cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulation of photoreceptor membrane guanylyl cyclases by guanylyl cyclase activator proteins.

Guanylyl cyclase (GC) plays a central role in the responses of vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors to light. cGMP is an internal messenger molecule of vertebrate phototransduction. Light stimulates hydrolysis of cGMP, causing the closure of cGMP-dependent cation channels in the plasma membranes of photoreceptor outer segments. Light also lowers the concentration of intracellular free Ca(2+) and by doing so it stimulates resynthesis of cGMP by guanylyl cyclase. The guanylyl cyclases that couple Ca(2+) to cGMP synthesis in photoreceptors are members of a family of transmembrane guanylyl cyclases that includes atrial natriuretic peptide receptors and the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor. The photoreceptor membrane guanylyl cyclases, RetGC-1 and RetGC-2 (also referred to as GC-E and GC-F), are regulated intracellularly by two Ca(2+)-binding proteins, GCAP-1 and GCAP-2. GCAPs bind Ca(2+) at three functional EF-hand structures. Several lines of biochemical evidence suggest that guanylyl cyclase activator proteins (GCAPs) bind constitutively to an intracellular domain of RetGCs. In the absence of Ca(2+) GCAP stimulates and in the presence of Ca(2+) it inhibits cyclase activity. Proper functioning of RetGC and GCAP is necessary not only for normal photoresponses but also for photoreceptor viability since mutations in RetGC and in GCAP cause photoreceptor degeneration.
Ideas about control of skeletal and cardiac muscle blood flow (1876–2003): cycles of revision and new vision

This perspective examines origins of some key ideas central to major issues to be addressed in five subsequent mini-reviews related to Skeletal and Cardiac Muscle Blood Flow. The questions discusse...
Signal analysis via instantaneous frequency estimation of signal components

The empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm, introduced by Huang et al. (Proc Roy Soc Lond Ser A Math Phys Eng Sci 454(1971):903–995, 1998), is arguably the most popular mathematical scheme for non-stationary signal decomposition and analysis. The objective of EMD is to separate a given signal into a number of components, called intrinsic mode functions (IMF’s) after which the instantaneous frequency (IF) and amplitude of each IMF are computed through Hilbert spectral analysis (HSA). On the other hand, the synchrosqueezed wavelet transform (SST), introduced by Daubechies and Maes (Wavelets in Medicine and Biology, pp. 527–546, 1996) and further developed by Daubechies et al. (Appl Comput Harmon Anal 30:243–261, 2011), is applied to estimate the IF’s of all signal components of the given signal, based on one single reference “IF function”, under the assumption that the signal components satisfy certain strict properties of a so-called adaptive harmonic model, before the signal components of the model are recovered. The objective of our paper is to develop a hybrid EMD-SST computational scheme by applying a “modified SST” to each IMF of the EMD, as an alternative approach to the original EMD-HSA method. While our modified SST assures non-negative instantaneous frequencies of the IMF’s, application of the EMD scheme eliminates the dependence on a single reference IF value as well as the guessing work of the number of signal components in the original SST approach. Our modification of the SST consists of applying vanishing moment wavelets (introduced in a recent paper by C.K. Chui, Y.-T. Lin and H.-T. Wu) with stacked knots to process signals on bounded or half-infinite time intervals, and spline curve fitting with optimal smoothing parameter selection through generalized cross-validation. In addition, we formulate a local cubic spline interpolation scheme for real-time realization of the EMD sifting process that improves over the standard global cubic spline interpolation, both in quality and computational cost, particularly when applied to bounded and half-infinite time intervals.
A MULTIPLE-PURPOSE DESIGN APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF RISKS FROM MIXTURES OF DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS*

Drinking water disinfection has effectively eliminated much of the morbidity and mortality associated with waterborne infectious diseases in the United States. Various disinfection processes, however, produce certain types and amounts of disinfection by-products (DBPs), including trihalomethanes (THM), haloacetic acids, haloacetonitriles, and bromate, among others. Human health risks from the ubiquitous exposure to complex mixtures of DBPs are of concern because existing epidemiologic and toxicologic studies suggest the existence of systemic or carcinogenic effects. Researchers from several organizations have developed a multiple-purpose design approach to this problem that combines efficient laboratory experimental designs with statistical models to provide data on critical research issues (e.g., estimation of human health risk from low-level DBP exposures, evaluation of additivity assumptions as useful for risk characterization, estimation of health risks from different drinking water treatment options). A series of THM experiments have been designed to study embryonic development, mortality and cancer in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and liver and kidney endpoints in female CD-1 mice. The studies are to provide dose-response data for specific mixtures of the 4 THMs, for the single chemicals, and for binary combinations. The dose-levels and mixing ratios for these experiments were selected to be useful for development and refinement of three different statistical methods: testing for departures from dose-additivity; development of an interactions-based hazard index; and use of proportional-response addition as a risk characterization method. Preliminary results suggest that dose-additivity is a reasonable risk assessment assumption for DBPs. The future of mixtures research will depend on such collaborative efforts that maximize the use of resources and focus on issues of high relevance to the risk assessment of human health.
Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (HSNA type IV)

Investigators from New York University, NY, studied 14 patients with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA), compared to 10 patients with chronically deficient sympathetic activity (pure autonomic failure), and 15 normal age-matched controls.
Second language learning in a family nurse practitioner and nurse midwifery diversity education project

Purpose: To describe the Clinical Communication Program developed to integrate second language learning (L2), multimedia, Web-based technologies, and the Internet in an advanced practice nursing education program. Data sources: Electronic recording devices as well as audio, video editing, Web design, and programming software were used as tools for developing L2 scenarios for practice in clinical settings. Conclusions: The Clinical Communication Program offers opportunities to support both students and faculty members to develop their linguistic and cultural competence skills to serve better their patients, in general, and their students who speak a language other than English, in particular. The program provided 24 h on-demand access for using audio, video, and text exercises via the Internet. Implications for practice: L2 education for healthcare providers includes linguistic (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) experiences as well as cultural competence and practices inside and outside the classroom environment as well as online and offline the Internet realm.
Therapeutic Impact of Follistatin-Like 1 on Myocardial Ischemic Injury in Preclinical Models

Background—Acute coronary syndrome is a leading cause of death in developed countries. Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) is a myocyte-derived secreted protein that is upregulated in the heart in response to ischemic insult. Here, we investigated the therapeutic impact of FSTL1 on acute cardiac injury in small and large preclinical animal models of ischemia/reperfusion and dissected its molecular mechanism. Methods and Results—Administration of human FSTL1 protein significantly attenuated myocardial infarct size in a mouse or pig model of ischemia/reperfusion, which was associated with a reduction of apoptosis and inflammatory responses in the ischemic heart. Administration of FSTL1 enhanced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase in the ischemia/reperfusion–injured heart. In cultured cardiac myocytes, FSTL1 suppressed apoptosis in response to hypoxia/reoxygenation and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated expression of proinflammatory genes through its ability to activate AMP-activated protein kinase. Ischem...
Polymerization of alkynes by ziegler‐type catalyst

A study has been made of the polymerization of acetylene, propyne, and butyne-1 using aluminum triisobutyl, n-butyllithium, or zinc diethyl in combination with titanium tetrachloride as catalyst. Optimum conditions for polymerization were determined by varying the catalyst composition. The major product was a black insoluble polymer whose spectrum indicates a high degree of conjugation. A small quantity of soluble low molecular weight polymer was also obtained. Reactions were run at atmospheric pressure and 21–62°C.
Fractional conservation of mass

The traditional conservation of mass equation is derived using a first-order Taylor series to represent flux change in a control volume, which is valid strictly for cases of linear changes in flux through the control volume. We show that using higher-order Taylor series approximations for the mass flux results in mass conservation equations that are intractable. We then show that a fractional Taylor series has the advantage of being able to exactly represent non-linear flux in a control volume with only two terms, analogous to using a first-order traditional Taylor series. We replace the integer-order Taylor series approximation for flux with the fractional-order Taylor series approximation, and remove the restriction that the flux has to be linear, or piece-wise linear, and remove the restriction that the control volume must be infinitesimal. As long as the flux can be approximated by a power-law function, the fractional-order conservation of mass equation will be exact when the fractional order of differentiation matches the flux power-law. There are two important distinctions between the traditional mass conservation, and its fractional equivalent. The first is that the divergence term in the fractional mass conservation equation is the fractional divergence, and the second is the appearance of a scaling term in the fractional conservation of mass equation that may eliminate scale effects in parameters (e.g., hydraulic conductivity) that should be scale-invariant.
Collimated Aerosol Beam Deposition: Sub-5- $\mu$ m Resolution of Printed Actives and Passives

Materials deposition based upon directed aerosol flow has the potential of finding application in the field of flexible electronics where a low-temperature route to printed transistors with high mobilities remains elusive. NDSU has been actively engaged in addressing this opportunity from the following two perspectives: 1) developing an appreciation of the basic physics that dominate aerosol beam deposition toward engineering a robust method that allows the realization of deposited features with sub-5 μm resolution; and, 2) developing an understanding of the mechanistic transformations of silane-based precursor inks toward the formation of electronic materials at atmospheric-pressure. In this paper, we will briefly discuss the genesis of a new materials deposition method termed collimated aerosol beam direct-write (CAB-DW) where precision linewidth control has been realized using a combined theoretical/experimental approach. Next, we will discuss progress using Si6H12 (cyclohexasilane-a liquid silane) as a precursor for solution-processed diodes and transistors. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to CAB-DW Si6H12-based precursor inks for printing Si-based semiconductors.
NOTES ON THE PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF NEOTROPICAL ANTILLOCORINI, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW SPECIES (HETEROPTERA: RHYPAROCHROMIDAE: RHYPAROCHROMINAE)

Abstract Trachinocoris crassoides, new species from Brazil, Paradema renocula, new species from Venezuela, and Paradema slateri, new species from Ecuador, are described and figured. Paradema bathydemoides Slater is redescribed and figured. Figures of morphological details and a discussion of phylogenetic relationships are included.
Global Response to Poverty Alleviation

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are believed to be a global response to poverty alleviation. Comparative advantage of Development NGOs is widely known in development aid literature. Development projects, run by the NGOs are assumed as flexible, innovative, participatory, cost-effective and directed to the poor. NGOs appeared in the third world development lexicon, especially from the beginning of the 1970s. Since then the NGO landscape in the South Asian development scenario has also got stronger like in other developing countries.
Vamonos: Embeddable visualizations of advanced algorithms

We present Vamonos: a new framework for algorithm visualization, designed from the beginning to support embedding, interaction, and unlimited scope. Visualizations are executed entirely client-side on any device that supports a modern web browser; they can be embedded into any website or online textbook. Users can specify breakpoints, watched variables, provide inputs to the algorithm (e.g., by drawing a graph using a mouse), and be prompted for interaction by the visualization. The core framework supports any algorithms and data structures that can be implemented in Javascript. We have implemented a wide range of visualizations of advanced algorithms topics, including dynamic programming and graph algorithms (e.g., spanning tree, max-flow, bipartite matching algorithms).
Characterization and the ideal of innocence in Theocritus' Idylls

Theocritus rarely speaks in his own person. As an impersonal narrator he is concerned primarily with dramatic situations, each of which focuses upon the personalities of a few actors. Often, moreover, even as a narrator, Theocritus offers little more than brief introductions to set the scene for dramatic monologues or dialogues between the fictional characters of his poems. Sometimes his characters present themselves without any explicit commentary. As a consequence our assessment of Theocritus' own values and views is bound up with our sense of his relation to the characters whom he portrays. In many cases there is an implicit but nonetheless forceful contrast between the author and his characters, so that there is no question of taking their views as the author's or of taking the characters themselves as embodiments of the author's own values.Rather, the reverse is true. The characterization of Gorgo and Praxinoa, for example, the two housewives who are childishly awed by the splendor and bustle of Alexandria on a holiday, suggests the poet's own confident urbanity. Similarly, the characterization of the two drinking companions in Idyll 14 who exchange accounts of misadventure in love and the virtues of service in Ptolemy's mercenary army, implies the poet's commitment to the values of refinement and restraint. Contrast between Theocritus and his characters in those poems is self-evident if for no other reason than the contrast between the refinement, self-consciousness, and obvious artificiality of Theocritus' style and the spontaneity and coarseness of the characters whom he portrays.
Nomenclature notes on some orthoclads (Diptera: Chironomidae)

New nomenclatorial acts are proposed for chironomids in anticipation of publication on the Fauna Europaea, a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. Thienemanniella caspersi Saether is proposed as a new replacement name for Th. similis Caspers & Reiss, 1989. Five new generic combinations are given: Dactylocladius albipennis Goetghebuer, 1921, Orthocladius (Dactylocladius) brevifurcatus Edwards, 1926, and Lindebergia bothnica Tuiskunen, 1984 are transferred to Pseudosmittia Goetghebuer; while Smittia lacunarum Goetghebuer, 1931 and Smittia (Pseudosmittia) terrestris Goetghebuer , 1943 are both transferred to Bryophaenocladius Thienemann. Twenty-two new synonyms are given: Pseudosmittia amamibifurca Sasa, 1990 is a junior synonym of Pseudosmittia mathildae Albu, 1968; Pseudosmittia antillaria Saether, 1981 of Pseudosmittia forcipata (Goetghebuer, 1921); Pseudosmittia arenaria flava Strenzke, 1960 of Pseudosmittia arenaria Strenzke, 1960; Smittia avicularia Goetghebuer, 1950 of Pseudosmittia trilobata (Edwards, 1929); Smittia brachyptera Goetghebuer, 1934 of Pseudosmittia conjuncta (Edwards, 1929); Pseudosmittia brevitarsis Brundin, 1947, Pseudosmittia kurobaokasia Sasa & Okazawa, 1992, Smittia oxoniana Edwards, 1937 not Edwards, 1922, and Pseudosmittia schachti Caspers & Reiss, 1989 of Pseudosmittia ruttneri Strenzke & Thienemann, 1942; Spaniotoma (Smittia) curticosta Edwards, 1929 of Pseudosmittia albipennis (Goetghebuer, 1921); Smittia hamata Freeman, 1956 of Pseudosmittia danconai (Marcuzzi, 1947); Pseudosmittia linguata Caspers & Reiss, 1989 of Pseudosmittia nishiharaensis Sasa & Hasegawa, 1988; Smittia longitibia Goetghebuer, 1933 and Pseudosmittia mediocarinata Caspers & Reiss, 1989 of Pseudosmittia nanseni (Kieffer, 1926); Spaniotoma (Smittia) recta Edwards, 1929 and Pseudosmittia togarisea Sasa & Okazawa, 1992 of Pseudosmittia oxoniana (Edwards, 1922); Spaniotoma (Smittia) scotica Edwards, 1929, Pseudosmittia togasitea Sasa & Pseudosmittia triplex Strenzke, 1950 is a valid species and not a synonym of P. forcipata (Goetghebuer, 1921) as stated in Ashe & Cranston (1990). Pseudosmittia virgo montana Strenzke, 1950 is raised to species level as Pseudosmittia montana . The following names are nomina dubia : Camptocladius flaviventris Kieffer, 1921, Camptocladius hexalobus Kieffer, 1924, Camptocladius longicrus Kieffer, 1921, Pseudosmittia restricta Brundin, 1956, Smittia (Pseudosmittia) tenebrosa Goetghebuer, 1943, Camptocladius trifoliatus Kieffer, 1924, Smittia (Pseudosmittia) vicana Goetghebuer, 1943.
The use of cervical sonography to differentiate true from false labor in term patients presenting for labor check.

Background Cervical length by transvaginal ultrasound to predict preterm labor is widely used in clinical practice. Virtually no data exist on cervical length measurement to differentiate true from false labor in term patients who present for labor check. False-positive diagnosis of true labor at term may lead to unnecessary hospital admissions, obstetrical interventions, resource utilization, and cost. Objective We sought to determine if cervical length by transvaginal ultrasound can differentiate true from false labor in term patients presenting for labor check. Study Design This is a prospective observational study of women presenting to labor and delivery with labor symptoms at 37-42 weeks, singleton cephalic gestation, regular uterine contractions (≥4/20 min), intact membranes, and cervix ≤4 cm dilated and ≤80% effaced. Those patients with placenta previa and indications for immediate delivery were excluded. The shortest best cervical length of 3 collected images was used for analysis. Providers managing labor were blinded to the cervical length. True labor was defined as spontaneous rupture of membranes or spontaneous cervical dilation ≥4 cm and ≥80% effaced within 24 hours of cervical length measurement. In the absence of these outcomes, labor status was determined as false labor. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to assess the predictive ability of cervical length to differentiate true from false labor and were analyzed separately for primiparous and multiparous patients. The diagnostic accuracies of various cervical length cutoffs were determined. The relationship of cervical length and time to delivery was also analyzed including both use and nonuse of oxytocin. Results In all, 77 patients were included in the study; the prevalence of true labor was 58.4% (45/77). Patients who were in true labor had shorter cervical length as compared to those in false labor: median 1.3 cm (range 0.5-4.1) vs 2.4 cm (range 1.0-5.0), respectively ( P P P P = .23). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for primiparous and multiparous patients combined was 0.8 ( P Conclusion In differentiating true from false labor in term patients who present for labor check, a cervical length of ≤1.5 cm was the most clinically optimal cutoff with the lowest false positive rate–due to its highest specificity–and highest positive predictive value and positive likelihood ratios. Its use to decide admission in patients at term with labor symptoms may prevent unnecessary admissions, obstetrical interventions, resource utilization, and cost.
Framework for Quantification and Risk Analysis for Layered Uncertainty using Optimization: NASA UQ Challenge

The focus of this work is on uncertainty characterization, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty propagation, extreme-case analysis, and robust design. This paper is being submitted to the special session, NASA Langley Multidisciplinary Uncertainty Quantification Challenge. For uncertainty characterization, an MCMC based Bayesian approach and a CDF Matching method are compared and found to give similar results; thus increasing our confidence in the methods. A surrogate based p-box sensitivity analysis method is employed to identify the most sensitive parameters to the risk analysis metrics. Uncertainty propagation to find extreme values for the risk analysis metrics are done using a single loop importance sampling (Efficient Reliability Reanalysis) and a double loop surrogates based method. The use of surrogates and importance sampling was dictated by the cost of the black-box functions provided by NASA. A simpler toy problem is also devised to mimic the NASA problem, which helped us in thoroughly testing our methods and their repeatability.
Free Carrier Generation and Recombination in Polymer-Wrapped Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Films and Heterojunctions

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) are promising for solution-processed, thin film photovoltaics due to their strong near-infrared absorptivity and excellent transport properties. We report on the generation yield and recombination kinetics of free charge carriers in photoexcited thin films of polymer-wrapped s-SWCNTs with and without an overlying electron-accepting C60 layer, using time-resolved microwave photoconductivity (TRMC). Free carriers are generated in neat s-SWCNT films, even without an obvious driving force for exciton dissociation. However, most carriers recombine in <10 ns. Adding C60 increases the yield and extends the lifetime of a significant fraction of free carriers to ≫100 ns via interfacial charge separation. Spectral dependencies indicate that the driving force for interfacial electron transfer vanishes for large-diameter SWCNTs, from which we approximate (9,7) s-SWCNT energetics. We estimate a free carrier generation yield of ∼6% in neat s-SWCNT films and 9 GHz...
Preoviposition Periods and Oviposition Rates of Insectary-reared Boll Weevils in West Tennessee

Preoviposition periods and oviposition rates were determined for Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman emerging each week throughout the 1974 cotton growing season. Preoviposition periods increased as the season progressed, ranging from a mean of 1.96 days in late July to 6.19 days in late Aug. Deviation from the mean also increased as the season progressed, ranging from ±0.57 days for one standard deviation, in late July to ±2.59 days in late Aug. The average number of eggs deposited per female per day for the 1st 14 days after emergence was 4.47 in late July. For weevils emerging in early September, the 14-day average had decreased to 0.52 eggs/female per day.
Lipoprotein activated macrophages in co-culture with mesangial and endothelial cells: nitric oxide and tissue injury.

Abstract Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that VLDL induced excess NO in macrophages may be the mechanism of tissue injury that explains the risk associated with VLDL towards the development of cardiovascular and renal diseases. VLDL activated macrophages were co-cultured with endothelial and mesangial cells. The results showed 59-63 fold higher NO production in VLDL activated macrophages compared to the unactivated macrophages. Nitric oxide production was further potentiated by an additional four fold (241 fold) in VLDL activated macrophage/mesangial cell co-cultures. In co-cultures of VLDL activated macrophages/endothelial cells, NO production was 47 fold higher than the corresponding controls. Cell injury as measured by lactate dehydrogenase activity in cell culture supernatant was elevated in co-cultures of VLDL activated macrophage and mesangial or endothelial cells. Endothelial cells were more susceptible to nitric oxide mediated injury than mesangial cells. On the other hand, low density lipoprotein (LDL) activated macrophages did not generate significant NO or exert toxicity. These results provide support for the mechanism by which VLDL can cause tissue injury and highlights increased nitric oxide production due to the interaction between VLDL activated macrophages and mesangial cells.
A 15-year-old girl with multiple radiolucent bony defects and multiple pulmonary nodules

Presentation of Case A 15-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital because of pain in the right wrist and multiple radiolucent bony defects. The patient was in apparent good health except for scoliosis, for which she was seen in periodic orthopedic follow-up examinations. Three days before admission, on a routine visit to her orthopedist, she mentioned pain in the right wrist of approximately one year's duration, with worsening on vigorous use of the right upper extremity. Physical examination revealed no swelling or tenderness of the wrist. X-ray films of the right wrist (Fig. 1) showed a well-circumscribed osteolytic lesion, 5 . . .
Epidemiology of measles in Daxing district,Beijing during 2005～2009

Objective To find out epidemiological characteristics of measles in Daxing district during 2005 ～2009 to lay scientific basis for its elimination. Methods Data from diseases reporting information system and records of epidemiological survey for measles cases were used to analyze its epidemiological characteristics in Daxing. Results During 2005 ～ 2009,totally 960 cases of measles were reported with one death and 693 of them occurred in March to May,accounting for 72. 19 percent of the total. Towns of Jiugong,Xihongmen,Huangcun,Yizhuang and Yinghai ranked the top five places of the district in measles incidence,accounting for 65. 83 percent of the total,and 532 cases (55. 42% ) occurred in persons aged over 15 years,with the highest incidence of 428. 48 per hundred thousand at 0-year group of children. Conclusion Regular immunization with measles vaccine should be strengthened with supplementary immunization at suitable time. It is effective way to eliminate measles by increasing immunization coverage in adults and migrant workers from rural areas and enhancing its surveillance.
Research on Security of Live Working on Compact 500 kV Transmission Line in Yunnan Power Grid

According to the characteristics of live working on 500 kV compact transmission lines in high altitude(less than 2 800 m) area of Yunnan Power Grid,a series of experiments have been carried out at outdoor proving ground of Kunming UHV Test Research Base.On the basis of the calculation and analysis of switching overvoltage occurred in UHV transmission lines,the hazard rate of approach distance and complex gap of live working under the specific work position of various operation modes at high altitude area was acquired according to test results.This article proposes a novel method for determining the minimum approach distance of living work,which is based on the analysis of the variation tendency of hazard rate.This method clearly shows the relationship between hazard rate and distance,so that the optimization of verification mode for the distance of live working can be performed.The results show that it is safe and feasible to carry out live working on photogenic and lower phase conductor of 500 kV compact tangent towers in Yunnan Power Grid.Research results are able to provide reference to maintenance and live working on compact 500 kV transmission line in high altitude area.
Note-Taking Interventions for College Students: A Synthesis and Meta-Analysis of the Literature

ABSTRACTAlthough note taking is frequently described as an important skill for postsecondary success, there have been few note-taking intervention studies involving multiple sessions spanning more than one week. In a systematic search, we identified seven peer-reviewed articles reporting 10 intervention studies published from 1990–2014. The only single-case design study addressed taking notes from texts, but four treatment-comparison studies that taught note taking during lectures assessed students' abilities when taking notes from texts. The remaining four treatment-comparison and one single-group design studies focused solely on note taking during lectures. Three types of notes were represented in the corpus: guided (seven studies), split-page (two studies), and self-restructured (one study). In comparing students who did and did not receive note-taking instruction, Hedges's g effect sizes on outcome measures of content learning and note quality ranged from −0.35 to 2.11. Across nine group design studie...
Extremely Preterm Infants and Neurologic Disability

Of 308 surviving children, born at 25 or fewer weeks of gestation in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 283 (92%) were examined at a median age of 30 months, and results reported from the School of Human Development, University of Nottingham, UK.
A bootstrap method for a totally non-invasive input function and pharmacokinetic parameters estimation in 18F-FDG PET images of the human brain

The pharmacokinetics extracted from PET images in the brain is relied to the physiological mechanisms that describe the processing of the tracer by the brain structures. These processes can be described through a multi-compartments model detailing the different states of the tracer and the transfer rate between these states. Numerous work have been proposed for the estimation of the input function (IF) from the internal carotids in the brain, but these methods are not able to extract efficiently the individual parameters of the model [1].
Moving toward a theory

Research on cyberbullying has been steadily growing among scholars who endeavor to understand when and under what conditions it occurs. This study utilizes general aggression theory to contribute to a better theoretical understanding of the confluence of inputs that goes into decision-making involving cyberbullying perpetration. Young adult college students were surveyed to examine whether person-specific inputs, including trait verbal aggression, Internet self-efficacy, and social skills, contribute to cyberbullying perpetration. Results indicated that verbal aggression was consistently positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Further analysis revealed that the interaction between verbal aggressiveness and social skills on cyberbullying perpetration depended on one's level of Internet self-efficacy. At low levels of Internet self-efficacy, trait aggressiveness and social skills do little to inform cyberbullying perpetration; however, participants with high Internet self-efficacy and high trait verbal aggressiveness are less likely to send hurtful or embarrassing messages over the Internet or mobile technologies as their social skills grow. Contributions to theory and practice are discussed. General aggression theory is useful for explaining, investigating, and advancing cyberbullying scholarship.Trait verbal aggression is consistently positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration.Internet self-efficacy moderates the relationship between verbal aggression and social skill.The interaction of verbal aggressiveness and social skills on cyberbullying perpetration depends on Internet self-efficacy.At low Internet self-efficacy, verbal aggressiveness and social skills do little to predict cyberbullying perpetration.
EZH2 regulates spinal neuroinflammation in rats with neuropathic pain

Alteration in gene expression along the pain signaling pathway is a key mechanism contributing to the genesis of neuropathic pain. Accumulating studies have shown that epigenetic regulation plays a crucial role in nociceptive process in the spinal dorsal horn. In this present study, we investigated the role of enhancer of zeste homolog-2 (EZH2), a subunit of the polycomb repressive complex 2, in the spinal dorsal horn in the genesis of neuropathic pain in rats induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation. EZH2 is a histone methyltransferase, which catalyzes the methylation of histone H3 on K27 (H3K27), resulting in gene silencing. We found that levels of EZH2 and tri-methylated H3K27 (H3K27TM) in the spinal dorsal horn were increased in rats with neuropathic pain on day 3 and day 10 post nerve injuries. EZH2 was predominantly expressed in neurons in the spinal dorsal horn under normal conditions. The number of neurons with EZH2 expression was increased after nerve injury. More strikingly, nerve injury drastically increased the number of microglia with EZH2 expression by more than sevenfold. Intrathecal injection of the EZH2 inhibitor attenuated the development and maintenance of mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in rats with nerve injury. Such analgesic effects were concurrently associated with the reduced levels of EZH2, H3K27TM, Iba1, GFAP, TNF-α, IL-1β, and MCP-1 in the spinal dorsal horn in rats with nerve injury. Our results highly suggest that targeting the EZH2 signaling pathway could be an effective approach for the management of neuropathic pain.
Rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

An ionic-liquid-based in situ dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed for the rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters. The chemical structures of five ionic liquids were specifically designed to incorporate various functional groups for the favorable extraction of the target analytes. Extraction parameters including ionic liquid mass, molar ratio of ionic liquid to metathesis reagent, vortex time, ionic strength, pH, and total sample volume were studied and optimized. The effect of the headspace temperature and volume during the headspace sampling step was also evaluated to increase the sensitivity of the method. The optimized procedure is fast as it only required ∼7-10 min per extraction and allowed for multiple extractions to be performed simultaneously. In addition, the method exhibited high precision, good linearity, and low limits of detection for six ultraviolet filters in aqueous samples. The developed method was applied to both pool and lake water samples attaining acceptable relative recovery values.
Tutoring ESL Students: Issues and Options

For students whose first language is not English, the writing classroom cannot provide all the instructional assistance that is needed to become proficient writers. For a variety of reasons, these students need the kind of individualized attention that tutors offer, instruction that casts no aspersions on the adequacy of the classroom or the ability of the student. We should recognize that along with different linguistic backgrounds, ESL students have a diversity of concerns that can only be dealt with in the one-to-one setting where the focus of attention is on that particular student and his or her questions, concerns, cultural presuppositions, writing processes, language learning experiences, and conceptions of what writing in English is all about. Typically, the tutorial assistance available for these students is provided by writing centers, and much of the personal help available there is precisely the same as for any native speaker of English: the goal of tutors who work in the center is to attend to the individual concerns of every writer who walks in the door-writing process questions, reader feedback, planning conversations, and so on. But also typically, tutors, who bring to their work a background of experience and knowledge in interacting effectively with native speakers of English, are not adequately equipped to deal with some additional concerns of non-native speakers of English-the unfamiliar grammatical errors, the sometimes bewilderingly different rhetorical patterns and conventions of other languages, and the expectations that accompany ESL writers when they come to the writing center. Tutors can be reduced to stunned silence when they try to explain why "I have many homeworks to completed" is wrong or why we say "on Monday" but "in June." Tutors need some perspective on rhetorical approaches other than those they expect to find, such as a direct statement of the topic or discourse with a linear Muriel Harris, professsor of English and Director of the Writing Lab at Purdue University, edits the Writing Lab Newsletter and has authored Teaching One-to-One: The Writing Conference and several textbooks, including the Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage (2nd edition forthcoming) as well as numerous book chapters and articles on individualized instruction in writing and writing center theory and administration. Tony Silva is an assistant professor of ESL at Purdue University where he teaches courses for ESL students and ESL teachers and coordinates the ESL Writing Program. He also serves as the chair of the CCCC Committee on ESL and co-edits, with Ilona Leki, the Journal of Second Language Writing, published by Ablex.
User-Defined Primitives

Although the aim of this book is to teach behavioral modeling in Verilog, the book would not be complete without mentioning user-defined primitives (UDPs). A UDP describes a piece of logic with a truth table. UDPs can be either combinatorial or sequential. As you may recall, the Verilog primitive set does not include any muxes, AND-OR-INVERT gates, or flip-flops. You can model all of these simple functions with UDPs.
Breast Carcinoma: Updates in Molecular Profiling 2018.

The most significant contribution of molecular subtyping of breast carcinomas has been the identification of estrogen-positive and estrogen-negative tumor subtypes. Knowledge of genetic alterations in these tumors will help clinicians identify novel therapeutic targets. Understanding the progression pathways involved in the transition of in situ carcinoma to invasive carcinoma might lead to efficient risk stratification in these patients. The Cancer Genome Analysis Network has collected genomic and epigenomic data to provide comprehensive information regarding carcinogenesis and pathway interactions. Such information improves understanding of the disease process and also provides more accurate information toward identifying targetable mutations for treatment.
UGG: A Unit Generator Generator

Unit generators are primary building blocks of music audio software. Unit generators aim to be both efficient and flexible, but these goals are often in opposition. As designers trade off efficiency against flexibility, many designs emerge, leading to a multitude of incompatible implementations. Thus, there are many incompatible unit generator libraries, each representing substantial effort. The present work suggests that unit generators can be written in a functional style using a conventional language with operator overloading, and an easily modifiable “back end” can generate efficient code. A prototype of this method, the Unit Generator Generator (UGG) system can be tailored quickly to target many unit generator designs. Computations can be shared across unit generators by defining simple functions, leading to an even more compact and expressive notation.
A Simple Plug-In Circuit for IGBT Gate Drivers to Monitor Device Aging: Toward Smart Gate Drivers

In this article, a simple, cost-effective circuit is proposed for in situ monitoring of aging and degradation in discrete IGBT devices through the measurement of on-state collector-emitter voltage drop (Vce,on) and gate-threshold voltage (Vth).
Quantitative In Situ Studies of Dynamic Fracture in Brittle Solids Using Dynamic X-ray Phase Contrast Imaging

We demonstrate the use of X-ray phase contrast imaging with sub-microsecond temporal resolution to obtain quantitative visualization of dynamic fracture processes in brittle solids. We examine an amorphous solid (fused silica), a ceramic single crystal (single-crystal quartz), and a polycrystalline ceramic (boron carbide), in the form of single-edge notched specimens loaded using a three-point apparatus at nominal strain rates up to $\sim $ 800 s−1. We observe that the crack tip speed for boron carbide is relatively independent of mode I stress intensity factor rate ( $\dot {K}_{\mathrm {I}}$ ) for these rates of loading, while that of fused silica and single-crystal quartz increases with $\dot {K}_{\mathrm {I}}$ . Further, for the amorphous and single crystal cases, we observe the development of a crack tip instability in the form of crack branching as the crack tip speed approaches 45% of the Rayleigh wave speed. This suggests that strain-rate-dependent mechanisms contribute to crack branching. Such mechanisms may, in turn, affect the macroscopic fracture properties of these materials.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in metastatic breast cancer: Ethnicity and disease subtypes.

e22027 Background: Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) are an independent prognostic indicator of progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and are use...
Early experiences with patient generated health data: health system and patient perspectives

Objective Although patient generated health data (PGHD) has stimulated excitement about its potential to increase patient engagement and to offer clinicians new insights into patient health status, we know little about these efforts at scale and whether they align with patient preferences. This study sought to characterize provider-led PGHD approaches, assess whether they aligned with patient preferences, and identify challenges to scale and impact. Materials and methods We interviewed leaders from a geographically diverse set of health systems (n = 6), leaders from large electronic health record vendors (n = 3), and leaders from vendors providing PGHD solutions to health systems (n = 3). Next, we interviewed patients with 1 or more chronic conditions (n = 10), half of whom had PGHD experience. We conducted content analysis to characterize health system PGHD approaches, assess alignment with patient preferences, and identify challenges. Results In this study, 3 primary approaches were identified, and each was designed to support collection of a different type of PGHD: 1) health history, 2) validated questionnaires and surveys, and 3) biometric and health activity. Whereas patient preferences aligned with health system approaches, patients raised concerns about data security and the value of reporting. Health systems cited challenges related to lack of reimbursement, data quality, and clinical usefulness of PGHD. Discussion Despite a federal policy focus on PGHD, it is not yet being pursued at scale. Whereas many barriers contribute to this narrow pursuit, uncertainty around the value of PGHD, from both patients and providers, is a primary inhibitor. Conclusion Our results reveal a fairly narrow set of approaches to PGHD currently pursued by health systems at scale.
Distinguishing logopenic from semantic & nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia: Patterns of linguistic and behavioral correlations

While language characteristics of logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) are well-defined, behavioral characteristics are less understood. We investigated correlations between language and behavioral scores across three variants of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and found language performance and behavioral disturbances are correlated in lvPPA, but not other PPA subtypes. Results suggest that unlike other PPA variants, patients diagnosed with lvPPA do not develop negative behaviors until language deficits are severe. This is consistent with the underlying neuropathology of lvPPA, Alzheimer's Disease. Such findings are crucial to clinical prognosis, especially when considering the progressive nature of this disease.
Partition: Square Data Table

Forms of representing and comparing partitions are reviewed. Mathematical analysis of some of the agglomerative clustering axioms is presented. Approximation clustering methods for aggregating square data tables are suggested along with associated mathematical theories: Uniform partitioning as based on a “soft” similarity threshold; Structured partitioning (along with the structure of between-class associations); Aggregation of mobility and other aggregable interaction data as based on chi-squared criterion and underlying substantive modeling.
Impact of HFE variants and sex in lung cancer.

The homeostatic iron regulator protein HFE is involved in regulation of iron acquisition for cells. The prevalence of two common HFE gene variants (H63D, C282Y) has been studied in many cancer types; however, the impact of HFE variants, sex and HFE gene expression in lung cancer has not been studied. We determined the prevalence of HFE variants and their impact on cancer phenotypes in lung cancer cell lines, in lung cancer patient specimens, and using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. We found that seven out of ten human lung cancer cell lines carry the H63D or C282Y HFE variant. Analysis of lung cancer specimens from our institute (Penn State Hershey Medical Center) revealed a sex and genotype interaction risk for metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients; H63D HFE is associated with less metastasis in males compared to wild type (WT) HFE; however, females with the H63D HFE variant tend to develop more metastatic tumors than WT female patients. In the TCGA LUAD dataset, the H63D HFE variant was associated with poorer survival in females compared to females with WT HFE. The frequency of C282Y HFE is higher in female lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients of TCGA than males, however the C282Y HFE variant did not impact the survival of LUSC patients. In the TCGA LUSC dataset, C282Y HFE patients (especially females) had poorer survival than WT HFE patients. HFE expression level was not affected by HFE genotype status and did not impact patient’s survival, regardless of sex. In summary, these data suggest that there is a sexually dimorphic effect of HFE polymorphisms in the survival and metastatic disease in lung cancer.
Byzantine Resilient Non-Convex SVRG with Distributed Batch Gradient Computations

In this work, we consider the distributed stochastic optimization problem of minimizing a non-convex function $f(x) = \mathbb{E}_{\xi \sim \mathcal{D}} f(x; \xi)$ in an adversarial setting, where the individual functions $f(x; \xi)$ can also be potentially non-convex. We assume that at most $\alpha$-fraction of a total of $K$ nodes can be Byzantines. We propose a robust stochastic variance-reduced gradient (SVRG) like algorithm for the problem, where the batch gradients are computed at the worker nodes (WNs) and the stochastic gradients are computed at the server node (SN). For the non-convex optimization problem, we show that we need $\tilde{O}\left( \frac{1}{\epsilon^{5/3} K^{2/3}} + \frac{\alpha^{4/3}}{\epsilon^{5/3}} \right)$ gradient computations on average at each node (SN and WNs) to reach an $\epsilon$-stationary point. The proposed algorithm guarantees convergence via the design of a novel Byzantine filtering rule which is independent of the problem dimension. Importantly, we capture the effect of the fraction of Byzantine nodes $\alpha$ present in the network on the convergence performance of the algorithm.