cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a semi-autonomous vehicle operable by the visually-impaired

This paper presents the development of a system that will allow a visually-impaired person to safely operate a motor vehicle. Named the blind driver challenge, the purpose of the project is to improve the independence of the visually-impaired by allowing them to travel at their convenience. The system development is targeted to be deployed on Team Victor Tangopsilas DARPA Urban Challenge vehicle ldquoOdin.rdquo The system uses tactile and audio interfaces to relay information to the driver about vehicle heading and speed. The driver then corrects his steering and speed using a joystick. The tactile interface is a modified massage chair, which directs the driver to accelerate or brake. The audio interface is a pair of headphones, which directs the driver where to turn. Testing software has been developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the system by tracking the userspsila ability to follow signals generated by the blind driver challenge code. With these results the team hopes to improve the system, and eventually through a partnership with the Virginia School for the Blind, expand testing to include the visually-impaired.
Sex-Dependent Liver Gene Expression Is Extensive and Largely Dependent upon Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5b (STAT5b): STAT5b-Dependent Activation of Male Genes and Repression of Female Genes Revealed by Microarray Analysis

Sexual dimorphism in mammalian liver contributes to sex differences in physiology, homeostasis, and steroid and foreign compound metabolism. Many sex-dependent liver genes are regulated by sex differences in pituitary GH secretion, with the transcription factor, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT5b), proposed to mediate signaling by the pulsatile, male plasma GH profile. Presently, a large-scale gene expression study was conducted using male and female mice, wild type and Stat5b inactivated, to characterize sex differences in liver gene expression and their dependence on STAT5b. The relative abundance of individual liver RNAs was determined for each sex-genotype combination by competitive hybridization to 23,574-feature oligonucleotide microarrays. Significant sex differences in hepatic expression were seen for 1603 mouse genes. Of 850 genes showing higher expression in males, 767 (90%) were down-regulated in STAT5b-deficient males. Moreover, of 753 genes showing female-predominant expression, 461 (61%) were up-regulated in STAT5b-deficient males. In contrast, approximately 90% of the sex-dependent genes were unaffected by STAT5b deficiency in females. Thus: 1) STAT5b is essential for sex-dependent liver gene expression, a characteristic of approximately 1600 mouse genes (4% of the genome); 2) male-predominant liver gene expression requires STAT5b, or STAT5b-dependent factors, which act in a positive manner; and 3) many female-predominant liver genes are repressed in males in a STAT5b-dependent manner. Several of the STAT5b-dependent male genes encode transcriptional repressors; these may include direct STAT5b targets that repress female-predominant genes in male liver. Several female-predominant repressors are elevated in STAT5b-deficient males; these may contribute to the major loss of male gene expression seen in the absence of STAT5b.
Second-order theory for airfoils in uniform shear flow.

The firstand second-order problems for a uniform shear flow past an airfoil have been formulated and solved. It has been assumed that the stream shear, when properly nondimensionalized, must be of order 1. Expressions for the firstand second-order pressure coefficients have been obtained. The lift and moment coefficients are given in integral form. Once the airfoil shape is known, the force coefficients can be obtained by integration. Numerical calculations have been carried out to obtain lift coefficients on a symmetric Joukowsky airfoil, a circular arc, and a cambered Joukowsky airfoil for different values of stream vorticity. It is found that, in general, if the nondimensional stream vorticity (with respect to the airfoil chord and a reference velocity) is limited to 1 or less, the second-order theory will give lift coefficients within 5% of the exact theory up to 30° angle of attack. The uniformly valid pressure distributions correct to the second order along a symmetric Joukowsky airfoil at 10° incidence are presented to exhibit the effect of stream shear.
How is Willpower Possible? The Puzzle of Synchronic Self‐Control and the Divided Mind

The exercise of willpower is puzzling because it seems to require that a person both most wants to act on a wayward desire, and most wants to resist this desire, and this seems impossible. There are two accounts that try to resolve this puzzle of synchronic self-control, Jeanette Kennett and Michael Smith’s ‘non-actional’ account and Alfred Mele’s ‘ancillary action’ account. I criticize these accounts because they set too strong constraints on what kinds of synchronic self-control are possible, and thus what willpower could turn out to be. I then propose a ‘divided mind’ account that helps make sense of particularly strong forms of willpower that cannot be accommodated on the alternative accounts. On the divided mind account, motivational architecture is divided between a deliberative motivational system and an emotional motivational system, and willpower is a proprietary action exclusively available to the deliberative system. I address potential objections to the divided mind account. One objection says that it is not in fact possible for a weaker desire to defeat a stronger one. A second objection says that actions that arise exclusively from parts of a mind cannot be said to belong to the whole agent.
Applications of Frozen Section to Intraoperative Consultations of Metastatic Malignancies Involving Lymph Nodes

Frozen section assessment of lymph nodes in patients with nonhematolymphoid malignancies (i.e., carcinoma) affords the opportunity to evaluate tumor stage and refine treatment plans intraoperatively. In the appropriate clinical setting, this information allows clinical teams to spare many patients the morbidity of unnecessary surgical procedures. However, frozen section analysis of lymph nodes is only indicated in a small number of clinical scenarios, in which sufficient accuracy has been demonstrated and the results alter clinical management. In this chapter, specific indications for performing frozen section consultations of lymph nodes in this setting are reviewed, with a special emphasis on sentinel lymph node biopsies in breast cancer and intraoperative staging in lung, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Technical aspects and limitations of intraoperative lymph node assessment in evaluating metastatic malignancies are also discussed, including some recommendations for facilitating reliable communication with clinical teams.
Peripheral Vascular Occlusion in Acute Retinal Necrosis.

A 19-year-old womanwith a history of leukemia in remission after bone marrow transplant presented with a 2-week history of photophobia and decreased vision in the left eye. The right eye was normal. Vision in the affected left eye was 20/32 without an afferent pupillary defect and an intraocular pressure of 9mmHg. Anterior segment examination revealed mild cell and flare and moderate vitritis. Scattered retinal hemorrhages and circumferential retinal pallor were observed on fundus examination. Fluorescein angiography (Figure) revealed marked peripheral vascular occlusion, papillitis, and posterior vascular leakage in acute retinal necrosis due to herpes zoster virus. She was treated with intravitreous ganciclovir and intravenous acyclovir. Systemic prednisone was administered 3 days later, and she recovered. Final visual acuity at 6 months was 20/25 OS.
DPSynthesizer: differentially private data synthesizer for privacy preserving data sharing

Differential privacy has recently emerged in private statistical data release as one of the strongest privacy guarantees. Releasing synthetic data that mimic original data with differential privacy provides a promising way for privacy preserving data sharing and analytics while providing a rigorous privacy guarantee. However, to this date there is no open-source tools that allow users to generate differentially private synthetic data, in particular, for high dimensional and large domain data. Most of the existing techniques that generate differentially private histograms or synthetic data only work well for single dimensional or low-dimensional histograms. They become problematic for high dimensional and large domain data due to increased perturbation error and computation complexity. We propose DPSynthesizer, a toolkit for differentially private data synthesization. The core of DPSynthesizer is DPCopula designed for high-dimensional and large-domain data. DPCopula computes a differentially private copula function from which synthetic data can be sampled. Copula functions are used to describe the dependence between multivariate random vectors and allow us to build the multivariate joint distribution using one-dimensional marginal distributions. DPSynthesizer also implements a set of state-of-the-art methods for building differentially private histograms, suitable for low-dimensional data, from which synthetic data can be generated. We will demonstrate the system using DPCopula as well as other methods with various data sets and show the feasibility, utility, and efficiency of various methods.
Selling Pittsburgh as America’s Renaissance City

3. Joel A. Tarr, ed., Devastation and Renewal: An Environmental History of Pittsburgh and Its Region (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003). 4. Long a subject of scholarly attention, urban renewal has recently come under renewed consideration. See the “Special Section: Thinking through Urban Renewal,” Journal of Urban History 39, no. 3 (May 2013): 359–453; and “Forum: Urban Renewal,” Journal of Urban History 40, no. 4 (July 2014): 631–47. 5. Jon C. Teaford, The Rough Road to Renaissance: Urban Revitalization in America, 1940-1985 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), 46 and 216. 6. Roy Lubove, Twentieth Century Pittsburgh: The Post-Steel Era, vol. 2 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996).
Proximate Cause, the Proposed Basic Principles Restatement, and Products Liability

No subject separates torts scholars from practitioners more than the doctrine of proximate cause. This article discusses how to accomplish the delicate balance between the practitioners's need for proximate cause doctrine clarity, and the scholars' need to recognize the doctrine's subtleties and complexities. First, it discusses the proposed Basic Principles Restatement's formation of proximate cause, which Professor Cupp feels is more succinct, centralized, and clear in comparison to earlier versions, which discussed proximate cause over multiple scattered and overlapping sections. However, the problem with this newer explanation is that it uses different language than the courts typically use when they discuss proximate cause. An example of this is the new version's use of the terms "results-within-the-risk" (rather than "reasonable foreseeability") and "legal cause" (rather than "proximate cause"). The article then discusses how the proximate cause analysis is different in a product liability case than in other torts cases, and how the change in the Basic Principles Restatement's language from "reasonable foreseeability" to "results-within-the risk" can affect some products liability cases. Specifically, the Products Liability Restatement indicates that strict liability is theoretically available for design defects and warning defects, but that such liability only attaches to risks that are reasonably foreseeable. The article then offers a discussion of the burden of proving misuse in cases of contributory or comparative negligence.
Treatment attrition: Associations with negative affect smoking motives and barriers to quitting among treatment-seeking smokers.

Abstract Introduction Pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting are clinically important processes involved in early phases of quitting smoking. However, less is known about the constructs that may contribute to these processes such as negative affect reduction smoking motives. Method The current study sought to evaluate the relation between negative affect reduction smoking motives and pre-treatment attrition and perceived barriers for quitting in a sample of 425 treatment-seeking smokers (48.5% female; M age = 37.69 years; SD = 13.61) enrolled in a smoking cessation study examining the efficacy of a transdiagnostic panic-smoking cessation treatment relative to a standard smoking cessation treatment. Results Results indicated that greater negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with an increased likelihood of treatment initiation (odds ratio = 1.49, CI: 1.09, 2.04). Additionally, negative affect reduction smoking motives was associated with greater perceived barriers for cessation among pre-treatment drop-outs and treatment initiators. Conclusions This initial investigation provides evidence for the possible clinical utility in addressing negative affect reduction smoking motives during early stages of quitting. Additionally, such findings could potentially inform the development of personalized, early stages of quitting interventions for smoking cessation.
An iterative approach to case study analysis: insights from qualitative analysis of quantitative inconsistencies

Large-N comparative studies have helped common pool resource scholars gain general insights into the factors that influence collective action and governance outcomes. However, these studies are often limited by missing data, and suffer from the methodological limitation that important information is lost when we reduce textual information to quantitative data. This study was motivated by nine case studies that appeared to be inconsistent with the expectation that the presence of Ostrom’s Design Principles increases the likelihood of successful common pool resource governance. These cases highlight the limitations of coding and analysing Large-N case studies. We examine two issues: 1) the challenge of missing data and 2) potential approaches that rely on context (which is often lost in the coding process) to address inconsistencies between empirical observations theoretical predictions. For the latter, we conduct a post-hoc qualitative analysis of a large-N comparative study to explore 2 types of inconsistencies: 1) cases where evidence for nearly all design principles was found, but available evidence led to the assessment that the CPR system was unsuccessful and 2) cases where the CPR system was deemed successful despite finding limited or no evidence for design principles. We describe inherent challenges to large-N comparative analysis to coding complex and dynamically changing common pool resource systems for the presence or absence of design principles and the determination of “success”. Finally, we illustrate how, in some cases, our qualitative analysis revealed that the identity of absent design principles explained inconsistencies hence de-facto reconciling such apparent inconsistencies with theoretical predictions. This analysis demonstrates the value of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis, and using mixed-methods approaches iteratively to build comprehensive methodological and theoretical approaches to understanding common pool resource governance in a dynamically changing context.
Sustaining Sustainable Engineering Design Projects

Experiential learning has been emphasized in the School of Engineering at the University of Dayton for over 25 years. The evolutionhas gone from individual projects to team projects and from single discipline to multidisciplinary teams. In the last 5 years thepercentage of projects related to design for the environment, design of thermal systems and renewable energy systems reached aboutone-third of the capstone design projects. The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences over these last 5 years. Thus, thissubmission covers the applied aspects of sustainability in design education. In doing so this paper concentrates on three areas. First,there must be a venue, or a sustainable design landscape, in which sustainable design and development projects can be implemented.Second, it is important that the appropriate resources be available in order to facilitate sustainable design. Finally, there will be areview of the types and scope of these projects and the lessons learned over this time.
Altering the Alignment of the Active Site of Factor VIIa by Raising Tissue Factor above the Phospholipid Surface.

Tissue factor (TF), an integral membrane protein, is the protein cofactor for coagulation factor VIIa (VIIa). The membrane-bound enzyme complex of TF and VIIa (TF:VIIa) initiates coagulation by activating factor X to Xa via limited proteolysis. Free VIIa has limited enzymatic activity, but when in complex with TF, its activity -- particularly its ability to cleave macromolecular substrates -- dramatically increases. VIIa in complex with truncated, soluble TF (sTF; consisting of the isolated extracellular domain) has much lower procoagulant activity than VIIa in complex with membrane-anchored TF in a suitable phospholipid membrane. When TF binds to VIIa, it re-aligns the active site of VIIa relative to the membrane surface, and it is hypothesized that one of the essential functions of protein cofactors in the clotting cascade is to position the active sites of their cognate proteases the proper distance and orientation above the membrane surface for optimal attack on the scissile bonds of membrane-bound protein substrates. We are testing how this alignment contributes to catalysis by altering the distance of TF above the phospholipid surface, thereby altering the position of VIIa’s active site above the membrane. We created a number of chimeras between the extracellular domain of TF and portions of the integral membrane protein, P-selectin, in order to raise TF varying distances above the phospholipid surface. TFCR9 is the shortest chimera, containing the 9th consensus repeat domain (CR) and transmembrane domain of P-selectin. TFCR8.9 contains the 8th and 9th CR domains as well as the transmembrane domain of P-selectin. TFLCR8.9 is identical to TFCR8.9 except that a flexible linker of four glycines and a serine residue repeated three times, (G 4 S) 3 , separates the TF and P-selectin sequences. All of the chimeras allosterically activated VIIa to the same extent that sTF or TF did (measured by cleavage of small peptidyl-amide substrates) confirming that the chimeras are properly folded. VIIa bound to the chimeras with Kd values ranging from 2.6 to 4.2 nM, which is equivalent to its interaction with sTF (Kd, 2-5 nM) rather than with TF in phospholipid membranes (Kd
Lateral Current Spreading in III-N Ultraviolet Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers Using Modulation-Doped Short Period Superlattices

Lateral hole injection into AlGaN-based ultraviolet (UV) vertical-cavity light-emitting lasers (VCSELs) has been studied via numerical simulation. For blue and violet vertical cavity light emitters, indium tin oxide (ITO) is most commonly used as a transparent current spreading layer to increase the overlap between the optical mode and the radial current profile. However, ITO has very high optical losses in the UV spectrum, so alternative schemes for lateral current spreading have been investigated for use in UV-VCSELs. A modulation doped short-period superlattice (MD-SPSL) has been proposed as a transparent lateral current spreading layer in UV-VCSELs. The narrow bandgap unintentionally doped (uid) material maintains a high mobility due to reduced impurity scattering and has a high free hole concentration due to modulation doping, thus forming highly conductive channels which aid lateral hole transport. This has been shown to partially mitigate current crowding around the current aperture. To account for imperfect modulation doping due to the magnesium memory effects and other factors, the effect of varying the hole mobility in the uid-narrow bandgap layer of the MD-SPSL from 13–300 cm2/( $\text {V}\cdot \text {s}$ ) on the threshold current and slope efficiency has also been studied. Employing an MD-SPSL results in a significant reduction in the threshold current and slope efficiency compared to ITO, and the extent of the improvement depends on the hole mobility in the uid-AlGaN layer.
Guidelines for Community-Acquired Pneumonia Within Disease Management Programs

Several national and international organizations have developed and published guidelines for the treatment of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Guidelines from Europe, the US, Canada and Latin America classify patients in different groups based on the severity of pneumonia, site of care and presence of risk factors for resistant organisms. The initial antibacterial therapy is designed to cover only the likely organisms able to infect a particular group of patients. An evaluation of current guidelines indicates that there are significant similarities in regard to classification of patients and initial antibacterial therapy. One objective of this review is to present the clinician with a practical approach to antibacterial selection based on current published guidelines for CAP.
SOME ASPECTS OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF ICE CLOUDS

In this report, the current understanding of the light scattering properties of ice crystals and the radiative characteristics of ice clouds has been reviewed comprehensively. The significance of light scattering and radiative properties of ice crystals are then discussed in connection with remote sensing and climate studies. In the light of this review and subsequent discussions, a number of recommendations are made for the needed research programs and further studies associated with light scattering by ice crystals and radiative transfer in ice cloud layers. Highlights of the single scattering properties of hexagonal columns and plates, derived from both laboratory experiments and theoretical calculations, are presented. In addition, the importance of cirrus clouds on the global radiative budget and the climate of the earth-atmosphere system will be discussed.
Case study: evaluating accuracy of cancer diagnostic tests.

This chapter provides a worked example using the methods described in the previous chapter to determine the accuracy of cancer screening and/or diagnostic tests. The data for the example were obtained by Krupinski and Roehrig (2000). Fifty mammograms were digitized, displayed, and examined on a high-resolution monitor under two different display conditions. In one condition, the monitor was calibrated to the linearized Barten tone curve recommended by the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Standard. In the other, the monitor was calibrated to the non-linearized Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) tone curve. Mammograms were selected such that 18 contained a single subtle mass, 18 contained a single subtle micro-calcification, and 14 contained no lesion.
Semantic Parsing for Technical Support Questions

Technical support problems are very complex. In contrast to regular web queries (that contain few keywords) or factoid questions (which are a few sentences), these problems usually include attributes like a detailed description of what is failing (symptom), steps taken in an effort to remediate the failure (activity), and sometimes a specific request or ask (intent). Automating support is the task of automatically providing answers to these problems given a corpus of solution documents. Traditional approaches to this task rely on information retrieval and are keyword based; looking for keyword overlap between the question and solution documents and ignoring these attributes. We present an approach for semantic parsing of technical questions that uses grammatical structure to extract these attributes as a baseline, and a CRF based model that can improve performance considerably in the presence of annotated data for training. We also demonstrate that combined with reasoning, these attributes help outperform retrieval baselines.
The Role of Cross-Listed Stock as an Acquisition Currency: Evidence from Takeovers of U.S. Firms

This paper examines how cross-border acquisitions are financed. Acquisitions of U.S. targets by cross-listed bidders are compared against those of U.S. and non-cross-listed bidders. By cross-listing, a foreign firm reduces its cost of paying for acquisitions with equity by enhancing the rights of its minority investors and by decreasing barriers to ownership of its shares by U.S. investors. Cross-listed firms using equity pay on average 10% less than non-cross-listed firms paying with cash. However, they use equity less often than U.S. firms. Cross-listed firms from countries with poorer investor protection pay a higher premium when using equity indicating that U.S. shareholders require compensation for opting into corporate governance environments with poorer investor protection.
Booms, Busts, and Financial Panics: The Financial Meltdown of 2007–2009

In this chapter, we shall take a detailed look at what appears to be an increasing vulnerability of world economies to financial booms, busts, and panics, with emphasis on the financial meltdown of 2007–2009. However, in approaching this, it is important to keep in mind that there is nothing new per se about financial panics, for they have been part of economic life for as long as Society has been aware of the usefulness of money as a store of value. The one thing that every financial panic in history has shared is that there is a “tipping” of confidence into uncertainty that leads to a rush for the liquidity of money.
A Scalable Exemplar-Based Subspace Clustering Algorithm for Class-Imbalanced Data

Subspace clustering methods based on expressing each data point as a linear combination of a few other data points (e.g., sparse subspace clustering) have become a popular tool for unsupervised learning due to their empirical success and theoretical guarantees. However, their performance can be affected by imbalanced data distributions and large-scale datasets. This paper presents an exemplar-based subspace clustering method to tackle the problem of imbalanced and large-scale datasets. The proposed method searches for a subset of the data that best represents all data points as measured by the \(\ell _1\) norm of the representation coefficients. To solve our model efficiently, we introduce a farthest first search algorithm which iteratively selects the least well-represented point as an exemplar. When data comes from a union of subspaces, we prove that the computed subset contains enough exemplars from each subspace for expressing all data points even if the data are imbalanced. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art subspace clustering methods in two large-scale image datasets that are imbalanced. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on unsupervised data subset selection for a face image classification task.
The Biology of m6A RNA Methylation in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis

Hematopoietic development and differentiation are highly regulated processes, and recent studies focusing on m6A mRNA methylation have uncovered how this mark controls cell fate in both normal and malignant hematopoietic states. In this review, we focus on how writers, readers, and erasers of RNA methylation can mediate distinct phenotypes on mRNAs and on cells. Targeting the RNA methylation program has emerged as a potential novel therapeutic strategy, and we explore the role for these regulators in both normal and dysregulated cell contexts. SIGNIFICANCE: RNA methylation is required for cancer cell survival in solid tumors and in acute myeloid leukemia, and targeting this pathway has been proposed as a new therapeutic strategy in cancer. However, understanding the role for RNA methylation in both normal and malignant states is essential for understanding the potential consequences for therapeutic intervention.
Technical Note: T1 and T2 and complex permittivities of mineral oil, silicone oil, and glycerol at 0.35, 1.5, and 3 T.

Purpose To identify an inexpensive, low-dielectric liquid for large magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) phantoms that can be used at multiple magnetic field strengths. Methods The T1 and T2 of four candidate phantom liquids (pure mineral oil, food-grade white mineral oil, silicone oil, and glycerol) with low dielectric constants were measured at three field strengths (0.35, 1.5, and 3 T) and extrapolated for 7 T. The complex permittivities of the liquids were measured for frequencies from 13 to 600 MHz. Proton densities were calculated based on molecular weight, proton number, and density. The results were compared to the American College of Radiology (ACR) large MRI phantom electrolyte liquid (10 mM NiCl2 and 75 mM NaCl in water) and deionized water. The liquids were evaluated based on the NEMA standards (T1 50 ms, proton density within 20% of water, and produces minimal dielectric artifacts). The radiofrequency (RF) wavelengths were computed for each liquid at the four field strengths to determine the risk of dielectric artifacts. Results The mineral oils were the only liquids to satisfy all of the NEMA guidelines. Excluding deionized water, silicone oil had the longest T1 and T2 , and was the most expensive liquid ($200/L). Glycerol had the shortest T1 and T2 , and the highest dielectric (excluding the ACR phantom electrolyte and deionized water). All of the liquids except silicone oil met the NEMA proton density guidelines. Conclusions Food-grade white mineral oil is a good candidate for use in a phantom due to its relaxation times, low dielectric, high proton density, and low cost. Glycerol and deionized water are poor choices for phantom liquids due to their relaxation times and high dielectric constants.
"Effect of Zn content and aging temperature on the in-vitro properties of heat-treated and Ca/P ceramic-coated Mg-0.5%Ca-x%Zn alloys".

Abstract While potentially strong enough for load-bearing skeletal reconstruction applications, the corrosion (biodegradation) rate of biocompatible Mg-Zn-Ca-based alloys still presents. The present work reports on the use of heat treatment (strengthening and resorption delaying) and micro arc oxidation (MAO) coating (corrosion delaying) processes which were developed to induce desirable corrosion rates which are essential to maintaining the mechanical integrity of Mg-Zn-Ca-based alloys during the bone healing period. Three Mg-x%Zn-0.5%Ca (wt%) alloys with different levels of Zn content (1.2, 1.6 and 5 wt%) were prepared and heat-treated at different age hardening temperatures (100, 150, 200 and 250 °C). In order to further decrease the corrosion rate and improve the bioactivity, samples of the heat-treated Alloy I (Mg-1.2wt%Zn-0.5wt%Ca) at the optimized age-hardening conditions were successfully coated with a biocompatible composite coating without and with HA/β-TCP nanoparticles by using an MAO process. The microstructure, morphology and the composition of the heat-treated and coated materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Hardness and compression tests were conducted, while a corrosion investigation of heat-treated and coated samples was performed using potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and a mechanical integrity immersion test. The results confirmed that Zn content and age hardening temperature have significant effects on the mechanical and corrosion properties of heat-treated Mg-Zn-Ca-based alloys. Alloy I, which has 1.2 wt% Zn content and was aged at 200 °C, showed the best combination of corrosion (slowest) and mechanical (highest) properties. The MAO (HA/β-TCP) composite coating significantly improved corrosion resistance compared to the uncoated heat-treated alloy, with only 11.3% reduction in the compressive strength after 8 weeks of immersion.
A study of trends in OT research over 10 years (2007–2016)

Date Presented 04/05/19 The abstracts of articles published between 2007 and 2016 in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy were analyzed. The most common theme in these articles was behavior-based interventions in children, which showed a significant increase in the latter half of the study period. Considering that 13–20% of American children experience mental disorders, this represents a significant step toward enhancing the individual coping skills of children and transitioning them into a productive adult life. Primary Author and Speaker: Allyson St. Pierre
A Rare Case of Autoimmune Demyelinating Polyneuropathy and Hydrocephalus Secondary to Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the programmed cell death 1 protein (PD-1) receptor and blocks the inhibitory checkpoint interaction between PD-1 and its ligands. This...
Special issue editorial: Disrupting norms in teacher preparation programs: Navigating challenges and sharing successes

In compiling this special issue, we sought to not just share what is being done, but also showcase who is doing the work in teacher preparation. The process of editing this special issue was one of both learning and unlearning, and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to dig deeper into what it means to truly disrupt. We thank each of the authors for their willingness to be vulnerable and participate in making this special issue what it is. We are hopeful that the varied perspectives and approaches represented in the articles included here serve as both an inspiration and model for meaningful change. Finally, we offer this special issue as a call to action for educators across the entirety of the educational system. In a time of uncertainty and unrest, we have the opportunity and responsibility to do differently and do better.
Research Note: Application of an Escherichia coli spray challenge model for neonatal broiler chickens.

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) is an opportunistic pathogen often introduced to neonatal chicks during the hatching process. This commensal bacterium, particularly as a pioneer colonizer of the gastrointestinal tract, can have substantial implications in the rearing of poultry because of reduced flock performance. In order to mimic the effects of the natural bacterial bloom present during the hatch, a seeder challenge model was developed to expose neonatal chicks to virulent E. coli. On day 20 of embryogenesis, selected early hatched chicks (n = 18/hatcher) were briefly removed and sprayed challenged with saline (vehicle) or E. coli at 1 × 107 colony-forming unit (CFU)/chick (exp 1) and 2.5 × 107 CFU/chick (exp 2). These challenged chicks were returned to the hatcher to serve as seeders to transmit the pathogen to the indirect challenged or contact chicks (n = 195/hatcher). For two 7-d experiments, the efficacy of transmission was evaluated via enteric bacterial recovery, body weight gain (BWG), and mortality. For exp 1 and exp 2, significantly (P < 0.0001) more gram-negative bacteria were recovered from the seeder and contact gastrointestinal samples than the negative control samples on day of hatch. In addition, there was a reduction (P < 0.05) in 7-d BWG and significantly (P < 0.0001) higher mortality in the contact-challenged chicks than the negative control chicks in both exp 1 and exp 2. These data suggest that this challenge model could be used to evaluate different methods of controlling the bacterial bloom that occurs in the hatching environment.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of radiotherapy techniques for whole breast irradiation

Background The current standard of care (SOC) for whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT) in the US is conventional tangential photon fields. Advanced WBRT techniques may provide similar tumor control and better normal tissue sparing, but it is controversial whether the medical benefits of an advanced technology are significant enough to justify its higher cost. Objective To analyze the cost-effectiveness of six advanced WBRT techniques compared with SOC. Methods We developed a Markov model to simulate health states for one cohort of women (65-year-old) with early-stage breast cancer over 15 years after WBRT. The cost effectiveness analyses of field-in-field (FIF), hybrid intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), full IMRT, standard volumetric modulated arc therapy (STD-VMAT), multiple arc VMAT (MA-VMAT), non-coplanar VMAT (NC-VMAT) compared with SOC were performed with both tumor control and radiogenic side effects considered. Transition probabilities and utilities for each health state were obtained from literature. Costs incurred by payers were adopted from literature and Medicare data. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were calculated. One-way sensitivity analyses and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were performed to evaluate the impact of uncertainties on the final results. Results FIF has the lowest ICER value of 1,511 $/QALY. The one-way analyses show that the cost-effectiveness of advanced WBRT techniques is most sensitive to the probability of developing contralateral breast cancer. PSAs show that SOC is more cost effective than almost all advanced WBRT techniques at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of 50,000 $/QALY, while FIF, hybrid IMRT and MA-VMAT are more cost-effective than SOC with a probability of 59.2%, 72.3% and 72.6% at a WTP threshold of 100,000 $/QALY, respectively. Conclusions FIF might be the most cost-effective option for WBRT patients at a WTP threshold of 50,000 $/QALY, while hybrid IMRT and MA-VMAT might be the most cost-effective options at a WTP threshold of 100,000 $/QALY.
Thirst and drinking in North American watersnakes ( Nerodia spp.).

We quantified drinking behavior in three species of North American watersnakes: Nerodia clarkii, which is a marine or brackish water amphibious species, and Nerodiafasciata and Nerodiataxispilota, both freshwater amphibious species. All three species have relatively small and similar thresholds of dehydration (TH, approximately -4% loss of body mass) that elicit thirst and drinking of fresh water. These species have higher thirst sensitivity than several species of hydrophiine and laticaudine sea snakes, which are characterized by much lower TH (greater dehydration, -9% to <-20%). Nerodia clarkii, which is often found in coastal oceanic water, refused to drink seawater, but drank fresh water when dehydrated. In separate trials involving dehydration of N. clarkii and N. fasciata that were concurrently fed fish at regular intervals, snakes eventually refused to eat at TH of approximately -12% of original body mass, but resumed eating after they were allowed to drink fresh water and rehydrate. The drinking behaviors of Nerodia corroborate previous data on the importance of fresh water for drinking, and they complement growing evidence that dietary water does not itself mitigate dehydration in snakes. These new data increase understanding of water relationships in the context of evolutionary transitions from land to sea, and they emphasize the importance of fresh water resources in the conservation of coastal and marine species of reptiles.
Die Beziehung der idiopathischen Organsklerosen zu den Kollagenkrankheiten dargestellt an den Lungenfibrosen

Bei den sog. Kollagenkrankheiten ist das Auftreten von Lungenfibrosen bekannt, besonders bei der diffusen, progressiven Sklerodermie. Bei den mehr akut verlaufenden Kollagenkrankheiten kennen wir ebenfalls Lungenveranderungen, die sich zur Fibrose entwickeln konnen. Pathologisch-anatomisch liegen den Lungenfibrosen vor allem Veranderungen am Interstitium und den Gefasen zugrunde. Pulmonale Hypertonien infolge Erkrankung der A. pulmonalis kommen bei der Dermatomyositis, dem Erythematodes visceralis, der Periarteriitis nodosa und dem Morbus Raynaud vor. Der zeitliche Ablauf der einzelnen — auch isoliert auftretenden — Organmanifestationen bei den Kollagenkrankheiten ist recht unterschiedlich. So ist bei der diffusen, progressiven Sklerodermie nicht immer die Haut zuerst erkrankt. Eine Lungen- oder Myokardfibrose kann vor den sklerodermatischen Erscheinungen auftreten. Wenn nun etwa ein Patient an den Folgen einer isolierten sog. essentiellen Lungenfibrose stirbt, ehe eine Sklerodermie auftritt? Dann wird die Zugehorigkeit dieser Lungenfibrose zu der diffusen progressiven Sklerose nicht erkennbar sein, obwohl ein entsprechender Prozes pathologisch-anatomisch ablauft. Ebenso hat man festgestellt, das eine sog. essentielle antikorperbedingte hamolytische Anamie oder eine essentielle Thrombocytopenie die erste Manifestation eines Erythematodes visceralis sein kann.
Pixel-Level Data Analysis Methods for Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Chromatography

Abstract Chemometric analysis of comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography data has emerged as a powerful approach to glean useful analytical information in a wide variety of applications. Commonly applied instrumental platforms are based on either gas or liquid chromatography (e.g., GC × GC or LC × LC). When coupled with multichannel detection, such as time-of-fight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS) or multiwavelength absorbance (LC × LC-DAD), higher order data is produced, making the implementation of chemometrics more powerful and more urgent. We focus on chemometric analysis of pixel-level data, because this provides the most creative opportunities to successfully address current and emerging analytical challenges. The following organization is used: essential data preprocessing steps, deconvolution methods to address chromatographic overlap, and fingerprinting and pattern recognition methods that couple to experimental design considerations.
Simultaneous fine-needle aspiration and core-needle biopsy of thyroid nodules.

To evaluate the efficacy of simultaneous fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and core-needle (CN) biopsies of thyroid nodules, the clinical course and operative findings in 100 patients having both tests were reviewed. Each patient had a diagnosis made with this approach. Both specimens were adequate for diagnosis in 95 patients. In the remaining 5 patients, a diagnosis was provided by FNA in four and CN biopsy in one. FNA and CN biopsies gave the same diagnosis of either a benign nodule in 53 patients or neoplasia in 30 patients. When both FNA and CN biopsies showed a benign nodule, a nonoperative approach was taken in 43 of the 53 patients. Forty-two patients were operated on either because of biopsy findings (32) or clinical indications (10). The surgical specimens were used to determine the false positive and false negative rates, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of neoplasia. The false (+) and false (-) rates in diagnosing neoplasia were 33 per cent and 7 per cent for FNA, 20 per cent and 4 per cent for CN biopsy, and 20 per cent and 0 per cent for both. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for FNA were 93 per cent, 67 per cent, and 83 per cent, for CN biopsy 96 per cent, 80 per cent, and 90 per cent, and 100 per cent, 80 per cent, and 93 per cent for both FNA and CN. All neoplasms were detected, and no thyroid carcinomas were missed by this combination. There was only one complication : bleeding after a CN biopsy. Combined FNA and CN biopsies allow most patients with thyroid nodules to avoid an unnecessary operation and accurately diagnose those with thyroid carcinoma. These two procedures are safe and complementary.
Failing left ventricle to ascending aorta conduit—Hybrid implantation of a melody valve and NuMed covered stent

We present the case of a 36-year-old woman with increasing shortness of breath, a new 3/4 diastolic murmur, and a complex history of LV outflow tract obstruction. She has undergone multiple surgeries including the replacement of her old LV apex to ascending aorta conduit with a 20-mm Gore-Tex tube graft, addition of a 24-mm homograft sutured between the conduit and the LV apex, and insertion of a 21-mm Freestyle porcine valve conduit between the Gore-Tex tube graft and allograft at age 23. The current assessment showed a failing Freestyle conduit prosthesis leading to left heart decompensation. Due to substantial surgical risk, the patient underwent successful implantation of a Melody valve into the Gore-Tex tube and exclusion of the failing Freestyle bioprosthesis with a NuMed CP stent in a hybrid procedure. The case nicely illustrates the collaborative potential of cardiovascular surgeons and interventional cardiologists in the new arena of a hybrid operating room. Complex hybrid procedures like the current one, especially those including percutaneous placements of valves, offer therapeutic options for patients that are otherwise too high risk for conventional open heart surgery.
Drugs of Addiction in the Domestic, Occupational and Sports Environment

A pattern and frequency of the inappropriate use of certain drugs eventually culminates in their classification as drugs of abuse or addiction. The classes of drugs of addiction include stimulants, central nervous system (CNS) depressants and sedatives, opiates, hallucinogens and inhalants. Amphetamines, methamphetamines, MDMA and cocaine are some of the drugs well recognized for their stimulating effects. Alcohol continues to be the main drug of abuse among CNS depressant drugs, and several licit drugs among the benzodiazepines, barbiturates and sedative hypnotics, obtained by overprescription are also found among the CNS drugs of abuse. Among the opiates, traditional drugs, such as morphine and heroin, are still popular among drug users. However, the ease of acquisition due to trafficking and overprescription of hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone and propoxyphene has given popularity to these drugs among the opiates. Of all drugs considered, marijuana is probably a close second to alcohol in frequency and popularity among drug abusers. Inhalants are popular amongst youths, but are also abused by adults and homosexuals for their potential to enhance sexual enjoyment. The use of these drugs varies from location to location. While use of some of the drugs cuts across both occupational and socioeconomic groups, others are used predominantly within certain occupational groups. The driving force behind any future classification of a drug as a drug of addiction will be determined, not so much by its intended use, but by the drug user. Additionally, the availability of a drug and its regulation, or absence of regulation, will likely contribute to its abuse potential. The longer it takes for the recognition of the abuse potential of a drug, the greater the probability that the drug will acquire a classification as an abused drug. What follows the identification and classification of a drug as being a drug of addiction is a swath of adverse effects due to abuse, and which cut across the social, economic and political profile of society at a staggering cost, measurable eventually in terms of the level and extent of human suffering. Keywords: barbiturates; benzodiazepines; CNS depressants; drugs of addiction; hallucinogens; inhalants; opiates; stimulants; occupational; domestic; sports environment
Are the Supersymmetric Higgs Particles Pseudo-Goldstone Bosons?

A promising solution to the doublet-triplet splitting problem of SUSY GUT's is the Higgs as pseudo-Goldstone boson mechanism. We present two models which naturally implement this idea and extend one of them to include fermion masses. We examine the phenomenological consequences of this mechanism and present the favored parameter region.
Der Vitaminbedarf der Pflanzen und Tiere

Im historischen Teil haben wir bereits gesehen, das der tierische Organismus bei einem kunstlich zusammengesetzten Nahrungsgemisch auf die Dauer nicht existieren kann. Da systematische Untersuchungen uber den Vitaminbedarf aller Pflanzen- und Tierklassen noch nicht vorliegen, last sich nicht mit aller Sicherheit behaupten, das diesem Satz eine unbegrenzte Bedeutung zukommt. Die bisher schon festgestellte Notwendigkeit der Vitamine fur das Leben gewisser Tiere und sogar Pflanzen, von Organismen, die genetiseh voneinander weit entfernt sind, macht es wahrscheinlich, das diese Substanzen fur das Leben von allgemeiner Bedeutung sind.