cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of three techniques for percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty of aortic stenosis in adults

Abstract Three different techniques for percutaneous balloon aortic valvulopiasty have been described: retrograde single balloon, retrograde double balloon, and antegrade techniques. This report describes our experience using the three techniques in twenty-five consecutive procedures. All techniques resulted in a significant decrease in transvalvular pressure gradient and an increase in calculated aortic valve area, without significant difference among the three. There was no increase in the degree of aortic regurgitation after valvuloplasty by any of the techniques. Vascular complications occurred only with the retrograde double balloon technique. Cardiac tamponade during balloon inflation occurred with both the retrograde single and double balloon techniques. Three deaths occurred; two during the antegrade technique and one after the retrograde double balloon technique. Thus, balloon aortic valvuloplasty can be effectively performed using any of the three techniques. However, the differing techniques have inherent advantages in specific situations, as well as potential complications.
Pursuit of the Pneuma

Inspired by a former colleague's written remembrance of his tenure at the University of Iowa, McPherson looks back on the University's historic receptiveness to non-white students and his own experience serving on the faculty of the Writers' Workshop. He reflects on the attitudes and mores that create a sense of community before settling on the concept of the pneuma, Greek for “the vital spirit of life itself.” He contrasts the racially polarized South, where he grew up, began his writing career, and had his daughter, with Iowa City, where he and his daughter have formed lasting relationships with McPherson's students and colleagues from a variety of ethnic and social backgrounds. A willingness to learn from cultural difference has guided McPherson as a teacher and a father, and it offers hope for the evolution of a more integrated American society.
Market Myths and Assumptions: Examining the Transnational Politics of Access to Medicines Campaigning in Central America

In recent years, intellectual property rights protections have increased in Central America. Transnational access to medicines campaigns focused particular attention on the public health implications of these protections in the context of debates around the ratification of the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), but these efforts did not lead to long-term engagement with intellectual property and access questions by local health activists. This paper explores differences in priority focus between global access to medicines movement and local health activists in Central America, arguing that transnational access advocates’ core arguments rely on assumptions that mesh poorly with on-the-ground realities in Central America. I examine differences in drug markets and political alliances, suggesting that these factors help explain the imperfect connection between global access to medicines frames and the needs of patients and advocates in Central America.
CFD Simulation Approach for Semisubmersible Response in Waves Based on Advanced Techniques

All floating structures react different to sea currents and waves and the commonly asked question is how to understand, simplify and make distinction of structure according to the operational challenges. The main objective of this paper is to determine the response of a three column semisubmersible platform as used by WindFloat project with available CFD software: CFX and Fluent. The WindFloat created by PowerPrinciple is presented and the present study will consider only the semisubmersible.
Spatiotemporal Fractionation Schemes for Irradiating Large Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations

Purpose To optimally exploit fractionation effects in the context of radiosurgery treatments of large cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). In current practice, fractionated treatments divide the dose evenly into several fractions, which generally leads to low obliteration rates. In this work, we investigate the potential benefit of delivering distinct dose distributions in different fractions. Methods and Materials Five patients with large cerebral AVMs were reviewed and replanned for intensity modulated arc therapy delivered with conventional photon beams. Treatment plans allowing for different dose distributions in all fractions were obtained by performing treatment plan optimization based on the cumulative biologically effective dose delivered at the end of treatment. Results We show that distinct treatment plans can be designed for different fractions, such that high single-fraction doses are delivered to complementary parts of the AVM. All plans create a similar dose bath in the surrounding normal brain and thereby exploit the fractionation effect. This partial hypofractionation in the AVM along with fractionation in normal brain achieves a net improvement of the therapeutic ratio. We show that a biological dose reduction of approximately 10% in the healthy brain can be achieved compared with reference treatment schedules that deliver the same dose distribution in all fractions. Conclusions Boosting complementary parts of the target volume in different fractions may provide a therapeutic advantage in fractionated radiosurgery treatments of large cerebral AVMs. The strategy allows for a mean dose reduction in normal brain that may be valuable for a patient population with an otherwise normal life expectancy.
Citation Prediction Using Diverse Features

Using a large database of nearly 8 million bibliographic entries spanning over 3 million unique authors, we build predictive models to classify a paper based on its citation count. Our approach involves considering a diverse array of features including the interdisciplinarity of authors, which we quantify using Shannon entropy and Jensen-Shannon divergence. Rather than rely on subject codes, we model the disciplinary preferences of each author by estimating the author's journal distribution. We conduct an exploratory data analysis on the relationship between these interdisciplinarity variables and citation counts. In addition, we model the effects of (1) each author's influence in coauthorship graphs, and (2) words in the title of the paper. We then build classifiers for two-and three-class classification problems that correspond to predicting the interval in which a paper's citation count will lie. We use cross-validation and a true test set to tune model parameters and assess model performance. The best model we build, a classification tree, yields test set accuracies of 0.87 and 0.66, respectively. Using this model, we also provide rankings of attribute importance, for the three-class problem, these rankings indicate the importance of our interdisciplinarity metrics in predicting citation counts.
Antibiotic Oxytetracycline Interferes with Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Oviposition, Development, and Ability To Induce Squash Silverleaf

The B-biotype of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), is associated with squash silverleaf disorder, which is of unknown etiology. Immature whiteflies contain paired oval mycetomes composed of large cells (mycetocytes) hypothesized to contain symbiotic microorganisms. Treatment of B. tabaci females with an antibiotic (oxytetracycline hydrochloride) delivered through root treatments of host plants adversely affected adult oviposition and growth and development of offspring, and reduced mycetome size and the number of microorganisms in mycetocytes. These results suggest that microorganisms in the mycetomes of whiteflies are symbiotic in nature, as reported in other homopterans. Treating adult females with oxytetracycline reduced the ability of their offspring to induce symptoms of squash silverleaf in zucchini ( Cucurbita pepo L.).
Clinicopathologic conference; progressive diffuse pulmonary disease with nonproductive cough.

History. A 71-year-old white woman, a housewife, entered the hospital with chief complaints of "breathlessness and weakness" during the preceding 5 months, and a dry, irritating, nonproductive cough for the last 2 weeks. The patient said she had enjoyed unusually good health all her life. Approximately 5 months prior to admission she awoke suddenly one night with profound shortness of breath, and she felt extremely weak when she arose from bed. Her family physician examined her and attributed the symptoms to "rapid, irregular heart action." This first episode lasted 2 days, but she noticed thereafter that she was short of breath when lying down or engaging in physical activity. Episodes of dyspnea seemed to be provoked easily by only slight physical effort. This symptom became progressively worse during the 5 months prior to admission, and eventually the discomfort was so severe that the patient avoided ordinary, light housework. Two weeks before hospitalization she developed an irritating, persistent, nonproductive cough, but hemoptysis, cyanosis, pain in the chest, and peripheral edema were not observed at any time. During the last fewweeks her weight decreased approximately 20 pounds notwithstanding an excellent appetite; she also felt progressively weaker.-
Administration of Modern University

The current administration of university management system common tendency,namely the "official position" of management thinking of the university management.The main features of the executive power,and academic,teaching matters intertwined,college selection and appointment of cadres and officials of colleges and universities set the institutional sectors of the government and so on.And resulting in serious negative consequences,therefore,properly handle the university "executive" of the problem must adopt scientific management methods,improving the university system,with professor way to establish similar to western democratic electoral system and the principal monitoring system.
Creditor Protection Law Effects on Venture Capital Investment in Africa: Country-Level Evidence

This article examines variation in creditor protection laws to empirically investigate their effect on country-level venture capital investment in Africa. Results, using bank branch density as an instrumental variable, indicate that stronger creditor protection laws have significantly positive effects on seed, start-up, and early and expansion venture capital investments. In addition, the magnitude of such effects on investment at both venture capital stages is relatively larger than the effects on private equity investment. This supports the theory that the effects of a shock to financially constrained companies in imperfect financial markets are magnified when information asymmetry is more severe.
Operator-assisted tabulation of optical scan ballots

We present OpenCount: a system that tabulates scanned ballots from an election by combining computer vision algorithms with focused operator assistance. OpenCount is designed to support risk-limiting audits and to be scalable to large elections, robust to conditions encountered using typical scanner hardware, and general to a wide class of ballot types--all without the need for integration with any vendor systems. To achieve these goals, we introduce a novel operator-in-the-loop computer vision pipeline for automatically processing scanned ballots while allowing the operator to intervene in a simple, intuitive manner. We evaluate our system on data collected from five risk-limiting audit pilots conducted in California in 2011.
Novel Mouse Models for Understanding HIV-1 Pathogenesis

Small animal models in which in vivo HIV-1 infection, pathogenesis, and immune responses can be studied would permit both basic research on the biology of the disease, as well as a system to rapidly screen developmental therapeutics and/or vaccines. To date, the most widely-used models have been the severe combined immunodeficient (SCID)-hu (also known as the thy/liv SCID-hu) and the huPBL-SCID mouse models. Recently three new models have emerged, i.e., the intrasplenic huPBL/SPL-SCID model, the NOD/SCID/IL2Rgamma(null) mouse model, and the Rag2(-/-)gamma(c) (-/-) mouse model. Details on the construction, maintenance and HIV-1 infection of these models are discussed.
Lumbosacral Osteomyelitis and Discitis with Phlegmon Following Laparoscopic Sacral Colpopexy

Lumbosacral osteomyelitis and discitis are usually a result of hematogenous spread; rarely it can result from direct inoculation during a surgical procedure. Bacteria may also track along implanted devices to a different location. This is a rare complication seen from pelvic organ prolapse surgery with sacral colpopexy. A 67-year-old female developed increasing lower back pain four months following a laparoscopic sacral colpopexy. Imaging revealed lumbar 5-sacral 1 (L5-S1) osteomyelitis and discitis with associated phlegmon confirmed by percutaneous biopsy and culture. The patient was treated conservatively with antibiotics, but required laparoscopic removal of the pelvic and vaginal mesh followed by twelve weeks of intravenous antibiotics. The patient has experienced clinical improvement of her back pain. This is an uncommon complication of sacral colpopexy, but physicians must be vigilant and manage aggressively to avoid more serious complications and permanent deficit.
Discrimination, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorders Among Sexual Minority Populations.

Abstract Purpose: Sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual) populations have a higher prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Such disparities have been attributed, in part, to minority stressors, including distal stressors such as discrimination. However, few studies have examined associations between discrimination, mental health, and substance use disorders by gender among sexual minority populations. Methods: We analyzed data from 577 adult men and women who self-identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and participated in Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Six questions assessed discrimination due to sexual orientation. Weighted multivariable logistic regression examined associations between experiences of sexual orientation discrimination and both mental health and substance use disorders. Analyses were conducted separately for sexual minority men and women, adjusting for sociodemographic ...
Evaluation of the Adaptive Immune Response to Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Evaluation of the adaptive immune response is critical to the advancement of our basic knowledge and understanding of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The cellular composition in the lung following RSV infection is often evaluated using flow cytometry. However, a limitation of this approach has been the inability to readily distinguish cells that are within the lung parenchyma from cells that remain in the pulmonary blood vessels. Herein, we detail a procedure to evaluate the adaptive immune response via flow cytometric analysis that incorporates an in vivo intravascular staining technique. This technique allows for discrimination of immune cells in the lung tissue from cells that remain in the pulmonary vasculature following perfusion. Therefore at any given time point following an RSV infection, the leukocytic populations in the lung parenchyma can be quantified and phenotypically assessed with high resolution. While we focus on the T lymphocyte response in the lung, this technique can be readily adapted to examine various leukocytic cell types in the lung following RSV infection.
Effect of Zinc oxide and Al-Zinc oxide nanoparticles on the rheological properties of cement paste

Abstract This study aims to evaluate the effect of aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) and undoped Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles addition on the superplasticizer adsorption isotherm and rheological properties of cement paste composites. The adsorption isotherm and zeta potential of pastes containing different proportions of ZnO and AZO nanoparticles were also analyzed. The mechanism of superplasticizer adsorption by nanoparticles was found to be a dominant factor which governs the rheological properties. It was found that the amount of superplasticizer adsorbed increases significantly by incorporating nanoparticles which implies that nanoparticles compete with cement particles to adsorb the polymer. Consequently, the addition of both nanoparticles resulted in a considerable increase in saturation point, yield stress and viscosity values relative to plain cement paste. All mixtures containing 0.4 wt % nanoparticles or lower showed excellent workability retention as compared to the reference mix while, the poor workability retention was observed a higher dosage.
Sustainable Transport Development in Developing Countries

The all-encompassing issue for transport professionals in the closing years of this century is sustainability and its links with economic growth, consumption, and the environment, and there can hardly be any understanding of their mutual growth other than global and systemic, particularly with respect to the developing world. The reason for this is that in comparison to the developed world, the need for transport systems improvement in the developing world is much more intense, with motorized transport (MT) estimated to increase by more than 100 percent in the next ten years (World Bank, 1986). What is most alarming is that a majority of transport policy-makers in developing countries believe that a higher rate of MT is vital for economic development, at the expense of non-motorized transport (NMT). This trend is changing more and more cities in the developing world into unlivable precincts, with horrendous problems of traffic congestion, safety, and environmental damage. Governments in these countries are facing serious challenges to keep people and goods moving, with no relief in sight. The objectives of this paper are: to describe the nature of sustainable transport systems, to briefly outline the transport modes and their characteristics, to spell out the new transport paradigm, and to suggest the more critical strategies for sustainability.
“Dan Phoebus takes me for an auctioneer”: Byron’s Nostalgic Sketch of Newstead in Don Juan 13, the Picturesque, and Real-Estate Auctioneering Puffery

ABSTRACTByron’s sketch of Norman Abbey in Don Juan 13.55–74 has traditionally been read as an unapologetically nostalgic reminiscence of Newstead Abbey, the ancestral estate that Byron loved and lost. I complicate this reading, focusing on the opening stanzas in which Byron exaggerates the picturesque and on the concluding squib in stanza 74 in which Byron compares himself to an “auctioneer” for having cataloged the beauties of the abbey so extensively, retroactively troping his picturesque sketch of Newstead as only so much real-estate auctioneering puffery. I argue that Byron’s framing device significantly ironizes the sketch of Newstead by bringing it into apposition with two kinds of related “cant” used to describe landscape during the period—i.e. the picturesque and real-estate auctioneering puffery. Along the way, I situate stanza 74 within the context of Romantic-era auctioneering and auctioneering satire, Byron’s hitherto unexplored relationship with the auctioneer George Henry Robins, and Byron’s...
Analysis of major air pollutants and submicron particles in New York City and Long Island

A year-long sampling campaign of major air pollutants and submicron particle number size distributions was conducted at two sites taken as representative of city-wide air quality in New York City and Long Island, respectively. A number of species were quantified with hourly time resolution, including particle number concentrations in 6 size ranges (20–30 nm, 30–50 nm, 50–70 nm, 70–100 nm, 100–200 nm, and >200 nm), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, methane, non-methane hydrocarbons, PM2.5 mass concentration and some PM major components (sulfate, organic and elemental carbon). Hourly concentrations of primary and secondary organic carbon were estimated using the EC tracer method. Data were matched with weather parameters and air parcel back-trajectories. A series of tools were thus applied to: (i) study the seasonal, weekly, diurnal cycles of pollutants; (ii) investigate the relationships amongst pollutants through correlation and lagged correlation analyses; (iii) depict the role of atmospheric photochemical processes; (iv) examine the location of the potential sources by mean of conditional bivariate probability function analysis and (v) investigate the role of regional transport of air masses to the concentrations of analyzed species. Results indicate that concentrations of NOx, SO2, CO, non-methane hydrocarbons, primary OC and EC are predominantly determined by local sources, but are also affected by regional transports of polluted air masses. On the contrary, the transport of continental polluted air masses has a main effect in raising the concentrations of secondary PM2.5 (sulfate and secondary organic carbon). By providing direct information on the concentrations and trends of key pollutants and submicron particle number concentrations, this study finally enables some general considerations about air quality status and atmospheric processes over the New York City metropolitan area.
Ovarian reserve testing: a user's guide.

Ovarian reserve is a complex clinical phenomenon influenced by age, genetics, and environmental variables. Although it is challenging to predict the rate of an individual's ovarian reserve decline, clinicians are often asked for advice about fertility potential and/or recommendations regarding the pursuit of fertility treatment options. The purpose of this review is to summarize the state-of-the-art of ovarian reserve testing, providing a guide for the obstetrician/gynecologist generalist and reproductive endocrinologist. The ideal ovarian reserve test should be convenient, be reproducible, display little if any intracycle and intercycle variability, and demonstrate high specificity to minimize the risk of wrongly diagnosing women as having diminished ovarian reserve and accurately identify those at greatest risk of developing ovarian hyperstimulation prior to fertility treatment. Evaluation of ovarian reserve can help to identify patients who will have poor response or hyperresponse to ovarian stimulation for assisted reproductive technology. Ovarian reserve testing should allow individualization of treatment protocols to achieve optimal response while minimizing safety risks. Ovarian reserve testing may inform patients regarding their reproductive lifespan and menopausal timing as well as aid in the counselling and selection of treatment for female cancer patients of reproductive age who receive gonadotoxic therapy. In addition, it may aid in establishing the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome and provide insight into its severity. While there is currently no perfect ovarian reserve test, both antral follicular count and antimullerian hormone have good predictive value and are superior to day-3 follicle-stimulating hormone. The convenience of untimed sampling, age-specific values, availability of an automated platform, and potential standardization of antimullerian hormone assay make this test the preferred biomarker for the evaluation of ovarian reserve in women.
Opening the government’s black boxes: freedom of information and algorithmic accountability

ABSTRACTFreedom of information laws are intended to illuminate how governments operate. However, the operations of governments increasingly involve algorithms, such as those used to recommend criminal sentencing and determine eligibility for social services. Algorithms function as ‘black boxes’ that turn inputs into outputs using processes that are often, by design, not transparent. Freedom of information laws allow one potential means for algorithmic transparency. However, whether such laws can be used to access algorithms is unclear. This research examines, in two ways, the availability of government algorithms to the public. First, this study examines laws, regulations, advisory opinions, and court rulings relevant to the disclosure of algorithms. The second part of this study analyzes actual responses by US government agencies to Freedom of Information Act requests for algorithms. This study concludes that governmental policies and practices related to algorithmic disclosure are inconsistent. Such inc...
Contributions to Education Policy Research

Over the course of its history, ETS has conducted education policy research focused on promoting equal opportunity for all individuals from early childhood through adulthood. This chapter describes a selection of work in: • Analyzing, evaluating, and informing public policy in educational governance, including school finance; teacher policy; and federal, state, and local education policy; • Examining differential access to educational opportunity in three areas of longstanding interest to ETS: the gender gap, advanced placement programs, and graduate education; and • Reporting on the educational outcomes of the U.S. population and describing the contexts for these outcomes and for the gaps in outcomes that exist among segments of the population.
Facile formation of metallic bismuth/bismuth oxide heterojunction on porous carbon with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Bismuth/bismuth oxide heterojunction on porous carbon (Bi0/Bi2O3@C) was successfully prepared by a surfactant-assisted sol-gel method. This composite photocatalyst was fabricated by depositing Bi2O3 and metallic bismuth nanoparticles (NPs) on porous carbon sheets. Bi NPs were created by in-situ reduction of Bi2O3 with amorphous carbon. During the synthesis, bismuth and carbon precursors were mixed in different ratios, resulting in distinct amounts of metallic bismuth in the composites. The composites showed large specific surface area and pore volume as well as strong light absorption ability due to the existing carbon. In addition, the plasmonic bismuth NPs were found to behave as a noble metal, which is able to generate hot charge carriers under visible light irradiation. Photocatalytic performance of the Bi0/Bi2O3@C composites was investigated by degradation of methylene blue. It turned out that the composites showed much higher efficiency as compared to bare Bi2O3, which may be attributed to the synergistic effects of porous structures, improved optical absorption, and surface plasmon resonance.
Technique for forcing high Reynolds number isotropic turbulence in physical space

Linear forcing is commonly used to simulate isotropic turbulence in physical space. Here we modify the forcing term to act on a low-pass filtered velocity field and obtain a 60% increase of the Taylor microscale Reynolds number on the same mesh. An extension is also made to scalar mixing.
The National Diabetes Education Program at 20 Years: Lessons Learned and Plans for the Future.

The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) was established to translate findings from diabetes research studies into clinical and public health practice. Over 20 years, NDEP has built a program with partnership engagement that includes science-based resources for multiple population and stakeholder audiences. Throughout its history, NDEP has developed strategies and messages based on communication research and relied on established behavior change models from health education, communication, and social marketing. The program’s success in continuing to engage diverse partners after 20 years has led to time-proven and high-quality resources that have been sustained. Today, NDEP maintains a national repository of diabetes education tools and resources that are high quality, science- and audience-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate, and available free of charge to a wide variety of audiences. This review looks back and describes NDEP’s evolution in transforming and communicating diabetes management and type 2 diabetes prevention strategies through partnerships, campaigns, educational resources, and tools and identifies future opportunities and plans.
Identification and Calculation of Horizontal Curves for Low-Volume Roadways Using Smartphone Sensors:

Horizontal curves are a contributing factor to the number of observed roadway crashes. Identifying locations and geometric characteristics of horizontal curves plays a crucial role in crash predict...
Urine Specific Gravity as a Practical Marker for Identifying Suboptimal Fluid Intake of Runners ∼12-hr Postexercise

The legitimacy of urine specific gravity (USG) as a standalone measure to detect hydration status has recently been challenged. As an alternative to hydration status, the purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic capability of using the traditional USG marker of >1.020 to detect insufficient recovery fluid consumption with consideration for moderate versus high sweat losses (2.00-2.99 or > 3% body mass respectively). Adequate recovery fluid intake (ARFI) was operationally defined as ≥100% beverage fluid intake plus food water from 1 or 2 meals and a snack. Runners (n = 59) provided 132 samples from 5 previous investigations in which USG was assessed 10-14 h after 60-90 minute runs in temperate-to-hot environments. Samples were collected after a meal (n = 54) and after waking (n = 68). When sweat losses exceeded 3% body mass (n = 60) the relationship between fluid replacement percentage and USG increased from r = -0.55 to r = -0.70. Correct diagnostic decision improved from 66.6% to 83.3%, and ...
Strontium Titanate Composites for Microwave-Based Stress Sensing

Composites of strontium titanate ceramic particles dispersed in epoxy resin have been manufactured for nondestructive wireless stress sensing. Magnetic coupling with a hairpin resonator on the surface of the composite was used to detect changes in the effective dielectric properties. The hairpin resonator was excited in the microwave frequency domain at 1–10 GHz, and its resonant frequency detected using a network analyzer based on the absorbed power. The results indicated a shift in the resonant frequency of the hairpin resonator under application of stress due to a change in the dielectric constant of the composite.
MSH, cyclic AMP, and melanocyte differentiation.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that the melanin-containing pigment cells, melanocytes, and melanophores have been favorite targets of study because of the fact that the pigment melanin serves as a built-in cytochemical marker and facilitates microscopic examinations. It has been found through embryological studies that these cells are derived from specific unpigmented cells of the neural crest that migrate to specific locations during a specific phase of embryonic development and give rise, at a much later stage, to pigmented cells. The melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), and other structurally related polypeptides, including adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cause dispersion of the pigment granules, melanosomes, and therefore, produce visible darkening of the cell or of skin containing these cells. This effect is mediated via second messenger, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and, as in the case of most other polypeptide hormones, probably involves membrane-bound complexes of adenyl cyclase and hormone receptor molecules. Results discussed in the chapter indicate that the mythical inductor for melanocytogenesis is the well-known hormone MSH acting via the second messenger, cAMP. The chapter also discusses some future avenues of experimental approaches.
A Jurisprudence of Pragmatic Altruism: Jon Van Dyke’s Legacy to Legal Scholarship

Prominent among the topical areas in which Jon Van Dyke wrote was the jurisprudence of international law, and especially subjects within the broad spectrum of topics under heading of "Law of the Sea". His most widely cited writing is a large set of important works relating to topics in state, national and international environmental law. This chapter provided a painstakingly detailed account of the massive American air-bombing campaign against the North during the Vietnam War and the failure of the bombing strategy to crush the resistance of the people and government that were its target. But his legacy to legal scholarship was to raise challenges. It was this generation's greatest challenge "to make that ethic of pragmatic altruism meaningful so that the common resources will remain available to us and to those who follow. Keywords: Jon Van Dyke; jurisprudence of international law; law of the sea; legal scholarship; pragmatic altruism; Vietnam war
Physiology of CNS Tissues in Culture

Small explants (ca. 1 mm3) of fetal rodent CNS tissues can form characteristic synaptic networks that generate progressively more complex organotypic bioelectric activities as they mature in long-term cultures (Crain, 1966, 1970, 1974a, 1975). CNS explants provide valuable model systems for correlative cytologic, electrophysiologic, and biochemical analyses of brain functions under conditions that permit flexible manipulations of the physicochemical environment of the neural tissues. In addition to relatively unspecific discharges of complex synaptically organized arrays of internuncial neurons in various CNS explants, e.g., cord, brainstem, cerebrum (Crain, 1966), more recent studies have demonstrated the development in vitro of a remarkable degree of specificity in the bioelectric discharge patterns and pharmacologic sensitivities of particular synaptic networks which may also maintain characteristic histologic organization within the ex-planted CNS tissue (Crain and Peterson, 1974a). Organotypic bioelectric activities also develop in small clusters of neurons that reaggregate in vitro after complete dissociation and random dispersion of fetal mouse cerebral cortex, brainstem, or spinal cord cells (Crain and Bornstein, 1972; Nelson and Peacock, 1973; Peacock et al, 1973). Techniques are therefore now available for the preparation of neuronal arrays in cultures of varying complexity, ranging from intact explants, containing a few thousand closely packed neurons and glial cells, down to monolayers of completely separated neurons.
A quality improvement project to address oncofertility in children and adolescents with cancer: Development of an oncofertility roadmap.

e18536Background: Cancer treatment has known effects on male and female fertility. Governing bodies advocate for fertility counseling prior to initiation of chemotherapy; however there is no standa...
Early history of MOVPE reactor development

Abstract MOVPE technology has rapidly grown from a laboratory research novelty in the 1960’s to the dominant production method for epitaxial materials used in high-performance compound semiconductors devices. In order for MOVPE to be adopted as an efficient and high-yield process, the MOVPE reactor had to be designed and operated in a manner to produce uniform epitaxial layer structures with a high degree of controllability and reproducibility. In commemoration of 50 years of MOVPE technological advancement, this paper reviews the early history of MOVPE reactor development and foundational advances that were critical for development of multi-wafer capacity production reactors having high yield and reproducibility.
iMUSIC: A Family of MUSIC-Like Algorithms for Integer Period Estimation

The MUSIC algorithm is one of the most popular techniques today for line spectral estimation. If the line spectrum is that of a periodic signal, can we adapt MUSIC to exploit the additional harmonicity in the spectrum? Important prior work in this direction includes the Harmonic MUSIC algorithm and its variations. For applications where the period of the discrete signal is an integer (or can be well approximated by an integer), this paper introduces a new and simpler class of alternatives to MUSIC. This new family, called iMUSIC, also includes techniques where simple integer valued vectors are used in place of complex exponentials for both representing the signal subspace, and for computing the pseudo-spectrum. It will be shown that the proposed methods not only make the computations much simpler than prior periodicity-adaptations of MUSIC, but also offer significantly better estimation accuracies for applications with integer periods. These advantages are demonstrated on examples that include repeats in protein and DNA sequences. The iMUSIC algorithms are based on the recently proposed Ramanujan subspaces and nested periodic subspaces. The resulting signal space bases are non-Vandermonde in structure. Consequently, many aspects of classical MUSIC that were based on the Vandermonde structure of complex-exponentials, such as guarantees for identifiability of the frequencies (periods in our case), are addressed in new ways in this paper.
Effect of Hull–Form Variation on the Stratified Near Wake of a Self–Propelled Body

This study investigates the influence of hull–form variation on a self–propelled body in a linearly–stratified environment typical of the ocean. The Reynolds number is $Re_{L}=3.1\times 10^{8}$ , based on the freestream velocity and body length. The unsteady Reynolds–Averaged Navier Stokes equations are solved numerically, incorporating an Actuator–Line–modeled propeller. Previously, the authors have shown good comparison to experiment with this approach. The axisymmetric Iowa Body cross–sectional aspect ratio is varied to produce five parametrically–defined hull forms. Flow visualization shows the influence of hull–form geometry on propeller–driven vortex structures. Steady, cross–plane wake profiles emerge by half of a body length downstream. The distribution of momentum and vorticity at this location is uniquely–modified by variations in the upstream geometry. Although propeller swirl is the most significant generator of potential energy, hull effects also alter the thermal–saline distribution, further increasing the total potential energy. Integrated terms from the Vorticity Transport Equation suggest that buoyancy may function as an important driver of vorticity in the far wake.
Smaller left anterior cingulate cortex in non-bipolar relatives of patients with bipolar disorder.

Objective Bipolar disorder (BD) is highly heritable. The present study aimed at identifying brain morphometric features that could represent markers of BD vulnerability in non-bipolar relatives of bipolar patients. Methods In the present study, structural magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were acquired from a total of 93 subjects, including 31 patients with BD, 31 non-bipolar relatives of BD patients, and 31 healthy controls. Volumetric measurements of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), lateral ventricles, amygdala, and hippocampus were completed using the automated software FreeSurfer. Results Analysis of covariance (with age, gender, and intracranial volume as covariates) indicated smaller left ACC volumes in unaffected relatives as compared to healthy controls and BD patients (p = 0.004 and p = 0.037, respectively). No additional statistically significant differences were detected for other brain structures. Conclusion Our findings suggest smaller left ACC volume as a viable biomarker candidate for BD.
Expanding Individual Placement and Support to Populations With Conditions and Disorders Other Than Serious Mental Illness.

Objective:A systematic review of studies of individual placement and support (IPS) for populations other than those with serious mental illness was conducted.Methods:The authors searched three elec...
Impact of heat stress on development and fertility of Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae).

Abstract Drosophila suzukii is a globally invasive fruit pest that costs millions in yield losses and increased pest management costs. Management practices for D. suzukii currently rely heavily on calendar-based applications of broad-spectrum insecticides, but decision-based applications are theoretically possible with refined population modeling and monitoring. Temperature conditions are strongly deterministic of insect growth rates, fecundity, fertility, and resulting population densities. Therefore, information about the effects of temperature can be incorporated into population modeling to accurately predict D. suzukii population densities in the field which is crucial to maximize pesticide application efficiency and improve sustainability. Here, we investigated the effects of chronic heat stress during all of juvenile development on egg-to-adult viability and fertility. We also investigated egg-to-adult viability under heat stress after heat shock of the maternal parent. We found that heat stress during development results in lower egg-to-adult viability, and reduced lifespan and fertility for surviving adults. However, heat-shock treatment of females prior to egg laying increased the egg-to-adult viability of their eggs under heat stress. Female flies that developed at 30 °C had smaller ovaries than the untreated group and male flies had less sperm in their testes, and no sperm in their seminal vesicles. We conclude that heat stress during development is likely to have negative effect on D. suzukii population dynamics in the field. However, the intensity of such negative impact will depend on the phenotypic state of their maternal parents.
Associations Between Adolescents' Social Re-orientation Toward Peers Over Caregivers and Neural Response to Teenage Faces.

Adolescence is a period of intensive development in body, brain, and behaviour. Potentiated by changes in hormones and neural response to social stimuli, teenagers undergo a process of social re-orientation away from their caregivers and towards expanding peer networks. The current study examines how relative relational closeness to peers (compared to parents) during adolescence is linked to neural response to the facial emotional expressions of other teenagers. Self-reported closeness with friends (same- and opposite-sex) and parents (mother and father), and neural response to facial stimuli during fMRI, was assessed in 8- to 19-year-old typically-developing youth (n = 40, mean age = 13.90 years old, SD = 3.36; 25 female). Youth who reported greater relative closeness with peers than with parents showed decreased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during stimulus presentation, which may reflect lessened inhibitory control or regulatory response to peer-aged faces. Functional connectivity between the dlPFC and dorsal striatum was greatest in older youth who were closer to peers; in contrast, negative coupling between these regions was noted for both younger participants who were closer to peers and older participants who were closer to their parents. In addition, the association between relative closeness to peers and neural activation in regions of the social brain varied by emotion type and age. Results suggest that the re-orientation towards peers that occurs during adolescence is accompanied by changes in neural response to peer-aged social signals in social cognitive, prefrontal, and subcortical networks.
Preoperative patient preparation in enhanced recovery pathways

Enhanced recovery pathways are a novel approach focused on enhancing the care of surgical patients. “Prehabilitation” is the term applied to any intervention administered before surgery to reduce surgery-related morbidity, decrease the length of hospital stay, expedite the return of organ function, and facilitate the patient's return to normal life. A PubMed search was performed with the following key words: enhanced recovery, preoperative preparation, cessation of smoking and euvolemia. The results from this Pubmed search revealed that female patients may have higher levels of anxiety than male patients. Intensive smoking and alcohol cessation 6–8 weeks before elective surgery may reduce the incidence of postoperative morbidity. Preoperative exercise can be effective for reducing the postoperative complications like pulmonary complications and shortening the length of hospital stay. It is safe to allow patients to drink clear fluids up until 2 h before elective surgery (Level II evidence). Perioperative normoglycemia is the single most important factor to prevent surgical site infection. Intermittent pneumatic compression devices and low molecular weight heparin are effective in preventing postoperative thromboembolism. No advantage is gained by preoperative mechanical bowel preparation in elective colorectal surgery. The goal of preoperative fluid management is for the patient to arrive in the operating room in a hydrated and euvolemic state. Mild perioperative hypothermia may promote surgical wound infection by triggering thermoregulatory vasoconstriction, which decreases subcutaneous oxygen tension.
Genetic species identification of ecologically important planthoppers (Prokelisia spp.) of coastal Spartina saltmarshes using High Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA)

Phloem-feeding planthoppers of the genus Prokelisia rank among the most abundant and ecologically important browsers of coastal saltmarsh grasses of eastern North America and the Caribbean. Along the Spartina marshes of the northern Gulf of Mexico, the sympatric species P. marginata and P. dolus are the most abundant, but are difficult to distinguish from each other based solely on morphology. This study seeks to design a molecular assay based on High Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA) as a fast, cost-effective alternative to differentiate these species. A 450 base pairs (bp) segment of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) was amplified and sequenced for representative samples of both species, and a short amplicon (SA) HRMA was designed based on the presence of fixed nucleotide differences between species found along a 60 bp segment of COI. The unambiguous identification of individual specimens of P. marginata or P. dolus was possible due to easily discernable differences in the melting temperatures of the two species along this mini barcode. This assay may prove useful for future genetic studies involving these species by preventing the overestimation of genetic diversity via inclusion of conspecifics, and in ecological studies by improving data on the effects of individual species of Prokelisia.
Approaching neutron-rich nuclei towards the r-process path in 86Kr-induced collisions at 15 MeV/nucleon

The production cross sections of projectile-like fragments from collisions of 15 MeV/nucleon 86 Kr with 64 , 58 Ni and 124 , 112 Sn have been measured using a magnetic separator with emphasis on the neutron-rich isotopes. Neutron pick-up isotopes (with up to 6-8 neutrons picked-up from the target) were observed with large cross sections. The present results were also compared with our previous data of the same reactions at 25 MeV/nucleon. The data at 15 MeV/nucleon show enhanced production of neutron-rich isotopes very close to the projectile, relative to the corresponding data at 25 MeV/nucleon. The large cross sections of such reactions involving peripheral nucleon exchange, indicate that these reactions o ff er a novel route to access extremely neutron-rich rare isotopes towards the the astrophysical r-process path and the neutron-drip line.