cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Cross-Layer Data Gathering Scheme for Heterogeneous Sensor Networks Based on Polling and Load-balancing

In this paper, a contention-free polling protocol and a load-balancing algorithm, for two-layered heterogeneous sensor networks were proposed, based on the energy consumption features of the physical layer, MAC layer and network layer. By introducing some powerful nodes, sensors can be organized into clusters. Each powerful node works as a local data sink and gathers data from sensors in the cluster. The power consumption model of IEEE 802.15.4-based transceivers was first analyzed. Based on physical layer features of such low-power, low-rate transceivers, a contention-free polling protocol for inner-cluster data gathering was designed, so that packet collision can be avoided. By deactivating the transceivers of sensors which do not need to transmit or receive packets, energy consumption on idle listening can be saved. A load-balancing algorithm at network layer was also proposed to maximize the network lifetime by taking into consideration of power consumption features at the physical and MAC layers. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve more than one order of magnitude improvement compared to the FLOW-CSMA combination and reduce the duration of sensor duty cycle by at least 50% under various offered traffic loads.
Loss of TCR responsiveness during thymic education imprints the 'innate' signature on γδ T cells.

Loss of TCR responsiveness during thymic education imprints the ‘innate’ signature on γδ T cells
Temperature And Humidity Within A Mobile Barchan Desert Sand Dune

Little is known to what extent conditions within hyper-arid mobile dunes are permissive of microbial activity. To inform this question, we report measurements of temperature and humidity from probes initially sunk below the avalanche face of a mobile barchan dune in the Qatar desert, emerging windward after 15 months of deep burial. The observations reveal how random precipitation produces widely diverse humidity within the dune. They confirm that dunes provide stable temperatures sheltered from hyper-arid environmental conditions at the surface. In this research, we also evaluate the internal stratigraphy of mobile dunes with ground-penetrating microwaves. The presentation will report preliminary measurements conducted in the same Qatar barchan and discuss consequences for water retention after rare precipitation.
Symposium, the Government Attorney

This symposium uses recollections and analyses by many authors to explore the many faces (and special challenges) of service as a government attorney. For example, in "The Internal Relations of Government: Cautionary Tales from Inside the Black Box," a former general counsel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Prof. Peter L. Strauss of Columbia Law School) draws on his experiences to explore such questions as what it means for a government agency to be the "client" of lawyers in the quasi-independent offices of a United States Attorney's office; the nature of an independent commission's relationship with the President and his lawyers (in the Office of Legal Counsel and the Office of the Solicitor General); and the relationship between litigation and policy. Who is the government lawyer's client, he concludes, is a complex question indeed. The adage inscribed on the Justice Department, that the government wins its case in court whenever justice is done, reflects an ambiguity about client loyalty that infects even the most direct of representations. It is, at the same time, a check on public power; no "good soldier" defense will be recognized here, and an invitation to the exercise of personal will. These difficulties are enlarged, he suggests, by the unsettled character of structural issues within the executive branch. Limited domains of hierarchy, limited capacities to secure uniformity, limited settings in which it is even sought all conjoin to produce an ambiguity about obligation, within which the individual government lawyer may find considerable room for maneuver. And finally, as perhaps in any very large organization, specialization of lawyerly function can produce its own distortions. The litigator's imagined client may be quite other than the planner/counsellor's. The two cannot be brought together; it will be rare that a single voice will be heard.
Hemodynamic responses to static and dynamic muscle contractions at equivalent workloads.

We tested the hypothesis that static contraction causes greater reflex cardiovascular responses than dynamic contraction at equivalent workloads [i.e., same tension-time index (TTI), holding either...
Verifying Lake Transport Models with Spectral Statistics

A sequence of numerical experiments is performed to determine the suitability of coarse grid lake turbulence models developed in the accompanying paper in perserving theoretically known variance spectra. A complete review of theoretically known variance spectra is presented and all relevant spectral data from aquatic field experiments is summarized. Three basins are used and set into motion by a spectrally correct Markov model wind shear. Wave number spectra were calculated by Taylor’s hypothesis from time series collected at the basin center. Based on these numerical experiments it is concluded that low pass filter preparation is a necessity for coarse grid spectra preservation. Traditional model formulations will not reproduce the known spectra. Experiments revealed that the hydrostatic pressure assumption and rigid lid pressure formulation only permit a two dimensional turbulence structure which is, of course, not observed in field data except during fluid acceleration.
Rights, Liberties, Freedoms: A Reappraisal*

When President Roosevelt proclaimed the “Four Freedoms” in 1941, he accepted a new conception of human rights far removed from the natural rights of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The conception of rights which inspired the British Bill of Rights (1689), the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) is grounded in simple natural law notions. Man was believed to have a fixed and unalterable nature, to be endowed with reason, which gave him certain rights without which he ceased to be a human being. These natural rights, summed up in the Lockean formula of “life, liberty and property” (later broadened to include the pursuit of happiness), were largely concerned with protecting the individual person against governmental power. Each man was seen as entitled to a personal sphere of autonomy, more especially of religious conviction and property; the inner and the outer man in his basic self-realization and self-fulfillment. These rights depended in turn upon the still more crucial right to life-that is to say, to the self itself in terms of physical survival and protection against bodily harm. This right to life was recognized even by absolutists, like Thomas Hobbes. It was believed immutable, inalienable, inviolable. Locke exclaimed at one point that these rights no one had the power to part with, and hence no government could ever acquire the right to violate them.
Predicting the Properties of Nanostructured Metamaterials: Vertically Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Arrays

Recent advances in nanofabrication technology have facilitated the development of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) arrays with long-range order across macroscopic dimensions. However, an accurate generalized method of modeling these systems has yet to be realized. A multiscale computational approach combining first principles methods based on density functional theory (DFT) and extensions thereof to account for excited electron states, and classical electrodynamics simulations is described and applied to calculations of the optical properties of macroscopic SWCNT arrays. The first-principles approach includes the use of the GW and Bethe-Saltpeter methods, and the accuracy of these approximations is assessed through evaluation of the absorption spectra of individual SWCNTs. The fundamental mechanisms for the unique characteristics of extremely low reflectivity and high absorptance in the near IR are delineated. Furthermore, opportunities to tune the optical properties of the macroscopic array are explored.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Multiphysics Simulations of Entrained Flow Gasification. Part I: Validating the Nonreacting Flow Solver and the Particle Turbulent Dispersion Model

In this two-part paper, we describe the construction, validation, and application of a multiscale model of entrained flow gasification. The accuracy of the model is demonstrated by (1) rigorously constructing and validating the key constituent submodels against relevant canonical test cases from the literature and (2) validating the integrated model against experimental data from laboratory scale and commercial scale gasifiers. In part I, the flow solver and particle turbulent dispersion models are validated against experimental data from nonswirling flow and swirling flow test cases in an axisymmetric sudden expansion geometry and a two-phase flow test case in a cylindrical bluff body geometry. Results show that while the large eddy simulation (LES) performs best among all tested models in predicting both swirling and nonswirling flows, the shear stress transport (SST) k–ω model is the best choice among the commonly used Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models. The particle turbulent dispersion mod...
Inhibition of the ascorbic acid-induced depolymerization of hyaluronic acid by serum fractions.

SummaryCohn fraction IV-4 was 10-20 times more effective than fresh whole serum in inhibiting the ascorbic acid-induced depolymerization of hyaluronic acid from synovial fluid.
A new method for the production of experimental bacterial endocarditis.

Summary and conclusionsOur findings indicate that bacterial endocarditis may be induced readily in rats exposed 4 hours daily to simulated high altitude (25,000 ft.). Twenty-six of 44 altitude rats, but only 1 of 39 non-altitude controls, developed bacterialThe authors wish to express appreciation to Dr. Roy Schneiter for valuable suggestions during the course of this study, and to John Simpson for technical aid.
Exploration on improvement of the compliance of colorectal cancer screening in Wujing community of Shanghai

[Objective] To explore the model and method of improving the compliance of colorectal cancer screening,especially the fine sieve compliance of colonoscopy.[Methods] The colorectal cancer screening in Wujing community was led by Wujing Community Health Center.For the sake of improving the compliance of screening,Wujing Community Health Center established a screening team and specified a neighboring general hospital as screening partner.We also used the method of refining the screening steps,tracking the result in time,simplifying the procedures of colonoscopy test and making epidemiological analysis.[Results] From October 1,2012 to September 30,2013,a total of 7 507 people in Wujing community received colorectal cancer screening,of whom 427(5.69%) were found to be positive in fecal occult blood testing(FOBT).And among them,386(90.40%) agreed to accept the colonoscopy test and finally 380 people(88.90%) finished the test.According to the results of colonoscopy test were detected 5cancer patients(1.32%) and 84 precancerous lesion patients(22.11%).Further treatment rate for colorectal cancer patients was 100.00% and for precancerous lesion patients 75.00%.The median duration was4 days for preliminary screening positive subjects from preliminary screening to receiving positive notification and 10 days for refined screening.The median duration was 3 days for colorectal cancer patients from refined screening to completing treatment and 25 days for early colorectal cancer patients.[Conclusion]The model and method adopted in Wujing community is helpful to improve the compliance of colorectal cancer screening.
Functional MR imaging in the evaluation of the patient with epilepsy - Functional localization

Functional magnetic resonance imaging is able to define noninvasively the location of eloquent cortex responsible for speech, motor, and visual function, and it holds promise for localizing other important functional tissues in the future. Such localization is extremely important to the epileptologist and surgeon planning surgical resection of an epileptic focus. Early work identifies the actual seizure focus using similar techniques. Magnetic resonance, with functional magnetic resonance added to high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, has the potential of providing, in a cost-effective manner with one noninvasive modality, the functional, anatomic, and chemical parameters pertinent to the management of the seizure patient.
Architectural Functional Layout Optimization in a Coarse Grid

This chapter describes the method for creating optimal architectural functional layouts. The methodology is based on coarse grid and three general steps: i. generation of layouts satisfying requirements given by the designer, ii. selection of the “proper” layouts, and iii. ranking of the “proper” layouts according to multiple objectives. Presented methodology can be used in architectural practice, urban or graphic design, and wherever the allocation of interrelated shapes is to be optimized. For clarity, simplified examples of a single-story two-apartment residential building are shown. Despite this simplicity, presented layouts resemble realistic functional solutions. One example of a practical-size floor-plan of three apartments of total twenty rooms is generated. The material is organized as follows: the concept of space discretization with coarse grid is introduced; the backtrack (depth-first) search algorithm is implemented for the generation of a number “potentially good” layouts. A machine learning method (feed-forward artificial neural network) is implemented for the classification of “proper” and “improper” layouts based on the “corridor criterion”. Simple examples of dynamic multi-criterial ranking of “proper” layouts are demonstrated.
Academic Skills Problems

Publisher Summary This chapter reveals a methodology of assessing basic academic skills focused on problem solving that has been designed to evaluate a student's skills and performance that is linked to intervention development and that can be used dynamically to show responsiveness to instructional intervention. It introduces the reader to the concepts of curriculum-based assessment (CBA) and describes how these strategies are being used in the assessment of basic skill development of elementary students. CBA has increasingly become a staple of the assessment process for students referred in schools for academic skills problems. The methodology draws on the foundations of behavioral assessment methodology and emphasizes measures that are frequent, repeatable, direct, and focused on the development and evaluation of instructional intervention. Use of graphic analysis is critical to interpretation. The data are useful for multiple purposes of assessment, including screening, eligibility determination, instructional development, and program evaluation. Although the measures are not designed to replace the use of published, norm-referenced achievement tests, the purposes of CBA meet the important philosophical function of being closely linked to intervention.
Development of a LOCA safety analysis evaluation model for the Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor

Abstract The Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (W-SMR) is an integral pressurized water reactor (PWR) with all major components located inside the reactor vessel, with a passive safety system that was derived from the AP1000® PWR passive safety design. The integral design of the reactor coolant system (RCS) effectively removes the postulated large break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). Therefore, small break LOCA (SBLOCA) is the most limiting design basis accident for the W-SMR. The LOCA safety analysis of the W-SMR requires an evaluation model (EM) that is adequate for a reactor design with passive safety systems. Development of the EM follows the Evaluation Model Development Assessment Process (EMDAP) by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC). The first step in this process is the development of a SBLOCA Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT), which identifies the figures of merit for the LOCA safety analysis and key thermal hydraulic phenomena pertinent to the passive safety design of the W-SMR. Next, an assessment matrix that consists of experiments from the AP600™ and AP1000 PWR development programs, University of California Berkeley (UCB) tube condensation tests, and the integral effects and separate effects tests for the W-SMR testing program is established to assess the evaluation model. The systems code used in the W-SMR LOCA evaluation model is the W COBRA/TRAC-TF2 systems code, which has been extensively validated for previous LOCA applications. W COBRA/TRAC-TF2 is being further developed to address the W-SMR EM PIRT. Among key thermal hydraulic phenomena, the assessment of the condensation on the containment wall and natural circulation/draining through the CMT are presented here as examples to demonstrate the W-SMR SBLOCA EM development, while all important phenomena are expected to be assessed using the W COBRA/TRAC-TF2 systems code. Finally, the reference SBLOCA transient of W-SMR is presented to demonstrate the ability of the systems code to properly capture the key phenomena identified in the PIRT. It is expected that the development of an evaluation model for safety analysis of the Westinghouse SMR will facilitate its licensing and eventual commercialization.
XVIII. A qualitative study of inflected waves

(1923). XVIII. A qualitative study of inflected waves. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science: Vol. 45, No. 265, pp. 225-228.
The elementary representation of spatial and color vision in the human retina

The retina is the most accessible element of the central nervous system for linking behavior to the activity of isolated neurons. We unraveled behavior at the elementary level of single input units-the visual sensation generated by stimulating individual long (L), middle (M), and short (S) wavelength-sensitive cones with light. Spectrally identified cones near the fovea of human observers were targeted with small spots of light, and the type, proportion, and repeatability of the elicited sensations were recorded. Two distinct populations of cones were observed: a smaller group predominantly associated with signaling chromatic sensations and a second, more numerous population linked to achromatic percepts. Red and green sensations were mainly driven by L- and M-cones, respectively, although both cone types elicited achromatic percepts. Sensations generated by cones were rarely stochastic; rather, they were consistent over many months and were dominated by one specific perceptual category. Cones lying in the midst of a pure spectrally opponent neighborhood, an arrangement purported to be most efficient in producing chromatic signals in downstream neurons, were no more likely to signal chromatic percepts. Overall, the results are consistent with the idea that the nervous system encodes high-resolution achromatic information and lower-resolution color signals in separate pathways that emerge as early as the first synapse. The lower proportion of cones eliciting color sensations may reflect a lack of evolutionary pressure for the chromatic system to be as fine-grained as the high-acuity achromatic system.
SHORT STEM TSA WITH GLENOID PRE-OPERATIVE PLANNING

Accurate glenoid component placement continues to be a challenge. Knowledge that glenoid loosening is affected by malpositioning of the glenoid component has led to the development of patient specific instrumentation (PSI) in an attempt to optimise glenoid positioning. The ideal PSI would be reusable, reliable, cost-effective and robust enough to tolerate the stresses applied by the surgeon in the context of difficult glenohumeral exposure. The VIP system is a CT scan-based PSI with a reusable instrument. The subtle nuances of pre-operative planning will be discussed in a separate short video. The live surgery will incorporate use of the patient specific instrumentation during glenoid placement and the use of a short stemmed fourth generation total shoulder arthroplasty.
Providing Mobile Dialog Services Using WeChat

WeChat-based services are becoming very popular among billions of users. It is now an important business strategy to provide services for users to access business systems via WeChat. However, to the best of our knowledge, currently there is no easy way to foster the development of mobile dialog services using WeChat. Lack of such mobile social messaging services prevents industry companies from succeeding in drastic market competitions (e.g., capture high customer satisfactory). In this paper, we propose a framework for providing mobile dialog services using WeChat. Using this framework, industry companies can easily provide their IT services using WeChat. There are two levels of dialog authoring: static dialogs that enable non-developers to define for offering guidance path with static texts, and dynamic dialogs that require developers to write codes to support dynamic guidance path and dynamic texts on different path nodes. This framework can serve as the bridge between users and various information and business functionalities. Finally, we also use a use case to demonstrate how this mobile dialog service can be used in supporting sports activities.
Designing Block Copolymer Architectures toward Tough Bioplastics from Natural Rosin

Resin acids (or natural rosin) are a class of abundant, renewable natural biomass. Most low molecular weight resin acid-containing polymers are very brittle due to their low chain entanglement associated with the pendant, intrinsically bulky hydrophenanthrene group. The use of block copolymer architectures can enhance chain entanglement and thus improve toughness. A–B–A type triblock and A–B–A–B–A type pentablock copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with one-pot sequential monomer addition of a rosin-based monomer and norbornene. We investigated the effect of chain architecture and microphase separation on mechanical properties of both types of block copolymers. Pentablock copolymers exhibited higher strength and toughness as compared to both the triblock copolymers and the corresponding homopolymers. The greater toughness of pentablock copolymers is due to the presence of the rosin-based midblock chains that act as bridging chains between two polynorbornene domains...
EM Structure Based and Vacuum Acceleration

Physical and technical issues governing structure‐based and vacuum acceleration of charged particles are reviewed, with emphasis on practical aspects.
The ruse of consent and the anatomy of ‘refusal’: cases from indigenous North America and Australia

ABSTRACTThis article takes the notion of ‘refusal’ to be an alternative to recognition politics in settler colonial society. This is argued as alternative with recourse to ethnographic examples that highlight the way in which ‘consent’ operates as a technique of recognition and simultaneous dispossession in historical cases from Indigenous North America and Australia. Attention is paid to the ways in which Indigenous life in these cases refused, did not consent to, and still refuses to be folded into a larger encompassing colonising and settler colonial narratives of acceptance, and in this, a governmental fait accompli. It is those narratives that inform the apprehension and at times, the ethnography and governance of Indigenous life and are pushed back upon in order to document, reread, theorise and enact ways out of the notion of a fixed past and settled present.
Enhancing Intervention for Residual Rhotic Errors Via App-Delivered Biofeedback: A Case Study.

Purpose Recent research suggests that visual-acoustic biofeedback can be an effective treatment for residual speech errors, but adoption remains limited due to barriers including high cost and lack...
Abstract 334: An Echogenic Clot Method for Thrombolysis Monitoring of Directed Lytics in Thrombotic Stroke

Background: We have previously demonstrated thrombolytic efficacy of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-loaded echogenic liposomes (TELIP), a directed therapeutic construct that features exposed tPA fibrin-binding sites, in a rabbit abdominal aorta thrombosis model. The most relevant animal model for evaluation of directed thrombolytic therapy for ischemic stroke is the rabbit thrombotic stroke model previously used to validate recombinant tPA (rtPA; Alteplase). The ability to precisely monitor tPA-mediated thrombus dissolution in vivo is important for quantitative assessment of directed TELIP efficacy. Hypothesis: A gas-free ultrasound contrast agent can be incorporated into blood clots at a concentration that does not affect the tPA-mediated clot dissolution rate, while enabling quantitative assessment of the clot dissolution rate. Methods: In 1.5-ml Eppendorf tubes, 0.2-ml clots were formed from a mixture of whole rabbit blood, 1 M calcium chloride, human thrombin and various amounts of microcrystalline cellulose. At 0-time, 50 μg rtPA in 0.5 ml porcine plasma was added to each tube. Washed clots in tubes were weighed with an analytical balance at 30, 60 and 90 minutes. Clot echogenicity at each time point was assessed with a Philips HDI 5000 ultrasound system using an L12-5 linear array probe positioned laterally to tubes placed in an anechoic chamber. Recorded Images were subjected to videodensitometric analysis that converted image reflectivity to mean gray scale values (MGSV). Results: We found that 1.12 mg/ml of microcrystalline cellulose in rabbit blood clots (0.2 ml) provided optimal echogenicity without affecting the clot dissolution rates (0.3-0.6 mg/min.) caused by 100 μg/ml of rtPA. The clot dissolution rate measured by videodensitometric analysis of serial sonograms of the echogenic clots agreed well with that determined by mass loss measurements (0.28% 0-time value/minute). Conclusions: We have developed a method for monitoring rtPA-mediated clot mass loss by ultrasound imaging techniques and validated it in vitro. This method will be important for demonstrating the enhanced efficacy and decreased hemorrhagic effects provided by directed tPA vehicles relative to systemic administration of the free thrombolytic.
Interactive effects of climate change and fungal communities on wood-derived carbon in forest soils

Abstract Although wood makes up the majority of forest biomass, the importance of wood contributions to stable soil carbon (C) pools is uncertain. Complex interactions among climate, soil physical properties, intrinsic properties of woody residues, and biological processes all exert dynamic controls over the stabilization, destabilization and transport of wood-derived C in soils. Many studies have demonstrated the strong physical controls on decomposition rates in soils, but little work has been done to relate these to changes in decomposer community composition and how this influences the fate of wood-derived C in soils. Here, we examine the effects of initial fungal inoculation, temperature, soil texture, Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) wood type, and location of wood residue in the soil, with an experiment investigating the fate of wood-derived C from soils in the first two years following clear-cut harvest in aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests. We applied 13C-depleted aspen wood chips in 168 experimental plots across six sites in northern Michigan, USA, and tracked the depleted 13C signature through the mineral soil as DOC and from the soil surface as CO2. Wood residue location had the largest impact on soil CO2 efflux, with surface wood treatments having more than twice as much wood-derived soil CO2 efflux as buried wood treatments (1.20 g CO2 m−2 h−1 versus 0.49 g CO2 m−2 h−1, respectively; p
Use of Simulation Based on an Electronic Health Records Environment to Evaluate the Structure and Accuracy of Notes Generated by Medical Scribes: Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: The increasing adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) has been associated with a number of unintended negative consequences with provider efficiency and job satisfaction. To address this, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of medical scribes to perform many of the required EHR functions. Despite this rapid growth, little has been published on the training or assessment tools to appraise the safety and efficacy of scribe-related EHR activities. Given the number of reports documenting that other professional groups suffer from a number of performance errors in EHR interface and data gathering, scribes likely face similar challenges. This highlights the need for new assessment tools for medical scribes. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a virtual video-based simulation to demonstrate and quantify the variability and accuracy of scribes’ transcribed notes in the EHR. Methods: From a pool of 8 scribes in one department, a total of 5 female scribes, intent on pursuing careers in health care, with at least 6 months of experience were recruited for our simulation study. We created three simulated patient-provider scenarios. Each scenario contained a corresponding medical record in our simulation instance of our EHR. For each scenario, we video-recorded a standardized patient-provider encounter. Five scribes with at least 6 months of experience both with our EHR and in the specialty of the simulated cases were recruited. Each scribe watched the simulated encounter and transcribed notes into a simulated EHR environment. Transcribed notes were evaluated for interscribe variability and compared with a gold standard for accuracy. Results: All scribes completed all simulated cases. There was significant interscribe variability in note structure and content. Overall, only 26% of all data elements were unique to the scribe writing them. The term data element was used to define the individual pieces of data that scribes perceived from the simulation. Note length was determined by counting the number of words varied by 31%, 37%, and 57% between longest and shortest note between the three cases, and word economy ranged between 23% and 71%. Overall, there was a wide inter- and intrascribe variation in accuracy for each section of the notes with ranges from 50% to 76%, resulting in an overall positive predictive value for each note between 38% and 81%. Conclusions: We created a high-fidelity, video-based EHR simulation, capable of assessing multiple performance indicators in medical scribes. In this cohort, we demonstrate significant variability both in terms of structure and accuracy in clinical documentation. This form of simulation can provide a valuable tool for future development of scribe curriculum and assessment of competency.
The cost of conversion in robotic and laparoscopic colorectal surgery

Conversion from minimally invasive to open colorectal surgery remains common and costly. Robotic colorectal surgery is associated with lower rates of conversion than laparoscopy, but institutions and payers remain concerned about equipment and implementation costs. Recognizing that reimbursement reform and bundled payments expand perspectives on cost to include the entire surgical episode, we evaluated the role of minimally invasive conversion in total payments. This is an observational study from a linked data registry including clinical data from the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative and payment data from the Michigan Value Collaborative between July 2012 and April 2015. We evaluated colorectal resections initiated with open and minimally invasive approaches, and compared reported risk-adjusted and price-standardized 30-day episode payments and their components. We identified 1061 open, 1604 laparoscopic, and 275 robotic colorectal resections. Adjusted episode payments were significantly higher for open operations than for minimally invasive procedures completed without conversion ($19,489 vs. $15,518, p < 0.001). The conversion rate was significantly higher with laparoscopic than robotic operations (15.1 vs. 7.6%, p < 0.001). Adjusted episode payments for minimally invasive operations converted to open were significantly higher than for those completed by minimally invasive approaches ($18,098 vs. $15,518, p < 0.001). Payments for operations completed robotically were greater than those completed laparoscopically ($16,949 vs. $15,250, p < 0.001), but the difference was substantially decreased when conversion to open cases was included ($16,939 vs. $15,699, p = 0.041). Episode payments for open colorectal surgery exceed both laparoscopic and robotic minimally invasive options. Conversion to open surgery significantly increases the payments associated with minimally invasive colorectal surgery. Because conversion rates in robotic colorectal operations are half of those in laparoscopy, the excess expenditures attributable to robotics are attenuated by consideration of the cost of conversions.
Compensating Q effects in viscoelastic media by adjoint-based least-squares reverse time migration

ABSTRACTLow values of P- and S-wave quality factors Qp and Qs result in strong intrinsic seismic attenuation in seismic modeling and imaging. We use a linearized waveform inversion approach, by gen...
Parental influences on sperm banking attempts among adolescent males newly diagnosed with cancer

Objective To investigate the influence of parental sociodemographic, communication, and psychological factors on sperm collection attempts among at-risk adolescent males newly diagnosed with cancer. Design Prospective, single group, observational study design. Setting Pediatric oncology centers. Patient(s) Parents (N = 144) of 122 newly diagnosed adolescent males at increased risk for infertility secondary to cancer therapy. Intervention(s) Survey-based assessment of parent factors associated with adolescent collection attempts. Main Outcome Measure(s) Attempt of manual collection of sperm. Result(s) Parental recommendation to bank sperm (odds ratio [OR] 3.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18–11.76) and perceived self-efficacy to facilitate banking (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.02–1.41) were associated with an increased likelihood of making a collection attempt. Conclusion(s) Parental recommendation to bank is a critical influence for sperm banking among adolescent males newly diagnosed with cancer. These findings highlight the importance of effective communication between parents, patients, and health-care teams when discussing preservation options. Parent perceptions of their ability to facilitate sperm banking at the time of diagnosis should also be targeted in future interventions. Clinical Trial Registration Number NCT01152268
Auditor Involvement With Law Enforcement Agencies: A Specialized Niche

With over 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, opportunities exist for auditors to assist police agencies design and implement effective and efficient procedures for control of cash and other properties. Auditor involvement can improve police performance and help maintain public confidence in the police department’s ability to serve and protect the public interest. The article discusses how auditors can provide a valuable service to police agencies by improving the agencies’ internal control over assets entrusted to them as evidence in criminal cases or to aid in their fight against crime. It discusses the needed audit procedures for such an engagement. The article also discusses the special audit procedures for police agencies, which are involved in the Federal Asset Forfeiture Program.
Photo-activated Cancer Therapy: Potential for Treatment of Brain Tumors

The diffuse and infiltrative nature of high grade gliomas, such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), makes complete surgical resection virtually impossible. The propensity of glioma cells to migrate along white matter tracts suggests that a cure is possible only if these migratory cells can be eradicated. Approximately 80% of GBMs recur within 2 cm of the resection margin, suggesting that a reasonable approach for improving the prognosis of GBM patients would be the development of improved local therapies capable of eradicating glioma cells in the brain-adjacent-to-tumor (BAT). An additional complicating factor for the development of successful therapies is the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) which is highly variable throughout the BAT—it is intact in some regions, while leaky in others. This variance in BBB patency has significant implications for the delivery of therapeutic agents. The results of a number of studies have shown that experimental light-based therapeutic modalities such as photochemical internalization (PCI) and photothermal therapy (PTT) may be useful in the treatment of gliomas. This chapter summarizes recent findings illustrating the potential of: (1) PCI for the delivery of therapeutic macromolecules such as chemotherapeutic agents and tumor suppressor genes, and (2) nanoshell-mediated PTT, including nanoparticle delivery approaches via macrophages.
Planning with abstraction

Intelligent problem solvers for complex domains must have the capability of reasoning abstractly about tasks that they are called upon to solve. The method of abstraction presented here allows one to reason analogically and hierarchically, making both the task of formalizing domain theories easier for the system designer, as well as allowing for increased computational efficiencies. It is believed that reasoning about concepts that share structure is essential to improving the performance of automated planning systems by allowing one to apply previous compuational effort expended in the solution of one problem to a broad range of new problems.
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is increasingly used for the treatment of both malignancies and nonmalignant diseases. This has been made possible by several factors, including expansion of the unrelated donor pool, advances in mobilization and collection of autologous cells, and reduced intensity conditioning regimens. Although transplant-related mortality and relapse remain obstacles, an increasing number of children are surviving following HSCT. Both the HSCT antecedent therapy and the posttransplant complications have multisystem effects, and understanding and anticipating these are important in caring for the children affected. This chapter will provide a brief overview, as many of these complications are discussed in more depth in other chapters of this book.
Multirate FIR Filters for Interpolating and Desampling

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a number of examples of systems that use multirate processing and discusses the way in which system considerations lead to a multirate design. It also highlights specific systems that can be referred to when developing design techniques for multirate filters. The chapter focuses on the parameters that describe FIR filter characteristics and reviews the way in which these parameters interact. It focuses on how the coupling between these parameters affects the design of multirate filters. Starting with classical frequency and time domain specifications of lowpass FIR filters, it presents a number of quick, first-order approximations to the ways they interact. The chapter discusses the way by which data rate reduction is achieved with lowpass FIR filters and demonstrates, via the McClellan–Parks (MP) design algorithm, the way by which the choice of filter parameters controls filter characteristics, and the way by which these parameters can be traded for desirable performance gains. It also examines data rate reduction techniques that use carrier-centered FIR filters and center frequencies with interesting signal processing characteristics. The chapter also reviews simple architectural models of FIR filters and highlights the important FIR filter relationships by graphical presentations.
Drug Delivery: Principles and Applications

Preface. List of Contributors. 1. Factors that Impact the Developability of Drug Candidates-An Overview (Chao Han and Binghe Wang). 2. Chemical, Biochemical, and Physiological Barriers to Oral Drug Delivery (Teruna Siahaan). 3. Pathways for Drug Delivery to the Central Nervous System (Yan Zhang and Donald W. Miller). 4. Physiochemical Properties, Formulation and Drug Delivery (E. Munson). 5. Targeted Bioavailability: A Fresh Look at Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Issues in Drug Delivery (William F. Elmquist). 6. Pre-Systemic and First-pass Metabolism (W. Griffith Humphreys). 7. Cell Culture Models for Drug Transport Studies (D. Nedra Karunaratne, Peter S. Silverstein, Veena Vasabdabi, Amber M. Young, Erik Rytting, Bradley Yops and Kenneth L. Audus). 8. Prodrug Approaches to Drug Delivery (Longqin Hu). 9. Receptor-Mediated Drug Delivery (Chirstopher P. Leamon and Philip S. Low). 10. Oral Protein and Peptide Drug Delivery (Rick Soltero). 11. Metabolic Activation and Drug Targeting (Xiangming Guan). 12. Ultrasound Mediated Drug Delivery (Ka-yun Ng' and Terry O. Matsunaga). 13. Polycationic Peptides and Proteins in Drug Delivery: Focus on Non-Classical Transport (Lisa A. Kueltzo and C. Russell Middaugh). 14. Gene Therapy and Gene Delivery (Naoki Kobayashi, Makiya Nishikawa and Yoshinobu Takakura). 15. Parenteral Formulations for Peptide and Protein Delivery, and Monoclone Antibody Drugs (John Bontempo). 16. Pulmonary Drug Delivery - Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Aerosol Technology (Anthony J. Hickey). 17. Antibody-Directed Drug Delivery (Herve Le Calvez, John Mountzouris, Kosi Gramatikoff and Fang Fang). 18. Efflux Transporters in Drug Excretion (Shuzhong Zhang and Marilyn E. Morris). 19. Liposome as Drug Delivery Vehicles (Guijun Wang). 20. Regulatory and IP Issues in Drug Delivery Research (Shihong Nicolaou). Index.
Simulating systems with fast and slow dynamics: lessons from the electric power industry

Complex systems exhibit dynamics across multiple timescales. Strong couplings across timescales can be important, but common practice has been to ignore the couplings. This paper describes my experience modeling electric power systems when clients argued for models including both fast and slow dynamics. Their goals were realism, transparency for policymakers and fast simulations to enable policy design and sensitivity analysis in live workshop settings. I describe different methods developed to meet these needs using five modeling studies conducted over three decades. The studies focused on important policy issues, which are described for context. I summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each method, with emphasis on their applicability beyond the power industry. The paper concludes with an endorsement of a coupled system with a stand‐alone model of fast dynamics to support the design of the long‐term model. The appendices provide details to help those interested in applying the methods. Copyright © 2018 System Dynamics Society
Isolation of a Chinese hamster fibroblast variant defective in dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase activity and plasmalogen biosynthesis: use of a novel two-step selection protocol

We have developed a two-step selection protocol to generate a population of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell variants that are plasmalogen-deficient, but contain intact, functional peroxisomes (plasmalogen-/peroxisome+). This involved sequential exposures of a mutagenized cell population to photodynamic damage by using two different pyrene-labelled sensors, 9-(1'-pyrene)nonanol and 12-(1'-pyrene)dodecanoic acid. By this procedure we generated several isolates, all except one of which displayed a severe decrease in plasmalogen biosynthesis. Further characterization of one of the plasmalogen-deficient isolates, NRel-4, showed that it contained intact, functional peroxisomes. Whole-cell homogenates from NRel-4 displayed severely decreased dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase, which catalyses the first step in plasmalogen biosynthesis. NRel-4 and another, recently described, plasmalogen-deficient cell line, NZel-1 [Nagan, Hajra, Das, Moser, Moser, Lazarow, Purdue and Zoeller (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. A. 94, 4475-4480] were hypersensitive to singlet oxygen, supporting the notion of plasmalogens as radical oxygen scavengers. Wild-type-like resistance could be conferred on NRel-4 upon restoration of plasmalogen content by supplementation with a bypass compound, sn-1-hexadecylglycerol. NRel-4 and other plasmalogen-/peroxisome+ strains will allow us to examine further the role of ether lipids in cellular functions without complications associated with peroxisome deficiency, and might serve as an animal cell model for certain forms of the human genetic disorder rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata.
Glucose Transporters and Virulence in Leishmania mexicana .

Glucose transporters are important for viability and infectivity of the disease-causing amastigote stages of Leishmania mexicana The Δgt1-3 null mutant, in which the 3 clustered glucose transporter genes, GT1, GT2, and GT3, have been deleted, is strongly impaired in growth inside macrophages in vitro We have now demonstrated that this null mutant is also impaired in virulence in the BALB/c murine model of infection and forms lesions considerably more slowly than wild-type parasites. Previously, we established that amplification of the PIFTC3 gene, which encodes an intraflagellar transport protein, both facilitated and accompanied the isolation of the original Δgt1-3 null mutant generated in extracellular insect-stage promastigotes. We have now isolated Δgt1-3 null mutants without coamplification of PIFTC3 These amplicon-negative null mutants are further impaired in growth as promastigotes, compared to the previously described null mutants containing the PIFTC3 amplification. In contrast, the GT3 glucose transporter plays an especially important role in promoting amastigote viability. A line that expresses only the single glucose transporter GT3 grows as well inside macrophages and induces lesions in animals as robustly as do wild-type amastigotes, but lines expressing only the GT1 or GT2 transporters replicate poorly in macrophages. Strikingly, GT3 is restricted largely to the endoplasmic reticulum in intracellular amastigotes. This observation raises the possibility that GT3 may play an important role as an intracellular glucose transporter in the infectious stage of the parasite life cycle.IMPORTANCE Glucose transport plays important roles for in vitro growth of insect-stage promastigotes and especially for viability of intramacrophage mammalian host-stage amastigotes of Leishmania mexicana However, the roles of the three distinct glucose transporters, GT1, GT2, and GT3, in parasite viability inside macrophages and virulence in mice have not been fully explored. Parasite lines expressing GT1 or GT2 alone were strongly impaired in growth inside macrophages, but lines expressing GT3 alone infected macrophages and caused lesions in mice as robustly as wild-type parasites. Notably, GT3 localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum of intracellular amastigotes, suggesting a potential role for salvage of glucose from that organelle for viability of infectious amastigotes. This study establishes the unique role of GT3 for parasite survival inside host macrophages and for robust virulence in infected animals.
Advancing the field of communication research in pediatric oncology: A systematic review of the literature analyzing medical dialogue

Historically, communication research in pediatric oncology has relied on surveys and interviews, resulting in cross-sectional and retrospective studies constrained by selection, recognition, and recall biases. This systematic review identifies and synthesizes the published literature analyzing primary data from recorded conversations between pediatric oncologists, patients with cancer, and their families, with the following objectives: (1) to identify the extent and content of the evidence base, (2) to describe methodological strategies utilized in the analysis of recorded medical dialogue, (3) to aggregate salient findings, and (4) to generate recommendations for future prospective research related to analysis of medical dialogue in pediatric oncology.