cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Association with Fear of Falling After Hip Fracture

Objectives To determine whether fall-related hip fracture, alone or in the presence of Fear of Falling, is likely to induce PTSD in an elderly population. Design A longitudinal prospective study of patients admitted for hip fracture. Setting Eight St. Louis, Missouri, area hospitals. Participants Individuals aged 60 and older admitted for surgical hip fracture repair after a fall (N = 456). Measurements Rates of partial and full posttraumatic stress disorder (pPTSD and fPTSD) were compared with rates of FoF. PTSD and FoF were assessed 4 and 12 weeks after surgery. Baseline characteristics including depression, stress, pain, cognitive functioning, and anesthesia type were also analyzed as potential predictors of PTSD symptoms 12 weeks after surgery. Results No participants met criteria for fPTSD at 4 or 12 weeks, and rates of pPTSD were low 12 weeks after surgery (7.4%), in contrast to high rates of FoF symptoms at the same time point (58.5%). Higher ratings of stress and depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with higher levels of PTSD symptoms 12 weeks after surgery. Conclusions Hip fracture, despite its considerable morbidity, does not induce fPTSD and infrequently induces pPTSD. Individuals with higher rates of stress and depressive symptoms after hip fracture repair may be more likely to develop PTSD symptoms.
ISA-L Igzip: Improvements to a Fast Deflate

A fast Deflate implementation is described that outperforms Zlib by 6x. This pushes Deflate to speeds similar or better than purpose-built for speed standards such as LZ4 and Snappy but at better compression ratios.
Rule of Law and African Development

The Article argues that, to the extent that the Rule of Law promotes accountability and political stability, Africa’s economic growth needs to be premised on the recognition of the intrinsic and inseparable relationship as well the synergy between the Rule of Law and sustainable economic growth, and that African law as well as judicial institutions are not living up to this proposition. The article defines the Rule of Law and presents counterarguments to the proposition that adherence to the Rule of Law is a necessary (although not sufficient) condition for sustainable development. It also presents a critical analysis of African law, including the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, as well as the jurisprudence of African judicial institutions such as the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and sub-regional judicial institutions such as the tribunals of the South African Development Community, the Economic Community of West African States, and the East African Community. In addition, the Article considers jurisprudence from select African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.
RASSS: A perfidy-aware protocol for designing trustworthy distributed systems

Robust Adaptive Secure Secret Sharing (RASSS) is a protocol for reconstructing secrets and information in distributed computing systems even in the presence of a large number of untrusted participants. Since the original Shamir's Secret Sharing scheme, there have been efforts to secure the technique against dishonest shareholders. Early on, researchers determined that the Reed-Solomon encoding property of the Shamir's share distribution equation and its decoding algorithm could tolerate cheaters up to one third of the total shareholders. However, if the number of cheaters grows beyond the error correcting capability (distance) of the Reed-Solomon codes, the reconstruction of the secret is hindered. Untrusted participants or cheaters could hide in the decoding procedure, or even frame up the honest parties. In this paper, we solve this challenge and propose a secure protocol that is no longer constrained by the limitations of the Reed-Solomon codes. As long as there are a minimum number of honest shareholders, the RASSS protocol is able to identify the cheaters and retrieve the correct secret or information in a distributed system with a probability close to 1 with less than 60% of hardware overhead. Furthermore, the adaptive nature of the protocol enables considerable hardware and timing resource savings and makes RASSS highly practical.
Pigmentary Maculopathy Associated with Chronic Exposure to Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium.

Purpose To describe the clinical features of a unique pigmentary maculopathy noted in the setting of chronic exposure to pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS), a therapy for interstitial cystitis (IC). Design Retrospective case series. Participants Six adult patients evaluated by a single clinician between May 1, 2015, and October 1, 2017. Methods Patients were identified by query of the electronic medical record system. Local records were reviewed, including results of the clinical examination, retinal imaging, and visual function assessment with static perimetry and electroretinography. Molecular testing assessed for known macular dystrophy and mitochondrial cytopathy genotypes. Main Outcome Measures Mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA; in logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution units), median cumulative PPS exposure, subjective nature of the associated visual disturbance, qualitative examination and imaging features, and molecular testing results. Results The median age at presentation was 60 years (range, 37–62 years). All patients received PPS for a diagnosis of IC, with a median cumulative exposure of 2263 g (range, 1314–2774 g), over a median duration of exposure of 186 months (range, 144–240 months). Most patients (4 of 6) reported difficulty reading as the most bothersome symptom. Mean BCVA was 0.1±0.18 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution. On fundus examination, nearly all eyes showed subtle paracentral hyperpigmentation at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) with a surrounding array of vitelliform-like deposits. Four eyes of 2 patients showed paracentral RPE atrophy, and no eyes demonstrated choroidal neovascularization. Multimodal retinal imaging demonstrated abnormality of the RPE generally contained in a well-delineated area in the posterior pole. None of the 4 patients who underwent molecular testing of nuclear DNA returned a pathogenic mutation. Additionally, all 6 patients showed negative results for pathogenic variants in the mitochondrial gene MTTL1 . Conclusions We describe a novel and possibly avoidable maculopathy associated with chronic exposure to PPS. Patients reported symptoms of difficulty reading and prolonged dark adaptation despite generally intact visual acuity and subtle funduscopic findings. Multimodal imaging and functional studies are suggestive of a primary RPE injury. Additional investigation is warranted to explore causality further.
An Operational Land Surface Temperature Product for Landsat Thermal Data: Methodology and Validation

Thermal sensors onboard Landsat satellites have been underutilized due to the lack of consistent and accurate methodologies for retrieving the land surface temperature (LST) at global scales over all land cover types. We present an operational algorithm for generating Landsat LST consistently for all sensors that will be implemented by the United States Geological Survey/The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and made available at the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center. The LST algorithm involves three steps. The observed thermal radiance is atmospherically corrected using a radiative transfer model and reanalysis data. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Emissivity Data Set version 3 is spectrally adjusted and then modified to account for vegetation phenology and snow cover using Landsat visible-shortwave infrared data. The LST is retrieved by inverting the atmospherically and emissivity corrected Landsat radiances with a lookup-table approach. Landsat-derived emissivities were validated at two pseudoinvariant sand dune sites within an average absolute error of 0.54% when compared with laboratory measurements. The Landsat LST retrievals were validated with in situ observations from four surface radiation budget network (SURFRAD) sites, and two inland water bodies (Salton Sea and Lake Tahoe) in the USA. The LST retrievals for Landsat 5 and 7 had a mean bias (root mean square error) of 0.7 K (2.2 K) and 0.9 K (2.3 K) for the SURFRAD sites, and −0.3 K (0.6 K) and 0.4 K (0.7 K) for the inland water bodies, respectively. The operational algorithm will provide a consistent LST record from four decades of historical Landsat thermal data enabling the long-term monitoring of temperature and trends, land cover and land use changes, and improved utilization in models.
Psychodynamic Theories and Treatment of Childhood Anxiety Disorders

This article reviews various psychodynamic formulations of anxiety disorders of childhood. The early work of Johnson and Estes and the later contribution of Bowlby are considered a theoretical basis to the understanding of these disorders. Psychotherapeutic approaches also are considered, emphasizing the developmental level of the child and his or her familial context.
Unilateral or Bilateral Approach for Unilateral Pulmonary Metastatic Disease

The term pulmonary metastasectomy refers to surgical excision of malignant lesion(s) of the lung of extrapulmonary origin. Several retrospective studies, including the International Registry of Lung Metastases, have observed increased survival following pulmonary metastasectomy when compared to historical control patient cohorts who did not undergo resection. Over the years these observations have led to widespread acceptance of pulmonary metastasectomy in appropriately selected patients. The lack of randomized, controlled trials and the continued evolution in imaging technology, chemotherapeutics, and surgical technique pose significant challenges to clinicians as they struggle with appropriate patient selection for and the optimal surgical approach to metastasectomy.
Allen figure and broken wheel visual acuity measurement in preschool children

In a masked investigation, 34 preschool children (n = 34, 19 females and 15 males) between the ages of 3 and 5 years (mean age = 4.1 years) enrolled in Project Headstart had their monocular and binocular visual acuity measured using the Broken Wheel and Allen figure methods. The results showed that 1) a greater range in acuity values was found with the Allen figure than Broken Wheel test, despite the identical Snellen equivalent acuity levels and similar probability of guessing criteria used for both Broken Wheel and Allen figure acuity measurement e.g., no strong statistical correlation (rOD = +0.22, rOS = -0.11 and rOU = +0.04; rho OD = +0.22, rho OS = -0.11, rho OU = 0.00) for the two tests was found; and 2) the Broken Wheel test appeared to discriminate between 20/30 and 20/40 acuity performance more consistently than did Allen figure and in a way not attributable to chance (p less than or equal to 0.003). In a separate evaluation, the Broken Wheel test showed consistency in the acuity measured. Broken Wheel acuity measurement, even with an average variation of +/- 5.6 percent from the corresponding Snellen standard, appears to be a valuable clinical tool to measure acuity in young children.
Deiodination and Solidification of Radioassay Waste

A successful method to purify the liquid I-125 waste generated from radioassays is described. The resulting liquid is equivalent to background and can be legally disposed of in public sewage without dilution, after the radioactivity is transferred to a small volume of solid waste. In our procedure liquid waste is acidified with 70% perchloric acid, filtered, then passed through anion exchange columns. With 60 to 90% of the original activity removed, the remainder is soaked on a bed of activated charcoal. After 30 min the remaining activity is below legal limits for disposal for I-125 (88.8 dpm or 4 x 10/sup -5/ ..mu.. Ci/ml). After soaking overnight in charcoal the liquid is equivalent to background levels. This method requires no more time or expertise than a routine radioassay does. In addition, the reagents that we use for this procedure last for about ten weeks, thus reducing our total volume of liquid radioactive waste by almost 12-fold.
Components of the actin-based cytoskeleton

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the methods that developed for the extraction and study of proteins of the actin-based cytoskeleton, using as material primarily the gametes of the Hawaiian sea urchin, Tripneustes gratilla . It is one of the more common local species and also offers the advantage of large size, so that 10-20 ml of gametes can be obtained from a ripe animal. The behavior of extracts is undoubtedly temperature dependent, so appropriate adjustments of temperature when working with other species will have to be made. The chapter focuses on the cytoplasmic extract as a model system for studying cytoplasmic behavior. The detailed procedures described in the chapter include the preparation of extracts, the recovery of actin, myosin, and several other actin-associated proteins using procedures based on the specific properties of these extracts, methods for the study of the interaction of these components in vitro , and the relation of these reactions to cellular events.
Distilling neural representations of data structure manipulation using fMRI and fNIRS

Data structures permeate many aspects of software engineering, but their associated human cognitive processes are not thoroughly understood. We leverage medical imaging and insights from the psychological notion of spatial ability to decode the neural representations of several fundamental data structures and their manipulations. In a human study involving 76 participants, we examine list, array, tree, and mental rotation tasks using both functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We find a nuanced relationship: data structure and spatial operations use the same focal regions of the brain but to different degrees. They are related but distinct neural tasks. In addition, more difficult computer science problems induce higher cognitive load than do problems of pure spatial reasoning. Finally, while fNIRS is less expensive and more permissive, there are some computing-relevant brain regions that only fMRI can reach.
In vitro interactions of integration host factor with the ompF promoter-regulatory region of Escherichia coli.

Previous work has shown that integration host factor (IHF) mutants have increased expression and altered osmoregulation of OmpF, a major Escherichia coli outer membrane protein. By in vitro analysis the possibility was investigated that IHF interacts directly with the ompF promoter region. Gel retardation assays and DNase I protection experiments showed that IHF binds to two sites in the ompF promoter region centered at positions −180 and −60 relative to the start of transcription. Gel electrophoresis studies with circularly permuted ompF promoter fragments indicated that IHF binding strongly increased a small intrinsic bend in the ompF promoter region. The addition of IHF to a purified in vitro transcription system strongly and specifically inhibited ompF transcription. This inhibition was reversed by increasing the concentration of OmpR, a positive activator required for ompF expression, suggesting that IHF may inhibit ompF transcription by altering how OmpR interacts with the ompF promoter.
Expertise and engagement: re-designing citizen science games with players' minds in mind

Many studies have already shown that games can be a useful tool to make boring or difficult tasks more engaging. However, with serious game design being a relatively nascent field, such experiences can still be hard to learn and not very motivating. In this paper, we explore the use of learning and motivation frameworks to improve player experience in the well-known citizen science game Foldit. Using Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) and Self Determination Theory (SDT), we developed six interface and mechanical changes to the tutorial levels in Foldit designed to increase engagement and retention. We tested these features with new players of Foldit and collected both behavioral data, using game metrics, and prior experience data, using self-report measures. This study offers three major contributions: (1) we document the process of operationalizing CLT and SDT as new game features, a unique methodology not used in game design previously; (2) the user interface, specifically the level selection screen, significantly impacts how players progress through the game; and (3) a player's expertise, whether from prior domain knowledge or prior gaming experience, increases their engagement. We discuss both implications of these findings as well as how these implementations can generalize to other designs.
Adiposity is related to neuroelectric indices of motor response preparation in preadolescent children

Abstract Objective Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have been utilized to study the cognitive implications of health-related behaviors, although many questions remain regarding the neural correlates underlying the cognition and adiposity relationship in childhood. Specifically, it is unknown whether excess fat mass is associated with the neural correlates of motor preparation and activation. The present work examined interrelationships between adiposity and ERPs that index inhibition, stimulus evaluation, and motor planning. Method To further elucidate the neural components of inhibitory control that are sensitive to adiposity, N2, P3, and response- and stimulus-locked Lateralized Readiness Potential (LRPs) were measured while preadolescent children completed an attentional inhibition task. Whole body percent adiposity was measured via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Results Adiposity was related to the response-locked LRP amplitudes and marginally to P3 amplitude during the incongruent trials, such that participants with less adiposity elicited larger LRP and P3 components. Furthermore, P3 was strongly related to participant reaction times, suggesting that while LRP is strongly associated with adiposity, P3 has a more direct relationship to behavioral task performance. Conclusions The results suggest that while different cognitive functions may be affected by health-related characteristics, stimulus evaluation and motor activation may be particularly sensitive to excess adiposity in children. These findings extend previous work implicating adiposity in cognitive health in the pediatric population. Study importance 1. What is already known about this subject? a. Excess adiposity is inversely associated with cognitive function in children. b. Adiposity has been associated with several event-related brain potentials, such that smaller P3 components, which index stimulus evaluation, and N2 components, which index attentional inhibition, are related to greater adiposity in children. c. The neural correlates underlying the cognition-adiposity relationship are under specified, and additional ERP components should be studied; one such component is the LRP, which underlies motor planning and activation. 2. What does your study add? a. Our results show that adiposity was related to the P3 and the response-locked LRP components such that children with less adiposity showed larger P3 and LRP waveforms. b. These findings suggest that two separable, though related, processes may be affected by adiposity in childhood: One involving the evaluation of a stimulus, represented by the P3, and one involving the activation of motor control, represented by the response-locked LRP. Clinical Registry Number: NCT02630667 at https://clinicaltrials.gov .
Recent Contributions to Multiobjective Evolutionary Optimization in Electromagnetics

Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) have provided engineers with powerful new tools for rapidly designing highly complex electromagnetic systems. This paper serves as a brief tutorial on optimization in electromagnetics (EM), and also surveys three recent contributions to the field of MOEAs, each of which have expanded the space of optimizable designs in different ways.
Precision poultry nutrition and feed formulation

Abstract The production of poultry products with minimal negative impact on the world's environment is critical to sustainability of one of our most important sources of high quality animal protein. With respect to poultry nutrition, maximizing nutrient bioavailability of the diets and formulating those diets to precisely meet the bird's growth requirements at any given time is perhaps one of the most important aspects of environmental, social and economic sustainability. This chapter explores the evolution of the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Poultry through the most recent 1994 edition. Today's modern breeds of production poultry are genetically much different than they were half a century ago and their diets have changed correspondently. During the 1940's we fed just a few different diets to poultry, primarily a grower diet and a layer diet with similar concentrations of dietary protein and energy. Today we feed both broilers and laying hens many different diets throughout their respective production periods in an attempt to be as precise as possible at meeting the optimal nutrient requirements for growth and reproduction without overfeeding and negatively affecting the environment. The availability of crystalline amino acids, growth promoters, probiotics, prebiotics, effective exogenous enzyme products, and new ideas on formulating diets with optimal amounts and proportions of proteinogenic amino acids have all contributed to the goal of sustainable poultry production with minimum environmental impact.
The Impact of Subscription Programs on Customer Purchases

Subscription programs have become increasingly popular among a wide variety of retailers and marketplace platforms. Subscription programs give members access to a set of exclusive benefits for a fixed fee upfront. In this paper, we examine the causal effect of a subscription program on customer behavior. To account for self-selection and identify the individual-level treatment effects, we combine a difference-in-differences approach with a generalized random forests procedure that matches each member of the subscription program with comparable non-members. We find subscription leads to a large increase in customer purchases. The effect of subscription is economically significant, persistent over time, and heterogeneous across customers. Interestingly, only one-third of the effect on customer purchases is due to the economic benefit of the subscription program and the remaining two-thirds is attributed to the non-economic effect. We provide evidence that members experience a sunk cost fallacy due to the upfront payment that subscription programs entail. Finally, we present the profitability of the subscription program and discuss the implications of our findings for customer retention and subscription services.
GIScience I: Social histories and disciplinary crucibles

In this first report, I overview research on storytelling of the histories of GIS. I suggest that these efforts reveal important pathways for thinking the current moment and conditioning technoscie...
Performance of a pre-procedural Mehran score to predict acute kidney injury after percutaneous coronary intervention

Aim Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a known complication of patients undergoing cardiac catheterization or percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).The Mehran score was developed to identify patients at risk for AKI after cardiac catheterization or PCI, but its use of contrast volume as part of the score calculation limits its application prior to the procedure. In this study, we evaluated the utility of a modified Mehran score that utilizes only pre-procedural data by excluding contrast volume. Methods This was done in a retrospective fashion using data from patients who received PCI at our institution between July 2015 and December 2017 by evaluating the discriminative ability of the scoring systems for predicting outcomes through a receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis. Results One thousand five hundred and seven patients were included in the study. A total of 70 (4.6%) patients developed AKI. The removal of contrast volume from the Mehran score resulted in a small loss of discrimination with AUROC 0.73 vs 0.74, P = .01 for the pre-procedural Mehran and the original Mehran, respectively. When compared to the original score, the pre-procedural Mehran score had a four-category net discrimination index (NRI) of -0.10 and an integrated discrimination index (IDI) for of -0.12. Conclusion Despite a small loss in discrimination, there was no difference in the four-category net discrimination index between the two scores. The pre-procedural modified Mehran score is a useful clinical predictor of the risk of AKI in patients undergoing PCI.
O-030 Long-term clinical and radiographic follow-up of pure arterial malformations

Introduction Pure arterial malformations (PAM) are rare vascular lesions characterized by dilated, tortuous arterial loops without venous shunting. The natural history of these lesions remains unclear. We report the long-term clinical and radiological outcomes in the largest series of patients with PAM. Methods Retrospective review at a tertiary academic referral center for patients with a PAM. Follow-up clinical and radiological data were collected and analyzed for clinical symptoms and radiographic changes. Results Twenty-five patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age at presentation was 30.9 ± 14 years. Nineteen (76%) patients were female and six (23.1%) were male. Eleven (44%) patients had ≥1 symptom at presentation, of which, only 3 (12%) could be linked to PAM. The most common symptom was headache (n=8). PAMs involved a single vessel in 16 (64%) cases and ≥2 vessels in 9 cases (36%). Fifteen (60%) lesions were isolated to the anterior circulation compared to 6 (24%) in the posterior circulation. The most frequently involved vessel was the supraclinoid internal cerebral artery (36%). An associated saccular aneurysm was present in 32% of patients. Ten lesions were partially calcified. The mean radiographic and clinical follow-up was 21.4 ± 26.6 months and 44.5 ± 34.8 months, respectively. None of the patients developed new symptoms related to their lesion or radiographic progression over the duration of follow-up. Conclusion PAMs are rare incidental vascular lesions found most frequently in young, asymptomatic females. PAMs have a benign clinical and radiographic natural history and are best managed conservatively with serial imaging. Disclosures S. Oushy: None. W. Brinjikji: None. H. Cloft: None. R. Vine: None. G. Lanzino: None.
A Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulator for Neural Entrainment

Human cognition, perception, and memory are partially attributed to the synchronicity of neuronal dynamics in the prefrontal cortex, and growing evidence indicates that age-related decline in working memory is causally linked to dissonance in neuronal firing patterns. Neuromodulation of spike timing has been classically considered an invasive process, met with resistance due to technological and ethical constraints. Thus, non-invasive neurostimulation techniques have been used to treat and manage a diverse range of health conditions, and more recently it has been suggested to enhance human cognition and working memory. In this paper, we propose a low-cost transcranial alternating current neurostimulator wearable targeting frequencies in the theta wave band (4–8 Hz), which are crucial for the functioning of normal memory and attention. Prior work on transcranial stimulation indicates that modulating large-scale neural activity is achievable through both entrainment and resonance effects, by recruiting a larger population of neurons into task-relevant rhythmic firing networks. We conduct a simulation current density within the brain in response to the wearable, using SimNIBS, followed by experimental results of our board-level implementation with a test study of various electrodes, by connecting them to an impedance of 20 kΩ.
COVID-19 and Travel Restrictions

The strict controls that many jurisdictions, including most U.S. states, established to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have proven difficult to sustain over time, and most places are moving to lift them. Internationally, many plans to ease lockdowns have retained some form of travel restrictions, including the “green zone” plans adopted by France and Spain, which limited travel between regions with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 and those without it. By contrast, most U.S. states lifting shelter-in-place orders have opted to remove limits on movement as well. This Article argues that this situation is unwise: It tends to create travel patterns that increase the spread of COVID-19 while hindering contact tracing and information gathering. While broad quarantines have a complicated and far from perfect record in the United States, more targeted and/or voluntary measures are likely within states’ constitutional powers to impose, might be more palatable to the public, and could play a significant role in helping to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Immigrants and the Distribution of Resources within an Urban School District

In New York City, where almost 14 percent of elementary school pupils are foreign-born and roughly half of these are "recent immigrants," the impact of immigrant students on school resources may be important. While immigrant advocates worry about inequitable treatment of immigrant students, others worry that immigrants drain resources from native-born students. In this article, we explore the variation in school resources and the relationship to the representation of immigrant students. To what extent are variations in school resources explained by the presence of immigrants per se rather than by differences in student educational needs, such as poverty or language skills, or differences in other characteristics, such as race? Our results indicate that, while schools resources decrease with the representation of immigrants, this relationship largely reflects differences in the educational needs of immigrant students. Although analyses that link resources to the representation of foreign-born students in 12 geographic regions of origin find some disparities, these are again largely driven by differences in educational need. Finally, we find that some resources increase over time when there are large increases in the percentage of immigrants in a school, but these results are less precisely estimated. Thus, elementary schools appear not to be biased either against or for immigrants per se, although differences in the needs of particular groups of immigrant students may lead to more (or fewer) school resources.
Infective Endocarditis Following Heart Transplantation: A Systematic Review

Purpose Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare but potentially fatal complication following heart transplantation (HTx). There is a lack of literature regarding the patterns and clinical course of IE development following HTx. We sought to pool the existing data in regards to defining characteristics, management options, and outcomes of IE following HTx. Methods An electronic search of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Ovid Medline, and the Scopus databases were performed to identify all articles in the English literature that report IE following HTx in patients greater than 17 years of age. Systematic search yielded 37 patients from 29 articles. Patient-level data were extracted and analyzed. Results Median patient age was 53 [IQR 43, 62] years and 78.4% (29/37) were male. Median time to IE presentation post-HTx was 6.5 [2.6, 16.2] months. IE of the mitral valve was observed in 45.9% (17/37) of patients, followed by mural IE in 24.3% (9/37), and tricuspid valve IE in 24.3% (9/37). The most common organisms were Staphylococcus aureus in 27.0% (10/37), Aspergillus fumigatus in 18.9% (7/37), Enterococcus faecalis in 10.8% (4/37), and an undetermined or unspecified organism in 16.2% (6/37) patients. Aspergillus fumigatus associated mortality occurred in 85.7% (6/7). Surgical management of post-HTx IE was observed in 43.2% (16/37). This included valve surgery for 35.1% (13/37), particularly of the mitral valve in 46.2% (6/13), aortic valve 38.5% (5/13), tricuspid valve 15.4% (2/13), and pulmonic artery graft in 15.4% (2/13). Kaplan-Meier analysis of the survival is shown in the figure. Conclusion In addition to bacterial organisms, Aspergillus fumigatus also represents a frequent cause of IE in post-HTx patients. Overall HTx patient survival after IE occurs is poor, and may be worse with Aspergillus fumigatus IE.
Restoration of gallery forest patches improves recruitment of motacú palms (Attalea princeps) while diversifying and increasing wildlife populations.

Globally, forest-savanna mosaic landscapes are of significant conservation importance but have been widely impacted by human land-use. We studied how restoration, through cessation of long-term cattle grazing impacts (i) forest regeneration; (ii) forest understory structure and composition; and (iii) populations and diversity of large mammals and nocturnal birds, within naturally patchy gallery forests in the Beni Savannas of Bolivia. Comparing grazed and restored sites, we assessed the abundance and composition of tree functional types at different life stages (seedlings, saplings and adults), with focus on the region's key palm species Attalea princeps (motacu). Additionally, we surveyed habitat structure and composition in the shrub and ground-layer, and monitored occurrence and encounter rates of large mammals and nocturnal birds along dusk and evening transects. We found evidence of lower recruitment of motacu palms on the grazed site and lower potential for natural motacu regeneration. Principal Components Analysis revealed forests on grazed sites had simpler, more open shrub-layers and altered ground-layer structure and composition including increased bare ground. Mammal species richness was greater on the restored site, and there were more declining, globally threatened and site-unique species. Species richness was similar for nocturnal birds within forests on both the grazed and restored site, but nearly all species tended to be encountered more frequently on the restored site. Our results suggest cattle negatively impact forest regeneration and alter the structure and composition of the shrub and ground layer with potential consequences for the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Our study represents one of only a handful completed in the Beni region of Bolivia to date. The Beni is currently under pressure from widespread, largely unregulated cattle ranching. Our results thus provide vital evidence to support development of restoration and conservation policy, and its integration with rangeland management in this threatened and critically understudied region.
Comparison of adult census size and effective population size support the need for continued protection of two Solomon Island endemics

Because a population’s ability to respond to rapid change is dictated by standing genetic variation, we can better predict a population’s long-term viability by estimating and then comparing adult ...
Robust coordination of collective oscillatory signaling requires single-cell excitability and fold-change detection

Complex multicellular behaviors are coordinated at the level of biochemical signaling networks, yet how this decentralized mechanism enables robust control in variable environments and over many orders of magnitude of spatiotemporal scales remains an open question. A stunning example of these behaviors is found in the microbe Dictyostelium discoideum, which uses the small molecule cyclic AMP (cAMP) to drive the propagation of collective signaling oscillations leading to multicellular development. The critical design features of the Dictyostelium signaling network remain unclear despite decades of mathematical modeling and experimental interrogation because each model makes different assumptions about the network architecture and in general, normalizing models for direct comparison presents a major challenge. We overcome this challenge by using recent experimental data to normalize the time and response scales of five major signal relay network models to one another and assess their ability to recapitulate experimentally-observed population and single-cell dynamics. We find that to successfully reproduce the full range of observed dynamical behaviors, single cells must be excitable and respond to the relative fold-change of environmental signals. This suggests these features represent robust principles for coordinating cellular populations through oscillatory signaling and that single-cell excitable dynamics are a generalizable route for controlling population behaviors.
A Variable Compensation Inverter Rectifier (VCIR) based Approach to Compensate for Coupling Variations in Wireless Power Transfer Systems

This paper introduces a new approach to compensate for coupling variations in wireless power transfer (WPT) systems using a variable compensation inverter rectifier (VCIR). The VCIR based WPT system can continuously compensate for misalignments and air-gap variations, and maintain a constant output power, by controlling the input voltages of two inverters at the transmitting side and the output voltage of one rectifier at the receiving side, while operating at a fixed frequency and maintaining soft-switching of the inverter and rectifier transistors. The VCIR builds upon the concepts of the recently proposed active variable reactance rectifier (AVRR) and variable compensation inverter (VCI), and achieves substantially higher range of compensation than both. This paper also presents a systematic methodology to design a VCIR based WPT system. The benefits of the VCIR approach are being validated using a 6.78-MHz 50-W scaled prototype capacitive WPT system.
Composition operators that improve integrability on weighted Bergman spaces

Composition operators between weighted Bergman spaces with a smaller exponent in the target space are studied. An integrability condition on a generalized Nevanlinna counting function of the inducing map is shown to characterize both compactness and boundedness of such an operator. Composition operators mapping into the Hardy spaces are included by making particular choices for the weights.
Statistics of High Frequency Acoustic Boundary Scattering and Vector Ambient Noise Fields

Abstract : The long-term goal of the present high-frequency scattering statistics work is to examine the links between environmental parameters of shallow water boundaries and the statistics of high frequency, broadband acoustic fields using a combination of at-sea measurements, ground truth and theoretical modeling. The influence of the properties of the boundaries to the scattered envelope statistics and noise fields will be examined in detail. The proposed project is designed to (1) examine experimental acoustic data to determine how environmental properties (e.g. roughness or bubble clouds) influence statistical distributions obtained with broadband, acoustic systems in shallow water including SAS and vector sensor systems; (2) test current models or develop models where none exist which link measured environmental parameters (e.g. roughness, bubble distributions) and system characteristics (e.g. bandwidth, frequency) to predict these statistics in realistic shallow-water ocean environments. The proposed effort will lead to methods for modeling and predicting properties that may be used to minimize the negative impact of the environment on: 1) detection and classification of targets on or near the seafloor in shallow water; and 2) processing of data taken with vector sensor arrays.
Polymicrogyria in a fetus with human parvovirus B19 infection: a case with radiologic-pathologic correlation

We report the prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearance of polymicrogyria with pathologic correlation in a fetus with congenital parvovirus B19 infection. Prenatal ultrasound revealed non-immune hydrops, but detected no fetal brain abnormalities. A subsequent fetal MRI scan performed at 23 weeks' gestation demonstrated bilateral polymicrogyria, which was confirmed at autopsy. To our knowledge, prenatal diagnosis of polymicrogyria in association with congenital parvovirus B19 infection has not been previously described. This case provides further evidence for brain abnormalities resulting from congenital parvovirus B19 infection, and suggests that fetal neuroimaging with MRI would be of value in suspected cases of congenital parvovirus infection.
Shelley and the Revolution in Taste: The Body and the Natural World

Acknowledgements Introduction: prescriptions 1. The rights of brutes 2. The purer nutriment: diet and Shelley's biographies 3. In the face: the poetics of the natural diet 4. Apollo in the jungle: healthy morals and the body beautiful 5. Intemperate figures: refining culture 6. Sustaining natures: Shelley and ecocriticism Notes Bibliography Index.
Formal versus rigorous mathematics: how to get your papers published

This talk will consider rigorous mathematics and the nature of proof. It begins with an historical perspective and follows the development of formal mathematics. The talk will conclude with examples demonstrating that understanding the relationship between formal mathematics and rigorous proof can assist with both the discovery and the quality of real proofs of real results.
Assessment of pneumonia in older adults: effect of functional status.

The incidence of pneumonia in the United States has been estimated at 4 million cases annually, with 20% of episodes requiring hospitalization.1 Hazards of hospitalizing older patients have been well documented.2 Hospitalized older patients are at risk for developing complications such as falls, incontinence, and delirium. Functional deterioration occurs quickly after admission in a significant proportion of hospitalized older patients and typically fails to improve by the time of discharge.3 Studies of the effect of function on pneumonia outcomes in older adults have drawn conflicting conclusions.4,5 In a prospective study to evaluate risk factors for mortality from lower respiratory tract infections in nursing home residents, it was concluded that activity of daily living (ADL) dependency was an important predictor of mortality.4 Similarly, in a prospective study of pneumonia in a Department of Veterans Affairs facility, functional status was found to be a major determinant of survival after pneumonia.5 Alternatively, from a prediction model of 30-day mortality from pneumonia, functional status was not found to be a significant predictor of mortality in nursing home residents.6,7 Few studies have assessed the effect of functional status on pneumonia severity in hospitalized older adults.8,9 In a prospective evaluation of pneumonia in hospitalized community-dwelling older adults and nursing home residents, authors noted that pneumonia mortality was higher in the nursing home residents, but this was mainly attributed to poor baseline functional status.8 Functional status was an independent predictor of short-term and long-term mortality from pneumonia in a study that focused on older adults evaluated in an emergency department setting.9 The main objective of the current study was to examine the role of preadmission functional status on pneumonia severity through assessment of pneumonia presentation, length of stay (LOS), and 30-day mortality of adults aged 60 and older admitted to a university-based hospital. The secondary objective was to understand the effect of an acute infection such as pneumonia on short-term functional impairment.
Manipulation of pollen grains for gametophytic and sporophytic types of growth.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on manipulation of pollen grains for gametophytic and sporophytic types of growth. The chapter describes the methods related to three experimental designs using pollen grains as the starting material: (1) the culture of pollen grains to study the requirements for their germination and growth of pollen tubes, (2) isolation of viable sperm cells from pollen grains, and (3) induction of sporophytic type of growth in pollen grains. Isolation of sperm cells from pollen grains and pollen tubes has become an important objective for development of an in vitro fertilization system in angiosperms. Some of the successful isolation attempts have been undertaken with tricellular pollen grains—that is, pollen grains that harbor a vegetative cell and two sperm cells. Although methods for pollen germination and anther and pollen culture have been successfully applied for a broad spectrum of plants, methods for the isolation of sperm from pollen grains are still in their initial stages and isolation of sperm from pollen tubes has hardly been attempted.
SEQUENTIAL FORMATION AND ACCUMULATION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SHUNT METABOLIC PRODUCTS IN CLAVICEPS PURPUREA.

The fungus Claviceps purpurea was grown on a rich and a limited nutrient medium such that alkaloid was produced after 8 days on the former medium and after 3 days on the latter medium. Cultures grown on both were assayed for the primary shunt metabolic products, polyols, trehalose, lipids, ribonucleic acid, and polyphosphate, and the secondary metabolic product, ergot alkaloid. Although differing considerably in composition, the two media nevertheless allowed formation of both primary and secondary shunt products. In both instances, however, the secondary product, ergot alkaloid, did not form until formation and accumulation of the primary products had ceased and the mycelial content of these products was actually decreasing. In both instances, alkaloid formation took place after the total dry weight of the mycelium had begun to decrease but while the dry weight of the residual, or structural portion of the mycelium, was either constant or increasing. The dilution of labeling in mannitol isolated from mycelia grown on rich medium containing 1,6-C14-labeled mannitol was 2.2. Thus, about half of the mycelial mannitol was actually mannitol which had been taken up directly from the medium.
Barbiturate detection using thin-layer chromatography.

Thin-layer chromatography has been applied to the analysis of barbituric acids. The ratio of the Rf of 23 different barbituric acid samples to that of simultaneously run phenobarbital is given. This ratio is reproducible and characteristic. By using this technic the average laboratory can provide a barbiturate analysis of biologic material in about 2 hr.
Using scaffolded rubrics to improve peer assessment in a MOOC writing course

This study explored the value of using a guided rubric to enable students participating in a massive open online course in writing to produce more reliable assessments of their fellow students’ writing. To test the assumption that training students to assess will improve their ability to provide quality feedback, a multivariate factorial analysis was used to determine differences in assessments made by students who received guidance on using a rating rubric and those who did not. Although results were mixed, on average students who were provided no guidance in scoring writing samples were less likely to successfully differentiate between novice, intermediate, and advanced writing samples than students who received rubric guidance. Rubric guidance was most beneficial for items that were subjective, technically complex, and likely to be unfamiliar to the student. Items addressing relatively simple and objective constructs were less likely to be improved by rubric guidance.