cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Clinical Trial of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in Improving Quadriceps Muscle Strength and Activation Among Women With Mild and Moderate Osteoarthritis

Background Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has demonstrated efficacy in improving quadriceps muscle strength (force-generating capacity) and activation following knee replacement and ligamentous reconstruction. Yet, data are lacking to establish the efficacy of NMES in people with evidence of early radiographic osteoarthritis. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether NMES is capable of improving quadriceps muscle strength and activation in women with mild and moderate knee osteoarthritis. Design This study was a randomized controlled trial. Methods Thirty women with radiographic evidence of mild or moderate knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to receive either no treatment (standard of care) or NMES treatments 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The effects of NMES on quadriceps muscle strength and activation were evaluated upon study enrollment, as well as at 5 and 16 weeks after study enrollment, which represent 1 and 12 weeks after cessation of NMES among the treated participants. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index and a 40-foot (12.19-m) walk test were used at each testing session. Results Improvements in quadriceps muscle strength or activation were not realized for the women in the intervention group. Quadriceps muscle strength and activation were similar across testing sessions for both groups. Limitations Women were enrolled based on radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis, not symptomatic osteoarthritis, which could have contributed to our null finding. A type II statistical error may have been committed despite an a priori power calculation. The assessor and the patients were not blinded to group assignment, which may have introduced bias into the study. Conclusions Four weeks of NMES delivered to women with mild and moderate osteoarthritis and mild strength deficits was insufficient to induce gains in quadriceps muscle strength or activation. Future research is needed to examine the dose-response relationship for NMES in people with early radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis.
Pilot-Scale Evaluation of Denitrification Drainage Bioreactors: Reactor Geometry and Performance

Denitrification drainage bioreactors are emerging as an innovative practice to address water quality concerns stemming from nitrate leaching from drained agricultural lands. Although installation of these systems has begun in farms in the midwestern United States, the understanding of their design and in-field performance remains deficient. This study utilized a set of pilot-scale drainage bioreactors to evaluate the impact of bioreactor geometry on reactor hydraulic properties and to determine nitrate removal under steady-state conditions and during a simulated storm event. Bioreactors with different cross-sectional geometries but similar depths and total volumes were evaluated. The percent reduction of the influent nitrate mass was linearly correlated to the theoretical hydraulic retention time (HRT) with 30 to 70% NO3--N removals observed within the 4 to 8 h of retention time suggested for field installations. Tracer tests revealed that in situ HRTs were at least 1.5 times larger than theoretical HRTs.
EPR of Co+2 in Mg(CH3COO)2·4H2O

Abstract EPR spectra of the 59 Co +2 ion in oriented crystals of Mg(CH 3 COO) 2 ·4H 2 O have been measured at 9.4 GHz and a temperature of 4.2 K. The data for each of the two metal ion sites per unit cell are well-described by a spin Hamiltonian for S = 1 2 , I = 7 2 with g x = 6.13, g y = 389, g z = 2.49 and A x = 0.0193, A y' = 0.075, A z' = 0.0032 cm −1 . Only the x -axes of the g - and A -tensors coincide. Orientation of the principal directions relative to the crystal axes has been established for the g- and A -tensors at both sites. They are consistent with the weakly ferromagnetic canted antiferromagnetism found in Co(CH 3 COO) 2 ·4H 2 O below T N ≅85mK.
Targeting BACE1 with siRNAs ameliorates Alzheimer disease neuropathology in a transgenic model

In Alzheimer disease, increased beta-secretase (BACE1) activity has been associated with neurodegeneration and accumulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) products. Thus, inactivation of BACE1 could be important in the treatment of Alzheimer disease. In this study, we found that lowering BACE1 levels using lentiviral vectors expressing siRNAs targeting BACE1 reduced amyloid production and the neurodegenerative and behavioral deficits in APP transgenic mice, a model of Alzheimer disease. Our results suggest that lentiviral vector delivery of BACE1 siRNA can specifically reduce the cleavage of APP and neurodegeneration in vivo and indicate that this approach could have potential therapeutic value for treatment of Alzheimer disease.
Unleash Metformin Reconsideration of the Contraindication in Patients with Renal Impairment

Objective: To evaluate the expanded use of metformin in renal impairment. Data Sources: The MEDLINE database via PubMed, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health were searched in August 2013 and included studies from 1950 onward. Study Selection and Data Extraction: The search included comparative trials, observational cohort studies, and meta-analyses using the terms diabetes mellitus, metformin, renal insufficiency, and acidosis, lactic. Data Synthesis: One randomized controlled trial, 1 meta-analysis, 1 case-control, and 3 prospective-cohort studies, representing about 150 000 patients, revealed that metformin is safe in patients with stable mild-moderate renal impairment. The incidence of lactic acidosis is low and similar to sulfonylureas. In addition, reduced risks of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, or any acidosis/serious infection were seen with metformin use in mild-to-moderate renal impairment. Conclusions: Data over the past decade refute the historical con...
Nomenclatural Changes in the Paederinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

More than 70 nomenclatural changes for the Paederinae are implemented herein, and 10 problematical names that were submitted to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature for action are described. The spelling of the species-group names for Procirrus lefebvrei Latreille, 1829, and Achenium jejunum Erichson, 1840, are deemed the correct original spellings. The following names are new combinations. Lithocharis stilicina (Cameron, 1931) is transferred from Medon. Lobrathium alticola (Cameron, 1943), Lobrathium badium (Cameron, 1924), and Lobrathium cylindricolle (Cameron, 1924) are transferred from Lathrobium. Micranops surinamensis (Herman, 1965) and Micranops volans (Blackwelder, 1943) are transferred from Orus, and Micranops yemenicus (Coiffait, 1981) is transferred from Scopaeus. Pinobius longipennis (Cameron, 1931) is transferred from Dolicaon. Platydomene anguina (Sharp, 1874), Platydomene carinicollis (Sharp, 1889), and Platydomene funebris (Sharp, 1889) are transferred from Lathrobium, and Platydomene nobilis(Sawada, 1965) is transferred from Lobrathium. Sunius fungi (Cameron, 1943), Sunius immsi (Bernhauer, 1914), Sunius laevior (Cameron, 1943), and Sunius monticola (Cameron, 1931) are transferred from Medon. Tetartopeus cognatus (Sharp, 1889) and Tetartopeus fulvipes (Adachi, 1955) are transferred from Lathrobium. Chloecharis Lynch, 1884, is a junior synonym of Hypomedon Mulsant and Rey, 1878. The correct names for the subspecies formerly referred to as Echiaster japonicus japonicusBernhauer, 1923 and E. j. unicolor Bernhauer, 1922, are Echiaster unicolor unicolor Bernhauer, 1922, and Echiaster unicolor japonicusBernhauer, 1923. Lathrobium elongatulum(MacLeay, 1873) was improperly replaced and therefore is resurrected. Medon abantensisBordoni, 1980b, is a new junior synonymic homonym of Medon abantensis Bordoni, 1980a. Medon mersinus Bordoni, 1980b, is a junior homonym of Medon mersinusBordoni, 1980a, and a new synonym of Medon haafiScheerpeltz, 1956. Medon siculus Coiffait, 1970, is resurrected from synonymy
The effect of U.S. University students' problematic internet use on family relationships: A mixed-methods investigation

This is the first study to investigate how college students in the U.S. with problematic Internet use perceive the role the Internet plays within their families of origin. The sample included 27 U.S. university students who self-identified as excessive Internet users. Participants reported spending more than 25 hours a week on the Internet on non-school or non-work-related activities and reported Internet-associated health and/or psychosocial problems. This study provides descriptive statistics from participants' completion of two problematic Internet use measures (i.e., Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire and the Compulsive Internet Use Scale) and reports findings from four focus groups. Three themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) family connectedness, (2) family conflict/family disconnection, and (3) family Internet overuse. The findings of this study are a first step toward the design of effective interventions for problematic Internet use among U.S. college students and serve to inform clinical practice and health policy in this area.
Classification of Arctic Cloud and Sea Ice Features in Multi-Spectral Satellite Data

The important role that polar processes play in the dynamics of global climate is widely recognized (NESDIS, 1984). The Arctic climate system is characterized by complex interactions between the ocean surface and the atmosphere. For example, the variation of cloud amounts over polar ice sheets, sea ice, and ocean surfaces can have important effects on planetary albedo gradients and on surface energy exchanges (Barry et al.,1984; Shine and Crane, 1984). Cloud cover exerts a major influence over the amount of solar and longwave radiation reaching the surface, and is linked to the sea ice through a series of radiative, dynamical, thermodynamic and hydrological feedback processes (Saltzman and Moritz, 1980). The extent and thickness of sea ice is influenced by the radiation balance, and in turn influences oceanic heat loss and surface albedo. For these reasons the Arctic is considered to be a region where global climate change may be most easily detected. Unfortunately, in situ observations of surface and atmospheric characteristics in the central Arctic are difficult to obtain. Monitoring the polar climate systems using satellite data may be the only viable method of obtaining the information needed to detect climate change.
Model-Based Design and Operation of Next-Generation Space-Borne Radiometers (Invited)

†‡ Space-borne radiometers are used to monitor the Earth’s radiant energy budget in an effort to better understand the atmospheric energetics governing climate change. Described is a novel approach for using “calibrated” high-order, first-principle-based, numerical endto-end models of such instruments in operational data interpretation. Part 1 describes the creation of such models and definition of their uncertainty to a stated level of confidence, Part 2 describes their “calibration” against the actual radiometers, and Part 3 describes their use to convert instrument count into radiance at the instrument aperture.
Variable buoyancy system for unmanned multi-domain vehicles

This paper presents the system design, construction, and testing of an active variable buoyancy system (VBS) actuator with applications to unmanned multi-domain vehicles. Unmanned multi-domain vehicles require nontraditional VBS designs because of their unique operation requirements. We present a VBS actuator design that targets multi-domain vehicle design objectives of high endurance, stealth, and underwater loitering. The design features a rigid ballast tank with an inner elastic bladder connected to a hydraulic pump and a proportionally controlled vent valve. The system working fluid is obtained from the ambient surrounding water and the elastic bladder separates the water from pressurized gas, thus preventing any gas from escaping during a venting operation. An analytic model of the VBS characterizing the system dynamics is derived. Ballast tank prototype design and construction is discussed. A VBS test platform vehicle is presented, featuring two ballast tanks, motor, pump, and RF receiver for control.
Successful bone-marrow transplantation in a lymphopenic immunologic deficiency syndrome.

Abstract A 12-year-old boy with lymphopenic immunologic deficiency syndrome (common variable type) was treated with an infusion of bone-marrow cells from a 10-year-old HL-A identical brother. Despite the HL-A identity and a negative mixed lymphocyte culture, a severe graft-versus-host reaction developed from which he recovered, except for persisting hepatitis. The transplant resulted in red-cell chimerism and in an immunologic reconstitution that was almost complete but of an unusual pattern. IgM and IgG concentration increased and exceeded those of normal adults.
Gaza: Visioning Peace in a Place Like Hell

This paper describes a unique visioning exercise undertaken by the author with students and faculty at Gaza University from 2012-2014 which focused on the search for peace and prosperity for the region. The impact of the 51 day Israeli war on Gaza in 2014 which killed over 2000 Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, is also discussed.
Electrocardiographic characteristics in patients with acute myocardial infarction associated with left main artery obstruction

Objective:The electrocardiograms in patients with AMI associated with left main(LM)artery obstruction were analyzed retrospectively to determine the electrocardiographic features in this group of patients.Method:From Jan 1999 to June 2007,acute LM obstruction were confirmed in 15 patients with AMI by emergency coronary angiography.The emergency electrocardiograms before angiography in these 15 patients(LM group)were analyzed retrospectively,and their electrocardiographic features were compared with those in 30 patients with AMI resulted from proximal left anterior descending artery obstruction(LAD group).Result:There was no significant difference in occurrence of arrhythmia between the two groups.Heart rate in the LM group was higher than that in the LAD group.The occurrence rate and degree of ST segment elevation in lead aVR were both significantly higher in the LM group compared with the LAD group.The degree of ST segment elevation in lead V1,V2 and V3 were also lower in the LM group compared with the LAD group.ST elevation in aVR predicted LM obstruction with sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 63.3%.Both ST elevation in aVR(0.05 mV)and minor ST elevation in V1～3(total level 0.5 mV)represented left main obstruction with sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 86.7%.Conclusion:ST elevation in aVR with minor ST elevation in V1～3 is an important predictor of acute left main artery obstruction.
Selection of steam resources for turbine-driven induced draft fan in 1000MW coal fired unit

The induced draft(ID) fan driven by turbine instead of motor is excellent in several aspects,such as avoiding greater start-up current,reducing service power consumption rate,achieving higher efficiency for ID fan operating with variable speed,avoiding the second transformation of energy and so on.For 1 000 MW unit,both the fourth steam extraction(exhaust steam of middle pressure cylinder) and the cold reheated steam(exhaust steam of high pressure cylinder) can be used to drive steam turbine.Considering the different steam resource and different turbine exhaust mode,the techno-economic analysis of the fourth steam extraction paired with condensing steam turbine and the cold reheated steam paired with back pressure turbine was analyzed.The result shows that both the two schemes are feasible,but the former is more economical.
A Framework for Business Mashup Applications

Mashup applications for business can lead to better business insights, marketing opportunities, and may provide opportunity to monetize the value locked in business data. To enable necessary experimentation with mashups by domain experts, we describe a development and runtime framework that exposes data level abstractions in the form of templates and automates the programming details associated with plumbing for mashups. The framework also provides runtime support to manage security, reliability, and other business application related enterprise IT concerns.
Hyperaldosteronism due to unsuspected adrenal carcinoma: discovery during investigation of hypertension in a young woman.

AbstractDuring investigation for hypertension a 19-year-old black woman was found to have an unsuspected adrenal carcinoma. Hyperaldosteronism was established as the cause of the hypertension by observing suppressed plasma renin activity and nonsuppressible plasma aldosterone concentration. The causal relationship was confirmed by a cure of the hypertension and a return in the responsiveness of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis to normal after removal of the carcinoma. This report emphasizes the value of a comprehensive investigation of hypertension, especially in young patients.
Characterization of Adhesive Joints Under Shock-Wave Loading

The failure behavior of adhesive joints under shock-wave loadings was investigated in a large scale shock tube facility for the first time. An overlapping specimen consisting of two parts, one circular patch and one supporting ring were bonded together in a specially designed jig. Sub-miniature semi-conductor strain gauges were attached on the specimen to monitor the transient strain on specific locations. A high speed camera was used to record the detachment of the patch from the ring. Image processing tool was used to track the position of the patch as a function of time. This information yield estimates of velocity, acceleration and kinetic energy of the patch. A finite element model was also created and the computation results were compared to the experimental values obtained.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Improving Implicit Discourse Relation Recognition Through Feature Set Optimization

We provide a systematic study of previously proposed features for implicit discourse relation identification, identifying new feature combinations that optimize F1-score. The resulting classifiers achieve the best F1-scores to date for the four top-level discourse relation classes of the Penn Discourse Tree Bank: COMPARISON, CONTINGENCY, EXPANSION, and TEMPORAL. We further identify factors for feature extraction that can have a major impact on performance and determine that some features originally proposed for the task no longer provide performance gains in light of more powerful, recently discovered features. Our results constitute a new set of baselines for future studies of implicit discourse relation identification.
Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulations to Understand Mechanical Response of Thaumasite under Temperature and Strain Rate Effects

Understanding the structural, thermal, and mechanical properties of thaumasite is of great interest to the cement industry, mainly because it is the phase responsible for the aging and deterioration of civil infrastructures made of cementitious materials attacked by external sources of sulfate. Despite the importance, effects of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical response of thaumasite had remained unexplored prior to the current study, in which the mechanical properties of thaumasite are fully characterized using the reactive molecular dynamics (RMD) method. With employing a first-principles based reactive force field, the RMD simulations enable the description of bond dissociation and formation under realistic conditions. From the stress–strain curves of thaumasite generated in the x, y, and z directions, the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and fracture strain are determined for the three orthogonal directions. During the course of each simulation, the chemical bonds undergoing tensile def...
Programmable optical power distribution in silicon photonic platform

We demonstrate a reconfigurable, software-controlled, C-band optical power distribution system leveraging a 1×7 cascaded microring-based silicon photonic device. The thermo-optic effect and the spectral response of each ring is characterized and utilized in FPGA-based control plane algorithm to achieve precise power distribution profiles.
Engaging Students in Large Health Classes with Active Learning Strategies

Creative K-12 health teachers can engage students in large classes by utilizing active learning strategies. Active learning involves engaging students in higher-order tasks, such as analysis and synthesis, which is a crucial element of the movement toward what is commonly called “learner-centered” teaching. Health education teachers who develop student learning outcomes based on higher-order objectives on Bloom's taxonomy often construct more engaging, learner-centered activities to facilitate achievement of those outcomes. Relatedly, current best practices in health education emphasize the use of strategies designed to personalize and engage students in developing the essential health skills necessary to adopt, practice and maintain health-enhancing behaviors. There are multiple teaching strategies that can be employed in large classes to preserve an active learning environment that fosters student engagement. The purpose of this article is to describe some of the strategies that would be most applicable...
Exploring the Factor Structure of Financial Capacity in Cognitively Normal and Impaired Older Adults.

Objectives To investigate the factor structure of financial capacity using a direct-performance measure of financial skills (The Financial Capacity Instrument [FCI]) as a proxy for the financial capacity construct. Methods The study sample was composed of 440 older adults who represented the cognitive spectrum from normal cognitive aging to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to mild dementia: 179 healthy older adults, 149 participants with MCI, and 112 participants with mild Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Results Both Velicer's Minimum Average Partial test and Horn's parallel analysis supported a four-factor solution which accounted for 46% of variance. The four extracted factors were interpreted as: (1) Basic Monetary Knowledge and Calculation Skills, (2) Financial Judgment, (3) Financial Conceptual Knowledge, and (4) Financial Procedural Knowledge. Conclusions The study findings represent an important first step in empirically articulating the financial capacity construct in aging. The four identified factors can guide both clinical practice and future instrument utilization and development. Clinical implications Cognitively impaired older adults with MCI and mild AD dementia are likely to show financial changes in one or more of the four identified financial factors. Clinicians working with older adults should routinely examine for potential changes in these four areas of financial function.
Towards a Machine-Learning Approach for Sickness Prediction in 360° Stereoscopic Videos.

Virtual reality systems are widely believed to be the next major computing platform. There are, however, some barriers to adoption that must be addressed, such as that of motion sickness - which can lead to undesirable symptoms including postural instability, headaches, and nausea. Motion sickness in virtual reality occurs as a result of moving visual stimuli that cause users to perceive self-motion while they remain stationary in the real world. There are several contributing factors to both this perception of motion and the subsequent onset of sickness, including field of view, motion velocity, and stimulus depth. We verify first that differences in vection due to relative stimulus depth remain correlated with sickness. Then, we build a dataset of stereoscopic 3D videos and their corresponding sickness ratings in order to quantify their nauseogenicity, which we make available for future use. Using this dataset, we train a machine learning algorithm on hand-crafted features (quantifying speed, direction, and depth as functions of time) from each video, learning the contributions of these various features to the sickness ratings. Our predictor generally outperforms a naive estimate, but is ultimately limited by the size of the dataset. However, our result is promising and opens the door to future work with more extensive datasets. This and further advances in this space have the potential to alleviate developer and end user concerns about motion sickness in the increasingly commonplace virtual world.
Construction Scheme and Key Technologies of Electric Energy Information Acquisition System

Electric energy information acquisition system is the physical basis of China strong and smart grid in power consumption field. It analyzes the needs of construing smart grid for electric energy information acquisition system and concludes its present construction status. The construction mode and technology scheme of acquisition system is presented. Different electric energy information acquisition modes are proposed for different power users. It analyzes power line carrier communication standardization, security protection of acquisition system, pre-paid control and other key technologies. The system can greatly speed up standardization construction of marketing measurement, meter reading, charging and information system of electric power company. It can further enhance marketing business management level and provide important technology guarantee for achieving step tariff and speeding up construction of strong and smart grid.
Measuring affect in the wild

Our teams at MIT and at Affectiva have invented mobile sensors and software that can help sense autonomic stress and activity levels comfortably while you are on the go, e.g. the Affectiva QTM Sensor for capturing sympathetic nervous system activation, or without distracting you while you are online, e.g. webcam-based software capturing heart rate variability and facial expressions. We are also developing new technologies that capture and respond to negative and positive thoughts, combining artificial intelligence and crowdsourced online human computation to provide just-in-time emotional support through a mobile phone with texting. Our technologies are all opt-in, and are currently being used robustly for "outside the lab, mobile" studies where core emotional processes are involved in autism, PTSD, sleep disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse, epilepsy, stressful workplaces and learning environments, online customer experiences, and more. The new technologies enable collecting orders of magnitude more data than previous lab-based studies, containing many fascinating variations of "what people really do" especially when making expressions such as smiles. This talk will highlight some of the most interesting findings from recent work together with stories of personal adventures in emotion measurement out in the wild.
EARLY PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROORGANISMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EVOLUTION

Microfossils which are preserved as shrivelled kerogenous residues provide little information about cellular organization and almost none about the metabolic properties of the organisms. The distinction between prokaryotic vs eukaryotic, and phototrophic vs chemo- and organotrophic fossil microorganisms rests entirely on morphological comparisons with recent counterparts. The residual nature of the microbial fossil record promotes the conclusion that it must be biased toward (a) most abundant organisms, (b) those most resistant to degradation, and (c) those inhabiting environments with high preservation potential e.g., stromatolites. These criteria support the cyanophyte identity of most Precambrian microbial fossils on the following grounds: (1) as primary producers they dominate prokaryotic communities in modern extreme environments, e.g., intertidal zone; (2) several morphological counterparts of modern cyanophytes and microbial fossils have been established based on structure, cell division patterns and degradation sequences. The impact of anaerobic and oxygenic microbial photosynthesis on the evolution of Precambrian environments is discussed.
An efficient synthesis of the piperidinyl dihydroquinazolinone (PDQ) fragment of olcegepant

Abstract Olcegepant is one of the most potent and selective small molecule CGRP antagonists for the treatment of migraine headaches. Herein, we describe a new and efficient synthesis of the key piperidinyl dihydroquinazolinone (PDQ) fragment of olcegepant. PDQ plays a key role in the activity of CGRP antagonists. Primary improvements over existing methods include a high-yielding reductive amination step, greater overall yield, and operational simplicity. Coupling of PDQ to a d -tyrosine derivative effectively produced over one half of the total molecular structure of olcegepant. A unique tandem deprotection-nucleophilic addition sequence was also applied to the coupling of Fmoc-PDQ with phenyl isocyanate.
Concussion in Sport: Role of Dentistry

Concussion is a hot topic in sports today. Dental trauma occurs in the head, and for that reason, there is always the possibility of concurrent brain injury when there is orofacial trauma. It is important for the sports team dentist to understand the basics of the pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, and management of sports-related concussion injuries. The sports team dentist needs to be able to consult intelligently with the rest of the sports medicine team regarding the neurologic status of patients with head or facial injuries.
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy versus ureteroscopy for management of pediatric nephrolithiasis in upper urinary tract stones: multi-institutional outcomes of efficacy and morbidity.

Summary Introduction As the incidence of pediatric nephrolithiasis rises, understanding the efficacy and morbidity of surgical treatment options is critical. Currently, there are limited comparative data assessing shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) and ureteroscopy (URS) outcomes in children. Objective The objective of this study was to compare stone clearance, 30-day emergency department visits, and the number of general anesthetics required per stone treatment for both modalities. Study design A multi-institutional retrospective review of children presenting for either URS or SWL between 2000 and 2017 was performed. Stone clearance, need for retreatment, the number of anesthetics, as well as the number and reason for emergency room visit were captured and compared between groups. Multivariate statistical analysis accounting for age, stone location, stone diameter, pre-intervention stent, and provider volume was performed for adjusted analysis. Results A total of 84 SWL and 175 URS procedures were included. Complete stone clearance and rates of residual stone fragments Discussion Stone clearance after both the initial and final treatments and need for repeat interventions were similar between surgical modalities. However, SWL carries less morbidity than URS. Specifically, patients who underwent SWL experienced lower rates of ED visits for urinary tract infection and for flank pain, parallel to conclusions in current comparative literature. In addition, SWL requires less general anesthetics (2.0 vs. 1.2), secondary to lower rates of ureteral stent placement and removal. Data on the potential risk of general anesthetics to neurodevelopment support thoughtful utilization of these medications. Limitations of this study include its retrospective nature and the prolonged 20-year time period over which data were collected. Conclusions When adjusting for confounders, SWL and URS achieve similar stone clearance. In the setting of equivalent efficacy, considerations regarding necessity of repeat interventions, morbidity of anesthesia, and complications should be integrated into clinical practice. Download : Download high-res image (86KB) Download : Download full-size image Summary Fig.
The learning camera: A personalized learning model for online pedagogy in human services education

AbstractThis article describes the development of a personalized learning approach to human services online education that utilizes a “learning camera” as a metaphorical tool for undergraduate stud...
A dual role for shape skeletons in human vision: perceptual organization and object recognition

Abstract Shape perception is crucial for object recognition. However, it remains unknown exactly how shape information is represented, and, consequently, used by the visual system. Here, we hypothesized that the visual system incorporates “shape skeletons” to both (1) perceptually organize contours and component parts into a shape percept, and (2) compare shapes to recognize objects. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and representational similarity analysis (RSA), we found that a model of skeletal similarity explained significant unique variance in the response profiles of V3 and LO, regions known to be involved in perceptual organization and object recognition, respectively. Moreover, the skeletal model remained predictive in these regions even when controlling for other models of visual similarity that approximate low- to high-level visual features (i.e., Gabor-jet, GIST, HMAX, and AlexNet), and across different surface forms, a manipulation that altered object contours while preserving the underlying skeleton. Together, these findings shed light on the functional roles of shape skeletons in human vision, as well as the computational properties of V3 and LO.
Image reconstruction for sub-sampled atomic force microscopy images using deep neural networks

Undersampling is a simple but efficient way to increase the imaging rate of atomic force microscopy (AFM). One major challenge in this approach is that of accurate image reconstruction from a limited number of measurements. In this work, we present a deep neural network (DNN) approach to reconstruct μ-path sub-sampled AFM images. Our network consists of two sub-networks, namely a RED-net and a U-net, in series, and is trained end-to-end from random images masked according to μ-path sub-sampling patterns. Using both simulation and experiments, the DNN is shown to yield better image quality than three existing optimization-based methods for reconstruction: basis pursuit, a variant of total variation minimization, and inpainting.
Rabies Vaccination Compliance and Reasons for Incompletion.

Author(s): Shi, Tony; Dunham, Eleanor F.; Nyland, Jennifer E. | Abstract: Introduction: Rabies is a fatal disease with a 91% mortality rate in the United States. Current treatment of rabies consists of post-exposure prophylaxis treatment involving a complicated vaccination regimen. Studies conducted in other countries have found that patients do not complete their rabies vaccination treatment due to forgetting about their treatment, lack of time for visits, and the financial burden of treatment. However, little is known about why patients do not complete the rabies series in the US. The objective of this study was to determine the reasons why patients in the US do not complete rabies treatment.Methods: We performed a retrospective study to evaluate rabies post-exposure prophylaxis completion in the emergency department of an academic suburban hospital between June 2014– July 2017. Further review was performed for patients who received inadequate vaccination to determine the cause of treatment incompletion. We conducted additional follow-up by phone survey for those patients who did not complete their rabies treatment but had no explanation for discontinuation available in the medical chart review.Results: Results indicated 198 patients received rabies post-exposure treatment during the inclusion period. Of these, 145 patients completed the rabies vaccination regimen. Reasons for treatment incompletion were found for 29 patients, and 24 patients were lost to follow-up. Of the 29 patients for which discontinuation was assessed, 23 patients (79.3%) stopped treatment due to appropriate reasons – either the animal involved tested negative for the rabies virus or the patient had prior rabies treatment and only required two booster shots. Reasons for not completing the series when medically indicated included the patient deciding to not return for treatment, lack of awareness of the full vaccination regimen, and the patient declining initiation of rabies vaccination.Conclusion: Most patients in the US discontinue their rabies vaccination treatment for appropriate reasons; however, there is a proportion of patients who discontinue rabies vaccination when further treatment is medically indicated. This subset of patients is particularly at risk of rabies-related mortality, and additional measures need to be taken to ensure increased treatment compliance.
Increased Incidence of Ophthalmologic Findings in Children With Concurrent Isolated Nonsyndromic Metopic Suture Abnormalities and Deformational Cranial Vault Asymmetry.

Objective:The purpose of this project was to study the incidence of ophthalmologic findings which are known to be risk factors for amblyopia in children who have coexisting metopic suture abnormali...
Prediction of sulfadiazine solubility in some cosolvent mixtures using non-ideal solution models

The experimental data of sulfadiazine in (methanol + water), (ethanol + water) and (1-propanol + water) cosolvent mixtures at some temperatures were correlated using non-ideal solution models, namely, the modified Apelblat and Buchowski-Ksiazaczak equations and the van’t Hoff equation. The calculated results agreed well with the experimental data. According to the Buchowski equation, the solubility of sulfadiazine in the three co-solvent mixtures shows important deviations from ideality, which is consistent with the literature.
Invariance of the r2-ln(F) relationship and attainable precision in ultrafast laser ablation experiments.

Pursuing ever-smaller feature size in laser-based lithography is a research topic of vital importance to keep this technique competitive with other micro-/nano-fabrication methods. Features smaller than the diffraction-limited spot size can be obtained by “thresholding”, which utilizes the deterministic nature of damage threshold with ultrashort laser pulses and is achieved by precisely tuning pulse energies so that only the central portion of the focal spot produces permanent modification. In this paper, we examine the formulation commonly used to describe thresholding and show that the relationship between feature size (r) and laser fluence (F) is invariant with respect to the nature of laser absorption. Verified by our experiments performed on metal, semiconductor, and dielectric samples, such invariance is used to predict the smallest feature size that can be achieved for different materials in a real-world system.
On the use of single, dual and three process langmuir models for binary gas mixtures that exhibit unique combinations of these processes

Two scenarios were investigated for predicting binary gas adsorption equilibria when the single gas isotherms of one component is described by the three process Langmuir (TPL) model and the single gas isotherms of the other component is described by either the dual process Langmuir (DPL) or single process Langmuir (SPL) model. For the TPL–SPL and TPL–DPL models, 7 and 12 different correlations of energetic (free energy) site matching respectively exist. For these complex systems, perfect positive (PP) means the free energies of the sites of the two components align in some way from high to low, while perfect negative (PN) means they misalign in some way with high free energy sites for one component aligning with low free energy sites for the other component. Other variations of PP and PN exist where the free energies correlate in some way with the free energy of the site of one of the components distributed among two or more sites of the other component, and uncorrelated exit where the free energies do not correlate but possibly still have some site distribution. A consistent set of single and binary isotherms for CO2 and N2 on 13X zeolite were used to explore all 19 correlations. CO2 fitted well only to the TPL single gas model and N2 fitted equally well to either the DPL or SPL single gas model. Only 3 of the 12 cases for the TPL–DPL model and 2 of the 7 cases for the TPL–SPL model exhibited reasonable predictions of the experimental results; the remaining 14 cases failed. The predictions for CO2 for both models were very good for all 19 cases; but, some of the predictions for N2 were so overpredicted, they were not even close to reality. The simpler site matching correlations fared better than the more complex ones, such as those with the sites of N2 distributed over two or more sites of CO2. For this CO2–N2-13X binary system, PP site matching correlations provided the best predictions, with the high and low free energy sites of N2 decidedly interacting with the high and medium free energy sites of CO2 with the low free energy site of CO2 unoccupied by N2.
Review of Databases and Correlations for Saturated Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Coefficient for Cryogens in Uniformly Heated Tubes, and Development of New Consolidated Database and Universal Correlations

Abstract Experiments to determine saturated flow boiling heat transfer coefficient (HTC) for cryogens in uniformly heated, round tubes have been performed throughout the globe during the past sixty years. However, experimental HTC data are either rarely published or made available only for a few cryogens, with majority remaining in the archives of authors, or in obscure technical reports of an organization or other inaccessible sources. In the present study, the Purdue University-Boiling and Two-Phase Flow Laboratory (PU-BTPFL) Cryogen Saturated Flow Boiling HTC Database is consolidated from world literature dating back to 1959. With 2505 local and 747 average data points for LHe I, para-LH2, LNe, LN2, LAr, and LCH4, it represents the largest cryogen saturated flow boiling HTC database assembled to date. This database encompasses the controlled variables of tube diameter, from 0.47 to 14.1 mm, heated length-to-diameter ratio, 0.79 to 470.81, system pressure, 0.01 to 2.99 MPa, reduced pressure, 0.03 to 0.88, mass velocity, 7.89 to 1787.56 kg m−2 s−1, and heat flux, 0.01 to 223.2 kW m−2. Using this database, distinct physics unique to cryogens are studied and new dimensionless criteria are developed to classify the data, which are subsequently used to both assess predictive accuracy of seminal HTC correlations and develop new universal cryogen saturated boiling HTC correlations. The new HTC correlations are shown to provide good predictive agreement with the database with an MAE of 26.4% and 34.5%.
Beyond Adaptive Sports: Challenges & Opportunities to Improve Accessibility and Analytics

A recent surge in sensing platforms for sports has been accompanied by drastic improvements in the quality of data analytics. This improved quality has catalyzed notable progress in training techniques, athletic performance tracking, real-time strategy management, and even better refereeing. However, despite a sustained growth in the number of para-athletes, there has been little exploration into the accessibility and data analytics needs for adaptive sports. We interviewed 18 participants in different roles (athletes, coaches, and high-performance managers) across six adaptive sports. We probed them on their current practices, existing challenges, and analytical needs. We uncovered common themes prevalent across all six sports and further examined findings in three groups: (1) blind sports; (2) wheelchair sports; and (3) adaptive sports with high equipment. Our study highlights the challenges faced by different adaptive sports and unearths opportunities for future research to improve accessibility and address specific needs for each sport.
Flow Barriers and Switchability

In this chapter, the theory of flow barriers in discontinuous dynamical systems will be systematically presented for the first time, which help one re-think the existing theories of stability and control in dynamical systems. The concept of flow barriers in discontinuous dynamical systems will be introduced, and the passability of a flow to the boundary with flow barriers will be presented. Because the flow barriers exist on the boundary, the switchability of a flow to such a separation boundary will be changed accordingly. The coming and leaving flow barriers in passable flows will be discussed first, and the necessary and sufficient conditions for a flow to pass through the boundary with flow barrier will be developed. Flow barriers for sink and source flows will be also discussed. Once the sink flow is formed, the boundary flow barriers in the sink flow needs to be considered, and such a flow barrier is independent of vector fields in the corresponding domains. Furthermore, when the boundary flow in the sink flow disappears, the vector fields should satisfy the appropriate conditions. Thus, the necessary and sufficient conditions for formations and vanishing of a sink flow will be developed for a discontinuous dynamical system possessing flow barriers on the boundary. A periodically forced friction model will be presented as an example for a better understanding of flow barrier existence in physical problems. The flow barrier theory presented in this chapter will provide a theoretic base for one to further develop control theory and stability.
Concluding Reflections and Further Thoughts

The period from 1935-1953 was a very profitable and dynamic era in the history of polymer science. The worldwide community that coalesced in 1935 was very active in identifying the key phenomena and forging satisfying qualitative and quantitative theories. The state of the community in 1953 will be surveyed from several perspectives.
Independence of Judges - A Concept Often Misunderstood in Central and Eastern Europe

The paper discusses what Zdenek Kuhn later described as "the Empire of Mechanical Jurisprudence" in the Croatian Yearbook of European Law & Policy, namely the systemic pressure on judges during the Socialist era to stick strictly to the black letter of the law. By exercising this pressure, combined with the system of telephone justice, where judges got phone calls from the Communist party headquarters telling them how to decide politically or otherwise sensitive cases, beautifully illustrated by Maureen Fitzmahan in the Parker School Journal of East European Law, Socialism systematically purged the judiciary from any independent thinkers and any notions that "justice" rather than "law" should be applied. The legacy of this era is painfully obvious today in many courts in Central and Eastern Europe, where judges simply do not know how to handle their newly secured independence. They widely lack the methodological training to properly motivate their judgments, which in turn seem arbitrary. The painful conclusion is that the judiciary in the CEECs used to lack any legitimacy because it was seen as the enforcement arm of an illegitimate Communist party dictatorship and now it struggles to gain any legitimacy because it is seen as unpredictable, unaccountable, and corrupt. I have further developed this line of argument in my article "Stare Decisis - a Universally Misunderstood Idea", published in Legisprudence, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2012 (now called "The Theory and Practice of Legislation" by Hart, UK), and also available on my SSRN author page.