cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Computational Models of Thermal Cycling in Chemical Systems

Computational models of chemical systems provide clues to counterintuitive interactions and insights for new applications. We have been investigating models of chemical reaction systems under forced, thermal cycling conditions and have found that some hypothetical processes generate higher yields under thermal cycling than under single, fixed temperature conditions. A simple kinetic model of an actual process, the two-temperature polymerase chain reaction that replicates DNA, is used to simulate the important features of a chemical system operating under thermal cycling. This model provides insights into the design of other chemical systems that may have important applications in chemistry, biochemistry and chemical engineering.
Experimental verification of the correlation factor for vacancy diffusion in silver chloride

Abstract Diffusion coefficients for Ag tracers and ionic conductivity have been measured in AgCl containing 100 to 250 mole ppm Cd at temperatures of 125–225°C. Under these circumstances cation vacancies should be dominant, thereby allowing an unambiguous comparison of the measured correlation factor to the theoretical value for vacancies on a f.c.c. lattice. In practice it is found necessary to correct for a finite concentration gradient of Cd along the length of the samples and for a small contribution of residual interstitial Ag ions at the higher temperatures. The possible contribution to diffusion of Ag by cation vacancies associated with divalent Cd ions to form complexes is shown to be negligible at all temperatures because of the very small jump frequency of the Cd ion in the complex. With these corrections complete agreement is found between experimental and theoretical correlation factors within the experimental error of 1.0 to 1.5 per cent, thus demonstrating the absence of any systematic error in either diffusion or conductivity measurements.
The D0 Detector for the Fermilab Collider and the Future Physics Program at CESR

By late ’86 the Fermilab superconducting ring is expected to be operating as a proton-antiproton collider, sometimes known as TEV I, at a c.m. energy \(\sqrt s = 2\) TeV, with a luminosity of 1030 cm-2s-1. Concurrently a machine improvement program is under way at the CESR e+e- collider at Cornell, with the aim to raise the collider luminosity up to values of ~ 5 pb-1 day-1. Two new detectors have been designed to take advantage of the promises of the new colliders in several fields of particle physics: the ‘DO’ detector at Fermilab and the ‘CLEO II’ detector at CESR. The design principles of the two detectors and some examples of the physics which they can address are presented.
Antisense oligonucleotides to the p65 subunit of NF-kappa B block CD11b expression and alter adhesion properties of differentiated HL-60 granulocytes

NF-kappa B is a pleiotropic regulator of a variety of genes implicated in the cellular response to injury. This function has been attributed to the coordinated binding of subunits of NF-kappa B to distinct regions of the promoter elements of numerous genes, including cytokines, growth factor receptors, and adhesion molecules. Antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides to the p50 and p65 subunits of the NF- kappa B complex were used to define the physiologic role of this transcription factor in resting and stimulated granulocytes. A reduction in the expression of p65 was produced by treatment with the phosphorothioate antisense oligodeoxynucleotide. This reduction was accompanied by rapid changes in the cellular adhesion of dimethyl sulfoxide-differentiated HL-60 leukemia cells stimulated by 12-O- tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). These effects were characterized by a marked reduction in CD11b integrin expression on the surface of treated cells. Furthermore, the p65 antisense oligomer effectively abolished an upregulation of CD11b that was produced by formyl-met-leu- phe and TPA. However, the p65 antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide had no significant effect on the production of reactive oxygen intermediates or on phagocytosis by these cells. These findings indicate that antisense oligomers to p65 can be used to define the role of NF-kappa B in the activation pathways of neutrophils.
Computational Examination of the Mechanism of Alkene Epoxidation Catalyzed by Gallium(III) Complexes with N-Donor Ligands

The ability of gallium(III) complexes to catalyze the epoxidation of alkenes by peracetic acid has been examined with density functional theory calculations. According to the calculations, the chloride anions of the precatalyst [Ga(phen)2Cl2]+ (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) can be displaced by either acetic or peracetic acid through dissociative ligand exchange pathways; both acetic and peracetic acid deprotonate upon binding to the formally tricationic metal center. Because of the high basicity of peracetate relative to that of chloride, only the acetate for chloride exchange occurs spontaneously, providing a rationale for the preponderance of gallium acetate adducts observed in the reaction mixtures. With respect to the mechanism of olefin epoxidation, the computational results suggest that the peracetic acid is most efficiently activated for redox activity when it binds to the metal center in a κ2 fashion, with the carbonyl oxygen atom serving as the second point of attachment. The phen ligands’ coordina...
Adaptive Segmentation for Air Gestures Identification

Having a user-friendly Human-CAD interaction with high speed and accuracy plays a key role in development of future intelligent modeling environments. A major part of this puzzle is sketch identification using either 2D gestures — which is commonly recorded from mouse, light pen and touchpad — or air gestures captured from some newly emerged devices such as Leap Motion and Soft-Kinect. To this end, we present a leaning based technique for segmentation of air gestures. The proposed technique can detect the separation points of any single-stroke air gesture using specific motion features such as speed, curvature and center of curvature. Two types of separation points are considered: 1) rough separation points or simply corner points and 2) soft separation points such as inflection points. The segmentation is performed in two steps: Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to adaptively differentiate the corner points from regular points. A soft segmentation method is then implemented to further break the rough segments into a set of smaller arcs and lines based on sudden change in the center of curvature. The experimental validation shows robust performance of the proposed method and low computation expenses.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
URANS Study of Air-Layer Drag Reduction in a High- Reynolds-Number Flat-Plate Turbulent Boundary Layer

The air layer formation in a high Reynolds-number flat plate turbulent boundary layer is simulated using a two-phase sharp interface Cartesian grid solver. The interface is tracked by a coupled level set and volume-of-fluid method (CLSVOF) and turbulence is modeled by a Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model with a wall function (WF) approach. The air layer along the entire test plate is successfully achieved and the drag reduction is approximately 100%, which agrees very well with the experimental findings. With reduced air flow rate, bubble drag reduction (BDR) is also observed; the computational results also qualitatively match the experiments. The transitional region from BDR to ALDR is also observed in the present simulation. However, the critical air flow rate to form the ALDR is lower in the simulations than in the experiments. Several possible reasons are likely accounting for the low critical air flow rate in the simulations, such as SA-WF turbulence model, three-dimensional instability and surface tension effects. The critical air flow rate does not change much with grid refinement.
Evaluation of single radial immunodiffusion for quantitation of plasma fibrinogen.

The technic of single radial immunodiffusion (RID) for quantitation of plasma fibrinogen was evaluated. Reproducibility compared favorably with that of a standard method that depends upon clotting of fibrinogen by added thrombin. Correlation between the two methods and recovery were excellent. Difficulties with the method were nonlinearity of the calibration curves, even after 14 days of diffusion, and interference by split products of fibrinogen. It is important to call attention to these problems, since immunodiffusion plates for measurement of fibrinogen have recently been made available from commercial sources. Although these problems and the slowness of RID limit its use as a routine method for plasma fibrinogen, the technic offers the advantages of ultramicro sample size, immunologic specificity, and sensitivity for quantitation of fibrinogen in other body fluids of man and in plasma of small experimental animals.
Aphodius pardalis Lec. A New Turf Pest

In April, 1954, grub damage to golf fairways at Eugene, Oregon, was called to the attention of the writers by Mr. Howard, greenskeeper of the Eugene Country Club. He indicated that some 125 to 150 acres of turf were affected. Grubs found beneath the injured sod were identified as Aphodius spp.
Asking about Suicide as Suicide Prevention: The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)

Suicide has long resisted prevention efforts and continues to be a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Improving methods for identifying and predicting suicide risk is critical to suicide prevention. Historically, variability in definitions, terminology and assessment methods stymied suicide risk identification and communication. Uniform language and guidelines for characterizing suicidal thoughts and behaviors can render suicide risk assessment reliable independent of the setting, accessible to non-mental health professionals, and can unlock the possibility of nationwide suicide prevention programs built on communication across all sectors of society. The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) was developed to distinguish the domains of suicidal ideation, suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious behavior, differentiate types of thoughts and behaviors and provide standard definitions and suggested questions to guide assessment. The scale has helped mitigate some of the weaknesses of the traditional open-ended clinical inquiry, improved screening accuracy and predictive validity of risk estimates relative to several other measures that combine the ideation and behavior domains. The growing utilization of the scale across clinical practice, research and public health is changing the way we accumulate knowledge about the etiology, epidemiology and treatment of suicide and is beginning to affect suicidal behavior rates. Examples of successful implementation programs in healthcare, the military and research are discussed.
Systemic Chemotherapeutic Agents as Adjunctive Periodontal Therapy: A Narrative Review and Suggested Clinical Recommendations

Periodontitis is an inflammatory condition of the periodontium that leads to destruction of the supporting structures of the tooth, including loss of attachment and alveolar bone. A clinician's first line of treatment for periodontitis is traditionally mechanical periodontal therapy, including oral hygiene instructions together with scaling and root planing. How- ever, it has been shown that mechanical therapy may not always be effective in halting disease. Adjunctive chemotherapeutics, such as systemic antibiotics or host-modulating agents, may improve the treatment outcome of periodontitis. Using relevant terms such as “adjunctive antibiotics” and “systemic chemotherapeutics” in a manual search of the PubMed database, the authors have prepared a narrative review of the chemotherapeutics currently used in the field. Results of the search and review show that adjunctive antibiotics may be useful in cases of aggressive periodontitis, refractory periodontitis, and in some patients who are immunocompromised, such as heavy smokers or poorly controlled diabetics. Host-modulating agents are generally recommended only as the last resort and are limited to the use of submicrobial dose doxycycline. Microbial testing may be indicated, particularly in aggressive periodontitis cases or refractory cases. Using these results, a decision tree is provided for clinicians to determine when adjunctive chemotherapeutics may be indicated.
Explaining Pathways to Basic and In-Home Water Access Across Low and Middle Income Countries

Across low and middle income countries, there has been a policy focus on improving household water access since 1990. Despite this focus, however, there is little rigorous empirical evidence showing which economic, political, geographic, social and institutional factors contribute to variation in access across countries. This study tests different hypothesized pathways to both basic and in-home water access over the period 1950-2010. Findings suggest that concerted multilateral efforts since 1990 have diminished the influence of geographic and cultural deterrents to access. Among non-institutional factors, economic productivity shows the most consistent and positive relationship to access, whereas political evidence is mixed.
A Prospective Assessment of Clinical and Patient-Reported Outcomes of Initial Non-Operative Management of Ventral Hernias.

Little is known about the clinical or patient-reported outcomes with non-operative management of ventral hernias. The aim of this prospective study is to determine the clinical and patient-reported outcomes of patients undergoing initial non-operative treatment of their ventral hernia. This was a prospective observational study of patients undergoing non-operative management of ventral hernias. Primary outcome was rate of surgical repair of the ventral hernias. Secondary outcomes included rate of emergency repair, elective repair, and emergency room visits. In addition, validated measurement tools for patient satisfaction and cosmetic satisfaction with their abdomen, abdominal pain, and patient function (modified Activities Assessment Scale, AAS) were utilized. Of 128 patients who underwent non-operative management of a ventral hernia, 99(77.3%) patients were followed for a median (interquartile range) of 12.2(10.4–13.5) months. Twenty (20.2%) patients had at least 1 emergency room visit associated with their hernia. One-quarter (n = 2323.2%) underwent ventral hernia repair following enrollment. Twenty (20.2%) underwent elective repair, and 3 (3.0%) underwent emergent repair. Based on the modified AAS survey, patients who were managed non-operatively experienced no change in patient centered outcomes, while patients converted to operative management had improved scores. While the short-term risk of emergency surgery with non-operative management of ventral hernias is moderate, the chance of an emergency room visit and surgery is high. Patients who undergo non-operative management of their ventral hernias have no change in patient-reported outcomes at one year, while those converted to operative management experience improvement.
Molinism, Creature-types, and the Nature of Counterfactual Implication

Granting that there could be true subjunctive conditionals of libertarian freedom (SCls), I argue (roughly) that there could be such conditionals only in connection with individual "possible creatures" (in contrast to types). This implies that Molinism depends on the view that, prior to creation, God grasps possible creatures in their individuality. In making my case, I explore the notions of counterfactual implication (that relationship between antecedent and consequent of an SCl which consists in its truth) and counterfactual relevance (that feature of an antecedent in virtue of which it counterfactually implies something or other).
Multitargeted Feeding Strategies Improve Nutrition Outcome and Are Associated With Reduced Pneumonia in a Level 1 Trauma Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND Factors impeding delivery of adequate enteral nutrition (EN) to trauma patients include delayed EN initiation, frequent surgeries and procedures, and postoperative ileus. We employed 3 feeding strategies to optimize EN delivery: (1) early EN initiation, (2) preoperative no nil per os feeding protocol, and (3) a catch-up feeding protocol. This study compared nutrition adequacy and clinical outcomes before and after implementation of these feeding strategies. METHODS All trauma patients aged ≥18 years requiring mechanical ventilation for ≥7 days and receiving EN were included. Patients who sustained nonsurvivable injuries, received parenteral nutrition, or were readmitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) were excluded. EN data were collected until patients received an oral diet or were discharged from the ICU. The improvement was quantified by comparing nutrition adequacy and outcomes between April 2014-May 2015 (intervention) and May 2012-June 2013 (baseline). RESULTS The intervention group (n = 118) received significantly more calories (94% vs 75%, P < .001) and protein (104% vs 74%, P < .001) than the baseline group (n = 121). The percentage of patients receiving EN within 24 and 48 hours of ICU admission increased from 41% to 70% and from 79% to 96% respectively after intervention (P < .001). Although there were fewer 28-ay ventilator-free days in the intervention group than in the baseline group (12 vs 16 days, P = .03), receipt of the intervention was associated with a significant reduction in pneumonia (odds ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.89; P = .017) after adjusting sex and Injury Severity Score. CONCLUSIONS Implementation of multitargeted feeding strategies resulted in a significant increase in nutrition adequacy and a significant reduction in pneumonia.
Endovascular Extraction of a Needle from the Internal Carotid Artery: A Novel Approach to a Controversial Dental Misadventure

Objective To review the literature concerning the management of dental needles broken off into the deep spaces of the neck, to report what we believe is the first case of a fractured dental needle migrating into the jugular foramen, and the unconventional use of endovascular intervention to retrieve the needle fragment. Design Case report with review of literature. Setting Academic tertiary care center. Participants Intervention was performed by the otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, vascular surgery, and neurovascular interventional radiology teams. Results Transoral exploration, including palatal split and exposure of the poststyloid parapharyngeal space with C-arm image guidance, was unable to retrieve the broken needle, which traversed the internal carotid lumen with the distal end entering the jugular foramen. Through endovascular intervention, the neurovascular interventional radiology team captured the proximal end of the needle and retrieved it through the femoral artery. The patient recovered uneventfully. Conclusion Fracture and loss of oral injection needles remain a persistent and preventable problem. This case demonstrates a novel, minimally invasive, well-tolerated, and successful method to extract a fractured needle that migrated into the lumen of the internal carotid artery at the level of the skull base.
Combinatorial Therapies in Melanoma: MAPK Inhibitors and Beyond

Melanoma is the most aggressive of the skin cancers, with historically high rates of morbidity and mortality due to its resistance to traditional cytotoxic therapies. Recently, however, breakthroughs in new therapies have dramatically changed clinical outcomes of this disease. These advances emerged from an improved understanding of tumor oncogenesis and the interacting tumor microenvironment. Small molecules that target the oncogenic mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, specifically the tyrosine kinase BRAF and its downstream signaling partner MEK, have demonstrated an improved overall survival and progression-free survival for BRAF-mutant melanoma. Additionally, manipulation of tumor immune surveillance by inhibitors of the immune suppressive programmed cell death 1 receptor (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) pathways have recently demonstrated durable responses in various cancers by promoting an anti-tumor immune response. Application of these targeted and immune-modulatory therapies has shown promising outcomes in melanoma. Combinations of these therapies may hold promise to enhance responses further. In this review, we will discuss the current targeted therapies and immunotherapies, and review the results of combination studies and speculate on future treatment paradigms.
Intrusion detection of multiple attack classes using a deep neural net ensemble

An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a necessity to protect against network attacks. The system monitors the activity within a network of connected computers in order to analyze the activity for intrusive patterns. Should an ‘attack’ event happen, then the system has to respond accordingly. Different machine learning techniques have been proposed in the past roughly falling into two categories namely clustering algorithms and classification algorithms. In this paper, the IDS is designed with a neural network ensemble method to classify the different attacks. The neural network ensemble method comprises autoencoder, deep belief neural network, deep neural network, and an extreme learning machine. The NSL-KDD data set is used to measure the detection rate and false alarm rate of the implemented neural network ensemble method. The detection rate and false alarm rate are the two important measure for IDSs, however, several other measures are also reported on such as confusion matrix, classification accuracy, and AUC (area under curve).
A RETINOIC ACID β2-RECEPTOR AGONIST EXERTS CARDIOPROTECTIVE EFFECTS

We previously discovered that oral treatment with AC261066, a synthetic selective agonist for the retinoic acid β2-receptor, decreases oxidative stress in the liver, pancreas, and kidney of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Since hyperlipidemic states are causally associated with myocardial ischemia and oxidative stress, we have now investigated the effects of AC261066 in an ex vivo ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model in hearts of two prototypic dysmetabolic mice. We found that a 6-week oral treatment with AC261066 in both genetically hypercholesterolemic (ApoE-/-) and obese (HFD-fed) wild-type mice exerts protective effects when their hearts are subsequently subjected to I/R ex vivo in the absence of added drug. In ApoE-/- mice this cardioprotection ensued without hyperlipidemic changes. Cardioprotection consisted of attenuation of infarct size, diminution of norepinephrine (NE) spillover, and alleviation of reperfusion arrhythmias. This cardioprotection was associated with a reduction in oxidative stress and mast cell (MC) degranulation. We suggest that the reduction in myocardial injury and adrenergic activation, and the antiarrhythmic effects, result from decreased formation of oxygen radicals and toxic aldehydes known to elicit the release of MC-derived renin, promoting the activation of the local renin-angiotensin system leading to enhanced NE release and reperfusion arrhythmias. Because these beneficial effects of AC261066 occurred at the ex vivo level following oral drug treatment, our data suggest that AC261066 could be viewed as a therapeutic means to reduce I/R injury of the heart, and potentially also be considered in the treatment of other cardiovascular ailments such as chronic arrhythmias and cardiac failure.
Stressors and Coping Strategies of Homeless Men

1 Major stressors commonly encountered by homeless men are violence to self, theft of belongings, inability to meet basic needs, inconsistent enforcement of rules by shelter staff, and other people's dehumanization or humiliation caused by behavior toward the men. 2 Cognitive, sociocultural, and spiritual coping strategies were frequently used and found to be effective in coping with stressors by homeless men who were either in crisis or alcohol/drug dependent. 3 Severely and persistently mentally ill men had lower mean scores for both use and effectiveness of coping strategies in physical, cognitive, psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual strategies. 4 The longer the duration of homelessness, the lower the mean scores for frequency and effectiveness of use of coping strategies in any of the dimensions.
28 – Trends in marine biofouling research

: The benefit of being the last chapter in a book on fouling is those readers that have followed the logical progression have an appreciation for the complexity of fouling and for the myriad of threads of fouling research which are the foundation for the future. This chapter highlights a few research areas that illustrate concepts that give hope for the future of fouling management. In the best of circumstances new environmentally benign approaches are a minimum of two to three decades from commercialization. The more applied approaches, which all have unknown environmental impacts, should be available in niche applications in less than a decade. To continue with the hypothesis that progress in fouling management will be through a ‘business as usual’ model is untenable. Development and implementation of effective solutions to fouling and other global problems will require that science and society develop new paradigms that combine competition and cooperation in effective and relevant ways.
The impact of length and mathematical operators on the usability and security of system-assigned one-time PINs

Over the last decade, several proposals have been made to replace the common personal identification number, or PIN, with often-complicated but the- oretically more secure systems. We present a case study of one such system, a specific implementation of system-assigned one-time PINs called PassGrids. We apply various modifications to the basic scheme, allowing us to review usabil- ity vs. security trade-offs as a function of the complexity of the authentication scheme. Our results show that most variations of this one-time PIN system are more enjoyable and no more difficult than PINs, although accuracy suffers for the more complicated variants. Some variants increase resilience against obser- vation attacks, but the number of users who write down or otherwise store their password increases with the complexity of the scheme. Our results shed light on the extent to which users are able and willing to tolerate complications to au- thentication schemes, and provides useful insights for designers of new password schemes.
Construction nature: Elements for a post-structuralist political ecology

Abstract This paper argues for the development of a poststructuralist political ecology. While political ecology studies the relationships between society and nature in contexts of power—particularly from the perspective of political economy—this study, it is proposed, must include a consideration of the discourses and practices through which nature is historically produced and known. The paper examines the complex cultural and discursive articulations between natural and social systems established by capital and technoscience, particularly through discourses of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. The paper concludes with the implications of the analysis for imagining alternative productive rationalities in conjunction with social movements.
Domain-Independent Design System

This paper describes the Domain-Independent Design System (DIDS). DIDS provides a set of tools capable of rapidly constructing configuration-design systems from a library of reusable software elements, called mechanisms. The power of DIDS comes from its model of configuration design that enables reusable mechanism to be identified. DIDS contains four components. The first component, the Problem-Solving-Method (PSM) Editor builds PSMs by combining mechanisms. The Code Generator, DIDS’s second component, generates a problem solver from the PSM description created in the editor. The third component, the Knowledge-Acquisition Tool Generator builds a knowledge acquisition (KA) tool that interviews the domain expert to gather the knowledge required by the DIDS-generated problem solver. The final component, the Debugging Tool, monitors the execution of the problem solver to uncover errors made during KA, and to improve the performance of the design tool. This paper presents a scenario demonstrating how DIDS will be used to build configuration systems.
Overview of Protein Degradation in Plant Hormone Signaling

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) controls intracellular protein degradation in all eukaryotic cells and provides a powerful and versatile mechanism through which the activity of specific proteins can be temporally downregulated. In this system, a trio of enzymes known as E1, E2, and E3 promotes the posttranslational modification of protein substrates with a polyubiquitin chain, which serves as the signal for proteasome-mediated proteolysis. In response to various cellular cues, the E3 ubiquitin ligases act at the end of the three-enzyme cascade and play a critical role in both recognizing specific protein targets and facilitating ubiquitin transfer from the E2 enzyme to the substrate. By coupling hormone perception with substrate recognition through the E3 ligases, plants have evolved elegant strategies to use UPS-mediated protein degradation as a primary means to relay hormonal signals. In the plant genomes, the large number of UPS components, particularly the cullin-RING E3 complexes, suggests that the extent of cellular regulation by protein degradation far exceeds what has been realized to date.
Minimally Invasive Approaches for Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spondylolisthesis

The unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression initially was described in the late 1990s and has evolved in conjunction with minimally invasive surgical instrumentation. This technique has been shown to significantly improve bilateral symptoms regardless of the side of approach. It also can be used for multilevel decompressions using the slalom technique with alternating lateralizing sites of access. The over-the-top technique involving a unilateral approach for bilateral decompression helps preserve the posterior tension band and can accomplish the operative goals with better clinical outcomes than traditional open approaches.
A skin dose prediction model based on in vivo dosimetry and ultrasound skin bridge measurements during intraoperative breast radiation therapy

Abstract Purpose Using in vivo measurements from optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) to develop and validate a prediction model for estimating the skin dose received by patients undergoing breast intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). Methods and Materials IORT was performed using INTRABEAM-600 with spherical applicators placed in the lumpectomy cavity. Ultrasound skin bridge measurements were used to determine the applicator-to-skin distance, with OSLDs placed to measure the skin surface dose at the corresponding points. The OSLD response was calibrated for the 50 kVp INTRABEAM-600 output. Models were fit to describe the dose fall-off with increasing applicator-to-skin distance and the best fitting model was chosen for estimating skin dose. Results Twenty four patients with 25 lumpectomy cavities were included, and the average skin dose recorded was 1.18 Gy ± 0.88 Gy, ranging from 0.17 Gy to 4.77 Gy, with an average applicator-to-skin distance of 19.9 mm ± 5.1 mm. An exponential-plateau model was found to best describe the dose fall-off with a root-mean-square error of 0.73. This model was then validated prospectively using skin dose measurements from five consecutive patients. Validation measurements were well within the 95% prediction limits of the model, with a root-mean-square error of 0.52, showing that the prediction model accurately estimates skin dose using ultrasound skin bridge measurements. Conclusions This prediction model constitutes a useful tool for estimating the skin dose received during breast lumpectomy IORT. The model and accompanying 95% confidence intervals can be used to establish a minimum allowable skin bridge distance, effectively limiting the maximum allowable skin dose.
Desensitization in heart transplant recipients: Who, when, and how

The number of heart transplant candidates who have pre-formed antibodies against human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) is increasing over time. The purpose of this review is to discuss the process of antibody desensitization for heart transplant candidates. Specifically, we review the current status of antibody detection including identification, strength, and potential pathogenicity. We discuss which patients and when should they undergo desensitization therapies during heart transplant evaluation. Specific therapies including mechanical removal of antibodies, intravenous immunoglobulins, and novel immunosuppressive agents targeting antibody production will be discussed. Finally, future research strategies to develop novel desensitization therapies for heart transplant candidates will be reviewed.
Evaluating Estimates of Channel Flow in a Continental-Scale Lake-Dominated Basin

AbstractAccurate estimates of continental-scale channel flows are needed to understand spatiotemporal variability in water supplies and the water balance. At regional scales, models of connecting c...
Brachial plexus catheter reservoir for the treatment of upper-extremity cancer pain: technical case report.

Objective and importance Infiltration of the brachial plexus with anesthetics can provide relief of upper-extremity pain from invasive cancer. Because the analgesia is short-lived, however, repeated invasive treatments are necessary. We describe the implantation of a catheter reservoir system, in which anesthetic injections through a subcutaneous port resulted in anesthetic infiltration of the brachial plexus. Clinical presentation A 47-year-old Hispanic man with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx had undergone surgical resection, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy. Two years later, he had locally recurrent disease involving the brachial plexus, neck, and chest wall. The patient's pain was minimally responsive to narcotics, which also caused severe nausea and anorexia. Technique The brachial plexus was localized percutaneously with a needle electrode stimulator. Contrast injection under fluoroscopy confirmed entry into the plexus sheath. With use of the Seldinger technique, two Silastic catheters were placed within the brachial plexus and attached with a "Y" connector to a reservoir. The patient experienced complete relief of upper-extremity pain after a test injection with xylocaine. Thereafter, serial injections of bupivacaine with triamcinolone at 1-week intervals provided complete pain relief. After the treatments were initiated, the patient reported improved sleep and an improvement in his quality of life. Conclusion A catheter reservoir system for brachial plexus analgesia can provide safe and effective analgesia for upper-extremity pain. This technique negates the need for repeated invasive procedures and avoids the complications of neurolysis.
Early Outcomes with Single-antenna High-powered Percutaneous Microwave Ablation for Primary and Secondary Hepatic Malignancies: Safety, Effectiveness, and Predictors of Ablative Failure.

Objective: Microwave ablation (MWA) of liver malignancies has gained much traction over the past 5 years. However, MWA carries relatively higher rates of residual disease compared to resection. Likelihood of MWA success is multifactorial and newer devices with more reliable ablation zones are being developed to overcome these drawbacks. This manuscript is a review of our first 100 liver ablations with the newer single antenna high powered MWA system. Materials and Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients that underwent MWA for either primary or secondary hepatic malignancies between March 2015 and July 2016 was conducted. The complete ablation rates, rate of new lesions, complications, and short-term survival were analyzed. Multiple statistical tests, including multivariate regression, were used to assess risk factors for local residual and recurrent disease. Results: Fifty-three patients (median age 61 ± 9 years, 39 males) underwent 100 MWAs. Of the 100 lesions ablated, 76 were hepatocellular cancers (HCCs) and 24 were metastases. Median lesion size was 16 ± 9 mm. Seventy- five of these patients had multifocal disease targeted in the same session. Seventy patients had cirrhosis (median model for end-stage liver disease score 9 ± 3; Child-Pugh B and C in 42%). An 83% complete lesion ablation rate was seen on follow-up imaging with liver protocol magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography (median follow-up of 1 year). The minor complication rate was 9.4% with no major complications or 30-day mortality. Despite this, evidence of new foci of hepatic disease was found in 47% of patients, the majority (80%) of which were in HCC patients (P < 0.01) and most of these new lesions were in a different hepatic segment (64%). Degree of cirrhosis (P < 0.01), presence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (P = 0.01) and lesion’s subcapsular location (P = 0.03) was significant predictors of residual disease. With the subset analysis of only HCC lesions larger than 1 cm, only the presence of NASH remained significant. Conclusion: The single probe high power MWA of malignant hepatic lesions is safe and effective with minimal morbidity. Degree of cirrhosis, NASH, and subcapsular location was associated with an increased rate of residual disease on short-term follow-up.
Places Are Complex

In terms of studying sprawl and health, a major issue is modeling the complex causal relationship between compositional and contextual factors. We therefore begin with Characteristic 1. The theme of Issue C1 takes two forms. In its positive form, the main point of Issue C1, as Cummins et al [22] state, is that “research in place and health should avoid the false dualism of context and composition by recognizing that there is a mutual reinforcing and reciprocal relationship between people and place” (p. 1825). In its critical form, the main point of C1 is that the “tight interrelationships between individual [composition] and context are not easy to capture in quantitative studies” (Cummins et al, p. 1829). “This is partly why,” explain Cummins et al (2007, p. 1829), “some researchers have adopted important alternative methodological strategies such as qualitative techniques.”
Chapter 4 – Trading Strategies

Traditionally, investing in an asset means buying the asset and holding it for a prolonged time in order to profit from its future gains. For example, if we believe (or we are advised) that a company will perform good in the following year, we invest into that company. The easiest way of investing is to buy the company stocks. If the company does good, the stock price goes up, and our investment gains value. In a sense, investors (long term buyers) become partners of the company for a time period of their choice and they contribute to its growth. On the other hand, there are short term “investors” in the market who are not mainly interested in the performance of the company, but they rather speculate on price variations of its stock and stock derivatives. These players are called traders. They try to identify price inefficiencies and strong trends (up or down) to buy and sell stocks (not necessarily in the same order) with relatively short holding times for the objective of maximized profit at unit risk (risk normalized return).
Surgical Stabilization of Shoulder Instability in Patients With or Without a History of Seizure: A Comparative Analysis.

Purpose To compare patients from a large multicenter cohort with a history of seizure and those without a history of seizure regarding preoperative and intraoperative findings and surgical procedures performed. Methods Patients undergoing shoulder stabilization from 2011 to 2018 at 11 orthopaedic centers were prospectively enrolled. Those with a history of seizure were identified and compared with non-seizure controls. Preoperative demographic, history, physical examination, and imaging findings were collected. Intraoperative findings and surgical procedures performed were recorded. The Mann-Whitney test, χ2 test, and logistic regression analysis were used to examine differences between the groups and define independent risk factors. Owing to the number of statistical tests performed, the false discovery method was used to determine adjusted P values to achieve α Results During enrollment, 25 of 1,298 shoulder stabilization patients (1.9%) had a history of seizure. The sex ratio and age were similar between groups, as was posterior instability incidence (23.2% in control group vs 28.0% in seizure group). Seizure patients more frequently had more than 5 dislocations in the year preceding surgery (P = .016) and had increased preoperative radiographic evidence of bone loss (P 30% of glenoid fossa) bony Bankart lesions (P Conclusions Seizure patients had more prior dislocations, had more preoperative bone loss, and underwent more open stabilization procedures than controls because of bone loss. Studies examining recurrence after stabilization will help establish appropriate management practices in this population. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective review of prospectively collected cohort.
A model for classification of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis by computed tomography

Our purpose was to classify acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFR) caused by Mucor versus Aspergillus species by evaluating computed tomography radiological findings. Two blinded readers retrospectively graded radiological abnormalities of the craniofacial region observed on craniofacial CT examinations obtained during initial evaluation of 38 patients with eventually pathology-proven AIFR (13:25, Mucor:Aspergillus). Binomial logistic regression was used to analyze correlation between variables and type of fungi. Score-based models were implemented for analyzing differences in laterality of findings, including the ‘unilateral presence’ and ‘bilateral mean’ models. Binary logistic regression was used, with Score as the only predictor and Group (Mucor vs Aspergillus) as the only outcome. Specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were determined for the evaluated models. Given the low predictive value of any single evaluated anatomical site, a ‘bilateral mean’ score-based model including the nasal cavity, maxillary sinuses, ethmoid air cells, sphenoid sinus and frontal sinuses yielded the highest prediction accuracy, with Mucor induced AIFR correlating with higher prevalence of bilateral findings. The odds ratio for the model while integrating the above anatomical sites was 12.3 (p < 0.001). PPV, NPV, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 0.85, 0.82, 0.92, 0.69 and 0.84 respectively. The abnormal radiological findings on craniofacial CT scans of Mucor and Aspergillus induced AIFR could be differentiated based on laterality, with Mucor induced AIFR associated with higher prevalence of bilateral findings.
Dark matter density profiles in dwarf galaxies: linking Jeans modelling systematics and observation

The distribution of dark matter in dwarf galaxies can have important implications on our understanding of galaxy formation as well as the particle physics properties of dark matter. However, accurately characterizing the dark matter content of dwarf galaxies is challenging due to limited data and complex dynamics that are difficult to accurately model. In this paper, we apply spherical Jeans modeling to simulated stellar kinematic data of spherical, isotropic dwarf galaxies with the goal of identifying the future observational directions that can improve the accuracy of the inferred dark matter distributions in the Milky Way dwarf galaxies. We explore how the dark matter inference is affected by the location and number of observed stars as well as the line-of-sight velocity measurement errors. We use mock observation to demonstrate the difficulty in constraining the inner core/cusp of the dark matter distribution with datasets of fewer than 10,000 stars. We also demonstrate the need for additional measurements to make robust estimates of the expected dark matter annihilation signal strength. For the purpose of deriving robust indirect detection constraints, we identify Ursa Major II, Ursa Minor, and Draco as the systems that would most benefit from additional stars being observed.
Arboviruses and their vectors

Arthropod-transmitted viruses (arboviruses) pose important public health challenges worldwide, and continue to do so even while the world is contending with the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is spread by contact with respiratory droplets from infected individuals Arboviruses pose a different threat to humanity because of their efficient transmission by our formidable health adversary, the mosquito There is no evidence that mosquitoes are vectors for SARS-CoV-2 or the two structurally related viruses causing SARS or Middle East respiratory syndrome There are > 500 recognized arboviruses worldwide, 150 of which are known to cause human disease
Viewpoint: Art library publishing during a crisis: a librarian's own research

Like most librarians, when I have a research question, I go to the databases to search the literature for comparable questions and possible solutions. The onslaught of COVID-19 and its impact on libraries (let alone every other aspect of life) has thrown librarians for a loop and disrupted all our standard modes of enquiry. In a matter of days in the spring of 2020, librarians went from business as usual to locking the doors behind us and trying to figure out how to run a Zoom research support session from the dining room table.
Board classification and managerial entrenchment: Evidence from the market for corporate control

Abstract This paper considers the relation between board classification, takeover activity, and transaction outcomes for a panel of firms between 1990 and 2002. Target board classification does not change the likelihood that a firm, once targeted, is ultimately acquired. Moreover, shareholders of targets with a classified board realize bid returns that are equivalent to those of targets with a single class of directors, but receive a higher proportion of total bid surplus. Board classification does reduce the likelihood of receiving a takeover bid, however, the economic effect of bid deterrence on the value of the firm is quite small. Overall, the evidence is inconsistent with the conventional wisdom that board classification is an anti-takeover device that facilitates managerial entrenchment.