cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF OCCUPATIONAL SILICA EXPOSURE ON PULMONARY FUNCTION

Study objectives To assess the effect of occupational silica exposure on pulmonary function. Design Epidemiologic evaluation based on employee interview, plant walk-through, and information abstracted from company medical records, employment records, and industrial hygiene measurements. Participants Drawn from 1,072 current and former hourly wage workers employed before January 1, 1986. Thirty-six individuals with radiographic evidence of parenchymal changes consistent with asbestosis or silicosis were excluded. In addition, eight individuals whose race was listed as other than white or black were excluded. Measurements and results Analysis of spirometry data (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC) only using the test results that met American Thoracic Society criteria for reproducibility and acceptability shows decreasing percent-predicted FVC and FEV1 and decreasing FEV1/FVC in relationship to increasing silica exposure among smokers. Logistic regression analyses of abnormal FVC and abnormal FEV1 values (where abnormal is defined as Conclusions There is a consistent association between increased pulmonary function abnormalities and estimated measures of cumulative silica exposure within the current allowable OSHA regulatory level. Despite concerns about the quality control of the pulmonary function measurements use in these analyses, our results support the need to lower allowable air levels of silica and increase efforts to encourage cessation of cigarette smoking among silica-exposed workers.
Growth, reproduction and life span of Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda: Mollusca) cultured through seven consecutive generations

Hundreds of Sepia officinalis were hatched and cultured through the life cycle in each of 13 populations. Two genetic lines were maintained: one for an unprecedented seven generations and another presently in its fourth. All generations—save one—produced animals in excess of 1·0 kg body weight. Seven of eight generations with adequate data records had mean weights of 1–2 kg, and the largest cuttlefish reared were a male 2·6 kg and a female 2·9 kg. Fecundity levels were high, but there was a trend towards decreased fertility in later generations, with fertilization rates dropping below 10%. In the 7th generation, most mature animals failed to engage in agonistic courtship and mating behaviour. Almost no normal eggs were laid and none was fertile, thus ending the lineage. Most culture took place at 20–24°C and temperature generally explained variations in life span duration: being of shorter length at higher temperatures. Life spans were consistently longer at 20°C and sizes were greater than predicted from previously published literature. In both lines there was a trend towards larger individuals and longer life spans in subsequent generations. Survival of hatchlings typically exceeded 90% for two months post-hatching, and survival averaged 50% or higher to sexual maturity when corrected for animals removed from the populations for experimental use.
Differences in the success of sugar maple and red maple seedlings on acid soils are influenced by nutrient dynamics and light environment

Variation in tolerance to nutrient limitations may contribute to the differential success of sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) and red maple ( Acer rubrum L.) on acid soils. The objectives of this study were to examine these relationships as influenced by light environment and test whether sensitivity to nutrient stress is mediated by oxidative stress. First-year sugar maple and red seedlings were grown on forest soil cores contrasting in nutrient availability under high or low light intensity. Foliar nutrition, photosynthesis, growth and antioxidant enzyme activity were assessed. Photosynthesis and growth of sugar maple were significantly lower on nutrient-poor soils and were correlated with leaf nutrient status with Ca and P having the strongest influence. For red maple, only chlorophyll content showed sensitivity to the nutrient-poor soils. High light exacerbated the negative effects of nutrient imbalances on photosynthesis and growth in sugar maple. Antioxidant enzyme activity in sugar maple was highest in seedlings growing on nutrient-poor soils and was inversely correlated with photosynthesis, Ca, P, and Mg concentrations. These results suggest that: (1) sugar maple is more sensitive to nutrient stresses associated with low pH soils than red maple; (2) high light increases sugar maple sensitivity to nutrient stress; (3) the negative effects of nutrient imbalances on sugar maple may be mediated by oxidative stress.
Gender, class, and network: social structure and migration patterns among transnational Israelis

A growing body of research and theorising explores the experience of groups who maintain ties to multiple nations. However, this research often overemphasizes the fluidity and freedom available to migrants and neglects the differential access to networks available to co-nationals who vary in their class, ethnic, gender and affiliational characteristics. Drawing on fieldwork and in-depth interviews with Israeli migrants in the USA and Britain, and returnees in Israel, this study considers how social characteristics and settlement contexts shape access to the networks through which migrants acquire resources and information. Findings suggest that highly educated Israelis of European origins often maintain distinct social networks from their less educated and Middle Eastern or North African co-nationals. Further, middle-class Israelis have greater legal and economic access to migration and return than those with less human and financial capital. Israeli men and single women often prefer life abroad, while married women, especially those with children, wish to return. Finally, destinations influence migrants’ relations with the country of origin: Los Angeles fosters greater assimilation than London. In conclusion, because Israeli migrants are a diverse population, they maintain multiple networks and exhibit dissimilar patterns of connection to both the country of origin and places of destination.
The Anthropology of Simple Societies: The Kalahari !Kung

Demography of the Dobe !Kung. Nancy Howell The Bushmen A. P. Wannenburgh, Peter Johnson, and Anthony Bannister. The !Kung San: Men, Women, and Work in a Foraging Society Richard B. Lee
Real Time Digital Control of Magnetic Bearings with Microprocessors

This paper presents the work on the real time implementation of digital controllers applied to magnetic bearings to levitate high speed rotor systems. Microprocessor is employed for digital signal processing. The control loop consists of PID controller, tracking and fixed notch filters, lead compensators, and feedforward stage, etc. The controller is implemented with TI TMS320C67 processor incorporated with LabVIEW data acquisition and graphical user interface. Digital signal processing techniques including bilinear transformation, frequency pre-warping, digital filter design and I/O communications are applied to implement the control rule. The real time controller has been successfully applied to the levitations of a Revolver Test Rig in Vibration Control Lab at Texas A&M and the Energy Storage Flywheel System used by industries for vehicles.
The Summertime Heat Budget and Circulation of Southeast New England Shelf Waters

A modeling study of summer ocean circulation on the inner shelf south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been conducted. The influences of winds, air–sea heat fluxes, tides, and shelfwide circulation are all incorporated. The model reproduces recognized features of the regional summer circulation: warm temperatures and weak eastward flow in Nantucket Sound, cool tidally mixed waters and an associated anticyclonic flow encircling the Nantucket Shoals, and strong stratification south of Martha’s Vineyard. Comparisons with satellite and in situ observations show the model simulates the major features of the temperature patterns that develop during summer 2002. The evolution of the summer heat budget is characterized by three regimes: Nantucket Sound heats rapidly in June and then maintains warm temperatures with little net air–sea heat flux; tidal mixing on the Nantucket Shoals maintains perpetually cool ocean temperatures despite significant air–sea heating; and midshelf south of Martha’s Vineyard the surface waters warm steadily through July and August because of sustained air–sea heating with only modest cooling resulting from the mean circulation. In the environs of the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory tidal eddy heat flux emanating from Nantucket Sound produces a bowl of warm water trapped against the coast and significant local variability in the net role of advection in the heat budget. A suite of idealized simulations with forcing dynamics restricted, in turn, to only one of winds, tides, or shelfwide inflows shows that tidal dynamics dominate the regional circulation.
FDTD modeling of a novel ELF Radar for major oil deposits using a three-dimensional geodesic grid of the Earth-ionosphere waveguide

This paper reports the first application of an optimized geodesic, three-dimensional (3-D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) grid to model impulsive, extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic wave propagation within the entire Earth-ionosphere cavity. This new model, which complements our previously reported efficient 3-D latitude-longitude grid, is comprised entirely of hexagonal cells except for a small, fixed number of pentagonal cells. Grid-cell areas and locations are optimized to yield a smoothly varying area difference between adjacent cells, thereby maximizing numerical convergence. Extending from 100 km below sea level to an altitude of 100 km, this technique can accommodate arbitrary horizontal as well as vertical geometrical and electrical inhomogeneities/anisotropies of the excitation, ionosphere, lithosphere, and oceans. We first verify the global model by comparing the FDTD-calculated daytime ELF propagation attenuation with data reported in the literature. Then as one example application of this grid, we illustrate a novel ELF radar for major oil deposits.
Pharmacy student clerkship industry rotation in drug information : The searle global healthcare resources experience

Drug information is a well-known career path for many pharmacists. To expand the educational opportunities available for pharmacy students, a drug information clerkship program in an industry setting was initiated at Searle. The goals and objectives for the pharmacy student during this rotation are clearly defined, focused on understanding the role of a pharmacist in a medical information services department within the pharmaceutical industry, understanding the regulatory constraints on the provision of medical information in the pharmaceutical industry, and formulating appropriate verbal and written responses to medical information inquiries. Student activities and logistics of the clerkship are explained. Benefits to this drug information clerkship are recognized by the student, the school, and Searle. The purpose of the paper is to communicate the experiences involved in establishing and managing a clerkship program for PharmD candidates in the pharmaceutical industry setting.
Re-implantation following suboptimal dosimetry in low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy: technique for outpatient source insertion using local anesthesia

Objective The objective of this study is to describe our method and results for improvement of suboptimal initial post-implant dosimetry using targeted seed placement under local anesthesia within a clinic setting.
Abstract 203: Adoptions of Smartphones, Tablets, and Mobile Applications Among Patients with Hypertension

optimize management, monitoring, and therapy compliance in patients with hypertension (HTN). It could potentially prevent unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Methods: We surveyed patients with HTN in cardiology and primary care clinics regarding their use of mobile technology. Results: 148 patients were included (79 female; age 16-64: 47%, >65: 53%, 70 male; 18-64:41%, >65: 59%). Associated diagnosis were coronary artery disease (21%), myocardial infarction (13%), arrhythmias (36%), heart failure (6%), or other forms of heart disease (3%). 83% own a cell phone, 29% are smartphones. 78% own a personal computer, laptop, iPod, or tablet. 35% report using APPS, of which 26% use health-related applications. 2% used APPS for blood pressure monitoring or management. 17% used APPS for diet or calorie counters, 13% for exercise, fitness or heart monitoring. 63% use APPS on a smartphone, 12% on iPod Touch, 62% on Tablet. Among all HTN patients surveyed, 64% report looking up medical information online on a computer, 53% more than once per month. When asked about willingness to pay, 44% were not willing to pay for a smartphone or tablet that would help monitor their condition. 61% were not willing to pay if an ER visit and its copayment could be prevented. 26% were not willing to use these devices if they were free or covered by insurance. Conclusions: A majority of HTN patients surveyed had access to technology with 22% using smartphones with APPS. However, there was limited use of health-specific APPS, especially those related to HTN. Limiting factors may include lack of outcomes-based research, structured programs that incorporate APPS and devices, or lack of familiarity with APPS and technological devices. A comprehensive strategy to develop, market, and demonstrate benefits of this rapidly growing technology is urgently needed.
Administering archival automation: development of in-house systems

For many archivists, the best route to an automated information system may be through use of their home institutions' central computing facilities. These in-house systems can be custom-designed to meet local needs and can be relatively inexpensive. This article will focus on the planning, implementation, and maintenance of in-house automated access systems for archives. The article's management focus will have a broad application to those pursuing other routes to archival automation.
Neuro-Gov: Neuroscience and Governance

"Catch up, and go beyond!" could be a slogan. Catch up to the neuroscientific revolution, and to those in political science, in econom ics, in philosophy and in psychology who have already turned to neuros cience! Yet in embracing neuroscience, go beyond the scope and methods of such traditional disciplines. By transcending scope, for in stance, I mean coverage of the full range of governance?the gamut of governing activities, dynamically interrelated, that includes not only public enterprise but also private enterprise, non-profits, self-governing, and the rest. I'll call this marriage of neuroscience and governance "neuro-gov." Yet there are pitfalls. There can be failure to recognize that embrac ing neuroscience doesn't mean biological determinism?nor even that biology is trumps. Turning to neuroscience implies neither abandoning insights available from, say, Shakespeare nor divorcing multi-perspec tival play. On the contrary, the embrace requires its own multidisciplinarity. Neuroscience is itself a language, but with differing dialects. I started with the hard science dialect, prompted by wondering why my house mate was so interested. I began by buying a shiny $100 book (Baer, Connors, & Paradiso, 2007) from the medical campus bookstore. I liked the glossy pages, just as when a teenager I loved the glossy pages of Alfred Marshall's Principles of Economics. It was better than a novel. I heard myself exclaim "Wow!" every couple of pages. So, the brain is plastic, and?within limits?shaped by its environment (Baer et al.,
The Asymmetric Volatility of Yen Currency Futures: International Cross Rates

I test for the presence of asymmetric volatility in Japanese Yen cross-rate futures markets. My investigation is based on a variant of the heterogeneous autoregressive volatility model, using daily realized variance and return series from 2004 through 2009. I find that appreciation against the Japanese Yen (JPY) leads to significantly greater volatility for the EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY contracts and significantly less volatility for the JPY/CHF contract. Relative to volatility on days following a positive one-standard-deviation, volatility on days following a negative one-standard-deviation return is 20.11% higher for the EUR/JPY future, 10.72% lower for the JPY/CHF future and negligible for the GBP/JPY future. While the other results are robust to the removal of the jump component from realized volatility, the JPY/CHF results seem to be largely driven by the presence of jumps in the underlying return series.
A Communications Jamming Taxonomy

With the now widespread availability of software-defined radio technology for wireless networks, the distinction between jamming in the original electronic warfare sense and wireless cybersecurity attacks becomes hazy. A taxonomy delineates these concepts in the rapidly expanding field of wireless security, classifying communication jammers' theoretical behaviors and characteristics.
Understanding Perceptions of Racism in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of System and Group Justification

The present study examined perceptions of racism in events that occurred during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina among a community sample of New Orleans area residents. Drawing on system justification theory, we examined system justification motives (i.e., meritocracy beliefs) and group justification motives (i.e., group identity) as predictors of perceptions of racism among African Americans and European Americans. Compared to African Americans, European Americans perceived much lower levels of racism in Katrina-related events. Furthermore, meritocracy beliefs were negatively related to perceptions of racism among both African Americans and European Americans. However, private regard (a component of group identity) was positively related to perceptions of racism among African Americans, but negatively related to perceptions of racism among European Americans. The results suggest that both system and group justification motives independently predict perceptions of racism in an important real-world event. Furthermore, system and group justification motives appear to operate in opposition for African Americans, but in tandem for European Americans.
Comparative Bearing Capacity Analysis of Spread Footing Foundation on Fractured Granites

It is evident from several studies that ultimate bearing capacities calculated by traditional methods are conservative and subjective. For large civil structures founded on spread footings, cost-effective and safer foundation could be achieved by adopting optimum ultimate bearing capacity values that are based on an objective and pragmatic analysis. There is a pressing need to modify the existing methods for accurate estimation of the bearing capacities of rocks for spread footings. In practice, foundation bearing capacities of rock masses are often estimated using the presumptive values from Building Officials Code Administrators, National Building Code, and methods adopted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. However, the estimated values are often not realistic, and site-specific analyses are essential. In this study, geotechnical reports and drill-log data from successful geotechnical design projects founded on a wide range of granites in eastern Tennessee were consulted. Different published methods were used to calculate ultimate bearing capacity of rock mass. These methods included Peck, Hansen and Thornburn, Hoek and Brown, Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and Terzaghi's general bearing capacity equations. Wide variation was observed in the calculated ultimate bearing capacity values, which ranged over about two orders of magnitude. Only two of the methods provided realistic results when validated with plate-load test data from similar rocks.
Creating an Age of Depression The Social Construction and Consequences of the Major Depression Diagnosis

One type of study in the sociology of mental health examines how social and cultural factors influence the creation and consequences of psychiatric diagnoses. Most studies of this kind focus on how...
Analysis on Techno-Economic Characteristics of the Electricity Information Communication Platform for Industrial Users

This study explores the current situation of electricity information acquisition systems for industrial users, proposes the idea that the EPON(Ethernet Passive Optical Network)should be used to set up the electricity information interaction communication platform for industrial parks against the background of the new power reform and the smart grid construction,and at the same time presents a relative techno-economic analysis on such an EPON-based platform.
ANNEXATIONS AND MERGING IN WEIGHTED VOTING GAMES - The Extent of Susceptibility of Power Indices

This paper discusses weighted voting games and two methods of manipulating those games, called annexation and merging. These manipulations allow either an agent, called an annexer to take over the voting weights of some other agents in the game, or the coming together of some agents to form a bloc of manipulators to have more power over the outcomes of the games. We evaluate the extent of susceptibility to these manipulations in weighted voting games of the following prominent power indices: Shapley-Shubik, Banzhaf, and DeeganPackel indices. We found that for unanimity weighted voting games of n agents and for the three indices: the manipulability, (i.e., the extent of susceptibility to manipulation) via annexation of any one index does not dominate that of other indices, and the upper bound on the extent to which an annexer may gain while annexing other agents is at most n times the power of the agent in the original game. Experiments on non unanimity weighted voting games suggest that the three indices are highly susceptible to manipulation via annexation while they are less susceptible to manipulation via merging. In both annexation and merging, the ShapleyShubik index is the most susceptible to manipulation among the indices.
Affinity labeling of the subunits of the membrane associated cholinergic receptor.

Membranes enriched in acetylcholine receptor have been purified from Torpedo californica electric organs by gradient sedimentation and affinity partitioning. The preparations contain 40,000, 49,000, 60,000, 67,000 and 105,000 dalton peptides; the latter peptide can be virtually removed by the partitioning step. Two-dimensional electrophoresis reveals that the 67,000 and to a lesser extent the 49,000 dalton peptides exist as disulfide linked dimers. p -(Trimethylammonium) benzenediazonium fluoroborate (TDF), a structural analogue of phenyltrimethylammonium, binds covalently to the 40,000 and 105,000 dalton peptides present in the membrane fragments but only the labeling of the 40,000 dalton subunit is blocked by prior association of cholinergic agonists, antagonists and α-toxin. The protectable labeling is saturable and stoichiometric with irreversibly blocked toxin sites; one molecule of [ 3 H]TDF binds per toxin site. TDF thus appears to label specifically the ligand/toxin binding site of the receptor. Procedures which convert the receptor to its high affinity state for agonists such as prolonged incubation with agonist or short term incubation with agonist and local anesthetic enhance the extent of protection against irreversible labeling by TDF. Hence, covalent labeling by TDF appears to distinguish the two interconvertible receptor states identified previously in the membrane preparation by their different affinities for agonists.
Screening for health literacy is not the answer

It’s quicker and less stigmatizing to make all communication clearer Engaging patients in treatment decisions is a fundamental component of patient centered care. Poor health literacy can complicate patients’ understanding of the information that is needed to make informed decisions about their care. Worldwide, at least one in 10 adults lacks level 1 health literacy, or “the most basic information processing skills considered necessary to succeed in today’s world.”1 Nearly half of European adults have “inadequate” or “problematic” health literacy,2 and only 12% of US adults possess a “proficient” standard.3 Low health literacy is dangerous because it is associated with riskier behavior, greater hospitalization rates, and poorer health outcomes, including increased mortality.4 As a result, there has been a recent push …
RETAIL EQUITY PERCEPTIONS AND CONSUMERS' PROCESSING OF NEGATIVE WORD-OF-MOUTH COMMUNICATION

This paper examines the impact of retail store equity on the cognitive processes employed by consumers receiving negative word-of-mouth communication (WOMC). The general thesis is that retail store equity will alter the effect of negative WOMC on store evaluations. Propositions are developed that integrate attribution theory and retail equity perceptions and predict that negative WOMC may not automatically lead to more negative store evaluations, as suggested in previous research. The resulting evaluations depend upon the attributional processes employed by consumers during their exposure to WOMC. Managerial implications of the propositions are discussed.
Children's Learning from Touch Screens: A Dual Representation Perspective

Parents and educators often expect that children will learn from touch screen devices, such as during joint e-book reading. Therefore an essential question is whether young children understand that the touch screen can be a symbolic medium – that entities represented on the touch screen can refer to entities in the real world. Research on symbolic development suggests that symbolic understanding requires that children develop dual representational abilities, meaning children need to appreciate that a symbol is an object in itself (i.e., picture of a dog) while also being a representation of something else (i.e., the real dog). Drawing on classic research on symbols and new research on children’s learning from touch screens, we offer the perspective that children’s ability to learn from the touch screen as a symbolic medium depends on the effect of interactivity on children’s developing dual representational abilities. Although previous research on dual representation suggests the interactive nature of the touch screen might make it difficult for young children to use as a symbolic medium, the unique interactive affordances may help alleviate this difficulty. More research needs to investigate how the interactivity of the touch screen affects children’s ability to connect the symbols on the screen to the real world. Given the interactive nature of the touch screen, researchers and educators should consider both the affordances of the touch screen as well as young children’s cognitive abilities when assessing whether young children can learn from it as a symbolic medium.
Cohesive Energy and Ionicity

The calculation and experimental determination of the cohesive energy of organic ionic and partially ionic crystals will be reviewed, with particular emphasis on the role of partial ionicity.
Epistemic Conditionals and the Logic of Subsets

This paper proposes a formalization of conditional reasoning using Moss and Parikh’s logic of subsets so that a reasoner can express both conditional assertions about beliefs, as well as beliefs about conditional assertions. We present a complete axiomatization of the logic and show that it is decidable. A version of the Ramsey test is found to be compatible with this logic and provides a correspondence between conditionals and belief contraction.
Florida’s Creative Class Thesis

In this chapter, I explain Richard Florida’s definition of the creative class, and discuss his controversial creative class thesis. I also discuss critical reactions to his work, offer my own critique of his work, and note that my use of his creative class perspective to inform the present project is highly selective.
The Rise of Rational Choice Theory as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement in Sociology

How did Rational Choice Theory (RCT), traditionally rejected by sociologists for its economic individualism, rise rapidly in the 1980s and the 1990s to theoretical and institutional prominence within sociology? Drawing on Frickel and Gross’ (American Sociological Association, 70(2):204–232 2005) framework for the emergence of scientific/intellectual movements (SIMs), we argue that RCT rose to prominence in sociology in conjunction with: 1) high status actors’ criticism of the previously dominant paradigm, structural functionalism; 2) favorable structural conditions that provided entrepreneurial access to key resources; 3) proliferation through micromobilization contexts; and 4) the ability of those espousing RCT for sociology to draw on dominant cultural motifs outside of academia. The rise of RCT in American sociology provides a case study for how scientific/intellectual movements can find an audience in academic contexts that are predisposed to oppose them.
The use of eculizumab in gemcitabine induced thrombotic microangiopathy

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) secondary to gemcitabine therapy (GiTMA) is a very rare pathology that carries a poor prognosis, with nearly half of the cases progressing to end stage renal disease. GiTMA is most commonly associated with adenocarcinomas, most notably pancreatic cancers. The mainstay of management is withdrawal of the offending drug and supportive care. Plasmapheresis has a limited role and hemodialysis may help in the management of fluid overload secondary to renal failure. Furthermore, a C5 inhibitor, eculizumab, has been successfully used in the treatment of GiTMA. A 64-year-old Caucasian female with history of pancreatic adenocarcinoma on gemcitabine chemotherapy presented with signs and symptoms of fluid overload and was found to have abnormal kidney function. Her BP was 195/110 mmHg, serum creatinine 4.48 mg/dl, hemoglobin 8.2 g/dl, platelets 53 × 103/cmm, lactate dehydrogenase 540 IU/L, and was found to have schistocytes on blood film. A diagnosis of TMA secondary to gemcitabine therapy was suspected. Hemodialysis for volume overload and daily plasmapheresis were initiated. After six days of plasmapheresis, renal function did not improve. Further work up revealed ADAMTS 13 activity >15%, low C3, and stool culture and Shiga-toxin PCR were negative. Renal biopsy was consistent with TMA. Gemcitabine was discontinued, but renal function failed to improve and eculizumab therapy was considered due to suspicion of aHUS. Serum creatinine >2.26 mg/dl and a platelet count of >/= 30 × 109/L is highly suggestive of aHUS, while TTP is more likely when creatinine is <2.26 mg/dl and platelet count of <30 × 109/L. She received intravenous eculizumab for eight months, which resulted in significant improvement of renal function. Other markers of hemolysis, namely LDH and bilirubin, also rapidly improved following eculizumab therapy. Plasmapheresis and hemodialysis were discontinued after two and eight weeks of initiation respectively. Chemotherapy induced TMA is very rare and requires a high index of clinical suspicion for timely diagnosis. Discontinuation of the offending drug and supportive care is the main stay of treatment; however, eculizumab has been shown to be beneficial in GiTMA. Further research is required to validate this approach.
Speckle-modulation for speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful biomedical imaging technology that relies on the coherent detection of backscattered light to image tissue morphology in vivo. As a consequence, OCT is susceptible to coherent noise, known as speckle noise, which imposes significant limitations on its diagnostic capabilities. Here we show Speckle- Modulating OCT (SM-OCT), a method based purely on light manipulation, which can remove speckle noise, including noise originating from sample multiple back-scattering. SM-OCT accomplishes this by creating and averaging an unlimited number of scans with uncorrelated speckle patterns, without compromising spatial resolution. The uncorrelated speckle patterns are created by scrambling the phase of the light with sub-resolution features using a moving ground-glass diffuser in the optical path of the sample arm. This method can be implemented in existing OCTs as a relatively low-cost add-on. SM-OCT speckle statistics follow the expected decrease in speckle contrast as the number of averaged scans increases. Within a scattering phantom, SM-OCT provides a 2.5-fold increase in effective resolution compared to conventional OCT. Using SM-OCT, we reveal small structures in the tissues of living animals, such as the inner stromal structure of a live mouse cornea, the fine structures inside the mouse pinna, and sweat ducts and Meissner’s corpuscle in the human fingertip skin – features that are otherwise obscured by speckle noise when using conventional OCT or OCT with current state of the art speckle reduction methods. Our results indicate that SM-OCT has the potential to improve the current diagnostic and intra-operative capabilities of OCT.
A general method for predicting amino acid residues experiencing hydrogen exchange

Information on protein hydrogen exchange can help delineate key regions involved in protein-protein inter-actions and provides important insight towards determining functional roles of genetic variants and their possible mechanisms in disease processes. Previous studies have shown that the degree of hydrogen exchange is affected by hydrogen bond formations, solvent accessibility, proximity to other residues, and experimental conditions. However, a general predictive method for identifying residues capable of hydrogen exchange transferable to a broad set of proteins is lacking. We have developed a machine learning method based on random forest that can predict whether a residue experiences hydrogen exchange. Using data from the Start2Fold database, which contains information on 13,306 residues (3,790 of which experience hydrogen exchange and 9,516 which do not exchange), our method achieves good performance. Specifically, we achieve an overall out-of-bag (OOB) error, an unbiased estimate of the test set error, of 20.3 percent. Using a randomly selected test data set consisting of 500 residues experiencing hydrogen exchange and 500 which do not, our method achieves an accuracy of 0.79, a recall of 0.74, a precision of 0.82, and an F1 score of 0.78.
Cognitive reappraisal attenuates the association between depressive symptoms and emotional response to stress during adolescence.

Depression is associated with increased emotional response to stress. This is especially the case during the developmental period of adolescence. Cognitive reappraisal is an effective emotion regul...
Understanding and leveraging developer inexpertise

Existing work in modeling developer expertise assumes that developers reflect their expertise in their contributions and that such expertise can be analyzed to provide support for developer tasks. However, developers also make contributions in which they reflect their inexpertise such as by making mistakes in their code. We refine the hypotheses of the expertise-identification literature by proposing developer inexpertise as a factor that should be modeled to automate support for developer tasks.
Population Issues in the United States

In the fifties and sixties there was widespread apprehension that the U.S. population was growing too fast. Naturalists and conservationists, always more hawkish than demographers and other social scientists on the subject of controlling population growth, were particularly vociferous in their cries of alarm. In their eyes, excessive population growth was the main reason why too much of the nation’s wilderness and farmland was being paved over for superhighways, shopping malls, and housing subdivisions. The twin generators of this pernicious population growth were the post-World War II baby boom and a growing wave of legal and illegal immigration to the United States from Latin America and Asia. A tinge of elitism and/or nativism energized those most upset by these developments.
The role of sleep deprivation and fatigue in the perception of task difficulty and use of heuristics

This study investigated the effects of sleep deprivation on perception of task difficulty and use of heuristics (mental shortcuts) compared to naturally-experienced sleep at home. Methods: Undergraduate students were screened and assigned through block-random assignment to Naturally-Experienced Sleep (NES; n=19) or Total Sleep Deprivation (TSD; n=20). The next morning, reported fatigue, perception of task difficulty, and use of "what-is-beautiful-is-good," "greedy algorithm," and "speed-accuracy trade-off" heuristics were assessed. Results: NES slept for an average of 354.74 minutes (SD=72.84), or 5.91 hours. TSD rated a reading task as significantly more difficult and requiring more time than NES. TSD was significantly more likely to use the greedy algorithm heuristic by skipping instructions and the what-is-beautiful-is-good heuristic by rating an unattractive consumer item with a favorable review as poor quality. Those in Total Sleep Deprivation who chose more difficult math problems made this selection to finish the task more quickly in findings approaching significance, indicating use of the speed-accuracy trade-off heuristic. Collapsed across conditions, self-reported fatigue predicted greater perceived difficulty in both the reading task and a visuo-motor task, higher quality rating for the attractive consumer item, and lower quality rating for the unattractive consumer item. Conclusions: Findings indicate sleep deprivation and fatigue increase perceptions of task difficulty, promote skipping instructions, and impair systematic evaluation of unappealing stimuli compared to naturally-experienced sleep.
The secret sauce: secrets of high performing neonatal intensive care units.

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) aim to provide safe, high-quality medical and surgical care for all newborns. The creation of, and widespread participation in, NICU quality collaboratives such as the Vermont Oxford Network (VON), Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) and state perinatal collaboratives (such as California, New York, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina) has no doubt accelerated progress in the field of neonatal quality improvement and safety. However, there still remains limited evidence of overall efficacy of these collaboratives.1 NICUs strive to apply the best possible evidence in their local setting, known as ‘potentially better practices’, to achieve improved patient outcomes. However, similar interventions applied in a similar fashion in similar NICUs often do not produce the same results. This unexplained variability in outcomes between NICUs begs the question: What is the secret sauce ? Why do some NICUs consistently outshine others in spite of the application of the same ‘potentially best practices’? To answer these questions, it becomes necessary to determine those factors that contribute to success or failure of improvement programmes, including less tangible aspects such as NICU culture/environment, leadership, team work and organisational structure. Barron et al 2 identified eight critical success factors evident in places with strong performance improvement (PI) programmes: 1. Strong administrative executive and PI leadership. In creating this vision of excellence, a symbiotic relationship exists between executive leadership and the NICU. Leadership is supportive of PI efforts and is actively engaged with the …
High Sacral Endplate Inclination Vector Forces Are Associated with Pars Fracture–Mediated Lumbosacral Spondylolisthesis

Objective Lumbar spondylolisthesis can be related to facet arthropathy and disc degeneration or to a fracture of the pars interarticularis, but the mechanistic underpinnings of spondylolisthesis remain unclear. We posit that high sacral slope and body weight increase sacral inclination vector forces, which leads to pars fractures and exacerbates risk for spondylolisthesis. Methods To investigate this hypothesis, we measured the sacral slope, body weight, and S1 endplate vector forces for patients who underwent L5–S1 fusion for grade I spondylolisthesis. Patients were stratified based on presence of pars fractures versus facet arthropathy, and statistical analyses were performed to determine whether high sacral endplate inclination vector force is associated with pars fracture–mediated spondylolisthesis. Results We identified 131 patients who had L5–S1 fusion for spondylolisthesis. The mean age was 56 years, and 57% were female. The body weight of patients ranged from 45.4 to 141.9 kg with an average of 83.8 kg; 32 patients had single-level L5–S1 spondylolisthesis secondary to bilateral L5 pars interarticularis fractures, whereas 99 patients had L5–S1 spondylolisthesis due to facet arthropathy. Patients with pars fractures had steeper sacral slopes (43.2 ± 10.1°) compared with those without pars fractures (36.8 ± 8.1°) (P = 0.0007, odds ratio 2.71). Despite having no significant differences in weight (82.7 ± 17.2 vs. 87.3 ± 17.2 kg, P = 0.189), patients with pars fractures had 49% greater sacral inclination vector forces compared with those without pars fractures (586 ± 158 N vs. 394 ± 90 N, P Conclusions These data suggest that high sacral endplate inclination vector force is a risk factor for developing pars fracture–mediated spondylolisthesis.
Suppressing In-Band Interference: A Compact Lumped-Element Bandpass Filter with Adaptive In-band Interference Suppression Capabilities

Because of today?s exceedingly crowded radio spectrum, in which multiple sources of dynamic interference can desensitize a radio's receiver, the design of bandpass filters (BPFs) with adjustable transfer function characteristics has become a critical topic of research [1]-[14]. Out-of-band interference has been traditionally addressed by increasing the filter order, but the suppression of in-band interfering signals requires more sophisticated preselect RF filtering solutions, particularly for dynamic jamming scenarios. These include the integration of tunable bandstop filters (BSFs) in front of the preselected BPF [2]-[4] or the realization of BPFs with in-band interference suppression capabilities through incorporated BPF/BSF architectures that are codesigned to miniaturize the size of the preselected RF front-end stage [5]-[11].
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR OPTIMIZING PRODUCTION RATES IN RF DISCHARGE CHEMISTRY

ABSTRACT Important issues which should be considered when optimizing RF discharges for use in plasma processing are discussed using results from electron kinetics and plasma chemistry models. Mixtures of Ar/SiH4 and H2/SiH4 are discussed as exemplary systems for the plasma deposition of amorphous silicon. The effect of dissociation of the feed stock gas on subsequent rates of dissociation is discussed, as is the effect of diluting silane discharges with argon.
Greater N-Acetylaspartate to creatine ratio within left anterior insula predicts sympathetic imbalance in postmenopausal women living with hypertension and/or HIV

Context: Brain metabolite ratios derived from magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been used to document changes in neuronal viability, glial activation and inflammation associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and cardiovascular disease. Aims: To determine whether brain metabolite ratios in the left anterioar insula predicts cardio-autonomic regulation indexed by the ratio of low- to high-frequency heart rate varaibility (LF:HF) after accounting for post-menopausal age, HIV and hypertensive (HTN) status. Design: Thirty women, (n=14 HIV+ and n=16 HTN+) with an average age of 54.5 (SD=6.4) years and no history of neurological disease were recruited for the study. Methods: After conventional MR imaging, single-voxel 1H-MRS (TR = 1500 msec; TE = 35 msec) was performed by using a PROBE-SV system implemented on a 3T GE Discovery MR750 scanner. Shift-selective imaging pulses for water suppression were acquired from a voxel placed in the midline of the left anterior insula with an average voxel size of 15×15×15 mm. Heart rate variability was estimated over a 7 minutes resting state scan using an MR-compatible photoplethysmogram. Statistics: A stepwise regression analysis controlling for (1) age, disease status (HIV+ and HTN+) was modelled separately for the ratio of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), Myo-inostol (mI), and Choline (Ch) to Creatine (Cr) ratios to predict LF:HF. Results: Higher ratios of NAA/Cr were associated with lower LF:HF (β= -.393, t(29)= -2.26, p= .033). Ratios of mI:Cr and Cho:Cr did not predict LF:HF. Conclusions: Decreased neuronal viability in the left anterior insula, indexed by lower NAA/Cr metabolite ratios explain a significant proportion of the variance in the skew towards sympathetic overarusal in postmenopausal women at risk for cerebrovacular disease.
Multiscale analysis of woven composite structures in MSC.Nastran

Abstract In the finite element analysis (FEA) of composite structures, shell and beam elements with homogenized material properties are often used to reduce the computational costs and modeling efforts. However, significant loss of accuracy may occur due to constitutive modeling limitations of commercially available software packages for complex mesostructures such as woven composites. In this paper, CQUAD4, CQUAD8 and CBEAM elements in MSC.Nastran have been enabled to analyze complex woven composite structures using mechanics of structure genome (MSG). The plate and beam stiffness matrices are computed using MSG plate and beam models and transformed into MSC.Nastran element and material properties to perform the structural analysis. A three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal woven plate is analyzed using MSC.Nastran CQUAD4 elements based on MSG plate model. In addition, a 3D woven beam with extension-bending couplings is analyzed using MSC.Nastran CBEAM elements with homogenized properties with the help of MSG beam model. The beam and shell elements in MSC.Nastran powered by MSG models provide a new way to analyze complex woven composite structures. A graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed for MSC.Nastran to incorporate the constitutive modeling and to enable the automation of the information passing between constitutive modeling and structural analysis.
Conceptual Framework for Stress and Comfort Enhancement using Fuzzy Controller

Biomonitoring devices have considerably improved on their elemental components, most notably in heart rate monitoring and estimation of caloric expenditures. This work aims to make use of readily available biomonitoring technologies and explore the untapped potential of these devices in meeting the needs of professional workers, such as astronauts, who are subjected to consistently special conditions in their working environment. We proposed and developed Smart Sensory Skin (S3) platform to monitor users’ health in real-time and providing measures to improve their immediate conditions with enhanced comfort units. Our newly developed computational algorithm will sense and respond to the person’s stress level in real-time and adjust the environmental factors such as temperature, and oxygen level. The closed-loop architecture of the proposed framework improves the comfort level of users and consequently leads to better performance under critical working conditions such as during space missions. Our demonstration of the proposed concept includes a fuzzy comfort enhancer that collects sensory information from a microcontroller which consequently issues commands to control the operation of a secondary device, such as an HVAC control system.