cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coronary Artery Calcium Scores and Risk for Cardiovascular Events in Women Classified as “Low Risk” Based on Framingham Risk Score: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Objective To assess coronary artery calcium (CAC) score and subsequent risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular (CVD) events among asymptomatic women judged to be at low risk by the Framingham risk score (FRS), a common approach for determining 10-year absolute risk for CHD. Based on population survey data, 95% of American women are considered at low risk based on FRS. Methods The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) included 3601 women aged 45 to 84 years at baseline. The CAC score was measured by coronary computed tomography. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the CHD and CVD risk associated with CAC score among women classified as “low risk” based on FRS. Results Excluding women with diabetes and those older than 79 years, 90% of women in MESA (mean ± SD age, 60 ± 9 years) were classified as “low risk” based on FRS. The prevalence of CAC (CAC score > 0) in this low-risk subset was 32% (n = 870). Compared with women with no detectable CAC, low-risk women with a CAC score greater than 0 were at increased risk for CHD (hazard ratio, 6.5; 95% confidence interval, 2.6-16.4) and CVD events (hazard ratio, 5.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.5-10.8). In addition, advanced CAC (CAC score ≥ 300) was highly predictive of future CHD and CVD events compared with women with nondetectable CAC and identified a group of low-risk women with a 6.7% and 8.6% absolute CHD and CVD risk, respectively, over a 3.75-year period. Conclusions The presence of CAC in women considered to be at low risk based on FRS was predictive of future CHD and CVD events. Advanced CAC identified a subset of low-risk women at higher risk based on current risk stratification strategies.
The Role of Firm Size in Bilateral Bargaining: A Study of the Cable Television Industry

We examine the effect of buyer merger on bilateral negotiations between a supplier and n buyers. Merger may have bargaining effects in addition to the usual efficiency effects. The effect of merger on the buyers' bargaining position depends on the curvature of the supplier's gross surplus function: merger enhances (worsens) the buyers' bargaining position if the function is concave (convex). Based on a panel of advertising revenue in the cable television industry, our estimates indicate that the gross surplus function for suppliers of program services is convex. This result suggests that cable operators integrate horizontally to realize efficiency gains rather than to enhance their bargaining position vis-a-vis program suppliers.
ON THE ABSENCE OF UBIQUITOUS STRUCTURAL PROTEIN SUBUNITS IN BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES.

Although biological membranes exhibit a great diversity of functions, a number of general features appear to be similar in all membranes. In order to obtain a general concept of membrane structure and function, attempts have been made to find protein subunits responsible for the general structure of membranes, and numerous reports on such “structural proteins” appeared throughout the past decade. It was assumed that the structural proteins were necessary to maintain the membrane structure, whereas the special functions of each membrane were maintained by other proteins, e.g., enzymes.
Kinetic Competition During Solid Phase Crystallization in Ion–Implanted Silicon

We report on an investigation of the temperature and concentration dependent kinetic competition between solid phase epitaxy and complex formation and precipitation in arsenic-implanted Si(100). Crystallization kinetics were monitored using time-resolved reflectivity during cw laser irradiation or furnace heating; microstructural changes were evaluated using cross-sectional TEM. At low temperatures and high As concentrations, complex formation and precipitation substantially alter the SPE kinetics. At higher temperatures competing interactions are less significant, and SPE becomes the dominant process. The kinetic competition between these processes is discussed with respect to the vacancy model for SPE.
Some approaches to Internet distance learning with streaming media

The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is in a unique position of having a campus located across the Atlantic in the heart of the Lorraine region of France in the city of Metz. With Masters Degree programs in electrical and mechanical engineering, Georgia Tech Lorraine (GTL) offers more courses than can be staffed by resident faculty. Therefore, GTL offers a number of courses in electrical engineering (EE), mechanical engineering (ME), and mathematics by videotaping courses that are taught by faculty at the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. Delivering courses by videotape, however, is relatively expensive, introduces a two week delay between the two sections of the courses, and is not the most convenient method of course delivery for the student. In this paper, we describe some approaches that we have used in delivering graduate level EE courses in near real-time across six time zones using the Internet.
Impact of left ventricular ejection fraction on estimation of left ventricular filling pressures using tissue Doppler and flow propagation velocity.

from their results that disappearance of the IMH suggested a good prognosis. Ide et al,6 in their series, found the descending aorta diameter (after resolution of the IMH) increased in 26% of patients. They also described 2 cases of aneurysm formation after resolution of the IMH at 1 and 27 months after initial presentation, and 1 case of dissection 1 month after hematoma resolution. The number of patients in group II with significant complications (79%) was higher than that in previous studies, and 57% developed either a significant aneurysm or dissection.7 Earlier studies may have included different acute aortic syndromes with different pathologic bases. Our study concurs with previous studies in demonstrating medical management of type B IMH (i.e., aggressive management of hypertension unless complications develop).8
Speed of Dasher and Scraper as Affecting the Quality of Ice Cream and Sherbet

Summary 1.The speed of the dasher (200 r.p.m. normal; 163 r.p.m. low; 260 r.p.m. high) has no appreciable effect upon the rapidity of freezing ice cream; upon the rapidity of incorporating 100 per cent overrun; or upon the body and texture of the finished ice cream, when made from fresh dairy products. 2.In freezing sherbets, where an overrun in excess of 30 to 40 per cent is undesirable, the reduction of the effect of the dasher by reducing its speed, by allowing it to idle, or by operating at normal speed in the same direction as the scraper, is useful in preventing the too rapid incorporation of overrun and the consequent necessity of drawing the sherbet before it is properly frozen. 3.The operation of the scraper at a speed above normal slightly shortens the freezing time and also the time necessary to incorporate 100 per cent overrun and tends to produce a slightly smoother body. 4.Comparing the effect of variations of speed of dasher and scraper in freezing ice cream, the scraper is the more important.
Disrupted Transition to Parenthood: Gender Moderates the Association Between Miscarriage and Uncertainty About Conception

Miscarriage is a devastating yet common experience shared by women and their partners. Doctors often recommend that couples attempt to conceive again after the experience of a miscarriage, yet little is known about the emotional toll of conception following miscarriage. In the current study, we addressed two primary research questions: (a) How does experiencing a miscarriage relate to recalled emotional experiences of uncertainty surrounding efforts to conceive again? and (b) does gender moderate the association between miscarriage and retrospective accounts of emotions surrounding efforts to conceive? An online sample of parents from across the U.S. (N = 429; 84.4 % married or cohabiting) reported their number of prior miscarriages and completed online questionnaires assessing recalled psychological adjustment (anxiety, rumination, positive and negative emotions) during their efforts to conceive their youngest child. In addition, they provided written responses regarding their experiences during this time. Participants’ responses were quantitatively analyzed for word use using LIWC, a text-analysis software program, to obtain an observational indicator of emotions. For women but not men, miscarriage was associated with recalled anxiety, rumination, and negative emotions surrounding efforts to conceive a child, as well as the use of more negative emotion, sadness, and anxiety words when describing efforts to conceive. Thus, miscarriage seemed to taint the emotional experience of trying to conceive again, and this consequence seemed particularly poignant for women.
The Routledge handbook of educational linguistics, edited by M. Bigelow and J. Ennser-Kananen

True to the advocacy articulated by editors Bigelow and Ennser-Kananen, the authors herein pinpoint compelling core issues and critical forward-looking agendas on topics from language teacher educa...
The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38

L'histoire de Juda et de Tamar. Le levirat. La prostituee. La situation sociologique du Livre de Ruth et celle de Genese 38 sont identiques.
The Straightening Curvature-radius Model for the Thin-walled Tube and It's Validation

The straightening curvature-radius as the main straightening technical parameter, decides the precision for straightening tubes especially for thin-walled tubes, however, thin-walled tube straightening is always viewed as a craft, the work being largely carried out based on the classic experiential data and chart by skilled labourers, whose art is based on long experience and experiments, the precise mathematical model of the straightening curvature-radius is immediately necessary for straightening the thin-walled tube. Therefore, a new stress-strain model of the deformation zone firstly is presented based on the elastic-plastic theory and relevant hypothesis of the thin-walled member for straightening thin-walled tube, and then the straightening moment is obtained subsequently, finally the model of the straightening curvature-radius is presented using the classic unloading rule, and it is also shown how to solve synchronously. In order to certify whether it is correct, some dynamic simulations are carried out by FEA and the local experiments. The results and the comparisons with the classic theoretical method have shown that the model is correct and suitable for straightening thin-walled tube, which can also provide the basis for optimizing straightening technical parameters and completing the theory of thin-walled tube straightening.
Fast Local Search and Insertion Heuristics for Coordinated UGV Path Planning

This paper presents an ant-colony approach for solving the vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). The fast local search and insertion (FLS&I) methods used are based on well known heuristics, were implemented in C as Matlab mexfunc- tions, and were tested against the well known Solomon benchmark for the VRPTW. It is shown that solutions close to the best known results for the Solomon benchmark can be reliably obtained within the re-planning horizon ofa typical military UGV appli- cation. The FLS&I algorithm and similar methods significantly improve upon agent based methods recently considered in the literature. It is also shown that, against the type C2 Solomon instances, the FLS&I heuristics used here outperform some recent methods that require much more processing time. The algorithm presented here has a feature that determines when an acceptable solution has been found to facilitate an early exit and save computer resources. With this feature, the average CPU time required to find the best known solution for the clustered Solomon instances is under one minute, well within the re-planning horizon.
Defining Human Failure Events for Petroleum Applications of Human Reliability Analysis

Abstract Human failure events (HFEs) are the unit of analysis in human reliability analysis (HRA). HFEs are essentially human errors that have an adverse consequence on system safety. In HRAs in the nuclear power industry, HFEs are typically defined in the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), staring with possible hardware failures and then identifying opportunities for human action or inaction to affect those failures. In other industries, the HFE may not be predefined in this manner. For example, in the case of some oil and gas applications, the overarching quantitative risk analysis (QRA) does not identify HFEs. As human factors experts perform HRAs, there is difficulty in characterizing human actions in such a way that they represent the right level of analysis suitable for inclusion in the PSA or QRA. This paper provides guidance to help analysts in such a situation. The paper presents seven steps to build suitable HFEs based on an initial human factors task analysis.
Technical considerations in the endovascular management of aneurysms of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery.

BACKGROUND Aneurysms of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) are rare, comprising 0.5% to 3% of intracranial aneurysms. Because their anatomic location relative to the PICA origin is variable, several endovascular techniques are used in their management. OBJECTIVE To evaluate and discuss endovascular techniques for the treatment of PICA aneurysms. METHODS We analyzed our prospectively maintained database to identify PICA aneurysms treated over a 12-year period from 1999 to 2011. RESULTS Twenty patients were assessed angiographically for endovascular treatment. Treatment was successfully performed in 17, but 3 were deemed unsuitable and were referred for surgery. Patients ranged in age from 15 to 82 years (mean, 60.5); 85% (17/20) were women. Thirteen (65%) presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage, and 3 (15%) had been previously treated surgically. Although the aneurysms were located at the PICA origin in 13 (65%), their involvement with the PICA and vertebral artery was variable. Some arose distinctly from the origin, and others incorporated the PICA itself. Five patients were treated for distal PICA aneurysms. Treatment techniques included direct coiling, vertebral artery balloon remodeling with coiling, PICA balloon remodeling with coiling, and parent vessel sacrifice of PICA with either coiling or glue embolization. Complete occlusion was initially achieved in 11 of 17 patients. Of the 6 remaining patients, 3 improved to complete occlusion at follow-up, 2 underwent re-treatment, and 1 remained stable. No patient experienced posttreatment hemorrhage. CONCLUSION A variety of endovascular techniques are required for the management of PICA aneurysms. Specific techniques vary according to the location of the aneurysm in relation to the PICA origin, distal course of the artery, and the vertebral artery. ABBREVIATIONS BRAT, Barrow Ruptured Aneurysm TrialmRS, modified Rankin scorenBCA, n-butyl cyanoacrylatePICA, posterior inferior cerebellar arterySAH, subarachnoid hemorrhageVA, vertebral artery.
The Unit Commitment Problem With AC Optimal Power Flow Constraints

We propose a mathematical programming-based approach to optimize the unit commitment problem with alternating current optimal power flow (ACOPF) network constraints. This problem is a nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP) that we solve through a solution technique based on the outer approximation method. Our solution technique cooptimizes real and reactive power scheduling and dispatch subject to both unit commitment constraints and ACOPF constraints. The proposed approach is a local solution method that leverages powerful linear and mixed-integer commercial solvers. We demonstrate the relative economic and operational impact of more accurate ACOPF constraint modeling on the unit commitment problem, when compared with copperplate and DCOPF constraint modeling approaches; we use a six-bus, the IEEE RTS-79, and the IEEE-118 test systems for this analysis. Our approach can be extended to solve larger scale power systems as well as include security constraints or uncertainty through decomposition techniques.
Responsibility to Protect: A Solution or Just Another Problem?

The doctrine of human rights has long been accepted and considered customary law. However, the law of a sovereign state accompanied by the principle of nonintervention, based on Westphalian principles, is also entrenched in international relations, specifically in keeping peace among countries since World War II. Thus, the intersection of these two principles — human rights and the sovereign state — has been the cause of much heated debate in the U.N., and has caused and continues to leave a gap in international law and norms. This paper seeks to point out the initial gap and problem in reconciling the two — human rights and the sovereign state, followed by a discussion of a current solution to the problem being set forth and developed by the U.N., the Responsibility to Protect. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the problems still innate in the Responsibility to Protect. This paper will not attempt to create a solution to the reconciliation problem of human rights and the sovereign state or a solution to the problems with the Responsibility to Protect.
Contractile activity modulates myosin heavy chain-beta expression in neonatal rat heart cells.

To determine whether spontaneous contractile activity affected the expression of myosin heavy chain isoenzymes in cultured neonatal rat heart cells, ventricular myocytes were isolated from 2-day-ol...
A Comparison of Dependent and Self-Critically Depressed Hospitalized Adolescents

One hundred ninety-four hospitalized adolescents were administered the Adolescent Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ-A). The DEQ-A factors (dependency, self-criticism) correlated well with independent measures of depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and suicide risk. After controlling for depression, self-criticism and dependency showed differential associations with hopelessness, violence potential, and impulsivity. A subgroup of 84 inpatients identified as either highly self-critical or highly dependent based on the DEQ-A was also compared for differences in personality and symptomatic behavior. Self-critical and dependent patients exhibited equally high levels of depression, hopelessness, suicidality, and low self-esteem. Few differences were observed in personality or symptomatic behavior between the two groups. These findings, while extending previous research that relied on community samples of young adults, provide only mixed support for a distinction between these two categories of depression.
Why Some Wealthy Give: Sir Alfred and Sir Robert Mond’s Attitudes Toward Philanthropy

Philanthropy has been described by Francie Ostrower in her book Why the Wealthy Give as a behavioral pattern among members of the upper class that has been handed down from one generation to the next.1 There was, however, no guarantee, as the case of Sir Alfred Mond shows, that philanthropically engaged parents were automatically followed by philanthropically engaged sons. While Sir Robert Mond was introduced to philanthropy in his early twenties by his involvement with his father’s decision to create the Davy-Faraday Laboratory and to give it to the Royal Institution in the 1890s, Sir Alfred Mond’s involvement with his father’s philanthropic activities was limited to the division of Ludwig Mond’s art collection into the Mond Collection in London and the Hertz Collection in Rome as well as the donation of the Mond Collection to the National Gallery. And in these two different contexts, both sons developed very different attitudes toward philanthropy. Sir Robert Mond was happy to dedicate himself to equipping the laboratory, since he felt much more at home in a laboratory than in the factories of his father. And from philanthropic engagement in favor of scientific research, he moved into philanthropic support for something he considered his calling: archaeology and Egyptology. In contrast to his father, who felt comfortable in his role as a businessman and for whom art patronage became a leisure activity, Sir Robert Mond considered the life of a businessman as unfulfilling and instead sought satisfaction in the world of philanthropy, which paved his way into a career as an archaeologist. Sir Alfred Mond showed little interest in philanthropy and did not share his father’s and his brother’s obsession with supporting the arts, sciences, and archaeology. He did, however, consider the donation of his father’s art collection to the National Gallery as a useful instrument for advancing his own social ambitions. For him, politics and not philanthropy became a passion (Fig. 5.1).
Role of Canonical and Non-canonical Inflammasomes During Burkholderia Infection

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative flagellate bacterium that causes melioidosis, a disease endemic to Southeast Asia and other tropical regions. Following infection of macrophages and other non-phagocytic cell types, B. pseudomallei or B. thailandensis (a related species that causes disease in mice but not humans) are able to escape the phagosome and replicate in the host cell cytoplasm. Resistance to infection with Burkholderia is dependent on the Nlrp3 and Nlrc4 inflammasomes and the non-canonical caspase-11 inflammasome. Nlrc4 mediates protection through induction of pyroptosis in the early phase of infection. As the infection progresses and as IL-18-dependent IFNγ production increases, caspase-11-dependent pyroptosis acquires a preponderant protective role. Production of IL-1β and IL-18 during infection is primarily mediated by Nlrp3. IL-18 is essential for survival because of its ability to induce IFNγ production, which in turn activates macrophage microbicidal functions and primes for caspase-11 expression. In contrast, during melioidosis, IL-1β has deleterious effects due to excessive recruitment of neutrophils to the lung and consequent tissue damage.
Update on Image-Guided Percutaneous Ablation of Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to delineate the potential techniques for percutaneous ablation of breast cancer, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each technique, and provide r...
Alkyl−(Hetero)Aryl Bond Formation via Decarboxylative Cross‐Coupling: A Systematic Analysis

Suzuki, Negishi, and Kumada couplings are some of the most important reactions for the formation of skeletal C-C linkages. Their widespread use to forge bonds between two aromatic rings has enabled every branch of chemical science. The analogous union between alkyl halides and metallated aryl systems has not been as widely employed due to the lack of commercially available halide building blocks. Redox-active esters have recently emerged as useful surrogates for alkyl halides in cross-coupling chemistry. Such esters are easily accessible through reactions between ubiquitous carboxylic acids and coupling agents widely used in amide bond formation. This article features an amalgamation of in-house experience bolstered by approximately 200 systematically designed experiments to accelerate the selection of ideal reaction conditions and activating agents for the cross-coupling of primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl carboxylic acids with both aryl and heteroaryl organometallic species.
Coherent control of a single nitrogen-vacancy center spin in optically levitated nanodiamond

We report the first observation, to the best of our knowledge, of electron spin transients in single negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV−) centers, contained within optically trapped nanodiamonds, in both atmospheric pressure and low vacuum. It is shown that, after an initial exposure to low vacuum, the trapped nanodiamonds remain at temperatures near room temperature even in low vacuum. Furthermore, the transverse coherence time of the NV− center spin, measured to be T2=101.4 ns, is robust over the range of trapping powers considered in this study.
Policy bargaining and militarized conflict

Studies of bargaining and war generally focus on two sources of incomplete information: uncertainty over the probability of victory and uncertainty over the costs of fighting. We introduce uncertai...
Abstract 3309: Tumor-treating fields decrease proliferation and clonogenicity of patient-derived WHO grade IV glioma cell lines

Despite decades of research, efficacious treatments for malignant glioma tumors are limited. Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) are FDA-approved for the treatment of newly-diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma. In this study, in vitro experiments comparing TTFields to untreated controls were performed on patient-derived grade IV glioma cell lines to determine the effects of TTFields on cell proliferation and clonogenicity. Methods: Studies utilizing patient tumor specimens were approved by the Wayne State University Institutional Review Board and written informed consent was obtained from participants. Patient tumor specimens (glioblastoma and gliosarcoma) were collected immediately following microsurgical resection. Single-cell suspensions from the tumor tissues were prepared by enzymatic and mechanical disruption. Equal numbers of cells were plated on plastic coverslips in DMEM/F12 media supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. TTFields were applied at 200 kHz to half of the coverslips. Culture media was replaced every day. At the conclusion of the 2 week treatment, cell proliferation was assessed with the XTT assay and cells were harvested and replated for clonogenic assays (10,000 cells/well). The resulting colonies were fixed and stained with crystal violet and counted with an automated colony counter. Control vs. TTFields treated groups were compared by two-tailed t-tests. Results: The two-week TTFields treatment significantly reduced cell proliferation in both the glioblastoma (41.6 ± 11.1 % control; n=4; p Citation Format: Sharon K. Michelhaugh, Sam Kiousis, Adrianne Wallace-Povirk, Sandeep Mittal. Tumor-treating fields decrease proliferation and clonogenicity of patient-derived WHO grade IV glioma cell lines [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3309. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3309
Muscular tension, task resistance and speed of response

The effect of induced tension (IT) and response resistance (RR) on reaction time (RT) was investigated by subjecting two highly trained Ss to many weeks of trials, employing a wide range of (IT’s) and RR’s). The results were individually computed by an analysis of variance technique. The results show that (IT) has a detrimental effect on RT when relatively high (RR’s) are employed, but has no detrimental effect when relatively low (RR’s) are employed. Under any (IT) level, RT is directly proportional to (RR). The results suggest that induced tension is superfluous to already existing muscular tension created by “set,” except when the (RR) cannot be discriminated from 0 resistance.
System-level analysis of a novel air-cooled condenser using spray freezing of phase change materials

Abstract A comprehensive system-level analysis is performed for a novel air-cooled condenser based on spray freezing of phase change materials (PCMs). This novel air-cooled condenser uses PCMs to decouple the process of steam condensation and heat rejection to air in order to significantly improve air-side heat transfer and reduce steam condensation temperature as compared to conventional air-cooled condensers (ACCs). Melting of solid PCM particles in a two-phase PCM slurry flow anchors the steam condensation temperature close to the PCM melting point regardless of the change in ambient air temperature. Spray freezing of millimeter-sized liquid PCM droplets increases the air-side heat transfer coefficient by five times compared to the finned-tubed ACCs. A multiscale model, which directly captures the melting and settling of PCM particles at the microscopic level and accounts for phase change through energy source terms at the macroscopic level, has been developed to simulate the PCM slurry flow over heated tube bundles. Using this multiscale model, the effects of particle volume fraction, Reynolds number, and particle to steam tube diameter ratio on the averaged wall Nusselt number of the steam tubes are investigated. It is found that the averaged wall Nusselt number for a PCM slurry flow of 20% solid fraction achieves a 38% enhancement over the PCM single-phase flow of same Reynolds number. On the air side, the freezing/melting of PCM droplet/particle is approximated based on a 1-D transient heat conduction model and the air-side pressure drop across the PCM droplet array is determined using a 3-D k-e turbulence model. The performance of this spray-freezing PCM ACC is compared against a baseline ACC of a 500 MWe power plant. It is found that, for comparable footprint area and ambient conditions, the spray-freezing PCM ACC reduces the initial temperature difference to as low as 16.8 °C and provides up to 10.8 MW net power production gain compared to the baseline ACC.
The System is Fixed, at Least in Terms of Opportunity

The United States has long been known as the land of opportunity, where everyone should have an equal chance for the pursuit of happiness. Yet the United States has become one of the more stratified societies in the world, where opportunity lies overwhelmingly with those who come from the upper middle class. For those from lower income strata, the odds are weighed heavily against achieving their potential. This paper discusses: - the financial stratification of American society - the great divide between the upper middle class and the rest - why it matters - how the deck is stacked in favor of upper middle class children, and - what can be done about it.
Use of Z-Plasty in Burn Reconstruction

“Surgical principles evolve slowly, gain a certain permanence and require periodic reassessment. Surgical techniques evolve rapidly, change frequently, and require constant refinement” [1]. Z-plasty is as much a principle as it is a technique in plastic surgery. While the description of a Z-plasty can be found in almost every plastic surgery text, the successful application of this seemingly, mathematically simplistic concept requires careful planning and deliberate execution.
Ureteral tunnel length versus ureteral orifice configuration in the determination of ureterovesical junction competence:A computer simulation model

Summary Introduction The long-held belief that a ureteral re-implant tunnel should be five times the diameter of the ureter, as proposed by Paquin in 1959, ignores the effect of the orifice on the occurrence of reflux. In 1969, Lyon proposed that the shape of the ureteral orifice (UO) is more important than the intravesical tunnel. However, both theories missed quantitative evidence from principles of physics. The goal of the current study was to test Lyon's theory through numerical models (i.e. to quantify the sensitivity of ureterovesical junction (UVJ) competence to intravesical tunnel length and to the UO). Materials and methods The closure of a three-dimensional spatial configuration of ureter, constrained within a bladder, was simulated. Two common UO shapes (i.e. golf type vs 2-mm volcano type (Summary Fig.)), and two different intravesical ureteral tunnel length/diameter ratios (3:1 and 5:1) were examined. The required closure pressures were then compared. Results The UO was a significant factor in determining closure pressure. Given the same intravesical ureteral tunnel length/diameter ratio, the required closure pressure for the volcanic orifice was 78% less than that for the golf orifice. On the other hand, the intravesical ureteral tunnel length/diameter ratio had minimal effect on the required closure pressure. As the intravesical ureteral tunnel length/diameter ratio changed from 3:1 to 5:1, the required closure pressure was reduced by less than 7%, regardless of the orifice shape. Conclusions The simulation results showed that UVJ competence was more sensitive to a 2-mm protrusion of the UO compared to an increase in the intravesical tunnel length from 3:1 to 5:1. This agrees with Lyon's theory, and at the same time challenges Paquin's 5:1 rule. Researchers could use this information to consider the UO configuration in further animal, human, computer or material models. Download : Download high-res image (308KB) Download : Download full-size image Summary Figure . Forces affecting a golf-type versus volcanic-type ureteral orifice.
Effects of Interactions between Particles on the Rheology of Dispersions

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the effects of interactions between particles on the rheology of dispersions. It also illustrates the status of microstructural theories for the rheology of colloidal suspensions by examining three systems: (1) hard spheres, (2) charged spheres, and (3) rigid rods. At higher concentrations, the hard-sphere and rigid-rod suspensions enter a regime in which the zero-shear viscosity remains Newtonian but increases rapidly with concentration. For rigid rods, a satisfactory theory for these semi-dilute concentrations exists. Ultimately, both systems undergo a disorder-to-order transition with profound rheological consequences. For charged spheres, at low ionic strengths, long-range electrostatic interactions produce ordered suspensions at quite low-volume fractions. The yield stress, characterizing the zero-shear limit, lies beyond the capability of existing theories, but a self-consistent field model predicts the linear viscoelastic response satisfactorily. It can also form the basis for accurate pairwise additive theories for electrostatic effects in concentrated but disordered dispersions.
Atomspektroskopie auf Basis thermischer und elektrothermischer Atomisierung

Die Atomspektroskopie beruht auf der Absorption, Emission oder Fluoreszenz von Atomen oder Elementionen. Zwei Bereiche des Spektrums liefern atomare Information — der UV/VIS- und der Rontgenbereich. Der erste wird in diesem und im nachsten Kapitel, der zweite in Kap. 15 behandelt.
Ken Wilber's Transpersonal Psychology: An Introduction and Preliminary Critique

Ken Wilber is unquestionably the leading figure in the developing field of Transpersonal Psychology, and his work deserves serious engagement by pastoral theologians and pastoral counselors who seek to find their place in today's postmodern, post-Christian culture. This article summarizes the key concepts of Wilber's model of Transpersonal Psychology, provides an elementary pastoral and theological critique of his ideas, and suggests contributions that Wilber's thought can make to the field of pastoral theology and pastoral counseling.
Effects of Salinity on Ion Transport, Water Relations and Oxidative Damage

Salinity is an important abiotic stress that limits growth and yield of many crop species. The effects of salinity on crop plants are exerted by presence of excess salts (ionic effect) and associated water deficits (osmotic effect). Plant responds to salinity in two phases: in a rapid phase, (plants exhibit osmotic effects and inhibits growth of young leaves), and in a slower ionic phase, (plants accelerates senescence of mature leaves). Salinity stress causes changes in ion homeostasis and osmotic adjustments. Some of adaptations to salinity stress in plants include (i) accumulation of osmoprotectants, (ii) sodium (Na+) or chloride (Cl−) exclusion (iii) tissue tolerance to accumulated Na+ or Cl−, and (iv) detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Salinity stress causes membrane damage, decreases photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll fluorescence traits, changes leaf water potential, relative water content, increases ROS level, and modifies antioxidant enzymes production system. Intensity of the membrane deterioration processes are proportional to ionic concentrations. Plant species and genotypes within species show differential responses to salinity stress. Various traits that govern salinity tolerance can be identified by studying physiological and biochemical mechanisms, which can lead to identification of new genetic sources of salinity tolerance. The ability of plants to accumulate osmoprotectants to maintain water status and detoxify ROS under salinity stress are some traits that can help to improve salinity tolerance in crop species. This chapter provides a brief overview of effects of soil salinity on plant growth and tolerance mechanisms that help plants to avoid or tolerate stress, with particular emphasis on ion homeostasis, osmotic and oxidative response and tissue tolerance.
Optimal foraging or surplus killing: selective consumption and discarding of salmon by brown bears

Predators do not always eat what they kill. Eating only the most energy-rich tissues may be most efficient for predators with limited stomach space, but why predators leave entire carcasses uneaten is unclear. We found that grizzly bears feeding on salmon routinely discarded completely uneaten and partially eaten fish while seeking the best available prey. When salmon were very abundant, bears discarded whole carcasses of low quality or ate only choice pieces.
Holy Humanitarians: American Evangelicals and Global Aid, by Heather D. Curtis, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2018, xii + 376 pp., US$29.95 (hardback), ISBN 978 0 674 73736 5

In Holy Humanitarians, Heather D. Curtis highlights evangelical philanthropic endeavors at the turn of the twentieth century, proposing ‘an alternative account of American humanitarianism’ that ‘pr...
Planning in Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning: Guarantees for Using Local Policies

We consider a settings of hierarchical reinforcement learning, in which the reward is a sum of components. For each component we are given a policy that maximizes it and our goal is to assemble a policy from the individual policies that maximizes the sum of the components. We provide theoretical guarantees for assembling such policies in deterministic MDPs with collectible rewards. Our approach builds on formulating this problem as a traveling salesman problem with discounted reward. We focus on local solutions, i.e., policies that only use information from the current state; thus, they are easy to implement and do not require substantial computational resources. We propose three local stochastic policies and prove that they guarantee better performance than any deterministic local policy in the worst case; experimental results suggest that they also perform better on average.
The Diederich--Forn\ae ss index and the regularities on the $\bar{\partial}$-Neumann problem

We show, under an assumption on the weakly pseudoconvex points, the trivial Diederich--Fornaess index directly implies the global regularities of the $\bar{\partial}$-Neumann operators.
RCM approach for the total synthesis of cryptophycin-24 (Arenastatin A)

An efficient total synthesis of cryptophycin-24 (arenastatin A) is reported, which features two novel synthetic strategies, the use of a RCM reaction to form the macrocycle, and the introduction of the styrene epoxide moiety prior to the macrocyclization reaction.
Channel Estimation for Hybrid mmWave MIMO Systems With CFO Uncertainties

Channel estimation at millimeter wave (mmWave) allows designing hybrid precoders and combiners to optimize performance metrics, such as the spectral efficiency. One major source of difficulty when estimating the high-dimensional and large-bandwidth channel, however, is the carrier frequency offset (CFO) that impairs the received signal. Most of the prior work assumes perfect time–frequency synchronization when estimating the channel. However, in practical systems, this assumption does not hold, and joint time–frequency synchronization is an important issue to deal with. In this paper, we propose a multi-stage algorithm for joint CFO and channel estimation. Using a training protocol between a transmitter and a receiver, we estimate first the equivalent low-SNR beamformed channel and the CFO, using the maximum-likelihood (ML) criterion. Thereafter, using these estimates, the high-dimensional multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel is estimated leveraging its angular sparsity. The simulation results show that, using our proposed strategy, small estimation errors and near-optimal values of spectral efficiency can be achieved, without incurring in significant overhead and/or computational complexity.
The “Narco-stories” of Kate del Castillo: Stardom, Gender, and Entrepreneurship in a Transnational Context:

This article analyzes the transnational persona of actress Kate del Castillo across her portrayals of female narcotraffickers, her transmedia interactions with audiences, and her pursuit of a film ...
Revision Surgery in Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Revision surgery for reconstruction of failed posterior cruciate and multiple-ligament-injured knees is a difficult problem for knee surgeons. The procedure is required much less commonly than revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions. One of the key steps in managing this challenging problem is determining the cause of failure for the original procedure. Just as in the case of ACL failures, common causes of failure for posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and multiple ligament injuries (MLI) reconstructions can be divided into three general categories: iatrogenic, biologic, and traumatic. Often unrecognized combined instability, improper graft technique, and abnormal bony architecture influence the success rate of primary and revision reconstructions. In devising a strategy for revision knee ligament surgery, thorough preoperative planning is essential to success.
The Internet as a Context for Participatory Action Research.

This paper suggests formal education must take new approaches to meet the social opportunities and challenges brought about through the information revolution, in particular access to new information, capabilities for new types of communities that can challenge place-based agendas, and distributed power and voice. The tools of the Internet are unique in that they offer new types of individual agency capable of ameliorating injustice and oppression that thrives in the shadows, but also leading to unprecedented social dangers. Tools that open up new possibilities for especially marginalized and oppressed to join together as a community and common voice, impacting the trajectory of their own lives. Internet tools can also remove many of the social guardrails restricting social activity, few if any in place social boundaries, allowing for painful and destructive discourse without consequence. Society must find a way to teach about the power and responsibilities of these new technologies without controlling them or those that use them to create new arenas of social activity. Participatory Action research (PAR) is proposed as one possible framework to formal education that meets these uniquely twenty-first century needs. PAR emerged mid-twentieth century in response to decolonization, social oppression and the need to help marginalized populations find voice and meaning in a fast changing world in ways that preserve their identities. PAR may offer an important path for educators and learners struggling to adapt to the new demands of the twenty-first century.
Cryo-EM structure of eastern equine encephalitis virus in complex with heparan sulfate analogues

Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), a mosquito-borne icosahedral alphavirus found mainly in North America, causes human and equine neurotropic infections. EEEV neurovirulence is influenced by the interaction of the viral envelope protein E2 with heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans from the host's plasma membrane during virus entry. Here, we present a 5.8-A cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of EEEV complexed with the HS analog heparin. "Peripheral" HS binding sites were found to be associated with the base of each of the E2 glycoproteins that form the 60 quasi-threefold spikes (q3) and the 20 sites associated with the icosahedral threefold axes (i3). In addition, there is one HS site at the vertex of each q3 and i3 spike (the "axial" sites). Both the axial and peripheral sites are surrounded by basic residues, suggesting an electrostatic mechanism for HS binding. These residues are highly conserved among EEEV strains, and therefore a change in these residues might be linked to EEEV neurovirulence.
Variation in zinc release from surface coatings as a function of methodology.

Abstract Over the last decade the growth of “nano-enabled” products have exploded in both industrial and direct to consumer applications. One area of interest is surface coatings, including paints, stains and sealants. Large scale applications of the products raise questions about both short- and long-term effects to both human and environmental health. Release of nanoparticles (NPs) from surfaces as a function of dermal contact is recognized as a potential human exposure route. Several standardized methods to quantify nanomaterial release have been previously used. In the current study, two standardized method were used to quantify the total mass of NPs released during sampling. ZnO (NPs) were used as a case study as they are commonly added to surface coatings to increase UV resistance. Particles were dispersed in Milli-Q water or a deck stain and applied to sanded plywood surfaces. Total release of Zn due to simulated dermal contact was evaluated using the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) wipe methods. Additionally, three different sampling materials were tested. The total quantity of Zn released between the two methods was dependent upon the material used and how the ZnO was applied to the surface. Critically, less than 3% of the ZnO NPs applied to test surfaces was removed using either method. The results of this study demonstrate how different testing methodologies may result in varying estimates of human and environmental risk from NPs in surface coatings.
A Thermally Stable Magnesium Phosphaethynolate Grignard Complex.

The 2-phosphaethynolate (OCP) anion has found versatile applications across the periodic table but remains underexplored in group 2 chemistry due to challenges in isolating thermally stable complexes. By rationally modifying their coordination environments using 1,3-dialkyl-substituted N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), we have now isolated and characterized thermally stable, structurally diverse, and hydrocarbon soluble magnesium phosphaethynolate complexes (2, 4Me, and 8-10), including the novel phosphaethynolate Grignard reagent (2iPr). The methylmagnesium phosphaethynolate and magnesium diphosphaethynolate complexes readily activate dioxane with subsequent H-atom abstraction to form [(NHC)MgX(μ-OEt)]2 [X = Me (3) or OCP (8 and 9)] complexes. Their reactivities increased with the Lewis acidity of the Mg2+ cation and may be attenuated by Lewis base saturation or a slight increase in carbene sterics. Solvent effects were also investigated and led to the surreptitious isolation of an ether-free sodium phosphaethynolate (NHC)3Na(OCP) (6), which is soluble in aromatic hydrocarbons and can be independently prepared by the reaction of NHC and [Na(dioxane)2][OCP] in toluene. Under forcing conditions (105 °C, 3 days), the magnesium diphosphaethynolate complex (NHC)3Mg(OCP)2 (10) decomposes to a mixture of organophosphorus complexes, among which a thermal decarbonylation product [(NHC)2PI][OCP] (11) was isolated.
Postmarketing Cases of Enfortumab Vedotin-Associated Skin Reactions Reported as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis.

This case series study uses data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System to investigate a potential association between enfortumab vedotin treatment and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.