cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical impact of copy number variation analysis using high-resolution microarray technologies: advantages, limitations and concerns

Copy number variation (CNV) analysis has had a major impact on the field of medical genetics, providing a mechanism to identify disease-causing genomic alterations in an unprecedented number of diseases and phenotypes. CNV analysis is now routinely used in the clinical diagnostic laboratory, and has led to a significant increase in the detection of chromosomal abnormalities. These findings are used for prenatal decision making, clinical management and genetic counseling. Although a powerful tool to identify genomic alterations, CNV analysis may also result in the detection of genomic alterations that have unknown clinical significance or reveal unintended information. This highlights the importance of informed consent and genetic counseling for clinical CNV analysis. This review examines the advantages and limitations of CNV discovery in the clinical diagnostic laboratory, as well as the impact on the clinician and family.
On stability in non-cooperative duopolistic markets with satisficing behaviour

Using a, linear market demand model, we examine the price stability implications of firms following a ‘satisficing’ mode of behaviour. Specifically, we assume each firm possesses a profit and share of market goal such that any price set which yields a profit and share of market equal to or exceeding the desired goals of the firms will be termed satisfactory. Any price vector in such a price set will be termed stable. The impact of product differentiation, exogeneous shifts in market demands, and price perturbations by rival firms on the set of stable prices is explored. Also we determine the expected number of pricing trials necessary to obtain a stable price pair.
A new design strategy for the Tank and Hopfield neural analog-to-digital converter

Tank and Hopfield (1986) have described the implementation of a neural-based 4-bit analog-to-digital converter and discussed several of the problems they encountered such as missing output codes. High-gain amplifiers were used for the artificial neurons in their implementation. System noise and non-ideal amplifier characteristics such as offset voltages are multiplied by gain which results in a loss of conversion accuracy. The new approach proposed here use low-gain analog amplifiers for the artificial neurons where the gain is more like that of a biological neutron. Simulation and experimental results are presented. >
Endoscopic Management of the Symptomatic Caliceal Diverticular Calculus

AbstractCaliceal diverticular calculi are most often asymptomatic and of little clinical significance. In certain cases they may be associated with flank pain, pyuria and chronic urinary tract infections. Treatment has evolved from open surgical techniques to a purely endoscopic approach. Percutaneous techniques are frequently used to address the diverticular stone burden and to dilate the diverticular neck, improving drainage.Small volume caliceal diverticular calculi and those in the anterior portion of the collecting system represent a greater technical challenge to the endoscopist. We describe a purely retrograde endoscopic technique for treating small stone burdens trapped in caliceal diverticula. Flexible ureteroscopy combined with 3F dilating balloons passed through the endoscopic working channel facilitated treatment. This retrograde technique was combined with a simultaneous primary percutaneous puncture into the diverticulum to treat larger stone burdens and calculi within long-necked diverticul...
Spatial learning deficits are not solely due to cholinergic deficits following medial septal lesions with colchicine

Colchicine was infused bilaterally into the cerebrolateral ventricles (3.75 μg/side) or directly into the medial septum (5 μg) of adult, male Fischer-344 rats (n = 48), and effects on behavior and cholinergic markers were determined. Rats receiving intracerebroventricular acV) administration of colchicine were hyperaggressive during the first week after administration and were hyperactive when tested during 60-min sessions at weekly intervals during the first 3 weeks after colchicine treatment. ICV colchicine also interfered with the acquisition of a spatial task in the water maze. Rats receiving colchicine directly into the medial septum were also aggressive and hyperactive, but were not impaired in the acquisition of the water-maze task. It was subsequently found that direct administration and ICV administration of colchicine both decreased the number of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunoreactive cells in the medial septum by at least 50% of vehicle-treated rats and decreased ChAT enzyme activity in both the right and the left hippocampus to about 50% of controllevels. However, the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining was more clearly decreased bilaterally in the hippocampus after ICV infusion than after direct infusion of colchicine. ICV infusion resulted in bilateral shrinkage of the lateral septum, whereas direct septal administration resulted in only unilateral damage to the lateral septum. The results ofthese experiments do not support the generally accepted hypothesis that spatial learning deficits seen in animals with medial septum lesions are solely due to a lesion-associated cholinergic deficit in the hippocampus.
Cell tracking and segmentation in electron microscopy images using graph cuts

Understanding neural connectivity and structures in the brain requires detailed 3D anatomical models, and such an understanding is essential to the study of the nervous system. However, the reconstruction of 3D models from a large set of dense nanoscale medical images is very challenging, due to the imperfections in staining and noise in the imaging process. Manual segmentation in 2D followed by tracking the 2D contours through cross-sections to build 3D structures can be a solution, but it is impractical. In this paper, we propose an automated tracking and segmentation framework to extract 2D contours and to trace them through the z direction. The segmentation is posed as an energy minimization problem and solved via graph cuts. The energy function to be minimized contains a regional term and a boundary term. The regional term is defined over the flux of the gradient vector fields and the distance function. Our main idea is that the distance function should carry the information of the segmentation from the previous image based on the assumption that successive images have a similar segmentation. The boundary term is defined over the gray-scale intensity of the image. Experiments were conducted on nanoscale image sequences from the Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscope (SBF-SEM). The results show that our method can successfully track and segment densely packed cells in EM image stacks.
A novel Lagrangian formulation for self‐consistent fluid mechanics problems

A novel Lagrangian formulation is proposed for self‐consistent fluid mechanics problems, like magnetohydrodynamics, in which the force field is to be determined along with the velocity field. A key feature of the formulation is that the momentum balance and continuity equations are exactly satisfied locally, even in numerical applications. This is accomplished by choosing a Lagrangian representation for the velocity field and using the momentum balance equation to cmpute the force field pointwise in terms of the Lagrangian mapping function. The formulation is illustrated for one‐dimensional electrohydrodynamics, in which case the mass continuity and momentum balance equations are coupled to the Poisson equation. The formulation may be suitable for describing phenomena like the formation of convective cells, boundary layers, or discontinuities in a natural way.
The Arabidopsis immune regulator SRFR1 dampens defences against herbivory by Spodoptera exigua and parasitism by Heterodera schachtii.

Plants have developed diverse mechanisms to fine tune defence responses to different types of enemy. Cross-regulation between signalling pathways may allow the prioritization of one response over another. Previously, we identified SUPPRESSOR OF rps4-RLD1 (SRFR1) as a negative regulator of ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (EDS1)-dependent effector-triggered immunity against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 expressing avrRps4. The use of multiple stresses is a powerful tool to further define gene function. Here, we examined whether SRFR1 also impacts resistance to a herbivorous insect in leaves and to a cyst nematode in roots. Interestingly, srfr1-1 plants showed increased resistance to herbivory by the beet army worm Spodoptera exigua and to parasitism by the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii compared with the corresponding wild-type Arabidopsis accession RLD. Using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) to measure the transcript levels of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonate/ethylene (JA/ET) pathway genes, we found that enhanced resistance of srfr1-1 plants to S. exigua correlated with specific upregulation of the MYC2 branch of the JA pathway concurrent with suppression of the SA pathway. In contrast, the greater susceptibility of RLD was accompanied by simultaneously increased transcript levels of SA, JA and JA/ET signalling pathway genes. Surprisingly, mutation of either SRFR1 or EDS1 increased resistance to H. schachtii, indicating that the concurrent presence of both wild-type genes promotes susceptibility. This finding suggests a novel form of resistance in Arabidopsis to the biotrophic pathogen H. schachtii or a root-specific regulation of the SA pathway by EDS1, and places SRFR1 at an intersection between multiple defence pathways.
Time-scale decoupling and order reduction for linear time-varying systems†

The class of time-varying linear systems which are two-time-scale on an interval may be decoupled by a transformation of variables into separate subsystems containing the slow and fast dynamic parts. The transformation is obtained by solving a non-symmetric Riccati differential equation forward in time and a linear matrix differential equation backward in time. Small parameters are identified which measure the strength of the time-scale separation and the stability of the fast subsystem. As these parameters go to zero, the order of the system is reduced, and a useful approximate solution to the original system is obtained. The transformation is illustrated for examples with strong and weak fast subsystem stability.
Bleomycin fragmentation of duplex DNA occurs as staggered single-strand scissions.

Abstract Electron microscopy of purified full-length linear duplex molecules produced by bleomycin reaction with PM2 DNA revealed low frequencies of closed circular duplex molecules as well as linear duplex molecules with opposed ends (cyclized molecules which have dissociated to yield a gap between the termini). The occurrence of these latter forms indicates that double-strand scissions produced by bleomycin reaction consist of two single-strand scissions which are physically staggered on the complementary strands. Analysis of the temperature dependence for cyclization led to the estimate that an average of 1.7 ± 0.44 base-pairs (2.6 ± 0.5 base pairs without base-stacking energies) occur between the staggered breaks. The reassociated termini cannot be ligated with T4 ligase. When PM2 DNA was fragmented at several sites within each molecule, circular duplexes and linear duplexes with opposed ends with a range of sizes from 350 base pairs up to full-length PM2 DNA were observed. Analysis of the frequency distribution of lengths of these fragments indicates that most, if not all, of the specific sites for bleomycin-directed double-strand scissions in PM2 DNA contain representatives of the same two base single-stranded termini.
Environmental productivity indices and productivity for Opuntia ficus‐indica under current and elevated atmospheric CO2 levels

Abstract. The productivity of the prickly-pear cactus Opuntia ficus-indica, which is cultivated worldwide for its fruits and stem segments, was predicted based on the responses of its net CO2 uptake to soil water status, air temperature and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Each of these environmental factors was represented by an index with a maximum value of unity when that factor was not limiting net CO2 uptake over a 24-h period. The water index, the temperature index, and the PPFD index were determined for 87 sites in the contiguous United States using data from 189 weather stations and for 148 sites worldwide using data from 1464 weather stations. The product of these three indices, the environmental productivity index (EPI), was used to predict the productivity of O. ficus-indica under current climatic conditions and under those accompanying a possible increase in the atmospheric CO2 level to 650μumol mol−1. Sites with temperatures always above -10°C and hence suitable for prickly-pear cultivation numbered 37 in the United States and 110 worldwide; such sites increased by 43 and 5%, respectively, for the global warming accompanying the elevated CO2. Productivity of O. ficus-indica was at least 15 tonnes dry weight hectare−1 year−1, comparable to that of many agronomic crops, for 20 sites with temperatures always above -10°C in the contiguous United States and for 12 such sites worldwide under current climatic conditions; such sites increased by 85 and 117%, respectively, under the elevated CO2 condition, mainly because of direct effects of the atmospheric CO2 level on net CO2 uptake. In summary, simulations based on EPI indicate that O. ficus-indica may presently be advantageously cultivated over a substantial fraction of the earth's surface, such regions increasing markedly with a future doubling in atmospheric CO2 levels.
Design of a next generation sampling service for large scale data analysis applications

Advances in data collection and storage technologies have resulted in large and dynamically growing data sets at many organizations. Database and data mining researchers often use sampling with great effect to scale up performance on these data sets with small cost to accuracy. However, existing techniques often ignore the cost of computing a sample. This cost is often linear in the size of the data set, not the sample, which is expensive. Furthermore, for data mining applications that leverage progressive sampling or bootstrapping-based techniques, this cost can be prohibitive, since they require the generation of multiple samples.To address this problem, we present a solution in the context of a state-of-the-art data analysis center. Specifically, we propose a scalable service that supports sample generation with cost linear in the size of the sample. We then present an efficient parallelization of this service. Our solution leverages high speed interconnects (e.g. Myrinet, Infini-band) for parallel I/O operations with pipelined data transfers. We export an interface that supports both ad-hoc SQL-like querying for database applications, as well as a stand-alone service for data mining applications. We then evaluate our work using queries abstracted from a network monitoring and analysis application, which uses both database and progressive sampling queries. We demonstrate that our implementation achieves good load balance and realizes up to an order of magnitude speedup when compared with extant approaches.
Mantle plume interaction with an endothermic phase change

High spatial resolution numerical simulations of mantle plumes impinging from below on the endothermic phase change at 660-km depth are used to investigate the effects of latent heat release on the plume-phase change interaction. Both axisymmetric and planar upflows are considered, and the strong temperature dependence of mantle viscosity is taken into account. For plume strengths considered, a Clapeyron slope of -4 MPa/K prevents plume penetration of the phase change. Plumes readily penetrate the phase change for a Clapeyron slope of -2 MPa/K and arrive in the upper mantle considerably hotter than if they had not traversed the phase change. For the same amount of thermal drive, i.e., the same excess basal temperature, axisymmetric plumes are hotter upon reaching the upper mantle than are planar upwellings. Heating of plumes by their passage through the spinel-perovskite endothermic phase change can have important consequences for the ability of the plume to thermally thin the lithosphere and cause melting and volcanism.
The Motor Activity of Mammalian Axonemal Dynein Studied In Situ on Doublet Microtubules

Flagellar dynein generates forces that produce relative shearing between doublet microtubules in the axoneme; this drives propagated bending of flagella and cilia. To better understand dynein’s role in coordinated flagellar and ciliary motion, we have developed an in situ assay in which polymerized single microtubules glide along doublet microtubules extruded from disintegrated bovine sperm flagella at a pH of 7.8. The exposed, active dynein remain attached to their respective doublet microtubules, allowing gliding of individual microtubules to be observed in an environment that allows direct control of chemical conditions. In the presence of ATP, translocation of microtubules by dynein exhibits Michaelis-Menten type kinetics, with Vmax 5 4.7 6 0.2 lm/s and Km 5 124 6 11 lM. The character of microtubule translocation is variable, including smooth gliding, stuttered motility, oscillations, buckling, complete dissociation from the doublet microtubule, and occasionally movements reversed from the physiologic direction. The gliding velocity is independent of the number of dynein motors present along the doublet microtubule, and shows no indication of increased activity due to ADP regulation. These results reveal fundamental properties underlying cooperative dynein activity in flagella, differences between mammalian and non-mammalian flagellar dynein, and establish the use of natural tracks of dynein arranged in situ on the doublet microtubules of bovine sperm as a system to explore the mechanics of the dynein-microtubule interactions in mammalian flagella. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 65: 487–494, 2008. ' 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Femtosecond Transient Absorption Spectroscopy of Photochemical Reactions in Solution

We present new femtosecond transient absorption data on the metal carbonyls, M(CO)6 with M = Cr and W as well as preliminary resonance Raman experiments from Cr(CO)6. The results indicate the dynamics of the initial ligand ejection event as well as a possible reaction coordinate.
Multi-photon molecular tagging velocimetry with femtosecond excitation (FemtoMTV)

We present results for first molecular tagging velocimetry (MTV) measurements in water under resonant femtosecond excitation/emission process of a phosphorescent supramolecule. Both two-photon and three-photon absorption processes are examined, and the feasibility of measurements is demonstrated by single component velocimetry in a simple jet flow. The new capabilities enabled by FemtoMTV include elimination of the need for short wavelength UV excitation source and UV optical access in flow facilities, and potential for high rep-rate flow imaging.
Expression of type II iodothyronine deiodinase marks the time that a tissue responds to thyroid hormone-induced metamorphosis in Xenopus laevis

The thyroid gland synthesizes thyroxine (T4), which passes through the larval tadpole's circulatory system. The enzyme type II iodothyronine deiodinase (D2) converts thyroxine (T4) to the active hormone 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) in peripheral tissues. An early response to thyroid hormone (TH) in the Xenopus laevis tadpole is the stimulation of cell division in cells that line the brain ventricles, the lumen of the spinal cord, and the limb buds. These cells express constitutively high levels of D2 mRNA. Exogenous T4 induces early DNA synthesis in brain, spinal cord, and limb buds as efficiently as T3. The deiodinase inhibitor iopanoic acid blocks T4- but not T3-induced cell division. At metamorphic climax, both TH-induced cell division and D2 expression decrease in the brain. Then D2 expression appears in late-responding tissues including the anterior pituitary, the intestine, and the tail where cell division is reduced or absent. Therefore, constitutive expression of D2 occurs in the earliest target tissues of TH that will grow and differentiate, while TH-induced expression of D2 takes place in late-responding tissues that will remodel or die. This pattern of constitutive and induced D2 expression contributes to the timing of metamorphic changes in these tissues.
Potential for transport of boll weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to the cotton gin within cotton modules.

There is concern that cotton gins located in boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, eradication zones serving customers in adjacent infested zones may serve as a site for boll weevil reintroductions if weevils are transported alive inside cotton modules. We surveyed fields in three distinct areas of Texas and found that weevils can be present in large numbers in cotton fields that have been defoliated and desiccated in preparation for harvest, both as free adults and as immatures inside unopened bolls. Harvested cotton taken from module builders indicated that ≈100–3,700 adult boll weevils were packed inside modules constructed at the sampled fields. Marked weevils were forced through a laboratory field cleaner (bur extractor) commonly mounted on stripper-harvesters, and 14% were recovered alive in the seed cotton fraction and lived at least to 24 h. Survival of weevils placed inside modules declined over time up to 7 d, but the magnitude of the decline varied with experimental conditions. In one experiment, 91% of the weevils survived to 7 d, whereas under harsher environmental conditions, only 11% survived that long. Together, our results indicate that when cotton is harvested in an infested area, boll weevils likely will be packed alive into cotton modules, and many will still be alive by the time the module is fed into the gin, at least up to 7 d after the module’s construction.
State-Dependent Sequencing and Learning

To investigate the relationship between sleep and cognition, we develop a computational model with neuromodulatory, sequencing and learning features. Our simulations show how specific and non-specific synaptic events influence the behavior of a neural network in a state-dependent manner. Neuromodulation not only regulates the strength and temporal properties of the learning rule, but it also mediates unsupervised learning during model rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
Treatment of severe insulin resistance in pregnancy with 500 units per milliliter of concentrated insulin.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate glycemic control and pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women with severe insulin resistance treated with 500 units/mL concentrated insulin. METHODS Retrospective analysis of gravid women with severe insulin resistance (need for greater than 100 units of insulin per injection or greater than 200 units/d) treated with either 500 units/mL concentrated insulin or conventional insulin therapy. We performed a two-part analysis: 1) between gravid women treated with and without 500 units/mL concentrated insulin; and 2) among gravid women treated with 500 units/mL concentrated insulin, comparing glycemic control before and after its initiation. RESULTS Seventy-three pregnant women with severe insulin resistance were treated with 500 units/mL concentrated insulin and 78 with conventional insulin regimens. Patients treated with 500 units/mL concentrated insulin were older and more likely to have type 2 diabetes mellitus. Average body mass index was comparable between both groups (38.6 compared with 40.4, P=.11) as were obstetric and perinatal outcomes and glycemic control during the last week of gestation. Within the 500 units/mL concentrated insulin cohort, after initiation of this medication, fasting and postprandial blood glucose concentrations improved. However, the rates of blood glucose values less than 60 mg/dL and less than 50 mg/dL were higher in the 500 units/mL concentrated insulin group after initiation than before, 4.8% compared with 2.0% (P<.01) and 2.0% compared with 0.7% (P<.01), respectively. CONCLUSION The use of 500 units/mL concentrated insulin in severely obese insulin-resistant pregnant women confers similar glycemic control compared with traditional insulin regimens but may increase the risk of hypoglycemia. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE II.
Jacques-Louis David’s Adieux: The Micropolitics of Sovereignty at the Bourbon Restoration

In 1816, the restored Bourbon regime banished a group of French Revolutionary politicians from French soil. Although Louis XVIII created an exception for France’s premier painter Jacques-Louis David, David contested this exercise of sovereignty by refusing to be the beneficiary of a monarchic decision on the exception. In rewriting exile as exit, David alters the Revolutionary conception of national sovereignty he subscribed to decades earlier and enacts self-sovereignty instead. David’s painting Les Adieux de Telemaque et d’Eucharis (1818) confirms the artist’s self-sovereign affirmation of responsibility, potential undecidability, and autonomous error in defiance of Bourbon unaccountability, decisionism, and infallibility.
Dietary Copper Deficiency Alters Protein Levels of Rat Dopamine β-Monooxygenase and Tyrosine Monooxygenase:

Perinatal copper (Cu) deficiency was studied by offering pregnant Sprague Dawley rats a basal diet low in copper, 0.44 mg/kg, and drinking water containing 0 (–Cu) or 20 (+Cu) mg Cu/L as CuSO4 starting at day 7 of gestation and continuing throughout lactation. To investigate dopamine-β-monooxygenase (DBM) and tyrosine monooxygenase (TM) in adrenal gland and brain, offspring were weaned at Day 21 to treatments of their respective dams for 9 days. Offspring, 30 days old, of Cu-deficient (–Cu) dams were smaller, anemic, and had biochemical features characteristic of severe Cu deficiency. Adrenal DBM enzyme activity of 30-day-old –Cu rats was 40% higher than Cu-adequate (+Cu) rats and DBM protein levels, estimated by Western immunoblot, were 45% higher. Adrenal DBM mRNA levels of –Cu rats were 108% higher than +Cu rats. Adrenal TM protein levels of –Cu rats were 39% higher than +Cu rats. Hypothalamus DBM activity was significantly higher in –Cu than +Cu rats but no reproducible changes in DBM or TM Protein le...
SPECT quality control: A program recommended by the American College of Nuclear Physicians and the ACNP Corporate Committee

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to identify basic quality control procedures and frequency of testing, the results of which yield a “use” or “no-use” condition for a singlehead SPECT camera. Methods: This paper gives a checklist for a variety of quality control tests including detector uniformity, detector resolution and linearity, center of rotation and SPECT resolution and SPECT uniformity. Results: Four performance tests used in a systematic protocol can be used to determine satisfactory SPECT camera operation. The testing procedures require an average of about 30 min per day. Conclusions: Specific procedures and testing frequency should meet manufacturer specifications or approval by a qualified physicist.
The effect of renal dysfunction on short-term outcomes after lumbar fusion

Abstract Objective To compare post-lumbar decompression and fusion complication rates and mortality for patients without preoperative hemodialysis (HD) use with and without renal dysfunction as estimated by glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and creatinine levels. Patients and methods Baseline and outcome data were obtained from the 2005–2014 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database for patients over the age of 18 who underwent non-emergent lumbar fusion surgery. Preoperative HD status and GFR and creatinine levels were extracted. Variables analyzed included development of at least one complication, development of a major complication, in-hospital mortality, and length of stay. Results A total of 29,081 patients were identified. Those with severe preoperative kidney dysfunction as estimated by GFR were more likely to develop a complication (GFR=15–30ml/min/1.73m 2 ; OR, 3.82; 95% CI, 2.061–7.082; P = 2 ; OR, 2.124; 95% CI, 1.506–2.996; P 0.0001). Compared to patients with normal preoperative creatinine levels (0.75–1.0mg/dL), patients with elevated creatinine were more likely to develop at least one complication. Conclusion Patients with low estimated GFR and elevated creatinine levels were associated with higher perioperative morbidity. This increased risk should be taken into consideration when counselling this patient population.
Action Selection and Human Error in Routine Procedures

We discuss a computational process model of action selection in routine procedures. The model explains several types of human error—omissions, perseverations, and postcompletion error (PCE)— as nat...
High warning colour polymorphism in Heliconius hybrid zone roosts

1. Communal roosting behaviour has been documented among a wide range of taxa, particularly among groups of butterflies that display warning colourations. These aggregations of conspecifics and/or other species that share mimetic warning colour patterns can have a large impact on predator learning, and thus the survival of an aposematic form. Yet there has been limited investigation of communal roosting within areas where new and diverse warning colour forms are generated, such as hybrid zones. 2. Here, roosting behaviour was examined in a Heliconius erato hybrid zone in French Guiana between races with divergent warning colourations on their wings. In this hybrid zone, native individuals with nine distinct warning colourations, as well as individuals with altered forms that are not native in the French Guiana population, were marked and observed to determine if divergently coloured individuals participated in communal roosting, and if the proportions of colour pattern forms at roosts differed from the proportions that are found in the population. 3. The results demonstrated that divergently coloured individuals of the same species, including altered, non‐native forms, will readily and repeatedly participate in nocturnal communal roosting, often with extreme fidelity to specific perch locations. 4. These findings suggest that roosts composed of polymorphic warning patterns may be common in phenotypic transition zones, which could have major implications on predator training and selection dynamics in hybrid zones.
Comparative Effectiveness of Analytic and Psychodramatic Group Therapy with Psychotics

(1955). Comparative Effectiveness of Analytic and Psychodramatic Group Therapy with Psychotics. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy: Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 367-379.
An Interoperability Concept for Detect and Avoid and Collision Avoidance Systems: Results from a Human-In-The-Loop Simulation

The integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) poses a variety of technical challenges to UAS developers and aviation regulators. In response to growing demand for access to civil airspace in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has produced a roadmap identifying key areas requiring further research and development. One such technical challenge is the development of a "detect and avoid" system (DAA) capable of providing a means of compliance with the "see and avoid" requirement in manned aviation. The purpose of the DAA system is to support the pilot, situated at a ground control station (GCS), in maintaining "DAA well clear" of nearby aircraft through the use of GCS displays and alerts. In addition to its primary function of aiding the pilot in maintaining DAA well clear, the DAA system must also safely interoperate with existing NAS systems and operations, such as the airspace management procedures of air traffic controllers (ATC) and Collision Avoidance (CA) systems currently in use by manned aircraft, namely the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II). It is anticipated that many UAS architectures will integrate both a DAA system and a TCAS II. It is therefore necessary to explicitly study the integration of DAA and TCAS II alerting structures and maneuver guidance formats to ensure that pilots understand the appropriate type and urgency of their response to the various alerts. This paper presents a concept of interoperability for the two systems. The concept was developed with the goal of avoiding any negative impact on the performance level of TCAS II while retaining a DAA system that still effectively enables pilots to maintain DAA well clear. The interoperability concept described in the paper focuses primarily on facilitating the transition from a late-stage DAA encounter (where a loss of DAA well clear is imminent) to a TCAS II Corrective Resolution Advisory (RA), which requires pilot compliance within five seconds of its issuance. The interoperability concept was presented to 10 participants (6 active UAS pilots and 4 active commercial pilots) in a medium-fidelity, human-in-the-loop simulation designed to stress different aspects of the DAA and TCAS II systems. Pilots' ability to maintain separation, their rate of compliance and response times using the interoperability concept are reported. Results indicated that pilots exhibited comprehension of, and appropriate prioritization within, the DAA-TCAS II combined alert structure. Pilots demonstrated a high rate of compliance with TCAS II RAs and were also seen to respond to corrective RAs within the five second requirement established for manned aircraft. The DAA system presented under test was also shown to be effective in supporting pilots' ability to maintain DAA well clear in the overwhelming majority of cases in which pilots had sufficient time to respond.
When and Why Should Mental Health Professionals Offer Traditional Psychodynamic Therapy to Cancer Patients

Given the recent studies promoting time-limited manualized therapies in the oncology setting, clinicians may be reluctant to offer traditional psychodynamic therapy to cancer patients. However, there are no studies directly comparing psychodynamic therapy and other therapy modalities in this patient population and no data suggesting harm from psychodynamic approaches. Therefore, it is inappropriate to draw the conclusion that psychodynamic therapy is inferior to manualized therapy from existing evidence. Manualized treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, is generally short term and therefore may reduce the practitioner's own anxiety stemming from exposure to patients facing grave disability and death. However, manualized treatment is not fully effective in specific clinical scenarios. We present a case reflecting these limitations and advocate for a flexible treatment approach incorporating elements of psychodynamic therapy.
A method to create a standardized generic and condition-specific patient-reported outcome measure for patient care and healthcare improvement

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), which are generic or condition-specific, are used for a number of reasons, including clinical care, clinical trials, and in national-level efforts to monitor the quality of health care delivery. Creating PROMs that meet different purposes without overburdening patients, healthcare systems, providers, and data systems is paramount. The objective of this study was to test a generalizable method to incorporate condition-specific issues into generic PROM measures as a first step to producing PROMs that efficiently provide a standardized score. This paper outlines the method and preliminary findings focused on a PROM for osteoarthritis of the knee (OA-K). We used a mixed-methods approach and PROMIS® measures to test development of a combined generic and OA-K-specific PROM. Qualitative methods included patient focus groups and provider interviews to identify impacts of OA-K important to patients. We then conducted a thematic analysis and an item gap analysis: identified areas covered by existing generic PROMIS measures, identified “gap” areas not covered, compared gap areas to legacy instruments to verify relevance, and developed new items to address gaps. We then performed cognitive testing on new items and drafted an OA-K-specific instrument based on findings. We identified 52 existing PROMIS items and developed 24 new items across 14 domains. We developed a process for creating condition-specific instruments that bridge gaps in existing generic measures. If successful, the methodology will create instruments that efficiently gather the patient’s perspective while allowing health systems, researchers, and other interested parties to monitor and compare outcomes over time, conditions, and populations.
Book reviewPlato's Revenge: Politics in the Age of Ecology, W. Ophuls, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2011), 255 pp.

In many ways, Plato's Revenge is a continuation of Ophuls's work originally established in Politics of Ecological Scarcity and Requiem for Modern Politics. Though more succinct than those works, Pl...
Experimental measurement of the angle of repose of a pile of soft frictionless grains

Piles of perfectly smooth spherical particles are able to sustain a non-zero angle of repose as a result of geometrical constraints. Here we report on a study of piles made of soft frictionless grains and their angle of repose. The piles are formed by a continuous bubbling of air into a soapy solution in a narrow container of rectangular cross section. For wide containers, the angle of repose of the pile is $$3.75\pm 0.11$$ degrees, independent of bubble flow rate. However, we find that the angle of repose is sensitive to confinement effects. In contrast with sand piles, surface avalanches are nearly absent and the fluidized region along the interface is several layers deep. In addition, the bubble pile is metastable, i.e. upon interruption of the gas flux the slope relaxes back to zero as a result of liquid drainage.
Deaf patient-provider communication and lung cancer screening: Health Information National Trends survey in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL).

Abstract Objective To assess whether mode of communication and patient centered communication (PCC) with physicians were associated with the likelihood of deaf smokers inquiring about lung cancer screening. Methods An accessible health survey including questions about PCC, modes of communication, smoking status and lung cancer screening was administered in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL) to a nationwide sample of deaf adults from February to August 2017. Of 703 deaf adults who answered the lung screening question, 188 were 55–80 years old. Results The odds ratio of asking about a lung cancer screening test was higher for people with lung disease or used ASL (directly or through an interpreter) to communicate with their physicians. PCC was not associated with asking about a lung cancer screening test. Conclusion Current or former smokers who are deaf and use ASL are at greater risk for poorer health outcomes if they do not have accessible communication with their physicians. Practice implications Optimal language access through interpreters or directly in ASL is critical when discussing smoking cessation or lung cancer screening tests. Counseling and shared decision-making will help improve high-risk deaf patients' understanding and decision-making about lung cancer screening. A video in American Sign Language is available here .
The link between standards and dual language teachers’ Spanish literacy instruction and use of formative assessments

ABSTRACTThis three-year qualitative study examined how district personnel interpreted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts for bilingual teachers’ Spanish literacy instruction and the changes that four dual-language (DL) teachers (K-2) made in their Spanish literacy instruction in response to their participation in professional staff development (PSD) on formative assessments tied to the CCSS. Although the district personnel showed ideological and political clarity when they implemented a DL program and rejected CCSS inappropriate for bilingual students, they showed a lack of clarity when they failed to provide Spanish literacy and DL standards. In response to the socio-culturally oriented PSD, two of the DL teachers, who previously had taught Spanish reading, effectively implemented formative assessments, which led to teacher and student goal setting and sharing, student self-assessment, peer assessment, and instructional differentiation. However, it took two-three years, scaff...
Solar Energy Conversion through Photoelectrochemistry

Of the many problems facing mankind, those concerning the availability and distribution of energy will ultimately be the most important. As fossil fuels become depleted, we will turn more and more to alternative sources and eventually depend upon energy technologies based on solar energy and perhaps fusion. Moreover, an important standard of living in undeveloped nations will require an abundant, inexpensive, and decentralized energy source, solar energy seems ideally suited for this application. It is the thesis of this paper that electrochemical methods will be useful in the conversion of solar energy to electricity or useful chemical products. Indeed, photoelectrochemical cells utilizing semiconductor materials have demonstrated the highest efficiencies in systems for the sustained conversion of solar energy to useful chemicals.
Molecular mechanism of action of a steroid hormone receptor.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents experimental approaches to elucidate the precise molecular mechanism by which steroid receptors regulate the initiation of target gene transcription and the role of the hormonal ligand in this process. For determining the direct actions of receptor on DNA transcription, a cell-free—reconstituted—transcription system is required. In such a system, the concentration of receptor, ligand, general transcription factors, and target genes could be manipulated. In the initial experiments, the effect of purified cPR (50–80% pure) or a purified cPR derivative expressed in Escherichia coli are measured on transcription of templates that lacked or contained progesterone response elements (PREs). To examine the mechanism by which progesterone receptor interacts with general transcription factors to stimulate RNA synthesis in vitro, it was investigated whether the receptor participates in the formation of a stable preinitiation—rapid start—complex of transcription factors. In this investigation described in the chapter, in an attempt to investigate the mechanism by which regulatory proteins such as steroid hormone receptors interact with core promoters to enhance transcription, the cell-free transcription system was used.
Female and underrepresented minority faculty in academic departments of family medicine: are women and minorities better off in family medicine?

Background Several studies have shown that the percentage of women represented in senior academic positions at US medical schools is lower than the percentage of men in senior positions. Similarly, the percentage of minority faculty members represented in senior academic positions is lower than that of their majority counterparts. This study assessed whether these findings were also present in departments of family medicine and identified any factors related to the institution or department that favored academic success for women and minorities. Methods Data regarding faculty workforce composition, including faculty rank and rank for women and underrepresented minorities, were extracted from a comprehensive survey of departments of family medicine at US allopathic medical schools. The data are based on faculty workforce in 1997 and include responses from 58 (51%) of all schools with a department of family medicine. Results Faculty in departments of family medicine were more likely to be female (41% versus 25%) and an underrepresented minority (9% versus 4%), compared with all academic medicine disciplines. However, women in full-time positions were less likely than men, and minorities were less likely than nonminorities, to be either an associate or full professor. We could find no institutional or departmental characteristics that were associated with academic success for women or minority faculty members. Conclusions While women and underrepresented minorities are more common to the faculty workforce in family medicine, members of both of these groups are not well represented in senior faculty ranks.
Bifurcation in Banach Spaces

In this chapter, we consider several generalizations and extensions of the results in Chapters 3 and 4 for variational inequalities containing nonlinear operators and convex functionals, defined in reflexive Banach spaces.
These words may not mean what you think they mean: Toward a modern understanding of children and Miranda waivers

This article discusses the history of Miranda waiver standards and cases interpreting those standards as applied to children (including a discussion of the recent Slender Man case and the "Making a Murder" conviction involving Brendan Dassey). The article explores efforts on the state level to establish more protective standards for minors facing police interrogations and also takes a comparative look at international efforts to enhance children’s rights during custodial interrogations. Finally, the article offers proposed best practices that acknowledge the vulnerable position of minors in custodial interrogations while also allowing law enforcement to pursue reliable evidence of guilt.
Valuation of Swing Options under a Regime-Switching Mean-Reverting Model

In this paper, we study the valuation of swing options on electricity in a model where the underlying spot price is set to be the product of a deterministic seasonal pattern and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process with Markov-modulated parameters. Under this setting, the difficulties of pricing swing options come from the various constraints embedded in contracts, e.g., the total number of rights constraint, the refraction time constraint, the local volume constraint, and the global volume constraint. Here we propose a framework for the valuation of the swing option on the condition that all the above constraints are nontrivial. To be specific, we formulate the pricing problem as an optimal stochastic control problem, which can be solved by the trinomial forest dynamic programming approach. Besides, empirical analysis is carried out on the model. We collect historical data in Nord Pool electricity market, extract the seasonal pattern, calibrate the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process parameters in each regime, and also get market price of risk. Finally, on the basis of calibration results, a specific numerical example concerning all typical constraints is presented to demonstrate the valuation procedure.
Blocking Probability Analysis for Relay-Assisted OFDMA Networks using Stochastic Geometry

Along with the emerging high density Internet of Things (IoT) networks, relay-assisted networks are attracting more research attention in recent years due to their abilities to extend the coverage area and improve the Quality of Service (QoS). Blocking probability (BP) has been used as a very important metric in evaluating the QoS of the network. In this paper, taking the spatial randomness of the IoT network into consideration, we investigate blocking probability in relay-assisted OFDMA networks using stochastic geometry. More specifically, first, we analyze the inter-cell interference from the neighboring cells at each typical node. Then, we derive the coverage probability in the downlink transmissions, including both the direct and relay-based transmissions. Finally, we classify the incoming users into different classes based on their data rate requirements, and calculate the blocking probability using the multi-dimensional loss model based on the Markov chains. We show that the blocking probability can be reduced by exploiting relay-assisted transmissions.