cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An increase in single unit activity of the medial basal hypothalamus occurs during the progesterone-induced luteinizing hormone surge in the female rhesus monkey.

Accumulated evidence from our laboratory indicates that a positive feedback effect of progesterone (P) occurs at the hypothalamic level. The present study in female rhesus monkeys examined the effects of P on single unit activity of neurons in the hypothalamus and on LH release. Single unit activity was recorded by inserting a flexible stainless steel electrode into the hypothalamus of the monkey, which was restrained in a chair under light ketamine sedation. The firing rate of the single unit activity of the ventral hypothalamus (1.5 ± 0.2 spikes/sec; n = 57) in ovariectomized estrogen-primed monkeys was slow and was slower in the ventral hypothalamus than in the dorsal hypothalamus (6.2 ± 0.8 spikes/ sec; n = 80). P injection resulted in a dramatic increase in unit activity of the ventral hypothalamus (4.7 ± 0.6 spikes/sec; n = 111), but not of the dorsal hypothalamus (5.3 ± 0.7 spikes/sec; n = 72), and induced a concomitant release of LH. Both increases in circulating LH and unit activity of the ventra...
NASPE Expert Consensus Conference: Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation in Children with and without Congenital Heart Disease. Report of the Writing Committee

A Consensus Conference on Pediatric Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation took place at the 21 Annual Scientific Sessions of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE). The participants included health professionals from the pediatric and adult electrophysiological communities, and involved physicians, nurses, and other allied professionals. This statement attempts to coalesce the information presented and is directed to all health professionals who are involved in the care of pediatric patients undergoing ablation. In an attempt to write such a document, the editors must try to represent what they believed was the general consensus of opinion amongst the participants. As generally understood in the medical world, “consensus” does not indicate complete harmony within a group but a substantial degree of agreement. It is hoped that the information presented falls within that definition and will serve as a foundation on which to build toward in the future. Even as this document was being prepared, new technologies were introduced that may expand the indications and possibly the type of personnel and training necessary to perform these procedures. It will be interesting to look back on this statement of the current state-of-the art over the next 5–10 years and see if some of the recommendations stand the test of time. As is true of many documents, only in retrospect can a judgement be made on the strength of what is stated in this statement. The goal of the Consensus Conference was to bring together pediatric and adult practitioners in electrophysiology for an all day discussion of catheter ablation in children and in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). The organizers believed that, in choosing topics for discussion, the development of indications for catheter ablation should flow naturally from what is known concerning the natural history of the arrhythmias in question in the pediatric population and from the latest information available concerning outcomes from these procedures. Therefore, the initial part of this statement deals with the natural history issues of specific arrhythmias in children with and without CHD. Issues of radiation exposure and animal models of toxicity due to radiofrequency (RF) application are noted followed by outcomes and complications of RF ablation for various arrhythmias. Indications for ablation are then discussed. It is important to realize that these indications as presented are not necessarily “written in stone” and do not take the place of a “Policy Statement.” Rather, as mentioned above, this represents a general sense of agreement within the community of pediatric and adult electrophysiologists . The second half of the conference then dealt with the “nuts and bolts” of performing these proNASPE POSITION STATEMENT
Cigarette smoking across the schizotypy spectrum.

This study examined relationships between schizotypy symptom dimensions and smoking. Individuals with schizotypy (n = 81) were twice as likely to smoke as individuals in a normative reference group (n = 303). Among those with schizotypy, smokers reported more severe disorganization and less severe negative schizotypal symptoms. These findings offer insight into mechanisms underlying smoking in schizotypal individuals and suggest areas for further research.
Self-reported recall and daily diary-recorded measures of weight monitoring adherence: Associations with heart failure-related hospitalization

Weight monitoring is an important element of HF self-care, yet the most clinically meaningful way to evaluate weight monitoring adherence is uncertain. We conducted this study to evaluate the association of (1) self-reported recall and (2) daily diary-recorded weight monitoring adherence with heart failure-related (HF-related) hospitalization. We conducted a prospective cohort study among 216 patients within a randomized trial of HF self-care training. All patients had an initial self-care training session followed by 15 calls (median) to reinforce educational material; patients were also given digital scales, instructed to weigh daily, record weights in a diary, and mail diaries back monthly. Weight monitoring adherence was assessed with a self-reported recall question administered at 12 months and dichotomized into at least daily versus less frequent weighing. Diary-recorded weight monitoring was evaluated over 12 months and dichotomized into ≥80% and <80% adherence. HF-related hospitalizations were ascertained through patient report and confirmed through record review. Over 12 months in 216 patients, we identified 50 HF-related hospitalizations. Patients self-reporting daily or more frequent weight monitoring had an incidence rate ratio of 1.34 (95% CI 0.24-7.32) for HF-related hospitalizations compared to those reporting less frequent weight monitoring. Patients who completed ≥80% of weight diaries had an IRR of 0.37 (95% CI 0.18-0.75) for HF-related hospitalizations compared to patients who completed <80% of weight diaries. Self-reported recall of weight monitoring adherence was not associated with fewer HF hospitalizations. In contrast, diary-recorded adherence ≥80% of days was associated with fewer HF-related hospitalizations. Incorporating diary-based measures of weight monitoring adherence into HF self-care training programs may help to identify patients at risk for HF-related hospitalizations.
Effect of psychological treatment on cognitive bias in motor vehicle accident-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The modified or "emotional" Stroop paradigm has been frequently employed in previous evaluations of information processing models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders. These studies have frequently documented an attentional bias to trauma-specific threatening stimuli in PTSD patients. However, the response of the Stroop color-naming interference effect to psychological treatment has yet to be tested in a trauma population. The present study evaluated the effects of three treatment conditions on the Stroop interference effect in motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors with PTSD. Following treatment, participants were classified as either treatment responders or nonresponders. Participants named the color of three types of stimuli: MVA trauma-specific words, neutral words, and nonwords. Results showed that change in selective color-naming interference for trauma cues was unrelated to treatment response or modality at either posttreatment or follow-up. Findings cast doubt on the clinical utility of the modified Stroop test as a measure of treatment outcome in this population.
Review: Comprehensive geriatric assessment increases a patient's likelihood of being alive and in their own home at up to 12 months.

Commentary on: G Ellis, MA Whitehead, D O9Neill, et al.. Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital.Cochrane Database Syst Rev2011;7:CD006211.
Alternate-row treatment with the repellent methiocarb to protect cherry orchards from birds

Abstract An alternate-row treatment of the bird repellent methiocarb (CA chemical name 3, 5-dimethyl-4-(methylthio)phenyl methylcarbamate; Mesurol® was evaluated for protecting entire cherry orchards from damage by European starlings, American robins, house finches, common grackles and other birds. Half of each orchard was randomly selected for treatment with methiocarb (1·7 kg/ha) applied to trees in every other row. The other half of each orchard was used as a control. Estimated loss of cherries to birds at the time of damage assessment was significantly lower in the six partially sprayed blocks (6·5%) than in the six unsprayed, control blocks (8·8%) ( P = 0·03). However, the level of bird damage and the magnitude of the reduction were insufficient to provide a favourable benefit:cost ratio: there was a return of only $0·80 in cherries saved for every $1·00 spent on application and chemical costs. The overall lower damage in the partially sprayed blocks appeared to result primarily from reduced feeding by birds in the sprayed trees, which averaged 4·6% loss compared with 8·4% loss for unsprayed trees within the same block ( P = 0·22). That this difference was not statistically significant indicates that birds had to sample a substantial number of berries before discriminating between sprayed and unsprayed fruit. It is not clear how birds detected berries sprayed with the repellent. Suggestions for evaluating other partial treatments of bird repellents in cherry orchards are discussed.
A few bad votes too many?: towards robust ranking in social media

Online social media draws heavily on active reader participation, such as voting or rating of news stories, articles, or responses to a question. This user feedback is invaluable for ranking, filtering, and retrieving high quality content - tasks that are crucial with the explosive amount of social content on the web. Unfortunately, as social media moves into the mainstream and gains in popularity, the quality of the user feedback degrades. Some of this is due to noise, but, increasingly, a small fraction of malicious users are trying to "game the system" by selectively promoting or demoting content for profit, or fun. Hence, an effective ranking of social media content must be robust to noise in the user interactions, and in particular to vote spam. We describe a machine learning based ranking framework for social media that integrates user interactions and content relevance, and demonstrate its effec- tiveness for answer retrieval in a popular community question answering portal. We consider several vote spam attacks, and introduce a method of training our ranker to increase its robustness to some common forms of vote spam attacks. The results of our large-scale experimental evaluation show that our ranker is signifcicantly more robust to vote spam compared to a state-of-the-art baseline as well as the ranker not explicitly trained to handle malicious interactions.
Patients’ Perceptions of Electronic Monitoring Devices Affect Medication Adherence in Hypertensive African Americans:

Background:Electronic monitoring devices (EMDs) are regarded as the gold standard for assessing medication adherence in clinical research. However, little is known about the effect of patients’ acceptance of EMDs on medication adherence in African Americans with hypertension who are followed in primary care practicesObjective:To assess patients’ perceptions of EMDs, their acceptance of EMDs, and the relationship of these perceptions to medication adherence in African Americans with hypertension who are followed in community-based practices.Methods:Patients were recruited from a larger randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of motivational interviewing on medication adherence and blood pressure in hypertensive African American patients followed in 2 New York City primary care practices. Medication adherence was assessed with a Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) during a 12-month monitoring period. At the 12-month follow-up, patients’ perceptions of the MEMS were assessed with a 17-item que...
Regulation of the immune response. Iii. Kinetic differences between thymus- and bone marrow-derived lymphocytes in the proliferative response to heterologous erythrocytes.

The kinetics of the in vivo response to SRBC was studied in mouse spleen at both the B cell and T cell levels. The B cell response was assayed by following the appearance of antibody-secreting cells in the spleen using the hemolytic plaque assay. The T cell response was monitored by following the increase in or "priming" of helper activity in the spleen using a quantitative in vitro assay. The role of cellular proliferation in both responses was established with the inhibitor of mitosis, vinblastine. The results show that, although the development of T cell activity precedes that of anti-SRBC PFC by as much as 1 day, T cells lag at least 1 day behind B cells in the onset of cellular proliferation. The evidence suggests either that the helper T cell which proliferates in response to SRBC does so after helping in the initiation of the primary B cell response or that the proliferative T cell response and the initiation of the primary B cell response involve two different subpopulations of T cells.
The Judicial Treatment of Non-Economic Compensatory Damages in the Nineteenth Century

Do high verdicts for tort cases containing noneconomic damages have historical precedent? We present the results of our empirical inquiry into the treatment of noneconomic compensatory damages by the courts from 1800-1900. Using 1,175 tort cases from this era, we show that, notwithstanding constant reiteration of jury discretion over damages, courts tightly controlled awards. In fact, no case prior to 1900 permitted a noneconomic compensatory damages award exceeding $450,000 in current dollars. Logistic regression results reveal that an increase in total monetary damages is positively and significantly related to the probability of reversal when noneconomic damages were claimed, and that comparability review decreases the probability of reversal.
Flexible carbon dioxide laser-assisted endoscopic marsupialization and ablation of a laryngeal saccular cyst in a neonate.

Objective To report the occurrence of a neonate with a lateral saccular cyst that was successfully managed by flexible, carbon dioxide laser-assisted endoscopic marsupialization and ablation. Case summary A full-term, 14-day-old girl presented to the clinic for progressively worsening stridor since birth. On fiber optic laryngoscopy, she was found to have a large, right saccular cyst obstructing the laryngeal inlet. The patient was admitted and underwent microlaryngeal endoscopic CO2 laser marsupialization and ablation of the saccular cyst. She was observed overnight and was discharged without complication the next day. At that time, stridor was no longer present and she remained symptom free at both her 2-week and 3-month follow-up. Discussion The congenital saccular cyst is a rare, abnormal dilation of the laryngeal saccule that is known to be a cause of airway obstruction. A variety of contrasting treatment strategies for laryngeal saccular cysts in children have been reported in the literature. Determining the definitive treatment modality thus remains a challenge that is compounded further by the rarity of the lesion. Conclusion We introduce a new surgical technique that employs a 30-degree angled telescope with a flexible laser fiber system that provides excellent visualization of saccular cysts, in particular, lateral lesions that are less visible using line-of-sight technology.
Application of psychological skills in epidemiological investigations of infection diseases

In field epidemiological investigations of infectious diseases,it is essential to establish harmonious and guidance-cooperation psychological mode of doctor-patient relationship,which is an important guarantee for improving efficiency of investigation,its quality of basic information,rapid and accurate diagnosis for infectious disease epidemic,as well as developing dominant and comprehensive preventive measures.Furthermore,harmonious relationship between doctors and patients could help to improve combination of epidemiology and other related disciplines and level of investigation work.Under the guidance of national strategy for prevention and control of infectious diseases,i.e.,putting prevention first,combining treatment with prevention,managing based on varied actual situations,depending on scientific evidence and depending on the mass participation,the importance of psychological skills in epidemiological investigation of infection disease is described and discussed in this paper,including theoretical and practical epidemiology of clinical diagnosis,and investigations of individual and aggregation of cases of infection disease.
C-peptide antioxidant adaptive pathways in β cells and diabetes

In this review, we present findings that support autocrine cell protection by C-peptide in the context of clinical studies of type 1 diabetes (T1D), which universally measure C-peptide serum levels as a surrogate for β cell functional mass. Over the last decade, evidence has accumulated that supports models in which C-peptide, cosecreted with insulin by pancreatic β cells, acts on peripheral targets including the vascular endothelium to reduce oxidative stress and apoptosis subsequent to exposure to diabetic insults. In parallel, as assays have become more sensitive, C-peptide has been detected in the circulation of most subjects with T1D where higher C-peptide levels are associated with fewer and slower development of diabetic microvascular complications, consistent with antioxidant protection by C-peptide. Clinical trials investigating C-peptide-replacement therapy effects have demonstrated amelioration of T1D nephropathy and neuropathy. Recently, the antioxidant action of C-peptide was extended to the β cells secreting it, that is an autocrine mechanism. Autocrine protection has major implications for the treatment of diabetes because the more C-peptide secreted, the more protection provided to the same β cells resulting in a slower decay in β cell functional mass over the time course of disease. Why β cells evolved to cosecrete an antioxidant C-peptide hormone together with the glycaemia-lowering insulin hormone is explored in the context of proposed evolutionary advantages of physiologically transient oxidative stress and insulin resistance as an adaptation for survival through times of fuel scarcity. The importance of recognizing autocrine C-peptide protection of functional β cell mass in observational clinical studies, and its therapeutic implications in interventional C-peptide-replacement studies, will be discussed.
Inhibition of drug metabolism. I. Kinetics of the inhibition of the N-demethylation of ethylmorphine by 2-diethylaminoethyl 2,2-diphenylvalerate HC1 (SKF 525-A) and related compounds.

SKF 525-A and ten congeners were incubated with hepatic microsomes, and all were found to be N-dealkylated. The kinetics of the inhibition of the N-demethylation of ethylmorphine by the eleven compounds was studied and found to be competitive in all cases. These results strongly suggest that SKF 525-A type compounds produce their effects by combining with the active site of time N-demethylase, not by altering the permeability of the lipoid membrane of the microsomime or by uncoupling an oxidative mechanism as has been postulated by others. Kinetic data were presented which indicated that many of these compounds produce their inhibitory effects by serving as alternative substrates. Kinetic evidence is also presented to support the view that the activity of SKF 525-A may be due in part to one or more of its metabolites.
Spectroscopic differentiation between monomeric and aggregated forms of BODIPY dyes: Effect of 1,1-dichloroethane.

1,1-Dichloroethane induces a monomer–aggregate equilibrium of common BODIPY dyes in organic solvents at low μM dye concentrations, thus providing an opportunity to study monomeric, aggregate-free forms of BODIPY dyes.
Innovative pay package.

The result of the new plan, hopes Smeltzer, will be a dramatic reduction in the nursing shortage, at least at UCH. "We find this plan appeals to nurses on several levels," said Smeltzer. "First, it provides financial rewards, and those rewards affirm the Hospitals' commitment to treating nurses as highly valued professionals. Second, it will create a better working environment for nurses, with more full-time nurses working together as established teams. In the long-run, this nursing plan should lead to improved patient care. By reducing the nursing vacancy rate, encouraging nurses to work full time, and reducing the Hospitals' dependence on temporary nurses hired through registries, we should have better-trained, more experienced nurses caring for patients."
A Royal Visit

For several years after World War II, down to the end of 1949, American assistance to Iran was quite limited. Washington advocated inexpensive internal reforms and a moderate strengthening of Iranian security forces. The Department of State concentrated on Western Europe, hoping to limit commitments in other areas. The department considered the Marshall Plan the necessary end of foreign aid, not the auspicious beginning.
Spatial curvature, spacetime curvature, and gravity

The belief that curved spacetime gravity cannot be simply and correctly presented results in such misleading presentations as elastic two-dimensional sheets deformed as they support heavy objects. This article attempts to show that the conceptual basis of curved spacetime gravity can be simply and correctly presented, and that the spatial curvature of a deformed elastic sheet is very different from the spacetime curvature underlying gravity. This article introduces the idea of a “splittable” spacetime that has spatial curvature, but is missing most of the manifestations of gravity. A section in which no mathematics is used is directed at students who have studied no more than introductory physics. A separate section, for students who have taken only an introductory course in general relativity, gives mathematical arguments centering on splittable spacetimes.
Multi-sensor data fusion architecture

In this work we present multi-sensor data fusion architecture. The objective of the architecture is to obtain fused measured data that represent the measured parameter as accurate as possible. The architecture is based on the use of adaptive Kalman filter formed by using Kalman filter and fuzzy logic techniques. Measurements generated from each sensor are fed into an adaptive Kalman filter. So there are n adaptive Kalman filters for n sensors working in parallel. A Correlation coefficient, produced as correlating the predicted output to measured data, is used as qualifying quantity for each adaptive Kalman filter. Based on the value of the correlation coefficient the measurement noise covariance matrix was adjusted using fuzzy logic techniques. Measurements produced from these adaptive Kalman filters were fused to form a single output. Results of testing showed notable improvement for each Kalman filter over a traditional Kalman filter. Fusing data coming from several sensors showed better results than using individual sensors.
Impact of an implanted neuroprosthesis on community ambulation in incomplete SCI

Objective: Test the effect of a multi-joint control with implanted electrical stimulation on walking after spinal cord injury (SCI).Design: Single subject research design with repeated measuresSetting: Hospital-based biomechanics laboratory and user assessment of community use.Participants: Female with C6 AIS C SCI 30 years post injury.Interventions: Lower extremity muscle activation with an implanted pulse generator and gait training.Outcome Measures: Walking speed, maximum distance, oxygen consumption, upper extremity (UE) forces, kinematics and self-assessment of technology.Results: Short distance walking speed at one-year follow up with or without stimulation was not significantly different from baseline. However, average walking speed was significantly faster (0.22 m/s) with stimulation over longer distances than volitional walking (0.12 m/s). In addition, there was a 413% increase in walking distance from 95 m volitionally to 488 m with stimulation while oxygen consumption and maximum upper extremit...
Review of Sexual Minorities and Politics: An Introduction

Increasingly referred to as the “new Civil Rights Movement,” the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community’s social and political advocacy remains an active front in America’s cultur...
Quantitative assessment of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 expression in neurons and glia

Background Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) have numerous functions in the developing and adult central nervous system (CNS). For example, the FGFR1 receptor is important for proliferation and fate specification of radial glial cells in the cortex and hippocampus, oligodendrocyte proliferation and regeneration, midline glia morphology and soma translocation, Bergmann glia morphology, and cerebellar morphogenesis. In addition, FGFR1 signaling in astrocytes is required for postnatal maturation of interneurons expressing parvalbumin (PV). FGFR1 is implicated in synapse formation in the hippocampus, and alterations in the expression of Fgfr1 and its ligand, Fgf2 accompany major depression. Understanding which cell types express Fgfr1 during development may elucidate its roles in normal development of the brain as well as illuminate possible causes of certain neuropsychiatric disorders. Methods Here, we used a BAC transgenic reporter line to trace Fgfr1 expression in the developing postnatal murine CNS. The specific transgenic line employed was created by the GENSAT project, tgFGFR1-EGFPGP338Gsat, and includes a gene encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the regulation of the Fgfr1 promoter, to trace Fgfr1 expression in the developing CNS. Unbiased stereological counts were performed for several cell types in the cortex and hippocampus. Results This model reveals that Fgfr1 is primarily expressed in glial cells, in both astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, along with some neurons. Dual labeling experiments indicate that the proportion of GFP+ (Fgfr1+) cells that are also GFAP+ increases from postnatal day 7 (P7) to 1 month, illuminating dynamic changes in Fgfr1 expression during postnatal development of the cortex. In postnatal neurogenic areas, GFP expression was also observed in SOX2, doublecortin (DCX), and brain lipid-binding protein (BLBP) expressing cells. Fgfr1 is also highly expressed in DCX positive cells of the dentate gyrus (DG), but not in the rostral migratory stream. Fgfr1 driven GFP was also observed in tanycytes and GFAP+ cells of the hypothalamus, as well as in Bergmann glia and astrocytes of the cerebellum. Conclusions The tgFGFR1-EGFPGP338Gsat mouse model expresses GFP that is congruent with known functions of FGFR1, including hippocampal development, glial cell development, and stem cell proliferation. Understanding which cell types express Fgfr1 may elucidate its role in neuropsychiatric disorders and brain development.
The Impact of Student Outfit Choice on Class Participation

The psychology of clothing has been much researched, yet remains a very complex subject. Studies have shown that clothing can influence people's perceptions of others, even regarding expectations related to intelligence and academic achievement. This pilot study was performed to uncover the ways in which a student might be impacted by the clothing they chose to wear to class every day. The results of this study were consistent with the hypothesis that students' classroom participation would be impacted by their outfit choice. Students were more engaged in class when wearing more professional clothing than when attired in casual or leisure wear.
The multilinear yoneda lemmas: Toccata, fugue, and fantasia on themes by eilenberg-kelly and yoneda

Although the notion of a covariant v-valued v-functor, exemplified by the v-valued hom functors a(A, -) on a v-category a, has been recognized by Eilenberg and Kelly, in their comprehensive foundational treatise [EK, esp. pp. 454, ff.] on closed and monoidal categories, for general closed categories v, those authors pointedly renounce consideration of that notion's contravariant counterpart until v is at least symmetric, and carefully refrain from even mentioning the two analogous possibilities for general (not necessarily closed) monoidal categories v.
Strict versus liberal insulin therapy in the cardiac surgery patient: An evidence-based practice development, implementation and evaluation project.

Abstract Background Hyperglycemia post-cardiac surgery is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Recent studies suggest maintaining liberal glycemic control ( Purpose To develop, implement and evaluate a nurse managed liberal CII protocol. Methods Retrospective review of 144 strict CII patient records and 147 liberal CII patient records. Results Mean blood glucose was 159.8 mg/dL (liberal CII) compared to 143.3 mg/dL (strict CII) (p ≤ 0.001). No surgical site infections occurred in either group. Mean ICU length of stay was 4.5 days (liberal) versus 4.4 days (strict) (p = 0.74). Two 30-day mortalities occurred for the liberal cohort compared to no deaths in the strict group (p = 0.49). Hypoglycemia incidence within 24 h after surgery was 0.1% (liberal) compared to 0.3% (strict) compared to (p = 0.16). Conclusion Use of a nurse managed liberal CII resulted in similar outcomes with fewer incidents of hypoglycemia.
Budget making: The theatrical presentation of accounting discourse

Abstract This interpretative research engages with calls for a visual turn in accounting by presenting stagy empirical illustrations of municipal budgeting that draw upon Goffman’s dramaturgical framework. The budget is theorized as visual and theatrical. Analysis of video recordings of budget meetings and on-scene observation of budget-making at a site of city management reveal visual triggers, rhetoric, and framing that constitute budgeting as visual discourse. A central impression presented in this paper is that of uncontrollability. The apparatus of budgeting is complex and grows in an undisturbed way, given that budget actors seem to be passive in taking leadership roles to substantively promote change. This paper draws attention to numerous elements of budget-making that highlight visual accounting as part of its apparatus. This view is in contrast to classic theories of controllability that claim Weberian bureaucratic ideals of rationality, efficiency, and professionalism. Two scholarly contributions are claimed. First, this paper joins a growing academic conversation about visual accounting, and extends this discussion with an exemplar of management accounting. Until recently, the visual has been inappropriately neglected in accounting research, particularly in studies of the public sector. Second, this paper applies Goffman’s dramaturgy, an underused perspective in the accounting literature and a thought-provoking methodology with a capacity for what may be regarded as “visual critique”.
The Effect of Arctic Freshwater Pathways on North Atlantic Convection and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

AbstractThis study examines the relative roles of the Arctic freshwater exported via different pathways on deep convection in the North Atlantic and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Deep water feeding the lower branch of the AMOC is formed in several North Atlantic marginal seas, including the Labrador Sea, Irminger Sea, and the Nordic seas, where deep convection can potentially be inhibited by surface freshwater exported from the Arctic. The sensitivity of the AMOC and North Atlantic to two major freshwater pathways on either side of Greenland is studied using numerical experiments. Freshwater export is rerouted in global coupled climate models by blocking and expanding the channels along the two routes. The sensitivity experiments are performed in two sets of models (CM2G and CM2M) with different control simulation climatology for comparison. Freshwater via the route east of Greenland is found to have a larger direct impact on Labrador Sea convection. In response to the changes of...
Die Freiheit des denkenden Zwiegesprächs

Am Anfang steht eine Beobachtung: Das Neue steht in einem schwer fassbaren Verhaltnis zu dem schon Dagewesenen. Aus der Kreisbahn der Tradition springt plotzlich etwas, das vollig geschichtslos zu sein scheint. Auf ahnliche Weise kann sich gleichsam magisch eine Basis fur neues Handeln in einem scheinbar noch ganzlich von althergebrachten oder bankrotten Umgangsformen befangenen Raum entspannen. Der entscheidende Moment aber, der Sprung vom einen zum anderen, vom Alten zum tatsachlich Neuen, bleibt dabei immer unsichtbar.
Using Community‐Based Learning to Teach Environmental Sustainability Engineering: Notes from the Classroom

Abstract In line with University of Wisconsin tradition, community-based learning was integrated into a course on sustainability as an opportunity for students to apply the tools learned in the cou...
Geographies of e-Government in Europe: European e-Government

Government use of the internet – e-government – varies considerably in its degrees of sophistication. This article explores the spatiality of e-government in Europe. It first situates the topic within wider theorizations of geographies of cyberspace. Second, it reviews e-government and its implications. Third, it turns to the digital divide in Europe. Fourth, it maps national e-government readiness and e-participation scores and correlates them with socio-economic measures. Fifth, it provides several overviews of successful West European e-government programs. It concludes by emphasizing that e-government must be approached geographically in a manner tailored to different national contexts.
An evaluation of equilibrium conditions and temperature-dependent speciation in a laser-produced air plasma

A laser-produced air plasma is a dynamical system with fundamental physical parameters that change significantly during its lifespan. The evolution of the spectral features from an air plasma shows broadband radiation at early times followed by discrete electronic transitions from ions, atoms, and rotational and vibration bands from molecules. The molecular band emission from an air plasma typically appears at times ⪞5 μs and persists for 100's of μs. In this article, an evaluation is made on the temperature evolution and speciation in a laser-produced air plasma. The air plasmas are generated by focusing 1064 nm, 6 ns pulses from an Nd:YAG laser. High-resolution emission spectra of various molecules such as N2, N2+, CN, OH, NH, and NO are acquired and fit using spectral models. Fitting of atomic and molecular emission features permits tracking of the air spark temperature evolution from 1 to 200 μs. Though the excitation and molecular temperatures show a good overlap at times ⪝10 μs, the molecular temperatures obtained from different species show a discontinuity at times ∼30 μs and this is related to shock collapse and subsequent changes in hydrodynamics and chemistry of the plume. The fitting of multiple species in broadband spectra has permitted calculation of the relative concentrations of various molecules as a function of temperature that provides insight into the air spark speciation. The measured relative mole fractions from laser-induced air plasma are within factors of 2–6 of the values estimated by speciation model under the assumption of thermal and chemical equilibrium across the temperature ranges studied. Probable reasons for the observed deviation in the relative fractions are discussed.
Melanoma Risk Prediction with Structured Electronic Health Records

Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the world, and can affect patients earlier in life than most other cancers. Therefore, it is imperative to be able to identify patients at high risk for melanoma and enroll them in screening programs to detect the cancer early. In this study, we explore data from dermatology outpatients to build a risk model for the disease. Using millions of patient records with thousands of data points in each record, we show that we can build a melanoma risk model from real-world Electronic Health Record (EHR) data without any expert knowledge or manually engineered features. While other risk models for melanoma have been developed, this is the first to use routinely collected EHR data rather than expert features targeted specifically for melanoma. The random forest model achieves similar or better performance than these previous models (AUC 0.79, sensitivity 0.71, specificity 0.72), which allows larger populations of patients to get screened for melanoma risk without having to perform specialized and time-consuming data collection. Important features from the model can be extracted and studied, and features influencing a specific prediction can be explained to providers and patients. The process for building this model can be further refined to improve performance, as well as used for risk prediction of other diseases.
Assessing Tuning Parameter Selection Variability in Penalized Regression.

Penalized regression methods that perform simultaneous model selection and estimation are ubiquitous in statistical modeling. The use of such methods is often unavoidable as manual inspection of al...
Home to Hospital Live Streaming With Virtual Reality Goggles: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experiences of Hospitalized Children.

Background: Being separated from home and relatives is a major stressor for children and adolescents when hospitalized. Children long for a manner to be distracted, pleasured, and socially connected during hospitalization. Different technological devices have been applied in health care to answer those needs. Both virtual reality (VR) and videoconferencing have proven their value in hospital wards and pediatrics. VisitU combines these 2 technologies innovatively. VisitU is a recently launched VR product enabling users to be virtually at home during hospitalization. Methods: Over a 3-month period, a purposive sample of 10 patients hospitalized in the Radboudumc Amalia Children’s Hospital was included in this qualitative study. Semistructured interviews were performed, one before and one after the use of the VR device. Patients were asked open-ended questions concerning their experiences with VisitU on practical, cognitive, emotional, and social domains. The interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Atlas.ti was used to support the qualitative analysis. Furthermore, the inductive thematic analysis was done according to the 6-step procedure described by Braun and Clarke. Results: The following 6 main themes were the result of the qualitative analysis: “Being hospitalized,” “Expectations of VisitU,” “VisitU in use,” “VisitU, the benefits,” “The impact of VisitU,” and “Barriers when using VisitU.” The way VisitU was used by patients varied. The main benefits of VisitU were being somewhere else, being at home, and facilitating social connection. Limitations were experienced on the technical abilities, physical side effects, and complexity of use. Despite that, patients were positive about VisitU and unanimous in the view that they would like to use it again and advise other patients to use it. Conclusions: This study shows the positive experiences of pediatric patients with VR live streaming. VisitU brings together the needs of patients and possibilities of VR and videoconferencing; it offers patients a way out of the hospital. Nevertheless, practical and technical obstacles must be overcome and side effects are an area of further research.
Microsatellite Instability Is Associated With the Presence of Lynch Syndrome Pan-Cancer

PURPOSEMicrosatellite instability (MSI) and/or mismatch repair deficiency (MMR-D) testing has traditionally been performed in patients with colorectal (CRC) and endometrial cancer (EC) to screen fo...
Supply chain delivery performance improvement for several delivery time distributions

This paper investigates strategies for improving supply chain delivery performance when the cumulative density function of the delivery time distribution exists in closed form. Delivery performance is measured using a cost-based analytical model which evaluates the expected cost for early and late delivery. The effect of changes to the parameters of the delivery time distribution on the expected cost of untimely delivery is explored. Strategies for improving delivery performance utilising the mean and variance of the delivery time distribution are studied for the uniform, exponential, and logistic delivery time distributions when a supplier uses an optimally positioned delivery window to minimise the expected cost of untimely delivery. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.
Genetic screen in a large series of patients with primary progressive aphasia

Abstract Introduction Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurological syndrome, associated with both frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease, in which progressive language impairment emerges as the most salient clinical feature during the initial stages of disease. Methods We screened the main genes associated with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia for pathogenic and risk variants in a cohort of 403 PPA cases. Results In this case series study, 14 (3.5%) cases carried (likely) pathogenic variants: four C9orf72 expansions, nine GRN , and one TARDBP mutation. Rare risk variants, TREM2 R47H and MAPT A152T, were associated with a three- to seven-fold increase in risk for PPA. Discussion Our results show that while pathogenic variants within the most common dementia genes were rarely associated with PPA, these were found almost exclusively in GRN and C9orf72 , suggesting that PPA is more TDP43- than tau-related in our series. This is consistent with the finding that PPA frequency in dominantly inherited dementias is the highest in kindreds with GRN variants.
Gaussian Markov Random Fields for Discrete Optimization via Simulation: Framework and Algorithms

This paper lays the foundation for employing Gaussian Markov random fields (GMRFs) for discrete decision–variable optimization via simulation; that is, optimizing the performance of a simulated sys...
Inclusive scattering matrix and scattering of quasiparticles

Abstract The quantum theory can be formulated in the language of positive functionals on Weyl or Clifford algebra (L-functionals). It is shown that this language gives simple understanding of diagrams of Keldysh formalism (that coincide in our case with the diagrams of thermo-field dynamics). The matrix elements of the scattering matrix in the formalism of L-functionals are related to inclusive cross-sections, therefore we suggest the name “inclusive scattering matrix” for this notion. The inclusive scattering matrix can be expressed in terms of on-shell values of generalized Green functions. This notion is necessary if we want to analyze collisions of quasiparticles.
Characterization of glass frit capillary pumps for microfluidic devices

Here, we report on a low-cost, disposable microfluidic pump made from sieved glass particles. The pump overcomes the limitations of other passive pumping methods and can handle whole blood, which makes it useful for point-of-care diagnostics. Flow rates of up to 8.7 µL/s and pumping volumes of up to 1 mL were demonstrated, but both can be adjusted by changing pump geometry and particle size. Finally, we demonstrate utility of this pump by attaching it to a commercially available point-of-care immunoassay system from mBio Diagnostics and demonstrating improved binding efficiencies with flow.
How the choice of reference group matters: economic integration of rural-to-urban migrants in China

This paper investigates the economic integration of rural-to-urban migrants in China from a subject-centered perspective, placing migrants’ choice of reference group at the centre of the analysis. ...
ABANDONED TO DIFFERENCE: IDENTITY, OPPOSITION AND TRINH T. MINH-HA'S REASSEMBLAGE

This essay is about the realization of power's proximity, and about how, once taken seriously, power forces us (1) to disband the outmoded notion of representing a generalized Other, and (2) abandon the Other's co-ordinate, subjective political agency. A tentative premise describes how the proximity of power — its stickiness — forces us to seek more politically informed notions about otherness and identity than could previously be thought. Upon that basis, an argument is built on behalf of a politics that attempts to exceed subjective agency by abandoning identity to politics, rather than abandoning politics to identity. Althusser, Foucault, West, Mudimbe, and Trin Minh-ha are brought into the discussion.
GAN and dual-input two-compartment model-based training of a neural network for robust quantification of contrast uptake rate in gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI

Purpose Gadoxetic acid uptake rate (k1 ) obtained from dynamic, contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising measure of regional liver function. Clinical exams are typically poorly temporally characterized, as seen in a low temporal resolution (LTR) compared to high temporal resolution (HTR) experimental acquisitions. Meanwhile, clinical demands incentivize shortening these exams. This study develops a neural network-based approach to quantitation of k1 , for increased robustness over current models such as the linearized single-input, two-compartment (LSITC) model. Methods Thirty Liver HTR DCE MRI exams were acquired in 22 patients with at least 16 min of postcontrast data sampled at least every 13 s. A simple neural network (NN) with four hidden layers was trained on voxel-wise LTR data to predict k1 . Low temporal resolution data were created by subsampling HTR data to contain six time points, replicating the characteristics of clinical LTR data. Both the total length and the placement of points in the training data were varied considerably to encourage robustness to variation. A generative adversarial network (GAN) was used to generate arterial and portal venous inputs for use in data augmentation based on the dual-input, two-compartment, pharmacokinetic model of gadoxetic acid in the liver. The performance of the NN was compared to direct application of LSITC on both LTR and HTR data. The error was assessed when subsampling lengths from 16 to 4 min, enabling assessment of robustness to acquisition length. Results For acquisition lengths of 16 min NRMSE (Normalized Root-Mean-Squared Error) in k1 was 0.60, 1.77, and 1.21, for LSITC applied to HTR data, LSITC applied to LTR data, and GAN-augmented NN applied to LTR data, respectively. As the acquisition length was shortened, errors greatly increased for LSITC approaches by several folds. For acquisitions shorter than 12 min the GAN-augmented NN approach outperformed the LSITC approach to a statistically significant extent, even with HTR data. Conclusions The study indicates that data length is significant for LSITC analysis as applied to DCE data for standard temporal sampling, and that machine learning methods, such as the implemented NN, have potential for much greater resilience to shortened acquisition time than directly fitting to the LSITC model.