cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aldosterone and renin inhibition by atrial natriuretic factor in potassium-loaded rats.

This study was designed to determine the effects of synthetic rat atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) on plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone secretion in separate groups of normal and potassium-loaded anesthetized rats. Control rats were fed a normal diet of sodium and potassium and had base-line levels of PRA and aldosterone secretion of 25 +/- 3 ng angiotensin I (ANG I).ml-1.h-1 and 0.56 +/- 0.09 ng/min, respectively. Chronic oral potassium loading for 10 days elevated the plasma potassium concentration, stimulated aldosterone secretion to 1.80 +/- 0.18 ng/min (P less than 0.05), and attenuated PRA to 13 +/- 2 ng ANG I.ml-1.h-1 (P less than 0.05). Infusion of ANF at 45 ng.kg-1.min-1 in potassium-loaded rats lowered aldosterone secretion to 1.32 +/- 0.21 ng/min (P less than 0.05) but did not significantly reduce PRA (11 +/- 2 ng ANG I.ml-1.h-1 (P greater than 0.05). A higher ANF infusion dose of 100 ng.kg-1.min-1 produced a further decrement in aldosterone secretion to 1.15 +/- 0.26 ng/min (P less than 0.05) and also reduced PRA to 3 +/- 1 ng ANG I.ml-1.h-1 (P less than 0.05). In the control rats, aldosterone secretion and PRA were decreased significantly during infusion with both low and high ANF doses. Base-line arterial pressures among experimental groups were not different (P greater than 0.05) and did not change during infusion of ANF in any group. These results indicate that ANF can inhibit chronic potassium-stimulated aldosterone secretion in the rat independently of its inhibitory actions on renin release.
Synthesis of bidirectional texture functions on arbitrary surfaces

The bidirectional texture function (BTF) is a 6D function that can describe textures arising from both spatially-variant surface reflectance and surface mesostructures. In this paper, we present an algorithm for synthesizing the BTF on an arbitrary surface from a sample BTF. A main challenge in surface BTF synthesis is the requirement of a consistent mesostructure on the surface, and to achieve that we must handle the large amount of data in a BTF sample. Our algorithm performs BTF synthesis based on surface textons, which extract essential information from the sample BTF to facilitate the synthesis. We also describe a general search strategy, called the k-coherent search, for fast BTF synthesis using surface textons. A BTF synthesized using our algorithm not only looks similar to the BTF sample in all viewing/lighthing conditions but also exhibits a consistent mesostructure when viewing and lighting directions change. Moreover, the synthesized BTF fits the target surface naturally and seamlessly. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm with sample BTFs from various sources, including those measured from real-world textures.
Breast cancer risk prediction using the novel germ-line signatures in epigenome regulatory pathways.

1500 Background: Epigenetic regulatory pathways are intensely studied for their involvement in breast tumorigenesis, however little is currently known about the genetic variation in epigenome compo...
Effects of Fluctuating Diel Temperatures on Longevity and Oviposition Rate of Adult Female Lesser Cornstalk Borers (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Effects of sinusoidally fluctuating diurnal temperature regimes on longevity and daily oviposition rate of adult female lesser cornstalk borers (LCB), Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Zeller), were determined in controlled environment chambers. Mean daily oviposition rate decreased exponentially with an increase in adult age and changed with the temperature regime. Adults held in a cool day/hot night environment had a significantly lower daily oviposition rate than those held in a hot day/cool night or a very hot day/warm night regime. Total number of eggs laid per female LCB was less in the cool day/hot night regime than in the other two environments. Longevity of adult female LCB was greater in all three fluctuating temperature environments than in constant-temperature regimes reported in the literature.
Hours Aren't Enough: New Methodologies for the Valuation of Community-Engaged Learning.

Research on community-engaged learning tends to view this activity primarily, if not exclusively, from the vantage point of its benefits and challenges for students and educational institutions. Nevertheless, at least one other major actor is involved in this activity: the community. Neglect of the community perspective diminishes the overall value of student engagement. In this article we address this oversight by presenting new methodologies for valuing student engagement that take into account the community perspective. We argue that these approaches, which have their roots in the valuation of volunteer contributions to work organizations, can be extended fruitfully to the valuation of community-engaged learning projects in institutions of higher learning. We recommend that application of these methodologies become an accepted part of the duties of university offices responsible for student engagement, and that researchers and practitioners continue to investigate more fully the value of engaged learning projects for the community.
Imprinting: Transfer of the following response after initial attachment

Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) were imprinted to an auditory-visual stimulus complex. After the critical period, experimental Ss were exposed to the original auditory stimulus plus new visual object. Controls were exposed to the new visual object alone. In subsequent tests with the new object, experimental birds showed a significantly greater attachment than controls.
John Derricke’s Image of Irelande, Sir Henry Sidney, and the massacre at Mullaghmast, 1578

One of the bitterest fruits of human conflict is the resort to massacre. From the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre in 1572 to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, combatants have regularly attempted to defeat their enemies through acts of indiscriminate killing. The history of early modern European colonial expansion is replete with such incidents. The remembering and recounting of them has become the stuff of historical and political controversy. The aim of this article is not to review these painful episodes, but to examine the sixteenth-century context in which these resorts to massacre occurred; to focus on one particular atrocity that achieved some notoriety in Ireland in the early modern period; and to suggest that a now largely forgotten episode, at Mullaghmast in County Kildare in 1578, was part of a pattern of conquest which implicated not only the soldiers and settlers who served in the Gaelic localities, but also the upper echelons of the English administration in Ireland. This pattern was accompanied by an apologetic ideology of civility and savagery best reflected in a central text, John Derricke’s Image of Irelande (1581). Derricke’s Image provides us with sufficient evidence to suggest that indiscriminate slaughter was an accepted tool in the effort to subdue Gaelic Ireland. Indeed, Derricke’s text adds weight to the conclusion that the atrocity at Mullaghmast in 1578 implicates no less a figure than Sir Henry Sidney, the quintessential renaissance English official in Ireland. Mullaghmast is important not only because it demonstrates the officially sanctioned brutality of the conquest, but also because it raises the question of how memory and history are constructed.
At the Origin of a Never-ending Story

Pharmacogenetics, and its recent hypostasis Pharmacogenomics, has been in existence as a separate discipline for about five decades. In spite of multiple cases where the pharmacogenetic approaches successfully resolved complex problems of pharmacotherapy, and proved to be beneficial for the patients, we witness its slow integration into medical practice [1]. The basis for Pharmacogenomics is mounted on a solid scientific pedestal, the Human Genome Project. This project brought us an understanding that genetic variability between individual organisms of the same species is a common biological phenomenon, rather than a rare and pitiful deviation from the original plan. Second, we learned that human genome is not stable. Genomic DNA permanently acquires changes and, under certain biological conditions, passes them to the next generations. Therefore, though all 7 billion people on this planet are made up according to the same general blueprint, every single one of us is really unique by multiple parameters including our capacity to acquire, process, and respond to medications.
ON THIN SETS OF CIRCLES

[F] H. Flanders, Elementary divisors of AB and BA, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 2 (1951), 871-874. [HJ] R. A. Horn and C. R. Johnson, MatrixAnalysis, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1985. [JS] C. R. Johnson and E. A. Schreiner, Explicit Jordan form for certain block triangular matrices, II, Linear Algebra Appl. 164 (1992), 601-613. [PM] W. V. Parker and B. E. Mitchell, Elementary Divisors of Certain Matrices, Duke Math. J. 19 (1952), 483-485. [T] R. C. Thompson, On the Matrices AB and BA, LinearAlgebraSppl. 1(1968), 43-58.
Recovering Selves: Women and the Governance of Conduct in a Residential Drug Treatment Program

SUMMARY This is an ethnographic study of a therapeutic-community drug treatment program comprised of mostly court-mandated clients. It explores how women interact with treatment practices and the language of recovery. I argue that deep and inherent contradictions exist between treatment practice and the needs of drug-using women. In particular I investigate the gender and race implications of drug treatment as a moral project aimed at self-reinvention. I also examine tensions between normalizing power and punishment in the therapeutic community. Treatment is analyzed in the therapeutic community as reflective of broader cultural and neoliberal values that privilege notions of family, community, and responsibility. I claim that the treatment ideal of the self-reliant, active citizen is profoundly problematic for women and mothers
Increasing Liner Anteversion Decreases the Interfacial Strength of Polyethylene Liners Cemented Into Titanium-Alloy Acetabular Shells.

Abstract Background Acetabular component positioning during revision total hip arthroplasty can be suboptimal. Cementation of an acetabular liner into a well-fixed acetabular shell can allow surgeons to correct component version and inclination without the need for extensive revision surgery and progressive pelvic bone loss. However, to date, it is unknown what degree of version can be corrected without sacrificing fixation strength of the construct. In this study, cemented liners were biomechanically evaluated at increasing degrees of liner anteversion. Methods Twenty-five commercially available liners were cemented into acetabular shells at 0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, and 40° of liner anteversion, relative to the acetabular shell (n = 5 per group). Components were then fixed to a materials testing frame and evaluated via an established lever-out testing protocol. Test data were collected via test frame software for calculation of yield and maximum moments during biomechanical testing. Results When liners were cemented at 20°, 30°, and 40° of liner anteversion, a significant decrease in maximum fixation moment was found when compared liners cemented at both 0° and 10° ( P r = −0.566; P = .011 and r = −0.604; P = .006, respectively). Conclusion Biomechanical data from our study suggest that a threshold of acceptable anteversion during revision total hip arthroplasty is
Excitation-contraction coupling and relaxation in porcine carotid arteries are specifically dependent on glucose

Vascular metabolism is compartmentalized, such that aerobic glycolysis is associated with membrane energy-dependent functions and oxidative metabolism correlates with vascular contractility. We investigated the importance of glucose, a primary substrate for glycolysis, in maintenance of resting tension and excitation-contraction (EC) coupling in porcine carotid artery. All arteries were precontracted with 80 mM KCl and exposed to hypoxia in the absence of glucose (6 min) to deplete stored glycogen, an alternative substrate for glycolysis. After depletion, sensitivity to agonists was substantially increased. The concentration of norepinephrine (NE) that induced half-maximal response (EC50) was significantly decreased under glucose-free conditions, and the maximal response was unchanged. The decrease in EC50, or increase in sensitivity, was reversed by glucose, but not by beta-hydroxybutyrate, a substrate for oxidative metabolism. Similar results were obtained in concentration-isometric force responses of histamine and KCl. Importantly, measurements of high-energy phosphagen content in freeze-clamped arteries indicate that these substrate perturbations were not associated with significant changes in global energy stores. Responses to a single dose of NE or histamine in Ca(2+)-free medium were significantly lower if intracellular Ca2+ stores were loaded in the presence of beta-hydroxybutyrate than in the presence of glucose, suggesting that normal maintenance of intracellular Ca2+ stores also depends specifically on glucose. Furthermore 14 of 26 rings exhibited an increase in resting tension and/or oscillation in the absence of glucose, despite near-normal force responses to KCI. This phenomenon was reversed by nifedipine or glucose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Commenting Straight from the Underground: N.W.A., Police Brutality, and YouTube as a Space for Neoliberal Resistance

ABSTRACTThis article argues that videos of N.W.A.’s “Fuck tha Police” uploaded to YouTube represent performative and spatial audience resistance within a neoliberal context. Analyzing YouTube comments sections, I argue that audiences use the four “Fuck tha Police” videos’ YouTube sites as landmarks of resistance through mediated emotional excess. This expression reestablishes the public community discourses missing from neoliberal culture, reintroducing the systemic context of racial police brutality. Finally, I argue that audience comments are testimonials, recasting the space of YouTube to mirror N.W.A.’s mock courtroom. In each of these performances of resistance, though, audiences work within institutional media structures to claim audience ownership of N.W.A.’s message.
GPR30 regulates diet-induced adiposity in female mice and adipogenesis in vitro

Recent studies showed that GPR30, a seven-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptor, is a novel estrogen receptor (ER) that mediates some biological events elicited by estrogen in several types of cancer cells. However, its physiological or pathological role in vivo is unclear. Here, we show that GPR30 knockout (GPRKO) female mice were protected from high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, blood glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. The decreased body weight gain in GPRKO female mice is due to the reduction in body fat mass. These effects occurred in the absence of significant changes in food intake, intestinal fat absorption, triglyceride metabolism, or energy expenditure. However, GPR30 had no significant metabolic effects in male mice fed the HFD and both sexes of mice fed a chow diet. Further, GPR30 expression levels in fat tissues of WT obese female mice were greatly increased, whereas ERα and β expression was not altered. Deletion of GPR30 reduced adipogenic differentiation of adipose tissue-derived stromal cells. Conversely, activation of GPR30 enhanced adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. These findings provide evidence for the first time that GPR30 promotes adipogenesis and therefore the development of obesity in female mice exposed to excess fat energy.
Functional Divergence of the L-Fucose System in Mutants of Escherichi coli

The catabolic system for l-fucose of Escherichia coli has given rise to a number of novel metabolic functions. Studies on this system have yielded illustrations of three concepts for biochemical evolution: (1) a pyridine nucleotide-linked oxidoreductase can be elected by the cell to serve as either a dehydrogenase or a reductase, depending primarily on the mode of regulating the expression of the structural gene and on the nature of the preceding and following reactions in the pathway; (2) genetic mobilization of components of an established metabolic systems for a novel function can lead to the extinction of the remaining genes that become superfluous; and (3) once the expression of a structural gene is liberated from its normal regulatory constraint to provide a new service, the gene product can act as steppingstone for the elaboration of other novel metabolic pathways—the principle of preadaptation (Lin et al., 1976; Wu, 1978; Lin, 1979, 1981). The evolutionary studies of the fucose system, as well as metabolic systems derived from or related to it, will be presented partly in a historical framework, since the ways in which knowledge unfolds and converges are often of heuristic value themselves.
VerilogA based compact model of a three-terminal ME-MTJ device

We present the first set of VerilogA based models for Magneto-Electric Magnetic Tunnel Junction (ME-MTJ) devices. The compact models have been developed in Verilog-A language and validated by electrical simulations using Cadence Spectre and Schematic Editor. We show simulation results of the ME-MTJ based logic functions i.e. Buffer/Inverter and Majority gate and also show their integrated memory capability. In addition, we have validated the methodology with a full adder simulation. Experimental parameters are included in the models to enhance simulation accuracy. The simulation results indicate that the ME-MTJ models can be used extensively for more complex circuit design.
A high strength alumina-silicon carbide-boron carbide triplex ceramic

A ceramic particulate composite composed of oxide, and carbide ceramics was found to have high strength, hardness, and fracture toughness values. A composition consisting of Al 2 O 3 with 15 vol% SiC and 15 vol% B 4 C additions was produced by hot-pressing at 1650 °C for 30 min, with full density reached after ~5 min at temperature. Both WB and WB 2 were observed, with the W source presumably an impurity from WC milling media, and Al 18 B 4 O 33 was also detected following densification. Strength was ~880 MPa, which is greater than values reported for comparable composites of Al 2 O 3 containing 30 vol% SiC or B 4 C. Vickers hardness was ~21 GPa, and fracture toughness was ~4.5 MPa m ½ , comparable to values reported for the binary mixtures. The calculated critical flaw size of the material was similar to the size of the SiC/B 4 C clusters and microcracking at grain boundaries. The latter resulting from thermal expansion mismatch between the Al 2 O 3 matrix and SiC/B 4 C reinforcing phases.
Quantum Yield of Nitrite from the Photolysis of Aqueous Nitrate above 300 nm.

Photolysis of nitrate (NO3–) produces reactive nitrogen and oxygen species via three different channels, forming: (1) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and hydroxyl radical (•OH), (2) nitrite (NO2–) and oxygen atom (O(3P)), and (3) peroxynitrite (ONOO–). These photoproducts are important oxidants and reactants in surface waters, atmospheric drops, and snowpacks. While the efficiency of the first channel, to form NO2, is well documented, a large range of values have been reported for the second channel, nitrite, above 300 nm. In part, this disagreement reflects secondary chemistry that can produce or destroy nitrite. In this study, we examine factors that influence nitrite production and find that pH, nitrate concentration, and the presence of an •OH scavenger can be important. We measure an average nitrite quantum yield (Φ(NO2–)) of (1.1 ± 0.2)% (313 nm, 50 μM nitrate, pH ≥ 5), which is at the upper end of past measurements and an order of magnitude above the smallest—and most commonly cited—value reported for this ...
Design and structural analysis of unique structures under an internal vacuum

Abstract This paper details an experiment that was used to validate the frame deformation of three vacuums lighter than air vehicle finite element models composed of a frame with a skin covering. The experiment consisted of a simplified one directional loading to determine the behavior of a 3D printed frame, which was compared to a corresponding finite element model. A 3D printed icosahedron frame was loaded in compression using a mechanical testing machine to record the load versus displacement of the structure. It was discovered that the material properties of the printed structure were significantly lower than the quoted values from the manufacturer. The modulus property was extracted from the finite element model that best matched the experiment. The behavior of the frame from the experiment shows that the beams do buckle. The model matches the frame buckling and load retention. The feasibility of a vacuum lighter than air vehicle using an icosahedron, hexakis icosahedron, and celestial frame and skin were then analyzed since the method of analysis was proven through the experiment. The icosahedron showed failure due to material limits and the hexakis icosahedron showed definite feasibility using modern material properties.
Still Life with Rhetoric: A New Materialist Approach for Visual Rhetorics

In 2004, Jiyeon Kang and I argued in the pages of this journal that our foundational theories of the public were too steeped in iconoclasm, or fear of images. We argued that what was needed instead...
Tobacco Use & Sleep Problems Among Active Duty Service Members

Objective: To determine the consequences of tobacco use on a person’s sleep.Methods: Active duty service members self-disclosing their tobacco use participated in a one month study during which time they completed standardized self-assessment scales which included the Pittsburg Insomnia Rating Scale, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. In addition, subjects completed a baseline and one month later home sleep study.Results: Twenty - eight active duty subjects reported their tobacco use with half (n=14, 28, 50%) denying use. When comparing the two groups of tobacco users and non-tobacco users, the independent TTest analyses identified no statistical differences based on the BMI (p=.13) or the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (p=.37). In terms of the respiratory events associated with obstructive sleep apnea significant differences emerged between tobacco users and non-tobacco users. Tobacco users had significantly higher respiratory disturbance index scores, particularly during REM sleep and less oxygen saturation, an observation present at the initial sleep study and in the one month follow-up study. In terms of the apnea/hypopnea index, tobacco users had a nearly significant difference at the initial sleep study and in the one month follow-up study, again with a trend effecting REM sleep.Conclusion: Tobacco use is a national health concern and motivating reluctant users to quit requires pertinent, evidence based clinical persuasion relevant to the person’s life. Preliminary findings in this study suggest tobacco users experience significant sleep disruptions effecting sleep respiration and architecture.
The Purification of Two Intracellular Phospholipase A2s and the Effects of Phospholipase A2 Activating Protein and Mellitin on Their Activities

Inflammatory disease processes are often mediated or modulated by eicosanoids, produced and released by leukocytes, platelets and endothelial cells (for reviews see 1–3). A rate limiting step in eicosanoid biosynthesis is the availability of free arachidonic acid. Increased phospholipase A2 activity is the major mechanism for the release of arachidonic acid for eicosanoid biosynthesis in inflammatory cells (4–17). There appear to be several different modes of regulation of phospholipase A2 activity in response to treatment of cells with different agonists. Stimulation of phospholipase A2 activity may occur in response to an increase in the intracellular Ca+2 concentration (3,4,9,16). Since inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis inhibit the release of arachidonic acid stimulated by some agonists, new protein synthesis is required for arachidonic acid release mediated by these agonists (7–15). Based on these data, we set out to identify a mammalian phospholipase A2 activating protein whose synthesis is regulated by proinflammatory agents. We have identified such a protein and have termed it PLAP, i.e., phospholipase A2 activating protein (17).
The azumaya complex of a commutative ring

This paper has as its aim the "geometric" description of three important groups classically associated with a commutative ring R as the first (and only) three non-trivial homotopy groups of a reduced (and hence connected) simplicial Kan-complex AZ(R) which we wi l l call the Azumaya complex of the ring. This description, which places the Brauer group Br(R) of equivalence classes of Azumaya algebras over the ring as T~, of the complex, the Picard group Pic(R) of isomorphism classes of invertible modules over it as rr a, and the multiplicative group Gm(R) [= R x, the group of units] of the ring as W3, is stable under arbitrary change of the commutative base ring and (among other things) allows the recovery of several wel l-known exact sequences linking these groups as instances of exact sequences of groups obtained in simplicial homotopy theory. This conference paper wi l l be devoted to a direct description of the simplicial complex itself wi th the applications which involve the computation of a particular spectral sequence to appear elsewhere. The complex we construct here is, in fact, one which is associated with a particular "3-category" AZI~ which has a single object (i.e.,0-ceil) the commutative ring R. Its 1-cells are Azumaya algebras over R, A R )R 5
Phytoliths in Paleoecology: Analytical Considerations, Current Use, and Future Directions

Phytoliths, microscopic plant silica bodies, are often preserved in modern and fossil soils and sediment, as well as in archaeological contexts. They record unique characteristics of past vegetation and, unlike palynomorphs and macrofossils, are commonly found in direct association with fossil vertebrates, providing vital paleoecological data. Within pre-Quaternary paleoecology, phytolith analysis has so far elucidated Cretaceous-Cenozoic grass evolution, vegetation change including the spread of grasslands, plant-animal co-evolution, and diets of extinct animals. Because deep-time phytolith analysis is a young field, many methodological aspects are not standardized, preventing comparisons among studies and calibration using published modern analogs. On the other hand, the plethora of novel approaches in recent literature points to the potential of phytolith-based paleoecology. Here, we review the present state of phytolith analysis, focusing on pre-Quaternary applications. We discuss the nature and known biases of the phytolith record, current methods, and examples of when phytoliths contributed substantially to knowledge of past ecosystems, and highlight important future avenues of research.
WILL SHE STAY OR WILL SHE GO? FACILITY-LEVEL IMPACTS ON NURSE AIDES’ RETENTION AND TURNOVER RATES IN OHIO NURSING HOMES

Understanding the predictors of direct-care worker turnover rates in nursing homes has received considerable attention. Yet, much less is known about retention rates for direct care workers. Turnover and retention are critical aspects of facilities’ ability to provide cost-effective, high quality, person-centered care. Facilities operate in an environment necessitating constant recruitment, training, and retention efforts to maintain adequate staffing. Our study examines facility-level factors associated with the retention and turnover rates of State-Tested Nurse Aides (STNAs) using data from the 2015 Ohio Biennial Survey of Long-Term Care (response rate = 93.6%; N=898), Medicaid Cost Reports and Nursing Home Compare. We find the mean retention rate for STNAs was 63.9% (s=18.4), the mean turnover rate was 53.9% (s=28.0), and there was a statistically significant negative correlation between STNA retention and turnover (r=-.284). We describe how characteristics, both modifiable and not modifiable at the facility level, affect turnover and retention rates using multiple regression analysis. Facility modifiable characteristics include wage rate, administrator tenure, RN/LPN turnover/retention rates, staffing hours per resident, special unit staffing patterns, culture change, and person-centered care. Non-modifiable characteristics include Medicaid per diem rate, percentage of Medicare residents, facility ownership, facility size, region, occupancy rate, and chain affiliation. Our study compares if the factors that improve turnover also improve retention and provides recommendations about modifiable factors related to direct care worker retention and turnover rates.
Surgery for traumatic fractures of the upper thoracic spine (T1-T6).

Background The management of traumatic upper thoracic spine fractures (T1-T6) is complex due to the unique biomechanical/physiological characteristics of these levels and the nature of the injuries. They are commonly associated with multiple other traumatic injuries and severe spinal cord injuries. We describe the safety and efficacy of surgery for achieving stability and maintaining reduction of upper thoracic T1-T6 spine fractures. Methods We retrospectively analyzed a series of traumatic unstable upper thoracic (T1-T6) spine fractures treated at one institution between 1993 and 2016. All patients were assessed neurologically and underwent complete preoperative radiographic analysis of their T1-T6 spine fractures including assessment of instability. Neurological and radiographic outcomes including fusion rates, kyphotic deformity, and successful reduction of the fracture were evaluated along with hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit LOS, and overall complication rates. Results There were 43 patients (29 males, 14 females) with an average age of 37.7 years. Between 1993 and 1999, 8 patients were treated with hook/rod constructs, whereas between 1995 and 2016, 35 patients received pedicle screw fixation utilizing intraoperative fluoroscopy or computed tomography (CT) navigation. Forty-three patients had a total of 178 levels fused. In this series, there were no intraoperative vascular or neurological complications. Instrumentation was removed in five patients due to pain, wound infection, or hardware failure. The mean hospital LOS was 21.1 days (range 4-59 days), and there was a 95% fusion rate based on follow-up imaging (X-rays or CT scan). Conclusions Surgical treatment of upper thoracic spine fractures (T1-T6), although complex, is safe and effective. Reduction and fixation of these fractures decreases the risk of further neurological complications, allows for earlier mobilization, and correlates with shorter hospital LOS and improved outcomes.
The (Not So) Deep Time of Social Media Theater: An Afterword

In a concluding afterword, Sarah Bay-Cheng considers the legacies of more recent media from the mid-twentieth century, primarily the relationships between the emergence of television and computers post-World War II. Reexamining the critical reflections of French sociologist, Jacques Ellul in his The Technological Society (1954; trans. 1964), she considers contemporary performances that draw on the formal, conceptual, and technological characteristics from that period, in particular the structure of television boxes and their parallels to twenty-first-century social media. As an example, she analyzes the performance installation, My Voice Has an Echo in It (2014), by Kenneth Collins and his New York-based company Temporary Distortion. Considering contemporary media, Bay-Cheng demonstrates how current media forms continue to reconfigure and replay earlier medial histories.
Poor Performance Flagging Is Associated With Fewer Transplantations at Centers Flagged Multiple Times.

Background Lung transplantation outcomes are heavily scrutinized, given the high stakes of these operations, yet the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) method of using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) risk-adjusted outcomes to identify underperforming centers is controversial. We hypothesized that CMS flagging results in conservative behavior for recipient and organ selection, resulting in fewer patients added to the waitlist and fewer transplantations performed. Methods SRTR reports from July 2012 through July 2017 were included. Center characteristics were compared, stratified by number of flagging events. The impact of flagging for underperformance on risk aversion outcomes was analyzed using a mixed-effects regression model. Results A total of 72 centers had reported SRTR data during the study period. Of these, 21 centers (29%) met flagging criteria a median of 2 times (interquartile range, 1 to 4 times) for a total of 53 events. Flagging had no statistically significant impact on waitlist or transplantation volume and patient selection by mixed-effects modeling. Despite similar average expected 1-year survival (86.6% versus 87.7%, p = 0.27), centers that were flagged only once added more patients per year to the waitlist (16.3 patients versus 7.8 patients, p = 0.01) and performed more transplantations per year (28.4 transplantations versus 11.1 transplantations, p = 0.01). Conclusions This analysis defines center-level trends in lung transplantation after CMS flagging. Contrary to our primary hypothesis, flagging did not result in temporal center-level changes. However, programs on prolonged probation demonstrated reduced activity, which likely indicates a shift to higher performing centers.
Towards All-digital mmWave Massive MIMO: Designing around Nonlinearities

The small carrier wavelengths at mmWave frequencies enable a large number of antenna elements to be packed into a relatively small form factor. While existing implementations employ RF beamforming, it is now becoming possible to realize fully digital beamforming, with each antenna interfaced to a separate RF chain. This opens up the possibility of supporting multiuser MIMO, with the number of simultaneous users scales linearly with the number of antenna elements. In this paper, we investigate the impact of two fundamental hardware challenges in supporting such a fully digital architecture: the large bandwidth limits the available precision of analog-to-digital conversion, and the massive number of RF chains at mmWave frequencies constrains area and power consumption, which motivates relaxing the specifications on RF nonlinearities such as the IIP3. We provide guidelines on ADC precision and RF specifications for a multiuser MIMO uplink using a linear MMSE receiver, with nominal parameters corresponding to outdoor picocells operating at a data rate of 10 Gbps per user, and a carrier frequency of 140 GHz. Specifically, in nonlinearity-limited scenarios, we show that the output SNR of a user is proportional directly to the intrinsic SNR due to the nonlinearity self-noise and inversely to the system load factor.
Coordination Between the Radioastronomy Service and the Radiodetermination Satellite Service in the 1612 MHZ Band

The Radiodetermination Satellite Service (RDSS) provides radiolocation and limited communication for users of aeronautical, marine and terrestrial vehicles. A system of the RDSS is being developed in the United States by the Geostar Corporation (Rothblatt, 1988). In this system signals from a control center are transmitted to transceivers on users’ vehicles through one of a series of two or three satellites spaced along the geostationary orbit, and responses are received through each of these satellites. If three satellites are used, locations of vehicles can be determined from the measured times of transmission from the control center to the user and back via different satellite paths. If two satellites are used the timing data must be supplemented by information such as altitude data from a terrain map, or an altimeter reading from the user’s vehicle, which can be encoded in the response transmitted back. Computation of the vehicle location is performed at the control center. The equipment at the vehicle can be relatively simple since its basic function is that of a transponder, and intervention by the vehicle operator is not necessarily required. However, provision can also be made for the inclusion of short coded messages from the vehicle, so the unit on the vehicle is usually referred to as a transceiver. The system is designed to meet the needs of various users; for example, trucking companies which must periodically monitor the locations of vehicles in a widely distributed fleet. Position information can be relayed to the company headquarters as well as to the vehicle operator. The role played by the central control computer in determining the locations requires that all vehicles using the service identify themselves by a transmitted code. Thus developers and operators of RDSS systems can lease their services to vehicle users.
Numerical investigation of the effects of operating parameters in the vibration assisted nano impact machining of single crystalline silicon by loose abrasive using molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract In this paper, the large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator (LAMMPS) is used to perform three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) to model a novel nanomachining process (VANILA), in which an atomic force microscope (AFM) is used as a platform and the nano abrasives are injected in the slurry between the silicon workpiece and the vibrating AFM probe. The vibration of the AFM probe generates kinetic energy for the abrasives to impact the workpiece and consequently results in nanoscale material removal. The range of the impact speed is from 100 m/s to 200 m/s, which is the theoretically calculated impact speed. The diameter of the diamond abrasive is kept constant at 40 A. Tersoff many-body potential is used to calculate the interatomic forces between the Si-Si atoms and Morse potential is used to compute the Si-diamond interactions. The position and velocity of all atoms are computed using the Velocity-Verlet algorithm. The effects of the operating parameters (impact speed, impact angle, and operating temperature) on the depth and width of generated nanocavities along with the impact-induced phase transformation in the VANILA process are investigated. The open visualization tool (OVITO) is used to postprocess and visualize the 3D MDS results. The simulation results show that the operating parameters have substantial influence on the depth and width of the generated nanocavities and phase transformation is clearly observed. The relations between nanocavity depth and width and operating parameters are established using multilinear regression technique in MATLAB per the simulation results.
Electrically driven, optically levitated microscopic rotors

We report on the electrically driven rotation of $2.4\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$-radius, optically levitated dielectric microspheres. Electric fields are used to apply torques to a microsphere's permanent electric dipole moment, while angular displacement is measured by detecting the change in polarization state of light transmitted through the microsphere (MS). This technique enables greater control than previously achieved with purely optical means because the direction and magnitude of the electric torque can be set arbitrarily. We measure the spin-down of a microsphere released from a rotating electric field, the harmonic motion of the dipole relative to the instantaneous direction of the field, and the phase lag between the driving electric field and the dipole moment of the MS due to drag from residual gas. We also observe the gyroscopic precession of the MS when the axis of rotation of the driving field and the angular momentum of the microsphere are orthogonal. These observations are in quantitative agreement with the equation of motion. The control offered by the electrical drive enables precise measurements of microsphere properties and torque as well as a method for addressing the direction of angular momentum for an optically levitated particle.
Transgenic expression of human PRSS2 exacerbates pancreatitis in mice

We read with great interest the study by Hegyi et al 1 which reported that a commonly occurring haplotype spanning the PRSS1-PRSS2 locus (encoding human cationic and anionic trypsinogens) is associated with chronic pancreatitis. While PRSS1 is the major focus in many studies,2 3 PRSS2 is also a major trypsinogen isoform synthesised in human pancreas. In normal human, the PRSS1/PRSS2 ratio is approximately 2:1.4 Chronic alcoholism increases the risk of pancreatitis. Strikingly, in these patients, total trypsinogen secretion was increased with selective upregulation of PRSS2, reversing the PRSS1/PRSS2 ratio.5 In vitro studies have shown human PRSS2 more sensitive to autocatalytic degradation and with lower autoactivation than PRSS1.6 In test tube assays under conditions of intracellular pathological trypsinogen activation, mixtures of PRSS1 and PRSS2 with increasing ratios of PRSS2 had markedly decreased rates of trypsinogen activation and yields of active trypsin.6 These observations led to a hypothesis that upregulation of PRSS2 may play a protective role against pancreatitis.6 …
Wideband Frequency Harmonic Resonance Analysis and Suppression Method of Power Grid

The distributed capacitances of the high-voltage transmission lines are easily coupled with the inductive components in the power grid to generate harmonic resonances, which amplifies the voltage and current harmonics and reduces the power quality of the power grid. Taking a 220kV substation system in Guangxi as an example, this paper analyzes the mechanism of harmonic resonance of power grid by establishing grid impedance equivalent model and singular value analysis method firstly. Then a harmonic suppression method based on SiC MOSFET is proposed. Correctness of the theoretical analysis of harmonic resonance and effectiveness of the harmonic suppression method are verified by simulations.
Academic Challenges for Chinese Transfer Students in Engineering.

This article describes a research study determining the most significant academic challenges experienced by Chinese transfer students in engineering at an American university. The survey-based study examined eight areas where transfer students may have academic difficulty and determined that the most significant of those concern transfer credit issues, student–instructor and student–student language difficulties, and classroom culture differences. The cultural differences, related to course syllabi, classroom discussion and group work, and frequency of assignments and exams, are partially explained in terms of a theoretical framework based on Hofstede’s power distance and risk avoidance elements. Recommendations are made of ways to ease these challenges and make the intercultural experience richer for both the transfer students and their American hosts.
Client Choice for Indigent Criminal Defendants: Theory and Implementation

With rare exceptions, existing systems for effectuating the indigent criminal defendant’s right to counsel range from disappointing to scandalously inadequate. Inadequate funding, though always prominently mentioned, is often merely a symptom of a problem that weakens almost all indigent defense systems, whether poorly funded or not -- the fact that the indigent defendant is never permitted to select his own attorney. In previous articles, I argued that arguments against client choice are almost entirely bogus. The concept nonetheless drew little interest, but that situation recently changed when the Texas Indigent Defense Commission put the proposal into effect on a trial basis. Unlike every other American jurisdiction, Comal County, Texas, now permits indigent defendants to select the attorney who will represent them at state expense. In this article, I explain the theoretical underpinnings of client choice, discuss its implementation in Comal County, and consider its prospects for success there and elsewhere.
Geographic Variability and Pathogen-Specific Considerations in the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Granulomatous Disease

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare but serious primary immunodeficiency with varying prevalence and rates of X-linked and autosomal recessive disease worldwide. Functional defects in the phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase complex predispose patients to a relatively narrow spectrum of bacterial and fungal infections that are sometimes fastidious and often difficult to identify. When evaluating and treating patients with CGD, it is important to consider their native country of birth, climate, and living situation, which may predispose them to types of infections that are atypical to your routine practice. In addition to recurrent and often severe infections, patients with CGD and X-linked female carriers are also susceptible to developing many non-infectious complications including tissue granuloma formation and autoimmunity. The DHR-123 oxidation assay is the gold standard for making the diagnosis and it along with genetic testing can help predict the severity and prognosis in patients with CGD. Disease management focuses on prophylaxis with antibacterial, antifungal, and immunomodulatory medications, prompt identification and treatment of acute infections, and prevention of secondary granulomatous complications. While hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation is the only widely available curative treatment for patients with CGD, recent advances in gene therapy may provide a safer, more direct alternative.
On the Expansion Speed of Coronal Mass Ejections: Implications for Self-Similar Evolution

A proper characterization of the kinematics of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is important not only for practical purposes, i.e. space weather forecasting, but also to improve our current understanding of the physics behind their evolution in the middle corona and into the heliosphere. The first and core step toward this goal is the estimation of the three main components of the CME speeds, namely the expansion speed relative to the center of motion in both, the radial and lateral directions, and the propagation speed (i.e. $V_{\mathrm{front}}$ , $V_{\mathrm{lat}}$ , $V_{\mathrm{bulk}}$ , respectively). To this aim, we exploit the observations obtained with COR2 onboard the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) from 2007 to 2014 to investigate the relationships among the different components as a function of the heliocentric distance of the CME events. Here, we analyze a sample of 475 CMEs. The selected events exhibit clear flux rope signatures as seen either edge on (i.e. F-CMEs: three-part structure, presence of a cavity) or face on (i.e. L- or loop CMEs) in white light images. Our main findings are: i) L-CMEs show almost twice as large expansion speeds compared to F-CMEs ( $V_{\mathrm {front},\mathrm{L}}=367~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ , $V_{\mathrm{lat},\mathrm{L}}=365~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ vs. $V_{\mathrm{front},\mathrm{F}}=215~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ , $V_{\mathrm{lat},\mathrm{F}}= 182~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ ); ii) the relationship between the two components of the expansion speeds is linear and does not change with height; iii) the ratio of the propagation speed to the lateral expansion speed is a function of the angular width that describes the self-similarity evolution of a CME; and iv) 65% of the CMEs exhibit a self-similar evolution at 10 solar radii, reaching 70% at 15 solar radii.