cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An improved technique for circuit board interconnect test

The author reviews the self-test features of the IBM RISC System/6000 processor circuit board. Based on this, a technique is described to automate the interconnect wiring test, which is performed as part of the power-on self-test (POST) at the manufacturing stage. Essential to the implementation is the idea of response compression using the multiple input signature registers (MISR). Interconnect wiring defects are diagnosed by comparing the content of the MISR with the expected result after a simple test procedure. Formal analysis shows that a high test coverage can be achieved for the most commonly occurring defects. As a result, the proposed technique has the advantages of low overhead cost and easy fault detection. >
Becoming Venetian: Conversion and Transformation in the Seventeenth-Century Mediterranean

For both (primarily local) Jews and (primarily immigrant) Muslims, becoming Catholic in seventeenth-century Venice entailed a prolonged process of social transformation and insertion into new relations of patronage and surrogate kinship. This article traces these converts' long trajectories after baptism and their ongoing relationship with a charitable institution, the Pia Casa dei Catecumeni (Holy House of the Catechumens). It shows how the Pia Casa was instrumental in shaping distinct forms of charity and surveillance that brought together Venetian elites' corporate spiritual and civic claims while also furthering their individual and family interests by weaving dense networks of patronage. Ultimately, the article considers how conversion operated as a project of metropolitan subject making in the context of Venetian–Ottoman imperial competition.
Prophylactic esophagectomy in Barrett esophagus with high-grade dysplasia

Objectives We review the significance of Barrett mucosa with high-grade dysplasia, management options, rationale for prophylactic esophagectomy, and results of surgical treatment.
Music interferes with learning from television during infancy

Infants are frequently exposed to music during daily activities,including free play, and while viewing infant-directed videotapesthat contain instrumental music soundtracks. In Experiment 1, aninstrumental music soundtrack was played during a live ortelevised demonstration to examine its effects on deferred imitationby 6-, 12-, and 18-month-old infants. Transfer of information wasindexed via deferred imitation of the target actions following a 24-hdelay. For half the infants, the music context was also reinstated atthe time of test. Performance by experimental groups was comparedto that of a baseline control group that participated in the testsession without prior exposure to the demonstration. Imitationperformance was above baseline for the live groups but not for thevideo groups regardless of age or the music context at test. InExperiment 2, we added matched sound effects to the videodemonstration and infants performed above baseline. We concludethat the music track creates additional cognitive load, disruptsselective attention to the target actions and inhibits transfer oflearning from television of the imitation task. Music may impair aninfant’s ability to translate information from a two-dimensional tothree-dimensional world even if the auditory context remains thesame. Copyright r 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Key words: imitation; television; infancy; music; video deﬁcitIncreasingly, television has become a socializing agent during infancy forchildren in the Western world. Music content is a staple of many of theseprogrammes and commercial videos developed for very young audiences.During the 1990s, television programmes such as Teletubbies
The Incidence Divisor of Cycles in Projective Space

For nonnegative integers a, b with a + b + 1 = n, we show the incidence locus has the structure of an effective Cartier divisor in the product of Chow varieties &#x1d49e; a (ℙ n ) × &#x1d49e; b (ℙ n ).
Integrated direct/indirect adaptive robust control of SISO nonlinear systems in semi-strict feedback form

The paper focuses on the synthesis of adaptive robust controllers that achieve not only excellent output tracking performance but also accurate parameter estimations for secondary purposes such as machine health monitoring and prognostics. Such an objective is accomplished through an intelligent integration of the output tracking performance oriented direct adaptive robust control (DARC) design with the recently proposed accurate parameter estimation based indirect adaptive robust control (IARC) design. SISO nonlinear systems transformable to semi-strict feedback forms are considered. Theoretically, regardless of the specific estimation algorithm to be used, certain guaranteed transient performance and final tracking accuracy are achieved even in the presence of uncertain nonlinearities-a desirable feature in applications. In addition, the theoretical performance of adaptive designs - asymptotic output tracking in the presence of parametric uncertainties only - is preserved. The construction of physical parameter estimation law is based on the actual system dynamics and totally independent from the design of underline robust control law, which allows various estimation algorithms having better parameter convergence properties and practical modifications such as the on-line explicit monitoring of signal excitation levels to be used to significantly improve the accuracy of the resulting parameter estimates in implementation.
Polygonizations of point sets in the plane

We examine the different ways a set ofn points in the plane can be connected to form a simple polygon. Such a connection is called apolygonization of the points. For some point sets the number of polygonizations is exponential in the number of points. For this reason we restrict our attention to star-shaped polygons whose kernels have nonempty interiors; these are callednondegenerate star-shaped polygons. We develop an algorithm and data structure for determining the nondegenerate star-shaped polygonizations of a set ofn points in the plane. We do this by first constructing an arrangement of line segments from the point set. The regions in the arrangement correspond to the kernels of the nondegenerate star-shaped polygons whose vertices are the originaln points. To obtain the data structure representing this arrangement, we show how to modify data structures for arrangements of lines in the plane. This data structure can be computed inO(n4) time and space. By visiting the regions in this data structure in a carefully chosen order, we can compute the polygon associated with each region inO(n) time, yielding a total computation time ofO(n5) to compute a complete list ofO(n4) nondegenerate star-shaped polygonizations of the set ofn points.
Object-oriented database access via reflection

The object-oriented programming language Java is an ideal companion to an object-oriented database system. This paper describes our approach to provide an almost seamless application programmer interface that allows Java programs to exchange objects with a database. Unlike other approaches that add persistence capabilities to Java, our approach does not change the Java language nor does it require changes to the Java Virtual Machine. We use reflection, i.e. self-inspection and change of a running program, to map Java classes to database classes, and to enable persistence. The result is a very flexible and efficient style of Java database access.
Pneumocystis pneumonia in the non-HIV population

Purpose: To determine the characteristics of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in non-HIV patients. Methods: Retrospective study of patients with PCP (2006-10). Diagnosis required symptoms of pneumonia and identification of Pneumocystis organisms by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or staining. Results: 128 patients were identified and classified depending on their baseline condition: hematological malignancies (46%), inflammatory processes (20%), solid tumors (13%), transplant (9%), end stage liver disease (4%), COPD/asthma (3%) and other chronic diseases (6%). Laboratory diagnosis was made in BAL in 83 patients, sputum in 41 and biopsy in 4. Pneumocystis jiroveci was identified by PCR in 74% of cases. 67 patients required intensive care unit (ICU) and 53% of them needed ventilatory support. ICU mortality was 27%. 114 patients had received immunosuppressive agents prior to the diagnosis but only 9 were on prophylaxis. Steroids were part of the medication list in 98 patients. Of those, 3 were on steroids less than 6 weeks prior to the diagnosis. If they had received steroids for more than 6 weeks only 61% were on a daily dose. If the patient was only on steroids the mean dose was higher (29 mg/d) that if they were on steroids plus other immunosuppressives agents (22 mg/d). 16 patients were on immunosuppressive therapy but had not received steroids. Rituximab was found in 31% of these cases. No treatment was identified in 14 patients. Conclusions: High level of suspicion for PCP is needed in immunocompromised patients with dyspnea and pulmonary infiltrates even if not on daily dose of steroids. PCP has a high mortality, particularly in ICU patients. Prophylaxis is highly missed and could have prevented most of the cases.
Biological Expression of Antigenic Determinants of Murine Leukemia Virus Proteins gp69/71 and p30

Antisera to purified structural proteins of Rauscher murine leukemia virus, the major envelope glycoprotein, gp69/71, and the major internal protein, p30, were studied by immunofluorescence of viable and fixed virus-infected cells and by virus neutralization. Group-specific and type-specific determinants of gp69/71 were demonstrated by immunofluorescence and virus neutralization tests, indicating that these determinants are located in the cytoplasm and probably on the cell surface as well as on virus envelope. Antisera against p30 showed anti-group and anti-interspecies activities by immunofluorescence with no virus-neutralizing activity. Both antigenic determinants of gp69/71 were sensitive to guanidine-hydrochloride and to a lesser degree to ether treatment, whereas the group-specific determinants of p30 were relatively stable to these treatments.
ERP System Solutions for Small Companies: Readiness & Selection

Over the past decade almost all of major businesses in the US have implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to run daily business operations. However, a complex ERP system, if not implemented properly, can easily disrupt, or sometimes cripple, the flow of the manufacturing and other operations. While large organizations are in a unique position to implement a good RP system, most small companies cannot afford the acquisition and implementation cost of a big name ERP system. Therefore, smaller organizations rely on vendors with affordable, but not necessarily proven, ERP systems. To help small businesses avoid implementation problems and system glitches after ERP implementation, two proactive initiaves are recommended. ERP readiness and ERP selection. This article organizes a checklist for each initiative so that small companies are better prepared to overcome implementation challenges and their expectations are more aligned with the norm of an ERP implementation.
Current Status of Ketamine and Related Therapies for Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite a plethora of established treatments, less than one-third of individuals with MDD achieve stable remission of symptoms. Given limited efficacy and significant lag time to onset of therapeutic action among conventional antidepressants, interest has shifted to treatments that act outside of the monoamine neurotransmitter systems (e.g., serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine). Preclinical and clinical research on the glutamate system has been particularly promising in this regard. Accumulating evidence shows support for a rapid antidepressant effect of ketamine - a glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. The present article reviews the pharmacology, safety, and efficacy of ketamine as a novel therapeutic agent for mood and anxiety disorders. The majority of clinical trials using ketamine have been conducted in patients with treatment resistant forms of MDD; recent work has begun to examine ketamine in bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The impact of ketamine on suicidal ideation is also discussed. The current status and prospects for the identification of human biomarkers of ketamine treatment response and hurdles to treatment development are considered. We conclude by considering modulators of the glutamate system other than ketamine currently in development as potential novel treatment strategies for mood and anxiety disorders.
Endo-β-mannanase activity and seed germination of thermosensitive and thermotolerant lettuce genotypes in response to seed priming

The effects of seed priming on germination and endo-β-mannanase activity at inhibitory and non-inhibitory temperatures in thermosensitive ‘Dark Green Boston’ (DGB) and in thermotolerant ‘Everglades’ (EVE) lettuce were investigated. A single-seed endo-β-mannanase assay was used to follow the enzyme activity during priming. Seeds were primed at 15°C in aerated solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with constant light, then redried. Primed and non-primed seeds germinated 100% at 20°C. At 35°C, non-primed and primed EVE seeds germinated 100%, whereas non-primed seeds of DGB germinated only 4%. During priming, endo-β-mannanase activity increased between 24 and 48 h in EVE and between 24 and 72 h in DGB after the beginning of osmotic imbibition. Endo-β-mannanase activity persisted in primed seeds following seed drying, was detected before radicle protrusion and was present in the micropylar region in front of the radicle tip. Higher enzyme activity was observed in primed seeds and EVE compared with non-primed and DGB seeds. The results suggest that priming may overcome the inhibitory effect of high temperature in thermosensitive lettuce seeds due to increased endo-β-mannanase activity, possibly leading to a weakening of endosperm, thus overcoming thermodormancy.
Distributed spatio-temporal association and tracking of multiple targets using multiple sensors

The problem of tracking multiple targets using nonlinear observations acquired at multiple sensors is addressed by combining particle filtering (PF) with sparse matrix decomposition techniques. Sensors are spatially scattered, while the unknown number of targets may be time varying. A framework is put forth where norm-one regularized factorization is employed to decompose the sensor data covariance matrix into sparse factors whose support facilitates recovery of sensors that acquire informative measurements about the targets. This novel sensors-to-targets association scheme is integrated with PF mechanisms to perform accurate tracking. Precisely, distributed optimization techniques are employed to associate targets with sensors, and PF is integrated to perform target tracking using only the sensors selected by the sparse decomposition scheme. Different from existing alternatives, the novel algorithm can efficiently track and associate targets with sensors even in noisy settings. Extensive numerical tests are provided to demonstrate the tracking superiority of the proposed algorithm over existing approaches.
Polyimide Copolymers Containing Various Levels of the 6F Moiety for High Temperature And Microelectronic Applications

Trifluoromethyl group-containing polyimides not only show extraordinary electrical properties, but they also exhibit excellent long-term thermc-oxidative stability. Among the most thermomechanically stable structural polyimides are those from 6F dianhydride (6FDA) and 6F diamines. The effects of substituting non-fluorine containing monomers such as BTDA, mPDA and 4,4′-DADPS for the hexafluoroisopropylidene monomers on the dielectric, thermo-oxidative, thermal and mechanical properties of the copolymers were studied.
Metabolic Interrelationship between Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and the Citrovorum Factor.∗

SummarySupplementing a low vit. B12-PGA chick diet with either increasing levels of vit. B12 (30 γ and 500 γ/kg) or increasing levels of PGA (2, 100, and 400 mg/kg) resulted in an increased capacity by the liver homogenates to convert added PGA to CF. The results further suggest that the 2 vitamins may influence the converting enzyme system through different mechanisms. In vitro addition of formate and vit. B12 to the liver homo-genate gave only a slight stimulation of PGA to CF conversion by the liver homogenate.
Will laparoscopic lysis of adhesions become the standard of care? Evaluating trends and outcomes in laparoscopic management of small-bowel obstruction using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project Database

Small-bowel obstruction (SBO) is a common disorder and constitutes a significant healthcare burden. Laparoscopic lysis of adhesions (LLOA) for SBO is predicted to decrease complications, shorten hospital stay, and cut healthcare costs compared with the open lysis of adhesions (OLOA); however, large comparison studies are lacking. We evaluated the nationwide adoption of LLOA and compared outcomes with OLOA. We retrospectively analyzed data from 9920 OLOA and 3269 LLOA cases from 2005 to 2013 using the American College of Surgeons prospective National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data set. Annual trends were evaluated using linear regression. Surgery outcomes were compared using two-sample t tests or Mann-Whitney tests. Post-surgical complications were compared using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for comorbidities. The proportion of SBO cases treated by LLOA increased nationwide by 1.6 percent per year (R 2 0.87), from 17.2 % in 2006 to 28.7 % in 2013. Patients undergoing OLOA had longer operations (66 vs 60 min, P < 0.001), longer hospital stay (8.9 vs 4.2 days, P < 0.001), and higher post-surgical complication rates (adjusted odds ratio 2.73 95 % CI 2.36-3.15, P < 0.001) when compared to LLOA. Despite the lack of prospective randomized trials comparing LLOA to OLOA, we found progressive nationwide adoption of LLOA for SBO treatment. Our large retrospective analysis demonstrated clinical benefit and reduced resource utilization for LLOA.
Paint Chip Indians

This essay is a follow up to a previous article “How to Be an Authentic Indian” published in November of 2014 in the California Law Review Circuit. (M. Alexander Pearl, How to Be an Authentic Indian, 5 Cal. L. Rev. Circuit 392 (November 2014). This essay continues the satiric tone of my previous article and focuses on a single nationally relevant issue. With the current media emphasis on the controversy over recent representations of Indians in television and film (such as Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and the Adam Sandler written/directed Ridiculous Six), the essay is topical and examines the critiques and sources themselves. Finally, this essay is intentionally irreverent and critical of mainstream media representations of Indians. It presents a satirical view of mainstream cultural understandings of Indians. In no way does it mock Native communities or culture, instead it presents a critique of majoritarian views of Indians. In addition, the essay questions the internal dialogue in tribal communities regarding the authenticity of Indian identity.
Mechanism of microtubule lumen entry for the α-tubulin acetyltransferase enzyme αTAT1

Microtubules are structural polymers inside of cells that are subject to posttranslational modifications. These posttranslational modifications create functionally distinct subsets of microtubule networks in the cell, and acetylation is the only modification that takes place in the hollow lumen of the microtubule. Although it is known that the α-tubulin acetyltransferase (αTAT1) is the primary enzyme responsible for microtubule acetylation, the mechanism for how αTAT1 enters the microtubule lumen to access its acetylation sites is not well understood. By performing biochemical assays, fluorescence and electron microscopy experiments, and computational simulations, we found that αTAT1 enters the microtubule lumen through the microtubule ends, and through bends or breaks in the lattice. Thus, microtubule structure is an important determinant in the acetylation process. In addition, once αTAT1 enters the microtubule lumen, the mobility of αTAT1 within the lumen is controlled by the affinity of αTAT1 for its acetylation sites, due to the rapid rebinding of αTAT1 onto highly concentrated α-tubulin acetylation sites. These results have important implications for how acetylation could gradually accumulate on stable subsets of microtubules inside of the cell.
Characteristics and predictors of oral cancer knowledge in a predominantly African American community

Purpose To characterize smoking and alcohol use, and to describe predictors of oral cancer knowledge among a predominantly African-American population. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between September, 2013 among drag racers and fans in East St. Louis. Oral cancer knowledge was derived from combining questionnaire items to form knowledge score. Covariates examined included age, sex, race, marital status, education status, income level, insurance status, tobacco and alcohol use. Adjusted linear regression analysis measured predictors of oral cancer knowledge. Results Three hundred and four participants completed questionnaire; 72.7% were African Americans. Smoking rate was 26.7%, alcohol use was 58.3%, and mean knowledge score was 4.60 ± 2.52 out of 17. In final adjusted regression model, oral cancer knowledge was associated with race and education status. Compared with Caucasians, African Americans were 29% less likely to have high oral cancer knowledge (β = -0.71; 95% CI: -1.35, -0.07); and participants with a high school diploma or less were 124% less likely to have high oral cancer knowledge compared with college graduates (β = -1.24; 95% CI: -2.44, -0.41). Conclusions There was lower oral cancer knowledge among African Americans and those with low education. The prevalence of smoking was also very high. Understanding predictors of oral cancer knowledge is important in future design of educational interventions specifically targeted towards high-risk group for oral cancer.
Physician Decision Making and the Web of Influence

The focus-group study by Chimonas, DeVito, and Rothman (2017) is an important contribution to the literature on medical business ethics. Medical business ethics has received growing attention since...
Urban infrastructure-mobility energy flux

Abstract Intra-city trips are undertaken by urban populations as individuals engage in activities across various locations, thus driving energy consumption. Spatial fluctuations in this energy use are, thus, often associated with the locational distribution of urban building types (i.e., residential and commercial). However, people exhibit heterogeneous patterns in their daily activities and the number of locations they visit, which may directly or indirectly influence the energy use patterns in buildings. Here we investigate the interplay between population mobility networks and building types by comparing a total of 27,764,197 positional records from an online social networking platform with energy consumption (i.e., electricity and gas) in Greater London and the City of Chicago over the course of twelve (12) months. The statistically significant spatial dependency between energy use and returners' human mobility networks indicate the dominant role of this population in relation to residential and commercial building energy consumption. This suggests that spatial fluctuations in urban energy consumption are governed by the structure of human mobility networks coupled with building types. Future strategies to improve energy efficiency should thus reflect these spatial dependencies, creating new opportunities for developing more effective energy related practices.
Advances in Laser Physics

In Chapter 2 the problem of the interaction of radiation with matter was investigated within the approximation of first-order perturbation theory. The results so obtained were then used in Chapter 5 to study the static and dynamic behavior of lasers. The equations describing this behavior (rate equations) were arrived at simply on the basis of a balance between the number of photons and the number of atomic transitions occurring.
Environmental Impact Assessment of the Heterogeneity in Consumers’ Usage Behavior: An Agent‐Based Modeling Approach

The aim of this study is to develop a framework for understanding the heterogeneity and uncertainties present in the usage phase of the product life cycle through utilizing the capabilities of an agent‐based modeling (ABM) technique. An ABM framework is presented to model consumers’ daily product usage decisions and to assess the corresponding electricity consumption patterns. The theory of planned behavior (TPB), with the addition of the habit construct, is used to model agents’ decision‐making criteria. A case study is presented on the power management behavior of personal computer users and the possible benefits of using smart metering and feedback systems. The results of the simulation demonstrate that the utilization of smart metering and feedback systems can promote the energy conservation behaviors and reduce the total PC electricity consumption of households by 20%.
Abstract 1591: Inhibition of prostate tumor growth by an extract from the muscadine grape

Despite decades of advancements, cancer remains the second leading cause of mortality in the United States with an estimated 1.7 million new cases and over 600,000 deaths predicted for 2016, indicating a clear need for more effective chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive agents. While natural products derived from plants have served as an abundant source of anticancer agents, it is predicted that less than 2 percent of the plant species with medicinal value have been investigated. Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia) skin and/or seed extracts are a popular nutraceutical supplement due to the high anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative effects of a distinct phytochemical composition of polyphenols and proanthocyanidins. The current study examines the effects of a proprietary muscadine grape extract formulation (MGE; Piedmont Research & Development Corp.) on the proliferation of prostate cancer cells and tumors. MGE inhibited the growth of human LnCaP prostate cancer cells, in both a time- and dose-dependent manner, as quantified using an IncuCyte Zoom Imaging system. Cell growth was reduced by 36.8% after a 5-day treatment with 20 µg/mL MGE compared to untreated cells (n = 6, p Citation Format: Patricia E. Gallagher, E. Ann Tallant. Inhibition of prostate tumor growth by an extract from the muscadine grape [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1591. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1591
Genomic Assays in Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: Implications for Management Decisions.

Objectives Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The management of breast cancer depends on clinical and pathologic prognostic factors that help guide patient treatment. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a noninvasive form of breast cancer with an unpredictable risk of either progression to invasive disease or recurrence. To evaluate the utilization of the DCIS score in a large single-institution population and understand reasons for avoidance in eligible patients. Methods A retrospective chart review of eligible patients with pure DCIS treated by lumpectomy (January 2011-May 2015) was performed. Patients were considered eligible for the assay if they met the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group E5194 pathology criteria. All of the patients underwent breast-conserving surgery and were estrogen receptor positive. Results Of 182 estrogen receptor-positive patients with DCIS who underwent breast-conserving surgery, 31 (17%) had a DCIS assay performed; however, most of the patients did not have a DCIS score assay performed, yet 47.9% of this cohort would have met the pathologic eligibility criteria. Conversely, 82.5% of the patients having the DCIS score evaluated actually met these criteria. Conclusions Tumor size, grade, ER status, and calcifications were drivers of patient selection for 12-gene assay use. E5194 eligibility criteria selected for low risk population. Although a large proportion of patients met eligibility criteria, DCIS Score was infrequently considered for recurrence risk estimation. When performed, assay scores supported omission of radiation for over 75% of cases.
An assessment of the acute dietary exposure to glyphosate using deterministic and probabilistic methods.

Use of glyphosate in crop production can lead to residues of the active substance and related metabolites in food. Glyphosate has never been considered acutely toxic; however, in 2015 the European ...
G-Quadruplex: A Regulator of Gene Expression and Its Chemical Targeting

Summary G-quadruplex (G4) is an important type of nucleic acid secondary structure. An abundance of potential G4-forming sites have been shown to exist in genomes, leading to increasing interest in this research field. G4 motifs are thought to be involved in the regulation of diverse biological processes and to interact with various protein factors. Because of their important regulatory functions, G4s could have a variety of applications, the most meaningful of which is the role of G4s as potential targets of antitumor therapies. Here, we focus on the regulatory functions of G4s in tumor-related gene regulation and the use of G4s in the design of antitumor therapies, including relatively recently reported G4-related binding proteins, regulatory mechanisms, and G4-ligand designs. We also introduce G4 probes for the identification of G4 structure formation in live cells. Finally, we describe some challenges in this field and the new G4-related research field.
Quality Management and Sustainability

In this article, an attempt is made to explain the relationship between sustainability and quality management. The authors contend that quality management is an important part of the concept of sustainability; but that sustainability is a broader concep..
Management of Pain Syndromes

Pain is the overriding fear of the cancer patient. Frequently, those patients who accept the diagnosis of cancer most easily will ask first and foremost: “Doctor, will it be painful?” Actually, in the course of the disease, pain is usually controllable and does not interfere with the patient’s life style. Although patients can be reassured that pain as a terminal event is not common, there are, nonetheless, a number of clinical situations which acutely require pain management and a proportion of patients for whom pain management is the crucial issue in the clinical course.
Ecological Assessment and Rehabilitation Prioritization for Improving Springs Ecosystem Stewardship

Abstract Springs are highly productive, biologically diverse, and culturally important but are highly threatened groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Assessment of the ecological integrity and rehabilitation potential of springs differs geomorphologically, ecologically, and socioeconomically from those of other lotic and lentic aquatic ecosystems. The Museum of Northern Arizona's Springs Stewardship Institute developed the springs ecosystem assessment protocol (SEAP), a rapid assessment approach based on quantitative data and expert evaluation of the condition of and risk to springs in relation to physical, biological, and sociocultural characteristics and impacts. The SEAP identifies the ecological conditions and risks within and among springs within landscapes, and provides coarse-scale stewardship prioritization. We conducted a SEAP analysis on 153 randomly selected springs in Coconino and Kaibab National Forests in northern Arizona, and used those results to inform forest managers and develop stewardship prioritization criteria (SPC) to facilitate agency-based stewardship prioritization and planning. Springs in moderate ecological condition and at moderate risk were likely to maximize rehabilitation benefit-cost ratios, and therefore were considered to be higher priority. Combined scientific (SEAP) and management assessment and prioritization (SPC) was used to select 50 high priority sites for rehabilitation planning in the two forests. The coupled SEAP-SPC approach stimulated a partnership among Kaibab National Forest, a grazing allotment holder, and two Native American tribes to restore two forest springs on North Kaibab Ranger District in 2014. This two-stage approach is recommended as an effective means of integrating science with management criteria to improve the ecological sustainability of springs ecosystems.
Soft-packaged sensory glove system for human-like natural interaction and control of prosthetic hands

People with hand amputations experience strenuous daily life challenges, often leading to lifelong use of a prosthetic hand(s) and services. Modern advanced prosthetic hands must be able to provide human hand-like sensory perceptions to receive external stimuli during daily activities while simultaneously replicating a realistic appearance and physical properties to naturally integrate in social contexts; however, the practical realization of these issues are impeded by a lack of effective methodologies. Herein, we present an optimal set of materials, design layouts, and fabrication schemes to construct an easy-to-wear seamless electronic glove (e-glove) suitable for arbitrary hand shapes that provides all of the desired human hand-like features. The system configuration involves a connection to a control wristwatch unit for real-time display of sensory data measured and remote transmission to the user. The experimental and computational studies provide details regarding the underlying principles of the materials selection, mechanics design, and operational management of the entire system. The demonstration of the e-glove system in interactions with human subjects illustrates the utility, comfort, and convenience of this device. A stretchy glove loaded with sensors can be slipped over any prosthetic hand to help amputees regain sensory perceptions. Devices meant to replace hands have complex movements, which make them challenging to integrate with wearable electronic sensors. Min Ku Kim from Purdue University in West Lafayette, USA and colleagues have overcome this problem by combining pressure, temperature, hydration, and electrophysiological sensors into nitrile gloves similar to those worn in laboratories. The ‘e-glove’ is fabricated by printing components such as silver ink-based thermal resistors onto the glove and then coating the device with a soft, skin-like silicone polymer. Signals received from the e-glove are displayed on a wristwatch display. The team demonstrated sensing of everyday items, including damp diapers, while simultaneously keeping tabs on a user’s heartrate and muscle exertion. Amputees with prosthetic hands face challenges accomplishing ordinary tasks in daily life. An optimal set of materials, design layouts, and assembly schemes is presented for the construction of stretchable sensor circuits on an easy-to-wear rubber glove, allowing for the seamless integration with arbitrary prosthetic hands. A wristwatch unit provides the ability for both real-time display and post-analysis of the measured signals, enabling efficient interactions with the users. A precisely engineered soft packaging layer offers realistic human hand-like appearance, physical attributes, and warmth, thereby promoting its potential applications in more natural integration of prosthetic hand users into many social settings.
The Bureaucracy of Plans: Urban Governance and Maps in Nineteenth-Century Paris:

This essay examines the historical role of graphic maps and plans in the Parisian municipal bureaucracy during the nineteenth century. Maps and plans became an important means to consolidate and or...
Cost Analysis of Routine Vitrectomy Surgery

Purpose To use electronic health record (EHR) time logs to calculate the complete cost profiles of routine pars plana vitrectomy surgery. Design Economic analysis. Participants Patients undergoing elective vitrectomy procedures (Current Procedural Terminology codes 67040, 67041, and 67042) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in fiscal year 2019. Methods Process flow mapping for routine vitrectomy surgery was used to define the operative episode. De-identified time logs were sourced from an internal perioperative data warehouse to calculate procedure-level durations. The costs of materials and overhead were calculated from internal financial management software. Costs per minute for space, equipment, and personnel were based on internal figures. These inputs were used for a time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) analysis. Main Outcome Measures Complete cost profile of routine pars plana vitrectomy surgery. Results Cost analysis of routine vitrectomy surgery resulted in a total cost of $7169.79 per patient, which was $2053.85 more than the maximum Medicare reimbursement for the equivalent episode, $5115.93. Vitrectomy cases do not break even unless the case duration is fewer than 26.81 minutes, overhead is reduced by 53.78%, or reimbursement is increased by 40.15%. Reimbursement does not compensate for variable costs alone for cases lasting longer than 55.09 minutes. In the cohort used here, 68% of cases are completely unprofitable, with increasing losses directly proportional to the length of the case. Conclusions This analysis showed that true costs for routine vitrectomy procedures are significantly more than the maximum allowable Medicare reimbursement. Academic ophthalmology departments may benefit from more accurate costing approaches using existing EHR data. These approaches may be informative for policy discussion regarding appropriate reimbursement.
Via resistance increase accelerated by thermal stress

Abstract The resistance between an aluminum (Al) metal line and a tungsten (W) via increased after thermal stress. In the wafer processing, the post W chemical mechanical planarization (WCMP) cleaning left residual WO3 on the W plug. Since the resistivity of WO3 is low, the interfacial resistance was low and escaped the first electrical detection. However, the WO3 was spontaneously reduced by the Ti of the overlaying metal line, through which TiO2 formed. The reduction was accelerated by a thermal stress. Compared with WO3, TiO2 has a more negative formation enthalpy, and the valence electrons of Ti are more tightly bound to the O ion cores. As a result, the resistivity of TiO2 is higher than that of WO3. In addition, there was Al diffusing through TiN to reduce the oxides of both Ti and W. The product Al2O3 is thermodynamically the most stable, and the most resistive amongst the oxides of the three metals. Meanwhile, due to its superhydrophilicity, the residual WO3 had retained liquid that contained hydrofluoric acid (HF) used for the post WCMP cleaning. The HF corroded the Ti glue layers of both the via sidewall and the overlaying metal line. The dry etch of the metal line exposed the Ti-corroded volume of the metal line to the deionized (DI) water for the post metal-etch cleaning. The DI water oxidized the Ti on the W plug. The W/TiN interface on the W plug was also subjected to enhanced mechanical stress which led to voids along the interface. All these factors had caused an increase of the via resistance which eventually became high enough to be detected. The fix employed was to increase the NH4OH concentration to more effectively remove the residual WO3. The thermal stress implemented in the fab therefore had prevented the residual WO3 from developing into a costly field failure.
The Perpetual Growth Model and the Cost of Computational Efficiency: Rounding Errors or Wild Distortions?

The constant growth model (Gordon, 1962) plays an important role in the stock selection process for individual investors, in part, because of its computational simplicity. However, value estimates from the model can be highly dependent on cash flows to be received in the distant future. If future events might constrain a firm’s growth or lead to its demise, the unadjusted Gordon model can substantially overstate value. Because the model is less likely to misstate value for low-growth, high-payout firms, the ironic implication is that the model is most useful when its ability to value growth is needed least.
Polymers for Surface‐Functionalization and Biocompatibility of Inorganic Nanocrystals

Hybrid nanomaterials combining inorganic nanostructures with organic molecules such as polymers and biomolecules offer flexible platforms with size- and composition-tunable properties. These materials have shown promising use in an array of applications ranging from optical devices to biologically active platforms, facilitating important functions such as sensing, imaging, and as diagnostic tools. One of the key requirements to the integration of these inorganic nanostructures into biology is the ability to effectively control and tune their interfaces with the surrounding media. Block copolymers provide versatile molecules with dimensions comparable to those of the inorganic nanostructures and the ability to chemically tune their properties and behavior (solubility and such) over multiple length scales. Amphiphilic polymers have been used by several groups as ligands or/and capsules to promote the transfer of a variety of inorganic nanomaterials (Au nanoparticles, magnetic nanocrystals, and semiconducting nanocrystals) to buffer media and to render them biocompatible. In this article, we provide an overview of the recent developments using various amphiphilic polymers to interface inorganic nanocrystals with biological media. We start with a brief description of the most common routes for growing a few representative high quality nanocrystals of semiconductors (ie, quantum dots), metal, and metal oxide materials. We then discuss the strategies to solubilize those nanocrystals in buffer media using amphiphilic polymers and provide a few representative examples where these hydrophilic platforms have been used as sensors and imaging probes. Keywords: Amphiphilic polymers; quantum dots; magnetic nanoparticles; gold nanoparticles; bioconjugation; imaging; sensing
The Fate of Massive Stars: Collapse, Bounce and Shock Formation

This lecture, together with those of Hans Bethe, and Amos Yahil and James Lattimer which follow, deal with Supernova theory. Some past work on this subject will be summarized, but chiefly we shall report on the work of the BABBLY group: Bethe, Applegate, Baym, Brown, Lattimer and Yahil. I shall deal with the collpase of massive stars, bounce and shockm formation. Much of the discussion will be conductde by “engineering methods”, summarizing general features of extensive computer calculations, with some background theory to connect these features. Amos Yahil and James Lattimer will give these general features a theoretical foundation, in discussing self-similar collapse and hydrostatic models of the core and the shock. Hans Bethe will conclude, with a discussion of shock propagation, neutrino diffusion and formation of compact remmants. The work of the BABBLY group has appeared in references 10 (BBAL), 13 (BAB) and 20 (B3).
High-efficiency, one-step starch utilization by transformed Saccharomyces cells which secrete both yeast glucoamylase and mouse alpha-amylase

Transformed, hybrid Saccharomyces strains capable of simultaneous secretion of glucoamylase and alpha-amylase have been produced. These strains could carry out direct, one-step assimilation of starch, with conversion efficiency greater than 93% during a 5-day growth period. One of the transformants converted 92.8% of available starch into reducing sugars in only 2 days. Glucoamylase secretion by these strains resulted from expression of one or more chromosomal STA genes derived from Saccharomyces diastaticus. The strains were transformed by a plasmid (pMS12) containing mouse salivary alpha-amylase cDNA in an expression vector containing yeast alcohol dehydrogenase promoter and a segment of yeast 2 micron plasmid. The major starch hydrolysis product produced by crude amylases found in culture broths was glucose, indicating that alpha-amylase and glucoamylase acted cooperatively.
Abstract T MP19: Optogenetic Stimulation of Cerebellar Dentate Nucleus Promotes Persistent Functional Recovery After Stroke

Objective: Functional recovery after stroke has been observed in both human and animal studies. Post-stroke brain stimulations are promising neurorestorative techniques as they allow direct manipulation of the target area’s excitability. Previously we have demonstrated that optogenetic neuronal stimulation of the ipsilesional primary motor cortex promotes functional recovery. To determine an optimal brain stimulation target, we test whether optogenetic neuronal stimulation of the contralesional cerebellar dentate nucleus (cLCN) can promote recovery. We hypothesize that stimulation of cLCN may be more effective, as it sends excitatory outputs to multiple motor and premotor areas. Methods: Thy-1-ChR2-YFP line-18 transgenic male mice were used. Mice underwent stereotaxic surgery to implant a fiber cannula in cLCN, followed by an intraluminal middle cerebral artery suture occlusion. Three groups of mice were used: control non-stimulated stroke mice, short stim stimulated stroke mice (day5-14 post-stroke) and long stim stimulated stroke mice (day5-28 post-stroke). Sensorimotor behavior tests (rotating beam tests) were used to assess their recovery at day 0, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 post-stroke. Results: Our data showed that stimulated stroke mice recovered quickly, with significant improvement in distance traveled as early as day7 (p<0.05), and faster speed at day14 post-stroke (p<0.001). To evaluate whether the effect of cLCN stimulation was persistent, we tested the effects of short stim (day5-14) and long stim (day5-28) on recovery. Interestingly, the short stim group continued to recover after day14 without further stimulations and the long stim group did not further enhance recovery, indicating that functional outcome of cLCN stimulation is persistent, and prolonged stimulations may not be necessary to achieve permanent recovery. Analysis of pCREB activation showed that cLCN stimulation activates the dentatothalamocortical pathway. Conclusion: Our data suggest that cLCN stimulations post-stroke can promote functional recovery, and this pro-recovery effect is persistent. Current studies examine the mechanisms of cLCN-induced recovery, including cortical excitability and synaptic/plasticity markers.
A follow-up study of patients with cervical dysplasia

Abstract Five hundred and fifty-seven patients with cervical dysplasia detected cytologically were followed without biopsy or therapy to examine the natural history of the disease. At the end of the follow-up period transition probabilities were calculated and transit times of mild, moderate, and severe dysplasia to carcinoma in situ were computed. These transit times ranged from a median of 86 months for patients with mild dysplasia to 12 months for a patient with severe dysplasia. The median transit time to carcinoma in situ for all dysplasias was 44 months.