cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Point–counterpoint: Are we overtreating patients with mild ulcerative colitis?

A 26 year-old man with a history of mild, left-sided ulcerative colitis presents to your clinic for a routine follow-up appointment. He initially presented approximately 5 years ago with intermittent rectal bleeding and diarrhea, which led to a diagnostic colonoscopy. His symptoms resolved in 1–2 weeks with a combination of oral and rectal mesalamine, and you have seen him annually since that time. At today's visit, he readily admits that he fails to take his medication on a regular basis, opting instead to use oral mesalamine as needed in response to symptoms. He estimates that he uses the medication for several weeks at a time, once or twice a year. Currently, he is having 1–2 formed bowel movements a day, with no blood and no nocturnal symptoms. His laboratory studies, including inflammatory markers and complete blood count, are normal. Upon questioning, you learn that he sees little benefit in taking a daily medication. His symptoms flare infrequently and improve quickly with initiation of mesalamine. He asks you if continuous, long-term mesalamine use confers any advantage or disadvantage over intermittent use based on symptoms, as he is currently doing. ### Background Over the last several decades, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number and variety of medications available for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This increase in therapeutic options is the result of concerted and coordinated efforts by dedicated researchers, patient advocacy groups, and the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, patients with IBD now have more options for treatment than ever before. But like most chronic diseases, IBD has a wide spectrum of disease severity. For conceptual simplicity, we can dichotomize this spectrum according to whether the natural history of the disease is favorable or unfavorable. In individuals with severe disease, where the natural history is unfavorable (e.g., ulcerative …
Discussions about preventive services: a qualitative study

Elderly minority patients are less likely to receive influenza vaccination and colorectal cancer screening than are other patients. Communication between primary care providers (PCPs) and patients may affect service receipt. Encounters between 7 PCPs and 18 elderly patients were observed and audiotaped at 2 community health centers. Three investigators coded transcribed audiotapes and field notes. We used qualitative analysis to identify specific potential barriers to completion of preventive services and to highlight examples of how physicians used patient-centered communication and other facilitation strategies to overcome those barriers. Sharing of power and responsibility, the use of empathy, and treating the patient like a person were all important communication strategies which seemed to help address barriers to vaccination and colonoscopy. Other potential facilitators of receipt of influenza vaccine included (1) cultural competence, (2) PCP introduction of the discussion, (3) persistence of the PCP (revisiting the topic throughout the visit), (4) rapport and trust between the patient and PCP, and (5) PCP vaccination of the patient. PCP persistence as well as rapport and trust also appeared to facilitate receipt of colorectal cancer screening. Several communications strategies appeared to facilitate PCP communications with older patients to promote acceptance of flu vaccination and colorectal cancer screening. These strategies should be studied with larger samples to determine which are most predictive of compliance with prevention recommendations.
Life-cycle civil engineering

Life-cycle civil engineering, edited by Fabio Biondini and Dan M. Frangopol, Taylor & Francis, 2008, 973 pp., US$279.95 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-415-46857-2 Civil infrastructure facilities such as bu...
Practical algorithms for performance guarantees in buffered crossbars

This paper is about high capacity switches and routers that give guaranteed throughput, rate and delay guarantees. Many routers are built using input queueing or combined input and output queueing (CIOQ), using crossbar switching fabrics. But such routers require impractically complex scheduling algorithms to provide the desired guarantees. We explore how a buffered crossbar-a crossbar switch with a packet buffer at each crosspoint-can provide guaranteed performance (throughput, rate, and delay), with less complex, practical scheduling algorithms. We describe scheduling algorithms that operate in parallel on each input and output port, and hence are scalable. With these algorithms, buffered crossbars with a speedup of two can provide 100% throughput, rate, and delay guarantees.
Umbrella Themes Obscure Real Problems: An Appraisal of Recent Efforts to Improve Financial Management

Financial management in public bodies has been going through several changes either as a part of improvement of public management or because of specific attention to the process of stewardship of public money. As an integral part of these efforts, now known as new public management philosophy, several measures have been and are being taken by industrial and developing countries to develop general institutions as well as financial management machinery Meanwhile, the objectives sought to be served by financial management have grown substantially. This article formulates an analytical framework to assess the adequacy of the existing financial management systems and reaches the conclusion that the new public management philosophy can at best serve only a few of the specified objectives. The changing portfolio of public expenditures requires that more attention needs to be paid to the details and hitherto neglected high-risk areas.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Olympics, Media, and Society

When we think about the Olympic Games, the facets of those Games that touch media and through the media have an influence on society, are many. Submissions for this special issue spanned topics fro...
Spectral studies on the catalytic mechanism and activation of Pseudomonas tryptophan oxygenase (tryptophan pyrrolase).

1. The substrate, tryptophan, forms spectrophotometrically detectable enzyme-substrate complexes with tryptophan oxygenase (EC 1.13.1.12)—commonly known as tryptophan pyrrolase—when the iron atom of the heme prosthetic group is either divalent, trivalent, or combined with carbon monoxide. 2. One-half of the enzyme-bound ferriprotoporphyrin IX undergoes a rapid cyclic valence change during catalysis owing to its sequential reduction by tryptophan and reoxidation by oxygen. During steady state catalysis rapid reoxidation maintains the enzyme predominantly as ferriprotoporphyrin, but addition of CO to the steady state catalytic system leads to the detection and trapping of the reduced form as the CO-ferroprotoporphyrin complex. 3. Activation of latent enzyme may be accomplished with sulfhydryl compounds or photochemically, as well as with ascorbate. The nature of the action spectrum and the inhibition of activation by catalase implicates photochemically generated hydrogen peroxide as the chemical mediator of the photoactivation. 4. Spectral studies indicate that reductive or photochemical activation of the enzyme is not due to net reduction of the ferriprotoporphyrin, but rather to the reduction of an unidentified enzyme component which then permits the ferriprotoporphyrin prosthetic group to undergo reduction by the substrate, tryptophan. 5. p-Chloromercuribenzoate competitively inhibits tryptophan oxygenase, indicating probable involvement of one or more sulfhydryl groups as binding sites for tryptophan.
Antibacterial cyclic D,L-α-glycopeptides

We report the design, synthesis, membrane activity, biophysical characterization, and in vitro antibacterial activities of cationic cyclic D,L-alpha-glycopeptides bearing d-glucosamine (GlcNH(2)), D-galactose (Gal), or D-mannose (Man) glycosyl side chains.
Mortality among unionized construction plasterers and cement masons

Background Plasterers perform a variety of duties including interior and exterior plastering of drywall, cement, stucco, and stone imitation; the preparation, installation, and repair of all interior and exterior insulation systems; and the fireproofing of steel beams and columns. Some of the current potential toxic exposures among plasterers include plaster of Paris, silica, fiberglass, talc, and 1,1,1-trichloroethylene; asbestos had been used by the plasterers in the past. Cement masons, on the other hand, are involved in concrete construction of buildings, bridges, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, highways, streets and roads, floors and pavements and the finishing of same, when necessary, by sandblasting or any other method. Exposures include cement dust, silica, asphalt, and various solvents. Methods Proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) and proportionate cancer mortality ratios (PCMRs) were calculated for 99 causes of death among 12,873 members of the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association who died between 1972 and 1996 using United States age-, race-, and calender-specific death rates. Statistical significance (P value) of results was based upon the Poisson distribution. Results Among plasterers, statistically significant elevated mortality was observed for asbestosis, where the PMR reached 1,657 (P < 0.01) with eleven observed deaths and less than one death expected, for lung cancer (PCMR = 124, P < 0.01), and for benign neoplasms (PMR = 210, P < 0.05). Among cement masons, statistically significant elevated mortality was observed for cancer of the stomach (PCMR = 133, P < 0.01), benign neoplasms (PMR = 132, P < 0.01), and poisonings (PMR = 159, P < 0.05). Except for poisonings, which were not thought to be occupationally related, all of the statistically significant results occurred among those members who entered the union prior to 1950. However, the risk for lung cancer among plasterers was still elevated among those entering the union after 1970 as was the risk for stomach cancer among cement masons who entered the union after 1950. Conclusions The present study suggests that plasterers and cement masons still have elevated risks for certain diseases, especially lung and stomach cancer. Therefore, union members currently living should be screened for asbestos-related diseases and educated about the future risks for these diseases. Am. J. Ind. Med. 39:373–388, 2001. Published 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Error probability in multi-source, multi-relay networks under falsified data injection attacks

We analyze the probability of decoding error in a multi-source, multi-relay wireless network, in which the adversary may inject falsified data through captured relay nodes. To detect malicious relay nodes and discard (erase) the data from those relay nodes, tracing bits are embedded in the information data at each source node. Parity bits are also added to the information data to correct the errors caused by the the channel impairments such as fading and noise. We analyze the tradeoff between the tracing bits and the parity bits in minimizing the probability of decoding error in multi-source, multi-relay networks under falsified data injection attacks.
Comparative Effects of Ethanol and Malnutrition on the Development of Catecholamine Neurons: A Long-Lasting Effect in the Hypothalamus

: Exposure to ethanol during only the last week of gestation in the rat resulted in significantly decreased weight and levels of norepinephrine in the hypothalamus of the offspring after 26 weeks on standard diet compared with appropriate controls.
Increased expression of nuclear factor E2 p45-related factor 2 (NRF2) in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Background. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality. Overexpression of specific phase II gene products may represent an important biomarker. One regulator of phase II gene expression is the transcription factor nuclear factor E2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Nrf2 expression was evaluated in HNSCC, to determine whether it might serve as a biomarker for early detection of disease. Methods. A tissue microarray was constructed of 141 HNSCC biopsy cores from 47 HNSCCs. In addition, histologically normal squamous mucosa was obtained from 7 patients. Protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results. Nrf2 expression was increased in 91.5% of tumors. Expression of thioredoxin, a Nrf2-reguated gene product, was elevated in 75% of tumors. Keap1, which regulates the rate of Nrf2 ubiquitination and degradation, was relatively overexpressed in HNSCC compared with normal mucosa. Conclusions. Nrf2 expression may be a possible HNSCC candidate biomarker. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2006
Inflammatory signaling in NEC: Role of NF-κB, cytokines and other inflammatory mediators.

The pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is complex and the exact etiology remains unknown. Clinically, the presentation and progression of NEC is variable and often difficult to predict. The majority of affected infants (>90%) are premature, and the following factors may play a role in NEC pathogenesis: 1) The immaturity of the intestinal barrier, the mucus layer, decreased Immunoglobulin A (IgA) and defensins; 2) an abnormal intestinal capillary blood flow due do the incomplete development of the intestinal microvasculature or due to the immature regulation of its vascular tone, causing insufficient substrate and O2 delivery to the intestinal epithelial cells; 3) abnormal bacterial colonization of the enteric tract triggering a mucosal pro-inflammatory response; and 4) immaturity of the immune system preventing normal control and killing of microbes, allowing them to penetrate the epithelium. Concomitantly, this immature immune system mounts an excessive production of inflammatory mediators which cause the recruitment of inflammatory cells such as neutrophils and subsequent tissue injury and necrosis. In order to investigate the pathogenesis of NEC, correlative studies have been conducted measuring different inflammatory mediators such as cytokines in the plasma or in the tissues resected from patients with NEC. However, these tissues are obtained at late stages of the disease when these are commonly necrotic, and therefore may not yield information about the early pathogenic events leading to NEC. As mechanistic studies obviously cannot be conducted in humans, animal models have been used. Studies on rats and mice have contributed to the discovery of several potentially important inflammatory mediators in the pathogenesis of NEC. In this chapter, the current evidence for the role of these inflammatory mediators is presented and a current unifying hypothesis regarding NEC pathogenesis is proposed.
Optimal measurement scheduling for state estimation

We consider the problem of optimal allocation of measurement resources, when: (1) the total measurement budget and time duration of measurements are fixed, and (2) the cost of an individual measurement varies inversely with the (controllable) measurement accuracy. The objective is to determine the time-distribution of measurement variances that minimizes a measure of error in estimating a discrete-time, vector stochastic process with known auto-correlation matrix using a linear estimator. The metric of estimation error is the trace of weighted sum of estimation error covariance matrices at various time indices. We show that this problem reduces to a nonlinear optimization problem with linear equality and inequality constraints. The solution to this problem is obtained via a variation of the projected Newton method. For the special case when the vector stochastic process is the state of a linear, finite-dimensional stochastic system, the problem reduces to the solution of a nonlinear optimal control problem. In this case, the gradient and Hessian with respect to the measurement costs are obtained via the solution of a two-point boundary value problem and the resulting optimization problem is solved via a variation of the projected Newton method. The proposed method is illustrated using four examples. >
Macrocyclic nickel complexes in DNA recognition and oxidation

Nickel(I1) macrocyclic complexes have been found to promote site- and conformation-specific oxidation of DNA. The systematic study of ligand effects has demonstrated that the crucial features in regulating DNA reactivity are in-plane donor strength and flexibility of the macrocyclic ligand. Based upon investigations of conformation specificity, macrocyclic ligand effects, and oxidant requirements, a mechanism has been proposed.' In this mechanism, a nickel(II1) complex containing a ligated guanine and oxidant molecule is postulated as a key intermediate. The oxidation of DNA has also been extended to macrocyclic complexes containing cobalt(III), rhodium(II1) and chromium(II1).
A Self-Correcting Approach to Multiple-Choice Exams Improves Students’ Learning

Montepare suggested the use of a self-correcting approach to multiple-choice tests: Students first take the exam as usual, but are allowed to hand in a self-corrected version afterwards. The idea o...
Multi-timescale investigation of radiation damage near TiO2 rutile grain boundaries

To understand the interactions between defects and grain boundaries (GBs) in oxides, two atomistic modeling methods were used to examine the role of GBs in a model system, rutile TiO2, in modifying radiation-induced defect production and annealing. Molecular dynamics was used to investigate defect production near a symmetric tilt GB at both 300 K and 1000 K. The damage production is found to be sensitive to the initial distance of the primary knock-on atom from the GB. We find three distinct regimes in which GBs have different effects. Similar to GBs in metals, the GB absorbs more interstitials than vacancies at certain distances while this behavior of biased loading of interstitials diminishes at other distances. Further, we obtain the statistics of both interstitial and vacancy clusters produced in collision cascades in terms of their compositions at two temperatures. Perfectly stoichiometric defect clusters represent a small fraction of the total clusters produced. Moreover, a significant reduction in ...
Contrasting Roles of Privacy

Barrington Moore. Jr. Privacy: Studies in Social and Cultural History. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1984. xiv. 328 pp. $17.25 (cloth) Franco Ferrarotti. The Myth of Inevitable Progress. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985. viii. 208 pp. $35 (cloth)
Juvenile Sentence Reform and Its Evaluation: A Demonstration of the Need for More Precise Measures of Offense Seriousness in Juvenile Justice Research

Despite the intent of juvenile sentence reforms to create sanctions that approximate punishments imposed by the criminal court, evaluations of the new laws indicate what appears to be the continued lenient treatment of juveniles. One explanation for this phenomenon is that within similar charges, juvenile offenses are far less serious than adult offenses. In order to explore this idea, prosecutors of one New Jersey county were asked to rate the seriousness of the behaviors of 500 adults and 500 juveniles charged with assault or robbery. With respect to both offenses, the behaviors of juveniles were regarded as substantially less serious than the behaviors of adults. These results highlight a need for the use of more precise measures of offense seriousness in juvenile justice research.
A Fast Method for Kinetic Parameter Estimation

Kinetic parameter estimation using PET is an important tool for in vivo quantification of physiological parameters in humans and animals. Iterative methods based on nonlinear weighted least squares criterion have been widely used to estimate kinetic parameters. Most of these methods do not guarantee to converge to the global optimum because the cost function is nonconvex and there may exist multiple local minima. In this paper, we propose to use the method of moments to estimate kinetic parameters. The method of moments results in a closed form solution for the kinetic parameters when volume of fraction is zero. We show that the method of moments yields reliable estimates that iterative methods may fail to provide depending on the initial conditions. The proposed method can be used alone, or to provide a good initial guess for iterative methods to improve convergence. The advantage of the method is demonstrated using both computer simulations and real dynamic PET data.
Autonomous pickup and delivery for delay tolerant mobile networks

Delay tolerant mobile networks are characterized by the possible non-existence of end-to-end paths. For instance, environmental factors and energy constraints in mobile ad hoc and wireless sensor networks make the preservation of end-to-end connectivity challenging. To overcome the problem, the "store-carry-and-forward" (SCF) paradigm has been proposed, where mobile nodes may physically carry and transport messages between nodes to facilitate eventual message delivery. We propose a suite of autonomous and dynamic SCF algorithms, together called pickup and delivery (PAD) Routing, which adapt the traditional algorithmic vehicle routing problem (VRP) and covering tour problem (CTP) to the context of delay tolerant mobile networks. The objectives of PAD routing are to reduce the message transport delay and to increase the delivery ratio in the presence of network partitions. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of these algorithms
Economic Abuse in the Lives of Women Abused by an Intimate Partner A Qualitative Study

This article presents qualitative findings of a study that examined the role of financial issues and economic factors in the lives of women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Eight themes emerged in discussions with women about the ways in which money and economic issues played a role in their experiences of abuse. Taken together, women's discussions clearly support an "economic abuse" dimension of IPV. Implications for safely advancing the economic well-being of low-income survivors are discussed.
Using the Genogram to Teach Systems Thinking

This article describes graduate students'personal genograms as an exercise to facilitate training in systems thinking. Discussion covers the objectives, the assignment, evaluation of students' work...
Randomized Phase III Evaluation of Cisplatin Plus Fluorouracil Versus Cisplatin Plus Paclitaxel in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer (E1395): An Intergroup Trial of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

Purpose To determine the response rate, survival and toxicity of infusional cisplatin plus fluorouracil (CF) versus cisplatin plus paclitaxel (CP) in patients with incurable squamous cell cancer of the head and neck, with the hypothesis that CP is superior. Patients and methods Two hundred eighteen patients with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic disease were randomly assigned to CF (cisplatin 100 mg/m2 day 1 and fluorouracil 1,000 mg/m2/24 hours by continuous intravenous infusion day 1 through 4) or CP (cisplatin 75 mg/m2 day 1 and paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 over 3 hours on day 1). Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks until progression or a minimum of 6 cycles with complete response or stable disease. The primary outcome was overall survival. Secondary outcomes included response rate and toxicity. Results No significant difference in overall survival or response rate was seen. Estimated median survival was 8.7 months in the CF group and 8.1 month in the CP group. Objective response rate (complete response plus partial response) was 27% in the CF group and 26% in the CP group. Toxicity was similar between groups, with the most frequent including myelosuppression, thrombocytopenia, anemia, nausea, vomiting, and stomatitis. A total of 12 deaths occurred (CF, seven; CP, five) during treatment; eight from infection, two from hemorrhage, one from cardiac causes and one from unknown causes. Gastrointestinal and hematologic toxicities were more common in the CF group, whereas neurotoxicity was equivalent between groups. Conclusion This phase III, randomized, multicenter trial showed no difference in survival between patients treated with CF or CP.
Diversity, Eccentricity, and Devil’s Advocacy

This chapter is about the use of devil’s advocacy in helping management teams profit from the diversity of views within them. I will outline the argument that diversity may have contradictory effects on the quality of group decision making and propose that benefiting from diversity requires appreciating the value of eccentricity in organizations. Next, I will present arguments for the use of conflict to enable a group to benefit from its own internal diversity. I will conclude with a discussion of specific recommendations for the use of devil’s advocacy as a means for introducing useful conflict into group decision making.
Revisiting and re-engineering the classical zinc finger peptide: consensus peptide-1 (CP-1)

Zinc plays key structural and catalytic roles in biology. Structural zinc sites are often referred to as zinc finger (ZF) sites, and the classical ZF contains a Cys2His2 motif that is involved in coordinating Zn(II). An optimized Cys2His2 ZF, named consensus peptide 1 (CP-1), was identified more than 20 years ago using a limited set of sequenced proteins. We have reexamined the CP-1 sequence, using our current, much larger database of sequenced proteins that have been identified from high-throughput sequencing methods, and found the sequence to be largely unchanged. The CCHH ligand set of CP-1 was then altered to a CAHH motif to impart hydrolytic activity. This ligand set mimics the His2Cys ligand set of peptide deformylase (PDF), a hydrolytically active M(II)-centered (M = Zn or Fe) protein. The resultant peptide [CP-1(CAHH)] was evaluated for its ability to coordinate Zn(II) and Co(II) ions, adopt secondary structure, and promote hydrolysis. CP-1(CAHH) was found to coordinate Co(II) and Zn(II) and a pentacoordinate geometry for Co(II)-CP-1(CAHH) was implicated from UV-vis data. This suggests a His2Cys(H2O)2 environment at the metal center. The Zn(II)-bound CP-1(CAHH) was shown to adopt partial secondary structure by 1-D (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Both Zn(II)-CP-1(CAHH) and Co(II)-CP-1(CAHH) show good hydrolytic activity toward the test substrate 4-nitrophenyl acetate, exhibiting faster rates than most active synthetic Zn(II) complexes.
A simulation model for optimizing the performance of bifacial Si solar cells

In this paper, a theoretical simulation model of bifacial Si solar cell using personal computer one dimensional (PC1D) program is reported. The impact of electrical and optical parameters on the device performance is thoroughly investigated. Emitter doping, bulk resistivity, back surface field (BSF) and antireflection coating (ARC) layers on front and rear of the cell were fine tuned to obtain efficiency closed to the theoretical limit of Si material. A front efficiency of 23.6% compared to 22.3% from the rear was achieved. Thus, an excellent bifaciality factor of 94.5% was obtained. However, given the transparency of the rear of a bifacial cell a 20-30% more power due to albedo is possible. In this work, a 6.0 Watt was demonstrated with 0.3 suns from the rear in addition to the 1 sun from front side.
Money on the Table: Reconsidering College Sports Video Games and Athlete Publicity Rights Post NCAA Student-Athlete Likeness Litigation

This forthcoming article in the Mississippi Sports Law Review analyzes the impact of the monumental legal challenges to the NCAA's long-standing rules defining amateurism in intercollegiate sports and further explores options to mediate, if not optimize, the respective interests underlying amateurism, commercial opportunities, and student-athlete rights and well-being. Section II examines the federal litigation challenging the use of student-athletes' names, images, and likenesses (NILs) in videogames, telecasts, archived footage, and photos. Section III discusses the mounting student-athlete litigation which challenges amateurism beyond the grounds asserted in O'Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n and Keller v. Electronic Arts, as well as an apparent trend to resist expanding student-athlete rights. Section IV asserts that litigation and legislation, are not the answers to the conflict surrounding intercollegiate athletics. The uncertain legal landscape, combined with opportunities for new financial and media markets for college sports, provide conditions warranting the need for stakeholders in the college sports industry to work together. Rather than pretend to deny commercialism, either as a fact or an opportunity, or to retreat into pure amateurism, this Article proposes a model for joint partnership so that the parties can work together to optimize the academic and commercial benefits of intercollegiate athletics. This includes protection and representation of the student-athletes as partners.
Mass action expressions for bidentate adsorption in surface complexation modeling: theory and practice.

The inclusion of multidentate adsorption reactions has improved the ability of surface complexation models (SCM) to predict adsorption to mineral surfaces, but variation in the mass action expression for these reactions has caused persistent ambiguity and occasional mishandling. The principal differences are the exponent (α) for the activity of available surface sites and the inclusion of surface site activity on a molar concentration versus fraction basis. Exemplified by bidentate surface complexation, setting α at two within the molar-based framework will cause critical errors in developing a self-consistent model. Despite the publication of several theoretical discussions regarding appropriate approaches, mishandling and confusion has persisted in the model applications involving multidentate surface complexes. This review synthesizes the theory of modeling multidentate surface complexes in a style designed to enable improvements in SCM practice. The implications of selecting an approach for multidenta...
Direct Holographic Processing Using Laser Chemistry

By using two interfering laser beams to initiate localized chemical reactions at an interface, very high resolution, maskless microfabrication can be done over relatively large substrate areas. The resulting deposited or etched patterns can be used in a variety of electro-optical and electronic applications. In addition, this type of fabrication, which can be monitored in real time, provides insight into many new interfacial phenomena.
Urodynamics of Female Urinary Incontinence With Emphasis on Stress Incontinence

AbstractMore than 500 female patients with urinary incontinence were studied in our urodynamic laboratory by simultaneous recordings of urethral pressure at 2 levels, bladder pressure, intraabdominal pressure, and by uroflowmetry and cine-fluoroscopy. Urethral pressure profile under basal conditions was compared to that in patients with a full bladder, under the stress of sharp or sustained increase in intra-abdominal pressure, voluntary perineal muscle activity and patient’s position. From these studies stress and urge incontinence, and neurogenic varieties (or a combination of several types) could be differentiated. The clinical application of our findings will be discussed.
History and Culture in Russia and Ukraine: How to Complicate a Crisis of European Security

AbstractRussia’s annexation of Crimea was a major blow to the post-World War II security order in Europe and could well be the start of a new Cold War. This is especially the case since it was followed by the initiation of a proxy war in eastern Ukraine. The two works reviewed here deal the current crisis and provide historical background. Although there are actual concrete “national interests” involved in the Russian-Ukrainian relationship, the differences in how history is remembered complicates any attempt at resolving the issues.
Apropos Exceptionalism: Imperial Location and Comparative Histories of South Africa and the United States

The artist and anti-apartheid activist Breyten Breytenbach has described his forebodings about the direction in which South Africa has been moving recently. In a nutshell, these stem from his fear that having concentrated their efforts on racial oppression radicals may now be unable or unwilling to combat the dangers of a centralized nation state. Breytenbach believes that the fight against apartheid and the hierarchical division of peoples on the basis of race and ethnicity in some ways allowed the notion of the State to go uncontested.
Power-dependent bandstop filters for frequency-selective limiting

The use of a power-dependent coupling structure that allows a cul-de-sac bandstop filter topology to continuously transform between a resonant all-pass response and a bandstop filter response with increasing input power is shown. In contrast to limiter devices that provide a wideband short circuit or ferrite resonance under high-power excitation, the concept presented in this paper provides the ability to design limiters with frequency-selectivity and without magnetic materials. For verification, a third-order power-dependent bandstop filter was designed and fabricated. It has a center frequency of 2.15 GHz, 3 dB bandwidth of 400 MHz, 1 dB limiting threshold of approximately 25 dBm, a response time of 10 ns, and provides over 16 dB of limiting.
An Integrational Framework of Organizational Moral Development, Legitimacy, and Corporate Responsibility: A Longitudinal, Intersectoral Analysis of Citizenship Reports

In this article, we outline a unique conceptual framework connecting legitimacy types (Suchman, 1995), theories of corporate responsibility (Brummer, 1991), and levels of organizational moral development based on Kohlberg's (1971) moral development stages. In addition, based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) categories, we found empirical support for our framework, by content analyzing Fortune 500 corporate citizenship reports from four different industries (i.e., chemicals, motor vehicle/auto parts, pharmaceutical, and utilities), at three data points (i.e., 2002, 2007, and 2012). Our analysis indicates that motor vehicle/auto parts and chemicals industries are at a higher developmental level, and portray moral legitimacy along with social demandingness corporate responsibility in recent years; while the pharmaceutical and utilities sectors are at a lower developmental level, showing signs of pragmatic legitimacy, alongside classical and stakeholder corporate responsibility strategies. This article contributes to the current organizational moral development literature by developing and finding empirical support of a conceptual framework of organizational moral development, legitimacy, and corporate responsibility. In particular, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the differences in moral development levels across four focal industries over a 10-year timespan.
HIV-1 Entry and Its Inhibition

Entry of HIV-1 virions into cells is a complex and dynamic process carried out by envelope (Env) glycoproteins on the surface of the virion that promote the thermodynamically unfavorable fusion of highly stable viral and target cell membranes. Insight gained from studies of the mechanism of viral entry allowed insight into the design of novel inhibitors of HIV-1 entry, several of which are now in clinical trials. This review highlights the mechanism by which viral and cellular proteins mediate entry of HIV-1 into permissive cells, with an emphasis on targeting this process in the design of novel therapies that target distinct steps of the entry process, including antagonizing receptor binding events and blocking conformational changes intimately involved in membrane fusion.
High Glucose Induces Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Retinal Müller Cells: Implications for Diabetic Retinopathy.

Purpose To investigate whether high glucose (HG) induces mitochondrial dysfunction and promotes apoptosis in retinal Muller cells. Methods Rat retinal Muller cells (rMC-1) grown in normal (N) or HG (30 mM glucose) medium for 7 days were subjected to MitoTracker Red staining to identify the mitochondrial network. Digital images of mitochondria were captured in live cells under confocal microscopy and analyzed for mitochondrial morphology changes based on form factor (FF) and aspect ratio (AR) values. Mitochondrial metabolic function was assessed by measuring oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) using a bioenergetic analyzer. Cells undergoing apoptosis were identified by differential dye staining and TUNEL assay, and cytochrome c levels were assessed by Western blot analysis. Results Cells grown in HG exhibited significantly increased mitochondrial fragmentation compared to those grown in N medium (FF = 1.7 ± 0.1 vs. 2.3 ± 0.1; AR = 2.1 ± 0.1 vs. 2.5 ± 0.2; P < 0.01). OCR and ECAR were significantly reduced in cells grown in HG medium compared to those grown in N medium (steady state: 75% ± 20% of control, P < 0.02; 64% ± 22% of control, P < 0.02, respectively). These cells also exhibited a significant increase (∼2-fold) in the number of apoptotic cells compared to those grown in N medium (P < 0.01), with a concomitant increase in cytochrome c levels (247% ± 94% of control, P < 0.05). Conclusions Findings indicate that HG-induced mitochondrial morphology changes and subsequent mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to retinal Muller cell loss associated with diabetic retinopathy.
Enhancing Yelp Data with Deep Learning and Information Reuse

Crowd-sourced reviews are used daily by potential customers to learn relevant information about a business. While textual reviews have become prominent in many recommendation-based systems, the inclusion of images can significantly increase the effectiveness of a review. However, it is difficult to verify the accuracy and usefulness of the information provided by a contributing user. In this paper, we address this issue by proposing a deep-learning-based information-reuse framework to automatically: (1) tag the images available in a review dataset, (2) generate a caption for each image that does not have one, and (3) enhance each review through information reuse by automatically mapping reviews to existing relevant images. We evaluate the proposed framework using the data made available for the Yelp Dataset Challenge. The results indicate that the proposed framework provides high-quality enhancements through automatic captioning, tagging, and recommendation for mapping reviews and images.
Neuroprosthetics for controlling epilepsy

This chapter discusses a subset of the field of neuroprosthetics focused on surgical treatment options for the one-third to one-fourth of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who remain ineligible for resective surgery. It provides a discussion of both FDA-approved and nonapproved modalities, as well as the key surgical techniques, risks, benefits, underlying mechanisms, and efficacy of each modality. Modalities discussed include vagal nerve stimulation (VNS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), responsive neurostimulation (RNS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS), and experimental therapies such as optogenetics. When appropriate, key trials for each treatment are summarized.
Rethinking Social and Economic Development: Promoting Digital Literacy

Today’s digital divide that separates the “haves” and the “have nots” is attributed in part to geography, race, income, employment, age, gender, and education. Not only do some segments of the population remain unconnected, but these sectors also have no desire to connect. Thus, the connected portions of the world must create an urge and necessity to connect so that even the most remote location can access the same information as countries with technological enrichment. The first step towards worldwide connectivity involves worldwide understanding, achieved through information literacy, therefore allowing each person to become an independent, self-sufficient user. These characteristics lead to a better education, where the user can reap the benefits of schooling and life experience because of information literacy skills. The most important reward is an overall improved life where the Internet no longer separates people, but instead brings them together for work, communication, and leisure. These goals can only be accomplished through a collaborative effort involving both those connected, and those not connected. Without cooperation from both sides, the digital divide will continue existing.
Pipe-Run Extraction and Reconstruction from Point Clouds

This paper presents automatic methods to extract and reconstruct industrial site pipe-runs from large-scale point clouds. We observe three key characteristics in this modeling problem, namely, primitives, similarities, and joints. While primitives capture the dominant cylindric shapes, similarities reveal the inter-primitive relations intrinsic to industrial structures because of human design and construction. Statistical analysis over point normals discovers primitive similarities from raw data to guide primitive fitting, increasing robustness to data noise and incompleteness. Finally, joints are automatically detected to close gaps and propagate connectivity information. The resulting model is more than a collection of 3D triangles, as it contains semantic labels for pipes as well as their connectivity.
Addiction and Pregnancy: Maternal and Child Issues

The treatment of drug-dependent women presents challenges for the women as well as treatment professionals. A number of barriers exist that may prevent women from enrolling in treatment. These barriers include the paucity of gender specific services and those that are ethnically and culturally sensitive. Moreover, drug dependent women tend to neglect general health care and management is difficult due to frequent medical and psychiatric complications including the risk for HIV/AIDS. Socioeconomic difficulties such as poor housing, inadequate income, and lack of education, are complicated by emotional problems such as feelings of worthlessness and depression. Treatment for drug dependent women must include services for their medical illnesses, psychosocial counseling, and addictive therapies utilizing various modalities such as methadone maintenance and drug free in-patient services. Assessment of parenting skills in women with dependent children allows the identification of mothers who may be at risk for poor parenting, child abuse, or neglect. The potential complications associated with substance abuse can be markedly diminished in women if treatment professionals show compassion and provide persistent, comprehensive services.
Protein Stability in the Presence of Cosolutes

Protein scientists have long used cosolutes to study protein stability. While denaturants, such as urea, have been employed for a long time, the attention became focused more recently on protein stabilizers, including osmolytes. Here, we provide practical experimental instructions for the use of both stabilizing and denaturing osmolytes with proteins, as well as data evaluation strategies. We focus on protein stability in the presence of cosolutes and their mixtures at constant and variable temperature.
Pituitary and Other Hormonal Derangements in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Hormone dysfunction is a common consequence of TBI, and the psychological and physical effects of these disorders may complicate management of these patients. Understanding the potential pitfalls and appropriate evaluation and management is critical to the comprehensive care of TBI patients in the short- and long-term clinical setting.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder with Borderline Features

Patients with a primary narcissistic personality disorder with accompanying borderline features present with specific challenges in psychotherapy. Their initial provocations and dismissiveness can significantly mask their internal struggle. A neutral and validating therapeutic approach can help patients feeling seen and recognized, and invite their description and reflective ability of their subjective experiences. Exploration of emotional functioning and capability is important as emotional disengagement can represent both a self-enhancing defense strategy or a neuropsychological deficits in emotional processing. Attention to external life experiences outside of treatment is also important as they can contribute to corrective emotional experiences and realizations promoting change.
Heavy Ion and Proton Induced Single Event Effects on Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)

Zynq UltraScale+ field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) were tested for single event effects with heavy ions and protons. SEEs such as SEU and SEL were detected. Destructive SELs were avoided.
US racial/ethnic disparities in childhood asthma emergent health care use: National Health Interview Survey, 2013-2015.

Objective: Racial/ethnic disparities in Emergency Department (ED) visits due to childhood asthma are well documented. We assessed disparities among multiple racial/ethnic groups and examined the ef...
Scalable Computing in a Blockchain

The main utility of blockchain networks stem from their ability to offer a trusted platform for execution of processes. The default blockchain implementation, where an immutable log of all transactions is maintained by every participant, is i) inefficient, and ii) does not scale well. This paper outlines several strategies to improve the scope and scale of processes that can be executed in a blockchain.
"At the End We Feel Forgotten": Needs, Concerns, and Advice from Blogs of Dementia Family Caregivers.

Illness blogs have been used by many individuals to describe their experiences, share knowledge, and gather support. The purpose of this study was to identify needs, concerns, and advice from the b...
The verdict is in: how did they decide? Using drivers’ self-reported data to understand officers’ decision making during traffic stop encounters

In the United States, traffic stop is the most common form of police-citizen encounter, and for many citizens, it is the only way they will ever interact with the police. The frequency of traffic s...
The Disparities in Childhood Obesity in Low Socioeconomic Status and Racial/Ethnic Populations: An analytical literature review

Since childhood obesity is linked with an increased risk of obesity in adulthood, obesity inchildren and adolescence brings a multitude of adverse health outcomes including, but notlimited to cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, diabetes, some forms of cancer, hypertension,and death. This study focuses on analytical evaluation of disparities of childhood obesity inlow socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic populations. The analytical review was conductedon the literature available online focusing five dimensions for the analysis is expressed in thefollowing points: (1) What is evel of incidence of childhood obesity in the United States, (2)What is definition of childhood obesity? (3) What are the factors that impact obesity? (4) Whatis the appropriate theoretical framework for research on childhood obesity? (5) What are theknowledge gaps and the recommended future research? The prevalence of obesity in childrenand adolescents is very alarming and needs to be addressed because this health status, beingoverweight/obese, has a significant and unfavorable impact on not only the health of youngAmericans today but also the future health of young Americans. Using the percentile categoriesto determine childhood obesity, there are noteworthy differences when comparing obesity ratesby race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. There was no significant correlationbetween race/ethnicity and overweight/obese when controlling the income. When addressingdisparities in childhood obesity it is important to understand not only the causes of obesity, butalso other factors which may amplify the causes of obesity. Socioeconomic status duringchildhood, being male, white, has a high possibility of adiposity in adolescence. Exposure tomedia and marketing, the reduced access and availability of quality and affordable foodproducts is an example of a factor that may amplify the cause of obesity.