cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bioengineering of liver assist devices

Over 30 000 patients die annually in the United States from liver failure. In fulminant hepatic failure, a clinical syndrome associated with high mortality, orthotopic liver transplantation is the primary therapeutic option for patients not responding to supportive therapy. However, the persistent scarcity of donor organs has limited this therapeutic modality, resulting in a continued increase in the number of patients who die waiting for a donor liver. An extracorporeal bioartificial liver device could provide vital support to a liver failure patient until a donor liver was available or until the patient's own liver regenerated. Although it is unclear which liver-specific functions must be provided by such a device to be effective, a constant challenge has been to obtain stable, well-differentiated, and normally functioning hepatocytes that can be cultured at high cell densities. Many of the devices currently undergoing clinical trials are limited by designs which are prone to substrate limitations, resulting in compromised hepatocyte function. In devices that avoid substrate limitations, hepatocyte functions can be optimized, thereby leading to increased device efficiency. In this overview, the authors describe the critical issues involved in bioartificial liver development and discuss their experiences in hepatocyte culture optimization within the context of a microchannel, flat-plate bioartificial liver device with an internal membrane oxygenator.
Impression Development in Computer-Mediated Interaction.

This study reports an experiment of the effects of time and communication channel— asynchronous computer conferencing versus face‐to‐face meetings—on the development of interpersonal impressions. Prior research on interpersonal aspects of computer‐mediated communication suggests that the absence of nonverbal cues inhibits interactants’ ability to form impressions of each other and that without these cues communication is generally depersonalized. Past research is criticized for failing to incorporate social cognitive, temporal, and linguistic perspectives on communication via computer technology. A social information processing perspective suggests different rates and patterns of impression development using alternative media. In this experiment, computer conferencing and face‐to‐face groups addressed three tasks over several weeks. Results showed that computer‐mediated groups gradually increased in impression development to a level approaching that of face‐to‐face groups. New perspectives on social cogni...
Selective expression of the chicken platelet-derived growth factor α (PDGFα) receptor during limb bud development

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) affects proliferation and differentiation of chicken limb bud mesoderm in vitro. However, no PDGF receptor has been characterized in the chicken wing bud in vivo. In this study, we used reverse transcription PCR (rtPCR), Northern blot analysis, and Western blot analysis to identify a molecule, in the developing wing bud, which represents the chicken homolog of the PDGF alpha receptor. The chicken PDGF alpha receptor mRNA was present in both mesoderm and ectoderm and all stages of the developing limb bud examined. Cultured limb bud mesoderm also expressed the PDGF alpha receptor transcript. In addition, the PDGF alpha receptor protein was present in whole limb buds and cultured limb bud mesoderm. Expression of the PDGF alpha receptor in cultured mesoderm was independent of the presence of ectoderm cells. The relative sizes of both the mRNA and protein for the PDGF alpha receptor in the chicken limb bud were similar to mammalian counterparts. Using similar approaches, neither the mRNA nor protein representing the chicken homolog of the PDGF beta receptor was detected. These data demonstrate for the first time that a PDGF alpha receptor is present in the embryonic chicken limb bud and may help regulate growth and differentiation of the embryonic limb.
A procedure for detecting lateral variations of P-wave attenuation in the lower mantle

Abstract P-wave attenuation anomalies in the lower mantle can be delineated by assuming that body-wave magnitude residuals, derived from teleseismic data, are due to structure near the mid-points of the rays. Many rays traversing a given region are used to minimise random errors in the data, after correction for source and receiver effects. Published data for North Atlantic ray paths are used to outline significant anomalies with scale lengths of the order of 500 km, giving magnitude residuals up to 0.1 mb unit. To achieve the observed residuals, the mean value of Q for short-period P-waves probably does not greatly exceed 1000 in the lower mantle under the North Atlantic.
Simple technique for anvil insertion in stapled circular colorectal anastomoses

The benefits of circular stapling devices are obvious. The introduction of staplers with detachable anvils has simplified the stapling procedure even more than the original instruments. A simple technique for placing the anvil and pursestring are described.
Vehicle tracking with multi-temporal hyperspectral imagery

Hyperspectral imagery has the capability of capturing spectral features of interest that can be used to differentiate among similar materials. While hyperspectral imaging has been demonstrated to provide data that enable classification of relatively broad categories, there remain open questions as to how fine of discrimination is possible. An application of this fine discrimination question is the potential that spectral features exist in the surface reflectance of ordinary civilian vehicles that would enable tracking of a particular vehicle across repeated hyperspectral images in a cluttered urban area. To begin to explore this question a vehicle tracking experiment was conducted in the summer of 2005 on the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) campus in Rochester, New York. Several volunteer vehicles were moved around campus at specific times coordinated with over flights of RIT's airborne Modular Imaging Spectrometer Instrument (MISI). MISI collected sequential images of the campus in 70 spectral channels from 0.4 to 1.0 microns with a ground resolution of approximately 2.5 meters. Ground truth spectra and photographs were collected for the vehicles. These data are being analyzed to determine the ability to uniquely associate a vehicle in one image with its location in a subsequent image. Initial results have demonstrated that the spectral measurement of a specific vehicle can be used to find the same vehicle in a subsequent image, although this is not always possible and is very dependent upon the specifics of the situation. Additionally, efforts are presented that explore predicted performance for variations in scene and sensor parameters through an analytical performance prediction model.
Bounding the entanglement of N qubits with only four measurements

We introduce a new measure for the genuinely N-partite (all-party) entanglement of N-qubit states using the trace distance metric, and find an algebraic formula for the GHZ-diagonal states. We then use this formula to show how the all-party entanglement of experimentally produced GHZ states of an arbitrary number of qubits may be bounded with only four measurements.
A CRITIQUE OF INTERPRETIVISM AND ITS CLAIMED INFLUENCE UPON JUDICIAL DECISION MAKING

Interpretivism is a theory of judicial decision making that holds that modern constitutional adjudication should be grounded upon the values originally incorporated in the Constitution by its drafters. Interpretivists have claimed that the employment of their decision rule promotes judicial neutrality and restrains the Court from engaging in constitutional policymaking. This study empirically examines the interpretivists' approach in an area of law that is very conducive to the achievement of the interpretivists' objectives. Although a single study cannot prove or disprove major tenets of the interpretivist argument, this study's findings nevertheless question whether the claims of the interpretivists are realizable in the modern judicial process.
Unsteady state mass transfer from gas bubbles—liquid phase resistance

Liquid phase mass transfer coefficients were determined for streams of bubbles of pure oxygen, 10% carbon dioxide in air, and 10% chlorine in air all rising in water. The results were compared with coefficients predicted by Higbie's equation for unsteady state diffusion into transient films. The observed coefficients for oxygen and carbon dioxide were slightly higher than predicted. The experimental absorption coefficients based on the free chlorine concentrations were in good agreement with the predictions assuming simultaneous irreversible reaction with the transient water film and a pseudo first-order reaction rate constant of 13.7 sec.−1.
Angiotensin II–Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy and Hypertension Are Attenuated by Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Antisense

Background— Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a vasoconstrictor but also a growth factor. However, the Ang II type 1 receptor does not have a tyrosine kinase domain that mediates the cellular signals for mitosis. We have shown that Ang II acts via “trans”-activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to induce activation of tyrosine kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). To examine whether EGFR is involved in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), we inhibited EGFR with a specific antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to attenuate the Ang II–induced cardiovascular hypertrophic effects. Methods and Results— The antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to EGFR (EGFR-AS) was designed and tested on Ang II–induced ERK activation in cultured VSMCs. We also investigated the effects of EGFR-AS on LVH and blood pressure (BP) in Ang II–infused hypertensive rats. In VSMCs, EGFR-AS (2.5 μmol/L) reduced EGFR expression and in...
Hypothermia to Identify Therapeutic Targets for Stroke Treatment

Hypothermia has emerged as a viable neuroprotectant at the clinical level. The reasons for its protective effect are likely due to its ability to affect multiple facets of ischemic brain injury. While at times difficult to implement in humans due to various comorbidities, hypothermia can also be viewed as a tool by which neuroprotective targets may be identified. In this review, we discuss optimal conditions for therapeutic hypothermia, as evidenced by laboratory studies, as well as many of the effects of cooling on several cell death and cell survival pathways. The collective scientific literature indicates that temperature need only be decreased by a few degrees in order to confer protection, but early cooling and cooling of somewhat long duration (12–24 h) seem to be the more critical factors that determine success. Hypothermia seems to halt many damaging processes that lead to brain tissue injury, while upregulating factors that aid in its recovery. However, it should be noted that not all forms of brain injury benefit from therapeutic cooling. While global and focal cerebral ischemia appears to benefit from hypothermia, it is less clear whether brain hemorrhage responds in the same way. Thus, the laboratory literature also emphasizes the importance of careful preclinical studies prior to applying such concepts to humans.
Quadratic-Time Dependency Parsing for Machine Translation

Efficiency is a prime concern in syntactic MT decoding, yet significant developments in statistical parsing with respect to asymptotic efficiency haven't yet been explored in MT. Recently, McDonald et al. (2005b) formalized dependency parsing as a maximum spanning tree (MST) problem, which can be solved in quadratic time relative to the length of the sentence. They show that MST parsing is almost as accurate as cubic-time dependency parsing in the case of English, and that it is more accurate with free word order languages. This paper applies MST parsing to MT, and describes how it can be integrated into a phrase-based decoder to compute dependency language model scores. Our results show that augmenting a state-of-the-art phrase-based system with this dependency language model leads to significant improvements in TER (0.92%) and BLEU (0.45%) scores on five NIST Chinese-English evaluation test sets.
Conundrums of a complex vector for invasive species control: a detailed examination of the horticultural industry

Historically the horticultural industry has transformed the US landscape through intentional cultivar introductions and unintentional introductions of weeds, insects and plant diseases. While it has been demonstrated that the horticultural industry, in particular the ornamental subsector, is an important vector for the introduction and dispersal of invasive species, known invasive plants continue to be sold while new cultivars are introduced at an ever increasing rate. This study examines the horticultural trade as a vector for invasive species, its agents, and characterizes the complexity of the distribution channel. Numerous factors have contributed to the recent expansion in marketed cultivars, including technological, industry growth, and marketing developments. The result has been an increased and sophisticated consumer demand with a corresponding aggressive scouring of the planet for new crops, many of which are introduced into the market without sufficient testing for invasive tendencies. Traditional approaches to invasive horticultural crop control (regulation, self-regulation), which target players in the distribution channel before and/or after cultivar release, have had limited effectiveness and buy-in because these approaches do not address the industry’s complexities and economic incentives. Involvement and education of consumers may provide better oversight outcomes by addressing the moral hazard problem while acknowledging the key characteristics of the industry.
Multi-dimensional model of fluid flow and heat transfer in Generation-IV Supercritical Water Reactors

Abstract This paper is concerned with the mechanistic modeling and theoretical/computational analysis of flow and heat transfer in future Generation-IV Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors (SCWRs). The issues discussed in the paper include: the development of analytical models of the properties of supercritical water and the application of a full three-dimensional (3-D) computational modeling framework to simulate fluid flow and heat transfer in SCWRs. Several results of calculations are shown including the evaluation of water properties (density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, viscosity, and Prandtl number) near the pseudo-critical temperature for various supercritical pressures and the CFD predictions using the NPHASE computer code. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is very promising for future mechanistic analyses of SCWR thermal-hydraulics and safety.
Observed Impacts of Duration and Seasonality of Atmospheric-River Landfalls on Soil Moisture and Runoff in Coastal Northern California

This study is motivated by diverse needs for better forecasts of extreme precipitation and floods. It is enabled by unique hourly observations collected over six years near California’s Russian River and by recent advances in the science of atmospheric rivers (ARs). This study fills key gaps limiting the prediction of ARs and, especially, their impacts by quantifying the duration of AR conditions and the role of duration in modulating hydrometeorological impacts. Precursor soil moisture conditions and their relationship to streamflow are also shown. On the basis of 91 well-observed events during 2004‐10, the study shows that the passage of ARs over a coastal site lasted 20 h on average and that 12% of the AR events exceeded 30 h. Differences in storm-total water vapor transport directed up the mountain slope contribute 74% of the variance in storm-total rainfall across the events and 61% of the variance in storm-total runoff volume. ARs with double the composite mean duration produced nearly 6 times greater peak streamflow and more than 7 times the storm-total runoff volume. When precursor soil moisture was less than 20%, even heavy rainfall did not lead to significant streamflow. Predicting which AR events are likely to produce extreme impacts on precipitationandrunoffrequiresaccuratepredictionofARdurationatlandfallandobservationsofprecursor soil moisture conditions.
Real-time bluetooth communication between an FPGA based embedded system and an Android phone

Applications in areas such as telehealth and household security often require wireless communication between low-power embedded systems and personal smartphones. This paper presents the design and implementation of a project that exploits Bluetooth capabilities in smartphones running the Android Operating System to communicate wirelessly in real-time with an FPGA-based embedded system. The use of FPGAs in such systems promises higher processing capabilities and lower power usage than traditional microprocessors, and has the added advantage of being reconfigurable for future development.
The SCADS director: scaling a distributed storage system under stringent performance requirements

Elasticity of cloud computing environments provides an economic incentive for automatic resource allocation of stateful systems running in the cloud. However, these systems have to meet strict performance Service-Level Objectives (SLOs) expressed using upper percentiles of request latency, such as the 99th. Such latency measurements are very noisy, which complicates the design of the dynamic resource allocation. We design and evaluate the SCADS Director, a control framework that reconfigures the storage system on-the-fly in response to workload changes using a performance model of the system. We demonstrate that such a framework can respond to both unexpected data hotspots and diurnal workload patterns without violating strict performance SLOs.
FOREIGN SILVER COINS IN THE MARKET CULTURE OF NINETEENTH CENTURY CHINA

Both the physical qualities of different types of money and the cultural values assigned to them contributed to the determination of their economic value. China began to import substantial quantities of silver coins from Europe as early as the sixteenth century, but it was around 1800 that a foreign coin, the so-called “Carolus peso” issued by the Spanish kings Carlos III and Carlos IV, became the basis of a new monetary standard in China, the yuan. In the nineteenth century the Carolus peso and imitations of it (mostly manufactured in China) served as the principal means of exchange, and the yuan as the standard unit of account, in the markets of South China. This paper analyzes the monetary conditions that led to the establishment of the Carolus peso as the monetary standard of South China with particular consideration of the distinctive “currency circuits” formed by regional variations in monetary circulation. Significant differences can be seen in the monetary regimes that prevailed in Jiangnan and Guangdong, the major commercial centers of the empire. While Guangdong reverted to a commodity money standard that allowed the use of a wide range of different types of physical monies, including “chopped” and broken foreign coins, in Jiangnan the Carolus peso became a unified, fiduciary monetary standard. This regional variation attests to the distinctive regional characteristics of market culture in late imperial China.
Performance and area tradeoffs in space-qualified FPGA-based time-of-flight systems

This paper introduces four FPGA-based designs for radiation-tolerant time-of-flight (TOF) systems for sub-atomic particles: Snapshot, Vernier, Fast-Clocking and Hybrid designs. The designs measure TOFs ranging from 0 to 240 ns and are compared based on resolution, thermal performance, FPGA I/O pin usage and area, particle processing rate, and power consumption. All designs are implemented and tested on an Actel ProASIC 3E A3PE1500 FPGA using only the features available on the radiation-tolerant Actel RTAX 2000 S/SL. The designs achieve resolutions of 130 ps to 25 ns and particle rates of 1.63 to 40 MHz, use from 0.02% to 7.5% of the FPGA area, and consume from 396 to 448 mW. The TOF measurements of the Fast-Clocking Design show no thermal variation across the ranges of −25°C to 55°C. The other three designs vary linearly with temperature, but this variation can be calibrated using a temperature sensor. All four designs offer a flexible, inexpensive TOF measurement system that can be implemented across a broad range of FPGAs.
The Global Dimension of a Ring

There is an invariant of rings called the global dimension. Semisimple rings are precisely those rings with global dimension zero. Thus the material in Chapters 1 and 2 can be considered the zero’th step in the theory of global dimension. Kaplansky, based upon an observation of Schanuel, was the first to set down the dimension theory of rings in an elementary way, without using the powerful machinery of homological algebra. This section is based on his Queen Mary College notes.
Persistence of HIV in Gut-Associated Lymphoid Tissue despite Long-Term Antiretroviral Therapy

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persists in peripheral blood mononuclear cells despite sustained, undetectable plasma viremia resulting from long-term antiretroviral therapy. However, the source of persistent HIV in such infected individuals remains unclear. Given recent data suggesting high levels of viral replication and profound depletion of CD4(+) T cells in gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) of animals infected with simian immunodeficiency virus and HIV-infected humans, we sought to determine the level of CD4(+) T cell depletion as well as the degree and extent of HIV persistence in the GALT of infected individuals who had been receiving effective antiviral therapy for prolonged periods of time. We demonstrate incomplete recoveries of CD4(+) T cells in the GALT of aviremic, HIV-infected individuals who had received up to 9.9 years of effective antiretroviral therapy. In addition, we demonstrate higher frequencies of HIV infection in GALT, compared with PBMCs, in these aviremic individuals and provide evidence for cross-infection between these 2 cellular compartments. Together, these data provide a possible mechanism for the maintenance of viral reservoirs revolving around the GALT of HIV-infected individuals despite long-term viral suppression and suggest that the GALT may play a major role in the persistence of HIV in such individuals.
Ethanol inhibition of kainate receptor-mediated excitatory neurotransmission in the rat basolateral nucleus of the amygdala.

The neurobiological mechanisms governing alcohol-induced alterations in anxiety-like behaviors are not fully understood. Given that the amygdala is a major emotional center in the brain and regulates the expression of both learned fear and anxiety, neurotransmitter systems within the basolateral amygdala represent likely mechanisms governing the anxiety-related effects of acute ethanol exposure. It is well established that, within the glutamatergic system, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type receptors are particularly sensitive to intoxicating concentrations of ethanol. However, recent evidence suggests that kainate-type glutamate receptors are sensitive to ethanol as well. Therefore, we examined the effect of acute ethanol on kainate receptor (KA-R)-mediated synaptic transmission in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) of Sprague–Dawley rats. Acute ethanol decreased KA-R-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in the BLA in a concentration-dependent manner. Ethanol also inhibited currents evoked by focal application of the kainate receptor agonist (R,S)-2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-tert-butylisoxazol-4-yl) propanoic acid (ATPA), and ethanol inhibition of kainate EPSCs was not associated with a change in paired-pulse ratio, suggesting a postsynaptic mechanism of ethanol action. The neurophysiological consequences of this acute sensitivity were tested by measuring ethanol’s effects on KA-R-dependent modulation of synaptic plasticity. Acute ethanol, like the GluR5-specific antagonist (R,S)-3-(2-carboxybenzyl)willardiine (UBP 296), robustly diminished ATPA-induced increases in synaptic efficacy. Lastly, to better understand the relationship between KA-R activity and anxiety-like behavior, we bilaterally microinjected ATPA directly into the BLA. We observed an increase in measures of anxiety-like behavior, assessed in the light/dark box, with no change in locomotor activity. This evidence suggests that kainate receptors in the BLA are inhibited by pharmacologically relevant concentrations of ethanol and may contribute to some of the acute anxiolytic effects of this drug.
Impulse Response Functions Based on a Causal Approach to Residual Orthogonalization in Vector Autoregressions

Abstract A data-determined method for testing structural models of the errors in vector autoregressions is discussed. The method can easily be combined with prior economic knowledge and a subjective analysis of data characteristics to yield valuable information concerning model selection and specification. In one dimension, it turns out that standard t statistics can be used to test the various overidentifying restrictions that are implied by a model. In another dimension, the method compares a priori knowledge of a structural model for the errors with the properties exhibited by the data. Thus this method may help to ensure that orderings of the errors for impulse response and forecast error variance decomposition analyses are sensible, given the data. Two economic examples are used to illustrate the method.
Psychiatric Characteristics of Consecutively Evaluated Outpatient Renal Transplant Candidates and Comparisons With Consultation-Liaison Inpatients

The purpose of this study was to empirically define psychiatric characteristics of renal transplantation candidates and determine whether demographic, psychiatric predisposition, psychiatric impairment, and psychiatric diagnosis characteristics differ from those of consultation-liaison (C-L) service inpatients. Standard clinical information recorded by a C-L service for 66 consecutively evaluated renal transplant candidates and 134 C-L inpatients was compared. The results revealed that the transplantation evaluation patients differ demographically from the C-L inpatients. The C-L inpatients are more likely to report past history of mental health treatment, but the two groups are equally likely to report past substance use disorder treatment. Mean scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Hamilton Anxiety and Hamilton Depression scales are less impaired in the transplant candidates. Mini-Mental State Exam mean scores are not significantly different. Five psychiatric diagnoses are significantly more likely in the C-L inpatients; only one is more likely in the transplant candidates. The authors conclude that the psychiatric characteristics of renal transplant candidates are distinct in many respects, confirming the unique skills needed by C-L psychiatrists who do pretransplant psychiatric evaluations.
A Practical 2,3-Pyridyne Precursor

Abstract 3-Bromo-2-chloro-4-methoxypyridine has been developed as a practical 2,3-pyridyne precursor. The substituted 2,3-pyridyne generated from this precursor by halogen-metal exchange has been found to react regioselectively with 2-methoxyfuran and 2-methylfuran.
Towards a national indian literature: Cultural authenticity in nationalism

Uncle Steve-Dzeerlai, which was his Acqumeh name-was not a literate man and he certainly was not literary. He is gone now, into the earth and back north as the Acqumeh people say, but I remember him clearly. He was a subsistence farmer, and he labored for the railroad during his working years; I remember him in his grimy working clothes. But I remember him most vividly as he sang and danced and told stories-not literary stories, mind you, but it was all literature nevertheless. On fiesta days, Steve wore a clean, good shirt and a bright purple or blue or red neckerchief knotted at his tightly buttoned shirt collar. Prancing and dipping, he would wave his beat-up hat, and he would holler, Juana, Juana! Or Pedro, Pedro! It would depend on which fiesta day it was, and other men and younger ones would follow his lead. Juana! Pedro! It was a joyous and vigorous sight to behold, Uncle Dzeerlai expressing his vitality from within the hold of our Acqumeh Indian world. There may be some question about why Uncle Steve was shouting Juana and Pedro, obviously Spanish names, non-Indian names. I will explain. In the summer months of June, July, and August, there are in the Pueblo Indian communities of New Mexico celebrations on Catholic saints' days. Persons whose names are particular saints' names honor those names by giving to the community and its people. In turn, the people honor those names by receiving. The persons named after the saints such as John or Peter-Juan, Pedro-throw from housetops gifts like bread, cookies, crackerjacks, washcloths, other things, and the people catching and receiving dance and holler the names. It will rain then and the earth will be sustained; it will be a community fulfilled in its most complete sense of giving and receiving, in one word: sharing. And in sharing, there is strength and continuance. But there is more than that here. Obviously, there is an overtone that this is a Catholic Christian ritual celebration because of the significance of the saints' names and days on the Catholic calendar. But just as obviously, when the celebration is held within the Acqumeh community, it is an AcquMELUS, Volume 8, No. 2, Summer 1981
Social media use and critical care nursing: Implications for practice

Abstract:Social media, the use of applications to share information with others, is quite popular in the United States. Given the high prevalence of social media use across the general population, it seems that an untapped potential exists for nurses' use of social media to support the critically il
Using modified ballistic limit equations in spacecraft risk assessments

Abstract The fundamental components of any meteoroid/orbital debris (MOD) risk assessment calculation are environment models, damage response predictor equations, and failure criteria. In the case of a spacecraft operating in low earth orbit, the response predictor equation typically takes the form of a ballistic limit equation (BLE) that defines the threshold particle sizes that cause failure of a spacecraft wall or component. Spacecraft risk assessments often call for BLEs for spacecraft components that do not exist. In such cases, it is a common procedure to use an existing BLE after first equivalencing the actual materials and/or wall thicknesses to the materials that were used in the development of the existing BLE. The question naturally arises regarding how close are the predictions of such an ‘adapted BLE’ to the response characteristics of the actual materials/wall configurations under high speed projectile impacts. This paper presents the results of a study that compared the predictions of a commonly used BLE when adapted to the Soyuz OM wall configuration against those of a new BLE that was developed specifically for that Soyuz wall configuration. It was found that the critical projectile diameters predicted by the new Soyuz OM wall BLE can exceed those predicted by the adapted use of the existing BLE by as much as 50% of the existing BLE values. Thus, using the adapted version of the existing BLE in this particular case would contribute to a more conservative value of assessed risk. If the same trends were to hold true for other spacecraft wall configurations, then it is also possible that using existing BLEs, even after they have been adjusted for differences in materials, etc., may result in predictions of smaller critical diameters (i.e., increased assessed risk) than would using BLEs purposely developed for actual spacecraft configurations of interest.
Signal processing on graphs: Performance of graph structure estimation

A class of models for describing sets of time series generated by interacting agents using directed, weighted graphs is introduced. A computationally tractable algorithm for estimating the graph adjacency matrix of this model from observed time series data is presented. The performance guarantees of this algorithm for prediction are outlined under several assumptions on the properties of the dynamics of the system of agents and on the true values of the parameters. These guarantees are tested empirically through simulation studies using several random graph models.
Vulnerabilities of Openflow Network and Network Security for SDN Network

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is unique architecture that is centrally manageable, very dynamic, low in cost, effective and adaptable. This architecture decouples the network functions as control plane and data plane functions. SDN is programmable and the underlying infrastructure to be abstracted for applications and network services. In this paper we provide a view on SDN/Openflow network, we will discuss the various types of vulnerabilities in the Openflow network and also the impact on SDN/Openflow controller. We also discussed on importance of Transport Layer Security (TLS) in Openflow network and resolve the issues which related to vulnerabilities in southbound interface.
Toe digital transfer.

Partial or total toe transfer is a new, expanding microsurgical technique which may have a place in the reconstruction of severely traumatized digits. Careful preoperative planning, meticulous technique, and postoperative monitoring of the circulation are prerequisites for the success of such procedures.
Attraction of Rhagoletis indifferens (Diptera: Tephritidae) to White Light in the Presence and Absence of Ammonia

Attraction of tephritid fruit flies to light and its role in fly biology and management have received little attention. Here, the objective was to show that western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), is attracted to white light in the presence and absence of ammonia, an olfactory cue used with traps. Laboratory tests were conducted inside a 0.23 m3 cage with a halogen or light-emitting diode (LED) bulb hung ~2 cm above a trap with or without an ammonium carbonate lure; flies were released in the cage opposite from the light. Fly captures on yellow or clear traps with white light from both bulb types were greater than on controls, and greater at higher than lower light intensities whether ammonia was present or not. Adding heat without additional light near traps did not increase captures, indicating light rather than heat from bulbs attracted flies. In the field, light from LED and halogen bulbs did not enhance fly captures on ammonia-baited yellow traps, but light from halogen bulbs did enhance captures when there was no ammonia, although captures were lower than when ammonia was added. Results show that bright white light is attractive to R. indifferens and suggest orientation towards it may induce behaviors that positively affect fly fitness, such as mating and foraging. However, stronger light-associated stimuli than those used here may be needed to enhance fly captures on ammonia-baited traps under field conditions.
An agency perspective on the board of directors and corporate entrepreneurship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between board dependence, antitakeover provisions and their influence on corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Design/methodology/approach The study uses agency theory as a framework to expand on the board dependence–CE relationship by injecting the moderating role of antitakeover provisions to the model. Using data collected from 350 publicly traded firms, a panel regression analyses was conducted on both innovation and venturing components of CE. Findings The findings of this study show a negative relationship between board dependence and CE. Further this study shows that such a negative relationship becomes weaker when higher levels of antitakeover provisions are injected into the model. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted using a sample of large publicly traded firms within the information and manufacturing sectors, and so our findings may not be generalizable to firms in other contexts. Further, other variables representing CE (e.g. new product introductions) may add to this line of research in the future. Practical implications Understanding the role of board of directors within a firm may help foster CE throughout the organization. Originality/value This study expands on existing research by incorporating the influence of environmental factors (e.g. antitakeover provisions) and examining the relationship between corporate governance and CE using both measures of innovation and venturing.
Synaptotagmin 7 confers frequency invariance onto specialized depressing synapses

The calcium-sensing protein synaptotagmin 7 mediates facilitation that is masked by depression, but supports frequency-invariant transmission in mouse cerebellar and vestibular synapses. In most parts of the brain, synaptic strength varies as a function of neuronal firing frequency, a phenomenon known as 'short-term synaptic plasticity'. This fundamental nonlinearity in synaptic transmission has to be compensated for to achieve frequency-independent transmission in some auditory, vestibular and cerebellar circuits. Now Wade Regehr and colleagues show that synaptotagmin 7, a calcium-sensing protein, supports a short-term facilitation that increases with firing frequency and thus compensates for use-dependent depression at synapses in the cerebellum and in the vestibular system. The resulting constant synaptic strength over a wide range of firing frequencies allows for efficient encoding of neuronal firing rates. At most synapses in the brain, short-term plasticity dynamically modulates synaptic strength. Rapid frequency-dependent changes in synaptic strength have key roles in sensory adaptation, gain control and many other neural computations1,2. However, some auditory, vestibular and cerebellar synapses maintain constant strength over a wide range of firing frequencies3,4,5, and as a result efficiently encode firing rates. Despite its apparent simplicity, frequency-invariant transmission is difficult to achieve because of inherent synaptic nonlinearities6. Here we study frequency-invariant transmission at synapses from Purkinje cells to deep cerebellar nuclei and at vestibular synapses in mice. Prolonged activation of these synapses leads to initial depression, which is followed by steady-state responses that are frequency invariant for their physiological activity range. We find that synaptotagmin 7 (Syt7), a calcium sensor for short-term facilitation7, is present at both synapses. It was unclear why a sensor for facilitation would be present at these and other depressing synapses. We find that at Purkinje cell and vestibular synapses, Syt7 supports facilitation that is normally masked by depression, which can be revealed in wild-type mice but is absent in Syt7 knockout mice. In wild-type mice, facilitation increases with firing frequency and counteracts depression to produce frequency-invariant transmission. In Syt7-knockout mice, Purkinje cell and vestibular synapses exhibit conventional use-dependent depression, weakening to a greater extent as the firing frequency is increased. Presynaptic rescue of Syt7 expression restores both facilitation and frequency-invariant transmission. Our results identify a function for Syt7 at synapses that exhibit overall depression, and demonstrate that facilitation has an unexpected and important function in producing frequency-invariant transmission.
Nucleophilic 18F-Fluorination of Anilines via N-Arylsydnone Intermediates

Preparation of [18F]fluoroarenes with nucleophilic [18F]fluoride for positron emission tomography (PET) molecular imaging ­research is a challenging chemical endeavor. Advances in radiofluorination have soared in the last decade, broadening the availability of potential [18F]fluoroarenes. In this Synpacts article, we highlight the ­recent development from our laboratory of a practical radiofluorination of anilines via N-arylsydnone intermediates to afford [18F]fluoroarenes. Further, we emphasize the utility of this methodology towards peptide labeling applications by preparing an 18F-labeled neuropeptide. 1 Introduction 2 Nucleophilic Radiofluorination of N-Arylsydnones 3 Substrate Scope and Applications 4 Conclusion
Dispersion engineering of metasurfaces and its applications in the visible

We show how to finely tune metasurface dispersion up to 2nd order terms in the visible, using coupled TiO 2 dielectric nano-pillars. We demonstrate white-light imaging and aberration-correction in lenses using these dispersion-engineered metasurfaces.
Impact of motivation on Multiple Sleep Latency Test and Maintenance of Wakefulness Test measurements.

BACKGROUND: The Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) and Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) are standard clinical tests used to measure sleep tendency in clinical populations in which test results may lead to significant life change for patients. Loss of a driving license or drug seeking may provide significant motivation to patients to obtain needed results on these tests. In the current study, the effect of motivation on the ability to fall asleep or stay awake was examined. METHODS: Twelve subjects spent 3 nights and the following days in the laboratory. On the day following the first laboratory night (screen), subjects performed an MSLT and 40-minute MWT with normal test instructions. On the second or third day, subjects were randomly motivated to appear as sleepy as possible (ie, to fall asleep rapidly) on all of the tests. On the other day, subjects were motivated to be wakeful. The subject with the "best" performance in modifying their sleep latency was paid a bonus as the motivation. RESULTS: For the MSLT, latency was significantly longer than baseline in the Wakeful condition. For the MWT, latency was significantly shorter in the Sleepy condition, as compared to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects have the ability to increase but not decrease sleep latency on the MSLT, and this implies that the MSLT is a better measure of sleepiness rather than alertness. Subjects have the ability to decrease but not increase sleep latency on the MWT, and this implies that the MWT is a better measure of alertness, as compared with sleepiness. Language: en
Voices of foster youths: problems and ideas for change.

INTRODUCTION Foster care youth are innocent victims of both abusive parents and the foster care system that inadequately prepares them to transition to independent living in adulthood. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics leading to a lack of self-sufficiency and economic independence as perceived by foster care youths. METHOD This grounded theory study involved structured and unstructured interviews with 16 persons who had aged out of the foster care system and were living independently. Constant comparative analysis of responses to open-ended questions allowed for identifying and coding of emerging themes, and the relationships among categories associated with the foster care experience. RESULTS Five major themes emerged from the analysis of the data, including It's From My Past, No Place to Call Home, Broken Promises, The System Failed Us, and Ideas for Change. CONCLUSIONS The unique perspectives and observations of foster care youth should serve as the basis for developing policies and programs that can assist in acquiring knowledge and skills critical for their successful transition to independence.
Using the academic literacy in mathematics framework to uncover multiple aspects of activity during peer mathematical discussions

This paper illustrates how the academic literacy in mathematics framework (Moschkovich, J Math Behav 40:43–62, 2015) can be used to uncover the multiple layers of work bilingual learners accomplish during mathematical discussions. Using this framework allows researchers to examine students’ joint mathematical activity in terms of mathematical proficiency, mathematical practices, and mathematical discourse. The use of the framework is illustrated through analysis of two mathematical discussions among middle school students. We conclude with reflections on the utility of the framework and consider possible pedagogical implications of this work.
Salzmann’s nodular degeneration of cornea associated with thyroid eye disease

ABSTRACTSalzmann’s nodular degeneration (SND) typically occurs in patients who are female, 50–60 years old, and have a history of corneal inflammation and irritation. Multiple case reports have doc...
A review of the incidence of adenocarcinoma detected during surveillance for Barrett's esophagus.

Summary The objective of this study is to provide an up-to-date estimate of the incidence of adenocarcinoma detected during surveillance of Barrett's esophagus. Fifty-five longitudinal studies involving approximately 61 000 patients were reviewed. A general linear model analyses with Poisson link function was used to study how the number of cancer cases detected depended on study details. The studies seemed to follow the same statistical model, and the probability of developing Barrett's carcinoma during surveillance was found to depend on the following variables: how Barrett's metaplasia was defined, the number of patients studied, the mean time of follow-up, and the fraction of patients followed up for at least 5 years. The model derived from all the studies predicted that the per-person probability of developing cancer in 5 years of complete follow-up is approximately .0012.
US State-Level Infertility Insurance Mandates and Health Plan Expenditures on Infertility Treatments

Objectives We aimed to examine the extent to which health plan expenditures for infertility services differed by whether women resided in states with mandates requiring coverage of such services and by whether coverage was provided through a self-insured plan subject to state mandates versus fully-insured health plans subject only to federal regulation. Methods This retrospective cohort study used individual-level, de-identified health insurance claims data. We included women 19–45 years of age who were continuously enrolled during 2011 and classified them into three mutually exclusive groups based on highest treatment intensity: in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), or ovulation-inducing (OI) medications. Using generalized linear models, we estimated adjusted annual mean, aggregate, and per member per month (PMPM) expenditures among women in states with an infertility insurance mandate and those in states without a mandate, stratified by enrollment in a fully-insured or self-insured health plan. Results Of the 6,006,017 women continuously enrolled during 2011, 9199 (0.15%) had claims for IVF, 10,112 (0.17%) had claims for IUI, and 23,739 (0.40%) had claims for OI medications. Among women enrolled in fully insured plans, PMPM expenditures for infertility treatment were 3.1 times higher for those living in states with a mandate compared with states without a mandate. Among women enrolled in self-insured plans, PMPM infertility treatment expenditures were 1.2 times higher for mandate versus non-mandate states. Conclusions for Practice Recorded infertility treatment expenditures were higher in states with insurance reimbursement mandates versus those without mandates, with most of the difference in expenditures incurred by fully-insured plans.