cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuroanatomical Localization of Cells Containing Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in the Primate Brain by in Situ Hybridization Histochemistry

Using in situ hybridization histochemistry, we have mapped the anatomic localization of perikarya containing mRNA that codes for GnRH and GnRH-associated protein (GAP) in the forebrain of four male macaques, Macaca fascicularis. DNA oligomers, with sequences complementary to either the GnRH or the GAP portion of the mRNA sequence, were synthesized and hybridized to paraformaldehyde fixed, coronal sections of the basal forebrain and hypothalamus. GnRH mRNA was found in the same population of cells as those containing GAP mRNA. GnRH/GAP mRNA-containing cell bodies were observed consistently in the medial septal nucleus, the diagonal band of Broca, the medial preoptic area, supraoptic nucleus, and ventromedial-infundibular region. We detected the presence of GnRH mRNA and GAP mRNA within the same neuroanatomic regions previously shown to include perikarya containing immunoreactive GnRH. The ventromedial-infundibular region and the medial preoptic region contained the greatest number of GnRH/GAP mRNA-containi...
Eyewitness testimony and memory distortion

: Do memories change as we acquire new information? Recent research on memory distortion using implicit tests along with research using confidence is reviewed and new studies are presented. Two new studies asked misinformed subjects to provide reasons for their answers. In each study 15% to 27% of subjects said they remembered seeing items they had only read about. In another study subjects were asked to identify the source of misleading items they had seen in slides or read in misleading questions. Subjects were more likely to say they had seen in slides something they read about in the questions than they were to confuse information from two nearly identical sets of slides. Recent work shows that, not only is it possible to distort memory for events, it is possible to implant an entire memory for something that never happened. The evidence is now clear that we can become mentally tricked into making large as well as small changes in the way we recall the past.
Digging the pupfish out of its hole: risk analyses to guide harvest of Devils Hole pupfish for captive breeding.

The Devils Hole pupfish is restricted to one wild population in a single aquifer-fed thermal pool in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Since 1995 the pupfish has been in a nearly steady decline, where it was perched on the brink of extinction at 35–68 fish in 2013. A major strategy for conserving the pupfish has been the establishment of additional captive or “refuge” populations, but all ended in failure. In 2013 a new captive propagation facility designed specifically to breed pupfish was opened. I examine how a captive population can be initiated by removing fish from the wild without unduly accelerating extinction risk for the pupfish in Devils Hole. I construct a count-based PVA model, parameterized from estimates of the intrinsic rate of increase and its variance using counts in spring and fall from 1995–2013, to produce the first risk assessment for the pupfish. Median time to extinction was 26 and 27 years from spring and fall counts, respectively, and the probability of extinction in 20 years was 26–33%. Removing individuals in the fall had less risk to the wild population than harvest in spring. For both spring and fall harvest, risk increased rapidly when levels exceeded six adult pupfish per year for three years. Extinction risk was unaffected by the apportionment of total harvest among years. A demographic model was used to examine how removal of different stage classes affects the dynamics of the wild population based on reproductive value (RV) and elasticity. Removing eggs had the least impact on the pupfish in Devils Hole; RV of an adult was roughly 25 times that of an egg. To evaluate when it might be prudent to remove all pupfish from Devils Hole for captive breeding, I used the count-based model to examine how extinction risk related to pupfish population size. Risk accelerated when initial populations were less than 30 individuals. Results are discussed in relation to the challenges facing pupfish recovery compared to management of other highly endangered species.
Forecasting for business planning: A case study of IBM product sales

This is a case study of a closely managed product. Its purpose is to determine whether time-series methods can be appropriate for business planning. By appropriate, we mean two things: whether these methods can model and estimate the special events or features that are often present in sales data; and whether they can forecast accurately enough one, two and four quarters ahead to be useful for business planning. We use two time-series methods, Box-Jenkins modeling and Holt-Winters adaptive forecasting, to obtain forecasts of shipments of a closely managed product. We show how Box-Jenkins transfer-function models can account for the special events in the data. We develop criteria for choosing a final model which differ from the usual methods and are specifically directed towards maximizing the accuracy of next-quarter, next-half-year and next-full-year forecasts. We find that the best Box-Jenkins models give forecasts which are clearly better than those obtained from Holt-Winters forecast functions, and are also better than the judgmental forecasts of IBM's own planners. In conclusion, we judge that Box-Jenkins models can be appropriate for business planning, in particular for determining at the end of the year baseline business-as-usual annual and monthly forecasts for the next year, and in mid-year for resetting the remaining monthly forecasts.
Age-related impairment of the transcriptional responses to oxidative stress in the mouse heart

To investigate the transcriptional response to oxidative stress in the heart and how it changes with age, we examined the cardiac gene expression profiles of young (5-mo-old), middle-aged (15-mo-old), and old (25-mo-old) C57BL/6 mice treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of paraquat (50 mg/kg). Mice were killed at 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 h after paraquat treatment, and the gene expression profile was obtained with high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. Of 9,977 genes represented on the microarray, 249 transcripts in the young mice, 298 transcripts in the middle-aged mice, and 256 transcripts in the old mice displayed a significant change in mRNA levels (ANOVA, P < 0.01). Among these, a total of 55 transcripts were determined to be paraquat responsive for all age groups. Genes commonly induced in all age groups include those associated with stress, inflammatory, immune, and growth factor responses. Interestingly, only young mice displayed a significant increase in expression of all three isoforms of GADD45, a DNA damage-responsive gene. Additionally, the number of immediate early response genes (IEGs) found to be induced by paraquat was considerably higher in the younger animals. These results demonstrate that, at the transcriptional level, there is an age-related impairment of specific inducible pathways in the response to oxidative stress in the mouse heart.
Effects of Tylan Soluble on Young Turkey Poults in the Presence and Absence of Stunting Syndrome

Abstract A trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of Tylan Soluble (Tylan) in the drinking water of young turkey poults exposed or not exposed to stunting syndrome (SS). Three Tylan treatments were evaluated in the trial: 1) control—no Tylan, 2) 2 g Tylan per gallon of drinking water starting at 2 d of age and given for 5 consecutive d, and 3) 2 g Tylan per gallon of drinking water starting at 4 d of age and given for 5 consecutive d. Each treatment was assigned to six pens in two rooms. One room of poults was exposed to SS and the other room was not exposed to SS. Both treatments of Tylan significantly improved 14-d body weights and feed conversions in poults exposed to SS. Tylan treatment significantly increased feed consumption of poults exposed to SS. These statistically favorable improvements, however, did not completely overcome the adverse effects of SS. In the poults not exposed to SS, Tylan significantly improved weight gains and feed conversions at 14 d of age. Both Tylan treatments increased jejunal maltase activity in poults not exposed to SS, indicating improved intestinal function.
Six degrees of scientific data: reading patterns for extreme scale science IO

Petascale science simulations generate 10s of TBs of application data per day, much of it devoted to their checkpoint/restart fault tolerance mechanisms. Previous work demonstrated the importance of carefully managing such output to prevent application slowdown due to IO blocking, resource contention negatively impacting simulation performance and to fully exploit the IO bandwidth available to the petascale machine. This paper takes a further step in understanding and managing extreme-scale IO. Specifically, its evaluations seek to understand how to efficiently read data for subsequent data analysis, visualization, checkpoint restart after a failure, and other read-intensive operations. In their entirety, these actions support the 'end-to-end' needs of scientists enabling the scientific processes being undertaken. Contributions include the following. First, working with application scientists, we define 'read' benchmarks that capture the common read patterns used by analysis codes. Second, these read patterns are used to evaluate different IO techniques at scale to understand the effects of alternative data sizes and organizations in relation to the performance seen by end users. Third, defining the novel notion of a 'data district' to characterize how data is organized for reads, we experimentally compare the read performance seen with the ADIOS middleware's log-based BP format to that seen by the logically contiguous NetCDF or HDF5 formats commonly used by analysis tools. Measurements assess the performance seen across patterns and with different data sizes, organizations, and read process counts. Outcomes demonstrate that high end-to-end IO performance requires data organizations that offer flexibility in data layout and placement on parallel storage targets, including in ways that can make tradeoffs in the performance of data writes vs. reads.
COVER ARTICLE: The Use, Construction, and Importance of Canoes Among the Maijuna of the Peruvian Amazon

Canoe construction was studied in a Maijuna community to better understand the role and significance of canoes in the life and subsistence strategies of an Amazonian group. In this community the types of canoes constructed and used by the Maijuna have changed considerably over the past 20 years. Twenty-seven species were identified as being specifically employed by the Maijuna to construct the type of dugout canoe currently being made in the community. The scarcity of preferred species used for canoe hulls directly affects the trees chosen for construction and may have been a contributing factor behind the complete switch from making the traditional type of dugout canoe.
Long-term prognosis of pregnancies complicated by slow embryonic heart rates in the early first trimester.

Slow embryonic heart rates at gestational age 7 weeks or less are associated with high risk of first trimester death. Our goal was to determine the prognosis for those embryos with slow early heart rates who survive the first trimester. We prospectively recorded embryonic heart rates for all obstetrical sonograms obtained on singleton pregnancies at or before 7.0 weeks' gestation since 1993. We collected information about pregnancy outcome, including date of live birth or in utero death and presence and nature of congenital anomalies. First trimester survival rate was 61.6% among 531 embryos with slow early heart rates ( 0.10, Fisher's exact test). Structural and chromosomal anomalies, however, occurred more than twice as frequently in cases with slow early heart rates: 5.4% (16 of 299) of the first trimester survivors with slow early heart rates proved to have anomalies, as compared to 2.4% (31 of 1281) of cases with normal early heart rates (p 90%) of resulting in a liveborn neonate without congenital anomalies. Embryos with slow early heart rates do, however, have a greater risk of having anomalies than embryos with normal early heart rates.
Abstract 13970: Precapillary Pulmonary Hypertension Prior to LVAD Implantation is Associated with Increased Mortality

Introduction: Severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is often associated with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Data suggests that in PH patients worsening LV function can result in “out-of-proportion” PH (OOPPH), measured by the transpulmonary gradient (TPG) or diastolic pulmonary vascular pressure gradient (DPG), and portends a higher mortality. We hypothesized that patients with OOPPH who underwent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement would have worse outcomes, and we wanted to assess outcomes in pre and postcapillary PH patients. Methods: We retrospectively identified all patients who underwent LVAD placement with RHC hemodynamic data available between Jan 1st 2007 and Dec 31st 2011. Demographic, clinical and procedural data were collated and analyzed. Multivariable analysis was used to assess for predictors of mortality. Results: Within the patient cohort (n = 79), the mean age was 54 (range 20 - 78), 75% were male, and 78% were Caucasian. Precapillary PH was present in 10% of the patients and was an independent predictor for mortality (HR 4.71, 95% CI [1.53 - 14.5] p=0.007) after adjusting for race, gender, age and inotrope use. OOPPH was not associated with increased mortality. Conclusion: In our institutional experience precapillary PH has shown to be an independent predictor for mortality in the setting of LVAD placement. These findings are intriguing and merit further investigation on a larger scale. ![][1] ![][2] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/graphic-2.gif
Subterahertz and Terahertz Oscillations of Ballistic Hole Current in Uniaxially Compressed Narrow Bases

Mostly Γ-electrons in direct gap semiconductors with zinc-blend crystal lattice are used for experimental researches of the ballistic transport. Mean free paths of both heavy and light holes in these materials (as well as in the diamond-like semiconductors) are small enough1 because of predominant scattering into heavy-hole states. Situation changes crucially at an uniaxial compression which eliminates the degeneracy of valence bands at the point k=0 and shifts this point along the compression direction. In the energy range δE12(0)=E2(0)-E2(0) (where 1,2 are numbers of the mixed valence bands) there are only light holes with substantially anisotropic dispersion relations E1(k). Thus their mean free path and time increase substantially.
Multimodal approach to pain management following bipolar hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fracture: i'm a believer!: commentary on an article by Hyun Kang, MD, et al.: "effectiveness of multimodal pain management after bipolar hemiarthroplasty for hip fracture. A randomized, controlled study".

The multimodal approach to pain management has been enthusiastically embraced in the hope that the undesirable side effects and consequences of traditional reliance on narcotic medications can be overcome. Orthopaedic surgical procedures are painful. Postsurgical pain has well-documented negative consequences, and poorly controlled postoperative pain not only slows recovery but also leads to unacceptable levels of patient dissatisfaction. In the past two decades, techniques of continuous infusion of narcotics partially controlled by the patient either by an intravenous route or through the continuation of the epidural route after surgery has been very successful in helping to manage postoperative pain. Epidural patient-controlled anesthesia is especially attractive for lower-extremity surgery because narcotics can be mixed with local anesthetics, lowering the dose and toxicity of the narcotic while achieving very dramatic pain control. Unfortunately, this excellent control of pain has unwanted consequences. Patients who experience satisfactory pain relief when using epidural patient-controlled anesthesia often require a urinary catheter, experience nausea presumably from the epidural narcotic, and have relatively profound postural hypotension that limits their …
From Deconstruction to Activism The Chinese Independent Documentary and the Crowd

This article explores how the increasing visibility of new collectives in contemporary China has shaped independent documentaries. Countering a prevalent approach to documentary studies that emphasizes the individual and the subjective, this article suggests that how to represent collectivity has preoccupied Chinese documentary filmmakers from the inception of this art form. Yet early independent documentary filmmakers of the 1990s did not have a clear agenda on the representation of collectivity. The crowd in their films appears as an indistinguishable entity, akin to a passive or inactive social agent. More recent documentaries present significantly more complicated interactions between the camera and the crowd and deliberately tap into the problem of representation of contemporary crowds not just from a formal perspective, but from a political perspective as well.
Assembly of Nanoparticles in Zeolite Y for the Photocatalytic Generation of Hydrogen from Water

Synthesis of nanoparticles of TiO2, Pt, CdS, and their binary and ternary combinations were made on zeolite Y starting from molecular precursors that are ion exchanged into the zeolite. Nanoclusters of TiO2 in the anatase form were formed from titanyl ions at low loadings of Ti (1 per 2.5 supercages). CdS (hexagonal form) and metallic Pt were formed from Cd2+ and Pt(NH3)42+ ion exchanged into the zeolite. Binary clusters of TiO2−Pt and TiO2−CdS were also synthesized. Electron microscopy and elemental analysis suggests colocalization of the distinct nanoparticles. Photocatalytic H2 evolution is the strongest indicator of colocalization, since improvements in H2 evolution rates of ∼100 for Pt/TiO2-zeolite over TiO2-zeolite and ∼18 for CDS/TiO2-zeolite Y over CdS-zeolite Y were observed. These improvements exceed colloidal binary systems reported in the literature. However, improvements in the H2 evolution rate of the ternary system Pt/CdS/TiO2 was not as marked, as compared to the best colloidal ternary sys...
Chester I. Barnard (1886–1961)

Pays tribute to Chester L. Barnard, author of management books, who died in 1961. His impact on the development of management theory; Information on soome of his written works; His accomplishments.
Effect of Tuberculosis Centralized Management on TB Case-finding Rate

Objective To analyze the effect of tuberculosis centralized management on TB case-finding rate. Methods To collect and analyze all registration data about case-finding and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis cases since the WHO Tuberculosis Control Project had been carried out in Hefei city of Anhui province in 2003. Results The report incidence of tuberculosis was 93.44/100000 in 2004. Compared with 2002, the smear-positive case raised 142%. 70% TB cases were reported by TB control institutions. The new case registration rate of smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis was 21.65/100000 in 2004. The ratio of new smear-positive cases and retreatment smear-positive cases was 2.5∶1. Conclusion Centralized management of tuberculosis cases was an important measure to improve the TB case-finding rate and cure rate.
Infection in the presence of skeletal fixation in the upper extremity

Infection is infrequent after open fractures of the upper extremity. Treatment begins with prevention through the appropriate use of prophylactic antibiotics, adequate wound debridement, and timely soft-tissue coverage. If infection supervenes, the surgeon must identify the responsible bacteria and administer antibiotics accordingly. Stable fixation is retained. Unstable fixation is removed and skeletal stability restored. Using these principles, infection in the presence of skeletal fixation can be controlled and fracture union achieved.
Predicting the need for nonstandard tracheostomy tubes in critically ill patients.

Abstract Purpose Few guidelines exist regarding the selection of a particular type or size of tracheostomy tube. Although nonstandard tubes can be placed over the percutaneous kit dilator, clinicians often place standard tracheostomy tubes and change to nonstandard tubes only after problems arise. This practice risks early tracheostomy tube change, possible bleeding, or loss of the airway. We sought to identify predictors of nonstandard tracheostomy tubes. Materials and methods In this matched case-control study at an urban, academic, tertiary care medical center, we reviewed 1220 records of patients who received a tracheostomy. Seventy-seven patients received nonstandard tracheostomy tubes (cases), and 154 received standard tracheostomy tubes (controls). Results Sex, endotracheal tube size, severity of illness, and computed tomography scan measurement of the distance from the trachea to the skin at the level of the superior aspect of the anterior clavicle were significant predictors of nonstandard tracheostomy tubes. Specifically, trachea-to-skin distance > 4.4 cm and endotracheal tube sizes ≥ 8.0 were associated with nonstandard tracheostomy. Conclusions The findings suggest that clinicians should consider using nonstandard tracheostomy tubes as the first choice if the patient is male with an endotracheal tube size ≥ 8.0 and has a trachea-to-skin distance > 4.4 cm on the computed tomography scan.
Systemic releases of volatiles by herbivore-damaged plants: what possible functions?

Several hours after caterpillars start feeding on corn seedlings the plants respond with the release of relatively large amounts of terpenoids. Parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in caterpillars exploit this plant response and use the volatile terpenoids to guide them into the vicinity of the caterpillars (Turlings et al., 1990, 1991). In this paper we will first present results that indicate that the herbivore-injured plants indeed actively emit chemical signals. Subsequently, we will argue that such a signalling function most likely has evolved secondarily and that the emitted chemicals primarily function in the direct defence against herbivores and pathogens.
Genetics and Sociology

For close to a century, the social and biological sciences have treated the role of biology and genetics in the explanation of human behavior in different ways; while the social sciences have tended to privilege ‘nurture’ as the cause for variations, biological sciences have leaned toward foregrounding ‘nature.’ Increasingly, scholars in both fields are viewing the roles of genetics and environment as complementary, a perspective that is also contributing to the breakdown of disciplinary barriers. Contemporary sociologists, for example, often take into account the potential role of genes in analyses of social behavior. This article describes the history of interactions of the disciplines of sociology and genetics and reviews the development of intellectual discourse of the relative roles of genes and environment, highlighting recent contributions by contemporary sociologists.
Three Conceptions of Musical Distance

This paper considers three conceptions of musical distance (or inverse “similarity”) that produce three different musico-geometrical spaces: the first, based on voice leading, yields a collection of continuous quotient spaces or orbifolds; the second, based on acoustics, gives rise to the Tonnetz and related “tuning lattices”; while the third, based on the total interval content of a group of notes, generates a six-dimensional “quality space” first described by Ian Quinn. I will show that although these three measures are in principle quite distinct, they are in practice surprisingly interrelated. This produces the challenge of determining which model is appropriate to a given music-theoretical circumstance. Since the different models can yield comparable results, unwary theorists could potentially find themselves using one type of structure (such as a tuning lattice) to investigate properties more perspicuously represented by another (for instance, voice-leading relationships).
L’INITIATION EN SCIENCES EXPÉRIMENTALES À L’ÉDUCATION PRÉSCOLAIRE: PERSPECTIVES ÉPISTÉMOLOGIQUES

Dans cet article sont examinees les origines epistemologiques d’une initiation precoce des enfants d’âge prescolaire en sciences physiques et naturelles. En discutant le caractere des apprentissages scientifiques et le role du savoir scientifique dans l’education prescolaire a ete approchee une serie des consequences educatives, pedagogiques et didactiques. La dimension cruciale de cette approche reconnait qu’en âge prescolaire l’evolution des capacites de processus, liees au « faire », qui s’identifie a cet âge a des activites manuelles et corporelles, auront le dessus sur les activites conceptuelles. Elles constituent ainsi en un certain sens la base pour le developpement de l’activite cognitive liee au developpement de concepts empiriques concrets. The epistemological origins of early initiation of pre-schoolers in physical and natural sciences are discussed in this article. By examining the nature of scientific learning and the role of scientific knowledge in preschool education was approached a series of educational, pedagogical and didactic consequences. The crucial dimension of this approach recognizes that at pre-school age the evolution of process capabilities, related to 'do', identifying himself at that age to manual and corporeal activities, will have precedence over conceptual activities. They are thus in a certain sense the basis for the development of the cognitive activity related to the development of concrete empirical concepts. Article visualizations:
An Anti-Coagulation Conundrum: Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in a Patient with Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Type II

BACKGROUND Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a rare but life-threatening complication of heparin administration. It can present a major clinical dilemma for physicians caring for patients requiring life-saving urgent or emergent cardiac surgery. Studies have been published examining the use of alternative anticoagulants for patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), however, evidence does not clearly support any particular approach. Presently, there are no large-scale, prospective randomized studies examining the impact of alternative anticoagulants on clinical outcomes for HIT-positive patients requiring cardiac surgery. CASE REPORT We present the case of a patient who underwent SynCardia Total Artificial Heart (TAH) implantation following a recent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement. The patient was receiving argatroban for type II HIT with anuric renal failure, and developed a thrombus which occluded the inflow cannula of the LVAD. Based on a published study and after establishing consensus with the surgical, anesthesiology, perfusion, and hematology teams, we decided to use tirofiban as an antiplatelet agent to inhibit the platelet aggregation induced by heparin, and ultimately used heparin as the anticoagulant for cardiopulmonary bypass. CONCLUSIONS When selecting anticoagulation for a HIT-positive patient requiring CPB, so that benefits outweigh risks, it is of paramount importance that the decision be based on a multitude of factors. The team caring for the patient should have a shared mental model and be familiar with the pharmacology, devices used, and local practices. These three elements should be integrated with patient-specific comorbidities along with local monitoring capabilities to ensure safe, efficient patient care.
Impact of use of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5-I) after radical prostatectomy (RP) on biochemical recurrence-free (BCRF) and overall survival (OS): A retrospective study from the Northwestern University SPORE in prostate cancer.

27Background: The correlation between PDE5-I use to improve erectile function post RP and BCRF and OS on prostate cancer (PCa) patients (pts) has yielded conflicting results among prior retrospecti...
Bayesian Estimation of Unconstrained Nonlinear Dynamic Systems

Abstract Accurate estimation of state variables and model parameters is essential for efficient process operation. The Bayesian formulation of the estimation problem suggests a general solution for non linear systems. However, a practically feasible implementation of the solution has not been available until recently. Most existing methods have had to rely on simplifying assumptions to obtain an approximate solution. For example, extended Kalman filtering estimates the system state by Iinearizing the non linear model and assuming Gaussian distributions for all random variables. Moving horizon estimation assumes Gaussian or other fixed-shape distributions to formulate a constrained leastsquares optimization problem. In this paper, Bayesian estimation is implemented by sequential Monte Carlo sampling. This approach can represent non-Gaussian distrihutions accurately and efficiently with minimum assumptions and computes moments by Monte Carlo integration. The features of the Monte Carlo approach are demonstrated by application to a state estimation case study of a CSTR process. The proposed method exhibits 78% improvement in estimation error and takes 95% less time than moving horizon estimation to solve the problem.
The Cambridge Introduction to Contemporary American Fiction

The Cambridge Introduction to Contemporary American Fiction explores fiction written over the last thirty years in the context of the profound political, historical, and cultural changes that have distinguished the contemporary period. Focusing on both established and emerging writers - and with chapters devoted to the American historical novel, regional realism, the American political novel, the end of the Cold War and globalization, 9/11, borderlands and border identities, race, and the legacy of postmodern aesthetics - this Introduction locates contemporary American fiction at the intersection of a specific time and long-standing traditions. In the process, it investigates the entire concept of what constitutes an “American” author while exploring the vexed, yet resilient, nature of what the concept of home has come to signify in so much writing today. This wide-ranging study will be invaluable to students, instructors, and general readers alike.
Using Cluster Analysis to Group Countries for Cost-effectiveness Analysis: An Application to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective. To explore the use of cluster analysis to define groups of similar countries for the purpose of evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a public health intervention—maternal immunization—wi...
3T multiparametric MRI-guided high-dose-rate combined intracavitary and interstitial adaptive brachytherapy for the treatment of cervical cancer with a novel split-ring applicator

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the role of 3T-MRI–guided adaptive high-dose-rate (HDR) combined intracavitary and interstitial brachytherapy for cervical cancer using a novel intracavitary split-ring (ICSR) applicator adapter. Methods and Materials We retrospectively reviewed all HDR brachytherapy cases from 2013 to 2015 using an ICSR applicator. Initial optimization was performed using 3T multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) series with an applicator in place. The mpMRI series were discretionarily acquired before subsequent fractions for possible target adaptation. When necessary, interstitial needles (ISNs) were inserted through a novel ICSR adapter or freehand. Dosimetric parameters, clinical outcomes, and toxicities were compared between groups. Results Seventeen patients were included, with a mean followup of 32 months. An mpMRI series preceded each initial fraction and 52.9% of patients underwent ≥1 additional pretreatment mpMRI. Among these subsequent fractions, the high-risk clinical target volume was reduced in 80% vs. 41% without pretreatment mpMRI. Five patients had ISN placement (seven insertions) to improve extracervical target coverage. Mean D90 (Gy) per fraction to the high-risk clinical target volume and intermediate-risk clinical target volume with and without an ISN were 7.51 ± 1.07 vs. 6.14 ± 0.52 (p = 0.028) and 6.35 ± 0.75 vs. 5.21 ± 0.49 (p = 0.007), respectively. Mean fractional D2cc (Gy) for organs at risk was comparable. No Grades 3–4 toxicity was reported. Disease-free survival and local control for the ICSR-ISN and ICSR-alone groups were 29.8 months/80.0% and 31.2 months/83.3%, respectively. Conclusions The mpMRI acquisition with ICSR applicator in place immediately before HDR brachytherapy for cervical cancer guided successful adaptive treatment optimization and delivery. Our initial experience with a novel interstitial adapter for the split-ring applicator demonstrated excellent target coverage without compromising organs at risk, resulting in good local control and disease-free survival.
Impact of prior ICU experience on ICU patient family members' psychological distress: A descriptive study.

Abstract Objective To determine if current levels of anxiety, depression and acute stress disorder symptoms differ significantly among family members of intensive-care-unit patients depending upon previous intensive-care experience. Research design This study used a prospective, descriptive study design. Setting Family members (N = 127) from patients admitted within a 72-hour timeframe to the medical, surgical, cardiac and neurological intensive care units were recruited from waiting rooms at a medium-sized community hospital in the Southeastern United States. Main outcome measures Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, the Acute Stress Disorder Scale and a demographic questionnaire. Results A multivariate analysis revealed that family members of intensive-care-unit patients with a prior intensive-care experience within the past two years (n = 56) were significantly more likely to report anxiety, depression and acute stress symptoms, Λ = 0.92, F [4122] = 2.70, p = 0.034, partial η2 = 0.08, observed power = 0.74. Conclusion Results of this study show that family members’ psychological distress is higher with previous familial or personal intensive-care experience. Nurses need to assess for psychological distress in ICU family members and identify those who could benefit from additional support services provided in collaboration with multidisciplinary support professionals.
Necrotizing Anogenital Ulcer in a Healthy 8-Month-Old Male.

A healthy 8-month-old male infant was admitted for management of a rapidly progressive, painful anogenital ulcer. The lesion had developed acutely over 48 hours, starting as symmetric pink patches leading to pustules, erosions, and ulceration. Associated symptoms included generalized fatigue, but no fevers, chills, or other systemic symptoms. The child’s parents denied any new topical exposures or medications. The child was born via vaginal delivery at full term. Pregnancy was complicated by gestational diabetes. The child had no major medical issues and met all developmental milestones. There was no relevant family medical history. Broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics were initiated on admission. Dermatology was consulted prior to scheduled debridement and skin grafting.
Macroevolutionary Theory and Archaeology: Is There a Big Picture?

In contrast to evolutionary ecology and evolutionary archaeology, macroevolutionary archaeology argues that human evolution is the result of more than just natural selection and selection-shaped decision making acting on individuals and that its broader trajectory is not random but structured. The rugged fitness landscape featured in Sewall Wright’s (1931; 1932) shifting balance theory provides a strong warrant for these arguments; forces other than natural selection are needed to move populations from lower to high fitness peaks. The analogy is particularly apt for humans because the bulk of human behavior is acquired by social transmission and has payoffs that hinge on the result of social interaction, producing many different adaptive equilibria. Groups that make their way to superior equilibria are selected for, resulting in group selection, the pace of which is hastened by cultural transmission.
Rates and Mechanisms of Dissolution of Renal Calculi. II. Development and Discussion of Potential Models for Dissolution of Oxalate Calculi

In our previous paper1, we demonstrated that even though pure calcium oxalate followed a simple diffusion-controlled dissolution model that real calculi exhibited a more complex dissolution behavior. In this paper we will elaborate five dissolution models that are possibly applicable to renal calculi dissolution and develop criteria for determining their applicability.
Med Conformity: Enhance Adherence with Prescription Opioids

A person dies in America approximately every 16 minutes from opioid overdose. It is estimated that one in four patients receiving long-term opioid therapy in a primary care setting struggles with opioid addiction. Medication nonadherence causes unfavorable healthcare outcomes and raises healthcare costs through increased service utilization. Developing a digital health application to run on a smartphone is an inexpensive solution for addressing medication non-adherence. Objective data captured on a digital device can facilitate better communication between patients and their providers. We present Med Conformity, an open-sourced application for helping patients to better control the medications they use as needed. The opensourced application will be customizable for various patients needs. Additionally, emerging digital health technologies can be interfaced with the application in the future to create novel solutions to address medication non-adherence.
Highly scalable distributed-memory sparse triangular solution algorithms.

Author(s): Liu, Yang; Jacquelin, Mathias; Ghysels, Pieter; Li, Xiaoye S | Editor(s): Manne, Fredrik; Sanders, Peter; Toledo, Sivan
No Ordinary Time: Indigenous Dispossession and Slavery Unwilling to Die

The contemporary coalescence of Indigenous and Black peoples as aggrieved, insurgent, and mobilized polities reflects a shared recognition of more than the private, personal, and parochial concerns of members of those groups. The enduring consequences of Indigenous dispossession and what US jurist William O. Douglas aptly described in the 1960s as “the spectacle of slavery unwilling to die” are felt harshly and directly by First Nations and Afro-diasporic people around the globe, but they harm everyone. Racialized capitalism treats the planet and most of its people as mere objects to be manipulated in the pursuit of profits and power. As the system resorts to ever more desperate and dangerous forms of domination and exploitation, aggrieved communities of color see first the very worst that it has to offer. What happens to them today will happen elsewhere tomorrow. Their insurgencies are not pleas to be granted full recognition and rights within the world as it now exists but rather insistent struggles to transform radically a society that they rightly perceive to be decadent and dying. The turmoil of our time is evidence of chickens coming home to roost, of the ways in which the patterns of the past shape the contours of both peril and possibility in the present, and of the need for the world to be at last responsible and accountable for the cumulative costs of displacement, dispossession, slavery, and segregation.
The Impact of Human Behavioral Changes in 2014 West Africa Ebola Outbreak

The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has caused around 23000 infections by middle of Feburary 2015, with a death rate of 40%. The cases have been imported into developed countries, e.g., Spain and US, through travelers and returning healthcare workers. It is clear that the virus is a threat to public health worldwide. Given the absence of vaccine and effective treatment, response has focused so far on containment and education for prophylaxis. In studying the effects of human behavioral response to contain the current Ebola transmission, we built an epidemiological model in Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Modeler (STEM), an open source platform. We simulate the course of the infection under various conditions from public available data and realistic assumptions about the disease dynamics. We ran this spatially extended simulation in three hardest-hit countries (i.e., Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea) in West Africa. A series of sensitivity analysis was performed to get insights of the likely human behavioral response to the change of disease epidemic, which helps understand the determinants of disease control. Our analysis suggests the reproductive number for the disease can be driven below 1.0 and effective control is possible if hospitalization occurs within 60 hours and/or if proper burials are processed within 34 hours. We also calibrated our model using processive period of reference data starting from March 14 reported by the WHO. We have an observation of gradual human behavior changes in the affected countries in response to the epidemic outbreak.
Late effects of pediatric brain tumors

Purpose of review Adverse late effects of pediatric brain tumors can be numerous and complex and potentially alter the life trajectories of survivors in a multitude of ways. We review these inter-related late effects that compromise neurocognitive function, general health, social and psychological adjustment, and overall adaptive and vocational outcomes, and threaten to undermine the ability of survivors to transition independently into adulthood and effectively manage their care. Intervention/prevention strategies and advances in treatment that may reduce such late effects are discussed. Recent findings Studies of neuropsychological late effects have revealed specific deficits in core cognitive functions of attention, working memory and processing speed, with many survivors demonstrating decline in working memory and processing speed over time, irrespective of tumor type or treatment. This in turn affects the ongoing development of higher order neurocognitive skills. Research also highlights the increasing burden of health-related, neuropsychological and psychosocial late effects into adulthood and impact across life outcomes. Summary Pediatric brain tumor survivors require coordinated interdisciplinary care, ongoing evaluation and management of late effects, and timely interventions focused on mitigating the impact of late effects. The transition to adulthood can be especially vulnerable and addressing barriers to care is of paramount importance.
Subjective Measurement of Trust: Is It on the Level?:

Psychometrics are increasingly being used to evaluate trust in the automation of safety-critical systems. There is no consensus on what the highest level of measurement is for psychometric trust. T...
Commercial Gentrification Indexes: Using Business Directories to Map Urban Change at the Street Level

This article presents the case for utilizing business directories in building commercial gentrification indexes as tools for research on neighborhood change. It reviews several existing methods of ...
Biochar and manure addition influenced soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities at eroded and depositional landscape positions

Biochar and manure application can modify soil microbial community structure and enhance biochemical activities. However, the studies about the influence of biochar and manure on the microbial communities on different geomorphological landforms (depositional and eroded landscapes) are scarce. In this study, we investigated the responses of soil biochemical activities and microbial communities to the addition of pinewood biochar, dairy manure (DM), and the dairy manure and pinewood biochar mixture (DMP) at a rate of 10 Mg ha⁻¹, respectively, in comparison with control (CNT) at eroded and depositional landscape positions over 5 years. Data showed that the DMP treatment significantly increased cold‐water‐soluble organic carbon and hot‐water‐soluble organic carbon at the depositional landscape than CNT soils. Application of DMP increased total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and bacterial PLFA by 31% and 20% compared with the CNT at the depositional landscape, respectively. At eroded landscape, total PLFAs and total bacterial PLFAs biomass concentrations were found 39% and 90% higher with DM than CNT soils. The addition of DM and DMP increased the activities of enzymes that are involved in the major nutrient cycling at depositional and eroded landscapes. At the phylum level, the proportion of Bacteroidetes was found lower in DMP, but the proportion of phylum Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were increased. In conclusion, our study revealed that DMP influenced the labile nutrient pool, altered the microbial community structure, and increased bacterial composition and enzymatic activities at both the landscape positions.
Novel Communication Channel Model for Signal Propagation and Loss Through Layered Earth

Signal propagation through-the-Earth (TTE) is of great importance to geophysicists searching for underground resources such as oil and gas, homeland defense searching for tunnels and underground structures, and mining operations. The Earth is a conductive medium, unlike air or space, which tends to “short-out” electromagnetic fields traditionally used for wireless communications. The magnitude of this effect depends on many factors, such as frequency and the type of Earth-material. Mathematical models of energy propagation have been developed to help us understand the signal propagation issues, and some models can be used to predict the performance of the specific electromagnetic energies being used. There are numerous ways of modeling the Earth to study energy propagation. Some early literature presented models of signal propagation through a homogeneous Earth. These were fairly accurate for signals traveling from one point in the Earth to another point. However, signals traveling from below the ground to the surface of the Earth encounter many different layers of the Earth. This realization led to the development of models of a layered Earth. A novel layered-Earth communication model is presented and evaluated as to its accuracy by using measured data gathered during TTE communication tests from 2007 to 2012. Evaluations show that the new layered-EARTH model provides improved accuracy for the prediction of signal propagation performance from within a subterranean space, such as a mine, to and from the surface of the Earth.
Attention and Consciousness in Intentional Action: Steps Toward Rich Artificial Agency

If artificial agents are to be created such that they occupy space in our social and cultural milieu, then we should expect them to be targets of folk psychological explanation. That is to say, the...
Design Scheme for Data Transmission Component of Electric Internet of Things Management Platform

The power Internet of things (IOT) integrates the power generation, transmission, transformation, distribution, consumption and so on, which has been rapidly developed and applied in the power field. The type and data transmission mode of access devices are becoming more and more complex. The number of access devices and the amount of data transmission are also increasing rapidly. According to this situation, a new architecture design for ubiquitous power IOT access system based on classification of data transmission characteristics is proposed, which classifies data transmission channels according to data transmission characteristics in the field of ubiquitous power IOT, and provides different solutions for each data transmission characteristic; In this scheme, the transmission channels with different data transmission characteristics are designed as independent and deployment component programs. Each scheme provide the expansion method of massive equipment access. In practical scenarios, according to the characteristics of device transmission, components can be flexibly selected for accessing and data transmission of mass devices.