cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Next steps for federal child care policy.

Summary In Mark Greenberg’s view, a national child care strategy should pursue four goals. Every parent who needs child care to get or keep work should be able to afford care without having to leave children in unhealthy or dangerous environments; all families should be able to place their children in settings that foster education and healthy development; parental choice should be respected; and a set of good choices should be available. Attaining these goals, says Greenberg, requires revamping both federal child care subsidy programs and federal tax policy related to child care. Today subsidies are principally provided through a block grant structure in which states must restrict eligibility, access, or the extent of assistance because both federal and state funds are limited. Tax policy principally involves a modest nonrefundable credit that provides little or no assistance to poor and low-income families. Greenberg would replace the block grant with a federal guarantee of assistance for all families with incomes under 200 percent of poverty that need child care to enter or sustain employment. States would administer the federal assistance program under a federal-state matching formula with the federal government paying most of the cost. States would develop and implement plans to improve the quality of child care, coordinate child care with other early education programs, and ensure that child care payment rates are sufficient to allow families to obtain care that fosters healthy child development. Greenberg would also make the federal dependent care tax credit refundable, with the credit set at 50 percent of covered child care costs for the lowestincome families and gradually phasing down to 20 percent as family income increases. The combined subsidy and tax changes would lead to a better-coordinated system of child care subsidies that would assure substantial financial help to families below 200 percent of poverty, while tax-based help would ensure continued, albeit significantly reduced, assistance for families with higher incomes. Greenberg indicates that the tax credit expansions are estimated to cost about $5 billion a year, and the subsidy and quality expansions would cost about $18 billion a year.
Midinfrared Interband Cascade Laser for Free Space Optical Communication

A free space optical (FSO) link utilizing midinfrared (mid-IR) interband cascade lasers has been demonstrated in the 3- to 5-?m atmospheric transmission window with data rates up to 70 Mb/s and bit-error rate (BER) less than 10-8. The performance of the mid-IR FSO link has been compared with the performance of a near-IR link under various fog conditions using an indoor communication testbed. These experiments demonstrated the lower attenuation and scintillation advantages of a mid-IR FSO link.
Individual differences in response of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex predict daily social behavior

The capacity to accurately infer the thoughts and intentions of other people is critical for effective social interaction, and neural activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) has long been linked with the extent to which people engage in mental state attribution. In this study, we combined functional neuroimaging and experience sampling methodologies to test the predictive value of this neural response for daily social behaviors. We found that individuals who displayed greater activity in dmPFC when viewing social scenes spent more time around other people on a daily basis. These findings suggest a specific role for the neural mechanisms that support the capacity to mentalize in guiding individuals toward situations containing valuable social outcomes.
Cost-effectiveness of a behavioral intervention for persistent urinary incontinence in prostate cancer patients

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a behavioral intervention for urinary incontinence of prostate cancer patients. Study subjects were either participating in or eligible but declined (i.e., nonparticipating) the active intervention study. Methods The intervention-participating subjects were randomized into three groups, including two intervention groups (support and telephone groups) and a usual care reference group. Intervention-nonparticipating subjects were concurrently enrolled. Intervention effectiveness was assessed on the EQ-5D measure. The costs included direct healthcare cost from medical billing data, patient out-of-pocket expense, caregiver expense, patient loss-of-work cost, and intervention cost. We calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) from societal, provider, and patient perspectives. Results Two hundred and sixty-seven intervention-participating and 69 intervention-nonparticipating post-cancer treatment patients were included. The support and telephone groups, but not the usual care group, had significantly higher EQ-5D index scores (0.054, p = 0.033, and 0.057, p = 0.026, respectively) than the intervention-nonparticipating group at month 6. Within 6 months, intervention cost per subject was $252 and $484, respectively, for providers, and $564 and $203, respectively, for the support and phone group subjects. The final ICERs were $16,759 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and $12,561/QALY for support and telephone groups, compared with those of the intervention-nonparticipating group. These ICERs are much smaller than $50,000/QALY, the consensus threshold to determine cost-effectiveness for society. Conclusions The study interventions are cost-effective in consideration of eligible patients who declined the interventions. The interventions can provide meaningful outcome improvement on urinary continence at a low cost. This evidence provides critical information for future health policy decision-making of healthcare providers and payers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quadratic Forms and the Orthogonal Group

We leave the arithmetic theory of fields in order to develop a different subject, the abstract theory of quadratic forms. In the latter half of the book we shall combine these two subjects into the arithmetic theory of quadratic forms. Our immediate purpose is to introduce a quadratic form and an orthogonal geometry on an arbitrary finite dimensional vector space and to study certain groups of linear transformations that leave the quadratic form invariant. We must make the assumption1 from now on that the field of scalars F does not have characteristic 2. As we indicated, our vector spaces are assumed to be finite dimensional.
CRYSTALLINE PEPSIN : I. ISOLATION AND TESTS OF PURITY

A method is described for the preparation of a crystalline protein from commercial pepsin preparations which has powerful peptic activity. The composition, optical activity, and proteolytic activity of this protein remain constant through seven successive crystallizations. No evidence for the presence of a mixture or of a solid solution is found in a study of the solubility of the protein in a series of different salt solutions, nor from the diffusion coefficient or from the rate of inactivation. These results indicate that the material is a pure substance or possibly a solid solution of two or more substances having nearly the same solubility in all the various solvents studied. It seems reasonable to conclude from these experiments that the possibility of a mixture must be limited to a mixture of proteins, so that the conclusion seems justified that pepsin itself is a protein.
An experimental investigation of the stability of Poiseuille flow

An axially symmetric laminar flow of air was established in a long smooth pipe. This flow was steady up to Reynolds numbers of about 20,000, the capacity of the system. Small, nearly axially, symmetric disturbances were superimposed by longitudinally oscillating a thin sleeve adjacent to the inner wall of the pipe. Hot-wire anemometer measurements consisting of radial and longitudinal traverses were made downstream of the sleeve. These measurements indicated that within the Reynolds number range investigated (up to 13,000), the flow is stable to small disturbances. In general, the radial distribution of disturbance amplitudes was not independent of distance downstream; while the disturbances, as generated, exhibited imperfect axial symmetry, the non-symmetric part decayed more rapidly than the symmetric part. Results were interpreted in such a way that rates of propagation and rates of decay of the disturbances could be compared with those given by a recent theoretical stability analysis. It was found that the rates of decay are predicted fairly satisfactorily by the theory; however, the rates of propagation are not. In addition, it was found that transition to turbulent flow occurs whenever the amplitude of the disturbance exceeds a threshold value which decreases with increasing Reynolds number. Due to the departures from axial symmetry in the amplitude of the disturbance, it was not possible to obtain a quantitative measure of the threshold. A mathematical idealization of the disturbances, believed to be more akin to experimental perturbations than the classical model used in small-perturbation analyses, is proposed.
Malcev-neumann group rings

(1993). Malcev-neumann group rings. Communications in Algebra: Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 2065-2075.
Intracoronary administration of cardiac stem cells in mice: a new, improved technique for cell therapy in murine models

A model of intracoronary stem cell delivery that enables transgenesis/gene targeting would be a powerful tool but is still lacking. To address this gap, we compared intracoronary and intramyocardial delivery of lin−/c-kit+/GFP+ cardiac stem cells (CSCs) in a murine model of reperfused myocardial infarction (MI). Lin−/c-kit+/GFP+ CSCs were successfully expanded from GFP transgenic hearts and cultured with no detectable phenotypic change for up to ten passages. Intracoronary delivery of CSCs 2 days post-MI resulted in significant alleviation of adverse LV remodeling and dysfunction, which was at least equivalent, if not superior, to that achieved with intramyocardial delivery. Compared with intramyocardial injection, intracoronary infusion was associated with a more homogeneous distribution of CSCs in the infarcted region and a greater increase in viable tissue in this region, suggesting greater formation of new cardiomyocytes. Intracoronary CSC delivery resulted in improved function in the infarcted region, as well as in improved global LV systolic and diastolic function, and in decreased LV dilation and LV expansion index; the magnitude of these effects was similar to that observed after intramyocardial injection. We conclude that, in the murine model of reperfused MI, intracoronary CSC infusion is at least as effective as intramyocardial injection in limiting LV remodeling and improving both regional and global LV function. The intracoronary route appears to be superior in terms of uniformity of cell distribution, myocyte regeneration, and amount of viable tissue in the risk region. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that intracoronary infusion of stem cells in mice is feasible and effective.
Assessing atmospheric stability and its impacts on rotor-disk wind characteristics at an onshore wind farm

As the average hub height and blade diameter of new wind turbine installations continue to increase, turbines typically encounter higher wind speeds, which enable them to extract large amounts of energy, but they also face challenges due to the complex nature of wind flow and turbulence in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Wind speed and turbulence can vary greatly across a turbine's rotor disk; this variability is partially due to whether the PBL is stable, neutral or convective. To assess the influence of stability on these wind characteristics, we utilize a unique data set including observations from two meteorological towers, a surface flux tower and high-resolution remote-sensing sound detection and ranging (SODAR) instrument. We compare several approaches to defining atmospheric stability to the Obukhov length (L). Typical wind farm observations only allow for the calculation of a wind shear exponent (α) or horizontal turbulence intensity (IU) from cup anemometers, whereas SODAR gives measurements at multiple heights in the rotor disk of turbulence intensity (I) in the latitudinal (Iu), longitudinal (Iv) and vertical (Iw) directions and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE). Two methods for calculating horizontal Ifrom SODAR data are discussed. SODAR stability parameters are in high agreement with the more physically robust L,with TKE exhibiting the best agreement, and show promise for accurate characterizations of stability. Vertical profiles of wind speed and turbulence, which likely affect turbine power performance, are highly correlated with stability regime. At this wind farm, disregarding stability leads to over-assessments of the wind resource during convective conditions and under-assessments during stable conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Algorithms for postprocessing OCR results with visual inter-word constraints

Algorithms are presented that determine the visual relationships between word images in a document. These include instances of common word images and common substrings that occur often in English language text images. This information is then used to improve the performance of a commercial optical character recognition (OCR) algorithm. The algorithms presented calculate clusters of equivalent word images as well as common initial and final substrings. Experimental results are presented that show a 40% reduction in word level error rate is achieved on a test set of documents degraded by uniform noise.
Age of testing as a factor in the behavioral effects of early lead exposure in rats

The behavioral effects of postnatal administration of lead during weaning were tested in young and adult rats. Rats received either 10 mg/kg IP lead acetate or equimolar sodium acetate daily for the first twenty days of life. Tests of performance on an 8-arm radial maze and a passive avoidance task were begun at 25 days after birth or 90 days after birth. Lead-treated rats did not perform significantly different than control rats on the radial arm maze at either age tested. Young lead-treated rats performed with significantly longer lick latencies than young control rats on the passive avoidance task. Adult lead-treated rats performed with shorter food latencies than adult control rats. A group of young rats was retested on the passive avoidance task at 150 days after birth. Performance on the retest was similar to their early performance. Differences in performance of young and adult lead-treated animals on the passive avoidance task are discussed in terms of an interaction of the effects of lead exposure, maturation, and early experience.
A cascade multilevel inverter using a single DC source

A method is presented showing that a cascade multilevel inverter can be implemented using only a single DC power source and capacitors. A standard cascade multilevel inverter requires n DC sources for 2n + 1 levels. Without requiring transformers, the scheme proposed here allows the use of a single DC power source (e.g., a battery or a fuel cell stack) with the remaining n-1 DC sources being capacitors. It is shown that one can simultaneously maintain the DC voltage level of the capacitors and choose a fundamental frequency switching pattern to produce a nearly sinusoidal output.
RFLP-based assay of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench genetic diversity

Sixty-two single-copy sorghum DNA clones were used to compare restriction fragment patterns of 53 sorghum accessions from Africa, Asia and the United States. Included were accessions from five morphological races of the cultivated subspecies bicolor, and four races of the wild subspecies verticilliflorum. From two to twelve alleles were detected with each probe. There was greater nuclear diversity in the wild subspecies (255 alleles in ten accessions) than in the domestic accessions (236 alleles in 37 accessions). Overall, 204 of the 340 alleles (60%) that were detected occurred in both subspecies. Phylogenetic analysis using parsimony separated the subspecies into separate clusters, with one group of intermediate accessions. Though exceptions were common, especially for the race bicolor, accessions classified as the same morphological race tended to group together on the basis of RFLP similarities. Selection for traits such as forage quality may have led to accessions genetically more similar to other races being classified as bicolors, which have a loose, small-grained panicle similar to wild races. Population statistics, calculated using four nuclear and four cytoplasmic probes that detect two alleles each, revealed a low but significant amount of heterozygosity, and showed little differentiation in alleles in the wild and cultivated subspecies. Outcrossing with foreign pollen appears to have been more important than migration via seed dispersal as a mechanism for gene flow between the wild and domestic accessions included in this study.
A novel genetic marker of liver disease aetiology in hepatocellular carcinoma: culling the metabolic syndrome

Paradis et al 1 describe the work in which they identified CUL7 as a unique target gene in metabolic syndrome-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The increased worldwide prevalence and incidence of liver disease related to metabolic syndrome2 are noted as factors in the changing epidemiology and demographics of HCC, especially in otherwise ‘low-risk’ regions.3–5 Although this highly lethal malignancy remains most commonly associated with underlying cirrhosis secondary to viral hepatitis C or B,6 ,7 or alcohol,7 there is growing acceptance of the role of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis as another chronic liver disease that may predispose to the subsequent genetic and molecular aberrations that result in malignancy. Furthermore, investigators are showing the existence of an alarming trend in the evolution of HCC in the presence of metabolic syndrome before advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.3 ,8 The implications for clinical management are apparent. The group of Paradis et al ,1 started with a comparative genomic hybridisation analysis that showed amplification in 6p21.1. Another gene that resides in the …
Theory and experiments on surface 1/f noise

A theoretical low-frequency noise model for the epitaxial-channel surface field-effect structure is presented where random modulation of the channel conductance arises from fluctuation of charges trapped at the oxide trap states near the Si-SiO 2 interface. In this model, charge fluctuation in the oxide traps arises from carrier tunneling between the fast interface surface states and the oxide trap states. A second fluctuation, at higher frequencies, arises from the random thermal emission and capture of electrons and holes at the fast interface states through the thermal or Shockley-Read-Hall process. Different oxide trap densities were introduced into the interface region of the metal-oxide-silicon field-effect structures using a carefully controlled and reproducible oxygen heat treatment technique. Energy distributions of the oxide trap densities are obtained from capacitance measurements. Humps are observed between the flat band and the onset of strong surface inversion (lower half of the bandgap) in both the noise power and the oxide trap density versus gate voltage (or surface band bending) plots. Theoretical noise power calculations using the experimental oxide trap density profile from the capacitance-voltage data agree very well with the experimental noise humps in both magnitudes and fine structures. It is shown that the frequency spectra of noise depend strongly on the oxide trap density profile in the oxide. It is suggested that the oxide traps are due to the excess oxygen at the SiO 2 -Si interface.
Hierarchical modelling of discontinuous fields

A methodology has been developed to hierarchically model discontinuous fields by means of the s-version of the finite-element method. This is achieved by overlaying portions of the finite-element mesh where discontinuities need to be embedded with a finite-element mesh which is discontinuous across the crack faces (containing unconstrained double nodes along the discontinuity). By this technique crack propagation can be simulated by advancing the crack front in the superimposed mesh only, keeping the base mesh fixed and unaware of the crack existence. The hierarchical structure of the method ensures computational efficiency, especially in linear systems. Numerical experiments for mode I and mixed-mode problems are presented to validate the present formulation.
Organization of brain tissue: is the brain a noisy processor?

This paper presents some thoughts on functional organization in cerebral tissue. 'Spontaneous' wave and unit firing are considered as essential phenomena in the handling of information. Various models are discussed which have been suggested to describe the pseudorandom behavior of brain cells, leading to a view of the brain as an information processor and its role in learning, memory, remembering and forgetting.
Detection and identification of gasoline in tissues by capillary GC using pattern recognition techniques.

Blood, brain, lung, and gastric contents of a drowning victim recovered from an automobile in which there was a strong odor of gasoline were examined for the presence of gasoline. Heated headspace, capillary column gas chromatography (GC) was employed for the analysis of the samples with simple pattern recognition being used to complete the determination. A mathematical discussion of the probability of artifact components or other organic compounds in the samples causing results which could falsely appear to be gasoline is discussed. Language: en
Adaptive and Probabilistic Power Control Algorithms for Dense RFID Reader Network

In radio frequency identification (RFID) systems, the detection range and read rates may suffer from interferences between high power devices such as readers. In dense networks, this problem grows severely and degrades system performance. In this paper, we investigate feasible power control schemes to ensure overall coverage area of the system while maintaining a desired data rate. The power control should dynamically adjust the output power of a RFID reader by adapting to the noise level seen during tag reading and acceptable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We present a novel distributed adaptive power control (DAPC) and probabilistic power control (PPC) as two possible solutions. This paper discusses the methodology and implementation of both algorithms analytically. Both DAPC and PPC scheme are simulated, compared and discussed for further work
Contemporary prison overcrowding: short-term fixes to a perpetual problem

Since the United States began using incarceration as its cornerstone of punishment for those who transgress the law, this method of discipline has been fraught with problems. One of the most ubiquitous problems found within correctional institutions are the conditions inmates are forced to live in particularly, when penal facilities are overcrowded. These conditions have led to extensive litigation, compelling the judicial system to change. Although overall conditions have improved, a perpetually increasing inmate population continues to plague correctional systems as costs continue to rise. As state budgets have become strained during the economic downturns, many states’ officials view less punitive measures as possible solutions to the excessive costs of administering punishment and overcrowded inmate populations. Due to facility overcrowding, several states have actually been placed under federal court order to reduce their inmate population in order to protect inmates’ constitutional rights. Although ...
The relative ages of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms and their plant hosts estimated using Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses

Ectomycorrhizae (ECM) are symbioses formed by polyphyletic assemblages of fungi (mostly Agaricomycetes) and plants (mostly Pinaceae and angiosperms in the rosid clade). Efforts to reconstruct the evolution of the ECM habit in Agaricomycetes have yielded vastly different results, ranging from scenarios with many relatively recent origins of the symbiosis and no reversals to the free-living condition; a single ancient origin of ECM and many subsequent transitions to the free-living condition; or multiple gains and losses of the association. To test the plausibility of these scenarios, we performed Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses including fungi, plants, and other eukaryotes, based on the principle that a symbiosis cannot evolve prior to the origin of both partners. As we were primarily interested in the relative ages of the plants and fungi, we did not attempt to calibrate the molecular clock using the very limited fossil record of Agaricomycetes. Topologically constrained and unconstrained analyses suggest that the root node of the Agaricomycetes is much older than either the rosids or Pinaceae. The Agaricomycetidae, a large clade containing the Agaricales and Boletales (collectively representing 70% of Agaricomycetes), is also significantly older than the rosids. The relative age of Agaricomycetidae and Pinaceae, however, is sensitive to tree topology, and the inclusion or exclusion of the gnetophyte Welwitschia mirabilis. The ancestor of the Agaricomycetes could not have been an ECM species because it existed long before any of its potential hosts. Within more derived clades of Agaricomycetes, there have been at least eight independent origins of ECM associations involving angiosperms, and at least six to eight origins of associations with gymnosperms. The first ECM symbioses may have involved Pinaceae, which are older than rosids, but several major clades of Agaricomycetes, such as the Boletales and Russulales, are young enough to have been plesiomorphically associated with either rosids or Pinaceae, suggesting that some contemporary ECM partnerships could be of very ancient origin.
Distinct Pulsatile Prolactin Secretory Patterns during the Estrous Cycle: Possible Encoding for Diverse Physiological Responses

PRL levels during the estrous cycle have been reported to be low, with the notable exception of the afternoon proestrous surge. The present study was designed to evaluate the pulsatile pattern of PRL secretion during the low secretory phases of the cycle. Animals were bled at 3-min intervals for 150 min during proestrus morning (AM), estrus AM and evening (PM), metestrus AM, and diestrus AM and PM. Using the algorithm Detect, pulse frequency, duration, interval, peak and trough values, area under the pulses, and mean PRL levels were calculated. PRL secretion was pulsatile during all stages of the estrous cycle, although the pattern varied considerably among the different cycle stages. Pulse frequency was highest during estrus and lowest during diestrus. All quantitative pulse parameters (peak, trough, amplitude, and area under pulse) were also higher during estrus and lowest in diestrus. Analysis of area under the pulse using frequency distribution indicated that at least two subpopulations of pulses, i.e...
Tourism penetration index in small Caribbean islands

Abstract The postwar restructuring of small tropical islands toward mass tourism development has threatened their sustainability. A major cause has been inadequate understanding of tourism dynamics and the absence of comprehensive integrated measures of tourism's pervasive economic, social, and environmental impacts. This paper constructs a composite Tourism Penetration Index from per capita visitor spending, daily visitor densities per 1,000 population, and hotel rooms per square kilometer. It is tested on 20 small Caribbean islands and yields three levels of increasing penetration. Four case studies are presented to illustrate the behavior of islands at different levels of penetration and to highlight the policy implications for Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua/Barbuda, and St. Maarten/St. Martin.
Enrichment of sequencing targets from the human genome by solution hybridization

To exploit fully the potential of current sequencing technologies for population-based studies, one must enrich for loci from the human genome. Here we evaluate the hybridization-based approach by using oligonucleotide capture probes in solution to enrich for approximately 3.9 Mb of sequence target. We demonstrate that the tiling probe frequency is important for generating sequence data with high uniform coverage of targets. We obtained 93% sensitivity to detect SNPs, with a calling accuracy greater than 99%.
Rheumatoid arthritis of the cricoarytenoid joint: a clinicopathologic study.

Arthritis of the cricoarytenoid joint occurs much more frequently in patients with rheumatoid disease than has generally been suspected. Seventeen of 64 randomly selected patients with rheumatoid arthritis had one or more symptoms considered to be characteristic of cricoarytenoid arthritis. At postmortem examination, histopathologic changes typical of rheumatoid arthritis were seen in the cricoarytenoid joints in seven of eight patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The abnormal findings on indirect laryngoscopy, typical of rheumatoid arthritis of the cricoarytenoid joints, are reported and treatment is discussed.
Comparison of fuzzy and neural truck backer-upper control systems

A simple fuzzy control system and a simple neural control system for backing up a truck in an open parking lot are developed. The choice of control problem was prompted by the recent, successful, neural network truck backer-upper simulation of Nguyen and Widrow (Proc. Int. Joint Conference on Neural Networks, vol.2, p.357-363, June, 1989). The authors were unable to exactly replicate the neural network they used. Instead the authors built the best backpropagation network they could with essentially the same kinematics and compared it to the best fuzzy controller they could develop. The fuzzy controller compares favorably with the neural controller in terms of black-box computation load, smoothness of truck trajectories, and robustness. Robustness of the fuzzy controller is studied by deliberately adding confusing FAM (fuzzy associative memory), rules-sabotage rules-to the system and by randomly removing different subsets of FAM rules. Robustness of the neural controller is studied by randomly removing different portions of the training data. It is concluded that fuzzy control shows optimal truck backing-up performance
Atopic predisposition of recipients in allergic transfusion reactions to apheresis platelets.

BACKGROUND: The biologic mechanisms of allergic transfusion reactions (ATRs) are largely unknown. We sought to compare the atopic predisposition of platelet (PLT) recipients who experienced an ATR to nonreactive control recipients. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We identified 37 consecutive apheresis PLT recipients who experienced an ATR and 26 matched controls. Total immunoglobulin (Ig)E and aero- and food allergen–specific IgE were quantified in plasma by a blood test for allergies (ImmunoCAP: Phadiatop and Fx5). IgE testing of apheresis PLT supernatants was also performed. RESULTS: Pruritus and urticaria were manifest in 91.9 and 83.8% of all ATRs, with more severe respiratory symptoms and angioedema occurring in less than 15% of cases. No subject had anaphylaxis. Sex, age, and primary diagnosis were balanced between the two groups. Total and aeroallergen-specific IgE was higher among subjects experiencing an ATR in comparison to control subjects (median total IgE, 55.5 kU/L vs. 8.3 kU/L, p = 0.002; and median aeroallergen-specific IgE, 0.57 kUa/L vs. 0.36 kUa/L, p = 0.046). IgE antibody levels in apheresis products associated with ATRs were similar to control products (p > 0.1 for all IgE tests). CONCLUSION: Recipient atopic predisposition, as defined by IgE sensitization, is a risk factor associated with ATRs.
99 The role of the linker and aromatic pendent in Zn(II) complexes for recognition to noncanonical thymine in DNA

It is challenging to design small molecules for the recognition of nucleic acid structural motifs such as bulges and loops. Ultimately, it is important to understand all of the energetic factors involved in binding including electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic transfer energetic, nucleic acid structural rearrangements as well as interactions between the nucleic acid and small molecule. We have recently reported the selective binding of Zn(II) macrocyclic complexes to DNA- and RNA-containing thymine or uracil bulges, respectively. The NMR structure of a DNA bulge alone and a DNA bulge with Zn(II) complex shows that the Zn(II) complex binds to the deprotonated N3 of thymine and the pendent aromatic stacks over the thymine in a pocket that abuts the major groove of the helix. Our current research focuses on understanding the role of the pendent aromatic group, and the linker between macrocycle and aromatic group. A single ring system was too small to stack on the thymine and led to weak binding, while a ...
Iatrogenic bacteriuria and gynecologic surgery: A basic study on incidence, prophylaxis, and therapy

Abstract A prospective study of bacteriuria following gynecologic surgery in 303 patients was undertaken. Well established modes of treatment as well as a new technique of treatment were evaluated and compared. The increased incidence of bacteriuria following catheterization was confirmed. Prophylactic systemic antibiosis not only proved ineffectual in 90 per cent of the patients, but also resulted in untoward side effects in a significant number of patients. Fifty-one patients (17 per cent) were found to have significant bacteriuria preoperatively. This finding indicates the need for adequate preoperative evaluation therapy. Local bladder antibiosis proved more effectual in preventing and treating bacteriuria than prophylactic systemic therapy. Of the two local techniques used, bladder flux was most effective.
Our Black, Imperfect Mirrors

Columnist Charles Day discusses how much social media technology can reveal about the person using it.
Effects of a frictionless hinge on internal forces, deflections, and load capacity of beam structures:

The redistribution of internal forces and deflections in a uniformly loaded propped cantilever and a fixed-end beam caused by the insertion of a frictionless hinge is evaluated for an arbitrary position of the hinge. This is accomplished by an extended use of the method of discontinuity functions to incorporate the slope discontinuity at the hinge, without the separation of structures into their constituting parts, as commonly done in other methods of analysis. It is shown that the insertion of a hinge in the middle of a propped cantilever increases the reactive moment at the fixed end two times. A hinge in the middle of a fixed-end beam increases its reactive moments by 50%, while the maximum deflection increases three times. The maximum allowable load is determined for all considered structures by using the classical and the limit design criteria. If a hinge is placed in a propped cantilever at the distance from its fixed end smaller than one-fourth of its span, the classical design criterion predicts t...
Mobilizing in Black Boxes: Social Networks and Participation in Social Movement Organizations

Recent research has focused on the role of social networks in facilitating participation in protest and social movement organizations. This paper elaborates three currents of microstructural explanation, based on information, identity, and exchange. In assessing these perspectives, it compares their treatment of multivalence, the tendency for social ties to inhibit as well as promote participation. Considering two dimensions of multivalence—the value of the social tie and the direction of social pressure—this paper discusses problems of measurement and interpretation in network analysis of movement participation. A critical review suggests some directions for future research.
Understanding Factors Influencing Teachers' Use of Technologies in Teaching STEM

Teachersâ adoption of technology continues to be challenging; yet, this is a critical process in the effective teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Although more schools are providing technology-rich classrooms, teachers are not always incorporating the new technologies into their teaching practice in a meaningful way. In this three-year case study, we used a grounded theory approach to examine the experiences of two high school teachers working in a depressed urban setting as they began using a newly designed, innovative, high-tech STEM classroom. Data sources included semi-structured interviews and direct observation. We identified three themes related to technology use: personal learning preference, teaching philosophy, and perception of technology. We discuss these themes, highlighting examples from participantsâ experiences and beliefs, as well as other factors impacting technology use that emerged during the study. These results will be of value to those supporting teachersâ integration of technology into their teaching practice.
Integrative Governance A Method for Fruitful Public Encounters

Public encounters, the micro-level relational process of face-to-face contact between public professionals and community members, are argued to have a meaningful effect on the outcomes of governanc...
RSVP resource allocation scheme based on non-linear service curve

In this paper,we discuss an optimized service allocation scheme based on non-linear service curve that can be used in RSVP to decouple bandwidth and time delay requirement.A simple and effective non-linear service curve is proposed.The numerical results show that its performance is superior to that of conventional linear service curve commonly used in RSVP in terms of resource utilization.At last,we discuss their future trends and present several topics remained to be studied.
Enabling Stem Cell Characterization from Large Microscopy Images

Microscopes can now cover large spatial areas and capture stem cell behavior over time. However, without discovering statistically reliable quantitative stem cell quality measures, products cannot be released to market. A Web-based measurement system overcomes desktop limitations by leveraging cloud and cluster computing for offline computations and by using Deep Zoom extensions for interactive viewing and measurement.
Congenital Anomalies of the Urethra

Congenital anomalies of the urethra include posterior urethral valve (PUV), anterior urethral valves, urethral strictures, urethral duplication, urethral diverticula, urethral polyps, megalourethra, and urethral atresia. PUV represents the most common cause of congenital urethral obstruction by far. It should be suspected prenatally in all male fetuses with bilateral hydronephrosis and especially in those with a thick-walled bladder that is not seen to empty during ultrasound imaging. The diagnosis of PUV postnatally is made on the basis of findings on a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG). Favorable prognostic indicators of PUV include nadir serum creatinine <0.8 mg% before age 1 year, absent vesicoureteral reflux (VUR), continence at the age of 5 years, and persistence of pop-off phenomenon. In this chapter, we will focus on PUV.
Data structure synthesis

All mainstream languages ship with libraries implementing lists, maps, sets, trees, and other common data structures. These libraries are sufficient for some use cases, but other applications need specialized data structures with different operations. For such applications, the standard libraries are not enough. I propose to develop techniques to automatically synthesize data structure implementations from high-level specifications. My initial results on a large class of collection data structures demonstrate that this is possible and lend hope to the prospect of general data structure synthesis. Synthesized implementations can save programmer time and improve correctness while matching the performance of handwritten code.
Miniaturized loop antennas for wireless brain-machine interfaces: Efficiency enhancement and link characterizations

Brain-machine interface (BMI) is a communication technology that links humans and artificial devices through the neural signals extracted by neural sensing systems. Reliable power supply and communication to miniature implants are currently one of the big challenges. In this paper we proposed an optimized implantable antenna transferring power and data efficiently with a low profile external transmitting antenna by utilizing RFID backscattering technique. We characterized the coupling enhancement by simulating the wireless link with head models. Prototypes were measured and characterized in terms of absorption level and channel capacity. The proposed antenna system provides wireless and fully-passive solution for multichannel neural recording systems.
Effects of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate on the immune microenvironment of the human cervix and endometrium: implications for HIV susceptibility

Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate is a commonly used injectable contraceptive that has been associated with an increased risk of HIV acquisition. This study compares effects of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate on immune parameters from several upper reproductive tract compartments relevant to HIV-1 susceptibility in repetitive samples from 15 depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate users and 27 women not on hormonal contraceptives. Compared with samples from unexposed women in the mid-luteal phase, depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate use was associated with: increased endocervical concentrations of MCP1 and IFNalpha2; decreased endocervical concentrations of IL1beta and IL6; increased proportions of endometrial CD4+ and CD8+ cells expressing the activation marker HLADR; increased density of endometrial macrophages; and decreased density of endometrial regulatory T cells. Unlike previous reports with samples from the vagina, we did not observe increased expression of the HIV co-receptor CCR5 on CD4+ T cells in the endocervix or endometrium. Our results indicate important differences in anatomic compartments regarding mechanisms by which depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate could be associated with increased risk of HIV acquisition, including increased recruitment of macrophages to the endometrium, decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the endocervix possibly leading to enhanced susceptibility to viral infection, and activation of endometrial T cells.
Naïve Bayes ensemble: A new approach to classifying unlabeled multi-class asthma subjects

Heterogeneity of complex human diseases makes it difficult to control and treat diseases effectively. Recent clinical efforts involve redefining subtypes of the diseases using cluster analysis. However, follow-up studies for the new clusters/subtypes identified from these efforts have been limited by the fact that clinical datasets collected from different times and cohorts often have different subjects and variables. A typical way to address this problem is to use only the common subjects and the variables among the datasets for analysis, which will inevitably result in loss of power and information. In this work, we developed a supervised learning strategy and a new classification algorithm called Naive Bayes ensemble, which can classify unlabeled subjects from a new dataset into the clusters/subtypes previously identified from an earlier dataset so that one can make full use of the new dataset for further analysis. The Naive Bayes ensemble employs a probability framework to summarize votes from single classifiers and take into account misclassification rates of each class predicted by each single classifier. We also propose a procedure to automatically select single classifiers to be included in the ensemble, which are based on both classification performance and the diversity of the single classifiers. The Naive Bayes ensemble outperforms 7 single classifiers and other ensemble methods when we evaluated their performance using leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) on our asthma clinical datasets. Furthermore, using biological functional validation, our results show that the supervised learning strategy and the Naive Bayes ensemble we proposed can indeed greatly increase the power of the downstream analysis and help yield biologically/clinically meaningful results.
What I wish I had known: Young breast cancer survivors reflect on their experiences after breast cancer surgery.

180Background: Breast cancer (BC) surgery can have a profound impact on aspects of quality of life (QOL) particularly for young breast cancer survivors, given their life stage. Using a series of focus groups (FG), we explored post-surgical experiences of young survivors who had elected lumpectomy, unilateral or bilateral mastectomy. Methods: Women who had surgery for their stage 0-3 BC and who were 1-3 years from their diagnosis (dx) at age ≤ 40 were recruited to participate. We conducted 4 FG: 2 with women who had bilateral mastectomy, 2 with women who kept their contralateral breast. FG were recorded and transcribed with identifiers removed. FG transcripts were coded using NVivo, and emergent themes were identified by thematic content analysis. At the end of the FG, participants completed a demographic/medical history survey. Results: Of 20 participants (4-6 per FG), median age at dx was 37 yrs; 10% (2/20) identified as Hispanic; most (19/20) were married/partnered; 70% had Stage 1 (4/20) or 2 (10/20) d...
Systematic Evaluation of Endothelin 1 Measurement Relative to Traditional and Modern Biomarkers for Clinical Assessment and Prognosis in Patients With Chronic Systolic Heart Failure: Serial Measurement and Multimarker Testing.

Objectives To define the role of single or serial measurement of endothelin 1 (ET-1) for prognostication beyond traditional and modern markers of risk in heart failure (HF). Methods In total, 115 patients with chronic systolic HF were followed for 10 months. Clinical assessment and ET-1, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), highly sensitive troponin I (hsTnI), soluble ST2 (sST2), and galectin 3 were measured at each visit. Results Elevated ET-1 was associated with worse HF, lower right ventricular function, higher pulmonary pressure, and higher left atrial volume index despite similar left ventricular function. ET-1 correlated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use. A model containing traditional risk factors, ET-1, NT-proBNP, hsTnI, and sST2 best predicted cardiovascular events, and ET-1 improved reclassification. In an adjusted time-integrated model, percent time spent with ET-1 of 5.90 pg/mL or less was predictive of fewer cardiovascular events (odds ratio, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.62-0.91). ET-1 reduction over time was associated with a lower rate of cardiovascular events compared with increasing or stable ET-1 (24.4% vs 50.0%). Conclusions ET-1 may be a unique predictor of HF prognosis, complementing other biomarkers in a multimarker profile. Serial measurement of ET-1 may provide additional prognostic information.
Sudhausia floridensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) isolated from Onthophagus tuberculifrons (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from Florida, USA

Sudhausia floridensis n. sp., a phoretic associate of a dung beetle, Onthophagus tuberculifrons , is described based on its typological characters and molecular profiles of part of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, D2-D3 expansion segments of the large subunit of rRNA gene, as well as part of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I ( mtCOI ) gene. Adult beetles collected from the cattle unit at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA were dissected and placed on a water agar plate to allow nematode propagation. The new species was isolated from a culture plate several weeks later, and subcultured to establish a laboratory strain. Sudhausia floridensis n. sp. is typologically very similar to S. aristotokia , but could be distinguished from it by the shape of the tail tip of the male, and presence vs absence of a terminal notch in the bursal velum. Molecularly, S. floridensis n. sp. is close to S. crassa , regardless of its morphological similarity to S. aristotokia , but it is distinguished from its African congeners S. aristotokia and S. crassa by 28 and 12 bp differences in SSU, respectively.