dust sample and a 48 hour air sample might both provide useful information about fungal exposures.
Missing time with parents: son preference among Asians in the USA

We study prevalence of son preference in families of East and South Asian origin living in the USA by investigating parental time investments in children using American Time Use Surveys. Estimates show that East and South Asian mothers spend an additional hour of quality time per day with their young (aged 0–2 years) sons than with young daughters; son preference in mothers’ time allocation declines as children get older. East and South Asian fathers’ time with young children is gender neutral. We find gender specialization in time with children aged 6–17 with fathers spending more time with sons and mothers spending more time with daughters.
FIELD STUDIES OF THREE SPECIES OF APHIDS ON PECAN: AN IMPROVED CAGE FOR COLLECTING HONEYDEW AND GLUCOSE-EQUIVALENTS CONTAINED IN HONEYDEW

Cages were designed for isolating single aphids and for collecting honeydew excreted by aphids. The cages were easy to construct and use and protected the aphids and honeydew from rainfall and pred...
Shifting role for human factors in an ‘unmanned’ era

ABSTRACTHuman factors practitioners (HFPs) play many different roles in the design, creation, operation and maintenance of engineered systems. Less well known are the methods which are aimed at helping with the early stages of design, which are more systems-oriented and often involve questions of the concept of operation in which the engineered system will be fielded. Emerging from the field of cognitive engineering, these methods, including simulation, cognitive work analysis, cognitive task analyses and hierarchical task analysis, will be important as autonomous systems become increasingly capable. Even the most capable systems will continue to interact with humans, and it is at these interfaces between humans and engineered systems that HFP will continue to be needed. This paper describes recent work to leverage these methods to inform concepts of operation in aviation and space, machine learning algorithms and goal-oriented human–machine collaboration.
Minimally invasive palliative interventions in advanced lung cancer.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Nearly 85% of all lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage, with an associated five-year survival rate of 4%. Malignant central airway obstruction and malignant pleural effusions occur in upwards of 30% of these patients. Many of these patients are in need of palliative interventions for symptom control and to help improve their quality of life.Areas covered: This review covers the treatment modalities of malignant central airway obstruction and malignant pleural effusion. PubMed was used to search for the most up to date and clinically relevant articles that guide current treatment strategies. This review focuses on rigid bronchoscopy and the tools used for the relief of central airway obstruction, as well as intra-pleural catheter use and pleurodesis for the management of malignant pleural effusions.Expert commentary: There are multiple treatment modalities that may be used to help alleviate the sympt...
Q-Learning for Bandit Problems

Multi-armed bandits may be viewed as decompositionally-structured Markov decision processes (MDP''s) with potentially very large state sets. A particularly elegant methodology for computing optimal policies was developed over twenty ago by Gittins [Gittins \& Jones, 1974]. Gittins'' approach reduces the problem of finding optimal policies for the original MDP to a sequence of low-dimensional stopping problems whose solutions determine the optimal policy through the so-called ``Gittins indices.'''' Katehakis and Veinott [Katehakis \& Veinott, 1987] have shown that the Gittins index for a task in state $i$ may be interpreted as a particular component of the maximum-value function associated with the ``restart-in-$i$'''' process, a simple MDP to which standard solution methods for computing optimal policies, such as successive approximation, apply. This paper explores the problem of learning the Gittins indices on-line without the aid of a process model; it suggests utilizing task-state-specific Q-learning agents to solve their respective restart-in-state-$i$ subproblems, and includes an example in which the online reinforcement learning approach is applied to a simple problem of stochastic scheduling---one instance drawn from a wide class of problems that may be formulated as bandit problems.
Dimuon production in a quark-parton model

We obtain bounds on the dimuon production ratio sigma/sup nu/(..mu../sup -/..mu../sup +/)/sigma/sup nu-bar/(..mu../sup +/..mu../sup -/) within the framework of a quark-parton model. The bounds follow from positivity conditions for the integrated valence and sea. Charmed-meson and -baryon production is taken into account. Specific symmetry assumptions for the sea contributions allow us to study the cross sections for dimuon production. (AIP)
From Action as Correspondence with the Times to Action as Changing the Times

The text of the Ghiribizzi is aporetic, if not antinomical. It appears to argue for a pessimistic concept of fate in which fortuna “commands men and keeps them under her yoke;” in which the path provided by classical thought to escape from this yoke, namely, astrological wisdom or the belief that intellect (nous) is stronger than necessity (ananke),is systematically barred. On the other hand, the text contains passages (like the last analysis of Hannibal and Scipio and the glosses) that give a different picture of the possibilities of human action by arguing that the encounter (riscontro) between human modes of action and circumstances has a conflictual meaning that favors innovation and discontinuity rather than adequation (in the sense of an harmonious fitting of action with the demands of the situation at hand).
Languages for Decision Support Systems

The accelerating complexity and size of modern private and public institutions and their increasing dependence on environmental factors such as multinational trade, world politics, and government regulations point to a need for computer-based decision support systems (DSSs). Several surveys(12,16) have indicated an increase in the use of such models especially in applications such as pro forma financial statement projection and budgeting. These systems can vary widely in both scope and objectives (see Table 1, which is based on Ref. 15). On the one hand a number of comprehensive corporate planning systems have been developed that attempt to model the firm’s complete production process in time and across geographic locations. Examples are the Potlatch Corporation(4) and Xerox(21) models. Such systems may contain 50 or 60 submodels and thousands of lines of code. At the other extreme are the currently popular microcomputer-based “accounting spread sheet” packages that are used in small financial and budgeting applications.
Benchmarking DRAGON/PARCS Against KRITZ and FFTF Measurements

Calculations have been conducted for the KRITZ-2 (KRITZ-LWR-RESR-001/002/003) and the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) (FFTF-LMFR-RESR-001) Nuclear Energy Agency benchmark problems using the PARCS re...
On pyrylium cations, molecular graphs, topological indices for QSAR, and various other structural problems

In this autobiographical sketch, I will present my contributions in two areas of chemistry: experimental organic and theoretical chemistries.
A practical way to regularize unfolding of sharply varying spectra with low data statistics

Abstract Unfolding is a well-established tool in particle physics. However, a naive application of the standard regularization techniques to unfold the momentum spectrum of protons ejected in the process of negative muon nuclear capture led to a result exhibiting unphysical artifacts. A finite data sample limited the range in which unfolding can be performed, thus introducing a cutoff. A sharply falling “true” distribution led to low data statistics near the cutoff, which exacerbated the regularization bias and produced an unphysical spike in the resulting spectrum. An improved approach has been developed to address these issues and is illustrated using a toy model. The approach uses full Poisson likelihood of data, and produces a continuous, physically plausible, unfolded distribution. The new technique has a broad applicability since sharply falling spectra are common.
4D Imaging of Mineral Dissolution in Porous Carbonado Diamond: Implications for Acid Digestion and XCT Measurement of Porosity and Material Properties

Dissolution and leaching are difficult processes to observe with combined temporal and spatial context, particularly when dissolving material within a nonreactive pore network. X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is a uniquely suited technique for observing dissolution in situ, and extracting quantitative data on pore networks and the material in them in 3D. We XCT imaged two samples of porous diamond (carbonado) during a sequential acid leaching procedure designed to remove a diverse assemblage of pore-filling minerals. This experiment allowed us to not only observe mineral dissolution in 3D, but also test various approaches to measuring porosity. We found that methods based on quantitative interpretation of CT numbers as partial porosity give more accurate results than purely binary segmentation, and that attempts to segment the pore network using visual criteria were scattered and unreliable. We identified differences in mineral inclusions and pore network topology between carbonado samples based on dissimilar dissolution styles and rates. We were also able to observe the formation of insoluble fluorides during acid digestion, which can drastically affect yields for geochemical measurements of certain elements, most importantly REEs, U, Th, and Pb. We found that image quality is unexpectedly locally affected by material properties, with filled pores measurably blurrier than empty ones. Such local variation in point-spread function is important when segmenting any object in XCT for the purposes of quantification. Finally, we demonstrate that by comparing mass and X-ray attenuation loss it is possible to estimate the relative heavy-metal content of the leached material.
Abstract WP330: Process Measures and Outcomes in Defuse 3 Trial by Day and Week Time Patterns

Introduction: Several studies identified temporal variations in stroke care and suggested that quality of care declines during off-hours and on weekends. Methods: We specified 2 time definitions: a...
Going Places: Effects of Early U.S. Compulsory Schooling Laws on Internal Migration

Both the industrialization thesis and institutional theories of education hypothesize that early educational expansion increased internal migration. We take advantage of state variation in early U.S. compulsory schooling laws and use a regression discontinuity approach to test this hypothesis in 1860–1950 Census data. Results indicate that those required to attend school were more likely to leave their state of birth than others. Effects were stronger among men in states with low occupational status scores, suggesting education encouraged migration out of states with fewer occupational opportunities. Potential contemporary implications for the U.S. and developing countries are discussed.
The Impact of Smoking on Early Postoperative Complications in Hand Surgery

Purpose Smoking is a prevalent modifiable risk factor that has been associated with adverse postoperative outcomes across numerous surgical specialties. We examined the impact of smoking on 30-day complications in patients undergoing hand surgery procedures. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data sets were queried for patients who underwent common hand surgery procedures from 2011 to 2016. Cohorts were divided into smoking and nonsmoking and compared in terms of demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and postoperative complications . Multivariable logistic regression models were used to control for demographic characteristics and comorbidities in assessing the association between smoking and postoperative infections as well as other major and minor complications. Results We identified a cohort of 48,370 patients in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program who underwent certain outpatient and inpatient hospital facility-based hand surgery procedures from 2011 to 2016. Up to 22% of these patients reported active smoking. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers were more likely to be younger and male and to have a lower body mass index. In addition, they were more likely to have a higher American Society of Anesthesiologists classification and to report dyspnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . Multivariable logistic regression identified an independent association between smoking and major complications. Smoking was not significantly associated with minor complications. When regrouped by complication type, smoking was associated with infectious and wound healing complications. In subgroup analysis, smokers undergoing elective hand surgery had increased odds of wound healing complications but not major, minor, or infectious complications. Conclusions Smokers may be at a significantly higher odds of certain complications compared with nonsmokers. For patients undergoing the elective procedures evaluated in this study, perioperative smoking may increase the risk of wound-healing complications. Type of study/level of evidence Prognostic II.