cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Developing a Flexible Spoken Dialog System Using Simulation

In this paper, we describe a new methodology to develop mixed-initiative spoken dialog systems, which is based on the extensive use of simulations to accelerate the development process. With the help of simulations, a system providing information about a database of nearly 1000 restaurants in the Boston area has been developed. The simulator can produce thousands of unique dialogs which benefit not only dialog development but also provide data to train the speech recognizer and understanding components, in preparation for real user interactions. Also described is a strategy for creating cooperative responses to user queries, incorporating an intelligent language generation capability that produces content-dependent verbal descriptions of listed items.
Flip Chip Bonding of 68 $\times$ 68 MWIR LED Arrays

The flip chip bonding process is optimized by varying the bonding pressure, temperature, and time. The 68times68 mid wave infrared (MWIR) LED array was hybridized onto Si-CMOS driver array with same number of pixels. Each pixel has two indium bumps, one for cathode and another for anode. Both LED array and CMOS drivers have 15-mum-square Indium bump contact pads. We used Karl Suss FC150 flip chip machine for bonding of CMOS driver array onto LED array. From the LED current-voltage characteristics, it is concluded that the optimized flip chip bonding process results in uniform contact and very low contact resistance. Both electrical and optical characteristics of LED array after flip chip bonding are presented.
ARTERIOGRAPHY DURING EX VIVO RENAL PERFUSION: A complication

A case of bilateral renal-cell carcinoma unsuccessfully treated with bench surgery is reported. The reason for failure was apparently the toxicity of the contrast media used during the ex vivo arteriographic studies.
ON THE NONINVERTIBLE MOVING AVERAGE TIME SERIES WITH INFINITE VARIANCE

The limiting distribution of the least squares estimate of the derived process of a noninvertible and nearly noninvertible moving average model with infinite variance innovations is established as a functional of a Levy process. The form of the limiting law depends on the initial value of the innovation and the stable index ae. This result enables one to perform asymptotic testing for the presence of a unit root for a noninvertible moving average model through the constructed derived process under the null hypothesis. It provides not only a parallel analog of its autoregressive counterparts, but also a useful alternative to determine "over-differencing" for time series that exhibit heavy-tailed phenomena.
Southern Minnesota: An Evolving Alternate Energy Frontier

A combination of physical environmental variables and government policies centered on mandates and production subsidies have led to a robust growth in alternative energies in southern Minnesota. Centered on wind turbine generated electricity and bio-fuels associated mostly with corn based ethanol and soybean-based diesel, these developments provide an example of how state and federal policies can work successfully in tandem with private enterprise to create a new energy frontier in a region lacking in traditional fossil fuel energy resources and feedstocks. The Minnesota example also illustrates how substitution strategies differ from conservation initiatives and distinguishes the differences associated with electrical generation versus the dependency of fossil-based liquid fuels for the transportation sector of the U.S. economy, a situation replicated in Canada.
Simvastatin Promotes Atherosclerotic Plaque Stability in ApoE-Deficient Mice Independently of Lipid Lowering

Objective— This study sought to determine whether simvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, has stabilizing effects on vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques that are independent of their lipid-lowering capabilities. Methods and Results— Simvastatin (50 mg/kg per day) was administered to 30-week-old apolipoprotein E–deficient mice exhibiting advanced unstable atherosclerotic lesions within the innominate/brachiocephalic artery. Simvastatin was administered in the chow to separate groups of mice for 6, 12, 18, or 24 weeks. Simvastatin significantly increased serum cholesterol after 12, 18, and 24 weeks of treatment. The average cross-sectional area of atherosclerotic lesion increased in the innominate artery after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment, concomitant with the increase in serum cholesterol. However, histological analysis of sections of the innominate artery stained with Movat and von Kossa stains demonstrated a 49% reduction in the frequency of intraplaque hemorrhage and a 56% reduction in the frequency of calcification, both markers of advanced and unstable atherosclerotic plaques. Conclusions— These data suggest that despite an increase in serum cholesterol and lesion size, simvastatin has stabilizing effects on advanced atherosclerotic lesions.
Minimally invasive management of upper tract malignancies: renal cell and transitional cell carcinoma

This article focuses on the laparoscopic approaches to radical and partial nephrectomy for the managment of renal cell carcinoma and on the laparoscopic and endoscopic approaches for treating upper tract urothelial carcimoma. An in-depth discussion of treatment for transitional cell carcinoma is also presented.
Energy, taxonomic aggregation, and the geography of ant abundance

Ecological communities and their component populations vary geographically in abundance. Energy theory posits that abundance (the number of individuals area – 1 ) should increase with the ratio of available energy (as net primary productivity, NPP) to individual energy use (i.e. metabolic rate). Most tests of energy theory evaluate the assumption that population abundance decreases as body mass – 0.75 (a proxy of metabolic rate). Using 664 ant populations from 49 communities we examine how both NPP and body mass – individually and as a ratio – predict abundance (colonies m – 2 ) at these diff erent levels of taxonomic aggregation. Energy theory best predicts ant abundance when populations are aggregated into communities. At the population level, abundance formed a unimodal scatter plot vs all three drivers – colony mass, NPP, and NPP mass – 0.75 – suggesting that the majority of populations exist below energetic limits set by the ecosystem. At the community level, however, abundance scaled as predicted for mass – 0.75 and NPP 1.0 , (b � – 0.75 and 1.0, respectively) and was a positive decelerating function of their ratio (i.e. [NPP mass -0.75 ] 0.61 , r 2 � 0.68). Since geographic trends in colony mass and abundance are largely reciprocal – deserts tend to support few large colonies, and tropical rainforests support many small colonies – the geography of ant biomass (g m – 2 ) is remarkably invariant.
Low-Protein Diets and the Nondialyzed Uremic Patient

It is accepted that in patients with chronic renal failure, dietary control of salt and water balance and diuretics should be used to prevent depletion or excessive retention of salt and water.1 Similarly, there is little argument concerning the need to control dietary potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium intake, to provide calcium and vitamin supplements, and to use phosphate binders in such patients.1,2 Thus the controversy concerning the value of dietary therapy in chronic uremia relates to the management of protein intake to postpone dialysis therapy and optimize nutritional status.
Postoperative discitis due to Propionibacterium acnes: a case report and review of the literature.

Abstract Background No previous report has described a progressive, destructive postoperative discitis requiring operative stabilization due to Propionibacterium acnes . The clinical and radiographic features and treatment options associated with discitis due to P acnes are presented in a retrospective case study, as well as a review of the current literature. Case Description Seven weeks after a routine lumbar discectomy, the patient presented with clinical findings and radiographic imaging consistent with discitis. Intraoperative cultures obtained from irrigation and debridement of the disc space revealed P acnes , and appropriate intravenous antibiotic treatment was instituted. Approximately 2 months later, the patient showed progression to a destructive osteomyelitis requiring operative stabilization. Nine weeks after stabilization, the patient continued to have lower back pain without radiculopathy. Laboratory values had normalized. Radiographic imaging revealed good instrumentation positioning and adequate fusion. The patient was ambulatory with bilateral articulating ankle foot orthoses and a walker. Conclusion The reported case adds to the literature on postoperative discitis due to P acnes and demonstrates that this organism can occasionally be the cause of progressive, destructive osteomyelitis. In addition, we review the incidence, risk factors, and clinical course of discitis due to P acnes .
Statin-associated changes in skeletal muscle function and stress response after novel or accustomed exercise.

Introduction: The most common side effect of statins, myopathy, is more likely in exercisers. We investigated the interaction of statin treatment with novel vs. accustomed exercise on muscle function, heat shock protein (Hsp) expression, and caspase activation. Methods: Mice received daily cerivastatin or saline for 2 weeks, with/without wheel running (RW) (novel/sedentary). Accustomed groups completed 2 weeks of RW before statins. At 4 weeks, plantarflexor isometric force, Hsp25, αB-crystallin, caspase-3 and -9, and plasma creatine kinase (CK) were quantified. Results: Statins reduced force in sedentary and novel groups, compared with saline, by 15% and 27%, respectively. Muscle fatigability increased 21% and 30% with statins compared with saline in sedentary and novel groups, respectively. Accustomed exercise prevented statin-associated force loss and increased fatigability. CK did not correlate with functional outcomes. RW increased Hsp protein in all groups. Conclusion: Our results suggest that exercise prior to statin treatment can protect against decrements in muscle function. Muscle Nerve 2011
New technology series debuts

A new series of Staying Current articles on technology debuts in this issue of Advances . These articles are written to inform our readers about research methods in physiology so that we can intelligently answer student questions such as “What’s a microarray?” or “How do they make knockout
Low Glycemic Index Treatment in pediatric refractory epilepsy: The first Middle East report

Abstract Purpose Intractable epilepsy is a challenging aspects of pediatric epilepsy. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy and tolerability of Low Glycemic Index Treatment (LGIT) in pediatric patients referred to a Children's Hospital in Iran with intractable epilepsy. Methods We studied 42 children with refractory epilepsy aged between 1.5 and 17 years of age, from October 2009 to April 2011 in the pediatric neurology department of Mofid Children's Hospital. Patient information on clinical status, seizure type, and baseline frequency, blood and urine biochemistry, neuro-imaging and the EEG were collected. LGIT was initiated on an outpatient basis and the diet was composed of 65% fat, 25% protein and 10% carbohydrate (40–60g), and the glycemic index of foods was limited to below 50. Results 84% of patients were categorized as having more than one seizure per day at study entry, with the remaining children as experiencing over one seizure per week. A greater than 50% seizure reduction was observed in 71.4% of the patients after the second week, in 73.8% at the end of the first month and in 77.8% at the end of the second month. In 30% of the patients a mild increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was detected. The most important reasons for discontinuation of LGIT were restrictiveness, lack of satiation and excessive meat in this diet. No significant complications were observed during the administration of the diet. Conclusion LGIT is a safe and effective adjuvant antiepileptic therapy and may be used as an alternative to the ketogenic diet in conditions when this diet cannot be used.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF STEADI—A FALL PREVENTION TOOL KIT FOR US HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Background Fall injuries in the US result in over 19 000 deaths and 2.2 million emergency department visits, and cost over $28 billion. Research shows that, in a clinical setting, effective fall intervention involves assessing and addressing an individual9s fall risk factors. This approach is recommended in the American and British Geriatrics Societies9 (AGS/BGS) clinical practice guideline. Aims/Objectives/Purpose To address identified knowledge gaps among healthcare providers regarding fall risk assessment and interventions. Methods Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention9s (CDC) Injury Center reviewed relevant literature, conducted in-depth interviews with a randomised sample of 18 US healthcare providers, and developed draft resources incorporating the AGS/BGS guideline and input from experts. Resources were reviewed by six focus groups of healthcare providers and revised. Results/Outcomes Like previous needs assessments, we found that 94% of providers were unaware of the AGS/BGS guideline and 67% did not routinely screen older patients for fall risk. Providers lacked information about standardised fall risk assessment methods and evidence-based interventions. Providers9 suggestions and focus group feedback were incorporated into the STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries) tool kit. It contains an array of provider resources to help integrate fall prevention into clinical care and tools to link primary health care with community fall prevention programmes. Significance/Contribution to the Field The STEADI tool kit incorporates formative research results and current knowledge about effective fall interventions. It is a resource designed to help healthcare providers incorporate fall risk assessment and individualised fall interventions into routine clinical practice.
Biodiversity of Clostridium botulinum Type E Associated with a Large Outbreak of Botulism in Wildlife from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario

ABSTRACT The genetic relatedness of Clostridium botulinum type E isolates associated with an outbreak of wildlife botulism was studied using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Specimens were collected from November 2000 to December 2008 during a large outbreak of botulism affecting birds and fish living in and around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. In our present study, a total of 355 wildlife samples were tested for the presence of botulinum toxin and/or organisms. Type E botulinum toxin was detected in 110 samples from birds, 12 samples from fish, and 2 samples from mammals. Sediment samples from Lake Erie were also examined for the presence of C. botulinum. Fifteen of 17 sediment samples were positive for the presence of C. botulinum type E. Eighty-one C. botulinum isolates were obtained from plants, animals, and sediments; of these isolates, 44 C. botulinum isolates produced type E toxin, as determined by mouse bioassay, while the remaining 37 isolates were not toxic for mice. All toxin-producing isolates were typed by RAPD; that analysis showed 12 different RAPD types and multiple subtypes. Our study thus demonstrates that multiple genetically distinct strains of C. botulinum were involved in the present outbreak of wildlife botulism. We found that C. botulinum type E is present in the sediments of Lake Erie and that a large range of bird and fish species is affected.
Representing the worker : The worker-intellectual alliance of the 1980s in South Korea

VyN JULY 6, 1986, THE Korea Daily {Choson ilbo) carried a one-sentence item at the bottom of its social page: a twenty-three-year-old female student from Seoul National University by the name of Kw?n had sued a detective of the Puch on Police, charging him with sexual torture during her recent detention ("Susagwan 6 my?ng kobal" [Six Detectives Sued], July 6, 1986, 11). This small news item was to rock Korean society for months. It was shocking that a young woman would go public with an accusation that was more likely to damage her own reputation than that of the accused.1 Fur thermore, she had voluntarily quit a prestigious university to work in a factory. While the mass media and the government provided the public with mostly tantalizing and "subversive" elements of her case, alternative narratives began to cir culate almost immediately from court proceedings, statements of defense lawyers, and the newsletters of a citizen support group that was organized soon after the suit ("'Urid?l ?i ttal,' Kw?n-yang ?i chhikkin ch?lm?m" 1987, 567-81). What gradually emerged from these accounts was a composite portrait of a South Korean undongkwon of the 1980s. Literally meaning "those who are in the [democratization] movement sphere," the term undongkwon applied both to individual activists and to the democ ratization movement as a whole, whose articulated goal was to bring democracy, justice, and reunification to Korea. The term was often used outside the democrati zation movement to indicate disapproval; the state used it to emphasize its undesir ability, equating the undongkwon with antistate and procommunist elements. Indi vidual activists rarely used the term without a mixture of self-deprecation and irony,
Plasmalogen status influences docosahexaenoic acid levels in a macrophage cell line. Insights using ether lipid-deficient variants.

Previously, this laboratory reported the isolation of variants, RAW. 12 and RAW.108, from the macrophage-like cell line RAW 264.7 that are defective in plasmalogen biosynthesis [Zoeller, R.A. et al. 1992. J. Biol. Chem. 267: 8299-8306]. Fatty acid analysis showed significant changes in the mutants in the ethanolamine phospholipids (PE), the only phospholipid class in which the plasmalogen species, plasmenylethanolamine, contributes significantly. Within the PE fraction, docosapentaenoic (DPA; 22:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6n-3) acids were reduced by approximately 50% in the variants while the levels of arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4n-6) remained unaffected. The decrease in DHA was accompanied by a 50% decrease in labeling PE with [3H]DHA over a 90-min period. Restoration of plasmenylethanolamine by supplementing the growth medium with sn -1-hexadecylglycerol (HG) completely reversed these changes in RAW. 108. Pre-existing pools of plasmenylethanolamine were not required for restoration of normal [3H]DHA labeling; addition of HG only during the labeling period was sufficient. Due to the loss of Delta1'-desaturase in RAW.12, HG supplementation resulted in the accumulation of plasmenylethanolamine's immediate biosynthetic precursor, plasmanylethanolamine. Even though this latter phospholipid contained only the ether functionality (lacking the vinyl ether double bond) it was sufficient to restore wild type-like fatty acid composition and DHA labeling of the ethanolamine phospholipids, identifying the ether bond as a structural determinant for this specificity. In summary, we have used these mutants to establish that the plasmalogen status of a cell can influence the levels of certain polyunsaturated fatty acids. These results support the notion that certain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as DHA, can be selectively targeted to plasmalogens and that this targeting occurs during de novo biosynthesis, or shortly thereafter, through modification of nascent plasmalogen pools.
Cultural Dynamics in Encounters

Encounters are always embedded in cultural systems that generate ­expectations for how individuals should behave. At the level of encounters, I use the term normatization to denote the process of determining which cultural elements are made relevant in an encounter. Granted, this is an awkward term but it communicates the assembling of expectations in encounters. Culture exists at all levels of human social organization, from the technologies, texts, values, and meta-ideologies of societal and even inter-societal systems, through the generalized symbolic media, ideologies and norms of institutional domains and the meta-ideologies and subcultures of the stratification system, to the ideologies and norms of corporate units and the status beliefs about categoric units and, finally, to the process whereby these levels of culture are assembled and made relevant to encounters.
Differential Participation in Professional Activism: The Case of the Guantánamo Habeas Lawyers

Scholars of social movements tend to regard professionals as a homogeneous group whose activism plays a secondary role in mobilization processes. In this article, I focus on activism driven by professionals themselves and therein examine how heterogeneous professionals participate in their activism. Drawing on the case of the Guantanamo habeas lawyers, I utilize a two-step methodology to investigate the factors that contribute to the differential participation of legal professionals. The first stage of analysis shows that while lawyers with higher status played a critical role in initiating professional activism under a hostile environment, the Rasul v. Bush ruling opened up a legal opportunity for lawyers with lower status to participate in activism. In the second stage, social network analyses of the lawyers' collaborative structure reveal that movement-affiliated lawyers played a bridging role that coordinated initiators and latecomers. The results have important implications for understanding professi...
Effects of several androgens and steroid metabolites on erythropoietin production in the isolated perfused dog kidney.

In an attempt to clarify the role of the kidney in the action of several androgens and steroid metabolites on erythropoietin (ESF) production, ESF titers were measured in perfusates of isolated kidneys from dogs previously exposed to 4-hr hypoxia and perfused with blood containing testosterone (Test), 5α-17β-hydroxyandrostan-3-one (5αDHT), 5β-17β-hydroxyandrostan-3-one (5βDHT), 19-nortestosterone (19-nor), oxymetholone (Oxy), fluoxymesterone (Fluoxy), 3α-hydroxy-5β-pregnane, 11,20-dione (3αOH5βpreg), or 3β-hydroxy-5β-pregnane-20-one (3βOH-5 preg). ESF levels in the perfusates were assayed in exhypoxic polycythemic mice. Test, 5αDHT, oxy, fluoxy, and 3βOH5β-preg were found to produce a significant increase in ESF levels in the kidney perfusates. 5βDHT, 19-nor, and 3αOH5βpreg failed to produce a significant elevation in erythropoietin titers in the perfusates of the isolated perfused kidneys. These data suggest that the 4-5 double bond and the spatial configuration of the hydrogen at the 5 position as well as the lack of a methyl group in the 19 position of the basic androstan nucleus are important in the ability of these steroids to stimulate kidney production of ESF.
Joint Estimation of Treatment and Placebo Effects in Clinical Trials With Longitudinal Blinding Assessments

ABSTRACTIn some therapeutic areas, treatment evaluation is frequently complicated by a possible placebo effect (i.e., the psychobiological effect of a patient's knowledge or belief of being treated). When a substantial placebo effect is likely to exist, it is important to distinguish the treatment and placebo effects in quantifying the clinical benefit of a new treatment. These causal effects can be formally defined in a joint causal model that includes treatment (e.g., new vs. placebo) and treatmentality (i.e., a patient's belief or mentality about which treatment she or he has received) as separate exposures. Information about the treatmentality exposure can be obtained from blinding assessments, which are increasingly common in clinical trials where blinding success is in question. Assuming that treatmentality has a lagged effect and is measured at multiple time points, this article is concerned with joint evaluation of treatment and placebo effects in clinical trials with longitudinal follow-up, possi...
Kittel Law in BiFeO 3 Ultrathin Films: A First-Principles-Based Study

A first-principles-based effective Hamiltonian is used to investigate the thickness dependency of the size of straight-walled domains in ultrathin films made of the multiferroic BiFeO₃ (BFO) material. It is found that the Kittel law is followed, as in ferroelectric or ferromagnetic films. However, an original real-space decomposition of the different energetic terms of this effective Hamiltonian allows the discovery that the microscopic origins of such a law in BFO films dramatically differ from those in ferroelectric or ferromagnetic films. In particular, interactions between tilting of oxygen octahedra around the domain walls and magnetoelectric couplings near the surface (and away from the domain walls) play an important role in the observance of the Kittel law in the studied BFO films.
On the Bionomics of a Primary Parasite and Of Two Hyperparasites of the Geranium Aphid

The three parasites discussed in this paper are Aphelinus jucundus Gahan, Aphidencyrtus inquisitor (Howard) and Asaphes Americana Girault.[*][1] They all belong to the super-family Chalcidoidea but differ so markedly in every phase of their development that no trouble has been experienced in recognizing each species, no matter in what stage it was found. The first two species mentioned have been under observation at the Insectary of Cornell University during the greater part of the time since September, 1925. Since November, 1926 they have been continuously reared in breeding cages. The observations on Asaphes Americana cover a much shorter period. Owing to an insufficiency of material, and to the pressure of other work, it was not possible to make as detailed observations on this species as on the other two parasites. [1]: #fn-1
Application of biochemical genetics in quality improvement and plant nutrition: II. Studies in the inheritance of chemical element accumulation in corn (Zea mays L.)

Studies of chemical element accumulation in leaf tissue of corn have shown that the level of accumulation is under partial genetic control.
Baby Boom or Bust? the New Media Effect on Political Participation

ABSTRACTA considerable number of studies have investigated the influence of new media on political attitudes and behaviors. However, much of this research focuses on young people, ignoring other age cohorts, particularly Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). To fill this gap, this research examines the influence of attention to specific forms of traditional and online media on Baby Boomers’ online and offline political participation during the fall 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Drawing on a Baby Boomer survey panel, responses were collected during the 2012 general election to analyze the empirical relationship between attention to traditional and online media sources and political participation. Data analyses reveal that Boomers’ attention to traditional media sources, particularly television, did not increase their offline and online political participation. Instead, various forms of offline and online participation were consistently heightened by Boomers’ attention to presidential candidate webs...
Chronic nonspecific diarrhea behavioral aspects

An association between chronic nonspecific diarrhea and temperamental characteristics—among them sleep problems, irritability, excessive motor activity, and toddler resistance to discipline—is suggested by the results of the survey described.
Audio-Visual Feedback in Group Psychotherapy: A Method Using Tape Recording and ‘Still Colour’ Photographs:

Videotape is factually accurate but expensive. If used to replay in a group session it interferes with group process, whereas still photographs and audiotapes are inexpensive, unobtrusive and simpl...
Chemical Exchange and Quantum Exchange

The mutual chemical exchange rate has been derived with the rovibrational lattice treated quantum-mechanically. Our formulation contrasts sharply with previous descriptions of the role of tunnelling in NMR lineshapes.
Absolut minimales Sampling in der hochdimensionalen NMR‐Spektroskopie

Standardmasige dreidimensionale (3D-)Fourier-Transformations(FT)-NMR-Experimente von molekularen Systemen erfordern haufig lange Messzeiten, die durch das umfangreiche Sampling entlang der indirekten Zeitbereiche verursacht werden, damit eine hinreichende spektrale Auflosung erhalten werden kann. In den letzten Jahren wurde eine Fulle von alternativen Sampling-Methoden vorgeschlagen, um diesen Engpass zu vermeiden. Aufgrund ihrer algorithmischen Komplexitat fur vorgegebene NMR-Proben und Experimente ist es jedoch haufig schwierig, die minimale Abtastinformation und die damit verbundene minimale Messzeit zu bestimmen. Hier wird die Methode des absoluten minimalen Samplings (AMS) vorgestellt, die auf gangige 3D-NMR-Experimente angewendet werden kann. Fur die Proteine Ubiquitin und Arginin-Kinase wird gezeigt, wie man fur das weitverbreitete 3D-HNCO-Experiment prazise Kohlenstofffrequenzen mithilfe eines einzigen Zeitinkrements erhalt, wahrend fur andere, z. B. das 3D-HN(CA)CO-Experiment, alle relevanten Informationen in nur sechs Schritten erhaltlich sind, wodurch eine Beschleunigung um einen Faktor 7–50 erreicht wird.
Hemodialysis Hospitalizations and Readmissions: The Effects of Payment Reform

Background In 2004, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services changed reimbursement for physicians and advanced practitioners caring for patients receiving hemodialysis from a capitated to a tiered fee-for-service system, encouraging increased face-to-face visits. This early version of a pay-for-performance initiative targeted a care process: more frequent provider visits in hemodialysis. Although more frequent provider visits in hemodialysis are associated with fewer hospitalizations and rehospitalizations, it is unknown whether encouraging more frequent visits through reimbursement policy also yielded these benefits. Study Design We used a retrospective cohort interrupted time-series study design to examine whether the 2004 nephrologist reimbursement reform led to reduced hospitalizations and rehospitalizations. We also used published data to estimate a range of annual economic costs associated with more frequent visits. Setting & Participants Medicare beneficiaries in the United States receiving hemodialysis in the 2 years prior to and following reimbursement reform. Predictor The 2 years following nephrologist reimbursement reform. Outcomes Odds of hospitalization and 30-day hospital readmission for all causes and fluid overload; US dollars. Results We found no significant change in all-cause hospitalization or rehospitalization and slight reductions in fluid overload hospitalization and rehospitalization following reimbursement reform; the estimated economic cost associated with additional visits ranged from $13 to $87 million per year, depending on who (physicians or advanced practitioners) spent additional time visiting patients and how much additional effort was involved. Limitations Due to limited information about how much additional time providers spent seeing patients after reimbursement reform, we could only examine a range of potential economic costs associated with the reform. Conclusions A Medicare reimbursement policy designed to encourage more frequent visits during outpatient hemodialysis may have been costly. The policy was associated with fewer hospitalizations and rehospitalizations for fluid overload, but had no effect on all-cause hospitalizations or rehospitalizations.
Public Service and Democratic Values: The Moral Interface

If reality is in the relating, then the relationship that exists at any given point in time, between the visions-values-virtues of democracy and the actual implementation of public policy, represen...
Code Coverage Analysis for IP Trust Verification

Due to short time-to-market constraints, design house is increasing being dependent on third-party vendors to procure IPs. These IPs are designed by hundreds of IP vendors distributed across the world. Such IPs cannot be assumed to be trusted as hardware Trojans can be maliciously inserted into them and could be used in military, financial, and other critical applications. It is extremely difficult to detect Trojans in third-party IPs (3PIPs) as there is no golden version against which to compare a given IP core during verification. In this chapter, We present the modern system-on-chip (SoC) design flow and describe how it raises security concern towards the trustworthiness of third-party IP. We give a brief description of the techniques which have been proposed to verify the trustworthiness of third-party IP and also describe their limitations. We present a case study that tries to address the IP trust verification problem. This case study is based on identifying suspicious signals with formal verification, coverage analysis, removing redundant circuit, sequential automatic test pattern generation (ATPG), and equivalence theorems.
Arthroscopic Reduction and Internal Fixation (ARIF) of a Comminuted Posterior Talar Body Fracture: Surgical Technique and Case Report.

The talus is the second most common fractured tarsal bone. While their incidence may be low, talus fractures are severe injuries that can lead to long-term disability and pain. Displaced talar body fractures are typically treated through an open approach with the aim of obtaining anatomic reduction and stable fixation. There are several case reports in the literature demonstrating successful management of talus fractures arthroscopically. An arthroscopic approach minimizes soft tissue trauma, which can help decrease postoperative wound complications and infections. In this article, the authors describe a surgical technique of an arthroscopic reduction and internal fixation of a comminuted posterior talar body fracture. Compared with an open posterior approach with or without osteotomies, an arthroscopic technique improved visualization and allowed precise reduction and fixation. Levels of evidence Level V: Case report.
Association between Alcohol Consumption, Folate Intake, and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: A Case-Control Study

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal common cancers affecting both men and women, representing about 3% of all new cancer cases in the United States. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of pancreatic cancer risk with alcohol consumption as well as folate intake. We performed a case-control study of 384 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer from May 2004 to December 2009 and 983 primary care healthy controls in a largely white population (>96%). Our findings showed no significant association between risk of pancreatic cancer and either overall alcohol consumption or type of alcohol consumed (drinks/day). Our study showed dietary folate intake had a modest effect size, but was significantly inversely associated with pancreatic cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 0.99, p < 0.0001). The current study supports the hypothesis that pancreatic cancer risk is reduced with higher food-based folate intake.
An Object-Based Shale Permeability Model: Non-Darcy Gas Flow, Sorption, and Surface Diffusion Effects

Shale samples consist of two major components: organic matter (OM) and inorganic mineral component (iOM). Each component has its distinct pore network topology and morphology, which necessitates generating a model capable of distinguishing the two media. We constructed an object-based model using the OM and iOM composition of shale samples. In the model, we integrated information such as OM population and size distribution, as well as its associated pore-size distribution. For the iOM part, we used mineralogy and pore-size information derived from X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and nitrogen sorption measurements. Our proposed model results in millimeter-scale 2D realizations of shale samples by honoring OM and mineral types, their compositions, shapes, and size distributions. The model can capture heterogeneities smaller than 1 mm. We studied the effects of different gas flow processes and found that Knudsen diffusion and gas slippage dominate the flow, but surface diffusion has little impact on total gas flow.
Pathways from Cyberbullying Victimization to Negative Health Outcomes among Elementary School Students: a Longitudinal Investigation

Growing concern about the negative effects experienced by youth exposed to cyberbullying victimization has led to a rapid increase of scientific inquiry in this area in recent years. However, few studies have focused on younger children despite some evidence suggesting substantial technology use among children in elementary school. To that end, the purpose of the present study was to explore change in cyberbullying victimization across time among a sample of elementary school students and to examine how such change impacted later health-related outcomes. A total of 660 and 960 3rd through 5th grade students participated in year one and year two of the study respectively. Latent-variable growth curve modeling (LGM) was used to examine changes in cyberbullying victimization across four waves of data and to explore the impact of these changes on later social, emotional and academic outcomes. Results revealed no consistent pattern of growth in victimization among participants over the course of the study. However, initial levels of cyberbullying victimization were significantly different from zero, suggesting that a notable number of participants reported exposure to this form of victimization at baseline data collection. Further, initial levels of cyberbullying victimization were found to have a significant impact on later health outcomes, including self-esteem and school connection with depressive symptoms approaching significance.
Reduced Urban Heat Island intensity under warmer conditions

The Urban Heat Island (UHI), the tendency for urban areas to be hotter than rural regions, represents a significant health concern in summer as urban populations are exposed to elevated temperatures. A number of studies suggest that the UHI increases during warmer conditions, however there has been no investigation of this for a large ensemble of cities. Here we compare urban and rural temperatures in 54 US cities for 2000-2015 and show that the intensity of the urban heat island, measured here as the differences in daily-minimum or daily-maximum temperatures between urban and rural stations or ΔT, in fact tends to decrease with increasing temperature in most cities (38/54). This holds when investigating daily variability, heat extremes, and variability across climate zones and is primarily driven by changes in rural areas. We relate this change to large-scale or synoptic weather conditions, and find that the lowest ΔT nights occur during moist weather conditions. We also find that warming cities have not experienced an increasing urban heat island effect.
Molded Carbon–Carbon Composites Based on Microcomposite Technology

A one-step, cost-effective processing methodology based on compression molding of a mixture of graphite particles and short fibers, both coated with a soluble polyimide adhesive was developed. This technique shows a considerable potential in decreasing the complexity of the current carbon–carbon fabrication procedures. The new process eliminates additional infiltration and densification steps following the initial carbonization, which reduces the processing time from 5 weeks to 3–5 days and saves energy. The structure and properties of the new carbon–carbon composites were characterized using optical and electronic microscopy, thermal analysis, density and porosity measurements, and mechanical properties (hardness and flexural strength). The flexural strengths ranged from 20–45 MPa. The densities ranged from 1.9 to 2.2 g/cc (which is close to pure graphite) while the porosity was as low as 3%. The CTE was approximately ± 1 ppm/○C (R.T. to 550○C). The thermal stability of the carbonized and graphitized specimens when heated in flowing air up to 500○C and flowing nitrogen up to 1000○C showed no observable weight loss. There are numerous applications for these materials which include: optical mirrors, medical implants, thermal radiators and parts for rotating equipment, etc. A car piston was successfully molded using a mixture of polymer coated graphite powder, flakes and chopped fibers.
NMR of Protein-Lipid Interactions in Model and Biological Membrane Systems

Membranes are composed predominantly of lipids, proteins, and sterol molecules and are responsible at least in part for a wide variety of biochemical processes such as respiration, vision, photosynthesis, cell-cell recognition, and nerve impulse transmission. Not surprisingly then, there have been considerable efforts spent in attempting to characterize the molecular structure of, and intermolecular interactions between, individual membrane components, in an attempt to relate the structures of membranes to their function. In this short review we discuss recent developments in our understanding of the structure of membranes obtained by means of NMR spectroscopic techniques. We show that protein-lipid interactions in both model and intact biological membranes are characterized by a dynamic disordering of boundary-lipid hydrocarbon chains, as viewed by high-field deuterium NMR spectroscopy, while 31P spectra indicate significant disordering and/or immobilization within the phospholipid polar head group region due to association with protein. The effects are very different from those seen with cholesterol, and are in marked contrast to the old ideas of rigid, ordered “boundary-lipid” surrounding membrane proteins. We also present results suggesting that it will soon be possible to directly monitor the effects of lipid on protein dynamics by means of NMR spectroscopy.
Simultaneous sub-picogram speciation of methylmercury and ethylmercury in caustic nuclear tank waste using direct aqueous propylation

Organomercury species are present at regulatory levels in the tanks at the Savannah River Site. Calibration of methylmercury and ethylmercury ranged three orders of magnitude, generating detection limits of 0.033 pg and 7.50 pg, respectively. Calibration verifications maintained 101 and 103% accuracy, respectively, with mean recovery from waste samples of 104%. Dilution volume was optimized to eliminate sample distillation, decreasing method runtime by 337% and reducing total instrumentation footprint by 60.4% compared with current standard methods. Compared with standard methods, this work represents a significant improvement in safety, efficiency, and reproducibility of organomercury speciation, particularly for industrial and nuclear analysis.
Thermodynamic consistency of beam theories in the context of classical and non-classical continuum mechanics and a thermodynamically consistent new formulation

In order to enhance currently used beam theories in $$\mathbb {R}^2$$ and $$\mathbb {R}^3$$ to include mechanisms of dissipation and memory, it is necessary to establish if the mathematical models for these theories can be derived using the conservation and the balance laws of continuum mechanics in conjunction with the corresponding kinematic assumptions. This is referred to as thermodynamic consistency of the beam mathematical models. Thermodynamic consistency of the currently used beam models will permit use of entropy inequality to establish constitutive theories in the presence of dissipation and memory mechanism in the currently used beam theories. This is the main motivation for the work presented in this paper. The currently used beam theories are derived based on kinematic assumptions related to the axial and transverse displacement fields. These are then used to derive strain measures followed by constitutive relations. For linear beam theories, strain measures are linear functions of displacement gradients and stresses are linear functions of strain measures. Using these stress and strain measures, energy functional is constructed over the volume of the beam consisting of kinetic energy, strain energy and potential energy of loads. The Euler’s equation(s) extracted from the first variation of this energy functional set to zero yields the differential equations describing the evolution of the deforming beam. Alternatively, principle of virtual work can also be used to derive mathematical models for beams. For linear elastic behavior with small deformation and small strain, the two approaches yield same mathematical models. In this paper we examine whether the currently used beam mathematical models with the corresponding kinematic assumption (i) can be derived using the conservation and balance laws of classical continuum mechanics or (ii) are the conservation and balance laws of non-classical continuum mechanics necessary in their derivation. In order to ensure that the mathematical models for various beam theories result in deformation that is in thermodynamic equilibrium we must establish the consistency of the beam theories with regard to the conservation and the balance laws of continuum mechanics, classical or non-classical in conjunction with their corresponding kinematic assumptions. Currently used Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam mathematical models that are representative of most beam mathematical models are investigated. This is followed by details of general and higher-order thermodynamically consistent beam theory that is free of kinematic assumptions and other approximations and remains valid for slender as well as deep beams. Model problem studies are presented for slender as well as deep beams. The new formulation presented in this paper ensures thermodynamic equilibrium as it is derived using the conservation and the balance laws of continuum mechanics and remains valid for slender as well as non-slender beams.
Noh in the Age of Chaos 1450–1600

This is a period about which little concrete information about noh has been published in English. However, it is during this time that noh was transformed from the popular entertainments of the earlier period into something recognizably like the performance art that exists today. A number of developments fed into this transformation, including the wish by amateurs to perform noh themselves and the adoption of a social use of noh performance by the warrior class to construct relations of loyalty and affiliation. This set the stage for the subsequent period when noh was adopted by the Tokugawa government as its “ritual performance art.”
Pulmonary Toxicity Associated with Radiation Treatment for Breast Cancer

Clinically apparent pulmonary toxicities are quite rare after radiation for breast cancer, and thus data regarding pulmonary toxicity from breast radiation is relatively limited and heterogeneous. The pulmonary toxicity profile includes the acute/subacute toxicity radiation pneumonitis (RP), as well as late toxicities of pulmonary fibrosis and secondary lung cancers. Here we review available data regarding the range of pulmonary toxicities observed after adjuvant breast radiation, as well as techniques for minimization.