cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transforming growth factor β-1 (TGF-β1) is a serum biomarker of radiation induced fibrosis in patients treated with intracavitary accelerated partial breast irradiation: preliminary results of a prospective study.

Purpose To examine a relationship between serum transforming growth factor β -1 (TGF-β1) values and radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF). Methods and Materials We conducted a prospective analysis of the development of RIF in 39 women with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage 0-I breast cancer treated with lumpectomy and accelerated partial breast irradiation via intracavitary brachytherapy (IBAPBI). An enzyme-linked immunoassay (Quantikine, RD patients with any type of RIF (32,273 ± 5016 pg/mL, P P P =.0014) during IBAPBI ( P ≤0001), and the elevation persisted at 6 months ( P ≤.001), 12 months ( P ≤.001), 18 months ( P ≤.001), and 24 months ( P =.12). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of TGF-β1 values predicting moderate to severe RIF was generated with an area under the curve (AUC) ROC of 0.867 (95% confidence interval 0.700-1.000). The TGF-β1 threshold cutoff was determined to be 31,000 pg/mL, with associated sensitivity and specificity of 77.8% and 90.0%, respectively. Conclusions TGF-β1 levels correlate with the development of moderate to severe RIF. The pre-IBAPBI mean TGF-β1 levels can serve as an early biomarker for the development of moderate to severe RIF after IBAPBI.
A physicochemically constrained seawater culturing system for production of benthic foraminifera

We present an apparatus and procedure for culturing deep-sea (i.e., bathyal) benthic foraminifera under physicochemically constrained conditions. A 1600-L recirculating culture system was constructed to contribute negligible trace metal contamination; the system was housed in an environmental room maintained near in situ temperatures but at atmospheric pressure. Peristaltic pumps continuously circulated 3 mL seawater min−1 from the reservoir to 9 to 12 culture chambers. A 2-mm-thick layer of high-purity clay-sized silica substrate was used to minimize the impact of sedimentary microhabitats. Physicochemical parameters (salinity, alkalinity, pH, temperature) varied 200 d in each experiment and produced up to 2,800 individuals per culture. The growth and reproduction of benthic foraminifera in a physicochemically constrained culture provide a new method for the experimentation and validation of geochemical proxies.
Seamless Cross-Domain Connectivity for Enabling Domain Autonomy in a Federated SOA

This paper proposes an approach for cross-domain connectivity that enables domain autonomy and that preserves across domains properties that are taken for granted by services within a domain.
Treatment of Gibbus Deformity Associated with Myelomeningocele in the Young Child with Use of the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR): A Case Report

Approximately 8% to 21% of patients with myelomeningocele have an associated kyphotic deformity, most commonly in the upper lumbar or thoracolumbar area1-3. The natural history of congenital rigid kyphosis, or gibbus deformity, is rapid progression in early childhood1-6. The apex of the deformity is most frequently located in the middle and upper lumbar spine3,7 and is associated with vertebral anomalies, a sharp apical angulation, and the potential for skin breakdown over the deformity. It is the most common type of kyphosis associated with myelomeningocele4. A number of strategies have been used for the treatment of rigid kyphosis. For patients with myelomeningocele, conservative treatment with modified wheelchair seat cushions and bracing is relatively ineffective6,8-10. Bracing does not prevent progression of the deformity and may contribute to skin breakdown. Surgery has therefore been recommended as the treatment of choice. Since it was first described by Sharrard in 196811, osteotomy for the resection of the vertebral bodies (kyphectomy) and spinal fusion has been the standard surgical approach for the treatment of this kyphotic deformity3,4,7-9,12-22. Although the concept of vertebral resection is widely accepted, there are no consistent recommendations for the timing of surgery, the extent of the resection and fusion, and the ideal type of instrumentation used. Independent of the surgical technique, most authors agree that the rate of complications associated with correction of this deformity is high. Additionally, spinal instrumentation and fusion in an immature spine may lead to crankshaft changes in the spine17. In 2004, Campbell et al.23 described the use of the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR; Synthes Spine, West Chester, Pennsylvania) for …
Critical role of ADAM15 in tumor progression: targeting multiple factors for metastasis promotion.

Evaluation of: Najy AJ, Day KC, Day ML: ADAM15 supports prostate cancer metastasis by modulating tumor cell–endothelial cell interaction. Cancer Res. 68, 1092–1099 (2008). Products of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM) gene family are multifunctional proteins and have activities of metalloproteinase, integrin-binding, cell adhesion and intracellular signaling. ADAMs play important roles in many biological processes, such as neurogenesis, myogenesis, fertilization and growth factor shedding. Several ADAM genes are also implicated in various types of cancers; however, the exact function of ADAMs in tumorigenesis and tumor progression has not been well understood. In this report, Najy and colleagues have shown that ADAM15 plays a critical role in tumor growth and metastasis in human prostate cancer. Their results indicate that ADAM15 promotes the binding to extracellular matrix proteins, expression of metastatic-associated cell surface proteins, cleavage of N-cadherin and activation of matrix metallo...
Pharmacological Survey of Medicinal Plants for Activity at Ligand-Gated Ion Channels: Selective Interaction with 5-HT3 Receptors

The ligand-gated anion-selective ion channels are part of a superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) that are responsible for a majority of inhibitory signaling in the central nervous system and are the targets of numerous therapeutics. Aqueous, organic and alcoholic extracts of 47 Chinese, Bolivian and Pakistani medicinal plants were evaluated for the ability to modulate the activity of GABAA receptors. Extracts were initially screened for their ability to modulate activity of α1β2γ2 GABAA receptors expressed in HEK 293 cells. Based on the initial screen, two extracts derived from members of the Asteraceae family, Xanthium spinosum and Senecio mathewsii, were chosen for more detailed analysis. Xanthium spinosum inhibited GABAA receptor function, with an IC50 of 50 ± 10 µg/ml, while Senecio mathewsii inhibited GABAA receptor activity with an IC50 of 35 ± 3.0 µg/ml. To assess the selectivity of interaction, these extracts were also tested on two other members of the LGIC superfamily a) glycine rece...
Personal Examples of Self-Study as a Means of Developing and Enacting a Pedagogy of Supervision

A common finding in the research on teacher education is that teacher candidates place a high value on their student teaching experiences. Most regard their clinical experiences as an influential—if not the single most influential—factor in their professional learning and development as pre-service teachers (Knowles & Cole, 1996; Smith & Lev-Ari, 2005; Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001).
Biological Effects of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation

In the last 50 years, there has been an exponential growth of man-made electromagnetic (EM) fields, associated with comunication systems that now blanket the earth and with a vast and ever-increasing network of electric power distribution systems (Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 1977). It is therefore curious that although many of the most important fundamental observations on the physical effects of light and other nonionizing EM radiations were made more than 100 years ago, knowledge of their biological effects has grown more slowly. Tissue interactions with EM fields have been extensively studied in terms of two quite different endpoints; in their thermal effects and in ionization of atoms in biomolecular systems.
Analytics-driven dynamic game adaption for player retention in a 2-dimensional adventure game

This paper shows how game analytics can be used to dynamically adapt a casual, 2-D adventure game named Sidequest: The Game (SQ:TG) in order to increase session-level retention. Our technique involves using game analytics to create an abstracted game analytic space to make the problem tractable. We then model player retention in this space and move through this space in accordance to a target distribution of game states in order to influence player behavior. Experiments performed show that the adaptive version of SQ:TG is able to better fit a target distribution of game states while also significantly reducing the quitting rate compared to the non-adaptive version of the game.
Thorazine® (Smith Kline & French)

Chlorpromazine, a potent tranquilizer, is the prototype of the phenothiazine group of psychotropic agents. Although the principal pharmacologic actions are psychotropic, it also has sedative and antiemetic activity. Chlorpromazine acts at all levels of the central nervous system. It has strong antiadrenergic and weaker peripheral anticholinergic activity.
Tuberculosis Epidemic Status in Sichuan Province During 2004 and 2014 and Trend Prediction

Objective To understand the current situation of tuberculosis(TB)in Sichuan province in the past 11years(2004-2014),and to predict the epidemic trend of TB and provide scientific evidence for prevention and management of the disease.Methods The surveillance data of TB in Sichuan from 2004 to 2014was collected to conduct the comprehensive analysis.Grey model(1,1)was used to predict the future incidence rates of the disease in 2015.Results The reported incidence of tuberculosis was 69.7/100 thousand to 112.0/100 thousand,showing a slight downward trend.The predictive values of the incidence in 2015 and 2016were 66.0/105 and 62.8/105,respectively.The reported incidence of males was higher than that of females in each age group.Male in 70-79 age group was the highest incidence group.Females in the 20-29 age group were the highest incidence group.The cases of farmers were obviously more than that of other occupations.There were higher incidences in areas of northeast Sichuan and ethnic minority areas in western Sichuan.Conclusion the current situation of TB in rural areas and ethnic minority areas cannot be ignored.In the next two years,the epidemic trend of TB in Sichuan appears to be stayed steady,while with a slight downward trend.More effective implementation of modern TB control strategies needs be carried out to curb the high incidence of TB.
Determination of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fermented bean curd by HPLC

Objective:To establish a method for the determination of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fermented bean curd by HPLC.Methods: After preparing samples by two methods-using carbon activated + neutral aluminum oxide as adsorbents and using potassium ferrocyanide +zinc acetate as precipitants,the benzoic acid and sorbic acid were detected by HPLC,qualified by retention time and quantitated by peak area(external standards).Results: Using 2 ml potassium ferrocyanide solution(106 g/L) + 2 ml zinc acetate solution(220 g/L) as precipitants,the recoveries of benzoic acid is 89.1%～106.2%,the RSD of benzoic acid is 2.19%～4.91%,the recoveries of sorbic acid is 88.2%-105.3%,the RSD of sorbic acid is 2.04%～3.74%.Conclusion: The method is simple,less loss,well linear and suitable for determination of benzoic acid and sorbic acid in fermented bean curd.
Analysis on the influenza surveillance in Longgang district of Shenzhen during 2010-2012

Objective To analyze the prevalence of influenza in Longgang district of Shenzhen during 2010-2012. Methods Samples from the sentinel surveillance hospitals within this district were collected for the isolation of influenza virus by MadinDarby CanineKidney (MDCK) cell culture and identified by HA test. The despcriptive epidemiological method was applied to analyze the characteristics of influenza in Longgang district. HA1 regions of typical influenza B virus were amplified by RTPCR and sequenced. The sequencing results were blasted with the influenza vaccine virus strains recommended by WHO and phylogenetic tree was drawn. Results A total of 1 014 swab samples of influenza-like-illness were collected. The isolation rate of influenza virus was 30.6% (310/1 014). Eighty of them (25.8%) were new influenza A virus subtype H1N1,one was a seasonal H1N1,85 (27.5%) were seasonal H3N2,138 (44.5%) were influenza B virus Victoria groups and six (1.9%) were influenza B virus Yamagata groups. The positive rate of virus had statistical difference among different age groups (χ2 =21.194, P0.05). The highest positive rate (35.5%) was in the age group of twenty-five. The predominant viruses in Longgang district during 2010 -2012 were influenza B virus Victoria groups followed by new H1N1 and influenza A virus subtype H3N2. Phylogenetic tree showed that the influenza virus from this district was the same branch as the 2012 influenza vaccine virus strain recommended by WHO. Conclusion The alternative epidemic of influenza virus is present in this district. The new influenza vaccine is probably have protective effect to the influenza virus in this district.
Meshless weighted least-square method for transient heat conduction problems

Meshless Weighted Least-Square Method(MWLS),which is only based on nodes' information.In MWLS the variation principle of system is constructed with weighted least-square residual method,and the approximation function is built by moving least-square method.The boundary conditions are enforced with a penalty function.Appling MWLS to solve transient heat conduction problems,the numerical results show that MWLS has several advantages such as high accuracy and easy for pre-process and post-process.
Andante: Walking Figures on the Piano Keyboard to Visualize Musical Motion.

We present Andante, a representation of music as animated characters walking along the piano keyboard that appear to play the physical keys with each step. Based on a view of music pedagogy that emphasizes expressive, full-body communication early in the learning process, Andante promotes an understanding of music rooted in the body, taking advantage of walking as one of the most fundamental human rhythms. We describe three example visualizations on a preliminary prototype as well as applications extending our examples for practice feedback, improvisation and composition. Through our project, we reflect on some high level considerations for the NIME community.
An Interview with Marcia Tate: Formative Assessment and Brain Based Learning

In this interview, Dr. Marcia Tate discusses her work and focuses on critical issues in brain based learning, and the need for both formative and summative assessment. Tangential issues such as grade retention, and response to intervention are also discussed. It is hope that this interview will assist teachers in the instructional and learning process and aid in both formative and summative assessment.
Removal of Bacteria from Beef Tissue by Spray Washing after Different Times of Exposure to Fecal Material.

This study examined the effect of exposure time of beef-fat fascia to an inoculated fecal paste on the efficiency of removal of bacteria by spray washing or rinsing. Brisket fat (obtained <15 min postmortem) samples (10 by 10 by 2 cm) were inoculated, in the geometric center of their fascia surface, with four 0.64-cm diameter loops of a bovine fecal paste containing an inoculum (10 8 CFU/g) of streptomycin-resistant Escherichia coli ATTC 11370. Triplicate samples were spray washed with water (35°C, 20.7 bar) and then rinsed with solutions of 2% acetic acid, 5% hydrogen peroxide, or 12% trisodium phosphate, or spray washed with water at 35°C or 74°C (20.7 bar), in an automated spray-washing cabinet for 12 s. after 0. 2, or 4 h of exposure to the inoculated fecal paste. The samples were analyzed for streptomycin-resistant bacterial counts. Washing or washing/rinsing at time 0 (immediately after exposure to the inoculated fecal paste) with trisodium phosphate, 35°C water, hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, and 74°C water removed 3.04 ± 0.40, 3.52 ± 0.55, 3.62 ± 0.67, 3.69 ± 0.72 and 4.17 ± 0.55 log CFU/cm 2 , respectively. Applying the spray-washing treatments 2 or 4 h after exposure to the fecal paste resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) less removal (1.76 to 3.89 log CFU/cm 2 after 2 h and 0.94 to 2.58 log CFU/cm 2 after 4 h) of bacteria. Thus, the time of exposure to fecal contamination affected the attachment of bacteria to beef-carcass tissue, as indicated by the decreasing numbers of bacteria removed by spray washing with increasing time of exposure, regardless of the washing treatment. The most effective washing agent was 74°C water at all washing times.
Investigating activation of carbon fiber nonwovens for use as supercapacitor electrodes

AbstractDouble-layer supercapacitors rely on the high specific surface area (SSA) of activated carbons. Typically, granular-activated carbon held together by polymer binder is used. As a potential alternative, this paper focuses on the potential use of commercially available carbon fiber nonwovens. A commercially available binder-free carbon fiber nonwoven was used initially, but surface area analysis revealed that no microporosity developed following the CO2 activation treatment. In order to investigate how the structure of the original carbon material impacted subsequent activation, polyacrylonoitrile (PAN) nonwovens were fabricated and carbonized in-house under controlled conditions (695, 895, and 1095 °C). Carbonization temperature was found to be a limiting factor, where higher carbonization temperatures led to lower potential for activation. Since commercially available materials are typically carbonized at unknown temperatures, and are likely carbonized at high temperatures to develop electrical co...
Characteristics of Lightning in Supercells

This chapter focuses on the lightning and charge structure observed in supercells; a particular class of severe thunderstorms that are typically responsible for producing the most violent hailstorms and tornadoes. The chapter reviews common supercell features, the classification of supercells based on structural and visual characteristics, as well as the microphysics of supercells related to hail growth and electrification. A summary of observed flash rates, lightning polarity, and charge structure within supercells is also presented, along with descriptions of a few case studies as examples. Specific attention has been given to recent observations of anomalous positive cloud-to-ground lightning and inverted charge structures. Though this behavior is not exclusive to supercells, it has typically been observed in strong and/or severe storms that often meet supercell criteria.
Prospects of Exploitation of Insect Antijuvenile Hormones for Selective Insect Control

Much has been written on future approaches and strategies critical in the discovery process of novel, insect-specific insecticidal and insectostatic chemicals (Geissbuhler 1981, Croft 1981, Menn and Henrick 1984). The fact that the Schering Corporation has dedicated this symposium to new approaches to “lead generation for insecticides” indicates the strength of the commitment that Schering, and currently several other major industrial concerns, have made to the field of crop, animal and human health protection.
Pain is an Independent Risk Factor for Failed Global Endometrial Ablation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine whether pain, as part of an indication for global endometrial ablation, is an independent risk factor for failure. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING Academic-affiliated community hospital. PATIENTS Women undergoing global endometrial ablation with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), hydrothermablation (HTA), or uterine balloon ablation (UBA) between January 2003 and December 2015. INTERVENTIONS Procedure failure was defined as subsequent hysterectomy after the index ablation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 5818 women who underwent an endometrial ablation were identified, including 3706 with RFA (63.7%), 1786 with HTA (30.7%), and 326 with UBA (5.6%). Of the 5818 ablations, 437 (7.5%) involved pain (i.e., pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, lower abdominal pain, endometriosis, or adenomyosis) before ablation, along with abnormal uterine bleeding. Pain as part of the preoperative diagnoses before endometrial ablation was a significant risk factor for subsequent hysterectomy compared with all other diagnoses (19.2% vs 13.5%; p = .001). Consistent with previous studies, women who underwent ablation at an older age were less likely to fail, which held true even when one of the indications for ablation was related to pain (odds ratio, 0.96/year; 95% confidence interval, 0.95-0.97). When the pathology reports of women who underwent a hysterectomy were examined, women in the pain group had lower rates of adenomyosis than women without pain (38.1% vs 50.1%; p = .04). However, there was a trend toward a higher rate of endometriosis on pathology reports (14.3% vs 8.7%; p = .09) and even higher rates of visualized endometriosis identified by operative reports in women who had pain before their ablation (42.9% vs 15.8%; p < .001). Patients who had pain before their ablation were less likely to have myomas/polyps (p = .01). CONCLUSION Pelvic pain before global endometrial ablation is an independent risk factor for failure.
TREDE and VMPOP: Cultivating multi-purpose datasets for digital forensics – A Windows registry corpus as an example

Abstract The demand is rising for publicly available datasets to support studying emerging technologies, performing tool testing, detecting incorrect implementations, and also ensuring the reliability of security and digital forensics related knowledge. While a variety of data is being created on a day-to-day basis in; security, forensics and incident response labs, the created data is often not practical to use or has other limitations. In this situation, a variety of researchers, practitioners and research projects have released valuable datasets acquired from computer systems or digital devices used by actual users or are generated during research activities. Nevertheless, there is still a significant lack of reference data for supporting a range of purposes, and there is also a need to increase the number of publicly available testbeds as well as to improve verifiability as ‘reference’ data. Although existing datasets are useful and valuable, some of them have critical limitations on the verifiability if they are acquired or created without ground truth data. This paper introduces a practical methodology to develop synthetic reference datasets in the field of security and digital forensics. This work's proposal divides the steps for generating a synthetic corpus into two different classes: user-generated and system-generated reference data. In addition, this paper presents a novel framework to assist the development of system-generated data along with a virtualization system and elaborate automated virtual machine control, and then proceeds to perform a proof-of-concept implementation. Finally, this work demonstrates that the proposed concepts are feasible and effective through practical deployment and then evaluate its potential values.
End-of-Life Decision Making: A Slippery Slope

Advances in medical technology have changed how we view and ultimately define death. What it means to be terminally ill, now more than ever, raises difficult moral/ethical questions for all concern...
Outcomes With a Focus on Return to Play for Revision Ulnar Collateral Ligament Surgery Among Elite-Level Baseball Players: A Systematic Review.

Background:Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction is commonly performed among overhead throwing athletes. Previous studies demonstrated relatively high rates of return to sport after primar...
THE IMPACT OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AND ANEMIA UPON OUTCOMES IN THE REVASCULARIZED PATIENT POPULATION

Few studies have evaluated outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with both anemia and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Patients who underwent PCI in our health system from 2010-2018 were included (n=10,756), excluding those with ST-elevation myocardial infarction or
“It’s only one negative comment”: women instructors’ perceptions of (un)helpful support messages following hurtful course evaluations

ABSTRACTCourse evaluations can be an effective tool for students to appraise a course and instructor; however, they can also be a communicative space for students to write comments instructors perc...
Childhood Adversity and Neural Development: A Systematic Review

An extensive literature on childhood adversity and neurodevelopment has emerged over the past decade. We evaluate two conceptual models of adversity and neurodevelopment-the dimensional model of adversity and stress acceleration model-in a systematic review of 109 studies using MRI-based measures of neural structure and function in children and adolescents. Consistent with the dimensional model, children exposed to threat had reduced amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and hippocampal volume and heightened amygdala activation to threat in a majority of studies; these patterns were not observed consistently in children exposed to deprivation. In contrast, reduced volume and altered function in frontoparietal regions were observed consistently in children exposed to deprivation but not children exposed to threat. Evidence for accelerated development in amygdala-mPFC circuits was limited but emerged in other metrics of neurodevelopment. Progress in charting neurodevelopmental consequences of adversity requires larger samples, longitudinal designs, and more precise assessments of adversity.
Numerical Continuation of Periodic Orbits for Harmonically Forced Nonlinear Systems with Iwan Joints

A common numerical model for bolted or riveted joints is the Iwan model, which uses a number of discrete Jenkins elements to capture the hysteretic behaviour of the system. Previously, the Iwan model has been primarily implemented within time-domain simulations using the Newmark integrator. However, in many applications it is desirable to predict the nonlinear Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) of a structure that contains joints. In order to do so, the steady-state response must be estimated over a range of frequencies, and it is very time consuming to simply compute the time response until steady-state is reached. Furthermore, the implicit nature of the state variables (i.e. the appearance of “hidden” state variables in the form of slider displacements) makes it non-trivial to use continuation to compute the frequency response using already established techniques such as the shooting method. This paper presents a novel method to numerically compute the non-linear FRFs of a single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system with an Iwan element. The maximum displacement over the response period is included as a state variable, along with the initial displacement and velocity, and we demonstrate that the position of all sliders can be calculated using these states. The shooting method is modified to account for the added state variable. The method has been tested by computing the FRFs of a SDOF system containing of an Iwan element at multiple force amplitudes. The results show that the proposed method is able to compute the steady-state response even at large force amplitudes, when the system behaves quite non-linearly.
Bacterial infections in a pediatric cohort of primary and acquired complement deficiencies

Acquired complement deficiency can occur in the setting of autoimmune syndromes, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with very low or, occasionally, undetectable C3 levels. Based on inherited complement defects, patients with transiently low complement may be at similar risk for serious bacterial infection, but the degree of risk related to C3 level and temporal association is unknown. We performed a retrospective study including pediatric patients with undetectable total complement activity or absent individual complement components measured at our institution from 2002 to 2018. We assessed annual rate of serious bacterial infection (SBI) defined as requiring hospitalization and/or parenteral antibiotics by manual chart review. Among included SLE patients, we assessed the 30-day probability of SBI for given C3 measurements using a logistic regression model to determine risk. Primary complement deficiency was analyzed for SBI rate as comparison. Covariates included age, level of immune suppression and history of lupus nephritis. Acquired complement deficiency secondary to SLE-related disease [n = 44] was the most common underlying diagnosis associated with depressed complement levels and were compared to a cohort of primary complement deficient patients [n = 18]. SBI per 100 person-years and cohort demographics were described in parallel. Our logistic regression analysis of pediatric patients with SLE showed low C3 level was temporally associated with having an SBI event. Given equivalent immunosuppression, patients with an SBI had lower C3 levels at the beginning of the observation period relative to patients without SBI. Pediatric patients with the diagnosis of SLE can develop very low C3 levels that associate with risk of serious bacterial infection comparable to that of patients with primary complement deficiency. Patients prone to severe complement consumption may particularly be at risk.
Singular Intersection Homology

Intersection homology is a version of homology theory that extends Poincare duality and its applications to stratified spaces, such as singular varieties. This is the first comprehensive expository book-length introduction to intersection homology from the viewpoint of singular and piecewise-linear chains. Recent breakthroughs have made this approach viable by providing intersection homology and cohomology versions of all the standard tools in the homology tool box, making the subject readily accessible to graduate students and researchers in topology as well as researchers from other fields. This text includes both new research material and new proofs of previously-known results in intersection homology, as well as treatments of many classical topics in algebraic and manifold topology. Written in a detailed but expository style, this book is suitable as an introduction to intersection homology or as a thorough reference.
Prevention of Unintentional Childhood Injury

Unintentional injury accounts for one-third of deaths in children and adolescents each year, primarily from motor vehicle crashes. Children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the back seat, and infants and toddlers should remain rear-facing until at least two years of age. Infants should be positioned on their backs in a crib, on a mattress with only a fitted sheet to avoid suffocation, and all items that could potentially entrap or entangle the child should be removed from the sleep environment. Fencing that isolates swimming pools from the house is effective in preventing drownings. Swimming lessons are recommended for all children by four years of age. Inducing vomiting after toxic ingestions is not recommended. Installing and maintaining smoke detectors, having a home escape plan, and teaching children how to respond during a fire are effective strategies for preventing fire-related injuries or death. The most effective way to prevent gun-related injuries in children and adolescents is the absence of guns from homes and communities. Family physicians should counsel patients with guns in the home to keep them locked, unloaded, and with ammunition stored in a separate locked location. Fall injuries can be reduced by avoiding walkers for infants and toddlers. Consistent helmet use while bicycling reduces head and brain injuries. Although direct counseling by physicians seems to improve some parental safety behaviors, its effect on reducing childhood injuries is unclear. Community-based interventions can be effective in high-risk populations.
Primal interface debonding formulation for finite strain isotropic plasticity

Abstract A framework is developed for modeling ductile damage of nonlinear materials whose plastic deformation is characterized using rate independent classical plasticity. This method relies on the assumption that the free energy can be decomposed into elastic, plastic and damage parts. A thermodynamically consistent method is derived which satisfies the second law of thermodynamics in the Clausius-Duhem inequality form. The dissipation associated with plasticity takes place in the domain only, while damage dissipation is localized to the interface. The method is developed using Variational Multiscale ideas to obtain definitions of the interface fluxes within a primal formulation analogous to the Discontinuous Galerkin method, which ensures weakly vanishing interface gap prior to reaching a damage initiation criterion. The local nonlinear problem to calculate both plastic deformation gradient and damage variable follows an incremental approach similar to classical plasticity return mapping algorithm. This elastoplastic damage formulation is developed for material undergoing finite strain, and it naturally accommodates a trapezoidal traction separation law (TSL) whose shape can be varied to model either ductile interface behavior or brittle interface behavior. The formulation's performance is assessed through modeling a patch test and a compact tension specimen.
Positive-part moments via characteristic functions, and more general expressions

A unifying and generalizing approach to representations of the positive-part and absolute moments \({{\mathsf {E}}} X_+^p\) and \({{\mathsf {E}}}|X|^p\) of a random variable X for real p in terms of the characteristic function (c.f.) of X, as well as to related representations of the c.f. of \(X_+\), generalized moments \({{\mathsf {E}}} X_+^p e^{iuX}\), truncated moments, and the distribution function, is provided. Existing and new representations of these kinds are all shown to stem from a single basic representation. Computational aspects of these representations are addressed.
Adaptive Variables for Declarative UAV Planning

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are an important subset of autonomous robotics, offering unique opportunities in domains like merchandise delivery, geographical survey, and disaster recovery. The planning layer of UAVs is made up of high-level directives that instruct the system on how to achieve the plan's goals. UAVs execute their plans in the physical environment, and thus the plans must adapt to changes in the dynamic context. In this paper, we present a simple programming abstraction, adaptive variables, to declaratively define adaptation for UAV flight plans in a dynamic context. Building on top of a declarative language for expressing UAV flight plans, adaptive variables can change during a UAV flight based on predicates over physical data. We implement adaptive variable for Paparazzi and demonstrate its usefulness in adaptive UAV planning with the NPS Simulator.
Pharmacotherapy for Anxiety Disorders: From First-Line Options to Treatment Resistance.

In this review, the author examines the evidence for psychopharmacologic treatments among adults for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder derived from clinical ...
Low noise, tunable silicon photonic lasers

Silicon photonics is a truly disruptive technology that has grown tremendously in the past two decades. It has now become a recognized leader in the next generation of consumer products. These future products require realizing complex optical functionalities—chief among which is an on-chip laser. Low noise and wide tuning range are the two main important characteristics of an on-chip laser as the components required to achieve these characteristics constitute the bulk of current benchtop lasers. In this paper, we review the impact of silicon photonic chips on dramatically improving the tuning range and the noise characteristics. Two different types of technologies are reviewed— heterogeneous integration by wafer bonding and hybrid integration by butt-coupling. We cover the two most important wavelength bands for optical communications—O-band for data communication applications and C-band for telecom applications.
Rare earth elements (REEs) recovery from coal waste of the Western Kentucky No. 13 and Fire Clay Seams. Part I: Mineralogical characterization using SEM-EDS and TEM-EDS

Abstract The mineralogy of rare earth elements (REEs, including 15 lanthanides plus Sc and Y) in the Western Kentucky No. 13 and Fire Clay coal waste was studied based on elemental composition analyses using scanning electron microscopy- and transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS and TEM-EDS). A total of 49 and 50 REE-bearing particles were found from the SEM-EDS specimens of the two materials, respectively. For both materials, light REEs were found in apatite, monazite, and crandallite-group minerals, while heavy REEs primarily existed in zircon and xenotime. Based on the number and REE contents of the REE-bearing particles, it was concluded that monazite, xenotime, and crandallite-group minerals were major contributors to the total REE contents in both materials. The number of crandallite-group mineral particles found from the Western Kentucky No. 13 material was more than that of monazite and xenotime particles. However, for the Fire Clay material, the number and size of crandallite-group mineral particles were close to those of monazite and xenotime particles. Since the monazite and xenotime particles contained more REEs relative to the crandallite-group mineral particles, it was inferred that the majority of the REEs, especially the light REEs, existing in the Fire Clay coal waste occurred as monazite and xenotime. In addition, comparing with the Western Kentucky No. 13 material, a larger portion of the heavy REEs in the Fire Clay material were comprised in zircon. SEM images of the REE-bearing particles indicated that both liberated particles and particles locked within dominant minerals (e.g., clays) existed in the two materials. A few of the particles found in the Western Kentucky No. 13 material were completely encapsulated within the dominant minerals. Findings from the current study will promote REE recovery from coal-related materials, particularly coal waste.
A Value-of-Information Framework for Personalizing the Timing of Surveillance Testing.

BackgroundPatient surveillance using repeated biomarker measurements presents an opportunity to detect and treat disease progression early. Frequent surveillance testing using biomarkers is recomme...
Experimental investigation of inverted annular film boiling in a rod bundle during reflood transient

AbstractHeat transfer results for subcooled and saturated inverted annular film boiling (IAFB) obtained from a 7×7 rod bundle during transient reflood are presented in this paper. The test section consists of heater rods of 9.5-mm diameter and 12.6-mm pitch arranged in a square array. Flooding rates considered are 0.076 and 0.152 m/s, pressure varied from 138 to 414 kPa, and inlet subcooling up to 83 K. Evaluation of the data includes estimation of the local void fraction and Nusselt number during IAFB as well as in the inverted slug film boiling (ISFB) regime, which occurs when the inverted annular liquid column disintegrates. Experimental heat transfer results are compared with several film boiling models, and a new correlation for the Nusselt number is proposed for the IAFB and ISFB regimes. Predicted Nusselt numbers using the new correlation deviate from the experimental data by an average error of 15% and root-mean-square error of ∼30%.
Cryptanalysis of Number Theoretic Ciphers

MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS OF CRYPTANALYSIS Terminology of Cryptography Probability Theory Divisibility and Arithmetic Primes Congruences Euler's Theorem and Its Consequences Second Degree Congruences Information Theory Groups, Rings and Fields Finding Large Primes Exponential Methods of Factoring Integers Elliptic Curves Subexponential Factoring Algorithms Computing Discrete Logarithms Random Number Generation THE CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS Private Key Algorithms Public Key Algorithms Signature Algorithms Key Exchange Algorithms Simple Protocols Complicated Protocols Complete Systems METHODS OF ATTACK Direct Attacks Exploiting a User Error Active Attacks References
Immigration and Abduction: The Relevance of U.S. Immigration Status to Defenses under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction

In our increasingly mobile world, family relationships and problems often span national borders. These transborder entanglements pose challenges both for individuals and legal regimes. In the late 1970s, as a result of growing awareness of the phenomenon of child abduction by a parent, nations sought to address this issue through the creation of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the "Hague Convention" or the "Convention").1 More than eighty nations are now parties to this treaty, which aims to "protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return."2 The Hague Convention deals exclusively with the unilateral, wrongful removal or retention of children by parents, guardians, or close family members.3 Specifically, the Hague Convention demands that a child abducted by a parent from one signatory nation to another be returned to her home country, where custody proceedings may take place, unless the abducting
The Voodoo We Do: Harm, Impossibility, and the Reductionist Impulse

This article assesses the debate over "subjectivist" and "objectivist" accounts of criminal law through the familiar "voodoo doctor" example.
A computer-integrated approach to program evaluation: a practical application within residential services

Abstract Outcome evaluation of group work intervention in residential agencies. Development of a management/clinical information system and related computer applications. Program evaluation as discussed in this article describes a service delivery-focused approach to program evaluation which is actually designed and implemented in a residential treatment agency for delinquent youth, the evaluation approach represents a practical strategy which applies much of the current thinking and research in the area of user focused evaluation. The approach has been refined by incorporating the product of the authors' experiential learning and pragmatic adaptations which evolved out of field testing the model over several years. The authors present the overall approach to evaluation and the development of the evaluation model within an agency context. The author's then describe the development of a computer-based system which is designed to serve as both a management information system and a clinical information syste...
Free Speech in the Workplace

This article discusses legal treatment of workplace speech in the United States, as well as arguments for and against recognizing free speech rights in the workplace. Keywords: free speech; respect; employment at will; employee rights
Gifted Asian-American Students: Identification, Curricular, and Counseling Concerns

Asian Americans constitute the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States population, and an incredible diversity exists among Asian-American groups with respect to language, values and beli...
Diffuse supernova neutrinos at underground laboratories

Abstract I review the physics of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino flux (or Background, DSNB), in the context of future searches at the next generation of neutrino observatories. The theory of the DSNB is discussed in its fundamental elements, namely the cosmological rate of supernovae, neutrino production inside a core collapse supernova, redshift, and flavor oscillation effects. The current upper limits are also reviewed, and results are shown for the rates and energy distributions of the events expected at future liquid argon and liquid scintillator detectors of O ( 10 ) kt mass, and water Cherenkov detectors up to a 0.5 Mt mass. Perspectives are given on the significance of future observations of the DSNB, both at the discovery and precision phases, for the investigation of the physics of supernovae and of the properties of the neutrino.
Hepatotoxicity Associated with Antiepileptic Drug Therapy

Idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity is a rare adverse effect associated with antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy. Carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital (pheno-barbitone) and structurally related compounds may produce hepatic injury as part of a more widespread hypersensitivity reaction. Reactive compounds, the arene oxides, are generated by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system during the metabolism of these drugs. Arene oxides bind to cellular molecules and appear to trigger an immune response. Laboratory monitoring of asymptomatic effects may allow for the early detection of hepatotoxicity, but is complicated by the incidence of dose-related increases in serum transaminase levels associated with the administration of some AEDs. Signs such as fever, rash and eosinophilia typically accompany the hepatic injury associated with these agents. Treatment is supportive, and prompt withdrawal of medication may improve the prognosis. Valproic acid (sodium valproate) is associated with rare idiosyncratic hepato-toxicity without concomitant signs of hypersensitivity. The effects of valproic acid on fatty acid metabolism appear to be a factor in the aetiology of hepatotoxicity. A febrile illness often precedes the onset of this condition, and anorexia, vomiting, seizure exacerbation and lethargy are also common presenting signs. Children less than 2 years of age receiving valproic acid as polytherapy constitute the highest risk group for the development of hepatotoxicity. Asymptomatic monitoring has been recommended in patients receiving valproic acid, but this is also limited by dose-related changes in laboratory values. Specific treatment regimens have been recommended, but not prospectively studied. Of the drugs recently introduced into the US, felbamate has been linked to cases of hepatotoxicity, while gabapentin and lamotrigine have not.
Ginkgos and multituberculates: Evolutionary interactions in the Tertiary

The genus Ginkgo is a north temperate gymnosperm taxon represented by fossilized leaves and wood from the early Jurassic through the Pliocene, and by the living species G. biloba native to eastern China. Seeds produced by this widely cultivated tree consist of an odoriferous, vesicatory coat surrounding a hard-shelled “nut.” Dispersal of ginkgo seeds is a two step process: repulsion of predators by the toxic coat, followed by attraction of dispersers by the edible “nut.” Based on anatomical and distributional evidence, extinct mammalian multituberculates in the genus Ptilodus are plausible consumers and dispersers of ginkgo seeds during the Paleocene and the Eocene. From the Oligocene through Pleistocene, seed-caching rodents are the most likely dispersal agents of ginkgo. Among extant genera in the class Coniferopsida which produce fleshy, animal-dispersed seeds, there appear to be two distinct evolutionary lines: (1) those with relatively large (> 20 mm), odoriferous diaspores dispersed primarily by mammals; and (2) those with relatively small (< 10 mm), visually attractive diaspores dispersed primarily by birds.
Neutron-proton mass difference

It is shown that using dispersion-theoretical formulas for the electromagnetic self-energies of the nucleons, which involve their electromagnetic form factors, the mass difference between the neutron and the proton can be satisfactorily explained. The expressions for the form factors involved have to be of the Clementel-Villi type, and require two cut-offs which are at about 3 and 5 nucleon masses.