cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of pancreatic duct stents after pancreaticoduodenectomy

After pancreaticoduodenectomy, the pancreatic anastomosis carries the highest risk of leak and cause of morbidity and mortality. In this review article, three randomized controlled clinical trials and a fourth prospective trial focused on pancreaticoduodenectomy that contribute to level-one evidence are examined. The Johns Hopkins group demonstrated that internal pancreatic duct stenting did not decrease the frequency or severity of postoperative pancreatic fistulas. The Queen Mary Hospital group demonstrated that external drainage of the pancreatic duct with a stent reduced the leakage rate of pancreaticojejunostomy after pancreaticoduodenectomy. The University of Athens group demonstrated that internal stenting of the pancreaticojejunostomy anastomosis did not reduce the incidence of pancreatic fistula and related complications. Finally, the French Surgery Research Group demonstrated that the use of an external stent through the pancreatic anastomosis reduced the pancreatic fistula rate. In summary, two studies do not demonstrate an advantage to the use of internal pancreatic duct stents and two studies demonstrate a possible advantage to the use of external pancreatic duct stents, especially in highest risk patients with soft glands and small pancreatic ducts.
Design and comparison of segmentation driven and recognition driven Devanagari OCR

We outline two different techniques for OCR of machine printed, multi-font Devanagari text. In the first design, words are segmented along linear boundaries. Subsequently, classification is performed with the assumption of accurate segmentation. The second approach uses classifiers to obtain preliminary hypothesis for each segment of the word. These results are used to guide further segmentation of certain pieces. While the former technique is segmentation driven, the latter method follows the paradigm of recognition driven segmentation. The two approaches are compared by using a standard data set.
Culture, Power, and the State: Rural North China, 1900-1942

In the early twentieth century, the Chinese state made strenuous efforts to broaden and deepen its authority over rural society. This book is an ambitious attempt to offer both a method and a framework for analyzing Chinese social history in the state-making era. The author constructs a prismatic view of village-level society that shows how marketing, kinship, water control, temple patronage, and other structures of human interaction overlapped to form what he calls the cultural nexus of power in local society. The author's concept of the cultural nexus and his tracing of how it was altered enables us for the first time to grapple with change at the village level in all its complexity. The author asserts that the growth of the state transformed and delegitimized the traditional cultural nexus during the Republican era, particularly in the realm of village leadership and finances. Thus, the expansion of state power was ultimately and paradoxically responsible for the revolution in China as it eroded the foundations of village life, leaving nothing in its place. The problems of state-making in China were different from those of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe; the Chinese experience heralds the process that would become increasingly common in the emergent states of the developing world under the very different circumstances of the twentieth century.
Uncertainty, ensembles and air quality dispersion modeling: applications and challenges

Abstract The past two decades have seen significant advances in mesoscale meteorological modeling research and applications, such as the development of sophisticated and now widely used advanced mesoscale prognostic models, large eddy simulation models, four-dimensional data assimilation, adjoint models, adaptive and targeted observational strategies, and ensemble and probabilistic forecasts. Some of these advances are now being applied to urban air quality modeling and applications. Looking forward, it is anticipated that the high-priority air quality issues for the near-to-intermediate future will likely include: (1) routine operational forecasting of adverse air quality episodes; (2) real-time high-level support to emergency response activities; and (3) quantification of model uncertainty. Special attention is focused here on the quantification of model uncertainty through the use of ensemble simulations. Application to emergency-response dispersion modeling is illustrated using an actual event that involved the accidental release of the toxic chemical oleum. Both surface footprints of mass concentration and the associated probability distributions at individual receptors are seen to provide valuable quantitative indicators of the range of expected concentrations and their associated uncertainty.
CTP synthetase and its role in phospholipid synthesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

CTP synthetase is a cytosolic-associated glutamine amidotransferase enzyme that catalyzes the ATP-dependent transfer of the amide nitrogen from glutamine to the C-4 position of UTP to form CTP. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the reaction product CTP is an essential precursor of all membrane phospholipids that are synthesized via the Kennedy (CDP-choline and CDP-ethanolamine branches) and CDP-diacylglycerol pathways. The URA7 and URA8 genes encode CTP synthetase in S. cerevisiae, and the URA7 gene is responsible for the majority of CTP synthesized in vivo. The CTP synthetase enzymes are allosterically regulated by CTP product inhibition. Mutations that alleviate this regulation result in an elevated cellular level of CTP and an increase in phospholipid synthesis via the Kennedy pathway. The URA7-encoded enzyme is phosphorylated by protein kinases A and C, and these phosphorylations stimulate CTP synthetase activity and increase cellular CTP levels and the utilization of the Kennedy pathway. The CTPS1 and CTPS2 genes that encode human CTP synthetase enzymes are functionally expressed in S. cerevisiae, and rescue the lethal phenotype of the ura7Deltaura8Delta double mutant that lacks CTP synthetase activity. The expression in yeast has revealed that the human CTPS1-encoded enzyme is also phosphorylated and regulated by protein kinases A and C.
Copper Sulfate-induced Fermentation Changes in Continuous Cultures of the Rumen Microbial Ecosystem

The effect of CuSO(4) on fermentation was studied in a continuously cultured rumen ecosystem. CuSO(4), introduced at a level of 50 mg/500 ml of culture volume twice daily, caused a marked inhibition of fermentation of concentrates. Fermentation of alfalfa hay was not inhibited by the same CuSO(4) concentration when the inoculum for the culture was obtained from a cow maintained on a normal concentrate ration. When the inoculum was from a cow on a high concentrate ration, hay fermentation was partially inhibited by CuSO(4). Concentrations of CuSO(4) that did not inhibit the fermentation of alfalfa hay or hay-concentrate mixtures caused preferential production of propionic acid and decreased production of methane.
Use of Candida antigen injections for the treatment of verruca vulgaris: A two-year mayo clinic experience

Common warts (verruca vulgaris) are one of the most common problems encountered in dermatology and may present a difficult treatment dilemma, as no particular therapy has demonstrated complete efficacy. Intralesional injection of purified Candida antigen has produced impressive treatment results in small prospective and retrospective studies and is thought to produce its effect through stimulation of a cell-mediated immune response. We report a retrospective study of adult and pediatric patients treated with Candida antigen therapy in clinical practice. Of the 100 patients treated, 80% responded to therapy: 39% demonstrated a complete response and 41% demonstrated a partial response. In addition, 6 out of 7 immunocompromised patients who were treated demonstrated a partial or complete response. Injections were generally well-tolerated and adverse events were minimal and short-lived. Our data indicate that intralesional Candida antigen therapy for cutaneous warts is an efficacious option in a clinical practice setting. The treatment may also be effective in immunosuppressed patients with cutaneous warts. Our results add to the literature one of the largest retrospective series reported to date and treatment outcomes are similar to previously reported studies evaluating this therapeutic modality.
Sodium Tetraborate Effects on Mortality and Reproduction of Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae)

When flies were treated with 0–0.5% sodium tetraborate by feeding for 24 h, mortality in treatments was not different from controls. Fecundity and fertility were reduced by 0.5% sodium tetraborate. When flies were fed for 48 h, mortality of both males and females increased in the 0.5% sodium tetraborate treatment; oviposition was eliminated for 20 d after treatment. When treatment was extended to 168 h, 0.1% sodium tetraborate caused increased mortality and decreased fecundity and fertility. Fed for 168 h, 0.2 and 0.5% sodium tetraborate killed almost all flies within the 7-d treatment. Oviposition of survivors in 0.1 and 0.2% sodium tetraborate treatments was arrested for 20 d after treatment.
Solar-Assisted Photocatalysis for Water Purification: Issues, Data, Questions

The current status of potential applicability of solar-assisted photocatalysis to water purification is considered by summarizing data germane to nine issues in reactor engineering design: these are (1) photocatalyst action spectrum, (2) rate dependence on intensity, (3) normal vs. concentrated solar photons, (4) reactant concentration influence, (5) catalyst disguises, (6) simultaneous homogeneous and heterogeneous photochemistry, (7) oxidant concentration, (8) mass transfer influences, and (9) simultaneous mass transfer and photon influences.
Self-Efficacy Buffers the Relationship between Educational Disadvantage and Executive Functioning.

Previous studies showed that control beliefs are more strongly related to global cognition and mortality among adults with low education, providing preliminary evidence that self-efficacy buffers against the negative impact of educational disadvantage on physical and cognitive health. The current study extends these findings to a nationally representative sample of men and women aged 30 to 85 and explores which cognitive domains are most strongly associated with self-efficacy, educational attainment, and their interaction. Data were obtained from 1032 adult (30–85) participants in the United States norming study for the NIH Toolbox. Self-efficacy, executive functioning, working memory, processing speed, episodic memory, and vocabulary were assessed with the NIH Toolbox. Multivariate analysis of covariance and follow-up regressions tested the hypothesis that self-efficacy would be more strongly related to cognitive performance among individuals with lower education, controlling for age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, reading level, testing language, and depressive symptoms. Higher education was associated with higher self-efficacy and better performance on all cognitive tests. Higher self-efficacy was associated with better set-switching and attention/inhibition. Significant self-efficacy by education interactions indicated that associations between self-efficacy and executive abilities were stronger for individuals with lower education. Specifically, individuals with low education but high self-efficacy performed similarly to individuals with high education. This study provides evidence that self-efficacy beliefs buffer against the negative effects of low educational attainment on executive functioning. These results have implications for future policy and/or intervention work aimed at reducing the deleterious effects of educational disadvantage on later cognitive health. ( JINS , 2015, 21 , 297–304)
Depression of Fecal Urobilinogen by Aureomycin and by Terramycin.

SummaryThe oral administration of aureomycin or terramycin to man results in an extremely low concentration of fecal urobilinogen; a change which occurs during the first 48 to 72 hours of drug ther...
234)Th as a tracer of vertical transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Particle-mediated vertical flux of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) plays an important role in their removal from upper oceans and sets a limit on the amount delivered to the deep-sea sediments. In this study, we applied a one-dimensional steady-state (234)Th scavenging model to estimate vertical flux of PAHs in the northern Gulf of Mexico and compared them with sediment trap based flux estimates. The (234)Th-based ∑PAH43 fluxes were 6.7±1.0μgm(-2)d(-1) and 3.7±0.6μgm(-2)d(-1) while sediment trap-based fluxes were 4.0±0.6μgm(-2)d(-1) and 4.5±0.7μgm(-2)d(-1) at 150m and 250m, respectively. Alkylated homologues contributed to 80% of the total PAH fluxes which is in contrary to other regions where combustion derived parent PAHs dominate the fluxes. The results indicate that the (238)U-(234)Th disequilibria can be an effective tracer of particulate PAH fluxes in upper mesopelagic zones and can provide flux estimates with high spatial coverage needed to quantify their long term fate and transport in the marine systems.
The religious-question doctrine : free-exercise right or anti-establishment immunity?

This Essay argues that the source of judicial inconsistency in applying the U.S. religious-question doctrine is confusion about whether the doctrine protects a free-exercise right held by religious individuals and groups against government interference, or is instead an anti-establishment immunity stemming from a structural disability on government (and especially judicial) action with respect to questions of religious belief and practice. Part 1 sketches the religious-question doctrine as it emerged from the U.S. Supreme Court’s church property and office cases. Part 2 explains that ‘rights’ and ‘structure’ are distinct jurisprudential concepts whose application yields differing results. Part 3 argues that attending to these differences yields important explanatory insights about the religious-question doctrine, using as brief illustrations the clergy child-abuse cases in the United States, and the treatment of church “autonomy” by the European Court of Human Rights.
A Truth Discovery Approach with Theoretical Guarantee

In the information age, people can easily collect information about the same set of entities from multiple sources, among which conflicts are inevitable. This leads to an important task, truth discovery, i.e., to identify true facts (truths) via iteratively updating truths and source reliability. However, the convergence to the truths is never discussed in existing work, and thus there is no theoretical guarantee in the results of these truth discovery approaches. In contrast, in this paper we propose a truth discovery approach with theoretical guarantee. We propose a randomized gaussian mixture model (RGMM) to represent multi-source data, where truths are model parameters. We incorporate source bias which captures its reliability degree into RGMM formulation. The truth discovery task is then modeled as seeking the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of the truths. Based on expectation-maximization (EM) techniques, we propose population-based (i.e., on the limit of infinite data) and sample-based (i.e., on a finite set of samples) solutions for the MLE. Theoretically, we prove that both solutions are contractive to an e-ball around the MLE, under certain conditions. Experimentally, we evaluate our method on both simulated and real-world datasets. Experimental results show that our method achieves high accuracy in identifying truths with convergence guarantee.
Discovering Electronic Signatures for Phase Stability of Intermetallics via Machine Learning

In this paper, we identify the signatures of the density of states (DOS) spectra which control the bulk modulus via a hybrid informatics driven analysis. The signatures of the DOS spectra then constitute the electronic structure fingerprint of the material. This provides an important step in the “inverse design” process because if we are able to compute bulk modulus from the DOS, then we can also compute the DOS from the bulk modulus, and in this way create a “virtual” DOS based on optimized properties. In this paper, we identify the signatures for bulk modulus, and associate the signatures with specific chemistry and crystal structure. Further, we identify the details in the electronic structure that result in Ni\(_{3}\)Al and Co\(_{3}\)Al having such different stabilities in L1\(_{2}\) structure although they are seemingly isoelectronic. This paper lays out the methodology for extracting these features and has significant implications, such as in the identification of critical element substitutions, by developing a framework for accelerated and targeted materials design.
Dynamics of cis-Stilbene Isomerization in Solution

Fluorescence lifetime measurements of cis-stilbene show weak dependence on solvent viscosity and suggest that the reaction coordinate involves substantial ethylenic hydrogen motion.
Women and Power in Postconflict Africa

The book explains an unexpected consequence of the decrease in conflict in Africa after the 1990s. Analysis of cross-national data and in-depth comparisons of case studies of Uganda, Liberia and Angola show that post-conflict countries have significantly higher rates of women's political representation in legislatures and government compared with countries that have not undergone major conflict. They have also passed more legislative reforms and made more constitutional changes relating to women's rights. The study explains how and why these patterns emerged, tying these outcomes to the conjuncture of the rise of women's movements, changes in international women's rights norms and, most importantly, gender disruptions that occur during war. This book will help scholars, students, women's rights activists, international donors, policy makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others better understand some of the circumstances that are most conducive to women's rights reform today and why.
Promises and Challenges of Unconventional Electrocatalyst Supports

One of the most significant roadblocks in the commercialization and widespread implementation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells is the identification of low-cost, high-stability, high-activity electrocatalysts. An overwhelming amount of the work that has been done in this area has targeted the electrochemically active material, which has been the focus of much of this book. However, a key component to any catalyst is its support. Interaction between the catalyst and support dictates some of the most critical parameters for fuel cell performance including catalyst dispersion, particle size, faceting, and stability. Some supports, like graphitic carbon, interact very weakly with Pt and have a limited influence on catalyst activity and stability. On the other hand, recent work by several groups has shown that a strongly interacting support can drastically impact both catalyst activity and stability.
Enterocolitis and bowel function in children with Hirschsprung disease and trisomy 21

Abstract Background/purpose The purpose of this study was to study the effect of trisomy 21 (T21) on enterocolitis rates and bowel function among children with Hirschsprung disease (HD). Methods A retrospective cohort study of patients with HD treated at our tertiary children's hospital (2000–2015) and a cohort of patients with HD treated in our pediatric colorectal center (CRC) (2011–2015) were performed. Results 26/207 (13%) patients with HD had T21. 70 (41%) with HD alone were diagnosed with enterocolitis episodes compared to 9 (38%) with HD+T21 ( p =0.71). 55/207 patients were managed in the CRC. 11/55 patients (20%) had HD+T21. 25 (58%) with HD had one or more enterocolitis episodes compared to 4 (36%) with HD+T21 ( p =0.20). Number of hospitalizations for enterocolitis was similar between all groups. Toilet training was assessed in 32 CRC patients (25 HD, 7 HD+T21). One child with HD+T21 was toilet trained by age 4years versus 12 with HD ( p =0.20). Laxative or enema therapy was required for constipation management in 57% HD versus 64% HD+T21. Conclusion Enterocolitis rates in children with HD+T21 did not differ from rates in children with HD alone. The majority of patients with CRC follow-up had constipation requiring laxative or enema therapy, which demonstrates the need for consistent postoperative follow-up. Level of Evidence: Retrospective Study – Level II.
Diffusion Studies on Stressed Tantalum-Tantalum Oxide Capacitors

Tantalum films, 3000 angstroms thick, evaporated on fused-quartz substrates and activated by neutron irradiation, were anodized at 82 volts to form an oxide layer of approximately 1600 angstroms. Counterelectrodes of gold were evaporated on the oxide and the completed thin-film capacitors were placed under thermal and electrical stress. The radioactive profiles of unstressed tantalum units show a pronounced variation of the tantalum-to-oxygen ratio from that of pure tantalum at the metal-oxide interface to a limiting value 600 angstroms away from the interface. Application of thermal and electrical stresses alter the shape of the gradient and extend it several hundred angstroms further into the oxide layer. By normalizing the data with respect to the gradient formed by anodization in the unstressed unit, it was shown that thermal diffusion creates regions in the oxide near the tantalum interface where the tantalum concentration was depleted below that of the original unstressed unit and regions farther away from the interface where tantalum was in excess. Direct-current electrical bias accelerated the tantalum diffusion, and in combination with short-term thermal stress created regions where the tantalum concentration was in excess of that of the unstressed unit. Longer term thermal and electrical stress gave rise to an over-all region of tantalum depletion in the oxide. Diffusion constants calculated as a function of oxide thickness were of the order of 10?13 cm2/day with the larger constants associated with electrically stressed units.
Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in the pediatric trauma patient

Although venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs in less than 1% of hospitalized pediatric trauma patients, care providers must make decisions about VTE prophylaxis on a daily basis. The consequences of VTE are significant; the risks of developing VTE are variable; and the effectiveness of prophylaxis against VTE is not conclusive in children. While the value of VTE prophylaxis is well defined in adult trauma care, it is unclear how this translates to the care of injured children. This review evaluates the incidence and risks of VTE in pediatric trauma and assesses the merits of prophylaxis in children. Pharmacologic prophylaxis against VTE is a reasonable strategy in critically injured adolescent trauma patients. Further study is needed to establish the risks and benefits of VTE prophylaxis across the spectrum of injured children.
Learning Attributes from Human Gaze

While semantic visual attributes have been shown useful for a variety of tasks, many attributes are difficult to model computationally. One of the reasons for this difficulty is that it is not clear where in an image the attribute lives. We propose to tackle this problem by involving humans more directly in the process of learning an attribute model. We ask humans to examine a set of images to determine if a given attribute is present in them, and we record where they looked. We create gaze maps for each attribute, and use these gaze maps to improve attribute prediction models. For test images we do not have gaze maps available, so we predict them based on models learned from collected gaze maps for each attribute of interest. Compared to six baselines, we improve prediction accuracies on attributes of faces and shoes, and we show how our method might be adapted for scene images. We demonstrate additional uses of our gaze maps for visualization of attribute models and learning "schools of thought" between users in terms of their understanding of the attribute.
Contributions To Osage And Lakota Ethnobotany

The paper is a systematic listing and discussion of those plants for which a use is given in La Flesche's Osage dictionary, Buechel's Lakota (Teton Dakota) dictionary, and Densmore's Teton Sioux Mu...
Towards Continuum Mechanics with Spontaneous Violations of the Second Law of Thermodynamics

As dictated by modern statistical physics, the second law is to be replaced by the fluctuation theorem (FT) on very small length and/or time scales. This means that the deterministic continuum thermomechanics must be generalized to a stochastic theory allowing randomly spontaneous violations of the Clausius-Duhem inequality to take place anywhere in the material domain. This paper outlines a formulation of stochastic continuum thermomechanics, where the entropy evolves as a submartingale while the dissipation function is consistent with the FT. A summary is then given of the behavior of an atomic fluid in Couette flow, studied using a combination of kinetic theory, hydrodynamic theory, and molecular dynamics. Overall, the developed framework may be applied in many fields involving fluid flow and heat conduction on very small spatial scales.
Bayesian negative binomial regression for differential expression with confounding factors.

Motivation Rapid adoption of high-throughput sequencing technologies has enabled better understanding of genome-wide molecular profile changes associated with phenotypic differences in biomedical studies. Often, these changes are due to multiple interacting factors. Existing methods are mostly considering differential expression across two conditions studying one main factor without considering other confounding factors. In addition, they are often coupled with essential sophisticated ad-hoc pre-processing steps such as normalization, restricting their adaptability to general experimental setups. Complex multi-factor experimental design to accurately decipher genotype-phenotype relationships signifies the need for developing effective statistical tools for genome-scale sequencing data profiled under multi-factor conditions. Results We have developed a novel Bayesian negative binomial regression (BNB-R) method for the analysis of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) count data. In particular, the natural model parameterization removes the needs for the normalization step, while the method is capable of tackling complex experimental design involving multi-variate dependence structures. Efficient Bayesian inference of model parameters is obtained by exploiting conditional conjugacy via novel data augmentation techniques. Comprehensive studies on both synthetic and real-world RNA-seq data demonstrate the superior performance of BNB-R in terms of the areas under both the receiver operating characteristic and precision-recall curves. Availability and implementation BNB-R is implemented in R language and is available at https://github.com/siamakz/BNBR. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Spatiotemporal information preservation in turbulent vapor plumes

Monitoring of airborne chemicals is essential for public safety and environmental applications, but the complex nature of stochastic airflow limits the accuracy of data acquired from chemical sensors, including the identity, concentration, and location of a chemical source. Here, we explore the limits on information retrieval in a turbulent environment using temporally modulated vapor plumes. By exploiting the physical and statistical properties of turbulent flow, we demonstrate higher classification rates (≥20 Hz) at lower chemical error rates (≤0.1%) than prior reports. Physical constraints on vapor sensing are explored, including finite spatial sampling, large path distances (≥3 m), dilute concentrations (≤1 ppb), dynamic wind velocities (V = 0–5 m/s), cross winds, and occluded airflows. Our results highlight the fact that as turbulence increases, smaller structures can be embedded in an air flow, which increases measurement variance, but also makes each plume more quickly and accurately identifiable. For a given wind velocity, there exists a modulation rate which optimizes the rate of preserved information. This raises interesting possibilities for the identification of optimally preserved patterns in a turbulent environment.Monitoring of airborne chemicals is essential for public safety and environmental applications, but the complex nature of stochastic airflow limits the accuracy of data acquired from chemical sensors, including the identity, concentration, and location of a chemical source. Here, we explore the limits on information retrieval in a turbulent environment using temporally modulated vapor plumes. By exploiting the physical and statistical properties of turbulent flow, we demonstrate higher classification rates (≥20 Hz) at lower chemical error rates (≤0.1%) than prior reports. Physical constraints on vapor sensing are explored, including finite spatial sampling, large path distances (≥3 m), dilute concentrations (≤1 ppb), dynamic wind velocities (V = 0–5 m/s), cross winds, and occluded airflows. Our results highlight the fact that as turbulence increases, smaller structures can be embedded in an air flow, which increases measurement variance, but also makes each plume more quickly and accurately identifiable. ...
Some Miscellaneous Topics

These notes have dealt exclusively with the stability or instability of equilibria or with the nature of oscillations of solutions of ecological models which incorporate delays in the growth rate responses of the member species of a community. There are of course a great many other topics which could also be of interest. Any question one might ask concerning the dynamics of a community, one can ask of the functional models of the type we have been considering in order to see what effects, if any, response delays would have on the answer.
Primary isolated aortic valve replacement: Early and late results

A total of 1689 consecutive patients underwent isolated aortic valve replacement at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation from 1972 through 1986. There were 57 (3.4%) in-hospital deaths. Multivariate analysis identified advanced age (p = 0.0014), preoperative blood urea nitrogen level greater than 25 mg/100 ml (p = 0.008), New York Heart Association function class (p = 0.015), and preoperative atrial fibrillation (p = 0.04) as independent variables associated with increased in-hospital mortality and the use of cardioplegia for myocardial protection (p = 0.006) as a factor decreasing mortality. Follow-up documented survival rates of 85% and 66% and event-free survival rates of 71% and 43% at 5 and 10 postoperative years, respectively. Advanced age, moderate or severe impairment of left ventricular function, coronary artery disease, and preoperative blood urea nitrogen level greater than 25 mg/100 ml were associated with decreased late survival and event-free survival (all p
Cooled CCD Cameras

For the newcomer to astronomy scanning the magazines, it may well be more than a little confusing to work out what, exactly, a cooled CCD camera is. After all, digital cameras use CCD chips, too. Why are they so much cheaper?
How Age Affects Journalists’ Adoption of Social Media as an Innovation: A multi-group SEM analysis

American newsrooms are adopting social media as an innovation for greater engagement. However, several organizational and individual factors may affect the extent to which news outlets adopt social...
Meta-analysis of the likelihood of FOXC1 expression in early- and late-stage tumors.

Background Aberrations in the expression of the transcription factor forkhead box C1 (FOXC1) have been linked to a number of malignancies. Here, we characterized the relationship between FOXC1 and cancer progression by conducting a meta-analysis of studies that reported the frequency of FOXC1 expression in tumors of different stages (T1, T2, T3, T4). Materials and method Relevant articles were retrieved from the Medline database by searching for the terms "FOXC1" and "cancer"; then, the retrieved articles were reviewed individually, and studies that were of multivariate cohort design, evaluated FOXC1 expression via immunohistochemical staining, and assessed the relationship between FOXC1 expression and cancer T-stage were included in our meta-analysis. Results Our search terms identified 128 studies, 5 of which met all inclusion criteria. A total of 850 tumor samples were evaluated in the 5 studies; 452 samples were from early-stage (T1-T2) tumors, and 398 were from late-stage (T3-T4) tumors. FOXC1 was expressed in 60.7% (516/850) of all samples, in 54.6% (247/452) of early-stage tumor samples, and in 67.5% (269/398) of late-stage tumor samples. When calculated relative to early-stage samples, the pooled risk for FOXC1 expression in late-stage samples was 1.238 (95% CI = 1.061-1.444, p = 0.007). Conclusions The results from our meta-analysis of 5 studies indicate that FOXC1 is 23.8% more likely to be expressed in late-stage tumors than in early-stage tumors.
System for Scoring Severity of Acute Radiation Syndrome Response in Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca mulatta ).

We developed a clinical assessment tool for use in an NHP radiation model to 1) quantify severity responses for subsyndromes of the acute radiation syndrome (ARS; that is, hematopoietic and others) and 2) identify animals that required enhanced monitoring. Our assessment tool was based primarily on the MEdical TREatment ProtocOLs for Radiation Accident Victims (METREPOL) scoring system but was adapted for NHP to include additional indices (for example, behaviors) for use in NHP studies involving limited medical intervention. Male (n = 16) and female (n = 12) rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta; 5 groups: sham and 1.0, 3.5, 6.5, and 8.5 Gy; n = 6 per group) received sham- or bilateral 60Co γ-irradiation at approximately 0.6 Gy/mn. Clinical signs of ARS and blood analysis were obtained before and serially for clinical assessment during the period of 6 h to 60 d after sham or 60Co irradiation. Minimal supportive care (that is, supplemental nutrition, subcutaneous fluid, loperamide, acetaminophen, and topical antibiotic ointment) was prescribed based on clinical observations. Results from clinical signs and assays for assessment of relevant organ systems in individual animals were stratified into ARS severity scores of normal (0), mild (1), moderate (2), and severe (3 or 4). Individual NHP were scored for maximal subsyndrome ARS severity in multiple organ systems by using the proposed ARS scoring system to obtain an overall ARS response category. One NHP died unexpectedly. The multiple-parameter ARS severity scoring tool aided in the identification of animals in the high-dose (6.5 and 8.5 Gy) groups that required enhanced monitoring.
Nonparametric group sequential methods for evaluating survival benefit from multiple short‐term follow‐up windows

This article takes a fresh look at group sequential methods applied to two-sample tests of censored survival data and proposes an alternative method of defining and evaluating treatment benefit. Our method re-purposes traditional censored event time data into a sequence of short-term outcomes taken from (potentially overlapping) follow-up windows. A new two-sample restricted means test based on this restructured follow-up data is proposed along with group sequential methods for its use in the clinical trial setting. This method compares favorably with existing methods for group sequential monitoring of time-to-event outcomes, including methods for monitoring the restricted means test and the logrank test. Our method performs particularly well in cases where there is a delayed treatment effect and/or a subset of cured patients. As part of developing group sequential methods for these analyses, we consider asymmetric error spending approaches that differentially limit the chances of stopping incorrectly for perceived efficacy versus perceived harm attributed to the investigational arm of the trial. Recommendations for how to choose proper group sequential stopping boundaries are given, with supporting simulations and an example from the AIDS Clinical Trial Group.
MBE growth and characterization of gallium oxide

Abstract Ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors can have higher figure of merit values than existing materials for power and radio frequency (rf) devices and are increasingly viewed as the next-generation semiconductors in high-power/temperature electronics. Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is one of the UWBG semiconductors and has five different known polymorphs. Recently, there has been great interest in the most stable (β-Ga2O3) and metastable (ɛ- and α-Ga2O3) polymorphs of Ga2O3. In this chapter, we discuss molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth and characterization of β- and ɛ-Ga2O3. After a brief introduction, the chapter discusses MBE equipment considerations, amorphous Ga2O3 for gate dielectrics, heteroepitaxial growth of Ga2O3, and then focuses on homoepitaxial growth and metastable phase stabilization by MBE in Section 2.2 . Section 2.3 discusses current and future prospects, and finally a summary is presented in Section 2.4 .
Water Reclamation Technology Development for Future Long Range Missions

This paper covers the development of computer simulation models of the Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) process, the Super Critical Water Oxidation (SCWO) process, and two versions of a Vapor Phase Catalytic Ammonia Reduction (VPCAR) process. These process level models have combined into two Integrated Water Reclamation Systems (IWRS). Results from these integrated models, in conjunction with other data sources, have been used to develop a preliminary comparison of the two systems. Also discussed in this paper is the development of a Vapor Phase Catalytic Ammonia Reduction teststand and the development of a new urine analog for use with the teststand and computer models.
Passive Wireless Channel Estimation in RF Tag Network

We envision a future where every object in our living and working environment will carry one or more RF tags. Based on the backscattering tag-to-tag communication link, these RF tags will be connected in a network without the need for the central interrogating device. We present a novel tag architecture that enables estimation of the parameters of wireless tag-to-tag channel by a passive receiver. Sampling the received baseband signal at different reflecting phases at the backscattering tag enables estimation of amplitude and phase of the tag-to-tag channel. The low-power implementation of the channel estimator, after envelope detection, integrates amplification and filtering of the baseband signal that is followed by analog-to-digital conversion. The channel estimator, implemented in 65 nm CMOS technology, has sensitivity of −45 dBm at 2.5% modulation index and consumes 122 nW.
Climate Mathematics: Theory and Applications

This unique text provides a thorough, yet accessible, grounding in the mathematics, statistics, and programming that students need to master for coursework and research in climate science, meteorology, and oceanography. Assuming only high school mathematics, it presents carefully selected concepts and techniques in linear algebra, statistics, computing, calculus and differential equations within the context of real climate science examples. Computational techniques are integrated to demonstrate how to visualize, analyze, and apply climate data, with R code featured in the book and both R and Python code available online. Exercises are provided at the end of each chapter with selected solutions available to students to aid self-study and further solutions provided online for instructors only. Additional online supplements to aid classroom teaching include datasets, images, and animations. Guidance is provided on how the book can support a variety of courses at different levels, making it a highly flexible text for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers and professional climate scientists who need to refresh or modernize their quantitative skills.
Localized Genetic and Phenotypic Diversity of Xanthomonas translucens Associated With Bacterial Leaf Streak on Wheat and Barley in Minnesota

Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) of wheat and barley has been a disease of increasing concern in the Upper Midwest over the past decade. In this study, intra- and interfield genetic and pathogenic diversity of bacteria causing BLS in Minnesota was evaluated. In 2015, 89 strains were isolated from 100 leaf samples collected from two wheat and two barley fields naturally infected with BLS. Virulence assays and multilocus sequence alignments of four housekeeping genes supported pathovar identifications. All wheat strains were pathogenic on wheat and barley and belonged to the same lineage as the Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa-type strain. All barley strains were pathogenic on barley but not on wheat. Three lineages of barley strains were detected. The frequency and number of sequence types of each pathovar varied within and between fields. A significant population variance was detected between populations of X. translucens pv. undulosa collected from different wheat fields. Population stratification of X. translucens pv. translucens was not detected. Significant differences in virulence were detected among three dominant sequence types of X. translucens pv. undulosa but not those of X. translucens pv. translucens. Field trials with wheat and barley plants inoculated with strains of known sequence type and virulence did not detect significant race structures within either pathovar. Knowledge of virulence, sequence types, and population structures of X. translucens on wheat and barley can support studies on plant-bacterial interactions and breeding for BLS disease resistance.
Analysis of sedimentary structures

Directional properties of sedimentary structures are important in paleoenvironmental interpretation. Generally they indicate the current flow direction at the time of deposition and provide an important key for evaluating paleogeography. In fluvial, deltaic, and most turbidite deposits, paleocurrent patterns indicate paleoslope. Paleocurrent studies may also provide important information regarding the geometry (e.g. elongation) of particular lithic units. Some of the most important structures which provide direction of movement data are cross bedding, current crescents, flute casts, and asymmetrical ripples. Those that indicate only the line of movement include parting lineation, groove casts, and symmetrical ripples.
Neurochemical and behavioral comparisons of contingent and non-contingent methamphetamine exposure following binge or yoked long-access self-administration paradigms

Abuse of the psychostimulant methamphetamine (METH) can cause long-lasting damage to brain monoaminergic systems and is associated with profound mental health problems for users, including lasting cognitive impairments. Animal models of METH exposure have been useful in dissecting the molecular effects of the drug on cognition, but many studies use acute, non-contingent “binge” administrations of METH which do not adequately approximate human METH use. Long-term METH exposure via long-access (LgA) self-administration paradigms has been proposed to more closely reflect human use and induce cognitive impairments. To better understand the role of contingency and patterns of exposure in METH-induced cognitive impairments, we analyzed behavioral and neurochemical outcomes in adult male rats, comparing non-contingent “binge” METH administration with contingent (LgA) METH self-administration and non-contingent yoked partners. Binge METH (40 mg/kg, i.p., over 1 day) dramatically altered striatal and hippocampal dopamine, DOPAC, 5-HT, 5-HIAA, BDNF, and TrkB 75 days after drug exposure. In contrast, 6-h LgA METH self-administration (cumulative 24.8–48.9 mg METH, i.v., over 16 days) altered hippocampal BDNF in both contingent and yoked animals but reduced striatal 5-HIAA in only contingent animals. Neurochemical alterations following binge METH administration were not accompanied by cognitive deficits in Morris water maze, novel object recognition, or Y-maze tests. However, contingent LgA METH self-administration resulted in impaired spatial memory in the water maze. Overall, substantial differences in neurochemical markers between METH exposure and self-administration paradigms did not consistently translate to deficits in cognitive tasks, highlighting the complexity of correlating METH-induced neurochemical changes with cognitive outcomes.
The rare case of a 20-year-old male with rapidly progressive primary angiitis of the CNS with a good outcome.

Rapidly progressive primary angiitis of the CNS (PACNS) is recognized as a clinical subtype of PACNS that is almost uniformly fatal. PACNS is usually characterized by subacute progression over several months. The most common symptoms are headaches and cognitive dysfunction, followed by focal neurologic deficits.1 Compared with this more indolent presentation, patients with rapidly progressive PACNS are more likely to present in coma with quadriparesis and MR imaging notable for bilateral infarcts.2 Various treatment combinations including high-dose corticosteroids, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, methotrexate, rituximab, and plasma exchange have been described1,3; however, no good outcomes have been reported to date. The largest case series of 11 patients had only 1 survivor who at 14 months had a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of 5 (bedridden, requiring constant nursing care).2 One other survivor of rapidly progressive PACNS had an mRS of 5 at the 3-month follow-up.4 We describe the treatment and outcome of a patient with rapidly progressive PACNS who returned to his premorbid baseline with an mRS of 0.
Evaluating the Recessionary Impact on Election Administration Budgeting and Spending: Part of Special Symposium on Election Sciences

Recent research indicates the need to understand the role financial resources play in election administration. A key question is, when considering “financial resources,” how much does economic hard...
Gain dynamics in a CO2 active medium optically pumped at 4.3 μm

A pulsed ∼2 mJ Fe:ZnSe laser tunable around ∼4.3 μm is used to optically pump mixtures of CO2 and He to create gain at 10 μm. A conventional low-pressure CO2 laser operating on both regular (001-100) and sequence (002-101) bands is used to study the gain dynamics of the optically pumped CO2 amplifier. Time-resolved measurements of the CO2 asymmetric stretching mode vibrational temperature, T3, as well as the translational temperature, T, are made. The measured T3 value of ∼2500 K is much higher than that typically measured in discharge pumped CO2 lasers. High gain coefficients ∼30%/cm in the optically pumped active medium are attributed to the efficient storage of energy in the asymmetric stretching mode and the selective population of the upper laser level. The measured optical-to-optical energy conversion efficiency of ∼30% for 10 μm lasing at sub-atmospheric pressures is close to the theoretical quantum limit of 40% and, thus, supports our claim of gain dynamics optimization. It is concluded that a joule-class 4.3 μm pump laser will be required for the amplification of sub-picosecond 10 μm pulses in a multi-atmosphere optically pumped CO2 active medium.