cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental determination of the Lorenz number in Cu0.01Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 and Bi0.88Sb0.12

Nanostructuring has been shown to be an effective approach to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity and improve the thermoelectric figure of merit. Because the experimentally measured thermal conductivity includes contributions from both carriers and phonons, separating out the phonon contribution has been difficult and is mostly based on estimating the electronic contributions using the Wiedemann-Franz law. In this paper, an experimental method to directly measure electronic contributions to the thermal conductivity is presented and applied to Cu${}_{0.01}$Bi${}_{2}$Te${}_{2.7}$Se${}_{0.3}$, [Cu${}_{0.01}$Bi${}_{2}$Te${}_{2.7}$Se${}_{0.3}$]${}_{0.98}$Ni${}_{0.02}$, and Bi${}_{0.88}$Sb${}_{0.12}$. By measuring the thermal conductivity under magnetic field, electronic contributions to thermal conductivity can be extracted, leading to knowledge of the Lorenz number in thermoelectric materials.
Legal Briefs: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in the Late Preterm Infant

A 2,222-g 34-weeks' gestation male twin was delivered in the winter to a mother whose pregnancy was unremarkable except for diamniotic, dichorionic twins. This twin was delivered via normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. Apgar scores were 8 at 1 and 5 minutes. Both twins were admitted to the newborn intensive care unit because of their gestational age. The male twin exhibited tachypnea at birth and received a 7-day course of antibiotics. Findings on chest radiography were consistent with transient tachypnea, and a blood culture was negative after 1 week. Other than mild apnea of prematurity and a slightly elevated serum bilirubin concentration, his course was unremarkable. The mother missed several days of visitation near the time of discharge because she had an upper respiratory tract infection. The infant was discharged 16 days after birth at 36–1/7 weeks' gestation. He had three siblings at home: his twin sister, who was discharged close to the time he went home; a 3-year-old brother who had an upper respiratory tract infection; and a 7-year-old healthy sister. After being home for 6 days, when he was 22 days old (37 weeks' gestation), his mother called the pediatrician because the infant had developed nasal congestion, refused to nurse, and seemed excessively sleepy. The pediatrician reassured the mother over the telephone. A few hours later, she brought the infant to the hospital because he had vomited three times and she had ongoing concerns about his poor feeding and excessive sleepiness. On physical examination, the infant's respiratory rate was 40 breaths/min, temperature was 37.4°C, heart rate was 140 beats/min, and oxygen saturation was 97% in room air. The emergency department (ED) physician noted clear breath sounds, unlabored breathing, and moist mucous membranes. The ED nurse noted and documented a congested cough for the infant, and the heart rate was …
A simple perfusion apparatus for lung fixation.

SummaryAn apparatus is described for the fixation–perfusion of the lungs of small animals. The advantages of this system are the simplicity of its components, its ease of operation, and the reproducibility of physiologically normal pressures within a closed system. A variety of solutions may be used, and excellent tissue preservation is a feature of this procedure.
Analysis on Effect of Improving Lightning Withstand Level of 35kV Transmission Line by MOAs as Line Surge Arrester

The lightning withstand level(LWL)of 35kV transmission line,in which the MOAs are installed,is analyzed by electromagnetic transient program(EMTP).The LWLs of 35kV lines with and without lightning shield lines,in which various installation ways of MOAs used as line surge arresters are adopted,are compared;the influences of impulse grounding resistances of towers and the locations where the shielding failures occur on LWLs are analyzed.Simulation results show that the measures,such as installing line surge arresters and reducing grounding resistances of towers,can effectively improve the LWL of 35kV transmission lines.For 35kV transmission lines with lightning shield lines,the flashover probability caused by shielding failures can be evidently reduced while MOAs are installed as line surge arresters.
Adverse reaction after program immunization

Objective To get basic data of adverse reaction after program immunization,so as to provide the support to make compensation policy.Methods The questionnaires and monthly reports from adverse reaction surveillance were analysed.Results There were 1,248 cases of adverse reactions in over 1.8 million vaccine administration.The general occurrence rate of adverse reaction was 69.10 per 100,000 vaccination.Different vaccines have obvious different occurrence rates.The common reaction took the first rank(89.50% among all reactions).There were a big gap between the occurrence rates from different administrative regions.Conclusion The adverse reaction surveillance of the second-kind-vaccine has made an elementary achievement,which could give technique support to future vaccine-compensation.
Charting the Evolution of the Strong Interaction’s Degrees of Freedom

Knowledge of the Universe as constructed by human beings can be thought to be organized at varying scales of observation to tackle its complexity. Implicit in such an approach is the idea of a smooth evolution of knowledge between scales and, therefore, access to how Nature constructs the visible Universe, beginning from its most fundamental constituents. New and, in a sense, fundamental phenomena may typically be emergent as the scale of observation changes. The study of the Strong Interactions, which is responsible for the contruction of the bulk of the visible matter in the Universe (98 % by mass), in this sense, is a labor of exploring evolutions and unifying aspects of its knowledge found at varying scales: from interaction of quarks and gluons as represented by the theory of pQCD at high four momentum transfers (\(Q^2\)) to emerging dressed quark and even meson-baryon degrees of freedom mostly described by effective models as \(Q^2\) decreases. In this paper we will introduce a collaborative research framework that is directly dedicated to this effort and note how our ongoing experimental analysis—extraction of observables from electro-production of \(\pi ^{+}\pi \) off the proton—will provide data towards this end.
Phase Transfer Extraction of Heavy Metals

From both environmental and economic viewpoints, metal ion extraction is an important process. The challenge is to find complexants that selectively extract and release metals from mixtures, where they may be present in both cationic and anionic forms, as well as as neutral (oxides, sulfides) species. Typical problems are those which arise when toxic metal residues from the mining and processing of minerals leak or are leached into soil aquifers [1]. An approach to complexant design for metal cation extraction is to use the calixarene platform as a unit upon which to attach heavy metal specific functionalities. Calixarenes are chosen because of both their preorganization and their availability of multiple sites for incorporating ligating functionalities [2]. The chosen derivatives depend on the metal ion that is targeted. For the lighter transiton metal ions and lanthanides and actinides, derivatives with nitrogen or oxygen donor atoms are often favored. Therefore, carboxylates, amines, amides, and sulfonamides are commonly appended to the calixarene. However, for second and third row transiton metal ions, and for the heavy post-transition metal ions, soft donor atoms such as phosphorus and sulfur are preferable [3-7]. Thus, functionalities such as phosphines, thiolates, thioethers or dithiocarbamoyls are appended to the calixarene rims. These latter two are chosen because of their strong affinity for metals such as Hg(II), Pd(II), Au(III) and Ag(I) and because uncharged groups often provide higher selectivity than charged. The strong complexant ability of the thiolate group, for example, is accompanied by low selectivity, and reaction kinetics (uptake and release) can also often be slow with charged ligands. For cations, the metal to be extracted can be directly bound to a host ligating group, but for oxyanions and uncharged oxides there is often no direct interaction between metal centre and host. For an oxycation such as the uranyl ion, however, both factors are involved, since the complexant not only directly binds to the metal center but can also hydrogen bond to the oxo groups of the uranyl cation. Despite there being numerous examples of hosts and complexants for cations, there are fewer for anion hosts [8-11]. Recently a number of chemically modified calixarenes have been synthesized that are hosts for simple anions [12]. From an environmental viewpoint a series of anions for which selective hosts would be useful are the oxyanions. One such anion is chromate and a calix[4]arene with ammonium functionalities on its lower rim is an extractant for anionic Cr(VI) [13]. Anionic Cr(VI) is important because of its high toxicity [14-17], and because of its presence in soils and waters [18]. Two other environmentally
Geriatric Neuropsychological Assessment

Publisher Summary The purpose of this chapter is to establish a variety of contexts and purposes of geriatric neuropsychological assessment, to describe contemporary issues associated with neuropsychological assessment of older adults, and to review recent empirical literature associated with the use of newly developed and commonly used cognitive and mood assessment instruments with older adults. Neuropsychological assessment of older adults has assumed a prominent role in a variety of contexts. For example, neuropsychological assessment plays a critical role in evaluations for dementia and for tracking dementia-related changes. Neuropsychologists also use assessment results to tailor specific rehabilitation strategies for older adults based on their individual patterns of strengths and weaknesses, thereby maximizing treatment outcomes. Pre- and post-surgical neuropsychological assessment has been successful in identifying particular pre-surgical or post-surgical risk factors for complications, and it can generate strategies for treating or rehabilitating adverse post-surgical outcomes, should they occur. Results of neuropsychological evaluation are also essential for monitoring outcomes of pharmacologic and behavioral treatments and appropriateness of specific placements.
Reviving Antibiotics: Efflux Pump Inhibitors That Interact with AcrA, a Membrane Fusion Protein of the AcrAB-TolC Multidrug Efflux Pump.

Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to human welfare. Inhibitors of multidrug efflux pumps (EPIs) are promising alternative therapeutics that could revive activities of antibiotics and reduce bacterial virulence. Identification of new druggable sites for inhibition is critical for the development of effective EPIs, especially in light of constantly emerging resistance. Here, we describe EPIs that interact with periplasmic membrane fusion proteins, critical components of efflux pumps that are responsible for the activation of the transporter and the recruitment of the outer-membrane channel. The discovered EPIs bind to AcrA, a component of the prototypical AcrAB-TolC pump, change its structure in vivo, inhibit efflux of fluorescent probes, and potentiate the activities of antibiotics in Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative bacteria. Our findings expand the chemical and mechanistic diversity of EPIs, suggest the mechanism for regulation of the efflux pump assembly and activity, and provide a promisi...
Salvage of a Below Knee Amputation Utilizing Rotationplasty Principles in a Patient with Chronic Tibial Osteomyelitis.

INTRODUCTION Chronic osteomyelitis is a disease that requires fastidious treatment to eliminate. However, when eradication is unable to be achieved through exhaustive modalities of antibiotic therapy and multiple debridements, significant resection of the infected bone and soft tissue must be considered, including amputation. Here we report of a salvage procedure for chronic osteomyelitis of the left tibia by employing a rotationplasty to avoid an above knee amputation and instead provide the patient with a below knee amputation. CASE REPORT A 51-year-old male presented to the emergency department after noticing dehiscence of an operative wound with exposure of an implant in the left lower extremity. Two years prior to presentation, the patient was involved in a motorcycle accident and underwent four surgeries in the Dominican Republic for an open fracture of the left tibia and fibula, including a procedure that involved the placement of an implant in the left proximal tibia. Tissue biopsies from the wound confirmed that the patient had osteomyelitis of the left proximal tibia. After extensive surgical and antibiotic intervention to eradicate the patient's osteomyeltis, it was eventually determined that an amputation would be necessary. In order to avoid an above knee amputation, a salvage procedure was conducted by employing a rotationplasty to provide the patient with a below knee amputation. CONCLUSION When amputation is deemed necessary, sparing the knee joint is associated with decreased energy expenditures, increased patient satisfaction and overall better postoperative outcomes. As part of a multi-disciplinary team, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, infectious disease, and medical services successfully treated this case of chronic osteomyelitis of the left proximal tibia by employing a rotationplasty to avoid an above knee amputation and achieve a below knee amputation.
On the Evolution From Micrometer-Scale Inhomogeneity to Global Overheated Structure During the Intense Joule Heating of a z-Pinch Rod

Ultrafast optical microscopy of metal z-pinch rods pulsed with megaampere current is contributing new data and critical insight into what provides the fundamental seed for the magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) instability. A two-frame near infrared/visible intensified-charge-coupled device gated imager with 2-ns temporal resolution and 3- $\mu \text{m}$ spatial resolution captured emissions from the nonuniformly Joule heated surfaces of ultrasmooth aluminum (Al) rods. Nonuniform surface emissions are consistently first observed from discrete, 10- $\mu \text{m}$ scale, subelectronvolt spots. Aluminum 6061 alloy, with micrometer-scale nonmetallic resistive inclusions, forms several times more spots than 99.999% pure Al 5N; 5–10 ns later, azimuthally stretched elliptical spots and distinct strata (40–100 $\mu \text{m}$ wide by 10 $\mu \text{m}$ tall) are observed on Al 6061, but not on Al 5N. Such overheat strata, which are aligned parallel to the magnetic field, are highly effective seeds for MRT instability growth. These data give credence to the hypothesis that early nonuniform Joule heating, such as the electrothermal instability, may provide the dominant seed for MRT.
Snapshot—Ten Years after the Law: A Survey of the Current Status of University Web Accessibility

The changing interpretation of laws regarding individuals with disabilities requires Web sites to be accessible by assistive technology devices. This study examined the current accessibility of uni...
A General Purpose Testbed for Mobile Data Gathering in Wireless Sensor Networks and a Case Study

In recent years, mobile data gathering in wireless sensor networks has attracted much interests in the research community. However, despite extensive efforts, many of previous work in this area lies only in theory and evaluates network performance with computer simulations, which leaves a large gap from reality. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a general purpose, flexible platform for mobile data gathering in wireless sensor networks to evaluate network performance and algorithms in a practical setting. Instead of relying on hand-crafted theoretical models, our platform integrates both mobile data collector and sensor nodes to provide realistic performance evaluations. In addition, the platform adopts a modular design in mobile data collector and sensor nodes, and equips the mobile data collector with advanced computing capability, which makes it versatile for evaluating the performance of a wide-range of applications. Finally, as a case study, weimplement a wildlife monitoring system on our platform. Our experimental results demonstrate that real implementations can evaluate many practical performance factors which would have a great impact on the sensing results and are very difficult to fully capture by theoretical models and simulations. We expect that this platform can become a very powerful general tool for more accurate network simulations and facilitate performance optimization in wireless sensor networks.
Concomitant minithoracotomy aortic and mitral valve surgery: the minimally invasive "Miami Method".

A 69-year-old female patient with chronic renal failure requiring dialysis, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented to the emergency room with epigastric pain and dyspnea upon exertion. Her initial work-up was for gastrointestinal disease. This was inconclusive. A cardiac work-up was subsequently performed. A cardiac catheterization demonstrated a high grade lesion of the proximal left anterior descending artery. Percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug eluting stent was successfully performed. An echocardiogram was also performed which demonstrated a 40% ejection fraction. There was severe aortic stenosis with a peak/mean gradient of 68/45 mmHg, respectively. In addition, she had severe mitral regurgitation with a posteriorly directed jet and moderate mitral annular calcification. She was considered a hybrid patient and taken to the operating room several weeks after the percutaneous coronary intervention on clopidogrel. She underwent a minimally invasive, minithoracotomy aortic valve replacement with a porcine bioprosthetic aortic valve and a complex mitral valve repair with anterior leaflet augmentation with autologous pericardium.
Do Exploratory Arm Movements Contribute to Reach-Ability Judgments?:

Gibson (1979/1986) argued that exploratory movements generate information about agents’ action-capabilities within a given environment, that is, about the agent-environment system’s affordances. To...
A recipe for nanoporous graphene.

Graphene is widely regarded as a promising material for electronic applications because the exceptionally high mobilities of its charge carriers enable extremely fast transistors ( 1 ). However, the lack of an energy band gap in graphene limits its use in logic applications; without a band gap, the devices remain highly conductive at any gate voltage and thus cannot be fully switched off. Researchers have therefore turned their attention to semiconducting forms of graphene that have the necessary band gap to enable transistors with high on-off ratios. On page 199 of this issue, Moreno et al. ( 2 ) report on the synthesis and device characterization of nanoporous graphene with semiconducting properties.
Computational screening of organic polymer dielectrics for novel accelerator technologies

The use of infrared lasers to power accelerating dielectric structures is a developing area of research. Within this technology, the choice of the dielectric material forming the accelerating structures, such as the photonic band gap (PBG) structures, is dictated by a range of interrelated factors including their dielectric and optical properties, amenability to photo-polymerization, thermochemical stability and other target performance metrics of the particle accelerator. In this direction, electronic structure theory aided computational screening and design of dielectric materials can play a key role in identifying potential candidate materials with the targeted functionalities to guide experimental synthetic efforts. In an attempt to systematically understand the role of chemistry in controlling the electronic structure and dielectric properties of organic polymeric materials, here we employ empirical screening and density functional theory (DFT) computations, as a part of our multi-step hierarchal screening strategy. Our DFT based analysis focused on the bandgap, dielectric permittivity, and frequency-dependent dielectric losses due to lattice absorption as key properties to down-select promising polymer motifs. In addition to the specific application of dielectric laser acceleration, the general methodology presented here is deemed to be valuable in the design of new insulators with an attractive combination of dielectric properties.
Catechization and Conversion: A Comparison of Two German Jesuit Plays on the Life of St. Augustine

The conversion of large portions of the German-speaking world from Protestantism to Catholicism in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries is considered to be one of the successes of the European Counter-Reformation and of the Jesuits. However, Catholicization programs, especially those supported by the territorial governments, were not received without resistance. In both embattled and secure areas, the Jesuits viewed their schools as primary to their mission to reclaim Protestants and to solidify Catholic faith. Drama was one of the most visible ways that Jesuit teachers could reach the general populace for this purpose. Conversion and saints’ lives were common themes in Jesuit plays across Europe. One of the most popular of these plays which contributed to the process of Catholic confessionalization was the German Jesuit play Augustinus conversus by Jakob Gretser, first staged in the staunchly Catholic city of Ingolstadt. In the aftermath of an armed rebellion against the Counter-Reformation in the territory of Paderborn, the Jesuits staged a comedy by Augustinus Turranius which drew heavily on Gretser’s play. In staging a comedy about the adolescence of St. Augustine, the Jesuits expounded on the themes of conversion, redemption, and forgiveness without directly referring to the situation in Paderborn. In this paper, both plays are placed within the context of the cities in which they were composed and performed, and the religious struggles in both cities are considered in the light of the larger Jesuit missionary project of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Tensions between transmission and discovery in 2 K-1 science classrooms

At a time when inquiry is recommended as the best way to teach science, many researchers and practitioners describe science instruction using this term. As we discuss in this article, what is taking place in inquiry-based science classrooms may be more complicated than this category suggests. We propose a useful way of thinking about and describing science instruction is in terms of tensions between teaching as "transmission" and "discovery". The tension represents an ideological dilemma (Billig, Condor, Edwards, Gane, Middleton, & Radley, 1988) in education. In our focus on the dilemmatic nature of teaching and learning, this paper illustrates how teachers improvise a balance between organizing K-1 students' science learning through transmission and discovery through their use of discourse strategies and instructional approaches.
Freud and Perversion

The first of Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality is entitled The Sexual Aberrations.’ Why should Freud begin a book the main point of which is to argue for the existence of infantile sexuality with a discussion of adult perversions (after all, the existence of the adult aberrations was not news)? While many answers might be suggested with some plausibility (e.g., to ease the shock of the new claim; or, medical texts typically begin with pathology), I think Freud’s beginning can be usefully understood as part of a brilliant argumentative strategy to extend the notion of sexuality by showing how extensive it already was. Freud himself (in the Preface to the Fourth Edition) describes the book as an attempt “at enlarging the concept of sexuality” ([11], p. 134). The extension involved in the notion of perversion prepares the way for the extension involved in infantile sexuality.
Kolb Learning Styles of Dancers Who Do and Don't Use Dance Notation Compared to Other Fields.

ABSTRACTThis statistical study of 272 dancers, ages 18–96, using Kolb Learning Styles Inventory 4.0, identifies dominant learning cycles, learning styles, and learning style flexibility of the danc...
Racial Stereotypes, Extended Criminalization, and Support for Breed-Specific Legislation: Experimental and Observational Evidence:

Scholars have long argued that behaviors and objects associated with criminally stereotyped minority groups can themselves become stereotyped and criminalized, leading to increased punitiveness. Ye...
Can char carbon enhance soil properties and crop yields in low-carbon soils?

Restoring soil carbon (C) lost due to intensive farming is a long-term endeavor under current conservation management practices. Application of coal combustion residue (293 g C kg-1 ) from a sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) processing factory, hereafter referred to as char, could rapidly restore soil C and productivity in degraded croplands, but data on this potential strategy are unavailable. We assessed the impacts of char application to two relatively low-C soils (10.1 and 12.2 g C kg-1 ) and one relatively high-C soil (17.3 g C kg-1 ) on soil C, soil physical and fertility properties, and crop yields in no-till systems in the Great Plains after 2 yr. Char was disked to 15 cm soil depth at char-C application rates ranging from 0 to 19.7 Mg C ha-1 , corresponding to char application rates ranging from 0 to 67.3 Mg ha-1 . The highest char rate increased C concentration in all soils but increased C stock only in low-C soils. Char did not affect soil penetration resistance, available water, aggregate stability, most nutrients, and crop yields. Char application at high rates increased sulfate, Ca, Mg, and Na concentrations but did not influence other properties. Carbon recovery of the char applied at the highest rate varied among soils from 50 to 85%, but the mechanisms for such differences need further investigation. Short-term duration, low char C concentration, and low application rates may explain the limited char effects. Overall, char application at 19.7 Mg char-C ha-1 (i.e., 67.3 Mg char ha-1 ) increased soil C concentration but had negligible effects on other soil properties and crop yields after 2 yr.
DozzNoC: Reducing Static and Dynamic Energy in NoCs with Low-latency Voltage Regulators using Machine Learning

Network-on-chips (NoCs) continues to be the choice of communication fabric in multicore architectures because the NoC effectively combines the resource efficiency of the bus with the parallelizability of the crossbar. As NoC suffers from both high static and dynamic energy consumption, power-gating and dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) have been proposed in the literature to improve energy-efficiency. In this work, we propose DozzNoC, an adaptable power management technique that effectively combines power-gating and DVFS techniques to target both static power and dynamic energy reduction with a single inductor multiple output (SIMO) voltage regulator. The proposed power management design is further enhanced by machine learning techniques that predict future traffic load for proactive DVFS mode selection. DozzNoC utilizes a SIMO voltage regulator scheme that allows for fast, low-powered, and independently power-gated or voltage scaled routers such that each router and its outgoing links share the same voltage/frequency domain. Our simulation results using PARSEC and Splash-2 benchmarks on an 8 × 8 mesh network show that for a decrease of 7% in throughput, we can achieve an average dynamic energy savings of 25% and an average static power reduction of 53%.
Cardiac Surgery and Cognition: Etiologies and Assessment Considerations

Over half a century of research substantiate that some individuals are at increased risk for perioperative neurological injury and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) following cardiac surgery. Perioperative neurovascular damage associated with cardiosurgical intervention ranges from overt stroke to covert embolic injury, while other perioperative complications confer additive or additional risks (e.g., hypoperfusion, neuroinflammation, etc.). While cardiosurgical procedures (both simple and complex) carry inherent risks for a myriad of potential neurological and systemic complications, the full panoply of causal mechanisms and their interaction producing POCD remain elusive. Noncardiac surgery has been associated with similar patterns of POCD, but several lines of research demonstrate that both early and late onset rates of POCD are considerably higher among those who underwent cardiac compared to noncardiac surgery. While cardiac surgery is associated with higher rates of POCD and neurological complications, the presence of POCD in noncardiac surgical interventions suggests that there are shared general surgical factors contributing to POCD onset and severity.
Measuring complications of serious pediatric emergencies using ICD-10.

Objective To create definitions for complications for 16 serious pediatric conditions using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification or Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-CM/PCS), and to assess whether complication rates are similar to those measured with ICD-9-CM/PCS. Data sources The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Emergency Department and Inpatient Databases from five states between 2014 and 2017 were used to identify cases and assess complication rates. Incidences were calculated using population counts from the 5-year American Community Survey. Data collection/extraction methods Patients were identified by the presence of a diagnosis code for one of the 16 serious conditions. Only the first encounter for a given condition by a patient was included. Encounters resulting in transfer were excluded as the presence of complications was unknown. Study design We defined complications using data elements routinely available in administrative databases including ICD-10-CM/PCS codes. The definitions were adapted from ICD-9-CM/PCS using general equivalence mappings and refined using consensus opinion. We included 16 serious conditions: appendicitis, bacterial meningitis, compartment syndrome, new-onset diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), ectopic pregnancy, empyema, encephalitis, intussusception, mastoiditis, myocarditis, orbital cellulitis, ovarian torsion, sepsis, septic arthritis, stroke, and testicular torsion. Using data from children under 18 years, we compared incidences and complication rates across the ICD-10-CM/PCS transition for each condition using interrupted time series. Principal findings There were 61 314 ED visits for a serious condition; the most common was appendicitis (n = 37 493). Incidence rates for each condition were not significantly different across the ICD-10-CM/PCS transition for 13/16 conditions. Three differed: empyema (increased 42%), orbital cellulitis (increased 60%), and sepsis (increased 26%). Complication rates were not significantly different for each condition across the ICD-10-CM/PCS transition, except appendicitis (odds ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.57-0.68), DKA (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.92-7.50), and orbital cellulitis (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.30-0.95). Conclusions For most conditions, incidences and complication rates were similar before and after the transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, suggesting our system identifies complications of conditions in administrative data similarly using ICD-9-CM/PCS and ICD-10-CM/PCS codes. This system may be applied to screen for cases with complications and in health services research.
Exit Strategy for Foreign Affiliates: The Choice Among Closure, Sell-off, or Consolidation

While both entry and exit decisions are integral in the evolution of MNE foreign affiliates, the topic of foreign affiliate exit is relatively less studied compared to that of foreign market entry....
Determination of enzyme kinetic parameters by continuous addition of substrate to a single reaction mixture and analysis by a tangent-slope procedure: I. Analysis of the method using computed progress curves☆

A new method has been developed which provides reliable estimates of enzyme kinetic constants from single reaction progress curves recorded under conditions of continuously increasing substrate concentration. Equally spaced data points simulating such progress curves and containing known amounts of superimposed random noise were fit to the Hill equation by (i) direct nonlinear curve-fitting of raw data, and (ii) a tangent-slope technique in which the raw data are numerically differentiated, transformed into substrate versus velocity data, and then analyzed as linear plots. Both integral and differential procedures provided accurate and precise estimates of the Hill parameters (S0.5, V, and n) from single reaction mixtures. However, the tangent-slope method was at least 10-fold faster to compute and was not dependent on accurate initial guesses of the Hill parameters or integration of the rate equation. With the tangent-slope method, the optimal number of data points used in calculating tangent slopes was found to be 9 or 11. The reliability of the Hill parameters determined with the tangent-slope method was relatively insensitive to the maximum substrate concentration over a range of SmaxS0.5 of 1.5 to 10; the optimal value was 3. Through further analysis of simulated data, it was found that slow enzyme inactivation (<4% loss during the assay), or product competitive inhibition (maximum product concentration < 30% of the inhibitor dissociation constant) does not produce serious errors in the Hill parameters. Methods are presented to detect and distinguish enzyme inactivation and product competitive inhibition. It is suggested that continuous addition methodology combined with tangent-slope analysis provides the basis for a flexible system for kinetic characterization of enzymes which has wider applicability and other advantages over multicuvette or conventional progress curve methodology. A major advantage in contrast to the progress curve approach is that product accumulation and associated product effects are lowest at lower substrate concentrations.
Hybrid Sulfur Thermochemical Process Development Annual Report

The Hybrid Sulfur (HyS) Thermochemical Process is a means of producing hydrogen via water-splitting through a combination of chemical reactions and electrochemistry. Energy is supplied to the system as high temperature heat (approximately 900 C) and electricity. Advanced nuclear reactors (Generation IV) or central solar receivers can be the source of the primary energy. Large-scale hydrogen production based on this process could be a major contributor to meeting the needs of a hydrogen economy. This project's objectives include optimization of the HyS process design, analysis of technical issues and concerns, creation of a development plan, and laboratory-scale proof-of-concept testing. The key component of the HyS Process is the SO2-depolarized electrolyzer (SDE). Studies were performed that showed that an electrolyzer operating in the range of 500-600 mV per cell can lead to an overall HyS cycle efficiency in excess of 50%, which is superior to all other currently proposed thermochemical cycles. Economic analysis indicated hydrogen production costs of approximately $1.60 per kilogram for a mature nuclear hydrogen production plant. However, in order to meet commercialization goals, the electrolyzer should be capable of operating at high current density, have a long operating lifetime , and have an acceptable capital cost. The use of proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) technology, which leverages work for the development of PEM fuel cells, was selected as the most promising route to meeting these goals. The major accomplishments of this project were the design and construction of a suitable electrolyzer test facility and the proof-of-concept testing of a PEM-based SDE.
Evoking the Inexpressible: The Fine Art and Business of Games

Normal 0 21 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This interview is excerpted from a series we conducted in early 2010 with Brian J. Moriarty, Professor of Practice at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Moriarty has been developing games for the better part of 30 years, and has worked for Analog, Infocom, LucasArts, Rocket Science, Mpath, Hearme, Skotos Tech, and ImaginEngine. He has produced a host of critically and commercially acclaimed titles, including Wishbringer , Trinity , Beyond Zork , and Loom , which earned MacWorld's Adventure Game of the Year in 1990.
A Clustering Analysis of Tweet Length and its Relation to Sentiment.

Sentiment analysis of Twitter data is performed. The researcher has made the following contributions via this paper: (1) an innovative method for deriving sentiment score dictionaries using an existing sentiment dictionary as seed words is explored, and (2) an analysis of clustered tweet sentiment scores based on tweet length is performed.
Thoracoscopic superior segmentectomy.

Clinical vignette The patient is a 59-year-old formerly smoking male with a history of T2N0M0, stage I colon cancer. He underwent a left hemicolectomy five years prior to presentation and was referred for an enlarging 7 mm pulmonary nodule noted on surveillance imaging. His past medical history was significant for coronary artery disease and hypertension. Given the deep location of the pulmonary nodule and the patient’s limited pulmonary function, we opted to perform a diagnostic and therapeutic superior segmentectomy.
Experimental characterization of a liquid-liquid co- axial swirl rocket injector using non-invasive optical and X-ray techniques

Thermo-acoustic combustion instability is a problem that has been researched for decades as it is a precursor to sudden catastrophic failure. Meanwhile, the demand for rocket engines that are able to maintain stable combustion over a wider range of thrust levels is increasing. One injector design utilized in Russia and Asia that has demonstrated stable throttling ability is the liquid-liquid co-axial swirl injector. Simultaneously, interest in alternative hydrocarbon rocket fuels has led to research on a wide range of fuel compositions that deviate from conventional kerosene-based rocket fuel. Hence, it is also necessary to determine how fuel properties will affect the performance of particular injector designs. The goal of the current work is to characterize the atomization and spray properties of a liquid-liquid co-axial swirl injector to evaluate feasibility for potential use in rocket engines. This work was accomplished through the use of non-invasive optical and X-ray techniques including high-speed imaging, phase doppler interferometry, X-ray radiography, and three-dimensional computed tomography. These techniques provided information about break-up mechanisms, break-up lengths, droplet size distributions, and time-averaged liquid mass distributions. An injector with five different nozzle exit geometries was designed, constructed, and implemented for these experiments. The current work was able to demonstrate that geometrical factors such as design of the recessed nozzle exit segments can be optimized to increase breakup and promote more uniform particle distributions. Additionally, the study quantified flow characteristics of the injector over a large number flow parameters, including injection pressure and liquid properties, allowing for better
Long-term results of covered stent repair of internal carotid artery dissections

Background Traumatic and spontaneous dissections of internal carotid arteries (ICA) are rare conditions. So far, these pathologies are primarily treated conservatively, surgical revascularization being an option only after recurrent thromboembolic neurologic episodes or continuous aneurysm growth. Successful endovascular treatment strategies with covered stents have been reported in patients with ICA dissections. However, no long-term results are published so far. Herein, we report our experience of a combined conventional and endovascular repair of ICA dissections under reversed flow and their respective long-term results. Methods In a prospective evaluation of clinical and morphologic outcome of 6 patients with carotid artery dissections, 2 patients were treated for continuous aneurysm growth and 4 patients for high-grade ICA stenoses with recurrent thromboembolic episodes during a 6-month follow-up period. A 6-mm polytetrafluoroethylene Hemobahn endoprosthesis was inserted under reversed flow of the internal carotid artery. Results No perioperative strokes were observed; one TIA occurred, lasting less than 3 hours; no peripheral cranial nerve injuries or deaths were observed. No occlusions, hemodynamically significant stenosis, or recurrent neurologic symptoms were seen during follow-up, which ranged from 6 to 54 months (mean, 38.3 months). Conclusion Open endovascular repair of the ICA of symptomatic patients with dissections with a 6-mm covered endoprosthesis is a safe alternative to conventional surgery, with excellent long-term patency.
A heuristic monitor for computer-aided instruction

This paper describes a CAI (computer-aided instruction) system which is based on algorithms for problem generation and solution. A heuristic monitor has been developed which tailors the path taken by each student through the course concepts in accordance with his previous performance. This monitor will be described as well as general techniques for problem generation and solution monitoring.
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: Pathologic and molecular characteristics

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms include mainly well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors but also rare poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas. Molecular mechanisms underlying pancreatic neuroendocrine tumorigenesis have recently been elucidated. While alterations in the chromatin remodeling and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways are present in most well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, mutations in TP53 and RB may contribute to the development of pancreatic poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas. With these discoveries, new molecular targeted therapies have become available and show promise in some patients with pancreatic well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor.
An application of the multicandidate calculus of voting to the 1972 and 1976 German federal elections

Two important assumptions underlying the Riker-McKelvey-Ordeshook, expected-utility-based, multicandidate calculus of voting are that citizens decide whether or not and for whom to vote in a single-member district (SMD), plurality-winner electoral system and that they ignore aggregate outcomes, that is, how citizens in other districts may vote. Aranson modifies this calculus by investigating citizens' decisions in proportional-representation (PR) systems and/or situations in which aggregate outcomes require parties to form parliamentary coalitions to govern. This study operationalizes and applies the probability and utility components of this modified calculus to data on the 1972 and 1976 West German federal elections, which combine features of SMD and PR systems and of which coalition politics is an integral part. Expected-utility calculations used to predict reported voting decisions achieve reasonably good levels of aggregate accuracy. Further analysis reveals that gradations in respondents' expected utilities, as well as in their utilities and surrogate measures of the subjective probabilities of electoral outcomes, relate significantly to reported voting decisions. Also, variables that model coalition considerations are commonly the most significant.
Inhibition Of The In Vivo Effects Of Concanavalin-A On Mammalian Epidermis By Α-Methyl-D-Glucopyranoside

Concanavalin-A (Con-A) injected intradermally into newborn rats produces inhibition of granular-cell formation, accumulation of spinous cells, glycogen deposition, and a decrease followed by an increase in the number of basal cells in DNA synthesis. These changes were maximal with a dose of 0.1mg Con-A, although 0.005, 0.01, and 0.05mg caused some epidermal changes. The Con-A effects were partially blocked when 0.1ml of 0.3 or 0.1M α-methyl-D-glucopyranoside (αMG) solution was injected 2hr after 0.1mg Con-A and completely inhibited by injection of 0.1ml of 3.0M αMG solution. The inhibitory effects were not seen after injection of 0.1ml of 3.0M N -acetyl-galactosamine saline solution, or 0.1ml normal saline. Injection of αMG alone did not cause any changes in epidermal cells. These results indicate that a specific sugar inhibits Con-A effects on mammalian epidermis in vivo.
Distribution of ryanodine receptors in the chicken central nervous system

The ryanodine receptor (RR), an intracellular calcium release channel, has been identified in the nervous system but its contributions to neuronal function are unknown. We have utilized immunohistochemical techniques to establish the distribution of RRs in the central nervous system (CNS) of the chick as a step toward elucidating the function of RRs in this system. RR immunoreactivity is observed throughout the brain, most prominently in large neurons. The strongest immunoreactivity is found in cerebellar Purkinje neurons, but nuclei in the motor, visual and vestibular systems are also intensely labeled, and immunoreactive neurons are observed the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus. In these neurons, labeling is prominent in cell bodies, dendrites and axons, but is not observed in the dendritic spines or in plasma membranes. The neuronal RRs bind [3H]ryanodine with high affinity and this activity is regulated by calcium, caffeine, MgCl2/ATP and ionic strength. Multiple forms of the RRs are found in the chicken CNS. Immunoprecipitation and localization studies using RR isoform specific monoclonal antibodies reveal major differences in their distribution. The predominant species in the cerebellum is similar to the skeletal muscle isoform while there is a lower level of expression of either the cardiac or beta skeletal isoforms. In the remainder of the brain, the predominant isoform is similar to the cardiac or beta skeletal muscle isoforms. The broad distribution of RRs in the CNS suggests that calcium release events mediated by these proteins may have a functional role in a diverse array of neurons. Moreover within the populations of neurons expressing RR's, the presence of specific RR isoforms may correlate with specialization in the calcium release events mediated by these proteins.
A quantitative study of the interactions of Bacillus anthracis edema factor and lethal factor with activated protective antigen.

Bacillus anthracis secretes three proteins, which associate in binary combinations to form toxic complexes at the surface of mammalian cells. Receptor-bound protective antigen (PA) is proteolytically activated, yielding a 63 kDa fragment (PA63). PA63 oligomerizes into heptamers, which bind edema factor (EF) or lethal factor (LF) to form the toxic complexes. We undertook a quantitative analysis of the interactions of EF with PA63 by means of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements. Heptameric PA63 was covalently bound by amine coupling to an SPR chip, or noncovalently bound via a C-terminal hexahistidine tag on the protein to Ni2+nitrilotriacetate groups on the chip. Values of kon and koff for EF at 23 °C were ∼3 × 105 M-1 s-1 and (3−5) × 10-4 s-1, respectively, giving a calculated Kd of (1−2) × 10-9 M. A similar value of Kd (7 × 10-10 M) was obtained when we measured the binding of radiolabeled EF to receptor-bound PA63 on the surface of L6 cells (at 4 °C). Each of these analyses was also performed w...