cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validation of the ICD/AIS MAP for pediatric use

Objective —To determine the performance of the ICD/AIS MAP (© E J MacKenzie et al ) as a method of classifying injury severity for children. Methods —Data on all children less than 16 years of age admitted to all designated trauma centers in Pennsylvania from January 1994 through October 1996 were obtained from the state trauma registry. The ICD/AIS MAP was used to convert all injury related ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes into abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score and injury severity score (ISS). Agreement between trauma registry AIS and ISS scores and MAP generated scores was assessed using the weighted κ (κ w ) coefficient for ordered data and the intraclass correlation coefficient for continuous data. Results —Agreement in ISS scores was excellent, both overall (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84 to 0.89)), and when grouped into three levels of severity (κ w = 0.86, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.87). Agreement in AIS scores across all body regions and ages was also excellent, (κ w = 0.86 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.87). Agreement increased with age (κ w = 0.78 for children w = 0.86 for older children) and varied by body region, though was excellent across all regions. Conclusions —The performance of the ICD/AIS MAP in assessing severity of pediatric injuries was equal to or better than previous assessments of its performance on primarily adult patients. Its performance was excellent across the pediatric age range and across nearly all body regions of injury.
Is control through utilization a cost effective Prosopis juliflora management strategy

The invasive tree Prosopis juliflora is known to cause negative impacts on invaded ranges. High P. juliflora eradication costs have swayed developing countries to follow a new and less expensive approach known as control through utilization. However, the net benefits of this new approach have not been thoroughly evaluated. Our objective was to assess the economic feasibility of selected P. juliflora eradication and utilization approaches that are currently practiced in one of the severely affected developing countries, Ethiopia. The selected approaches include converting P. juliflora infested lands into irrigated farms (conversion), charcoal production, and seed flour production. We estimate the costs and revenues of the selected P. juliflora eradication and utilization approaches by interviewing 19 enterprise owners. We assess the economic feasibility of the enterprises by performing enterprise, break-even, investment, sensitivity, and risk analyses. Our results show that conversion to irrigated cotton is economically profitable, with Net Present Value (NPV) of 5234 US$/ha over 10 years and an interest rate of 10% per year. Conversion greatly reduces the spread of P. juliflora on farmlands. Managing P. juliflora infested lands for charcoal production with a four-year harvest cycle is profitable, with NPV of 805 US$/ha. However, the production process needs vigilant regulation to protect native plants from exploitation and caution should be taken to prevent charcoal production sites from becoming potential seed sources. Though flour from P. juliflora pods can reduce invasions by destroying viable seeds, flour enterprises in Ethiopia are unprofitable. Conversion and charcoal production can be undertaken with small investment costs, while flour production requires high investment costs. Introducing new changes in the production and management steps of P. juliflora flour might be considered to make the enterprise profitable. Our study shows that control through utilization may be a viable P. juliflora management strategy under the right environmental setting.
Camp Horror and the Gendered Politics of Screen Violence: Subverting the Monstrous-Feminine in Teeth (2007)

ABSTRACTThis essay argues that Mitchell Lichtenstein’s film Teeth (2007) is an exemplary appropriation of the femme castratrice, a sadistic and castrating female figure that subverts the patriarchal mythologies undergirding the gendered logics of both screen violence and cultural misogyny. The film chronicles Dawn’s post–sexual assault transformation from a passive defender of women’s purity to an avenging heroine with castrating genitals. First, I illustrate how Teeth intervenes in the gendered politics of spectatorship by cultivating identification with a violent heroine who refuses to abide by the stable binary between masculine violence/feminized victimhood. This subversive iteration of rape-revenge cinema is assisted by the filmmaker’s introduction of camp, a playful and self-conscious cinematic style that renders transparent the fantasies guiding the cinematic construction of violence and the male gaze. Second, I argue that this revision of the rape-revenge genre equips audiences with important symb...
Terry L. Thompson, MD

The Charles H. Epps, Jr. Chair in Orthopedic Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine is the first chair named for an African-American orthopedic surgeon. Epps earned his medical degree with honors from Howard University, trained in orthopedic surgery at Freedmen's Hospital (now Howard University Hospital) and at D.C. General Hospital, and joined the college of medicine faculty, rising to chief of orthopedic surgery and director of residency training. Epps demonstrated unparalleled leadership, training and dedication to advancing orthopedic surgery. During his years as division chief and professor, he trained more African-American men and women in orthopedic surgery and taught the specialty to more African-American medical students than anyone in the world. From 1988-1994, Epps was dean of the college of medicine. Under his leadership, the college's endowment more than tripled to $42 million; the number of endowed chairs grew from one to five; endowment funds were developed for seven dean's lectures, 10 department and center lectures, and three existing lectures were enhanced. The college was reaccredited and its faculty practice plan reorganized. After serving as vice president for health affairs and acting chief executive officer of Howard University Hospital from 1994-1996, and as a special assistant to President H. Patrick Swygert, Epps retired in 2001. The chair will give lasting institutional and public recognition to Epps'distinguished career as a medical pioneer, educator, clinician, surgeon, healthcare administrator and mentor.
Estrogen Receptor β Variants Modify Risk for Alzheimer's Disease in a Multiethnic Female Cohort (P07.159)

Objective: Genetic variants that affect estrogen activity may influence risk for Alzheimer9s disease (AD). We investigated the influence of ESR2 polymorphisms on risk for AD in a multiethnic cohort of women, and hypothesized that gene variants would affect risk for AD differently in populations of different genetic ancestry or self-defined ethnicity. Background Most previous studies which have demonstrated an association between AD and ESR2 polymorphisms have been conducted in Caucasians. Few polymorphisms have been assessed in a multiethnic cohort in which members have been evaluated in a consistent manner. We examined the relationship between ESR2 polymorphisms and risk for AD in a multiethnic community of elderly women, with individual ancestry assessed by both genetic population ancestry markers and self - identified ethnicity. Design/Methods: 1686 women participating in the Washington Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), were followed at 18 - 24 month intervals. AD diagnosis was the primary outcome and was based on data from standardized neurological examinations and neuropsychological batteries. DNA was genotyped for 20 ESR2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate likelihood of AD by SNP genotype, adjusting for age, presence of an APOE e4 allele, body mass index, history of diabetes mellitus, and current smoking. Analyses were first conducted stratifying by models of population-based genetic ancestry based on a set of 100 genetically conserved SNPs, and then by self -reported ethnicity. Results: Increased risk for AD was associated with four ESR2 SNPs in women of predominantly Caucasian genetic ancestry: rs944045, rs1256062, rs10144225, and rs2274705. Additionally, rs10137185 was associated with decreased risk for AD in women who defined themselves as Black, and demonstrated a trend towards significance in women of predominantly African genetic ancestry. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ESR2 polymorphisms in women play a role in risk for AD which varies by genetic population ancestry or ethnicity. Supported by: Alzheimer9s Association IIRG-08-90655,"Genetics of Estrogen and Alzheimer9s Disease in a Multiethnic Cohort", NIH 5-T32MH020004-10 and the Charles and Ann Lee Saunders Brown Fellowship Fund. Disclosure: Dr. Janicki has nothing to disclose. Dr. Park has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cheng has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schupf has nothing to disclose. Dr. Clark has nothing to disclose.
Further studies on experimental parasystole and extrasystoles in groups.

ConclusionsShort mechanical or electrical stimulation of the dog's ventricle, following the administration of acetylcholine and atropine, leads to the temporary appearance of parasystolic arrhythmias. The ectopic parasystolic center may form stimuli in groups.
Short-term ex vivo activation of splenocytes with anti-CD3 plus IL-2 and infusion post-BMT into mice results in in vivo expansion of effector cells with potent anti-lymphoma activity

We investigated the proliferation and therapeutic utility of anti-CD3 activated splenocytes infused into mice following BMT. Using congenic mouse strains we demonstrated that splenocytes activated briefly ex vivo with anti-CD3 plus IL-2 (T-activated killer cells or T-AK) and infused intravenously following BMT had a greater expansion in blood, spleen and BM compared with splenocytes stimulated with IL-2 alone. T-AK cells recovered from blood, spleen and BM consisted predominantly of CD8+ T cells. A single infusion of T-AK cells given on day +1 post-syngeneic BMT and sustained in vivo with liposomal encapsulated IL-2, significantly increased survival of mice with BDL-2 lymphoma when compared with mice receiving saline and those treated with IL-2 liposomes alone. The anti-tumor effect of T-AK cells was significantly enhanced when IL-2 was given by continuous infusion compared with bolus injections. Depletion studies confirmed that the CD8+ T-AK cells were mainly responsible for the anti-tumor effect against BDL-2 lymphoma. Our findings demonstrate that brief ex vivo activation of splenocytes with anti-CD3 plus IL-2 results in in vivo proliferation of effector cells with potent anti-tumor activity following BMT.
Effect of a Ternary Mixture of Volatile Organic Compounds on Degradation of TCE in Biotrickling Filter Systems

The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the effect of a ternary mixture of toluene, methanol, and trichloroethylene (TCE) on the elimination of TCE in a biotrickling filter. Two biotrickling filters—Biofilter I and Biofilter II—were run in parallel, each with a different toluene/methanol/TCE loading ratio of 3:2.7:1 and 1.9:0.9:1, respectively. Both systems were seeded with fungal strains grown on diatomaceous earth media and were run at pH 4 maintained by formate buffer. To control excess biomass growth, the systems were “starved” for 2 days a week and run continuously for the rest of the week. TCE loading rates for each system ranged from 1.61 to 6.44 g/m3 h−1 across three phases while toluene and methanol were loaded at rates corresponding to the influent composition ratios. More than 95 % methanol was removed from the gaseous streams throughout, while TCE removal was a function of the influent organic ratio and the corresponding concentrations. At and above loading rates of 3.22 g/m3 h−1, elimination capacities obtained from Biofilter II surpassed those from Biofilter I due to a lower feed of bio-accessible carbon (toluene and methanol) offering reduced competition to TCE removal. While over 90 % toluene was removed from both systems, its elimination capacities dropped as the phases progressed due to competition and TCE cytotoxicity. Most carbon was converted to CO2 and biomass, and no TCE oxidation by-products were detected.
Methods of midtrimester abortion: which is safest?

In the United States, the three principal methods of abortion for patients at 13 or more menstrual weeks' gestation are intraamniotic instillation of saline or prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) and dilatation and evacuation (DE it is a direct and rapid procedure which can be performed on an outpatient basis. Although PGF2alpha accelerated the time required for abortion, it also significantly increased serious morbidity.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon formation in counter-flow propylene diffusion flame

Publisher Summary This chapter investigates the structure of an opposed flow propylene diffusion flame at a strain rate of 37.7 s–1. Flame sampling was achieved by using quartz microprobe coupled with an online gas chromatography mass spectrometer. Packed columns connected to a thermal conductivity detector were used for separation and quantification of major species, and a capillary column directly interfaced to a mass spectrometer was used for minor and trace species. Temperature measurements were done using a 0.075 mm diameter Pt/Pt+13%Rh thermocouple that was coated with silica to reduce catalytic reactions on the bare wire surface. The results showed that the flame was visually stable and exhibited the characteristics of a sooting flame with bright yellow and orange luminous zones, and a thin blue zone in the oxidizer side. Benzene was the most abundant aromatic byproduct, reaching levels of 2300 ppm, whereas cyclopentadiene was the smallest ring compound detected at 300 ppm.
Personification and the Feminine in Roman Philosophy

While the central ideal of Roman philosophy exemplified by Lucretius, Cicero and Seneca appears to be the masculine values of self-sufficiency and domination, this book argues, through close attention to metaphor and figures, that the Romans also recognized, as constitutive parts of human experience, what for them were feminine concepts such as embodiment, vulnerability and dependency. Expressed especially in the personification of grammatically feminine nouns such as Nature and Philosophy 'herself', the Roman's recognition of this private 'feminine' part of himself presents a contrast with his acknowledged, public self and challenges the common philosophical narrative of the emergence of subjectivity and individuality with modernity. To meet this challenge, Alex Dressler offers both theoretical exposition and case studies, developing robust typologies of personification and personhood that will be useable for a variety of subjects beyond classics, including rhetoric, comparative literature, gender studies, political theory and the history of ideas.
Physiologic Principles in the Clinical Evaluation of Electrolyte, Water, and Acid–Base Disorders

The kidneys play a fundamental role in the regulation of water and electrolyte excretion as well as in the maintenance of acid base balance. Water and electrolyte homeostasis is accomplished almost exclusively through changes in the volume and composition of urine. Routes of external loss other than from the kidneys play a limited role in regulation, even though they may display some response to the needs of the organism. Intake of the various electrolytes and of water can vary extremely widely and almost independently of each other. Balance (used as a synonym for external balance) is the difference between intake and excretion by all routes. Internal balance, on the other hand, means the rate of transfer of a substance between the intra- and extracellular fluids, a concept that has proven especially useful with regard to potassium homeostasis. In this chapter, we will limit the discussion to external balance as we review the physiology underlying the clinical approach to the evaluation of water and electrolyte excretion by the kidneys. The objective of this chapter is to summarize the rationale and physiologic principles behind the use of urinary indices and clinical tools available in the evaluation of normal and pathophysiologic states related to sodium, water, potassium, and acid-base disturbances.
Using State Early Care and Education Workforce Registry Data to Inform Training-Related Questions: Issues to Consider

The current early care and education (ECE) policy context is bringing increased attention to the training completed by the child care workforce and to the use of registries to track such training. Although ECE workforce registries are designed to record individuals' data, aggregate registry data have the potential to shed light on the workforce's training needs. However, to date, registries have not been tapped in this way, and there is limited research on the data collected across registries and the extent to which they are standardized. In this report, I share the results of research on the training focus variables used across these databases and on the extent to which such variables are comparable. Also explored is when registries began recording these data and whether enrollment is voluntary, incentivized, or mandatory. The results of the study suggest that aggregate registry data have the potential to address questions related to the focus of the training in which the ECE workforce participates. However, additional research on ECE workforce registries is needed to confirm their usefulness as a source of data on child care training as well as the accessibility of these data.
Simplifying OMG MOF-Based Metamodeling

This paper advocates for a unification of modeling & programming from the perspective of normalized, implementation-neutral database schemas: representing programs and models in terms of irreducible and independent tables. This idea departs from the mainstream of modeling & programming, which typically revolves around Application Program Interface (API) ecosystems for operational needs and external serialization for interchange needs. Instead, this idea emphasizes an information-centric architecture to separate the structural aspects of language syntax via normalized schema tables from the operational aspects of language syntax and semantics via programs operating on normalized tables or derived table views. Such tables constitute the basis of a functional information architecture unifying modeling and programming as a radical departure from standardizing APIs in a programming fashion or standardizing serialization interchange in a modeling fashion. This paper focuses on the current API-less serialization-centric modeling paradigm because it is the farthest from a unified functional information architecture compared to functional programming languages where thinking about programs as pure functions and models as pure data is closest to this kind of unification. This paper first deconstructs the multi-level, reflective architecture for modeling languages defined at the Object Management Group (OMG) based on the Meta-Object Facility (MOF) and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and subsequently reconstructs several normalized schema accounting for the information content and organization of different kinds of resources involved in modeling: libraries of datatypes, metamodels like UML, profiles like the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) that extend metamodels and models that conform to metamodels optionally extended with applied profiles.
Nonparametric Bayesian Methods for Large Scale Multi-Target Tracking

We consider the problem of data association for multi-target tracking in the presence of an unknown number of targets. For this application, inference in models which place parametric priors on large numbers of targets becomes computationally intractable. As an alternative to parametric models, we explore the utility of nonparametric Bayesian methods, specifically Dirichlet processes, which allow us to put a flexible, data-driven prior on the number of targets present in our observations. Dirichlet processes provide a prior on partitions of the observations among targets whose dynamics are individually described by state space models. These partitions represent the tracks with which the observations are associated. We provide preliminary data association results for the implementation of Dirichlet processes in this scenario.
Preparation of active carbons from corn stalk for butanol vapor adsorption

Abstract Active carbons (ACs) were prepared through chemical activation of biochar from whole corn stalk (WCS) and corn stalk pith (CSP) at varying temperatures using potassium hydroxide as the activating agent. ACs were characterized via pore structural analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These adsorbents were then assessed for their adsorption capacity for butanol vapor. It was found that WCS activated at 900 °C for 1 h (WCS-900) had optimal butanol adsorption characteristics. The BET surface area and total pore volume of the WCS-900 were 2330 m 2 /g and 1.29 cm 3 /g, respectively. The dynamic adsorption capacity of butanol vapor was 410.0 mg/g, a 185.1% increase compared to charcoal-based commercial AC (143.8 mg/g).
Sealed vacuum electronic devices by surface micromachining

Solid-state planar micromachining techniques have been applied in the fabrication of two types of vacuum microelectronic devices. Cold-cathode devices based on field emission and hot-cathode devices based on thermal-field emission have been fabricated for possible use in high-speed, high-operating-temperature device applications. Polycrystalline silicon has been used as the cathode, anode, and gate material in these device structures. On-chip vacuum-sealed cavities have been formed through the micromachining of polycrystalline silicon microbridges. An elevated and sealed polycrystalline silicon emission filament has also been formed by surface micromachining techniques. The measured transconductance of the hot-cathode triode is 3.4 mu A/V. Device operation and measured current versus voltage characteristics are presented for these devices. >
Susceptibility of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Field Populations to the Cry1F Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Protein

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith & Abbot) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a polyphagous insect pest affecting multiple crops. Fall armyworm in corn is managed with insecticides and corn hybrids expressing insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt). The early detection of insect resistance is important for making appropriate management decisions and for implementing integrated pest management and insect resistance management recommendations. The objective of this study was to estimate susceptibility of fall armyworm populations to the Cry1F Bt insecticidal protein, emphasizing collections from locations where fall armyworm overwinters in the U.S. Fall armyworm neonates were exposed to artificial diet treated with increasing Cry1F concentrations, and mortality and growth inhibition were evaluated after 7 d. Differences in Cry1F susceptibility between the most susceptible and the most tolerant field populations were 2- and 6-fold for 2012 and 2013, respectively. These results are consistent with other susceptibility studies of Bt toxicity in other species although reduced susceptibility in one population collected from Florida may suggest resistance development.
Non-Small Cell Carcinomas

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in the USA in comparison to other types of malignancies. In 2007, it was estimated that more than 203,000 people in the USA were diagnosed with lung carcinoma, including approximately 109,000 men and 93,000 women. On the other hand, in general terms, approximately 158,000 people died due to this malignancy at a similar rate between men and women—about 88,000 men and 70,000 women. Interestingly, when one compares different ethnic groups, one may observe that black men have the highest incidence of lung cancer followed by white men; however, the contrary occurs for women, in which white women appear to be more commonly affected than black women. Despite the alarming numbers, lung cancer has decreased by about 1.8 % among white men and 2.7 % among black men from previous years (1996–2006).
Apoptosis-Inducing Cellular Vehicles for Cancer Gene Therapy

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are promising for cancer therapy because they specifically target tumors. They have the capacity to home to, invade, migrate within, and incorporate into tumor structures. They are easily expanded and can be armed with therapeutic payloads protected within the progenitor cells. Once in the tumor, armed progenitors can be triggered to induce apoptosis in surrounding tumor cells. Pro-and antiapoptotic mechanisms are pivotal to effectively kill tumor cells while simultaneously protecting the cellular vehicles from premature demise. Increasing the ratio of tumor cell apoptosis to progenitor apoptosis will be crucial among other efforts to enhance the efficacy of endothelial and neural progenitor cells to a level sufficient for clinical application.
Changes in water consumption linked to heavy news media coverage of extreme climatic events

Public awareness of water- and drought-related issues is an important yet relatively unexplored component of water use behavior. To examine this relationship, we first quantified news media coverage of drought in California from 2005 to 2015, a period with two distinct droughts; the later drought received unprecedentedly high media coverage, whereas the earlier drought did not, as the United States was experiencing an economic downturn coinciding with a historic presidential election. Comparing this coverage to Google search frequency confirmed that public attention followed news media trends. We then modeled single-family residential water consumption in 20 service areas in the San Francisco Bay Area during the same period using geospatially explicit data and including news media coverage as a covariate. Model outputs revealed the factors affecting water use for populations of varying demographics. Importantly, the models estimated that an increase of 100 drought-related articles in a bimonthly period was associated with an 11 to 18% reduction in water use. Then, we evaluated high-resolution water consumption data from smart meters, known as advanced metering infrastructure, in one of the previously modeled service areas to evaluate breakpoints in water use trends. Results demonstrated that whereas nonresidential commercial irrigation customers responded to changes in climate, single-family residential customers decreased water use at the fastest rate following heavy drought-related news media coverage. These results highlight the need for water resource planners and decision makers to further consider the importance of effective, internally and externally driven, public awareness and education in water demand behavior and management.
A Geometric Interpretation of the SIMPLEX Method of Linear Programming

the straight line will be used for an ex planation of the strategy of the simplex method. Problems in maximizing and minimizing functions are encountered early in the mathematical careers of students. Use of the axis of symmetry of the parabola pro vides a graphic or algebraic method of solution for certain functions sought to be optimized. Later, elementary calculus pre sents a more general technique for locating maximum and minimum values of a wide variety of functions. In the last three decades there has arisen a need of dif ferent mathematical procedures for the solution of optimization problems occurr ing in business, economics, engineering, farming, and other fields. In the solution
Novel second generation VICTS-2 antennas for transformation communications

The Variably Inclined Continuous Transverse Stub (VICTS) technology, especially in its second-generation antenna shows exceptional promise as a low-cost, high-performance alternative to traditional phased arrays in advanced communications applications. VICTS technology was invented and developed by Raytheon (1) as an outgrowth of work conducted on continuous transverse stub (CTS) radiators. In its basic form (VICTS-1), a series of long, wideband slots is excited by a parallel plate feed network. Elevation scanning is accomplished via the independent rotation (inclination) of the slots with respect to the feed, and azimuth scanning is accomplished by rotating the feed and radiation layers together in a θ-φ spherically scanned system. The VICTS-2 antenna is therefore a low profile, planar, electro-mechanically-scanned, broadband passive phased array whose simple design translates into low-cost production, high-reliability, and low-loss antennas. This paper describes the key technical and operational advantages of the VICTS-2 antenna compared with contemporary Active Electronically Scanned Antennas (AESAs), within the context of advanced communications systems. The advantages are significant and warrant careful consideration of the VICTS-2 design.
Community-Acquired Pneumonia and Health Care-Associated Pneumonia Clinical Guidelines

The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) produced clinical guidelines on the care of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in immunocompetent adults in 2000 and 2003 (1,2). Throughout the guidelines, a grading system is used to categorize the strength of evidence behind various recommendations (3), as listed in Table 1.
A Recombinatorial Event Separating the Immune Response Genes for LDH-B and MOPC-173: Implications for a New Model of I Region Gene Organization

Genetic restrictions operative in macrophage-T-cell interactions have been shown to reside in the I region of the mouse H-2 major histocompatibility complex (1). To date, only four immunoprecipitable I region products have been identified, Aα, Aβ, Eα, and Eβ (Ae). However, these existing α-β chain combinations do not generate sufficient numbers of immunoregulatory determinants to account for previously described patterns of Ir-gene restriction. Therefore, we have begun to probe for I-region products of the central portion of this complex using intra-I-region recombinant mouse strains and nominal antigens that appear to be controlled by Ir genes in this central region. In this paper, we describe the genetic and serological separation of the Ir-genes controlling the T-cell proliferative responses to LDH-B and MOPC-173 and discuss the implications of these results.
The compressive creep behavior of a Pu-1 wt pct Ga δ-stabilized alloy at elevated temperatures

Constant stress compression creep tests were performed in vacuum on a high-purity Pu-1 wt pct Ga o-stabilized alloy over the temperature range from 252° to 382°C for stresses from 700 to 2500 psi. Although the primary creep behavior could not be correlated by established techniques, the creep rates developed after true creep strains of about 0.15 provided good agreement with the temperature and stress dependence of creep for pure metals and dilute alloys. A power stress law for steady-state creep of the alloy was found forδ/E values less than 5 x 10′4, with the stress exponent being 4.0, and it was concluded that the alloy exhibits Class I solid solution behavior. For higher stress, exponential stress dependence was observed. The true activation energy for creep was found to be 38,900 cal per mole which is in good agreement with the value for self-diffus ion of plutonium in the o-stabilized alloy. The primary creep behavior could be divided into three types: 1) at low strain rates, the creep rate gradually increases to a nearly steady-state; 2) at intermediate strain rates, the creep rate first decreases and then increases to steady-state; and 3) at high strain rates, the creep rate decreases gradually to steady-state. It was concluded that the failure of established creep correlations for primary creep of Pu-1 wt pct Ga was the result of some temperature-dependent component of creep structure, possibly resulting from radiation damage byα particles.
IoTeWay: A Secure Framework Architecture for 6LoWPAN Based IoT Applications

Smart devices “things”, connected to the Internet, form a huge network to bring the physical systems “humans world” to the information systems “digital world”, which we call it the Internet of Things (IoT). These smart devices exist in many applications such as Smart spaces, cities, grids, health monitoring, smart Industries, car, TV, networking and big data. Although several customers have adopted the IoT applications, still its infrastructure faces major security and privacy challenges. Those challenges lie in the different communication model layers starting from the physical layer, ending up in the running application layer, and passing through the network layer. This paper presents IoTeWay, a secure framework that targets IoT applications built on top of IPv6 Low Power Networks. IoTeWay divided into three main tiers: smart devices tier, platform and infrastructure tier, and the application tier. Besides, a cloud supporting tier to serve the large-scale IoT networks. Our experimental verification, based on Smart homes application, and our theoretical analysis shows that IoTeWay provides an excess of security and offers resiliency against famous security attacks.
Cramér–Rao lower bound for ATSC signal-based passive radar systems

In multistatic passive radar systems, the Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB) can be used to select the optimal illuminator of opportunity so that it provides the best estimation accuracy for target parameters. In this Letter, the monostatic and bistatic modified Cramer–Rao lower bound (MCRLB) for the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) signal, which is the pervasive digital television signal of opportunity for North American passive radar systems, is derived using the relationship between the ambiguity function of a signal and its CRLB. It is shown that the derived bistatic MCRLB for the range and velocity measurements can be used to select the optimal illuminator that exhibits the lowest bounds at each region. Examples are provided in the Columbus, OH area where the Ohio State University passive radar is located.
Evaluating the Efficacy, Preference, and Cultural Responsiveness of Student-Generated Content in an Undergraduate Behavioral Course

Increasing diversity in the field of behavior analysis may begin with an evaluation of culturally responsive practices in the college classroom. This study leveraged the various backgrounds of students in a university nationally recognized for diversity to evaluate the effects of peer-generated course materials on student performance in an undergraduate behavior analysis course. First, graduate students created multimedia examples (videos, pictures) of the behavioral principles in their everyday lives. Next, we curated an online bank of these examples corresponding to 4 topics (respondent conditioning, reinforcement, antecedent control, extinction and punishment) taught in an undergraduate behavior analysis course. We used a multiple-probe and between-group design to evaluate the effects of these peer-generated materials as supplements to traditional instruction. Students showed evidence of concept acquisition on all topics. However, results showed that peer-generated examples, as supplements to textbook and lectures, did not enhance students' performance on knowledge assessments but were rated by students as more preferred, culturally responsive, and diverse than textbook examples.
Clouds and Cataracts: Optical Experiments at Sir John Soane’s Museum

Plagued by cataracts, Sir John Soane’s (1753–1837) failing eyesight prompted new design strategies at his house museum at Lincoln’s Inn Fields (1792–1837) that filtered light through colored glass ...
Ultrasound-Guided Central Venous Access

Central venous access is an essential skill for critical care providers. More than 5 million central venous catheters are inserted annually in the United States, with an overall complication rate of 15%. Use of ultrasound guidance increases success and reduces complications. The use of ultrasound guidance for central venous access has been recommended by multiple medical societies and supported by several studies in the literature. The use of ultrasound guidance for central venous catheterization has significantly increased in recent years, and it has become standard of care in current clinical practice. This chapter will review the basic principles of this technique, indications, contraindications, preparation, and procedural steps for ultrasound-guided central venous catheter (CVC) placement in the internal jugular, femoral, subclavian, and axillary veins.
Développement de réseaux radio d'objets connectés pour les Villes Intelligentes : amélioration de la Qualité de Service du réseau LoRa

L’objectif de cette these est la mise au point de nouveaux mecanismes pour ameliorer la qualite de service des reseaux LPWAN dans le contexte des Villes Intelligentes. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons l'evolution de la qualite de service en observant le taux de paquets errones (PER) de la couche MAC de differents standards LPWAN, soumise a la densification des reseaux. Dans un deuxieme temps, nous nous concentrons sur la technologie LoRa et nous identifions les verrous a lever, notamment le taux de paquets rejetes, les collisions entre paquets et le nombre de passerelles deployees, dans differents scenarios de densification des reseaux. Nous introduisons alors un nouveau protocole appele LoRa+ base sur « l'ecoute avant de parler » (Listen Before Talk, LBT). Enfin, nous utilisons des outils et metriques issus du modele « Okumura-Hata » afin d'analyser et comparer les performances de ce nouveau protocole avec LoRa au sein de plusieurs types de reseaux, et nous demontrons que LoRa+ s'avere etre un choix opportun, permettant de reduire a la fois les taux de paquets rejetes et errones ainsi que le nombre des passerelles deployees dans les reseaux.
Considerations for Obesity, Vitamin D, and Physical Activity Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

As the biomedical community races to disentangle the unknowns associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus responsible for causing coronavirus disease, the link between diminished immune function and individuals with obesity raises important questions about the possibility for greater viral pathogenicity in this population. Increased adiposity may undermine the pulmonary microenvironment wherein viral pathogenesis and immune cell trafficking could contribute to a maladaptive cycle of local inflammation and secondary injury. A further challenge to those with obesity during the current pandemic may involve vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. In the interest of personal and public health, we caution decision- and policy makers alike not to pin all hope on a proverbial "silver bullet." Until further breakthroughs emerge, we should remember that modifiable lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity should not be marginalized. Decades of empirical evidence support both as key factors promoting health and wellness.
Lateral control of a convoy of vehicles with a limited preview information

This work deals with the problem of lateral control for Emergency Lane Change (ELC) maneuvers for a convoy of Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (ACVs). Typically, an ELC maneuver is triggered by emergency cues from the front or the end of convoy. From a safety viewpoint, connectivity of vehicles is essential for obtaining preview information of preceding vehicles; every following vehicle could additionally get the position information of its preceding vehicle or vehicles for controller synthesis. In this work, we propose a method to synthesize a lateral controller by using preview GPS data from the lead and immediately preceding vehicles to construct a target trajectory for the ego vehicle to track. We then compute the feedforward control and feedback error signals based on the target trajectory. Numerical and experimental results corroborate the effectiveness of this scheme in terms of suppressing lateral string instabilities, thereby preventing the amplification of crosstrack errors as the vehicles in a convoy execute an ELC maneuver.
Pantopaque (Myodil, Iodophenylundecylic Acid)

Pantopaque is an oil-based contrast agent that was mainly used for myelography in the past, but now obsolete.
Envelope stress and regulation of the salmonella pathogenicity Island 1 type III secretion system

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium uses a type three secretion system (T3SS) encoded on the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) to invade intestinal epithelial cells and induce inflammatory diarrhea. The SPI1 T3SS is regulated by numerous environmental and physiological signals, integrated to either activate or repress invasion. Transcription of hilA, encoding the transcriptional activator of the SPI1 structural genes, is activated by three AraC-like regulators, HilD, HilC, and RtsA, that act in a complex feed-forward loop. Deletion of bamB, encoding a component of the β-barrel assembly machinery, causes a dramatic repression of SPI1, but the mechanism was unknown. Here, we show that partially defective β-barrel assembly activates the RcsCDB regulon, leading to decreased hilA transcription. This regulation is independent of RpoE activation. Though Rcs has been previously shown to repress SPI1 when disulfide bond formation is impaired, we show that activation of Rcs in a bamB background is dependent on the sensor protein RcsF, whereas disulfide bond status is sensed independently. Rcs decreases transcription of the flagellar regulon, including fliZ, the product of which indirectly activates HilD protein activity. Rcs also represses hilD, hilC, and rtsA promoters by an unknown mechanism. Both dsbA and bamB mutants have motility defects, though this is simply regulatory in a bamB background; motility is restored in the absence of Rcs. Effector secretion assays show that repression of SPI1 in a bamB background is also regulatory; if expressed, the SPI1 T3SS is functional in a bamB background. This emphasizes the sensitivity of SPI1 regulation to overall envelope homeostasis. IMPORTANCESalmonella causes worldwide foodborne illness, leading to massive disease burden and an estimated 600,000 deaths per year. Salmonella infects orally and invades intestinal epithelial cells using a type 3 secretion system that directly injects effector proteins into host cells. This first step in invasion is tightly regulated by a variety of inputs. In this work, we demonstrate that Salmonella senses the functionality of outer membrane assembly in determining regulation of invasion machinery, and we show that Salmonella uses distinct mechanisms to detect specific perturbations in envelope assembly.
A variable neighborhood search heuristic for nonnegative matrix factorization with application to microarray data

Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) has become a popular method for establishing a low-dimensional approximation of a two-mode (nonnegative) data matrix and, in some instances, to also establish partitions for the objects associated with the two modes of the matrix. Although similar to singular-value-decomposition, as its name implies, NMF requires nonnegative elements for the factors and this assures a ‘sum of the parts’ fit to the data. There are a variety of alternative objective functions and heuristic methods for NMF. Using both simulated and real-world two-mode data, we demonstrate that a multiple restart (multistart) heuristic for NMF commonly fails to produce optimal objective function values. A new variable neighborhood search (VNS) heuristic is shown to outperform the multistart approach with respect to both solution quality and computation time. Although the objective function value improvements associated with VNS are often small (on a percentage basis), such improvements can sometimes lead to differences in the partitions obtained for the row and column objects. Application to two well-known microarray datasets is used to support the merits of the proposed VNS heuristic.
Optimal nerve transfer for elbow flexion restoration in brachial plexus injuries: An analysis of postoperative recovery

Aim: Following upper brachial plexus injury, one of the primary goals of reconstruction is reinnervation of elbow flexion (EF). Various reconstruction methods have been described including ulnar nerve fascicle and/or median nerve fascicle transfer to the musculocutaneous biceps brachii motor branch and/or the brachialis motor branch. However, there is no study that analyzes the efficacy of one set of transfers to another. We aim to determine if there are improved outcomes with the ulnar nerve transfer to biceps branch and median nerve transfer to brachialis branch (UBB/MBr, Group 1) compared to ulnar nerve transfer to brachialis and median nerve transfer to biceps branch (UBr/MBB, Group 2). Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 12 patients who sustained C5–C6 ± C7 brachial plexus injuries and underwent nerve transfers for EF reconstruction. All clinical and electromyographic (EMG) data were captured for an average follow-up time of 35 months. Data were analyzed using a generalized estimating equation model (P Results: Seven and five patients were included in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. At 6 months, Group 2 achieved a greater Medical Research Council score of global elbow function 4 versus 1.5 (P Conclusion: These findings indicate that UBr/MBB nerve transfer confers significantly faster recovery of global EF, biceps, and brachialis strength at 6 months. Although differences in strength equalized by 24 months, EMG data demonstrated increased muscle nerve potential in Group 2 at 12 months and beyond. Clinical Significance: The median nerve fascicle transfer to the biceps branch and ulnar nerve fascicle transfer to brachialis branch appear to have advantages in EF function.
Transition Clinic: Reducing Recidivism

Rapid outpatient follow-up for patients who present to psychiatric emergency rooms is critical to improve psychiatric outcomes and reduce recidivism. The stabilization, treatment, evaluation, and disposition (STEDI) clinic model is a transitional clinic designed to provide follow-up for patients within 1–2 days of psychiatric crisis and to support patients through stabilization and medication management until they have established a psychiatric home. The successful implementation of the STEDI clinic requires collaboration among several community stakeholders, in addition to the human and physical resources necessary to operate the clinic. In this chapter, the authors discuss the benefits, limitations, and other key features of the STEDI clinic model.
Observing progressive damage in carbon fiber epoxy laminate composites via 3D in-situ X-ray tomography

Abstract As the use of fiber-reinforced polymer composites grows in aerospace structures, there is an emerging need to implement damage tolerant approaches. The use of in-situ synchrotron X-ray tomography enables direct observations of progressive damage relative to the microstructural features, which are studied in a T650/5320 laminate composite with two layups via monotonic tension. Specifically, the interactions of micromechanical damage mechanisms at the notch tip were analyzed through 3D image processing as the crack grew. The analysis showed intralaminar cracking was dominant during crack initiation, delamination became prevalent during the later stages of crack progression, and fiber breakage was, in general, largely related to intralaminar cracking.