cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flow-Dependent Remodeling in the Carotid Artery of Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 Knockout Mice

Objective — Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) has been implicated as a mediator in the structural remodeling of arteries. Chronic changes in blood flow are known to cause reorganization of the vessel wall, resulting in permanent changes in artery size (flow-dependent remodeling). Using FGF2 knockout ( Fgf2 −/− ) mice, we tested the hypothesis that FGF2 is required during flow-dependent remodeling of the carotid arteries. Methods and Results — All branches originating from the left common carotid artery (LCCA), except for the left thyroid artery, were ligated to reduce flow in the LCCA and increase flow in the contralateral right common carotid artery (RCCA). Age- and sex-matched control animals did not undergo ligation of the LCCA branches. Morphometric analysis showed that by day 7, vessel diameter was significantly greater in the high-flow RCCA of FGF2 wild-type ( Fgf2 +/+ ) and Fgf2 −/− mice versus the respective control RCCA, demonstrating outward remodeling. In contrast, vessel diameter was decreased by day 7 in the low-flow LCCA of both genotypes compared with the control LCCA, showing inward remodeling. No differences were observed between Fgf2 +/+ and Fgf2 −/− mice in either high-flow or low-flow remodeling. Conclusions — Given these results, we demonstrate that FGF2 is not essential for flow-dependent remodeling of the carotid arteries.
Pediatric Palliative Care: Current Evidence and Evidence Gaps

ospice and palliative medicine (HPM) is an emerging medical subspecialty initially recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2006. As the Institute of Medicine reported in 2014, health care delivery and the challenges of care at the end of children’s lives have evolved significantly over the past 15 years. The last decade has seen the growth of pediatric palliative care (PPC) programs at children’s hospitals and a transformation of the field. Fifty percent of children’s hospitals nationwide have a PPC program, with a peak in new program development occurring in 2008. New programs are almost immediately impactful, experience high referral volumes, and must quickly expand their workforce. Although HPM has a growing body of literature, the evidence for PPC appears to lag behind the clinical growth. Here we provide a focused and practical summary of evidence in pediatric HPM as a primer for those practicing in other subspecialties. Specifically, we review evidence by focusing on a few of the domains in HPM : (1) communication and psychosocial support; (2) pain and symptom management; (3) end-of-life care; and (4) ways to build a better health care system.We hope to strengthen understanding and partnerships between HPM and non-HPM clinicians and investigators and thereby improve patient care for children with serious illnesses.
Adaptive and energy efficient wavelet image compression for mobile multimedia data services

To enable wireless Internet and other data services using mobile appliances, there is a critical need to support content-rich cellular data communication, including voice, text, image and video. However, mobile communication of multimedia content has several bottlenecks, including limited bandwidth of cellular networks, channel noise, and battery constraints of the appliances. We address the energy and bandwidth bottlenecks of image data communication. We present an energy efficient, adaptive data codec for still images that can significantly minimize the energy required for wireless image communication, while meeting bandwidth constraints of the wireless network, the image quality, and latency constraints of the wireless service. Based on wavelet image compression, we propose an energy efficient wavelet image transform algorithm (EEWITA) for lossy compression of still images, enabling significant reductions in computation as well as communication energy needed, with minimal degradation an image quality. Additionally, we identify, wavelet image compression parameters that can be used to effect trade-offs between the energy savings, quality of the image, and required communication bandwidth. We also present a dynamic configuration methodology that selects the optimal set of parameters to minimize energy under network, service, and appliance constraints. We demonstrate the significant energy and air time (service cost) savings possible by using the proposed energy efficient, adaptive image codec under different cellular access technologies.
Robust monocular depth perception using feature pairs and approximate motion

The authors present a novel approach to the problem of constructing a depth map from a sequence of monocular images. The approach requires knowledge only of the axial translation component of the moving camera. When the configuration of the camera is known with respect to the mobile platform, this information can be readily obtained by projecting displacement data from a wheel encoder or range sensors onto the focal axis. It is hypothesized that there is a pair of feature points which have the same depth. Based on this hypothesis, the depths are calculated for all pairs of feature points found in the image. As the robot moves, the relative location of two points changes in a specific and predictable manner on the image plane if they are actually at the same depth. The motion of each pair of points is observed, and if it is consistent with the predicted behavior, the hypothesis is accepted. Accepted pairs create a graph structure which contains depth relations among the feature points. The algorithm is robust against rotational and translational motion noises, and its performance has been experimentally demonstrated. >
Editorial: Urinary Incontinence

The preceding 2 articles in this issue of the Journal illustrate the wide variety of incontinence treatments, from noninvasive methods to major surgery. Stein et a1 (page 641) studied patients from a general urological practice with either stress, urge or mixed incontinence. The treatment was pelvic floor muscle exercise augmented with electrical stimulation and biofeedback. For the stress incontinent and urge incontinent groups, approximately 40% of the patients were cured or improved. Interestingly, a small group of patients with neurological conditions (multiple sclerosis and spinal stenosis) also had a 40% rate of cure or improvement. Since all patients received the same treatment combination, this study did not address the issue of whether electrical stimulation and/or biofeedback is more effective than pelvic floor exercise alone. For genuine stress incontinence, other studies showed no additional benefit from electrical stimulation.'.2 Similar comparative studies of electrical stimulation for urge incontinence have not been reported. Biofeedback, however, should be a useful addition to pelvic floor exercise because feedback is an essential component to learning new motor skills. When pelvic floor exercises with and without biofeedback were compared, the biofeedback group had better results in some ~tudies~.~ but not others5s6 (However, Burns et a1 noted that their study lacked statistical power to detect different success rates between the biofeedback and exercise groups.5) Stein et al also noted that biofeedback is time-consuming, and requires a highly trained and motivated nurse as well as moderately expensive equipment. Therefore, it would be beneficial to select patients most likely to succeed. They found that their treatment outcome was not related to pretreatment bladder capacity, frequency of voiding, nocturia, detrusor instability or patient age. These results are consistent with other reports on pelvic floor exercise, in which these variables were found not to affect
Mechanisms by Which Interferon Potentiates Chemotherapy

IFNs potentiate the activity of multiple chemotherapy drugs in vitro; improved activity has been noted with 5-FU and IFN-alpha against colon carcinoma and with IFN-alpha and DTIC against melanoma. The mechanisms whereby interferon potentiates the activity of chemotherapeutic drugs are complex, and different mechanisms may be operative with different drugs and against different tumors. Both indirect immunoaugmentative effects of interferon and direct biochemical modulation of the drugs (as documented in detail with 5-FU) may play a role; further elucidation of these mechanisms will enable us to optimally utilize the combination of interferon and antineoplastic agents.
The Multi-Channel Flow-Aware Medium Access Control protocol for wireless sensor networks

We introduce the multi-channel flow-aware medium access control protocol, or (MFLAMA), an energy-efficient, schedule-based, multi-channel medium-access control (MAC) protocol designed for data gathering applications in wireless sensor networks. MFLAMA improves the channel utilization by establishing collision-free transmission schedules across multiple channels. Energy efficiency is achieved by preventing packet collisions, idle listening, and transmissions to a node that is not ready to receive packets. We evaluate MFLAMA through extensive simulations and quantify the improvement in channel utilization through the use of multiple channels. Our results indicate that as we increase the number of orthogonal channels used for communication, there is significant improvement in channel utilization and queueing delay. However, we notice a ldquodiminishing returnsrdquo effect as we increase the number of channels, i.e., the performance improvements observed decrease with the number of channels beyond a certain threshold. This threshold depends on the topology and traffic flow patterns being used.
Effects of metal-ligand charge transfer on the mass spectra of bis(N,N-diethyldithiocarbamato) complexes. An application of the shannon-swan rule

Abstract The mass spectra fragmentation patterns of bis(N,N,-diethyldithiocarbamato) copper(II) and zinc(II) follow the Shannon-Swan rule, apparently because of the ability of copper(II). It is also observed that the short out-of-plane bonds between the two halves of the zinc dimer are strong enough for ions containing two zinc atoms to be observed under the severe experimental conditions employed, while the out-of-plane bonds in the copper dimer are too weak for species containing two copper atoms to be observed.
A 19 year old with heavy vaginal bleeding; unlikely diagnosis of uterine carcinsarcoma

Uterine carcinosarcoma is a rare malignancy that has a high recurrence rate after treatment with very poor long term prognosis. Women are diagnosed usually over the age of 50, with most cases occurring between the sixth and seventh decade of life. We present a rare case of uterine carcinosarcoma diagnosed a nineteen year old after having a dilation and curettage for heavy vaginal bleeding. The patient went on to have a total abdominal hysterectomy with transposition of the ovaries as well as adjuvant treatment with chemotherapy.
Multi-agent control of PEBB based power electronic systems

This paper discusses the two approaches to control of multifunctional PEBB converter systems based on MAS have been presented. The proposed architectures have been mapped over the structure of the Guideline for partitioning the control of PEBB converters. The proposed partition is effective in the proposed architectures. Furthermore, the features of the MAS control system point to the need for the definition of an additional layer at the level of convert control layer.
Dynamics of macrophage cell populations during murine pulmonary tuberculosis.

The influx of macrophages into the lungs is the major component of the granulomatous response to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis . In this investigation we used flow cytometric analysis to define macrophage populations entering the airways and lung tissues of infected mice. We demonstrate that by the judicious use of cell surface markers, especially CD11b and CD11c, several cell populations can be distinguished, allowing cell sorting and morphological definition. Primary populations of CD11b − /CD11c +/high were defined as alveolar macrophages, CD11b high /CD11c +/high as dendritic cells, and CD11b +/mid /CD11c +/mid as small macrophages or monocytes, and changes in the activation phenotype of these populations were followed over the early course of the infection. In further studies, these cell populations were compared with cells harvested during the chronic stage of the disease. During the chronic stage of infection, Ag-presenting class II molecules and activation markers were poorly expressed on dendritic, small macrophage, and monocyte cell populations, which may have important implications for the breakdown of the lesions during reactivation disease. This analytical approach may facilitate the further characterization of macrophage populations entering into the lung tissues and their relative contributions to host resistance to tuberculosis infection.
Atomic Scale Analysis of InGaN Multi-Quantum Wells

InGaN multiquantum wells grown by MOCVD on GaN have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy techniques and numerical analysis of high resolution (HREM) images. One objective of this research was to correlate the atomic structure and emission mechanisms of InGAN quantum well. The studied layers contained 13% or 20% In. It was shown that GaN/InGaN interfaces are rather rough and exhibit an oscillating contrast. Structural defects were found on these interfaces. The relative c-lattice parameter variation in the well was determined using numerical processing of HREM images. The lattice spacings appear to be larger than that expected from Vegard's law suggesting the presence of a biaxial strain. Further observations also revealed a redistribution of In within the well. Instead of a continuous In-rich layer, quantum dots were often observed along the well with a regular spacing. The formation of these In-rich dots was not intended and their presence suggests either a periodic modulation of strain along the well or In-rich cluster formation.
An Interconnected Dynamical System composed of dynamics-based Reinforcement Learning agents in a distributed environment: A case study

This paper presents a case study of an Interconnected Dynamical System (IDS) composed of Intelligent Reinforcement Learning (RL) agents, and characterized by a Hybrid P2P/Master-Slave architecture. In particular, we propose and extent our previously proposed non-dynamics-based RL work to make it an IDS. Furthermore, we study how the addition of motion constrains, knowledge sharing between agents, and distributed computing affect the overall performance of the system. In addition, we introduce a new dynamics based reward mechanism for reinforcement learning agents.
Spots of Spatial Desire Skateparks, Skateplazas, and Urban Politics

This article examines the intersection of alternative sport practices and spatial regulation ideologies in urban environments through an analysis of skateboarding terrains. It forwards skateboard spaces as contradictory sites for both practicing and contesting urban governance. These urban spaces span the gamut from do-it-yourself struggles for public space to public—private partnerships and corporate brand-building theme parks. Skatespots, skateparks, and skateplazas conform locations of exhilarating desire that frame skateboarding within a landscape of social control. The article surveys the found and purpose-built sites to demonstrate the political potential of skateboarding within variations on the themes of accommodation and resistance to spatial regulation.
Developmental Benefits of Extracurricular Involvement: Do Peer Characteristics Mediate the Link Between Activities and Youth Outcomes?

In this article, we test: (a) the relation between school-based extracurricular participation and indicators of positive and negative development across a range of activity contexts, and (b) a mediation model linking activity participation, prosocial peers, and development. Extensive survey information was collected from a predominately White sample of middle class adolescents in 9th, 10th, and 12th grades. Extracurricular participation was related to more favorable academic, psychological, and behavioral adjustment; the pattern of findings differed by activity and outcome. In addition, we documented some support for the hypothesis that the link between extracurricular participation and positive adjustment is partly a function of associating with a prosocial peer group. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are presented.
Airway management for penetrating neck injuries: the Miami experience.

A true epidemic of firearm-related interpersonal violence developed in the United States from the late 1980s through the 1990s. In 1993, this country had more licensed firearm dealers than gas stations. The homicide rate increased significantly from 1985 to 1993, which was specific to firearms and largely confined to individuals aged 15–34 years. As the non-firearm homicide rate decreased, the firearm homicide rate roughly doubled from 1987 to 1993 [1]. For trauma centers, it was predicted that firearm injuries would replace motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of trauma death in the United States by the year 2004 [2]. Fortunately for American society, this prediction has not become reality. In fact, if the current trends continue, rates of firearm-related violence will soon be at their lowest point since the 1950s [3]. With what is believed better identification and enforcement of the gun laws, there has been a 60% decrease in firearm homicides in New York City alone from 1991 to 1996 [3]. Trauma specialists are confronted every day by clinical problems induced by penetrating traumatic injuries. Our experience in the United States and particularly in South Florida is somewhat different from the rest of the world. Firearms are very frequently the cause of penetrating wounds. Assault-type or hunting firearms are rarely involved in firearm related violence [3]. The semiautomatic pistol has emerged in the 1980s as the firearm of choice for criminal use. Pistols have more or less doubled the ammunition capacity of the revolvers that were used in the past. A major impact of changes in firearm design seems to be an increase in lethality of popular firearms. In one study, nearly 60% of the victims with fatal firearm injuries died where they were shot, before receiving medical care. The mean number of wounds per person injured has also increased [3]. This would explain the large yet declining number of patients suffering from penetrating trauma injuries that we treat at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. This review will focus on penetrating neck injuries, discussing the diagnostic work-up and initial resuscitation and evaluation. We will also present our approach for airway management in patients that suffer these injuries.
Finite element analysis-based design of a fluid-flow control nano-valve

A finite element method-based procedure is developed for the design of molecularly functionalized nano-size devices. The procedure is aimed at the single-walled carbon nano-tubes (SWCNTs) used in the construction of such nano-devices and utilizes spatially varying nodal forces to represent electrostatic interactions between the charged groups of the functionalizing molecules. The procedure is next applied to the design of a fluid-flow control nano-valve. The results obtained suggest that the finite element-based procedure yields the results, which are very similar to their molecular modeling counterparts for small-size nano-valves, for which both types of analyses are feasible. The procedure is finally applied to optimize the design of a larger-size nano-valve, for which the molecular modeling approach is not practical.
Field Evaluation of Ultrasonic Method for Assessing Well Seals

Field tests were conducted in three boreholes using an ultrasonic testing method to evaluate its ability to assess contact between the seal and riser (casing). The ultrasonic method is used inside the riser without disturbing the riser, seal, or formation soil. The risers were 50-mm-diameter (2-inch) Schedule 40 steel pipes that are used for ground water monitoring wells. Different types of seals were placed around the risers and defects were purposely introduced in the seals to test the ultrasonic method. The ultrasonic response changed as the neat-cement seals cured or hydration of the bentonite seals changed. When adequate moisture was not available, the bentonite seals deteriorated, losing contact with the riser. When adequate moisture was available, however, the seals swelled into contact with the riser. Both conditions were detected with the ultrasonic method. The method also detected the intentional defects, as well as defects that were not intended. The boreholes were excavated to compare results of the ultrasonic tests with the actual condition of the seals. The condition of the seals agreed well with the results of the ultrasonic tests.
Rate of convergence for shuffling cards by transpositions

Suppose we are given a graph with a label on each vertex and a rate assigned to each edge, and suppose that edges flip (that is, the labels at the two endpoints switch) randomly with the given rates. We consider two Markov processes on this graph: one whose states are the permutations of then labels, and one whose states are the positions of a single label. We show that for several classes of graphs these two processes have the same spectral gap.
Everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, in combination with docetaxel for recurrent/refractory NSCLC: A phase I study

8060 Background: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is a key cell-signaling cascade that is aberrantly activated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Everolimus (E), an mTOR inhibitor, is active as monotherapy for advanced NSCLC. Based on preclinical synergy between everolimus and docetaxel (D), we conducted a phase I and feasibility study with the combination. Methods: Patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC, progression following prior platinum-based chemotherapy and ECOG performance status (PS) of 0–2 were eligible. Sequential cohorts of patients were treated with increasing doses of D (day 1) and E (PO QD, days 1–19). Treatment cycles (C) were repeated every 3 weeks. A standard ‘up and down’ dose escalation scheme was utilized. The primary endpoint was determination of optimal dose of the two agents that can be administered in combination. Results: Twenty three patients were enrolled. Median age - 62 yrs; Females- 11; ECOG PS: 0–6; 1 -16; # of prior regimens: 1–12, 2–6, ≥3 -5. At dose level ...
Federalism and the Management of External Relations in Nigeria: Lessons from the Past and Challenges for the Future

Despite successive military regimes, state and local governments in Nigeria have been able to engage in limitedforms offoreign affairs activity, both directly abroadand indirectly through institutions of the national government. The trend since independence has been to make foreign affairs an exclusive responsibility of thefederal government. Generally, though, the military regimes have been better able than the civilian governments to limit constituent diplomacy. Under the Third Republic, therefore, state and local governments are likely to assert themselves somewhat more in foreign affairs than they have recently.
Are Social Style and Cognitive Style Related

This study explored the relationship between Merrill's Social Style (1) and Jung's Cognitive Style constructs (2). The subjects were 58 junior and middle managers, mostly men, ranging in age from 25 to 60 yr. Both construcrs provide insight on how to reduce interpersonal conflict on the job, are not judgemental, and have four basic styles. The four social styles of driving, analytical, amiable, and expressive differ along two dimensions: assertiveness and responsiveness. Assertive individuals state their opinions with assurance and force. Responsive individuals are concerned with others' feelings and with social relationships (1). The four cognitive styles of sensing-thinking (ST), sensing-feeling (SF), intuition-thinking (NT), and intuition-feeling (NF) differ along two dimensions: ways of gathering data and making judgements. Sensing types rely on facts and intuitive types rely on hunches or imagination. Thinking types rely on logic and analysis, and feeling types fanor-in values and feelings into the decision process (2). The following terms are used to describe both ST and analytical rypes: cautious, logical, precise, and decision based on details or hard data. The following terms are used to describe both SF and amiable types: sympathetic, friendly, facilitator, and personalized decision making. The following terms are used to describe both NF and expressive rypes: imaginative, friendly, future oriented, and personalized decision making. The terms used to describe NT and driving types are dissimilar. We hypothesized chat we would find a relationship among three of the four styles as measured by the two indicators. Based upon the chi squared test for independence, we found no relationship (XI= = 6.03, p > .lo). Moreover the percentage of STs who were analytical was only .20; the percentage of SFs who were amiable was only .26, and the percentage of NFs who were expressive was .O. It may be that social style differences do not translate to cognitive behaviors, even though the behavioral descriptors for both constructs are similar. However, we plan to extend this pilot study to examine the lack of a relationship between the two constructs.
Giant migrating contractions of the canine cecum

We investigated cecal motor activity and its coordination with ileal and colonic motor activities in five conscious dogs instrumented with strain-gauge transducers. Both ileum and colon exhibited the usual migrating motor complexes (MMCs) that were independent of each other. Cecum had no motor complexes, but it periodically generated giant migrating contractions (GMCs) that originated at the apex and migrated to the cecum-colonic junction at a velocity of 13 +/- 1.3 cm/min. The amplitude of cecal GMCs was 1.82 +/- 0.26 and 3.37 +/- 0.39 times larger than that of contractions during ileal and colonic motor complexes, respectively (P less than 0.05). The mean duration and period of cecal GMCs were 45 +/- 4 s and 61.4 +/- 14.2 min, respectively, in the fasted state and 49 +/- 6 s and 68.5 +/- 13.5 min in the fed state, respectively (P less than 0.05). A total of 82 cecal GMCs was recorded in 71 h of fasted recording and 94 in 121 h of fed recording. Cecal GMCs were not coordinated with colonic MMCs. Intravenous motilin, but not morphine, initiated a premature cecal GMC. We concluded that cecum has a unique motor activity that is different from that of the colon and the ileum. The strong caudad GMCs of the cecum may periodically empty cecal contents into the colon.
Resistance of Cockroach to Common Insecticides in Luohe Urban Area

[Objective]To understand the resistance of cockroach to common insecticides in Luohe urban area,guide the scientific and rational use of insecticides.[Methods]The drug-film contact method was adopted.[Results]Compare with the susceptible strain,the resistant coefficient to beta-cypermethrin,deltamethrin and propoxur of German cockroach collected from urban area was 2.73,13.45and 1.84,respectively.[Conclusion]The German cockroach in Luohe urban area was sensitive to propoxur,had produced resistance to beta-cypermethrin in a certain degree,and had already produced resistance to deltamethrin.
Twin Studies of ADHD

Genetic and environmental contributions to the inattention and impulsivity-hyperactivity associated with ADHD in 576 twin boys, aged 11 and 12 years, participants in the Minnesota Twin Family Study, were estimated by teacher ratings and maternal interviews in a report from the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Human Genetics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Microevolution of Insect–Bacterial Mutualists: A Population Genomics Perspective

The advent of high-throughput sequencing has ushered in a new era with enormous promise for study of short-timescale evolution. Insect–bacterial mutualists typically have tiny genomes allowing deep coverage for large populations. The importance of mutualists in ecological phenomena, such as invasions, leave much room for study. Nutritional mutualists of Order Hemiptera are of interest for being long coevolved with their hosts, thus degenerated in gene content, yet able to support their hosts on varying diets and during invasions. Determining the symbiont’s role and how adaptation might be achieved with a limited genetic repertoire is a challenge. One fruitful approach is highlighted in a recent population genomic study using a natural experiment: the 2009—present spread of the U.S. soybean pest Megacopta cribraria (Hemiptera: Plataspidae). This invasive species’ symbiont Ishikawaella capsulata (Gamma-proteobacteria) was previously shown to determine the pest-status of its host. Deep sequencing revealed allele frequency change since arrival that matched predictions, showing signatures of purifying and positive selection, with differences in “symbiont role” genes associated with different host plants. In the near future, this approach applied to other systems may illuminate the important role and dynamic potential of microbial symbionts in ecosystems.
The Curious Case of Fluorination of Conjugated Polymers for Solar Cells.

ConspectusOrganic solar cells (OSCs) have been a rising star in the field of renewable energy since the introduction of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) in 1992. Recent advances have pushed the efficiencies of OSCs to over 13%, an impressive accomplishment via collaborative efforts in rational materials design and synthesis, careful device engineering, and fundamental understanding of device physics. Throughout these endeavors, several design principles for the conjugated donor polymers used in such solar cells have emerged, including optimizing the conjugated backbone with judicious selection of building blocks, side-chain engineering, and substituents. Among all of the substituents, fluorine is probably the most popular one; improved device characteristics with fluorination have frequently been reported for a wide range of conjugated polymers, in particular, donor–acceptor (D–A)-type polymers. Herein we examine the effect of fluorination on the device performance of solar cells as a function of the positio...
Palliative care in decompensated cirrhosis: A review

Decompensated cirrhosis is an illness that causes tremendous suffering. The incidence of cirrhosis is increasing and rates of liver transplant, the only cure, remain stagnant. Palliative care is focused on improving quality of life for patients with serious illness by addressing advanced care planning, alleviating physical symptoms and providing emotional support to the patient and family. Palliative care is used infrequently in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. The allure of transplant as a potential treatment option for cirrhosis, misperceptions about the role of palliative care and difficulty predicting prognosis in liver disease are potential contributors to the underutilization of palliative care in this patient population. Studies have demonstrated some benefit of palliative care in patients with decompensated cirrhosis but the literature is limited to small observational studies. There is evidence that palliative care consultation in other patient populations lowers hospital costs and ICU utilization and improves symptom control and patient satisfaction. Prospective randomized control trials are needed to investigate the effects of palliative care on traditional- and patient-reported outcomes as well as cost of care in decompensated cirrhosis for transplant eligible and ineligible patient populations.
Integrated Quasi-Circulator With RF Leakage Cancellation for Full-Duplex Wireless Transceivers

An integrated reconfigurable CMOS quasi-circulator operating at 2.4 GHz is presented. A passive structure delivers transmit power amplifier (PA) output signal to the differential low-noise amplifier (LNA) input as a common-mode signal and simultaneously delivers received signal as a differential-mode signal at the LNA input. The leakage of the PA output signal at the LNA input is reduced in two steps. First, the use of a reconfigurable impedance matching circuit, instead of a fixed 50- $\Omega $ resistance reduces the leakage by compensating the antenna impedance mismatch, and improves transmitter–receiver isolation. Second, a reconfigurable summing stage adds amplitude and phase adjusted PA output signal to LNA output to cancel the residual PA output leakage. Measurement results show that the receiver achieves a reduction of 90 dB for a single tone and more than 50 dB for a QPSK modulated 40-MHz bandwidth transmit signal. The receiver gain is more than 10 dB and the noise figure in the receiver path is 4.5 dB. The reconfigurable quasi-circulator along with the receiver LNA is designed and fabricated on a 130-nm CMOS technology. The cancellation circuitry occupies 0.27 mm2 and consumes 30-mW quiescent power, while the total active area of the chip is 1 mm2, and it consumes 65-mW power.
Impact of the excise tax on firm R&D and performance in the medical device industry: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act

Abstract This article examines how the excise tax affects firms’ R&D investment, performance, and market strategy in the US medical device industry. The Affordable Care Act imposed a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices beginning in January 2013, and thus this study compares the medical device firms with other high-tech firms before and after the tax incidence. Using COMPUSTAT data from 2006 to 2015, the author finds that the excise tax reduced R&D investment, sales revenue, gross margins, and earnings for medical device firms. In addition, the excise tax increased their global market sales intensity, global market diversification, and customer diversification in the US domestic market.
Should Cities Embrace Their Heat Islands as Shields from Extreme Cold

AbstractThe higher temperature in cities relative to their rural surroundings, known as the urban heat island (UHI), is one of the most well documented and severe anthropogenic modifications of the...
Pain location and widespread pain in youth with orthopaedic conditions: Exploration of the reliability and validity of a body map

Background Pain location and widespread pain are important but underexamined dimensions of paediatric pain. Body map tools to assess pain location in youth have been used for several decades, but few studies have established reliability and validity of these measures. The purpose of this study was to explore the reliability and validity of a pain body map among youth with orthopaedic conditions before surgery. Method Youth ages 10-17 years completed the body map and other self-reported outcomes at their preoperative clinic visit and at their day of surgery. Results Most (91.7%) youth had small discrepancy between body map scores at preoperative clinic visit (baseline) and day of surgery (second assessment), and site-to-site agreement ranged from 78% to 98%. Those with back and lower extremity diagnoses had high correspondence between body map sites and diagnostic sites. Body map scores and widespread pain were associated with other dimensions of pain, as well as other patient-reported outcomes. Higher pain intensity and widespread pain predicted greater discrepancy between body map scores. Conclusions These results support the use of body map tools in further research examining widespread pain among youth by demonstrating adequate reliability, descriptive validity and associative validity. Significance These results contribute to the limited information regarding psychometric properties of paediatric pain body maps, provide novel information about widespread pain among youth undergoing orthopaedic surgeries, and pave the way for improved assessment and treatment of paediatric pain.
The Treatability of Perchlorate in Groundwater Using Ion-Exchange Technology

The study of the interaction of ion-exchange resins with the perchlorate ion is not a recent development. There are numerous reports in the ion-exchange literature of the 1950s related to the behavior of various anions and the new synthetic ion-exchange resins of that time period.1–6 The perchlorate ion was among many different anions tested for the construction of affinity sequences in an attempt to determine the basis for selectivity. From these tests is was shown that the affinity for the perchlorate ion by these early resins was very high. The nonpolar, hydrophobic matrix of these resins provided an environment that the nonpolar, hydrophobic perchlorate ion found much preferable to that of the aquatic environment.
On a Criterion of Representativeness of Sea-Surface Temperature Data1, 2

Three pairs of historical series of mean monthly sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic were analyzed, one pair from the tropical area, 15N to 20N, 60W to 65W, dominated by the North Equatorial Current; the second from the semitropical area, 30N to 35N, 55W to 60W, by the Gulf Stream; and the third pair from the polar area, 45N to 50N, 45W to 50W, off Newfoundland by the Labrador Current. The results obtained show that, by successively eliminating those values based upon few observations per month, the standard deviation, σ, tends to become relatively constant and may then serve as a criterion of the representativeness of sea surface temperature data.
Delayed Judicial Review of Agency Action

Should Congress be able to completely exempt the orders issued by a government agency from review by the courts? Some scholars argue that limiting courts’ jurisdiction in this fashion would be unconstitutional. What if, instead, Congress merely delays the point in time when a plaintiff may challenge an administrative order? In recent years, courts have interpreted many statutes to only allow delayed judicial review of orders. This can cause judicial review to be deferred for several months or even years and, as a result, this mechanism can discourage meritorious challenges of orders. Despite the unfairness of delayed judicial review for potential plaintiffs, it is a widely accepted proposition that this form of review is nonetheless necessary in many contexts. This view rests on the premise that the alternative approach, immediate judicial review, would inevitably lead to two types of problems. First, it would cause a dramatic surge in frivolous lawsuits, which, in turn, would flood courts with challenges. Second, these lawsuits would significantly delay the enforcement of many statutes. This article challenges this conventional wisdom. The arguments in support of delayed judicial review, while intuitively appealing, are not as persuasive as they seem. First, allowing immediate review would not lead to a significant increase in frivolous suits. Decisions on whether to challenge an order in court are mostly economically driven. Therefore, with limited exceptions, potential plaintiffs will tend to only bring claims that they believe they can win in court. The empirical evidence on statutes that have transitioned from a delayed to an immediate review approach shows that the increase in the number of challenges resulting from that change is minimal. Second, it is unclear that immediate judicial review would substantially delay enforcement. Orders retain their legal effect after being challenged. In fact, while the court is examining the merits of the case, copious daily penalties for violating the order keep accumulating. Therefore, plaintiffs still have a powerful incentive to comply with the order swiftly. In addition to addressing these misconceptions, this article also fills a gap in the literature by providing an analytical framework to evaluate the constitutionality of delayed review provisions under the doctrine of constitutionally intolerable choices.
Production of English stop voicing distinction in familiar and unfamiliar positions by Spanish speakers

The voicing distinction in English stop consonants involves distinct acoustic correlates depending on the position of the consonant. For Spanish speakers, prevocalic voicing distinction is in a familiar position whereas postvocalic voicing is in an unfamiliar position. In this study we examined whether Spanish speakers could use voice onset time and vowel duration to produce the voicing distinction in these two positions. Acoustic analysis showed Spanish speakers were able to produce the voicing distinction in both positions, although the magnitude of between-category difference is smaller compared to those produced by native English speakers. Production of the VOT distinction for prevocalic stops improved significantly following a brief tutorial on the acoustics of stop consonants, but the vowel duration difference for postvocalic stops did not show comparable change. These results suggest implementation of a phonological contrast in an unfamiliar position is constrained by native language characteristics. [Work supported by Ohio University College of Health Sciences and Professions Student Research Grant.]The voicing distinction in English stop consonants involves distinct acoustic correlates depending on the position of the consonant. For Spanish speakers, prevocalic voicing distinction is in a familiar position whereas postvocalic voicing is in an unfamiliar position. In this study we examined whether Spanish speakers could use voice onset time and vowel duration to produce the voicing distinction in these two positions. Acoustic analysis showed Spanish speakers were able to produce the voicing distinction in both positions, although the magnitude of between-category difference is smaller compared to those produced by native English speakers. Production of the VOT distinction for prevocalic stops improved significantly following a brief tutorial on the acoustics of stop consonants, but the vowel duration difference for postvocalic stops did not show comparable change. These results suggest implementation of a phonological contrast in an unfamiliar position is constrained by native language characteristic...
Invitations as request-for-service mitigators in academic discourse

Abstract This study explores the use of invitations as requests for service. The data consist of 246 authentic emailed requests and invitations addressed to faculty members from editors and other institutional entities to solicit reviews of manuscripts, abstracts, and promotion dossiers. These are contrasted with academic invitations to participate in symposia, give talks, contribute chapters, or visit campuses. Four types of evidence, the naming of speech acts, the format of the head acts, the use of components that appear exclusively in requests, and the benefactive status argue that service invitations, in spite of their outward benefactive status, are in fact requests, and that the invitation format is a request-for-service mitigator. For the recipient, the use of invitations enhances the perlocutionary effect (invitations are face boosting) and appears to allow greater freedom of response; for the initiator, the use of invitations in request-for-service contexts allows the sending of reminders to respond (a social expectation for invitations) and permits the withdrawal of the invitation (or disinvitation) in case of non-response.
Dexamethasone downregulates expression of several genes encoding orphan nuclear receptors that are important to steroidogenesis in stallion testes.

Glucocorticoids impair testosterone synthesis by an unknown mechanism. Stallions treated with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone had testes collected at 6 or 12 hours postinjection. The testicular expression of selected genes encoding nuclear receptors and steroidogenic enzymes was measured. At 6 hours, dexamethasone treatment decreased levels of NR0B2, NR4A1, NR5A1, and NR5A2 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and NR5A2 mRNA levels remained depressed at 12 hours. In contrast, dexamethasone increased levels of NFKBIA mRNA at both time points. At 6 hours, dexamethasone did not alter levels of NR0B1, NR2F1, NR2F2, NR3C1, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, CYP19A1, DHCR24, GSTA3, HSD3B2, HSD17B3, LHCGR, or STAR mRNAs. In primary cultures of Leydig cells, 10 -9 and 10 -7 M dexamethasone decreased levels of NR4A1 and NR5A1 mRNAs and increased those of NFKBIA mRNA. Our discovery that dexamethasone downregulates NR4A1, NR5A1, and NR5A2 genes, known to be important for testicular functions, may be part of the mechanism by which glucocorticoids acutely decreases testosterone.
Label Free Imaging of Cortical Blood Vessels Using Third Harmonic Generation (THG) Microscopy

We measured flow speeds from cortical brain arterioles, venules, and capillaries in mice using third harmonic generation from red blood cells up to 1 mm deep and determined the effect of dextran on blood flow.
Soil bacterial populations are shaped by recombination and gene-specific selection across a meadow

Abstract Soil microbial diversity is often studied from the perspective of community composition, but less is known about genetic heterogeneity within species and how population structures are affected by dispersal, recombination, and selection. Genomic inferences about population structure can be made using the millions of sequencing reads that are assembled de novo into consensus genomes from metagenomes, as each read pair describes a short genomic sequence from a cell in the population. Here we track genome-wide population genetic variation for 19 highly abundant bacterial species sampled from across a grassland meadow. Genomic nucleotide identity of assembled genomes was significantly associated with local geography for half of the populations studied, and for a majority of populations within-sample nucleotide diversity could often be as high as meadow-wide nucleotide diversity. Genes involved in specialized metabolite biosynthesis and extracellular transport were characterized by elevated genetic diversity in multiple species. Microbial populations displayed varying degrees of homologous recombination and recombinant variants were often detected at 7-36% of loci genome-wide. Within multiple populations we identified genes with unusually high site-specific differentiation of alleles, fewer recombinant events, and lower nucleotide diversity, suggesting recent selective sweeps for gene variants. Taken together, these results indicate that recombination and gene-specific selection commonly shape local soil bacterial genetic variation.
Big Fish in Small Ponds: Human Capital Migration and the Rise of Boutique Banks

We study the comparative advantage of focused and multidivisional organizational forms at attracting valuable human capital. Using the M&A advisory industry as a laboratory, we show that high-performing individuals are more likely to migrate to boutique (focused) banks, particularly when facing cross-subsidization inside bulge bracket (multidivisional) banks, proxied by poor performance of their non-M&A departments. Such skilled labor migration improves the performance of boutique banks, potentially contributing to the rise of boutiques over the past two decades. Moreover, M&A deal outcomes differ when having boutique advisors. Our findings suggest corporate organizational structure and labor migration can jointly shape industry dynamics.