cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Jurors' locus of control and defendants' attractiveness in death penalty sentencing

The authors examined the relationship between jurors' locus of control and defendants' attractiveness in death penalty sentencing. Ninety-eight participants voluntarily served as mock jurors. The authors administered J. B. Rotter's (1966) Internal-External Locus of Control Scale to participants and then randomly assigned them to a group with either an attractive or an unattractive defendant (represented by photographs). Participants read a murder vignette and selected a punishment--either a lifetime jail sentence or the death penalty-for the defendant. Results indicated that neither jurors' locus of control nor defendants' attractiveness influenced sentencing. However, jurors' age and gender significantly influenced sentencing. Men, with the exception of the youngest men, were more likely than women to choose the death penalty. Additionally, young women were more likely than older women to select the death penalty. The authors discuss the implications of these results for the study of jury behavior and bias.
Three-year efficacy and safety of a new 52-mg levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system

Abstract Objective To assess 3-year data on the efficacy and safety of a new 52-mg levonorgestrel intrauterine contraceptive (LNG20) designed for up to 7 years use. Study Design Nulliparous and parous women aged 16–45 years at enrollment with regular menstrual cycles and requesting contraception were enrolled in an open-label, partially randomized trial to evaluate LNG20. The primary outcome was pregnancy rate for women aged 16–35 years calculated as the Pearl Index. Women aged 36–45 years received LNG20 for safety evaluation only. All participants had in-person or phone follow-up approximately every 3 months during the study. Results A total of 1600 women aged 16–35 years and 151 women aged 36–45 years agreed to LNG20 placement, including 1011 (57.7%) nulliparous and 438 (25.1%) obese women. Successful placement occurred in 1714 (97.9%) women. Six pregnancies occurred, four of which were ectopic. The Pearl Index for LNG20 was 0.15 (95% CI 0.02–0.55) through Year 1, 0.26 (95% CI 0.10–0.57) through Year 2, and 0.22 (95% CI 0.08–0.49) through Year 3. The cumulative life-table pregnancy rate was 0.55 (95% CI 0.24–1.23) through 3 years. Expulsion was reported in 62 (3.5%) participants, most (50 [80.6%]) during the first year of use. Of women who discontinued LNG20 and desired pregnancy, 86.8% conceived spontaneously within 12 months. Pelvic infection was diagnosed in 10 (0.6%) women. Only 26 (1.5%) LNG20 users discontinued due to bleeding complaints. Conclusion The LNG20 intrauterine system is highly effective and safe over 3 years of use in nulliparous and parous women. Implications statement A new 52-mg levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system is effective and safe for nulliparous and parous women for at least 3 years.
Characterization of polyfunctional alkoxysilanes using potassium (K+) ionization of desorbed species mass spectrometry

Potassium ionization of desorbed species (K + IDS) mass spectrometry has been used to characterize polyfunctional alkoxysilanes and the modes of reaction for ‘star gel’ precursors and simpler tetraalkoxysilanes. Efficient observation of molecular ions enabled by K + IDS can readily establish the purity of molecules such as Si(CH2CH2Si(OEt)3)4 and cyclo-(Me(CH2CH2Si(OEt)3)4SiO)4, and has been highly useful in determining the extent of intramolecular condensation in the star molecules. K + IDS has also established the distributions of polysilicate species and the presence of important reactive intermediates containing SiOOCH groups when Si(OMe)4 reacts with formic acid.
Transport effects on signal propagation in quantum wires

Currently, nanowire-based circuits are being considered as candidates for future high-speed electronics. Signal propagation in metallic carbon nanotubes has been analyzed using the Luttinger liquid theory to develop a transmission-line model showing features that can not be obtained from conventional transmission-line theory. The Luttinger liquid theory, however, is governed by strict conditions which restrict its application to metallic carbon nanotubes and it can not be used for any nanowire in general. In this paper, we present a unified theory that can be applied to wires ranging all the way from conventional three-dimensional conductors to one-dimensional carbon nanotubes. We show that when the number of current-carrying modes is less than a critical value, and the small-signal propagation characteristics are significantly influenced by transport effects which go beyond the conventional transmission-line theory. We also use our model to quantitatively examine a few potential applications.
The ins and outs of four-tunneled Reoviridae RNA-dependent RNA polymerases.

RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps) of the segmented double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses of the Reoviridae family exhibit distinguishing structural elements, enabling the enzymes to function within the confines of a proteinaceous core particle. These globular, cage-like polymerases are traversed by four well-defined tunnels, which not only allow template RNAs, nucleotides, and divalent cations to access the interior catalytic site, but also provide two distinct exit conduits for RNA templates and products—one leading out of the core and the other back inside the core. Although Reoviridae RdRps are intrinsically capable of binding template, their catalytic activities are tightly regulated by interactions with core shell proteins. This intra-particle mechanism of RNA synthesis coordinates genome packaging with replication during the infectious cycle.
A Membrane Estrogen Receptor Mediates Intracellular Calcium Release in Astrocytes

Appreciating the physiology of astrocytes and their role in brain functions requires an understanding of molecules that activate these cells. Estradiol may influence astrocyte functions. We now report that estrogen altered intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in neonatal astrocytes that expressed estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA in vitro. Western blotting revealed both ERα and ERβ proteins in both the nuclear fractions and plasma-membrane fractions. Application of 17β-estradiol (20 nm) to fura 2-loaded astrocytes in vitro stimulated [Ca2+]i in 75% of astrocytes with an EC50 of 12.7 ± 3.1 nm. This rapid action of estradiol was blocked by the ER antagonist, ICI 182,780. The membrane-impermeable estradiol-BSA induced a [Ca2+]i flux that was statistically similar to estradiol. Removal of extracellular Ca2+ did not alter the effect of estradiol, but phospholipase C inhibitor U73122 (10 μm) and 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (5 μm), an inhibitor of the inositol-1,4,5,-trisphosphate-gated intracellular Ca2+ ch...
Actualizing Organizational Memory with Information Systems

Preservation of organizational memory becomes increasingly important to organizations as it is recognized that experiential knowledge is a key to competitiveness. With the development and widespread availability of advanced information technologies IT, information systems become a vital part of this memory. We analyze existing conceptualizations and task-specific instances of IT-supported organizational memory. We then develop a model for an organizational memory information system OMIS that is rooted in the construct of organizational effectiveness. The framework offers four subsystems that support activities leading to organizational effectiveness. These subsystems rest on the foundation of five mnemonic functions that provide for acquisition, retention, maintenance, search, and retrieval of information. We then identify the factors that will limit the success of OMIS implementation, although full treatment of this issue is outside the scope of the paper. To initiate a research agenda on OMIS, we propose an initial contingency framework for OMIS development depending on the organization's environment and its life-cycle stage, and discuss the relationships between an OMIS and organizational learning and decision making.
Actividad minera, actores locales y planteamientos de desarrollo regional (Tarapacá 1880-1930)

Este articulo describe y analiza los planteamientos que buscaron vincular el tema del desarrollo regional y la actividad minera en el contexto de un intenso debate publico llevado a cabo en la provincia de Tarapaca entre las decadas de 1880 y 1940. Especial enfasis se pone en aquellas ideas que manifestaron la necesidad de superar la renta salitrera fiscal, y por tanto la preponderancia de la mineria del nitrato en la economia tarapaquena, como tambien en aquellas propuestas que demandaron la articulacion del sector minero local con una expansion agricola a gran escala y un comercio interregional como fundamentos del desarrollo regional.
Oxygen transport in biofilm electrodes for screening of toxic chemicals

A biosensor electrode system with unique configuration and a thin layer of immobilized yeast cells, set on the surface of an amperometric oxygen membrane electrode, was developed for rapid screening of toxic chemicals in a variety of pollution and process control applications. Measurement is based on the instantaneous detection of changes in oxygen respiratory activity of biofilm of yeast cells upon exposure to toxic chemicals. The design of this electrode system, referred to as biofilm electrodes, was based on a mathematical model of oxygen transport in the biofilm and the electrochemical current response. The biofilm, which consists of three sublayers—boundary layer, filter pad, and yeast cell layer—was modeled as a one composite diffusion layer, or three separate layers in series. While the three layer model is more theoretically complete, the one layer model was more reliable and simpler to use.
A case of primary hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma with spontaneous rupture

Primary hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is a rare neoplasm of endothelial origin. The clinical manifestations are nonspecific, ranging from complete absence of symptoms to hepatic failure and death. Spontaneous rupture of a hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma is an extremely rare presentation. We present a case of primary hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma in a 65-year-old male patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. He was hospitalized due to epigastric pain and multiple liver masses on abdominal ultrasound. Dynamic liver CT imaging revealed multiple peripheral nodular enhanced mass lesions with delayed centripetal enhancement, and the adjacent collection of high-attenuation fluid along the liver capsule. Abdominal tapping revealed blood in the peritoneal cavity. Primary hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma with spontaneous rupture was finally diagnosed based on a histopathologic examination revealing positive immunohistochemical staining for CD34. (Korean J Hepatol 2009;15:510-516)
Proteomic research: potential opportunities for clinical and physiological investigators

Proteomics is the comprehensive and systematic study of proteins, which are functional molecules. Although proteins are products of gene expression, there are more proteins than genes due to the posttranslational modifications of proteins, making the study of proteins difficult. Protein expression is tissue specific, and its function is modulated by variety of factors, including other proteins, phosphates, sulfates, carbohydrates, and lipids, as well as other metabolites. Because of the dynamic nature of protein expression and posttranslational modifications, identification and quantification of proteins alone are not sufficient to understand functional changes. Emerging technologies will allow investigators to perform a combination of metabolic labeling and identification as well as quantification and measurement of the synthesis rates of a large number of proteins in a tissue. This offers the opportunity to better understand the regulation of tissue functions. Rapid advances in mass spectrometry, protein purification techniques, isotope labeling of proteins, and bioinformatics are likely to improve our understanding of physiological states and altered functions in diseased states. Such mechanistic information will improve the ability to perform early diagnosis of tumors and other diseases and develop prognostic indexes and novel therapies.
Multiframe superresolution of binary images

We describe a new algorithm for superresolving a binary object from multiple undersampled low-resolution (LR) images that are degraded by diffraction-limited optical blur, detector blur, and additive white Gaussian noise. Two-dimensional distributed data detection (2D4) is an iterative algorithm that employs a message-passing technique for estimating the object pixel likelihoods. We present a novel non-training-based complexity-reduction technique that makes the algorithm suitable even for channels with support size as large as 5×5 object pixels. We compare the performance and computational complexity of 2D4 with that of iterative backprojection (IBP). In an imaging system with an optical blur spot matched to the object pixel size, 2×2 undersampled measurement pixels, and four LR images, the reconstruction error measured in terms of the number of pixel mismatches for 2D4 is 300 times smaller than that for IBP at a signal-to-noise ratio of 38 dB.
Reproducibility of pressure-flow variables in patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia

Abstract Objectives To study the reproducibility of pressure-flow studies in patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia and to investigate if the reproducibility is influenced by the method of intravesical pressure measurement, that is, transurethral catheterization versus suprapubic puncture. Methods The within-patient variation of maximum urinary flow rates and detrusor pressure at maximum flow was investigated in 25 patients in whom 2 (transurethral group) or 3 (suprapubic group) sequential voidings during urodynamic investigation were analyzed. Results The within-patient variation of pressure-flow values was evaluated by the intraclass correlation coefficient, which was 0.71 for maximum urinary flow rate and 0.84 for detrusor pressure, suggesting a relatively high degree of reproducibility. However in 26% of the patients, the maximum flow rates changed by more than 3 mL/s or the detrusor pressure by more than 20 cm H2O during the repeated tests. There was no significant difference in the within-patient variation of pressure-flow values between the suprapubic group and the transurethral group. Conclusions In larger clinical trials where the assessment of treatment effects between groups is desired, a single pressure-flow test is sufficient. In the individual patient, a single pressure-flow curve is of limited value due to a considerable within-patient variation of the test and, for these patients, multiple consecutive tests are recommended for diagnosis of intravesical obstruction and assessment of individual patient's response to treatment.
Burmese Attitude toward Chinese: Portrayal of the Chinese in Contemporary Cultural and Media Works

This paper argues that since at least the mid 1980s, there has been an observable negative attitude among the people of Burma against the Chinese. Such sentiment is not just transient public opinion, but an attitude. The author measures it by studying contemporary cultural and media works as found in legally published expressions, so as to exclude any material rejected by the regime’s censors. The causes of such sentiment are various: massive Chinese migration and purchases of real estate (especially in Upper Burma), Chinese money that is inflating the cost of everything, and cultural “intrusion.” The sentiment extends to the military, as well: the article examines a dozen memoirs of former military generals and finds that Burma’s generals do not trust the Chinese, a legacy of China’s interference in Burma’s civil war until the 1980s. The public outcry over the Myitsone dam issue, however, was the most significant expression of such sentiment since 1969, when anti-Chinese riots broke out in Burma. The relaxation of media restrictions under the new government has allowed this expression to gather steam and spread throughout the country, especially in private weekly journals that are becoming more outspoken and daring in pushing the boundaries of the state’s restrictions.
Hospital Pharmacy Pulse - Recent Publications on Medications and Pharmacy

Hospital Pharmacy presents this new feature to keep pharmacists abreast of new publications in the medical/pharmacy literature. Articles of interest will be abstracted monthly regarding a broad scope of topics.
Emergent Program Planning as Competent Practice

Abstract Built on the assumption that both rational and nonrational thought go into problem solving, but only rational approaches have been presented as appropriate technology for program development, this article offers an alterative way of designing social programs. We call this approach “emergent planning.” Our aim is to provide a conceptualization of planning processes that will be useful regardless of culture, mission or goals of the human service organization within which planning and service occur. Our hope is to deconstruct what constitutes rational thinking in program planning in order to critically consider alternative ways of thinking and planning within the context of multiculturalism and globalization. The goal is recognition of a subjugated model of planning so that those who do not plan rationally are not automatically assumed to lack competence to engage in “real” planning and effective problem solving.
Combinatorics on partial word borders

We develop a powerful graph theoretical approach that can compute the number of partial words, sequences with wildcard or hole characters, having a set of strong and weak periods, the number of partial words having a set of border lengths, the number of partial words having a maximum border length, the population size of a border array, the number of partial words having any set of required compatibilities and incompatibility sets, any of the above restricting to a fixed number of holes, any of the above restricting to a set of hole positions, to name a few. In the process, we establish some elegant relationships between these numbers, the Bell numbers, and the Stirling numbers of the second kind.
Changes in a Turtle Community from a Northern Indiana Lake: A Long-Term Study1

Abstract Knowledge of the long-term dynamics of freshwater turtle communities is important if we are to understand fully the impacts of human-induced changes in their aquatic and terrestrial habitats. We present data on a turtle community that has been monitored intermittently for more than 20 years and regularly for more than 10 years (1992–2003). The composition of the community has shifted with a decrease in the dominance of Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta). This shift reflects a decline in the number of C. picta over the past decade, whereas numbers of other species have remained relatively constant. Adult survivorship of C. picta has declined in the past decade. The proportion of C. picta with watercraft propeller damage has increased, whereas propeller damage has remained constant for the two other species for which we have data, the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica) and the Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta). Our study suggests that the turtle community in Dewart Lake has shifted from ...
The “anomalous” dynamics of decahyroisoquinoline revisited

Decahydroisoquinoline (DHIQ) appears to be a unique material-the only non-associated, simple liquid with dynamics deviating from density scaling. To examine whether this anomaly is real, the density, ρ, of DHIQ was measured at temperatures, T, as low as 214 K and pressures up to ∼1.2 GPa. This enabled the equation of state (EoS) to be determined, without extrapolation, over the range of thermodynamic conditions for which the relaxation times had been reported. Using this less ambiguous EoS, we find that within the precision of the available relaxation times, the latter are a function of T/ρ(3.9), contrary to previous reports. Thus, the behavior of DHIQ is unexceptional; similar to every non-associated liquid tested to date, its dynamics comply with density scaling.
A literature analysis of social capital’s transnational diffusion in Chinese sociology

Since China began its reconstruction of sociology as an academic discipline in 1979, a number of Western sociological concepts have entered the field of Chinese sociology. This study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of the literature pertaining to the sociological concept of ‘social capital,’ one among these newly imported popular constructs over the past several decades, to assess how and why the concept of ‘social capital’ has been ‘put to use’ by Chinese sociologists. Information on a series of variables was extracted after analyzing 118 articles that have focused on ‘social capital,’ written by Chinese sociologist and published between 2000 and 2011. The analysis results indicated an accelerated popularity of ‘social capital’ in Chinese sociological publications over this time period. In addition, the early adopters of ‘social capital’ among Chinese sociologists privileged the network domain but marginalized the social trust and civic participation domain of the concept, while recent years have...
Intramuscular accumulation of prostaglandins during static contraction of the cat triceps surae

We previously demonstrated that muscle afferent endings are sensitized by exogenous prostaglandins during static contraction of skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 30 s of static hindlimb contraction, induced by electrical stimulation of the cat sciatic nerve, increases the concentration of immunoreactive prostaglandin E2 (iPGE2) and 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha (i6-keto-PGF1 alpha, the stable metabolite of prostaglandin I2) in muscle tissue. In addition, the role of ischemia in augmenting prostanoid production was examined. Gastrocnemius muscle was obtained by freeze-clamping tissue, and prostaglandins were extracted from muscle homogenates and measured by radioimmunoassay. Compared with precontraction values, high-intensity (68% of maximal tension) static contraction elevated gastrocnemius iPGE2 and i6-keto-PGF1 alpha by 45 and 53%, respectively (P less than 0.01). Likewise, when blood flow to the gastrocnemius was attenuated by arterial occlusion during and 2 min before low-intensity contraction (29% maximal tension), the intramuscular iPGE2 concentration was increased by 71% (P less than 0.01). Conversely, low-intensity contraction (30% of maximal tension) and arterial occlusion without contraction did not alter the concentration of either prostanoid. Our findings demonstrate that prostaglandins accumulate in muscle during static contraction. We believe that local muscle ischemia may provide a stimulus for this phenomenon. These prostaglandins therefore are available to sensitize afferent endings responsible for reflex adjustments during static muscle contraction.
Statutes Enacting Takings Law: Flying in the Face of Uncertainty

Takings statutes should be evaluated for minimum rationality by considering: Public Benefits, Private Benefits from Enactment, minus Public Costs, Private Costs from Enactment.
Images in vascular medicine. Twenty-eight years later: A case of superior vena cava aneurysm secondary to cystic hygroma.

A 34-year-old obese female with a history of left neck cystic hygroma (post-resection and facial reconstruction at age 6 years) was referred for evaluation of asymmetric mediastinal widening on chest X-ray obtained during bariatric surgery evaluation (Panel A, arrows). No prior chest imaging was available. Subsequent chest computed tomography (CT) showed a fusiform aneurysm of the superior vena cava (SVC) (5.3 × 3.4 cm on double oblique measurement; Panel B) and innominate vein, with adjacent curvilinear vascular structures within the surrounding fat, consistent with lymphatic or venolymphatic malformations. The patient was completely asymptomatic, without evidence of SVC obstruction on physical examination. Vascular surgery was consulted and recommended imaging surveillance without initiation of therapeutic anticoagulation, as the aneurysm was felt to likely be congenital and would not warrant intervention if it remained stable on serial evaluations. SVC aneurysms are very rare, usually asymptomatic, and are typically incidentally diagnosed during chest radiography.1 The majority of these aneurysms are fusiform as opposed to saccular. In a previous case series of 15 patients Images in Vascular Medicine
Quality Control by the Reference Sample Method: Error Detection as a Function of the Variability of the Control Data

The reference sample method of Levey and Jennings is widely endorsed to control the daily operation of clinical laboratories. The method employs a reference sample, such as serum, which is analyzed once a day together with the clinical specimens. The control limits (2 S.D. above and below mean) are established after 20 daily reference samples have been analyzed. Any value which thereafter falls outside these limits is considered to be in error. Despite the widespread use of the reference sample method, there is scant documentation of its capacity to disclose errors. Thus, Van Peenen and Lindberg found that the method failed to disclose significant analytical errors in flame photometry; they suggested that errors may be masked by operator bias. But Weinberg and Barnett, as well as Sax and colleagues, have failed to find such bias.
POSITIVE LINEAR FUNCTIONALS WITHOUT REPRESENTING MEASURES

For k even, let Pk denote the vector space of polynomials in 2 real variables of degree at most k. A linear functional L : Pk −→ R is positive if p ∈ Pk, p|R 2 0 =⇒ L(p) 0. Hilbert's theorem on sums of squares (cf. (15)) implies that L : P4 −→ R is positive if and only if the moment matrix associated to L is positive semidefinite. In this note, using k = 6, we exhibit the first family of positive linear functionals L : Pk → R whose positivity cannot be derived from the positive semidefiniteness of the associated moment matrices, and which do not correspond to integration with respect to positive measures.
Social Justice Leadership and Critical Race Theory in the Mormon Culture Region

Our article looks at the main themes of critical race theory (CRT) in education as outlined in the landmark 1995 article published in Teachers College Record by Gloria Ladson-Billings and William Tate. We then apply the key ideas they articulated to the social context of school leadership in the Mormon culture region of the western United States, and through interview data and reliance on secondary data reports, illustrate the resistance to social justice leadership and CRT action that school leaders face. We also explore how they engage with this conservative backlash to apply CRT leadership in practice.
SU-F-T-100: Development and Implementation of a Treatment Planning Tracking System Into the Radiation Oncology Clinic

Purpose: With increasing numbers of cancer patients being diagnosed and the complexity of radiotherapy treatments rising it's paramount that patient plan development continues to stay fluid within the clinic. In order to maintain a high standard of care and clinical efficiency the establishment of a tracking system for patient plan development allows healthcare providers to view real time plan progression and drive clinical workflow. In addition, it provides statistical datasets which can further identify inefficiencies within the clinic. Methods: An application was developed utilizing Microsoft's ODBC SQL database engine to track patient plan status throughout the treatment planning process while also managing key factors pertaining to the patient's treatment. Pertinent information is accessible to staff in many locations, including tracking monitors within dosimetry, the clinic network for both computers and handheld devices, and through email notifications. Plans are initiated with a CT and continually tracked through planning stages until final approval by staff. Patient's status is dynamically updated by the physicians, dosimetrists, and medical physicists based on the stage of the patient's plan. Results: Our application has been running over a six month period with all patients being processed through the system. Modifications have been made to allow for new features to be implemented along with additional tracking parameters. Based on in-house feedback, the application has been supportive in streamlining patient plans through the treatment planning process and data has been accumulating to further improve procedures within the clinic. Conclusion: Over time the clinic will continue to track data with this application. As data accumulates the clinic will be able to highlight inefficiencies within the workflow and adapt accordingly. We will add in new features to help support the treatment planning process in the future.
Vaccinating Voters: Surveying Political Campaign Inoculation Scholarship

Inoculation theory has seen dramatic theoretical development since it was first introduced in the early 1960s, and applied research has explored its efficacy in such domains as politics, health, and commerce. This chapter notes a dearth in political campaign inoculation scholarship in recent years and calls for renewed interest. A survey of inoculation research offers a nuanced portrait of how inoculation has functioned in campaigns, yet several findings remain unexplained by the theory. The chapter concludes with proposals for future political campaign inoculation research, exploring new campaign technologies and new insights into how inoculation functions in political campaigns.
Decision Research: Behavioral

This article describes current trends and controversies in behavioral decision research. Much of the empirical research in this field has focused on violations of rational choice theory. Some violations are utility-based, such as loss aversion, framing effects, and contextual effects. Others are belief-based, such as base rate neglect and conjunction errors. This abundance of evidence has led behavioral decision researchers to develop descriptive theories based on more realistic assumptions about human nature. Issues such as fairness, self-control, emotional satisfaction, social pressure, and cultural norms are directly incorporated into the choice process. This approach to theorizing is gradually gaining popularity in other areas of social science, such as behavioral economics, behavioral finance, behavioral game theory, and behavioral accounts of the law.
Graph regularized, semi-supervised learning improves annotation of de novo transcriptomes

We present a new method, GRASS, for improving an initial annotation of de novo transcriptomes. GRASS makes the shared-sequence relationships between assembled contigs explicit in the form of a graph, and applies an algorithm that performs label propagation to transfer annotations between related contigs and modifies the graph topology iteratively. We demonstrate that GRASS increases the completeness and accuracy of the initial annotation, allows for improved differential analysis, and is very efficient, typically taking 10s of minutes.
Effects of habitat disturbance on diets of Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus ) in a cold desert

To determine the potential effect of habitat disturbance, Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus ) diets were quantified in disturbed and undisturbed habitats over a 2-year period at Dugway Proving Ground in the Great Basin Desert of Tooele County, Utah. Invertebrates were the most abundant prey by count, whereas mammals constituted the majority of diet by biomass. Species richness in the diet did not differ between habitats or among seasons after correcting for the number of pellets in each sample. However, the number of vertebrate species was greater than the number of invertebrate species in the diet, and this ratio differed between disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Invertebrate species made up a greater proportion of total species richness in the diet in the undisturbed than the disturbed habitat. Nineteen species occurred in the diet in only 1 of the 2 habitat types (7 unique species in disturbed habitat, 12 unique species in undisturbed), but all such species were rare and contributed little both by count and biomass to the overall diet. Of the 20 most important species found in owl diets in both habitats (based on percent biomass), none were more common in 1 habitat than the other after correcting for multiple tests. Although there were minor differences in the diet between disturbed and undisturbed habitats, habitat alteration and degradation of native vegetation on Dugway Proving Ground did not affect the major components of the diet of Great Horned Owls.
Comparison of the cost associated with an immune monitoring program to treatment of rejection

Following transplantation, patients often receive a standardized regimen of maintenance immunosuppression. Biomarker monitoring could help to individualize immune therapy, giving adequate immunosuppression to high risk patients while possibly avoiding toxicity and infection in low risk patients. Furthermore, early detection and immunosuppression dosage changes before clinical dysfunction maybe a cost effective strategy to minimize rejection episodes. The aim of our study was to define the cost associated with an anti-HLA antibody monitoring program over 5 years compared to treating patients for a single acute rejection episode. We hypothesize having a donor specific HLA antibody monitoring program would help to define early rejection before clinical symptoms arise and therefore be a cost benefit. Our study included 23 heart transplant patients diagnosed with either acute cellular rejection (ACR), antibody mediate rejection (AMR) or both. We calculated the average cost associated with the rejection episode including hospital days and treatment for an ACR, AMR or both. For comparison we calculated the cost for an donor specific anti-HLA antibody monitoring program using Flow PRA, HLA antibody specificities and specificity titers using One Lambda Reagents over a 5 year follow-up period. We found the average cost to treat AMR was 200 times greater than the cost for ACR. ACR rejections were treated with steroids, whereas AMR required multiple rounds of plasmapheresis, IVIG and Rituxan. The cost for an HLA monitoring program over 5 years including FPRA and HLA antibody specificities was comparable to a round of plasmapheresis or a single endomyocardial biopsy and appears to offer patients at risk for AMR due to strong sensitization history a cost effective early detection method upon which immunosuppression could be adjusted. The data suggest that early prediction of acute rejection may allow for optimization of therapy prior to major graft damage and make earlier cost effective preventative interventions possible. As a cost effective strategy we propose performing dose adjustments of maintenance immunosuppression after detection of DSA, preventing the need for later costly rejection treatment.
“Anxiety Galore”: Transition to College with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a common mental health concern that often begins in adolescence and, unfortunately, persists into adulthood. Symptoms may fluctuate based on stressful life events, such as transitioning from high school to college. This chapter presents the case of a young man who has struggled with symptoms of anxiety since childhood and describes how his symptoms cause impairment as he makes the transition from high school to college. It details how to best help individuals with anxiety prepare for the start of college while also navigating the college mental health system and optimizing the appropriate services and supports. Finally, as alcohol and drugs can be common, yet unhealthy coping mechanisms in this population, there is discussion of strategies to optimize treatment adherence and reduce temptation to misuse alcohol and benzodiazepines.
An Interview with Frank Pajares

Frank Pajares is presently Winship Distinguished Research Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He has recently edited (with Tim Urdan) Academic Motivation of Adolescents and General Issues in the Edu cation of Adolescents. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology. Pajares has written and presented numerous papers on self efficacy and he is recognized as one of the leading scholars in this realm.
A Further Review of the Development of the Child and Youth Care Profession in the United States

The author conducts a follow-up to a review of the development of the child and youth care profession in the United States that he conducted 11 years ago (Krueger, 1991a). He concludes that child and youth care is still an emerging profession, but that a shift in direction is needed to move the field forward.
Epidemiology of Nontuberculous Mycobacteriosis

Annual prevalence estimates for pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial (PNTM) disease in the contiguous United States range from 1.4 to 13.9 per 100,000 persons, while one study found an annual prevalence of up to 44 per 100,000 persons in Hawaii. PNTM prevalence varies by region, sex, and race/ethnicity, with higher prevalence among women and persons of Asian ancestry, as well as in the Southern United States and Hawaii. Studies consistently indicate that PNTM prevalence is increasing, with estimates ranging from 2.5 to 8% per year. Most PNTM disease is associated with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), although the proportion of disease attributed to MAC varies by region. Host factors identified as influencing disease risk include structural lung disease, immunomodulatory medication, as well as variants in connective tissue, mucociliary clearance, and immune genes. Environmental variables including measures of atmospheric moisture and concentrations of certain soil factors have also been shown to correlate with higher PNTM prevalence. Prevalence of extrapulmonary NTM disease is lower, stable, and associated with different risk factors, including primary immune deficiencies or HIV infection.
Latin Squares Based on Groups

Latin squares and orthogonal Latin squares have been used in the construction of many classes of designs: nets, affine planes, projective planes, and transversal designs, in particular. When orthogonal sets of Latin squares are obtained from the multiplication table of a finite group by permuting columns, each square is determined by its first row, which is a permutation of the elements of the group. This enables us to describe and study orthogonality from a purely algebraic point of view, using difference matrices, complete mappings, and orthomorphisms. The nets, affine planes, projective planes, and transversal designs constructed in this way are characterized by the action of the group on these designs. We introduce these concepts in this chapter.
Promoting high school students' physics identity through explicit and implicit recognition

Desired emotional states, such as engagement, grit, and perseverance, must be constructed by students and can be supported by interpersonal and environment supports.
Characteristics of non-melanoma skin cancers of the cutaneous perioral and vermilion lip treated by Mohs micrographic surgery.

BACKGROUND The lip and surrounding perioral region are susceptible to non-melanoma skin cancer, but the distribution of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma on the cutaneous and vermilion lips has not been fully elucidated. OBJECTIVE To investigate the distribution of cutaneous and vermilion lip non-melanoma skin cancer and to better describe risk factors, anatomic location, treatment characteristics and oncologic outcomes. METHODS A retrospective comparative case series of patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) at a single academic centre for lip and perioral basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma was performed over a 5-year period. Demographics, medical comorbidities, surgical characteristics and recurrence status were extracted. RESULTS Forty-five vermilion and 116 cutaneous lip cancers were identified. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) was more common in the cutaneous perioral region, while squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was more common on the vermilion lip (P < 0.001). BCCs were more common on the upper vermilion lip and SCCs were more common on the lower vermilion lip (P < 0.001). Within the cutaneous perioral region, both BCCs and SCCs were more common on the upper perioral surface (P = 0.002). Male gender was associated with lower lip SCC (P = 0.015). Smoking, immunosuppression, anticoagulant use and hydrochlorothiazide use were not associated with cancer type or location. Recurrences were rare, but more common in vermilion lip cancers (6.6%) compared to perioral cutaneous cancers (0.8%). Outcomes for all groups were similar; BCCs of the vermilion lip had significantly greater mean MMS stages (P < 0.001) as did SCCs (P = 0.05). CONCLUSION Basal cell carcinoma is more commonly encountered on the cutaneous lip, whereas SCC is more common on the vermilion lip. Within the vermilion lip, BCC favours the upper lip, while SCC favours the lower lip. Within the cutaneous perioral region, both BCC and SCC favour the upper cutaneous tissue. Early stage lip cancers are curable by Mohs micrographic surgery with rare recurrences.
The SIN property in homeomorphism groups

Abstract Characterizations are given for a group of homeomorphisms of a uniform space, with weakly micro-transitive action, to be SIN. If the phase space is compact and the group is given the compact-open topology, the group is SIN if and only if it is precompact. Under very general conditions, the group is shown to be SIN if and only if it is uniformly equicontinuous with respect to a particular uniformity on the phase space. The SIN property of any Hausdorff topological group is characterized by its actions. A new condition is discovered for the group topology to be admissible.
Ultrasound processing of Chlorella vulgaris and a novel functional classification of power ultrasound test systems

This study evaluated energy transfer and efficiency in power ultrasound systems applied to processing of Chlorella vulgaris. Power transfer to a series of system combinations was characterized via ...
PIM-TGAN: A Processing-in-Memory Accelerator for Ternary Generative Adversarial Networks

Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) has emerged as one of the most promising semi-supervised learning methods where two neural nets train themselves in a competitive environment. In this paper, as far as we know, we are the first to present a statistically trained Ternarized Generative Adversarial Network (TGAN) with fully ternarized weights (i.e. -1,0,+1) to massively reduce the need for computation and storage resources in the conventional GAN structures. In the proposed TGAN, the computationally expensive convolution operations (i.e. Multiplication and Accumulation) in both generator and discriminator’s forward path are converted into hardwarefriendly Addition/Subtraction operations. Accordingly, we propose a Processing-in-Memory accelerator for TGAN called (PIM-TGAN) based on Spin-Orbit Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (SOT-MRAM) computational sub-arrays to efficiently accelerate the training process of GAN within non-volatile memory. In addition, we propose a parallelism technique to further enhance the training efficiency of TGAN. Our device-to-architecture co-simulation results show that, with almost the same inception score to the baseline GAN with floating point number weights on different data-sets, the proposed PIM-TGAN can obtain ~25.6× better energy-efficiency and 22× speedup compared to GPU platform averagely, and, 9.2× better energy-efficiency and 5.4× speedup over the best processing-in-ReRAM accelerators.
Ethyl-methanesulfonate mutagenesis generated diverse isolates of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, the wheat stripe rust pathogen

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is an obligate biotrophic fungal pathogen causing stripe rust, one of the most important diseases of wheat worldwide. Mutation is considered as one of the major mechanisms causing virulence changes in the pathogen population, but experimental evidence is limited. To study the effect of mutation on pathogen variation, we developed 33 mutant isolates by treating urediniospores of Pst race PSTv-18, avirulent to all of the 18 Yr single-gene lines used to differentiate Pst races, with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). These isolates were characterized as 24 races, including 19 new races, through virulence testing on the set of 18 wheat Yr single-gene differential lines; and as 21 multi-locus genotypes with 19 simple sequence repeat and 48 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. Most of the mutant isolates had more than one avirulence gene and more than one marker locus changed compared to the wild type isolate, indicating that EMS is able to cause mutations at multiple genome sites. The results showed that mutation can cause substantial changes in both avirulence and other genomic regions. The different frequencies of virulence among the mutant isolates suggested homozygous or heterozygous avirulence loci in the parental isolate, or relative ease of mutation at some avirulence loci. The results are useful for understanding evolutionary mechanisms of the important fungal pathogen.
Frenkel–Gross’ irregular connection and Heinloth–Ngô–Yun’s are the same

We show that the irregular connection on G_m constructed by Frenkel and Gross (Ann Math 170–173:1469–1512, 2009) and the one constructed by Heinloth et al. (Ann Math 177–181:241–310, 2013) are the same, which confirms Conjecture 2.16 of Heinloth et al. (Ann Math 177–181:241–310, 2013).
Indoor Localization Accuracy of Major Smartphone Location Apps

NIST carried out comprehensive testing in five large buildings to compare the accuracies of Fused Location Provider (FLP) Application Programming Interface (API) for Android phones and Core Location running on iPhones. The testing was done under various mobility modes using the performance metrics provided in the international standard ISO/IEC 18305. This paper presents the results of these evaluations for horizontal, vertical, and 3D errors. Even though in some cases and respects Core Location is better than FLP, it can be said that overall FLP has better accuracy than Core Location, at least in the buildings we used for testing. While Core Location consistently provides location estimates at a fast rate, FLP provides location estimates at a slower rate and sometimes it does not provide elevation information. The paper also compares the accuracy of FLP with that of the best Android app that won the PerfLoc Prize Competition organized by NIST for development of Android indoor localization apps.
Gauge Theories of Quark Confinement in 2+1 Dim: A Comparative Study of SU(2) Yang-Mills and Yang-Mills-Higgs Systems

We summarize some recent work on the confinement problem in 2+1 dim. We first review the Debye-Huckel screening mechanism of confinement in the Yang-Mills-Higgs system due to Polyakov. The effective field theory is a very weakly coupled sine-Gordon theory with a very small mass gap. A vacuum of adjoint monopoles does indeed lead to a correct screening theory in the sense that only SU(2) representations with non-trivial Z2 charge are confined, unlike compact QED3 where all representations are confined. Using the Polyakov model and D’Hoker’s Monte-Carlo results as a guide we construct the vacuum of the pure SU (2) gauge theory in terms of adjoint monopoles. The effective field theory is a strongly coupled sine-Gordon theory which is consistent with a mass gap M ≈ 2g and predicts the exact relation \(\sigma = \frac{1}{8}{{g}^{2}}M\). The values M ≈ 2g2 and \(\sigma \approx \frac{1}{4}{{g}^{4}}\) are consistent with the Monte-Carlo numbers. The mechanism of quark confinement in the pure gauge theory is the one proposed by Wilson and Kogut and Susskind.
Notes on the Struggle for “Real Fraternity”: The American Youth Congress, 1934–1941

In July 1950, two federal government informers gave testimony about the American Youth Congress (AYC) at a session of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). Martha Edminston and her ...
Why a focus session on fetal ventriculomegaly and congenital hydrocephalus

Introduction to the Special Focus Session on Fetal ventriculomegaly and Congenital Hydrocephalus.