cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time-resolved EPR immersion depth studies of a transmembrane peptide incorporated into bicelles.

The reduction in EPR signal intensity of nitroxide spin-labels by ascorbic acid has been measured as a function of time to investigate the immersion depth of the spin-labeled M2δ AChR peptide incorporated into a bicelle system utilizing EPR spectroscopy. The corresponding decay curves of n-DSA (n=5, 7, 12, and 16) EPR signals have been used to (1) calibrate the depth of the bicelle membrane and (2) establish a calibration curve for measuring the depth of spin-labeled transmembrane peptides. The kinetic EPR data of CLS, n-DSA (n=5, 7, 12, and 16), and M2δ AChR peptide spin-labeled at Glu-1 and Ala-12 revealed excellent exponential and linear fits. For a model M2δ AChR peptide, the depth of immersion was calculated to be 5.8A and 3A for Glu-1, and 21.7A and 19A for Ala-12 in the gel-phase (298K) and L(α)-phases (318K), respectively. The immersion depth values are consistent with the pitch of an α-helix and the structural model of M2δ AChR incorporated into the bicelle system is in a good agreement with previous studies. Therefore, this EPR time-resolved kinetic technique provides a new reliable method to determine the immersion depth of membrane-bound peptides, as well as, explore the structural characteristics of the M2δ AChR peptide.
WIAT subtest and composite predicted‐achievement values based on WISC‐III verbal and performance IQs

Critical values tables for determining significant differences between Wechsler IQs and WIAT subtests and composites based on a predicted-achievement method are provided in the WIAT manual for the Full Scale IQ and have been constructed recently for Verbal and Performance IQs (Flanagan & Alfonso, 1993). In order to use these tables, however, a predicted achievement score(s) is required. The process of calculating predicted-achievement scores is time-consuming and may result in errors, especially when more than one ability-achievement comparison is warranted. The present paper provides tables of WIAT subtest and composite predicted-achievement standard scores based on WISC-III Verbal and Performance IQs. These tables allow examiners to determine quickly ability-achievement discrepancies based on WISC-III Verbal or Performance IQs when they are used in conjunction with the critical values tables provided in our earlier article. These tables are most useful for the accurate assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities.
Deactivation of the boron acceptor in silicon by hydrogen

Two new experiments are presented which suggest that the ‘‘bulk‐compensating donor’’ phenomenon observed in p‐Si is probably a deactivation process of the boron acceptor by hydrogen with the formation of a B−H+ pair. The two experiments are (i) avalanche hole injection in Al‐gate metal‐oxide‐silicon capacitor from boron‐diffused n‐Si substrate and (ii) 5‐keV electron irradiation of Al/p‐Si Schottky diodes. Atomic hydrogen may be released by the avalanche injected energetic electrons or holes or keV electrons from the Al–H, AlO–H, Si–H, and SiO–H sites in the Al gate and the SiO2 film as well as at the Al/SiO2 and SiO2/Si interfaces, which may then migrate to the boron acceptor sites to form the B−H+ pair. Observed hydrogen bond breaking rate by holes is as much as two orders of magnitude larger than by electrons, which is consistent with the thermal hole capture and energetic electron impact bond‐breaking models.
Use of the intradermal tuberculin test in a herd of captive elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis

In the United States, tuberculosis of captive cervids, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, attracted attention in 1991 when investigations, prompted by the identification of a tuberculous elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) of U.S. origin exported to Canada, revealed tuberculosis in 10 different elk herds in 8 different states. Based on methods used in cattle, official regulations pertaining to testing and eradication of tuberculosis in captive cervids were added to the U.S. Department of Agriculture bovine tuberculosis eradication effort in 1994. However, little published information exists on the accuracy of intradermal tuberculin testing in naturally infected cervids. Evaluation of a captive herd of 71 animals in Wisconsin included postmortem examination and tissue sample collection from both tuberculin test responders and nonresponders. Within this captive herd, of admittedly small size, results showed the single cervical test to have a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 69%. Evaluation of diagnostic tests in the species of interest is important, as extrapolation of data obtained from other species may not be appropriate.
Conservative treatment of placenta accreta

Prolonged retained placenta causing a delayed postpartum hemorrhage is a relatively common occurrence. However, there is a dearth of medical literature describing fertility-preserving treatments when standard therapy fails. We present two cases in which protracted retained placenta due to placenta accreta was successfully treated by hysteroscopic resection. Two nulliparous women had spontaneous vaginal deliveries requiring manual placental extraction. Both experienced delayed postpartum hemorrhage and underwent suction curettage with ultrasound guidance. Both patients were found to have persistent products of conception with imaging consistent with placenta accreta. Both patients failed expectant management and subsequently underwent hysteroscopic resection with complete resolution of their symptoms. We conclude that hysteroscopic resection is a conservative therapeutic option for placenta accreta in stable patients.
Critical review: measurement of mercury combustion aerosols in emissions from stationary sources*

This review attempts to critically evaluate mercury aerosol emissions due to toxic and hazardous waste incineration. Since the literature surveyed indicated that sufficient information does not exist on this subject the technical discussion deals primarily with the emissions of mercury due to fossil fuel (e.g. coal) combustion. Sampling methods commonly used to evaluate mercury emissions from utility stacks are discussed. The limitations of such methods are pointed out, and attempts by the authors and others to improve collection efficiency are also mentioned. The problems of sample instability are mentioned, and data on mercury size-dependent emissions are included. Commonly used analytical methods for mercury quantification are discussed and their limitations pointed out. Detection limits of some of the ideal analytical methods are also tabulated. Conclusions and recommendations for future work in the area of mercury emissions due to refuse incineration are also given.
Greater externalizing personality traits predict less error‐related insula and anterior cingulate cortex activity in acutely abstinent cigarette smokers

Attenuated activity in performance-monitoring brain regions following erroneous actions may contribute to the repetition of maladaptive behaviors such as continued drug use. Externalizing is a broad personality construct char- acterized by deficient impulse control, vulnerability to addiction and reduced neurobiological indices of error process- ing.The insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) are regions critically linked with error processing as well as the perpetuation of cigarette smoking. As such, we examined the interrelations between externalizing tendencies, erroneous task performance, and error-related insula and dACC activity in overnight-deprived smokers (n = 24) and non-smokers (n = 20). Participants completed a self-report measure assessing externalizing tendencies (Externalizing Spectrum Inventory) and a speeded Flanker task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. We observed that higher externalizing tendencies correlated with the occurrence of more performance errors among smokers but not non-smokers. Suggesting a neurobiological contribution to such suboptimal performance among smokers,higherexternalizingalsopredictedlessrecruitmentof therightinsulaanddACCfollowingerrorcommission. Critically, this error-related activity fully mediated the relationship between externalizing traits and error rates.That is, higher externalizing scores predicted less error-related right insula and dACC activity and, in turn, less error-related activity predicted more errors. Relating such regional activity with a clinically relevant construct, less error-related right insula and dACC responses correlated with higher tobacco craving during abstinence. Given that inadequate error-related neuronal responses may contribute to continued drug use despite negative consequences, these results suggestthatexternalizingtendenciesand/orcompromisederrorprocessingamongsubsetsof smokersmayberelevant factors for smoking cessation success.
Intense pulsed light for the treatment of facial freckles in Asian skin.

background. Freckles are melanotic lesions frequently seen on the face and other sun-exposed areas. Previously evaluation of the severity of freckles has relied on the ultimately subjective assessment of the doctor or patient. Intense pulsed light (IPL) is newly introduced to treat facial freckles in Asian skin. objective. To determine the effectiveness of IPL treatment for Asian patients with freckled skin and to assess a new and objective method for evaluation of the severity of freckling and posttherapy improvement using an ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive camera and film. methods. Thirty-six patients with freckles were enlisted. IPL treatment was administered to patients with freckles in 4-week sessions. Irradiation wavelength was controlled using cutoff filters ranging from 550 to 590 nm, with a fluence of 25–35 J/cm2, with single- or double-pulse illumination and a pulse width of 4.0 msec. The assessments of the physician and patient were compared with the objective dermatologic evaluation with black-and-white and UV photography used to derive two treatment parameters, cosmetic density of freckles (CDF) and freckles area and severity index (FASI), which are applicable in a clinical setting. results. By the end of the study, two attending physicians assessed the results for 86.1% of the subjects as excellent or good, with 91.7% of the patients reporting that they were extremely or very satisfied. A statistically significant improvement in mean FASI score was demonstrated at 6 months after treatment compared with baseline (n = 36, p < .005; paired t-test). Mean overall improvement rate (n = 36), as determined from the difference in mean FASI score, was 63% at 12 weeks and 58% at 6 months. conclusion. IPL is an effective and safe treatment for facial freckles in Asian skin, with relatively few adverse effects and high satisfaction levels.
Frequent isolation of Arthroderma benhamiae from dogs with dermatophytosis.

Background Molecular analysis methods have led to many changes in the taxonomy of dermatophyte species. Hypothesis/objectives We hypothesized that fungi displaying morphology consistent with a traditional identification of 'Trichophyton mentagrophytes' represent multiple species, consistent with the new taxonomy. Methods Fungal specimens (n = 20) were collected directly from animals with dermatophytosis, were among those submitted for diagnostic analysis or were part of historical teaching collections. Primers that amplified a portion of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene and primers specific for a fragment from the internal transcribed spacer region were used for PCR amplification of genomic DNA. The DNA sequences from the amplified products were compared with databases to identify the isolates. Results Of the 80% (n = 16) of the fungal isolates identified as Arthroderma benhamiae, eight were collected from dogs. One isolate was identified as Arthroderma vanbreuseghemii, two were Trichophyton erinacei and one was Nannizziopsis (Chrysosporium) guarroi, which was probably present as a saprophyte. Conclusions and clinical importance Frequent isolation of A. benhamiae from dogs suggests a greater host range for this fungus than reflected in the current literature. Our data also suggest the potential for geographical restriction of strain types within the species. Efforts to identify fungal isolates using molecular techniques create a better understanding of diversity and epidemiology of the dermatophytes.
Coronary Collaterals Predict Improved Survival and Allograft Function in Patients With Coronary Allograft Vasculopathy

Background— Despite improvements in the care of patients who have received cardiac transplants, coronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains the most prevalent cause of late allograft failure and cardiac mortality. Few proven therapies are available for this important disease. The presence of coronary collaterals imparts a favorable prognosis in patients with native ischemic heart disease; however, the impact of collaterals in CAV is unknown. Methods and Results— To determine whether the development of coronary collaterals is associated with improved outcomes in patients with CAV, we performed a retrospective analysis of patients followed in the heart transplant program at Barnes Jewish Hospital from 1994 to 2008. The primary end points included all cause mortality and the composite of all cause mortality, retransplantation, and inotrope dependence. We screened 485 patients and identified 59 (12%) subjects with moderate-to-severe CAV. Angiographically visible coronary collaterals were present in 34 (57%) subjects. Kaplan–Meier and Cox multivariable analyses revealed that patients with collaterals had reduced incidence of all cause mortality (hazard ratio, 0.20; P <0.001) and the composite end point (hazard ratio, 0.17; P <0.001). In addition, patients with collaterals had less severe heart failure symptoms as measured by New York Heart Association class. Immunostaining of biopsy specimens revealed that among patients with CAV, the presence of coronary collaterals correlated with increased microvascular density, reduced fibrosis, and decreased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. Conclusions— Together, these data demonstrate that the presence of coronary collaterals predicts a favorable prognosis in patients with CAV and suggests that interventions aimed at promoting collateral and microvascular growth may serve as effective therapies for this disease.
Congestion-optimized multi-path streaming of video over ad hoc wireless networks

We analyze the benefits of optimal multi-path routing on video streaming, in a band-limited ad hoc network. In such environments, the actions of each node can potentially impact the overall network conditions. Thus optimal routing solutions which seek to minimize congestion are attractive as they make use of the resources efficiently. For low-latency video streaming, we propose to limit the number of routes to overcome the limitations of such solutions. To predict the performance in terms of rate and distortion, we develop a model which captures the impact of quantization and packet loss on the overall video quality. Simulations are performed to illustrate the advantages of the multi-path congestion-based partitioning scheme and confirm the validity of the model.
The Production of Gender Agreement in Native and L2 Spanish: The Role of Morphophonological Form.

In native speakers of gender-marking languages, mechanisms of gender production appear to be affected by the morphophonological cues to gender present in the noun phrase. This influence is manifested in higher levels of production accuracy when more transparent cues to gender are present in comparison to when they are not. The goal of the present study was to examine the role of morphophonological cues to gender in the production of gender agreement in native speakers and second language learners of Spanish in light of the Marking and Morphing account of agreement (Eberhard et al., 2005). Participants repeated and completed complex subject noun phrases with head nouns that varied in gender and gender-marking transparency. Analyses of accuracy rates along with Marking and Morphing model simulations of the results indicated that, contrary to previous findings, native speakers were not affected by gender-marking transparency. However, based on model simulations, second language (L2) learners were affected by...
NITRIC OXIDE IN THE RETINOTECTAL SYSTEM : A SIGNAL BUT NOT A RETROGRADE MESSENGER DURING MAP REFINEMENT AND SEGREGATION

The role of nitric oxide (NO) as a mediator of synaptic plasticity is controversial in both the adult and developing brain. NO generation appears to be necessary for some types of NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity during development but not for others. Our previous work using several NO donors revealed that Xenopus laevis retinal ganglion cell axons stop growing in response to NO exposure. We demonstrate here that the same response occurs in tectal neuron processes bathed in the NO donor S -nitrosocysteine (SNOC) and in RGC growth cones to which SNOC is very locally applied. We show that NO synthase (NOS) activity is present in the Rana pipiens optic tectum throughout development in a dispersed subpopulation of tectal neurons, although effects of NO on synaptic function in a Rana pipiens tectal slice were varied. We chronically inhibited NOS in doubly innervated Rana tadpole optic tecta usingl- N G-nitroarginine methyl ester in Elvax. Despite significant NOS inhibition as measured biochemically, eye-specific stripes remained normally segregated. This suggests that NOS activity is not downstream of NMDA receptor activation during retinotectal synaptic competition because NMDA receptor activation is necessary for segregation of retinal afferents into ocular dominance stripes in the doubly innervated tadpole optic tectum. We conclude that NO has some signaling function in the retinotectal pathway, but this function is not critical to the mechanism that refines the projection and causes eye-specific stripes.
Stock–flow matching

This paper develops and quantifies the implications of the stock-flow matching model for unemployment, job vacancies, and worker flows. Workers and jobs are heterogeneous, so most worker-job pairs cannot profitably match, leading to the coexistence of unemployed workers and job vacancies. Productivity shocks cause fluctuations in the number of active jobs, which in turn cause fluctuations in labor market outcomes. We derive exact expressions for employment and worker transition rates in a finite economy and analyze their limiting behavior in a large economy. A calibrated version of the model is consistent with the co-movement of labor market variables observed in U.S. data and can explain about one third of their volatility.
Adaptive Algorithms for the Rejection of Sinusoidal Disturbances Acting on Unknown Plants

The rejection of periodic disturbances is a problem frequently encountered in control engineering, and in active noise and vibration control in particular. The paper presents a new adaptive algorithm for situations where the plant is unknown and may be time-varying. The approach consists in obtaining online estimates of the plant frequency response and of the disturbance parameters. The estimates are used to continuously update control parameters and cancel or minimize the effect of the disturbance. The dynamic behavior of the algorithm is analyzed using averaging theory. Averaging theory is used to approximate the nonlinear time-varying closed-loop system by a nonlinear time-invariant system. It is shown that the four-dimensional averaged system has a two-dimensional equilibrium surface, which can be divided into stable and unstable subsets. Trajectories generally converge to a stable point of the equilibrium surface, implying that the disturbance is asymptotically canceled even if the true parameters of the system are not exactly determined. Simulations, as well as extensive experiments on an active noise control testbed, illustrate the results of the analysis and demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to recover from abrupt system changes or track slowly-varying parameters. Extensions of the algorithm to systems with multiple inputs/outputs and disturbances consisting of multiple frequency components are provided.
Activation of cJUN N-terminal kinase by herpes simplex virus type 1 enhances viral replication.

Signal transduction pathways convey signals generated at the cell surface into the cell nucleus in order to initiate a program of gene expression that is characteristic for particular stimuli. Here we present evidence that infection by herpes simplex virus type 1 activated the two terminal kinases, cJUN N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, of stress-activated signal transduction kinase cascades. By using a solid-phase kinase assay, a phospho-specific antibody, and extracts prepared from a variety of infected cell types, we determined that activation of both kinases began 3 to 4 h postinfection (p.i.) and remained elevated out to 14 h p.i. Through the use of UV-irradiated or antibody-neutralized wild-type virus and the temperature-sensitive mutant tsB7, the high level of JNK activation was shown to be dependent on viral gene expression. Activation of JNK following infection by vi13, an ICP4 mutant virus that does not express early or late genes, suggested that only virus entry and immediate-early gene expression were necessary for JNK activation. The activation of JNK and p38 correlated with increased chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity in reporter assays dependent upon the activity of cJUN and ATF2 trans-activation domains. Increased CAT activity dependent on TRE and CRE promoter sites was also observed in response to herpes simplex virus infection. The activities of ERK and ERK-dependent transcription factors were unchanged or depressed following infection, showing that activation of JNK and p38 was a specific event. Finally, the activation of JNK was important for the efficiency of viral replication. The yield of virus in NIH 3T3 cells stably expressing JIP-1, an inhibitor of JNK translocation to the nucleus, was reduced 70% compared to that of control cells, in single-step growth experiments.
Time-domain techniques for reconstructing lossy layered media from one-sided scattering

The electromagnetic (EM) inverse scattering problem under consideration is to compute the parameter profile (i.e., permittivity, attenuation constant, thickness) of a layered dielectric from scattering data (i.e., reflection response to an impulsive plane wave). It is well known that EM plane wave propagation through a dielectric varying in only one dimension can be modeled as voltage or current propagation through a 1-D transmission line. Furthermore, a media consisting of a stack of homogeneous but parametrically different dielectric layers can be modeled as a discrete transmission line. Here, we model the lossy layered dielectric as an asymmetric discrete lattice filter and employ digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to the reconstruction of the media. Often, it is not practical or even possible to measure the two-sided scattering of a media (e.g., soils, forest canopies, walls). This is the problem under consideration in this paper. We present a discussion and comparison of two algorithms for reconstructing lossy layered media from one-sided time-domain plane wave impulse reflection responses. Unique features of these algorithms are that they: (1) have their origins in DSP theory; (2) are fast algorithms that have been modified to solve both the forward and inverse scattering problem; (3) solve the scattering problems exactly, including accounting for multiple reflections; and (4) solve the lossy media problem using only one-sided impulse reflection response data. In addition, the algorithm stability and time sampling constraints are introduced.
Scarcity and Resentment: Economic Sources of Xenophobia in the GDR, 1971–1989

“In all of economic history, the foreigner appears everywhere as the trader, or the trader as foreigner.”
Hemodialysis Catheter–Related Bacteremia in Children: Increasing Antibiotic Resistance and Changing Bacteriological Profile

Background Catheter-related infections limit catheter survival. The success of antimicrobial therapy for the treatment of patients with hemodialysis catheter–related bacteremia (HD-CRB) depends on the infectious organisms. We determined whether the rate of positive blood culture results per tunneled catheter–days, the spectrum of bacterial isolates, and their antibiotic susceptibility changed over time in our pediatric dialysis unit. Methods Data were collected retrospectively for all positive blood culture results from long-term hemodialysis patients in our pediatric unit from July 1990 to July 1995 (period A) and July 2000 to July 2005 (period B). Results Rates of HD-CRB were similar between periods A and B (2.1 versus 2.2/1,000 catheter-days). In period A, 33% of isolates were coagulase-positive staphylococci, with Staphylococcus aureus accounting for 72% of these. In period B, the most common organism was Staphylococcus epidermidis (28%), whereas coagulase-positive staphylococci were identified in only 17%. There was a larger number of gram-positive bacilli in period B (20%) compared with period A (4%). A significant decrease in susceptibility to penicillins (40% to 5%; P = 0.007) and cephalosporins (58% to 21%; P = 0.04), but not aminoglycosides, was noted for gram-positive bacteria. There was no significant change in susceptibility of gram-negative bacteria to cephalosporins and aminoglycosides in either period. Conclusion Both types of organism and antibiotic sensitivity patterns have changed over time. Based on these data, we changed our empiric antibiotic combination for HD-CRB to vancomycin plus an aminoglycoside.
Effects of iodine-131 thyroid damage on lactation and thyroid function in the bovine.

Abstract Partial thyroid destruction was produced in one member of each of nine pairs of identical-twin dairy heifers with single oral doses of 131 I varying from 99 to 180 μ Ci per kilogram of body weight. Twin pairs were bred beginning two months after treatment. First-calving reproduction was normal in the thyroid-damaged heifers. During lactation the six heifers dosed with 144 to 180 μ Ci per kilogram averaged, as a percentage of their control mates, 7% thyroid iodine uptake, 28% thyroxine secretion rate, 31% plasma protein-bound iodine, 83% heart rate, and 99% body weight. Three heifers dosed with 99 to 111 μ Ci averaged for the same values, respectively, 86, 70, 72, 87, and 101% of their control twins. One pair of twins milked only two months; the others all completed 10-month lactations except two thyroid-damaged twins in which lactation ceased after six and seven months. Although thyroid-damaged twins initially appeared fatter than the controls, their milk fat tests averaged 82% of control tests during the first two months of lactation, after which there was no significant difference. Average measurements for control and thyroid-damaged heifers, respectively, were milk yield, 4,000 and 2,042kg; milk fat, 4.29 and 3.96%; solids-not-fat, 8.77 and 8.66%; and 4% fat-corrected milk, 4,186 and 2,032kg.
Three-dimensional high-frequency distribution networks. II. Packaging and integration

This paper describes the implementation and packaging of the components, described in Part I of this paper, to realize a three-dimensional W-band distribution network.
Cultural Barriers and Mental Borders: Multicultural Experience Facilitates Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

The current research investigated the hypothesis that multicultural experience facilitates creativity and problem solving. Study 1 was a problem-solving task where the correct solution required recognizing alternative, atypical uses for an object (the Duncker candle problem). Study 2 involved a dyadic negotiation where a creative solution was necessary to bridge a negative financial bargaining zone. In both studies, people who had experience living in foreign countries were more likely than those without such experience to find a creative solution to these problems. Study 3 experimentally manipulated a multicultural mindset and demonstrated that priming individuals to think about a multicultural learning experience enhanced performance on a creative association task. We discuss implications for the effect of multicultural experience on creative cognition and conflict management.
Saturation NOW

We present a distributed version of the saturation algorithm for symbolic state-space generation of discrete-state models. The execution is strictly sequential but utilizes the overall available memory. A level-based allocation of the decision diagram nodes onto the workstations is created. No additional node or work is created. A dynamic memory load balancing heuristic helps coping with the uneven growth of the decision diagram levels allocated to each workstation. Experiments on a conventional network of workstations show that the runtime of our distributed implementation is close to the sequential one even when balancing is triggered, while it is of course much better when the sequential implementation is forced to rely on virtual memory.
Continuing the Dialogue: Bringing Research Accounts Back into the Field

This paper examines the work to bring HCI research back to the people and sites under study. We draw on our ongoing collaboration with members of feminist hackerspaces in Northern California where we conducted fieldwork over eighteen months in 2014 and 2015. Together we created and distributed a zine -- a self-published magazine produced with a photocopier -- that knit together content of a published paper with local histories of feminist print production. By tracing the efforts involved in this collaboration and its effects on our research project, our research community, and ourselves, we extend HCI's efforts to foster continued dialogue with our sites of study. We end by outlining strategies for bolstering this mission both within and beyond HCI.
Comparing performance of 30‐day readmission risk classifiers among hospitalized primary care patients

Rationale, aims and objectives Hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge occurs in almost 20% of US Medicare patients and may be a marker of poor quality inpatient care, ineffective hospital to home transitions, or disease severity. Within a patient centered medical home, care transition interventions may only be practical from cost and staffing perspectives if targeted at patients with the greatest risk of readmission. Various scoring algorithms attempt to predict patients at risk for 30-day readmission, but head-to-head comparison of performance is lacking. Compare published scoring algorithms which use generally available electronic medical record data on the same set of hospitalized primary care patients. Methods The LACE index, the LACE+ index, the HOSPITAL score, and the readmission risk score were computed on a consecutive cohort of 26,278 hospital admissions. Classifier performance was assessed by plotting receiver operating characteristic curves comparing the computed score with the actual outcome of death or readmission within 30 days. Statistical significance of differences in performance was assessed using bootstrapping techniques. Results Correct readmission classification on this cohort was moderate with the following c-statistics: Readmission risk score 0.666; LACE 0.680; LACE+ 0.662; and HOSPITAL 0.675. There was no statistically significant difference in performance between classifiers. Conclusions Logistic regression based classifiers yield only moderate performance when utilized to predict 30-day readmissions. The task is difficult due to the variety of underlying causes for readmission, nonlinearity, and the arbitrary time period of concern. More sophisticated classification techniques may be necessary to increase performance and allow patient centered medical homes to effectively focus efforts to reduce readmissions.
Image segmentation using factor graphs

Factor graphs were first studied in the context of error correction decoding and have since been shown to be a useful tool in a wide variety of applications. In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to factor graphs with an emphasis on their broad applicability, and then describe a new algorithm for segmenting binary images that have been blurred and corrupted by additive white Gaussian noise. Though the algorithm is developed for this particular class of images, generalizations are immediate. Simulation results detail the performance of the algorithm for images in three separate blurring conditions. The results suggest the potential for this approach, providing additional evidence of the usefulness of the factor graph framework.
Radionuclide identification algorithm for organic scintillator-based radiation portal monitor

Abstract We have developed an algorithm for on-the-fly radionuclide identification for radiation portal monitors using organic scintillation detectors. The algorithm was demonstrated on experimental data acquired with our pedestrian portal monitor on moving special nuclear material and industrial sources at a purpose-built radiation portal monitor testing facility. The experimental data also included common medical isotopes. The algorithm takes the power spectral density of the cumulative distribution function of the measured pulse height distributions and matches these to reference spectra using a spectral angle mapper. F-score analysis showed that the new algorithm exhibited significant performance improvements over previously implemented radionuclide identification algorithms for organic scintillators . Reliable on-the-fly radionuclide identification would help portal monitor operators more effectively screen out the hundreds of thousands of nuisance alarms they encounter annually due to recent nuclear-medicine patients and cargo containing naturally occurring radioactive material . Portal monitor operators could instead focus on the rare but potentially high impact incidents of nuclear and radiological material smuggling detection for which portal monitors are intended.
Agricultural Commercialisation and Food Security in Rural Economies: Malawian Experience

This paper contributes to the debate on the nutrition-related outcomes of cash crop adoption by using a model with essential heterogeneity and a semi-parametric estimation technique. The model expl...
Patterns in the intercolonial slave trade across the Americas before the nineteenth century

Abstract: The slave trade within the Americas, after the initial disembarkation of African captives in the New World, has received scant attention from historians, especially before the abolition of the transatlantic traffic. This article examines such intra-American trafficking as an introduction to the digital project Final Passages: The Intra-American Slave Trade Database, which aims to document evidence of slave voyages throughout the New World. This article does not provide statistics on this internal slave trade, as ongoing research will deliver new data. Instead, we consolidate qualitative knowledge about these intercolonial slave routes. As the article focuses on the era prior to British and U.S. abolition of the transatlantic trade (1807-1808), we leave out the nineteenth-century domestic slave trades in the United States and Brazil to focus on survivors of the Atlantic crossing who endured subsequent forced movement within the Americas.
Extending the NCSM with the RGM

In this chapter we discuss the physics of exotic nuclei. These nuclei are located ‘far away’ from the valley of stability.
Overview of Resections for Pancreatic and Periampullary Cancer

The relative safety of modern pancreatic and periampullary resections arises from over a century of calculated risk and progress, edged forward by surgeons who challenged the limits of human physiology. Pancreatic surgery has long been technically demanding and with slow and steady advancements. Early pioneers in the late 1800s operated in an era of alarmingly high mortality and morbidity, but each laid the groundwork for the future. This tradition was carried on by Allen Whipple, whose name is synonymous with the most famous pancreatic head resection. His work and publications spurred a generation of interest and propelled the field from a two-stage to a single-stage operation, with improving although still substantial failures. Medical and technologic advancements aided those seeking to improve outcomes. Many of Whipple’s contemporaries and trainees have since refined the modern combination of technical mastery and rescue therapies that have resulted in improved mortality. Morbidity after pancreatic resection remains substantial, and the ideal combination of preoperative therapies, operative conduct, and postoperative management still remains hotly debated in an attempt to further improve outcomes. Yet despite the progress since the early days of pancreatic resections, much more is to be learned and perfected in the century to come.
Impact of self-heating effect in hot carrier injection modeling

This paper studies the impact of self-heating effects in DC-based Hot Carrier Injection (HCI) modeling in power LDMOS devices. Continuous and large power consumption under the on-state DC stress can result in substantial increase in device temperature, which potentially causes non-negligible error in the HCI modeling. The issue is systematically investigated and verified through various approaches such as comparison of HCI degradation between the devices with different voltage ratings and finger widths, junction temperature estimation with 3D thermal simulation, and pulse-based stress modeling. In addition, it is shown that reliability projection methodology based on the actual circuit waveforms can be more immune to the potential errors caused by the self-heating effect in the conventional DC-based modeling.
Undoing Nuclear Insanity: A Psychological Perspective

During the past 25 years, social scientists have been studying conflicts of various sorts. As a result, we are beginning to understand malignant social processes. This understanding can help us to undo the increasingly dangerous and costly nuclear insanity of the world superpowers. In a malignant process, the participants get enmeshed in a web of interactions and defensive-offensive maneuvers which worsen instead of improve their situations, making than more insecure, vulnerable and burdened.
Polymetamorphism in the Adirondacks: Wollastonite at Contacts of Shallowly Intruded Anorthosite

Two distinct metamorphic events can be resolved in the N.E. Adirondacks through study of phase equilibria and stable isotoge geochemistry at occurrences of wollastonite. Low values of δ180 (to -1.3) at the wollastonite mines near Willsboro indicate that large amounts of heated meteoric water were involved in the formation of skarns at anorthosite contacts. This process is only consistent with magmatic intrusion and crystallization of anorthosite at relatively shallow depths (<10 km). Likewise, the formation of wollastonite, monticellite, and akermanite in a marble xenolith, surrounded by anorthosite at Cascade Slide, can best be explained by low pressure decarbonation reactions. Alternate theories of high pressure genesis for these minerals require large amounts of fluid infiltration to dilute CO2. Sharp gradients in δ180 across this xenolith prove that H2O could not have been such a diluent and no evidence exists for the presence of large amounts of any other fluid component. This evidence of shallow contact metamorphism is in marked contrast to the depths indicated by mineral barometers for the ensuing granulite facies metamorphism (23–26 km). These results, in conjunction with recent Sm-Nd geochronology, support shallow (<10 km) anorthosite intrusion and contact metamorphism at ~1.3 by. followed by deep granulite facies metamorphism at 1.1–1.0 by.
Nswap: A Network Swapping Module for Linux Clusters

Cluster applications that process large amounts of data, such as parallel scientific or multimedia applications, are likely to cause swapping on individual cluster nodes. These applications will perform better on clusters with network swapping support. Network swapping allows any cluster node with over-committed memory to use idle memory of a remote node as its backing store and to “swap” its pages over the network. As the disparity between network speeds and disk speeds continues to grow, network swapping will be faster than traditional swapping to local disk. We present Nswap, a network swapping system for heterogeneous Linux clusters and networks of Linux machines. Nswap is implemented as a loadable kernel module for version 2.4 of the Linux kernel. It is a space-efficient and time-efficient implementation that transparently performs network swapping. Nswap scales to larger clusters, supports migration of remotely swapped pages, and supports dynamic growing and shrinking of Nswap cache (the amount of RAM available to store remote pages) in response to a node’s local memory needs. Results comparing Nswap running on an eight node Linux cluster with 100BaseT Ethernet interconnect and faster disk show that Nswap is comparable to swapping to local, faster disk; depending on the workload, Nswap’s performance is up to 1.7 times faster than disk to between 1.3 and 4.6 times slower than disk for most workloads. We show that with faster networking technology, Nswap will outperform swapping to disk.
Computational Thinking and Literacy

Today’s students will enter a workforce that is powerfully shaped by computing. To be successful in a changing economy, students must learn to think algorithmically and computationally, to solve problems with varying levels of abstraction. These computational thinking skills have become so integrated into social function as to represent fundamental literacies. However, computer science has not been widely taught in K-12 schools. Efforts to create computer science standards and frameworks have yet to make their way into mandated course requirements. Despite a plethora of research on digital literacies, research on the role of computational thinking in the literature is sparse. This conceptual paper proposes a three dimensional framework for exploring the relationship between computational thinking and literacy through: 1) situating computational thinking in the literature as a literacy; 2) outlining mechanisms by which students’ existing literacy skills can be leveraged to foster computational thinking; and 3) elaborating ways in which computational thinking skills facilitate literacy development.
Prevalence of DNA repair gene mutations in localized prostate cancer according to clinical and pathologic features: association of Gleason score and tumor stage.

DNA repair gene mutations are present in 8–10% of localized prostate cancers. It is unknown whether this is influenced by clinicopathologic factors. We interrogated localized prostate adenocarcinomas with tumor DNA sequencing information from the TCGA validated (n = 333) and Nature Genetics (n = 377) datasets. Homologous recombination repair genes included in our analysis were: ATM, BRCA1/2, CDK12, CHEK1/2, FANCA, FANCD2, FANCL, GEN1, NBN, PALB2, RAD51, and RAD51C. Proportions of cases with pathogenic DNA repair mutations (and in ATM/BRCA1/2 specifically) were reported by Gleason grade group, clinical T, pathologic T, and pathologic N stage. Odds ratios and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare proportions between categories. Patients with Gleason grade groups 3 and higher were 2.2 times more likely to harbor any DNA repair mutation (95% CI: 1.2–4.2; 10.3% versus 5.0%) and were 2.7 times more likely to have BRCA1/2 or ATM mutations (95% CI: 1.3–6.6; 7.0% versus 2.7%) compared to those in Gleason grade groups 1–2. Patients with pathologic T3 and T4 stage (pT3/pT4) were 2.6 times more likely to have any DNA repair mutation (95% CI: 1.3–6.6; 13.0% versus 5.5%) and were 3.2 times more likely to have BRCA1/2 or ATM mutations (95% CI: 1.2–11.3; 9.5% versus 3.1%) compared to those with pT2 disease. There was no difference by clinical tumor or nodal stage. Among men with Gleason grade group ≥ 3 and clinical stage ≥ cT3, 21.3% (1 in 5) had a DNA repair mutation in any gene and 11.7% (1 in 9) had a mutation in ATM/BRCA1/2. The prevalence of pathogenic DNA repair gene alterations is enriched in men with advanced tumor stages and higher Gleason grade groups, with maximal enrichment observed in those with Gleason grade group ≥ 3 and clinical stage ≥ cT3 disease. This information can be used to guide eligibility criteria for genomically targeted clinical trials in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant settings.
A Visual-Inertial Approach to Human Gait Estimation

This paper addresses the problem of gait estimation using visual and inertial data, as well as human motion models. Specifically, a batch least-squares (BLS) algorithm is presented that fuses data from a minimal set of sensors [two inertial measurement units (IMUs), one on each foot, and a head-mounted IMU-camera pair] along with motion constraints corresponding to the different walking states, to estimate the person's head and feet poses. Subsequently, gait models are employed to solve for the lower-body's posture and generate its animation. Experimental results against the VICON motion capture system demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed minimal sensors-based system for determining a person's motion.
Risk Prediction Model for Major Adverse Outcome in Proximal Thoracic Aortic Surgery

Background Proximal thoracic aortic surgery utilizing hypothermic circulatory arrest carries risks of mortality and major morbidity; however, these risks are not the same for every patient. The goal of the current study was to establish a risk prediction model for risk-stratifying patients undergoing proximal thoracic aortic surgery with hypothermic circulatory arrest for degenerative pathology, to facilitate preoperative physician-patient counseling. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 489 patients who underwent proximal thoracic aortic surgery with hypothermic circulatory arrest for degenerative pathology between July 2005 and August 2014 at a single referral institution; patients with acute dissection (n = 139) were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression was used to build a risk prediction model and identify preoperative predictors of major adverse outcome—the composite endpoint of 30-day/inhospital mortality, stroke, acute renal failure, prolonged ventilation, or discharge to a location other than home. The results were validated using an independent cohort of 120 patients operated on from September 2014 to September 2016. Results Multivariable analysis identified age (p = 0.0002, odds ratio [OR] 2.01), total arch replacement (p ≤ 0.0001, OR 6.75), and procedure status (p = 0.0028; OR 2.73 for urgent, OR 43.58 for emergent) as independent predictors associated with major adverse outcome. The calibration curve for probability of major adverse outcome showed excellent agreement between the model and observations. The concordance index was 0.93 in external validation. Conclusions The current study identified risk factors for major adverse outcome after proximal thoracic aortic surgery with hypothermic circulatory arrest for degenerative pathology. The proposed simple, accurate model can quantify risk and facilitate physician-patient counseling before possible surgical intervention.
Electrocardiogram in a Patient With Paragonimiasis Westermani-Triggered Takotsubo Syndrome

I read with interest the report by Matsuoka et al. [1] of the 11-year-old boy who suffered a cardiac arrest, was successfully resuscitated from ventricular fibrillation (VF), and was eventually dia...