cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex Differences in Persuasibility Factors Among Chinese

Abstract Differences selon le sexe dans les facteurs de sensibilite a la persuasion chez des sujets chinois. Plusieurs analyses factorielles distinctes ont ete faites a partir des notes de sensibilite a la persuasion d'adolescents chinois, filles et garcons. Pour les garcons, trois facteurs emergent: le premier est relatif aux aux questions qui ne sont ni ideologiques, ni personnelles, le second aux questions ideologiques et le troisieme, aux questions personnelles. Pour les filles, quatre facteurs ont pu ětre identifies: l'un semble exprimer un certain ressentiment contre l'autorite masculine, le second est semblable au facteur ideologtque trouve chez les garcons; les deux derniers indiquent une sensibilite, l'un aux effets de priorite, l'autre, aux effets de recence. Les differences selon le sexe que l'on a constatees dans les facteurs, semblent ětre le reflet des differences dans les normes prescrites a l'un et l'autre sexe dans la culture chinoise traditionnelle.
Using measured velocity to estimate gas hydrates concentration

A new method for using measured P-wave and S-wave velocities to estimate gas hydrate concentration uses the Hashin-Shtrikman (HS) lower bound to provide both an upper and lower bound for mixtures of water and hydrate in unconsolidated marine sediments. The method parameterizes the region between the upper and lower bounds by using two upper bounds: HS and Voigt. Well log measurements of resistivity and the Archie equation are used to calculate hydrate concentration, and quadratic functions that relate the hydrate parameters to the hydrate concentration are estimated. For this data set, neither resistivity nor velocity provide a good method for detecting values of hydrate concentration that are less than 20%.
Thermal conductivity and viscosity of simple fluids

Abstract The behavior of the thermal conductivity and viscosity coefficient of simple fluids as a function of pressure, density and temperature is surveyed. Particular attention is given to the behavior of the transport coefficients in the critical region. In a previous paper [1] it was shown that the thermal conductivity coefficient exhibits a pronounced maximum in the critical region. Additional information confirming the existence of such a maximum is presented. Theoretical predictions of the transport coefficients in dense systems are often based on the theory of Enskog. A survey is presented showing to what extent the theory of Enskog describes the density dependence of the transport coefficients in monatomic fluids. Finally, the transport mechanism leading to the anomalous rise of the thermal conductivity in the critical region is indicated.
Cooperative robotic assistant for laparoscopic surgery: CoBRASurge

Surgical robotic systems have a great impact on the application of laparoscopic surgeries in the operating room. The advent of externally operated surgical robots has prompted the first significant shift in general laparoscopic surgeries. Miniature in vivo robots that can be completely inserted in to the abdomen are also being studied to reduce patient trauma. Whereas external surgical robots have a constrained workspace but provide good speed and force capabilities; miniature surgical robots have good local workspace characteristics, but are generally slower and not as powerful. Current efforts to address these limitations include cooperatively using multiple surgical robots to increase dexterous manipulation capabilities, fault tolerance, and overall robustness. In this paper, a cooperative surgical robot system composed of an externally actuated, compact tool-positioning surgical robot, CoBRASurge (Compact Bevel-geared Robot for Advanced Surgery), and an in vivo fixed-base, task assistant Dexterous Robot, is presented to perform laparoscopic surgical procedures. The CoBRASurge functions as a gross end-effector positioning robot and the Dexterous Robot performs internal surgical tasks with fine accuracy, effectively increasing the flexibility of the robot system. The surgical procedure successfully demonstrates the feasibility of using CoBRASurge to provide the surgeon with stable and remotely adjustable repositioning of in vivo robots for laparoscopic procedures in the peritoneal cavity.
Asymmetric information in cattle auctions: the problem of revaccinations

The authors acknowledge the help of Chris Boessen, Glenn Grimes, Joe Horner, Robert Larson, K.C. Olson, and Kurt Richter. This revision is dated July 2004.
Biomechanical comparison of an intramedullary and extramedullary free-tissue graft reconstruction of the acromioclavicular joint complex.

Acromioclavicular (AC) joint injuries are one of the most common shoulder injuries seen in orthopaedics, especially among athletes participating in contact and collision sports. Rockwood et al.1) has classified these injuries into six types, based on increasing severity of injury sustained by the AC ligaments, coracoclavicular (CC) ligaments, and supporting musculature (deltoid and trapezius muscles). Types I and II injuries maintain joint alignment and are successfully treated non-operatively, with the majority of patients able to return to sport at pre-injury level. While type III injuries remain controversial, surgical intervention is recommended for types IV-VI. Several different surgical techniques have been described in the literature to address AC joint pathology, including primary repair of the CC ligaments, distal clavicle excision, stabilization with metallic hardware, as well as augmentation with autogenous coracoacromial (CA) ligament (modified Weaver-Dunn procedure), allograft, or suture material.2-14) Unfortunately, many of the current techniques have been associated with complications, including residual instability with loss of reduction, failure of hardware, bony erosion, and continued pain.13) One potential reason for failure is that the majority of techniques solely addresses the CC ligaments, without concomitant reconstruction of the AC ligaments, despite biomechanical studies that have shown the importance of the AC ligaments in restraining anteroposterior translation.15-19) Few studies have reported techniques on reconstructing both the CC and AC ligaments.20,21) We have previously reported a new technique to reconstruct the AC ligament, using an intramedullary free-tissue graft.22) This procedure, in combination with reconstruction of the CC ligaments, using allograft tendons, has shown to be superior to the modified Weaver-Dunn procedure in biomechanical testing.23) However, the Weaver-Dunn procedure does not address the AC ligaments. The purpose of our study was to compare the biomechanical properties of two free-tissue graft techniques that reconstruct both the AC and CC ligaments in cadaveric shoulders, one with an extramedullary AC reconstruction and the other with an intramedullary AC reconstruction. We hypothesized that an intramedullary AC reconstruction would provide greater translational stability and improved load to failure characteristics than the extramedullary technique.
Voting by Mail and Turnout in Oregon: Revisiting Southwell and Burchett

In the most widely cited result on the turnout effects of voting by mail, Southwell and Burchett report that Oregon's system increased turnout by 10 percentage points. We attempt to replicate this finding and extend the analysis to additional years to test whether the originally reported effect is due to the novelty of the first three voting by mail elections in 1995 and 1996. We are unable to reproduce earlier findings, either via replication or extending the time series to include 2010 electoral data. We find evidence for a novelty effect when all elections between 1960 and 2010 are included in our analysis, and a consistent impact of voting by mail on turnout only in special elections.
Master's Degree in Digital Forensics

Law enforcement agents at the local, state, and federal levels have informed us of backlogs of computer-related crime cases ranging from 18 months to three years. The primary cause of these backlogs is the lack of educated and trained personnel to serve as digital forensics examiners. In response to this need, the University of Central Florida has created a Masters in Digital Forensics. This 30-hour degree is an interdisciplinary mix of technical, legal, ethical, and courtroom testimony-based courses. Students must complete a capstone course as well as a graduate internship to demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge and skills acquired from the courses
Localization of Persistent Enterocytozoon bieneusi Infection in Normal Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) to the Hepatobiliary Tree

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian parasite recognized in human patients with AIDS. Recently, we identified a virtually identical organism causing a spontaneous infection associated with hepatobiliary and intestinal disease in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected macaques. To examine the natural history of the infection, we examined captive rhesus macaques for E. bieneusi by PCR, in situ hybridization, and cytochemical techniques. PCR performed on fecal DNA detected enterocytozoon infection in 22 (16.7%) of 131 normal rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), compared to 18 (33.8%) of 53 rhesus macaques experimentally inoculated with SIV. In normal rhesus macaques, persistence of infection was demonstrated for up to 262 days and was usually not associated with clinical signs. In six of seven normal rhesus animals, E. bieneusi was detected by PCR in bile obtained through percutaneous cholecystocentesis but not by in situ hybridization performed on endoscopic biopsies of duodenum and proximal jejunum.
Sonography of the Uterine Myometrium: Myomas and Beyond

Pelvic sonography remains the imaging modality of choice for initial evaluation of myometrial pathology. The advent of vaginal sonography and color Doppler sonography have allowed for major refinements in detection and accurate diagnoses of common disorders affecting the uterus, particularly myomas and adenomyosis. Pelvic MR imaging plays an important role in gynecologic imaging because it depicts details of myometrium and junctional zone, is more reproducible, and is less operator-dependent compared with sonography. Because of its higher cost and lesser availability, MR imaging is usually reserved for pretreatment planning and for problem solving in patients for whom the ultrasound is inconclusive, not feasible, or technically suboptimal.
Optimal Neural Population Codes for High-dimensional Stimulus Variables

How does neural population process sensory information? Optimal coding theories assume that neural tuning curves are adapted to the prior distribution of the stimulus variable. Most of the previous work has discussed optimal solutions for only one-dimensional stimulus variables. Here, we expand some of these ideas and present new solutions that define optimal tuning curves for high-dimensional stimulus variables. We consider solutions for a minimal case where the number of neurons in the population is equal to the number of stimulus dimensions (diffeomorphic). In the case of two-dimensional stimulus variables, we analytically derive optimal solutions for different optimal criteria such as minimal L2 reconstruction error or maximal mutual information. For higher dimensional case, the learning rule to improve the population code is provided.
Solving inverse problems by Bayesian neural network iterative inversion with ground truth incorporation

Neural networks have long been applied to inverse parameter retrieval problems. The literature documents a development from the use of neural networks as explicit inverses to neural network iterative inversion (NNII) and, finally, to Bayesian neural network iterative inversion (BNNII), which adds a Bayesian superstructure to NNII. Inverse problems have been often considered ill posed, i.e. the statement of the problem does not thoroughly constrain the solution space. BNNII takes advantage of this lack of information by adding additional informative constraints to the problem solution using Bayesian methodology. This paper extends BNNII, showing how ground truth information, information regarding the particular parameter contour under reconstruction, and information regarding the underlying physical process, can be seamlessly added to the problem solution. Remote sensing problems afford opportunities for inclusion of ground truth information, prior probabilities, noise distributions, and other informative constraints within a Bayesian probabilistic framework. We apply these Bayesian methods to a synthetic remote sensing problem, showing that the addition of ground truth information, which is naturally included through Bayesian modeling, provides a significant performance improvement.
Challenges and Dilemmas in Implementing Random Assignment in Educational Research

In the contentious debate over the use of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in education research, little attention has been given to how methodological issues arise and/or are resolved in the impl...
Moore-Paradoxicality and the Principle of Charity

In a recent article in Theoria, Hamid Vahid offered an explanation of the phenomenon of Moore-paradoxicality which employed Davidson's Principle of Charity regarding radical interpretation. I argue here that Vahid's explanation fails.
The intermediate layer: A morphologic study of the elastin and hyaluronic acid constituents of normal human vocal folds

Summary The lamina propria of vocal folds are important in voice production. We evaluated the morphologic features of elastin and hyaluronic acid, two important constituents of the lamina propria. Thirty normal human vocal folds were obtained from patients dying of traumatic causes without vocal fold injury. These tissues were immediately prepared for histologic and ultrastructural examination by standard methods. For specific study of the ultrastructure of the layers of the lamina propria, six vocal folds were divided horizontally through the midplane of the lamina propria. We found that the elastin composition of the vocal folds is variable, the largest amount being seen in the midportion on elastin-van Gieson (EVG) staining and ultrastructural evaluation. The superficial layer of the lamina propria contains fewer large elastin fibers. In this region, we found that elastin was predominantly composed of elaunin and oxytalan, which stain poorly with EVG. Using computer-assisted image analysis, we quantified the differences in elastin composition between the layers. The amount of elastin varied between men and women, and these differences could not be accurately measured by the methods employed. Hyaluronic acid was abundant especially in the midportion of the lamina propria and was significantly more abundant in men than women on quantification. The significance of these observations in normal vocal folds is discussed.
Risk of thromboembolism with short-term interruption of warfarin therapy.

arin or low-molecular-weight heparin was used in only 8.3% of cases overall. Seven patients (0.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI],0.3%-1.4%) experienced postprocedure thromboembolism within 30 days. None of the 7 patients who experienced thromboembolism received periproceduralbridgingtherapy.Sixpatients(0.6%;95% CI, 0.2%-1.3%) experienced major bleeding, whereas an additional 17 patients (1.7%; 95% CI, 1.0%-2.6%) experienced a clinically significant, nonmajor bleeding episode. Of these 23 patients who had bleeding episodes, 14 received periprocedural heparin or low-molecularweight heparin. The duration of warfarin therapy interruption was variable; however, more than 80% of patients had warfarin therapy withheld for 5 days or fewer. Conclusions:Formanypatientsreceivinglong-termanticoagulation who need to undergo a minor outpatient intervention, a brief (5 days) periprocedural interruption of warfarin therapy is associated with a low risk of thromboembolism.Theriskofclinicallysignificantbleeding, even among outpatients undergoing minor procedures, should be weighed against the thromboembolic risk of an individual patient before the administration of bridging anticoagulant therapy.
Organizational Emergence: The Origin and Transformation of Branson, Missouri's Musical Theaters

We draw on complexity theory to explain the emergence of a new organizational collective, and we provide a much-needed empirical test of the theory at the collective level of analysis. Taking a case study approach, we use four dynamics of emergence posited by complexity theory's dissipative structures model--fluctuation, positive feedback, stabilization, and recombination--to explain how a collective of live musical performance theaters in Branson, Missouri, came into being and periodically transformed itself over a 100-year period. Our findings suggest a strong match between the theoretical perspective employed and the empirical processes uncovered, empirically validating the model at the collective level. The study demonstrates the value of conceptualizing evolution in terms of emergence, highlighting distinctions between the nascent complexity approach to evolution and the neo-Darwinian evolutionary approach that has dominated the theoretical conversation in organization science for the past generation. Our findings complement the insights of the dominant theoretical perspectives in organization theory, providing a more comprehensive understanding of organizational evolution by directly addressing the heretofore intractable phenomenon of emergence.
HARU YAMADA , Different games, different rules: Why Americans and Japanese misunderstand each other . Foreword by Deborah Tannen. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Pp. ix, 166. Hb $24.00.

A prevailing fear of ambiguity, coupled with a global business imperative, has given birth to a new readership for the Japan-book trade. This new market, a large and lucrative one, is for general-interest books targeted at those who read about Japan not because they want to, but because they think they must in order to “succeed.” However, another book focused on Japanese and American communication may still hold the potential to teach us something new and valuable. A recent addition to this burgeoning literature is the book under review. Yamada has a lively writing style, a graceful use of metaphor and stories, and a Tannenesque “linguistics for the masses” formula to lead the reader through a few areas of probable communicative misunderstanding. On the basis of anecdotes, fables, TV dramas, samurai movies, proverbs, and some of her own previously published findings on bank contract meetings, Yamada sets out what she sees as the crucial discrepancies between American and Japanese conversational styles. These are easily summarized with her repeated characterizations of each group: Americans are independent and individualistic, and use explicit language, while Japanese are interdependent and group-oriented, and use implicit language.
Home-range interactions of three sympatric mesopredators in east Texas

Spatial interactions among predators are central to their behavioral ecology. Although coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823), bobcats (Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)), and raccoons (Procyon lotor (L., 1758)) occur sympatrically throughout much of the USA, little is known about the nature of inter- and intra-specific spatial interactions. We used kernel analysis to estimate home ranges and core areas for these species. We estimated home-range overlap within and among species using the utilization distribution overlap index (UDOI) and percent overlap. Bobcat and coyote home ranges were similar in extent, whereas raccoons had substantially smaller home ranges. Only bobcats displayed seasonal differences in home-range size. Male bobcats had larger home ranges than female bobcats; there was no sex-based differentiation in home range or core area for coyotes or raccoons. Home-range overlaps calculated using percent overlap were consistently larger than UDOI estimates. Percent overlap seemed to exaggerate the extent to...
Evidence of two catalytically active carnitine medium/long chain acyltransferases in rat liver peroxisomes

Peroxisomal matrix proteins were extracted from the highly purified peroxisomes with sodium pyrophosphate, and the membranes were sedimented by high speed centrifugation. Biochemical marker enzyme analyses revealed a quantitative release of a number of well-known peroxisomal matrix proteins from the purified peroxisomes. In contrast, carnitine medium/long chain acyltransferase activity, assayed with decanoyl-CoA and palmitoyl-CoA as substrates, was equally distributed in the membrane and the matrix fractions. The matrix and the membrane enzyme activities were differentially affected by a number of detergents. The enzyme in the membrane fraction showed higher malonyl-CoA sensitivity compared to the enzyme in the matrix fraction. The enzyme(s) from the purified peroxisomes or the peroxisomal membranes was quantitatively solubilized by sodium cholate, and the cholate-solubilized enzyme retained malonyl-CoA sensitivity. The membrane enzyme was separated from the matrix enzyme by hydroxylapatite column chromatography. The separation of the membrane enzyme or the matrix enzyme by hydroxylapatite column chromatography resulted in loss of malonyl-CoA sensitivity. The partially purified membrane and the matrix enzymes showed broad substrate specificity, and the highest enzyme activities for both were observed with decanoyl-CoA. In contrast to the matrix enzyme, the membrane enzyme was strongly inhibited by high concentrations (> or = 50 microM) of acyl-CoAs (> 10 carbons in length). The matrix enzyme showed a 2.5-fold lower Km for carnitine compared to the membrane enzyme. The catalytic properties of the partially purified matrix enzyme appear to be similar to the well-characterized peroxisomal carnitine octanoyltransferase, though we find highest activity with decanoyl-CoA rather than octanoyl-CoA as a substrate. The data presented clearly indicate that the membrane and the matrix enzyme activities are due to different proteins.
Studies on the fibrinogen, dextran and phytohemagglutinin methods of isolating leukocytes.

Studies are presented on the dextran, fibrinogen, and phytohemagglutinin methods of leukocyte separation. Optimal conditions, obtainable yields, detailed directions, advantages and disadvantages of each procedure are presented. It is shown that by using these methods in combinations, leukocyte suspensions of extreme purity may be obtained.
Intercultural Legal Sensibility as Transformation

In recent years the transformation of legal practice through globalization and shifting demographics in the United States have made the inherent cross-cultural nature of lawyering more apparent. As a result, law schools are being more intentional about the teaching of intercultural legal sensibility as part of the law school curriculum. This increased interest by U.S. law schools to train lawyers in intercultural legal sensibility calls for careful engagement by legal educators to define what intercultural legal sensibility should mean, to develop methodologies in response to the desired outcomes, and to measure their effectiveness. This article offers a reflection on what it might mean to infuse the teaching of intercultural legal sensibility with the necessary lessons to avoid perpetuating cultural dominance and global power imbalances through law. This process necessarily requires transformation on the part of all who engage globally and cross-culturally. This article explains why there may be a need for transformation and defines the type of transformation that law schools might encourage in future lawyers as part of legal education. The article also provides lessons on the methodology this type of transformational learning requires. The focus is principally on summer abroad programs as well as service learning opportunities that include student immersion in rich cross-cultural exchanges. Finally the article identifies ways to measure the effectiveness of law school programs aiming to teach intercultural legal sensibility by drawing lessons from what other disciplines have done in similar programs for at least half a century.
The Converse of Viviani's Theorem

Viviani's Theorem, discovered over 300 years ago, states that inside an equilateral triangle, the sum of the perpendicular distances from a point P to the three sides is in dependent of the position of P (and so equals the altitude of the triangle). Incidentally, the person for whom this theorem is named is Vicenzo Viviani (1622-1703), a pupil of both Galileo and Torricelli. The theorem can easily be proved: Let s and h be the side length and the altitude of the equilateral triangle AABC, let P be any point inside the triangle, and let du d2, and d3 be the three distances from P to the sides of the triangle. Since AABC is made up of APAB, APBC, and APCA, it follows that \sh = \sdx + \sd2 + \sd3, and so d\ + d2 + d$ = h, which proves the theorem. Samelson [1] gave a different proof, one that uses vectors, something we will return to shortly. This motivated us to consider the following question: Does the converse of Viviani's Theorem also hold? That is, if the sum of the distances from a point inside a triangle to the three sides is constant, must the triangle be equilateral? An affirmative answer can be obtained just by considering different points near one vertex of the triangle. However, by using vectors (in the style of Samelson), we can get a stronger result.
Toward precision medicine and health: Opportunities and challenges in allergic diseases

Precision medicine (also called personalized, stratified, or P4 medicine) can be defined as the tailoring of preventive measures and medical treatments to the characteristics of each patient to obtain the best clinical outcome for each person while ideally also enhancing the cost-effectiveness of such interventions for patients and society. Clearly, the best clinical outcome for allergic diseases is not to get them in the first place. To emphasize the importance of disease prevention, a critical component of precision medicine can be referred to as precision health, which is defined herein as the use of all available information pertaining to specific subjects (including family history, individual genetic and other biometric information, and exposures to risk factors for developing or exacerbating disease), as well as features of their environments, to sustain and enhance health and prevent the development of disease. In this article I will provide a personal perspective on how the precision health–precision medicine approach can be applied to the related goals of preventing the development of allergic disorders and providing the most effective diagnosis, disease monitoring, and care for those with these prevalent diseases. I will also mention some of the existing and potential challenges to achieving these ambitious goals.
Setting and commissioning of voltage adjustment ratio for large generator

The calculation and test methods of voltage adjustment ratio for generator were introduced,and the influence of voltage adjustment ratio for generator on power system stability was analyzed.It is suggested that the additional voltage adjustment for excitation regulator of large generator should be put into service.The voltage adjustment ratio is calculated by using the rated reactive power as per unit,which coincides with the definition of voltage adjustment ratio for generator.The additional voltage adjustment should be accorded with the rated VA power as per unit,which can easily calculate the level of reactance compensation for transformer.When the voltage adjustment ratio taken the rated reactive power as per unit is calculated for generator-transformer unit,it is taken 3% around,which is helpful to raise the automatic control ability of power system voltage,and improve power system static stability and voltage stability.
Automobile Recall Data Treatment: Trend Analysis and Purchase Impact

As a consequence of the National Highway Traffic Safety Act of 1966, there exists a complete data set of safety-related automobile recalls in the US. Attempts to use these data in marketing-related studies have proven to be marginally successful. A data transformation is described that permits better use of this nformation,and its application is illustrated for treating industry trends and subsequent impact on domestic/import sales.
Integrating Low-Cost Robot Devices into Pyro.

Pyro is a Python-based software environment for robot control that is designed to minimize the necessity of programmers “having to worry about the low-level details of the underlying hardware.” Pyro supports multiple robot platforms, but until recently, most of them were prohibitively expensive for departments with large interest in robotics but with low budgets. This paper describes our experiences at adding support for lower-cost robots in the Pyro environment.
First-Year Analysis of a New, Home-Based Palliative Care Program Offered Jointly by a Community Hospital and Local Visiting Nurse Service.

Background:There is a growing need for home-based palliative care services, especially for seriously ill individuals who want to avoid hospitalizations and remain with their regular outside care pr...
Brave new worlds

Are we alone? There is perhaps no more important single scientific question. People have pondered this issue from the very dawn of sentience, wondering if other, similar, beings inhabited a distant mountain range or the other side of an ocean. The history of humanity is largely one of exploration and expansion, and while at first this was limited to the Earth's surface, in the last few decades only the power of our interplanetary rockets has kept us from exploring our wider environment. As the science-fiction author Ray Bradbury proclaimed when the Viking landers arrived on Mars in July 1976, "There is life on Mars, and it is us."
Integration of Specialties

The allure of neuromodulation stems from the concept that it is a reversible alteration of the nervous system. It is the idea of neural “modulation or augmentation” as supposed to “ablative” or “resective” procedures. Neuromodulation therapies are oftentimes reversible, are trialed to suggest efficacy with minimally invasive procedures to determine candidacy for the surgical implant, and offer the patient control of its use. In addition, they are far less invasive than other surgical procedures, carry little risk, and have significant success rates, describing a very favorable risk:benefit ratio. The neuromodulation community is based on a multidisciplinary approach that is diverse in its delivery. It involves physicians, industry, and basic science researchers. Clinicians most commonly involved in the delivery of these advanced therapies include spine surgeons and ACGME (Accreditation Counsel of Graduate Medical Education)-accredited pain physicians. Specialties reached include neurosurgeons, orthopedic spine surgeons, anesthesiologists, and rehabilitation physicians.
Storage Life of Pork Chops in CO2-Containing Atmospheres1

Pork chops were packaged in a controlled atmosphere (10% CO2/79% N2/1% O2, 30% CO2/68% N2/2% O2, 30% CO2/70% N2, 100% CO2 or air) and then stored at either 2 or 5 C. Changes in gas composition, microbiological counts and sensory quality were monitored after 0, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 30 and 37 days of storage. Two chops from each treatment were stored additionally under retail-like conditions for 3 and 5 days. The CO2 percent composition in the packages increased greatly during storage while O2 and N2 showed corresponding decreases. The most effective gas environment in extending sensory acceptability was 100% CO2. The best gas mixtures for extending shelf life at both 2 and 5 C were those containing only CO2 and N2. Sensory data indicated that odor became objectionable before the chops were rejected because of appearance. A temperature increase from 2 to 5 C resulted in greater increases in psychrotroph growth in the control environment (air) than in the CO2 - containing environments. Pseudomonas (oxidase-positive colony count) accounted for 25 - 60% of these counts. The inhibition of microbial growth in the CO2 - containing environments during controlled atmosphere storage appeared to carry over to the rewrap environment.
Discriminability of Single and Multichannel Intracortical Microstimulation within Somatosensory Cortex

The addition of tactile and proprioceptive feedback to neuroprosthetic limbs is expected to significantly improve the control of these devices. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex is a promising method of delivering this sensory feedback. To date, the main focus of somatosensory ICMS studies has been to deliver discriminable signals, corresponding to varying intensity, to a single location in cortex. However, multiple independent and simultaneous streams of sensory information will need to be encoded by ICMS to provide functionally relevant feedback for a neuroprosthetic limb (e.g. encoding contact events and pressure on multiple digits). In this study, we evaluated the ability of an awake, behaving non-human primate (Macaca mulatta) to discriminate ICMS stimuli delivered on multiple electrodes spaced within somatosensory cortex. We delivered serial stimulation on single electrodes to evaluate the discriminability of sensations corresponding to ICMS of distinct cortical locations. Additionally, we delivered trains of multichannel stimulation, derived from a tactile sensor, synchronously across multiple electrodes. Our results indicate that discrimination of multiple ICMS stimuli is a challenging task, but that discriminable sensory percepts can be elicited by both single and multichannel ICMS on electrodes spaced within somatosensory cortex.
Evaluating shell variation across different populations of a freshwater snail

ABSTRACTThe freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum has become a model system for studying invasion ecology, host–parasite coevolution, the maintenance of sexual reproduction and ecotoxicology. One understudied aspect of this snail is the variation in morphology within and among populations, which could provide insights into ecological differences across its native range. In this study of 17 New Zealand lake populations of P. antipodarum we used linear measurements and geometric morphometrics to compare several aspects of shell size and shape. We found that, except for those from Lake Te Anau, most lake populations of P. antipodarum differ slightly in shape, but differ significantly in size and in the presence of spines, where larger and spinier snails are found in deeper regions. These striking distinctions in size and shell armature, but not in shape, suggest that the various components of form are under different selective regimes. Snails from Lake Te Anau are different in both shape and size, implyi...
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hrq1 helicase activity is affected by the sequence but not the length of single-stranded DNA

Mutations in the human RecQ4 DNA helicase are associated with three different diseases characterized by genomic instability. To gain insight into how RecQ4 dysfunction leads to these pathologies, several groups have used the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RecQ4 homolog Hrq1 as an experimental model. Hrq1 displays many of the same functions as RecQ4 in vivo and in vitro. However, there is some disagreement in the literature about the effects of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) length on Hrq1 helicase activity and the ability of Hrq1 to anneal complementary ssDNA oligonucleotides into duplex DNA. Here, we present a side-by-side comparison of Hrq1 and RecQ4 helicase activity, demonstrating that in both cases, long random-sequence 3' ssDNA tails inhibit DNA unwinding in vitro in a length-dependent manner. This appears to be due to the formation of secondary structures in the random-sequence ssDNA because Hrq1 preferentially unwound poly(dT)-tailed forks independent of ssDNA length. Further, RecQ4 is capable of ssDNA strand annealing and annealing-dependent strand exchange, but Hrq1 lacks these activities. These results establish the importance of DNA sequence in Hrq1 helicase activity, and the absence of Hrq1 strand annealing activity explains the previously identified discrepancies between S. cerevisiae Hrq1 and human RecQ4.
Information for Molecular Studies from Anatomical and Fossil Evidence on Higher Eutherian Phylogeny

The mammals seem ideally suited for taxonomy. As the eminent Theodore Gill wrote in 1873, “it takes no penetrating acumen to recognize man, the monkeys, the bats, the typical ruminants, and the typical cetaceans as distinct forms existent in nature” (Gill, 1873). This clarity of vision, however, does not extend to the question of relationships among the major mammalian groups. Although there is nearly unanimous agreement on the tripartite division of mammals into monotremes, marsupials, and eutherians, agreement generally stops at this point. The majority of living mammals, the eutherians or “placentals,” are often presented as a series of some 15 ordinal-level taxa without reference to a hierarchic classification. Similarly, the phylogenetic history of eutherians is commonly depicted as a bushlike radiation sprouting from mysterious roots at the end of the Mesozoic.
Physiology of the Normal and Failing Heart

The muscularized pump that is the adult human heart distributes more than 1900 gallons of blood daily to every organ in the body. The coordinated activity of its chambers, vessels, and valves enables immediate response to constant physiological demands and maintenance of homeostasis. This chapter outlines the physiological response of the normal adult human heart and highlights the adaptations of the failing heart in an attempt to preserve cardiac output. It reviews the anatomy of the heart in detail, including the components of blood supply; innervation and the impact of decreased cardiac output in heart failure patients; the role of cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, smooth muscle, fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix; the role and importance of myoglobin in oxygen transport and generation of ATP; the physiology behind and regulation of contraction and relaxation; and other key factors. Knowing the structure and functioning of both a healthy and a failing human heart is fundamental to understanding how an injury or infarct impacts the heart’s operation and how to best develop a treatment plan. When treating patients with heart failure, this knowledge enables prompt implementation of conventional and emerging therapies that promote reverse remodeling.
A Programmable Galois Field Processor for the Internet of Things

This paper investigates the feasibility of a unified processor architecture to enable error coding flexibility and secure communication in low power Internet of Things (IoT) wireless networks. Error coding flexibility for wireless communication allows IoT applications to exploit the large tradeoff space in data rate, link distance and energy-efficiency. As a solution, we present a light-weight Galois Field (GF) processor to enable energy-efficient block coding and symmetric/asymmetric cryptography kernel processing for a wide range of GF sizes (2m, m = 2, 3, ..., 233) and arbitrary irreducible polynomials. Program directed connections among primitive GF arithmetic units enable dynamically configured parallelism to efficiently perform either four-way SIMD 5- to 8-bit GF operations, including multiplicative inverse, or a wide bit-width (e.g., 32-bit) GF product in a single cycle. To illustrate our ideas, we synthesized our GF processor in a 28nm technology. Compared to a baseline software implementation optimized for a general purpose ARM M0+ processor, our processor exhibits a 5-20 x speedup for a range of error correction codes and symmetric/asymmetric cryptography applications. Additionally, our proposed GF processor consumes 431μW at 0.9V and 100MHz, and achieves 35.5pJ/b energy efficiency while executing AES operations at 12.2Mbps. We achieve this within an area of 0.01mm2.
Exploring the Dynamic Buchberger Algorithm

Abstract "Static" Buchberger algorithms to compute a Grobner basis require as input both a set of polynomials and a term ordering. "Dynamic" Buchberger algorithms do not require an ordering as input, but compute instead a Grobner basis with respect to a "discovered" ordering. A good heuristic usually results in a basis that is relatively small, a desirable property for many applications. This article uses a new C++ implementation to explore variants of the original algorithm. While the implementation is preliminary, and in general much slower than well-known static implementations, it still succeeds at computing some bases more quickly.
Risk scoring for prediction of postoperative bleeding in cardiac surgery

Abstract Background Morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery can be caused by excessive bleeding which is a common and preventable cause. Excessive bleeding after cardiac operations can be classified to surgical or medical causes. The Papworth Bleeding Risk Score can be helpful in predicting the high risk patients for excessive bleeding. The objective of this study was the evaluation of the ability of Papworth Bleeding Risk Score for prediction of excessive early bleeding after cardiac surgery in Egypt. Methods In this prospective single-center observational study carried out from September 2017 till December 2017, at National Heart Institute of Egypt enrolled 100 consecutive patients. Adult patients who were plnned to undergo cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were included. Exclusion criteria were Off pump surgeries, congenital heart diseases and known bleeding disorders. The aim was to identify patients with expected risk of an adverse excessive postoperative bleeding according to Papworth bleeding risk score. Postoperative bleeding, reopening and death were calculated. Results Total number of the bleeders were 17 cases, (4 high risk, 11 medium risk and 2 low risk). Three patients were reopened with only one patient because of surgical cause. Conclusions We consider this bleeding score as a simple, effective and discriminative modality to stratify cases into three risk groups to take the prophylactic measures with high risk patients and to avoid side effects of these measures in low risk patients.
An Instructional Skills Workshop for Psychiatry Residents

Growing concerns about preparation, coaching and supervision of psychiatry residents as instructors generated a unique, experiential workshop design for teaching instructional skills. The authors share a replicable methodology featuring the learning principles of lectures, tutorials, small group instruction and supervision. Mimicking the workshop content paradigm, the paper incorporates tables of characteristics and principles of clinical teaching models. Assessed resident attitudes toward teaching fell in step with a previously reported attitudinal survey1 with this exception: that residents were interested in instructional skill training and the workshop was positively valued by residents. Preliminary evaluation data also indicate that the workshop produced knowledge change.
The Explanatory Power of Relations and an Application to an Economic Network

Understanding the topology of complex networks is a central concern of network science. Within this endeavor, we study the problems of building theories from the non topological attributes of linked vertices and assessing their explanatory power. We design a simple framework for building theories from the attributes of vertices and apply it to explain the topology of the Chilean shareholding network, an economic network which vertices represent firms and edges represent an ownership relation, finding that a relational theory based on financial information explained the topology of the network only in part.
Carbohydrate Markers of Organism Purity and Growth Environment

Recent experience with Bacillus spore characterization has demonstrated that carbohydrate content can provide potentially useful bioforensics information. Like other metabolites, the carbohydrate profiles of a sample can reflect variations in cellular structures as well as presence of residual carbohydrates from the medium. The presence and characteristics of residual carbohydrates, such as agar, represent strong indicators of culturing method. The culturing method is but one part of the biological production process. Methods to detect residual carbohydrates can be extended to other carbohydrates commonly used in processing and preservation of microbes and their components in a dry form.
Mechanical properties of microcrystalline cellulose: Part II. Constitutive model

An elastic/viscoplastic model with non-associated flow rule for microcrystalline cellulose powder PH-105 with mean particle size 20 μm is formulated using experimental data from a number of triaxial tests. The model reproduces the major aspects of the complex powder response that is governed by plastic (dependent on history of the loading) effects, time effects (both creep and relaxation) and irreversible volumetric changes (it is practically the compressibility that was observed in the experiments on the microcrystalline cellulose powder with mean particle size 20 μm). Constitutive parameters and functions of the presented model (the elastic parameters, yield function and viscoplastic potential) were determined directly from the experimental data. Finally, the validity of the model has been discussed.
Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis: case report and review of the literature.

Introduction Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a rare and potentially lethal complication of hyperthyroidism. It is characterized by sudden onset paralysis associated with hypokalemia. Management includes prompt normalization of potassium, which results in resolution of the paralysis. Definitive treatment of hyperthyroidism resolves TPP completely. Case presentation A 23-year-old African American male patient presented to the emergency room at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, USA in November 2016 with sudden onset quadriplegia. He also endorsed a history of weight loss, palpitations, heat intolerance and tremors. The patient reported similar episodes of quadriplegia in the past, which were associated with hypokalemia and resolved with normalization of potassium levels. Physical examination was significant for exophthalmos, smooth goiter with bruit consistent with the diagnosis of Graves' disease. Laboratory assessment showed severe hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, suppressed thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and high free thyroxine (T4). Urine potassium creatinine ratio was less than one, indicating transcellular shift as the cause of hypokalemia. After normalization of potassium and magnesium, the paralysis resolved in 12 hours. He was started on methimazole. On follow up, the patient was clinically and biochemically euthyroid with no further episodes of paralysis. Take-away lesson TPP is a rare and reversible cause of paralysis. Physicians need to be aware of the diagnostic and treatment modalities as delayed recognition in treatment could result in potential harm or unnecessary interventions.
Inhibition of PHD2 Induces Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Pulmonary Vascular Endothelial Cells

RATIONALEPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease that predominantly affect young women. Enhanced proliferation and/or reduced apoptosis of pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVE...
Cost-effectiveness of rapid diagnostic assays that perform directly on blood samples for the diagnosis of septic shock.

Abstract Molecular diagnostic assays that test directly whole blood provide the ability to decrease inappropriate antimicrobial therapy and improve survival in patients with septic shock. We developed a decision analysis model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the addition of molecular assays to blood cultures in adults admitted to medical ICUs with septic shock. Under baseline assumptions, the use of molecular diagnostic methods was cost-saving in all cases that the length of hospital stay differed by 2 and 4 days between patients receiving appropriate and inappropriate antimicrobial therapy. In the case that the length of stay was the same, the use of molecular methods was cost-effective with an estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER)