cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sleep, glucose, and daytime functioning in youth with type 1 diabetes.

UNLABELLED STUDY HYPOTHESES: 1) Youth with evidence of SDB (total apnea-hypopnea index [Total-AHI] ≥ 1.5) would have significantly worse glucose control than those without SDB; 2) Elevated self-reported sleepiness in youth with T1DM would be related to compromised psychosocial functioning; and 3) Youth with T1DM would have significantly less slow wave sleep (SWS) than controls. DESIGN The study utilized home-based polysomnography, actigraphy, and questionnaires to assess sleep, and continuous glucose monitors and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) values to assess glucose control in youth with T1DM. We compared sleep of youth with T1DM to sleep of a matched control sample. SETTING Diabetic participants were recruited in a pediatric endocrinology clinic. PARTICIPANTS Participants were youth (10 through 16 years) with T1DM. Controls, matched for sex, age, and BMI percentile, were from the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea study. RESULTS Participants with a Total-AHI ≥ 1.5 had higher glucose levels. Sleepiness and/or poor sleep habits correlated with reduced quality of life, depressed mood, lower grades, and lower state standardized reading scores. Diabetic youth spent more time (%) in stage N2 and less time in stage N3. Findings related to sleep architecture included associations between reduced SWS and higher HbA1C, worse quality of life, and sleepiness. More time (%) spent in stage N2 related to higher glucose levels/hyperglycemia, behavioral difficulties, reduced quality of life, lower grades, depression, sleep-wake behavior problems, poor sleep quality, sleepiness, and lower state standardized math scores.
Comparative Investigation between X-Ray Diffraction and Cross Polarization Mapping of 4H-SiC Wafers Off-Cut 4° Towards (11-20)

A set of three 4H-SiC wafers with manufacturer specified micropipe density of 0-5 cm-2 were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) maps before and after final chemical-mechanical polish. After final polish, the wafers were also investigated with atomic force microscopy, radius of curvature measurements and cross-polarization (x-pol) mapping. It was found that there was largely a lack of correlation between the XRD and x-pol maps, which strongly suggests that x-pol is insensitive to crystalline imperfections to which XRD is sensitive.
To Code Is Human

Programmers have found creative ways around programming rules. However, such tactics have a cost.
Beamstop Experiment at 29.4 GeV

Data on F18 production in aluminum foils embedded in a large steel beamstop bombarded by 29.4 GeV protons are presented and compared with calculated results.
Rapid freezing and electron microscopy for the arrest of physiological processes.

SUMMARY An apparatus for the rapid freezing of tissue is described, which can be used for the electron microscopy of arrested physiological processes. The material is frozen by bringing it in contact with a silver surface cooled to liquid nitrogen temperature at reduced pressure. The freezing surface is protected from condensation of moisture and gases from the air by a flow of helium gas. The cooling of the specimen during its descent through the cold helium is not large enough to interfere with physiological processes. Freezing occurs very rapidly in the surface but is retarded to about 8 msec at a depth of 10 μm. The apparatus was used to freeze frog muscle during contraction.
Graph-based fire synthesis

We present a novel graph-based data-driven technique for cost-effective fire modeling. This technique allows composing long animation sequences using a small number of short simulations. While traditional techniques such as motion graphs and motion blending work well for character motion synthesis, they cannot be trivially applied to fluids to produce results with physically consistent properties which are crucial to the visual appearance of fluids. Motivated by the motion graph technique used in character animations, we introduce a new type of graph which can be applied to create various fire phenomena. Each graph node consists of a group of compact spatial-temporal flow pathlines instead of a set of volumetric state fields. Consequently, achieving smooth transitions between discontinuous graph nodes for modeling turbulent fires becomes feasible and computationally efficient. The synthesized particle flow results allow direct particle controls which is much more flexible than a full volumetric representation of the simulation output. The accompanying video shows the versatility and potential power of this new technique for synthesizing realtime complex fire at the quality comparable to production animations.
Happy Tweets Christians Are Happier, More Socially Connected, and Less Analytical Than Atheists on Twitter

We analyze data from nearly 2 million text messages (tweets) across over 16,000 users on Twitter to examine differences between Christians and atheists in natural language. Analyses reveal that Christians use more positive emotion words and less negative emotion words than atheists. Moreover, two independent paths predict differences in expressions of happiness: frequency of words related to an intuitive (vs. analytic) thinking style and frequency of words related to social relationships. These findings provide the first evidence that the relationship between religion and happiness is partially mediated by thinking style. This research also provides support for previous laboratory studies and self-report data, suggesting that social connection partially mediates the relationship between religiosity and happiness. Implications for theory and the future of social science using computational methods to analyze social media are discussed.
Markov chain models predict the consequences of experimental extinctions

Predicting the effects of species extinction is challenging because of ecosystem complexity. Using novel long-term experimental deletions of two mussel species, I found that a multi-species Markov chain model, which was parameterized under non-experimental conditions, accurately predicted the effects of local extinction in an intertidal community. Systematically deleting species from the model predicted declining ecosystem biomass with reduced biodiversity, but relatively constant ecosystem resilience following disturbance. The effects of reduced biodiversity on these variables ranged widely, illustrating the need for species-specific predictions of extinction effects. The results show that Markov chain models can be useful tools for predicting consequences of local species extinction without extensive experimentation.
The use of arthroscopic thermal capsulorrhaphy to treat internal impingement in baseball players.

Abstract Purpose: To determine if reducing glenohumeral translation by arthroscopic thermal shrinkage would improve the results of arthroscopic treatment of internal impingement in baseball players. Type of Study: Retrospective review. Introduction: Traditional treatment of internal impingement does not address the pathophysiology. Baseball players' shoulders routinely have glenohumeral laxity. Addressing this laxity by thermal capsulorrhaphy may improve the results in the treatment of these patients. Traditional treatment of labral and rotator cuff debridement and/or repair has had marginal results in regard to the most important criterion, return to competition. Methods: Charts of all patients undergoing surgical arthroscopy of the shoulder for suspected internal impingement were analyzed. Patients were divided into 2 groups: traditional treatment (non–heat-probe group, NHP, n=51) or traditional treatment plus thermal capsulorrhaphy (heat-probe group, HP, n=31). Internal impingement was confirmed by physical examination and arthroscopic criteria. All participants were baseball players and follow-up was 30 months. Data were analyzed for initial return to play and continued participation 30 months after surgery. Results: Mean time for return to competition was 7.2 months in the NHP group and 8.4 months in the HP group; 80% of the NHP group returned to competition compared with 93% of the HP group. At 30 months after surgery, 67% of the NHP group was back to competition compared with 90% of the HP group ( P =.01). The HP group averaged 7° less external rotation than before surgery. There were no significant complications in either group. Conclusions: Thermal capsular shrinkage can be safely used in the treatment of internal impingement in the throwing athlete. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Vol 17, No 6 (July-August), 2001: pp 573–577
Protein Needs of the Preterm Infant

After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Determine the fetal protein accretion between 24 and 32 weeks’ gestation. 2. Determine the percentage of protein losses in extremely low-birthweight infants (ELBW) receiving glucose alone. 3. Describe the role of early administration of parenteral amino acids in preterm infants. 4. Delineate current estimates of protein requirements of ELBW infants. Adequately supplying the nutritional needs of preterm infants remains a significant clinical challenge, especially for extremely low-birthweight (ELBW) (<1,000 g) infants. Although rates of survival of these infants have improved, growth failure is nearly universal, and multiple recent studies have documented the poor growth and nutritional deficits in this population of infants. At the time of birth, only about 18% of ELBW infants are less than the 10th percentile for weight and length, but at 36 weeks corrected gestational age, as they near discharge, most of these same ELBW infants are less than the 10th percentile for weight and length. In addition, many remain very small throughout infancy. It is apparent that protein deficits contribute substantially to poor growth, particularly those produced in the first few weeks of life. Additional efforts to meet both the parenteral and enteral protein needs of preterm infants are necessary to improve growth outcomes. Determining nutritional requirements in preterm infants requires an agreed-upon reference standard. The most commonly applied and accepted standard is that of intrauterine growth. However, protein metabolism in the fetus differs markedly from that in the preterm newborn, so the standard of intrauterine growth may not be entirely appropriate. It is also apparent that this standard is rarely achieved in clinical practice, either in terms of growth rate or body composition. Nevertheless, intrauterine growth and nutrient accretion remains a reasonable ideal goal. The rate of fetal nutrient accretion has been estimated using carefully selected literature reports …
Genome scans and gene expression microarrays converge to identify gene regulatory loci relevant in schizophrenia

Multiple linkage regions have been reported in schizophrenia, and some appear to harbor susceptibility genes that are differentially expressed in postmortem brain tissue derived from unrelated individuals. We combined traditional genome-wide linkage analysis in a multiplex family with lymphocytic genome-wide expression analysis. A genome scan suggested linkage to a chromosome 4q marker (D4S1530, LOD 2.17, theta = 0) using a dominant model. Haplotype analysis using flanking microsatellite markers delineated a 14 Mb region that cosegregated with all those affected. Subsequent genome-wide scan with SNP genotypes supported the evidence of linkage to 4q33-35.1 (LOD = 2.39) using a dominant model. Genome-wide microarray analysis of five affected and five unaffected family members identified two differentially expressed genes within the haplotype AGA and GALNT7 (aspartylglucosaminidase and UDP-N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine: polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 7) with nominal significance; however, these genes did not remain significant following analysis of covariance. We carried out genome-wide linkage analyses between the quantitative expression phenotype and genetic markers. AGA expression levels showed suggestive linkage to multiple markers in the haplotype (maximum LOD = 2.37) but to no other genomic region. GALNT7 expression levels showed linkage to regulatory loci at 4q28.1 (maximum LOD = 3.15) and in the haplotype region at 4q33-35.1 (maximum LOD = 2.37). ADH1B (alcohol dehydrogenase IB) was linked to loci at 4q21-q23 (maximum LOD = 3.08) and haplotype region at 4q33-35.1 (maximum LOD = 2.27). Seven differentially expressed genes were validated with RT-PCR. Three genes in the 4q33-35.1 haplotype region were also differentially expressed in schizophrenia in postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: AGA, HMGB2, and SCRG1. These results indicate that combining differential gene expression with linkage analysis may help in identifying candidate genes and potential regulatory sites. Moreover, they also replicate recent findings of complex trans- and cis- regulation of genes.
Social Deprivation of Neonatal, Adolescent, and Adult Rats Has Distinct Neurochemical and Behavioral Consequences

This review examines the consequences of social deprivation on brain chemistry and behavior on rats. Although social deprivation produces wide-ranging behavioral and neurochemical effects, it appears that these effects are determined by a number of factors, the most critical factor being the age or developmental stage during the period of deprivation. Roughly, the effects examined in this review may be separated into three major developmental stages and each is related to deprivation of specific types of social interaction: preweaning/neonatal, postweaning/adolescent, and adult. The effects of social deprivation during each of these stages appears to be neurochemically and behaviorally specific. However, much of the research to date has failed to examine deprivation during specific stages, often combining deprivation of different types. Nonetheless, these modifications of experience produce animals of differing phenotypes, which could be characterized as pathological in nature in many instances, and may model particular aspects of human psychopathologies or perhaps the propensity to develop those phenotypic features.
Barndoor diabase intrusions, north-central Connecticut

The Barndoor diabase in north-central Connecticut cuts the New Haven Arkose, the oldest formation in the Newark Group of Triassic age in Connecticut. The intrusions are dikes in part and slightly transgressive sills in part. The rocks are typical diabases, with unusual features such as pigeonite with semispherical fractures and pale-green pyroxene. The most calcic augite occurs in interior parts, requiring crystallization in source chambers followed by intrusion of a crystal-bearing magma. Five feeder conduits from two source chambers are proposed. Extensive differentiation occurred in source chambers, and minor differentiation occurred during emplacement and cooling. Plagioclase composition ranges from An 70 to An 34 and augite from Wo 47 En 43 Fs 10 to Wo 35 En 40 Fs 25 . Chill-zone rocks are chemically similar to Talcott Basalt, which is the lowest of three basalt flows in the Newark Group in Connecticut, and indicate contemporaneity of intrusive and extrusive events.
RNA Arbitrarily Primed PCR Survey of Genes Regulated by ToxR in the Deep-Sea Bacterium Photobacterium profundum Strain SS9

We are currently investigating the role of ToxR-mediated gene regulation in Photobacterium profundum strain SS9. SS9 is a moderately piezophilic (“pressure loving”) psychrotolerant marine bacterium belonging to the family Vibrionaceae. In Vibrio cholerae, ToxR is a transmembrane DNA binding protein involved in mediating virulence gene expression in response to various environmental signals. A homolog to V. cholerae ToxR that is necessary for pressure-responsive gene expression of two outer membrane protein-encoding genes was previously found in SS9. To search for additional genes regulated by ToxR in SS9, we have used RNA arbitrarily primed PCR (RAP-PCR) with wild-type and toxR mutant strains of SS9. Seven ToxR-activated transcripts and one ToxR-repressed transcript were identified in this analysis. The cDNAs corresponding to these partial transcripts were cloned and sequenced, and ToxR regulation of their genes was verified. The products of these genes are all predicted to fall into one or both of two functional categories, those whose products alter membrane structure and/or those that are part of a starvation response. The transcript levels of all eight newly identified genes were also characterized as a function of hydrostatic pressure. Various patterns of pressure regulation were observed, indicating that ToxR activation or repression cannot be used to predict the influence of pressure on gene expression in SS9. These results provide further information on the nature of the ToxR regulon in SS9 and indicate that RAP-PCR is a useful approach for the discovery of new genes under the control of global regulatory transcription factors.
Platelets Linking Hemostasis and Cancer

Platelets are the main cellular component in blood responsible for maintaining the integrity of the cardiovascular system via hemostasis. Platelet dysfunction contributes to a wide range of obvious pathological conditions, such as bleeding or thrombosis, but normal platelet function is also linked to diseases not immediately associated with hemostasis or thrombosis, such as cancer. Since the description of Trousseau syndrome in 1865, various experimental and clinical studies have detailed the interaction of platelets with primary tumors and circulating metastatic tumor cells. Observations have suggested that platelets not only augment the growth of primary tumors via angiogenesis but endow tumor cells physical and mechanical support to evade the immune system and extravasate to secondary organs, the basis of metastatic disease. Many laboratory and animal studies have identified specific targets for antiplatelet therapy that may be advantageous as adjuncts to existing cancer treatments. In this review, we summarize important platelet properties that influence tumorigenesis, including primary tumor growth and metastasis at the molecular level. The studies provide a link between the well-studied paradigms of platelet hemostasis and tumorigenesis.
EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF CUTTING FORCE CONSTANTS IN MICRO END MILLING OPERATIONS

Abstract The micro-end-milling operations typically have aggressive feed per tooth per radius compared to conventional milling operations thereby resulting in different forces and cutting force constants. In addition, the trochoidal nature of the tool path could also result in different force constants. An empirical model for the analysis of cutting forces in micro-end-milling operations is presented. The approach uses higher feed per tooth per radius of cutter ratios (compared to conventional end-milling operations) and the true trochoidial nature of the tool edge path in the derivation of a chip thickness for micro-end-milling operations. Cutting experiments were conducted in the micro-end-milling regime and forces were recorded. These forces were then decomposed in order to present new empirical formulae for cutting pressure constants in micro-end-milling operations. The model developed for cutting force constants will aid in better understanding of friction and forces in the micro-end-milling process.
Issues in designing middleware for wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are being developed for a variety of applications. With the continuing advances in network and application design, appropriate middleware is needed to provide both standardized and portable system abstractions, and the capability to support and coordinate concurrent applications on sensor networks. In this article, we first identify several design principles for such middleware. These principles motivate a cluster-based lightweight middleware framework that separates application semantics from the underlying hardware, operating system, and network infrastructure. We propose a layered architecture for each cluster that consists of a cluster control layer and a resource management layer. Key design issues and related challenges within this framework that deserve further investigation are outlined. Finally, we discuss a technique for energy-efficient resource allocation in a single-hop cluster, which serves as a basic primitive for the development of the resource management layer.
Some Factors Predict Successful Short-Term Outcomes in Individuals With Shoulder Pain Receiving Cervicothoracic Manipulation: A Single-Arm Trial

Background It has been reported that manipulative therapy directed at the cervical and thoracic spine may improve outcomes in patients with shoulder pain. To date, limited data are available to help physical therapists determine which patients with shoulder pain may experience changes in pain and disability following the application of these interventions. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify prognostic factors from the history and physical examination in individuals with shoulder pain who are likely to experience rapid improvement in pain and disability following cervical and thoracic spine manipulation. Design This was a prospective single-arm trial. Setting This study was conducted in outpatient physical therapy clinics. Participants The participants were individuals who were seen by physical therapists for a primary complaint of shoulder pain. Intervention and Measurements Participants underwent a standardized examination and then a series of thrust and nonthrust manipulations directed toward the cervicothoracic spine. Individuals were classified as having achieved a successful outcome at the second and third sessions based on their perceived recovery. Potential prognostic variables were entered into a stepwise logistic regression model to determine the most accurate set of variables for prediction of treatment success. Results Data for 80 individuals were included in the data analysis, of which 49 had a successful outcome. Five prognostic variables were retained in the final regression model. If 3 of the 5 variables were present, the chance of achieving a successful outcome improved from 61% to 89% (positive likelihood ratio=5.3). Limitations A prospective single-arm trial lacking a control group does not allow for inferences to be made regarding cause and effect. The statistical procedures used may result in “overfitting” of the model, which can result in low precision of the prediction accuracy, and the bivariate analysis may have resulted in the rejection of some important variables. Conclusions The identified prognostic variables will allow clinicians to make an a priori identification of individuals with shoulder pain who are likely to experience short-term improvement with cervical and thoracic spine manipulation. Future studies are necessary to validate these findings.
Error-correcting codes in computer arithmetic.

This chapter is intended to summarize the most important results which have been obtained in the theory of coding for the correction and detection of errors in computer arithmetic. The rapid growth in the size and speed of digital computers has placed stringent reliability demands on the arithmetic unit. Attempts to satisfy these demands have generally followed one of three directions: (1) Attempts to improve the reliability of the components used in the construction of the arithmetic unit, (2) attempts to improve reliability by incorporating hardware redundancy so that the result of a computation is unaffected by the failure of one or more of the replicated units which form the arithmetic unit, or so that the failure of one or more of the replicated units can be detected and the faulty units replaced, and (3) attempts to incorporate redundancy into the numbers themselves which are being processed so that erroneous results can be corrected or detected. This third approach, which is the subject of this chapter, tacitly assumes that it is possible to build the “decoder” which corrects or detects erroneous results much more reliably than the arithmetic unit which it monitors, so that the decoder can be considered error-free for practical purposes.
A Comparison of Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adult Treatment-Seeking Pathological Gamblers

Purpose: Pathological gambling is an increasing public health concern, but very little is known about this disorder in older adults. This study evaluated gambling and psychosocial problems across age groups in treatment-seeking gamblers. Design and methods: At intake to gambling treatment programs, 343 pathological gamblers completed the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and gambling questionnaires. Participants were categorized by age into young adults (ages 18-35 years; n = 97), middle-aged adults (ages 36-55 years, n = 197), and older adults (aged older than 55 years, n = 49). Differences in demographics, gambling variables, and ASI composite scores were compared across the groups. Results: The middle- and older age gamblers were more likely to be female (45%-55%) than were the younger gamblers (23%), but the groups were similar with respect to most other demographic variables. When controlled for gender, older age was associated with increased employment problems, but fewer social, legal, and substance-abuse difficulties. Compared with middle-aged gamblers, older gamblers wagered on fewer days. Age x Gender effects emerged in onset of gambling problems and amount spent gambling. Older women did not begin gambling regularly until an average age of 55 years, whereas older male gamblers generally reported a lifelong history of gambling. The older female gamblers also wagered the greatest amounts in the month prior to treatment entry. Implications: These data suggest that older adults compose a minority of treatment-seeking gamblers, but differences in psychosocial problems across the age groups may suggest the need for interventions tailored to particular issues encountered by older pathological gamblers. Specifically, treatments focusing on later life development of problems may be indicated for older female gamblers.
Learning Body Pose via Specialized Maps

A nonlinear supervised learning model, the Specialized Mappings Architecture (SMA), is described and applied to the estimation of human body pose from monocular images. The SMA consists of several specialized forward mapping functions and an inverse mapping function. Each specialized function maps certain domains of the input space (image features) onto the output space (body pose parameters). The key algorithmic problems faced are those of learning the specialized domains and mapping functions in an optimal way, as well as performing inference given inputs and knowledge of the inverse function. Solutions to these problems employ the EM algorithm and alternating choices of conditional independence assumptions. Performance of the approach is evaluated with synthetic and real video sequences of human motion.
Development of Protective Inflammation and Cell-Mediated Immunity against Cryptococcus neoformans after Exposure to Hyphal Mutants

ABSTRACT Morphological switch is tightly coupled with the pathogenesis of many dimorphic fungal pathogens. Cryptococcus neoformans, the major causative agent of cryptococcal meningitis, mostly presents as the yeast form but is capable of switching to the hyphal form. The filamentous form has long been associated with attenuated virulence, yet the underlying mechanism remains elusive. We previously identified the master regulator Znf2 that controls the yeast-to-hypha transition in Cryptococcus. Activation of Znf2 promotes hyphal formation and abolishes fungal virulence in vivo. Here we demonstrated that the cryptococcal strain overexpressing ZNF2 elicited strong and yet temporally confined proinflammatory responses in the early stage of infection. In contrast, exacerbated inflammation in mice infected with the wild-type (WT) strain showed that they were unable to control the infection. Animals inoculated with this filamentous Cryptococcus strain had fewer pulmonary eosinophils and CD11c+ CD11b+ cells than animals inoculated with WT yeast. Moreover, mice infected with this strain developed protective Th1- or Th17-type T cell responses. These findings suggest that the virulence attenuation of the filamentous form is likely due to its elicitation of protective host responses. The antivirulence effect of Znf2 was independent of two previously identified factors downstream of Znf2. Interestingly, mucosal immunizations with high doses of ZNF2-overexpressing cells, either in the live or heat-killed form, offered 100% protection to the host from a subsequent challenge with the otherwise lethal clinical strain H99. Our results demonstrate that heat-resistant cellular components presented in cryptococcal cells with activated ZNF2 elicit protective host immune responses. These findings could facilitate future research on novel immunological therapies. IMPORTANCE Cryptococcal meningitis is one of the leading causes of death among AIDS patients. This disease presents a severe threat to public health. The current antifungal regimens are unsatisfactory in controlling or clearing the pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Immunotherapies and/or vaccines could be a promising approach to prevent or manage this deadly disease. However, the lack of understanding of host-pathogen interactions during cryptococcal infection greatly hampers the development of effective immunotherapies. In this study, we discovered that inoculation of cryptococcal cells with activated Znf2, a morphogenesis regulator and an antivirulence factor, could shift the host pathological Th2 responses to the protective Th1 or Th17 responses. Importantly, we discovered that vaccination with either the viable or heat-killed form of ZNF2-overexpressing cells protected animals from the otherwise lethal infection by the highly virulent clinical strain. Our study suggests that the fungal cellular component(s) of the ZNF2-overexpressing strain may provide potential vaccine candidate(s) for controlling the fatal disease.
The People's Court: A Review of MacNeil, Lex Populi

William MacNeil's book is that rarest of rarae aves - a serious legal study that is fun to read. As its name implies, the book examines 'people's law' or, more loosely, 'pop law' - law as reflected by contemporary popular culture. More precisely, MacNeil shows how popular culture can give us insights into both lay (mis)understandings of law as well as lofty jurisprudential theory. What distinguishes this work from many law-and-literature studies is not just his choice of texts. MacNeil avoids literature and cinema in favor of mass market entertainment and cult favorites. MacNeil's point is that the scope of law cannot be confined to the legal. Following the European tradition of speculative theory, he sees law not as an autonomous field, but as an inherent and essential part of the symbolic - the social or intersubjective order that also includes language and sexuality. Law is not that which goes on in courts, but that which structures both social relationships and subjectivity. As such, the symbolic order, which includes law, does not merely rule our trials and behavior, it inhabits our fantasies and haunts our nightmares. To know ourselves we must understand law, and vice versa. One way we can glimpse both is in the vulgar, everyday entertainments that occupy so much of our imagination and waste so much of our time.
Improving the retrieval rate of inferior vena cava filters with a multidisciplinary team approach.

Objective The option to retrieve inferior vena cava (IVC) filters has resulted in an increase in the utilization of these devices as stopgap measures in patients with relative contraindications to anticoagulation. These retrievable IVC filters, however, are often not retrieved and become permanent. Recent data from our institution confirmed a historically low retrieval rate. Therefore, we hypothesized that the implementation of a new IVC filter retrieval protocol would increase the retrieval rate of appropriate IVC filters at our institution. Methods All consecutive patients who underwent an IVC filter placement at our institution between September 2003 and July 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. In August 2012, a multidisciplinary task force was established, and a new IVC filter retrieval protocol was implemented. Prospective data were collected using a centralized interdepartmental IVC filter registry for all consecutive patients who underwent an IVC filter placement between August 2012 and September 2014. Patients were chronologically categorized into preimplementation (PRE) and postimplementation (POST) groups. Comparisons of outcome measures, including the retrieval rate of IVC filters along with rates of retrieval attempt and technical failure, were made between the two groups. Results In the PRE and POST groups, a total of 720 and 74 retrievable IVC filters were implanted, respectively. In the POST group, 40 of 74 filters (54%) were successfully retrieved compared with 82 of 720 filters (11%) in the PRE group (P Conclusions The retrieval rate of retrievable IVC filters at our institution was significantly increased with the implementation of a new IVC filter retrieval protocol with a multidisciplinary team approach. This improved retrieval rate is possible with minimal dedication of resources and can potentially lead to a decrease in IVC filter-related complications in the future.
Ranolazine and Its Effects on Hemoglobin A1C

Objective: To review the antihyperglycemic effect of ranolazine in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Data Sources: An EMBASE search was conducted between January 1966 through December 2015 using the search terms ranolazine, diabetes, and hemoglobin A1C (A1C). Additional references were identified from a review of literature citations. A search of clinicaltrials.gov was conducted to identify unpublished studies assessing ranolazine in diabetes. Study Selection and Data Extraction: All English-language observational and randomized controlled trials assessing the effects of ranolazine on A1C were evaluated. Data Synthesis: Four published and 3 unpublished trials were identified. In all except 1 study, ranolazine 750 to 1000 mg twice daily was associated with a statistically significant decrease in A1C compared with placebo (placebo-corrected change in A1C: −0.28 to −0.7). In the trial in which a significant difference was not observed, patients assigned to ranolazine received a lower maintenance metformin dos...
Far-Red Light-Activatable Prodrug of Paclitaxel for the Combined Effects of Photodynamic Therapy and Site-Specific Paclitaxel Chemotherapy.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the most useful chemotherapeutic agents approved for several cancers, including ovarian, breast, pancreatic, and nonsmall cell lung cancer. However, it causes systemic side effects when administered parenterally. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new strategy for treating local cancers using light and photosensitizer. Unfortunately, PDT is often followed by recurrence due to incomplete ablation of tumors. To overcome these problems, we prepared the far-red light-activatable prodrug of PTX by conjugating photosensitizer via singlet oxygen-cleavable aminoacrylate linker. Tubulin polymerization enhancement and cytotoxicity of prodrugs were dramatically reduced. However, once illuminated with far-red light, the prodrug effectively killed SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells through the combined effects of PDT and locally released PTX. Ours is the first PTX prodrug that can be activated by singlet oxygen using tissue penetrable and clinically useful far-red light, which kills the cancer cells t...
Industry and academy: the synthesis of steroids.

L'A. decrit l'histoire du developpement des steroides a la fois dans des structures universitaires et industriels
Case 3: Respiratory Distress in a 3-Month-Old Boy

1. Nancy Tran, BA* 2. Harold S. Bernstein, MD, PhD† 3. Michael D. Cabana, MD, MPH‡ 1. *University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT. 2. †Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. 3. ‡Departments of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. A 3-month-old boy whose parents say that he has been “breathing hard” for 1 day presents to the urgent care clinic. According to his parents, there is no history of fever, cough, or symptoms with feeding. Medical history includes a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery at 39 weeks. Immunizations are up to date. There are no sick contacts. His vital signs are as follows: temperature, 98.2°F (36.8°C); pulse, 168 beats per minute; respiratory rate, 70 breaths per minute; oxygen saturation in the right upper extremity is 100% in room air; and blood pressure was not obtained. Head circumference and length are in the 50th percentile, and weight is at the 25th percentile. On examination, he is well-appearing with adequate perfusion. Lungs are clear to auscultation. Pulses are good in all extremities. Abdomen is soft with a normal liver span. Cardiac examination reveals a hyperdynamic precordium with a rapid heart rate; normal S2 and splitting of S2 could not be heard because of the rapid heart rate. No murmurs or extra sounds are heard. Chest radiography reveals normal cardiothymic silhouette with an ill-defined, hazy opacification within the bilateral bases with obscuration of the right heart border and another opacification of the retrocardiac …
Lessons from Seven Decades of Antituberculosis Drug Discovery

Despite massive global efforts tuberculosis rates continue to climb and drug-resistance rates are rising to alarming levels. Discovering new agents for treating this bacterial pathogen poses unique challenges, but these challenges have been faced throughout the entire modern history of research into anti-infectives. This review looks back at every decade since the 1940s and summarizes the most important drugs developed during each decade highlighting the lessons learned during these successful medicinal chemistry programs. Looking forward we must accelerate the integration of these past lessons with the impressive advances that have been made in the basic understanding of the biology of this disease.
Effect of Allantoin Upon Fibroblasts from Cardiac Explants in Tissue Culture

ConclusionAllantoin stimulates slightly but not to a significant degree the growth of fibroblasts from cardiac explants in tissue culture.
Space wavenumber and time–frequency analyses for vibration and wave-based damage diagnosis

Abstract Damage inspection of thin-walled structures using their dynamic response fully depends on accurate signal processing of time-fixed spatial domain data and space-fixed time domain data. A boundary effect evaluation method (BEEM) is introduced here for space wavenumber analysis of operational deflection shapes (ODSs) of a dynamic structure under inspection, and a conjugate pair decomposition (CPD) method is introduced for time–frequency analysis of time traces of measured locations. BEEM performs sliding window processing on ODSs measured by a full field measurement system (eg, a scanning laser vibrometer or a camera-based motion measurement system) to locate and estimate structural defects/damages. BEEM is a nondestructive spatial domain method without using any structural models or historical data for comparison. Similar to short-time Fourier transform and wavelet transform, CPD performs sliding window processing on time traces by using windowed adaptive harmonics and function orthogonality to extract quasiharmonics and their time-varying frequencies and amplitudes. To simplify the sliding window processing from a nonlinear optimization problem into a simple linear least squares fitting problem, a modified Teager–Kaiser algorithm is proposed to estimate the first spatial location's wavenumber for BEEM and the first time instant's frequency for CPD. Numerical simulations and experimental results show that space wavenumber analysis using BEEM and time–frequency analysis using CPD are capable of accurate damage inspection of thin-walled structures under low-frequency vibration and high-frequency wave propagation.
Leak Detection of Water Supply Pipeline Based on the Sound Wave Theory

Economy loss aroused by water pipeline leakage is very large.Study on water Pipeline Leakage and location is very important.In this paper,regional water-induced noise diagnosis and correlator based on the sound wave theory are used together to inspect water pipeline leakage.Leakage is elementarily judged by listening to it for long duration plus statistical analysis in the former method.Pinpoint is obtained with correlation function extreme point position in the latter.The leakage in an actual water pipeline is checked with the two methods,location is quite acurate with error being as low as 1.8%.These methods can be used effectively to water pipeline leakage.
From Quetelet to Maxwell: Social Statistics and the Origins of Statistical Physics

The peregrinations of statistics constitute one of the weightiest and most unpredictable chapters in the history of the transmission of ideas between the natural and social sciences. Mathematical statistics has long been idealized as a possible means for capturing the holy grail of the sciences of man, quantification, and probability theory was central to the earliest sustained effort in this direction, Condorcet’s social mathematics. Laplace’s injuction in the Philosophical Essay on Probabilities to “apply to the political and moral sciences the method founded upon observation and upon calculus, the method which has served us so well in the natural sciences,”1 was already a commonplace in 1814, and was frequently invoked throughout the nineteenth century. Yet the migration of mathematics from the hard to the soft sciences is only a part of the career of statistical thinking since the time of Laplace. Equally important, and perhaps more impressive, is the role of that prominent nineteenth-century social science, “statistics”, in facilitating the application of probabilistic mathematics to the biological and physical domains. This aspect of the transmission of ideas is illustrated by James Clerk Maxwell’s observation that “atomists” of his own day had “adopted a method which is, I believe, new in the department of mathematical physics, though it has long been in use in the section of statistics.” The strategy of census-takers, according to Maxwell, had opened a new path in the physical theory of gases.2
Do early caregiver concerns differ for girls with autism spectrum disorders

Given that early caregiver concerns may be different for children who go on to receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder versus another developmental disability, early caregiver concerns may differ for girls. Using a community-based sample of children (n = 241), we examined the extent to which gender differences may be related to caregiver concerns prior to a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disability. Participants were matched on chronological age, and cognitive functioning did not differ across groups. Using caregiver concern data, results showed that boys with autism spectrum disorder showed increased social interaction concerns; overall, autism spectrum disorder–related concerns did not differentiate those with autism spectrum disorder from developmental disability. Children with developmental disability, however, showed increased general developmental concerns as compared to those with autism spectrum disorder. Young girls with autism spectrum disorder may demonstra...
Using Esters To Introduce Paradigms of Spin-Spin Coupling

Students analyzed a set of 34 carboxylic esters using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to examine paradigmatic examples of spin–spin coupling, a foundational concept used to determine molecular structure by NMR spectroscopy. The ester functional group provides excellent chemical shift dispersion so that students were able to analyze well-resolved peaks and to apply concepts of chemical shift, line shape, and integration to the analysis of molecular substructures. A laboratory activity combining molecular models, worksheets, and NMR data collection and analysis provided students with the ability to predict and to analyze spectra representing spin–spin splitting for N = 0–6 (where N is the number of three-bond neighbors that are hydrogens).
The State-of-the-Art in Predictive Visual Analytics

Predictive analytics embraces an extensive range of techniques including statistical modeling, machine learning, and data mining and is applied in business intelligence, public health, disaster management and response, and many other fields. To date, visualization has been broadly used to support tasks in the predictive analytics pipeline. Primary uses have been in data cleaning, exploratory analysis, and diagnostics. For example, scatterplots and bar charts are used to illustrate class distributions and responses. More recently, extensive visual analytics systems for feature selection, incremental learning, and various prediction tasks have been proposed to support the growing use of complex models, agent-specific optimization, and comprehensive model comparison and result exploration. Such work is being driven by advances in interactive machine learning and the desire of end-users to understand and engage with the modeling process. In this state-of-the-art report, we catalogue recent advances in the visualization community for supporting predictive analytics. First, we define the scope of predictive analytics discussed in this article and describe how visual analytics can support predictive analytics tasks in a predictive visual analytics PVA pipeline. We then survey the literature and categorize the research with respect to the proposed PVA pipeline. Systems and techniques are evaluated in terms of their supported interactions, and interactions specific to predictive analytics are discussed. We end this report with a discussion of challenges and opportunities for future research in predictive visual analytics.
SecMD : Make Machine Learning More Secure Against Adversarial Malware Attacks

As machine learning based systems have been successfully deployed for malware detection, the incentive for defeating them increases. In this paper, we explore the security of machine learning in malware detection on the basis of a learning-based classifier. In particular, (1) considering different capabilities of the attackers (i.e., how much knowledge they have regarding feature representation, training set, and learning algorithm), we present a set of corresponding adversarial attacks and implement a general attack model AdvAttack to thoroughly assess the adversary behaviors; (2) to effectively counter these evasion attacks, we propose a resilient yet elegant secure-learning paradigm SecMD to improve the system security against a wide class of adversarial attacks. Promising experimental results based on the real sample collections from Comodo Cloud Security Center demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods.