cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Regional Strain Patterns Following Surgical Disruption of the Enthesis in a Murine Model of Patellar Tendon Injury

Tendon injuries are common yet often fail to heal naturally, especially in cases in which the native tendon-to-bone insertion site is disrupted. Surgical tendon repairs are often limited by the inability of the ruptured tendon to functionally attach back to the underlying bone. For patients with tendon injuries, poor tendon-to-bone integration prolongs recovery time and increases the risk of re-rupture. Improvements in tendon repair will require a more complete understanding of both the biological and mechanical phenomena that occur during natural tendon-to-bone healing. Mechanical studies of tendon repair often utilize larger animal models such as rabbits or canines, but these animals lack many of the genetic and biological tools that are available in the mouse. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the biomechanical outcomes of natural tendon-to-bone healing following surgical disruption of the enthesis in a murine model of patellar tendon injury. In particular, this study attempted to define the regional (insertion site versus midsubstance) strain patterns present in normal tendon and compare these patterns to those seen at various stages of healing following a central-third patellar tendon avulsion injury. We hypothesized that 1) murine patellar tendon avulsions would exhibit inferior structural properties compared to contralateral shams and normal controls and 2) insertional strains would greatly exceed midsubstance strains in the healing tendons, resulting in failure initiation at the tendon-bone junction.© 2013 ASME
Decreased Immune Responses to Influenza Vaccination in Patients With Heart Failure

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) patients are at risk for influenza despite widespread vaccination. Both humoral (antibody) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses are important for protection. We explored antibody- and CTL-mediated responses to the influenza vaccine in HF patients compared with healthy controls. Methods and Results We studied 29 HF patients (9 ischemic, 20 nonischemic) stable on HF therapies and 17 healthy controls. Participants had phlebotomy before and after influenza vaccination. Antibody production was measured in serum by hemagglutination inhibition assay and CTL responses (via interferon [IFN]-γ and interleukin [IL]-10 production) were measured in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CTL responses demonstrated increased IL-10 production in HF patients after vaccination ( P = .002), but similar IFN-γ responses to healthy controls. All participants demonstrated antibody seroprotection; groups had similar rates of seroconversion ( P = NS). Antibody-mediated response to the newest vaccine antigen, H3N2, was reduced in HF ( P = .009). Conclusions Patients with HF had higher vaccine induced IL-10 concentrations, suggesting a different CTL phenotype for vaccine responses. HF patients did not mount as vigorous of an antibody immune response to the newest vaccine viral strain compared with healthy individuals. These data suggest that immunologic memory may be important for vaccine protection in HF patients.
COMPARATIVE STUDIES WITH NARCOTICS AND NARCOTIC ANTAGONISTS IN MAN

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Bei 240 oberflachlich anaesthesierten Patienten, die keine Narkotika als Pramedikation erhalten hatten, wurden die Wirkungen auf Atmung und Kreislauf der folgenden Mittel, allein oder in verschiedenen Kombinationen verabreicht, untersucht: Morphin (0,2 oder 0,3 mg/kg), Oxymorphon (20 μ/kg), Levorphan (50 μ/kg), Meperidin (1,5 und 2,0 mg/kg) und Phentanyl (1,5 μ/kg); ferner die drei Antagonisten: Nalorphin (150 μ/kg), Naloxone (5 μ/kg) und Levallorphan (20 μ/kg). Intravenos verabreicht verursachten die Narkotika in den genannten Dosierungen eine signifikante Verminderung der Atemfrequenz und des Minutenvolumens. die Atemzeitvolumina waren jeweils nur uber eine relativ kurze Periode (1 bis 2 Minuten) herabgesetzt und stiegen dann gewohnlich uber die Ausgangswerte an Die maximale Depression der Atemfrequenz trat 6 Minuten nach intravenoser Verabreichung der Narkotika auf. Wegen der kompensatorischen Zunahme des Atemzeitvolumens lag die maximale Dampfung des Minutenvolumens bei 3 Minuten. Bei Verabreichung der funf Narkotika in aquipotenten Dosen, entsprechend ihrer allgemain anerkannten Analgesiewirkung, war der atemdepressorische Effekt von Meperidin (2,0 mg/kg) am grossten und der von Morphin (0,2 mg/kg) am geringsten. Sogar nach Verdoppelung des Verhaltnisses von Morphin zu Meperidin (0,3 mg/kg bzw. 1,5 mg/kg) war die atemdepressorische Wirkung des Meperidins deutlicher als die des Morphins. Die Kreislaufwirkungen der getesteten Narkotika waren weniger ausgepragt als die respiratorischen. Es kam zu einem Abfall der Pulsfrequenz und des systolischen Blutdruckes um etwa 10 bis 20%. Nalorphin und Levallorphan verursachten, allein verabreicht, eine signifikante Atemdampfung. Der depressorische Effekt des Nalorphins war starker als der des Levallorphans. Naloxon in aquipotenter Dosierung fuhrte zu keiner signifikanten Atemdampfung. Mit Ausnahme einer Verlangsamung der Pulsfrequenz um etwa 20% bei Levallorphan warenthe Kreislaufwirkungen der Antagonisten nicht signifikant. Die drei Antagonisten der Narkotika verhuteten die durch Narkotika verursachte Atemdepression bzw. glichen diese zum grossten Teil aus. In den angewandten Dosen war die antagonistische Wirkung von Naloxon gewohnlich starker als die der anderen zwei Mittel. the Antagonisten zeigten auch die Tendenz, den von den Narkotika verursachten Blutdruckabfall auszugleichen, hatten jedoch nur wenig oder keinen Einfluss auf die Pulsfrequenz.
Isoflurane exacerbates electrically evoked seizures in amygdala-kindled rats during recovery.

Summary Neuroexcitatory effects of isoflurane during or following anesthesia are controversial, particularly in epileptic patients. In contrast, halothane is generally considered to be highly anticonvulsant. Kindling is an animal model of epilepsy suitable for studying the effects of anesthetic agents on the epileptic brain. Fully kindled, Sprague–Dawley rats were either untreated or received a 5 min exposure to isoflurane or halothane 30 min prior to a seizure and compared to seizures in the absence of prior anesthesia. Afterdischarge duration was assessed via electroencephalographs recorded from electrodes implanted in the basolateral amygdala and behavioral seizure stereotypy (stages I–V) was simultaneously recorded and analyzed using digital video for all seizures. Total seizure duration and clonus duration were significantly (P
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs: Theoretical Models for Effective Program Development

Abstract Adolescent pregnancy and parenting remains a pressing social and public health concern because the United States continues to have the highest teen pregnancy rate among Western developed nations and because of the attendant social, psychological, and physical problems for young parents and their children. Prevention efforts to reduce the incidence of pregnancy and parenting among all teens continue to be critical. Even though funding constraints may limit the number of programs, it is possible to maximize the effectiveness of those that do exist or are developed. The most effective prevention programs are those based on theoretical models. This paper focuses on common theoretical models in four areas (developmental, perceived control, attitudes/ intentions, and social learning) that can be easily applied to pregnancy prevention program development. After a short description of the theory and a discussion of its use in the literature, the theory's relevance to pregnancy/parenting prevention progra...
Against the Quantitative-Qualitative Incompatibility Thesis or Dogmas Die Hard

Over approximately the last 20 years, the use of qualitative methods in educational research has evolved from being scoffed at to being viewed as useful for provisional exploration, to being accepted as a valuable alternative approach in its own right, to being embraced as capable of thoroughgoing integration with quantitative methods. Progress has been halting, and it is not surprising that certain thinkers are now balking at the latest stage of development. The chief worry is that the capitulation to "what works" ignores the incompatibility of the competing positivistic and interpretivist epistemological paradigms that purportedly undergird quantitative and qualitative methods, respectively. Appealing to a pragmatic philosophical perspective, this paper argues that no incompatibility between quantitative and qualitative methods exists at either the level of practice or that of epistemology and that there are thus no good reasons for educational researchers to fear forging ahead with "what works."
Comparison of distributed fair QoS mechanisms in wireless LANs

It is well known that the distributed coordination function (DCF) of the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol is not suitable for supporting multimedia and QoS-sensitive applications because of its inherent lack of QoS support and fairness. Recently, several distributed QoS mechanisms have been proposed which translate user QoS requirements into typically a single parameter of the DCF protocol. In this paper, we compare the pros and cons of the major distributed QoS mechanisms, and propose a new mechanism that provides superior performance and supports two different QoS models. The proposed mechanism is based on deficit round robin scheduling and translates the user throughput requirements into the 802.11 MAC interframe space and backoff interval parameters. We show via simulations that the proposed mechanism provides low variability of throughput and delay and has the advantage of low complexity.
Cooh-Terminal Truncated Alpha1S Subunits Conduct Current Better than Full-Length Dihydropyridine Receptors

Skeletal muscle dihydropyridine (DHP) receptors function both as voltage-activated Ca2+ channels and as voltage sensors for coupling membrane depolarization to release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In skeletal muscle, the principal or α1S subunit occurs in full-length (∼10% of total) and post-transcriptionally truncated (∼90%) forms, which has raised the possibility that the two functional roles are subserved by DHP receptors comprised of different sized α1S subunits. We tested the functional properties of each form by injecting oocytes with cRNAs coding for full-length (α1S) or truncated (α1SΔC) α subunits. Both translation products were expressed in the membrane, as evidenced by increases in the gating charge (Qmax 80–150 pC). Thus, oocytes provide a robust expression system for the study of gating charge movement in α1S, unencumbered by contributions from other voltage-gated channels or the complexities of the transverse tubules. As in recordings from skeletal muscle, for heterologously expressed channels the peak inward Ba2+ currents were small relative to Qmax. The truncated α1SΔC protein, however, supported much larger ionic currents than the full-length product. These data raise the possibility that DHP receptors containing the more abundant, truncated form of the α1S subunit conduct the majority of the L-type Ca2+ current in skeletal muscle. Our data also suggest that the carboxyl terminus of the α1S subunit modulates the coupling between charge movement and channel opening.
Biaxial and Stress Measurements on Cloth Samples Bias-Constructed Parachute Models

Knowledge of canopy stresses is very important in the design of parachutes. Since no suitable sensors were available for measurement of canopy stresses, the Omega sensor was designed for this purpose. The functioning of Omega sensors under biaxial loading of cloth samples was checked and found to be satisfactory. Subsequently, Omega sensors were used to measure the stress of single gores under simulated steady-state conditions using so-called pressure boxes. It was found that bias- and block-constructed gores differ significantly in profile and stress distribution. Also, the measured stresses were higher than the product of differential pressure and bulge radii. The validity of the measurements were proven by measuring the stress of an inflated tube of parachute cloth. The stress distribution of an inflated bias-constructed 4-ft parachute model was established.
Photoinduced quantum dynamics in molecules and at adsorbates

A problem of long-standing scientific interest is the interaction of electromagnetic fields with atomic and molecular species both in isolation and within a medium, and the ensuing spectroscopy and chemical dynamics. This paper presents an overview of theoretical and computational methods, both fully quantum mechanical or semi-classical in nature, developed over many years at the Quantum Theory Project of the University of Florida for dealing with photo-induced processes such as molecular dissociation or desorption of adsorbates from metal surfaces. In the former case, photoinduced transition rates are computed from transition operators via eikonal functions, or more generally with a time correlation function in which the radiation and material degrees of freedom are treated separately. Application to the photodissociation of methyl iodide is outlined. For molecular photodesorption, the system is partitioned into two self-consistently coupled regions, and a density matrix formalism in Liouville space is e...
Communication requirements for cooperative problem solving systems

Abstract Despite lip service that “most knowledge-based systems are intended to be of assistance to human endeavor and are almost never intended to be autonomous agents”, knowledge-based systems research has not been focused enough on the nature and the requirements of cooperative problem solving systems. The emphasis of our work is on creating computer systems to facilitate the cooperation between a human and a computer. Cooperation requires more from a system than having a nice user interface or supporting natural language dialogs. One needs a richer theory of problem solving, which analyzes the functions of shared representations, mixed-initiative dialogs, argumentation and management of trouble. Our evolving theoretical framework for this approach has led to a number of prototypical systems developments which serve as vehicles for future research. Examination of these systems provides evidence that learning and effective problem solving can be improved through the use of cooperative problem solving systems.
Modeling Bankruptcy Proceedings for High-Yield Debt Portfolios

This research assists portfolio managers in estimating expected losses on a portfolio of distressed debt issuances as the predicted costs exclusively associated with bankruptcy filing and default. The pro-posed model conveys high significance among investment managers of non-investment grade debt is-suances, where bankruptcy filing is a real hazard for the underlying assets. We offer simple derivations, general guidelines, and a numerical example for estimating the necessary parameters of the model. Portfolio managers could deploy the formulae within a dynamic code, which can be frequently cali-brated to better identify superior investment strategies and optimize investment performance on high-yield debt issuances.
Closed form solutions for multistrip coupler operation including the effects of electrode resistivity

The coupling-of-modes (COM) model is applied to the analysis of multistrip couplers (MSCs). By merging the COM formalism with the classical one-dimensional symmetric/antisymmetric mode representation of the MSC, both the effects of finite finger resistance and electrode reflections are included in the modeling of the MSC. The use of the COM formalism allows closed-form solutions to be obtained for MSC operation. Using the COM model for surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagation and the symmetric/antisymmetric modeling of the MSC, solutions to MSC operation are derived for a general three-track coupler. To verify the approach, simplified solutions neglecting finger reflections, but including finger resistance, are presented for comparison with solutions by other theories. >
Time reversal with single antenna systems in indoor multipath environments: spatial focusing and time compression

This research focuses on the characterization of time reversal (TR) technique in indoor multipath environments which have typical propagation features such as the waveguide effect of hallways, multiple reflection and transmission of slab walls, diffraction from edges (especially metal edges), and scattering from various small structures. The two-dimensional FDTD method is employed for the simulation of the wave propagation. An indoor environment is simulated and the effect of furniture and other scattering objects in the region of interest is examined. To quantitatively characterize the spatial focusing and time compressing, the spatial energy focusing factor (SEF) and the time compressing factor (TCF) are defined. It is found that energy focusing and time compressing can be achieved in the indoor environment and scatterers such as metal door frames can significantly improve the focusing and compression effects.
Interaction of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Human Herpesvirus Type 8 Infections on the Incidence of Kaposi's Sarcoma

To determine Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) risk related to timing of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) infections, stored longitudinal sera from 400 homosexual men with known dates of HIV-1 seroconversion (54.5 months) were tested for HHV-8 antibody. Times from HHV-8 seroconversion to KS were compared for the 69 men who became infected with HHV-8 after acquiring HIV-1 to the 182 men who were HHV-8 seropositive before their HIV-1 infection. None developed KS before coinfection. HHV-8 seroconversion after HIV-1 infection increased the risk of KS (risk ratio, 2.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.06‐6.10) compared with those infected with HHV-8 before HIV-1. The KS hazards in HHV-8‐infected men increased by 60% ( ) for each year of HIV-1 P ! .001 infection. Faster CD4 cell loss and higher HIV-1 RNA levels significantly predicted KS. The quicker development of KS in men acquiring HHV-8 after HIV-1 and its association with CD4 slope argues that KS is more likely if HHV-8 infection occurs in an immunocompromised person.
Layout-aware scientific computing: a case study using MILC

Nowadays, high performance computers have more cores and nodes than ever before. Computation is spread out among them, leading to more communication. For this reason, communication can easily become the bottleneck of a system and limit its scalability. The layout of an application on a computer is the key factor to preserve communication locality and reduce its cost. In this paper, we propose a simple model to optimize the layout for scientific applications by minimizing inter-node communication cost. The model takes into account the latency and bandwidth of the network and associates them with the dominant layout variables of the application. We take MILC as an example and analyze its communication patterns. According to our experimental results, the model developed for MILC achieved a satisfactory accuracy for predicting the performance, leading to up to 31% performance improvement.
Lessons learned from bednet distribution in Central Mozambique

Malaria is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. Use of insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) is an important preventive intervention. Selection of the best mechanisms for distribution and promotion of ITNs to vulnerable populations is an important strategic issue. Commercial shopkeepers and groups of community leaders were trained to promote and sell ITNs in 19 sites in central Mozambique between 2000 and 2004. Pregnant women and children under 5 years of age comprised the target population. Sales records household survey results and project experiences were examined to derive lessons learned. Primary outcome: An end-of-project household survey revealed that 40.8% of households owned one or more bednets but only 19.6% of households owned a net that had been re-treated with insecticide within the preceding 6 months. Higher levels of bednet (treated or untreated) coverage (over 50%) were achieved in urban or peri-urban sites than in rural sites (as low as 15%). Bednet ownership was significantly associated with higher socio-economic status (odds ratios for association with bednet ownership: 5.6 for highest educational level compared with no education 0.4 for dirt floor compared with cement or other finished flooring 2.1 for automobile ownership compared with transportation on foot) but was negatively associated with the presence of young children in the household (odds ratio 0.5). Primary output: 23 000 ITNs were sold during the course of the project. Process lessons: Nearly all of the community leader sites failed and were replaced by shopkeepers or Ministry of Health personnel. Sales were most brisk in more prosperous urban and peri-urban sites (up to 147 nets/ month) but were significantly slower in poorer rural sites (as low as three nets/ month). Remote rural sites with slow sales were more expensive to serve. Logistical difficulties were related to tariffs transport management of cash warehousing and organization of re-treatment campaigns. This project failed to achieve adequate or equitable levels of ITN coverage in a timely manner in the programme sites. However its findings helped support a subsequent Mozambican decision to conduct targeted distribution of long-lasting nets to the neediest populations in the provinces where the project was conducted. (authors)
Sources of Error in Dual-Wavelength Radar Remote Sensing of Cloud Liquid Water Content

Abstract Dual-wavelength ratio (DWR) techniques offer the prospect of producing high-resolution mapping of cloud microphysical properties, including retrievals of cloud liquid water content (LWC) from reflectivity measured by millimeter-wavelength radars. Unfortunately, noise and artifacts in the DWR require smoothing to obtain physically realistic values of LWC with a concomitant loss of resolution. Factors that cause inaccuracy in the retrieved LWC include uncertainty in gas and liquid water attenuation coefficients, Mie scattering due to large water droplets or ice particles, corruption of the radar reflectivities by noise and nonatmospheric returns, and artifacts due to mismatched radar illumination volumes. The error analysis presented here consists of both analytic and heuristic arguments; it is illustrated using data from the Mount Washington Icing Sensors Project (MWISP) and from an idealized simulation. In addition to offering insight into design considerations for a DWR system, some results sugg...
Cardiovascular response to stress: baroreflex resetting and hemodynamics

Borderline hypertensive rats (BHR) were used to test the hypothesis that baroreflex resetting prevents a fall in blood pressure (BP) when cardiac output (CO) is reduced during air-jet stress. Eight-week-old BHR were instrumented with flow probes around the ascending aorta for measuring CO, femoral and jugular catheters were inserted for measurement of arterial pressure and infusion of drugs, and sinoaortic baroreceptors were either denervated (SAD) or left intact. Alternating bolus injections of phenylephrine and sodium nitroprusside were given at baseline and during air-jet stress to assess the baroreflex. Air-jet stress immediately shifted the midpoint of the baroreflex curve for heart rate (HR) to a higher BP levels. When metoprolol was administered during air-jet stress, HR was reduced and CO reverted to prestress levels, but the stress-induced pressor response was not changed. In SAD BHR, air-jet stress caused an elevation of BP that was not different from intact rats. Administration of metoprolol to SAD rats during air-jet stress resulted in a further elevation rather than a reduction in BP. We conclude that the sinoaortic cardiac baroreflex is reset during air-jet stress and that it integrates reflex changes in BP during stress. The arterial baroreflex is not, however, necessary for the initiation or maintenance of the pressor response during stress, nor does it prevent a fall in BP when CO is compromised during stress.
Bridging the Finance Gap: ACCION's Experience with Guarantee Funds for Microfinance Institutions

This InSight analyzes ACCION's experience with its guarantee fund, the Latin American Bridge Fund. It addresses the factors that helped or hindered its success and discusses the factors that led ACCION to revise the original Bridge Fund concept and create the new Global Bridge Fund in 2005. Among the questions this report addresses are: how well the Bridge Funds helped microfinance institutions access commercial capital, the sustainability of the Fund itself and the returns the Fund has provided to its investors.
The Mitral Valve in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A Test in Context

Mitral valve abnormalities were not part of modern pathological and clinical descriptions of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the 1950s, which focused on left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and myocyte fiber disarray. Although systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the mitral valve was discovered as the cause of LV outflow tract obstruction in the M-mode echocardiography era, in the 1990s structural abnormalities of the mitral valve became appreciated as contributing to SAM pathophysiology. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mitral malformations have been identified at all levels. They occur in the leaflets, usually elongating them, and also in the submitral apparatus, with a wide array of malformations of the papillary muscles and chordae, that can be detected by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography and by cardiac magnetic resonance. Because they participate fundamentally in the predisposition to SAM, they have increasingly been repaired surgically. This review critically assesses imaging and measurement of mitral abnormalities and discusses their surgical relief.
Management of resistant, nonhealing skin lesions.

Three cases are presented which illustrate the effective and gratifying response of chronic, resistant, nonhealing skin lesions to chloresium® therapy. Chloresium was found to be not only soothing, deodorizing and nontoxic, but also an active agent in restoring affected tissues to a state conducive to normal repair and accelerated epithelization.
Potential of biofilm-electrode process in biological nitrogen removal

Biofilm-electrode process based on autohydrogentrophic denitrification and its advantages were elaborated,with the electrode material,disposal of the process,factors influencing the treatment effect and some other aspects of the said technology emphatically analyzed.A new idea of developing a more effective and cleaner process was proposed,which using oxygen derived from inert anode electrolysis to accelerate the biological nitration.The process theory was: In order to realize the accumulation of nitrite,HRT was controlled mainly through adjusting oxygen derived from electrolysis,with aeration as the auxiliary treatment;as well as the oxygen level was controlled by adjusting the electrical current.Meanwhile,the denitrification was carried out with hydrogen derived from electrolysis as electron donor so as to realize the generation of nitrogen from nitrate under the oxygen-limited condition in BER.
Fashionably Femme: Lesbian Visibility, Style, and Politics in The L Word

Lesbian politics have long been underscored by a discourse of fashion and visibility. However, the very feminine fashions portrayed by characters in The L Word—the first mainstream television drama about lesbians and bisexual women—has attracted criticism of appropriating heterosexual conventions. Is such a highly stylized version of lesbian visibility still politically potent or is The L-Word simply catering to a popular demand for images of beautiful people? This chapter considers the ramifications of this affirmation of the fem(me)inine, while, in turn, exploring whether overtly feminine stylistic trends can sustain the queer and feminist political potency implied by lesbian visibility.
Factors associated with knowledge of a Good Samaritan Law among young adults who use prescription opioids non-medically

To date, no studies have examined the extent of knowledge and perceptions of Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) among young adults who engage in non-medical prescription opioid (NMPO) use. We sought to determine awareness of and factors associated with knowledge of Rhode Island’s Good Samaritan Law (RIGSL) among young adult NMPO users. We compared the sociodemographic and overdose-related characteristics of participants who were aware and unaware of the RIGSL and determined independent correlates of knowledge of the RIGSL via modified stepwise logistic regression. Among 198 eligible participants, 15.7 % were black, 62.1 % white, and 20.7 % mixed or other race. The mean age was 24.5 (SD = 3.2) and 129 (65.2 %) were male. Fewer than half (45.5 %) were aware of the RIGSL; nonetheless, the majority (95.5 %) reported a willingness to call 911 in the event of an overdose. Knowledge of the RIGSL was associated with older age, white race, a history of incarceration, a history of injection drug use, lifetime heroin use, ever witnessing or experiencing an overdose, having heard of naloxone, knowledge of where to obtain naloxone, and experience administering naloxone (all p < 0.05). In the final explanatory regression model, lifetime injection drug use, having heard of naloxone, and knowledge of where to obtain naloxone were independently associated with awareness of the RIGSL. Fewer than half of NMPO users surveyed knew of the RIGSL. Targeted harm reduction education is needed to address a vulnerable population of NMPO users who have not initiated injection drug use and are unaware of naloxone. Additional research is needed to determine how the effectiveness of GSLs could be improved to prevent overdose deaths among young adults.
Game Theory in the Social Studies Classroom

ABSTRACTThis article explores using game theory in social studies classrooms as a heuristic to aid students in understanding strategic decision making. The authors provide examples of several simple games teachers can use. Next, we address how to help students design their own simple (2 × 2) games.
Private well groundwater quality in West Virginia, USA–2010

Abstract The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health (BPH), initiated an investigation to characterize private well water quality in West Virginia. The objective was to better characterize private well water across various aquifer geologies by testing household drinking water samples and comparing them to EPA's National Primary Drinking Water Standards. The BPH selected ten counties representing three regions to capture geologically diverse areas that represent varying aquifer geology. We collected well-water samples from participating households and analyzed all water samples for 20 constituents currently monitored in public drinking-water systems. We calculated geometric means for each constituent and compared metal concentrations to EPA maximum and secondary contaminant levels by the geologic age of the rock surrounding the aquifer where the sample was obtained. All participating households ( n = 139) provided a water sample. We detected arsenic at levels higher than the EPA maximum contaminant level in 10 (7.2%) samples. We detected elevated radon-222 in 48 (34.5%) samples. Geologic age of the region was indicative of whether arsenic and radon-222 were present at levels that exceeded current EPA drinking water standards. We found arsenic and radon concentrations were higher in Permian aquifers compared to those of other geologic ages. Homeowners with private wells in areas with Permian aged aquifers could benefit from targeted public health messaging about potentially harmful constituent concentrations in the well water. This may help ensure proper testing and maintenance of private wells and reduce exposure to these constituents.
Combination of Oral Antibiotics and Mechanical Bowel Preparation Reduces Surgical Site Infection in Colorectal Surgery

Background Surgical site infections (SSI) are a common complication after colorectal surgery. An infection prevention bundle (IPB) was implemented to improve outcomes. Study Design A standardized IPB that included the administration of oral antibiotics with a mechanical bowel preparation, preoperative shower with chlorhexidine, hair removal and skin preparation in holding, antibiotic wound irrigation, and a "clean-closure" protocol was implemented in January 2013. Data from the American College of Surgeons NSQIP were analyzed at a single academic institution to compare pre-IPB and post-IPB SSI rates. In January 2014, a prospective database was implemented to determine compliance with individual IPB elements and their effect on outcomes. Results For the 24 months pre-IPB, the overall SSI rate was 19.7%. During the 30 months after IPB implementation, the SSI rate decreased to 8.2% (p Conclusions Implementation of an IPB was successful in decreasing SSI rates in colorectal surgery patients. The combination of oral antibiotics with a mechanical bowel preparation was the strongest predictor of decreased SSI.
Architecture, Landscape, and The Agrilogistics of Sugar in The Dominican Republic

Maximising returns on one of the world’s most efficient solar converters, for over four centuries, the sugar industry on the island of Hispaniola has shaped the people, architecture, and landscapes...
Environmental factors shape methionine metabolism in p16/MTAP deleted cells

The co-deletion of a common tumor suppressor locus and neighboring metabolic gene is an attractive possible synthetic dependency of tumor suppression on metabolism. However, the general impact that these co-deletions have on metabolism, which also dependent on nutrient availability and the tissue of origin, is unknown. As a model to investigate this question, we considered a set of tissue-matched cancer cells with homozygous co-deletions in CDKN2a and MTAP, genes respectively encoding the most commonly deleted tumor suppressor p16 and an enzyme involved in methionine metabolism. A comparative metabolomics analysis revealed that while there exists a definite pan-cancer metabolic signature of MTAP-deletion, this signature was not preserved when cells were subjected to changes in the availability of methionine, serine, or cysteine, nutrients related to methionine metabolism. Notably, the heterogeneity exhibited by these cells in their responsiveness to nutrient availability dominated both MTAP status and tissue-of-origin. Furthermore, re-expression of MTAP exerted a modest effect on metabolism. Together these findings demonstrate that environmental factors, particularly nutrition and tissue identity, may overwhelm the genetic effects of collateral deletions of metabolic genes.
Field-scale intercomparison analysis of ecosystems in partitioning surface energy balance components in a semi-arid environment

Abstract In situ land surface flux monitoring studies can be useful to extrapolate canopy scales processes to weather and climate analysis. This paper evaluated the interaction between ecosystems and environmental forces in partitioning available energy from multi-sensor platform in the semi-arid region of the Snake River basin in Idaho, USA. Field measurements of latent and sensible heat fluxes using scintillometers and the eddy covariance flux data during the growing season in 2011–2012 were able to identify spatial and seasonal variability in partitioning of surface energy components, including net radiation, latent, sensible, ground heat fluxes. Available energy measured from sagebrush, cheatgrass and lodgepole pine ecosystems indicate that 79%, 58%, and 62% partitioned into latent heat fluxes of 24%, 20%, and 35%, respectively. Role of precipitation and soil moisture, which in turn influenced the latent and sensible heat flux more profoundly were evident in sagebrush and cheatgrass as compared to lodgepole pine with a higher vapor pressure deficit and decreased relative humidity especially in the summertime between June and September. The Budyko analysis revealed that aridity index ratio was found to vary between 3 and 5 suggesting a degree of aridity in these ecosystems. Evapotranspiration (ET) was severely constrained by lack of soil moisture for cheatgrass and sagebrush when compared to the lodgepole pine ecosystem. In addition, it has been concluded that the sagebrush ecosystem regions can serve as recharge zones for enhancing groundwater storage in the Snake River Plains as they exhibit lower evapotranspiration rates in comparison to other ecosystems. This study emphasizes that use of field data can provide a better understanding of boundary layer fluxes, which in turn can help validate the fluxes simulated by land surface models. Implications of these results include the need for sustained monitoring and land–atmosphere interaction studies that are beneficial for effective water resource assessment and management.
Metaphor-Driven Systems Engineering

Chapter 1 adopted a novel definition of information system as “an organized and integrated collection of choices.” This terminology may be different from that ­commonly used in professional information system practice, but is it inconsistent? The synthesis of Alexander’s vision of living structure and Lakoff’s explanation of knowledge and understanding via metaphor provides an elegant framework for contemplating the effective design and construction of information systems as an organized and integrated collection of choices. The two prominent domains of ­professional IS practice that address the design and construction of effective ­information systems are software engineering and systems engineering. They share an underlying concept of patterning loosely defined in what are called software and/or systems “architecture.” Although their perspectives are different, their underlying philosophy is the same and may be best explained through the unifying aspect of choices.
The complete characterization of the minimum size supertail in a subspace partition

Abstract Let q be a prime power and let n be a positive integer. Let V = V ( n , q ) denote the vector space of dimension n over F q . A subspace partition P of V is a collection of subspaces of V with the property that each nonzero vector is in exactly one of the subspaces in P . Suppose that d 1 , … , d k are the different dimensions, in increasing order, that occur in the subspace partition P . For any integer s, with 2 ≤ s ≤ k , the d s -supertail S of P is the collection of all subspaces X ∈ P such that dim ⁡ X d s . It was shown that | S | ≥ σ q ( d s , d s − 1 ) , where σ q ( d s , d s − 1 ) denotes the minimum number of subspaces over all subspace partitions of V ( d s , q ) in which the largest subspace has dimension d s − 1 . Moreover, it was shown that if d s ≥ 2 d s − 1 and equality holds in the previous bound on | S | , then the union of the subspaces in S forms a subspace. This characterization was also conjectured to hold if d s 2 d s − 1 . This conjecture was recently proved in certain cases. In this paper, we use a much simpler approach to completely settle this conjecture.
New Institutionalism in Everyday Life

In this paper, I examine how new institutionalism is similar to, and may expand upon Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis of human action and social life. I argue that while Goffman’s dramaturgical lens is useful for examining micro-social interactions among individuals, the ‘audience,’ and the organization, integrating new institutionalism as a theoretical framework into Goffman’s framework of dramaturgical analysis may provide the tools for combined micro-/macro-social analysis that incorporates the overarching influence of the institution (the ‘theater’) on micro-social interactions. I examine the potential of combining new institutionalism with dramaturgical analysis and I provide a brief example using ‘education’ as the institution to demonstrate how new institutional theory may be used in conjunction with Goffman’s dramaturgical theory.
A special purpose computer for ab initio molecular dynamics simulations

A special purpose computer for ab initio molecular dynamics simulations Lin-Wang Wang Computational Research Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA e-mail address: lwwang@lbl.gov I. INTRODUCTION Density functional theory (DFT) [1] based ab initio simulation has become a major matured research tool for material science and chemical science. It amounts for about 75% of all the computer time in the material science [2] and chemical science categories [3] in major computer centers like the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC). It has also been widely used in biology and other scientific areas like environmental science and nuclear energy research. In recent years, due to the concern of computational energy efficiency, and the newly available designing tools for special computers, there is a revised interest in special purpose computers [4]. This is exemplified by the Anton machine [5] for classical molecular dynamics simulations for biological studies, and the proposed special machine based on energy efficient embedded processor technology for climate simulation [6]. In the field of physics, there is a long history of building special purpose machines for lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) simulations[7]. In this paper, we will discuss the possibility of building a special purpose machine for DFT simulations. The construction of such a machine will speed up the DFT molecular dynamics simulations by a thousand times, making it as cheap as current day classical force field simulations, enabling us to study many critical material science problems which are unfeasible using our current computers. Unlike some of the other special purpose machines which are built for a handful number of scientific problems, a DFT simulation machine can be used for a large class of problems. In a way, it is the rival of the Anton machine for quantum mechanical simulations. In this paper, we will discuss the computer specifications needed to construct such a machine, and the best computer architecture to realize our goal. We will see that by focusing on the DFT problem and the specific algorithms, the DFT machine can parallelize a fixed size problem much beyond what is possible for a general purpose machine [8]. We will also show that, on such a computer, some of the algorithms need to be changed accordingly. Overall, we believe it is possible to construct such a special purpose machine in the near future. Our scientific goal is to perform a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for 10ns within a week for a typical 1000 atom system. This goal is chosen due to its relevance to many critical material science problems. We expect high demands for such simulations based on the current trends in ab initio and classical MD simulations. In terms of the length scale, 10ns MD simulation can be used to study (among others things): simulated annealing, surface atomic structures and passivations, catalytic process, growth/synthesis steps, diffusion steps. All these are current day critical scientific problems, and many of
Explicit Form for ψ (Tζ)

In order to use Theorem 1 for the explicit determination of the allowed LR-sequences for trapezoidal curves, we now introduce a notation that allows us to give explicitly every LR-sequence and the corresponding function ψ (Tζ). Let α denote the (k+1)-tuple α = (α0,α1,…,αk), each αi e z+, and k e Z. We define the set Ρ of α-sequences by $$P = \left\{ {({\alpha _0},{\alpha _1},...,{\alpha _k})\left| {k\varepsilon Z,{\alpha _i}\varepsilon {\text{ }}{Z^ + }} \right.} \right.,i = 0,1,\left. {...} \right\}$$ (5.1) .
Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice

Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice shows counseling and other mental health professionals how the theoretical bases and evidence-based practices of motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can be used together to maximize client outcomes. Chapters outline effective methods for integrating MI and CBT and show how these can be applied to clients in a diverse range of mental health, substance use and addiction, and correctional settings. Written in a clear and applicable style, the text features case studies, resources for skill development, and "Voices From the Field" sections, as well as chapters devoted to specific topics such as depression, anxiety, and more. Building on foundational frameworks for integrative practice, this is a valuable resource for counseling and psychotherapy practitioners looking to incorporate MI and CBT into their clinical practices.
Conversion of UF6 to UO2 in a Flame Reactor

The feasibility of preparing UO2 powder in a flame reactor was demonstrated by reacting UF6 with hydrogen and oxygen. In the flame reactor, the reactants combine in a flame at the end of an injecto...
An Analytical Solution-Based Hybrid Operation of a Three-Level Converter Drive System for a Dynamic Load

An analytical solution for predicting large neutral point (NP) voltage ripple and thereafter transitioning from three-level (3-L) to two-level (2-L) operation is derived for an 80 kW IPMSM 3-L drive. When the converter operates at high modulation index or in the field-weakening region, the neutral point (NP) ripple can be adversely affected depending on the NP balancing scheme employed. Two standard schemes namely, hysteresis and active-type NP balancing are tested. It is shown that only hysteresis-type control requires extra capacitance to suppress the NP ripple to within permissible limits (5% of V NP ). The active-type control however, does not at the expense of extra switching loss. These trade-offs are briefly discussed and a VSI with hysteresis-type NP control which transitions from 3-L to 2-L to avoid the NP ripple is proposed. This transition point is determined through an iterative MATLAB script which is represented by two look-up tables in PSIM. Lastly, the superior performance of this hybrid operation for low-duty dynamic loads is validated through a comparative analysis. A standard 2-L converter, 3-L with hysteresis NP control, 3-L with active NP control, and 3-L hysteresis NP control with hybrid mode operation is evaluated for the NREL Class 6 Electric Vehicle cycle Speed profile.
History and the Study of Inequality

Economic inequality has become one of the most important themes in the social sciences. The debate has revolved around two basic models. Was Kuznets correct in his prediction that inequality declin...