cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stochastic analysis of Air-Traffic System and its corresponding application in parameters prediction

In this paper we propose using one of the stochastic methods — Probabilistic Collocation Method (PCM) to find simplified polynomial mapping between two uncertain Air-Traffic System (ATS) parameter data sets. These two parameter sets can be two distinguished collection of measured parameters depicting various aspects of one specific air-traffic system, and the knowledge of parameters distribution is not a requirement. We show that PCM can be applied to air-traffic systems from immense systems like United States' National Air-space System (NAS), down-scale to middle-sized systems as New York City metro-area air-traffic system with combination of three major airports (JFK, EWR and LGA) or even smaller systems like Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). Compared with commonly used direct polynomial fitting method, PCM has the advantages in both efficient calculation and high accuracy. Along with the mapping relation of PCM from historical parameter data sets, we applied such polynomial mapping relation to predict the future air-traffic within the same system. By comparing the predicted data with the real recorded or FACET simulated data, we have reached the conclusion that the PCM performs excellent in analyzing current data and predicting future value based on historical mapping formula. The capability of forecasting by applying PCM serves as one powerful tool in launching control on air-traffic system as well as managing the system in advance based on the known traffic data.
Managing the U.S. Census 2000 and World Development Indicators databases for statistical analysis in Stata

This article introduces a new Stata command, labcenswdi, to automatically manage databases that provide variable descriptions on the second row in a dataset. While renaming all variables and converting them from string to numeric, labcenswdi automatically manages the variable descriptions including removing them from the second row to place them into Stata variable labels and saving them to a text file. The process yields a dataset ready for statistical analysis. I illustrate how this command can be used to efficiently manage datasets obtained from the U.S. Census 2000 and the World Development Indicators databases. Copyright 2011 by StataCorp LP.
Turbulent polar heliospheric fields

Recent observational studies of interplanetary field fluctuations and MHD simulation results are used to suggest that the turbulent evolution of the fields over the solar poles leads to a state intermediate between the large fields of the static limit and the small fields given by 'saturation' (deltaB/B = about 1). In particular, assuming the strength of the coronal hole sources of fluctuations are similar in all solar regions, the polar fluctuations in the outer heliosphere are likely to be nearly isotropic, with amplitudes somewhat smaller than those predicted by the WKB extrapolation from 1 AU in the ecliptic plane.
Walking the Path of the Law: How Yale Law School Graduates Navigate Career Choices

If one talks to law students about the their career expectations, one is likely to hear a common story: when the student graduates, she plans to go into private practice, or possibly take a government job, or even less probably, take a public interest job. The students think their initial choices of legal jobs set them on a career trajectory that is fairly immutable. However, the students' beliefs may not be based on actual information about how lawyers choose their career paths. This empirical study of 2800 lawyers who graduated from law school between 1970 and 1999 analyzes whether lawyers have standard career trajectories. The study considers whether gender or time of graduation affects career choices. The study also examines whether there are dominant reasons that lawyers give for changing jobs. Finally, the study considers whether lawyers are satisfied with their jobs by using a unique measure that gauges the level of congruency between lawyers' hopes for the kind of job they have with their actual experiences of a job. Consistent with other empirical studies of lawyers' career paths, this study finds that a large number of lawyers start their careers in private practice, and that most lawyers will change jobs a couple of times, with most staying within the same practice setting (i.e., moving from private firm to private firm.) However, this study challenges other well-held notions of career trajectories. Notably, this study does not find that women leave the law more than men, nor that women enter government or public interest work more than men. Further, the study documents that women and men both experience conflict between the demands of their jobs and their responsibilities outside work, and that both are equally concerned about that conflict. In other words, male lawyers say work-life balance is as concerning for them as it is for female lawyers. Finally, the study refutes the widely-held belief that lawyers do not like their jobs. The study provides law students and the profession with an important reminder that there is not a "right" career path, nor an immutable one, and that much of the practice of law is engaging and rewarding.
DAUNOMYCIN BINDING TO DNA: FROM THE MACROSCOPIC TO THE MICROSCOPIC

Results from footprinting titrations experiments that probe the sequence preference of daunomycin binding to DNA are described. The triplet sequences 5’(A/T)CG and 5’(A/T)GC are identified as the most preferred daunomycin binding sites within the 165 bp lyr T DNA fragment, where the notation (A/T) means that either A or T may occupy the position. Preferential binding is also observed to the triplet sequences 5’(A/T)C(A/T), but less frequently than to the triplets containing contiguous GC base pairs. Tentative estimates for the microscopic binding constants for daunomycin binding to these preferred sites indicate that their magnitude is at least ten times larger than the average macroscopic binding constant for binding of daunomycin to natural DNA of heterogeneous sequence. Spectrofluorometric titration and stopped-flow kinetic experiments identify a previously undocumented class of high affinity daunomycin binding sites in calf thymus DNA. These sites presumably corresponds to the preferred sites identified by footprinting experiments.
Allostatic processes in the family

The concepts of allostatic load and allostatic processes can help psychologists understand how health trajectories are influenced by stressful childhood experiences in the family. This paper describes psychological pathways and two key allostatic mediators, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the immune system, through which stressful early rearing conditions may influence adult mental and physical health. The action of meshed gears is introduced as a metaphor to illustrate how responses occurring within a brief time frame, for example, immediate reactions to stressors, can influence developmental and health processes unfolding over much longer spans of time. We identify early-developing psychological and biological response patterns that could link chronic stressors in childhood to later health outcomes. Some of these "precursor outcomes" (e.g., heightened vigilance and preparedness for threats; enhanced inflammatory and humoral responses to infectious microorganisms) appear to be aimed at protection from immediate dangers; they may reflect "adaptive trade-offs" that balance short-term survival advantages under harsh rearing conditions against disadvantages manifested later in development. Our analysis also suggests mechanisms that underlie resilience in risky family environments. Language: en
Evaluation of the Accuracy of a 3D Surface Imaging System for Patient Setup in Head and Neck Cancer Radiotherapy

Purpose To evaluate the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging system (AlignRT) registration algorithms for head-and-neck cancer patient setup during radiotherapy. Methods and Materials Eleven patients, each undergoing six repeated weekly helical computed tomography (CT) scans during treatment course (total 77 CTs including planning CT), were included in the study. Patient surface images used in AlignRT registration were not captured by the 3D cameras; instead, they were derived from skin contours from these CTs, thereby eliminating issues with immobilization masks. The results from surface registrations in AlignRT based on CT skin contours were compared to those based on bony anatomy registrations in Pinnacle 3 , which was considered the gold standard. Both rigid and nonrigid types of setup errors were analyzed, and the effect of tumor shrinkage was investigated. Results The maximum registration errors in AlignRT were 0.2° for rotations and 0.7 mm for translations in all directions. The rigid alignment accuracy in the head region when applied to actual patient data was 1.1°, 0.8°, and 2.2° in rotation and 4.5, 2.7, and 2.4 mm in translation along the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral axes at 90% confidence level. The accuracy was affected by the patient's weight loss during treatment course, which was patient specific. Selectively choosing surface regions improved registration accuracy. The discrepancy for nonrigid registration was much larger at 1.9°, 2.4°, and 4.5° and 10.1, 11.9, and 6.9 mm at 90% confidence level. Conclusions The 3D surface imaging system is capable of detecting rigid setup errors with good accuracy for head-and-neck cancer. Further investigations are needed to improve the accuracy in detecting nonrigid setup errors.
The Chattering Class

Sociologist Michael Schudson reviews the book The Space of Opinion. He argues that this full-length study of opinion journalism in the United States makes a strong case that the mix of diverse opin...
Hepatocellular carcinoma in the woodchuck model of hepatitis B virus infection

The Eastern woodchuck ( Marmota monax ) harbors a DNA virus (Woodchuck hepatitis virus [WHV]) that is similar in structure and replicative life cycle to the human hepatitis B virus (HBV). Like HBV, WHV infects the liver and can cause acute and chronic hepatitis. Furthermore, chronic WHV infection in woodchucks usually leads to development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the first 2-4 years of life. The woodchuck model has been important in the preclinical evaluation of safety and efficacy of the antiviral drugs now in use for treatment of HBV infection and continues to serve as an important, predictive model for innovative forms of therapy of hepatitis B using antiviral nucleosides and immune response modifiers alone or in combination. Almost all woodchucks that become chronic WHV carriers after experimental neonatal inoculation develop HCC with a median HCC-free survival of 24 months and a median life expectancy of 30-32 months. The woodchuck model of viral-induced HCC has been used effectively for the development of new imaging agents for enhancement of detection of hepatic neoplasms by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. The chemoprevention of HCC using long-term antiviral nucleoside therapy has been shown in the woodchuck, and "proof of principal" has been established for some of the innovative, molecular methods for treatment of HCC. The model is available for fundamental investigations of the viral and molecular mechanisms responsible for hepatocarcinogenesis and should have substantial value for future development of innovative methods for chemoprevention and gene therapy of human HCC.
A prospective study comparing intravenous tenoxicam with rectal diclofenac for pain relief in day case surgery

In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study, we compared intravenous tenoxicam with rectal diclo- fenac for post-operative pain relief after day case arthroscopy or laparoscopic sterilization. Intravenous tenoxicam (40 mg) was administered as a single bolus at induction, or rectal diclofenac (100 mg) was administered immediately after induction. Both groups were similar with respect to age, weight, sex of the patients, the operation performed and the operative time. There were no significant differences observed between the groups for pain scores at 30 min, 60 min and 24 h post-operatively. The time to first analgesic requirement, the dose of pethidine administered and total analgesic requirements in the first 24 h post-operatively were equivalent in both groups. In view of the similar efficacy of both of these drugs, patient preference and ease of administration, the use of tenoxicam is appropriate in many patients undergoing day case surgery.
Prey Selection by Reintroduced Bobcats (Lynx rufus) on Cumberland Island, Georgia

Abstract We released bobcats (Lynx rufus) on Cumberland Island, Georgia during 1988 and 1989 as part of a cooperative effort to restore an extirpated predator to the island. We collected data on prey use and prey abundance three times a year during 2 y following the initial bobcat releases. We tested four hypotheses concerning bobcat prey selection: (1) use of a prey species was closely associated with its abundance (functional relationships), (2) the number of prey species included in bobcat diets increased as the abundance of principal prey species decreased (diet optimization), (3) the number of species included in bobcat diets and diet diversity increased as population density increased (interference) and (4) increases in the proportion of males resulted in increases in the use of large prey and decreases in the use of small prey. Bobcats' use of marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris) and cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) was positively correlated with each species' abundance as predicted by a hypothesis ...
Managing Supply Chain’s Transaction Costs Through Logistics

The bulk chemical industry primarily relies upon truck transportation. Truck transportation, although costly, has a high percentage of on-time deliveries. Cheaper alternative transportation modes are less preferred due to a lack of supply chain information. Traditionally, the lack of information about in-transit products leads to higher safety stock and inventory levels, which results in higher costs. Process mapping and activity-based cost analysis are used to identify cost drivers and highlight the areas of opportunity for improving bulk chemical supply chain management. The activity-based cost information was used to develop a logistics cost model specifically tailored to the bulk chemical industry. The activity-based logistics cost model was used to assess potential cost savings from integrating centralized supply chain management software (visibility solutions), into the bulk chemical supply chain. The results of our analysis support integrating visibility solution software into multi-modal transportation to improve bulk chemical supply chain management. Integration of visibility solutions enables suppliers to improve their ability to monitor and control their inventory throughout the supply chain, increase overall asset utilization, and reduce global supply chain costs.
Temporoparietal dermoid cysts with intracranial extension.

We report two young children, each with an unusual dumb­ bell dermoid cyst and sinus that was unexpectedly located in the temporoparietal region of the skull at a site where epider­ moids are usually found . Both dermoid cysts produced un­ usual radiographic changes in the skull, which may be char­ acteristic of this type of lesion.
Dynamic response of a novel laminated glass panel using a transparent glass fiber-reinforced composite interlayer under blast loading

Abstract The novel laminated glass-composite panel consists of a transparent glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite interlayer bonded to glass sheets. A numerical model has been developed to simulate the dynamic response of the laminated glass-composite panel under blast loading. The simulated dynamic response, in terms of the midpoint deflection, correlates well with the experiments conducted in a blast load simulator. Stress analysis of the laminated glass shows that it can survive under both medium intensity (peak pressure ≈ 4 psi) and high intensity (peak pressure ≈ 10 psi or higher) blast.
Meatspace, the Internet, and the Cloud: How Changes in Document Storage and Transfer Can Affect IP Rights

This article discusses the intellectual property issues from "meatspace" to online services and the Internet. It further explores intellectual property issues from the Internet to the Cloud. Finally, it discusses the implications of cloud computing for trade secret protection.
Time trends in the use of adjuvant chemotherapy (CTX) and outcomes in women with T1N0 breast cancer (BC) in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)

1006 Background: The role of adjuvant CTX in women with small BC is controversial. Here we analyze time trends of CTX use and outcomes in women with T1N0 BC treated at NCCN cancer centers. Methods:...
The Riemann problem for a system of conservation laws of mixed type with a cubic nonlinearity

Using the viscosity-capillarity admissibility criterion for shock waves, we solve the Riemann problem for the system of conservation lawswhere σ(u) = u3 − u. This system is hyperbolic at (u, v) unless . We find that the Riemann problem has a unique solution for all data in the hyperbolic regions, except for a range of data in the same phase (i.e. on the same side of the nonhyperbolic strip). In the nonunique cases, there are exactly two admissible solutions. The analysis is based upon a formula describing all saddle-to-saddle heteroclinic orbits for a family of cubic vector fields in the plane.
A Novel Motion Amplifier Using an Axially Driven Buckling Beam

For active materials such as piezoelectric stacks, which produce large force and small displacement, motion amplification mechanisms are often necessary—not simply to trade force for displacement, but to increase the output work transferred through a compliant structure. Here, a new concept for obtaining large rotations from small linear displacements produced by a piezoelectric stack is proposed and analyzed. The concept uses elastic (buckling) and dynamic instabilities of an axially driven buckling beam. The optimal design of the buckling beam end conditions was determined from a static analysis of the system using Euler’s elastica theory. This analysis was verified experimentally. A stack-driven, buckling beam prototype actuator consisting of a pre-compressed PZT stack (140 mm long, 10 mm diameter) and a thin steel beam (60 mm × 12 mm × 0.508 mm) was constructed. The buckling beam served as the motion amplifier, while the PZT stack provided the actuation. The experimental setup, measuring instrumentation and method, the beam preloading condition, and the excitation are fully described in the paper. Frequency responses of the system for three preloading levels and three stack driving amplitudes were obtained. A maximum 16° peak-to-peak rotation was measured when the stack was driven at an amplitude of 325 V and frequency of 39 Hz. The effects of beam preload were also studied.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Citation Distance: Measuring Changes in Scientific Search Strategies

Using latent semantic analysis on the full text of scientific articles, we measure the distance between 36 million citing/cited article pairs and chart changes in citation proximity over time. The analysis shows that the mean distance between citing and cited articles has steadily increased since 1990. This demonstrates that current scholars are more likely to cite distantly related research than their peers of 20 years ago who tended to cite more proximate work. These changes coincide with the introduction of new information technologies like the Internet, and the increasing popularity of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. The "citation distance" measure shows promise in improving our understanding of the evolution of knowledge. It also offers a method to add nuance to scholarly impact measures by assessing the extent to which an article influences proximate or distant future work.
393 IMPACTS OF CHILD LIFE INTERVENTION ON PEDIATRIC PATIENT AND PARENTAL PRE- AND POST-PROCEDURAL ANXIETY LEVELS.

Background Pediatric patients and their parents experience various levels of anxiety prior to the patient undergoing a medical procedure, such as surgery. That anxiety can carry on post-procedure and have impacts on patient recovery and the parents9 ability to provide support to their child. The Child Life Program consists of specialists who are trained to help patients and families understand and manage stressful healthcare situations such as these. Objective The objective of this study is to determine if the receipt of Child Life Services (CLS) significantly impacts pediatric patient or parental anxiety in the outpatient surgery or outpatient procedural settings. Methods Anxiety levels were measured in 72 subjects between the ages of 6 and 16, and their parents, using a modified Moller-Murphy Symptom Management Assessment Tool II Survey. The survey was completed at three times during the patient stay: registration, pre-procedural and at discharge. Independent and paired t-tests and the Pearson correlation test were used to calculate relationships. Results Findings indicated that the receipt of CLS significantly decreased patient and parental anxiety levels ( p Conclusion Patients and parents receiving CLS experience lower anxiety levels during their outpatient hospital experience and at the time of discharge as compared to patients without access to CLS. In addition, previous hospitalizations had less of an impact on anxiety levels at the time just prior to surgery than did the receipt of CLS, suggesting that CLS are an effective method of managing patient and parental anxiety.
Refractory status epilepticus treated with vagal nerve stimulation: case report.

Background and importance Status epilepticus (SE) refractory to medical treatment has a high mortality rate and few effective treatments. Clinical presentation We describe the implantation of a vagal nerve stimulator to help terminate a case of refractory SE. A 23-year-old man was in SE for 3 weeks without being able to be weaned from intravenous anesthetic agents. After implantation of a vagal nerve stimulator, SE soon terminated, and the patient could be weaned from sedative agents and made a full recovery. Conclusion Vagal nerve stimulator should be considered in cases of refractory SE.
Renal Cell Carcinoma in Kidney Transplant Candidates

Abstract Background An increased incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been observed in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, the incidence of this pathological condition has not been studied adequately in kidney transplant candidates. The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of RCC and the clinical, imaging, and pathological characteristics in this population. Methods At our institution, the majority of kidney transplant candidates undergo a non-contrast abdominal computerized tomography (CT) scan as a pre-transplant screening evaluation method. We retrospectively reviewed the medical data from 637 patients who were referred to our institution for kidney transplant evaluation during a period of 2 years. Of these, 174 were found ineligible and were excluded from the study; the final population consisted of 463 patients. Radical nephrectomy was proposed and performed in all the patients with findings highly suspicious of malignancy. Results A total of 20 patients had findings suspicious for kidney malignancy on non-contrast CT scan and underwent a total nephrectomy before transplantation. At the pathological examination, 13 patients had malignant lesions and 4 patients had benign lesions. All patients with malignancy were male, and 9 of 13 patients with malignancy had papillary RCC. Conclusions This study confirms the increased incidence of RCC in kidney transplant candidates and underlines the utility of non-contrast CT scan without an intravenous contrast agent as a very useful screening tool in the pre-operative evaluation of kidney transplant candidates. Hence, we recommend the implementation of routine screening with non-contrast CT scan in all kidney transplant candidates who undergo hemodialysis.
Spatial patterns and neighborhood characteristics of overall suicide clusters in Florida from 2001 to 2010

Introduction Although spatial examination of mortality and morbidity is becoming more common in health studies, the investigation of suicide death clusters within the neighborhood context is underutilized. The purpose of this ecological study is to detect high- and low-risk clusters of suicide deaths in Florida and determine which neighborhood characteristics distinguish clusters from non-clusters. Methods The scan statistic method was used to detect overall clusters of completed suicides in Florida from 2001 to 2010. Regression analysis was used to investigate the association of neighborhood characteristics with identified clusters. All data synthesis and statistical analyses were conducted in 2015. Results Twenty-four high-risk and 25 low-risk clusters were identified. The risk of suicide was up to 3.4 times higher in high-risk clusters than in areas outside of clusters (relative risk ranged from 1.36 to 3.44, p ≤0.05). Low-risk clusters were associated with 30%–94% decreased risk of suicide (relative risk ranged from 0.06 to 0.70, p ≤0.05). Areas with high levels of elderly concentration and household singularity were more likely to be in high-risk clusters, whereas areas with higher economic deprivation and residential density were more likely to be in low-risk clusters. Conclusions This study identified general suicide patterns across space in the state of Florida and described the characteristics of those areas.
Physics-driven Spatiotemporal Regularization for High-dimensional Predictive Modeling: A Novel Approach to Solve the Inverse ECG Problem

This paper presents a novel physics-driven spatiotemporal regularization (STRE) method for high-dimensional predictive modeling in complex healthcare systems. This model not only captures the physics-based interrelationship between time-varying explanatory and response variables that are distributed in the space, but also addresses the spatial and temporal regularizations to improve the prediction performance. The STRE model is implemented to predict the time-varying distribution of electric potentials on the heart surface based on the electrocardiogram (ECG) data from the distributed sensor network placed on the body surface. The model performance is evaluated and validated in both a simulated two-sphere geometry and a realistic torso-heart geometry. Experimental results show that the STRE model significantly outperforms other regularization models that are widely used in current practice such as Tikhonov zero-order, Tikhonov first-order and L1 first-order regularization methods.
Brain Imaging and g

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the brain size–g relationship. The chapter discusses the low and variable relationships found in earlier studies using rough measures such as external head circumference, and then presents the outcome of studies using more exacting in vivo neuro-imaging techniques. The chapter concludes that anatomical and metabolic imaging techniques using magnetic resonance technology suggest a correlation in the order of 0.35 between brain size and IQ, a finding that is consistent across multiple experimental groups. Another important conclusion is that the majority of individual variation in intelligence is not explained by variation in brain volume. A third conclusion is that it is still not known whether specific brain regions or compartments are the principal basis for the size–IQ correlation, and this sets the stage for further experiments exploiting the many new capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging and other brain image techniques.
Disseminated Nocardia Farcinica Pneumonia with Left Adrenal Gland Abscess

Adrenal masses pose a diagnostic challenge. The differential diagnosis includes functional adrenal tumors, incidentally found adrenal masses, metastases from an unknown primary cancer, and abscesses. Infrequently, adrenal gland abscesses have been reported in disseminated nocardiosis affecting immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. We report a case of disseminated Nocardia farcinica pneumonia with an adrenal gland abscess in an immunocompetent patient with no identified risk factors for nocardiosis.
MOTIFSIM 2.1: An Enhanced Software Platform for Detecting Similarity in Multiple DNA Motif Data Sets.

Abstract Finding binding site motifs plays an important role in bioinformatics as it reveals the transcription factors that control the gene expression. The development for motif finders has flourished in the past years with many tools have been introduced to the research community. Although these tools possess exceptional features for detecting motifs, they report different results for an identical data set. Hence, using multiple tools is recommended because motifs reported by several tools are likely biologically significant. However, the results from multiple tools need to be compared for obtaining common significant motifs. MOTIFSIM web tool and command-line tool were developed for this purpose. In this work, we present several technical improvements as well as additional features to further support the motif analysis in our new release MOTIFSIM 2.1.
Maternal employment and childhood overweight in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective To investigate the association between maternal employment and childhood overweight in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Design/Setting We utilized cross-sectional data from forty-five Demographic and Health Surveys from 2010 to 2016 (n 268 763). Mothers were categorized as formally employed, informally employed or non-employed. We used country-specific logistic regression models to investigate the association between maternal employment and childhood overweight (BMI Z-score>2) and assessed heterogeneity in the association by maternal education with the inclusion of an interaction term. We used meta-analysis to pool the associations across countries. Sensitivity analyses included modelling BMI Z-score and normal weight (weight-for-age Z-score≥−2 to <2) as outcomes. Subjects Participants included children 0–5 years old and their mothers (aged 18–49 years). Results In most countries, neither formal nor informal employment was associated with childhood overweight. However, children of employed mothers, compared with children of non-employed mothers, had higher BMI Z-score and higher odds of normal weight. In countries where the association varied by education, children of formally employed women with high education, compared with children of non-employed women with high education, had higher odds of overweight (pooled OR=1·2; 95 % CI 1·0, 1·4). Conclusions We find no clear association between employment and child overweight. However, maternal employment is associated with a modestly higher BMI Z-score and normal weight, suggesting that employment is currently associated with beneficial effects on children’s weight status in most LMIC.
Time Critical: Contesting the Measure of the Now

It is increasingly well understood that transformations in the concept of time, as well as techniques of time measurement and distribution, around the turn to the twentieth century contributed to the formation of entrenched divisions between the Sciences and the Humanities. In general, where the Sciences have conceived of time as a function of conventionally defined quantitative measure, the Humanities have consistently regarded human experience as an essential element in any adequate view of time.
Characteristics of Foodborne Hazard and Diseases: Cost of Foodborne Diseases

This article provides an introduction to the economic costs and burden of foodborne disease. After a brief overview of the different types of societal costs of foodborne disease and a discussion of why they are important to be estimated, the article discusses some of the main epidemiological and methodological challenges when estimating the economic costs and burden of foodborne disease, and the most common estimation methods. The article concludes with a sample of US and international estimates of the economic costs and burden of foodborne disease and a discussion of future directions. The views expressed here are the author’s and may not be attributed to the Economic Research Service or the US Department of Agriculture.
The Stubborn Persistence Of Hope

I can understand pessimism, but I don’t believe in it. It’s not simply a matter of faith, but of historical evidence. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give hope, because for hope we don’t need certainty, only possibility. Which (despite all those confident statements that “history shows…” and history proves…”) is all history can offer us (Zinn, 1997, p. 656).
Elevated Body Mass Index Is Associated with Secondary Hypogonadism among Men Presenting to a Tertiary Academic Medical Center

PURPOSE To characterize the population of hypogonadal men who presented to a tertiary academic urology clinic and evaluate risk factors for primary vs. secondary hypogonadism. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated all men with International Classification of Diseases-9 diagnosis codes R68.82 and 799.81 for low libido, 257.2 for testicular hypofunction, and E29.1 for other testicular hypofunction at a tertiary academic medical center from 2013 to 2017. We included men who had testosterone (T) and luteinizing hormone (LH) drawn on the same day. We classified men based on T and LH levels into eugonadal, primary, secondary, and compensated hypogonadism. Risk factors including age, body mass index (BMI) over 30 kg/m², current smoking status, alcohol use greater than 5 days per week, and Charlson comorbidity index greater than or equal to 1 were investigated and measured in each group using the eugonadal group for reference. RESULTS Among the 231 men who had both T and LH levels, 7.4%, 42.4%, and 7.4% were classified as primary, secondary, and compensated hypogonadism, respectively. Only elevated BMI was associated with secondary hypogonadism compared to eugonadal men (median BMI, 30.93 kg/m² vs. 27.69 kg/m², p=0.003). BMI, age, comorbidities, smoking, or alcohol use did not appear to predict diagnosis of secondary hypogonadism. CONCLUSIONS Secondary hypogonadism appears to be the most common cause of hypogonadism among men complaining of low T and decreased libido at a tertiary academic medical center. Secondary hypogonadism is associated with elevated BMI and therefore obesity should be used as a marker to evaluate men for both T and LH levels.
Chemotherapy Treatment and Trials in Low-Grade Gliomas

There is currently no universally accepted standard of care treatment for low-grade gliomas, a molecularly heterogeneous group of tumors with similarly heterogeneous clinical outcomes. Risk stratification by clinical and molecular features is useful to help determine which patients benefit the most from adjuvant treatment. The addition of combination chemotherapy with procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine confers survival advantage, as likely does temozolomide, but radiochemotherapy may not be appropriate for all patients owing to its toxicity profile. We review the approach to treatment in patients with low-grade gliomas with an emphasis on the clinical trials focusing on adjuvant chemotherapy in this population.
Four States of Knowledge: A Cultural Theory of the Co-Production of Science, Social Order, and Scientific, Cultural, and Policy Change

In States of Knowledge (2004), Sheila Jasanoff argues that we gain explanatory power by thinking of natural and social orders as being produced together, but she and her volume contributors do not yet offer a theory of the co-production of scientific knowledge and social order. This article uses Mary Douglas’s cultural theory to identify four recurring states of knowledge and specifies political cultural conditions for the co-production of scientific knowledge, social order, and scientific, cultural, and policy change. The plausibility of this theory is illustrated by using it to explain the co-production and transformation of forest and wildlife science and management in the Pacific Northwest.
Changes in α2 Presynaptic Receptor Sensitivity During Production of Dependence to Morphine in Conscious Rats

ABSTRACT Rats given morphine (8 mg/kg, i.v.) followed 2 hours later by infusions of morphine (4 mg/kg, i.v.) every 2 hours for 24 hours (total infusion time of 2 min for each infusion) became dependent on morphine. An intravenous injection of naloxone (Nal) (5 mg/kg) (an opiate antagonist), precipitated a withdrawal response including an increase in mean arterial blood pressure, a biphasic heart rate response and an increase in plasma norepinephrine (NE), 2-fold, and epinephrine (Epi), 8-fold. In control rats, Nal (5 mg/kg, i.v.) also increased plasma NE to the same extent as in morphine-dependent rats, indicating that sympathetic nerves do not normally participate in the withdrawal response. Yohimbine (Yoh) (1 mg/kg, i.v.), an α2-adrenergic receptor blocking agent, had little effect on plasma NE or Epi levels of control rats. In morphine-dependent rats, Yoh (1 mg/kg, i.v.) produced an increase in plasma Epi levels from 0.162 ± 0.078 ng/ml to 0.635 ± 0.054 ng/ml but no change in plasma NE. An injection of Nal (5 mg/kg, i.v.) 5 min after Yoh produced a withdrawal response which now included an increase in plasma NE to 1.256 ± 0.049 ng/ml representing a 7-fold increase as well as a marked increase in plasma Epi to 1.429 ± 0.040 ng/ml. These results show that the withdrawal response of morphine-dependent rats pretreated with Yoh includes increases in sympathetic nerve activity (as measured by increases in plasma NE) in addition to increased secretion of Epi from the adrenal gland. Therefore, one can conclude that the morphine-dependent state leads to supersensitive presynaptic α2 receptors on sympathetic nerve endings which effectively prevents increases in plasma NE during antagonist-precipitated withdrawal.
Using Archival Data to Examine Interview Methods: The Case of the Former Slave Project:

Unlike historians, qualitative researchers’ engagement in studies in which archival sources form the core data corpus is less common than the exploration of newly generated data. Following scholars...
High power edge-cum-surface emitting terahertz laser arrays phased locked by vacuum guided plasmon waves

Terahertz semiconductor quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) are widely implemented with metallic cavities that support low-loss plasmonic optical modes at long wavelengths. However, resonant optical modes in such cavities suffer from poor radiative characteristics due to their subwavelength transverse dimensions. Consequently, single-mode terahertz QCLs with metallic cavities and large ( > 100 mW) output power have only been realized in the surface-emitting configuration that affords a large radiating surface. Here, we demonstrate a method to enhance radiative outcoupling from such plasmonic lasers for high-power emission in the edge-emitting (end-fire or longitudinal) direction. Single-sided plasmon waves propagating in vacuum are resonantly excited in surrounding medium of metallic cavities with the QCL semiconductor medium. The vacuum guided plasmon waves with a large wavefront phase-lock multiple metallic cavities longitudinally, which leads to intense radiation in multiple directions, including that in the longitudinal direction in a narrow single-lobed beam. The multicavity array radiates predominantly in a single spectral mode. A peak-power output of 260 mW and a slope efficiency of 303 mW/A are measured for the end-fire beam from a 3.3 THz QCL operating at 54 K in a Stirling cooler. Single-mode operation and lithographic tuning across a bandwidth of ∼ 150 GHz are demonstrated.
The effects of ligand charge, orientation and size on the binding of potential inhibitors for aldehyde dehydrogenase

Abstract l -DOPA, used as a therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease, is transformed into needed dopamine in the brain. This dopamine can then be deactivated via metabolism by a series of enzymes, including aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). The targeted inhibition of the ALDH enzyme may help to prolong l -DOPA therapy. A series of potential inhibitors has been studied via ab initio models using a crystal-structure of the ALDH enzyme with an inhibitor bound in its active site (PDB ID: 4WP7). The positions of novel dopaminergic derivatives were optimized in the active site using M062X/6-31G with implicit solvation and relaxed amino-acid side-chains. This work examines different single molecule orientations, as well as double molecule configurations. Various sizes of ligands were also studied. Interaction energies between the ligands and the protein were calculated using M062X with the 6–311 + G* basis set. Some potential inhibitors show promising results such as the LP and CAM series.
The Search for the MOOC Credit Hour

Over the past decade, MOOCs have risen to prominence in part because most do not carry heavy requirements regarding accreditation, scope, and evaluation. While this has allowed MOOCs to proliferate, it has led to difficulty under-standing what completing a particular MOOC means. Individual MOOCs can vary tremendously in their quantity of content, their depth of assessment, and their mechanisms to ensure academic integrity. In order for MOOC credentials to have value in academia and the workplace, however, there must be some trust in what a particular credential means about the learner. In this work, we perform a study to understand the variety of MOOCs available, then pro¬pose a MOOC Content Matrix as a short, objective way to summarize what a particular MOOC entails and, in turn, what value its certificate gives.
Photosynthetic sensitivity to historic meteorological variability for conifers in the eastern Sierra Nevada

Increased climatic variability can impact tree physiological processes beyond what is predicted from changes in mean conditions. We assessed the sensitivity of conifer saplings to spatial and temporal variability in meteorological conditions, taking advantage of the end of California’s historic drought and the exceedingly wet winter of 2017. We sought to understand how very dry and very wet conditions constrain photosynthesis and growth in four regionally dominant conifers and whether sensitivity in these processes changes across a 500 m gradient in elevation. All species demonstrated phenotypic plasticity in response to temporal differences in precipitation on both inter-annual and seasonal timescales. Net photosynthesis in Pinus contorta decreased from an early season 2016 average of 12.4 to 6.89 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1 later in the summer, but increased 14.1% between seasons in the wet year. By contrast, elevation had almost no effect on instantaneous photosynthetic gas exchange, CO2 response curve parameters, or stem water potential in any of the years for any of the species. Effects of the heavy snow year (2017) on needle growth differed between elevations. Pinus contorta showed a 38.9% increase in average needle length at the lower two elevations but a 31.6% decrease at the highest site compared to the height of the drought. Despite these differences, biological variation was dampened compared to the physical variation between years, suggesting these trees can effectively withstand substantial meteorological variability. Our results show that these species demonstrated considerable ability to tolerate and recover from an extreme drought event.
Dementia is strongly associated with medial temporal atrophy even after accounting for neuropathologies

Objective: Brain atrophy is associated with degenerative neuropathologies as well as clinical status of dementia. Whether dementia influences atrophy independent of neuropathologies is not known. In this study, we examined the pattern of atrophy associated with dementia while accounting for the most common dementia-related neuropathologies. Methods: We used data from National Alzheimer9s Coordinating Center (NACC, N=129) and Alzheimer9s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI, N=47) participants with suitable in-vivo 3D-T1w MRI and autopsy data. We determined dementia status at visit closest to MRI. We examined the following dichotomized neuropathological variables: Alzheimer9s disease neuropathology, hippocampal sclerosis, Lewy Bodies, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, atherosclerosis. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) identified areas associated with dementia after accounting for neuropathologies. Identified regions of interest were further analyzed. We used multiple linear regression models adjusted for neuropathologies and demographic variables. Results: We found strong associations for dementia with volumes of the hippocampus, amygdala, and parahippocampus (semi-partial correlations≥0.28, P<0.0001 for all regions in NACC; semi-partial correlations≥0.35, P≤0.01 for hippocampus and parahippocampus in ADNI). Dementia status accounted for more unique variance in atrophy in these structures (~8%) compared with neuropathological variables; the only exception was hippocampal sclerosis which accounted for more variance in hippocampal atrophy (10%). Conclusion: Even after accounting for the most common neuropathologies, dementia still had among the strongest correlations with atrophy of medial temporal lobe structures. This suggests that atrophy of the medial temporal lobe is most related to clinical status of dementia as opposed to Alzheimer9s or other neuropathologies.
Shipworm symbiosis ecology-guided discovery of an antibiotic that kills colistin-resistant Acinetobacter.

Summary Teredinibacter turnerae is an intracellular bacterial symbiont in the gills of wood-eating shipworms, where it is proposed to use antibiotics to defend itself and its animal host. Several biosynthetic gene clusters are conserved in T. turnerae and their host shipworms around the world, implying that they encode defensive compounds. Here, we describe turnercyclamycins, lipopeptide antibiotics encoded in the genomes of all sequenced T. turnerae strains. Turnercyclamycins are bactericidal against challenging Gram-negative pathogens, including colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Phenotypic screening identified the outer membrane as the likely target. Turnercyclamycins and colistin operate by similar cellular, although not necessarily molecular, mechanisms, but turnercyclamycins kill colistin-resistant A. baumannii, potentially filling an urgent clinical need. Thus, by exploring environments that select for the properties we require, we harvested the fruits of evolution to discover compounds with potential to target unmet health needs. Investigating the symbionts of shipworms is a powerful example of this principle.
Local information concentration and stock price informativeness

Investors have been shown to gather local information, which allows for superior investment returns. We document that when the local information landscape is less dispersed and local information is...