cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Robust design of multiscale programs to reduce deforestation

A framework is provided for structuring programs aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Crediting reference levels and the coordination among different implementing entities at multiple geographic scales are discussed. A crediting reference level has an error component if it differs from the business-as-usual (BAU) without REDD. Both the BAU emissions and the impact of REDD actions are uncertain, implying that participating in REDD entails stakeholder risk, the distribution of which depends on REDD program design. To categorize REDD architectures we define scale-neutrality whereby, for a given REDD design, crediting relative to the reference level at a given scale is not affected by errors in reference levels at scales below it. Sufficient conditions are derived for scale-neutrality to hold. A Brazilian Amazon example is provided, comparing potential REDD architectures, and highlighting how a cap-and-trade approach may match the environmental outcome obtainable with perfect foresight of the BAU emissions.
Genotype by diet interactions in body and abdominal fat weight in broilers

Abstract Three experiments were conducted to study early growth, feed and water intake, feed efficiency, abdominal fat, and feathering in commercial broilers (C) and unselected (AC) chickens fed high-protein (P) or high-energy (E) diets. Commercial birds were heavier, consumed more feed and water, had better feed efficiency, higher abdominal fat levels, and poorer feather scores than AC birds. Body weights of C birds fed the E diet were, in general, greater than BW of contemporaries fed the P diet. However, AC body weights did not respond in a similar manner. Feed intake patterns were similar to those for BW. Water intake and water to feed ratio values were consistently greater in both AC and C birds fed the P diet. The C birds had higher percentages of abdominal fat than AC birds, and C birds fed the E diet had higher abdominal fat (89%) than those fed the P diet; the difference was only 33% in the AC stock and this resulted in significant (P
The brain of STEMI.

An 83 y/o African Americanmale with a history of hypertension and chronic kidney disease presented following a fall. The fall occurred while he was trying to get up from a sitting position. The patient said he was light-headed and his knees gave way, but at the time of history taking he was asymptomatic. He said he remembered the fall and did not lose consciousness. On presentation his vitals were normal. There were no signs of significant trauma or focal neurological deficits. His initial electrocardiogram (EKG) demonstrated sinus rhythm, rate of 89 beats/min, prolonged QT interval, diffuse arrowhead T wave inversions, and minimal ST segment elevation in lead V1-3 which was alarming for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (Fig. 1). On laboratory data D dimer was 0.78 mg/dl (normal 0.19– 0.49mg/dl), creatinine 2.3 mg/dl, and first troponin 0.67mg/dl (normal b0.045 mg/dl). Transthoracic 2-dimensional echocardiogram (TTE) showed normal left ventricular systolic function with grade 1 diastolic dysfunction and no regional wall motion abnormality. Ventilation perfusion scan was low probability for pulmonary embolism.
Benchmarking and gap analysis of faculty mentorship priorities and how well they are met.

Abstract Background There is little consensus among faculty mentoring programs as to best practices. While there are recommendations in the literature to base faculty development programs on gap analyses of faculty ratings of actual and preferred performance in teaching, scholarship and service, no gap analysis was found in the literature. Purpose Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a survey tool to benchmark school of nursing (SON) faculty mentorship priorities and conduct a gap analysis of how well they were being addressed. Methods Senior faculty who lead mentorship as part of their roles in the SON (associate and assistant deans and director of mentorship) developed a survey through (a) asking faculty members for priorities at in-person mentorship seminars, (b) a review of current nursing literature, and (c) input from the SON mentorship advisory board. The final survey included 37 items focused on general job duties, structure of the mentoring program, time management, as well as skills needed for research, teaching, practice, writing and team science. Responses (rated from 0—not important to 5—very high priority) were requested in 4 areas: the first area focused on how high a priority the respondent rated a given item and areas 2 to 4 focused on how well the need was met by one of three resources: their SON primary assigned mentor, other SON resources, or other university resources. Discussion There were 63 eligible SON faculty to whom the survey was e-mailed with a 60% ( n = 38) response rate. Most of the respondents were clinical track (42.1%) followed by tenure track (39.5%) and research track (15.8%). Half were assistant professors. The percentage of respondents giving a rating of 4 to 5 were calculated and then ranked. Almost all the faculty responding, regardless of track or rank, desired formal mentorship. Among all faculty, the top five priorities were guidance on producing timely publications (70.4%), mentorship on work-life balance (68%), mentorship on putting together a promotion package (61.5%), guidance on test writing (60%), and utilizing technology in the classroom (60%). Priorities varied by faculty track. In terms of the gap between mentorship priorities and how well they were being met, the highest gaps overall were for test writing, using technology in the classroom, curriculum development, lecturing, and developing and managing a research team. As with priorities, the gaps between priorities and how well they were being met varied by track. Conclusion The priorities and gap analysis were used to guide career development program activities and to develop a plan for future mentor–mentee training and activities. The survey tool demonstrated face validity, variability, and preliminary utility as one method for assessing and guiding improvements in faculty mentorship.
Path Planning in Topologically Evolving Planar Environments

The task of planning a path between two spatial configurations of an artifact moving among obstacles is an important problem in many geometrically-intensive applications. Despite the ubiquity of the problem, the existing approaches make specific limiting assumptions about the geometry and mobility of the obstacles, or those of the environment in which the motion of the artifact takes place. In this paper we propose a powerful approach for 2D path planning in a dynamic environment that can undergo drastic topological changes. Our algorithm is based on a potent paradigm for medial axis computation that relies on constructive representations of shapes with R-functions that operate on real-valued half-spaces as logic operations. Our approach can handle problems in which the environment is not fully known a priori, intrinsically supports local and parallel skeleton computations for domains with rigid or evolving boundaries, and appears to extend naturally to 3D domains. Furthermore, our path planning algorithm can be implemented in any commercial geometric kernel, and has attractive computational properties. The capability of the proposed technique are explored through several examples designed to resemble highly dynamic environments.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Abstract A143: Vaccination of a concatenated L2 fusion protein with L1 VLP or capsomeres for broad protection against HPV infection

Background: Immunization with L1 major capsid protein in the form of the pentavalent capsomeres or 360mer virus‐like particles (VLPs) generates high and long‐lived titers of neutralizing antibodies and protection primarily against the human papillomavirus (HPV) type from which the vaccine was derived. Consequently, multivalent L1 VLP vaccines have been developed to expand the breadth of coverage, e.g. Cervarix which contains L1 VLPs that are derived from HPV16 and HPV18 and formulated in alum and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) adjuvant. Vaccination with L2 minor capsid protein induces lower titer, but more broadly neutralizing and protective antibody responses in animals. To enhance cross‐protection we generated multi‐type L2 proteins by fusing cross‐neutralizing epitopes of divergent HPV types, e.g. 11‐88×5 that is a concatamer of L2 residues 11–88 of HPV1, HPV5, HPV6, HPV16 and HPV18. Objectives: A low cost HPV vaccine that yields cross‐protective antibodies and broad protection against more than a dozen oncogenic HPV types is urgently needed. We sought to combine the advantages of each protective antigen by immunization with titrated doses of multi‐type L2 11‐88×5 in alum+MPL, or with either HPV16 L1 capsomeres or Cervarix and to assess the importance of adjuvant for L2 dose sparing. Methods: Mice were vaccinated three times every alternate week and bled two weeks later. Serum antibody titers were determined by ELISA using HPV16 L1 VLP or L2 11‐88×5antigen, as well as in vitro HPV pseudovirion neutralization assays. Results: The absolute titers and dose response to 11‐88×5 were similar in mice vaccinated with 11‐88×5 alone or in combination with either L1 capsomeres or VLPs. HPV16 L1 VLP generated significantly higher HPV16 neutralization titers than L1 capsomeres, and the capsomeres induce higher titers than 11‐88×5. Importantly, the serum IgG titers specific to HPV16 L1 VLP were not influenced by vaccination with L1 capsomeres or VLP in the presence of L2 11‐88×5. The in vitro neutralization titers elicited by vaccination with 11‐88×5 in the combinations tested were not significantly different at two weeks after immunization but there was a trend at four months for reduced cross‐neutralization when 11‐88×5 was combined with L1 VLP but not capsomeres. Conclusions: There is no evidence of interference between the L1 and L2 serum antibody response to co‐administration of L1 capsomeres, but not VLP, with multi‐type L2 vaccines based on neutralization titers. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A143.
Preinjury somatization symptoms contribute to clinical recovery after sport-related concussion.

Objective: To determine the degree to which preinjury and acute postinjury psychosocial and injury-related variables predict symptom duration following sport-related concussion. Methods: A total of 2,055 high school and collegiate athletes completed preseason evaluations. Concussed athletes (n = 127) repeated assessments serially ( Results: Preinjury somatic symptom score (Brief Symptom Inventory–18 somatization scale) was the strongest premorbid predictor of symptom duration. Acute (24-hour) postconcussive symptom burden (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool–3 symptom severity) was the best injury-related predictor of recovery. These 2 predictors were moderately correlated ( r = 0.51). Path analyses indicated that the relationship between preinjury somatization symptoms and symptom recovery was mediated by postinjury concussive symptoms. Conclusions: Preinjury somatization symptoms contribute to reported postconcussive symptom recovery via their influence on acute postconcussive symptoms. The findings highlight the relevance of premorbid psychological factors in postconcussive recovery, even in a healthy athlete sample relatively free of psychopathology or medical comorbidities. Future research should elucidate the neurobiopsychosocial mechanisms that explain the role of this individual difference variable in outcome following concussive injury.
Combined effect of noise and other occupational hazards

A variety of occupational hazards have the combined effects. This paper discusses the combined effects of occupational hazards,such as heat,vibration,electric welding soot,chromium and its compounds,benzene,toluene,xylene,cadmium,hydrogen sulfide,carbon monoxide and noise. Conclusion is that these hazards can strengthen the damage effect of noise on the hearing or cardiovascular system.
4-MCHM sorption to and desorption from granular activated carbon and raw coal

4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (4-MCHM) is a saturated higher alicyclic primary alcohol that is used in the froth flotation process for cleaning coal. In early 2014, a large spill of crude chemical (containing primarily 4-MCHM) to the Elk River near Charleston, WV contaminated the local water supply. Carbon filters at the affected water treatment facility quickly became saturated, and the contaminated water was distributed to nearby homes and businesses. Sorption of 4-MCHM to granular activated carbon (GAC) was studied in the laboratory using head space (HS) analysis via gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Sorption to raw coal was also investigated, since this material may be of interest as a sorbent in the case of an on-site spill. As expected, sorption to both materials increased with decreased particle size and with increased exposure time; although exposure time proved to be much more important in the case of GAC than for coal. Under similar conditions, GAC sorbed more 4-MCHM than raw coal (e.g., 84.9 vs. 63.1 mg/g, respectively, for 20 × 30 mesh particles exposed to 860 mg/L 4-MCHM solution for 24 h). Desorption from both materials was additionally evaluated. Interestingly, desorption of 4-MCHM on a mass per mass basis was also higher for GAC than for raw coal. Overall, results indicated that GAC readily sorbs 4-MCHM but can also readily release a portion of the chemical, whereas coal sorbs somewhat less 4-MCHM but holds it tightly.
Abstract IA03: From the clinic to the lab: Investigating immune responses to immune checkpoint therapies

Immune checkpoint therapies, including anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1, have led to significant clinical responses in cancer patients. To investigate immunologic changes and mechanistic pathways that are elicited by these therapies, we conducted pre-surgical clinical trials, which permit access to sufficient tumor tissues for laboratory studies. The first pre-surgical trial was conducted with anti-CTLA-4 (ipilimumab) in a cohort of patients with localized bladder cancer. This trial provided access to sufficient tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to conduct phenotypic and functional studies on these cells, which indicated the ICOS/ICOSL pathway as relevant for anti-tumor immune responses in the setting of anti-CTLA-4 therapy. In addition, since standard agents that enable tumor cell death may allow for priming of a T cell immune response that can be augmented by combination with CTLA-4 blockade, we conducted a pre-surgical clinical trial with androgen deprivation (hormonal) therapy ADT+ anti-CTLA-4 (ipilimumab), in the setting of patients with regional, high-risk prostate cancer. These pre-surgical clinical trials, and other tissue-based clinical trials, led to the identification of biomarkers and additional targets. These data, which are being used to design future immunotherapy trials, will be discussed in greater details. Citation Format: Padmanee Sharma. From the clinic to the lab: Investigating immune responses to immune checkpoint therapies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fourth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; 2015 Oct 23-26; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(3 Suppl):Abstract nr IA03.
Improving proportional-resonant controller for unbalanced voltage and frequency variation grid

The proportional-resonant (PR) controller has been implemented into a power converter to regulate the injected currents in the grid-connected applications. The PR controller has infinite gain at the resonant frequency and thus is able to track a sinusoidal reference signal at the stationary frame. This feature makes the current controllers for the power converter is much simpler in comparison to the PI regulator in synchronous frame. One issue with the PR controller, however, is its dependency on the frequency. The controller cannot track the reference under frequency variation conditions. This paper aims to introduce an improvement in the PR configuration. The derivation of feedback current is taking account and it improves the controller robustness under frequency changes. The simulation results show that the proposed configuration has better performance in comparison the conventional PR controller since it can effectively track the reference signal under frequency deviation.
The High-Technology Economy of Abundance: Goods vs Services

Scarcity has always been part of the definition of economics. Usually the reference is to scarce resources and the unequal distribution of economic well-being. Hence, the negative distinction of economics as the ‘dismal science’.
The Dynamic Capability of Corporate Diplomacy

Plain language summary Corporate diplomacy is the ability to win the hearts and minds of external stakeholders in support of an organizational mission. As compared to the narrow support function of external affairs, corporate diplomats play a central role not just in sensing risks and opportunities in the external environment, but also in shaping short- and long-term strategic responses across all functions of their organizations. Managers interested in creating long-term sustainable value for shareholders and society—especially in emerging markets—need to enhance their skills as corporate diplomats. Technical summary Success in corporate diplomacy (i.e., the ability to win the hearts and minds of external stakeholders) requires a complex set of seemingly incompatible routines and processes that together constitute a dynamic capability. The article draws explicit parallels between the technological environment in which the theory of dynamic capabilities was first developed and the stakeholder environment. Firms must sense opportunities and threats that emanate from the external stakeholder environment across multiple countries, sectors, and issue domains. In order to actually seize these opportunities or avoid these threats, however, the organization must actually engage with stakeholders in a manner perceived as genuine and caring and implement initiatives that address their issues of concern. Such responses require short- and long-term strategic change within the core of the organization. Copyright © 2016 Strategic Management Society.
Geographical color pattern of Argia apicalis (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) in the absence of molecular variation

Abstract The blue-fronted dancer, Argia apicalis Say (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), is an ecologically vagile species inhabiting both pond and stream environments of the eastern United States. Variation in color pattern in A. apicalis occurs between a southeastern United States morph and a south Florida morph. Southeastern populations often are described as “typical” with a predominantly bright blue pterothorax and narrow black humeral stripe, whereas the southern Florida populations are “atypical,” with a bright blue pterothorax and larger, wider black humeral stripes. Variability in color pattern has caused some researchers to question the true identity of the Florida morph. This study used color pattern and mitochondrial cytochromeb sequences to test the species identity of the 2 A. apicalis geographical color morphs. Mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene sequences showed that there is a single haplotype, showing no divergence between individuals, populations, or regions. This study is the first to test if color...
Introduction: Swords or Shields?

Hollander explains why more Jewish people survived in some German-occupied countries compared to others during the Holocaust. He argues that Nazi Germany’s collaborators sometimes played a surprising role in saving local Jews, although they did not necessarily do so for the ‘right’ reasons. Where Germany ruled a country directly, it could implement the Final Solution efficiently. Where it ruled through high-ranking local officials, however, these collaborators could often ‘trade’ their loyal cooperation in military and economic affairs for inefficient or incomplete implementation of the Final Solution. Thus, more Jews survived in countries that were subjected to less direct forms of German hierarchy. Hollander considers the impact of other factors (geography, antisemitism, timing, etc.) on Jewish survival rates, but concludes that even where these factors influenced Jewish victimization rates, German hierarchy still provided a crucial determining context for the implementation of the Final Solution.
Literatura Multicultural en Español: ¿Abriendo Ventanas O Reforzando Estereotipos?

ABSTRACTLa resiente afluencia de literatura infantil en espanol representa una excelente oportunidad para los que los programas bilingues generen ensenanza autentica de la lectoescritura en espanol, pero, ?podrian estos textos estar representando una sola historia de la poblacion hispana en los Estados Unidos? ?Se perpetua, a traves de estos textos, el estereotipo del inmigrante hispano con baja escolaridad y baja condicion socioeconomica? ?Como pueden otros estudiantes bilingues de origen anglosajon o provenientes de familias con alta escolaridad y solvencia economica identificarse con los personajes de estos textos? En el presente estudio analizamos 45 textos infantiles multiculturales escritos o traducidos y 155 publicados en espanol en los Estados Unidos, para identificar los patrones culturales que representan. Los resultados indican una sobrerrepresentacion de un solo origen cultural y una clase social, principalmente mexicano de bajo nivel socioeconomico. El estudio refuerza la necesidad de mantene...
A Unified Control and Power Management Scheme for PV-Battery-Based Hybrid Microgrids for Both Grid-Connected and Islanded Modes

Battery storage is usually employed in photovoltaic (PV) system to mitigate the power fluctuations due to the characteristics of PV panels and solar irradiance. Control schemes for PV-battery systems must be able to stabilize the bus voltages as well as to control the power flows flexibly. This paper proposes a comprehensive control and power management system (CAPMS) for PV-battery-based hybrid microgrids with both ac and dc buses, for both grid-connected and islanded modes. The proposed CAPMS is successful in regulating the dc and ac bus voltages and frequency stably, controlling the voltage and power of each unit flexibly, and balancing the power flows in the systems automatically under different operating circumstances, regardless of disturbances from switching operating modes, fluctuations of irradiance and temperature, and change of loads. Both simulation and experimental case studies are carried out to verify the performance of the proposed method.
Agricultural research spending must increase in light of future uncertainties

Abstract Agricultural productivity depends critically on investments in research and development (R&D), but there is a long lag in this response. Failing to invest today in improvements of agricultural productivity cannot be simply corrected a few decades later if the world finds itself short of food at that point in time. This fundamental irreversibility is particularly problematic in light of uncertain future population, income, and climate change, as portrayed in the IPCC’s Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs). This paper finds the optimal path of agricultural R&D spending over the 21st century for each SSP, along with valuation of those regrets associated with investment decisions later revealed to be in error. The maximum regret is minimized to find a robust optimal R&D pathway that factors in key uncertainties and the lag in productivity response to R&D. Results indicate that the whole of uncertainty’s impact on R&D is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Uncertainty in future population has the dominant impact on the optimal R&D expenditure path. The robust solution suggests that the optimal R&D spending strategy is very close to the one that will increase agricultural productivity fast enough to feed the World under the most populous scenario. It also suggests that society should accelerate R&D spending up to mid-century, thereafter moderating this growth rate.
Improving the discovery of secondary metabolite natural products using ion mobility-mass spectrometry

Secondary metabolite discovery requires an unbiased, comprehensive workflow to detect unknown unknowns for which little to no molecular knowledge exists. Untargeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics is a powerful platform, particularly when coupled with ion mobility for high-throughput gas-phase separations to increase peak capacity and obtain gas-phase structural information. Ion mobility data are described by the amount of time an ion spends in the drift cell, which is directly related to an ion's collision cross section (CCS). The CCS parameter describes the size, shape, and charge of a molecule and can be used to characterize unknown metabolomic species. Here, we describe current and emerging applications of ion mobility-mass spectrometry for prioritization, discovery and structure elucidation, and spatial/temporal characterization.
Process queue time control, reactive or proactive?

Process queue time control is a trade-off between defect and tool utilization. Three cases of queue time sensitivity discovered in active silicon (RX) module in our fab are discussed in this paper which led us to take a more pro-active approach to impose queue time control.
Introduction: The Importance of Shifting Baselines

Exploding out of Africa just seventy thousand years ago, human beings colonized every continent but Antarctica before the end of the last ice age. In the process, we drove three-quarters of the land animals larger than 100 pounds extinct—a truly remarkable achievement for fewer than five million people armed with sticks and rocks. The oceans were still largely safe, but heaps of bones and shells along the shoreline augured what was soon to come.
Production, prospects and potential application of pyroligneous acid in agriculture

Abstract Pyrolysis of plant biomass is a promising way to produce charcoal (solid), tar and pyroligneous acid, and other gaseous products. These products are of great import as they are alternative to traditional fuels and inorganic chemicals. In this review, main emphasis has been given to properties of pyroligneous acid and its potential benefits in agriculture. Pyroligneous acid is a crude condensed, highly oxygenated organic liquid which is a by-product of pyrolysis of plant biomass. It mainly consisted of aliphatic, aromatic, and naphthenic hydrocarbons and other oxygenated compounds such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, furans, acids, phenols and ethers. Pyroligneous acid exhibits antioxidant and scavenger properties and has been used in agriculture as antimicrobial agent, insecticide, and for the promotion of seed germination and plant growth. This review takes a critical look at some of the production principles, roles of pyroligneous acid in plant growth, development and defense, and the prospects and broader application of pyroligneous acid in agriculture. It is envisaged that this review will generate global discussion and create awareness for the numerous opportunities in pyroligneous acid research and global use.
Energy and Magnitude: A Historical Perspective

We present a detailed historical review of early attempts to quantify seismic sources through a measure of the energy radiated into seismic waves, in connection with the parallel development of the concept of magnitude. In particular, we explore the derivation of the widely quoted “Gutenberg–Richter energy–magnitude relationship” 1 $$\begin{aligned} \log _{10} E = 1.5 M_{\mathrm{s}} + 11.8 \end{aligned}$$ (E in ergs), and especially the origin of the value 1.5 for the slope. By examining all of the relevant papers by Gutenberg and Richter, we note that estimates of this slope kept decreasing for more than 20 years before Gutenberg’s sudden death, and that the value 1.5 was obtained through the complex computation of an estimate of the energy flux above the hypocenter, based on a number of assumptions and models lacking robustness in the context of modern seismological theory. We emphasize that the scaling laws underlying this derivation, as well as previous relations with generally higher values of the slope, suffer violations by several classes of earthquakes, and we stress the significant scientific value of reporting radiated seismic energy independently of seismic moment (or of reporting several types of magnitude), in order to fully document the rich diversity of seismic sources.
A Method to Detect Presence of Chest Compressions During Resuscitation Using Transthoracic Impedance

Objective: Interruptions in chest compressions during treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are associated with lower likelihood of successful resuscitation. Real-time automated detection of chest compressions may improve CPR administration during resuscitation, and could facilitate application of next-generation ECG algorithms that employ different parameters depending on compression state. In contrast to accelerometer sensors, transthoracic impedance (TTI) is commonly acquired by defibrillators. We sought to develop and evaluate the performance of a TTI-based algorithm to automatically detect chest compressions. Methods: Five-second TTI segments were collected from patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treated by one of four defibrillator models. Segments with and without chest compressions were collected prior to each of the first four defibrillation shocks (when available) from each case. Patients were divided randomly into 40% training and 60% validation groups. From the training segments, we identified spectral and time-domain features of the TTI associated with compressions. We used logistic regression to predict compression state from these features. Performance was measured by sensitivity and specificity in the validation set. The relationship between performance and TTI segment length was also evaluated. Results: The algorithm was trained using 1859 segments from 460 training patients. Validation sensitivity and specificity were >98% using 2727 segments from 691 validation patients. Validation performance was significantly reduced using segments shorter than 3.2 s. Conclusions: A novel method can reliably detect the presence of chest compressions using TTI. These results suggest potential to provide real-time feedback in order to improve CPR performance or facilitate next-generation ECG rhythm algorithms during resuscitation.
Weak association between the interleukin-8 rs4073 polymorphism and acute pancreatitis: a cumulative meta-analysis

Several studies have been performed to investigate the associations between interleukin (IL)-8 rs4073 polymorphism and acute pancreatitis (AP), but the results are inconclusive. We conducted this cumulative meta-analysis for a precise estimate of the relationship between IL-8 rs4073 polymorphism and acute pancreatitis. We searched the electronic databases for relevant studies. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the strength of the associations. For a better presentation of how the pooled ORs changed as updated evidence accumulated, we used forest plots from a cumulative meta-analysis method. Ten studies involving 1646 AP patients and 1816 controls were finally included in this meta-analysis. Cumulative meta-analyses indicated there is a consistent trend toward association after the initial discovery. Under the allelic, dominant, recessive and homozygous models, the pooled ORs were 1.265 (1.147–1.395, p < 0.001), 1.304 (1.127–1.508, p < 0.001), 1.431 (1.203–1.702, p < 0.001), and 1.634 (1.334–2.001, p < 0.001), respectively. This meta-analysis demonstrated a suggestive result that people who carried the risk A allele of the IL-8 rs4073 polymorphism may be more sensitive to acute pancreatitis.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting-Pediatric Physician Knowledge, Training, and General Practice Approach.

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is outlawed in much of the world but still mainly occurs from infancy-age 15. Many at-risk and FGM/C-affected girls live in the US. No standard pediatric training exists. A questionnaire assessing FGM/C education, knowledge, diagnostic confidence and external genital examination (EGE) approach was sent to pediatric listservs at 3 hospitals and a child abuse pediatrician (CAP) network. Analysis used χ2 and Fisher’s exact tests. Compared to general pediatricians, CAP reported more FGM/C education (RR 2.0 [95% CI 1.3–3.2]), awareness of ICD-9/10 codes (RR 3.2 [95% CI 1.4–7.3]), confidence in identifying sub-types (RR 4.5 [95% CI 2.3–8.7]) and discussing FGM/C (RR 4.2 [95% CI 2.3–7.6]). For 6–12 month olds, 10% of general pediatricians reported never performing EGE at female well child visits (WCV), increasing to > 50% for 17–18 year olds. Pediatric physicians are not trained to diagnose or manage FGM/C. EGE are not done at WCVs and FGM/C diagnoses are missed.
Channel Gain Based User Scheduling for 5G Massive MIMO Systems

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a key enabling technology for next-generation 5G networks. It groups antennas at both transmitter and the receiver to achieve high spectral efficiency. During downlink, the base station can schedule more than one user at a time to maximize the system capacity of the system. In this paper, we propose a novel channel gain based user scheduling algorithm for massive MIMO system and compare it with conventional scheduling algorithms in terms of error performance, sum rate, throughput, and fairness. The simulation results show that our proposed channel gain based user scheduling algorithm achieves better error performance, improves sum capacity and throughput, and guarantees fairness among users.
Complications of high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) in lymphoma patients.

e20035Background: HDMTX is a vital treatment of lymphoma secondary to central nervous system penetrance. MTX is nephrotoxic and may cause acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI results in delayed MTX elimi...
An Organ of Murder: Crime, Violence, and Phrenology in Nineteenth-Century America

Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828) introduced his revolutionary theory of multiple practical faculties of mind associated with discrete parcels of the brain in Vienna during the 1790s (Finger and Eling ...
Implementing Open Pedagogy in Higher Education: Examples and Recommendations

Open educational resources (OER) offer opportunities for pedagogical change through participatory practices in higher education. Open pedagogy emerged as a teaching practice to empower learners in the creation of OER content. This chapter presents three cases where open pedagogy was put into practice in a higher education institution. The three cases were within blended, online, and face-to-face courses where students engaged in the creation of public and openly licensed educational artifacts. Each case utilized a different form of renewable assignment within the three learning contexts. This chapter describes the open pedagogy practices followed in these courses. The importance of scaffolding to support learning throughout the phases of integrating renewable assignments into the courses is highlighted. A set of design guidelines and recommendations for future implementation of renewable assignments is presented.
X-Ray Studies of Ultrathin Desalination Membranes

The importance of reverse osmosis as a novel and effective method of desalination was successfully demonstrated by membranes made from cellulose acetate, the most widely used material in desalination. Two types of membranes have been successfully fabricated: low flux[1] and high flux membranes[2,3].
Bad habits and bad genes: early 20th-century eugenic attempts to eliminate syphilis and associated "defects" from the United States.

Abstract: American eugenists in the early 20th century distinguished ";degenerates,"; including syphilitics, prostitutes, alcoholics and criminals, from the ";normal"; population by their particular bad habits. From eugenists' viewpoint, these bad habits were derived from bad character, a flaw that stemmed from an individual's bad genes. This essay explores how eugenists during this period characterized syphilitics and those with associated character ";defects"; in terms of heredity. Additionally, it examines the methods eugenists most frequently advocated to rectify these bad habits. These methods included marriage restriction, immigration control and reproductive sterilization. Overall, eugenists directed their efforts not so much at the ";degenerate"; as his or her germ line Resume. Au debut du vingtieme siecle, les eugenistes etablissaient une distinction entre les ";degeneres";, dont faisaient partie les syphilitiques, les alcooliques, les prostituees et les criminels, et la population ";normale";, une distinction fondee sur l'existence -- et la reconnaissance -- de mauvaises habitudes Du point de vue des eugenistes, ces habitudes provenaient d'un mauvais temperament, un defaut dont l'origine se trouvait dans les genes de l'individu. La presente etude examine comment, durant cette periode, les eugenistes definissaient les syphilitiques et ceux qui avaient des defauts de caractere en termes d'heredite. Elle propose, par ailleurs, une analyse des methodes que les eugenistes employaient le plus frequemment pour corriger ces mauvaises habitudes. Parmi ces methodes, il faut en particulier evoquer des restrictions concernant le mariage, des controles d'immigration et la sterilisation. Ainsi peut-on comprendre que les eugenistes concentraient leurs efforts moins sur le ";degenere"; lui-meme que sur sa lignee.
Train-the-trainer: implementation of cognitive behavioural guided self-help for recurrent binge eating in a naturalistic setting.

Objective The present study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of cognitive behavioural guided self-help (CBTgsh) for recurrent binge eating using the train-the-trainer implementation strategy. Method After receiving expert-led training in CBTgsh, a master's-level graduate student in clinical psychology subsequently trained and supervised less experienced graduate students to implement the treatment in an open clinical trial. Participants were 38 treatment-seeking students at a university counselling centre with recurrent binge eating, featuring cases of bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or eating disorder not otherwise specified. Results Intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses revealed 42.1% abstinence from binge eating at post-treatment and 47.4% at one-month follow-up. Participants reported significant pretreatment to post-treatment reductions on measures of specific eating disorder psychopathology, general psychopathology, and functional impairment and high levels of treatment acceptability. Conclusions These results provide ‘proof-of-concept’ for the train-the-trainer implementation strategy and add to the evidence supporting the feasibility and effectiveness of CBTgsh in routine clinical care. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Modeling and synthesis of tactile texture with spatial spectrograms for display on variable friction surfaces

Texture modeling strives to encapsulate the important properties of texture in a concise representation for interpretation, storage, and rendering. Models for tactile texture have yet to describe a representation that is both perceptually complete and sufficiently compact. In this work, we take inspiration from models of visual and auditory texture and propose a spatial spectrogram representation of tactile texture that separates localized features from textural aspects using a windowed Fourier decomposition. We investigate the length scales at which humans can perceive localized features, and represent textures as spectrograms that capture those local features. Additionally, we demonstrate a reconstruction algorithm capable of recreating texture from a spectrogram representation with no perceptual consequence.
Computational Approaches to Consecutive Pattern Avoidance in Permutations

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in consecutive pattern avoidance in permutations. In this paper, we introduce two approaches to counting permutations that avoid a set of prescribed patterns consecutively. These algoritms have been implemented in the accompanying Maple package CAV, which can be downloaded from the author's website. As a byproduct of the first algorithm, we have a theorem giving a sufficient condition for when two pattern sets are strongly (consecutively) Wilf-Equivalent. For the implementation of the second algorithm, we define the cluster tail generating function and show that it always satisfies a certain functional equation. We also explain how the CAV package can be used to approximate asymptotic constants for single pattern avoidance.
Policy-based Management of an E-commerce Business Simulation: An Experimental Study

Autonomic Computing lays out a vision of information technology in which systems manage themselves based on policies. As a result, policies are the new currency of interaction between people and computers, creating a new paradigm for interaction with autonomic systems. In this paradigm, interaction shifts (1) from low-level to high-level monitoring and control and (2) from manually performing actions to delegating tasks to automation. In this paper, we report an experimental study comparing and contrasting manual interaction to policy-based interaction to manage a simulated e-commerce website. In this study, we investigated issues related to human expertise and policy representation. Our results suggest that effective policy-based interaction depends both on the level of detail of the policies and on the experience of the system supervisor. Our results show an overall benefit of policy-based interaction, as measured by business and technology-oriented metrics. Performance was significantly better with policy-based interaction following expertise gained through manual interaction. Performance with manual interaction was marginally worse after policy-based interaction, suggesting the classic out-of-the-loop problem. In addition, highly detailed policy representations marginally improved performance for technology-oriented metrics but did not yield significant differences for business-oriented metrics.
Pharmacy Students’ Perceptions of Their Curriculum and Profession: Implications for Pharmacy Education

Objective: This qualitative study described and analyzed pharmacy students’ perceptions of their major and profession.Methods: One hundred and forty-seven students responded to an open-ended question asking them to state their least appealing reason for majoring in pharmacy. The sample consisted of undergraduate freshmen and sophomore pharmacy majors enrolled in a speech course.Results: Comments reflecting the least appealing reason for majoring in pharmacy were grouped into two major themes. Seventy six percent of student comments related to the Degree/Pharmacy Curriculum, and 24% to Beyond Degree/Pharmacy Profession. The first theme was divided into four sub-themes: Heavy Workload (55%); Time Constraints (42%); Expense (13%); and General Curriculum Issues (9%). The second theme included the following sub-themes: Negative Work Environment (49%); Boring (32%); Not Quite an MD (14%); and Lack of Empathy (11%).Conclusion: Findings of this study provide further recommendations for making adjustments in pharmacy education/curriculum as well as insight into more effective recruiting strategies and retention.
Constraint satisfaction in optical routing for passive wavelength-routed networks

A wavelength-routed, optical network employs all-optical channels (lightpaths) on multiple wavelengths to establish a rearrangeable interconnection pattern (virtual topology) for transport of data. A lightpath may span multiple fiber-links, and may be routed optically at an intermediate node without undergoing electronic conversion. We examine the problem of establishing a set of lightpaths in an optical network, which employs a passive wavelength routing device called a Latin Router (LR). Latin Routers are attractive for optical network design because of their fault-tolerance and low cost, but make traditional routing algorithms difficult to implement due to the complexity of the constraints they impose on legitimate routes and colors. We employ a local search algorithm to search the space of virtual topologies in order to satisfy a maximum number of given lightpath requests. We use the same algorithm to maximize the number of single-hop connections for a given network. We show that the algorithm can satisfy a high percentage of lightpaths under low to moderate network loads. Experiments reveal that we can establish O(N) lightpaths in an optical network with N nodes. We believe that our work is the first known attempt at designing optical wide-area networks using Latin Routers.
Polarization mode dispersion in optical communication systems

Summary form only given. Polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) is a major impairment for high-bit-rate optical systems. The objective of this course is threefold: (1) understand the physical phenomena of PMD, (2) review the current status of understanding of the impact of PMD on optical systems, and (3) PMD mitigation approaches. In this course we will introduce the concept of PMD and its various mathematical description briefly with emphasis on visualizing and comparing different ways of describing PMD. Then, very briefly, we will concentrate on some measurement aspects of PMD in systems. Current understanding of PMD impact on systems will be summarized next. System impact of PMD will be reviewed in three stages. (1) Impact of fiber PMD, 1st and higher order, in high-bit-rate systems in presence of chromatic dispersion. (2) Impact of fiber and discrete component PMD on optical systems. (3) Impact of fiber and component PMD on optical systems in presence of polarization dependent loss. Finally, PMD mitigation approaches will be discussed.
The effectiveness of generative attacks on an online handwriting biometric

The traditional approach to evaluating the performance of a behavioral biometric such as handwriting or speech is to conduct a study involving human subjects (naive and/or skilled “forgers”) and report the system's False Reject Rate (FRR) and False Accept Rate (FAR). In this paper, we examine a different and perhaps more ominous threat: the possibility that the attacker has access to a generative model for the behavior in question, along with information gleaned about the targeted user, and can employ this in a methodical search of the space of possible inputs to the system in an attempt to break the biometric. We present preliminary experimental results examining the effectiveness of this line of attack against a published technique for constructing a biometric hash based on online handwriting data. Using a concatenative approach followed by a feature space search, our attack succeeded 49% of the time.
Civic Engagement Measures for Latina/o College Students

This chapter uses a critical quantitative approach to study models and measures of civic engagement for Latina/o college students. The chapter describes the importance of a critical quantitative approach to study civic engagement of Latina/o college students, then uses Hurtado et al.'s (2012) model to examine the civic engagement of Latina/o college students. Alternative and additional measures of civic engagement are described, such as ethnic and indigenous identity, immigrant generation and status, nativity, and time of arrival in the United States. I conclude with recommendations for future models and research on civic engagement of Latina/o college students.
Object-oriented concept mapping using UML class diagrams

Concept maps have proven beneficial in the assessment of students' preconceptions and mental models in the natural sciences. This paper examines if it is possible to create concept-map class diagrams from the Unified Modeling Language to assess student's mental models upon entry into a course and to monitor their development throughout the course. Perhaps the use of UML in the cognitive area will facilitate students' understanding of object-oriented software design. Hopefully the mental models obtained can make instructional designers cognizant of the common misconceptions and pitfalls students have in the conceptually challenging area of object-oriented software design.