cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-planar Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Assessment of Blood Flow in a Rabbit Model of Testicular Torsion

To assess correlation between multiplanar, dynamic contrast-enhanced US blood flow measurements and radiolabeled microsphere blood flow measurements, five groups of 6 rabbits underwent unilateral testicular torsion of 0, 180, 360, 540, or 720 degrees. Five US measurements per testis (3 transverse/2 longitudinal) were obtained preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, at 4 and 8 hours using linear transducers (7–4-MHz/center frequency 4.5 MHz/10 rabbits; 9–3-MHz/center frequency 5.5 MHz/20 rabbits). Bjorck’s linear least squares method fit the rise phase of mean pixel intensity over a 7-second period for each time curve. Slope of fit and intervention/control US pixel intensity ratios were calculated. Means of transverse, longitudinal, and combined transverse/longitudinal US ratios as a function of torsion degree were compared to radiolabeled microsphere ratios using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, ρ. There was high correlation between the two sets of ratios (ρ ≥ 0.88, p≤ 0.05) except for the transverse US ratio in the immediate postoperative period (ρ = 0.79, p = 0.11). These results hold promise for future clinical applications.
Miniature Cryogenic Coolers

Modem thermal imaging systems and other state-of-the-art devices with military and civilian applications have a requirement for a small, reliable, and highly efficient liquid-nitrogen-temperature refrigerator capable of handling the heat load provided by a detector array package or some other configuration. This need, which has triggered a sizable research and development engineering effort, has been complicated by a large number of applications, each of which has its own specific requirements often demanding a unique design. The basic requirements can be generalized into three broad areas: 1. Ultralight weight, low power, and low acoustic noise. 2. Remote cooling, high-shock environment. 3. Remote miniature cold head, extreme ambient temperatures.
Diagnostics of Collisionless Processes in Plasma

The importance of phase-space resolving diagnostics for understanding collisionless and weakly collisional plasma is illustrated with three examples. The first example is the problem of understanding the plasma ion response to an external periodic excitation. The second example is the description of the ion density two-point correlation function. The final example is a new technique for measuring the electron velocity distribution function in low-temperature plasmas
Internal Rewards Mitigate Agent Boundedness

Reinforcement learning (RL) research typically develops algorithms for helping an RL agent best achieve its goals—however they came to be defined—while ignoring the relationship of those goals to the goals of the agent designer. We extend agent design to include the meta-optimization problem of selecting internal agent goals (rewards) which optimize the designer's goals. Our claim is that well-designed internal rewards can help improve the performance of RL agents which are computationally bounded in some way (as practical agents are). We present a formal framework for understanding both bounded agents and the meta-optimization problem, and we empirically demonstrate several instances of common agent bounds being mitigated by general internal reward functions.
Software analytics in practice: mini tutorial

A huge wealth of various data exist in the practice of software development. Further rich data are produced by modern software and services in operation, many of which tend to be data-driven and/or data-producing in nature. Hidden in the data is information about the quality of software and services and the dynamics of software development. Software analytics is to develop and apply data exploration and analysis technologies, such as pattern recognition, machine learning, and information visualization, on software data to obtain insightful and actionable information for modern software and services. This tutorial presents latest research and practice on principles, techniques, and applications of software analytics in practice, highlighting success stories in industry, research achievements that are transferred to industrial practice, and future research and practice directions in software analytics. The attendees can acquire the skills and knowledge needed to perform industrial research or conduct industrial practice in the field of software analytics and to integrate analytics in their own industrial research, practice, and training.
Outsourcing Power: How Privatizing Military Efforts Challenges Accountability, Professionalism, and Democracy

Private contractors have played key roles in recent high-profile scandals. These scandals hint at the degree to which the U.S. military has increased the scope and scale of its reliance on private security companies in recent decades. This trend offers many advantages, including nimbleness in the deployment of expertise and geographic flexibility. But it also departs from conventional methods of accountability through both public oversight and private market discipline. The lack of transparency in the use of private contractors compounds the problem of assessing the impact of their increasing role. Failures of basic governmental oversight to ensure contract enforcement by the Department of Defense are welldocumented. Departures from conventional government contracting procedures exacerbate these failures and obscure whether inherently governmental functions are in effect privatized. The large sums of money involved contribute to risks of corruption and a scale of private lobbying that can distort the legislative process. These developments jeopardize the effectiveness of military activities, the professionalism of the military, the integrity of the legislative process and foreign policy decision making, public confidence in the government, national self-interest, and the stability of the world order.
Radio-Frequency Interference at Orbital Altitudes

The experimental portion of the Aerospace Corporation's program for the determination of RFI at orbital altitudes is described. The need for this effort is shown, and potential sources of RFI are outlined. The methods planned are described in detail, and actual hardware for use on the first experimental flight is discussed briefly. Hardware includes antennas, preselectors, and crystal video logarithmic receivers. It is expected that results of the first experiment will be available late in 1965.
Sexual Aggression in Bars: What College Men Can Normalize:

This study investigated if college men's sexual aggressiveness in bar and off-campus party settings should be viewed as contextually-specific normative masculinity performances as much as sexual ag...
Melanoma: Clinical Features and Genomic Insights

Recent efforts in genomic research have enabled the characterization of molecular mechanisms underlying many types of cancers, ushering novel approaches for diagnosis and therapeutics. Melanoma is a molecularly heterogeneous disease, as many genetic alterations have been identified and the clinical features can vary. Although discoveries of frequent mutations including BRAF have already made clinically significant impact on patient care, there is a growing body of literature suggesting a role for additional mutations, driver and passenger types, in disease pathophysiology. Although some mutations have been strongly associated with clinical phenotypes of melanomas (such as physical distribution or morphologic subtype), the function or implications of many of the recently identified mutations remains less clear. The phenotypic and clinical impact of genomic mutations in melanoma remains a promising opportunity for progress in the care of melanoma patients.
Pulsed current switching of submicrometer MRAM cell

Thermally assisted switching of submicrometer magnetic tunnel junctions is investigated. It is found that writing can be done with pulses of the order of 1 ns. Switching current and switching current jitter are seen as strong functions of temperature, whereas both are only weakly dependent on current pulse duration. Micromagnetic modeling using a stochastic Landau-Lifschitz equation is used to understand thermal effects. The simulation predicts the observed switching current but does not explain the magnitude of the switching current jitter.
Design techniques for functional-unit power gating in the Ultra-Low-Voltage region

In order to combat the exponentially growing leakage current in modern microprocessors, researchers have recently focused on very fine-grained functional unit power gating in which units of a microprocessor, including components of the ALU and floating point processor, are quickly shut off when not in use. This method is especially effective for Ultra-Low-Voltage (ULV) processors, where the slower clock periods makes leakage especially severe. In this paper, we investigate many of the important aspects of highly aggressive functional unit power gating in the context of ULV operation. Using an optimization framework, we demonstrate that functional unit power gating with an Ideal Policy results in an average of a 39.3% drop in total functional unit energy across a range of benchmarks. Next, we examine two very simple hardware-based power gating policies that achieve near-ideal results with very little overhead. Finally, we compare a newer style of ultra-low-voltage logic, Sense-Amplifier Pass Transistor Logic (SAPTL), to CMOS and show that it requires footers that are an eighth of the size and consumes about 100 times less energy on boot-up. With this lower overhead, total energy is reduced by 49.6%.
Miniaturization of inductively coupled plasma sources

The scaling laws associated with the miniaturization of planar inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) are investigated. The applications for miniature ICPs include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for chemical analysis and micro ion propulsion systems. Langmuir probe and microwave interferometry measurements of three ICPs with spiral-shaped coil diameters of 5, 10, and 15 mm show that electron density typically falls in the range of 10/sup 16/-10/sup 17/ m/sup -3/. The electron density is about an order of magnitude lower than large-scale ICPs as a result of the large surface-to-volume ratio of small discharges. The measured electron temperature is higher than predicted by a simple "global model" unless the plasma dimensions are determined more precisely by subtracting the sheath width from the chamber dimensions. Since the sheath width does not scale with the plasma size, the sheath width may ultimately limit the minimum size of ICPs. Plasma initiation power is determined to have a minimum at a gas pressure for which the electron collision frequency equals the frequency of the RF power supply. Small scale ICPs operating at 460 MHz can therefore be started most easily at /spl sim/1 torr. The design of the coil is critical to miniature ICP performance. Unlike large-scale ICPs that operate efficiently using a broad range of coil shapes, the miniature coil must be carefully designed and constructed to minimize parasitic resistance.
Radar studies of the earth

Radar backscatter from the ground was investigated in May, 1966, by aircraft and rocket flights over the Tularosa Basin area in New Mexico. An L-band radar with a peak power of 100 kW was flown to an altitude of 165 km, where echoes in orthogonal polarizations were monitored. The purpose of the experiment was to observe the behavior of the radar echo as a function of altitude and subsequently to relate the echo behavior to the measured electrical characteristics of the surface. Soil samples taken from the target area and measured in the laboratory had an average moisture content of 3.6 percent, dielectric constants between 2.8 and 4.8, and loss tangents between 0.001 and 0.2. The loss tangents computed from penetration measurements were somewhat higher (0.37). In most cases, the echo power amplitude appeared to vary as the inverse altitude squared for both the direct- and cross-polarized vertical incidence echo components. The average values for dielectric constant and loss tangent computed from the echo characteristics were e = 3.4 and tan Δ = 0.25, which are in fair agreement with the soil sample measurements. An unexpected result was the observation of a specular cross-polarized echo component.
First results from the OGRESS sounding rocket payload

We present the first results from the Off-plane Grating Rocket for Extended Source Spectroscopy (OGRESS) sounding rocket payload based at the University of Iowa. OGRESS is designed to perform moderate resolution (R~10- 40) spectroscopy of diffuse celestial x-ray sources between 0.3 – 1.2 keV. A wire grid focuser constrains light from diffuse sources into a converging beam that feeds an array of off-plane diffraction gratings. The spectrum is focused onto Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors. OGRESS launched on the morning of May 2, 2015 and collected data for ~5 minutes before returning via parachute. OGRESS observed the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant with the goal of obtaining the most accurate physical diagnostics thus far recorded. During the flight, OGRESS had an unexpectedly high count rate which manifested as a highly uniform signal across the active area of the detector, swamping the expected spectrum from Cygnus. Efforts are still in progress to identify the source of this uniform signal and to discover if a usable spectrum can be extracted from the raw flight data.
Civil Engineering Education That Is

A civil engineering educator presents a 20% sample, consisting of 35 colleges of engineering and 32 employers of engineers involving 212 separate interviews with responsible engineering educators and employers. Also described are findings and interpretations on topics concerning engineering curricula such as admission requirements, admission to advanced standing, honors programs, remedial courses, number of years for first degree, common-core courses, engineering sciences, humansitic-social courses, ROTC politics, engineering orientation, field trips, professional ethics, construction, electronic computers, Ann Arbor Conference on Civil Engineering Education, and graduate education; on topics concerning instructors such as qualifications, promotion, practical experience, salaries, teaching loads, teaching methods, and extra-curricular activities; on topics relating to departmental administration; and on topics relative to what engineering employers think about the various aspects of engineering education and continuing post-graduate education.
Using Spreading Activation to Evaluate and Improve Ontologies

In this paper, we explore the relationship between the human-encoded semantics of ontologies and their application to natural language processing (NLP) tasks, such as word-sense disambiguation (WSD), for which such ontologies may not have been originally designed. We present a method for assessing the semantic content of an ontology with respect to a target domain, by spreading activation over a graph that represents instances of ontology concepts and relationships, in domain text. Our proposed method has several advantages beyond existing ontology metrics. By identifying bias or imbalance in the ontology, we can suggest target areas for improvement, and simultaneously facilitate the automated optimisation of the graph for use in the chosen NLP task. On applying this method to the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) ontology, we significantly outperformed existing graph-based methods for WSD in biomedical NLP (0.82 accuracy). The subsequent introduction of a fall-back mechanism, using word-sense probability, achieved state of the art for unsupervised biomedical WSD (0.89 accuracy).
Atomic and Electronic Structure of the BaTiO 3 (001) ( 5 × 5 ) R 26.6 ° Surface Reconstruction

This contribution presents a study of the atomic and electronic structure of the $(\sqrt{5}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{5})R26.6\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ surface reconstruction on ${\mathrm{BaTiO}}_{3}$ (001) formed by annealing in ultrahigh vacuum at 1300 K. Through density functional theory calculations in concert with thermodynamic analysis, we assess the stability of several ${\mathrm{BaTiO}}_{3}$ surface reconstructions and construct a phase diagram as a function of the chemical potential of the constituent elements. Using both experimental scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements, we were able to further narrow down the candidate structures, and conclude that the surface is either ${\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}{\mathrm{Ti}}_{3/5}$, ${\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}{\mathrm{Ti}}_{4/5}$, or some combination, where Ti adatoms occupy hollow sites of the ${\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}$ surface. Density functional theory indicates that the defect states close to the valence band are from Ti adatom $3d$ orbitals ($\ensuremath{\approx}1.4\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$ below the conduction band edge) in agreement with scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements showing defect states $1.56\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.11\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$ below the conduction band minimum ($1.03\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.09\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$ below the Fermi level). STM measurements show electronic contrast between empty and filled states' images. The calculated local density of states at the surface shows that Ti $3d$ states below and above the Fermi level explain the difference in electronic contrast in the experimental STM images by the presence of electronically distinctive arrangements of Ti adatoms. This work provides an interesting contrast with the related oxide ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$, for which the (001) surface $(\sqrt{5}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{5})R26.6\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ reconstruction is reported to be the ${\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}$ surface with Sr adatoms.
In Situ Control of Energy Bandgap by Laser Enhanced Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

Laser-assisted crystal growth experiments have been performed in an upflow vertical metalorganic chemical vapor deposition reactor. An Ar + laser (514.5 nm) is used to locally heat and photo-excite the surface adlayer during growth. The laser irradiation is observed to enhance the growth rate and Al composition of AlGaAs if the substrate temperature is ˜580 °C. The laser-grown AlGaAs epitaxy is single crystal with good surface morphology and is used to fabricate multiple wavelength light emitting diodes.
Global hazards of herbal remedies: lessons from Aristolochia: The lesson from the health hazards of Aristolochia should lead to more research into the safety and efficacy of medicinal plants.

“ The desire to take medicine is perhaps the greatest feature which distinguishes man from animals .”—Sir William Osler We know from written and archeological records that humans have been using herbs for millennia to both prevent and treat disease. Today, herbal medicines remain widely popular, fueled by cultural factors, centuries‐old tradition, and a burgeoning industry that claims that herbs (i) are gentle, safe, effective, and natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals; (ii) possess unique properties that are not found in drugs; and (iii) are less toxic and more effective when used in combination, a cardinal principle of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Yet, the history of herbal use also shows that not all herbs are benign and sometimes are deadly. Moreover, we cannot know whether all herbal medicines are safe because only a few have been tested systematically for toxicity or carcinogenicity. As an example, the potent toxic effects associated with the use of Aristolochia species —which came to light only after recent epidemiologic studies vividly demonstrated the health risks of this widely used family of medicinal herbs. This previously unknown toxicity provides a strong argument for more effective regulation of herbal medicine use in developed and developing countries to prevent similar dangers to public health. We will discuss the cultural, commercial, and political forces that restrict governments and public health authorities from instituting stronger regulatory measures for herbal use. We also will propose actions, which, if implemented, would help protect users of herbal remedies and promote global public health. The recognition of Aristolochia 's profound toxicity and carcinogenicity in humans began in the early 1990s, when about 100 otherwise healthy Belgian women developed a rapidly progressing chronic kidney disease that ultimately required dialysis or renal transplantation. An investigation of this disease cluster revealed that all of these women had been placed on …
Actualization process and analysis evaluation on the capability verification of the coal quality lab

Expounds the process and gist of activity which is organized by CNAS and implemented by the national coal verification center for the coal consumption analysis items of power generation capability verification plan,in order to the personnel of coal quailty lab predominate the checking technic,improve the checking level,ensures the test data veracity of the coal quailty lab for power generation enterprises.
Renin participation in hypertension associated with unilateral hydronephrosis.

AbstractRenin-mediated hypertension can occur with unilateral renal obstruction and hydronephrosis. Elevated peripheral plasma renin activity and a lateralizing renal vein renin relationship represent a hormonal pattern suspiciously suggestive of a renovascular etiology. We report a case of surgically corrected renin-mediated hypertension secondary to ureteropelvic junction obstruction.Hyperreninemia associated with acute unilateral hydronephrosis probably occurs transiently to initiate chronic hypertension sustained by more complex volume-vasoconstriction abnormalities. The participation of renin in this hypertension seems to be influenced by the duration of the obstruction, the presence or absence of a contralateral normal kidney and other intrarenal factors.
Surgical Technique for Vagus Nerve Stimulator Implantation

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the surgical technique of implanting Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), which is used as a treatment option for various disorders. A basic understanding of the anatomy of the neck is important for successful implantation of a vagal nerve stimulator. Most of the dissection for a VNS electrode placement is in the anterior triangle of the neck, which is bounded anteriorly by the midline of the neck, posteriorly by the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid, and superiorly by the lower margin of the body of the mandible. A surgical technique of VNS implantation used at Evanston Hospital is presented, which has evolved over the past ten years with about 300 implants. Prophylactic antibiotics such as an infusion of gentamicin and vancomycin are given to the patient before surgery and the surgery is usually done under general anesthesia. The patient is placed on the operating table in the supine position and the anesthesiologist is usually positioned at the head of the table with the surgeon on the left side. The patient's head can usually be in the midline or turned slightly to the right. The skin is usually cleaned and prepared three times and the neck incision is made through the skin and subcutaneous fat to the platysma. A dissection is then made through the fascia to the plane between the sternocleidomastoid and the strap muscles (sternohyoid and sternothyroid muscles). The programming wand and computer are used to perform the system diagnostic tests and when these are complete, the pulse generator is placed into the subcutaneous pocket. After implantation, final system diagnostic tests are repeated by using the programming wand and computer and then the wounds are closed with a small absorbable suture for the subcutaneous tissue.
Opioid Prescription Drug Abuse and Its Relation to Heroin Trends

This chapter focuses on the emerging epidemic of opiate abuse in relation to increased availability and use of prescription opioids for both medical and recreational purposes. Abuse of prescription opioids, including synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, Vicodin, Subutex, Oxycontin, methadone, pethidine, and desomorphine, has been increasing in certain areas of the world. The prescribing and availability of these prescription opioids vary greatly from one country to another. For example, within the United Kingdom 1.7% of the population in Scotland abuses opioids, whereas only 0.13% of the population of Northern Ireland and 0.76% of people in England and Wales abuse opioids. These percentages are dwarfed by the United States, which leads the world in percentage of population (6%) abusing opioid drugs. In response to opiate abuse and addiction there has been an increase in the distribution of addiction-replacement medications, such as Subutex, which presents yet another public health risk. When Subutex inundated the Republic of Georgia in response to their escalating heroin addiction, street diversion of this prescription opioid resulted in a Subutex abuse epidemic. In countries where the prevalence of prescription opioid abuse is greater than 1% of the population, the rate of opioid abuse exceeds the rate of heroin use, with the exception of Afghanistan, which produces 90% of the world's illicit heroin.
Review: Studio d’Architettura Civile: Gli atlanti di architettura moderna e la diffusione dei modelli romani nell’Europa del Settecento by Aloisio Antinori, ed.

Aloisio Antinori, ed. Studio d’Architettura Civile: Gli atlanti di architettura moderna e la diffusione dei modelli romani nell’Europa del Settecento Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 2012, 312 pp., 55 color and 232 b/w illus. €40 (paper), €25 (e-book), ISBN 9788871405070 The Studio d’Architettura Civile , published in three volumes by Domenico de’ Rossi (Rome, 1702–21), is one of the most beautifully produced architecture books of its time. It also constituted an essential reference and source of inspiration for patrons, architects, and amateurs in eighteenth-century Europe as well as comprising a powerful instrument of the promotion of Roman baroque aesthetics and vocabulary. De’ Rossi’s Studio —a facsimile of which was published in 1972—contains 287 folio plates organized into three volumes according to three thematic areas: doors and windows; chapels, altars, and tombs; and plans, elevations, and cross sections of both sacred and secular buildings.1 Roman buildings largely dominate the plates of the Studio , but some Florentine and Neapolitan examples are also included. As for architects, Michelangelo, Borromini, and Bernini are the best represented, but much space is also dedicated to later generations, including Camillo Arcucci, Giovanni Antonio de’ Rossi, Matteo de’ Rossi, and Carlo Fontana. The plates, of excellent quality, were produced after drawings made by Alessandro Specchi, which were orthographic representations in line with the practice of the Accademia di San Luca. Engravers of the caliber of Specchi, Francesco Aquila, Vincenzo Franceschini, Antonio Barbey, and Filippo Vasconi executed these plates. Yet this extraordinary work of art has so far received little attention; although an abundant literature is available on the engravers involved in its making, the Studio itself and the workshop of de’ Rossi have remained long ignored by historians.2 The volume edited by Aloisio Antinori is dedicated to the production of the Studio d’Architettura and to its reception in eighteenth-century Europe, and it is the final output of an international collaborative research project carried out since 2008, the first results of which were presented as conference papers in Parma in 2012 (“Libri, incisioni e immagini di …
Stormwater Pollution Control: Structural Measures

Combinations of storage and wet-weather treatment, integrated with dry-weather treatment facilities and nonstructural control measures on an area-wide basis, are found to provide the greatest and most cost-effective control of storm-water pollution. Case studies of three very promising, constructed and operating structural measures for controlling combined sewer overflow pollution demonstrate these concepts. Information on the design, operation, performance and costs of these facilities is provided and compared to guide future planners and designers. In Seattle, Washington, computerized control of in-line storage offers operational flexibility and inexpensive storage. At Saginaw, Michigan, off-line storage/treatment integrated with in-line storage and dry-weather treatment has achieved high performance at moderate costs. At Mount Clemens, Michigan, physical and biological wet-weather treatment processes promise very high treatment levels for combined sewage, if needed.
Establishment of monosex female production of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) through direct and indirect sex control

Abstract Methods are needed for monosex production of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) to capitalize on superior growth of females relative to males. This study aimed to characterize the system of sex determination and establish methods for both direct and indirect feminization of sablefish. Juvenile sablefish ~ 40 mm fork length were fed diets containing 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-methyltestosterone (MT), or ethanol vehicle alone (control) for 2 months and then divided into subgroups either shifted to the control diet (E2- and MT-short (S) duration treatments) or maintained on steroid-treated diets for an additional 2 months (E2- and MT-long (L) duration treatments). Fish were subsampled for gonadal histology at the midpoint and end of the dietary treatments and all remaining fish were individually tagged to monitor subsequent growth and gonadal development for 36 months (post-treatment time points of 0, 4, 16, 24, and 36 months). Control fish exhibited balanced (1:1) sex ratios. E2 treatment regardless of duration induced ovarian differentiation in 100% of the genotypic males (i.e., direct feminization), while only the MT-L treatment induced testicular differentiation in 100% of the genotypic females (i.e., generating “neomales”). A high proportion (89%) of MT-S genotypic females possessed intersex gonads, indicating short-term MT exposure was insufficient to induce complete sex reversal. Significant differences in sex-specific growth were apparent by 16 months post-treatment and associated with gonadal phenotype; sablefish with ovaries outgrew those with testes, regardless of genotypic sex. Fish from the E2-S and -L and MT-L treatment groups maintained their respective feminized and masculinized states after steroid withdrawal, although MT-S treated genotypic females tended to show further masculinization post-treatment. Upon reaching sexual maturity, control males and neomales were crossed with wild-caught female broodstock. Resultant embryos from control crosses were 54.6 ± 8.9% (mean ± SD) genotypic female, while those from neomale-female crosses were 100 ± 0.0% genotypic female. Following sex differentiation, gonadal histology demonstrated that offspring from control crosses had a balanced phenotypic sex ratio, whereas all neomale offspring developed normal ovaries. This study establishes that sablefish utilize an XX/XY system of sex determination and methods for both direct and indirect monosex female production.
Serving the National Interest? Tribal Rights and Federal Obligations from Dakota Access to Kestone XL

JURIST Guest Columnist Professor Monte Mills of the University of Montana's Alexander Blewett III School of Law discusses the Dakota Accesss and Keystone XL's joint impact on tribal treaty rights.
Sjogren's syndrome: New paradigms and areas for future research.

• This is an introductory piece for he special edition of Clinical Immunology on Sjogren's syndrome.
Sampling methods to detect and estimate populations of Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae) infesting dry-cured hams

Abstract Spatial and temporal dynamics of pest populations are an important aspect of effective pest management. However, absolute sampling of some pest populations such as the ham mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae), a serious pest of dry-cured ham, can be difficult. In this study sampling methods were compared and sampling plans were developed for the ham mite. In one experiment, the number of food-baited traps was maintained at four and the number of mites varied from 500 to 10,000 individuals in environmentally-controlled 18-m 2 rooms. The number of mites captured in traps increased linearly as the number of mites released increased. Experiments conducted in simulated ham aging rooms suggested that mites preferred the proximal (closer to the pig's body) to the distal side of the ham. The number of mites captured in traps also varied with trap location relative to hams hung from shelves. There were varying degrees of relationships between the number of mites captured in traps and the sampling methods used, such as counts of mites from the storage rack, vacuum sampling of the floor, and ham sampling. Relationships between absolute counts of mites and the number of mites captured in traps or on specific areas of ham were both moderately strong and significant. Two sampling plans were developed for the mite, and it was determined that an economic threshold close to 1 mite per sample unit on the ham can be estimated with 21 and 40 samples at precision levels of 0.35 and 0.25, respectively, or with 10 ham samples when classifying the mite's infestation level as being above or below an action threshold of 0.43. These sampling plans for the ham mite can facilitate the development and evaluation of cost-effective integrated pest management interventions.
A Phase Center-Stabilized K/Ka/V-Band Linearly Polarized Horn for Luneburg Lenses

Phase center stabilization and fabrication methods for a K/Ka/V-band dual-ridged horn antenna are discussed. The antenna operates from 18 to 45 GHz and has good impedance match and compact aperture suitable for assembling into feed manifolds for Luneburg lenses. The phase center is stabilized by using sin2 ridge profile. Geometrically identical horns are fabricated by means of additive direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) three-dimensional metal printing and traditional computer numerical control split block machining. No significant difference in performance is found in spite of apparent surface roughness on the DMLS antenna.
Decomposition-Invariant Conditional Gradient for General Polytopes with Line Search

Frank-Wolfe (FW) algorithms with linear convergence rates have recently achieved great efficiency in many applications. Garber and Meshi (2016) designed a new decomposition-invariant pairwise FW variant with favorable dependency on the domain geometry. Unfortunately, it applies only to a restricted class of polytopes and cannot achieve theoretical and practical efficiency at the same time. In this paper, we show that by employing an away-step update, similar rates can be generalized to arbitrary polytopes with strong empirical performance. A new "condition number" of the domain is introduced which allows leveraging the sparsity of the solution. We applied the method to a reformulation of SVM, and the linear convergence rate depends, for the first time, on the number of support vectors.
Energy Transfer in Cr, Tm:YAG

We describe a systematic analysis of energy transfer processes in crystals of YAG doped with varying concentrations of Cr and Tm. We use both spectral measurements and measurements of the temporal response to pulsed excitation to give independent determinations of the microscopic interaction parameter for Cr to Tm transfer. We discuss the different factors in influencing the temperature dependence of the Cr to Tm transfer. Finally, we determine the dependence of the Tm cross-relaxation rate on Tm concentration.
Analysis of postoperative biochemical values and clinical outcomes after adrenalectomy for primary aldosteronism.

Abstract Background Primary aldosteronism causes hypertension and hypokalemia and is often surgically treatable. Diagnosis includes elevated plasma aldosterone, suppressed plasma renin activity, and elevated aldosterone renin ratio. Adrenalectomy improves hypertension and hypokalemia. Postoperative plasma aldosterone and plasma renin activity may be useful in documenting cure or failure. Method A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent adrenalectomy for primary aldosteronism from 2010 to 2016 was performed, analyzing preoperative and postoperative plasma aldosterone, plasma renin activity, hypertension, and hypokalemia. The utility of postoperative testing was assessed. Clinical cure was defined as improved hypertension control and resolution of potassium loss. Biochemical cure was defined as aldosterone renin ratio reduction to Results Forty-four patients were included; 20 had plasma aldosterone and plasma renin activity checked on postoperative day 1. In the study, 40/44 (91%) were clinically cured. All clinical failures had of biochemical failure at follow-up. Postoperative day 1aldosterone renin ratio Conclusion Changes in plasma aldosterone and plasma renin activity after adrenalectomy correlate with improved hypertension and hypokalemia. The biochemical impact of adrenalectomy manifests as early as postoperative day 1. We propose a plasma aldosterone decrease of 10 ng/dL as a criterion to predict clinical cure.
Beyond Screen Time: Aesthetics of Digital Playscapes for Young Children

In this chapter, I consider the aesthetics of digital playscapes for young children. I make an effort to move beyond the concept of ‘screen time,’ from two perspectives. First, I position the current concept of ‘screen time’ in relationship to historical media panics. These include those of the late twentieth century that focused on the sickening powers of television programming for children. Here, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ first reversal in August 2015 (American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media. (2016). Media and young minds. Pediatrics, 138(5), e20162591. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2591.) of its earlier recommendation on screen time is of note. Second, I consider digital playscapes for young children from the perspective of new media art. As new media, young children’s use of digital technologies has both potentials and constraints. In this way, I share documentation from research with children using new media to illustrate that young children play with new media as they play with the traditional media forms with which childhood is typically associated (e.g., blocks, the sandbox, crayons, paint, clay, and ‘loose parts’). Beyond this, young children’s use of new media offers novel possibilities that are not always accessible through traditional art media. Such capacities form the cornerstone of a consideration of the aesthetic potentials of digital playscapes.
1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga

Many classic books about Revolutionary War campaigns have focused on the big picture of macro-level battlefield strategy and tactics. However, 1777: Tipping Point at Saratoga takes the reader in a ...
Internal Medicine Residents' Knowledge and Practice of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diagnosis

Background Internal medicine physicians are often the first providers to encounter patients with a new diagnosis of tuberculosis. Given the public health risks of missed tuberculosis cases, assessing internal medicine residents' ability to diagnose tuberculosis is important. Methods Internal medicine resident knowledge and practice patterns in pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis at 7 academic hospitals were assessed utilizing (a) a 10-item validated pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis assessment tool and (b) a retrospective chart review of 343 patients who underwent a pulmonary tuberculosis evaluation while admitted to a resident-staffed internal medicine or infectious disease service. Our primary outcomes were the mean score and percentage of correct responses per assessment tool question, and the percentage of patients who had Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended tuberculosis diagnostic tests obtained. Results Of the 886 residents who received the assessment, 541 responded, yielding a response rate of 61%. The mean score on the assessment tool (SD) was 4.4 (1.6), and the correct response rate was 57% (311/541) or less on 9 of 10 questions. On chart review, each recommended test was obtained for ≤43% (148/343) of patients, other than chest x-ray (328/343; 96%). A nucleic acid amplification test was obtained for 18% (62/343) of patients, whereas 24% (83/343) had only 1 respiratory sample obtained. Twenty patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis. Conclusions Significant knowledge and practice gaps exist in internal medicine residents' abilities to diagnose tuberculosis. As residents represent the future providers who will be evaluating patients with possible tuberculosis, such deficiencies must be addressed.
Methylthioadenosine (MeSAdo) phosphorylase deficiency in malignancy.

The abnormal growth properties of cancer cells must be mediated finally by changes in specific metabolic pathways. In general, malignant transformation is associated with an increase in the activities of enzymes involved in DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, and a concomitant decrease in the activities of enzymes that degrade cellular metabolites. However, no specific metabolic pathway has been found that distinguishes normal from malignant cells, or is common to all tumors.
Human Chondrocyte Cultures as Models of Cartilage-Specific Gene Regulation

Chondrocytes comprise the single cellular component of adult hyaline cartilage and are considered to be terminally differentiated cells that maintain the cartilage matrix when turnover is low. The major components of the extracellular matrix synthesized by these specialized cells include highly crosslinked fibrils of the final synthesized and secreted triple helical type II collagen molecule that interact with other cartilage-specific collagens IX and XI, the large aggregating proteoglycan aggrecan, small proteoglycans, such as biglycan and decorin, and other specific and nonspecific matrix proteins that are expressed at defined stages during development and growth 1, 2. This matrix confers tensile strength and flexibility to articular surfaces and serves specialized functions in only a few other tissues Cultured chondrocytes have served as useful models for studying chondrocyte differentiation and the effects of cytokines and growth factors that control the maintenance or suppression of differentiated cartilage phenotype 3.
Overcoming Spin, Sensationalism, Misunderstanding, and the Streetlight Effect

This chapter concludes with a discussion of how to work forward from the results of Universal Basic Income (UBI) experiments to the public discussion in ways that overcome communication barriers and reduce the problems associated with them. It argues that it is not enough to communicate the findings of experiments on their own terms, but results have to be presented with an understanding of the role they play in the political economy of the UBI discussion. Researchers must relate experimental findings to the most important questions in the evaluation of UBI, even if experimental findings make only a small contribution to the search for those answers.
Exploring food preparation practices in families with and without school-aged childhood cancer survivors.

Objective Survival rates for paediatric cancers have increased dramatically since the 1970s, but childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at increased risk for several chronic diseases throughout life. Nutrition interventions promoting healthy family meals may support wellness for survivors, but little research has explored CCS family food preparation habits. The goal of the present study was to describe and compare food preparation practices of CCS and non-CCS families. Design Observational. Setting Typical evening meal preparation events were observed and recorded in participant homes. Recordings and notes were analysed using the Healthy Cooking Index (HCI), a measure of nutrition-optimizing food preparation practices relevant to survivor wellness. Demographics, BMI and nutrient composition of prepared meals were also collected. Participants Forty parents with a CCS or non-CCS child aged 5-17 years were recruited. Results There were no major differences between the CCS and non-CCS families with regard to summative HCI score or specific food preparation behaviours. Meals prepared by CCS and non-CCS families had similar nutrient compositions. Conclusions The study revealed areas for practical nutrition intervention in CCS and non-CCS families. Future studies should consider adopting and tailoring nutrition intervention methods that have been successful in non-CCS communities.
Synthetic Biology, GMO, and Risk: What Is New, and What Is Different?

The term synthetic biology is a point of significant contention in both academic and policy circles. What comprises synthetic biology, as well as what does not, has implications ranging from regulatory requirements and risk-based testing challenges to communication with an often concerned and skeptical public. Synthetic biology has been defined as a unique field to the latest iteration along the spectrum of genetic engineering. Complicating matters is the notion that, simultaneously, both are likely true.
Medicaid Expansion Reduced Emergency Department Visits by Low-income Adults Due to Barriers to Outpatient Care.

BACKGROUND Prior studies have found conflicting effects of Medicaid expansion on emergency department (ED) utilization but have not studied the reasons patients go to EDs. OBJECTIVES Examine the changes in reasons for ED use associated with Medicaid expansion. RESEARCH DESIGN Difference-in-difference analysis. SUBJECTS We included sample adults from the 2012 to 2017 National Health Interview Survey who were US citizens and reported a total family income below 138% federal poverty level (n=30,259). MEASURES We examined changes in the proportion of study subjects reporting: (1) any ED visits; (2) ED visits due to perceived illness severity; (3) office not open; and (4) barriers to outpatient care, comparing expansion and nonexpansion states. RESULTS Overall, 30.6% of low-income adults reported ED use in the past year, of which 74.1% reported illness acuity, 12.4% reported office not open, 9.5% reported access barriers, and 4.0% did not report any reason. Medicaid expansion was not associated with statistically significant changes in overall ED use [-2.2% (95% confidence interval-CI), -5.5% to 1.2%), P=0.21], ED visits due to perceived illness severity [0.5% (95% CI, -2.4% to 3.5%), P=0.73], or office not open [-0.9% (95% CI, -2.3% to 0.5%); P=0.22], but was associated with significant decrease in ED visits due to access barriers [-1.4% (95% CI, -2.6% to -0.2%), P=0.022]. CONCLUSIONS Medicaid expansion was associated with a decrease in low-income adults who reported outpatient care barriers as reasons for ED visits. There were no significant changes in overall ED utilization, likely because the majority of respondent reported ED use due to concerns with illness severity or outpatient office was closed.
Identifying a Golden Opportunity: Adolescent Interest in Contraceptive Initiation in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Objectives: Contraception use reduces teen pregnancy, and long-acting reversible contraception is recommended as first-line treatment. Since many adolescents use the emergency department (ED) as a ...
Relational humility and clinical supervision: on hypotheses, method, and measurement

Humility has been increasingly recognized and elaborated upon as a critical variable for effective supervision practice. Just as humility is considered to be a foundational life virtue, it may be a...