cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Covert Planning for Social Transformation in Indonesia

Since the Second World War, planning theory and practice has increasingly focused on how local people engage in the planning process. Indeed, this constitutes one of the most interesting theoretical and practical conundrums in planning. This focus is exemplified by work on citizen participation in synoptic planning, collaborative planning, and radical planning, which, taken together, can be understood as representing a continuum of varying degrees of citizen involvement, local power, and social and political consciousness. In broad terms, this continuum ranges from examining how local residents are incorporated into established planning processes to examining how they become empowered to plan for themselves within, outside of, and even in opposition to established planning and societal structures. At the same time, this continuum has expanded our understanding of what constitutes planning. This article is interested in a mode of planning that has not hereto been represented by this continuum—how local residents engage in planning for social transformation within the context of nonliberal, nondemocratic societies. It is argued that a theoretical gap exists regarding our understanding of how local residents engage in planning to achieve social transformation. This gap has occurred because of the close association between our understanding of social transformation and the political expectations created by Western liberal democracies. In other words, we have not begun to theorize about how local residents engage in social transformation in an environment where there are threats of violent repercussions for social activism. 1 This is not to suggest that community agency within limited social and political spaces has not been recognized. For instance, Douglass (1999) observes community agency in the form of “resilience” in the face of economic crisis; and Scheyvens (1998), along with other feminist scholars, documents the “subtle strategies” women use for self-empowerment. However, this work does not make the explicit connection between community agency, the character of social and political spaces for action, and how these activities represent an initial step in planning for broader social transformation. Within restrictive political environments, like those found in Indonesia, planning for social transformation does occur, but it occurs in ways that are not yet represented in our theorization of this process. In many restrictive social and political environments, overt challenges to dominant power configurations are an ineffective and even
Lean Production, Worker Empowerment, and Job Satisfaction: A Qualitative Analysis and Critique

Many argue that increased employee involvement in manufacturing is central to lean production. Increasing the responsibilities and abilities of front-line workers has been labeled empowerment. Such empowerment is said to increase job satisfaction. Yet, there is surprisingly little qualitative research directly addressing the relationship between participatory work arrangements and job satisfaction, and the quantitative evidence is much less clear than oft en presented. Qualitative data presented here show that workers can be satisfied under relatively traditional Fordist arrangements and that increasing employee involvement does not necessarily increase satisfaction. My research highlights the role of individual work orientations in mediating the effects of objective characteristics of job design – such as participatory work arrangements – on job satisfaction. Further, individual preferences for work arrangements are shown not to be consistent and invariable, but context-dependent and subject to reevaluation. * The research for this article was made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the Advanced Manufacturing Project (AMP) research consortium. This article is a revision of a presentation given at the 16th Annual Meeting on Socio-Economics, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA, July 8–11, 2004. I would like to thank those who attended the presentation for helpful suggestions, including Glenn Patmore, Ida Regalia, Daphne Taras, and Jelle Visser. Useful feedback on an earlier incarnation of this paper was given by Jennifer Farnham, Michael Handel, Dan Luria, Jamie Peck, Joel Rogers, Rob White,
Combined stent placement and thrombolysis in acute vertebrobasilar ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute vertebrobasilar ischemic stroke is often associated with high morbidity and mortality with limited therapeutic options. Endovascular treatment with thrombolysis has offered some hope for affected patients; however, overall outcomes have been less than satisfactory. In this report, we present the results of our approach in six consecutive cases of acute vertebrobasilar ischemic stroke by combined proximal vessel stent placement and thrombolysis. METHODS: Six consecutive cases were retrospectively reviewed for the clinical outcome of patients presenting to our institution with acute posterior circulation stroke who underwent cerebral revascularization including proximal arterial stent placement by using balloon-expandable coronary stents and intraarterial thrombolysis. All of these patients were initially evaluated by stroke team neurologists and imaged with MR, including diffusion-weighted imaging documenting acute posterior circulation stroke. MR angiography of the circle of Willis was also obtained. Short-term follow-up was conducted to assess National Institutes of Health stroke scores (NIHSS) and modified Rankin scores. RESULTS: In these six cases, a combined approach of proximal arterial stent placement (five cases of vertebral artery origin and one case of carotid and subclavian stent placement plus vertebral artery revascularization) and thrombolysis was performed at variable times after stroke onset (range, 30 hours to 5 days). Four of the six patients had good basilar artery recanalization (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction [TIMI] grade 0–1 before tissue plasminogen activator thrombolysis and TIMI grade 2 after procedure). Four of six patients had excellent immediate recovery and were discharged to an acute rehabilitation unit or their homes with improved neurologic symptoms and functional status. Two patients died: one patient presented with coma at outset with an NIHSS of 38, and the other patient probably had reocclusion of the basilar artery within 24 hours despite initial postprocedural improvement. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that, in the setting of acute stroke, stent placement in combination with revascularization and thrombolysis is practical and allows quick access to a clot and simultaneously increases perfusion through collaterals during the thrombolytic process. In particular, basilar thrombolysis may be facilitated by proximal vertebral stent placement as concomitant atheromatous vertebrobasilar stenosis is common.
Evaluation of a new estradiol oral contraceptive: estradiol valerate and dienogest

Importance of the field: Since ethinyl estradiol is a potent activator of hepatic enzymes, the use of natural estradiol (E2) has been studied; but, until recently, bleeding control has hampered development of an E2 pill.Areas covered in this review: A historical review of oral contraceptive development leading to the successful design of an estradiol pill. Pharmacology, mechanism of action and clinical trials of contraceptive efficacy and bleeding profile of the estradiol valerate/dienogest (E2V/DNG) pill are reviewed. Details of two placebo-controlled treatment trials of the E2V/DNG pill in women with heavy menstrual bleeding are discussed. All available literature was searched using pubMed and additional data were obtained from published abstracts.What the reader will gain: Information on the novel features and indications for the E2V/DNG pill.Take home message: The dynamic-dosing E2V/DNG oral contraceptive pill provides a highly effective contraceptive option with an adjusted Pearl Index (method failur...
Characterizations of Temperature-Dependent Tensile Deformation and Fracture Features of Commercially Pure Titanium

Tensile deformation and fracture behavior of a commercially pure (CP) titanium were investigated at different temperatures through mechanical tests, microstructural observations and fractal analyses. It was found that, with increasing temperature, the number and size of microvoids formed along shear bands (SBs) or at the intersections of SBs on the deformed specimen surface increase, and the fractal dimensions of the scanning profile at the surface near fracture increase correspondingly, and the ones measured perpendicular to the tensile direction is obviously larger than those parallel to the tensile direction, indicating an increased concentration of plastic deformation of CP Ti along the tensile axis. The diameter and depth of dimples on the fracture surfaces of CP Ti increase significantly with increasing temperature, giving rise to a higher fracture surface roughness reflected by a higher fractal dimension. TEM observations demonstrated that the plastic deformation of CP Ti is gradually occupied by dislocation slipping rather than twinning with increasing temperature. This is in good agreement with the fractal analyses of the deformation and fracture features. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2013147]
Cooperation and Hamilton's rule in a simple synthetic microbial system

A fundamental problem in biology is understanding the evolutionary emergence and maintenance of altruistic behaviors. A well-recognized conceptual insight is provided by a general mathematical relation, Hamilton’s rule. This rule can in principle be invoked to explain natural examples of cooperation, but measuring the variables that it involves is a particularly challenging problem and controlling these variables experimentally an even more daunting task. Here, we overcome these difficulties by using a simple synthetic microbial system of producers and nonproducers of an extracellular growth-enhancing molecule, which acts as a ‘common good.’ For this system, we are able to manipulate the intrinsic growth difference between producers and nonproducers, as well as the impact of the common good on the growth rate of its recipients. Our synthetic system is thus uniquely suited for studying the relation between the parameters entering Hamilton’s rule and the quantities governing the systems’ behavior. The experimental results highlight a crucial effect of nonlinearities in the response to the common good, which in general tend to limit the predictive value of Hamilton’s rule.
Production of cobalt binding ligands in a Synechococcus feature at the Costa Rica upwelling dome

The Costa Rica upwelling dome (CRD; ;8.678N and 90.68W) was characterized chemically for cobalt and nickel abundances and speciation and biologically using cyanobacterial abundances and phylogeny. Total dissolved cobalt was 93 pmol L 21 at 90 m depth and decreased in surface waters to 45 pmol L 21 at 10 m. Cobalt was 40% labile at 90 m but was completely complexed by strong ligands at 10 m. A surface transect out of the dome showed decreasing total dissolved cobalt from 57 pmol L 21 to 12 pmol L 21 . Detection window studies showed that natural cobalt-ligand complexes have conditional stability constants greater than 10 16.8 and that competition with nickel did not release cobalt bound to organic complexes, consistent with natural cobalt ligands being Co(III) complexes. Synechococcus cell densities at the CRD are among the highest reported in nature, varying between 1.2 3 10 6 and 3.7 3 10 6 cells ml 21 . Phylogenetic analysis using the 16S‐23S rDNA internally transcribed spacer showed the majority of clones were related to Synechococcus strain MIT S9220, while the remaining subset form a novel group within the marine Synechococcus lineage. In a bottle incubation experiment chlorophyll increased with cobalt and iron additions relative to each element alone and the unamended control treatment. Cobalt speciation analysis of incubation experiments revealed large quantities of strong cobalt-ligand complexes in the cobalt addition treatments (401 pmol L 21 ), whereas cobalt added to a 0.2-mm filtered control remained predominantly labile (387 pmol L 21 ), demonstrating that the Synechococcus-dominated community is a source of strong cobalt ligands.
Numerical optimization of targeted delivery of charged nanoparticles to the ostiomeatal complex for treatment of rhinosinusitis.

Despite the prevalence of rhinosinusitis that affects 10%-15% of the population, current inhalation therapy shows limited efficacy. Standard devices deliver <5% of the drugs to the sinuses due to the complexity of nose structure, secluded location of the sinus, poor ventilation, and lack of control of particle motions inside the nasal cavity.An electric-guided delivery system was developed to guide charged particles to the ostiomeatal complex (OMC). Its performance was numerically assessed in an MRI-based nose-sinus model. Key design variables related to the delivery device, drug particles, and patient breathing were determined using sensitivity analysis. A two-stage optimization of design variables was conducted to obtain the best performance of the delivery system using the Nelder-Mead algorithm.The OMC delivery system exhibited high sensitivity to the applied electric field and electrostatic charges carried by the particles. Through the synthesis of electric guidance and point drug release, the new delivery system eliminated particle deposition in the nasal valve and turbinate regions and significantly enhanced the OMC doses. An OMC delivery efficiency of 72.4% was obtained with the optimized design, which is one order of magnitude higher than the standard nasal devices. Moreover, optimization is imperative to achieve a sound delivery protocol because of the large number of design variables. The OMC dose increased from 45.0% in the baseline model to 72.4% in the optimized system. The optimization framework developed in this study can be easily adapted for the delivery of drugs to other sites in the nose such as the ethmoid sinus and olfactory region.
Some Thoughts on Digital Components and Circuit Techniques

Signal standardization and control directivity are emphasized as the basic physical requirements in considering components and circuit techniques for the handling of digital information. The significance and the ways and means of meeting these requirements are most revealing when illustrated by the operations of the parametric phase-locked oscillator and the tunnel diode. A categorical listing of digital-gain elements, accompanied by illustrative comments, is presented to offer a unified viewpoint on digital components and circuit techniques in connection with present-day practice and prospective future development.
SynopSIS: integrating physician sign-out with the electronic medical record.

BACKGROUND Safe delivery of care depends on effective communication among all health care providers, especially during transfers of care. The traditional medical chart does not adequately support such communication. We designed a patient-tracking tool that enhances provider communication and supports clinical decision making. AIM To develop a problem-based patient-tracking tool, called Sign-out, Information Retrieval, and Summary (SynopSIS), in order to support patient tracking, transfers of care (ie, sign-outs), and daily rounds. SETTING Tertiary-care, university-based teaching hospital. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION SynopSIS compiles and organizes information from the electronic medical record to support hospital discharge and disposition decisions, daily provider decisions, and overnight or cross-coverage decisions. It reflects the provider's patient-care and daily work-flow needs. PROGRAM EVALUATION We plan to use Web-based surveys, audits of daily use, and interdisciplinary focus groups to evaluate SynopSIS's impact on communication between providers, quality of sign-out, patient continuity of care, and rounding efficiency. CONCLUSIONS We expect SynopSIS to improve care by facilitating communication between care teams, standardizing sign-out, and automating daily review of clinical and laboratory trends. SynopSIS redesigns the clinical chart to better serve provider and patient needs. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2007;2:336–342. © 2007 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Molecular modeling of elastic properties of thermosetting polymers using a dynamic deformation approach

Abstract This paper employs fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to characterize relationships between structural and elastic properties of thermosetting polymers both in glassy and rubbery state. The polymer system investigated consists of epoxy resin DGEBA and hardener DETDA. An effective cross-linking procedure that enables generation of thermoset structures containing up to 35000 atoms with realistic structural characteristics was used. A dynamic deformation approach has been used that takes into consideration both potential energy and thermal motions in the structure. Small uniaxial, volumetric and shear deformations were applied to the systems to obtain elastic moduli. A method to independently determine Poisson's ratio was proposed that reduces statistical errors and circumvents the time scale limitations of molecular dynamics simulations. The influence of variables such as extent of curing and length of epoxy strands on elastic response at various temperatures was explored. Expected trends in the dependence of the elastic constants on these practical process parameters were shown. The relationship between the four independently calculated elastic constants was seen to comply with those predicted by the classical theory of linear elasticity in an isotropic medium, which provides confidence in the validity of these simulations. Moreover, the elastic properties obtained are also in good agreement with experimental data reported in the literature. Close agreements between predicted elastic constants and experimentally measured values underscore the ability of the approaches used in this study to provide realistic predictions of the mechanical response of thermosetting polymers, both in glassy and rubbery states. These results show significant improvement over earlier studies based on a static approach which takes into account the potential energy contribution to the elastic response but ignores temperature effect.
Performance of MIMO single-carrier frequency domain zero-forcing equalizer

Single-carrier frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) has many advantages, but in the MIMO frequency selective channel its performance has not been fully characterized and several important open questions remain. This paper analyzes the diversity of zero-forcing MIMO SC-FDE. It is shown that the diversity of the ZF receiver over this channel is the same as that of the ZF receiver in the frequency-flat channel. To improve the performance, a lattice-reduction (LR) aided ZF equalization is proposed and analyzed. It is shown that the full spatial and temporal diversity is achieved by he LR-aided ZF receiver for the uncoded transmission. This is the first analytical proof for the LR-aided equalization for MIMO frequency selective channel.
Remembrance of Mary Jo Regan Kubinski

From the Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, IN. Corresponding Author: Sara Horton-Deutsch, PhD, PMHCNS, RN, SERPN Division Chair, Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Program, Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, IN 46202. E–mail address: shortond@iupui.edu © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 0883-9417/1801-0005$34.00/0 doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2012.04.005 A S MANY OF you know, a dear colleague and friend, Mary Jo Regan Kubinski, Dean of the Indiana University (IU) South Bend School of Nursing, passed away after a brief illness on October 16, 2011. Mary Jo was an active force in the profession, and despite her move to nursing administration, never stopped leading and advocating on behalf of her specialty, psychiatric mental health nursing. Of all her professional involvements, she was most active in the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses (ISPN). On Friday, March 30, 2012, at the ISPN 14th Annual Conference in at Atlanta, GA, Mary Jo was fondly recognized for her tremendous contributions. Geri Pearson recalled...Mary Jo and I, through an odd quirk of fate and our ISPN leadership positions, ended up co-leading the group in 2007. Honestly, we didn't know each other, had never spoken much, and crossed paths only at ISPN conference calls. But in the beginning, after we knew we would have to negotiate a leadership relationship, we connected on our commitment to have ISPN sustain and grow. In the process, we became good friends. By the time of Mary Jo's untimely death, I had gotten so much more out of our friendship and collaboration, and I hope that Mary Jo felt the same. That first year at ISPN as copresidents, someone had the idea of connecting our rooms to a living room suite, and we had so much fun with this! She would bop in with her case of water and go out for a run. I always envied her ability to be so contained and organized. Her quiet efficiency was calming to me. I could ask her opinion and get the truth. The only times we saw each other were at ISPN, even though we quickly became e-mail buddies and spoke weekly on the phone during our tenure as co-presidents. I was so fortunate to learn that Mary Jo was a master knitter, and every year we saw each other, we managed to sneak away from the conference and visit a local knitting shop.We did this in Montreal, St. Louis, and South Carolina. I saved up
Effect of afterload on the time-course of left ventricular systolic elastance

An elastance-resistance model of the left ventricle is used in conjunction with previously measured left ventricular pressure and outflow to derive elastances under three different loading conditions: control, hypertension, and hypotension. Using various times and time ratios of the elastance curves, it is shown that for decreasing load, elastance increases at a faster rate. This is also shown by normalizing the elastance curves with respect to the maximum elastance (E/sub max/) and the time to E/sub max/. Possible explanations for these observations are given. >
The Project HOPE and USNS Mercy tsunami "experiment"

A multifaceted, military-nongovernmental organization, public-private partnership was put together in 30 days to provide intermediate-stage medical support in response to the December 2004 tsunami. More than 200 civilian volunteer physicians, nurses, and medical professionals were recruited, oriented, and logistically supported by Project HOPE, an international nongovernmental organization, to serve aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy off the coast of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and subsequently in response to the related Nias Island earthquake. This "novel idea" resulted in tertiary care that was otherwise unavailable, expansion of the primary, dental, and optometric care available at the time, and Project HOPE programs on the ground that continue now, well after completion of the Navy mission. Furthermore, many of the members of this volunteer team would not have had the chance to participate as volunteers and would not have had exposure to the U.S. military, for which they have become staunch supporters. The "novel idea" of such a public-private partnership has met with a success that warrants doctrinal review for incorporation, programming, and planning to facilitate such engagement in the future.
Do Higher-Order Music Ontologies Rest on a Mistake?

Recent work in the ontology of music suggests that we will avoid confusion if we distinguish between two kinds of question that are typically posed in music ontology. Thus, a distinction has been made between fundamental ontology and higher-order ontology. The former addresses questions about the basic metaphysical options from which ontologists choose. For instance, are musical works types, indicated types, classes of particulars, or some other kind of entity? Higher-order ontology addresses the question of what lies 'at the centre' of a specific form of music, such as rock or jazz-or perhaps classical music. The argument of this essay is, first, that a close examination of the best efforts in two of these territories shows that they have the effect of pressing the music in each sphere into implausible Procrustean beds. Second, it is argued that the general question that higher-order ontologies pose, that is, 'What work-kind is it that lies at the centre of a given kind of music, F?' is a question based on a mistaken but seductive assumption, namely that the concept of the work of F has actual application. In fact, these concepts—upon which higher-order ontology depends—are mere artefacts of philosophy. The question is also addressed why the assumption is so seductive. Finally, the question finally is posed about what, if anything, is implied from the foregoing about the traditional ontology of classical music.
Effect of Relaxin on Mammary Gland Growth in Female Mice.

SummaryIntact, ovariectomized, and ovariectomized-hysterectomized mice were treated with estrogen, estrogen and relaxin, and relaxin alone for periods of 10 days. It was shown that estrogen and higher levels of relaxin synergize in the promotion of lobule-alveolar growth as indicated by total DNA of the glands and by histological examination of whole mounts. Estrogen or relaxin alone did not stimulate such growth. Mean total DNA at optimal levels of relaxin was equal to that observed in mice pregnant 6 days. In the operated groups, reduced total DNA may be due to gland involution of 12 days.
Gamma-Radiation from Pb 206

Gamma-rays accompanying the electron capture decay of 6.4 day ${\mathrm{Bi}}^{206}$ and the alpha-decay of 138-day ${\mathrm{Po}}^{210}$ have been observed by measurement of internal conversion electrons and photo-electrons with a lens spectrometer. The bismuth activity showed resolved lines corresponding to gamma-rays of 182, 234, 260, 341, 396, 470, 505, 536, 590, 803, 880, 889, 1020, 1097, and 1720 kev. A thin ${\mathrm{Po}}^{210}$ source of 480-mc alphaparticle strength was found to emit gamma-rays of 800\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 kev energy which yielded $K$ and $L$ internal conversion lines in the ratio of 3.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5 to 1. The 803-kev gamma-ray observed in both the ${\mathrm{Bi}}^{206}$ and ${\mathrm{Po}}^{210}$ activities is identified with a transition from the first excited state of ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{206}$ to the ground state.
A Room of Her Own

The rediscovery of the voice of discretion then leads to a discussion on patience in this chapter. This section is a commentary on what constitutes the heart of the book, the failed rendez-vous between the man and the woman described in chapter five. One wonders why a failed encounter would be placed at the center of our text. Yet, there is wisdom to be gathered from this failure too, the first of which is the realization of the essential differences between the woman and the man’s timing. One of the partners is inexorably slower than the other. In our text this difference in timing leads to a failed encounter, but it need not be so in real life. The hidden lesson of our text is one of patience.
Belief, quasi-belief, and obsessive-compulsive disorder

AbstractObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) poses a puzzle about beliefs: Those with OCD experience anxiety and motivation suggesting that they believe something, even though they may profess not to believe that very thing. OCD also poses a puzzle about free will, since persons with OCD often describe their behavior as compelled, though it is unclear how it is compelled. This paper argues that at least some cases of OCD are best described as being driven by “quasi-beliefs” which have some, but not all, of the functional properties of beliefs. (A brief discussion contrasts these quasi-beliefs with the “aliefs” recently posited by Tamar Gendler.) An alternative to the quasi-belief account of OCD is the claim is that OCD can be explained in terms of ordinary beliefs that simply have irrational contents. The paper argues that the quasi-belief account of OCD fits the empirical details of the disorder better than alternative accounts.
How does one assess the risk of abnormalities from human in vitro fertilization

Abstract The procedure of in vitro fertilization, including ova collection and embryo culture and transfer, raises concern about the risk of abnormalities arising from the technique. In vitro versus in vivo comparison might be made in the study of preimplantation embryos and spontaneous abortions, the results of amniocentesis, and the findings among fetal deaths and live births. In vivo, 40% to 50% of implantation blastocysts are estimated to have a chromosomal abnormality, over 99% of which are estimated to be eliminated during the course of pregnancy. In principle, the use of early spontaneous abortions can be more efficient than amniocentesis for detecting an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities at birth. Unless in vitro fertilization in humans strongly contradicts the experience in domestic animal reproduction, which suggests no increased risk of abnormalities at birth, a large number of births would be required to provide a definitive assessment of risk.
Role of natural killer cells in resistance to systemic cryptococcosis.

These studies demonstrate that Cryptococcus neoformans infection induced a dose-dependent augmentation of splenic natural killer (NK) cell activity by bg/+, but not bg/bg mice. To directly assess the role of NK cells in resistance to C. neoformans, bg/+ and bg/bg mice were treated with anti-NK-1.1 monoclonal antibody (mAb). Anti-NK-1.1-treatment abrogated the augmented NK cell activity observed during C. neoformans infection in bg/+ mice. Anti-NK-1.1-treated bg/+ mice had higher C. neoformans colony forming units (CFU) in their lungs on days 3 and 7 after intravenous (i.v.) challenge than control bg/+ mice. Moreover, the number of C. neoformans CFU in the lungs of anti-NK-1.1-treated bg/+ mice on days 3 and 7 were similar to those observed for infected bg/bg mice. By day 14, however, no differences in C. neoformans CFU were evident in the lungs of anti-NK-1.1-treated and control bg/+ mice. Anti-NK-1.1-treatment did not alter either the growth of C. neoformans in the spleens, livers, kidneys, or brain of bg/+ mice or the susceptibility of bg/bg mice to systemic cryptococcosis. These studies suggest that NK cells do not play a role in resistance to systemic cryptococcosis in the spleen, but do appear to play an early, but transient role in resistance to C. neoformans in the lungs. Overall, congenital defects in polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and macrophages (M phi s), in addition to defects in NK cells, contribute to the enhanced susceptibility of bg/bg mice to systemic cryptococcosis.
Exploiting Private Local Memories to Reduce the Opportunity Cost of Accelerator Integration

We present Roca, a technique to reduce the opportunity cost of integrating non-programmable, high-throughput accelerators in general-purpose architectures. Roca exploits the insight that non-programmable accelerators are mostly made of private local memories (PLMs), which are key to the accelerators' performance and energy efficiency. Roca transparently exposes PLMs of otherwise unused accelerators to the cache substrate, thereby allowing the system to extract utility from accelerators even when they cannot directly speed up the system's workload. Roca adds low complexity to existing accelerator designs, requires minimal modifications to the cache substrate, and incurs a modest area overhead that is almost entirely due to additional tag storage.We quantify the utility of Roca by comparing the returns of investing area in either regular last-level cache banks or Roca-enabled accelerators. Through simulation of non-accelerated multiprogrammed workloads on a 16-core system, we extend a 2MB S-NUCA baseline system to show that a 6MB Roca-enabled last-level cache built upon typical accelerators (i.e. whose area is 66% memory) can, on average, realize 70% of the performance and 68% of the energy efficiency benefits of a same-area 8MB S-NUCA configuration, in addition to the potential orders-of-magnitude efficiency and performance improvements that the added accelerators provide to workloads suitable for acceleration.
High dose, short course preoperative radiation therapy and immediate single stage radical cystectomy with pelvic node dissection in the management of bladder cancer

AbstractDuring a 9-year interval 131 patients with high grade invasive or multifocal bladder cancer were treated with high dose, short course preoperative radiation therapy (1,600 rad during 4 days) followed immediately by single stage radical cystectomy with pelvic node dissection. The operative mortality was 1 of 131 patients (0.7 per cent), with a major complication rate prolonging hospitalization of 22 per cent. Analysis of the data reveals a surprising incidence of positive nodes in patients thought to have superficially invasive disease: 12 per cent in patients staged clinically to have multifocal stage T1 or T1S cancer. Over-all, 34 patients in this series had positive nodes (25 per cent), including 2 of 41 (5 per cent) with stage P1 or P1S, 6 of 20 (30 per cent) with stage P2, 4 of 13 (31 per cent) with stage P3A, 18 of 28 (64 per cent) with stage P3B and 4 of 8 (50 per cent) with stage P4 disease. There was excellent local control of the primary disease with this protocol, since only 6 patients (...
Castration and Connection: Kinship Organization among Ming Eunuchs

Until recently, our understanding of Ming eunuchs was mostly centered on their involvement in political affairs. This article draws attention to the social history of Ming eunuchs, with a particular focus on their contribution to their natal families. Despite the fact of being castrated, Ming eunuchs generally maintained close relationships with their natal kinsmen. Once they obtained political power and material wealth at court, some eunuchs employed an array of strategies to build up kinship organization among their relatives, including regulation of naming patterns, establishment of corporate land, compilation of genealogies, bestowal of protection privilege, and the practice of adoption. In the end, these eunuchs took up a powerful position — similar to that of patriarch — within the domestic area. This article therefore sheds light both on the social history of eunuchs and on the expansion of kinship organization in late imperial Chinese society.
Characterizing Readmissions After Bariatric Surgery

Introduction Readmissions are an important quality metric for surgery. Here, we compare characteristics of readmissions across laparoscopic Roux­en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB), sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), and adjustable gastric band (LAGB).
Widely tunable 1.5 [micro sign]m micromechanical optical filter using AlOx/AlGaAs DBR

The authors demonstrate, for the first time, a wavelength tunable optical filter at 1.55 /spl mu/m using micromechanical tuning of a Fabry-Perot resonator with an AlO/sub x//AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR). The use of thermally oxidised AlAs layers, resulting an ultrawide bandwidth, dramatically increased the tuning range and efficiency of the resonator. Very efficient continuous tuning of >50 nm with only a 0.95 V tuning voltage was achieved. The tuning range, limited by our test laser, is expected to be expandable to hundreds of nm.
Y chromosome's roles in sex differences in disease.

In PNAS, Krementsov et al. (1) report that if you are a male mouse and catch the flu, the severity of your illness may depend on the type of Y chromosome (ChrY) that you have. In this study, influenza A virus was administered to consomic ChrY mouse strains in which numerous different versions of ChrY, derived from different mouse strains, were bred onto the same genetic background. This method varies the composition of ChrY while keeping the autosomes and X chromosome (ChrX) constant, so any difference in influenza pathogenesis reveals functional differences encoded by different ChrYs. The type of ChrY influences the frequency of γδ T cells in the infected lung, and their production of IL-17. The Krementsov et al. report leads to the confident conclusion that some ChrY genetic elements regulate inflammatory immune responses and the pathogenesis of an infectious disease. Other work from the Teuscher laboratory, also using consomic ChrY strains, demonstrates ChrY effects on other viral infections and autoimmune diseases, including a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (2, 3). These reports are important in part because they bear on sex differences in immunity, but also have implications for a more general understanding of ChrY, and its partner, ChrX. Further work will no doubt search for specific ChrY elements that affect immunity. Although ChrX contains many genes that regulate immune function, until recently one might have been pessimistic about finding ChrY elements controlling traits, including immune function. Methods that are useful for dissecting the roles of specific autosomal genes have been less informative for ChrY. For example, almost the entire ChrY is a single linkage unit, so linkage studies cannot localize specific ChrY regions that affect traits. Sequencing ChrY has been frustrated by its highly repetitive nature (4⇓–6). Knocking out ChrY genes using homologous … [↵][1]1Email: arnold{at}ucla.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Abstract 133: Impaired TNFα Signaling Deregulates Basal Nrf2-Antioxidant System in Myocardium

Antagonizing TNF-α and its signaling is proven to be a successful therapeutic strategy in various disease processes. Although blocking TNF-α signaling attenuated the disease activity, the overarching clinical contraindications remains to be a greater concern and reasons for the adverse effects are largely unknown. TNF-α induces ROS and as ROS is pivotal for activation of antioxidant transcription factor, Nrf2, we posit that any impairment in TNF-α signaling could affect Nrf2-dependent basal redox homeostasis. HL-1 cardiomyocytes, TNFR1/2 double knockout mice (DKO) that shows hampered TNF-α signaling were used as experimental models. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR) measurements revealed that as low as 2 ng TNF-α/ml, ROS was induced significantly (p10ng/ml in HL-1 cells. TNF-α (2-5 ng /ml, for 2 h) evoked robust (p 10 - 50 ng/ml) and later time points (12 h and 24 h). These results suggest that TNF-α mediated ROS induction activates Nrf2 dependent antioxidant system in cardiomyocytes. In vivo experiments with TNFR1/2 DKO demonstrates that the expression of Nrf2-regulated genes were significantly downregulated indicating a weakened antioxidant system. Also, the acute exercise stress (AES) induced Nrf2 trans-activation observed in WT mice was significantly blunted in TNFR1/2 DKO suggesting a need for TNF signaling in stress induced Nrf2 activation. These results support the concept that complete and/or sustained blockade of TNF signaling may result in compromised Nrf2-dependent antioxidant defense in the myocardium. This further necessitates that during chronic anti-TNF-α treatment, a finely tuned and maintenance of specific threshold of TNF-α signaling is essential to avoid oxidant stress based complications in cardiovascular system.
Adenoma and Polyp Detection Rates in Colonoscopy according to Indication

Background. Adenoma detection rate (ADR) is a validated quality measure for screening colonoscopy, but there are little data for other indications. The distribution of adenomas is not well described for these indications. Aim. To describe ADR and the adenoma distribution in the proximal and distal colon based on colonoscopy indication. Methods. Outpatient colonoscopies are subdivided by indication. PDR and ADR for the entire colon and for proximal and distal colon. Data were compared using generalized estimating equations to adjust for clustering amongst endoscopists while controlling for patient age and gender. Results. 3436 colonoscopies were reviewed (51.2%: men ( )). Indications are screening 49.2%, surveillance 29.3%, change in bowel habit 8.4%, bleeding 5.8%, colitides 3.0%, pain 2.8%, and miscellaneous 1.5%. Overall ADR was 37% proximal ADR 28%, and distal ADR 17%. PDR and ADR were significantly higher in surveillance than in screening (PDR: 69% versus 51%; ADR: 50% versus 33%; ). Adenomas were more often detected in the proximal than in the distal colon, for all indications. Conclusions. Prevalence of polyps and adenomas differs based on colonoscopy indication. Adenoma detection is highest in surveillance and more commonly detected in the proximal colon. For quality assurance, distinct ADR and PDR targets may need to be established for different colonoscopy indications.
What can we learn about wildlife killed by vehicles from a citizen science project? A comparison of scientific and amateur tropical roadkill records

In 1995, Costa Rica had one of the first citizen science projects on roadkills, which identified the most frequent species and their rates by road length, and currently it has one of the largest iNaturalist projects on the same subject. Here I assess what information can be extracted from this type of project and how results compare with those from professionals. I analyzed over 900 records from Fauna Silvestre en Carreteras de Costa Rica, from October 2013 through August 2017. There was no sexual difference in participation or productivity, but per capita output was 12 times higher than in the Brazilian CBEE project. Some species suffered higher mortality during reproduction, while the anteater T. mexicana suffered more in the dry season, when food was scarce. Roadkills matched seasonal changes in traffic routes and the geographic distribution of records in relation to urban areas reflected the ecology of each species. At least for this case, citizen science can provide reliable data about species frequency in roadkills, and data were detailed enough to identify seasonal and geographic differences at the species level for the mammals and reptiles that made up the majority of records.
How can we improve clinical research in pneumonia

Purpose of reviewThe primary challenges in the field of clinical research include a lack of support within existing infrastructure, insufficient number of clinical research training programs and a paucity of qualified mentors. Most medical centers offer infrastructure support for investigators worki
The plant growth promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense is vertically transmitted in Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)

Azospirillum brasilense is a plant growth-promoting bacterium that is utilized as a bio-fertilizer worldwide. Inoculation of crops with A. brasilense can lead to a substantial boost in crop yield, although this enhancement is variable. Sometimes crop production is enhanced as much as 70% and other times enhancement does not occur at all. To solve this problem, a greater understanding of A. brasilense – plant interactions is needed. While the root/rhizosphere ecology of A. brasilense has been studied extensively there are no significant studies that address whether A. brasilense populates above ground plant tissues. In this study, we use a combination of qPCR, transcriptomics, confocal microscopy, and culturing techniques to map the in-planta distribution of a GFP-expressing A. brasilense in Phaseolus vulgaris (common bush bean). We show that A. brasilense constitute part of the plant bacterial microflora well above the root system. During P. vulgaris development A. brasilense was shown to actively move to developing bean seeds where it forms a significant intercellular population. GFP-expressing A. brasilense was shown to vertically transmit to successive plant generations demonstrating that A. brasilense in the seed constitute an effective inoculum. The ability of A. brasilense to not only colonize roots but to also actively migrate to developing seeds indicates the existence of a more complex symbiotic relationship than previously understood.
Subacute TGFβ expression drives inflammation, goblet cell hyperplasia, and pulmonary function abnormalities in mice with effects dependent on CFTR function.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) produces variable lung disease phenotypes that are, in part, independent of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) genotype. Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) is t...
Associations Between American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification Status and Performance on a Set of Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Process Measures

Whether patient care is improved by physicians maintaining their American Board of Internal Medicine certification is not known. This study compared how often physicians who had maintained certific...
Diagnosis and management of laryngotracheal stenosis

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Laryngotracheal stenosis comprises a broad spectrum of congenital and acquired conditions that commonly cause pediatric airway obstruction. Although the majority of these cond...
Proton fluxes associated with the Ca pump in human red blood cells

Ca fluxes and H fluxes were measured in human red blood cells at 37 degrees C to characterize the effects of extracellular protons (Hout) on the Ca pump and to determine the stoichiometry of Ca-H e...
Frequency Response Measurements on Backscattering from a Shallow Sea Floor, Using a Parametric Source

Measurements are reported on the backscattering of sound from a sand bottom overlying the continental shelf near San Diego, California. Data were acquired in the 1–10 kHz band with a directive parametric source having a sidelobe-free beam, 4° in half-power width, at a grazing angle of 10°. The bottom was a flat layer of coarse grained sand and clay that contained many shell fragments, overlying a hard sub-bottom layer, some 5 m deep. The mean bottom backscattering coefficient at 1 kHz was -39 dB re 1 m2 and increased with frequency to the power of 0.5. Statistical data in the form of probability distributions show a Rayleigh distribution for ensembles of peak acoustic amplitudes at each frequency studied.
Distinguishing IgG4-Related Ophthalmic Disease From Graves Orbitopathy.

Purpose The authors aimed to determine key features of IgG4-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD) and Graves orbitopathy (GO) to aid in diagnosis. Methods The authors retrospectively identified ophthalmology patients seen between June 2009 and November 2013 with clinical overlap of GO and IgG4-ROD. Patient findings were reviewed to characterize the 2 conditions. Results Among 8 patients (7 male and 1 female), the mean age was 45.8 years. Time between diagnoses of GO and IgG4-ROD ranged from 1 month to 8 years. Imaging showed enlarged extraocular muscles in all patients. Enlarged infraorbital nerves were seen in 4 patients. Tissue biopsy showed CD20+ lymphocytes with a large proportion of IgG4 plasma cells in 7 of 8 orbital specimens. Six patients had a ratio of IgG4:IgG cells >40%. Discussion No pathognomonic clinical findings for GO or IgG4-ROD have been reported, but some key features can help distinguish the conditions. GO is likely if findings include increased thyrotropin receptor antibodies, lid retraction/lid lag, and enlarged extraocular muscles with typical tendon-sparing morphology. Findings suggestive of IgG4-ROD include history of asthma and progressive orbital disease in patients with previous diagnosis of GO, disproportionately large lateral rectus muscle, and enlarged infraorbital nerves. Increased serum IgG4 level and biopsy showing >10 IgG4+ plasma cells/high-power field and IgG4:IgG ratio >40% will support the diagnosis of IgG4-ROD. Conclusions GO and IgG4-ROD are complicated inflammatory processes affecting the orbit and present diagnostic challenges. The authors recommend biopsy for patients who do not follow the usual clinical course of GO or have clinical characteristics of IgG4-ROD.