cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Entre la domesticidad y el espacio laboral: construyendo la imagen de la mujer trabajadora en el cine mexicano de la Época de Oro

This paper delineates the challenges that middle class women encountered in their integration to the work force during the 1940s and 1950s. It analyzes the social and artistic construction of working women’s representations in Mexico’s Golden Age cinema, focusing on three films produced within a decade. This work centers on the films’ discursive and propaganda strategies, while seeking to ascertain the obstacles of women in their integration into the professional field. Though they range widely in perspective, these films suggest the privileging of domesticity and traditional Catholic morality over professional opportunities for women, thus limiting their potential as productive members of the workforce.
Safety and Liveness of MCS Lock—Layer by Layer

The MCS Lock, a small but complex piece of low-level software, is a standard algorithm for providing inter-CPU locks with FIFO ordering guarantee and scalability. It is an interesting target for verification—short and subtle, involving both liveness and safety properties. We implemented and verified the MCS Lock algorithm as part of the CertiKOS kernel [8], showing that the C/assembly implementation contextually refines atomic specifications of the acquire and release lock methods. Our development follows the methodology of certified concurrent abstraction layers [7, 9]. By splitting the proof into layers, we can modularize it into separate parts for the low-level machine model, data abstraction, and reasoning about concurrent interleavings. This separation of concerns makes the layered methodology suitable for verified programming in the large, and our MCS Lock can be composed with other shared objects in CertiKOS kernel.
A Republican Argument Against Nudging and Informed Consent.

I argue that it is impermissible to use nudges as a tool to influence patients in the context of informed consent. The motivation for such nudges is that their use can help reconcile potential conflicts between a physician’s duty of beneficence and duty to respect patient autonomy. I argue that their use places physicians in a position of domination over patients. That is, it violates the republican freedom of patients because it grants physicians the power to arbitrarily interfere. I also argue that if one tries to adjust the duty of beneficence to avoid this conclusion, then the republican freedom of patients is still threatened under conditions of clinical equipoise. As ways to avoid the inevitability of nudging, I suggest the alternative of boosting or the pairing of patients with physicians who share their deep values. This latter option achieves the benefits nudging patients is supposed to provide without violating the republican freedom of those patients.
Blood transfusion management in the severely bleeding military patient.

Purpose of reviewHemorrhage remains the primary cause of preventable death on the battlefield and in civilian trauma. Hemorrhage control is multifactorial and starts with point-of-injury care. Surgical hemorrhage control and time from injury to surgery is paramount; however, interventions in the pre
Topological properties in Whitney blocks

Abstract Let C ( X ) be the hyperspace of subcontinua of a continuum X. A Whitney block is a set of the form μ − 1 ( [ s , t ] ) , where μ : C ( X ) → [ 0 , 1 ] is a Whitney map and 0 ≤ s t ≤ 1 . In this paper, we study the following implication: if X has property P, then each Whitney block in C ( X ) has property P. We consider the following properties: connectedness im kleinen, being absolute neighborhood retract, local contractibility, and m-mutual aposyndesis.
Circle-like foreign element detection in chest x-rays using normalized cross-correlation and unsupervised clustering

Presence of foreign objects (buttons, medical devices) adversely impact the performance of the automated chest X-ray (CXR) screening. We present a novel image processing and machine learning technique to detect circle-like foreign elements in CXR images that helps avoid confusions in automated detection of abnormalities, such as nodules and other calcifications. In our technique, we apply normalized cross-correlation using a few templates to collect potential circle-like elements and unsupervised clustering to make a decision. We validated our fully automatic technique on a set of 400 publicly available images hosted by LHNCBC, U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our method achieved an accuracy greater than 90p and outperforms existing techniques that are reported in the literature.
Characterizing Ischemic Stroke and Hemorrhagic Conversion in Infectious Endocarditis (P6.297)

Objective: To characterize rate and identify risk factors of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic conversion in patients with infective endocarditis. Background: Ischemic stroke is a common complication of infective endocarditis (IE) and can delay valve surgery. Identifying risk factors for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and hemorrhagic conversion may help in perioperative risk assessment of these patients. Design/Methods: Retrospective analysis was done on 116 consecutive patients with IE seen by stroke neurology at a tertiary center from January 2015 through July 2016. Clinical and radiographic characteristics were collected. Descriptive statistics were used to identify risk factors for AIS, defined as clinical or silent infarct, both with and without hemorrhagic conversion. Results: Among 116 patients with IE, AIS occurred in 82 (70.6%) with a median NIH Stroke Scale of 3 (interquartile range (IQR) 0–12) and a median MRI volume of 13.5mL (IQR 1.4–42mL). Of AIS patients, 25 (30%) had silent infarct, 6 (7%) had concurrent primary ICH, and 25 (30%) had hemorrhagic conversion. AIS was associated with remote stroke on imaging (OR 1.27), history of diabetes (OR 1.22), and >1 vegetation on echocardiogram (OR 1.29). Microhemorrhages on MRI susceptibility-weighted images occurred in 66 (80%) AIS patients, and was associated with hemorrhagic conversion (OR 1.35). Mycotic aneurysm was found in 4 patients with hemorrhagic conversion, but this was not significant (OR 1.0). A total of 48 AIS patients (58.5%) underwent valve surgery. Additional stroke occurred while awaiting surgery in 10 AIS patients (OR 1.20), 6 were new ischemic stroke and 4 were new ICH. Post-operatively there were 1 new AIS and 3 new ICH complications. Conclusions: The incidence of acute ischemic stroke in our population was 70.6%, with a third being silent infarcts. Hemorrhagic conversion occurred in 30% and was associated with cerebral microhemorrhages. Disclosure: Dr. Marquardt has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cho has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zhang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Uchino has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wisco has nothing to disclose.
Predicting the outcome of percutaneous biopsy in renal neoplasms using a CAD algorithm to derive peak lesion enhancement on four-phase CT.

e16067Background: The incidence of renal cell carcinoma has steadily increased, in part due the increased number of incidentally detected renal neoplasms on imaging. Although a small renal mass can...
Recruiting Primary Care Practices for Research: Reflections and Reminders.

Background: Recruiting primary care practices for research projects has always required carefully tended relationships, a compelling message, and good timing. Recruiting practices to participate in practice transformation research trials may take more and different efforts. We reflect on practice recruitment for a recently-concluded trial of a diabetes self-management support system in 2 states and 36 practices. Methods: Iterative qualitative analysis of field notes, semistructured clinician and staff interviews, and meeting notes from a 2-state, cluster-randomized trial that aimed to improve self-management support for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Results: Although all 36 enrolled practices finished the study, fully recruiting practices early on took considerable effort, yielding 2 primary lessons: 1) practice-based research networks (PBRNs) must recruit more stakeholders at more levels, at the clinic, in the system, and across roles; and 2) practice recruitment is a process and may take longer than expected with unplanned turnover of key contacts. Adjusting our recruitment strategies required: helping with communication efforts in practices; aligning our study message according to stakeholders9 interests; allowing for minor adaptations at the practice-level to align with critical practice workflows, staffing, and resources; re-engaging with clinical leadership over time; and identifying a “backup” champion due to turnover. Conclusions: When undertaking a pragmatic clinical trial requiring substantial practice change in a PBRN setting across a large number of practices, it is important that PBRN leaders develop a comprehensive strategy to identify and engage a broad group of stakeholders within each practice, understand their needs and priorities around research, and design and implement a structured communications strategy to maintain engagement throughout every phase of the project.
Tumor vascular permeability is a key determinant for anti-vascular effects of doxorubicin encapsulated in a novel temperature sensitive liposome

1392 Doxorubicin (DOX) encapsulated lyso-thermosensitive liposome (LTSL) has shown promising results in tumor growth control when it is combined with hyperthermia (HT). Our previous data have demonstrated that DOX released from LTSL can shut down blood flow in a human tumor xenograft (FaDu) in mice, suggesting that LTSL-DOX is a potential anti-vascular agent. To understand mechanisms of the blood flow shut down, we investigated the effects of LTSL-DOX (5 mg/kg body weight) plus HT (42oC, 1 h) on microcirculation in another tumor (a murine mammary carcinoma, 4T07) implanted in mouse dorsal skin-fold chambers, measured in vitro dose response of tumor (FaDu and 4T07) and endothelial cells to LTSL-DOX or free DOX with or without HT, and quantified the microvascular permeability changes after HT treatment in both tumors. We observed that LTSL-DOX+HT could significantly reduce blood flow in 4T07 tumor, but the amount of reduction was not as much as that in FaDu tumor. This difference was independent of sensitivity of cells to DOX treatment, because the dose responses of FaDu and 4T07 to DOX were similar in vitro. In addition, we observed that LTSL-DOX+HT was more cytotoxic to both tumor cells in vitro than LTSL-DOX without HT and the cytotoxicity of LTSL-DOX+HT was similar to that of free DOX+HT. These data suggested that the killing of tumor cells by LTSL-DOX+HT was caused by both free DOX released from LTSL and the thermal injury. HT increased the microvascular permeability in both tumors; and the amount of increase in FaDu was about eight times as high as that in 4T07. These data indicated that the concentration of LTSL-DOX was higher in FaDu tumors, especially in perivascular regions, than that in 4T07 tumors. Taken together, the difference in the anti-vascular effects of LTSL-DOX+HT between the two tumors was caused by the difference in the microvascular permeability and thus the local concentration of LTSL-DOX in the perivascular regions.
Cognitive training and transcranial direct current stimulation in mild cognitive impairment: A randomized pilot trial

Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive stimulation, represents a potential intervention to enhance cognition across clinical populations including Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This randomized clinical trial in MCI investigated the effects of anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) delivered to left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) combined with gist-reasoning training (SMART) versus sham tDCS (s-tDCS) plus SMART on measures of cognitive and neural changes in resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF). We were also interested in SMART effects on cognitive performance regardless of the tDCS group. Methods Twenty-two MCI participants, who completed the baseline cognitive assessment (T1), were randomized into one of two groups: a-tDCS + SMART and s-tDCS + SMART. Of which, 20 participants completed resting pCASL MRI scan to measure rCBF. Eight SMART sessions were administered over 4 weeks with a-tDCS or s-tDCS stimulation for 20 min before each session. Participants were assessed immediately (T2) and 3-months after training (T3). Results Significant group × time interactions showed cognitive gains at T2 in executive function (EF) measure of inhibition [DKEFS- Color word (p = 0.047)], innovation [TOSL (p = 0.01)] and on episodic memory [TOSL (p = 0.048)] in s-tDCS + SMART but not in a-tDCS + SMART group. Nonetheless, the gains did not persist for 3 months (T3) after the training. A voxel-based analysis showed significant increase in regional rCBF in the right middle frontal cortex (MFC) (cluster-wise p = 0.05, k = 1,168 mm3) in a-tDCS + SMART compared to s-tDCS + SMART. No significant relationship was observed between the increased CBF with cognition. Irrespective of group, the combined MCI showed gains at T2 in EF of conceptual reasoning [DKEFS card sort (p = 0.033)] and category fluency [COWAT (p = 0.055)], along with gains at T3 in EF of verbal fluency [COWAT (p = 0.009)]. Conclusion One intriguing finding is a-tDCS to left IFG plus SMART increased blood flow to right MFC, however, the stimulation seemingly blocked cognitive benefits of SMART on EF (inhibition and innovation) and episodic memory compared to s-tDCS + SMART group. Although the sample size is small, this paper contributes to growing evidence that cognitive training provides a way to significantly enhance cognitive performance in adults showing memory loss, where the role of a-tDCS in augmenting these effects need further study.
Hidden Markov Models

There are many situations where one must work with sequences. Here is a simple, and classical, example. We see a sequence of words, but the last word is missing. I will use the sequence “I had a glass of red wine with my grilled xxxx.” What is the best guess for the missing word? You could obtain one possible answer by counting word frequencies, then replacing the missing word with the most common word. This is “the,” which is not a particularly good guess because it doesn’t fit with the previous word. Instead, you could find the most common pair of words matching “grilled xxxx,” and then choose the second word. If you do this experiment (I used Google Ngram viewer, and searched for “grilled *”), you will find mostly quite sensible suggestions (I got “meats,” “meat,” “fish,” “chicken,” in that order). If you want to produce random sequences of words, the next word should depend on some of the words you have already produced. A model with this property that is very easy to handle is a Markov chain (defined below).
In Search of Substitutes for Binary Models

Reading and digesting Michael Mahoney’s far-ranging chapter was both a difficult and rewarding experience. The difficulties were due in part to the inherently formidable subject matter (fundamental issues of causality and determinism), and in part to an apparent paradox in the chapter’s argument. The rewards, as usual, came from struggling with the difficulties.
Nanoparticle Doped PEDOT for Enhanced Electrode Coatings and Drug Delivery

In order to address material limitations of biologically interfacing electrodes, modified silica nanoparticles are utilized as dopants for conducting polymers. Silica precursors are selected to form a thiol modified particle (TNP), following which the particles are oxidized to sulfonate modified nanoparticles (SNPs). The selective inclusion of hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide allows for synthesis of both porous and nonporous SNPs. Nonporous nanoparticle doped polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) films possess low interfacial impedance, high charge injection (4.8 mC cm-2 ), and improved stability under stimulation compared to PEDOT/poly(styrenesulfonate). Porous SNP dopants can serve as drug reservoirs and greatly enhance the capability of conducting polymer-based, electrically controlled drug release technology. Using the SNP dopants, drug loading and release is increased up to 16.8 times, in addition to greatly expanding the range of drug candidates to include both cationic and electroactive compounds, all while maintaining their bioactivity. Finally, the PEDOT/SNP composite is capable of precisely modulating neural activity in vivo by timed release of a glutamate receptor antagonist from coated microelectrode sites. Together, this work demonstrates the feasibility and potential of doping conducting polymers with engineered nanoparticles, creating countless options to produce composite materials for enhanced electrical stimulation, neural recording, chemical sensing, and on demand drug delivery.
Comparison of end-to-end and hybrid deep reinforcement learning strategies for controlling cable-driven parallel robots

Abstract Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has been proven effective in learning policies of high-dimensional states and actions. Recently, a variety of robot manipulation tasks have been accomplished using end-to-end DRL strategies. An end-to-end DRL strategy accomplishes a robot manipulation task as a black box. On the other hand, a robot manipulation task can be divided into multiple subtasks and accomplished by non-learning-based approaches. A hybrid DRL strategy integrates DRL with non-learning-based approaches. The hybrid DRL strategy accomplishes some subtasks of a robot manipulation task by DRL and the rest subtasks by non-learning-based approaches. However, the effects of integrating DRL with non-learning-based approaches on the learning speed and the robustness of DRL to model uncertainties have not been discussed. In this study, an end-to-end DRL strategy and a hybrid DRL strategy are developed and compared in controlling a cable-driven parallel robot. This study shows that, by integrating DRL with non-learning-based approaches, the hybrid DRL strategy learns faster and is more robust to model uncertainties than the end-to-end DRL strategy. This study demonstrates that, by taking advantages of both learning and non-learning-based approaches, the hybrid DRL strategy provides an alternative to accomplish a robot manipulation task.
Aluminosilicate Mineralogy and the Sorption of Organic Cations: Interplay between Electrostatic Barriers and Compound Structural Features.

Current predictive models of organic cation sorption assume that sorbates interact with all sites on aluminosilicate minerals in the same manner. To examine whether differences in aluminosilicate s...
Institutional experience of healthy pediatric patients presenting with atrial fibrillation who had an electrophysiology study

Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a very common tachyarrhythmia with increasing prevalence with age, but uncommon in the pediatric population. Understanding that AF increases comorbidities make the need for investigation and potential elimination of alternate etiologies in pediatric AF patients critical. The objective of this study was to review our institutional data and compare our findings with previously documented adult AF risk factors to pediatric patients while also identifying which patients had alternate electrophysiology diagnoses amenable to transcatheter ablation. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed identifying AF patients who were less than 21 years old, had no significant congenital cardiovascular anomalies, a documented episode of AF on electrocardiogram and underwent invasive electrophysiology study (EPS). Results Nineteen patients were identified over a 9-year period of time finding a male predominance (74%), the average age of 14.95 ± 4.17 years, the average weight of 78.5 ± 31.4 kg, and average body mass index of 26.8 ± 6.87 kg/m2 . Preprocedural left atrial volumes made on echocardiograms demonstrated a mean of 33.96 ± 16.35 mL/m2 (Z-scores -0.81 ± 1.50), indicating no dilation. Five of nineteen patients (26%) had additional electrophysiologic diagnoses during EPS, including atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia (n = 2, 10%) and atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (n = 3, 16%). Four patients underwent successful ablation with no documented or clinical AF recurrence. Conclusions Adult risk factors of male predominance and obesity were seen in pediatric AF patients, while left atrial enlargement was not. Twenty-one percent of the pediatric AF patients who had additional electrophysiologic substrates and successful ablations resulted in no further clinical episodes of AF. This suggests that pediatric patients presenting with AF might benefit from an EPS as part of a complete evaluation.
Bar-driven spiral waves in disk galaxies.

The response of rotating disks of gas to barlike perturbations in galactic gravitational fields is investigated. In particular, two-dimensional time-dependent numerical hydrodynamical calculations have been performed in order to determine the steady-state response of disks of gas to rotating barlike perturbations. Two types of barlike perturbations are considered: oval distortions in the axisymmetric gravitational field of the disk, and heterogeneous prolate spheroids. The calculations reveal that in the absence of gaseous self-gravity, a viscous differentially rotating disk of gas responds to a rotating barlike perturbation by forming a central gas bar with two trailing spiral waves. The local phase of the gas response is primarily a function of the number and spacing of the principal resonances in the disk. This result may be understood in terms of particle orbit theory. The gas response to barlike perturbations also depends on the relative strength and the effective axial ratio of the bar. In these calculations strong narrow bars produce offset shocks in the central gas bar. These shocks correspond in position to the long narrow dust lanes observed in many barred spiral galaxies.
Circulating miRNAs as early indicators of diet and physical activity response in women with metastatic breast cancer

Treatments for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) improve survival but often impose prolonged symptom burden. We performed molecular characterization of 84 miRNAs in the circulating serum of women with...
Suppression of ITG turbulence due to spectral shift during biasing induced H-mode on HBT-EP

Investigations of biasing induced H-mode discharges on HBT-EP show that the edge turbulence is consistent with the ion temperature gradient) mode and have allowed for the controlled observation of the effect of applied flow shear on the turbulence. Measurements of the radial wavenumber spectrum of floating potentials at the edge show that the turbulence intensity decreases with increasing shift in the spectrum average ⟨kr⟩ when increasing amounts of bias probe voltage (and increasing amounts of flow shear) is applied. This is in agreement with the spectral shift model [Staebler et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 055003 2013] for turbulence suppression via sheared flow. A shift in the wavenumber spectrum occurs at applied electrode voltages and currents below the threshold needed for an L–H transition, and a dithering transition is obtained when biasing near the threshold. Suppression of blob-filament turbulence in the scrape-off layer (SOL) precedes the L–H transition, with the SOL turbulence remaining low throughout the dithering phase, despite the modulation of turbulence levels in the nearby edge. This demonstrates that the SOL turbulence “decouples” from the edge turbulence. The spectral shift in the measured radial wavenumber is corroborated by the direct measurement of eddy tilt angle using a novel time delay analysis technique first developed for Doppler reflectometry [Pinzon et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 61, 105009 (2019)] but adapted here for floating potential measurements.
Image-Based Tomography of Structures to Detect Internal Abnormalities Using Inverse Approach

Image-based techniques have been extensively deployed in the fields of condition assessment and structural mechanics to measure surface effects such as displacements or strains under loading. 3D Digital Image Correlation (3D-DIC) is a technique frequently used to quantify full-field strain measurements. This research uses 3D-DIC to detect interior anomalies of structural components, inferred from the discrepancy in constitutive properties such as elasticity modulus distribution of a three-dimensional heterogeneous/homogeneous sample using limited full-field boundary measurements. The proposed technique is an image-based tomography approach for structural identification (St-Id) to recover unseen volumetric defect distributions within the interior of a 3D heterogeneous space of a structural component based on iterative updating of unknown or uncertain model parameters. The approach leverages full-field surface deformation measurements as ground truth coupled with a finite element model updating process that leverages a novel hybridized optimization algorithm for convergence. This paper presents a case study on a series of structural test specimens with artificial damage. A computer program was created to provide an automated iterative interface between the finite element model and an optimization package. Results of the study illustrated the successful convergence of the selected objective function and the identified elasticity modulus distributions. The resulting updated model at later stages of loading was also shown to correlate well with the ground truth experimental response. The results illustrate the potential to detect subsurface defects from surface observations and to characterize internal properties of materials from their observed mechanical surface response.
University Colloquium: Educating for a Sustainable Future

University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future is an interdisciplinary sustainability course at Florida Gulf Coast University and a graduation requirement for all students. Developed to embody the University’s sustainability mission and in response to controversy surrounding campus site selection, the course provides students with an ecological perspective, sense of place, and broad understanding of sustainability. The rapid growth of the University during its 20-year history has created administrative, budgetary, and logistical challenges, as has maintaining a curriculum that accurately reflects the ever-changing field of sustainability. After an introduction to the purpose of this course, Part I of this chapter explores the evolving views of environmental education and education for sustainability. Part II presents the course’s history and the challenges faced during its evolution over time. Part III focuses on the assessment of the course and how it has helped drive revision through time. The chapter will conclude with a critique of the present state of the course and offer some potential directions for moving forward.
The Impact of Double-Skin Facade Configurations on Wind-Driven Ventilation in Tall Office Buildings

Natural ventilation has proven to be an effective passive strategy in improving energy efficiency while providing healthy environments. However, such a strategy has not been commonly adopted in tall office buildings due to the high wind pressure that causes excessive air velocities and occupant discomfort at upper floors. Double-skin facades (DSFs) can provide an opportunity to facilitate natural ventilation in tall office buildings, as they can regulate the direct impact of wind pressure, creating a buffer. This study investigates the impact of DSF configurations on wind-driven ventilation at upper floors of tall office buildings. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed to simulate indoor airflow at the top 10 floors of a 40-story tall office building under isothermal conditions and assess the performance of 16 DSF configurations with respect to opening size, the number of outer skin openings per floor, cavity depth, and cavity segmentation. The results indicate that the size of outer skin openings is the most influential parameter on indoor airflow, while the cavity depth and segmentation do not significantly affect it. However, the size of inner skin openings and the number of outer skin openings are more important factors in enhancing airflow distribution and regulating the concentration of high air velocity near the windows. This study aims to develop a performance-based DSF design guideline through CFD simulations of indoor airflow behavior in tall office buildings with DSFs.
The 3-Hole Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy: A Safe Procedure Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Radiation

Induction therapy followed by esophagectomy has become standard for treatment of intermediate-stage esophageal cancer in many centers. Herein we evaluate the feasibility and safety of the 3-hole minimally invasive esophagectomy (3HMIE) approach in patients who received induction radiation and chemotherapy. Between 2003 and 2012, the records of 119 consecutive patients with esophageal cancer who underwent 3HMIE were reviewed for perioperative complications and long-term outcomes. Comparison was made between procedures performed for patients receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiation and patients who were treated with only surgery. Of them, 78 patients received neoadjuvant chemoradiation and 41 patients were treated with only surgery. Tumor locations were upper (2), middle (16), distal (64), and gastroesophageal junction (37). In all, 76 patients were at clinical stage IIA or above at presentation. Increased requirement for blood replacement in the induction therapy group was significant compared with the surgery-only group. Operative time, estimated blood loss, proximal and distal margin lengths, and length of stay were not significantly different between the cohorts. There was a 30-day perioperative death (0.8%), and this patient was from the surgery-only group. No conduit necrosis or need for diversion was recorded. Overall, 5-year survival was 62% among the 107 patients with early-stage esophageal cancer. 3HMIE is feasible with low mortality and acceptable morbidity even in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer who received neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. Overall perioperative and survival outcomes are similar to or better than those reported in the published literature on esophagectomy after induction therapy.
Money Matters - The Experience of English Friends in Stavanger, 1885-1900

David Adshead University of Sunderland Quaker Studies 1 (1996):26-53 The economic depression in Norway in the mid-1880s led to the virtual bankruptcy of two of the key members of the Stavanger Meeting at a time when there was also a crisis of leadership following the death of Endre Dahl for so long the leader of the Quaker group there. A small group of English Friends led by Walter Morris (later, Morice) made an appeal for funds so as to be able to make commercial loans and thus ease the situation for Carl Nyman and Peter Fugilie who had by now made arrangements with their creditors. But just as Endre Dahl's will took a long time to settle, so also did the repayment of these loans. There are certainly cultural misunderstandings and difficulties in legal yrocedures involved, but there is also the rising suspicion o deliberate deception. During the same period, Norwegian Friends had begun to question Peter Fugilie's management (or mis­ management) of the Meeting's financial affairs and Th�rstein Bryne emerged to challenge ·and then to replace h1m as leader. It took the death of Carl Nyman and independent action on the part of the creditors of Peter Fugilie to achieve the eventual return of the loans plus interest. These events and experiences gave rise to a much more circumspect attitude on the part of English Friends. By the end of the centur)', by accident or design, they had begun to distance themselves from Norwegian Quakers and American Friends had begun to 'fill the gap', so to speak.
The Dominance Scale: preliminary psychometric properties

Dominance may be the most widely mentioned risk factor for physical assaults on an intimate partner, but empirical studies have found mixed results. A new measure, the Dominance Scale, operationalizes a reconceptualization that examines three different forms of dominance: Authority, Restrictiveness, and Disparagement. Preliminary psychometric characteristics demonstrated good distributions and internal consistency in a sample of 131 undergraduates. In a comparison of Dominance Scale scores with related constructs of interest, Authority was found to be most closely related to a measure of decision-making power and to social desirability. Of the three, Restrictiveness appears to be most closely associated with partner violence, including psychological aggression, physical assault, and injury. Differences among forms of dominance may partially explain the mixed results of past research. Further validation of the Dominance Scale is planned. Language: en
A scalable architecture for extracting, aligning, linking, and visualizing multi-Int data

An analyst today has a tremendous amount of data available, but each of the various data sources typically exists in their own silos, so an analyst has limited ability to see an integrated view of the data and has little or no access to contextual information that could help in understanding the data. We have developed the Domain-Insight Graph (DIG) system, an innovative architecture for extracting, aligning, linking, and visualizing massive amounts of domain-specific content from unstructured sources. Under the DARPA Memex program we have already successfully applied this architecture to multiple application domains, including the enormous international problem of human trafficking, where we extracted, aligned and linked data from 50 million online Web pages. DIG builds on our Karma data integration toolkit, which makes it easy to rapidly integrate structured data from a variety of sources, including databases, spreadsheets, XML, JSON, and Web services. The ability to integrate Web services allows Karma to pull in live data from the various social media sites, such as Twitter, Instagram, and OpenStreetMaps. DIG then indexes the integrated data and provides an easy to use interface for query, visualization, and analysis.
Circular dichroism and absolute configuration of α-chloro and α-bromo alkyl carboxylic acids

Abstract CD, ORD and UV properties are reported for seventeen α-chloro and α-bromo alkyl carboxylic acids, with alkyl groups varying from Me to t-Bu. Two CD bands are present in the n → π* absorption region, for S compounds a positive maximum at 195–222 nm and a negative maximum at 233–270 nm. The former CD band is the most useful for assigning absolute configuration. The CD properties of these compounds are interpreted on the basis of a conformational equilibrium and a quadrant rule is proposed to correlate the CD results with the preferred conformations. The preferred conformation of all halo acids is probably the rotamer which has the halogen eclipsed with the CO group. While 2-bromopropanoic acid shows a much stronger CD band for the other conformer this is probably due to the greater rotational strength of a halogen atom in comparison to an alkyl group. 2-Bromopropanoic acid was found to be an exception to the rule of configurational correlation using Co (III) complexes of asymmetric carboxylic acids.
An expert system for implementing communication protocols

The Protocol Machine Expert System (PMES) for implementing communication protocols is described. The objective is to develop and implement a general model for communication protocols based on the principles of finite-state machines. The authors have designed an inference method and knowledge representation method, based on semantic networks, for implementing this model. A semantic net consists of points called nodes connected by links called arcs that describe the relations between the nodes. The authors have added interactive capability and automatic error detection to check for invalid external events and other types of errors in their model. They have illustrated the use of PMES by applying it to the TCP (transmission control protocol) of the US Department of Defense Model for Communication. >
Cryoablation of focal tachycardia originating from the right atrial free wall during upstream phrenic pacing to avoid phrenic nerve injury.

Background Recognition of the potential for phrenic nerve injury (PNI) often prompts less aggressive attempts at catheter ablation of multiple forms of tachycardia or abandoning ablation altogether. Some novel techniques to avoid PNI during catheter ablation have been described. Methods Five patients (age: 13–57 years, three females) with ectopic atrial tachycardia originating from the right atrial free wall (RAFW) near the phrenic nerve underwent electrophysiology study with three-dimensional mapping and endocardial cryoablation. Upstream phrenic pacing was performed after cryoadherence was achieved, and cryoablation of ectopic foci was performed during close observation for occurrence of PNI and tachycardia elimination. Results Cryoablation acutely eliminated five of six atrial tachycardias originating close to the phrenic nerve. Transient PNI during cryothermy occurred in two patients, and resolved within 3 minutes. Patients were observed overnight on telemetry, with no early recurrences of targeted atrial tachycardias and no evidence of PNI. At last follow-up of 1–39 months, four patients were arrhythmia free on no medications. Conclusions Catheter cryoablation during simultaneous upstream phrenic nerve pacing can lead to safe and effective elimination of focal atrial tachycardias originating from the RAFW close to the phrenic nerve.
The Laki Eruption and Observed Dendroclimatic Effects of Volcanism

The year of the Laki eruption, 1783, is the most visibly obvious anomaly in the northwestern Alaska tree-ring record for over 400 years or more. Thicker-walled, latewood cells formed late in the growing season are virtually absent. Quantitatively the latewood density is over 4 standard deviations below the mean latewood density of white spruce (Picea glauca) trees from northwest Alaska; indication of extreme cold during the summer season in this region. The tree-ring response to the event weakens toward the east, indicating that extreme cold did not extend much beyond the Mackenzie River in western Canada or very far south of the Alaska Range in central Alaska. To understand the tree-ring effects due to the Laki eruption, it is helpful to also consider three other similar events in 1641, 1816-17, and 1836. In each case there is evidence of extreme cold causing very low density latewood in the rings of white spruce near the latitudinal treeline. The effects in the tree-ring record are spatially variable. Evidence of extreme cold typically extends for about 60°-70° of longitude; 1641 in north western-and-central Canada, 1783 in Alaska, 1816-17 in eastern Canada, and 1836 in north-central Canada. One interpretation of this spatial and temporal pattern is that in addition to general cooling, the thermal effects of volcanic events can lead to outbreaks of extremely cold polar air on a regional basis. This interpretation is compatible with air mass trajectories driven by Rossby wave circulation. Such extreme regional cooling can have great impact on human conditions.
Program Trading and Stock Index Arbitrage

Stock index futures and program trading are among the most important financial market innovations of the 1980s. This chapter surveys the literature and provides an overview of the somewhat controversial area of index arbitrage. We begin with a description of how index futures work, how they should be priced in equilibrium according to the â¬Scost of carryâ¬? model, and how index arbitrage works to enforce the theoretical pricing relationship. In theory, index arbitrage is riskless, but we describe how it is affected in practice by transactions costs, execution risk, capital and short sales constraints, and the possibility of unwinding profitable trades before futures expiration. We end with a discussion of the impact of index futures and arbitrage on the volatility of the underlying stock market.
A delay-aware cyber-physical architecture for wide-area control of power systems

Abstract In this paper we address the problem of wide-area control of power systems using Synchrophasor measurements in the presence of network delays. We propose a novel cyber-physical architecture that uses an arbitrated network control systems approach for mitigating the destabilizing effects of delays in power systems. The approach consists of: (1) utilization of Synchrophasor measurements from distributed measurements across different buses in the power network, (2) estimation of delays that control messages experience, (3) a delay-aware control design that explicitly accommodates the delays and judiciously utilizes estimated system states when needed, and (4) a switching control strategy that aborts the computation of control signals when delays exceed a certain threshold to improve resource utilization. While the control gains are determined using a centralized power system model and state feedback, it is shown that the delay-aware aspects of the proposed architecture allow both distributed measurements and distributed implementation of the control law. The results are illustrated using a 50-bus, 14-generator, 4-area power system model. The results clearly demonstrate that the proposed controller recovers the ideal system performance (such as deviations in frequency 3 mHz ) even in the presence of large intra-area and inter-area delays with a small amount of additional control effort. Using the proposed overrun strategy, the results also confirm that about 30% drops can be accommodated with the proposed arbitrated network control systems approach.
Modulation of G Protein-Coupled Receptors by an Estrogen Receptor that Activates Protein Kinase A

17β-Estradiol (E2) rapidly (<20 min) attenuates the ability of μ-opioids to hyperpolarize guinea pig hypothalamic (β-endorphin) neurons. In the current study, we used intracellular recordings from guinea pig hypothalamic slices to characterize the receptor and intracellular effector system mediating the rapid effects of E2. E2 acted stereospecifically with physiologically relevant concentration dependence (EC50 = 8 nm) to cause a 4-fold reduction in the potency of a μ-opioid agonist to activate an inwardly rectifying K+conductance. Using Schild analysis to estimate the affinity of the μ-opioid receptor for an antagonist (naloxone), we found that estrogen did not compete for the μ-opioid receptor or alter the affinity of the μ receptor. Both the nonsteroidal estrogen diethylstilbestrol and the “pure” antiestrogen ICI 164,384 blocked the actions of E2, the latter with a subnanomolar affinity. The protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide did not block the estrogenic uncoupling of the μ-opioid receptor from its K+ channel, implying a nongenomic mechanism of action by E2. The actions of E2 were mimicked by the protein kinase A (PKA) activators forskolin and cAMP, Sp-isomer triethylammonium salt. Furthermore, the selective PKA antagonists cAMP, Rp-isomer triethylammonium salt and KT5720, which have different chemical structures and modes of action, both blocked the effects of E2. Thus, estrogen binds to a specific receptor that activates PKA to rapidly uncouple the μ-opioid receptor from its K+ channel. Because we have previously shown that γ-aminobutyric acidB receptors are also uncoupled by estrogen, this mechanism of action has the potential to alter synaptic transmission via G protein-coupled receptors throughout the brain.
Heavy ion beam probe development

Summary form only given. Heavy ion beam probe diagnostic (HIBP) systems are presently in operation on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) at the University of Wisconsin and on a helicon plasma experiment at Rensselaer. Measurements of the radial equilibrium potential profiles /spl phi/(r) have been successfully obtained with a Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP) in the core (0.25<r/a<0.75) of the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) Reversed Field Pinch. Typically, /spl phi/(r) has a magnitude of up to 1.0-2.0 kV in a standard 380 kA discharge. The core profile of the electrostatic potential fluctuations /spl phi/(r) and electron density fluctuations n/sub e/(r) have also been measured. The measured /spl phi/(r) ranges from 30-50 V/sub rms/ and n/sub e/(r) ranges from 10-20% for this same standard 380 kA discharge. While most of the data obtained thus far have been for standard discharges at a variety of plasma currents, preliminary measurements have also been obtained for other discharge conditions, including biased discharges and pulsed poloidal current drive (PPCD) discharges. Confinement is significantly improved in PPCD discharges and HIBP measurements obtained thus far show very distinct changes in /spl phi/(r), /spl phi/(r) and n/sub e/(r). The general status of HIBP measurements on MST will be presented including representative data from all types ol discharges, an assessment of measurement accuracy and measurement development issues. We are also conducting experiments with the ultimate goal of developing a non-perturbing diagnostic technique for measuring RF field and density fluctuations in fusion plasmas. In order to develop this technique, a helicon plasma with a heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) diagnostic has been constructed. The key issue in this application of an HIBP is that, unlike all other such systems, fluctuations in plasma parameters occur over time scales that are short when compared with the transit time of the probing ions through the plasma. Modeling and analysis techniques have been developed that show how to extract useful information under these conditions. Detection electronics have also been modified to operate at higher frequencies. The present status of this project have been discussed. In addition, HIBP systems have been proposed for other experiments, including the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at Princeton and the 2 MeV system formerly used on TEXT Upgrade has been moved to Germany for application on the W7-X stellarator.
A Search-Based Pricing Model of Credit Default Swaps

We characterize the equilibrium spreads of Credit Default Swaps traded in an over-the-counter market. The OTC market involves a continuum of traders indexed by their beliefs about risk. Traders encounter standard search frictions. Once agents are matched, they adjust their preferred spread according to their subjective risk measures of both the reference entity and their counterparty. In the absence of search frictions, agents do not consider counterparty risk in determining the optimal spread. Under the assumption that buyers do not own the underlying debt, gainful trade occurs only when beliefs about risk differ. When buyers own the debt, the spread grows and gainful trade can occur even when beliefs about risk coincide. The limiting spread is the risk-neutral spread up to an affine transformation.
POLITICS, ENVIRONMENT, AND FISHERIES: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES

Pacific salmon have always been a lucrative commodity in Alaska history. The primary contribution of this paper is to assess the effects of statewide policy changes such as the 1959 Alaska Statehood and the 1974 Limited Entry Act on the harvest of Pacific salmon in Alaska, controlling for changes in oceanic environmental conditions such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. An autoregressive distributed lag approach is employed to annual time-series data for 1899–1996. We find that, while the 1974 Limited Entry Act has a significant effect on Alaska salmon harvests, the 1959 Alaska Statehood had little impact. In addition, the oceanic environment has an important determinant of long-run Alaska salmon harvests.