cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Beginning of the Age of Mammals in South America, Part III

The great cliff (Gran Barranca) south of Lago ColhueHuapi in southern Chubut, Argentina exposes nearly 25million years of sediments, from about 40 mya to18 mya. Gaps exist in this record, of course, and someintervals are more fossiliferous than others, but GranBarranca has been—and continues to be—one of themost important fossil localities in South America. It alsowas formative in the career of one of paleontology’sgreat thinkers: George Gaylord Simpson. Simpson madetwo expeditions to collect fossils at Gran Barranca andother Patagonian localities, and he later published twomassive and enduring works on mammals from GranBarranca and other Paleogene localities: The beginningof the age of mammals in South America, Parts I and II(Simpson 1948, 1967). The Paleontology of GranBarranca, edited by Richard Madden and a team ofcollaborators, follows in the tradition of Simpson in itsgoal of synthesizing knowledge of this important localityand what it indicates about the development of mammalfaunas in South America.This book is an edited volume of 29 chapters intendedfor an academic audience. Forty-five experts contributed asauthors or co-authors. The production quality of the volumeis excellent overall, and references are included at the endof each chapter rather than as a single section at the end ofthe book. There is a comprehensive taxonomic index,which I found to be very handy.The opening chapter introduces the reader to GranBarranca and the history of its discovery and exploration.It is a thoroughly researched historical narrative and one ofthe most enjoyable chapters in the book. It also offers novelinsights into who might have discovered this importantlocality.Part I, Geology, includes three chapters that addressthe physical stratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and geo-chronology of Gran Barranca. They together provide adetailed description of the geological and chronologicalcontexts of Gran Barranca. Seven faunal levels areidentified. Most of these faunal levels correspond topreviously recognized South American Land Mammal“Ages,” but two new intervals are noted: one betweenlevels pertaining to the Tinguirirican and DeseadanSALMAs and the other at the top of the sequence,above levels referable to the Colhuehuapian SALMA.The recognition of a post-Tinguirirican, pre-Deseadaninterval is intriguing and suggests that not all faunaspreviously considered to be Deseadan in age may in factpertain to the late Oligocene. The new absolute ageestimates provided for this and other intervals at GranBarranca provide extremely useful new data that willfacilitate both inter- and intracontinental correlations.Part II, Systematic Paleontology, includes a dozenchapters of varying scope, mostly focusing on mammals.Some chapters review and revise a restricted taxonomicgroup over the entire span of the Gran Barranca sequence.Others discuss a broader taxonomic group over a morerestricted temporal interval. A few are quite circumscribedand center on a single species or group from one faunalinterval. Many new genera and species are described, and
Gender differences in associations between cancer-related problems and relationship dissolution among cancer survivors

Research suggests that a cancer diagnosis predicts marital dissolution more strongly for women survivors than men, but there is a paucity of research on potential processes underlying this vulnerability. The present cross-sectional study examined whether specific cancer-related problems were associated with the odds of relationship breakup following diagnosis and whether these relationships differed between male and female cancer survivors. A national cross-sectional quality of life study assessed self-reported cancer-related problems and relationship change among survivors who were either 2, 6, or 10 years post-diagnosis (n = 6099). Bivariate analyses indicated that cancer-related problems (e.g., emotional distress) were greater for divorced/separated survivors compared to those with intact relationships and were greater for women versus men. Logistic regressions indicated that for both male and female survivors, lower income, younger age, and longer time since diagnosis were associated with greater odds of divorce or separation after diagnosis (ORs > 2.14, p < .01). For women only, greater emotional distress (OR = 1.14, p < 0.01) and employment and financial problems (OR = 1.23, p < 0.0001) were associated with greater odds of post-diagnosis divorce or separation. For men only, fear of cancer recurrence was associated with greater odds of divorce or separation (OR = 1.32, p < 0.001). Female and male survivors differed in the extent to which emotional or financial/employment problems attributed to the cancer diagnosis were associated with the likelihood of reporting relationship dissolution. Although directions of causality could not be ascertained, results suggest the possibility that helping male and female cancer survivors cope with specific cancer-related problems may benefit the quality and stability of their relationships with significant others following diagnosis.
Local stability of strict equilibria under evolutionary game dynamics

We consider the stability of strict equilibrium under deterministic evolutionary game dynamics. We show that if the correlation between strategies' growth rates and payoffs is positive and bounded away from zero in a neighborhood of a strict equilibrium, then this equilibrium is locally stable.
Investigation and control efficacy of mosquitoes and flies in Sehwan Pakistan

Objective To know density and control efficacy of flies and mosquitoes in Sehwan Pakistan.Methods Flies were investigated with eyeball method and taking count of flies knocked down on camp beds and wooden.Results Fly density was the highest in refectory(210 pieces/m2) and the lowest in Islamism room(5.7 pieces/m2) of military camp and circumambience in Pakistan.Sanitation condition were bad in civillan area.Fly density was higher in tabernacles and was 300-500 pieces/m2 in drought lavatories.The fly density declined by 90% after insecticide application.297 flies were collected on 4 camp beds and 1 wooden from bosket where China military medical succor team rested.Conclusion The density of mosquitoes and flies on camp of China military medical succor team and civillan area is preliminary understood.The control efficacy proves to be reliable.
Experimental progress in linear optics quantum computing

Probabilistic quantum logic operations can be performed using linear optical elements and post-selection based on the results of measurements on ancilla photons. We review the results of a number of recent experiments in this area, including the demonstration of several quantum logic gates, the use of feed-forward control, a new source of single photons, and a quantum memory device for single photons. A high-fidelity approach in which the logic gates always produce an output will also be discussed.
WE-DE-202-01: Connecting Nanoscale Physics to Initial DNA Damage Through Track Structure Simulations

Radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer has been established as a highly precise and effective way to eradicate a localized region of diseased tissue. To achieve further significant gains in the therapeutic ratio, we need to move towards biologically optimized treatment planning. To achieve this goal, we need to understand how the radiation-type dependent patterns of induced energy depositions within the cell (physics) connect via molecular, cellular and tissue reactions to treatment outcome such as tumor control and undesirable effects on normal tissue. Several computational biology approaches have been developed connecting physics to biology. Monte Carlo simulations are the most accurate method to calculate physical dose distributions at the nanometer scale, however simulations at the DNA scale are slow and repair processes are generally not simulated. Alternative models that rely on the random formation of individual DNA lesions within one or two turns of the DNA have been shown to reproduce the clusters of DNA lesions, including single strand breaks (SSBs), double strand breaks (DSBs) without the need for detailed track structure simulations. Efficient computational simulations of initial DNA damage induction facilitate computational modeling of DNA repair and other molecular and cellular processes. Mechanistic, multiscale models provide a useful conceptual framework to test biological hypotheses and help connect fundamental information about track structure and dosimetry at the sub-cellular level to dose-response effects on larger scales. In this symposium we will learn about the current state of the art of computational approaches estimating radiation damage at the cellular and sub-cellular scale. How can understanding the physics interactions at the DNA level be used to predict biological outcome? We will discuss if and how such calculations are relevant to advance our understanding of radiation damage and its repair, or, if the underlying biological processes are too complex for a mechanistic approach. Can computer simulations be used to guide future biological research? We will debate the feasibility of explaining biology from a physicists’ perspective. Learning Objectives: 1.Understand the potential applications and limitations of computational methods for dose-response modeling at the molecular, cellular and tissue levels 2.Learn about mechanism of action underlying the induction, repair and biological processing of damage to DNA and other constituents 3.Understand how effects and processes at one biological scale impact on biological processes and outcomes on other scales J. Schuemann, NCI/NIH grantsS. McMahon, Funding: European Commission FP7 (grant EC FP7 MC-IOF-623630)
How safe is Bubble Soccer

Traumatic neurologic injury in contact sports is a rare but serious consequence for its players. These injuries are most commonly associated with high-impact collisions, for example in football, but are found in a wide variety of sports. In an attempt to minimize these injuries, sports are trying to increase safety by adding protection for participants. Most recently is the seemingly 'safe' sport of Bubble Soccer, which attempts to protect its players with inflatable plastic bubbles. We report a case of a 16-year-old male sustaining a cervical spine burst fracture with incomplete spinal cord injury while playing Bubble Soccer. To our knowledge, this is the first serious neurological injury reported in the sport.
Implementing a School-Wide Conflict Management Program: Staff Development Is the Key.

This paper presents a staff-development model to implement a school-wide conflict management plan. Results of an ongoing conflict management plan following its third year from an urban middle schoo...
Abstract B48: Pancreatic cancer cells exhibit heterogeneous glucose and glutamine metabolic dependencies

Pancreatic cancer cells demonstrate altered metabolism that is consistent with amplified aerobic glycolysis, fueled by increased glucose uptake. Concurrently, additional studies have established an enhanced dependence on glutamine to power anabolic processes. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the altered metabolic requirements of cancer cells with the goal of targeting differential nutrient dependencies for therapeutic gain. We screened a panel of twelve well established and widely studied KRAS mutant pancreatic tumor-derived cell lines, as well as seven low passage KRAS mutant pancreatic patient-derived xenograft (PDX)-established tumor cell lines for the ability to proliferate in growth media deficient in glucose and/or glutamine. While 11 of 12 established cell lines were unable to proliferate in these nutrient-depleted conditions, we identified one (Capan-2) that was capable of proliferation in the complete absence of glucose. By comparison, of the seven PDX-derived cell lines screened, four demonstrated complete glucose or glutamine dependency, whereas one was capable of proliferation in the absence of glutamine and two proliferated in the absence of glucose. Our ongoing studies are focused on elucidating the mechanistic basis for glucose or glutamine independent growth. Defining these mechanisms may identify pharmacologic approaches that target metabolic pathways for the treatment of KRAS mutant pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Kirsten L. Bryant, Anirban Maitra, Channing J. Der. Pancreatic cancer cells exhibit heterogeneous glucose and glutamine metabolic dependencies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Innovations in Research and Treatment; May 18-21, 2014; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(13 Suppl):Abstract nr B48.
Magnetic anomalies in the Imbrium and Schrödinger impact basins: Orbital evidence for persistence of the lunar core dynamo into the Imbrian epoch

Approximate maps of the lunar crustal magnetic field at low altitudes in the vicinities of the three Imbrian-aged impact basins, Orientale, Schrodinger, and Imbrium, have been constructed using Lunar Prospector and Kaguya orbital magnetometer data. Detectable anomalies are confirmed to be present well within the rims of Imbrium and Schrodinger. Anomalies in Schrodinger are asymmetrically distributed about the basin center, while a single isolated anomaly is most clearly detected within Imbrium northwest of Timocharis crater. The subsurface within these basins was heated to high temperatures at the time of impact and required long time periods (up to 1 Myr) to cool below the Curie temperature for metallic iron remanence carriers (1043 K). Therefore, consistent with laboratory analyses of returned samples, a steady, long-lived magnetizing field, i.e., a former core dynamo, is inferred to have existed when these basins formed. The asymmetrical distribution within Schrodinger suggests partial demagnetization by later volcanic activity when the dynamo field was much weaker or nonexistent. However, it remains true that anomalies within Imbrian-aged basins are much weaker than those within most Nectarian-aged basins. The virtual absence of anomalies within Orientale where impact melt rocks (the Maunder Formation) are exposed at the surface is difficult to explain unless the dynamo field was much weaker during the Imbrian period.
The Ontology of Species: Commentary on Kasperbauer’s ‘Should We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon? The Ethics of De-Extinction’

AbstractBeneath important ethical questions about the impacts of de-extinct species on ecosystems and the potential harms to individual organisms lies a more fundamental assumption; namely, that the thing being "de-extinct-ed" is indeed a member of previously existing species. This is the ontological assumption: that genetic make-up of the individual is both a necessary and sufficient condition for species membership. Questioning this ontological assumption poses an even more critical challenge for de-extinction. Genes a member of a species do not make. They represent a mere necessary condition. Sufficiency entails a broad set of ecological connections, inside and out. In this commentary on Kasperbauer’s target article, I argue for the primacy of ontology in the ethical analysis of de-extinction.
Clinical intestinal transplantation in 1998: Pittsburgh experience.

The massive lymphoid content, and the heavy bacterial load of the gut provided formidable barriers to intestinal transplantation in humans until the clinical introduction of tacrolimus in 1989. After successful preclinical studies, large scale trials were successfully undertaken at our Institution in 1990. To improve outcome and cost effectiveness of the procedure, we conducted an outcome analyses trying to identify correctable risk factors. Several factors have been recently identified that significantly influenced patient and graft survival (1–2). Of these, four were major immunologic risk factors; the number of episodes of intestinal allograft rejections, high blood tacrolimus trough levels, high dose steroid requirements, and the need for adjunct OKT3 therapy. The remaining significant risk factors were number of previous abdominal surgeries, operative and cold ischemia times, cytomegaloviral (CMV), and posttransplant lymphoproliferative diseases. In order to lower the immunosuppressive requirements and improve survival outcome, we declared a one year moratorium in 1994 (figure 1), pending the results of extensive clarifying investigations by Murase and associates in rats (3). When the program reopened, two major changes in management strategy were instituted. One was an attempt to avoid, when possible, the transplantation of organs from CMV-positive donors to CMV-negative recipients. The second change was to give perioperative adjunct donor bone marrow when this was available, in order to take advantage of the more tolerogenic profile of bone marrow cells compared to that of the intestinal passenger leukocytes (3–6). Other adopted strategies were careful patient selection, exclusion of the colon from the intestinal allograft, and monitoring of EBV infection by serial quantitative EBV-PCR measurements.
Internal venous anomalies in patients with a genital venous malformation.

Background Cutaneous venous malformation (VM) can be associated with internal vascular anomalies. Our objective was to investigate the frequency of internal vascular anomalies in patients with an isolated genital venous malformation to assess the utility of screening for internal findings. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our Vascular Anomalies Center database for patients with a focal genital venous malformation presenting between 1999 and 2016. Abdominal and pelvic imaging reports were reviewed for internal vascular anomalies. Endoscopy reports were also reviewed when available. Results A focal genital venous malformation was found in 22 patients (14 female, 8 male). Ten (45%) had a venous malformation of at least one internal structure, most commonly the pelvic floor (n = 6), colon (n = 5), urethra (n = 4), and/or bladder (n = 3). Eight experienced hematuria, hematochezia, and/or rectorrhagia secondary to their internal venous malformation. In patients with internal venous malformations, the mean age of symptom presentation was 7.3 years (range 1-22 years). Two patients had malformed inferior mesenteric and portal veins visible using ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. They required surgical intervention to prevent thrombosis and decrease urogenital and gastrointestinal bleeding. Conclusion Nearly half of our patients with a focal genital venous malformation had internal venous anomalies. Physicians should suspect urogenital or gastrointestinal venous malformations in patients with a focal genital venous malformation, especially if they develop hematuria, hematochezia, or rectorrhagia. Significant mesenteric venous trunk anomalies can also occur. Because these require surgical intervention, early recognition is important. We recommend that all patients with a focal genital venous malformation undergo abdominal and pelvic ultrasound to evaluate for internal venous anomalies.
A resynchronization of ovulation program based on ovarian structures present at nonpregnancy diagnosis reduced time to pregnancy in lactating dairy cows

Our objective was to evaluate time to pregnancy after the first service postpartum and pregnancy per artificial insemination (P/AI) in dairy cows managed with 2 resynchronization of ovulation programs. After first service, lactating Holstein cows were blocked by parity (primiparous vs. multiparous) and randomly assigned to the d 32 Resynch (R32; n = 1,010) or short Resynch (SR; n = 1,000) treatments. Nonpregnancy diagnosis (NPD) was conducted 32 ± 3 d after AI by transrectal ultrasonography. Nonpregnant cows in R32 received the Ovsynch protocol: GnRH, PGF2α 7 d later, GnRH 56 h later, and timed AI (TAI) 16 to 18 h later. Cows in SR with a corpus luteum (CL) ≥15 mm and a follicle ≥10 mm at NPD received PGF2α, PGF2α 24 h later, GnRH 32 h later, and TAI 16 to 18 h later. Cows in SR without a CL ≥15 mm or a follicle ≥10 mm at NPD received a modified Ovsynch protocol with 2 PGF2α treatments and progesterone (P4) supplementation (GnRH plus CIDR, PGF2α and CIDR removal 7 d later, PGF2α 24 h later, GnRH 32 h later, and TAI 16 to 18 h later). Blood samples were collected from a subgroup of cows at the GnRH before TAI (R32 = 114; SR = 121) to measure P4 concentration. Binomial outcomes were analyzed with logistic regression and hazard of pregnancy (R32 = 485; SR = 462) with Cox's proportional regression in SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). For P/AI analysis, the TAI service was the experimental unit (R32 = 720; SR = 819). Models included treatment and parity as fixed effects and farm as random effect. The hazard of pregnancy was greater for the SR treatment (hazard ratio = 1.18; 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.37). Median time to pregnancy was 95 and 79 d for the R32 and SR treatments, respectively. At NPD, 71.3 and 71.2% of cows had a CL for the R32 and SR treatments, respectively. Treatment did not affect overall P/AI 32 ± 3 d after AI (R32 = 31.0% vs. SR = 33.9%) or for cows with a CL at NPD (R32 = 32.7% vs. SR = 32.8%). For cows with no CL at NPD, P/AI was greater for the SR treatment (36.9%) than for the R32 treatment (28.6%). Pregnancy loss from 32 to 63 d after AI was similar for all services combined (R32 = 8.3% vs. SR = 10.4%) and for cows with no CL at NPD (R32 = 13.2% vs. SR = 7.2%) but tended to be affected by treatment for cows with a CL at NPD (R32 = 6.8% vs. SR = 11.9%). Treatment affected the proportion of cows with P4 ≤0.5 ng/mL at the GnRH before TAI for all cows (R32 = 68.4% vs. SR = 81.8%), tended to have an effect among cows with a CL (R32 = 70.0% vs. SR = 81.8%), and had no effect for cows with no CL (R32 = 64.7% vs. SR = 81.8%). We concluded that the SR program reduced time to pregnancy because of a reduction of the interbreeding interval for cows with a CL at NPD and greater P/AI in cows with no CL at NPD.
Loss of TGF-β signaling in osteoblasts increases basic-FGF and promotes prostate cancer bone metastasis.

TGF-β plays a central role in prostate cancer (PCa) bone metastasis, and it is crucial to understand the bone cell-specific role of TGF-β signaling in this process. Thus, we used knockout (KO) mouse models having deletion of the Tgfbr2 gene specifically in osteoblasts (Tgfbr2Col1CreERT KO) or in osteoclasts (Tgfbr2LysMCre KO). We found that PCa-induced bone lesion development was promoted in the Tgfbr2Col1CreERT KO mice, but was inhibited in the Tgfbr2LysMCre KO mice, relative to their respective control Tgfbr2FloxE2 littermates. Since metastatic PCa cells attach to osteoblasts when colonized in the bone microenvironment, we focused on the mechanistic studies using the Tgfbr2Col1CreERT KO mouse model. We found that bFGF was upregulated in osteoblasts from PC3-injected tibiae of Tgfbr2Col1CreERT KO mice and correlated with increased tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis, amounts of cancer-associated fibroblasts and osteoclasts. In vitro studies showed that osteoblastogenesis was inhibited, osteoclastogenesis was stimulated, but PC3 viability was not affected, by bFGF treatments. Lastly, the increased PC3-induced bone lesions in Tgfbr2Col1CreERT KO mice were significantly attenuated by blocking bFGF using neutralizing antibody, suggesting bFGF is a promising target inhibiting bone metastasis.
ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC STRAIN PATTERN AND LONG-TERM MORTALITY AFTER TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT

Electrocardiographic (ECG) strain pattern has been linked to myocardial fibrosis, and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension. We aim to determine the differential impact of strain on baseline ECG on long-term mortality after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR
Super Girl: Gender Empowerment as HIV Prevention in Côte d'Ivoire

The "Super Girl [Super Go]" campaign was first implemented in Cote d'Ivoire in 2009 with funding from the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and USAID. The campaign urges PEPFAR's preferred solution to the prevention of HIV: the ABCs, or abstinence, being faithful, and condom usage. In 2004, George W. Bush's proposed PEPFAR legislation was signed into law, with a goal that 20% of total funding be allocated for prevention in targeted countries including Cote d'Ivoire. In 2006, the legislation specified one-third of all prevention funding be spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs. Between 2004 to 2013, PEPFAR directed $1.4 billion of funding in sub-Saharan Africa on programming promoting abstinence until marriage. Even after 2008, when stipulations requiring focus on AB rather than C of the ABCs were loosened, PEPFAR continued to channel millions to abstinence campaigns. My paper will center on "Super Girl" TV spots and a photo novella that advise girls and young women to instigate necessary changes in their sexual behavior and to forge companionate heterosexual relationships in the name of a future, a "Life" that is "built together." This future is figured as monogamous, modern, and "empowered," the alternative as shameful and risky threat to individual and communal security and health. Existing scholarship has critiqued HIV prevention approaches focusing on individual self-discipline. Here, I shift to analyze how the "Super Girl" campaign dovetails with ongoing political and economic crises in Cote d'Ivoire. During a period of intense contentions over voting rights and presidential candidacy in the country, the "Super Girl" media reinforces exclusionary conceptions of reproductive legitimacy as central to life, health, future, and belonging.
Inhibition of flowering in long-day plants.

Literature reports on inhibition of flower formation in LDP’s by noninductive photo-periodic conditions are less numerous than analogous reports for SDP’s which have been reviewed by Dr. Jacobs (see preceding article in this volume), but the evidence is derived from the same three types of experiments: subjecting plants to alternations of inductive and noninductive photoperiodic conditions; subjecting different parts of a plant — usually different leaves, but in some cases different parts of the same leaf — simultaneously to inductive and noninductive conditions; and defoliation experiments.
Blocking the Plant Activation of Promutagenic Aromatic Amines by Peroxidase Inhibitors

Interest in the effects of toxic plant metabolites of environmental xenobiotics has grown since the demonstration of the plant activation of promutagens (20,30). Plant activation is the process by which a promutagen is activated into a mutagen by a plant system (18). A promutagen is a chemical that is not mutagenic in itself but can be biologically transformed into a mutagen. The capability of plants to bioconcentrate environmental agents and activate promutagens into toxic metabolites is significant when one realizes the immense diversity of xenobiotics to which plants are intentionally and unintentionally exposed.
Siberian Neolithic and Bronze Age

relative time period: Follows the Siberian Upper Paleolithic traditions and precedes the Siberian Protohistoric tradition
Women and ‘New Wars’ in El Salvador

The most violent countries in the world are increasingly countries considered ‘at peace’. From Honduras to Mexico to South Africa, armed violence, often by gangs, has led to high levels of casualties. Disruption of daily life due to armed violence is similar to the challenges experienced during wartime, though often without the markers or recognition associated with war. With gang violence primarily viewed as a domestic criminal issue, external support for conflict mitigation and humanitarian assistance is often low. Yet the disruptive impact of such high rates of violence is significant, and the humanitarian impact is severe. New theoretical frameworks are needed to better problematize extreme armed violence in ‘peacetime’ states. This article seeks to bring an understanding of the severity of armed violence in states such as El Salvador into engagement with the critical and theoretical foundations of the women, peace and security (WPS) field. Gendered dynamics shape gang violence in El Salvador, and a gender lens helps reimagine its impact. Aligning critical theory with the lived experience of this subset of armed conflict allows new directions for engagement and, in particular, offers the opportunity to re-examine long-standing assumptions of what initiates, maintains, and challenges armed violence by non-state actors in communities considered ‘at peace.’ This article seeks to encourage greater debate and scholarship to inform our understandings of armed conflict and gender in communities affected by gang violence, such as those in El Salvador. In these communities, the level of violence often replicates the experiences of war, and thus a WPS lens is a critical tool for analysis.
Evaluation of Spin in the Abstracts of Emergency Medicine Randomized Controlled Trials.

Study objective We aim to investigate spin in emergency medicine abstracts, using a sample of randomized controlled trials from high-impact-factor journals with statistically nonsignificant primary endpoints. Methods This study investigated spin in abstracts of emergency medicine randomized controlled trials from emergency medicine literature, with studies from 2013 to 2017 from the top 5 emergency medicine journals and general medical journals. Investigators screened records for inclusion and extracted data for spin. We considered evidence of spin if trial authors focused on statistically significant results, interpreted statistically nonsignificant results as equivalent or noninferior, used favorable rhetoric in the interpretation of nonsignificant results, or claimed benefit of an intervention despite statistically nonsignificant results. Results Of 772 abstracts screened, 114 randomized controlled trials reported statistically nonsignificant primary endpoints. Spin was found in 50 of 114 abstracts (44.3%). Industry-funded trials were more likely to have evidence of spin in the abstract (unadjusted odds ratio 3.4; 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 11.9). In the abstracts' results, evidence of spin was most often due to authors' emphasizing a statistically significant subgroup analysis (n=9). In the abstracts' conclusions, spin was most often due to authors' claiming they accomplished an objective that was not a prespecified endpoint (n=14). Conclusion Spin was prevalent in the selected randomized controlled trial, emergency medicine abstracts. Authors most commonly incorporated spin into their reports by focusing on statistically significant results for secondary outcomes or subgroup analyses when the primary outcome was statistically nonsignificant. Spin was more common in studies that had some component of industry funding.
Stopping Rules for Computer Adaptive Testing When Item Banks Have Nonuniform Information

The standard error (SE) stopping rule, which terminates a computer adaptive test (CAT) when the SE is less than a threshold, is effective when there are informative questions for all trait levels. However, in domains such as patient reported outcomes, the items in a bank might all target one end of the trait continuum (e.g., negative symptoms), and the bank may lack depth for many individuals. In such cases, the predicted standard error reduction (PSER) stopping rule will stop the CAT even if the SE threshold has not been reached, and can avoid administering excessive questions that provide little additional information. By tuning the parameters of the PSER algorithm, a practitioner can specify a desired tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency. Using simulated data for the PROMIS Anxiety and Physical Function banks, we demonstrate that these parameters can substantially impact CAT performance. When the parameters were optimally tuned, the PSER stopping rule was found to outperform the SE stopping rule overall and particularly for individuals not targeted by the bank, and presented roughly the same number of items across the trait continuum. Therefore, the PSER stopping rule provides an effective method for balancing the precision and efficiency of a CAT.
Robotic Small Bowel Resection

This chapter presents our approach to robotic small bowel resection. In this chapter and accompanying video, we performed robotic small bowel resection for a bleeding small intestinal cancer. Perioperative planning, robotic setup with instruments, and a step-by-step approach are provided in this chapter. Two methods of robotic suturing are demonstrated using the V-Loc suture or suturing with Lapra-Ty absorbable clips.
Virtual Proving Ground Simulation for Highway Safety Research and Vehicle Design

Fundamentally new ground vehicle virtual proving ground (VPG) capabilities, made possible by the National Advanced Driving Simulator, whose development has recently been completed by the US Department of Transportation and The University of Iowa, are presented. Highway safety research and vehicle and equipment design applications using revolutionary new virtual proving grounds are reviewed and capabilities of the simulator are summarized. Technological developments enabling these new capabilities are presented, including high fidelity real-time dynamic simulation techniques, computer image generation enhancements, precision motion control capabilities, and virtual environment modeling tools.
Workshop on reproducibility in research

In recent years, concern about research reproducibility has increased dramatically for scientists, funders of research, and the general public. With a view to explicitly address what is often called a reproducibility crisis and putting the focus on research being done by individual trainees, a two-hour workshop was developed and introduced into six courses at UC San Diego. Participation in the workshop resulted in a statistically significant increase in the number of different types of strategies identified by the trainees for fostering reproducibility. The findings are consistent with having increased awareness of strategies to promote reproducibility.
Frailty Assessment as Measurement of Physiologic Reserves in the Elderly

Advanced age is associated with higher risk of developing disease processes, as well as pathologic and natural age-related organ dysfunction, which in turn lead to a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. The physiologic decline due to aging is further associated with an increased risk for adverse postoperative outcomes. Understanding the distinction between chronologic age and frailty is predicated on the understanding that not all elderly persons are frail and that frailty itself is a distinct compilation of disease process worthy of measurement and study.
Nearly Optimal Regret for Learning Adversarial MDPs with Linear Function Approximation.

We study the reinforcement learning for finite-horizon episodic Markov decision processes with adversarial reward and full information feedback, where the unknown transition probability function is a linear function of a given feature mapping. We propose an optimistic policy optimization algorithm with Bernstein bonus and show that it can achieve $\tilde{O}(dH\sqrt{T})$ regret, where $H$ is the length of the episode, $T$ is the number of interaction with the MDP and $d$ is the dimension of the feature mapping. Furthermore, we also prove a matching lower bound of $\tilde{\Omega}(dH\sqrt{T})$ up to logarithmic factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first computationally efficient, nearly minimax optimal algorithm for adversarial Markov decision processes with linear function approximation.
TEKNIK ILUSTRASI KOMIK ENDAR NOVIANTO DALAM CERITA “RAHASIA NEGERI BAWAH LAUT”

Komik adalah suatu bentuk karya seni yang menggunakan gambar-gambar tidak bergerak yang disusn dalam panel-panel sehingga membentuk jalinan cerita. Endar Novianto adalah seorang komikus dari Kulonprogo yang memiliki gaya iustrasi yang unik dan berbeda dengan komikus-komikus lainnya. Rahasia Negeri Bawah Laut adalah judul komik yang telah berhasil ia terbitkan, cerita dan ilustrasi-ilustrasi di dalamnya mengandung banyak pesan yang mendidik untuk pembaca dan penuh pertualangan. Sehingga penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan (1)Teknik Ilustrasi Komik Endar Novianto dalam Cerita Rahasia Negeri Bawah Laut (2) Gaya komik yang digunakan Endar Novianto dalam membuat ilustrasi Komik Rahasia Negeri BawahLaut. Penelitian ini termasuk jenis penelitian yang menggunakan pendekatan deskriftif kualitatif . Teknik pengumpulan datanya adalah studi kepustakaan, observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi. Instrumen penelitian meliputi lembar penelitian, daftar pertanyaan, dan alat dokumentasi. Teknik analisis datanya adalah dengan menghimpun data, mereduksi data, mengklasifikasi data, menarik kesimpulan, dan menyusun laporan. Kesimpulan hasil penelitian ini adalah (1) Teknik ilustrasi komik Endar Novianto dalam cerita Rahasia Negeri Bawah Laut, yang unik dan selalu mengangkat tema kebudayaan lokal dalam setiap cerita komiknya, dan tidak terikat pada teknik-teknik ilustrasi yang memiliki banyak aturan dalam pembuatan komiknya. Teknik gambar yang sangat spontan dan mengutamakan kecepatan dalam menggambar setiap ilustrasi komik, adalah keunggulan dan kebanggaan Endar Novianto. (2) Gaya ilustrasi Endar Novianto dalam komik Rahasia Negeri Bawah Laut, berasal dari perpaduan gaya ilustrasi Jan Mintaraga yang realistik dan gaya ilustrasi Tetsuya Chiba yang ekspresif, sehingga muncul gaya ilustrasi realis ekspresionistik yang digunakan Endar Novianto dalam menggambar ilustrasi komiknya. Kata Kunci : Teknik, Ilustrasi Komik Endar Novianto Dalam Cerita “Rahasia Negeri Bawah Laut”.
International Business Complexity and the Internationalization of Languages

While the impacts of culture on international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) have been much discussed, the influence of languages has been underappreciated in international business. We address this paucity by integrating literature from international economics, international business, Chinese business history, and linguistics to examine the transaction costs of languages. While we recognize that languages represent both a tool in international economic transactions and a vehicle to transmit cultural values, our results point out that this tool is employed differently in international trade and in FDI. Communication costs for both FDI and international trade show a hierarchy, with English the most inexpensive among major trade languages; however, we find that communication costs are much more important in FDI than in international trade. Herein, we offer practical suggestions corporations may implement regarding the matter.
Scales, Enamel, Cosmine, Ganoine, and Early Osteichthyans

Abstract Ganoine is a different enamel from “true” enamel. The crystallites end in the middle of the projection of epidermal cell onto the ganoine surface. In contrast, “true” enamel shows the borders of the hexagonal epidermal cells. Cosmine is a combination of tissues (“true” enamel and dentine) and a structure (the pore–canal system). The pore–canal system opens in regular arranged pores on the scale surface and has a network of horizontal canals (mesh canals). Cosmine is limited to sarcopterygians possibly above actinistians and onychodonts, ganoine to actinopterygians. – Actinopterygian scales possess a narrow peg, an anterodorsal extended corner and ganoine either as overlapping or as multilayered enamel, whereas sarcopterygian scales have a broad based peg, no extended anterodorsal corner with two exceptions, but sometimes an anteroventral extension and cosmine. – The genera Andreolepis, Dialipina, Naxilepis, Terenolepis, Ligulalepis and Orvikuina are actinopterygians based on their scale characters. Additionally, Guiyu, Meemannia, Achoania and Psarolepis possess actinopterygian features. According to its scale characters Lophosteus is a stem osteichthyan.
Regularity properties of set-valued solution mappings

In the concept of a solution mapping for a problem dependent on parameters, whether formulated with equations or something broader like variational inequalities, we have always had to face the possibility that solutions might not exist, or might not be unique when they do exist. This goes all the way back to the setting of the classical implicit function theorem. In letting S(p) denote the set of all x satisfying f(p, x) = 0, where f is a given function from \({\mathbb{R}}^{d} \times {\mathbb{R}}^{n}\) to \({\mathbb{R}}^{m}\), we cannot expect to be defining a function S from \({\mathbb{R}}^{d}\) to \({\mathbb{R}}^{n}\), even when m = n. In general, we only get a set-valued mapping S. However, this mapping S could have a single-valued localization s with properties of continuity or differentiability. The study of such localizations, as “subfunctions” within a set-valued mapping, has been our focus so far, but now we open up to a wider view.
The costs and benefits of pair programming

Pair or collaborative programming is where two programmers develop software side by side at one computer. Using interviews and controlled experiments, the authors investigated the costs and benefits of pair programming. They found that for a development-time cost of about 15%, pair programming improves design quality, reduces defects, reduces staffing risk, enhances technical skills, improves team communications and is considered more enjoyable at statistically significant levels.
Establishing Baseline Electrical Energy Consumption in Wood Processing Sawmills for Lean Energy Initiatives: A Model Based on Energy Analysis and Diagnostics

ABSTRACT This research focuses on the benchmarking of electrical energy use at sawmills. Lean energy (a programmatic concept similar to lean manufacturing) is facilitated by this research, which furthers the understanding of energy intensity at sawmills, leading to reductions in operating costs and increases in profitability. A user-friendly interactive model, Baseline Electrical Energy Consumption in Wood Processing Sawmills (BEECWPS), was developed to enable the user to create an energy profile based on sawmill process dynamics and to provide information about product, process, and system parameters. These parameters were gathered by visiting six sawmill facilities in West Virginia. A detailed methodology was developed to collect the field data and determine an energy intensity. The proposed model has the capability of developing the energy benchmark for a facility under consideration, upon successful submission of required data, and will aid lean energy initiatives within the organization. Manufacturin...
Statistical String Theory for Courts: If the Data Don't Fit

The primary purpose of this article is to provide courts with an important new tool for applying the correct probability distribution to a given legal question. In areas as diverse as criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits alleging securities fraud, courts must assess the relevance and reliability of statistical data and the inferences drawn therefrom. But, courts and ex-pert witnesses often make mistaken assumptions about what probability distributions are appropriate for their analyses. Using the wrong probability distribution can lead to invalid factual conclusions and unjustified legal outcomes. To deal with this problem, we propose the use of a unifying "statistical string theory" - the g-and-h distribution - in legal settings. This parent distribution subsumes many other distributions and spans the widest range of possible skewness-kurtosis combinations. The capacity of the g-and-h distribution to accommodate such a wide variety of data can alleviate judicial fact finders of the difficult task of trying to correctly select among competing distributions. Finally, we report the successful use of this statistical tool in a trial setting for financial data analysis - showing that it can produce more accurate inferences, than those drawn from alternative distributions, and these differences can be judicially decisive.
Magnetostrictively induced flexure in a micromachined plate resonator for magnetic field sensing applications

This paper demonstrates a micromachined magnetoelectric (ME) resonator based magnetometer capable of sensing µOe magnetic fields. The device consists of ∼7.5 µm thick (223 MHz) AT-cut quartz bulk acoustic wave, plate-resonator on which 500 nm thick magnetostrictive Metglas® film is deposited. Application of magnetic fields induces flexural bending in the plate resonator unimorph structure which results in a shift of the resonance frequency. The ultrathin micromachined quartz plate resonator fabricated here showed a sensitivity of ∼800 µ Oe.
Tumor Inhibitory and Non-Tumor Inhibitory l-Asparaginases from Pseudomonas geniculata

Two enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of l-asparagine have been isolated from extracts of Pseudomonas geniculata. After initial salt fractionation, the enzymes were separated by chromatography on diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex and purified to homogeneity by gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, and preparative polyacrylamide electrophoresis. The enzymes differ markedly in physicochemical properties. One enzyme, termed asparaginase A, has a molecular weight of approximately 96,000 whereas the other, termed asparaginase AG, has a molecular weight of approximately 135,000. Both enzymes are tetrameric. The asparaginase A shows activity only with l-asparagine as substrate, whereas the asparaginase AG hydrolyzes l-asparagine and l-glutamine at approximately equal rates and it is also active with d-asparagine and d-glutamine as substrates. The asparaginase A was found to be devoid of antitumor activity in mice, whereas the asparaginase AG was effective in increasing the mean survival times of both C3H mice carrying the asparagine-requiring Gardner 6C3HED tumor line and Swiss mice bearing the glutamine-requiring Ehrlich ascites tumor line. These differences in antitumor activity were related to differences in the K(m) values for l-asparagine for the two enzymes. The asparaginase A has a K(m) value of 1 x 10(-3) M for this substrate whereas the corresponding value for the AG enzyme is 1.5 x 10(-5) M. Thus the concentration of asparagine necessary for maximal activity of the asparaginase A is very high compared with that of the normal plasma level of asparagine, which is approximately 50 muM.
Observations on the ultrastructure and acid phosphatase activity of the cytoplasmic bodies in rat kidney proximal tubule cells. With a comment on their classification.

The ultrastructure and acid phosphatase acitivity of the cytoplasmic bodies in normal proximal tubule cells of the rat kidney was investigated. The cytoplasmic bodies were divided into four different types on the basis of ultrastructural differences between their limiting membranes or boundaries. Cytoplasmic bodies type I (microbodies) were limited by a single triple-layered membrane about 65 A in thickness. Cytoplasmic bodies type II were limited by a single triple-layered membrane about 90 A in thickness. Cytoplasmic bodies type III were not limited by distinct membranes. Cytoplasmic bodies type IV were limited by two triple-layered membranes each 65 A in thickness. Acid phosphatase activity was demonstrable by electron microscopic histochemistry in cytoplasmic bodies type II and type IV which indicates that these bodies are lysosomes.