cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Skull Base Tumors: Surgery Perspective

Tumors of the skull base are frequently intimately involved with surrounding critical neurovascular structures, which makes complete resection difficult. Because tumors of the skull base can extend into adjacent compartments, both intracranial and extracranial structures can be involved. Thus, a multidisciplinary approach is required for optimal surgical management. Because of advancements in microsurgical techniques, modern skull base approaches, electrophysiologic monitoring, and neuroimaging in the past two decades, many of these tumors that were once thought to be inaccessible and unresectable can be safely removed with preservation of neural structures [1]. The microsurgical application of skull base techniques maximizes bone removal and therefore improves the operative field of vision, minimizes brain retraction, and provides multiple surgical angles for dissection [2]. Recent applications of frameless stereotaxy and endoscopic techniques have further contributed to modern skull base surgery. The primary goals of surgical removal of skull base tumors are to preserve neurologic function while treating the patient’s pathology. The ultimate goal is cure by gross total tumor resection with minimal morbidity and mortality.
Incites of Injury: Black Feminist Politics, Risky Tactics of Survival and the Production of the Radical Consciousness in the Age of Obama

A refusal to talk about race and gender in a clear and coherent manner, the "post-politics" of the Obama era not only signified a shift in Black politics, but a crisis in Black feminist politics where radical Black women, who are pushed into political outer space, are compelled to employ risky political maneuvers to become realized. My paper asks the following questions: How does Hillary Clinton’s campaign against sexism authenticate certain sources of gendered knowledge while simultaneously naming non-white gendered perspectives immaterial? How does the language that frames 2008 Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney and Vice Presidential Candidate Rosa Clemente’s radical political vision give Clinton and her supporters the “license” to dismiss their radical political agenda? Furthermore, how has the transnational and global backdrop further marginalized the importance of U.S. minority based struggles in the current moment and in many ways assisted Clinton and her supporters? Through a discourse analysis of McKinney and Clemente's 2008 Green Party nomination acceptance speeches I argue that their radical political visions aim to “talk back” to discourses of American nationalism. By recentering their oppositional consciousness as a form of knowledge production in a "transnational" context, these Black women resist the notion that the US minority experience is passe, but rather embrace the transformative necessity that their oppositional politics call for in declining urban areas within the United States. In doing so, McKinney and Clemente highlight the ways that American politics and a number of feminist academics have welcomed the erasure of US minority based struggles for the "transnational." I identify this approach as a risky political maneuver that functions both for and against them as they attempt to make marginal populations within the US legible within national and transnational political discourses. Finally, I allude to the ways that these Black women transform oppositional knowledge production in a "transnational" context into an organized politics — a risky tactic of survival where only by risking ones livelihood thru "radical oppositional knowledge production," do their distinct "angle of vision" become realized.
Foundations of Game-Based Learning.

In this article we argue that to study or apply games as learning environments, multiple perspectives have to be taken into account. We first define game-based learning and gamification, and then discuss theoretical models that describe learning with games, arguing that playfulness is orthogonal to learning theory. We then review design elements of games that facilitate learning by fostering learners' cognitive, behavioral, affective, and sociocultural engagement with the subject matter. Finally, we discuss the basis of these design elements in cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural foundations by reviewing key theories from education and psychology that are the most pertinent to game-based learning and by describing empirical research on learning with games that has been or should be conducted. We conclude that a combination of cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural perspectives is necessary for both game design and game research to fully capture what games have to offer for...
Estimates of Social Contact in a Middle School Based on Self-Report and Wireless Sensor Data.

Estimates of contact among children, used for infectious disease transmission models and understanding social patterns, historically rely on self-report logs. Recently, wireless sensor technology has enabled objective measurement of proximal contact and comparison of data from the two methods. These are mostly small-scale studies, and knowledge gaps remain in understanding contact and mixing patterns and also in the advantages and disadvantages of data collection methods. We collected contact data from a middle school, with 7th and 8th grades, for one day using self-report contact logs and wireless sensors. The data were linked for students with unique initials, gender, and grade within the school. This paper presents the results of a comparison of two approaches to characterize school contact networks, wireless proximity sensors and self-report logs. Accounting for incomplete capture and lack of participation, we estimate that “sensor-detectable”, proximal contacts longer than 20 seconds during lunch and class-time occurred at 2 fold higher frequency than “self-reportable” talk/touch contacts. Overall, 55% of estimated talk-touch contacts were also sensor-detectable whereas only 15% of estimated sensor-detectable contacts were also talk-touch. Contacts detected by sensors and also in self-report logs had longer mean duration than contacts detected only by sensors (6.3 vs 2.4 minutes). During both lunch and class-time, sensor-detectable contacts demonstrated substantially less gender and grade assortativity than talk-touch contacts. Hallway contacts, which were ascertainable only by proximity sensors, were characterized by extremely high degree and short duration. We conclude that the use of wireless sensors and self-report logs provide complementary insight on in-school mixing patterns and contact frequency.
Bisphosphonate-Related Atypical Femur Fractures and Their Radiographic Features

Atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) are a rare, but serious, side effect of bisphosphonate therapy. They occur with minimal trauma and can be even more debilitating than high-trauma subtrochanteric fractures. Classically, these fractures show the early radiographic warning signs of endosteal and periosteal thickening of the subtrochanteric lateral femoral cortex. Subsequently, a transverse fracture line progresses medially until complete fracture. Diagnosis is highly reliant on identification of these findings on X-ray, DXA, or MRI. Nuclear scintigraphy is highly sensitive, but lacks specificity. Optimal screening methods are currently being researched, especially as developing fractures may be entirely asymptomatic.
Multinationals as an Instrument of Catch-up Industrialization: Understanding the Strategic Links between State and Industry in Emerging Markets

Emerging-market multinational corporations (MNCs) rise from rapidly catching-up economies, not from any so-called emerging ones. Their appearance on the world stage is concomitant with their success in initiating and sustaining industrial modernization in their home countries. And a successful catch-up can be planned, promoted, and achieved by a proactive government in an emerging economy that has a strong national determination for economic development. Market forces alone are not enough to spark an industrial takeoff. State involvement is practically a necessity, since market failures and externalities (notably negative ones) are rampant, both prior to, and in the early stages of, industrialization.
Effect of a Special Conditioning Class upon Students' Attitudes toward Physical Education

(1968). Effect of a Special Conditioning Class upon Students' Attitudes toward Physical Education. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 211-213.
Currency on CD-ROM of Articles From Medline

On the 1993 CD-ROM disks of Medline, 371,010 descriptions were found over 3,271 serials. The overall average currency of information was 6.92 months. Values ranged from a minimum of -2 to 329 months. The mean journal currency ranged from 2 to 324 months, with an average of 9.18 months. Priority level, periodicity and prior database were found to have a highly significant influence on mean journal currency. The 10 most important serials (regarding ISI’s impact factor for general medicine) are shown as examples of the secondary result database.
Organic compounds increase the efficacy of famoxadone + cymoxanil in the control of bacterial leaf spot of lettuce.

Abstract Bacterial leaf spot of lettuce, induced by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians, constitutes a major disease on commercial lettuce (Lactuca sativa) production in south Florida. Under greenhouse conditions, resorcinol, two antioxidants, and various sugar alcohols such as mannitol, were evaluated alone, and in combination with Tanos® 50DF (25% a.i. of each component cymoxanil and famoxadone, E.I du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DE) for control of bacterial leaf spot. Among the compounds evaluated, resorcinol (35–50% disease control) and mannitol (9–45%) were the most effective. In field trials, different mixtures containing propionic acid, mannitol, resorcinol, Tanos and or copper hydroxide (Kocide 3000®, 46.1%, 30% copper equivalent) were evaluated for the control of bacterial leaf spot of lettuce. Field data support a moderate impact of Tanos in disease reduction. Both greenhouse and field data support a synergistic interaction between Tanos and the compounds including copper, in disease reduction. The mixture Tanos + resorcinol, or copper/resorcinol, Tanos + copper provided better or similar disease control than copper alone. No phytotoxicity was observed in our trials. In an integrated management program for bacterial leaf spot of lettuce, Tanos may be useful in tank mixes with these compounds and copper.
Candidal carriage predicts candidiasis during topical immunosuppressive therapy: a preliminary retrospective cohort study

Objectives To determine (1) the prevalence of candidal carriage in patients with oral mucosal disease to be treated with topical immunosuppressive therapy, and (2) the incidence of oral candidiasis among carriers and noncarriers after initiation of therapy to assess any correlation between carriage and the development of candidiasis. Study Design Records of patients who underwent swab cultures for Candida between January 2009 and October 2014 at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, were retrospectively reviewed. The prevalence of candidal carriage and incidence of candidiasis were determined by using descriptive statistics. Results Of 99 evaluable patients, 20 (20.2%) were Candida positive and 79 (79.8%) were Candida negative. Of 44 patients with follow-up, 7 (15.9%) were Candida positive and 37 (84.1%) were Candida negative; five (11.4%) developed candidiasis. Four of seven (57.1%) Candida-positive patients developed candidiasis, whereas only one of 37 (2.7%) Candida-negative patients developed candidiasis (P = .0012). Conclusions The overall prevalence of candidal carriage was low (20.2%), and there was a significant difference in the incidence of candidiasis between carriers and noncarriers (P = .0012) after topical immunosuppressive therapy. Therefore, patients who are candidal carriers should be monitored closely for the development of secondary candidiasis and may be candidates for prophylactic antifungal therapy.
Asymptotic normality of the product-limit-estimator

ABSTRACTUnder the standard right-censorship (RC) model, which assumes that the survival time and censoring time are independent, several sufficient conditions have been established for the product-limit estimator (PLE) being asymptotically normally distributed on the whole real line [see, e.g. Stute, W. (1995), ‘The central limit theorem under random censorship’, Ann. Statist., 23, 422–439]. However, it remains a difficult open problem what the necessary and sufficient conditions that the PLE has an asymptotic normality property on the whole real line is. In this paper, we settle the problem under both the standard RC model which assumes and the dependent RC model.
Seasonal Influenza Vaccination of Children Induces Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunity Beyond the Current Season: Cross-reactivity With Past and Future Strains

Background Influenza viruses gradually accumulate point mutations, reducing the effectiveness of prior immune protection. Methods Children aged 9-14 years received 2010-2011 trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV). Vaccination history, hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) titers, and cell-mediated immune responses were assessed to investigate the cross-reactivity with past and future influenza virus strains. Results 2010-2011 TIV induced significant T-cell responses and HI titers of ≥160, with a fold-rise of ≥4 and titers of ≥100 maintained for >7 months in the majority of children. Pre-existing memory B cells in these children differentiated quickly to antibody-secreting cells to the new vaccine antigens. Children vaccinated in the previous year maintained high HI titers well into 2010, demonstrating elevated HI titers against A/Perth/16/2009, the future (in 2010-2011) H3N2 component. Prior vaccination enhanced CD8+ T-cell responses to A/Perth/16/2009. Children vaccinated with the prior 2009-2010 seasonal vaccine also demonstrated higher preexisting levels of interferon γ-secreting CD4+CD69+ T cells to 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1). Children previously vaccinated with 2009-2010 seasonal influenza vaccine also showed greater expansion of tumor necrosis factor α-secreting CD8+CD69+ T cells to 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) upon vaccination in the 2010-2011 season than those who were not previously vaccinated. Conclusions Seasonal influenza viruses continuously drift, which allows them to circumvent protective immunity, but conserved epitopes provide immunological cross-reactivity in children through either vaccination directly or through prime/boost in the prior influenza season.
Extraction of water and speciation of trivalent lanthanides and americium in organophosphorus extractants

Complexes of the trivalent lanthanides and Am with di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (HDEHP) dissolved in an aliphatic diluent were probed with UV–vis, X-ray absorption fine structure, and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy while the water concentration was determined by Karl Fischer titrations. In particular, our work focuses on the Nd-hypersensitive UV–vis absorbance region to identify the cause of changing absorbance values at 570 and 583 nm in relation to the pseudooctahedral Nd environment when coordinated with three HDEHP dimers. In contrast to recently reported interpretations, we establish that while impurities have an effect on this electronic transition band, a high water content can cause distortion of the pseudooctahedral symmetry of the six-coordinate Nd, resembling the reported spectra of the seven-coordinate Nd compounds. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of the Nd in high-concentration HDEHP solutions also points to an increase in the coordination number from 6 to 7. The ...
Abstract MP11: Striatin Heterozygous Knockout Mice Have Increased Aldosterone Sensitivity

Background: We recently demonstrated that mice lacking one copy of the striatin gene (Strn+/-) have salt sensitivity of blood pressure (BP) as compared with WT mice. To determine whether Strn+/- mice have increased sensitivity to aldosterone (ALDO), we assessed the effect on blood pressure of an ALDO infusion in WT and Strn+/- mice fed a liberal sodium diet. Methods: In this study we used 12 week old WT and Strn+/- littermate male mice. For each genotype, mice were placed on HS diet and randomized to either: 1) placebo 2) ALDO (200 μg/Kg/day) or 3) ALDO plus 100 mg/kg/day eplerenone. BP was measured by tail cuff plethysmography at baseline and after treatment. After 21 days of treatment, animals were placed in metabolic cages for 24 hours. Finally, animals were sacrificed and organs excised. Primary endpoints were BP, renal immunohistochemistry, protein analysis by western blot and mRNA expression by RT-PCR. Results: BP increased significantly in Strn+/- mice treated with ALDO (ΔBP: 12 ± 4 mmHg, p=0.03) but not placebo (ΔBP 6± 6 mmHg); the BP effect of ALDO was blunted by eplerenone (Δ 6 ± 3 mmHg). In contrast, none of the treatments had a significant effect on BP in WT mice. Kidney weight was significantly increased after 3 weeks of ALDO treatment in both WT and Strn+/- mice and this increase in kidney weight was prevented by treatment with eplerenone, with no difference between genotypes. WT mice had an increase in glomerular volume (GV) in HS/ALDO treated that was blunted by eplerenone. Interestingly, Strn+/- mice had increased GV across all 3 treatment groups compared with WT mice. pAkt/Akt ratios were reduced in Strn+/- mice versus WT mice across all treatments. Classic genomic MR targets (ENaC and SGK1) and non-genomic targets (pAkt/Akt) were significantly modulated in kidney tissue of Strn+/- mice compared to WT mice with chronic ALDO. Conclusion: Strn+/- mice have an increased sensitivity to infused ALDO (increased BP response and increased rise in renal ENaC and SGK1 protein) as compared to WT mice. Since loss of striatin directly reduces nongenomic not genomic action of ALDO, this study demonstrates for the first time that modifying the nongenomic pathway may under chronic, in vivo conditions led to increased sensitivity to the genomic actions of ALDO.
8.01 – Nickel Complexes with Carbonyl, Isocyanide, and Carbene Ligands

This chapter reviews nickel complexes with carbonyl, isocyanide, and carbene ligands. Among the complexes discussed are mononuclear, dinuclear, and higher cluster complexes corresponding to these ligands. Theoretical and physical studies of nickel carbonyls, isocyanides, and carbenes and their catalytic properties are also addressed.
Twelve-Step Facilitation in Non-specialty Settings

Participation in the twelve-step mutual-help organization, Alcoholics Anonymous, has proven to be an effective means of helping individuals with alcohol dependence achieve lasting sobriety. Although many patients choose to attend AA of their own accord, clinicians’ facilitation of AA involvement (“Twelve-Step Facilitation” [TSF]) has shown to substantially increase the likelihood that patients will become engaged with these freely available resources. Importantly, many individuals with alcohol dependence never seek help from addiction specialists, yet often encounter other health professionals due to alcohol-related physical or psychological problems providing an opportunity for intervention. However, for clinicians who do not specialize in addiction treatment, knowledge about what AA actually is and does is often lacking, and confidence in implementing TSF strategies is low. This chapter provides essential information for clinicians working in non-specialty settings who have little knowledge of, or experience with, AA or TSF, but who may wish to utilize proven strategies to augment existing interventions by helping educate, link, and engage patients with AA. Detailed information on the origins and specific elements of AA is provided along with recommended TSF approaches and strategies to aid the non-specialist in building effective interventions for patients with alcohol dependence.
Equatorial Beta-Plane and Equatorial Waves

The equator is a special region dynamically, most obviously because there the vertical component of the Earth’s rotation vanishes. It turns out to be, in consequence, a region in which certain linear waves have unusually strong signals and are involved in some important atmospheric and oceanic phenomena such as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation in the atmosphere and the El Nino (ENSO) phenomenon in the ocean (and atmosphere). Good, useful references that describe in detail those phenomena are Andrews et al. (1987) for the former and Philander (1990) for the latter.
Fusions involving paired box and fork head family transcription factors in the pediatric cancer alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a soft tissue tumor with striated muscle differentiation which usually presents in pediatric patients (Raney et al. 1993). Though histopathologic classification has evolved over time, two major forms of childhood RMS are consistently recognized, embryonal (ERMS) and alveolar (ARMS). These two histopathologic entities have distinct clinical behaviors. ERMS presents mainly in children less than 10 years old; occurs predominantly in the head and neck, genitourinary tract, and retroperitoneum; and is associated with a favorable prognosis. In contrast, ARMS presents mainly in adolescents and young adults, often occurs in the extremities, and is associated with an unfavorable prognosis (Tsokos et al. 1992). This unfavorable prognosis is related to the propensity for early and wide dissemination, often involving bone marrow, and to the poor response to chemotherapy.
Clinical Assessment and Management of Portal Hypertension

The development of portal hypertension in a patient with cirrhosis portends a poor prognosis. Untreated or progressive portal hypertension has serious clinical outcomes, which are often fatal. It is important to recognize portal hypertension early to delay progression and to treat complications of portal hypertension as they arise. This review will focus on the clinical assessment and management of portal hypertension.
Repeated clodronate-liposome treatment results in neutrophilia and is not effective in limiting obesity-linked metabolic impairments

Depletion of macrophages is thought to be a therapeutic option for obesity-induced inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. However, whether the therapeutic effect is a direct result of reduced macr...
Coalescing oil separator for compressors

Abstract Oil separation is commonly needed in air conditioning or refrigeration systems to reduce the oil circulation rate and keep the oil inside the compressor. For compactness, the oil separation structure integrated into the compressor is more and more popular than traditional external oil separator. However, a quantitative guideline for the design of oil separation structure is missing for irregular geometry and realistic flow condition at the compressor discharge. This paper presents coalescence, one of the basic mechanisms of droplet separation, studied by flow visualization and analytical models. The misty oil flow through separator is visualized by a high-speed camera and analyzed quantitatively. Oil droplet size distribution is estimated by video processing. Important flow details are revealed, including oil droplet collision, oil droplet coalescence, oil film breakup, and re-entrainment. Separation efficiency is estimated by the ratio between drained and incoming oil mass flow rate. Pressure drop is also measured to evaluate the cost brought by separation structures. An analytical model for coalescing oil separator is developed based on the mass flow balance through multiple layers of coalescing separators. Development of the model starts with the experimental and analytical analysis of first one wire, then a serious of wires to come to a wire pad. The results of the model are verified by experimental measurements in a full vapor compression system with R134a and PAG oil. The results of the model show good agreement with experiment and conclusion provides guidelines for oil separator design and operation.
An Evaluation of Data Size Reduction Techniques for Improving the Reliability of Cloud-based CNC for a 3D Printer

Abstract Cloud-based computer numerical control (C-CNC) is an emerging paradigm of Industry 4.0 where CNC functionalities are moved to the cloud and provided to manufacturing machines as a service. Among many benefits, C-CNC allows manufacturing machines to leverage advanced control algorithms running on cloud computers to boost their performance at low cost, without need for major hardware upgrades. However, a major challenge of C-CNC is how to guarantee safe and reliable control of a manufacturing machine from the cloud, given delays and other Internet quality-of-service issues. This paper evaluates several techniques for reducing the size of control commands transmitted to a 3D printer from a cloud-based controller (with elements of C-CNC), in an effort to prevent degradation of 3D printer accuracy and speed caused by high latency Internet connection. Six of the evaluated techniques are popular statistical lossless data compression methods while one of the techniques, advocated in this paper, involves physics-based pseudo-lossless data truncation (i.e., no loss of key information content needed for control). In benchmark tests, the truncation technique is found to perform best in terms of the consistency and magnitude of data reduction ratio. Moreover, while the compression techniques require untenable amounts of memory for decompression on the microprocessor of the 3D printer, the memory requirements of the truncation technique are small. Consequently, using the truncation technique for data size reduction, frequent pauses during print that occur when controlling the 3D printer over high latency Internet connections, and cause poor surface finish of the printed part, are mitigated. As a result, high-quality prints are obtained at high-speed from the cloud-based controller over high latency Internet connections.
A Pledge of Faithfulness: How Black Christian Fraternity Men Embody Race, Gender and Religious Identities

ABSTRACTThough much has been written about the benefits that Black sororities and fraternities offer its members as well as broader communities within and beyond the ivory towers, comparatively few...
Consequences of trace metal variability and supplementation on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture performance: A review of key mechanisms and considerations

Trace metals are supplied to chemically-defined media (CDM) for optimal Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture performance during the production of monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic proteins. However, lot-to-lot and vendor-to-vendor variability in raw materials consequently leads to an imbalance of trace metals that are supplied to CDM. This imbalance can yield detrimental effects rooted in several primary mechanisms and pathways including oxidative stress, apoptosis, lactate accumulation, and unfavorable glycan synthesis. Recent research endeavors involve supplying zinc, copper, and manganese to CDM in excess to further maximize culture productivity and product quality. These treatments significantly impact critical quality attributes and furthermore highlight the degree to which trace metal availability can affect CHO cell culture performance. This review highlights the role of trace metal variability, supplementation, and interplay on key cellular mechanisms responsible for overall culture performance and the production and quality of therapeutic proteins.
CHAPTER 1 – AN OVERVIEW

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview on the theory of observable market behavior. It is the most direct challenge to the standard theory of consumer behavior, which begins with axiomatic assumptions to deduce theorems stating the properties of the consumer's optimal behavior. The theory of revealed preference takes a reverse process of, first, observing rational behavior in the market, and then deriving the theory of consumption and utility analysis consistent with the market behavior. The theory of observable behavior has taken another important turn by the introduction of duality analysis of consumer and firm's behavior. Rather than studying the market behavior generated from the direct functions, one begins with the observation of the market behavior related to the indirect functions. The analysis focuses on the recoverability problem of the expenditure function and of the cost function. The properties of the underlying functions, such as the utility and production functions, are also studied through the recovered indirect functions. This indirect and dual approach not only contributes important insights of its own but also offers more immediate empirical application. It enables one to formulate many problems in a way that is natural.
Methylated and unmethylated epialleles support variegated epigenetic silencing in Friedreich ataxia.

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is typically caused by homozygosity for an expanded GAA triplet-repeat in intron 1 of the FXN gene, which results in transcriptional deficiency via epigenetic silencing. Most patients are homozygous for alleles containing > 500 triplets, but a subset (~20%) have at least one expanded allele with 500 triplets, a significantly higher prevalence of unmethylated epialleles (median = 9.8%) was observed in patients with at least one allele containing 20%) and later onset (>15 years). The higher prevalence in mild FRDA of somatic FXN epialleles devoid of DNA methylation is consistent with variegated epigenetic silencing mediated by expanded triplet-repeats. The proportion of unsilenced somatic FXN genes is an unrecognized phenotypic determinant in FRDA and has implications for the deployment of effective therapies.
The Composite Dividend Tax Rate

Dividends often impose taxes on investors. However, as certain prior financial models indicate, they also can produce a tax gain from leverage. Hence the composite marginal dividend tax rate can be specified as the nominal rate minus the offsetting tax gain from leverage. Although this principle has been embedded in theoretical models for more than forty years, no prior study has examined empirically whether the dividend-induced tax gain from leverage influences dividend policy. We address this empirical void and find dividends decrease in the nominal dividend tax rate and increase in the offsetting tax gain from leverage. In addition, we find the composite tax rate outperforms traditional measures in explaining dividend policy for our full sample of firms. Consistent with prior theory, we also find the composite rate varies in influence according to the financing source for a dividend.
Barriers to ACEI/ARB Use in Proteinuric Chronic Kidney Disease: An Observational Study

Abstract Objective To assess present angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use among patients with proteinuric chronic kidney disease (CKD) and examine barriers limiting this guideline-concordant care. Patients and Methods Using a nationwide database containing patient-level claims and integrated clinical information, we examined current ACEI/ARB prescriptions on the index date (April 15, 2017) and prior ACEI/ARB use in 41,743 insured adults with proteinuric CKD. Using multivariable logistic regression, we estimated adjusted associations between current ACEI/ARB use and putative barriers including past acute kidney injury (AKI), hyperkalemia, advanced CKD, and lack of nephrology care. Results Only 49% (n=20,641) of patients had an active ACEI/ARB prescription on the index date, but 87% (n=36,199) had been previously prescribed an ACEI/ARB. Use was lower in patients with past AKI, hyperkalemia, CKD stages 4 or 5, and a lack of nephrology care (adjusted odds ratios were 0.61 [95% CI, 0.58 to 0.64], 0.76 [95% CI, 0.72 to 0.80], 0.48 [95% CI, 0.45 to 0.51], and 0.85 [95% CI, 0.81 to 0.89], respectively). Conclusion Discontinuing, rather than never initiating, ACEI/ARB treatment limits guideline-concordant care in proteinuric CKD. Past AKI, hyperkalemia, advanced CKD, and lack of nephrology care were associated with lower use of ACEIs/ARBs, but these putative barriers may in many instances be inappropriate (AKI and advanced CKD) or modifiable (hyperkalemia and lack of nephrology care).
Parametric Enhancement of Radiation from Electrically Small Antennas

Electrically small antennas are characterized by large quality factors, which yield limited gain-bandwidth products, as a result of the Bode-Fano limit. This bound implies a trade-off between the antenna's footprint and radiation features, hindering wireless applications that require compact, broadband, and efficient antennas. Here, building on a previous theoretical analysis of parametric matching networks [H. Li, A. Mekawy, and A. Al\`u, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 164102 (2019)], we demonstrate how parametric phenomena can overcome this trade-off, offering a pathway to realize stable non-Foster wideband antennas that go beyond the restrictions of passive systems. We demonstrate our approach in a planar small loop antenna loaded by a time-varying capacitor that oscillates around twice the radiation frequency, showing that it can result in wideband radiation enhancement, exceeding the limitations of passive scenarios.
Divide and Conquer: How the Democrats Can Maintain Control of the Ninth Circuit

Due to its large size, the Ninth Circuit employs a limited en banc review, where only eleven of its active judges sit en banc, consisting of the chief judge and ten other active judges who are randomly selected. Accordingly, limited en banc allows for “minority rule” in a subset of cases, such as when the random draw results in six or more judges holding minority views for that particular case. Although a few Ninth Circuit judges have criticized the limited en banc procedure because of the possibility of minority decisions, most of the judges on the Ninth Circuit have apparently accepted the limited en banc procedure on the basis that there is no perceived realistic alternative. This Essay challenges this consensus and presents a mechanism to fix the Ninth Circuit’s representativeness problem while retaining the efficiency of the current procedure. Because the Trump Administration has significantly cut into the advantage Democratic appointees have on the Ninth Circuit, this mechanism is needed for the Democratic appointees to maintain control of Ninth Circuit law.
Concussion and lower extremity injury risk following return to activity: A systematic review

Aim: The purpose of this systematic review is to present the evidence examining concussion and subsequent lower extremity injury (LEI) risk, and to provide a clinically relevant interpretation of the existing literature for sports medicine clinicians. We hypothesize that there is sufficient high-quality evidence providing an association between concussion and subsequent LEI risk. Background: In active individuals who have suffered a concussion, even after acute symptoms resolve, the long-term consequences and cognitive deficits that persist remain a pervasive topic of study in sports medicine research. As more studies indicate a risk of secondary injury following a concussion, specifically a risk of LEI, a review of the literature is necessary to bring the latest research into discussion. Review Results: Of the 459 studies reviewed for eligibility, 10 articles were accepted for systematic review and graded for quality. Overall, eight of the ten studies meeting the inclusion criteria demonstrated an association between concussion and LEI. The risk of LEI following a concussion ranged in studies with odds ratios ranging from 1.72 to 2.48, hazards ratios ranging from 1.47 to 4.07, and the incident rate ratio ranging from 1.97 to 2.02 in athletes who had acquired a concussion versus those who did not. Conclusion: Taken together, there is enough evidence of sufficient quality to determine that there is an association between concussion and the subsequent risk of acquiring a lower-extremity injury. This systematic review suggests care should be taken in future studies to assess the contributing factors that may predispose an individual to lower extremity injuries following a concussion. Clinical Significance: Concussions and the subsequent risk of LEI remain a growing concern for sports medicine providers. Our study suggests that there is a need to further investigate the mechanistic processes that may be predisposing an individual to subsequent lower extremity injuries following a concussion, and if this risk can be reduced with appropriate postconcussion care.
The Intergenerational Transmission of Grandmother-Grandchild Co-Residency

This study examined national data from two women's cohorts to determine the likelihood that Black grandmothers who resided with grandchildren were more likely than other grandmothers were to have daughters who resided with grandchildren. Of 1098 co-resident grandmothers, 390 (36%) were in the younger of the two cohorts, 603 (55%) were in the older, and 105 (9%) tier in both, comprising the sub-sample of grandmother-grandchild mother-daughter pairs, A significantly higher proportion of mothers in the grandmother-grandchild mother-daughter pairs were Black (83%) compared to 37% of the mothers among the non-paired ever co-resident grandmothers. The study also found, by proxy, that the co-resident grandmother-grandchild mother-daughter pairs had lower socioeconomic standing than non-paired ever co-resident grandmothers
Mas' Making and Pedagogy: Imagined Possibilities.

In this article I draw on an ethnographic case study that examined mas’ makers’ perceptions of the learning/teaching practices at work in the production of costumes for Trinidad and Tobago’s annual Carnival celebrations. During the 2005 Carnival season I spent four months in the field, my country of birth, and collected data through participant observation, still photographs, and informal and semi-formal autobiographical interviews. I used Spradley’s (1979, 1980) domain and componential analysis and Goodenough’s (1971) propriospect in my description, analysis, and interpretation of the data resources. In this article, I apply the notion of performance art pedagogy to these findings. In so doing, I explore imagined possibilities and implications for the institutionalized educational system that Caribbean scholars claim are in an era of re-conceptualization. I challenge fellow educators to reconsider what counts as learning and what learning counts (Green & Luke, 2006),
SoftExplorer: Estimation, Characterization, and Optimization of the Power and Energy Consumption at the Algorithmic Level

We present SoftExplorer, a tool to estimate and analyze the power and energy consumption of an algorithm from the C program. The consumption of every loop is analyzed, and the influence of the data mapping is characterized. Several models of processor are available, from the simple RISC ARM7 to the very complex VLIW DSP TI-C67. Cache misses, pipeline stalls, and internal / external memory accesses are taken into account. We show how to analyze and optimize the power and energy consumption, and how to choose a processor and its operating frequency, for a MPEG-1 decoder. We also explain how to find the best data mapping for a DSP application.
Pulmonary manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome

A review of 343 patients with classic Sjogren's syndrome seen at the Mayo Clinic from 1967 through 1974 revealed pulmonary involvement in 31 patients (9 percent). Cough dyspnea, recurrent pneumonitis, and pleuritic pain were the primary complaints. Chest roentgenographic features included diffuse interstitial patterns, diffuse alveolar patterns, and pleural effusions. Laboratory studies revealed hypergammaglobulinemia in 16 of 22 patients tested, and 23 of the 31 patients had positive tests for antinuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor, or lupus erythematosus cells. Pulmonary function tests showed a restrictive ventilatory impairment or low diffusion capacity (or both) in all 18 patients studied. Pathologic diagnosis included the full range of pulmonary lesions described in Sjogren's syndrome, ie, lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis, pseudolymphoma, malignant lymphoma, diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchopneumonia. The clinical pulmonary diagnosis included diffuse interstitial fibrosis, recurrent pneumonitis, pleural effusions, and suspected lymphoma or pseudolymphoma. We conclude that pulmonary lesions occur in Sjogren's syndrome more frequently than previously reported.
Considering Disaster Vulnerability and Resiliency: The Case of Hurricane Effects on Tourism-based Economies

In this study, we examine the vulnerability and resiliency of 10 tourism-based regional economies which include US national parks or seashores (situated on the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean coastline) affected by several hurricanes over a 26-year period. The vulnerability of each economy to natural disasters was estimated using a panel linear model, while resilience was estimated by employing a negative binomial panel regression and a difference-in-difference model. Natural disaster damage, related to physical damage and human loss, was shown to have a negative effect on regional economies. Regions with stronger economies prior to natural disasters have lower disaster losses than regions with weaker economic characteristics. More effort to improve regional economic conditions before natural disasters is necessary to minimize disaster loss. Lessons learned from the economic impacts of past natural disasters, in particular in tourism-based regions, can help regional planners and policy makers predict problems related to disasters and more effectively prepare for future events.
The Intestinal Anastomosis

The ideal intestinal anastomosis is the one that does not leak, for leaks, although relatively rare, represent a dreaded and potentially deadly disaster (• Chap. 50). In addition, the anastomosis should not obstruct, allowing normal function of the gastrointestinal tract within a few days of construction. Any experienced surgeon thinks that his or her anastomotic technique, adopted from mentors and with a touch of personal virtuosity, is the “best.” Many methods are practiced: end to end, end to side, or side to side; single versus double layered, interrupted versus continuous, using absorbable versus nonabsorbable and braided versus monofilament suture materials. We even know some obsessive-compulsive surgeons (do you know any?) who carefully construct a three-layered anastomosis in an interrupted fashion. Now, add staplers to the mix. So, where do we stand; what is preferable (• Fig. 13.1)?
Effects of age and composition of field-produced biofilms on oyster larval setting.

Lack of success in restoring the native Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, to Chesapeake Bay has been linked to the low occurrence of oyster larval setting in tributaries to the Bay. Among the many potential factors that could affect efforts to produce oysters through aquaculture or supplementation of shell beds is substratum condition. The present study examined larval setting on field-produced biofilms from Little Wicomico River (Virginia, USA) to assess whether bacterial community structure (examined by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, T-RFLP) or other characteristics of contemporary biofilms in this tributary (biofilm age and mass, algal abundance, and percentage organic matter) inhibited setting of larval oysters. The structure of the natural and heterogenous bacterial community in the biofilms and the success of oyster set were correlated, suggesting that specific microbial species may play a role in oyster setting. Larval set increased with biofilm age and mass, suggesting tha...
An interoperable usage management framework

In this paper, we describe a formal framework for usage management that provides a scaffolding upon which interoperable usage management systems can be built. We apply the principles of system design to standardize certain features of the framework, such as the operational semantics, and leave free of standards areas that necessitate choice and innovation. We demonstrate that such an approach enables us to achieve a balance of flexibility and usability for the purpose of interoperability in usage management systems. We provide a formal model that allows us to define formal semantics for interoperability.
Effects of Patterning Instruction on the Academic Achievement of 1st-Grade Children

A test of the effectiveness of patterning instruction was conducted with 140 first-graders. First, 383 first-graders from 20 classes were screened on a patterning test. The eight in each class who scored worst were given individual 15-minute lessons on patterning or reading or mathematics or social studies three times weekly for a period of 6½ months. Test results for 140 children still available in May showed that the children receiving patterning instruction were generally superior on a patterning test. They also scored significantly higher on the Woodcock-Johnson (W-J) III Mathematics Concepts Scale 18A than children who received mathematics, reading, or social studies lessons. On the W-J III Mathematics Concepts Scale 18B, children who received either patterning or mathematics instruction scored significantly higher than those who received social studies instruction. There were no significant differences on the W-J III Applied Problems Scale 10, nor on three W-J III reading scales. These results sugge...
Direct Backside Connection Of Optical Fibers To GaAs Detectors

Photodetectors fabricated in GaAs have been vertically coupled to optical fibers using a cavity anisotropically etched in the backside of the GaAs substrate. The detector used was a Schottky photodiode amplified by an integrated MESFET. The cavity was etched from the backside using reactive ion etching (RIE). AlGaAs epitaxially grown on the substrate was used as an etch stop layer. A tapered optical fiber inserted in the backside cavity is accurately aligned to the detector and is mechanically stable. The vertical coupling approach is real-estate efficient and is particularly well suited for spatially parallel optical computing.
Dimensional analysis of the concept of obesity

Aim. The aim of this paper is to explore the evolution of the concept of obesity and to identify variations in its meaning and use from the perspectives of healthcare professionals and Black Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Latino Americans. Background. Obesity constitutes an emerging global healthcare epidemic. Little convergence is found between the meaning and use of the concept of obesity by healthcare professionals and those they are trying to serve. This lack of convergence points to the need for exploration of the assumptions, use and various meanings associated with this important concept. Method. The analysis included 20 papers from 18 research studies from the fields of nursing, psychology, epidemiology, medicine, and sociology. Caron and Bowers’ dimensional analysis method guided the analysis. Results. Eight dimensions were identified: objective measure, attractiveness, sexual desirability, health, body image, strength or goodness, self-esteem, and social acceptability. Substantial differences in assumptions, use, and meanings of this concept were found within and between the perspectives studied. However, there were insufficient data to fully assess use and meaning of the concept of obesity from the Latino American perspective. Conclusion. This analysis contributes to the development of an understanding of the meaning and use of the concept of obesity within varied socio-cultural contexts as well as from a healthcare perspective. Culture was found to play a significant role in how obesity is understood by the individual.
Stereochemical leakage mechanisms for tricarbonyl(dienyl)iron cations

Abstract ψ-Endo to ψ-exo leakage during solvolysis of a ψ-endo-dienol—Fe(CO)3 dinitrobenzoate ester does not proceed via a syn, syn-cis-dienyl—Fe(CO)3 cation. The most probable leakage mechanism involves non-stereospecific ionization of the dinitrobenzoate ester. syn,syn-cis-Dienyl—Fe(CO)3 cations are formed from ψ-exo-dienol—Fe(CO)3 complex during chromatography on grade I neutral alumina.