cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationship between temperature and development of Galendromus flumenis (Acari: Phytoseiidae), a predator of Banks grass mite (Acari: Tetranychidae)

The Banks grass mite, Oligonychus pratensis (Banks) (Acari: Tetranychidae), is a serious pest of grains, grasses and dates. In order to develop and optimize biological control strategies against the Banks grass mite, the survival and development of the predator, Galendromus flumenis (Chant) (Acari: Phytoseiidae), at eleven constant temperatures between 12 and 44°C were determined. The survival rates of G. flumenis (67.4-89.5 %) were highest between 26 and 38°C although it developed successfully from egg to adult at temperatures ranging from 18 to 42°C. The lower temperature threshold (T 0 ) and thermal constant (K) for total immature development were 13.3°C and 145.3 degree-days, respectively. The upper temperature threshold was 44.3°C, and the optimal temperature for development was calculated to be 37.5°C. These results indicate that G. flumenis is better adapted to high temperatures than most predators in the Phytoseiidae. In addition, the thermal requirements for total development of G. flumenis was found to be very close to those of O. pratensis which indicates that there should be synchrony between the occurrence of the prey and the predator. Therefore, the lack of predation observed in the field is related to other factors, such as the developmental time between O. pratensis and G. flumenis, or the inability of the predator to establish at the same time, and in the same location, as the prey.
The pyramid match: efficient learning with partial correspondences

It is often useful to represent a single example by a set of the local features that comprise it. However, this representation poses a challenge to many conventional learning techniques, since sets may vary in cardinality and the elements are unordered. To compare sets of features, researchers often resort to solving for the least-cost correspondences, but this is computationally expensive and becomes impractical for large set sizes. We have developed a general approximate matching technique called the pyramid match that measures partial match similarity in time linear in the number of feature vectors per set. The matching forms a Mercer kernel, making it valid for use in many existing kernel-based learning methods. We have demonstrated the approach for various learning tasks in vision and text processing, and find that it is accurate and significantly more efficient than previous approaches.
Identification of Early RET+ Deep Dorsal Spinal Cord Interneurons in Gating Pain

The gate control theory (GCT) of pain proposes that pain- and touch-sensing neurons antagonize each other through spinal cord dorsal horn (DH) gating neurons. However, the exact neural circuits underlying the GCT remain largely elusive. Here, we identified a new population of deep layer DH (dDH) inhibitory interneurons that express the receptor tyrosine kinase Ret neonatally. These early RET+ dDH neurons receive excitatory as well as polysynaptic inhibitory inputs from touch- and/or pain-sensing afferents. In addition, they negatively regulate DH pain and touch pathways through both pre- and postsynaptic inhibition. Finally, specific ablation of early RET+ dDH neurons increases basal and chronic pain, whereas their acute activation reduces basal pain perception and relieves inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Taken together, our findings uncover a novel spinal circuit that mediates crosstalk between touch and pain pathways and suggest that some early RET+ dDH neurons could function as pain "gating" neurons.
Threat predictability influences seaside sparrow nest site selection when facing trade-offs from predation and flooding

Habitat selection trade-offs between avoiding predation and gaining energy are well studied, but similar trade-offs resulting from multiple threats to survival remain poorly understood. We studied how seaside sparrows, Ammodramus maritimus , approach nest site selection decisions to avoid threats to nesting success from predation and tidal flooding. Along a nest height gradient, nest site selection to avoid tidal flooding (i.e. placing nests higher) may make seaside sparrow nests more vulnerable to predation, and selection to avoid predation may make nests susceptible to flooding. We monitored nesting success rates and nest site selection decisions of breeding seaside sparrow pairs at five sites near Brunswick, Georgia in April–July of 2013–2015. We found that seaside sparrows encountered a nest site selection trade-off along a gradient of nest height. Nest height had an effect on survival probability during each of our study years, with positive effects of nest height on predation probability and negative effects of nest height on flooding probability observed in some years. Sparrows dealt with this trade-off by altering their nest site selection in relation to a threat's predictability; low within-season variability in predation risk and high information about predator presence in open marshes make predation risk more predictable than the magnitude of tidal flooding, which is governed by unpredictable and variable winds. Sparrows responded to predictable predation threats by nesting at lower nest heights in years with higher predation risk, but sparrows responded to unpredictable flooding threats by placing nests higher off the ground but only following nest failure from flooding. Understanding decision making through a lens of threat predictability could provide a useful approach for studies of other animals' habitat selection trade-offs.
Influence of Manual Labor at Work on Muscular Fitness and Its Relationship With Work Performance.

Objective:The present study examined the influence of workplace manual labor on measures of muscular fitness, with a secondary aim to investigate the relationship between muscular fitness and work performance in blue-collar (BC) workers.Methods:Leg extension isokinetic strength at slow and fast velo
Facile silicification of plastic surface for bioassays

We herein report a biomimetic technique to modify plastic substrates for bioassays. The method first places a polydopamine adhesion layer to plastic surface, and then grows conformal silica coating. As proof of principle, we coated plastic microbeads to construct a disposable filter for point-of-care nucleic acid extraction.
Combined multispectral spatial frequency domain imaging and computed tomography system for intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment

There is a dire clinical need for surgical margin guidance in breast conserving therapy (BCT). We present a multispectral spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) system, spanning the visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, combined with a shielded X-ray computed tomography (CT) system, designed for intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment. While the CT can provide a volumetric visualization of the tumor core and its spiculations, the co-registered SFDI can provide superficial and quantitative information about localized changes tissue morphology from light scattering parameters. These light scattering parameters include both model-based parameters of sub-diffusive light scattering related to the particle size scale distribution and also textural information of the high spatial frequency reflectance. Because the SFDI and CT components are rigidly fixed, a simple transformation can be used to simultaneously display the SFDI and CT data in the same coordinate system. This is achieved through the Visualization Toolkit (vtk) file format in the open-source Slicer medical imaging software package. In this manuscript, the instrumentation, data processing, and preliminary human specimen data will be presented. The ultimate goal of this work is to evaluate this technology in a prospective clinical trial, and the current limitations and engineering solutions to meet this goal will also be discussed.
A resolution-enhancing image reconstruction method for few-view differential phase-contrast tomography

It is well-known that properly designed image reconstruction methods can facilitate reductions in imaging doses and data-acquisition times in tomographic imaging. The ability to do so is particularly important for emerging modalities such as differential X-ray phase-contrast tomography (D-XPCT), which are currently limited by these factors. An important application of D-XPCT is high-resolution imaging of biomedical samples. However, reconstructing high-resolution images from few-view tomographic measurements remains a challenging task. In this work, a two-step sub-space reconstruction strategy is proposed and investigated for use in few-view D-XPCT image reconstruction. It is demonstrated that the resulting iterative algorithm can mitigate the high-frequency information loss caused by data incompleteness and produce images that have better preserved high spatial frequency content than those produced by use of a conventional penalized least squares (PLS) estimator.
Hybrid surgical vs percutaneous access epicardial ventricular tachycardia ablation.

Background There is limited experience of surgical epicardial access in the contemporary era of ventricular tachycardia ablation after cardiac surgery. Objectives The purpose of this study was to describe our institutional experience with surgical epicardial access and the influence of surgical approach and compare outcomes with those of a propensity-matched percutaneous epicardial access control group. Methods We performed a retrospective study of consecutive surgical epicardial ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation cases from a single center. Surgical cases were propensity-matched to percutaneous epicardial ablation controls and short-term and long-term outcomes were compared. Results Between 2004 and 2016, 38 patients underwent 40 surgical epicardial access procedures (subxiphoid, n=22; thoracotomy, n = 18). The commonest indication was prior coronary artery bypass grafting (45%), valve surgery (22%), or ventricular assist device (VAD) (10%). The mean procedure time was 444 minutes (standard deviation, 107 minutes). Mapped epicardial geometry area was 149 cm2 (interquartile range 182 cm2), which comprised 36% of the mapped epicardial geometric area of a percutaneous control group. Subxiphoid access gave preferential access to the inferior and inferolateral left ventricular segments and was less frequently able to access the anterior, anterolateral, and apical segments compared with a thoracotomy approach. When compared with results from a propensity-matched percutaneous-access group, short-term outcomes, complication rates, and 1-year survival free from a combined end point of VT recurrence, death, or transplantation were not statistically different. Conclusions Surgical epicardial access after cardiac surgery for ablation of VT in patients with careful preprocedure evaluation can be performed with acceptable safety with no statistical difference in long-term outcomes compared with a propensity-matched percutaneous epicardial cohort. The region of left ventricular epicardium that can be mapped is limited compared with that of percutaneous cases and is determined by the surgical approach.
Changes over Time and Impact of Patenting Activity: The Sectoral Distribution of Patent Counts and Patent Citations in the US

In the previous Chapter we have examined the pattern of specialization of advanced countries across technological fields described by IPC classes, on the basis of patenting in the US, at the EPO, in West Germany and France. The consistency shown by most countries in their profiles of specialization emerging from patents registered in different foreign institutions is documented for the first time and the findings add new depth to our undestanding of the areas of strength and weakness of major countries.
Stuttering in Preschool Children: Direct Versus Indirect Treatment

Purpose The purpose of this article is to discuss the controversial topic of stuttering in preschool children and how to evaluate the options for treatment, emphasizing the role of external researc...
Sensor-based robot control requirements for space

NASA has begun the development of the Space Station, a permanently manned facility in space, for a variety of scientific goals. One part of this project is the Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) which will help build and maintain the structure. The FTS is envisioned as a two armed robot with seven degrees of freedom for each arm. When the FTS is launched, it is expected to perform several tasks which include the installation and removal of truss members of the Space Station structure, changeout of a variety of modular units, mating a thermal connector, etc. While the FTS will initially use teleoperation, it is envisioned to become more autonomous as technology advances. In order for the FTS to evolve from teleoperation to autonomy, NASA requires that the NASA/NBS Standard Reference Model (NASREM) be used as the functional architecture for the control system. The quest for autonomy inevitably leads to the need for sophisticated sensors and sensory processing. This paper will explore the requirements for the tasks envisioned for FTS at first launch as well as during its evolution phase and show how those tasks impact research on sensors, sensory processing, and other parts of the FTS control system. Finally, the current state of the NASREM implementation at NIST will be presented.
An Ultra-Secure Router-to-Router Key Exchange System

This chapter presents an ultra-secure router-to-router key exchange system. The key exchange process can be initiated by either router at will and can be carried out as often as required. The cryptographic strength of the proposed protocols lies in the use of multi-stage transmission where the number of variables exceeds the number of stages by one, ensuring that the number of possible measurements is one less that the number of variables. The proposed system carries out all processing in electronics and is not vulnerable to the man in the middle attack. The treatment presented in this chapter is based on the authors’ work in [1, 2].
Visual Diagnosis: An Uncommon Presentation of a Common Rash

1. Josef Newman, MD* 2. Michael Colin Mowrer, MD* 3. James Michael Dunneback, MD* 4. Sidney A. Palmer-Hill, MD* 1. *Department of Pediatrics, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, IL A 3-year-old boy is admitted to the hospital with rapid onset of a rash and swelling of the hands and feet. The rash began a day earlier, first noticed on the abdomen and legs, and spreading cephalad to the head, neck, and arms. His parents noted intermitted rhinorrhea for 1 week prior, without fever, cough, stridor, arthralgia, or myalgia. There was no evidence of dysphagia or odynophagia as he was eating and drinking normally. Immunizations were up to date, although he had not recently been immunized or taken any medications. The family lives on a farm where they spend significant time outdoors, noting daily contact with cows, pigs, and chickens and drinking unpasteurized milk. The parents did see a mosquito bite on his left temple the week before, which resolved without concern. The current rash was initially pruritic, responding to a dose of diphenhydramine. The medical history is notable for recurrent otitis media with placement of tympanostomy tubes and a single febrile seizure. His mother and maternal grandmother …
Large spin-orbit torque observed in epitaxial SrIrO 3 thin films

Semimetallic iridate compound SrIrO3 epitaxial films have been deposited by off-axis sputtering, exhibiting excellent crystalline quality as well as smooth surfaces. By performing second-harmonic Hall measurements on a series of SrIrO3/Co1−xTbx bilayers, we quantitatively determined the spin-to-charge interconversion efficiency θ SH of SrIrO3 and discovered a systematic temperature and film thickness dependent evolution behavior. Notably, the measured θ SH reaches a remarkably large number of ∼1.1 at room temperature, which is significantly larger than the value of 5d transition metals and comparable to the values reported in some topological material systems. Our findings are further corroborated by ferromagnetic resonance-driven spin pumping studies in SrIrO3/Py bilayers, highlighting the significant opportunities offered by the iridate compounds in designing next-generation energy-efficient multifunctional spin Hall devices.
GraphBoot: Quantifying Uncertainty in Node Feature Learning on Large Networks

In recent years, as online social networks continue to grow in size, estimating node features, such as sociodemographics, preferences and health status, in a scalable and reliable way has become a primary research direction in social network mining. Although many techniques have been developed for estimating various node features, quantifying uncertainty in such estimations has received little attention. Furthermore, most existing methods study networks parametrically, which limits insights about necessary quantity of queried data, reliable feature estimation, and estimator uncertainty. Uncertainty quantification is critical for answering key questions, such as, given a limited availability of social network data, how much data should be queried from the network?, and which node features can be learned reliably? More importantly, how can we evaluate uncertainty of our estimators? Uncertainty quantification is not equivalent to network sampling but constitutes a key complementary concept to sampling and the associated reliability analysis. To our knowledge, this paper is the first work that sheds light on uncertainty quantification and uncertainty propagation in social network feature mining. We propose a novel non-parametric bootstrap method for uncertainty analysis of node features in social network mining, derive its asymptotic properties, and demonstrate its effectiveness with extensive experiments. Furthermore, we develop a new metric based on dispersion of estimations, enabling analysts to assess how much more information is needed for increasing prediction reliability based on the estimated uncertainty. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our new uncertainty quantification methodology with extensive experiments on real life social networks, and a case study of mental health on Twitter.
Bariatric Endoscopic Procedures: Evacuation Therapy

Evacuation therapy is a method of weight loss for the treatment of Class II and III obesity. The therapy allows patients to partially empty their stomach contents after a meal. The only device currently on the market is the AspireAssist® system. It is less invasive than many other bariatric surgical options. Studies of this device have shown more effective weight loss in combination with lifestyle therapy than lifestyle therapy alone.
Dyeing to connect.

Culture-independent methods capable of connecting bacteriophages (phages) to their target host bacteria will help define the roles of phages in host-associated microbiotas. A recent study used fluorescently dyed intestinal phages to identify novel phage–bacterial interactions from the human intestine.
Cyber Warfare & Inadvertent Escalation

The advent of cyber warfare exacerbates the risk of inadvertent nuclear escalation in a conventional conflict. In theory, cyber espionage and cyberattacks could enhance one state's ability to under...
Endolysosomal Targeting of Mitochondria Is Integral to BAX-Mediated Mitochondrial Permeabilization during Apoptosis Signaling

Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) is a core event in apoptosis signaling. However, the underlying mechanism of BAX and BAK pore formation remains incompletely understood. We demonstrate that mitochondria are globally and dynamically targeted by endolysosomes (ELs) during MOMP. In response to pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein signaling and pharmacological MOMP induction, ELs increasingly form transient contacts with mitochondria. Subsequently, ELs rapidly accumulate within the entire mitochondrial compartment. This switch-like accumulation period temporally coincides with mitochondrial BAX clustering and cytochrome c release. Remarkably, interactions of ELs with mitochondria control BAX recruitment and pore formation. Knockdown of Rab5A, Rab5C, or USP15 interferes with EL targeting of mitochondria and functionally uncouples BAX clustering from cytochrome c release, while knockdown of the Rab5 exchange factor Rabex-5 impairs both BAX clustering and cytochrome c release. Together, these data reveal that EL-mitochondrial inter-organelle communication is an integral regulatory component of functional MOMP execution during cellular apoptosis signaling.
#notokay: challenging sexual violence through digital health activism

An analysis of #notokay tweets revealed that tweets constructed a grassroots health activist discourse that made visible the ‘invisible’ pervasiveness of sexual assault by encouraging women to disc...
Pretreatment Effects on the Surface Chemistry of Small Oxygenates on Molybdenum Trioxide

Understanding surface reactions of biomass-derived oxygenates on metal oxides is important for designing catalysts for valorization of biomass. This work elucidated the effect of different pretreat...
Affirmative Equality: A Revised Goal of De-bias for Artificial Intelligence Based on Difference Principle

A definition of fairness in de-biasing algorithms distributing social and economic advantages based on the difference principle of John Rawls is proposed. This type of fairness, Affirmative Equality, aims to favor those who are historically disadvantaged in society.
Cybersecurity Hiring in Response to Data Breaches

Do firms react to data breaches by investing in cybersecurity talent? We assemble a unique dataset on firm responses from the last decade, combining data breach information with detailed firm-level hiring data from online job postings. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that firms indeed increase their hiring for cybersecurity workers. While this effect is statistically significant, the economic magnitude is small, which is consistent with firms' lack of incentives to improve their cybersecurity infrastructure. Further, we collect data from the MIT MediaCloud and Google Trends to measure media and public attention following breach events. We find that firms with greater media and search attention after a breach are three times as likely to post a cybersecurity job. This provides evidence of market failure in cybersecurity investment that can be attributed to information asymmetries, and suggests additional scrutiny can ameliorate this market failures. With an increase in both the value of data as well as the number of cyberattacks, our research provides important insight into how media coverage and public attention can provide proper incentives for firms to make substantive, instead of symbolic, IT investments to safeguard their customer data.
Minimal-contact versus standard cognitive behavioral therapy for with irritable bowel syndrome: Cost-effectiveness results of a multisite trial

BACKGROUND Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, often disabling gastrointestinal (GI) disorder for which there is no satisfactory medical treatment but is responsive to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). PURPOSE To evaluate the costs and cost-effectiveness of a minimal contact version of CBT (MC-CBT) condition for N = 145 for IBS relative to a standard, clinic-based CBT (S-CBT; N = 146) and a nonspecific comparator emphasizing education/support (EDU; N = 145). METHOD We estimated the per-patient cost of each treatment condition using an activity-based costing approach that allowed us to identify and estimate costs for specific components of each intervention as well as the overall total costs. Using simple means analysis and multiple regression models, we estimated the incremental effectiveness of MC-CBT relative to S-CBT and EDU. We then evaluated the cost-effectiveness of MC-CBT relative to these alternatives for selected outcomes at immediate posttreatment and 6 months posttreatment, using both an intent-to-treatment and per-protocol methodology. Key outcomes included scores on the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale and the percentage of patients who positively responded to treatment. RESULTS The average per-patient cost of delivering MC-CBT was $348, which was significantly less than the cost of S-CBT ($644) and EDU ($457) (p < .01). Furthermore, MC-CBT produced better average patient outcomes at immediate and 6 months posttreatment relative to S-CBT and EDU (p < .01). The current findings indicated that MC-CBT is a cost-effective option relative to S-CBT and EDU. CONCLUSION As predicted, MC-CBT was delivered at a lower cost per patient than S-CBT and performed better over time on the primary outcome of global IBS symptom improvement.
Pubertal Timing and Adolescent Alcohol Use: The Mediating Role of Parental and Peer Influences

Using intergenerational, prospective data at ages 9 months, 7, 11, and 14 years from the nationally representative United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study, this interdisciplinary study unpacks why 14-year-old adolescents with early perceived pubertal timing (PT) were more likely to drink alcohol (ever, frequent, and binge drinking) compared to those whose PT was on-time or late (5,757 girls, 5,799 boys; 80% White, 10% Asian, 3% Black, and 7% Other British). Parents allowed drinking among 22% (18%) of early PT girls (boys) compared to 11% of late PT adolescents; formal mediation models showed differences by PT in parent permissiveness and gains in alcohol-using friends primarily explained age 14 PT-drinking associations. Parental alcohol permissiveness should be a key prevention target for early PT adolescents.
Swineherds and Hogs on Ice: Leadership Impacts for State Chief Judges:

Chief judges stand as visible leaders of their courts. Analyses of the Supreme Court focus on the role of the chief justice as an institution-builder seeking out public-facing consensus to protect ...
Formal methods in the design of Ada 1995

Formal, mathematical methods are most useful when applied early in the design and implementation of a software system--that, at least, is the familiar refrain. I will report on a modest effort to apply formal methods at the earliest possible stage, namely, in the design of the Ada 95 programming language itself. This talk is an 'experience report' that provides brief case studies illustrating the kinds of problems we worked on, how we approached them, and the extent (if any) to which the results proved useful. It also derives some lessons and suggestions for those undertaking future projects of this kind. Ada 95 is the first revision of the standard for the Ada programming language. The revision began in 1988, when the Ada Joint Programming Office first asked the Ada Board to recommend a plan for revising the Ada standard. The first step in the revision was to solicit criticisms of Ada 83. A set of requirements for the new language standard, based on those criticisms, was published in 1990. A small design team, the Mapping Revision Team (MRT), became exclusively responsible for revising the language standard to satisfy those requirements. The MRT, from Intermetrics, is led by S. Tucker Taft. The work of the MRT was regularly subject to independent review and criticism by a committee of distinguished Reviewers and by several advisory teams--for example, the two User/Implementor teams, each consisting of an industrial user (attempting to make significant use of the new language on a realistic application) and a compiler vendor (undertaking, experimentally, to modify its current implementation in order to provide the necessary new features). One novel decision established the Language Precision Team (LPT), which investigated language proposals from a mathematical point of view. The LPT applied formal mathematical analysis to help improve the design of Ada 95 (e.g., by clarifying the language proposals) and to help promote its acceptance (e.g., by identifying a verifiable subset that would meet the needs of safety-critical applications). The first LPT project, which ran from the fall of 1990 unti the end of 1992, produced studies of several language issues: optimization, sharing and storage, tasking and protected records, overload resolution, the floating point model, distribution, program erros, and object-oriented programming. The second LPT project, in 1994, formally modeled the dynamic semantics of a large part of the (almost) final language definition, looking especially for interactions between language features.
Characterizing Online Engagement with Disinformation and Conspiracies in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.

Identifying and characterizing disinformation in political discourse on social media is critical to ensure the integrity of elections and democratic processes around the world. Persistent manipulation of social media has resulted in increased concerns regarding the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, due to its potential to influence individual opinions and social dynamics. In this work, we focus on the identification of distorted facts, in the form of unreliable and conspiratorial narratives in election-related tweets, to characterize discourse manipulation prior to the election. We apply a detection model to separate factual from unreliable (or conspiratorial) claims analyzing a dataset of 242 million election-related tweets. The identified claims are used to investigate targeted topics of disinformation, and conspiracy groups, most notably the far-right QAnon conspiracy group. Further, we characterize account engagements with unreliable and conspiracy tweets, and with the QAnon conspiracy group, by political leaning and tweet types. Finally, using a regression discontinuity design, we investigate whether Twitter's actions to curb QAnon activity on the platform were effective, and how QAnon accounts adapt to Twitter's restrictions.
Aortic septotomy to optimize landing zones during thoracic endovascular aortic repair for chronic type B aortic dissection.

Abstract Objective The role of thoracic endovascular aortic repair for chronic type B aortic dissection remains controversial. Clinical outcomes of thoracic endovascular aortic repair with recently implemented aortic septotomy strategy were compared with stand-alone thoracic endovascular aortic repair. Methods Between 2008 and 2020, 88 patients with chronic type B aortic dissection and degenerative aortic aneurysm underwent a thoracic endovascular aortic repair with or without adjunctive aortic septotomy, consisting of 36 (41%) with de novo chronic type B aortic dissection and 52 (59%) with residual chronic type B aortic dissection after type A aortic dissection repair. Results Aortic septotomy was performed in 31 patients (35%) to optimize the proximal (3/31;10%) and distal (31/31;100%) landing zones. The aortic septotomy techniques comprised laser aortic septotomy in 16 patients (52%) and cheese wire septotomy in 15 patients (48%) with a 97% overall technical success rate. The median time interval between aortic dissection occurrence and thoracic endovascular aortic repair was 1.2 years. During follow-up, there were 12 (21%) sudden deaths and 17 (30%) combined aorta-related and sudden deaths in the nonaortic septotomy group, whereas there were no deaths in the septotomy group (P Conclusions Stand-alone thoracic endovascular aortic repair outcomes without adjunctive procedures for chronic type B aortic dissection remain unfavorable. In contrast, landing zone optimization using aortic septotomy resulted in a remarkably higher positive aortic remodeling rate. Routine aortic septotomy strategy may positively affect long-term chronic type B aortic dissection survival and expand thoracic endovascular aortic repair candidacy.
The clinical diagnosis of nonanginal chest pain: The differentiation of angina from nonanginal chest pain by history

For the first time an attempt has been made to systematize nonanginal pain questions so that physicians will ask the nonanginal questions and not simply divide all angina-like symptoms into the two categories of typical and atypical angina. A definite nonanginal chest pain category is defended with the possibility of avoiding diagnoses such as "atypical chest pain" or "atypical angina." Confidence in diagnosing chest pains as nonanginal can be attained if attention is paid to new criteria for duration, the effect of respiration, arm or chest movement, local compression, and body position. Because of this novel approach to the diagnosis of chest pain, it has become necessary to point out many of the pitfalls into which the unwary may fall with each nonanginal question.
Are on-chip power-ground planes really needed? A signal integrity perspective

We use the on-chip bus characterization methodology of to study the impact of the on-chip power distribution system on the signal integrity of a 12-line bus. We compare two power supply systems implemented in the same Cu BEOL stack: an entirely grid-based system and a system similar to in that it contains one metal layer dedicated to V/sub dd/ and one metal layer dedicated to V/sub ss/. We show that while the dedicated power/ground layers do contribute to the mitigation of the inductive and return-path impedance effects, the ultimate signal integrity of the on-chip bus depends on the interplay between resistive losses, electromagnetic couplings (capacitive and inductive), and the driving and receiving circuitry.
La política democrática en América Latina: contribuciones de una perspectiva institucional

This article analyzes the contributions of the institutionalist literature to the understandingof democratic politics in Latin America. It first considers the debate about the institutionalcauses of gridlock and draws attention to key strengths of this literature. Thereafter,the article addresses the question of the quality of democracy, placing emphasis on thecontributions of institutionalists to understand the relationship between citizens, policymakers and policy administrators in terms of the principal-agent model. In addition, it addressessome challenges in the analysis of the quality of democracy linked with the relationshipbetween the preferences of politicians and state capacity, and the level of democraticnessof the political regime.
Chapter 2 ▸ - Mechanical Compaction

This chapter discusses mechanical compaction. In response to an applied stress field or pore pressure changes, the pore space of a rock may compact or dilate. Mechanical compaction induces the porosity to decrease and, as a physical mechanism of diagenesis, it can play an important role, especially during early and intermediate burial. At depths greater than 4.5 km or so, the conventional thinking is that chemical compaction processes such as pressure solution dominates and, yet, recent observations indicate that mechanical compaction may persist to these depths in deeply buried sandstones. In active tectonic settings such as accretionary prisms and fault zones, mechanical compaction can influence the development of porosity loss, dewatering, and pore pressure excess. Mechanical compaction is central to many problems in reservoir and geotechnical engineering, to which deformation and fluid transport are intimately related. The extraction of hydrocarbon and groundwater reduces pore pressure and thus causes an increase in the effective stress in a reservoir and aquifer.
Cross-modality medical image detection and segmentation by transfer learning of shapel priors

Machine learning based methods have been widely used for detecting and segmenting various anatomical structures in different medical imaging modalities. The robustness of such approaches is largely determined by the number of training samples. In practice it is often difficult to acquire sufficient training samples for a certain imaging modality. Since multiple imaging modalities are often used for disease diagnosis or surgical planning, images of the same anatomical structure may be available in a different modality. In this work we investigate the effectiveness of shape priors learned from a different modality (e.g., CT) to improve the segmentation accuracy on the target modality (e.g., MRI). The shape priors are exploited in the marginal space learning framework in several ways, e.g., increasing the pose hypothesis set, enriching the statistical shape model, and synthesizing new training images with real shapes. Experiments show that the additional shape priors transferred from a different source can dramatically improve the segmentation accuracy when the training set is small (e.g., with 10 or 20 training images).
CASE DESCRIPTIONS OF LAP-SHOULDER BELTED OCCUPANTS IN CAR CRASHES

From field crash investigations conducted by the authors, a series of well documented crashes will be presented. In each, at least one occupant was wearing a lap-shoulder belt. Detailed injury reports will be presented along with photographs of car damage, occupant contact areas, and where possible, the estimated impact speeds. /GMRL/
Designing processor-cluster based systems: interplay between cluster organizations and broadcasting algorithms

Past research on designing processor-cluster based parallel systems has focused mainly on studing the packaging technologies affecting the inter-cluster network. To make such a design approach more attractive, there is a strong need to understand the details about the topology inside the cluster its memory organization, and the impact of this organization on system performance. In this paper we analyze the communication costs for accessing inter-cluster and intra-cluster memories under different cluster organizations. The merits of these organizations are evaluated based on the performance of a commonly used U-mesh broadcast algorithm. Our results indicate that tightly coupled cluster organizations with shared access to memory offer faster intra-cluster communication. This leads to such organizations to outperform loosely coupled cluster organizations. We also demonstrate that such faster intracluster access in clustered systems can be exploited to design better collective communication algorithms. We propose a new broadcasting algorithm on clustered meshes clus-mesh which outperforms existing u-mesh on clustered systems by up to 20%.
Sociopolitical Development and Positive Youth Development: Emerging Themes from the 2014 Youth Civic Engagement Preconference from the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence

Over the past decade, civic engagement has been gaining ground as a topic of interest at developmental research meetings such as the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) and the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD). The rising visibility of research on youth civic engagement aligns with calls for recognition of civic engagement as a mainstream developmental task on par with other important life domains (Sherrod & Lauckhardt, 2009). In tandem with the rising tide of civic engagement research, five Youth Civic Engagement Preconference meetings have convened from 2008 to 20141, offering a forum for diverse groups of scholars to coalesce and energize around pursuing
The Flexner Report and the African-American Health Experience: Black Collective Memory and Identity as Shaped by Afro-cultural Trauma and Re-membering

The 1910 Flexner Report was a seemingly benevolent document intended to standardize medical education and increase the quality of physicians in the United States. Despite good intentions, it was a document with implications for African-Americans. The Flexner Report caused the closing of historically black medical schools, leaving two in the nation – Howard Medical School in the North and Meharry Medical College in the South. African-Americans were excluded from the institution of medicine, leaving blacks vulnerable to institutional abuses in health that facilitated distrust and disenfranchisement. This paper argues that despite the trauma experienced from violation and exclusion, Meharry Medical College serves as a chronotope that helps rebuild and symbolically re-member black collective identity and memory within and beyond medical education. The trauma includes present day black medical students and physicians not considered the equals of their white counterparts and black patients who suffered physical abuse and the infringement of self-determination. That created crises in collective African-American identity, sparking social pain. The Flexner Report is deeply implicated in structural inequality that has systematically disenfranchised African-Americans in medical education. Moving beyond structural inequalities, the Flexner Report is an unacknowledged source of trauma in the collective African-American health experience with both literal and figurative ramifications.
All-directions through the wall radar imaging enhancement using orthogonal polarizations and generalized pencil of function method

All-directions through the wall radar imaging method can be effectively employed to obtain accurate maps of buildings' interiors in a short time period. In this method, multiple reflections from surrounding walls produce spurious images and as a result, adversely affect the quality of the final image. In addition, to provide 360o view of the imaging area, receivers utilize omnidirectional antennas that may result in saturation of receivers due to receiving high power direct signal from transmitter. This paper addresses these two issues in all-directions through the wall radar imaging. To avoid saturation of receivers by direct signal from transmitter and remove even number of reflections from walls, two different orthogonal circular polarizations are used for transmitting antenna and receiving antennas. Moreover, a new method based on generalized pencil of function (GPOF) method is introduced to determine the locations of the reflections with respect to transmitter and receivers positions. This method improves range resolution in the final image.
The structure and bonding of ferrocenylcarbonium ions

Studies of NMR and Mossbauer spectra of α-ferrocenylearbonium ions are discussed in terms of three models for these ions. Agreement seems best between the observed results and expectations based on a model for the carbonium ion in which there is bonding between the iron atom and the α-carbon.
Premorbid educational attainment in schizophrenia: association with symptoms, functioning, and neurobehavioral measures.

Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of educational attainment with phenomenology and neurobehavioral measures assessing brain structure and function in schizophrenia. Methods: One hundred sixty-two patients with schizophrenia were divided into two groups on the basis of educational attainment: ≥13 years of education was the cutoff between the high and low groups. The two education groups were compared on symptomatology, functioning, and subsamples on neuropsychological profile, brain volume by magnetic resonance imaging, and brain metabolism by fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography. Results: The patients with more education had lower levels of psychotic symptomatology than their counterparts with less education. This was most evident for affective flattening, alogia, avolition, and bizarre behavior. The higher education group also had better ratings on premorbid adjustment, and the engagement and vocational factors of the Quality of Life Scale. Patients in the high education group also performed better on the neuropsychological battery. There were no brain volume differences or differences in brain metabolism between the two education groups. Conclusions: Education is an important indicator of premorbid function and is related to the clinical presentation of schizophrenia.
Evaluating the Role of Pt and Pd Catalyst Morphology on Electrocatalytic Methanol and Ethanol Oxidation

We have investigated the relative efficiency of Pt and Pd catalysts, in the structural formats of nanoporous solids and planar metallic surfaces, for the electro-oxidation of methanol and ethanol in acidic and basic aqueous solutions. There are two issues of primary concern in this comparison. These are the surface area of the two catalyst structures and the crystalline morphology of the metals. We find that the nanoporous solids of Pt and Pd afford greater electro-oxidation efficiency and increased catalytic stability relative to the corresponding planar metallic surface for methanol and ethanol. The increase in current density for the Pt nanoporous solid was greater for basic conditions than for acidic conditions. Although both metals provided increased catalytic activity relative to that of the corresponding planar metal, the reactivity of Pt was greater for methanol, while Pd exhibited greater reactivity for ethanol. Our data point to the utility of nanoporous solids for use as catalytic media.
Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Lyophilization‐ and Temperature‐Induced Protein Aggregation

Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that Fourier transform IR spectroscopy can be a powerful tool for the study of protein stabilization during freeze-drying and for optimizing approaches to prevent lyophilization-induced protein aggregation. The purpose of the current review is to provide an overview of these topics, as well as an introduction to the study of protein secondary structure with IR spectroscopy. We will start with a general summary of the theories and practices for processing and interpreting protein IR spectra. We will then review the current literature on the use of IR spectroscopy to study protein structure and the effects of stabilizers during lyophilization. Next we will concentrate specifically on protein aggregation. The bulk of the research and the key assignments of spectral features in protein aggregates come from studies of the effects of high and low temperature on proteins. Therefore, we will first consider this topic. Finally, we will summarize the recent theoretical and applied work on lyophilization-induced aggregation.
The origin of broad emission line clouds in active galactic nuclei

Numerous arguments suggest that the broad emission lines characteristic of many types of active galactic nuclei are formed in comparatively cool clouds embedded in a much hotter medium of roughly equal pressure. Here it is shown that a cycle exists in which cooler condensations form within the hot medium via a finite-amplitude thermal instability, drop to temperatures characteristic of photoionization equilibrium, are destroyed by hydrodynamic processes, and then return their material to the hot medium. Clouds of characteristic pressure about 10 to the 14th K/cu cm and thickness about 10 to the 23rd/sq cm are produced by this mechanism, in agreement with the pressure and thickness inferred from photoionization model analysis of observed emission-line ratios. Only a fraction of the hot medium's mass must encounter a finite-amplitude perturbation in order to produce the observed mass in clouds.
The Detailed Analysis of a Beginning Teacher Carrying Out a Traditional Lesson

Abstract In this article, we examine a segment of classroom teaching in detail. We explore the model of teaching presented in this volume by Schoenfeld, showing what many of the parts of the model look like in practice. We further use the descriptive power of the model to explicate how and why a particular teacher does what he does in the classroom. We also discuss some issues regarding teachers' planning, particularly the powerful role of “lesson image” as a resource in teaching.
Pressure distributions on a cube in a simulated thunderstorm downburst—Part A: stationary downburst observations

Abstract Thunderstorms are responsible for a large amount of wind-induced damage around the world. It is known that the wind characteristics in thunderstorms, particularly downbursts, differ significantly from those of synoptic scale boundary layer winds. This paper describes a study aimed at simulating the flow structure in a downburst and obtaining the pressure field on a cube immersed in such a flow. Part A presents the data obtained from a stationary wall jet simulation of a thunderstorm downburst, while Part B presents the data from a moving downburst simulation. The pressure distributions on the cube are compared with data from uniform and boundary layer flows.