cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anatomic Success of Lens-Sparing Vitrectomy with and without Scleral Buckle for Stage 4 Retinopathy of Prematurity

Purpose To compare the anatomic outcomes of lens-sparing vitrectomy (LSV) with those of combined LSV and scleral buckle (SB) in surgical repair of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage 4 retinal detachment. Design Retrospective, interventional, consecutive case series. Methods Twenty-one eyes of 15 patients with stage 4 ROP detachment were enrolled. All patients were selected from consecutive patients with stage 4 ROP detachment treated with LSV alone or combined LSV and SB. Patient characteristics, including gestational age, birth weight, gender, corrected gestational age at time of surgery, surgical procedure, anatomic outcome, ability to fix and follow, and progression of cataract or glaucoma were recorded. Results Twelve of 21 eyes underwent the combined procedure (LSV with SB), and the remaining nine eyes underwent LSV alone. Eighteen (86%) of 21 eyes achieved retinal reattachment overall, with seven (87%) of eight stage 4B detachments repaired in one surgery. Eleven (85%) of 13 stage 4A detachments were repaired in one surgery. Of the patients in whom treatment failed, two were in the LSV with SB group (2/12; 16%) and one was in the LSV alone group (1/9; 11%). Conclusions The data suggest that SB adds little to the success or failure of LSV and therefore is an unnecessary adjunct to LSV for stage 4 ROP.
SOME Z/2-GRADED REPRESENTATION THEORY

In representation theory, the existence of a Z + -grading on a related finite dimensional algebra often plays an important role. For example, such a grading arises from the Koszul structure of the finite dimensional algebra representing the principal block of the BGG category O associated to a complex semisimple Lie algebra. But Koszul gradings in positive characteristic have proved elusive. For example, except for small values of a positive integer n, it is not known if the Schur algebra S(n, n) has such a Koszul grading, assuming the characteristic p of the base field satisfies p ≥ n, though this grading would suffice to establish Lusztig’s character formula for these algebras. (And even though the character formula is known for p sufficiently large [H. Andersen, J. Jantzen and W. Soergel, Representations of Quantum Groups at a pth Root of Unity and of Semisimple Groups in Characteristic p, Asterique, Vol. 220, 1994], it is not known if the Schur algebra is Koszul for p sufficiently large.) This paper introduces Z/2-gradings on quasi-hereditary algebras, and shows that these gradings are almost as useful as a full Z + -grading, while being possibly much easier to find. We define the notion of a Z/2-based Kazhdan–Lusztig theory, which appears to be more flexible than, and generalizes, the notion of a Kazhdan–Lusztig theory (as first defined in [E. Cline, B. Parshall and L. Scott, Abstract Kazhdan–Lusztig theories, Tohoku Math. J. 45 (1993), 511–534]). However, its existence suffices, as was the case with the original notion, to establish character formulas in the standard settings, determine Ext n -groups, and show that homological duals behave well. Finally, we present some suggestive symmetric group examples involving Schur algebras which were an outgrowth of this work.
Adult ADHD research: current status and future directions.

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Correlated two-mode SU(1, 1) coherent states: nonclassical properties

The properties of correlated two-mode SU(1, 1) coherent states are studied. These states are a generalization of the two-mode squeezed vacuum states and are generated by applying the two-mode squeeze operator to a state in which there are initially q photons in one mode, |q, 0〉, the squeezed vacuum (q = 0) obviously being a special case. For these states the photon-number distribution and the nonclassical properties of photon antibunching, enhanced phase fluctuations, violations of the Cauchy–Schwarz inequality, two-mode squeezing, and sum squeezing are studied. A Q-function quasi-probability distribution for these states is also presented.
FAR: Face-aware routing for mobicast in large-scale sensor networks

This article presents FAR, a Face-Aware Routing protocol for mobicast---a spatiotemporal variant of multicast tailored for sensor networks with environmental mobility. FAR features face-routing and timed-forwarding for delivering a message to a mobile delivery zone. Both analytical and statistical results show that FAR achieves reliable spatial and just-in-time message delivery with only moderate communication and memory overhead. This article also presents a novel distributed algorithm for spatial neighborhood discovery for FAR bootstrapping. The spatiotemporal performance and reliability of FAR are demonstrated via network simulations.
Condoleeza Rice's Rhetoric: A Classical Interpretation of Historical Examples

In an era of increasing international chaos, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plays a crucial role in shaping America’s foreign policy. Arguably the second most powerful woman in the world (right behind German chancellor Angela Merkel), this Notre Dame graduate can be seen on any given day briefing the press, laying out a strategy for winning in Iraq, or hopping on a plane to smooth over a global crisis. A prominent figure in the Bush administration, Rice is also the most popular. In fact, she always has been. Since she took over the position of secretary of state from Colin Powell in February of 2005, Rice has consistently been the most popular main official in the government, with a positive job approval rating hovering in the mid-fifties. She has also somehow managed to avoid “sinking with the president’s ship” as his—and other prominent officials’— approval ratings have plummeted to record lows. From February 2005 to August 2006, the percentage of Americans who approved of Bush’s job performance fell from 48% to 34%. Meanwhile, Rice’s approval ratings actually rose, from 52% to 60%, in the same period, until the departure of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Her approval ratings now hover near 46% to 50%. How does Condoleezza Rice manage to stay comparatively popular with the public while her close associates in the administration fall into extreme disfavor? The answer lies in the study of an ancient doctrine founded over two millennia ago. This study—the study of rhetoric—born in the golden age of Athens and organized under Aristotle, explains how Rice has stayed popular with Americans. The study of rhetoric reveals that Rice has a high approval rating because of her strong ethos construction, which allows her to better persuade her audience. More specifically, I argue that she builds this beneficial ethos by citing specific historical examples in her speeches that make her appear more intelligent.
Biceps Brachii Rerouting in Treatment of Paralytic Supination Contracture of the Forearm

Surgical correction of a supination contracture has three goals: 1. Reposition the forearm in a useful position of pronation (approximately 45 degrees). 2. Maintenance of a good passive range of pronation and supination. 3. Restoration of balance of active pronation and supination power. The desirable positioning can be attained or maintained in almost every patient. The contractures must be released, the angulation at the distal end of the ulna (and occasionally of the radius) must be ameliorated, and the deforming force must be redirected. Rerouting the biceps brachii was used in twenty-six patients and function was improved in all but one and there were no recurrences of deformity.
Nucleic acids in plasmodia and the phosphorus partition of cells infected with Plasmodium gallinaceum.

The difficulty encountered in demonstrating nuclei and nuclear structure in Plasmodia is fairly well known. The results obtained following the usual methods of fixation and staining have been summarized by other investigators.1*2 However, cytochemical studies of the presence and distribution of nucleic acids in plasmodia have been limited to a few investigations utilizing the Feulgen nucleal technique. Although one investigator3 could demonstrate no desoxyribose nucleic acid in Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax, other investigators, using the same technique or slight variants of the technique, have demonstrated its presence in some stages of Plasmodium relictum,4* Plas-
Molecular Excited-State Relaxation Dynamics at the Colloidal Microparticle Interface Monitored with Pump–Probe Second Harmonic Generation

Time-resolved second harmonic generation is used to monitor the excited-state relaxation dynamics of molecules adsorbed to the surface of colloidal microparticles suspended in solution. The cationi...
Polymers for proppants used in hydraulic fracturing

Abstract Fracturing has been the one of the major contributors in increasing the flow of oil or gas from the formation to the wellbore. Polymers have played a major role in the success of the fracturing process. It has been used as viscosity modifier of the drilling fluid and as coating to proppant sands. Coating the proppants with polymer not only improves its mechanical property, but also prevents the proppant flowback, reduces the generated proppant fines, and contains the loose proppant fines, which can reduce the oil or gas conductivity. Currently, there are a number of polymer coating systems available in the market and choosing which one to use can be a very tricky job. This review article aims to provide an overview on the polymer systems (organic, inorganic, and composite) currently used as proppant coating, and discuss the current research efforts and patents on the field.
Silver Nanostructures for Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy: Reduced Volumes and Increased Signal Intensities

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a widely used technique to investigate the interactions and dynamics of molecules, below micromolar concentrations. Silver nanostructure (AgNS) substrates can extend the applicability of FCS to higher concentrations, which is useful for many biologically relevant reactions. Additionally, these substrates can improve detection efficiency by increasing fluorescence signal intensities. The ease of preparation of the AgNS substrates in comparison to previously investigated materials prepared by top-down nanofabrication is expected to make them readily available and suitable for various FCS applications.
Solar Thermal Energy Research at Industrial Technology Research Institute

ABSTRACT Located between 22° to 25° north latitude, Taiwan enjoys a high level of solar irradiation: 1940 to 4400 Kcal/m2/day in the north and 2580 to 4530 Kcal/m2/day in the south. This makes solar energy a promising energy source, capable of meeting a significant portion of Taiwan's rapidly increasing energy demand. To speed up the progress of the nation's energy availability, the Energy and Mining Research/Service Organization (EMRO) of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has begun its leading role in solar energy research and development since 1982. Although EMRO is relatively young, it has pioneered in many areas of solar energy utilization in Taiwan. The list includes solar hot water systems, solar desiccant cooling, and solar industrial process heat. This paper will present the research works in the last two years (1985-1987) as well as the future works in solar energy at EMRO of ITRI.
Quantitative investigation of human cell surface N-glycoprotein dynamics

Surface glycoproteins regulate nearly every extracellular event and they are dynamic for cells to adapt to the ever-changing extracellular environment. These glycoproteins contain a wealth of information on cellular development and disease states, and have significant biomedical implications. Systematic investigation of surface glycoproteins will result in a better understanding of surface protein functions, cellular activities and the molecular mechanisms of disease. However, it is extraordinarily challenging to specifically and globally analyze surface glycoproteins. Here we designed the first method to systematically analyze surface glycoprotein dynamics and measure their half-lives by integrating pulse-chase labeling, selective enrichment of surface glycoproteins, and multiplexed proteomics. The current results clearly demonstrated that surface glycoproteins with catalytic activities were more stable than those with binding and receptor activities. Glycosylation sites located outside of any domain had a notably longer median half-life than those within domains, which strongly suggests that glycans within domains regulate protein interactions with other molecules while those outside of domains mainly play a role in protecting the protein from degradation. This method can be extensively applied to biological and biomedical research.
Functional Differences of Very-Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Splice Variants in Regulating Wnt Signaling

The very-low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) negatively regulates Wnt signaling. VLDLR has two major alternative splice variants, VLDLRI and VLDLRII, but their biological significance and distinction are unknown. Here we found that most tissues expressed both VLDLRI and VLDLRII, while the retina expressed only VLDLRII. The shed soluble VLDLR extracellular domain (sVLDLR-N) was detected in the conditioned medium of retinal pigment epithelial cells, interphotoreceptor matrix, and mouse plasma, indicating that ectodomain shedding of VLDLR occurs endogenously. VLDLRII displayed a higher ectodomain shedding rate and a more potent inhibitory effect on Wnt signaling than VLDLRI in vitro and in vivo O-glycosylation, which is present in VLDLRI but not VLDLRII, determined the differential ectodomain shedding rates. Moreover, the release of sVLDLR-N was inhibited by a metalloproteinase inhibitor, TAPI-1, while it was promoted by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). In addition, sVLDLR-N shedding was suppressed under hypoxia. Further, plasma levels of sVLDLR-N were reduced in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic mouse models. We concluded that VLDLRI and VLDLRII had differential roles in regulating Wnt signaling and that decreased plasma levels of sVLDLR-N may contribute to Wnt signaling activation in diabetic complications. Our study reveals a novel mechanism for intercellular regulation of Wnt signaling through VLDLR ectodomain shedding.
Synchronous multi-signal acquisition for WBSNs using gold-code based joint-compressive sensing

Biomedical signals (BMSs) which produce valuable information about the condition of various physiological parameters are measured through multi-lead wired biomedical acquisition systems. In order to process real-time synchronous signals from the various parts of the human body, portable devices with multi-channel bio-potential acquisition are needed. We present a multi-channel compressive sensing (CS) technique to enable synchronous acquisition of multi-channel bio-signals for Wearable Body Sensor Networks (WBSNs). The proposed technique exploits inter- and intra-channel sparsities inherent in a multi-channel ensemble to enable higher power savings compared to traditional CS. Simultaneous single-pass reconstruction of multiple signals that are sparse in time and frequency domain are shown using the same front-end hardware and minimal reconstruction overhead. The analysis of coding techniques for the sensing matrix is presented with Gold Codes, which are shown as the best option for a multi-channel WBSN framework achieving near zero cross-correlation between each column of the sensing matrix as well as each input channel. For a 4X compression, the proposed Joint-Compressive Sensing (Joint-CS) technique is shown to require 4% less thresholding with 30 dB better SNR than conventional CS with Bernoulli codes. In addition, an on-chip Gold-Code seed initialization circuit is demonstrated that further strengthens the SNR gains as compared to conventional pseudo-random number based seed initialization, demonstrating a stand-alone Joint-CS implementation.
Resilience Theory and Inevitable Change: Che Agency, Identity, and Strategic Reorganization

This chapter lays out the fundamental theoretical background to the research. I begin with a brief summation of agency and identity, as they are essential to understanding Araucanian/Che culture. Agency and identity transition into Resilience Theory, its definition and concepts, as well as an explanation of the Adaptive Cycle and Panarchy. The theory is grounded in an emphasis on long-term cultural developments, the processes that go into that development, and the political, economic, social, and ideological structures that form the basis for culture.
Corporate social performance and CEO dismissal: An empirical investigation

This study examines the distinct influences of essential corporate social performance (CSP) and discretionary CSP on CEO dismissal. We argue that essential CSP, referring to the employee and produc...
Modelling Optimal Pre-cooling Time for Buildings

Energy costs from HVACS is a significant fraction of the operational expenditure of a building. Pre-cooling is a proven demand side strategy to reduce this operating energy cost. However, generating optimal HVAC operating schedule is a nontrivial problem and often, it requires the use of computationally expensive optimization frameworks. In this paper, we propose a simple machine learning based approach to approximately calculate the optimal pre-cooling time. The optimal pre-cooling time thus calculated can be used to generate an operation schedule for HVAC. Using simulations we demonstrate that the schedule thus obtained is nearly same as the schedule obtained from the optimization. The results from this paper can be used to integrate pre-cooling with supply side strategies as using renewable energy sources (solar PV, wind) in a computationally efficient manner.
Evolution, development, and genetics of floral display - form, size, and arrangement

The flower, frequently arranged in clusters known as inflorescences, is one of the most fascinating outcomes through evolution (Endress, 2010). The dimensions of floral diversity in angiosperms are enormous through variations, such as, in floral size, color, shape, scent, and flowering time.
Air pollution at Rochester, NY: Long-term trends and multivariate analysis of upwind SO2 source impacts.

Abstract There have been many changes in the air pollutant sources in the northeastern United States since 2001. To assess the effect of these changes, trend analyses of the monthly average values were performed on PM 2.5 and its components including major ions, elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and gaseous pollutant concentrations measured between 2001 (in some cases 1999) and 2015 at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation sites in Rochester, NY. Mann-Kendall regression with Sen's slope was applied to estimate the trends and seasonality. Using piecewise regression, significant reductions in the air pollution of Rochester area were observed between 2008 and 2010 when a 260 MW coal-fired power plant was decommissioned, new heavy-duty diesel trucks had to be equipped with catalytic regenerator traps, and the economic recession that began in 2008 reduced traffic and other activities. The monthly average PM 2.5 mass showed a downward trend (− 5 μg/m 3 ; − 41%) in Rochester between 2001 and 2015. This change is largely due to reductions in particulate sulfate that showed a 65% decrease. The sulfate concentrations were compared to changes in SO 2 emissions in seventeen upwind source domains, and other systematic changes by multivariate linear regression. Selectivity ratio obtained from target projection discriminated the most important source domains that are SO 2 emissions from Georgia for winter, North Carolina for transition (spring and fall) and Ohio along with other influences for summer. North Carolina and Michigan were identified as the main sources for entire period. These observations suggest that any further reductions in the specified regional SO 2 emissions would result in a proportional decrease in sulfate in Rochester.
Abstract 15136: Incremental B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Reductions During Heart Failure Hospitalizations: Association With Lower 30-Day Readmission and 30-Day Mortality Among Patients With Serial Assays

Introduction: Using B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) during a heart failure (HF) hospitalization to ascertain diagnosis and prognosis has strong evidence, yet its use with serial measurement has no...
Three-Dimensional Tables

Just as a multinomial sample can be classified by the levels of two factors, a multinomial sample can also be classified by the levels of three factors.
Robustness of OAM fiber modes to geometric perturbations

We experimentally demonstrate that pure OAM fiber modes are highly robust to out-of-plane bend perturbations in contrast to their vector counterparts (HE/EH) that mix completely, because geometric (Pancharatnam) phase accumulation varies with OAM content.
Management of High-Risk Lesions

Although all women are at risk of breast cancer, a particularly high risk is associated with the presence of specific changes in the breast. These include epithelial atypia documented on breast biopsy [1, 2], and extremely dense breast tissue on mammography [3]. Today, these conditions are mainly discovered on imaging and documented with image-guided core needle biopsy. Knowledge of the appropriate management of women with high-risk breast lesions is essential to guide decisions regarding the need for surgical excision, intense surveillance, and preventive interventions, either medical or surgical. This chapter summarizes the risk of malignancy associated with specific high risk lesions as well as the appropriate surveillance and management of such lesions.
A Numerical Solution for the Nonlinear Eigenvalue System

In the application of the classical techniques of the calculus of variations to the nonlinear optimization problem, the nonlinear eigenvalue problem -λ • AU = f (U), where △ is an elliptic differential operator, is often encountered. A new numerical technique, using a finite-element-based algorithm, for finding the solution U(X) where X ∈ R n the eigenvalue λ, and the maximum of the corresponding cost functional J(U) where J(U)= f Ω F(U)dx \( f(U) = \frac{{\partial F(U)}}{{\partial U}} \) is presented. This algorithm is applicable to a class of problems for which the nonlinear function f (U) has specific properties. The algorithm is simple but fast and both convergence and uniqueness of the solution are demonstrated in several examples.
Cardiovascular health among American Indians and Alaska Natives: successes, challenges, and potentials

With low rates of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease as recently as 40 years ago, the rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in American Indians and Alaska Natives were exceedingly low. Despite recent large-scale efforts to eliminate health disparities in ethnic and minority populations, the impact among American Indian and Alaska Natives to date has been relatively limited. Indeed, over the past several decades the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors has risen significantly, including the development of an epidemic of diabetes. Evidence suggests that these higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors, including tobacco abuse, diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels, may be placing an inordinate burden of cardiovascular disease on the American Indian and Alaska Native population. The rates of heart disease and stroke among American Indians and Alaska Natives are now higher than in the general U.S. population as well as in U.S. whites. Recent evaluations suggest that these rates are also higher than among other ethnic or racial populations in the United States. Additionally, American Indians and Alaska Natives have been found to have a substantially higher proportion of premature death from heart disease when compared with other ethnic and racial populations. A number of recent prevention initiatives and focused clinical efforts are making promising strides toward reduced disparities in cardiovascular health with primordial, primary, and secondary cardiovascular prevention efforts along with enhanced early identification and therapeutic intervention for more favorable cardiovascular outcomes in the future. In order to reach our goals of heart-healthy and stroke-free American Indians and Alaska Natives, implementation of an aggressive, reasonably resourced, systemic plan of coordinated health promotion, risk reduction, and disease control efforts are necessary, with appropriate policy and legislative support.
Neurofibrillary Pathology: An Update

Neurofibril is the term coined by light microscopists to refer to the fibrillary structures in the neuron. These neurofibers correspond to a variety of linear structures as seen with the electron microscope. The principal fibrils of the normal mature neuron are the neurotubules and the neurofilaments (Fig. 1).
Solubility, partitioning, oxidation and photodegradation of dichloroacetamide herbicide safeners, benoxacor and furilazole.

Abstract Approximately 242 million kg of herbicides are applied in the United States (US) annually. While herbicides prevent the growth of weeds, they can damage crops resulting in so called “herbicide injury.” To increase herbicidal tolerance of crops, herbicide safeners are commonly added to formulations. Herbicidal safeners are labeled as inert ingredients in herbicide formulations and typically minimal fate and transport information is available. The objective of this study is to experimentally derive the aqueous solubility, octanol-water partition coefficient, and photo-degradation and permanganate oxidation of two dichloroacetamide safeners, benoxacor and furilazole. These results can be used to understand the environmental chemodynamics of these compounds and their degradation via common drinking water treatment systems containing permanganate. The aqueous solubility of benoxacor and furilazole was 22 and 235 mg L−1 respectively while the estimated solubility from EPI Suite was 102.7 and 255 mg L−1 respectively. The log octanol-water partition coefficient of benoxacor and furilazole was 2.23 and 1.96 respectively. The selected safeners were not photodegradable to any great extent. Both benoxacor and furilazole oxidation were found to be second order with respect to initial KMnO4 concentrations. The results of this study can be used to predict distribution of safeners after application in agricultural fields and aid in the design of treatment systems.
A multi-century history of fire regimes along a transect of mixed-conifer forests in central Oregon, U.S.A.

Dry mixed-conifer forests are widespread in the interior Pacific Northwest, but their historical fire regimes are poorly characterized, in particular the relative mix of low- and high-severity fire...
Energy Coupling in Active Transport of Substrates in Leishmania

Leishmania is a parasitic hemoflagellate with a complex life cycle that comprises a flagellated, extracellular stage, the promastigote and an aflagellated, intracellular stage, the amastigote. Amastigotes are truly obligate intracellular parasites which reside within macrophages of the vertebrate host. They have the unusual ability to evade the antimicrobial properties of phagocytic cells and proliferate within the acidic environment of phagolysosomes. The flagellated promastigotes, on the other hand, are extracellular and are found within the gut of the insect vector. They can be cultivated in cell-free media unlike the amastigotes. Because of the striking contrast in the modes of life between the two stages, the environment with which each form exchanges organic and inorganic molecules are also different. Amastigotes exchange materials with the intracellular contents within the host cells and it is doubtful that they will ever be exposed to unmodified substrates, such as simple sugars in vivo. It is more likely that the organic molecules available to them are the products of host cell metabolism which may include amino acids, fatty acids, or even intermediates of carbohydrate catabolism. Promastigotes, however, exchange directly with the environment whether in the insect gut or in culture very much like other free living organisms. Nothing definitive can be said about the amastigotes because of the extreme dearth of studies along these lines. This is largely due to the technical problems in obtaining pure amastigote preparations free of host cell contaminants. Promastigotes can be cultivated with relative ease in vitro and are better studied.
Gendered Agency in Skilled Migration: The Case of Indian Women in the United States:

This article examines how skilled middle-class Tamil women—an Indian regional group—negotiate with gender to strategize immigration to and settlement in the United States by drawing on life-history...
Monitoring Commercial Ibuprofen Potency Changes Over 1 Year When Stored in a Household Setting

Background: Most over-the-counter medications are labeled for storage in a dry, room temperature environment. Despite this, many households store medications in the bathroom, where temperature and ...
Angiosarcoma of the abdominal aorta after endovascular aneurysm repair.

Abstract Primary aortic sarcoma is a rare diagnosis that carries a poor prognosis. This case report features a 68-year-old man, treated 4 years earlier with an endovascular aortic aneurysm repair, who presented with fever, low back discomfort, and abdominal pain. Given the concern for an infected endograft, the patient underwent explantation and replacement with a cadaveric aortoiliac cryograft. Ultimately, the pathology returned as an angiosarcoma. Although endovascular aortic aneurysm repair is the gold standard for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in patients with suitable anatomy, there are trade-offs associated with less invasive approaches compared with open approaches.
Using Reengineering as an Integrating Capstone Experience

This paper presents an example of integrating IT skills using an interesting real life problem. We describe how the reverseand forward-engineering of the USA National Do Not Call registry was used in our capstone course to illustrate the fusion of different (but interdependent) issues and techniques learned in the IT program. The purpose of the registry is to maintain a list of residential and personal phone numbers whose owners want to keep out of the reach of the telemarketing industry. We believe this experience is rich in educational possibilities; it is very appropriate for a technically oriented Information Technology program and can be conducted in a typical one-semester capstone or senior design project course. The project begins with an exhaustive investigation of the existing artifact leading the student to the discovery of the original model, and its processes, business rules and data structures. The various UML diagrams representing the specifications collected in the discovery phase are used to forward engineer a functionally equivalent database solution using the Microsoft .NET platform. The project touches on ethical issues concerning the legality of reverse-engineering and hints at possibilities on producing similar designs such as a “Do-Not-Email” Registry.
Transport Packs: the Lifeline for Critically Ill Patients During Interfacility Transport (a Quality Improvement Project)*

Purpose: Pediatric interfacility transport requires nurses to bring clinical expertise and resources to the bedside of critically ill children at referring community hospitals. Most referring hospitals have limited pediatric equipment and monitoring systems. Transport nurses must carry a comprehensive transport pack with equipment and medications needed to care for critically ill neonates and children with a wide range of illnesses and injuries. These packs serve as lifelines for these patients, and if necessary equipment …
Evolving Outcome Measures in Total Knee Arthroplasty: Trends and Utilization Rates Over the Past 15 Years.

Abstract Background Patient-reported outcome metrics and reporting are important for demonstrating value associated with total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This review studied the patient-reported outcome utilization trends as reported within the TKA literature over a 15-year period. Methods A PubMed search of all manuscripts related to TKA from January 2005 to December 2019 was performed. Descriptive statistics were used for individual outcome metrics as proportions of total article publications focusing on TKA outcomes. Linear regressions analysis was performed to demonstrate significant changes in utilization rates over time. Results There was a significant overall increase in studies utilizing outcome metrics between 2005 and 2019 (16.1%-45.0%; P Conclusion Although utilization of outcome metrics has significantly increased over the last 15 years in the TKA literature, there still exists considerable heterogeneity of outcome metrics. This lack of consensus may impede comparisons of studies for clinical and research purposes, as well as hinder cross-walk of outcome tools over time. Further study is needed to identify ideal global and joint-specific tools, while balancing issues like ease of use and utility in specific populations such as the young and highly active.
A Customer-Centric Approach to Bid-Based Transactive Energy System Design

This study demonstrates how bid-based transactive energy system designs can be formulated from a customer-centric vantage point to encourage voluntary customer participation. Supportive evidence is provided for distribution systems populated by households with smart electric heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The optimal form of a household’s bid function is first derived from dynamic programming principles, based solely on the household’s general thermal dynamic and welfare attributes. The quantitative form of this optimal bid function is then explicitly derived, given quantitative forms for these attributes. A method is also developed for the systematic construction of household types based on these attributes. Bid comparison, peak load reduction, and target load matching test cases conducted for a 123-bus distribution system illustrate the usefulness of these methods for ensuring bid-based transactive energy system designs are able to align system goals and constraints with local customer goals and constraints.
Carbonate-promoted C-H carboxylation of electron-rich heteroarenes.

C–H carboxylation is an attractive transformation for both streamlining synthesis and valorizing CO2. The high bond strength and very low acidity of most C–H bonds, as well as the low reactivity of CO2, present fundamental challenges for this chemistry. Conventional methods for carboxylation of electron-rich heteroarenes require very strong organic bases to effect C–H deprotonation. Here we show that alkali carbonates (M2CO3) dispersed in mesoporous TiO2 supports (M2CO3/TiO2) effect CO32−-promoted C–H carboxylation of thiophene- and indole-based heteroarenes in gas–solid reactions at 200–320 °C. M2CO3/TiO2 materials are strong bases in this temperature regime, which enables deprotonation of very weakly acidic bonds in these substrates to generate reactive carbanions. In addition, we show that M2CO3/TiO2 enables C3 carboxylation of indole substrates via an apparent electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism. No carboxylations take place when M2CO3/TiO2 is replaced with un-supported M2CO3, demonstrating the critical role of carbonate dispersion and disruption of the M2CO3 lattice. After carboxylation, treatment of the support-bound carboxylate products with dimethyl carbonate affords isolable esters and the M2CO3/TiO2 material can be regenerated upon heating under vacuum. Our results provide the basis for a closed cycle for the esterification of heteroarenes with CO2 and dimethyl carbonate.
Think tank capacity building on tobacco economics: experiences and lessons learnt.

The article describes the Tobacconomics project, ‘Accelerating Progress on Tobacco Taxes in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries’ and the capacity building model used by the Tobacconomics team to develop core competencies in economic analysis among think tank partners, whose research is presented in this supplement. Between 2017 and 2019, the Tobacconomics team at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a partner of the Bloomberg Initiative To Reduce Tobacco Use, partnered with 27 policy research institutions (called ‘think tanks’ in this article) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This supplement contains selected research on the economics of tobacco control from our partners. This overview article describes the capacity building model used by the Tobacconomics team. The article also shares experiences and lessons learnt thus far. This Tobacconomics project, Accelerating Progress on Tobacco Taxes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (grant number KC 085918) is funded at approximately US$4 million per year by Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use. (The views expressed in this document cannot be attributed to, nor do they represent, the views of University of Illinois at Chicago, the Institute for Health Research and Policy, or Bloomberg Philanthropies.) The project supports research efforts to establish evidence-based tobacco tax systems. It is a capacity building project, but decidedly issue-specific. Significant increases in cigarette and other tobacco product taxes are the most effective and cost-effective policy for reducing the death, disease and economic consequences of tobacco use. Evidence from numerous countries around the world demonstrates that increases in taxes that raise prices lead current users to quit, reduce consumption among continuing users and are particularly effective in preventing uptake among young people. At the same time, these taxes are an efficient mechanism for increasing government revenue.1–5 The project responds to the need for locally produced and high-quality …
Updated Perceptions of Accounting Academics on the Review and Publication Process

We update the Wood (2016) survey that gathered perceptions of accounting academics regarding the review and publication process to measure how perceptions have changed over the last five years. We find that academics generally perceive the overall process has not improved or has become worse since 2016. More specifically, we find that respondents think acceptance rates in elite journals should nearly double. Respondents believe reviewers focus too much on incremental contribution, rigor and method and that reviewers and editors give too little consideration for research that contributes to practice. Respondents believe that their institutions focus too much on publishing in top journals and that top journals are biased in that they give well-known researchers preferential treatment and favor certain topic areas and methodologies. The perceptions are largely the same across editors, reviewers, and the topic area and university ranking of respondents.
Abstract IA-003: Oxygen dependent resistance to PARP inhibitors

Severe hypoxia causes resistance to conventional chemotherapy and has been reported to synergize with PARP inhibitors (PARPi) through suppression of homologous recombination (HR). While this synergistic killing is true at oxygen levels less than 0.5%, our study shows that less severe hypoxia (e.g. 2% oxygen) is instead associated with resistance to PARPi in HR proficient cells. Interestingly, we demonstrate that HR deficient hypoxic tumors are significantly less responsive to PARPi, due to limited ROS-induced intrinsic DNA damage. To determine the contribution of hypoxic cells to PARPi, we used the hypoxic cytotoxin Tirapazamine to target hypoxic tumor cells. We found that the elimination of hypoxic tumor cells by Tirapazamine led to a substantial antitumor response with PARPi compared to PARPi treated tumors alone, without enhancing normal tissue toxicity. These studies indicate that tumor hypoxia reduces the efficacy of PARPi to tumor cells and that eliminating hypoxic tumor cells will enhance the efficacy of PARPi therapy. Citation Format: Manal Mehibel, Jimmy Xu, Grace Li, Jung Moon, Kaushik Thakkar, Anh Diep, Ryan Kim, Joshua Blomstein, Siren Xiao, Julien Bacal, Joshua Saldivar, Quynh Le, Karlene Cimprich, Erinn Rankin, Amato Giaccia. Oxygen dependent resistance to PARP inhibitors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Radiation Science and Medicine; 2021 Mar 2-3. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(8_Suppl):Abstract nr IA-003.
Hairy Screens, Filmic Follicles: The Uses of Hair in a Selection of Films by Claire Denis

L’auteur se penche sur l’importance topique et esthetique de la pilosite dans plusieurs des films de la cineaste francaise Claire Denis : Nenette et Boni (1996), Trouble Every Day (2001), Vendredi ...
A Classifier for Improving Cause and Effect in SSVEP-based BCIs for Individuals with Complex Communication Disorders

We present CCA CUSUM , a classifier for steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that determines whether a user is attending to a flickering stimulus or is at rest. Correct classification of these two states establishes cause and effect between the BCI and its user, which is essential for helping individuals with complex communication disorders (CCDs) communicate. However, the low signal-to-noise ratio SSVEPs of individuals with CCDs often leads to the incorrect detection of transitions between states, undermining the relationship between cause and effect. To address this challenge, CCA CUSUM detects transitions between states and then infers the user’s state from these transitions. To test our algorithm, we compared CCA CUSUM to a traditional canonical correlation analysis classifier using electroencephalography (EEG) data collected from four participants using MusicBox—a simple SSVEP-based BCI. Compared with the traditional classifier, CCA CUSUM correctly identified true transitions in user state while reducing the number of falsely detected transitions. This improves the cause and effect relationship between the BCI and the user and, with further development, should improve the ability of people with CCDs to use SSVEP-based BCIs to communicate.
Unintended pregnancy as a predictor of child maltreatment

Whereas child maltreatment research has developed considerable evidence on post-natal risk-factors, pre-natal circumstances have been largely overlooked. The circumstances surrounding a pregnancy may considerably impact the environment in which later parenting behaviors occur. This study examines one of the earliest potentially identifiable risk-factors for child maltreatment: the intentions of a pregnancy. Utilizing both mother and father reports, this study focuses on maltreatment risk, as it relates with both parents' perspectives of the pregnancy's intention. Drawing upon data from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being study, a longitudinal, birth cohort study, survey questions were used that asked parents, at the time of the birth, whether they considered abortion for the child. Unintended pregnancy demonstrates predictive value as one of the earliest identifiable risk-factors for child maltreatment. Regardless of whether the mother or father reported the unintended pregnancy, the relationship with maltreating behavior is largely the same, although for different maltreatment types. Mothers' reports of unintended pregnancy are associated with psychological aggression, and neglect. Fathers' reports of unintended pregnancy are associated with physical aggression. Fathers' perspectives regarding pregnancy intentions matter just as much as mothers,' and accounting for their perspectives could be important in understanding the maltreating behaviors of both parents. Identifiable in the earliest stages of caregiving, unintended pregnancy may be an important risk-factor in predicting and understanding child maltreatment.
Measuring Nonrepresentativeness in a Bank Customer Survey: A Case Study

Nonrepresentativeness is a major issue in most survey research situations because of the total lack of hard information about nonrespondents. Advanced information systems available to financial institutions in the form of marketing customer information file systems (MCIF) make it possible for the researcher to identify, in advance, important customer financial variables which can later be used in a direct comparison of respondents and nonrespondents in a given customer survey.
Twisting and Rotation during the Growth of Gram-Positive Rods

This chapter covers the topic of processes which break cylindrical symmetry; that is, the processes that curve or twist the organism so it is not a radially symmetric entity around a straight central axis. Among these symmetry-breaking processes are the rotation of one end of the organism relative to the other end; this occurs during growth of the rod-shaped Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. The growth process is examined below, along with the possibility that it may be the paradigm for other morphological cases. The qualitatively different case is that of the spirochetes in which the cell has wound around it one or more central longitudinal fibrils or filaments. One may think of these as flagella that are retained internally. This prevents them from interacting with a host’s immune system. The net effect is that the organism is pulled into a spiral and can move by a flexing or rotating motion, thus pushing the cell forward in a screw-like motion. This is an effective method for movement in a highly viscous environment. Such organisms will not be considered further here, because there is nothing more to add concerning the details of the connection of the filament from end to end, how the tension builds up to cause the spiral, or how flexing and rotation is achieved.
Environmental and economic analyses of recycled asphalt concrete mixtures based on material production and potential performance

Abstract As roadway construction is a material and energy intensive activity with potential impacts on the environment, the pavement industry has been seeking for more sustainable construction practices in the past decades. The use of recycled materials such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) is widely accepted as among the most commonly used sustainable strategies for asphalt concrete (AC) pavement due to its ability to partially substitute virgin asphalt binder and aggregate in AC mixtures. This study evaluated the environmental and economic benefits and trade-offs of including recycled materials in pavements using a life-cycle approach. Eleven AC mix designs from Illinois with various asphalt binder replacement (ABR) rates were evaluated in terms of environmental and economic impacts using life-cycle assessment (LCA) and an itemized cost analysis. The LCA was conducted in accordance to International Standard Organization ISO 14044:2006 guidelines. The life-cycle impacts of producing the AC mixtures were calculated in terms of energy, global warming potential, and cost. A general trend of reduction in these three sustainability metrics was observed for mix production with increasing ABR. However, without proper modification and engineering of mix designs (e.g. addition of a softer grade virgin asphalt binder), AC mixtures with high ABR can experience reduced fatigue life. Thus, the effect of pavement performance on the environmental impacts of using mixtures with various ABR was also considered, assuming that these mixtures are used in a 4-in. (102-mm) overlay over a four-lane-mile (1.6 km) roadway. A breakeven concept was used to find the decreased service life at which the energy savings from using recycled asphaltic materials in the overlay equal the additional energy consumption incurred from a potential reduced performance in the pavement use phase. The breakeven point was found to be very sensitive to the traffic level of the overlay, with the breakeven service life decreasing rapidly with increased traffic.