cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Magnetic resonance imaging for intra-abdominal malignancy.

Accurate imaging of the hepatic and extrahepatic abdomen is an important component of the management of many patients with cancer. Historically, clinicians have relied on computed tomography (CT). The use of intravenous (IV) and oral contrast
Directed Exploration in Reinforcement Learning with Transferred Knowledge

Experimental results suggest that transferred knowledge can reduce the number of exploratory actions needed by reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms to nd acceptable solutions in Markov decision processes compared to learning from scratch. However, most existing transfer learning algorithms for RL are heuristic and transferred knowledge may unexpectedly result in worse performance than learning from scratch (i.e., negative transfer). We introduce a transfer learning algorithm that employs directed exploration, which allows us to motivate our algorithm by analyzing its sample complexity of exploration in the target task. We dene positive and negative transfer from a sample complexity perspective and provide conditions when our algorithm will avoid negative transfer as well as conditions where our algorithm guarantees positive transfer, with high probability. Finally, we demonstrate the advantages of our algorithm experimentally.
Research Training Needs of Scientist‐Practitioners: Implications for Counselor Education

Counselors (N = 911) reported the research skills needed for practice and subsequent research training needs. Findings indicate that counselors have a high need for research skills at work, but training needs differ significantly by counselor type. Recommendations include increasing emphasis on single-case design, survey design, and widely available data analysis tools.
Low thermal conductivity in nanocrystalline Zn3P2

Abstract Semiconductors with low lattice thermal conductivity are important in the search for more efficient thermoelectric materials. The thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline (
That Mysterious “Black Box” Called OPT

Optimized Production Technology (OPT), is a technological breakthrough in computerized planning and scheduling in manufacturing. OPT contends that only certain products in the system need to be accurately monitored. This concept stems from Pareto’s principle, only a few of the products generate most of the profit. OPT identifies the bottleneck products that cost justify the investment in data accuracy.
Effects of Phone and Text Message Reminders on Completion of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Series

Abstract Purpose To assess the effect of phone or text message reminders to parents of adolescents on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series completion in Rochester, NY. Methods We performed parallel randomized controlled trials of phone and text reminders for HPV vaccine for parents of 11- to 17-year olds in three urban primary care clinics. The main outcome measures were time to receipt of the third dose of HPV vaccine and HPV vaccination rates. Results We enrolled 178 phone intervention (180 control) and 191 text intervention (200 control) participants. In multivariate survival analysis controlling for gender, age, practice, insurance, race, and ethnicity, the time from enrollment to receipt of the third HPV dose for those receiving a phone reminder compared with controls was not significant overall (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.30, p = .12) but was for those enrolling at dose 1 (HR = 1.91, p = .007). There was a significant difference in those receiving a text reminder compared with controls (HR = 2.34, p p = .34), and 49% of text intervention versus 30% of text control ( p = .001) adolescents had received 3 HPV vaccine doses. Conclusions In this urban population of parents of adolescents, text message reminders for HPV vaccine completion for those who had already started the series were effective, whereas phone message reminders were only effective for those enrolled at dose 1.
Urinary Incontinence and Retention

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine from the bladder due to lower urinary tract, pelvic, or neurologic abnormalities. It is seen in 15–20% of nonpregnant women and though less well studied in men, reported in up to 30% of men also.
Multi-accent speech recognition with hierarchical grapheme based models

We train grapheme-based acoustic models for speech recognition using a hierarchical recurrent neural network architecture with connectionist temporal classification (CTC) loss. The models learn to align utterances with phonetic transcriptions in a lower layer and graphemic transcriptions in the final layer in a multi-task learning setting. Using the grapheme predictions from a hierarchical model trained on 3 million US English utterances results in 6.7% relative word error rate (WER) increase when compared to using the phoneme-based acoustic model trained on the same data. However, we show that hierarchical grapheme-based models trained on larger acoustic data (12 million utterances) jointly for grapheme and phoneme prediction task outperform phoneme only model by 6.9% relative WER. We train a single multi-dialect model using a combined US, British, Indian and Australian English data set and then adapt the model using US English data only. This adapted multi-accent model outperforms a model exclusively trained on US English. This process is repeated for phoneme-based and grapheme-based acoustic models for all four dialects and larger improvements are obtained with grapheme models. Additionally using a multi-accent grapheme model, we observe large recognition accuracy improvements for Indian-accented utterances in Google VoiceSearch US traffic with a 40% relative WER reduction.
Stoichiometry of GaAs nanodots on GaAs(001)

We present a strain-free, self-assembled GaAs nanodots on GaAs(001) surfaces. Nanodots are studied by atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Nanodots self-assemble on the GaAs surface when two laser pulses overlap on the surface interferentially. Their stoichiometry is characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in the electron microscope. For the stoichiometry study, electrons with voltages less than 5 kilovolts were used to produce the characteristic X-rays from dots in order to enhance the surface sensitivity. The stoichiometric analysis indicates that the nanodots’ relative composition ratio of Ga over As reaches to that of GaAs substrate when the dot size becomes smaller than 100 nm. The chemical analysis suggests a novel route of strain-free semiconductor nanodots.
A profile of state-level differences in the oral health of people with and without disabilities, in the U.S., in 2004.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to provide state-level surveillance data to assess the oral health of people with disabilities. Methods. Data from the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)-a state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population 18 years of age and older-were used to estimate disability prevalence and state-level differences in oral health among people with and those without disabilities. Results. Nationally, people with disabilities were less likely than people without disabilities to visit a dentist or dental clinic in the past year. The percentage of people with disabilities who reported they had visited a dentist in the past year was lowest in Mississippi (48.9%) and highest in Connecticut (74.5%). Among people without disabilities reporting they had visited a dentist or dental clinic in the past year, the percentage was lowest in Mississippi (60.7%) and highest in Minnesota (80.7%). Edentulism was higher among people with disabilities compared with those without disabilities. Among people with disabilities, edentulism was lowest in the District of Columbia (4.1%) and highest in Kentucky (18.7%). Among people without disabilities, edentulism was lowest in California (2.7%) and highest in Kentucky (11.3%). Conclusions. Despite numerous studies and reports documenting the unmet oral health needs of people with disabilities, there has been no systematic national surveillance of oral health among people with disabilities in the United States. This article provides much-needed state-by-state and national epidemiologic data regarding the oral health of people with disabilities.
Mindfulness Meditation for Fibromyalgia: Mechanistic and Clinical Considerations

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread pain and a spectrum of psychological comorbidities, rendering treatment difficult and often a financial burden. Fibromyalgia is a complicated chronic pain condition that requires a multimodal therapeutic approach to optimize treatment efficacy. Thus, it has been postulated that mind-body techniques may prove fruitful in treating fibromyalgia. Mindfulness meditation, a behavioral technique premised on non-reactive sensory awareness, attenuates pain and improves mental health outcomes. However, the impact of mindfulness meditation on fibromyalgia-related outcomes has not been comprehensively characterized. The present review delineates the existing evidence supporting the effectiveness and hypothesized mechanisms of mindfulness meditation in treating fibromyalgia-related outcomes. Mindfulness-based interventions premised on cultivating acceptance, non-attachment, and social engagement may be most effective in decreasing fibromyalgia-related pain and psychological symptoms. Mindfulness-based therapies may alleviate fibromyalgia-related outcomes through multiple neural, psychological, and physiological processes. Mindfulness meditation may provide an effective complementary treatment approach for fibromyalgia patients, especially when combined with other reliable techniques (exercise; cognitive behavioral therapy). However, characterizing the specific analgesic mechanisms supporting mindfulness meditation is a critical step to fostering the clinical validity of this technique. Identification of the specific analgesic mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based pain relief could be utilized to better design behavioral interventions to specifically target fibromyalgia-related outcomes.
Concordance between survey reported childhood asthma and linked Medicaid administrative records.

Objective: Agreement between administrative and survey data has been shown to vary by the condition of interest and there is limited research dedicated to parental report of asthma among children. ...
Text Specificity and Impact on Quality of News Summaries

In our work we use an existing classifier to quantify and analyze the level of specific and general content in news documents and their human and automatic summaries. We discover that while human abstracts contain a more balanced mix of general and specific content, automatic summaries are overwhelmingly specific. We also provide an analysis of summary specificity and the summary quality scores assigned by people. We find that too much specificity could adversely affect the quality of content in the summary. Our findings give strong evidence for the need for a new task in abstractive summarization: identification and generation of general sentences.
Out from Under the Railroad Bridge: Sartre and the Soviets

More than one of the former students of Professor J. M. Bochenski remembers his seminars, in particular those on Sartre with their sessions at the cafe under the SBB bridge which spans the Gotteron Valley. In my case, the object of the seminar was Being and Nothingness of Sartre, and I can remember both hating Sartre and being incensed that we arrived at the end of the semester having read only the Introduction! The time since then has been spent both in reading the rest of Being and Nothingness and in coming to the realization that that reading of the Introduction contained all that one needs to understand Sartre.
Using Human knowledge to Improve Opening Strategy in Computer Go.

The opening is crucial in the game of Go. Monte-Carlo techniques do not fare well in the opening because there are far too many moves to consider. We extracted human knowledge from a database of professional games to build a book of strong opening moves. Our rst opening book only had information about full-board opening sequences (fuseki). This book was quickly exhausted during games. We therefore incorporated joseki: common local sequences that lead to outcomes satisfactory for both players, such as striking a balance between corner territory and center in uence. Both the fuseki and joseki books use transposition tables allowing us to quickly determine whether the current global or local board con guration exists in our database. We then combine these two books to use information from both databases. We present experimental results on the e ects of the three books on the program's win percentage.
Poor Glycemic Control Is Associated With Increased Extracellular Volume Fraction in Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE We assessed whether poor glycemic control is associated with an increase in myocardial fibrosis among adults with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 47 adults with type 2 diabetes and stratified them into three groups according to their hemoglobin A1c (HbA 1c ) level: n = 12), 6.5–7.5% (group 2; n = 20), and >7.5% (group 3; n = 15). Left ventricular (LV) mass was assessed using cardiac MRI. The extracellular volume fraction (ECVF), an index of myocardial fibrosis, was measured by using myocardial T1 mapping before and after the administration of a gadolinium-based contrast agent. RESULTS Mean HbA 1c was 5.84 ± 0.16%, 6.89 ± 0.14%, and 8.57 ± 0.2% in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. LV mass was not significantly different between the groups. The myocardial ECVF was significantly greater in groups 2 (mean 27.6% [95% CI 24.8–30.3]) and 3 (27.6% [24.4–30.8]) than in group 1 (21.1% [17.5–24.7]; P = 0.015). After adjusting for age, sex, BMI, blood pressure, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, the myocardial ECVF was significantly greater in groups 2 (27.4% [24.4–30.4]) and 3 (28% [24.5–31.5]) than in group 1 (20.9% [17.1–24.6]; P = 0.0156, ANCOVA). CONCLUSIONS An increased myocardial ECVF, suggesting myocardial fibrosis, is independently associated with poor glycemic control among adults with diabetes. Further research should assess whether tight glycemic control can revert fibrosis to healthy myocardium or ameliorate it and its adverse clinical consequences.
The development of the Adolescent/Young Adult Self-Management and Independence Scale II: Psychometric data

Purpose Measuring self-management behaviors in adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions has become a priority in health care, yet there is a paucity of instruments that capture these behaviors. The purpose of this psychometric study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the 17-item generic Adolescent/Young Adult Self-Management and Independence Scale II (AMIS II). Method Data were collected from 201 adolescents/young adults (AYA) with spina bifida and 129 of their parents. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach alpha, frequencies, Pearson correlations, and intraclass correlations were used to evaluate the data. Results The exploratory factor analysis of parent data supported two related self-management factors (Condition Self-Management and Independent Living Self-Management). Confirmatory factor analysis of AYA data confirmed these two factors and an overall scale with good fit statistics (GFI and CFI = 0.86-0.95; RMSEA = 0.057). Internal reliabilities ranged from α= 0.72-0.89. Intraclass correlation analysis supported the stability of the instrument (ICC parent report = 0.82, AYA report = 0.84). Concurrent validity was supported with low to moderate correlations to six related but distinct variables. Conclusion Psychometric analysis supports this expanded measure of self-management for AYA with spina bifida. Evaluation of this instrument in AYA with other chronic health conditions is underway.
Quantitative comparison of group-based music therapy experiences in an acute care adult mental health setting: A four-group cluster-randomized study

Introduction: Acute care mental health inpatients have the expertise to evaluate different group-based music therapy interventions. Moreover, from an objectivist worldview, there is a need for data...
Trait Conscientiousness predicts rate of longitudinal SDMT decline in multiple sclerosis.

Background:Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit cognitive decline over several years. Baseline differences may put people at greater risk for such decline.Objective:To characterize rate...
Bowel Penetration by Inferior Vena Cava Filters: Feasibility and Safety of Percutaneous Retrieval

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and technical feasibility of inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) removal when filter elements penetrate adjacent bowel. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A multicenter retrospective review of IVCF retrievals between 2008 and 2018 was performed. Adult patients with either CT or endoscopic evidence of filter elements penetrating bowel before retrieval were included. Technical success of IVCF retrieval was recorded. Patient records were assessed for immediate, 30-day, and 90-day complications after retrieval. RESULTS. Thirty-nine consecutive adult patients (11 men and 28 women; mean age, 51.2 years; age range, 18-81 years) qualified for inclusion. Filter dwell time was a median of 148 days (range, 32-5395 days). No IVCFs were known to have migrated or caused iliocaval thrombosis. Five IVCFs (12.8%) had more than 15° tilt relative to the inferior vena cava (IVC) before retrieval. Three IVCFs (7.7%) had fractured elements identified at the time of retrieval. Mean international normalized ratio (INR) was 1.24 ± 0.53 (SD), and mean platelet count was 262 ± 139 × 103/μL. Ten patients (25.6%) were on antibiotics at the time of retrieval. All 39 IVCFs were successfully retrieved (technical success = 100%). Two patients experienced minor complications in the immediate postprocedural period, which resulted in a minor complication rate of 5.1%. There were no complications (major or minor) identified in any patient at 30 or 90 days after retrieval. The overall major complication rate was 0%. CONCLUSION. Endovascular retrieval of IVCFs with CT evidence of filter elements that have penetrated adjacent bowel is both safe and technically feasible.
Assessment and identification of learning disabilities

Abstract This chapter reviews the processes involved in the assessment and identification of learning disabilities (LDs). A brief comparison of school-based and clinical settings and a discussion of theoretical models used to define and understand the construct of LDs are provided. A variation of a hybrid model that requires three types of information to be gathered and synthesized to make recommendations for instructional plans is described. Examples of measures that may be used to document inadequate response to appropriate instruction and poor achievement within specified academic domains are included. The chapter concludes by urging individuals to use a hybrid model in the identification process and integrate any assessment results with the planning of instructional targets.
Thermobifida fusca cellulases exhibit increased endo-exo synergistic activity, but lower exocellulase activity, on cellulose-III.

Cellulose recalcitrance toward saccharification is a barrier for low-cost biofuels production. Ammonia-based pretreatments can alter the native cellulose-I allomorphic state to form an unnatural ce...
Feminismo, Capitalismo e Ecologia

Este artigo avalia criticamente os diferentes modos de conectar teoricamente feminismo, capitalismo e ecologia. Tomo a tradicao existente do ecofeminismo socialista como ponto de partida e esboco dois diferentes modos pelos quais as conexoes entre o capitalismo, a subordinacao das mulheres e a destruicao do meio ambiente tem sido produzidas nesta literatura: ecofeminismo materialista e ecofeminismo marxista. Demonstrarei as vantagens politicas e teoricas dessas posicoes em comparacao com algumas das formas anteriores de teorizar a relacao entre mulheres e natureza, mas tambem as submeterei a critica filosofica. Mostrarei como a posicao ecofeminista marxista precisa ser atualizada e revisada, a fim de explicar os diferentes, as vezes contraditorios, mecanismos para a capitalizacao da natureza que se tornaram proeminentes hoje. Destacarei dois desenvolvimentos em particular: o dominio do neoliberalismo e o desenvolvimento da biotecnologia. Concluirei resumindo as bases teoricas sobre as quais uma alianca politica contemporânea entre lutas feministas e ecologicas contra o capitalismo pode ser construida. Traducao de Juliana Lira Sampaio
METHOD OF DATA DEPERSONALIZATION IN PROTECTED AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Context. The problem of data depersonalization in information systems is considered. The analysis of modern approaches to depersonalization of data is carried out, it is revealed and proved by need of creation of the new method allowing to increase security of the processed data and their reliability. The object of the study was a model of data depersonalization, allowing to reduce the cost of protecting information systems. Objective. The goal of the work is the analysis of modern methods of depersonalization and the creation of a method that eliminates the identified shortcomings, with an increased level of confidentiality and use of hashing of critical data and a private key. Method. A method of personal data depersonalization is proposed, based on the method of entering identifiers using hashing of critical data and a private key, which allows to increase the confidentiality of information processed in information systems. Methods are proposed for selecting key critical attributes from primary documents that uniquely identify the subject of personal data, the method of generating initial sets, which divides the source data into two disjoint subsets, the method of generating a hash identifier from a unique sequence and a private key that depersonalizes information and enhances its confidentiality. Results. The developed method is implemented in software and researched while solving the problems of depersonalization. Conclusions. The carried out experiments confirmed the efficiency of the proposed method and allow to recommend it for implementation in automated information systems for processing personal data for solving problems of depersonalization. Prospects for further research may be in the creation of hardware streamlined data depersonalization allowing to increase the speed of processing and confidentiality of data in the information systems.
HIV and COVID-19: Intersecting Epidemics With Many Unknowns

As of July 2020, approximately 6 months into the pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), whether people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; PLWH) are disproportionately affected remains an unanswered question. Thus far, risk of COVID-19 in people with and without HIV appears similar, but data are sometimes contradictory. Some uncertainty is due to the recency of the emergence of COVID-19 and sparsity of data; some is due to imprecision about what it means for HIV to be a "risk factor" for COVID-19. Forthcoming studies on the risk of COVID-19 to PLWH should differentiate between 1) the unadjusted, excess burden of disease among PLWH to inform surveillance efforts and 2) any excess risk of COVID-19 among PLWH due to biological effects of HIV, independent of comorbidities that confound rather than mediate this effect. PLWH bear a disproportionate burden of alcohol, other drug use, and mental health disorders, as well as other structural vulnerabilities, which might increase their risk of COVID-19. In addition to any direct effects of COVID-19 on the health of PLWH, we need to understand how physical distancing restrictions affect secondary health outcomes and the need for, accessibility of, and impact of alternative modalities of providing ongoing medical, mental health, and substance use treatment that comply with physical distancing restrictions (e.g., telemedicine).
Astrocytes close a motor circuit critical period

Critical periods—brief intervals during which neural circuits can be modified by activity—are necessary for proper neural circuit assembly. Extended critical periods are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders; however, the mechanisms that ensure timely critical period closure remain poorly understood1,2. Here we define a critical period in a developing Drosophila motor circuit and identify astrocytes as essential for proper critical period termination. During the critical period, changes in activity regulate dendrite length, complexity and connectivity of motor neurons. Astrocytes invaded the neuropil just before critical period closure3, and astrocyte ablation prolonged the critical period. Finally, we used a genetic screen to identify astrocyte–motor neuron signalling pathways that close the critical period, including Neuroligin–Neurexin signalling. Reduced signalling destabilized dendritic microtubules, increased dendrite dynamicity and impaired locomotor behaviour, underscoring the importance of critical period closure. Previous work defined astroglia as regulators of plasticity at individual synapses4; we show here that astrocytes also regulate motor circuit critical period closure to ensure proper locomotor behaviour. The duration of a critical period of plasticity in the developing Drosophila motor circuit, during which motor neurons display activity-dependent refinement of neurite structure and connectivity, is dependent on astrocyte to motor neuron Neuroligin–Neurexin signalling.
Functional Relative Clauses

L'A. analyse les syntagmes du type the picture of himself that every student hated, ou la proposition relative contient un quantificateur. Dans un premier temps, il montre que ces propositions presentent le meme type d'ambiguite entre interpretation fonctionnelle et interpretation par liste de paires que l'on rencontre dans les questions contenant un quantificateur (ex : which picture of himself does every man like ?). Dans un second temps, il montre que, dans les propositions relatives, les deux interpretations ont la meme source, a savoir, une dependance fonctionnelle. Il termine en examinant la distribution des propositions relatives fonctionnelles vs par liste de paires au sein des phrases identitaires vs non-identitaires
U.S. v. U.K. Insider Trading Laws: Who Is the Top Dog?

A person charged with insider trading in the United States may not fall under insider dealing regulations in the United Kingdom because the two countries’ regulations contain explicit, key differences from one another. This Note considers those differences. Part II of this Note gives a background of insider trading laws and their progression through history in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom. This history is important for understanding the differences that still exist in the two systems today. Next, Part II lays out the statutory text of the insider trading regulations of both countries. Part III then moves on to compare the U.S. and U.K. insider trading regulations. Following the comparison is the strengths and weaknesses of each country’s system. Lastly, Part IV concludes with which countries’ system is more efficient and what each country needs to do to either sustain its regulation of insider trading or improve it.
Chronic Ethanol Increases Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Egr-1 Expression in RAW 264.7 Macrophages CONTRIBUTION TO ENHANCED TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR α PRODUCTION

Abstract Increased production of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) is associated with the development of alcoholic liver disease. Culture of RAW264.7 macrophages with 25 mm ethanol for 48 h increased lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated accumulation of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) peptide and mRNA by 2-fold. We investigated whether chronic ethanol-induced increases in the DNA binding and/or promoter activity of the key transcription factors regulating LPS-stimulated TNFα promoter activity contribute to increased TNFα expression. Binding of Egr-1 to theTNFα promoter was increased by 2.5-fold after ethanol exposure, whereas NFκB binding was decreased to 30% of control. AP-1 binding was not affected. Changes in binding activity were paralleled by an increased contribution of the Egr-1 binding site and a decreased contribution of the NFκB site to LPS-stimulated TNFα promoter activity. Overexpression of dominant negative Egr-1 prevented the ethanol-induced increase in LPS-stimulated TNFα mRNA accumulation. Chronic ethanol exposure enhanced LPS-stimulatedEgr-1 promoter-driven CAT expression and transcription ofEgr-1. Induction of Egr-1 is dependent on ERK1/2 activation in other systems. Therefore, we investigated whether the ERK1/2 pathway mediated the chronic ethanol-induced increases in Egr-1 and TNFα. Increased Egr-1 promoter activity and TNFα mRNA accumulation after chronic ethanol were both prevented by overexpression of dominant negative ERK1/2. LPS-stimulated ERK1/2 phosphorylation was increased 2-fold in cells cultured with ethanol compared with controls. These results demonstrate that enhanced LPS-dependent activation of Egr-1 contributes to increased TNFα production after chronic ethanol exposure.
Molecular Diagnosis of Human Disease

Abstract Molecular diagnostics are increasingly used to guide patient management, from diagnosis to treatment, particularly in the fields of cancer, infectious disease, and congenital abnormalities. The increased demand for genetic and genomic information has led to the rapid expansion of molecular techniques within clinical laboratories. Critical to the success of clinical genomics is the maintenance of good laboratory practices and regulatory adherence, which can be challenging in the face of rapid growth, emerging technologies, and an evolving regulatory landscape. This chapter addresses the regulations put forth by CLIA and other regulatory agencies that have shaped the implementation of molecular diagnostics. We also provide pre- and postanalytic considerations for common applications of molecular techniques. As molecular diagnostics continues to expand, we discuss its utility in emerging areas including applications of cell-free DNA, gene expression profiling, and pharmacogenomics.
Revisiting Haavelmo's structural econometrics: bridging the gap between theory and data

The objective of the paper is threefold. First, to argue that some of Haavelmo's (1944) methodological ideas and insights have been neglected because they are largely at odds with the traditional perspective that views empirical modeling in economics as an exercise in curve-fitting. Second, to make a case that this neglect has contributed to the unreliability of empirical evidence in economics that is largely due to statistical misspecification. The latter affects the reliability of inference by inducing discrepancies between the actual and nominal error probabilities. Third, to argue that the ‘bridge pier’ between theory and data, as envisaged by Haavelmo, T (1944) [The Probability Approach to Econometrics, Econometrica, 12 (supplement), 1–115], can be completed by blending some of his key methodological ideas and insights into a refined/extended version of the frequentist approach to inference. This new perspective is used to revisit dynamic stochastic general equilibrium modeling in an attempt to bring...
A system for grading gynecological procedures.

Abstract 1. A system of grading gynecological operative procedures is presented. 2. This system, it is hoped, will prove to be a useful teaching aid. 3. It is hoped that this system will provide a basis for collection of reasonably realistic statistics on prevalence of unnecessary and harmful operative gynecological procedures.
Optimum allocation of water resources by mathematical programming

Abstract Optimization of water distribution plans is facilitated by transportation programming. Application of the technique to minimizing total cost of water conveyance is illustrated with an example. Extension of the method, using the principle of decomposition of linear programmes, permits selection of optimum areas for development. Results of a large scale application to the Orange and Vaal River basins in South Africa are presented.
Selecting the best population, provided it is better than a control : The unequal variance case

BECHHOFER and TURNBULL (1978) proposed two procedures to compare k normal means with a standard and the procedures guarantee that (1) with probability at least P 0 * (specified), no category is selected when the best experimental category is sufficiently worst than the standard, and (2) with probability at least P l * (specified), the best experimental category is selected when it is sufficiently better than the second best and the standard. For the case of common known variance, they studied a single-stage procedure. For the case of common unknown variance, they studied a two-stage procedure. Under the same formulation of BECHHOFER and TURNBULL (1978) and for the same selection goals (1) and (2) described above, WILCOX (1984a) proposed a procedure to the case of unknown and unequal variances, and supplied a table of the necessary constants to implement the procedure. This paper considers the case of unknown and unequal variances for the same formulation of Bechhofer and Turnbull, and Wilcox, but assumes that μ 0 is an unknown control. A two-stage procedure is proposed to solve the problem. A lower bound of the probability of a correct selection is derived and it takes the same form as the double integral appeared in RINOTT (1978) which was used for the lower bound of the probability of a correct selection for a different selection goal.
Extending the Greene-Kleitman theorem to directed graphs

Abstract The celebrated Dilworth theorem (Ann. of Math. 51 (1950), 161–166) on the decomposition of finite posets was extended by Greene and Kleitman (J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 20 (1976), 41–68). Using the Gallai-Milgram theorem (Acta Sci. Math. 21 (1960), 181–186) we prove a theorem on acyclic digraphs which contains the Greene-Kleitman theorem. The method of proof is derived from M. Saks' elegant proof (Adv. in Math. 33 (1979), 207–211) of the Greene-Kleitman theorem.
Globalization From the Bottom Up: Indigenous Language Planning and Policy Across Time, Space, and Place

The theme of globalization is increasingly prominent in the literature on education, linguistics, and anthropology, with scholars examining multilingual identities and practices in global cityscape...
Anti-relapse medications: Preclinical models for drug addiction treatment

Addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease and treatment of relapse to drug-seeking is considered the most challenging part of treating addictive disorders. Relapse can be modeled in laboratory animals using reinstatement paradigms, whereby behavioral responding for a drug is extinguished and then reinstated by different trigger factors, such as environmental cues or stress. In this review, we first describe currently used animal models of relapse, different relapse triggering factors, and the validity of this model to assess relapse in humans. We further summarize the growing body of pharmacological interventions that have shown some promise in treating relapse to psychostimulant addiction. Moreover, we present an overview on the drugs tested in cocaine or methamphetamine addicts and examine the overlap of existing preclinical and clinical data. Finally, based on recent advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of relapse and published preclinical data, we highlight the most promising areas for future anti-relapse medication development.
Inhibitors of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase modulate signal transduction pathways in colitis

Abstract During inflammatory bowel diseases, oxidative and nitrosative stress induces DNA damage and activation of the nuclear enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), resulting in depletion of intracellular energetics, intestinal barrier dysfunction and cellular death. The aim of our study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of in vivo inhibition of PARP in experimental colitis, which was induced by rectal instillation of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) in rats. In vehicle-treated rats, TNBS treatment resulted in colonic erosion and ulceration. Neutrophil infiltration (indicated by myeloperoxidase activity in the colon) was associated with formation of nitrotyrosine and marked apoptosis. Elevated levels of plasma nitrate/nitrite, metabolites of nitric oxide (NO), were also found. These inflammatory events were associated with the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) in the colon; NF-κB was maximally activated at 3 and 7 days, whereas AP-1 increased 1 day after TNBS administration and declined thereafter. Treatment of the rats with the PARP inhibitors, 3-aminobenzamide or 1,5-dihydroxyisoquinoline, resolved colonic damage and reduced plasma levels of NO metabolites. Resolution of the damage was associated with reduction of neutrophil infiltration, nitrotyrosine formation and apoptosis. Treatment with PARP inhibitors also reduced DNA binding of NF-κB and AP-1 in the colon. These data demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of PARP ameliorates colitis. Reduction of the inflammatory process is associated with modification of the activation of signal transduction pathways.
Bipartite density and the independence ratio

If a 3-regular graph has bipartite density b and independence ratio i, then i ≥ (3b − 1)/4. A construction demonstrates that this is best possible for all admissible values of b.
Frequency of late potentials in systemic sclerosis.

We hypothesized that myocardial scarring in systemic sclerosis could produce areas of delayed myocardial activation detectable by the signal-averaged electrocardiogram. This study describes the frequency of late potentials in patients with systemic sclerosis
When the Saints Go Marching Out: Long-Term Outcomes for Student Evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

I examine long-term academic performance and college going for students affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Students who are forced to switch schools due to the hurricanes experience sharp declines in test scores in the first year following the hurricanes. However, by the third and fourth years after the disaster, evacuees displaced from Orleans Parish see a 0.18 standard deviation improvement in scores. Gains are concentrated among students initially in the lowest quintiles of the test score distribution. Katrina evacuees do not show gains in college going relative to earlier cohorts from their same pre-hurricane high schools. (JEL I20, Q54, R23).
Load balancing of molecular dynamics simulation with NWChem

NWChem is a computational chemistry software suite developed for massively parallel computers in the W. R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This software integrates a range of modules for computational chemistry applications, including classical molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanical calculations. This contribution provides details of the classical molecular dynamics module and focuses on issues related to load balancing on massively parallel computers, in particular the IBM SPTM and the Cray T3ETM as examples of distributed and shared memory massively parallel architectures. The implementation of the molecular dynamics module of NWChem is based on a domain decomposition of the chemical system, taking advantage of the distribution of data to reduce the memory requirements and the locality of intermolecular interactions to reduce the communication requirements. This approach results in a more complex implementation because of the requirement of periodic atomic reassignments and the need for sophisticated load-balancing techniques.
Multiple genotypes, multiple phenotypes, and partial defects

In recent years, the following ideas have been expressed: (a) that all cases of a discrete, inherited neuromuscular syndrome should prove to be due to a single biochemical defect, (b) that any single biochemical defect should give rise only to one syndrome, and (c) that an enzymatic defect cannot give rise to a disease unless there is virtual absence of activity, that is, less than 5% or 10% of the normal value. We review evidence from research in neuromuscular, neurological, and other genetic diseases of humans that suggests the contrary. There are now examples of single clinical syndromes related to each of several defects, of defects of one biochemical reaction related to two or more distinct clinical syndromes, and of partial defects associated with disease in a way that suggests a causal relationship.
Carrier compensation in semi-insulating CdTe: First-principles calculations

Carrier compensation in semi-insulating CdTe has been attributed to the compensation of surplus shallow acceptors by deep donors, usually assumed to be Te antisites. However, our first-principles calculations show that intrinsic defects should not have a significant effect on the carrier compensation due either to lack of deep levels near midgap or to low defect concentration. We demonstrate that an extrinsic defect, OTe-H complex, may play an important role in the carrier compensation in CdTe because of its amphoteric character and reasonably high concentration. Our findings have important consequences for improving device performance in CdTe-based radiation detectors and solar cells.
Channeling study of lattice disorder and gold implants in gallium nitride

Abstract Irradiation experiments have been performed 60° off normal for a gallium nitride (GaN) single-crystal film at 300 K using 3 MeV Au3+ ions over fluences ranging from 0.88 to 86.2 ions/nm2. The accumulation of disorder on both the Ga and N sublattices has been simultaneously investigated using 3.8 MeV He+ non-Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (non-RBS) along the 〈0 0 0 1〉 and 〈1 0 1 1〉 axial channeling directions. The accumulated disorder at the damage peak increases with dose below 10 dpa and saturates at a relative level of ∼0.7 between 10 and 60 dpa. Complete amorphization starts at the surface and grows into the damage peak regime. A higher rate of disordering on the N sublattice is observed at low damage levels, which suggests a lower threshold displacement energy on the N sublattice in GaN. Isochronal annealing (20 min) at temperatures up to 1000 K has been used to follow the thermal response of the Ga disorder and Au implants. Some defect recovery occurs at the intermediate damage levels. A fraction of Au occupancy on the Ga lattice site is observed in the as-implanted GaN, and the substitutional fraction of the implanted Au increases with increasing temperature.
Can financial statement analysis beat consensus analysts’ recommendations?

We examine whether investors can exploit financial statement information to identify companies with a greater likelihood of future earnings increases and whether stocks of those companies generate 1-year abnormal returns that exceed the abnormal returns from following analysts’ consensus recommendations. Our approach summarizes financial statement information into a “predicted earnings increase score,” which captures the likelihood of 1-year-ahead earnings increases. We find that, within our sample of consensus recommendations, stocks with high scores are much more likely to experience future earnings increases than stocks with low scores. A hedge portfolio strategy that utilizes our approach within each consensus recommendation level generates average annual abnormal returns of 10.9 percent over our 12-year sample period, after controlling for previously identified risk factors. These abnormal returns exceed those available from following analysts’ consensus recommendations. Our results show that share prices and consensus recommendations fail to impound financial statement information that helps predict future earnings changes.
Carpal orientation from computed reference axes

Carpal instability is usually diagnosed by abnormal two-plane radiographic angles. These angles are often unreliable. A method that eliminates interpretation of overlapping shadows and uses all of the carpal geometry should improve clinical diagnoses. The digital data from computed tomography scans can be manipulated to describe the carpal orientation in the normal wrist. The digital data from the computed tomography scans of twenty-two normal wrists were used to compute distances with and without directions between the volumetric centroids of the carpal bones. An expansion technique also extracted from the computed tomography data an orthogonal set of vectors, the principal axes. The first principal axis describes the longest dimension of each bone. The average angle produced by the first principal axes of the scaphoid and lunate was 23.6 degrees, scaphoid and capitate was 73.2 degrees, and the capitate and the lunate was 93.5 degrees. These computations represent new carpal axes and intercarpal angles that are not related to the commonly measured two-plane radiographic angles. They should prove helpful in the study of kinematics and pathomechanics in the wrist joint.
Efficient stochastic Galerkin methods for random diffusion equations

We discuss in this paper efficient solvers for stochastic diffusion equations in random media. We employ generalized polynomial chaos (gPC) expansion to express the solution in a convergent series and obtain a set of deterministic equations for the expansion coefficients by Galerkin projection. Although the resulting system of diffusion equations are coupled, we show that one can construct fast numerical methods to solve them in a decoupled fashion. The methods are based on separation of the diagonal terms and off-diagonal terms in the matrix of the Galerkin system. We examine properties of this matrix and show that the proposed method is unconditionally stable for unsteady problems and convergent for steady problems with a convergent rate independent of discretization parameters. Numerical examples are provided, for both steady and unsteady random diffusions, to support the analysis.
Changes in body weight and body surface area in strain 13 guinea pigs infected with pichinde virus

Abstract In studying pathogenetic mechanisms of Pichinde virus-induced disease in strain 13 guinea pigs, a large decrease of body weight (∼28%) observed within 14 days postinoculation raises a question concerning the validity of standardizing body or organ functions in terms of body weight. This study was to examine changes in body weight and body surface area of Pichinde virus-infected strain 13 guinea pigs after various days postinoculation. Control guinea pigs were also subjected to the same experimental procedures and experimental days. While body weights and body surface areas increased progressively in controls, I observed only slight decreases in body surface areas (4–6%) in the infected guinea pigs, despite large decreases of body weights throughout the 14-day experimental period. In conclusion, Pichinde virus-infected strain 13 guinea pigs demonstrated a small reduction of body surface area within 14 days postinoculation, suggesting that body surface area, rather than body weight, should be used for standardizing body or organ functions for comparison with their own baseline values.
Contact Stress Analysis of Thin Film Compression: Modeling, Simulation, and Experiment

Two different elastic contact stress modeling approaches were compared to results from a flat punch compression experiment. The two approaches, which employed the Greenwood and Williamson contact stress model and the Volume Pixel (“Voxel”) asperity modeling simulation, were used to analyze the force-displacement response of a sample surface when pressed down by a smooth, rigid, flat plane to a prescribed load. The results of the model and simulation are compared to experimental measurements from the flat punch compression performed using a nanoindenter.Copyright © 2006 by ASME