cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exposure to traffic and left ventricular mass and function: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Rationale: Ambient air pollution has been associated with heart failure morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms responsible for these associations are unknown but may include the effects of traffic-related pollutants on vascular or autonomic function.Objectives: We assessed the cross-sectional relation between long-term air pollution, traffic exposures, and important end-organ measures of alterations in cardiac function—left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and ejection fraction—in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a multicenter study of adults without previous clinical cardiovascular disease.Methods: A total of 3,827 eligible participants (aged 45–84 yr) underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging between 2000 and 2002. We estimated air pollution exposures using residential proximity to major roadways and interpolated concentrations of fine particulate matter (less than 2.5 microns in diameter). We examined adjusted associations between these exposures and left ventricular mass and function.Measur...
Energy-Efficient Sensing with the Low Power, Energy Aware Processing (LEAP) Architecture

A broad range of embedded networked sensing (ENS) applications have appeared for large-scale systems, introducing new requirements leading to new embedded architectures, associated algorithms, and supporting software systems. These new requirements include the need for diverse and complex sensor systems that present demands for energy and computational resources, as well as for broadband communication. To satisfy application demands while maintaining critical support for low-energy operation, a new multiprocessor node hardware and software architecture, Low Power Energy Aware Processing (LEAP), has been developed. In this article, we described the LEAP design approach, in which the system is able to adaptively select the most energy-efficient hardware components matching an application’s needs. The LEAP platform supports highly dynamic requirements in sensing fidelity, computational load, storage media, and network bandwidth. It focuses on episodic operation of each component and considers the energy dissipation for each platform task by integrating fine-grained energy-dissipation monitoring and sophisticated power-control scheduling for all subsystems, including sensors. In addition to the LEAP platform’s unique hardware capabilities, its software architecture has been designed to provide an easy way to use power management interface and a robust, fault-tolerant operating environment and to enable remote upgrade of all software components. LEAP platform capabilities are demonstrated by example implementations, such as a network protocol design and a light source event detection algorithm. Through the use of a distributed node testbed, we demonstrate that by exploiting high energy-efficiency components and enabling proper on-demand scheduling, the LEAP architecture may meet both sensing performance and energy dissipation objectives for a broad class of applications.
AAC Intervention as an Immersion Model

Augmentative and alternative communication based interventions support individuals with complex communication needs in becoming effective and efficient communicators. However, there is often a disconnect between language models, communication opportunities, and desired intervention outcomes in the intervention process. This article outlines a service delivery model that unites these elements of intervention. The social theory of language acquisition provides the foundation of this immersion model, while adaptations of indirect language stimulation strategies create the support system necessary to develop an independent and functional communicator. The model described in this article may be replicated or modified to meet the needs of individuals in any classroom or intervention setting.
Statistical uncertainty in the no-observed-adverse-effect level

The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) is a dose value that U.S. EPA reduces by uncertainty factors (UF) and modifying factors (MF) to obtain a reference dose (RfD) for input to regulatory decision making. Whether the true added risk at the NOAEL is below an acceptable level, however, is a source of statistical uncertainty itself. As several authors have previously noted, the probability that added risk at the NOAEL is not negligibly small increases as sample sizes decrease. This is because the definition of the NOAEL statistically controls for the chance of a false-positive error, but not for a false-negative error. The false-positive rate is the test level set by the user in testing for a statistically significant dose effect, typically 0.05. When it is held fixed, the increase in statistical uncertainty as sample size decreases produces an increase in the false-negative rate. Hence, the fewer data available for statistical inference, the higher the expected value of the NOAEL and the less toxic an agent is likely to appear. The solution lies in calculating the probability that a statistical procedure used will detect the maximum added risk acceptable for health regulation (the "power" at that added risk). If the observed response in a dose group is not significantly elevated relative to the control group, and the power for detecting a difference is low as well, then the statistical evidence is inconclusive. In such a case, additional data or other sources of information are needed for evaluating added risk. These concepts are illustrated for examples from the literature with dichotomous (quantal response) data and categorical (severity) data, using a new statistical procedure.
B-cell function in canine X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency.

Abstract Canine X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID) is due to mutations in the common gamma (γc) subunit of the IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9 and IL-15 receptors and has a similar clinical phenotype to human XSCID. We have previously shown that the block in T-cell development is more profound in XSCID dogs than in genetically engineered γc-deficient mice. In this study we evaluated the B-cell function in XSCID dogs. In contrast to the marked decrease in peripheral B-cells in γc-deficient mice, XSCID dogs have increased proportions and numbers of peripheral B-cells as observed in XSCID boys. Canine XSCID B-cells do not proliferate following stimulation with the T-cell-dependent B-cell mitogen, pokeweed mitogen (PWM); however, they proliferate normally in response to the T-cell-independent B-cell mitogen, formalin-fixed, heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus . Canine XSCID B-cells are capable of producing IgM but are incapable of normal class-switching to IgG antibody production as demonstrated by in vitro stimulation with PWM and immunization with the T-cell-dependent antigen, bacteriophage ΦX174. Similar results have been reported for XSCID boys. Thus, it appears that γc-dependent cytokines have differing roles in human and canine B-cell development than in the mouse making the XSCID dog a valuable model for studying the role of these cytokines in B-cell development and function.
Resource constrained VLSI architecture for implantable neural data compression systems

Neural recordings from high-density microelectrode arrays implanted in the cortex require time-frequency domain processing to alleviate the data telemetry bottlenecks of bandwidth and power. Our previous work has shown that the energy compaction capability of the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) offers a practical data compression solution that faithfully preserves the information in the neural signals. This paper presents a complete compression system including both lossy and lossless compression schemes, namely the DWT and Run Length Encoding. Performance tradeoffs and key design decisions for implantable applications are analyzed. A 32-channel, 4-level version of the circuit is presented. Custom designed in 0.5µm CMOS, occupying only 5.75mm2 and consuming 3mW of power (95µW per channel at 25Ks/sec), the implantable compression circuit is well suited for intra-cortical neural interface applications.
Securing P2P networks using peer reputations: is there a silver bullet?

Peer reputations have been used as security tools not only to motivate peers against cheating but also to protect good peers from the chronic cheaters. Although the reputation management techniques are not confined to P2P networks, they present novel challenges that were absent in central server based distributed systems. We enumerate these challenges and survey the solutions proposed by the community to counter them. These challenges include, but are not limited to, peer-identification in decentralized environments, reputation metrics, storage and exchange of reputation data. Finally we survey the applications which use P2P network paradigm and therefore can benefit from the reputation systems.
Recursive neural networks with high capacity

square root 3/sup n-1/ is derived as the lower bound of maximum capacity in n-neuron recursive neural networks. It is shown that if n to infinity , the number of stable vectors of (n+1)-neuron net is two times that of n-neuron net and the number of stable vectors of n-neuron net is C2/sup n/ with 0 >
Antibodies to sperm-associated antigens detected by solid phase assays.

Solid phase assays using radiolabeled (RIA) or enzyme-linked (ELISA) antibodies are described for the quantitation of antibodies to sperm-associated antigens. Antibodies were detected in serum from rabbits immunized with human sperm emulsified in Freund’s complete adjuvant and in the plasmas or sera of vasectomized males and patients with suspected antibody-mediated infertility. The RIA and ELISA assays are comparable to each other in sensitivity and specificity, rapid in execution, and inexpensive.
An Efficient 3-D FNPF Numerical Wave Tank for Virtual Large-Scale Wave Basin Experiment

This paper presents an accurate and efficient three-dimensional computational model (3D numerical wave tank), based on fully nonlinear potential flow (FNPF) theory, and its extension to incorporate the motion of a laboratory snake piston wavemaker, to simulate experiments in a large-scale 3D wave basin (i.e. to conduct “virtual” or numerical experiments). The code is based on a higher-order boundary element method combined with a Fast Multipole Algorithm (FMA). Particular efforts were devoted to making the code efficient for large-scale simulations using high-performance computing platforms to complement experimental 3D wave basins. The numerical simulation capability can serve as an optimization tool at the experimental planning and detailed design stages. To date, waves that can be generated in the NWT include solitary, Cnoidal, and Airy waves. In this paper, we detail the model, mathematical formulation, and wave generation. Experimental or analytical comparisons with NWT results are provided for several cases to assess the accuracy and applicability of the numerical model to practical engineering problems.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Coronary CT Angiography for the Detection of Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease

Contemporary CT scanners offer high temporal and spatial resolution, permitting visualization of the rapidly moving heart and coronary arteries. The imaging of coronary artery lumen and detection of obstructive coronary artery disease is feasible with 64-detector-row and higher generation CT scanners. The diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography as compared to invasive coronary angiography is good (sensitivity of 85%–100%, specificity of 85%–99%). The major strength of coronary CT angiography is the high negative predictive value (96% to 99%) that permits excluding significant coronary artery stenosis with high accuracy, when optimal image quality is achieved. Therefore, coronary CT angiography is an appropriate diagnostic test for a selected patient population with a low to intermediate probability of coronary artery disease.
Dosimetric Feasibility of Dose Escalation Using SBRT Boost for Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract: Purpose: Standard chemoradiation therapy for Stage III non-small cell lung cancer results in suboptimal outcomes with a high rate of local failure and poor overall survival. We hypothesize that dose escalation using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) boost could improve upon these results. We present here a study evaluating the dosimetric feasibility of such an approach. Methods: Anonymized CT data sets from 3 randomly selected patients with stage III NSCLCa undergoing definitive chemoradiation therapy in our department with disease volumes appropriate for SBRT boost were selected. 3D-CRT plans to 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions were generated follow by SBRT plans to two dose levels, 16 Gy in 2 fractions and 28 Gy in 2 fractions. SBRT plans and total composite (3D-CRT and SBRT) were optimized and evaluated for target coverage and dose to critical structures; lung, esophagus, cord, and heart. Results: All three plans met predetermined target coverage and normal tissue dose constraints. PTV V95 was equal to or greater than 95% in all cases. The cumulative lung V20 and V5 of the combined 3D-CRT and SBRT plans were less than or equal to 30% and 55%, respectively. The 5cc esophageal dose was less than 12 Gy for all low and high dose SBRT plans. The cumulative dose to the esophagus was also acceptable with less than 10% of the esophagus receiving doses in excess of 50 Gy. The cumulative spinal cord dose was less than 33 Gy and heart V25 was less than 5%. Conclusion: The combination of chemoradiation to 50.4 Gy followed by SBRT boost to gross disease at the primary tumor and involved regional lymph nodes is feasible with respect to normal tissue dose constraints in this dosimetric pilot study. A phase I/II trial to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of this approach is being undertaken.
Age differences in perceptions of online community participation among non-users: An extension of the Technology Acceptance Model

This study examined age differences in perceptions of online communities held by people who were not yet participating in these relatively new social spaces. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), we investigated the factors that affect future intention to participate in online communities. Our results supported the proposition that perceived usefulness positively affects behavioral intention, yet it was determined that perceived ease of use was not a significant predictor of perceived usefulness. The study also discovered negative relationships between age and Internet self-efficacy and the perceived quality of online community websites. However, the moderating role of age was not found. The findings suggest that the relationships among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intention to participate in online communities do not change with age. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations were discussed.
Approximate sensitivity analysis for acyclic Markov reliability models

Acyclic Markov chains are frequently used for reliability analysis of nonmaintained mission-critical computer-based systems. Since traditional sensitivity (or importance) analysis using Markov chains can be computationally expensive, an approximate approach is presented which is easy to compute and which performs quite well in test cases. This approach is presented in terms of a Markov chain which is used for solving a dynamic fault-tree, but the approach applies to any acyclic Markov reliability model.
Borg: An auto-adaptive many-objective evolutionary computing framework

This study introduces the Borg multi-objective evolutionary algorithm MOEA for many-objective, multimodal optimization. The Borg MOEA combines -dominance, a measure of convergence speed named -progress, randomized restarts, and auto-adaptive multioperator recombination into a unified optimization framework. A comparative study on 33 instances of 18 test problems from the DTLZ, WFG, and CEC 2009 test suites demonstrates Borg meets or exceeds six state of the art MOEAs on the majority of the tested problems. The performance for each test problem is evaluated using a 1,000 point Latin hypercube sampling of each algorithm's feasible parameteri-zation space. The statistical performance of every sampled MOEA parameterization is evaluated using 50 replicate random seed trials. The Borg MOEA is not a single algorithm; instead it represents a class of algorithms whose operators are adaptively selected based on the problem. The adaptive discovery of key operators is of particular importance for benchmarking how variation operators enhance search for complex many-objective problems.
Measuring Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Nonviolent Crime Using Multiple Methods

Use of geographic information systems (GIS) in crime analysis has a long history, from the days of pin maps until now. Statistical analysis combined with visual representation is a powerful tool to examine and analyze crime. This study aims to measure the temporal displacement of nonviolent crimes like burglary and motor vehicle theft in Harris County, Texas. GIS tools used by crime analysts include buffer, hotspot analysis, and quadrant analysis. Each tool functions uniquely to determine spatial extent, locate clusters, and analyze spatial relationships. The Directional Distribution tool in ArcGIS 10.0 helps not only in finding spatial extent but also in determining the direction of crime. There are various benefits in determining crime direction. For instance, the directional trend of crime can be used in identifying current locations and to predict future occurrences of crime. In this study, temporal analysis is used to find displacement of nonviolent crimes. Finally, this displacement is analyzed to i...
Tests for iso-antibodies active in conjunction with guinea pig serum against 6C3HED lymphoma cells.

SummaryIn the light of a previous observation—that normal guinea pig serum is highly effective against 6C3HED lymphoma cells in vivo but not in vitro, the host animal obviously participating in the reaction in vivo—a number of experiments were done to learn whether isoantibodies, capable of acting in conjunction with guinea pig serum against the lymphoma cells, might be present in the serum of normal mice of susceptible and resistant strains, in that of susceptible hosts carrying 6C3HED lymphomas, or in that of mice that had overcome implanted 6C3HED lymphoma cells and proved immune to re-implantation with them. The findings are given in some detail. They provide strong but not conclusive evidence that such isoantibodies are absent from the blood of mice in all the categories mentioned above. It follows that host factors or conditions of some other sort might profitably be sought to account for the participation by the host in the reaction whereby normal guinea pig serum, injected into animals carrying 6C...
PLANNING FOR YOUR FINANCIAL SUCCESS: PRACTICE POINTERS

The demand for legal services has been steadily declining since the financial crisis in 2008. At the same time, the United States is producing approximately 44,000 new attorneys each year. Currently, there are almost 1.3 million lawyers in the United States. As a result, operating a law practice at a profit has become even more challenging. A solid understanding of business is required for every practitioner to succeed.
Staged surgical management of pulmonary atresia with diminutive pulmonary arteries

A particular problem in treatment is presented by patients who have atresia of the pulmonary valve and ventricular septal defect but whose pulmonary arterial tree is extremely diminutive. The pulmonary blood flow results from naturally occurring large bronchial collateral arteries. In the experience reported, satisfactory palliation was provided for all 3 patients in whom right ventricle--to--pulmonary artery continuity was constructed by placing a pericardial patch graft during open-heart operation. The ventricular septal defect was left unrepaired. Early evidence supports the hypothesis that, besides providing palliation of cyanosiis, the procedure may allow progressive enlargment of the hypoplastic pulmonary arteries. This offers hope that later second-stage completion of total repair, involving closure of the ventricular septal defect and ligation of any remaining large bronchial collateral arteries, may become feasible.
Effect of temperature of cardioplegic solution.

This study tests the hypothesis that the efficacy of cardioplegic solution depends upon its chemical constituents rather than on its temperature alone. A standard preparation of right heart bypass in the dog was utilized. Left ventricular function curves were inscribed before and after 1 hour of aortic cross-clamping. No deterioration in function was observed in nonischemic control hearts or in hearts protected with cardioplegic solution consisting of potassium chloride (25 mEq. per liter) and mannitol (12.5 Gm. per liter in 5 percent dextrose and 0.2 percent saline at either 4° C or 28° C. Severe myocardial depression was observed in hearts rendered ischemic for 1 hour at 28° C. without protection and also in hearts perfused with 5 percent dextrose and 0.2 percent saline at 28° C. without the potassium chloride and mannitol. The evidence from this study indicates that cardioplegic solution exerts a protective effect beyond that which is afforded by hypothermia.
[Self-controlled case-series (SCCS) method as a tool for the evaluation on the safety of vaccine].

Safety on vaccine issues has been under greater concern.Epidemiologically,classical study designs on investigating the association between a rare adverse event and vaccine inoculation usually confronted with lower feasibility in practice.Self-controlled case series (SCCS) method was derived from cohort studies.The key advantage of this method is that it only uses data related to cases and trying to find relative incidence of events in the ‘ at risk' periods relative to the ‘ controlled' periods.A further benefit of this method is that all the fixed confounders are controlled implicitly,by self-control,thus provides high statistic powers.With these advantages,SCCS is suitable for the causality assessment on rare but severe adverse events caused by immunization,which has been widely used,abroad.However,the methodology of SCCS is still being developed,and the areas in use have been expanded to the studies related to the safety and effectiveness of drugs,efficacy of vaccines as well as risk factors of disease. Key words: Case series; Vaccine safety; Causality assessment
E-petition Information Diffusion in Online Social Networks

Electronic petitions are a ubiquitous form of online political action directed at governments. Using a wide range of electronic petitioning platforms, individuals can request specific actions of their own government or governments of other countries, and gather support for their requests through the accumulation of signatures from supporters. While the vast majority of electronic petitions fail to attract much support, some petitions become extremely popular. In this study we examine a popular electronic petition (e-petition) to better understand why it was so successful and how e-petition information is diffused into online social networks. We measure success in terms of the number of signatures a given e-petition garners. We chose an e-petition that was created on Change.org that was the 3rd highest in signature accumulation to date. Created on May 1, 2014 by a young Nigerian girl in response to the kidnapping of over 200 school girls in Chibok, Nigera by the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram,_the e-petition gained international attention through traditional and social media channels. Using signature data from Change.org and Twitter data we use social network analysis techniques and time series analysis to explore the anatomy of a successful e-petition.
Optically controlled phased array antenna from X-band to terahertz

In the nineteen eighties and the early nineties microwave photonics was dominated by research related to the optically fed and controlled phased array antenna. By virtue of the fact that terahertz falls in between high speed electronics (mm-wave electronics) and photonics, the extension of microwave photonics, particularly for phased array applications represents a new challenging opportunity. The possibility of an optically fed terahertz antenna will be discussed.
Assessment of Movement Disorders in Rodents

The subspecialty field of movement disorders encompasses a number of very distinct motor syndromes including tremor, parkinsonism, choreoathetosis, dystonia, ataxia, tics, and myoclonus. In general, these syndromes are defined by clinical criteria rather than neuroimaging or laboratory diagnostic testing. Detailed assessments of abnormal motor syndromes in rodents is a challenging but necessary task facing many investigators interested in elucidating pathogenesis and discovering new treatments for movement disorders. There are currently a large number of tests for motor function, as well as several strategies for selecting the most appropriate tests for specific purposes. The development of more refined techniques for discriminating among the many different types of movement disorders is still needed. In addition to increasing numbers of rodent models, there has also been a proliferation of behavioral tests for assessing abnormal motor behavior. In this chapter, we review several basic concepts regarding animal modeling, some of the most commonly employed tests of motor function, and general strategies for selecting the most appropriate tests for specific purposes.
An Adaptive Educational Web Application for Engineering Students

Motivated by the success of student-centered language-learning tools and data-driven platforms commonly found in popular commercial and entertainment platforms, we present a new adaptive educational web platform for engineering students. The presented adaptive education platform ( ADEPT ) focuses on personalizing learning in large college classes by enabling proactive and continuous student engagement. In this paper, we present the principles, implementation strategies, and initial results obtained by working with an early version of ADEPT in a required sophomore-level circuits course at Purdue University. Initial results underline the potential of this web tool to identify the challenging concepts for students as well as prepare instructors to modify the way concepts are presented to the students. In addition, ADEPT helps to reveal the student engagement habits and studying patterns that may not be easily identifiable through other means, such as self-reporting.
Financial Education Program Partnerships

Countless sources have documented the benefit of merging knowledge from multiple sources for the benefit of helping clients, students, or the society as a whole. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other organizations are developing collaborative partnerships to help them achieve their goals. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the myriad benefits of partnerships, offer ways to locate partners for campus-based financial education programs, and present how to develop, maintain, and terminate partnerships.
Solution Chemistry for Actinide Borate Species to High Ionic Strengths: Equilibrium Constants for AmHB4O72+ And AmB9O13(OH)4(cr) and Their Importance to Nuclear Waste Management

Borate is present in natural groundwaters and borate is also released into groundwaters when borosilicate glass, waste form for high level nuclear waste, is corroded. Borate can form an aqueous complex, AmHB4O72+, with actinides in +III oxidation state. In this work, we present our evaluation of the equilibrium constant for formation of AmHB4O72+ and the associated Pitzer interaction parameters at 25oC. Using Nd(III) as an analog to Am(III), solubility data of Nd(OH)3(s) in NaCl solutions in the presence of borate ion from the literature, is used to determine Am(III) interactions with borate. The log10K for the formation reaction is 37.34. This evaluation is in accordance with the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) thermodynamic model in which the borate species include B(OH)3(aq), B(OH)4−, B3O3(OH)4−, B4O5(OH)42−, and NaB(OH)4(aq). The WIPP thermodynamic database uses the Pitzer model to calculate activity coefficients of aqueous species. In addition, the equilibrium constant for dissolution of AmB9O13(OH)4(cr) at 25oC is evaluated from the solubility data on NdB9O13(OH)4(cr) in NaCl solutions, again using Nd(III) as an analog to Am(III). The log10K for the dissolution reaction is −79.30. In the evaluation for log10K for the dissolution reaction, AmHB4O72+ is also considered. The equilibrium constant and Pitzer parameters evaluated by this study will be important to describe the chemical behavior of Am(III) in the presence of borate in geological repositories.
China’s peasant agriculture and rural society: changing paradigms of farming

As a seemingly inexorable assault on China’s small farms proceeds, debates on agrarian questions in China blossom anew. Special issues in this journal and several others, along with a steady stream...
Chapter 6 Arms races and proliferation

Abstract Previous analyses of arms races and proliferation are integrated and extended, building from a treatment of the behavioral foundations of weapons acquisitions to a general theory of arms races, with implications for the role of negotiations, the balance of power, the timing of crises, and nuclear proliferation. Recent developments in economic theory are also applied here to the problems of the arms race, nuclear proliferation, and the outbreak of war, yielding a deeper treatment of these phenomena by directly or indirectly treating asymmetric information in bargaining, repeated games that involve threats, and principal-agent problems in decisions on technology and weapons accumulation.
Some Recent Studies in Turbulent Combustion

Turbulent combustion is complex. Many different approaches to describing turbulent combustion have been developed over the years. An attempt is made here to classify these approaches and to identify the regimes of turbulent combustion in which the different approaches may be most useful. Although the results are not entirely satisfactory, they may help to introduce some order into this highly complex topic.
Change is the Only Constant in Life (and in Sleep Medicine).

Heraclitus, a philosopher who lived nearly 500 years before the common era, made the assertion that “Life is Flux,” meaning that change is the only constant in life. Modern medicine, inclusive of t...
A Series of 4- and 5-Coordinate Ni(II) Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Spectroscopic, and DFT Studies

A series of four- and five-coordinate Ni(II) complexes Cz tBu(Pyr iPr)2NiX (1-3 and 1·THF-3·THF), where X = Cl, Br, and I, were synthesized and fully characterized by NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, cyclic voltammetry, and density functional theory calculations. The solid-state structures of 1-3 reveal rare examples of seesaw Ni(II) complexes. In solution, 1-3 bind reversibly to a THF molecule to form five-coordinate adducts. The electronic transitions in the visible region (630-680 nm), attributed to LMCT bands, for 1 → 3 exhibit a bathochromic shift. The thermochromic tendency of the five-coordinate complexes implies the loss of THF coordination at elevated temperatures. Finally, the electronic properties of all Ni(II) complexes were studied by time-dependent density functional theory calculations to characterize the nature of the excited states.
Gestational Restless Legs Syndrome

Gestational restless legs syndrome (gRLS) is a common and often unrecognized symptom constellation that can lead to discomfort, sleep fragmentation, reduced total sleep time, daytime somnolence and disrupt mood and quality of life. The prevalence of gRLS is 11–34 %. There is a steady rise in restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms during pregnancy, which rapidly declines in the postpartum period. The etiology of gRLS remains undetermined. Genetic factors, peripheral and/or central iron storage deficiencies, reduction in central dopamine production and/or its receptors, pregnancy-related hormonal influences, and altered neuronal function have all been attributed to causing or worsening gRLS. When discovered, other conditions that can produce or mimic gRLS should be investigated, including diabetes, iron deficiency, hypothyroidism, renal insufficiency, and neuropathy. A number of pharmacologic therapies are available, though their use in pregnancy poses many obstacles. Iron and folate supplementation should be implemented. A review of concurrent medications and limiting agents that may exaggerate RLS can often produce improvement. Non-pharmacological strategies are the mainstay of treatment. Although most women will have resolution of RLS symptoms in the weeks immediately prior to or following birth, there is an increased risk of symptom recurrence with future pregnancies or later in life.
Russian and Post-Soviet Studies: Environment

Throughout the period of Soviet socialism (1917–91) environmental considerations were subordinate to state imperatives of rapid industrial development. Although there existed small enclaves of scientists and specialists committed to conservation and ecology issues, centralized authoritarian rule and state repression made environmental activism virtually impossible, while censorship obscured the scope and severity of ecological problems. Environmental groups mushroomed in the more liberal late-Soviet and early post-Soviet period, but the unrestrained capitalism and natural resource-based economy of the Putin era (1999–) relegated ecology protection to the margins of Russian politics.
THE BIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF VARICELLA ZOSTER VIRUS IN THE GANGLION

The varicella zoster virus (VZV) is present almost uniformly in select human ganglion tissue following hematogenous or nerve seeding. The morphology and physiochemical properties of this labile alpha herpes virus are known. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and VZV share a common ancestry with much homology; anticipation of the VZV gene function is based on extensive knowledge of HSV. The intracellular activity of the virion has been detailed with the anticipated effect of antiviral drugs. VZV reactivates infrequently because of multiple characteristic differences with HSV. Latency in non-neuronal cells explains the extensive ganglionic damage with VZV reactivation. The hallmark of VZV recurrence is a decline in cell-mediated immunity; this cell-mediated immunity can be boosted by VZV vaccine or natural exposure to exogenous or endogenous VZV. Unfortunately, studies of VZV are hampered by the labile cell free viral yield as well as by the absence of a complete animal model. The pathophysiology of postherpetic neuralgia may have mechanisms other than acute neuralgia, with subgroup mechanisms involving local nociceptors, peripheral nerve fibrosis, collateral axonal sprouting, disordered spinal cord input, central nervous system hyperexcitability, persistence of VZV in mononuclear cells, and the role of the deficient cell-mediated immunity.
Impact of Homelessness on School Readiness Skills and Early Academic Achievement: A Systematic Review of the Literature

A systematic review of research exploring the impact of homelessness on young children’s school readiness skills in preschool and academic performance in early elementary school is presented. Fourteen studies were identified that included data exploring this association in preschool through Grade 3. Findings indicated that children experiencing homelessness have lower school readiness skills and academic achievement compared to the general population of children. However, it was not conclusive whether children experiencing homelessness perform lower than socio-demographically matched housed children. Most large studies (> 4000 children) found children experiencing homelessness had lower academic performance than housed low-income children. However, fewer than half of small studies (< 300 children) found support for this association. Good school attendance, high quality parenting, self-regulation, and early education are among several potential protective factors discussed in the literature that may lessen the negative impact of homelessness on school readiness skills and academic achievement in early elementary school.
Go your own way: Exploring the causes of top executive turnover

Research Summary Why do top executives leave their firms? Research on executive turnover has either focused on CEO dismissal or on group‐level top management team (TMT) departure rates, mostly ignoring individual‐level factors that would predict why non‐CEO executives exit. Here, we extend the shock perspective of the unfolding model of turnover used in organizational behavior research to show how relational and reputational shocks influence turnover at the executive level. Our sample includes over 4,000 executives from S&P 1500 firms over 11 years. We hypothesize and find that relational and reputational shocks increase the likelihood of top executive exit. We also consider the moderating influence of pay disparity on these relationships, which impacts how each type of shock influences executive turnover. Managerial Summary Replacing top executives can be extremely costly for firms. Consequently, understanding the reasons behind top executive exit are important. We examine the effect of different types of shock on the likelihood a top executive will exit their firm. We find that both relational shocks (e.g., other members of the TMT leaving), as well as reputational shocks (e.g., litigation or shareholder activism against the firm), increase turnover. However, we find that higher status executives experience these shocks differently than lower status executives.
Saints’ Lives as Performance Art

If scriptures are fundamentally textual in their semantic, performative, and iconic dimensions, as James Watts has argued, Saints’ Lives are fundamentally performative, I suggest. The literary Lives of Saints are marked by a distinctive textual performativity, and icons – here not books, as for Watts, but painted images (eikones) and relics – are also distinctly performative qua objects, as expressed above all in an animistic capacity for intimate relationship. In a slight modification of Watts’s nomenclature, we might then name the three performative dimensions of Saints’ Lives the textual, the visual, and the thingly. Circulating through all of these dispersed media is the presence of the saint’s body, at once vivid and elusive, unified and plural: the saint’s performance is first and foremost a bodily performance, in all its dimensions. In order to develop this claim, I juxtapose passages from two late ancient literary Lives of Saints with contemporary performance art, moving on to consider more briefly the performativity of the visual and thingly dimensions of the lives of saints. Ultimately, we see not only how the line blurs between literary Life, on the one hand, and the life of a saint as it emerges across other media, on the other, but also how the three dimensions of the life – the textual, the visual, and the thingly – cross and converge.
Secured Traffic Monitoring in VANET

Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) facilitate vehicles to wirelessly communicate with neighboring vehicles as well as with roadside units (RSUs). However, the existence of inaccurate information within the network can cause traffic aberrations and also disrupt the normal functioning of any traffic monitoring system. Thus, determining the credibility of broadcast messages originating from the region of interest (ROI) is crucial under a malicious environment. Additionally, a breach of privacy involving a vehicle's private information, such as location and velocity, can lead to severe consequences like unauthorized tracking and masquerading attack. Thus, we propose an edge cloud based privacy-preserving secured decision making model that employs a heuristic based on vehicular data such as GPS location and velocity to authenticate traffic-related information from the ROI under different traffic scenarios such as congestion. The effectiveness of the proposed model has been validated using VENTOS, SUMO, and Omnet++ simulators, and also by using a simulated cloud environment. We compare our proposed model to the existing peer-based authentication model, the majority voting model, and the reputation-based system under different attack scenarios. We show that our model is capable of filtering malicious vehicles effectively and provide accurate traffic information under the presence of at least one non-malicious vehicle within the ROI.
The treatment of Kyrle's disease: a systematic review.

Kyrle's disease (KD) is a cutaneous disease that develops in individuals with underlying systemic disease, particularly chronic renal failure and diabetes mellitus (DM), and is associated with a high burden of disease linked to itch. The intensely pruritic, hyperkeratotic papulonodular rash seen in KD dramatically impairs patients' quality of life and increases their risk of mortality. Unfortunately, no guidelines or evidence-based regimens have been specifically developed for KD, making the treatment of this disease particularly challenging for physicians. This article aims to provide the first comprehensive, up-to-date overview and analysis of treatment options employed for KD. A search of the PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus databases was performed for articles regarding the treatment of KD, published in English between 1990 and 2019. Seventy-three articles were identified, of which eighteen met the inclusion criteria. We discovered that a wide variety of treatment regimens for KD have been reported in the literature, including oral antibiotics, immunosuppressants, phototherapy, topical/systemic retinoids, topical keratolytics and various combination therapies, which include some of the aforementioned treatments, in conjunction with oral/topical/injectable steroids, emollients and/or antihistamines. The use of a combination regimen is the most commonly practiced therapeutic approach to KD. Topical corticosteroids and depot corticosteroid injections repeatedly appeared in many of the regimens encountered during our search. While no definitive recommendations can be made based on existing literature, this article provides physicians with a summative outline that can help guide management and be referenced when other treatment efforts fail. The increasing prevalence of renal disease, DM and other chronic diseases will inevitably lead to rising rates of KD in the upcoming years. While randomized controlled trials are greatly needed, novel antipruritic immunomodulatory drugs targeting specific interleukin receptors (IL-4/13/31) and intracellular signalling (e.g. Janus kinase) pathways may have a potential role in the treatment of this disease.
A journey upstream: Fluctuating platelet-specific genes in cell-free plasma as proof-of-concept for using ribonucleic acid sequencing to improve understanding of postinjury platelet biology.

BACKGROUND The mechanisms of aberrant circulating platelet behavior following injury remain unclear. Platelets retain megakaryocyte immature ribonucleic acid (RNA) splicing and protein synthesis machinery to alter their functions based on physiologic signals. We sought to identify fluctuating platelet-specific RNA transcripts in cell-free plasma (CFP) from traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients as proof-of-concept for using RNA sequencing to improve our understanding of postinjury platelet behavior. We hypothesized that we could identify differential expression of activated platelet-specific spliced RNA transcripts from CFP of patients with isolated severe fatal TBI (fTBI) compared with minimally injured trauma controls (t-controls), filtered by healthy control (h-control) data sets. METHODS High-read depth RNA sequencing was applied to CFP from 10 patients with fTBI (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] for head ≥3, AIS for all other categories <3, and expired) and five t-controls (Injury Severity Score ≤1, and survived). A publicly available CFP RNA sequencing data set from 23 h-controls was used to determine the relative steady state of splice-form RNA transcripts discoverable in CFP. Activated platelet-specific spliced RNA transcripts were derived from studies of ex vivo platelet activation and identified by splice junction presence greater than 1.5-fold or less than 0.67-fold ex vivo nonactivated platelet-specific RNA transcripts. RESULTS Forty-two differentially spliced activated platelet-specific RNA transcripts in 34 genes were altered in CFP from fTBI patients (both upregulated and downregulated). CONCLUSION We have discovered differentially expressed activated platelet-specific spliced RNA transcripts present in CFP from isolated severe fTBI patients that are upregulated or downregulated compared with minimally injured trauma controls. This proof-of-concept suggests that a pool of immature platelet RNAs undergo splicing events after injury for presumed modulation of platelet protein products involved in platelet function. This validates our exploration of injury-induced platelet RNA transcript modulation as an upstream "liquid biopsy" to identify novel postinjury platelet biology and treatment targets for aberrant platelet behavior. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Diagnostic tests, level V.
Cheminformatics Analysis and Modeling with MacrolactoneDB

Macrolactones, macrocyclic lactones with at least twelve atoms within the core ring, include diverse natural products such as macrolides with potent bioactivities (e.g. antibiotics) and useful drug-like characteristics. We have developed MacrolactoneDB, which integrates nearly 14,000 existing macrolactones and their bioactivity information from different public databases, and new molecular descriptors to better characterize macrolide structures. The chemical distribution of MacrolactoneDB was analyzed in terms of important molecular properties and we have utilized three targets of interest (Plasmodium falciparum, Hepatitis C virus and T-cells) to demonstrate the value of compiling this data. Regression machine learning models were generated to predict biological endpoints using seven molecular descriptor sets and eight machine learning algorithms. Our results show that merging descriptors yields the best predictive power with Random Forest models, often boosted by consensus or hybrid modeling approaches. Our study provides cheminformatics insights into this privileged, underexplored structural class of compounds with high therapeutic potential.
Design of Polymer Blend Electrolytes through a Machine Learning Approach

We apply a machine learning (ML) technique to the multiobjective design of polymer blend electrolytes. In particular, we are interested in maximizing electrolyte performance measured by a combinati...