cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Representing Honey Bee Behavior for Recognition Using Human Trainable Models

Identifying and recording subject movements is a critical, but time-consuming step in animal behavior research. The task is especially onerous in studies involving social insects because of the number of animals that must be observed simultaneously. To address this, we present a system that can automatically analyze animal movements, and label them, by creating a behavioral model from examples provided by a human expert. Further, in conjunction with identifying movements, our system also recognizes the behaviors made up of these movements. Thus, with only a small training set of hand labeled data, the system automatically completes the entire behavioral modeling and labeling process. For our experiments, activity in an observation hive is recorded on video, that video is converted into location information for each animal by a vision-based tracker, and then numerical features such as velocity and heading change are extracted. The features are used in turn to label the sequence of movements for each observed animal, according to the model. Our approach uses a combination of kernel regression classification and hidden Markov model (HMM) techniques. The system was evaluated on several hundred honey bee trajectories extracted from a 15 minute video of activity in an observation hive.
Streaking of a light beam by an electro-optically induced traveling lens.

Experiments demonstrating traveling-wave electro-optic beam deflection with ~1-nsec time resolution are described. The deflector exploits the focusing interaction between a light beam and a voltage pulse propagating in a strip transmission line filled with KD*P.
A 4 bp deletion mutation in DLX3 enhances osteoblastic differentiation and bone formation in vitro

A 4 base-pair deletion mutation in the Distal-less 3 (DLX3) gene is etiologic for Tricho-Dento-Osseous syndrome (TDO). A cardinal feature of TDO is an increased thickness and density of bone. We tested the effects of the DLX3 gene mutation responsible for TDO on the osteoblastic differentiation of preosteoblastic MC3T3E1 cells and multipontent mesenchymal C2C12 cells. Differential expression analysis of C2C12 cells transfected with wild type DLX3 or mutant DLX3 was performed and desmin gene expression, an early myoblastic differentiation marker in mesenchymal cells, was evaluated by RT-PCR, western blot analysis, and desmin promoter transcriptional activity. Transfection of wild type DLX3 into MC3T3E1 and C2C12 cells increased alkaline phosphatase-2 activity, mineral deposition, and promoter activities of the osteocalcin and type 1 collagen genes compared to empty vector transfected cells. Transfection of mutant DLX3 into these cells further enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity, mineral deposition, and osteocalcin promoter activities, but did not further enhance type 1 collagen promoter activity. Transfection of mutant DLX3 into C2C12 cells markedly down regulated desmin gene expression, and protein expression of desmin and MyoD, while increasing protein expression of osterix and Runx2. These results demonstrate that the DLX3 deletion mutation associated with TDO enhances mesenchymal cell differentiation to an osteoblastic lineage rather than a myoblastic lineage by changing the fate of mesenchymal cells. This DLX3 mutation also accelerates the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells to osteoblasts at later stages of osteogenesis.
Stanford University Network for Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (SUNDROP): 24-month experience with telemedicine screening.

. Purpose: To report the 24-month experience of the Stanford University Network for Diagnosis of Retinopathy of Prematurity (SUNDROP) telemedicine initiative. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the SUNDROP archival data gathered between 1 December 2005 and 30 November 2007 to evaluate this diagnostic technology for ROP screening. One hundred and sixty consecutively enrolled infants meeting ROP examination criteria were screened with the RetCam II and evaluated by the SUNDROP reading centre at Stanford University. Nurses obtained five or six images in each eye. All patients also received a dilated examination within 1 week of discharge. Outcomes included treatment-warranted retinopathy of prematurity (TW-ROP) and anatomical outcomes. Results: In the initial 24-month period, the SUNDROP telemedicine initiative has not missed any TW-ROP. A total of 160 infants (320 eyes) were imaged, resulting in 669 exams and 7556 images. Seven infants were identified with TW-ROP; six underwent laser photocoagulation and one regressed spontaneously. The sensitivity was 100%, with specificity of 99.4%. No patient progressed to retinal detachment or other adverse outcomes. Conclusion: The SUNDROP telemedicine screening initiative for ROP has been proven to have a high degree of sensitivity and specificity for the identification of treatment-warranted disease. All cases of treatment-warranted disease were captured. There were no adverse outcomes.
Large scale broadband over powerline field trial on medium voltage overhead circuits

This paper presents the results of a large scale field trial conducted over a period of 18+ months for a broadband over powerline communications system in a medium voltage overhead distribution network. Specifically, this infrastructure was designed to provide high speed bi-directional communications for electric utility devices in an intelligent grid environment supporting voltage and current sensors, remote controlled pole top switches and electric meter collection devices, among others.
Effect of oxygen on the thermomechanical behavior of passivated Cu thin films

The thermomechanical behavior of Cu thin films, 600–1125 nm thick and encapsulated between SiNx barrier and SiNx or AlNx passivation layers on silicon substrates, was studied during thermal cycling between room temperature and 400 or 500 °C using the substrate curvature method. Films were prepared with varying oxygen contents, and the distribution of oxygen through the thickness of selected films was studied before and after thermal cycling using secondary ion mass spectrometry. Large variations in the thermomechanical behavior with oxygen content were found and correlated with segregation of oxygen to the film/barrier and film/passivation interfaces. These variations are thought to be due to recovery of stored misfit dislocation energy, which is, in turn, controlled by oxygen in the film. Effects of oxygen on film deformation through variations in interfacial adhesion and diffusion-induced dislocation glide are considered.
Gustducin couples fatty acid receptors to GLP-1 release in colon

Sweet taste receptor subunits and α-gustducin found in enteroendocrine cells of the small intestine have been implicated in release of the incretin hormones glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) in response to glucose and noncaloric sweeteners. α-Gustducin has also been found in colon, although its function there is unclear. We examined expression of α-gustducin, GLP-1, and GIP throughout the intestine. The number of α-gustducin-expressing cells and those coexpressing α-gustducin together with GLP-1 and/or GIP increased from small intestine to colon. α-Gustducin also was coexpressed with fatty acid G protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 40, GPR41, GPR43, GPR119, GPR120, and bile acid G protein-coupled receptor TGR5 in enteroendocrine cells of the colon. In colon, GPR43 was coexpressed with GPR119 and GPR120, but not with TGR5. Treatment of colonic mucosa isolated from wild-type mice with acetate, butyrate, oleic acid, oleoylethanolamide, or lithocholic acid stimulated GLP-1 secretion. However, GLP-1 release in response to these fatty acids was impaired in colonic tissue from α-gustducin knockout mice.
QoS-capable micromobility MPLS and its prototype implementation

Micromobility MPLS (MM-MPLS) is a new protocol, proposed recently through our research group, which extends use of multiple protocol label switching (MPLS) in micro mobility environment. The protocol provides better performance in several respects, one of them been handoff delay. In MM-MPLS, the depth of handoff-related changes is limited up to crossover router, rather than up to foreign domain agent. Also, soft-state location management using RSVP-TE is adopted. The issue of quality of service (QoS) provision in a micromobility MPLS environment involves path redirection at crossover routers, resource reservation while redirecting path, and admission control with priority for handoff traffic. A prototype of MM-MPLS is implemented on Linux 2.4 and has been deployed on our experimental testbed. This deployment demonstrates MM-MPLS' s practicality and applicability in a real mobile networking environment.
Blind multiuser receivers for code-hopping DS-CDMA systems

Blind detection of a desired user's signal in a code-hopping (CH) direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system is considered. In CH CDMA systems each user switches between a predetermined set of (short-)code sequences. A user signal in such systems may be treated as the superposition of several virtual short-code signals. A code-constrained inverse filter criterion (IFC)-based blind detector for short-code CDMA signals to detect a desired user's signal was recently presented by Tugnait and Li (2001). In this paper a novel approach combining the code-constrained IFC and a penalty function is proposed to simultaneously extract all virtual users associated with a given CH user. Global minima of the proposed cost function are analyzed. An illustrative simulation example is provided.
Binding of cations to individual gamma‐carboxyglutamate residues of conantokin‐G and conantokin‐T

Conantokin-G (con-G) and conantokin-T (con-T) are naturally occurring gamma-carboxyglutamate (Gla)-containing peptides that interact with multivalent cations in functionally relevant manners. Selective 13C-enrichment of Cgamma and Cdelta in each of the Gla residues has allowed metal binding affinities to be measured at individual side chains. Con-T possesses two metal binding sites, one with high affinity at Gla10/Gla14 and another with weak binding at Gla3/Gla4. Con-G contains two sites of comparable low affinity for Ca2+. Analysis of the 13C line-widths of con-G in the presence of Mg2+ allowed the order of metal binding to be determined, with Gla10/Gla14 loading before the Gla3/Gla4/Gla7 cluster. While the variant peptide, apo-con-T[Lys7Gla], was shown to have a very low alpha-helical content, this peptide binds a second metal with much greater affinity than wild-type con-T. This provides additional evidence that Gla7 in con-G is primarily responsible for destabilizing the apo-form, but is an important ligand for metal chelation. The residue-specific alpha-helical stabilities of con-G and con-T in their metal-free and metal-loaded states were estimated by determining rates of proton exchange from backbone peptide bond amides with deuterium atoms from 2H20-containing solvents. For both peptides, the lifetimes of protons on several peptide bond amides increased as metals of higher affinity were bound to the peptides, with the longest half-lives found in the region of the alpha-helical turn stabilized by the Gla10/Gla14 metal coordination site. We propose that Gla10 and Gla14 constitute the primary tight metal ion binding site in both peptides. This detailed analysis with physiologically relevant metal cations is crucial for deciphering the roles of critical amino acids in the bioactivity of the conantokin peptides.
A Protargol Method for Staining Nerve Fibers in Frozen or Celloidin Sections

Extensive experimentation with protargol staining of neurons in celloidin and frozen sections of organs has resulted in the following technic: Fix tissue in 10% aqueous formalin. Cut celloidin sections IS to 25 μ, frozen sections 25 to 40 μ. Place sections for 24 hours in 50% alcohol to which 1% by volume of NH4OH has been added. Transfer the sections directly into a 1% aqueous solution of protargol, containing 0.2 to 0.3 g. of electrolytic copper foil which has been coated with a 0.5% solution of celloidin, and allow to stand for 6 to 8 hours at 37° C. Caution: In this and the succeeding step the sections must not be allowed to come in contact with the copper. From aqueous protargol, place the sections for 24 to 48 hours at 37° C. directly into a pyridinated solution of alcoholic protargol (1.0% aqueous solution protargol, 50 ml.; 95% alcohol, 50 ml.; pyridine, 0.5 to 2.0 ml.), containing 0.2 to 0.3 g. of coated copper. Rinse briefly in 50% alcohol and reduce 10 min. in an alkaline hydroquinone reducer (...
Nonoperative Management of Low Back Pain and Lumbar Disc Degeneration

To The Editor: I am writing to express my disappointment in the recent Instructional Course Lecture, “Nonoperative Management of Low Back Pain and Lumbar Disc Degeneration” (2004;86:1810-8), by Brodke and Ritter. It describes the issue of nonoperative back care at a medical student level, which is not at all appropriate for what an instructional course should provide—the most up-to-date information presented by experts. This is especially sad because low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal disease and, if orthopaedists are expected to be the specialists who are knowledgeable in this area, they should at least have available to them current evidence-based treatment programs. The superficial summary of nonoperative care presented in this article further guarantees that the orthopaedist will continue his or her drift into the role of pure surgical technician, functioning at the behest of clinicians more expert than they. My specific problem is in the discussion of physical therapy. In this seven and one-half-page article, physical therapy merits half a page. Of all the areas of nonoperative care in which orthopaedic surgeons can have an opportunity for effective quality control, physical therapy is it. We … Corresponding author: Darrel S. Brodke, MD Department of Orthopaedics University of Utah 590 Wakara Way Salt Lake City, UT 84108 darrel.brodke{at}hsc.utah.edu
The effects of aging on taurine content and biosynthesis in different strains of rats.

Taurine has been postulated to have enantiostatic properties to stabilize cellular functions when challenged with external or internal stressors such as perturbations in calcium, free radicals or osmolality11. Taurine content has been found to decline with advancing age in a number of tissues in rodents8. A decrease in intracellular taurine during senescence would likely further exacerbate the well documented age-related declines in antioxidant defense systems, calcium regulation, and membrane integrity3,10. We have previously found that taurine content was decreased in a number of tissues in Fischer 344 rats (F344) and that this decline was not attributable to a failure in the renal conservation of taurine9. This has lead us to examine the biosynthesis of taurine to determine if it declines during aging and whether altered biosynthesis could be a possible mechanism contributing to the age-related decline in tissue taurine content.
The World Within Your Hand’s Reach

When reading any textbook, many students see black ink on endless white pages. Instead of focusing on the concepts within the book, they cannot wait to finish the assigned chapter and call it a day or night. However, if the students were to play video games relating to the subject, then they would be part of the action, free to explore the world by their own control. This type of learning holds true with International Relations and Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (2005), which gives the player the power, as leader, to be the first to build up his or her civilization. As decision makers of his or her empire, the student faces an endless number of international issues: the nature of power, international cooperation, conflicts, sustainable development, and the environment. This short essay explores how Civilization IV can teach students and help them better understand international relations, both its defining concepts and complexities.
Size estimation and the size of the measuring unit

Size estimates of line drawings made in terms of a familiar and three unfamiliar units of measure, presented as line segments, and another response condition requiring the familiar units to be drawn from memory, were examined. The results were: (1) in general, there was an underestimation using a relatively small, unfamiliar unit of measure, and an overestimation using all other units of measure; (2) generally, the unit of measure enabling the most accurate estimates was the familiar unit; (3) estimates using the familiar unit in two response conditions were not essentially different.
SizeCap: Efficiently handling power surges in fuel cell powered data centers

Fuel cells are a promising power source for future data centers, offering high energy efficiency, low greenhouse gas emissions, and high reliability. However, due to mechanical limitations related to fuel delivery, fuel cells are slow to adjust to sudden increases in data center power demands, which can result in temporary power shortfalls. To mitigate the impact of power shortfalls, prior work has proposed to either perform power capping by throttling the servers, or to leverage energy storage devices (ESDs) that can temporarily provide enough power to make up for the shortfall while the fuel cells ramp up power generation. Both approaches have disadvantages: power capping conservatively limits server performance and can lead to service level agreement (SLA) violations, while ESD-only solutions must significantly overprovision the energy storage device capacity to tolerate the shortfalls caused by the worst-case (i.e., largest) power surges, which greatly increases the total cost of ownership (TCO). We propose SizeCap, the first ESD sizing framework for fuel cell powered data centers, which coordinates ESD sizing with power capping to enable a cost-effective solution to power shortfalls in data centers. SizeCap sizes the ESD just large enough to cover the majority of power surges, but not the worst-case surges that occur infrequently, to greatly reduce TCO. It then uses the smaller capacity ESD in conjunction with power capping to cover the power shortfalls caused by the worst-case power surges. As part of our new flexible framework, we propose multiple power capping policies with different degrees of awareness of fuel cell and workload behavior, and evaluate their impact on workload performance and ESD size. Using traces from Microsoft's production data center systems, we demonstrate that SizeCap significantly reduces the ESD size (by 85%ofor a workload with infrequent yet large power surges, and by 50% for a workload with frequent power surges) without violating any SLAs.
HIV/STD Prevention Interventions for Adolescents: Cost-Effectiveness Considerations

ABSTRACT Every year, millions of American adolescents are infected with STDs, including HIV. The personal, social, and economic consequences of adolescent STD infection are substantial. Fortunately, school-based, individually-focused, and community-level educational and sexual risk reduction interventions can help prevent the spread of STDs among adolescents. However, very little is known about the economic efficiency, or cost-effectiveness, of such programs. Because funding for HIV/STD prevention programs is limited, health departments and other decision makers need accurate information about the cost-effectiveness of various prevention programs to help them appropriately target spending. This study: (1) reviews the magnitude of the multiple STD epidemics among adolescents; (2) describes selected STD prevention interventions that have been shown to be effective at reducing adolescents' risk for contracting STDs; and (3) discusses the cost-effectiveness of these programs, using what is known about the eco...
A Procedure for Equating Stocking Rate of Broilers When Sexes Are Reared Separately

Abstract THE common criteria for considering and selecting the house stocking rate for broilers is the number of square meters per bird. This concept is evident not only in commercial practice but also in the scientific literature. Numerous investigators have concluded that stocking rate or bird density affects growth rate of broilers; Tomhave and Seeger (1945), Mehrhof and O’Steen (1948), Thayer et al. (1953), Hansen and Becker (I960), Moreng et al. (1961), and Deaton et al. (1968). Since bird density affects the growth rate of broilers, when sexes are reared separately at one specified stocking rate to a specified age, the bird density as expressed in body weight per square meter of floor area differs. The data in Table 1 demonstrate the magnitude of difference in body weight per square meter of floor area for broilers reared sexes separately at a stocking rate of .073 square meter per bird. These data…
Influence of Ultrasonic Inspection Performance on Nerve Behavior and Function

Objective To determine the influence of ultrasonic inspection performance on nerve behavior and function.Methods Fifty six ultrasonic inspection workers(experiment group) and fifty six control staffs(control group) were recruited.Using Neurobehavioural Core Test Batteries recommended by WHO,different indexes were compared including affective state,simple visual sense motor reaction time,number span,hand raise and turn prompt degree,number transcode,Benton vision remaining,target tracing Test Ⅱ.Results In emotion state verification,energetic score of experiment group was lower than that of control group(P0.05),weary the puzzled scores were higher than that of control group(P0.05).In behavior function testing,number span and vision remaining score of experimem group were lower than that of control group(P0.01 or P0.05).In items with significant differences between the 2 groups,the scores of intense,melancholy,and the weary of male in experiment group were higher than that of control group(P0.05 or P0.01).In target tracing Test Ⅱ,to arrange the number,the female in experiment group was higher than that of control group(P0.05).When 10 years job seniority,the emotion condition intense,and the weary scores in experiment group were higher than that of control group(P0.05 or P0.01),but the energetic score was lower than that of control group(P0.05),while in the behavior function,the vision remaining score was lower than that of control group(P0.05),and the hand raise and turn prompt degree convenient score was higher than that of control group(P0.01).When≥10 years job seniority,the number span score of experiment group was lower than that of control group(P0.01).Conclusion There are significant influences of ultrasonic inspection performance on nerve behavior and function,especially to male workers.The relationship between working time and influence of ultrasonic inspection performance on nerve behavior and function is not significant.
Bacteria associated with calf pneumonia and their effect on gnotobiotic calves

Samples of pneumonic lung tissue from 140 calves with subclinical pneumonia and 65 calves with fatal pneumonia were examined bacteriologically. Sixty-eight (48 per cent) of the lungs from the subclinical cases and 27 (41 per cent) of the lungs from the fatal cases contained bacteria at more than 10(4) colony forming units (cfu) per gram of tissue. Pasteurella haemolytica was associated more with fatal cases than subclinical cases (P less than 0.001). Of the seven species of bacteria inoculated endobronchially into gnotobiotic calves only P haemolytica produced severe respiratory disease, although some strains of P multocida produced a fatal septicaemia.
Botox Therapy for Hyperhydrosis: How I Do It

Hyperhidrosis is the poor man’s detection method for determining where to inject botox: 1. Paint the area (e.g., axilla) with betadine solution (a betadine wipe will do) 2. Allow the betadine to dry 3. Apply a thin layer of cornstarch or fine talc powder over the betadine 4. Shine a handheld spotlight with a 100 W bulb directly on the area 5. The areas of hyperhidrosis will be stimulated and the moisture will cause the betadine to “bleed” through the white powder or cornstarch 6. Photograph the area for documentation 7. Apply a layer of a topical anesthetic (e.g., betacaine, EMLA, etc.) 8. Inject Botox into the dermis in a grid pattern in the targeted area with approximately 1 cm between injections 9. Use 2.5 units in 0.05 cc per injection site
Plant pathogenic spiroplasmas and their leafhopper vectors.

In the last two decades, it has become clear that the genus Spiroplasma is one of great size and diversity. Since the first species was cultured in 1970 (46, 130), these helical, motile, wall-less procaryotes have been discovered in or on a multitude of hosts (27, 61, 151).
Making the Studio Experience Work for Part-Time Students:

Most planning students now bring few, if any, graphic or design skills to graduate school. To maximize educational value from the experiential studio experience, students first need to develop a ba...
Infusion Medication Error Reduction by Two-Person Verification: A Quality Improvement Initiative

OBJECTIVE: Errors made in the administration of intravenous medication can lead to catastrophic harm. The frequency of hospital settings in which medication pumps are being used are increasing. We sought to improve medication safety by implementing a 2-person verification system before medication administration. METHODS: Our quality improvement initiative took place in an anesthesia radiology imaging service at a tertiary pediatric hospital. Key drivers included frequent educational meetings with clinicians, written reminders, display of visual reminders, constant feedback in the clinical areas that carried out the processes, and sharing of knowledge on displayed run charts. A multidisciplinary team conducted a series of tests of changes to address the interventions. Data were collected and entered into a database by an independent and impartial data collector. Data were analyzed via run charts and statistical process control methods. RESULTS: The team ran 24 plan–do–study–act ramps. The rate of 2-person verification of infusion pump programming increased from 0% to 90% and was sustained. Overall, 4 errors were rectified before the medication was administered to the patient. There was no delay in case starts (>90% before and during the project). This project played a key role, as part of a larger initiative within the department of anesthesia, in reducing medication errors. CONCLUSIONS: A brief 2-person verification approach can reduce medication errors due to inaccurate infusion pump programming. This improvement was achieved with the use of plan–do–study–act cycles. The impact can be significant and will promote a hospital safety culture.
Attempted Infringement: The Founders, President Obama's Gun Control Policies, and the Sacredness of the Second Amendment's Fundamental Right to Keep and Bear Arms

The Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution is said to be the foundation of rights that every man, woman, and child of this country are afforded by their Creator. While each amendment is of great importance, there exists one amendment that is vitally needed in order to protect ourselves from government tyranny and usurpation – the Second Amendment. Each year, as random acts of atrocious mass-violence occur, it seems like President Obama and his administration use such events to attempt to curtail the rights afforded under the Second Amendment. The President’s most recent attempt at this infringement came in 2013, when he asked Congress to enact certain gun control legislation that goes completely against this country’s history, as well as prior U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence. This comment examines prior history and jurisprudence involving the Second Amendment, and uses this information to show that certain aspects of President Obama’s gun control policies would likely be ruled unconstitutional. Two very recent Supreme Court cases, District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, have established that all rights granted under the Second Amendment are of a most fundamental nature, and this evidence and commentary throughout the history of this country were used to establish the findings in this comment.
Can any patients with chronic myeloid leukemia outside of a clinical trial have their tyrosine kinase inhibitor discontinued

Purpose of reviewThis article critically appraises the state of treatment-free remission as a strategy for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in deep remission after therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).Recent findingsApproximately half of patients with CML defined fairly narrowl
Chronic demyelination-induced seizures

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are three to six times more likely to develop epilepsy compared to the rest of the population. Seizures are more common in patients with early onset or progressive forms of the disease and prognosticate rapid progression to disability and death. Gray matter atrophy, hippocampal lesions, interneuron loss, and elevated juxtacortical lesion burden have been identified in MS patients with seizures; however, translational studies aimed at elucidating the pathophysiological processes underlying MS epileptogenesis are limited. Here, we report that cuprizone-mediated chronically demyelinated (9-12weeks) mice exhibit marked changes to dorsal hippocampal electroencephalography (EEG) and evidence of overt seizure activity. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses within the hippocampal CA1 region revealed extensive demyelination, loss of parvalbumin (PV+) interneurons, widespread gliosis, and changes in aquaporin-4 (AQP4) expression. Our results suggest that chronically demyelinated mice are a valuable model with which we may begin to understand the mechanisms underlying demyelination-induced seizures.
Direct Observation of Sink-Dependent Defect Evolution in Nanocrystalline Iron under Irradiation

Crystal defects generated during irradiation can result in severe changes in morphology and an overall degradation of mechanical properties in a given material. Nanomaterials have been proposed as radiation damage tolerant materials, due to the hypothesis that defect density decreases with grain size refinement due to the increase in grain boundary surface area. The lower defect density should arise from grain boundary-point defect absorption and enhancement of interstitial-vacancy annihilation. In this study, low energy helium ion irradiation on free-standing iron thin films were performed at 573 K. Interstitial loops of a 0 /2 [111] Burgers vector were directly observed as a result of the displacement damage. Loop density trends with grain size demonstrated an increase in the nanocrystalline (<100 nm) regime, but scattered behavior in the transition from the nanocrystalline to the ultra-fine regime (100–500 nm). To examine the validity of such trends, loop density and area for different grains at various irradiation doses were compared and revealed efficient defect absorption in the nanocrystalline grain size regime, but loop coalescence in the ultra-fine grain size regime. A relationship between the denuded zone formation, a measure of grain boundary absorption efficiency, grain size, grain boundary type and misorientation angle is determined.
Name Profiler Toolkit

The Name Profiler Toolkit is a visual analytics system designed to enable the interactive exploration and analysis of forename and surname geographical distributions across the United States. The toolkit utilizes 78 million records from US public telephone directories, links the location data to demographic data from the US Census Bureau and Zillow, and allows users to interactively compare distributions of names and name attributes. Using the forename and surname data as a case study, the authors developed a methodology for exploring joint probability distributions of categorical spatial data and demonstrate how such data can be linked to secondary sources of information (such as income and age) to derive further insights from the data.
Early reintervention after open and endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is associated with high mortality

Abstract Objective Although reinterventions are generally considered more common after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) than after open surgical repair (OSR), less is known about reintervention in the early postoperative period. Furthermore, there are few data regarding the impact of early reintervention on 30-day mortality. We sought to evaluate the rates and types of reintervention after abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair and the impact of reintervention on postoperative mortality. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) was queried from 2012 to 2014 for all intact, infrarenal AAA repairs. The 30-day reintervention was classified by Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Univariate analysis comparing patients with and without reintervention was performed with the Fisher exact test and Mann-Whitney U test. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of reintervention and to assess the association between 30-day reintervention and mortality. Results We identified 5877 patients (OSR, 658 [11%]; EVAR, 5219 [89%]), of whom 261 underwent reintervention (OSR, 7.1%; EVAR, 4.1%; P P P P P = .04). Patients who underwent reintervention had higher 30-day mortality (OSR, 28% vs 2.8% [ P P P Conclusions Compared with EVAR, patients undergoing open infrarenal AAA repair were significantly more likely to undergo 30-day reintervention, which could be related to higher open anatomic complexity and lower experience of the surgeon with open repair. Reintervention after both EVAR and OSR was associated with a >10-fold increase in postoperative mortality, emphasizing the need to minimize the complications associated with reintervention.
Area efficient soft error tolerant RISC pipeline: Leveraging data encoding and inherent ALU redundancy

This paper proposes novel soft error detection and mitigation technique in reduced instruction set computer (RISC) based pipeline processors. We leveraged the data encoding techniques (re-computing with rotated operands (RERO)) in conjunction with back pressure controlling mechanism in pipeline architecture. In order to alleviate the performance degradation due to potential stalling, we exploited the inherent ALU redundancy in conjunction with data encoding. Synthesis results on Stratix II FPGA from Altera suggested that if 5% of the instructions are subject to soft error then for 2.25 additional stall cycles (on average) our proposed ALU-redundancy based solution in conjunction with data encoding provides better execution time even if the clock cycle time increases up to 11% because of additional hardware. Area wise our technique requires up to 3 times lesser area compared to other contemporary techniques and provides soft error tolerance in combinational blocks along with intermediate registers.
Robot-Assisted Retroperitoneal Lymphadenectomy

Robot-assisted retroperitoneal lymph node dissection is a procedure that is now more commonly offered to patients with testicular cancer. Nevertheless, this procedure is technically challenging and is not routinely performed. This chapter will describe the prevention and management of all possible complications that may arise from robot-assisted retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in a stepwise fashion. Since the most effective way to deal with any complication is to avoid it, this chapter will dedicate a significant portion of its content to describe the proper surgical technique that will help achieve this aim. Additionally, the current status of perioperative outcomes and complications will be reviewed.
Analysis of the Management Consulting Industry

In this introductory chapter, the management consulting value proposition is put into context by looking at general trends and definitions across different segments, key success factors, competitive landscape and operational value chain.
Double-blinded placebo-controlled cross-over pilot trial of naltrexone to treat Gulf War Illness

Background: 30% of Gulf War veterans developed Gulf War Illness (GWI) with chronic fatigue, pain, and neuropsychological disabilities.Purpose: To assess the efficacy of low-dose naltrexone to treat...
Pyroelectric AlN Thin Films Used as a MEMS IR Sensing Material

The measurement and characterization of reactive sputtered aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films is presented and evaluated as a potential solution for high temperature sensing applications based on its pyroelectric response (PR). This paper provides the PR obtained for our sputtered thin films along with an in-depth film evaluation using X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Photon Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to assess the films crystalline orientation and material composition while evaluating surface coatings for maximum infrared absorption. We observed an ~5× PR increase in the polycrystalline AlN films when compared to epitaxial monocrystalline AlN films. A design of experiments was used to help identify the key parameters which play vital roles in obtaining high PR films. Lastly, several MEMS based array concepts are presented for future testing and characterization.
Melting and Freezing

Publisher Summary Melting and freezing are important processes and these processes have played a decisive role in the formation of the Earth. This phase-change phenomena have become an indispensable part of many processes, such as, manufacturing of glass, crystals, and metal alloys; continuous casting of ingots, fabrics, and wires; food preservation and cryopreservation of biological cells; and desalination of seawater and freezing-out separation processes. This chapter reviews the current knowledge on phase-change phenomena, with particular focus on phase-change problems from solid to liquid or to gas. Because of their simplicity, one-dimensional, phase-change problems involving conduction heat transfer are the most frequently used model problems for the development of solution methods. This chapter begins with the consideration of such one-dimensional methods, either exact or approximate, which have been widely used in the literature. The substantial information about the physics of phase-change processes that can, in fact, be learned from studies of these simple models is discussed. The multidimensional conduction phase-change problems as well as the additional physics attributable to geometrical complexities are also reviewed.
CO2 Laser Surgery of the Cervix, Vagina, and Vulva

The gynecologic laser surgeon must be an expert colposcopist and skilled in the use of the surgical microscope. Surgical protocols for CO2 laser surgery of the cervix, vagina, and vulva are outlined and techniques discussed. Indications for its use, including treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, condylomata acuminata, and genital herpes are described and illustrated.
Environmental Facts and Formulas

Physical factors such as temperature, pressure, altitude, and humidity affect gases in particular and, thus, should be well understood by the critical care practitioner. A number of useful tables, formulas, and figures follow. Thermal injuries are commonly considered environmental events, and, thus, these formulas and figures are included in this chapter as well.
Exploring the free-energy landscape of GPCR activation.

G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large group of membrane-bound receptor proteins that are involved in a plethora of diverse processes (e.g., vision, hormone response). In mammals, and particularly in humans, GPCRs are involved in many signal transduction pathways and, as such, are heavily studied for their immense pharmaceutical potential. Indeed, a large fraction of drugs target various GPCRs, and drug-development is often aimed at GPCRs. Therefore, understanding the activation of GPCRs is a challenge of major importance both from fundamental and practical considerations. And yet, despite the remarkable progress in structural understanding, we still do not have a translation of the structural information to an energy-based picture. Here we use coarse-grained (CG) modeling to chart the free-energy landscape of the activation process of the β-2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) as a representative GPCR. The landscape provides the needed tool for analyzing the processes that lead to activation of the receptor upon binding of the ligand (adrenaline) while limiting constitutive activation. Our results pave the way to better understand the biological mechanisms of action of the β2AR and GPCRs, from a physical chemistry point of view rather than simply by observing the receptor’s behavior physiologically.
Assessing the Development of Student Outcomes in Project-based Learning Engineering Design and Entrepreneurship Courses

This work-in-progress research paper focusses on comparing changes in students’ learning outcomes in engineering design and entrepreneurship courses. Recent national calls to reform undergraduate engineering education has led to extensive research in the identification and development of effective instructional strategies. Project-based learning (PBL) is one instructional strategy that has received empirical and anecdotal support for its ability to instill professional skills in addition to technical content knowledge in engineering graduates. Engineering programs have increasingly adopted PBL in the form of capstone engineering design courses, entrepreneurship courses, and co-curricular experiences. However, PBL is broadly defined in the literature, and as such, these adaptations are often nuanced in their design, structure, and pedagogical approaches; and consequently, may have differing impact on student learning outcomes.Engineering design and entrepreneurship courses are two commonly used avenues in which engineering students are exposed to PBL. In design courses, students often work in teams to complete tasks that lead to devising an engineering solution to a given ‘real-world’ problem. Most, if not all, engineering students gain exposure to PBL via capstone design courses that are often required in the engineering curriculum. In addition to design courses, entrepreneurship courses also expose engineering students to PBL by engaging them in entrepreneurial projects in which students work in teams, often conceptualizing and designing products. While the engineering design process is more focused on the outcome solution to the problem, entrepreneurship design processes tend to emphasize the front end of the design process, specifically opportunity identification and validation. Students engage in customer discovery and develop prototype solutions. Although nuanced, we hypothesize that due to these different approaches, engineering design and entrepreneurship will have varied impact on student learning outcomes. In our presented work, we investigate these differences by examining changes in students’ perceived risk-taking abilities, creative self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in engineering design and entrepreneurship practicum courses. Preliminary results show that entrepreneurial self-efficacy increases in both design and entrepreneurship courses. However, differences in the magnitude of change for its subconstructs are noted between the two courses. In contrast, increase in risk-taking and creative self-efficacy is only found in the entrepreneurship course and not in the engineering design course. Future work will focus on analyzing the pre-post survey data for statistically significant changes.
Maximizing social benefit from finite energy resource allocation

Since the industrial revolution, human population and fossil energy consumption have steadily increased. With concerns over fossil energy impact on air quality and global climate, there is increasing interest in collection and conversion of non-fossil energy feedstocks. These finite renewable feedstocks (biomass, solar, wind) provide a challenge based on their land-limited supply and temporal availability. Consequently, society needs methodologies to increase end-user efficiency to maximize the energetic utility and sociological benefit from the finite land base. This paper presents a methodology for evaluating whole system effectiveness from a finite unit of biomass feedstock. By analyzing conversion of raw energy inputs into final energy services (FES) delivered in the form of transport or heat to society, we assess the FES returned on energy investment (ERoEIfes). Comparison of ERoEIfes across 11 different conversion pathways illustrates the relative delivered social benefit of each pathway derived from the same finite feedstock. We found previously that New York (NY) could sustainably produce 14.2 Tg/y of biomass feedstocks from agriculture and forestry (equivalent to 7% of NY’s primary energy consumption of 3.9 EJ). We found that high value FES as a percentage of energy in the biomass feedstock ranged from 5 to 15% for transport and 12 to 71% for heat (residential or commercial). However, the FES provided for six pathways was more than 2-fold higher if co-products were used. This method (1) internalizes energetic processing and use losses (2) to compare pathways and systems (3) that maximize services and value derived from land-limited sustainably harvested resources (4) thus providing a holistic approach increasing the value of a unit of land to generate primary energy resources, sustainably. This case study provides a framework to assess a range of conversion pathways for any finite energy feedstock for society. Across all biomass types and conversion processes, the replicable ERoEIfes methodology provides a foundation for decision-makers to compare FES delivered and then develop policies that reap the most benefit per unit of finite feedstock, thus assisting in more effective transition away from fossil-based feedstocks.
Association of meniscal injury to joint space width on standard tibial plateau leveling osteotomy lateral radiographic projections of the canine stifle

Up to 70% of dogs with cranial cruciate ligament tears have concurrent meniscal injury, and these injuries can increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis and persistent lameness. Studies assessing joint space width on knee radiographs in people have indicated associations between joint space width and meniscal injuries. The aim of this prospective analytical study was to determine if there was an association between stifle joint space width on three different radiographic projections (the standard tibial plateau leveling osteotomy projections and a standing lateral projection) and meniscal injuries identified at surgery in dogs. There was a significant association between dogs with a meniscal tear and the corresponding joint space width on standard tibial plateau leveling osteotomy lateral radiographic projections (P-value = .0028). Based on receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, joint space widths measuring less than 3.43 mm may indicate a meniscal tear, with a corresponding 89.5% specificity and 40.5% sensitivity in dogs weighing 31 kg. Joint space narrowing is seen with meniscal tears in dogs, and radiography may be a noninvasive way to identify meniscal tears prior to surgery.