cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Csm4, in Collaboration with Ndj1, Mediates Telomere- Led Chromosome Dynamics and Recombination during Yeast Meiosis

Chromosome movements are a general feature of mid-prophase of meiosis. In budding yeast, meiotic chromosomes exhibit dynamic movements, led by nuclear envelope (NE)-associated telomeres, throughout the zygotene and pachytene stages. Zygotene motion underlies the global tendency for colocalization of NE-associated chromosome ends in a “bouquet.” In this study, we identify Csm4 as a new molecular participant in these processes and show that, unlike the two previously identified components, Ndj1 and Mps3, Csm4 is not required for meiosis-specific telomere/NE association. Instead, it acts to couple telomere/NE ensembles to a force generation mechanism. Mutants lacking Csm4 and/or Ndj1 display the following closely related phenotypes: (i) elevated crossover (CO) frequencies and decreased CO interference without abrogation of normal pathways; (ii) delayed progression of recombination, and recombination-coupled chromosome morphogenesis, with resulting delays in the MI division; and (iii) nondisjunction of homologs at the MI division for some reason other than absence of (the obligatory) CO(s). The recombination effects are discussed in the context of a model where the underlying defect is chromosome movement, the absence of which results in persistence of inappropriate chromosome relationships that, in turn, results in the observed mutant phenotypes.
Frontal cortex, laterality, and memory: encoding versus retrieval

The cerebral hemispheres differ in their capabilities and response to verbal versus nonverbal visual material. A priori, it might thus be expected that the right hemisphere would be best activated during a mnemonic task with fMRI when using nonverbalizable images, and the left hemisphere with verbal material. However, previous psychological tests had shown a high degree of similarity in measures of memory for these disparate items. It was thus hypothesized that extensive commonality in the areas activated would prevail when this previously tested material was employed with fMRI. Six subjects underwent fMRI with four types of trials in blocks: fixating; passively viewing 12 words and 12 nonverbalizable images; endeavoring to remember (encoding) another set of 12 words and images; endeavoring to recognize (retrieve) previously viewed words or images. Passive viewing produced small islands of activation in left versus right frontal cortex for words and images, respectively. Endeavoring to remember enlarged the areas of activation and produced some bilaterality. Retrieval greatly augmented activation as well as bilaterality, and some 20% of the activated frontal volume was shared by words and images. Thus, on the one hand, the distribution of activation upon retrieval differed substantially for words versus images, but on the other, as predicted, there was considerable commonality. Predominant laterality of activation in some areas shifted between encoding and retrieval (HERA), importantly involving different regions for words versus images. Of course, processes other than memory per se are undoubtedly involved in these distributions of fMRI activation in frontal cortex, yet the nature of the to-be-remembered items is clearly a major factor, in accord with the asymmetric lateralization in their basic representation.
Results of Outpatient Therapy of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia

The role of total outpatient management (appropriate evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment) in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) continues to be debated. Therapy of any kind is contraindicated without proper evaluation. Cytology, colposcopy, colposcopy-directed biopsies, endocervical curettage (ECC), and clinical examination all properly carried out by experienced physicians are the minimal diagnostic procedures required in the outpatient arena. The object of these exercises is to rule out invasive cancer. This has effectively been done when the colposcopically abnormal lesion is limited to the portio of the cervix, the colposcopic findings are indicative of CIN only, the ECC is negative, cytology indicates only an intraepithelial lesion, biopsies suggest only disease limited to the epithelium, and the clinical examination does not raise the suspicion of an invasive lesion. Approximately 8590% of all patients presenting with an abnormal Pap smear indicating CIN and without obvious gross cancer on the cervix can be evaluated adequately on an outpatient basis. If the above criteria have not been met, conization of the cervix is mandatory. The real concern and question being asked is what is the proper therapy for those 85-90% of patients who, in fact, have a intraepithelial lesion limited to the visual part of the cervix. In other words, what is the role of outpatient therapy in the management of a patient with CIN? The face of cervical neoplasia has changed dramatically over the last three decades, and continues to do so. The American Cancer Society’s statistical report estimates that during the decade of the 1970s the yearly number of invasive cervical cancers dropped from 20,000 in 1971 to 16,000 in 1980 [ 11. The anticipated deaths from this disease have also declined by 1900 during the same time interval. Therefore, from 1971 to 1980 there have been 29,000 fewer cervical cancers diagnosed in the United States and 7000 fewer deaths. Only recently has the American Cancer Society attempted to predict the number of patients who might have carcinoma
Disease-specific definitions of vitamin D deficiency need to be established in autoimmune and non-autoimmune chronic diseases: a retrospective comparison of three chronic diseases

Introduction: We compared the odds of vitamin D deficiency in three chronic diseases: systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), adjusting for medications, demographics, and laboratory parameters, common to all three diseases. We also designed multivariate models to determine whether different factors are associated with vitamin D deficiency in different racial/ethnic groups. Methods: We identified all patients with non-overlapping diagnoses of SLE, RA, and T2DM, with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels measured between 2000 and 2009. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as 25OHD levels <20 ng/ ml, based on previously established definitions. Race/ethnicity was analyzed as African-American non-Hispanic (African-American), Hispanic non-African-American (Hispanic), and Other based on self report. Results: We included 3,914 patients in the final analysis: 123 SLE, 100 RA, and 3,691 T2DM. Among AfricanAmericans the frequency of vitamin D deficiency was 59% in SLE, 47% in RA, and 67% in T2DM. Among Hispanics the frequency of vitamin D deficiency was 67% in SLE, 50% in RA, and 59% in T2DM. Compared with the SLE group, the adjusted odds ratio of vitamin D deficiency was 1.1, 95% CI (0.62, 2.1) in the RA group, and 2.0, 95% CI (1.3, 3.1) in the T2DM group. In the multivariate analysis, older age, higher serum calcium and bisphosphonate therapy were associated with a lower odds of vitamin D deficiency in all three racial/ethnic groups: 1,330 AfricanAmerican, 1,257 Hispanic, and 1,100 Other. T2DM, serum creatinine, and vitamin D supplementation were associated with vitamin D deficiency in some, but not all, racial/ethnic groups. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in our patients with SLE, RA, and T2DM. While the odds of vitamin D deficiency are similar in RA and SLE patients in a multivariate analysis, T2DM patients have much higher odds of being vitamin D deficient. Different demographic and laboratory factors may be associated with vitamin D deficiency within different racial/ethnic groups. Therefore, disease-specific and race/ethnicity-specific definitions of vitamin D deficiency need to be established in future studies in order to define goals of vitamin D replacement in patients with autoimmune and non-autoimmune chronic diseases.
Effect of plasticity of copper in Through Silicon Vias on mobility of carriers in active device areas

Scaling down the dimensions of active devices is becoming increasingly difficult as silicon is approaching its physical material limits. 3D integration of logic and memory devices has emerged as a solution to the bandwidth and power efficiency challenges. Mechanical stress induced by Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) is one of the main constraints that have to be controlled to preserve the integrity of front end devices. The plastic behavior of copper used in TSVs is simulated in this work. The simulations make use of experimental data that were recently published [1]. Elastic and plastic parameters of copper are extracted from the simulations. Those parameters are used for simulating a necessary anneal step after TSV deposition. Stress resulting from the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion between copper and silicon affects the mobility of carriers in active device areas. The effect of stress on mobility is quantified.
High-Order Analysis Of Critical Stability Properties of Linear Time-Delay Systems

In this paper we study stability properties of linear time-delay systems with commensurate delays. We investigate specifically the asymptotic behavior of the critical characteristic zeros of time-delay systems on the imaginary axis. This behavior determines whether the imaginary zeros cross from one half plane into another, and hence plays a critical role in determining the stability of a time-delay system. We emphasize in particular the second-order asymptotic properties, which, together with earlier results on first-order analysis, provide a more complete characterization of the zero asymptotic behavior.
Thermal conductance and its relation to thermal time constants

Abstract A large body of thermoregulation studies exists in which the proper relationship between the physiological variable, thermal conductance, and heating or cooling time is not recognized. This is owing, in part, to conflicting definitions of conductance which either fail to relate to mean heat flow through the body surface or which fail to separate body conductance from that of the environment. Here we analyse ectotherm heating and cooling experiments to relate properly, conductance to thermal time constants and to determine how time constants are scaled according to animal size. It appears that the scaling properties are intimately related to peripheral circulation. Since thermal time constants can be unambiguously defined only for objects of constant thermal conductance we have provided simple illustratons of some phenomena related to temperature-dependent conductors and used these to indicate some of the limits of applicability of the time constant concept and its connection to conductance. Conditions described here do not include large radiant heat exchanges, however, convective heat transport and evaporation are considered. The treatment of evaporation should be quite useful to others.
Statistical Equilibrium and Two-Point Motion for a Stochastic Flow of Diffeomorphisms

Let M be a connected, smooth, compact manifold of dimension N, and consider the following Stratonovich stochastic differential equation on M $$ \left\{ \begin{gathered} d\xi _t \left( x \right) = \sum\limits_{k = 1}^d {X_k \left( {\xi _t \left( x \right)} \right) \circ dW_t^k + X_0 \left( {\xi _t \left( x \right)} \right)dt} \hfill \\ \xi _0 \left( x \right) = x. \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right. $$ (1.1) Here X 0, X 1,...X d are smooth vector fields on M and {W t k : t ≥ 0}, 1 ≤ k ≤ d, are independent real valued Brownian motions on some probability space (Ώ, F, ℙ). For each x ∈ M (1.1) has a (unique) strong solution which is a diffusion on M with generator $$ L = \tfrac{1} {2}\sum\limits_{k = 1}^d {X_k^2 + X_0 } . $$ (1.2)
Law as a Discovery Process: An Informational Rational for Broad Judicial Decisions

This paper examines a model in which judges face uncertainty about what the law should be; however, by hearing cases, judges are able to acquire more information about the range of policies that are constitutional and the range of policies that are unconstitutional. In the setting examined, the danger of issuing a broad opinion --- i.e., issuing a ruling that has implications beyond the policy currently being challenged in the court --- is that the judge might incorrectly classify policies that are constitutional as unlawful; alternatively, the judge might mistakenly classify policies that are unconstitutional as lawful. Nonetheless, in the setting examined, we show that there exists an informational rational to issue broad decisions. By doing so, the judge can actively shape the future cases that come before the court, which, in turn, can facilitate the judge's ability to correctly classify policies as constitutional and unconstitutional. Our model thus contributes to debates about the appropriate scope of judicial decisions: our model highlights the conditions under which judges should decide cases on narrow grounds and the conditions under which judges should decide cases on broader grounds.
PTF1a Activity in Enriched Posterior Foregut Endoderm, but Not Definitive Endoderm, Leads to Enhanced Pancreatic Differentiation in an In Vitro Mouse ESC-Based Model

Transcription factors are tools repetitively used by the embryo to generate a variety of lineages. Hence, their context of activation is an important determinant of their ability to specifically trigger certain cell fates, but not others. The context is also consequential when considering directing differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). In this study, we sought to assess the context of pancreatic transcription factor 1a (PTF1a) activation in reference to its propancreatic effects in mouse ESCs (mESCs). We hypothesized that an enriched endodermal population would respond to PTF1a and trigger the pancreatic program more effectively than a spontaneously differentiated population. Using an in vitro model of pancreas development that we recently established, we found that inducing PTF1a in highly enriched definitive endoderm did not promote pancreatic differentiation but induction in more differentiated endoderm, specifically posterior foregut endoderm, did form pancreatic progenitors. These progenitors never underwent terminal differentiation to endocrine or acinar phenotype. However, a short 3D culture period, prior to PTF1a induction, led to the generation of monohormonal insulin(+) cells and amylase-expressing cells. Our findings suggest that enriched posterior foregut endoderm is competent to respond to PTF1a's propancreatic activity; but a 3D culture environment is essential for terminal differentiation of pancreatic progenitors.
Emergency Ultrasound in the Evaluation of Pediatric Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Trauma is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children, and abdominal trauma represents the third leading cause of death. The Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma (FAST) exam is well accepted in adult trauma, but its usage and role in the pediatric trauma evaluation is less clear. This chapter aims to review the technique of the exam, to present the current literature with regards to its use, and to propose an algorithm to incorporate FAST into a clinical pathway to safely assess pediatric trauma patients and reduce the use of ionizing radiation.
Distribution of Carnitine and Acylcarnitine in Small Intestine of Carnitine-Supplemented and Fasted Rats

Distribution of carnitine and acylcarnitine in lumen flush and tissue of the small intestine was examined in four groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats fed either a nonpurified diet (groups 1, 2) or the same supplemented with 1% DL-carnitine (groups 3, 4). One group of animals under each dietary regimen (groups 2, 4) was fasted for 24 h prior to killing. Carnitine and acylcarnitines were present in higher concentrations in tissue of the small intestine than in the lumen flush. Even though the diets contained only traces of acid-soluble acylcarnitine, it was present in high concentrations both in tissue of the small intestine and lumen flush. Proximal segments of small intestine tended to concentrate carnitine and acylcarnitines under all conditions of treatment. Carnitine supplementation increased the amounts of carnitines in tissue; however, there was only a minor alteration in the pattern of distribution of carnitine and acylcarnitines.
Water Balance and Other Ecological Observations on Three Species of Phyllotis in Northwestern Argentina

Water balance was examined in three species of leaf-eared mice ( Phyllotis griseoflavus , P. darwini , and P. osilae ) from northwestern Argentina. The degree of specialization for aridity in each species conforms with its general habitat requirements. P. griseoflavus , which exists in the driest habitats, is the species most capable of existing without access to free water in the laboratory, P. darwini is intermediate, whereas P. osilae is the least so adapted. Preliminary behavioral observations suggest that these three species differ greatly in their degree of aggressiveness. An interplay of behavior and physiology may explain the macro- and microdistributional patterns which have been described for these species.
Biology of the flea beetle,Altica carduorum [Col.: Chrysomelidae] on Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) in South Dakota

A laboratory colony of 50 adults ofAltica carduorum Guerin-Meneville was established at South Dakota State University. Beetles reared in this colony had an average preoviposition period of 7 days when exposed to a regular cycle of 16 hr of light (24°C) and 8 hr of darkness (12.7°C). The laboratory reared females, whose longevity averaged 100 days, laid an average of 259.3±9.7 eggs. High temperatures and/or low RH are limiting factors to beetle survival. In the field eggs were laid throughout June on the underside of leaves along the edges of the veins. Adults fed throughout the summer and then over-wintered in the soil. Some of these beetles emerged the following spring and laid viable eggs. Factors limiting establishment in South Dakota, however, were high temperatures, low humidities, and the predators,Lebia viridis Say andHarpalus pennsylvanicus Degeer.A. carduorum originates from the Swiss Rhone valley where there is a relatively “continental” climate, but is limited to special habitats where comparatively high humidity occurs. South Dakota climate is characterized by cold winters, and hot, dry summers, therefore establishment would be most difficult.
Standard strategies for acute ischemic stroke within the rtPA therapeutic window: UNITED STATES.

A 63-year-old hypertensive, diabetic man called 911 at 8:00 pm complaining of right-sided weakness that started at 6:30 pm after dinner. The ambulance arrived at the patient's house at 8:05 pm and he was brought to the nearest stroke center. While en route, the paramedic alerted the stroke center emergency department. The patient arrived at the emergency room at 8:30 pm and was immediately evaluated by the physician. A stroke code was called and the neurologist was at the bedside at 8:40 pm. An 18-gauge IV was inserted by the nurse and blood test for basic metabolic panel, complete blood count, coagulopathy panel, and lipid profile were sent. The NIH Stroke Scale was performed, showing a total score of 10. The time of onset was verified with the patient's wife, who witnessed the event. A noncontrast CT was done at 8:50 pm and officially read at 8:55 pm, showing absence of signs of hemorrhage or acute infarct. After reviewing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the patient was deemed eligible for thrombolysis and IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was ordered. The IV tPA was initiated at 9:15 pm, 45 minutes from the time the patient entered the emergency room door, 2 hours and 45 minutes from symptom onset. This scenario is increasingly becoming a routine exercise in many primary stroke centers across the United States.
Tumor Necrosis Factor-a -308 Gene Polymorphism Is Associated with Synthetic Hemodialysis Graft Failure

Background Progressive venous stenosis mediated, in part, by inflammatory cytokines is a major cause of synthetic hemodialysis graft failure. A tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene polymorphism (G to A, position -308) has been shown to increase plasma cytokine levels and severity of diseases with an underlying inflammatory component. Methods We genotyped 67 patients with synthetic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts and examined the association of the high- (AA or GA) and low- (GG) production TNF-α -308 genotypes with the rate of graft failures/thrombosis and graft survival. Results Hemodialysis patients with the high-production TNF-α genotypes had a significantly increased rate of PTFE graft failure at 90 days (37.2% versus 14%) and 1 year (62.8% versus 34.4%) after graft placement compared with patients with the low-production genotype (respectively). Hemodialysis patients with the high-production TNF-α genotypes had significantly lower cumulative PTFE graft survival at 1 year (29.4% ± 11.1% versus 71.2 ± 6.8%) and 2 years (22.1% ± 10.5% versus 48.2 ± 8.1%) compared with patients with the low-production genotype (respectively). Patients with the A allele had approximately twice the mean thrombosis rate compared with those who had the low-production TNF-α genotype (3.3 ± 0.8 versus 1.7 ± 0.4 thromboses/patient/year, respectively; mean ± SEM, p Conclusions These data suggest that the TNF-α -308 A allele is associated with increased PTFE graft thrombosis and failure in hemodialysis patients.
Stimulant Use and Associated Health Risks Among Student and Non-Student Emerging Adults

Illicit stimulant use (e.g., MDMA, “ecstasy”) constitutes a problem among emerging adults (EAs; 18–25 years old). Prescription stimulants are among the most frequently misused medications in this age-group with past year prevalence rates reported as high as 30% in predominantly student samples in the United States. We examined the association of stimulant use with four health risks reported in this age-group—risky alcohol use, other illicit drug use, sleep difficulties, and psychological distress. In a community sample of 1,938 student (n = 929) and nonstudent (n = 1009) EAs (mean age = 21.3; SD = 2.2; 52.7% males), 14.6% reported past month stimulant use; rates were 12.1% and 17.2% among students and nonstudents, respectively. Findings demonstrated a significant association between stimulant use and all four health risks among students and nonstudents EAs. The association between stimulant and opioid use was significantly weaker for students than for nonstudents. The connection between stimulant use and ...
AT LEAST THEY HAD AN ETHOS

AbstractI argue that the uniqueness of comedy lies in its potential for social critique. Reading through Aristotle, Hegel, and Umberto Eco, I show that because comedy is not negative, not a counter-argument, it can expose social structures for what they are.
Implementation of a multicenter performance improvement program for early detection and treatment of severe sepsis in general medical-surgical wards

Sepsis is a leading cause of in-hospital death, and evidence suggests a higher mortality in patients presenting with sepsis on the ward compared to those presenting to the emergency department. Ward patients who develop severe sepsis may have poor outcomes for a variety of reasons, including delayed diagnosis, lack of readily available staffing, and delayed treatment. We report on a multihospital quality improvement program for early detection and treatment of sepsis on general medical-surgical wards. We describe a multipronged approach to improve severe sepsis outcomes using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Plan-Do-Study-Act model. Sixty sites engaged in a collaborative implementation process that aligned people, process, and technology. Based on our experience, we recommend a stepwise approach to implement such a program: (1) both administrative and clinical leadership commit to a common goal; (2) appoint clinical champions and give them authority to engage other clinicians to improve timeliness of interventions; (3) map workflows and processes to rely heavily on the nursing staff's ability to evaluate and report severe sepsis screening results; (4) if available, design and deploy technology with the assistance of clinical informaticians (eg, to enable electronic health records-based continuous screening); (5) to determine success, consider tracking screening compliance and process, and outcome measures such as length of stay and mortality. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;S11:32-S39. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.
3D Tool Evaluation and Workflow for an Ecological Approach to Visualizing Ancient Socio-environmental Landscapes

Architectural reconstructions are the centerpieces of ancient landscape visualization. When present, vegetation is relegated to the background, resulting in an underutilization of plant data—an integral data source for archaeological interpretation—thus limiting the capacity to take advantage of 3D visualization for studying ancient socio-environmental dynamics. Our long-term objective is to develop methods of 3D landscape visualization that have value for examining changes in land use and settlement patterns. To begin to work toward this objective, we have (1) identified 3D tools and techniques for vegetation modeling and landscape visualization, (2) evaluated the pros and cons of these tools, (3) investigated biological and ecological approaches to simulate plant habitats, the data requirements of these approaches, and the pros and cons of these approaches for reconstructing archaeological landscapes, and (4) then built on these findings to propose a workflow to integrate archaeological, paleo-environmental, and ethnobotanical into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for export into a virtual landscape for investigations of ancient socio-environmental interaction. To identify possible 3D digital tools and workflows to visualize plant distribution models alongside archaeological settlement, we keep in mind several key issues: capacity to handle georeferenced data, levels of detail, multi-scalar analysis, and availability of quantitative and qualitative data.
A National Study of Undergraduate Research Experiences in Computing: Implications for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

In this paper, we describe a large-scale, long-term study of a National Science Foundation undergraduate research program via the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Evaluation Toolkit project. The overarching research questions are: what attitudinal shifts occur for undergraduate research experience student participants, and do experience perceptions differ based upon student demographics? Results across two cohort years showed statistically significant gains for several key program level outcomes. However, intent to go to graduate school decreased in both cohorts. Gender and ethnicity differences were observed. Women and underrepresented minority group students had significantly higher scores for several factors. These findings are discussed in context of culturally relevant pedagogy for undergraduate research programs. This study is unique in its scale and scope, providing a depiction of student outcomes across multiple cohorts of a national sample including over 58 computing research sites and more than 900 undergraduate students.
The Problem of Labor in the Philippines

While the retention of the Philippines as a dependency is still a debatable issue, the principles upon which our government there is based are generally endorsed by the American people. These principles assume our responsibility for the welfare, present and future, of a backward race which has come under our control through the most extraordinary accident in modern history; they promise that the race thus appropriated shall be preserved from enemies without and discord within until such time as it may be prepared to maintain its autonomy; they deny the ancient theory that dependencies may be legitimately exploited for the benefit of a controlling state. However sincerely one may deplore the action of President McKinley's administration which brought this burden upon the nation, criticism of an accomplished fact has no bearing upon the problems involved in carrying out a policy necessitated by these principles. They involve a task which is onerous, but they imply an altruism the exercise of which appeals to American idealism. We are called a practical people. We are so in the material development of our territory and in the ordering of our communities built up during a century of rapid exploitation; but no one who understands the national psychology can fail to recognize the tenacity with which Americans cling to certain commonly accepted ideals. Our national history begins with a revolt against overwhelming odds in behalf of an ideal. Every one of our wars has been undertaken in defence of a professed ideal, and whatever opposition their declaration incurred has been avouched in the name of sentiment and morality.
Empirical Production Rate Assessment Models

There are many proposed methodologies for assessing the cost impact of a production rate change. One of the more popular approaches is an application of the Alchian (1959) cost function. Even within this framework there is very little agreement about the relationships among learning, production rate, and program cost. While the models presented in this research require assumptions concerning the cost impact of the above factors in developing models of optimal contractor behavior, others [e.g., Smith (1976), Large, et. al (1974), Bemis (1981, 1983), Cox and Gansler (1981), Crouch (1980), Cox, et. al. (1981), Bohn and Kratz (1984)] address the problem by attempting to statistically estimate the above influences. In these latter studies contractor behavior is not a part of the modeling effort. The purpose of this chapter is to interface the two types of studies and show how estimates of the influences of learning and production rate, which are often statistically unreliable, may be inconsistent with optimal contractor behavior.
Measuring gastric residual volumes in critically ill burn patients - A systematic review.

Abstract Purpose Measuring gastric residual volumes (GRV) is common in intensive care units (ICU) in patients receiving enteral nutrition (EN) and are a common source of feeding interruptions. Interruptions in EN yield adverse outcomes and are an area of improvement in burn care. The objectives of this study are to summarize the literature’s ICU GRV practices and offer practical suggestions to GRV management in the burn patient. Methods PubMed, SCOPUS, and OvidSP Medline were systematically reviewed using the keywords: burns; thermal injury; gastric residual volume; enteral feeding; tube feeding; enteral nutrition; gastric intolerance; ICU; critical illness. Reviews, case reports, and consensus and opinion papers were excluded. Results 26 articles were identified. Six burn-specific studies were identified. GRV practices vary widely and are a common cause of EN interruption. Elevated GRVs do not equate to gastrointestinal intolerance and do not always reflect aspiration risk. Conclusions We advocate a GRV threshold of 500 mL should be used to optimize the benefits of EN in burn ICUs. A single incident of elevated GRVs should not mandate immediate EN rate reduction or cessation but should prompt a thoughtful examination of secondary causes of gastrointestinal intolerance. Randomized controlled trials are needed to define the ideal GRV threshold and re-evaluate its role in burn care.
Molecular Mechanisms Encoding Quantitative and Qualitative Traits of Prion Strains

Yeast, fungal, and mammalian prions determine heritable as well as infectious traits. In mammals, prions cause a group of fatal and rapidly progressive neurodegenerative diseases, originally described as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Variations in prions, which cause different disease phenotypes, are referred to as strains. Mammalian prion strains are differentiated by qualitative characteristics such as clinical symptoms, brain pathology, targeted brain anatomical areas and cells, or Western blot patterns of glycosylated or deglycosylated pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc). Quantitative prion traits are determined by incubation time, prion dose response, proteolytic sensitivity, and conformational stability of PrPSc. The high degree of fidelity with which prion strains replicate requires a precise molecular mechanism that can account for all these characteristics. Remarkable progress in the past decade produced many lines of evidence arguing that prion traits are encoded in the self-replicating conformation of PrPSc that is unique for each strain. Thus, prions behave like proteinaceous genes. The determination of the full spectrum of human and animal prion strains and the conformational features in the pathogenic human prion protein that govern replication of prion strains is essential for the development of diagnostic as well as therapeutic strategies.
CRYSTALLIZATION FROM MISCIBLE POLYMER BLENDS.

Until a few years ago, most of the recognized examples of miscible polymer blend pairs involved only amorphous components. However, recently numerous blend systems have been identified in which one or both components are crystallizable. The systems of interest here are miscible in the melt state, but upon cooling one or more of the components separates from the mixture as a pure crystalline phase. This form of solid-liquid phase separation represents a different situation than a liquid-liquid miscibility gap since complete miscibility may still exist in the remaining amorphous phase. The objective of this paper is to review some of the pertinent fundamental issues and recent results for miscible blends where crystallization is possible.
The Brain and Aging

The brain controls or influences most organ and cell functions in the body, either directly by contact through nerves, or indirectly through hormones. Immediately subservient to the brain is the pituitary, our master endocrine gland. Neurohormones from the brain, called releasing factors, control each of the various pituitary hormones: adrenal cortical trophic hormone (ACTH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), gonadotrophins (LH, FSH), and so on. In turn, these pituitary hormones control the adrenal cortex, thyroid, gonads, and so on, and influence many other endocrine functions (Figure 1). How aging alters the functions of the brain and pituitary is of obvious interest, and yet surprisingly little is known.
Analysis of Power System Mode Meters Under Various Oscillatory Conditions

This paper documents the performance of the Least Squares Autoregressive Moving Average plus Sinusoids (LS-ARMA+S) mode meter under non-sinusoidal oscillatory conditions. Originally developed as a way to eliminate the bias experienced by LS-ARMA mode meters in the presence of forced oscillations, the LS-ARMA+S mode meter was shown to be a promising upgrade under both ambient and forced oscillation conditions. In order to further validate it for real-world application, the LS-ARMA+S mode meter has been analyzed under two of the more common system events; ringdown-type transient responses, and hydro turbine rough zone oscillations. It is shown through extensive Monte Carlo simulations that the LS-ARMA mode meter is biased by each of these types of system events, and that the LS-ARMA+S mode meter can detect and compensate for them, thus reducing or even eliminating the bias. These results further suggest that the LS-ARMA+S mode meter extends the LS-ARMA mode meter beyond ambient conditions to include commonly observed oscillatory events.
A systematic study of resonator quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP)

We recently proposed a resonator structure to increase the quantum efficiency (QE) of a quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP). In this detector systematic parameter study, we have selected two active layer thicknesses, three detector sizes, and three doping levels to investigate the Resonator-QWIP characteristics and the EM modeling in a wide range of detector parameters. To achieve the expected performances, the detector geometry must be produced in precise specification. In particular, the height of the diffractive elements (DE) and the thickness of the active resonator must be uniformly and accurately realized to within 0.05 μm accuracy and the substrates of the detectors have to be removed totally to prevent the escape of unabsorbed light in the detectors. To attain these specifications, two optimized inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching processes are developed to fabricate a number of test detectors. Due to submicron detector feature sizes and overlay tolerance, we use an ASML stepper instead of a contact mask aligner to pattern wafers. The highest QE we found in this study is 64% obtained from a less optimized 30 μm pitch detector with 1.0×1018 cm-3 doping. In generally, the experimental result agrees with the prediction from electromagnetic (EM) modeling, and the R-QWIPs are able to maintain a relatively constant QE as the pixel size shrinks to 6 μm. The present 6 μm pitch R-QWIP FPA can potentially achieve 20 mK NETD at F/1.2 and 12 ms integration time.
RAPID: Memory-Aware NoC for Latency Optimized GPGPU Architectures

The growing parallelism in most of today's applications has led to an increased demand for parallel computing in processors. General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPUs) have been used extensively to support highly parallel applications in recent years. Such GPGPUs generate huge volumes of network traffic between memory controllers (MCs) and shader cores. As a result, the network-on-chip (NoC) fabric can become a performance bottleneck, especially for memory intensive applications running on GPGPUs. Traditional mesh-based NoC topologies are not suitable for GPGPUs as they possess high network latency that leads to congestion at MCs and an increase in application execution time. In this article, we propose a novel memory-aware NoC that has two (request and reply) planes tailored to exploit the traffic characteristics in GPGPUs. The request layer consists of low power, and low latency routers that are optimized for the many-to-few traffic pattern. In the reply layer, flits are sent on fast overlay circuits to reach their destinations in just three cycles (at 1 GHz). In addition, as traditional memory controllers are not aware of the application memory intensity that leads to higher waiting time for applications on the shader cores, we propose an enhanced memory controller that prioritizes burst packets to improve application performance on GPGPUs. Experimental results indicate that our framework yields an improvement of ${\mathrm{4}}-{\mathrm{10}}\times$ in NoC latency, up to 63 percent in execution time, and up to 4× in total energy consumption compared to the state-of-the-art.
The impact of BMI extremes on disease-free survival and overall survival following cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy

Background: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) are increasingly being offered to patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). On the other hand, the prevalence of obesity is also increasing and expected to reach unprecedented rates in the upcoming decades. Therefore, managing patients on either extreme of the body mass index (BMI) range is anticipated to become a routine challenge and it becomes imperative to understand the impact of BMI, as a spectrum, on the long-term outcomes of CRS and HIPEC. We aim to study the short and long-term outcomes of CRS and HIPEC in patients on both extremes of the BMI spectrum. Methods: Patients with PC who underwent CRS and HIPEC over 10 years for ovarian, colorectal, and pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), and whose BMI was recorded were retrospectively included. Patients were divided based on their weight strata. The primary outcomes were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 126 patients were included. Fifty-seven point one percent were females and mean age was 59.31±1.57 years. No difference was noted between the groups in regards to demographics, perioperative characteristics, and immediate postoperative outcomes. Underweight group had a trend toward a higher peritoneal cancer index and lower rates of complete cytoreduction. Optimum BMI for OS and DFS was in the obesity range in colorectal PC, in the overweight range in ovarian PC, and in borderline obesity in PMP. Regression analysis identified underweight as an independent risk factor for shorter DFS, whereas underweight and morbid obesity were risk factors for shorter OS, after adjustment for other factors such as incomplete cytoreduction, tumor histology, and grade. Conclusions: OS and DFS vary across the BMI strata. Ovarian PC demonstrates earlier recurrence and shorter survival, whereas colorectal PC demonstrates the “obesity paradox” as patients move into the realm of obesity. BMI extremes, low or high, generally carry a poor prognosis for OS.
Corruption in the United States and Canada

The United States and Canada, by international comparison, are relatively low in their levels of corruption. In 2017, the U.S. ranked 17th in Transparency International’s global corruption index, while Canada was eighth.
Cyclic resistance ratio of pleistocene-age sands from the South Carolina coastal plain

Abstract Field and laboratory tests were performed on sandy soils from three Pleistocene-age sites in the South Carolina Coastal Plain to investigate the age–related resistance to liquefaction. Reported research indicates that liquefaction resistance of sands increases with the age of the deposit, and that liquefaction may reset the aging clock. The stress-controlled cyclic triaxial test was used to determine the cyclic strength of soil deposits with geologic ages of approximately 200,000, 450,000, and 1,400,000 years and evidence of sand blows that are 467 to 4185 years old. Specimens were obtained using a fixed piston sampler frozen ex situ and include naturally occurring differences in fabric. Cyclic stress ratios ranging from 0.135 to 0.225 were used to determine the peak deviator stress applied during the cyclic triaxial test and were initially estimated from two age-based methods, which were found to over-estimate the laboratory cyclic stress ratio. Estimates of the at-rest earth pressure coefficient were applied to the laboratory cyclic resistance ratio, which resulted in field cyclic resistance ratios that ranged from 0.100 for the oldest deposit (1,400,000 years) to 0.131 for the mid-aged deposit (450,000 years) for initial liquefaction occurring when the generated excess pore pressure was equal to the effective confining stress of 100 kPa (ru = 1.0) at N equal to 15 cycles. The carbon-dated age of the sand blow events correlated with the field cyclic resistance ratios; the geologic ages of the soil deposits did not. A correlation between the clay content, not the fines content, was observed.
Categorical Encoding of Vowels in Primary Auditory Cortex

Speech perception involves mapping from a continuous and variable acoustic speech signal to discrete, linguistically meaningful units. However, it is unclear where in the auditory processing stream speech sound representations cease to be veridical (faithfully encoding precise acoustic properties) and become categorical (encoding sounds as linguistic categories). In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate pattern analysis to determine whether tonotopic primary auditory cortex (PAC), defined as tonotopic voxels falling within Heschl's gyrus, represents one class of speech sounds-vowels-veridically or categorically. For each of 15 participants, 4 individualized synthetic vowel stimuli were generated such that the vowels were equidistant in acoustic space, yet straddled a categorical boundary (with the first 2 vowels perceived as [i] and the last 2 perceived as [i]). Each participant's 4 vowels were then presented in a block design with an irrelevant but attention-demanding level change detection task. We found that in PAC bilaterally, neural discrimination between pairs of vowels that crossed the categorical boundary was more accurate than neural discrimination between equivalently spaced vowel pairs that fell within a category. These findings suggest that PAC does not represent vowel sounds veridically, but that encoding of vowels is shaped by linguistically relevant phonemic categories.
The demography of hurricane effects on two coral populations differing in dynamics

On most tropical coral reefs, decades of disturbances have ratcheted down coral cover to create low abundance communities. In such a state, the reefs of St. John, US Virgin Islands, were hit by two Category 5 hurricanes in September 2017, yet the effects on two sites dominated by Orbicella annularis were minor in terms of coral cover. To explore the implications of this outcome, the fates of O. annularis colonies were determined from photoquadrats and used to prepare size‐based matrix models for the year preceding the storms and the four months bracketing the storms. The populations displayed contrasting dynamics from 1988 to July 2017, with coral cover declining from 43% to 5% at Yawzi Point but remaining at ~30% at Tektite. Over this period, colony sizes declined, with ≥82% having planar areas ≤50 cm² (i.e., the smallest size class) by July 2017, and while densities declined from 47 to 8 colonies/m² at Yawzi Point, they increased from 36 to 51 colonies/m² at Tektite. Hurricanes Irma and Maria depressed coral cover by 1–4%, transitioned colonies into the smallest size class (>87% by November), killed 27% and 5% of the colonies in the smallest size class at Yawzi Point and Tektite, respectively, and depressed the 5‐yr intrinsic rate of population growth (λ) to 0.53–0.87. Twenty‐year projections suggested these demographic effects will not have ecologically meaningful impacts on population size, at least compared to projections initiated assuming Hurricanes Irma and Maria had not occurred. With low cover of O. annularis distributed among many small colonies, future disturbances may play more important roles in winnowing the few remaining host genotypes rather than further depressing coral cover.
Municipal sewage sludge as a source of microplastics in the environment

Abstract Wastewater treatment plants are known to contribute to microplastic (MP) pollution in freshwater and terrestrial environments, but studies on MP abundance in sludge are scarce. This study aimed to (i) conduct a literature review to assess the number and extent of MPs in sludge worldwide, (ii) determine extraction and analytical techniques used to isolate and identify these materials, and (iii) assess the fate and transport of these materials in the environment as a result of sludge disposal and reuse. Research in this area has increased as 12 countries have now reported and quantified MPs in sludge. This study highlights the need to assess the temporal and spatial differences in MP pollution in sludge, this relationship to land-applied biosolids, and the risk to human and ecological health.