cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EFFECTS OF ESTROGENS UPON THE YOUNG OF INJECTED LACTATING RATS1

MANY INVESTIGATORS have studied the effects of estrogens injected into lactating females. Most of these were interested in lactation per se and paid little attention to the effects on the young other than on their rate of growth. It has been shown, however, that injection of large doses of estrogens into lactating rats over the first 4 or 5 days after parturition results i a permanent modification of the external genitalia of the female young (1–4). The present reportis concerned with some more extensive effects on the young of estrogen injected into lactating rats. The litters of each of 15 rats were reduced to 6 (3 males and 3 females) immediately after parturition. The weights of each mother and litter were recorded daily throughout the experiment. In order to observe the effects of estrogens in different amounts, 3 rats were given daily subcutaneous injections of .025, .05 and .1 mg
The history of conditional agenda-setting in European institutions

The purpose of this article is twofold. Our first goal is to make explicit an institution- alist theory of European integration. This theory is based on the concept of 'conditional agenda setting', which we argue has played an important role in European integration. According to this theory, the fact that Commission proposals are more easily accepted than modified by the Council has accelerated the pace of integration. This finding brings us to the second goal of this article which is to investigate, by studying the history of EU institutions, whether or not these institutions were the result of conscious planning. We demonstrate that while some of the founding fathers (Hallstein, Spaak) and opponents of the EU (de Gaulle) had an accurate understanding of the institutional structures created in Rome, later participants in the integra- tion process did not. In particular, the arguments surrounding the Single European Act indicate a lack of understanding of the full implications of the institutions selected.
Distributed sampling of random fields with unknown covariance

This paper considers robotic sensor networks performing spatial estimation tasks.We model a physical process of interest as a spatiotemporal random field with mean unknown and covariance known up to a scaling parameter. We design a distributed coordination algorithm for an heterogeneous network composed of mobile agents that take point measurements of the field and static nodes that fuse the information received from the agents and compute directions of maximum descent of the estimation uncertainty. The technical approach builds on a novel reformulation of Bayesian sequential field estimation, and combines tools from distributed linear iterations, nonlinear programming, and spatial statistics.
Pregnancy in an Accessory Uterine Cavity: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract Background: An accessory uterine cavity is an unclassified anomaly of the paramesonephric ducts. It is a cause of severe cyclic pelvic pain. Pregnancy may occur in this cavity. Case: A 32-year-old female presented with recurrent cyclic pelvic pain. Previously, she had several pregnancies: one was full term and the others three ended in miscarriages. She was diagnosed with an accessory uterine cavity, based on hysterosalpingogram and laparoscopy findings. She became pregnant in the accessory cavity, required methotrexate treatment, and finally surgical excision. Pathology was confirmatory for the presence of an acessory uterine cavity. Results: Postoperatively, this patient's course was uncomplicated, and she was discharged to go home on postoperative day 1. Conclusions: Diagnosis of an accessory uterine cavity is based on normal hysterosalpingogram results and the presence of a mass lesion in one side or the other of the uterine fundus. Surgical excision relieves patients' symptoms and prevents e...
Isolation and characterization of bacteria from the feathers of wild Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)

ABSTRACT We dislodged microbes from samples of composites of ventral feathers from different birds of overwintering Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) after mist-net capture in south-central Kansas, USA. Bacterial loads were measured by standard plate counts and >300 isolates were purified by repetitive streak-plating on R2A medium (+ cycloheximide). Biochemical and physiological characterization included identification by 16S rRNA gene phylogeny. Nearly half of the isolates grew on keratin and 80% exhibited lipase activity, suggesting that these isolates can degrade feathers and thus may affect survival and reproduction. Individual bacterial loads from 8 juncos varied within a 3-fold range, 105–106 colony-forming units g−1 feather. At 97% DNA sequence identity (species-level), 63 operational taxonomic units were detected among 202 sequences; the Chao1 estimate was 123. The Shannon diversity index (H; 97% identity) was 3.75, Simpson's diversity index (1/D) was 16.1, and Good's coverage was 82.4. Gram-posit...
Further laboratory studies on the rearing and feeding of Cnephia ornithophilia (Diptera: Simuliidae) and the transmission of Leucocytozoon simondi by this black fly.

A total of 10,276 male and 13,280 female Cnephia ornithophilia Davies, Peterson & Wood were reared from larvae at 19/ and 22/C. Larvae pupated in 2–21 days, and adults emerged 4–23 days later. In 248 feeding experiments with 11,326 females exposed on Leucocytozoon simondi -infected and parasite-free Pekin White and Khaki Campbell ducklings, 6554 flies (57.7%) became engorged. Laboratory-reared C. ornithophilia transmitted L. simondi by bite when fed on infected ducklings and then held 4–8 days at 21°–25°C and given sugar up to 24 hr and water up to 3 hr prior to feeding on parasite-free ducklings. Fifty-four of the 71 (76%) parasite-free ducklings showed infections on the 10th day after feeding. Eighty-eight of 98 (89.7%) Pekin and Khaki ducklings inoculated intraperitoneally with 1.0- to 4.0-ml doses of infected flies freshly triturated in 4 different media showed infections on the 10th to 13th days postinoculation. Nine inoculated Emden goslings remained negative. One hundred and sixty-nine of 234 (72%) Pekin, Khaki, and Mallard ducklings inoculated intraperitoneally with 0.5- to 4.0-ml doses of previously frozen infected flies showed infections on the 7th to the 14th days postinoculation. Thirteen inoculated Emden goslings remained negative.
Evaporation Induced Cavitation in Nanochannels

Cavitation refers to a nucleation phenomenon that occurs at room temperature when the liquid pressure is below the corresponding saturation vapor pressure. Although water confined by a nanochannel and a liquid-air meniscus is under negative pressure, i.e. much smaller than the corresponding satraton vapor pressure, cavitation has not been observed in any nanochannels. In this work, we report our observation and studies of cavitations in nanochannels for the first time. 1-D confined nanochannels for this work were fabricated based on a sacrificial-layer-etching scheme. The unique cavitation phenomenon occurred when water started evaporation at the nanochannel entrances. Instead of meniscus recession, a bubble was present inside the nanochannel and two meniscii were pinned at the entrances. This bubble started growing along both directions until it totally occupied the whole channel. We found that the bubble grows linearly with time and the bubble growth rate decreases with the increasing channel height. A theoretical model was developed to study this dynamic process. It is found that the bubble growth rate is determined by the evaporation rate at the entrance. Since the total evaporation flux is a constant, the predicted bubble growth rate is reversely proportional to the channel height, quantitatively consistent with the experimental results. Since most current studies for caviation are theoretical studies, our studies provide a new experimental approach to study these phenomena in artificial transparent nanochannel devices.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
New North American Chilopods and Diplopods

Dorsum from testaceous to dark brown and dull chestnut with the posterior plates and the first one usually not all darkened. Head mostly the same color as dorsum or very nearly so, or somewhat more reddish. Antennae concolorous with head, pale distad. Venter from yellow or testaceous to dark brown, the caudal plates usually a little darker. Prosternum and prehensorial feet of same color as head or nearly so. Legs of same color as adjacent portion of venter.
The discourse of benevolent paternalism in the introduction to The Baby Book

This study utilized the perspective of critical discourse analysis to examine the introductory chapter of the third edition of the Searses’ seminal book on attachment parenting, The Baby Book. Focu...
Pulse Propagation Effects in Optical 2D Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy: Theory.

A solution to Maxwell’s equations in the three-dimensional frequency domain is used to calculate rephasing two-dimensional Fourier transform (2DFT) spectra of the D2 line of atomic rubidium vapor in argon buffer gas. Experimental distortions from the spatial propagation of pulses through the sample are simulated in 2DFT spectra calculated for the homogeneous Bloch line shape model. Spectral features that appear at optical densities of up to 3 are investigated. As optical density increases, absorptive and dispersive distortions start with peak shape broadening, progress to peak splitting, and ultimately result in a previously unexplored coherent transient twisting of the split peaks. In contrast to the low optical density limit, where the 2D peak shape for the Bloch model depends only on the total dephasing time, these distortions of the 2D peak shape at finite optical density vary with the waiting time and the excited state lifetime through coherent transient effects. Experiment-specific conditions are ex...
Outcomes of emergency department placement of transvenous pacemakers

Abstract Purpose Placement of TVPs is a core EM procedure. Despite this, there is no specific outcome data on this procedure in the ED setting. This study examines the success of Emergency Physician (EP) attempted TVPs as well as their hospital courses and survivals. Methods The charts of patients undergoing TVP placement in the ED of an urban community hospital were prospectively collected by a department billing abstractor and then underwent a structured review. All patients had a TVP placed by a board eligible or board certified EP or by a PGY2 EM resident under the direct supervision of an attending EP. All TVPs were placed utilizing a 5 Fr balloon tipped bi-polar pacer without fluoroscopic visualization. Results Over a 36 month period, 43 patients met the study criteria. The mean age was 76.6 (+/− 1.49) years with 27 females (62.7%). Successful pacemaker capture was achieved in 41(95.4%) of TVP attempts. All of the patients were transferred from the ED with vital signs, 41 (95.4%) to a critical care unit and 2 (4.6%) to the electrophysiology laboratory. A total of 26 (60%) patients received permanent pacemakers. Four patients (9.3%) expired during their hospital stay. The remaining patients were discharged to the following: 31 (72%) to home, 5 (11.6%) to a subacute rehabilitation facility, 3 (7%) to a nursing home. Conclusion EP placed TVPs have a high rate of successful capture and patients undergoing this procedure have a good prognosis.
Experiment of membrane fouling in effluent treatment of a factory's domestic sewage station by UF

The membrane fouling process that effluent of a factory's domestic sewage station was treated by UF membrane was studied.The results show that in the process of membrane filter,the formation of cake layer is the major source of membrane fouling.The larger pressure,the larger proportion of cake resistance to total reˉsistance is.After adding coagulant,the proportion of cake resistance to total resistance declined.At the same time,the filter total resistance reduced obviously.During the initial period that membrane filters domestic sewage,membrane fouling process was not controlled by block.The process that membrane filters domestic sewage accords with the law of cake filter.After coagulation,during the initial period of membrane filter,the process of30000UF membrane fouling was not also controlled by block.Yet,100000and140000UF memˉbrane fouling was controlled by block.After coagulation,membrane filter process accord with cake filter law.
SU-F-R-08: Can Normalization of Brain MRI Texture Features Reduce Scanner-Dependent Effects in Unsupervised Machine Learning?

Purpose: To reduce differences in features calculated from MRI brain scans acquired at different field strengths with or without Gadolinium contrast. Methods: Brain scans were processed for 111 epilepsy patients to extract hippocampus and thalamus features. Scans were acquired on 1.5 T scanners with Gadolinium contrast (group A), 1.5T scanners without Gd (group B), and 3.0 T scanners without Gd (group C). A total of 72 features were extracted. Features were extracted from original scans and from scans where the image pixel values were rescaled to the mean of the hippocampi and thalami values. For each data set, cluster analysis was performed on the raw feature set and for feature sets with normalization (conversion to Z scores). Two methods of normalization were used: The first was over all values of a given feature, and the second by normalizing within the patient group membership. The clustering software was configured to produce 3 clusters. Group fractions in each cluster were calculated. Results: For features calculated from both the non-rescaled and rescaled data, cluster membership was identical for both the non-normalized and normalized data sets. Cluster 1 was comprised entirely of Group A data, Cluster 2 contained data from all three groups, and Cluster 3 contained data from only groups 1 and 2. For the categorically normalized data sets there was a more uniform distribution of group data in the three Clusters. A less pronounced effect was seen in the rescaled image data features. Conclusion: Image Rescaling and feature renormalization can have a significant effect on the results of clustering analysis. These effects are also likely to influence the results of supervised machine learning algorithms. It may be possible to partly remove the influence of scanner field strength and the presence of Gadolinium based contrast in feature extraction for radiomics applications.
Critical Power and Void Fraction Prediction of Tight Bundle Designs

AbstractWith the objective of providing long-term energy supply via actinide breeding and burning, the next-generation boiling water reactor (BWR) design, the Hitachi’s resource-renewable BWR (RBWR...
The role of bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of airway disease

Endoscopy of the airway is a valuable tool for the evaluation and management of airway disease. It can be used to evaluate many different bronchopulmonary diseases including airway foreign bodies, tumors, infectious and inflammatory conditions, airway stenosis, and bronchopulmonary hemorrhage. Traditionally, options for evaluation were limited to flexible and rigid bronchoscopy. Recently, more sophisticated technology has led to the development of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB). These technological advances, combined with increasing provider experience have resulted in a higher diagnostic yield with endoscopic biopsies. This review will focus on the role of bronchoscopy, including EBUS, ENB, and rigid bronchoscopy in the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary diseases. In addition, it will cover the anesthetic considerations, equipment, diagnostic yield, and potential complications.
Prospective Associations Between Depressive Symptoms and the Metabolic Syndrome: the Spirited Life Study of Methodist Pastors in North Carolina

Metabolic syndrome (Met-S) has a robust concurrent association with depression. A small, methodologically limited literature suggests that Met-S and depression are reciprocally related over time, an association that could contribute to their overlapping influences on morbidity and mortality in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Using a refined approach to the measurement of Met-S as a continuous latent variable comprising continuous components, this study tested the prospective associations between Met-S and depression. This study of 1114 clergy included four annual assessments of depressive symptoms and Met-S components. Standard methods were used to measure Met-S risk factors, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 was used to assess depressive symptoms. We used confirmatory factor analysis to verify the structure of Met-S and depression and structural equation modeling to quantify the prospective relationships. The statistical models confirmed the validity of quantifying Met-S as a continuous latent variable, replicated previous evidence of a concurrent association, and indicated a significant prospective association of initial depressive symptoms with subsequent Met-S. Initial Met-S was at most only weakly associated with subsequent depressive symptoms, and the former prospective effect was significantly larger. Associations of depressive symptoms and Met-S were significant for both men and women, but somewhat stronger among men. Results support representation of Met-S as a continuous latent variable. The association of initial depressive symptoms with later Met-S suggests that interventions addressing these correlated risk factors may prove useful in preventive efforts.
A novel high-voltage LDMOS with shielding-contact structure for HCl SOA enhancement

This paper demonstrated a novel LDMOS with gate-connected shielding-contact structure, no extra mask or process is needed. TCAD simulation reveals lower electrical potential and impact ionization with the proposed structure. Ron-sp/BVD ratio reduction and significant HCl SOA improvement have been verified on real Silicon. Newly layout with Slot-Poly design has been investigated for better process control as well.
A conserved Toll-like receptor-to-NF-κB signaling pathway in the endangered coral Orbicella faveolata.

Abstract Herein, we characterize the Toll-like receptor (TLR)-to-NF-κB innate immune pathway of Orbicella faveolata (Of), which is an ecologically important, disease-susceptible, reef-building coral. As compared to human TLRs, the intracellular TIR domain of Of-TLR is most similar to TLR4, and it can interact in vitro with the human TLR4 adapter MYD88. Treatment of O. faveolata tissue with lipopolysaccharide, a ligand for mammalian TLR4, resulted in gene expression changes consistent with NF-κB pathway mobilization. Biochemical and cell-based assays revealed that Of-NF-κB resembles the mammalian non-canonical NF-κB protein p100 in that C-terminal truncation results in translocation of Of-NF-κB to the nucleus and increases its DNA-binding and transcriptional activation activities. Moreover, human IκB kinase (IKK) and Of-IKK can both phosphorylate conserved residues in Of-NF-κB in vitro and induce C-terminal processing of Of-NF-κB in vivo . These results are the first characterization of TLR-to-NF-κB signaling proteins in an endangered coral, and suggest that these corals have conserved innate immune pathways.
Medical Cannabinoids in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

CONTEXT: Legalization of medical marijuana in many states has led to a widening gap between the accessibility and the evidence for cannabinoids as a medical treatment. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review published reports to identify the evidence base of cannabinoids as a medical treatment in children and adolescents. DATA SOURCES: Based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a search of PubMed, Medline, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases was conducted in May 2017. STUDY SELECTION: Searching identified 2743 citations, and 103 full texts were reviewed. DATA EXTRACTION: Searching identified 21 articles that met inclusion criteria, including 22 studies with a total sample of 795 participants. Five randomized controlled trials, 5 retrospective chart reviews, 5 case reports, 4 open-label trials, 2 parent surveys, and 1 case series were identified. RESULTS: Evidence for benefit was strongest for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, with increasing evidence of benefit for epilepsy. At this time, there is insufficient evidence to support use for spasticity, neuropathic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder, and Tourette syndrome. LIMITATIONS: The methodological quality of studies varied, with the majority of studies lacking control groups, limited by small sample size, and not designed to test for the statistical significance of outcome measures. Studies were heterogeneous in the cannabinoid composition and dosage and lacked long-term follow-up to identify potential adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Additional research is needed to evaluate the potential role of medical cannabinoids in children and adolescents, especially given increasing accessibility from state legalization and potential psychiatric and neurocognitive adverse effects identified from studies of recreational cannabis use.
Haplotype resolution at the single-cell level.

One of the most rapidly advancing areas in genomics in recent years has been the explosion of platforms to assess properties at the single-cell level. The driving force behind these advancements has been a renaissance of sorts in how we think about the architecture and heterogeneity present in a population of cells (1, 2). While these concepts are not new, the advancement of technologies to assess latent cell heterogeneity has enabled this new era. One of the earliest iterations of single-cell “omics” was the sequencing of the genome itself, which has seen a rapid proliferation of technological advancements (3), including a novel platform by Chu et al. (4) presented in PNAS. Over the years, a number of studies have utilized single-cell genome sequencing to reveal novel insights into a wide range of biological systems from somatic mutation profiling, both in (5) and out (6) of the cancer context, to the determination of meiotic recombination rates (7). To date, multiple platforms have been developed to sequence the genome of individual cells, each aimed at addressing specific types of variation. High-cell-count, low-depth strategies are tailored to assess copy number alterations: gains or losses of stretches of DNA up to entire chromosomes (8). However, these methods fail to capture point variation, single-nucleotide variants or very short insertions or deletions (indels), that may play a critical role in tumor clonal progression, or somatic variation in other contexts (9, 10). Strategies to ascertain point variation in single cells, which will be focused on in this commentary, involve the amplification of DNA and then sequencing to a high depth of coverage for each cell, resulting in higher costs and, typically, reduced cell numbers (3). One of the primary challenges faced by these higher coverage methods is that they rely on even amplification … [↵][1]1Email: adey{at}ohsu.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
CpG island methylation patterns in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

2848 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a mature B-cell neoplasm characterized by progressive accumulation of functionally incompetent lymphocytes of monoclonal origin and is the most common leukemia in Western countries. The precise molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis are still unclear. Cytogenetic studies have revealed that karyotypic changes in CLL comprise abnormalities of chromosomes 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17 with differing prognoses. Recently, data on microRNAs modifying gene expression at the post-transcriptional level have been described as relevant for clinical outcome. Hypermethylation of CpG islands within gene promoter regions is associated with transcriptional inactivation of the affected genes and represents, in addition to genetic aberrations, an important mechanism of gene silencing in the pathogenesis of human cancer. A large number of genes involving fundamental cellular pathways may be affected by aberrant CpG island methylation in virtually all tumor types. Altered DNA methylation patterns may serve as biomarkers for cancer detection, assessment of prognosis and prediction of response to therapy. Using a candidate gene approach, we have analyzed the methylation status of the promoter-associated CpG islands of 16 well-characterized cancer-related genes by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction in 32 patients with CLL. The frequency of aberrant methylation among the patient samples was 68.8 % for SFRP1, 65.6 % for SFRP2, 50.0 % for DAPK1, 21.9 % for E-cadherin, 15.6 % for SFRP4 and SOCS-3, 9.4 % for p15, 6.3 % for p16 and 3.1 % for RARbeta2, SFRP5 as well as TIMP-3. There was no CpG island hypermethylation of MGMT, MLH1, p73, SOCS-1 and TIMP-2. In 90.6 % of the cases there was methylation of at least one gene, and up to 7/16 genes were concurrently methylated. Our results show that aberrant CpG island methylation affecting genes involved in fundamental cellular pathways is a common phenomenon in CLL. These data give insight into the changes to the complex epigenetic status that contribute to the pathogenesis of CLL and may help to provide a molecular rationale for epigenetically targeted therapeutic approaches.
Global Network Access and Publication of Survey Data

The results of astronomical surveys include 1) catalogs containing anywhere from a few to many million objects, 2) data products used to generate the catalogs (e.g., images or spectra), 3) publications and 4) object based compilations of information from many sources. The ubiquitous growth in the Internet and the dramatic reduction in the cost of mass storage systems now allows instant global access to this information. Astrophysics on-line services have grown up with the Internet, and represent an invaluable resource whose access is a routine part of any research project. Unfortunately users are also faced with searching and accessing multiple sites with different content, access and response methods. There can also be inconsistencies amongst the various systems, which can involve extra effort to resolve. A network-integrated astrophysics system has long been sought because it would remove multiple user interfaces and allow much simpler integration of services. In an era of shrinking budgets, the issue is how to achieve this in a cost effective manner. This review gives an overview of the current situation and discusses the likely evolution towards a network-integrated astrophysics system.
Detection of Gaseous Molecules by Capacitance Variation in Organically Modified Silicate (Ormosil) Films

The sorption properties of organically modified silicates (Ormosil) and Ormosil/TEOS films were investigated using a capacitor system. The accuracy of the capacitance measurement was less than 0.05 pF. The capacitance variation obtained was converted to a form of the partition coefficient which is related to the sorption property of the detector materials. The sorption properties can be explained by the reactivity of hydrogen-bonds of the chemical groups in Ormosils. The Karhunen-Loeve expansion, which is a pattern recognition technique, was used to obtain information on the hydrogen-bonding interaction between Ormosils, Ormosil/TEOS and four different gases. The character of the sorption properties of Ormosils varied widely from basic (amino and cyano groups) to acidic (silanol group). The patterns of 4 Ormosils and TEOS from the viewpoint of the acidity and basicity are similar to those shown by other organic detection-coatings.
An Intellectual ‘Great Game’: The Origins of American and East Asian Concepts of Modernity, 1860–1920

This essay studies the Japanese model and the origins of modernity in East Asia and the United States. Japanese innovations in the 1870s to 1890s impacted Chinese attempts at modernization in the initial decades of the 20th Century. This resulted in a strong connection between modern thinking and the rise of civic nationalism in East Asia and the United States. Asian intellectuals picked the most useful parts of Confucianism and combined them with Western ideas. Modern thinking among American intellectuals arose at about the same time as East Asian modernity but under very different conditions. Modern thinkers in East Asia, under intense external pressure from Western imperialism, were highly motivated and innovative in projecting forward a vision later carried out in a full-scale modernization. In the United States, however, the conditions of modernity arrived first. Incessant industrialization, urbanization, and immigration after the Civil War caused American modern thinkers to develop innovative new perspectives and approaches to meet these challenges. Successful Japanese modernization created an alternative to Western imperialism that appealed to any Asian country under threat or reality of Western hegemony.
Evaporation for Fluid Food Concentration

One of the key unit operations for fluid food products is evaporation, as utilized to concentrate or increase the solids concentration of a fluid food. One of the primary objectives of this operation is to reduce the volume of the product by some significant amount without loss of nutrient components. This reduction of volume permits more efficient transportation of the important product components and efficient storage of the solids. An equally important objective of evaporation of moisture from fluid foods is to remove large amounts of moisture effectively and efficiently before the product enters a dehydration process. The evaporation operation may be used for products which vary widely in characteristics, and in many cases these characteristics influence the evaporator design considerably.
Velocity of spherically-diverging detonation waves in RX-26-AF, LX-17 and LX-10

The velocity of spherically-diverging detonation waves was measured in RX-26-AF, LX-17 and LX-10 explosives at 20°C and −54°C for detonation wave radii from 13 −50 mm. At the smaller radii the measured velocities were lower than published steady detonation velocities by as much as 4%. The detonation velocities measured at −54°C were usually higher than those measured at room temperature. These results indicate that a significant part of the excess transit time observed when an explosive is initiated by a point or hemispherical detonator may be due to a low detonation velocity.
Surgical Management of Spasticity of the Shoulder

Although spastic conditions often involve the shoulder, it is rare for surgical intervention to be required. In cases in which chemodenervation and therapy are insufficient to optimize the patient's function or minimize their care requirements, surgical options, such as tendon and joint releases, can be considered. Tendon transfers are rarely indicated. Nerve transfers, particularly contralateral C7, may play a larger role in the future as we gain further understanding into the risks, indications, and contraindications of this exciting technique.
SoK: General Purpose Compilers for Secure Multi-Party Computation

Secure multi-party computation (MPC) allows a group of mutually distrustful parties to compute a joint function on their inputs without revealing any information beyond the result of the computation. This type of computation is extremely powerful and has wide-ranging applications in academia, industry, and government. Protocols for secure computation have existed for decades, but only recently have general-purpose compilers for executing MPC on arbitrary functions been developed. These projects rapidly improved the state of the art, and began to make MPC accessible to non-expert users. However, the field is changing so rapidly that it is difficult even for experts to keep track of the varied capabilities of modern frameworks. In this work, we survey general-purpose compilers for secure multi-party computation. These tools provide high-level abstractions to describe arbitrary functions and execute secure computation protocols. We consider eleven systems: EMP-toolkit, Obliv-C, ObliVM, TinyGarble, SCALE-MAMBA (formerly SPDZ), Wysteria, Sharemind, PICCO, ABY, Frigate and CBMC-GC. We evaluate these systems on a range of criteria, including language expressibility, capabilities of the cryptographic back-end, and accessibility to developers. We advocate for improved documentation of MPC frameworks, standardization within the community, and make recommendations for future directions in compiler development. Installing and running these systems can be challenging, and for each system, we also provide a complete virtual environment (Docker container) with all the necessary dependencies to run the compiler and our example programs.
The Importance of Universal Design on College Campuses

“Go Hokies!” “This is Home,” I exclaimed at the top of my lungs to the Virginia Tech Class of 2021. During the summer of 2018, wearing a maroon and orange polo and proudly representing the university during freshman orientation, I led groups of freshmen around campus and sought to teach them how to live life as Hokies. The Hokie Nation runs deep and it was an honor to help students transition into it. I truly believe that all eager students interested and committed to joining the Hokie community should be able to call Blacksburg home. Even as a former orientation leader, I realize that that is not always the reality due to the severe lack of universal design and accessibility on college campuses across the nation, including our beloved Virginia Tech. Everyone’s experience at Virginia Tech might not be like it is initially portrayed. My knowledge as student with a Disability Studies minor has led me to identify a flaw in the design of college campuses across our nation. Students are hindered from joining spirited collegiate communities before they even step foot on campus due to the lack of universally designed features and amenities. Someone’s identity as a Hokie does not mean they are not going to experience barriers. I wonder the types of students I could have met in my orientation groups if Virginia Tech’s acceptance and accessibility standards were fully inclusive of all people, even those with disabilities. In order to attract people with disabilities to join the Hokie Nation, thus making our community more diverse, I call on the Virginia Tech administration and other collegiate administrations to take action in creating communities that are universally designed.
Executable pathway analysis using ensemble discrete-state modeling for large-scale data.

Pathway analysis is widely used to gain mechanistic insights from high-throughput omics data. However, most existing methods do not consider signal integration represented by pathway topology, resulting in enrichment of convergent pathways when downstream genes are modulated. Incorporation of signal flow and integration in pathway analysis could rank the pathways based on modulation in key regulatory genes. This implementation can be facilitated for large-scale data by discrete state network modeling due to simplicity in parameterization. Here, we model cellular heterogeneity using discrete state dynamics and measure pathway activities in cross-sectional data. We introduce a new algorithm, Boolean Omics Network Invariant-Time Analysis (BONITA), for signal propagation, signal integration, and pathway analysis. Our signal propagation approach models heterogeneity in transcriptomic data as arising from intercellular heterogeneity rather than intracellular stochasticity, and propagates binary signals repeatedly across networks. Logic rules defining signal integration are inferred by genetic algorithm and are refined by local search. The rules determine the impact of each node in a pathway, which is used to score the probability of the pathway’s modulation by chance. We have comprehensively tested BONITA for application to transcriptomics data from translational studies. Comparison with state-of-the-art pathway analysis methods shows that BONITA has higher sensitivity at lower levels of source node modulation and similar sensitivity at higher levels of source node modulation. Application of BONITA pathway analysis to previously validated RNA-sequencing studies identifies additional relevant pathways in in-vitro human cell line experiments and in-vivo infant studies. Additionally, BONITA successfully detected modulation of disease specific pathways when comparing relevant RNA-sequencing data with healthy controls. Most interestingly, the two highest impact score nodes identified by BONITA included known drug targets. Thus, BONITA is a powerful approach to prioritize not only pathways but also specific mechanistic role of genes compared to existing methods. BONITA is available at: https://github.com/thakar-lab/BONITA.
Pregnancy and symptomatic relief following ultrasound-guided transvaginal radiofrequency ablation in patients with adenomyosis.

AIM To report the reproductive results and symptomatic relief of patients with adenomyosis who attempted to conceive after ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA). METHODS Of 182 consecutive patients with adenomyosis who had undergone RFA, only 81 patients were eligible for this study. Pregnancy outcomes, postoperative complications, preoperative and postoperative pictorial blood loss assessment chart scores, and pain scores were evaluated. RESULTS Of these 81 patients, 74 were infertile and seven were single at the time of RFA. The mean age at the time of operation was 35.8 years. The mean duration from the time of RFA to conception was 18.9 months (range, 2-72 months). Fifty-nine patients tried natural conception, while 22 patients attempted conception with assisted reproductive techniques. Twenty-nine (35.8%) patients achieved 39 pregnancies. Except for the 23 patients who did not actively try to conceive and who inevitably or arbitrarily discontinued pregnancy attempts, the pregnancy success rate reached 50%. Twenty-two (84.6%) of the 29 patients delivered 24 (66.7%) live babies (nine vaginal deliveries and 15 cesarean sections). Twelve (33.3%) pregnancies ended in spontaneous abortions. No uterine ruptures occurred. Paired sample t-tests revealed that preoperative pictorial blood loss assessment chart and pain scores were significantly (P < 0.05) different from the postoperative scores at 1-, 3- and 6-months. CONCLUSION RFA could be considered a minimally-invasive treatment option for patients with adenomyosis who desire to maintain fertility and alleviate symptoms.
Uncertainty Tolerance (UT): Recycling Eco-Anxiety Into Eco-Empowerment [Last Word]

Co-anxiety, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association in 2017, is a chronic fear of environmental doom, usually based on feelings of powerlessness about environmental change or climate change. Other associated terms include: eco-fear, eco-despair, eco-grief, eco-distress, and eco-angst. Society is experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety relative to climate change. Seventy percent of Americans report they are worried about climate change; nearly 60% feel helpless. According to Global Action Plan, 77% of U.K. teenagers report feeling anxious when merely thinking about climate change. American teenagers report that climate change makes them feel scared (57%) and angry (52%) and they wish for their schools to engage with them more about climate change.
LOSS OF METHYLCYCLOHEXYL STEREOSPECIFICITY DURING CYTOCHROME P-450-DEPENDENT MONOOXYGENATION***

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the loss of methylcyclohexyl stereospecificity during cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenation. Alicyclic hydroxylation by cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase has been examined using phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene, and β-napthoflavone induced and noninduced rat liver microsomes. In the presence of microsomes, O 2 , NADP + , and NADPH generating system trans-4-methyl-CCNU forms six hydroxyl metabolites. Cis-4-methyl-CCNU undergoes monooxygenation in at least three positions. It is found that during monooxygenation minor metabolites of both trans-4-methyl-CCNU and/or cis-4-methyl-CCNU has been identified showing evidence for the loss of methylcyclohexyl stereospecificity. The identity of these metabolites has been determined by adsorptiv1e and reverse high performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectroscopy. A small percentage of the methyl group during 4 position monooxygenation flips from the trans to cis position or from the cis to trans position. Loss of stereospecificity in the presence of cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase is another chemical modification to which drug may be subjected. This leads to a broad distribution of possible alicyclic ring metabolites with equally broad chemical properties. The isomerization of cis-4-methyl CCNU and trans-4-methyl-CCNU lends support to the idea that a hemolytic hydrogen abstraction is involved in this hydroxylation.
Analysis of the Changing Economics of US Hospital Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Programs

New technologies in medicine, even if they are promising medically, are often expensive and logistically difficult to implement at the hospital level. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a model technology that is revolutionary in treating aortic stenosis, but has been plagued with significant challenges with financial sustainability. In this article, a margin analysis at the hospital level was performed using literature data. A TAVR industry analysis was performed using Porter's Five Forces framework. The data indicate that TAVR is more expensive than surgical aortic valve replacement, although the cost of TAVR is declining with the use of an optimized minimalist protocol. The overall industry is growing as its clinical indications expand, and it will likely undergo significant reduction of costs when new valves enter the US market. As such, TAVR is a growing industry, with financial sustainability currently dependent on operational efficiency. A concluding list of specific program interventions is provided to help TAVR programs improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes, as well as help decide whether to create, expand, or redirect funding for TAVR programs. Importantly, the frameworks used to analyze this rapidly evolving technology can be applied to other new technologies to determine financial sustainability.
A constitutive model for elastic–plastic materials using scalar conjugate stress/strain base pairs

Abstract A constitutive model for elastic–plastic materials is developed using scalar, conjugate, stress–strain, base pairs in a finite deformation setting. These conjugate base pairs arise from an alternative QR decomposition of the deformation gradient that decomposes its matrix into an orthogonal rotation and an upper-triangular matrix, called the Laplace stretch. This decomposition is particularly useful from an experimental standpoint, as it enables one to directly measure the components of Laplace stretch and its plastic contributions in a specific coordinate system. Moreover, from an experimental standpoint, it is difficult to parameterize current material models due to a covariance between their tensor invariants, traditionally used in their constructions. The use of scalar, conjugate, base pairs are also helpful from that point of view. Interestingly, the multiplicative elastic–plastic decomposition of Laplace stretch leads to an additive decomposition of the total strain attributes into their corresponding elastic and plastic components. Although an additive strain decomposition is commonly used in small-strain theory, here such a decomposition is possible even for finite deformations. An additive decomposition of the strain attributes has a deeper consequence in the construction of our constitutive model. A maximum rate of dissipation criterion has been used in deriving our constitutive equations, as this criterion is valid for a wider class of materials. Two constitutive assumptions – one for a Helmholtz potential, and one for the rate of dissipation function – are required for our constitutive construction. This model does not presuppose the existence of a yield surface. In fact, it is shown that whether a material exhibits a yielding or a creep-like behavior depends upon the differentiability of the rate of dissipation function. Two cases of plastic deformation – volume-preserving and dilatant-pressure dependent deformations – have been considered. To illustrate the proposed model, finite strain versions of classical J 2 plasticity and a Drucker–Prager model are derived.
A Preliminary Examination of Pottery in Edo North

This paper briefly reviews pottery recently observed in villages in the Akoko-Edo local government area in Northern Edo State, in Southwestern Nigeria. Pottery photographed in family collections, in use at personal and village shrines and found at backcountry historic sites is discussed. Pottery usage and function are examined using documentary accounts when possible. A preliminary typology of pottery forms and decorations is presented placing examples into a larger regional context based on previous historical and archaeological research. Recommendations for further investigation of historic pottery in Edo North concludes the presentation.
Too Few Cookbooks

In 1938, a 12-city promotional tour for The American Magazine became a 13-city tour. I suspect, but cannot prove, Rex Stout was behind the change. There came a time when a decision was made to add to The American Magazine’s “Living Issue” tour a substantial dollop of damn good fun for Stout — the specifics of when, why, how, and by whom that decision was made remain a perfect mystery, as best I can tell. The decision was to add a 13th stop to what was, by all accounts, a 12-stop tour. The tour included a visit to St. Louis on Wednesday, May 11, and a visit to Cincinnati on Friday, May 13. Falling neatly between those cities was (and is) Indianapolis and falling neatly between those days of the week was (and is) Thursday. That is where and when the troupe made an additional stop that is not recorded in John McAleer’s biography of Stout or anywhere else — in a 1966 letter Stout himself described the tour as “a series of luncheons in twelve different cities” — except a handful of contemporary reports in Indianapolis-area newspapers. Here is how it may have happened.
Dual Damascene BEOL Extendibility With Cu Reflow / Selective TaN And Co/Cu Composite

This paper demonstrates the scalability of the dual damascene (DD) integration scheme for BEOL interconnects below 28 nm pitch. To accomplished this, we developed and demonstrated two novel process flows. First, we extend Cu-based damascene interconnect with a selectively deposited TaN barrier that reduced via resistance without compromising reliability. Second, we introduced an innovative dual metallization scheme with metallurgy chosen for the enhanced performance of fine and wide lines. These process innovations enable a significant improvement in via, signal and power line resistances. We discuss the corresponding implications towards performance in terms of signal delay, parasitic voltage, and FPG gain (FET performance gauge) analysis. Our simulations based on experimental data show that extending Cu metallization can enable next-generation interconnects (20-24nm pitch) for low power mobile-like design solutions. For high-performance computing (HPC) applications, dual metallurgy with high aspect ratio power rails provides the best performance.
Array processing and generalized inverses

A basic function of array processing is to estimate the spatial location of disturbed or discrete radiating and scattering sources. We show that classical beamformers, optimum array processors, matched field and matched mode processors can be cast into the unified framework of generalized inverse theory.