cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Carotid Stenting vs Endarterectomy: New Results in Perspective

Carotid artery stenosis is a major risk factor for stroke, and treatments for this condition to decrease the risk of stroke include medical therapy, carotid endarterectomy (CEA), and, more recently, carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). Randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of CEA vs medical therapy showed a clear benefit for CEA in patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis of greater than 70% and a lesser benefit in patients with 50% to 69% stenosis. Treatments have evolved in the ensuing 20 years, and a new method, CAS, has emerged as a possible alternative to CEA. In early results, CAS proved feasible but did not compare favorably with CEA. Later and larger-scale studies comparing CAS to CEA failed to reach conclusions regarding a clear neurologic outcome advantage of one method over the other. This subject was of sufficient interest that 2 larger-scale randomized controlled trials comparing CAS and CEA, the Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy vs Stenting Trial and the International Carotid Stenting Study, were undertaken to further explore this issue. This brief review places the new data arising from these studies in the context of prior efforts to address the problem of carotid artery stenosis and explores further opportunities for improvement and patient recommendations in light of these new findings.
Residual Stresses in Composites with Coated Particles

There is a growing interest in understanding the residual stress state in particulate composites that contain a thin interfacial phase. In this work, new analytical solutions were obtained for the residual stresses in composites with (1) a coated particle in an infinite matrix and (2) finite concentration of coated particles. The explicit expressions provided an easy evaluation of the influence of constituent properties on residual stresses in such systems. The interactions amongst the constituents are complicated but are demonstrated graphically in an example.
A new chromogen for use in HRP-tract tracing and double-label immunocytochemistry

A new chromogen, Indophane Blue (IB) was tested for use in HRP-tract tracing and double-label immunocytochemistry. Although TMB was slightly more sensitive and delineated individual labeled fibers better than IB in tract-tracing experiments, there were two advantages to using IB over TMB. First, the IB reaction could be performed at a pH of 6.0, rather than the pH of 3.3 required for TMB, resulting in much better preservation of tissue. Second, there was no crystalline artifact as has been observed with TMB. In the double-label immunocytochemistry experiments, the combination of diaminobenzidine for the first chromogen and IB as the second, provided excellent contrast.
A Gender Assessment Team: experience with 250 patients over a period of 25 years.

Purpose: To describe a Gender Assessment Team that has provided a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment, genetic counseling, and psychosocial support of patients with ambiguous genitalia, intersex disorders, and other genital anomalies, collectively termed disorders of sex development; and to determine the major diagnostic categories and approach. Methods: A retrospective review of 250 patients evaluated by the Team at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, WA, from January 1981 through December 2005. The Team included the following specialties: medical genetics, cytogenetics, gynecology, pediatric urology, endocrinology, and psychiatry. Results: Of the subjects, 177 were infants, 46 were children or adolescents, and 27 had a multisystem genetic condition. The most common diagnoses were congenital adrenal hyperplasia (14%), androgen insensitivity syndrome (10%), mixed gonadal dysgenesis (8%), clitoral/labial anomalies (7%), hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (6%), and 46,XY small-for-gestational-age males with hypospadias (6%). Conclusion: The six most common diagnoses comprised 50% of the cohort. The expertise of a multidisciplinary team allowed for integrated care for patients with disorders of sex development and identification of novel conditions. Geneticists play an important role in a team approach through knowledge of genetic testing options and diagnosis of patients with karyotypic abnormalities and syndromes with genital anomalies.
Global Aphasia with Seizure Onset in the Dominant Basal Temporal Region

A 33-year-old right-handed woman had intractable simple and complex partial seizures (SPS, CPS) that began with global aphasia. EEG closed-circuit TV (EEG-CCTV) monitoring with sphenoidal electrodes showed left inferomesial temporal ictal onset of CPS. Subdural electrodes were implanted over the left frontotemporal convexity, subtemporally and subfrontally. Stimulation of the basotemporal cortex produced global aphasia. A posterolaterotemporal language area was also identified. Spontaneous SPS had focal onset in the basal temporal language area (BTLA). Ictal discharges did not involve the posterotemporal region. This case shows that aphasic speech arrest at seizure onset may be due to seizure discharge in the basotemporal region and that the BTLA is clinically relevant in seizure semiology.
A hybrid sign language recognition system

This work describes an isolated sign language recognition (SLR) system that combines features from a video camera and an instrumented glove. Various combinations of features were tested on American Sign Language (ASL) vocabularies ranging from 10 to 200 words. The most accurate feature vector set included all available camera and glove features.
Spectroscopic features of implosions of Mo single- and double-planar wire arrays produced on the 1 MA Z-pinch generator

Abstract The spectroscopic features of implosions of Mo single- and double-planar wire arrays are studied. The experiments were performed on the 1 MA Zebra generator at UNR. Implosions of Mo planar wire arrays radiate high peak powers and produce high-temperature L-shell plasmas. In particular, plasma electron temperature of single-planar wire arrays of Mo reached ∼1375 eV. To estimate and analyze the evolution of plasma parameters in space and time, spatially resolved, time-integrated L-shell Mo X-ray spectra as well as time-gated and time-integrated pinhole images were collected and analyzed. A non-LTE kinetic model was applied to study the spatial structures, temperatures and densities of different wire loads of Mo planar wire arrays. Effects of non-Maxwellian hot electrons on L-shell radiation of Mo are discussed. Furthermore, Mo planar wire arrays generate bright spots or clusters of bright spots along the axial directions. Temperature and density gradients inside these bright spots or its clusters are also investigated. The results are compared with results of previous experiments with X-pinches on UNR Zebra and nested wire arrays at SNL-Z. Radiation magnetohydrodynamics modeling was performed to analyze the mechanisms of Z-pinch plasma heating in the presence of strong density gradients.
An Intrusion Detection System in Ad Hoc Networks: A Social Network Analysis Approach

We introduce a social network analysis method as a new approach to build an Intrusion Detection System (SNIDS) in ad hoc networks. The SN-IDS utilizes social relations as metrics-of-interest for anomaly detections, which is different from most traditional IDS approaches. To construct proper social networks, we first investigate ad hoc MAC and network layer data attributes and select relevant social feature sets; then we build up a set of socio-matrices based on these features. Social analysis methods are applied to these matrices to detect suspicious behaviors of mobile nodes. NS-2 simulation results show that this SN-IDS system can effectively detect common attacks with high detection rates and low false positive alarm rates. Furthermore, it has clear advantages over the conventional association rule based data mining IDS in terms of computation and system complexity.
On-line neuromorphic biomedical waveform analysis

Addresses the real-time and on-line processing of clinical patient waveform patterns so as to improve critical-care maintenance in anesthesiology. The authors demonstrate that patient waveform pattern interpretation is achieved via a neuromorphic approach. This is primarily attributed to a neural networks ability to adaptively learn from examples. The authors utilized four distinct data sets (each containing a hundred patterns) encompassing patients vital clinical breathing patterns (i.e. hypocapnia, hypoventilation, and curare cleft) to train their network. Each pattern featured a base, ascending, plateau, and descending lines. The test and training data sets were obtained from actual strip-chart recordings. The Neuromorphic System (Neuro-Sys) was trained to correctly classify all of twenty-one unique clinical breathing patterns within a ten percent error-tolerance.
Blue-blocking IOLs: a complete review of the literature.

Intraocular lenses (IOLs) that block both ultraviolet and blue wavelength light (<500 nm) were introduced in the 1990s. Since then, the potential benefits and harm from blocking blue light has been debated. We report the results of a complete review of all peer-reviewed published studies regarding the impact of blocking the transmission of blue light. Fifty-six published reports on subjects related to blue-blocking lenses including sleep disturbance, visual outcomes, cataract surgery, lens transmittance, sunlight exposure, and macular disease were found in peer reviewed journals from 1962 to 2009. Eleven reports specifically compared visual outcomes between blue-blocking IOLs and non-blue-locking IOLs. Of these, 10 independent studies (10/11, 91%) concluded that there are no significant effects of blue-blocking IOLs on various meters of visual performance including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, color perception, and photopic, mesopic, and scotopic sensitivities. Only one group of authors reported that the use of blue-blocking IOLs may have detrimental effects on scotopic vision and circadian rhythms. However, the actual clinical significance of these potential negative effects on scotopic vision and on sleep patterns is uncertain. The benefits of blocking the transmission of blue light to the macula and the relationship between progression of age-related macular degeneration remain unclear. However, the published studies clearly state that the use of blue-blocking IOLs is not detrimental in visual acuity, color perception, and contrast sensitivity. The reported potential negative effects on scotopic vision and sleep disturbance appear to be minimal and may not be clinically relevant.
Equivalent beam-column analysis of guyed towers

Abstract The approximate analysis of guyed towers, in which the mast is modeled by an equivalent beam-column, is described. Equivalent beam-column properties are presented for several triangular cross-section mast built-up patterns. The coupling between different degrees of freedom is acknowledged in the form of a geometric coupling matrix. The use of the Morison assumptions to consider wind loads on the mast is validated, and equivalent wind areas per unit length are derived. A back-substitution scheme to determine the forces in each element of the mast is developed. A comparative analysis of the approximate method and the space truss model is illustrated through an example tower.
Applications of nanotechnology in oil and gas

This paper deals with two important aspects of nanotechnology that are of potential interest to the oil and gas industry. In the first part, a summary is presented on recently established nanotechnology initiatives in various countries around the world. Program funding levels and core activities will be compared to provide a basis for assessing the level of development of the various branches of nanotechnology. The second part of the paper looks at the applications of electrodeposited nanostructured coatings, as a branch of nanotechnology, in oil and gas industry.
Lessons learned from using GIS/RS as an integrative tool for interdisciplinary learning and teaching in a senior-level capstone course on global change at Westminster College of Salt Lake City

Westminster College of Salt Lake City (WCSLC) was awarded in late August 1995 a grant to participate in the USRA (Universities Space Research Association) Cooperative University-based Program in Earth System Science Education (ESSE) along with twenty-one new university members within the consortium. The grant is to pay for interdisciplinary curriculum development and scientific exchange between students and faculty across the US focusing on Earth system science and global environmental change. A particular focus is on experimentation with new electronic and multimedia tools for teaching about global change, e.g. the World-Wide-Web on the Internet, GIS/RS and other computer simulation and modeling tools, e.g. STELLA. Two interdisciplinary courses being developed by Westminster College will be the primary venues for testing and diffusing these innovations. An introductory course entitled: GEOL/BIOL/HON 300 Earth Systems and Global Environmental Change and a senior-level course: GEOL/8IOL/HON 400 Methods of Modeling and Visualizing Global Change. News about the ESSE collaborating institutions and courses, electronic materials produced, evaluation findings, and other resources will be made available on the Web via the USRA/ESSE server and homepage.
P3-S1.16 Comparison of the Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay for Chlamydia trachomatis monitoring in Tanzania compared to the Roche Amplicor CT assay

Background The Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay was evaluated as a new option for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in specimens obtained from Tanzania, and its performance was compared to the performance of the Roche Amplicor CT Assay. Methods Duplicate swab specimens were collected from villages throughout Tanzania. 304 duplicate samples were shipped to the Johns Hopkins STD laboratory at 2–8°C for the detection of C trachomatis . All swab specimens were shipped in a dry state, expressed in 1 ml of sterile molecular grade DEPC water upon arrival, and analysed using the Roche Amplicor CT assay. Prior to Roche Amplicor amplification and detection, DNA extraction was performed using the Roche Magna Pure LC robot. The duplicate swab specimens were shipped to Indiana University for Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay analysis. The bacterial load was measured by the DC value of the m2000 RealTime CT. Results Of 304 specimens, 44 (14.5%) were positive for CT via Roche Amplicor CT assay, and 53 (17.4%) were positive for CT via Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay. The relative quantitation for the m2000 assay ranged from DC 0.62 to DC 22.16. If the Roche PCR assay was considered to be the reference standard, the Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay sensitivity was 44/44 (100%), specificity was 251/260 (96.53%), positive predictive value was 251/251(100%), and negative predictive value was 44/53 (83.01%). The κ score was 0.890. Discordant specimens, which were determined to be negative by Roche Amplicor and positive by Abbott m2000 RealTime, were tested by Gen-Probe TMA. Of nine discordant tests, two were positive, five were negative, and two were of insufficient volume for retesting. After discordant testing, there appeared to be five samples that were graded to be false positives by m2000. The Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay sensitivity remained 100%, while specificity increased to 256/258 (99.2%). The negative predictive value increased to 46/48 (95.83%). The κ score was 0.9748 after discordant results were further analysed. Conclusions Abbott m2000 RealTime CT assay demonstrates excellent sensitivity and specificity compared to the Roche Amplicor CT Assay for the detection of C trachomatis . It may be advantageous to be able to measure the relative concentration for CT in some epidemiologic studies.
Analysis of antennas as components of broadband and multiband LMR systems

This paper describes a method for evaluating the performance of antennas for land mobile radio (LMR) in terms of “bottom line” system performance metrics including sensitivity, VSWR, and transmit efficiency. The method accounts for relevant characteristics of the transceiver and the noise environment. The antenna-transceiver interface is modeled in terms of two-port s-parameters, facilitating evaluation of reconfigurable and non-Foster matching circuits. As an example, the method is applied to a simple system consisting of an ideal thin quarter-wave (at 453 MHz) monopole, 17 ft of RG-58 coaxial cable, and a TIA-603-compliant analog FM transceiver. Among other findings, this example demonstrates that that the useful transmit and receive bandwidths are not necessarily equal, and that the useful receive bandwidth is limited not only by the antenna's impedance bandwidth, but also by receiver's noise figure, and possibly also by environmental noise. Such insights are useful in the development and optimization of antenna technology intended for use with existing LMR systems.
Optical properties of segmented polyacetylene

Abstract Infrared and optical studies have been made on a segmented polyacetylene in which up to 17% of the CH units have been replaced by (sp 3 -hydribized) CHD units. The valence-to-conduction band transition in the segmented polymer is shifted to slightly higher frequency and reduced by half in intensity. Treatment with iodine produced strong doping-induced infrared absorption at 900, 1290 1400 cm −1 and midgap. The maximum dopant concentration achieved appeared to be smaller than in ordinary (CH) x .
The Organization and Evolution of Dorsal Stream Multisensory Motor Pathways in Primates

In Prosiman primates, New World monkeys, and Old World monkeys microstimulation with half second trains of electrical pulses identifies separate zones in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) where reaching, defensive, grasping, and other complex movements can be evoked. Each functional zone receives a different pattern of visual and somatosensory inputs, and projects preferentially to functionally matched parts of motor and premotor cortex. As PPC is a relatively small portion of cortex in most mammals, including the close relatives of primates, we suggest that a larger, more significant PPC emerged with the first primates as a region where several ethologically relevant behaviors could be initiated by sensory and intrinsic signals, and mediated via connections with premotor and motor cortex. While several classes of PPC modules appear to be retained by all primates, elaboration and differentiation of these modules likely occurred in some primates, especially humans.
Monetary Policy and Expectations: Market-Control Techniques and the Bank of England, 1925–1931

The Bank of England depleted its open-market portfolio by secretly sterilizing large gold inflows. Thereafter interest rates were influenced by manipulating reported gold flows. Expectations manipulation as a monetary policy channel is modeled and estimated. A gold flow falsification was over two-thirds as effective as an open-market operation. These results contradict accepted new classical models and suggest that credibility benefits from new classical policy are small, despite current popularity among central bankers. The episode supports Peter Temin's view of interwar central bankers as nonstabilizers and enforcers of a dysfunctional classical orthodoxy. M arket control refers to "maintaining the effectiveness of Bank Rate: the problem of forcing the market to keep its rates reasonably close to Bank Rate'."' In his 1976 book, written as an official history with full access to confidential Bank of England archives, R. S. Sayers claims that maintaining market control was a major policy concern during the interwar gold standard. Sayers's revelations, however, have received scant attention in the voluminous literature on interwar monetary policy, perhaps because he attempted no quantitative analysis of market-control problems nor proffered an explanation of how they were overcome. For example, Barry Eichengreen refers to market control only briefly in his extensive writings on interwar monetary and exchange policies. In a model explaining changes in Bank Rate, the Bank of England's discount rate, he writes: "since the Bank of England apparently was concerned with the relationship of Bank Rate to market interest rates, we enter BR - i as a separate variable. "2 The qualifier "apparently" serves notice that the concern is doubted-as
Mechanisms underlying the emergence of object representations during infancy

The effects of individual versus category training, using behavioral indices of stimulus discrimination and neural ERPs indices of holistic processing, were examined in infants. Following pretraining assessments at 6 months, infants were sent home with training books of objects for 3 months. One group of infants was trained with six different strollers labeled individually, and another group was trained with the same six strollers labeled at the category level (i.e., "stroller"). Infants returned for posttraining assessments at 9 months. Discrimination of objects was facilitated for infants trained with the individually labeled strollers but was unchanged after training at the category level. Relative to pretraining and to category-level training, individual-level training resulted in increased holistic processing of strollers recorded over occipital brain regions. These results suggest that labeling nonface objects individually, in infancy, facilitates discrimination and leads to the emergence of holistic neural representations not present with category-level labeling.
Predicting non-isometric fatigue induced by electrical stimulation pulse trains as a function of pulse duration

Our previous model of the non-isometric muscle fatigue that occurs during repetitive functional electrical stimulation included models of force, motion, and fatigue and accounted for applied load but not stimulation pulse duration. Our objectives were to: 1) further develop, 2) validate, and 3) present outcome measures for a non-isometric fatigue model that can predict the effect of a range of pulse durations on muscle fatigue. A computer-controlled stimulator sent electrical pulses to electrodes on the thighs of 25 able-bodied human subjects. Isometric and non-isometric non-fatiguing and fatiguing knee torques and/or angles were measured. Pulse duration (170–600 μs) was the independent variable. Measurements were divided into parameter identification and model validation subsets. The fatigue model was simplified by removing two of three non-isometric parameters. The third remained a function of other model parameters. Between 66% and 77% of the variability in the angle measurements was explained by the new model. Muscle fatigue in response to different stimulation pulse durations can be predicted during non-isometric repetitive contractions.
Pipe-Line Flow of Solids in Suspension: A Symposium: Effect on the Characteristics of Centrifugal Pumps

The centrifugal pump, by merit of its principle and construction, offers one of the best means for pumping liquids containing relatively high concentrations of suspended material, as is evidenced b...
MPI 3 and beyond: why MPI is successful and what challenges it faces

The Message Passing Interface (MPI) was developed over eighteen years ago and continues to be the preferred programming model for scientific computing. Contributing to that success was a combination of forward-looking features, precise definition, and judgment based on the experience of developers, vendors and users. Today, MPI continues to adapt to the changing needs of parallel programming, with MPI-3 introducing enhancements for collective and one-sided communication, multi-threaded programming, support of performance tools for MPI programming, etc. However, MPI faces many challenges as the nature of parallel computing changes more radically than at any time in the history of MPI. This talk will touch on some of the less obvious but important reasons for MPI success, discuss some of the challenges that MPI faces, and makes suggestions for future directions in MPI and parallel programming language research.
Family Feuds Are Forever A Writing Story

A follow-up reflection on the writing of “Family Feuds are Forever” explores how writing autoethnographically is not an innocent practice. When we write, we become vulnerable to others’ readings of...
Industrial Buyers’ Choice Strategies: A Protocol Analysis:

Protocol analysis was used to develop detailed simulation models of the decision processes individual industrial buyers use in requesting quotations and selecting a final supplier. The results sugg...
Two Arthrobotrys anamorphs from Orbilia auricolor

Cultures derived from ascospores of two collections both referable to Orbilia auricolor produced anamorphs which were assigned to Arthrobotrys cladodes var. macroides and A. oligospora var. oligospora. These morphologically distinct isolates formed nematode- capturing hyphal networks when nematodes were present. Descriptions of the Arthrobotrys isolates are given. At least one other nematophagous hyphomy- cete is connected with a teleomorph that can be re- ferred to 0. auricolor suggesting that 0. auricolor is not a single entity but a species complex.
Biology of Hedria mixta (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)

Information is presented on the life cycle and larval feeding habits of Hedria mixta Steyskal, a widely distributed species of malacophagous Diptera. There is 1 generation a year, with adults emerging from early summer to midsummer. Eggs are deposited shortly after females emerge but do not hatch until the following spring. Larvae are aquatic in vernal marshes, and they prey on pulmonate snails beneath the water surface. The egg, 3 larval instars, and puparium are described and illustrated. The position of H. mixta in the spectrum of larval feeding habits possessed by the Sciomyzidae is indicated. Evidence is given for considering that the closest relatives of the monotypic Nearctic genus Hedria belong to the Palearctic genus Knutsonia .
The Search for a Biomarker of Relapse in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

Biomarkers are invaluable tools in clinical medicine that aid in disease diagnosis, natural history, prognosis, and response to therapy. Because of their importance in patient care, potential biomarkers must undergo analytic validation (determination of the analytic performance of the assay itself)
Reason and Countermeasures about White Paddy in the Cold Region

The white paddy took place in large area of Heilongjiang province since 2002.It become one of the most serious factors to the rice production in the cold region.The main reason was the species not anti-disease,the weather condition fit to the disease outbreak and the nonappropriate cultivation management aggravated the creation of white paddy.Furthermore,Chilo suppressalis was also one of the factors.Therefore,we should adopt homologous measure: Choose anti-disease species,postpone to sow seeds,apply scientific management and medicine prevention rightly.
Trans Rhenum incolunt: the inauguration of the Rhineland frontier

Trier's Porta Nigra, its amphitheater, the austere basilica, the prodigious Imperial and Barbara Baths, “two of the largest sets of baths in the Empire outside Rome,” attest not only to the prosperity of this Roman outpost on the banks of the Moselle, but to the preeminence of the Roman Rhineland (see plate 2.1). It may be eccentric to begin a book on European Union with a chapter on Rome. But if, as I maintain, European Union is about deconstructing a discursively constructed frontier that bisects the heart of Europe's most vital regional economy, then it is not unreasonable to begin by asking how that frontier got there in the first place. By revisiting Caesar's campaign we witness the first mention of the Rhine frontier in text, and discover the political interests that motivated its enunciation. We can conduct an initial test of the referential power of the signifier “frontier” by exploring the nature of social relations that obtained there. From this exercise come three observations. First, the Rhine did not separate Gauls from Germans either before or after Caesar's proclamation. Second, Rome's systematic exploitation of the region's geographical endowments turned the Greater Rhineland into one of the most dynamic regional economies of the western empire. Third, the Greater Rhineland regional economy absorbed peoples beyond the limes and thus conditioned the atypical “invasion” by the Franks, who, unlike other “Germanic” tribes that migrated deep into Italy, Gaul, Spain, and north Africa, did not advance much beyond their Rhine basin home.
Why Is Sex Important

This chapter explores subtle, private aspects of sexual health. In doing so, it will define the lurking sources of disappointment that our patients are likely to feel when they request our assistance. In addition, the examination of sexual health and sexual distress will provide clinicians with some concepts concerning the psychological pathogenesis of many problems.
RESIDUAL CHOROIDAL VESSELS IN ATROPHY CAN MASQUERADE AS CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION ON OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY: Introducing a Clinical and Software Approach.

Purpose To present a postprocessing approach in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) to facilitate the visualization and interpretation of lesions in age-related macular degeneration with coexisting atrophy and choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Methods This retrospective study included 32 eyes of 26 patients with atrophy and treated CNV and 8 eyes with treatment-naive geographic atrophy. En face optical coherence tomography slabs highlighting atrophy were pseudocolored and merged with the corresponding OCTA. Cross-sectional optical coherence tomography and postprocessed OCTA were analyzed to identify CNV and normal choroidal vessels in relationship to the atrophy. We correlate the OCTA findings with those in a donor eye with treatment-naive geographic atrophy studied with transmission electronic microscopy. Results Medium-sized choroidal vessels were displaced anteriorly in areas of atrophy in all 40 eyes (100%), visualized in the choriocapillaris slab in all eyes, and in the outer retinal slab in 30 of 40 eyes (75.0%). Cross-sectional OCTA was used to confirm the presence of CNV. Postprocessing successfully highlighted the CNV and distinguished it from choroidal vessels in atrophy. Donor eye transmission electronic microscopy confirmed the anterior displacement of medium-sized choroidal vessels in geographic atrophy. Conclusion The anterior displacement of larger choroidal vessels in atrophy requires clinician vigilance to avoid misinterpreting these vessels as CNV on en face OCTA. Our proposed postprocessing approach offers a potential solution to facilitate the interpretation of en face OCTA in these cases. In the absence of other tools, clinicians are encouraged to rely on the location of flow relative to Bruch membrane on cross-sectional OCTA flow images.
Detection of Anterior Circulation Large Artery Occlusion in Ischemic Stroke Using Noninvasive Cerebral Oximetry

Background and Purpose— Large artery occlusion (LAO) in ischemic stroke requires recognition and triage to an endovascular stroke treatment center. Noninvasive LAO detection is needed to improve triage. Methods— Prospective study to test whether noninvasive cerebral oximetry can detect anterior circulation LAO in acute stroke. Interhemispheric ΔBrSO 2 in LAO was compared with controls. Results— In LAO stroke, mean interhemispheric ΔBrSO 2 was −8.3±5.8% (n=19), compared with 0.4±5.8% in small artery stroke (n=17), 0.4±6.0% in hemorrhagic stroke (n=14), and 0.2±7.5% in subjects without stroke (n=19) ( P 2 in most LAO subjects (16/19). Discrimination of LAO at a −3% ΔBrSO 2 cut had 84% sensitivity and 70% specificity. Addition of the G-FAST clinical score (gaze–face–arm–speech– time) to the BrSO 2 measure had 84% sensitivity and 90% specificity. Conclusions— Noninvasive cerebral oximetry may help detect LAO in ischemic stroke, particularly when combined with a simple clinical scoring system.
NASA Robotic Mining Competition 2017 Systems Engineering Report; Badger Robotic Mining Team

Held at Kennedy Space Center, NASA hosts their annual Robotic Mining Competition to challenge college students with designing and fabricating a robot suitable for mining in environments outside Earth. This year, the Badger Robotic Mining Team at UW-Madison competed for its second time in the competition. To prepare, team members continued work on their RMC 2016 miner, and after such prototyping developed a new robot for RMC 2017. The same mining strategy from the previous competition was used for RMC 2017. This paper summarizes the development of various elements of the mining robot.
Ethanolamine is a valuable nutrient source that impacts Clostridium difficile pathogenesis

Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile is a gastrointestinal pathogen that colonizes the intestinal tract of mammals and can cause severe diarrheal disease. Although C. difficile growth is confined to the intestinal tract, our understanding of the specific metabolites and host factors that are important for the growth of the bacterium is limited. In other enteric pathogens, the membrane-derived metabolite, ethanolamine (EA), is utilized as a nutrient source and can function as a signal to initiate the production of virulence factors. In this study, we investigated the effects of ethanolamine and the role of the predicted ethanolamine gene cluster (CD1907-CD1925) on C. difficile growth. Using targeted mutagenesis, we disrupted genes within the eut cluster and assessed their roles in ethanolamine utilization, and the impact of eut disruption on the outcome of infection in a hamster model of disease. Our results indicate that the eut gene cluster is required for the growth of C. difficile on ethanolamine as a primary nutrient source. Further, the inability to utilize ethanolamine resulted in greater virulence and a shorter time to morbidity in the animal model. Overall, these data suggest that ethanolamine is an important nutrient source within the host and that, in contrast to other intestinal pathogens, the metabolism of ethanolamine by C. difficile can delay the onset of disease.
Measuring Physical Activity With Implanted Cardiac Devices: A Systematic Review

Background Physical activity is predictive of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, yet it is not regularly assessed in routine care. Current‐generation cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, however, continuously monitor patient activity through a built‐in accelerometer, which provides new opportunities to remotely assess patient activity, detect changes in clinical status, and incorporate these data in risk stratification models. This review critically examines the literature on device‐measured physical activity (D‐PA), with a focus on identifying methodological issues that may affect interpretation of study results. Methods and Results We conducted a systematic review of D‐PA studies published from January 1 1995 to December 30 2017, identifying 29 studies meeting inclusion criteria, 5 of which were validation reports. Few technical details about D‐PA sensors are reported, and procedures for analyzing and interpreting D‐PA data are heterogeneous. Trends in D‐PA over time and associations with clinical outcomes were reported by 22 studies, and in 7 studies, D‐PA was combined with other device parameters in risk stratification models, demonstrating modest‐to‐good sensitivity in predicting acute heart failure decompensation, hospitalization, and mortality. Conclusions Current evidence suggests that D‐PA may be useful for assessing physical activity and predicting clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices when combined with other device parameters. Future work must address challenges related to D‐PA data measurement, interpretation, and generalizability to support expanded clinical applications of this technology.
Digitaria collection from southern Africa

Seed or vegetative propagating material of 311 accessions of Digitaria spp. was collected in 1971 from wild and cultivated plants in Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland with the object of broadening the genetic diversity of the Stocks of germ plasm held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Particular emphasis was placed on the search for germ plasm carrying resistance to pests and disease and tolerance of drought and cold. Some of the accessions may be of direct use in agriculture; other may be useful in plant improvement programmes. Duplicate herbarium specimens were deposited in the national Herbarium, Pretoria, South Africa, and in the National Herbarium, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Complexity Results for Model Checking

The complexity of model checking branching and linear time temporal logics over Kripke structures has been addressed in e.g. [SC85, CES86]. In terms of the size of the Kripke model and the length of the formula, they show that the model checking problem is solvable in polynomial time for CTL and NP-complete for L(F). The model checking problem can be generalised by allowing more succinct descriptions of systems than Kripke structures. We investigate the complexity of the model checking problem when the instances of the problem consist of a formula and a description of a system whose state space is at most exponentially larger than the description. Based on Turing machines, we define compact systems as a general formalisation of such system descriptions. Examples of such compact systems are K-bounded Petri nets and synchronised automata, and in these cases the well-known algorithms presented in [SC85, CES86] would require exponential space in term of the sizes of the system descriptions and the formulas; we present polynomial space upper bounds for the model checking problem over compact systems and the logics CTL and L(X,U,S). As an example of an application of our general results we show that the model checking problems of both the branching time temporal logic CTL and the linear time temporal logics L(F) and L(X,U, S) over K-bounded Petri nets are PSPACE-complete.
Excitation Wave Propagation in Narrow Passes

Direct physiological evidence [1-4] exists that occurrences of arrhythmia are commonplace in the presence of infarct scars, where regions of normal and excitable myocardium are interspersed with regions of unexcitable myocardium. These regions form narrow and wide pathways for wave propagation and each of these pathways assumes a configuration that can be categorized into a particular type of border geometry.
Improving Janitorial Contract Performance with Facility Management Performance Scorecards

ABSTRACT Facility Manager (FM) role requires expertise in various aspects of facility maintenance. Due to the diverse job functions as an FM, outsourcing and hiring external vendors is a common pra...
Annals On Call - Improving Estimation of Cardiovascular Risk

In this episode of Annals On Call, Dr. Centor discusses an update of the pooled cohort equations used to estimate atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk with Dr. Rodney Hayward. Dr. Hayward wa...
A Transparent, Time-Modulated Metasurface

A transparent, time-modulated metasurface that can perform frequency conversion in the X-band is reported. The metasurface provides high transmission amplitude and an electrically driven, time-modulated transmission phase. Depending on the time-dependent transmitted phase variation, the metasurface can either upconvert or downconvert (Doppler shift) the frequency of the incident wave, without generating an undesired image frequency.
Periostin levels in children without respiratory disease

Background Periostin is a protein that serves as a downstream marker of the T-helper type 2 (Th2) cell response. It may serve to identify drug-responsive inflammatory phenotypes, particularly in children with asthma and possibly bronchiolitis. There are no published levels of periostin in healthy children Methods Children undergoing clinically indicated phlebotomy or having a peripheral intravenous catheter inserted prior to general anesthesia or procedural sedation were enrolled. A 0.5 mL sample of blood was collected and frozen at -70°C. After thawing, periostin was measured with a Luminex assay (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN). Medical record review and/or parental interview elicited potential variables associated with periostin. Association was evaluated using Mann-Whitney rank sum test, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, and Spearman correlation as appropriate. Results Among 43 children (23 male, 20 female, age range 9-15.7 months), periostin levels were inversely correlated to age (r = -0.438, P = 0.003). Periostin levels also differed significantly between children 18mo (416.4 [363.8-538.15] ng/mL) (P Conclusion In our sample of relatively healthy patients
Abstract TP114: Younger Age and Diagnosis of Schizophrenia Increase Door to Needle Times in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Introduction: Faster treatment time for acute ischemic stroke is associated with better outcome. We hypothesized that patient factors such as young age, female sex, premorbid mental health (depress...
Neanderthal introgression reintroduced functional alleles lost in the human out of Africa bottleneck

Neanderthal ancestry remains across modern Eurasian genomes, and introgressed sequences influence diverse phenotypes, including immune, skin, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Interpretation of introgressed sequences has focused on alleles derived in the Neanderthal lineage. Here, we demonstrate that Neanderthal introgression also reintroduced thousands of ancestral hominin alleles lost in the Eurasian out of Africa bottleneck. Combining evolutionary simulations, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) data, and in vitro validation, we show that reintroduced alleles (RAs) have different fitness effects than Neanderthal-derived alleles (NDAs) and that some RAs regulate gene expression independent of NDAs. Illustrating the broad potential influence of RAs, we find that over 70% of known phenotype associations with NDAs are equally associated with RAs. Finally, we discover enrichment for RA eQTL activity in several tissues, with strongest enrichment in the brain. In summary, our study reveals that Neanderthal introgression supplied Eurasians with many lost functional variants and demonstrates that RAs must be considered when evaluating the effects of introgression.
Going It Alone: Post-9/11 Veteran Nonuse of Healthcare and Social Service Programs During Their Early Transition to Civilian Life

Transitioning from military to civilian life is challenging for a substantial number of veterans. Successful transitions require veterans to function well in various well-being domains including em...
Environmentally friendly packaging of muscle foods.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the environmentally friendly packaging of muscle foods. One of the most popular forms of retail meat packaging is fitting a tight PVC stretch film over a polystyrene tray or a gas-flushed package; it is referred to as case-ready meat: it uses a barrier tray with a breathable lidding, all of which are made of a combination of plastic resins. Vacuum-packaged meats without trays are also used in many cases. The meat packaging industry meets the needs of consumers, which are to receive products in their safest and most wholesome form possible, through the use of advanced technology in materials and packaging systems. The constraints of cost and efficiency are now compounded by the need for packaging to also be as environmentally friendly as possible. Meat packaging must maintain a high standard of product quality while minimizing the environmental impact of the packaging due to the highly perishable nature of meat. These challenges are being met through source reduction, use of recyclable materials, and the development of bio-based packaging.
Reducing Multijunction Thermal Converter Output Resistance to Reduce Measurement Noise

This paper describes the effects on device performance caused by modifications to thermocouple design and fabrication. Such modifications are intended to lower the output resistance of multijunction thermal converters (MJTCs) fabricated on fused silica substrates. Device component metals were deposited by physical vapor deposition and fabricated into device features by either wet chemical etching or metal lift-off. The low-temperature-coefficient-of-resistance Ni 75 Cr 20 Al 2.5 Cu 2.5 alloy heater is thermally isolated from the rest of the chip by a $25\ \mu \mathrm{m}$ fused silica membrane produced by bead blasting the back side of the substrate. Thermocouples were shorted along 50% and 25% of their length for a set of test devices; control devices were left unmodified. MJTC output resistances were decreased from about $13.2\ \mathrm{k}\Omega$ for the non-shorted thermocouples to about $10.5\ \mathrm{k}\Omega$ for the 50% shorted thermocouples. At 3 V input voltage, measured ac-dc differences of the devices for frequencies between 10 Hz and 1 MHz showed no significant impact on ac-dc difference due to thermocouple shorting. However, we observed indications that shorting the thermocouples results in a reduction in the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurement of the output voltage.
Cochlear nerve hypoplasia identified years after passing newborn hearing screen

Abstract Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) has been a mainstay of immediate post-partum care in the United States since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released its recommendation for screening in the 1993 Consensus Conference Report. We present the case of a four-year-old female who had passed in-hospital NHS with transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) bilaterally, yet presented four years later to the otolaryngology clinic with parental complaints of hearing dysfunction. Audiology evaluation demonstrated profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) with absent TEOAE. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed either absent or severely hypoplastic vestibulocochlear nerve (VCN) on the affected side. This case raises the possibility of initial preservation of outer hair cell function despite cochlear nerve aplasia or deficiency, as evidenced by the presence of TEOAE on NHS. The finding of reduced TEOAE 4 years after initially passing NHS suggests a progression from isolated VCN abnormality to dysfunction of the outer hair cells.
The myeloid type I interferon response to myocardial infarction begins in bone marrow and is regulated by Nrf2-activated macrophages

Sterile tissue injury is thought to locally activate innate immune responses via damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Whether innate immune pathways are remotely activated remains relatively unexplored. Here, by analyzing ~145,000 single-cell transcriptomes at steady state and after myocardial infarction (MI) in mice and humans, we show that the type I interferon (IFN) response, characterized by expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), begins far from the site of injury, in neutrophil and monocyte progenitors within the bone marrow. In the peripheral blood of patients, we observed defined subsets of ISG-expressing neutrophils and monocytes. In the bone marrow and blood of mice, ISG expression was detected in neutrophils and monocytes and their progenitors, intensified with maturation at steady-state and after MI, and was controlled by Tet2 and Irf3 transcriptional regulators. Within the infarcted heart, ISG-expressing cells were negatively regulated by Nrf2 activation in Ccr2- steady-state cardiac macrophages. Our results show that IFN signaling begins in the bone marrow, implicate multiple transcriptional regulators (Tet2, Irf3, and Nrf2) in governing ISG expression, and provide a clinical biomarker (ISG score) for studying IFN signaling in patients.
The Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann legacy in mathematical relativity II. Quantum laws of motion for singularities of spacetime

We report on recent developments toward a relativistic quantum-mechanical theory of motion for a fixed, finite number of electrons, photons and their anti-particles, as well as its possible general...