cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a specialty intensity score to estimate a patient's need for care coordination across physician specialties.

Backgrounds and aims This article develops a Specialty Intensity Score, which uses patient diagnosis codes to estimate the number of specialist physicians a patient will need to access. Conceptually, the score can serve as a proxy for a patient's need for care coordination across doctors. Such a measure may be valuable to researchers studying care coordination practices for complex patients. In contrast with previous comorbidity scores, which focus primarily on mortality and utilization, this comorbidity score approximates the complexity of a patient's the interaction with the health care system. Methods We use 2015 inpatient claims data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to model the relationship between a patient's diagnoses and physician specialty usage. We estimate usage of specialist doctors by using a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Poisson model. The Specialty Intensity Score is then constructed using this predicted specialty usage. To validate our score, we test its power to predict the occurrence of patient safety incidents and compare that with the predictive power of the Charlson comorbidity index. Results Our model uses 127 of the 279 International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) diagnosis subchapters to predict specialty usage, thus creating the Specialty Intensity Score. This score has significantly greater power in predicting patient safety complications than the widely used Charlson comorbidity index. Conclusion The Specialty Intensity Score developed in this article can be used by health services researchers and administrators to approximate a patient's need for care coordination across multiple specialist doctors. It, therefore, can help with evaluation of care coordination practices by allowing researchers to restrict their analysis of outcomes to the patients most impacted by those practices.
Evaluation of cooling setpoint setback savings in commercial buildings using electricity and exterior temperature time series data

Abstract Commercial buildings account for a significant amount of total energy produced in the US, and the Heating Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC) systems are one of the most significant components of their overall consumption. In this study, we proposed a new data-driven approach to evaluate HVAC cooling systems in commercial buildings and identify savings opportunities. The focus is an investigation of the impact of thermostat setpoint setback but using only whole building, electricity data taken at 15-min intervals for the analysis. We conducted a comparative study of setpoint setback characteristics on 432 commercial buildings with 5 building usage types across the United States. To accomplish this, both piecewise and Random Forest regression algorithms were employed using electricity and exterior temperature datasets to identify operational characteristics and the effective setpoints in the building to determine the corresponding savings opportunities. Both occupied and unoccupied time periods were studied across cooling degree days (CDD), when air conditioning is typically operational. The results show that in commercial buildings, on average, cooling systems account for 9.5% of total consumption. When a one degree setback during the cooling season is applied, an average of approximately 1.1% of annual consumption is achieved; retail and office buildings demonstrate the highest potential for savings. Additionally, we identified that the number of cooling degree days and base to peak ratio (BPR) are the most important variables for predicting the magnitude of the consumption of cooling systems.
“Who shall be lord of the earth?” Nietzsche, Schmitt, and thinking “beyond the line”

Carl Schmitt privately acknowledged that his late theory of Erd-Herrschaft (hegemony of the Earth) converged with some of Nietzsche’s thought, yet remained silent on this in his book The Nomos of t...
The Politics of Storytelling: Violence, Transgression and Intersubjectivity

Hannah Arendt argued that the 'political' is best understood as a power relation between private and public realms, and that storytelling is a vital bridge between these realms -- a site where individualised passions and shared views are contested and recombined. In his new book, Michael Jackson explores and expands Arendt's ideas through a cross-cultural analysis of storytelling that includes Kuranko stories from Sierra Leone, Aboriginal stories of the stolen generation, stories recounted before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and stories of refugees, renegades, and war veterans. Focusing on the violent and volatile conditions under which stories are and are not told, and exploring the various ways in which narrative re-workings of reality enable people to symbolically alter subject-object relations, Jackson shows how storytelling may restore to the intersubjective fields of self and other, self and state, self and cosmos, the conditions of viable sociality. The book concludes in a reflexive vein, exploring the interface between public discourse and private experience.
Engaging undergraduates in research that speaks their language

Undergraduates are influenced by modern technology such as smart-phone apps, social networks and the Internet. Technology is perceived to be “cool” and students are often interested in gaining expertise in them. However, most of them lack access to the tools/knowledge needed for a developer level involvement and several lack the opportunity to experience the research that creates the “cool stuff” of the future. This research project aims at providing both the tools and the opportunity to undergraduates at a minority serving institution. Through two phases: training and research that spanned from July to December 2014, several undergraduates were engaged in cutting edge Internet and mobile networks research. The training and research objective were to develop android based applications for the MobilityFirst future Internet architecture. The training phase consisted of two 8-week long workshops. The first workshop was to discuss current research in Future Internet Architecture while the second provided training in JAVA programming language and Android application development. In the research phase, nine students participated in developing geo-social network applications that generated content and shared locally in a geographic region. These applications used Wi-Fi Direct and/or MobilityFirst future Internet architecture for communication without the need for wide-area network connectivity.
Pathophysiology of Diabetes in Obesity

Obesity is diagnosed when the percentage of body fat is high in relation to the lean body mass or when the body mass index (BMI) is 30 kg/m2 or more, and individuals with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2 are considered overweight. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 60% of the US population in 2001 was either overweight or obese. Such prevalence is much higher among patients with type 2 diabetes, 80% of whom are either overweight or obese (1,2). The situation is almost equally dismal around the globe, including many developing countries, where the adverse health consequences of overweight and obesity have begun to replace undernutrition and infection as the main causes of early death and disability (3).
Teaching with the advanced placement GridWorld case study: conference workshop

Case studies expose students to large programs, enabling them to understand the importance of design and good programming style while encouraging teamwork and active learning. The AP Computer Science curriculum has used case studies since 1995. Beginning in 2008, the APCS curriculum includes the GridWorld Case Study. The first portion of the workshop will introduce the participants to the GridWorld environment allowing them to explore GridWorld through a series of guided activities which demonstrate inheritance and class interaction. During the second portion of the workshop participants will be shown examples of how GridWorld can be used in a typical CS-1 course.
Short‐term plasticity based network model of place cells dynamics

Rodent hippocampus exhibits strikingly different regimes of population activity in different behavioral states. During locomotion, hippocampal activity oscillates at theta frequency (5-12 Hz) and cells fire at specific locations in the environment, the place fields. As the animal runs through a place field, spikes are emitted at progressively earlier phases of the theta cycles. During immobility, hippocampus exhibits sharp irregular bursts of activity, with occasional rapid orderly activation of place cells expressing a possible trajectory of the animal. The mechanisms underlying this rich repertoire of dynamics are still unclear. We developed a novel recurrent network model that accounts for the observed phenomena. We assume that the network stores a map of the environment in its recurrent connections, which are endowed with short-term synaptic depression. We show that the network dynamics exhibits two different regimes that are similar to the experimentally observed population activity states in the hippocampus. The operating regime can be solely controlled by external inputs. Our results suggest that short-term synaptic plasticity is a potential mechanism contributing to shape the population activity in hippocampus.
The Supreme Court and Abortion: The Implications of Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)

This paper considers the Supreme Court’s decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Partial-Birth Abortion Act of 2003. First, I will consider the Court’s prior treatment of abortion from Roe v. Wade through Stenberg v. Carhart, the Court’s decision in 2000 that invalidated Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth abortion. Second, I will consider the Congressional treatment of the issue of partialbirth abortion, which resulted in the enactment of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. Third, I will briefly describe the lower court decisions that all held the Act unconstitutional. Fourth, I will discuss the Court’s April 18, 2007 decision in Gonzales v. Carhart. Fifth, I will offer some general observations about the impact that this decision will have. I believe that the Court’s decision in Gonzales v. Carhart will help to bring us closer to the day when Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey will be overruled.
Painting a bigger picture : Forgiveness therapy with pre-marital infidelity : A case study

In this article the author reviews the existing literature on the treatment of marital infidelity and forgiveness in therapy and presents Dr. Fred DiBlasio's model of the therapeutic use of forgiveness. A case study demonstrates this forgiveness therapy with an engaged couple that has experienced an extra-dyadic affair.
Hepatocyte growth factor-like protein is required for prostate tumor growth in the TRAMP mouse model

// Juozas Vasiliauskas 1 , Madison A. Nashu 1 , Peterson Pathrose 2 , Sandra L. Starnes 2 and Susan E. Waltz 1,3 1 Departments of Cancer Biology , Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 2 Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 3 Research Service, Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio Correspondence: Susan E. Waltz, email: // Keywords : Ron receptor, hepatocyte growth factor-like protein, prostate cancer, Mst1R Received : April 25, 2014 Accepted : June 24, 2014 Published : June 26, 2014 Abstract The Ron receptor is deregulated in a variety of cancers. Hepatocyte growth factor-like protein (HGFL) is the ligand for Ron and is constitutively secreted from hepatocytes into the circulation. While a few recent reports have emerged analyzing ectopic HGFL overexpression in cancer cells, no studies have examined the effect of host-produced HGFL in tumorigenesis. To examine HGFL function in prostate cancer, the TRAMP mouse model, which is predisposed to develop prostate tumors, was utilized. Prostate tumors from TRAMP mice exhibit elevated levels of HGFL, which correlated with upregulation in human prostate cancer. To directly implicate HGFL in prostate tumorigenesis, TRAMP mice deficient in HGFL (HGFL-/-TRAMP+) were generated. HGFL-/- TRAMP+ mice developed significantly smaller prostate tumors compared to controls. Analysis of HGFL-/- tumors revealed reduced tumor vascularization. No differences in cancer cell proliferation were detected between HGFL-/- TRAMP+ and HGFL+/+ TRAMP+ mice. However, a significant increase in cancer cell death was detected in HGFL-/- TRAMP+ prostates which correlated with decreased pro-survival targets. In vitro analysis demonstrated robust STAT3 activation resulting in Bcl2-dependent survival following treatment of prostate cancer cells with HGFL. These data document a novel function for endogenous HGFL in prostate cancer by imparting a critical survival signal to tumor cells.
Seasonal changes in physical processes controlling evaporation over inland water

While previous studies have shown the distinct characteristics of water surface energy fluxes in different seasons, much less analysis is conducted about how seasonal changes in physical processes and environmental variables in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) cause variations in flux exchange. Here we analyzed and compared eddy covariance fluxes of sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LE) and other microclimate variables that were measured over a large inland water surface in the winter season (January, February, and March) and the summer season (June, July, and August) of 2008. Our analysis was primarily focused on LE using half-hour time series data on a short-term basis. Our results show that an increase in wind speeds (U) or vapor pressure difference in the ASL (Δe) or ASL instability did not necessarily cause an increase in LE, and the opposite changes in LE with changes in these variables were observed. Relative regulations of LE by different environmental variables depended largely on Δe magnitudes. Under low Δe conditions, diurnal LE variations were not sensitive to changes in Δe and U but were controlled primarily by changes in the ASL stability. Under high Δe conditions, diurnal LE variations were mainly determined by changes in Δe, though alternate controls by U and Δe were observed, whereas ASL stability played minor roles in affecting LE variations. Whether these highly nonlinear responses of LE to environmental variables are adequately reflected in the bulk transfer relations requires further studies.
Environmental-stress screening of space-qualified printed circuit boards

Two separate statistically designed experiments were performed in order to determine the long-term degradation of solder joints in two space-qualified board technologies: wire-wrap and stitch-weld boards. In the first experiment, extensive temperature cycling (1024 cycles) at a temperature change rate of 20 degrees C/min showed that the solder contacts between the pins and board planes are more reliable on stitch-weld boards than on wire-wrap boards. In the second experiment, the effects of changing the environmental stress-screening (ESS) parameters pertinent to temperature cycling (i.e. the temperature range, the rate of temperature change, and the number of temperature cycles) were studied using the degradation of contact resistance in soldered and unsoldered connections in stitch-weld boards. The results showed that (1) soldered joints are more reliable than pins that are press-fitted into plated-through holes, (2) a wide range of temperature change or a high rate of temperature change degrades soldered or press-fit joints in stitch-weld boards, and (3) there are no differences of engineering significance due to the effect of the position of the solder joint relative to the head or collar of the stitch-weld pin. It is also shown that the effect of the rate of temperature change in ESS decreases while the effect of temperature range increases as the number of temperature cycles increases. In this experiment, the effects of temperature range began to dominate the effects of rate of temperature change after approximately 100 cycles. >
Electrically Small Resonant Planar Antennas: Optimizing the quality factor and bandwidth.

The fundamental limitation (lower bound) on the quality factor (Q) of an electrically small antenna that fully occupies a spherical volume is defined by the well-known Chu limit. More recently, the subject of lower bounds for small antennas of arbitrarily shaped volumes has been given considerable attention in the literature. Gustafsson et al. were the first to present lower bounds for the Q of antennas of arbitrary volume. More significantly, they presented details on the optimum aspect ratios for minimizing the Q of electrically small antennas that fully occupy cylindrical volumes and planar areas. In previous works, we have described several electrically small-wire antenna designs that fully occupy spherical and cylindrical volumes and that are impedance matched and efficient and exhibit Qs that most closely approach the Chu limit and the Gustafsson limit, respectively.
Scaling Laws in the Ductile Fracture of Metallic Crystals

We explore whether the continuum scaling behavior of the fracture energy of metals extends down to the atomistic level. We use an embedded atom method (EAM) model of Ni, thus bypassing the need to model strain-gradient plasticity at the continuum level. The calculations are performed with a number of different 3D periodic size cells using standard molecular dynamics (MD) techniques. A void nucleus of a single vacancy is placed in each cell and the cell is then expanded through repeated NVT MD increments. For each displacement, we then determine which cell size has the lowest energy. The optimal cell size and energy bear a power-law relation to the opening displacement that is consistent with continuum estimates based on strain-gradient plasticity (Fokoua et al., 2014, “Optimal Scaling in Solids Undergoing Ductile Fracture by Void Sheet Formation,” Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. (in press); Fokoua et al., 2014, “Optimal Scaling Laws for Ductile Fracture Derived From Strain-Gradient Microplasticity,” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 62, pp. 295–311). The persistence of power-law scaling of the fracture energy down to the atomistic level is remarkable.
A predictive model for ultrasonic attenuation coefficient in particulate composites

Abstract The increasing use of particulate composites in various weight sensitive applications such as aerospace and marine industries requires strict quality assurance methods. Non-destructive evaluation techniques such as ultrasound are currently used for characterization of these materials. Attenuation coefficient is one of the important parameters required for characterizing materials using ultrasound. Incorrect attenuation coefficient may lead to misdiagnosis of structures that could cause potential disaster. The present study focuses on developing a model for predicting the pulse-echo ultrasonic attenuation coefficient in particulate composites that takes into account the effect of particle size, porosity, and radius ratio. Attenuation loss from absorption, scattering, and resonance of glass particles is incorporated in the model. Interaction between the particles is neglected and the scattered energy is assumed to be entirely lost. Attenuation coefficient predicted from the model is compared with Yamakawa’s model and experiment.
Two simple methods for the computation of the density matrix of “heavy” quantum particles

Abstract Two simple methods are presented for the computation of the density matrix of a localized quantum particle. One method is based on a local harmonic approximation and the other on a variational method, which assumes that the density matrix retains a Gaussian functional form as the temperature is decreased.
Optimal mature size of angus cows for maximum cow productivity

Lifetime maternal performance records of 113 Angus cows born over a 12-year period were used to estimate the relationship between cow size characters, mature size (A) and maturation rate (K), and lifetime maternal performance characters, years in the herd (YH), number of calves (NC), total calf weight (TW), average calf weight at weaning (AW) and calf weight per year in herd (kg/year). Pertinent reproductive management of the herd was: heifers were mated to calve as 2-year-olds; any heifer failing to calve or any cow failing to wean a calf a second time was culled; all matings were to purebred Angus sires. Mean cow mature size was 487 ± 5 kg with a maturation rate of 0·058 ± 0·001. Means for maternal characters were: YH, 7·4 ± 0·4; NC, 6·4 ± 0·3; TW, 1283 ± 71; AW, 200 + 1·8; and kg/year, 173 ±5·1. The correlations between maternal characters and A and K, respectively, were: YH, −0·21, 0·15; NC, −0·21, 0·15; TW, −0·16, 0·12; AW, 0·20, −0·15; and kg/year, 0·05, −004. The regression of maternal characters on mature size was quadratic in every instance with optimal cow size for each character being: YH, 468; NC, 465; TW, 471; AW, 493; and kg/year, 475. The optimal cow size for average weight of calf weaned was 18 to 25 kg heavier than the optimal size for those characters associated with fertility. Relationships between maturation rate and maternal performance were not statistically significant.
Risk for substance use disorders in youths with child- and adolescent-onset bipolar disorder.

ABSTRACT Objective Previous work in adults has suggested that early-onset bipolar disorder (BPD) is associated with an elevated risk for substance use disorders (SUD). To this end, the authors assessed the risk for SUD in child- versus adolescent-onset BPD with attention to comorbid psychopathology. Method All youths (aged 13–18 years) with available structured psychiatric interviews were studied systematically. From clinic subjects ( N = 333), 86 subjects with DSM-III-R BPD were identified. To evaluate the risk for SUD and BPD while attending to developmental issues, the authors stratified the BPD sample into those with child-onset BPD (≤12 years of age, n = 50) and those with adolescent-onset BPD (13–18 years of age, n = 36). Results In mid-adolescence, youths with adolescent-onset BPD were at significantly increased risk for SUD relative to those with child-onset BPD (39% versus 8%; p =.001). Compared with those with child-onset BPD, those with adolescent-onset BPD had 8.8 times the risk for SUD (95% confidence interval=2.2–34.7; x 2 7 = 9.7, p=.002). The presence of conduct disorder or other comorbid psychopathology within BPD did not account for the risk for SUD. Conclusions Adolescent-onset BPD is associated with a much higher risk for SUD than child-onset BPD, which was not accounted for by conduct disorder or other comorbid psychopathology. Youths with adolescent-onset BPD should be monitored and educated about SUD risk. The identification and treatment of manic symptomatology may offer therapeutic opportunities to decrease the risk for SUD in these high-risk youths.
Microwave drying of aqueous tablet film coatings: a study on free films

Abstract Experiments were performed on free tablet coating films to evaluate microwave energy as a potential drying source for aqueous tablet film coating. Free films of 4 formulations containing either hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose or methyl cellulose were prepared using a conventional microwave oven as the drying source. Oven drying at various temperatures and convective air drying in the microwave oven at zero power setting were used as controls. Microwave drying rates were 2–22 times faster than controls. The physical properties of the films were not adversely affected by microwave drying, as indicated by water vapor permeability and tensile strength/Young's modulus measurements. The results suggest that microwave drying could be used as a substitute for conventional hot air drying in aqueous film coating.
Study of blur discrimination for 3D stereo viewing

Blur is an important attribute in the study and modeling of the human visual system. Blur discrimination was studied extensively using 2D test patterns. In this study, we present the details of subjective tests performed to measure blur discrimination thresholds using stereoscopic 3D test patterns. Specifically, the effect of disparity on the blur discrimination thresholds is studied on a passive stereoscopic 3D display. The blur discrimination thresholds are measured using stereoscopic 3D test patterns with positive, negative and zero disparity values, at multiple reference blur levels. A disparity value of zero represents the 2D viewing case where both the eyes will observe the same image. The subjective test results indicate that the blur discrimination thresholds remain constant as we vary the disparity value. This further indicates that binocular disparity does not affect blur discrimination thresholds and the models developed for 2D blur discrimination thresholds can be extended to stereoscopic 3D blur discrimination thresholds. We have presented fitting of the Weber model to the 3D blur discrimination thresholds measured from the subjective experiments.
1086 CORONAVIRUS-LIKE PARTICLES AND NEONATAL GASTROINTES-TINAL DISEASE

Coronavirus-like particles (CVLP) are associated with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (sx) in mammals, including man. We report an intensive care nursery (NICU) outbreak of GI sx associated with CVLP, identified by electron microscopy, in the stools of affected infants. Immune aggregation of stool CVLP occurred with sera of CVLP positive (+) infants only. Prevalence of stool CVLP, ascertained by 8 NICU-wide surveys over 40 weeks, fell from 67% to less than 10%, paralleling prevalence changes in the community. Most infants surveyed were premature. Overall, 36% (32/88) of all infants were CVLP +. Prenatal or intrapartum acquisition was suggested by the finding that 34% (11/32) of the CVLP + infants were examined within 72 hours of birth. CVLP + infants were more likely to have GI sx within 7 da of survey (p<.005), including water loss stools (p<.005), and the following sx persisting for more than 2 days: gastric retention (p<.001), bilious gastric aspirates (p<.02), abdominal distention (p<.01) and gross or occult blood in the stool (p<.005). CVLP + infants were also more likely to have multiple sx and to have feeds discontinued for more than 3 days due to GI sx. We conclude that stool Coronavirus-like particles are associated with clinically significant GI disease in the newborn.
Thin film solar reflectors

Abstract Laboratory studies have shown dependence of the reflectance of aluminized plastic film reflectors on thickness of the deposit and vacuum level during deposition. The effect of thickness variations was about as expected, but the hardest vacuum did not produce the best reflector. The range of parameters commonly employed in commercial deposition of aluminum did not produce significant variations in reflectance. Second-surface plastic film reflectors made with aluminum and silver were investigated, as were some “pseudo-first-surface” aluminum reflectors. There are serious deficiencies in current plastic reflectors and difficulties in material selection. A concerted effort is needed to make cost-effective, long-lived plastic reflectors.
Characterization of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase from a human cell line

Abstract Prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase has been purified from the recently established human lung tumor cell line, Lu-65. By gel filtration, the purified enzyme migrated with a relative molecular weight of 115000, unlike the ovine enzyme, which migrated at 155000. Two protein bands of 45000 and 68000 were seen when the purified Lu-65 enzyme was fractionated under reducing conditions by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; in contrast, purified ovine prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase showed the Mr 68000 band under the same conditions. The purified Lu-65 enzyme showed both cyclooxygenase and hydroperoxidse activities, and metabolized [ 3 H]arachidonic acid to 3H-labeled products that, when separated by reverse-phase HPLC, co-eluted with authentic prostaglandin D2 and prostaglandin E2. An apparent Km for arachidonic acid of 3 mM was measured for the purified enzyme, and the crude membrane-bound enzyme showed an apparent Km of 1.6 mM. Under the same conditions, an apparent Km of 17 μ M was measured for the purified ovine enzyme.
Fine structure of the eye of the New Zealand slugAthoracophovus bitentaculatus

The eye of the slugAthoracophorus bitentaculatus has a singular feature, namely, unusually long receptoral processes, bearing thousands of microvilli, that extend from the distal ends of the type I sensory cells toward the lens. It is concluded that this hypertrophy of the photoreceptoral apparatus is useful to this nocturnal mollusk that nightly ascends trees to forage and returns “home” at dawn to hide from the light of day. Other ultrastructural features of the eye are described, some of which are similar to and some unlike those of other gastropod eyes.
Are bacterial load and synovitis related in dogs with inflammatory stifle arthritis

It has been proposed that small quantities of microbial material within synovial joints may act as a trigger for development of synovitis. We have previously identified an association between intra-articular bacteria and development of inflammatory stifle arthritis and cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR) in dogs, and now wished to quantify bacterial load and markers of synovitis in dogs with and without stifle arthritis and CCLR. Joint tissues were collected from dogs with CCLR (n = 51 ) and healthy dogs with normal stifles (n = 9). Arthritis was assessed radiographically in CCLR dogs. Bacterial load was assessed using qPCR and broad-ranging 16S rRNA primers. qRT-PCR was used to estimate expression of the T lymphocyte antigen receptor (TCR Vβ), CD3e, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), IL-4, IL-17, and TNF-α genes. Severity of synovitis was assessed histologically. Bacterial load was increased in arthritic stifles, when compared with healthy stifles. Histologic synovitis in arthritic stifles was mononuclear and was significantly correlated with bacterial load (1 of 2 primer sets) (S R =0.49, p <0.001). In arthritic stifles, expression of TRAP in synovium was increased relative to healthy stifles. Expression of pro-inflammatory genes was not correlated with bacterial load, histologic inflammation, or radiographic arthritis. Translocation of bacterial material to the canine stifle is related to the presence of joint inflammation. The lack of a strong positive correlation suggests that bacterial load is unlikely to be a primary pro-inflammatory factor. However, dysregulation of immune responses within synovial tissues may be dependent upon an environmental microbial trigger.
Recent human adaptation: genomic approaches, interpretation and insights

The recent availability of genomic data has spurred many genome-wide studies of human adaptation in different populations worldwide. Such studies have provided insights into novel candidate genes and pathways that are putatively involved in adaptation to different environments, diets and disease prevalence. However, much work is needed to translate these results into candidate adaptive variants that are biologically interpretable. In this Review, we discuss methods that may help to identify true biological signals of selection and studies that incorporate complementary phenotypic and functional data. We conclude with recommendations for future studies that focus on opportunities to use integrative genomics methodologies in human adaptation studies.
Validation of a bio-energetic model for juvenile salmonids using growth data from a production-scale feeding study

Abstract The long-term goal of this project has been to develop a reliable and practical model that can be used to predict food consumption, growth, and waste by-product generation associated with hatchery reared juvenile salmonids. This process began with the earlier development and validation of a bioenergetic model using growth data from two independent laboratory-scale feeding studies. The efficacy of this model is extended here using data from a production-scale growth and feeding study. During the first phase of the current study (135 days), commercial feed was provided to four separate groups of coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ). One group received satiation rations, the next group was fed excess rations, another group was fed at about 75% satiation, and the final group was fed a maintenance ration of about 50% satiation. During the next phase of the study (116 days), the coho that were grown on the excess rations during the first phase were provided a maintenance ration, and the original maintenance ration coho were fed to apparent satiation. The growth and proximate composition of the coho were measured approximately every two weeks during the entire study. Bioenergetic model calculations closely matched the measured growth data during both phases of the study following calibration for the maximum consumption and apparent respiration rate coefficients. The model performed equally well when the coho energy density was expressed either as a direct function of time or approximated with correlations with coho body weight. The strong performance of the model was first apparent when compared with independent laboratory-scale data. The proficiency of the model is demonstrated again here using production-scale growth data. These results support the contention that the bioenergetic model can be reliably used as a hatchery management tool to determine appropriate feeding levels, predict the growth of juvenile salmonids, and ultimately quantify the rate of waste by-product generation.
New Styles of Community Building and Philanthropy by Arab-American Muslims

Among Arab-American Muslims, secular ethnic and humanitarian giving, focused on ‘results’ and ‘measurable impact,’ is displacing religiously inspired giving, that is driven by ‘charity’ and ‘love of mankind.’ This trend is supported by evidence of the way donors position themselves and philanthropic organizations appeal to their donor base. The case is supported by qualitative data drawn from interviews with key informants and from trend data on giving. I propose a new model of giving based on identity and giving, using Grounded Theory methods. This model challenges our understanding about the connection between community and philanthropy and proposes that philanthropy can create ‘community.’
Aesthetics-Based Stereoscopic Photo Cropping for Heterogeneous Displays

Stereoscopic displays are becoming ubiquitous, ranging from large 3-D TVs to small mobile phones. Stereoscopic photos need to be carefully adapted to be effectively viewed on the displays other than originally intended. In this paper, we present a method that can automatically crop and scale an existing stereoscopic photo to a variety of displays while preserving its aesthetic value. We formulate stereoscopic photo adaptation as an optimization problem that aims to preserve the aesthetic value of the input photo. We define a wide range of energy terms to preserve the stereoscopic photo aesthetics by borrowing rules from stereoscopic photography. Our experiments on a wide variety of stereoscopic photos demonstrate that our method can robustly produce display-dependent stereoscopic photos that deliver pleasant viewing experiences.
Charge density anomalies in Si and InSb preceding the high pressure transition

Abstract The intensity of the (222) forbidden x-ray reflection in Si and InSb was measured as a function of high hydrostatic pressure. A few kbars prior to the pressure induced transformation to the metallic β-Sn structure the (222) intensity decreases sharply. We interpret this anomalous behavior as due either to smearing of the valence bond-charge in anticipation of the metallic state, or to increased anharmonicity in the thermal vibrations. The role of zone boundary TA phonons is considered.
Capture-ROMP-release: application for the synthesis of O-alkylhydroxylamines.

A new capture-ROMP−release method for chromatography-free purification of N-hydroxysuccinimde Mitsunobu reactions is described. The Mitsunobu reaction captures a variety of alcohols onto a norbornenyl N-hydroxysuccinimide monomer. Subjection of the resulting crude reaction mixture to ROM-polymerization generates a polymer that can be precipitated with methanol and filtered from the Mitsunobu byproducts. Treatment of the polymer with hydrazine releases the substrate from the water-soluble polymer, producing a variety of O-alkylhydroxylamines with good purity.
Joint radiometric calibration and feature tracking system with an application to stereo

To capture the full brightness range of natural scenes, cameras automatically adjust the exposure value which causes the brightness of scene points to change from frame to frame. Given such a video sequence, we introduce a system for tracking features and estimating the radiometric response function of the camera and the exposure difference between frames simultaneously. We model the global and nonlinear process that is responsible for the changes in image brightness rather than adapting to the changes locally and linearly which makes our tracking more robust to the change in brightness. We apply our system to perform structure-from-motion and stereo to reconstruct a texture-mapped 3D surface from a video taken in a high dynamic range environment.
Soil water potential as a factor in the ecology of Fusarium roseum f. sp. cerealis 'culmorum'

The soil water potential (inferred from vapor pressure measurements by thermocouple psychrometry) influenced both chlamydospore germination and continuing growth of germlings ofFusarium roseum f. sp.cerealis ‘Culmorum’ the same way in two different soils. Chlamydospore germination in both Ritzville silt loam (RSL) and Palouse silt loam (PSL) amended with about 2,500 ppm C (as glucose) and 250 ppm N (as ammonium sulfate) was 40–50 per cent in 24 hours at water potentials down to −50 to −60 bars. Some germination occurred by 72 hours at −80 to −85 bars in both soils but not at lower potentials.
Personality factors and college attrition

"With the rising tide of the college-age population ..." Educators have heard these words echo many times in recent months. The usual conclusion is that, ". . . our colleges will soon be flooded!" But a similar population growth in the 1830's did not significantly increase college enrollments. Might it be possible that the prosperity which we will probably continue to enjoy for the next generation will provide opportunities for college-age persons without their having to complete work toward the degree? "Why, in such prosperity," students ask, "do I need a college degree?" Notice, students are often quite candid in their distinction between receiving a degree and getting an education. ... The degree they recognize as a passport to employment. One form of college attrition is the discontinuance of all higher education. A second form, the one which serves as the basis for this study, is the discontinuance of education at one college. And a third, more disastrous form of attrition, is that which occurs among students who continue in college but fail to optimize their abilities. "How many students have you this semester?" Professor Smith asks his colleague. "Oh," replies Professor Jones, "about five percent!" The under-achiever and under-aspirer, as forms of attrition, must receive careful consideration.
Power and Type I error rates of goodness-of-fit statistics for binomial generalized estimating equations (GEE) models

Binary outcomes are very common in medical studies. Logistic regression is typically used to analyze independent binary outcomes while generalized estimating equations regression methods (GEE) are often used to analyze correlated binary data. Several goodness-of-fit (GoF) statistics for the GEE methods have been developed recently. The objective of this study is to compare the power and Type I error rates of existing GEE GoF statistics using simulated data under different conditions. The number of clusters was varied in each condition. Different tested models included discrete, continuous, observation-specific and/or cluster-specific covariates. Two or three observations per cluster were generated with various correlations between observations. No single GEE GoF statistic performed best across all conditions. Generally, the larger the number of clusters, the more powerful the GEE GoF statistics. The GEE GoF statistics with correctly specified working correlation matrices tended to be robust in terms of Type I error rates and more powerful. For data with two observations per cluster, both Evans and Pan's statistics [1998. Goodness of fit in two models for clustered binary data. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts; 2002a. Goodness-of-fit tests for GEE with correlated binary data. Scand. J. Stat. 29(1), 101-110.] and Barnhart-Williamson's statistics [1998. Goodness-of-fit tests for GEE modeling with binary data. Biometrics 54, 720-729.] performed well for detecting the effect of the omitted interaction between two binary covariates. Barnhart-Williamson's statistics were generally the most powerful for detecting other types of interactions in models with at least one continuous covariate. For data with three observations per cluster, Evans and Pan's statistics performed best. fit in two models for clustered binary data. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts; 2002a. Goodness-of-fit tests for GEE with correlated binary data. Scand. J. Stat. 29(1), 101-110.] statistics performed best.
Myocardial oxygen consumption and preload shortening

Abstract SKELETAL muscle has a generally accepted “Fenn effect” (5) which designates a relation between energy utilization (heat production), work and shortening at a constant load (4). Recently, this has been shown to exist for papillary heart muscles under afterloaded conditions (3). These findings have been supported by Clancy et al. (2) on the isolated whole heart preparation. Previous experiments (6, 12) utilizing preloaded tissues without afterload, suggested the absence of a Fenn effect but measurements of muscle shortening were not specifically available (6). With the development of an electronic micrometer transducer by the authors (7), the unimpeded simultaneous measurements of shortening and oxygen consumption (Q0 2 ) were made possible. Therefore, these studies are an extension of previous studies (6) with the purpose of determining the relationship between QO 2 , work and shortening of preloaded rat trabecula carneae.
Neurosurgical Treatment of Cushing Disease

Cushing disease (CD) is caused by overproduction of adrenocorticotropin by a pituitary adenoma (or, rarely, carcinoma). The diagnosis of CD requires distinguishing it from other hypercortisolemic states with a thorough endocrine workup. CD remains a primarily surgical disease, with remission rates of 70% to 95% following microscopic or endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery.
Parallel continuous simulated tempering and its applications in large-scale molecular simulations

In this paper, we introduce a parallel continuous simulated tempering (PCST) method for enhanced sampling in studying large complex systems. It mainly inherits the continuous simulated tempering (CST) method in our previous studies [C. Zhang and J. Ma, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 194112 (2009); C. Zhang and J. Ma, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 244101 (2010)], while adopts the spirit of parallel tempering (PT), or replica exchange method, by employing multiple copies with different temperature distributions. Differing from conventional PT methods, despite the large stride of total temperature range, the PCST method requires very few copies of simulations, typically 2–3 copies, yet it is still capable of maintaining a high rate of exchange between neighboring copies. Furthermore, in PCST method, the size of the system does not dramatically affect the number of copy needed because the exchange rate is independent of total potential energy, thus providing an enormous advantage over conventional PT methods in studying very large systems. The sampling efficiency of PCST was tested in two-dimensional Ising model, Lennard-Jones liquid and all-atom folding simulation of a small globular protein trp-cage in explicit solvent. The results demonstrate that the PCST method significantly improves sampling efficiency compared with other methods and it is particularly effective in simulating systems with long relaxation time or correlation time. We expect the PCST method to be a good alternative to parallel tempering methods in simulating large systems such as phase transition and dynamics of macromolecules in explicit solvent.
Pathfinder: Oklahoma's advanced traveler information system

As part of ITS initiatives worldwide, Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) provide potential travelers with information and images from roadway and roadside technology. This information benefits the traveling public by improving pre-travel routing and other trip planning capabilities. As part of broader traffic management ITS strategies, these systems improve overall safety by reducing the number of congestion-related crashes and improve the efficiency of transportation systems by increasing roadway capacity. However, the development of an ATIS offers numerous challenges that are unique to the individual region served. The cost of deployment and operation is of critical importance, particularly for states with smaller populations and transportation budgets. This paper presents the design of the Oklahoma Pathfinder ATIS, addressing the state's constraints and exploiting the state's unique ITS deployment. It details the information capabilities, deployment experiences, and traveler reception of the system.
Esophagogastric cancer: Targeted agents

Because of the poor prognosis for patients with locally advanced and metastatic esophageal, gastroesophageal junction and gastric cancers, increasing attention has focused on the integration of targeted agents into current therapies. The molecular targets of these agents include epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or its receptor, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and components and regulators of the cell cycle. In this review article, we briefly discuss pre-clinical data and the rationale for targeting these pathways and summarize the results of clinical trials to-date, including completed and ongoing phase III evaluations.
Monotone schemes for semilinear elliptic systems related to ecology

Semilinear elliptic systems of partial differential equations related to ecology are studied, with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Monotone sequences of functions which satisfy scalar equations are constructed so that they will converge to upper and lower bounds for the solutions of the systems. In case a related system has a unique positive solution, then these sequences will converge to the solution of the original system. Applications of the monotone sequences to uniqueness and stability are also given.
Contrast effects with a shift in work load

Both positive and negative contrast effects resulted from switching lever counterweights from heavy to light and light to heavy in a standard bar-pressing situation. Ss under the above two conditions were compared to control groups which continued with either heavy or light counterweights througfiout the study. Differences between postshift performance and the controls were significant (p <.01), but they did not persist in extinction. Tlie results were interpreted as supporting a relative position concerning perception.
Left atrial appendage occlusion--closure or just the beginning?

In August, the FDA granted expedited-review status to the Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technology, recognizing that the device might represent a breakthrough. Dr. William Maisel discusses the interpretation of the data, the device's proper clinical role, and several important considerations.