cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Financial Ratios as Predictors of Managerial Fraud in Community Banks: The Analytic Model of Management Fraud

The incident of management misbehavior has been increasing in the last decade. The present financial crisis has exposed additional episodes of questionable, improper, and possibly illegal actions by managers of financial institutions. By combining techniques used in financial analysis and theoretical constructs of the study of managerial fraud, the Analytic Model of Management Fraud is developed. The conceptual framework reflected in the Analytic Model of Management Fraud is that financial statements provide a lens to view the actions of management and determine conditions that increase the likelihood of management fraud occurring. Using three groups of financial ratios produced by the FDIC the model was tested on Community Banks for a period of three years before the occurrence of management fraud. The results of study supports that certain performance ratios are predictive of conditions that increase the likelihood of management fraud occurring.
Oral Histories as Living Histories

History is not merely that which has happened in the past; it is also what people think has happened-present meanings of what has passed. Narratives we construct about the past give meaning to history, as well as reflect the ways in which we understand ourselves. Something that holds great meaning for us one day might be forgotten later on, just as that which seemed trivial at one time might become meaningful at another time. Our memories continually reflect our understandings of our past in relation to our understandings of the present.
Scaling laws for fatigue crack

A set of scaling laws has been developed for describing intermittent as well as continuous fatigue crack growth of large cracks in steels in the power-law regime. The proposed scaling laws are developed on the basis that fatigue crack growth occurs as the result of low-cycle fatigue (LCF) failure of a crack-tip element whose width and height correspond to the dislocation cell size and barrier spacing, respectively. The results show that the effects of microstructure on fatigue crack growth can be described entirely in terms of a dimensionless microstructural parameter, ξ, which is defined in terms of yield stress, fatigue ductility, dislocation cell size, and dislocation barrier spacing. For both discontinuous and continuum crack growth, the crack extension rate,da/dN, scales with ξ and(ΔK/E) m, where ΔK is the stress intensity range, m is the crack growth exponent, andE is Young's modulus. Application of the model to high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) and conventional ferritic, ferritic/pearlitic, and martensitic steels reveals that the lack of a strong microstructural influence on fatigue crack growth in the power-law regime is due to increasing yield stress and fatigue ductility with decreasing dislocation barrier spacing, which leads to a narrow range of ξ values and crack growth rates. Variation ofda/dN data with microstructure in HSLA-80 steels is explained in terms of the proposed model. Other implications of the scaling laws are also presented and discussed in conjunction with several fatigue models in the literature.
EFFECT OF VARIOUS SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS ON HEPARIN BINDING AND CLOT FORMATION ON GRAPHITE SURFACES.

SummaryVarious surface-active agents were evaluated for their ability to bind heparin to graphite-coated plastic and thus produce a prosthetic surface resistant to thrombus formation. Both in vitro and in vivo studies indicated that only cationic agents bound heparin to graphite. After the positively charged cationic agent is adsorbed to the graphite surface, it can in turn bind the negatively charged heparin and thus present to the blood stream, at least initially, a surface rich in heparin.
A Cobalt–Dithiolene Complex for the Photocatalytic and Electrocatalytic Reduction of Protons

The complex [Co(bdt)2]− (where bdt = 1,2-benzenedithiolate) is an active catalyst for the visible light driven reduction of protons from water when employed with Ru(bpy)32+ as the photosensitizer and ascorbic acid as the sacrificial electron donor. At pH 4.0, the system exhibits very high activity, achieving >2700 turnovers with respect to catalyst and an initial turnover rate of 880 mol H2/mol catalyst/h. The same complex is also an active electrocatalyst for proton reduction in 1:1 CH3CN/H2O in the presence of weak acids, with the onset of a catalytic wave at the reversible redox couple of −1.01 V vs Fc+/Fc. The cobalt–dithiolene complex [Co(bdt)2]− thus represents a highly active catalyst for both the electrocatalytic and photocatalytic reduction of protons in aqueous solutions.
Effect of disorder on superconductivity in the presence of spin-density wave order

The majority of unconventional superconductors has close proximity to a magnetic phase. In many cases, the magnetic phase coexists with superconductivity in some fraction of the phase diagram. The response of these two competing phases to disorder can be used as a tool to gain a better understanding of these complex systems. Here I consider the effect of disorder on a multiband superconductor appropriate for the ferro-pnictide superconductors. I consider both interband and intraband scattering for a two-band model consisting of a hole pocket and an electron pocket. The scattering from pointlike impurities is treated within the self-consistent Born approximation. I calculate the effect of disorder on the transition temperature to the superconducting state. The influence of impurity scattering on the low-energy excitation spectrum in the superconducting state is also studied for different kinds of gap structures.
CRT-817 Intentional Right Atrial Exit For Microcatheter Infusion Of Pericardial Carbon Dioxide Or Iodinated Contrast To Facilitate Sub-xiphoid Access

Sub-xiphoid access to the ‘dry’ pericardium is required for structural and electrophysiological procedures, but is associated with significant risk of right ventricular or coronary artery laceration. If present, an effusion protects the heart from needle injury by separating the myocardium from
Influence of gonadectomy on Candida albicans urinary tract infection in CFW mice.

Candida albicans appeared in the urine of approximately 80% of CFW mice of both sexes within 2 weeks after intraperitoneal inoculation. During a follow-up period of 10 weeks, candiduria tended to clear, but persisted in 37% of males as compared to only 16% in females. Autopsy kidney cultures yielded candida in 53% of males as compared to 25% of females. Urine cultures in both sexes when positive contained 103.5 to 104.5 candida/ml regardless of the outcome of the infection. Preinoculation gonadectomy in both sexes increased resistance to the infection but did not alter the quantitative aspects of candiduria.
Considering FERPA requirements for library patron databases within a consortial environment

abstractThis case study examines patron record privacy and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) within a consortial environment. FERPA requirements were examined, as well as college and library policy and procedure. It was determined that information in library patron records is directory information and, under most circumstances, does not need FERPA protections. However, the needs of the confidential student, who requests confidentiality of all information, including directory information, were identified as not having been addressed. Reed Library adjusted policy and procedures to meet the needs of the confidential student and fulfill FERPA requirements.
Diagnosis and Treatment of the Dry Eye: A Clinical Perspective

The assumption that dry eye implies a lack of tears has caused clinicians to focus on wetting the dry eye and industry to develop artificial tear products that are retained longer and coat the ocular surface better. Simply categorizing the dry eye as being “dry” has not been very helpful in designing treatments. Thus wetting the dry eye has not proved universally effective. The term keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) implies inflammation. I believe that ignoring the inflammation component of dry eye has created much of the difficulty in the diagnosis and treatment of KCS. I suggest that the key is not the lack of tears or tear production, but the presence or absence of inflammation that is the key to effective diagnosis and treatment. Developing ways to measure, identify, and quantify ocular surface, tear film, and lacrimal gland inflammation will be quite useful, as will new therapies to treat and prevent inflammation.
"Low" versus "high" concentration chymotrypsin in gastric exfoliative cytology.

Two hundred patients having gastric cytology were studied by both a “low” dose chymotrypsin and a “high” dose chymotrypsin lavage. The high dose chymotrypsin generally resulted in a superior specimen for diagnosis. The morphological quality of the cells was not affected and, in general, the yield of diagnostic cells was improved. However, over-all cancer detection was not enhanced by increasing the concentration of chymotrypsin. Thirteen of 14 patients with malignancy had a correct diagnosis. There was one false positive test in 186 patients with benign disease. It is suggested that chymotrypsin at a concentration between 5 and 6 mg per 100 ml in the acetate buffer, pH 5.6, will increase the diagnostic quality of cells and permit easier gastric cytological diagnosis.
The Link: Trauma and Substance Abuse

Trauma ldquo is categorized as an overwhelming life changing experience and is typically a physical and or emotional shock to the very fiber of one rsquo s being rdquo It is a priority that those who experience trauma in their lives seek help from a licensed professional to deal with the emotional damage caused by the trauma s and to be taught necessary coping skills to prevent them from seeking solace in unhealthy ways like abusing drugs and or alcohol Research proposes that all types of trauma and the aftermath that follows will likely impact the ldquo exposed population rsquo s behavioral health resulting in an increase in mental and substance use disorders along with a decline in perceived quality of life rdquo Survey results teach us that more than adolescents receiving treatment for substance abuse across the country have a history of trauma in their lives
Stress and Reproduction in Reptiles

Publisher Summary Studies of reptiles have shown that a variety of stressors induce a stress response with an increase in plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels and that this increase in corticosterone may affect gonadal function, reproductive behavior, pregnancy and egg-laying success, survival, and other aspects of fitness. There is also evidence that the effects of stress in reptiles may be modulated by environment, sex, reproductive state, season, mating strategy, and tradeoffs between survival probability and reproductive success. This chapter describes behavioral, endocrine, and neural stress responses and their effects on reproduction in reptiles. It proposes a functional definition of stress for both acute and chronic conditions. The effects of stress on reproduction within the context of natural life histories are discussed. A summary of the pertinent findings of the reviewed literature is also presented. Stress in reptiles can inhibit male behaviors that are necessary for successful reproduction. In reptiles, CORT appears to inhibit male behavior by mechanisms that are largely independent of changes in circulating androgens. Evidence from studies of the green anole lizard suggests that stressor-induced increases in plasma CORT might affect how males respond in future social interactions.
Intracoronary Blockade of Nitric Oxide Synthetase Limits Coronary Vasodilation During Submaximal Exercise

The vascular endothelium is important in modulating vasomotor tone (1,3). Among the important vasoactive substances synthesized by endothelial cells is endothelium-derived relaxing factor or nitric oxide (NO), which is synthesized from the amino acid L-arginine and catalyzed by nitric oxide synthase (16,33) in response to many stimuli including flow-induced shear stress at the interface between blood and the endothelial cell surface (7,8). This flow-dependent control seems to be important in the coronary circulation due to the extremely pulsatile nature of flow patterns in this vascular bed.
Development of a protease-resistant reporter to quantify BCR–ABL activity in intact cells

A peptidase-resistant ABL kinase substrate was developed by identifying protease-susceptible bonds on an ABL substrate peptide and replacing flanking amino acids with non-native amino acids. After an iterative design process, the lead, or designed, peptide X-A possesses a six-fold longer life in a cytosolic lysate than that of the starting peptide. The catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) of purified ABL kinase for the lead peptide (125 s−1 μM−1) is similar to that of the starting peptide (103 s−1 μM−1) demonstrating preservation of the peptide's ability to serve as a kinase substrate. When incubated in cytosolic lysates, the lead peptide is slowly degraded into 4 fragments over time. In contrast, when loaded into intact cells, the peptide is metabolized into 5 fragments, with only 2 of the fragments corresponding to those in the lysate. Thus the two environments possess differing peptidase activities, which must be accounted for when designing peptidase-resistant peptides. In both settings, the substrate is phosphorylated by BCR–ABL providing a readout of BCR–ABL activity. A small panel of tyrosine kinase inhibitors verified the substrate's specificity for BCR–ABL/ABL kinase activity in both lysates and cells in spite of the multitude of other kinases present. The designed peptide X-A acts as a long-lived BCR–ABL kinase reporter in the leukemic cells possessing the BCR–ABL mutation.
What Bankruptcy Law Can and Cannot Do for Puerto Rico

This article is based on a February 2016 keynote address given at the University of Puerto Rico Law Review Symposium “Public Debt and the Future of Puerto Rico.” Thus, much of it remains written in the first person, and so the reader may imagine the joy of being in the audience. (Citations and footnotes have been inserted before publication ‒ sidebars that no reasonable person would ever have inflicted upon a live audience, even one interested in bankruptcy law. Rhetorical accuracy thus yields to scholarly pedantics.) The analysis explains how bankruptcy law not only can but will be required to remedy Puerto Rico’s financial woes, be it through the explicit provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or an ad hoc analogue. It also cautions, however, that the necessary underlying structural reforms cannot arise from bankruptcy (or any other) judicial proceeding.
Continuous-model communication complexity with application in distributed resource allocation in wireless Ad hoc networks

Distributed resource allocation is an important problem in wireless ad hoc networks, in which there is no centralized scheduler and the resource allocation is carried out in a distributed way. Information exchange in the distributed resource allocation incurs overhead since it does not convey data information. The communication complexity, defined as the minimum number of exchanged messages needed for computing a common function with distributed inputs, is studied and the resource allocation is considered to be the procedure of computing a common function whose inputs are the parameters of multiple communication links. A lower bound for the communication complexity is provided based on the first order differentiation of the output function of resource allocation by extending the two-input-single-output case in [9] to multi-input-multi-output case. The conclusion is then applied to a concrete example of distributed resource allocation.
Single cell analysis of lincRNA expression during human blastocyst differentiation identifies TERT (+) multi-lineage precursor cells

Chromosome instability and aneuploidies occur very frequently in human embryos, impairing proper embryogenesis and leading to cell cycle arrest, loss of cell viability, and developmental failures in 50-80% of cleavage-stage embryos. This high frequency of cellular extinction events represents a significant experimental obstacle challenging analyses of individual cells isolated from human preimplantation embryos. Here, we carried out single cell expression profiling analyses of 241 individual cells recovered from 32 human embryos during the early and late stages of viable human blastocyst differentiation. Classification of embryonic cells was performed solely based on expression patterns of human pluripotency-associated transcripts (HPAT), which represent a family of transposable element-derived lincRNAs highly expressed in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and regulating nuclear reprogramming and pluripotency induction. We then validated our findings by analyzing 1,708 individual embryonic cells recovered from more than 100 human embryos and 259 mouse embryonic cells at different stages of preimplantation embryogenesis. Our experiments demonstrate that segregation of human blastocyst cells into distinct sub-populations based on single-cell expression profiling of just three HPATs (HPAT-21; -2; and -15) appears to inform key molecular and cellular events of naive pluripotency induction and accurately captures a full spectrum of cellular diversity during human blastocyst differentiation. HPAT9s expression-guided spatiotemporal reconstruction of human embryonic development inferred from single-cell expression analysis of viable blastocyst differentiation enabled identification of TERT(+) sub-populations, which are significantly enriched for cells expressing key naive pluripotency regulatory genes and genetic markers of all three major lineages created during human blastocyst differentiation. Results of our analyses suggest that during early stages of preimplantation embryogenesis putative immortal multi-lineage precursor cells (iMPCs) are created, which then differentiate into trophectoderm, primitive endoderm and pluripotent epiblast lineages. We propose that cellular extinction events in cleavage-stage embryos are triggered by premature activation of HPAT lincRNAs reflecting failed iMPC9s creation attempts.
Adenosine Shifts Plasticity Regimes between Associative and Homeostatic by Modulating Heterosynaptic Changes.

Endogenous extracellular adenosine level fluctuates in an activity-dependent manner and with sleep–wake cycle, modulating synaptic transmission and short-term plasticity. Hebbian-type long-term plasticity introduces intrinsic positive feedback on synaptic weight changes, making them prone to runaway dynamics. We previously demonstrated that co-occurring, weight-dependent heterosynaptic plasticity can robustly prevent runaway dynamics. Here we show that at neocortical synapses in slices from rat visual cortex, adenosine modulates the weight dependence of heterosynaptic plasticity: blockade of adenosine A1 receptors abolished weight dependence, while increased adenosine level strengthened it. Using model simulations, we found that the strength of weight dependence determines the ability of heterosynaptic plasticity to prevent runaway dynamics of synaptic weights imposed by Hebbian-type learning. Changing the weight dependence of heterosynaptic plasticity within an experimentally observed range gradually shifted the operating point of neurons between an unbalancing regime dominated by associative plasticity and a homeostatic regime of tightly constrained synaptic changes. Because adenosine tone is a natural correlate of activity level (activity increases adenosine tone) and brain state (elevated adenosine tone increases sleep pressure), modulation of heterosynaptic plasticity by adenosine represents an endogenous mechanism that translates changes of the brain state into a shift of the regime of synaptic plasticity and learning. We speculate that adenosine modulation may provide a mechanism for fine-tuning of plasticity and learning according to brain state and activity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Associative learning depends on brain state and is impaired when the subject is sleepy or tired. However, the link between changes of brain state and modulation of synaptic plasticity and learning remains elusive. Here we show that adenosine regulates weight dependence of heterosynaptic plasticity: adenosine strengthened weight dependence of heterosynaptic plasticity; blockade of adenosine A1 receptors abolished it. In model neurons, such changes of the weight dependence of heterosynaptic plasticity shifted their operating point between regimes dominated by associative plasticity or by synaptic homeostasis. Because adenosine tone is a natural correlate of activity level and brain state, modulation of plasticity by adenosine represents an endogenous mechanism for translation of brain state changes into a shift of the regime of synaptic plasticity and learning.
Minimally invasive left thoracotomy and prosthetic valve mini skirt for recurrent mitral paravalvular regurgitation

I po nahradě chlopenni protezy se lze setkat s paravalvularnim leakem. V připadě významneho paravalvularniho leaku s doprovodnými symptomy nebo hemolýzou je nutno misto leaku uzavřit. V literatuře byla popsana řada operacnich postupů vcetně katetrizacnich intervenci i hybridnich metod pro řeseni paravalvularniho leaku. Popisujeme minimalně invazivni levou thorakotomii, ktera může zajistit uzavěr recidivujiciho paravalvularniho leaku u pacienta, u něhož se již popate provaděla operace na otevřenem srdci.Při teto chirurgicke metodě se provadi minimalně invazivni levostranna thorakotomie, při niž se nasitim kusu protetickeho materialu (bovinniho perikardu nebo uměleho materialu) s použitim prolenu vytvoři jakasi "mini skirt" kolem komercně dostupne chlopně a chlopeň se standardnim způsobem umisti do prstence. Po usazeni chlopně v anulu se provede sutura protetickeho materialu kolem cele stěny srdecni sině, aniž by doslo k uzavěru usti plicnich žil. Zda se, že tato strategie představuje vhodne řeseni některých paravavularnich leaků v blizkosti vsech životně důležitých struktur. Při tomto postupu neni nutno vyvijet tah na rigidni anulus ani využivat přilehlou životně důležitou tkaň v okoli anulu mitralni chlopně. Domnivame se, že tato chirurgicka metoda je přinosna a představuje dalsi užitecnou metodu, ktera by se měla stat soucasti možných postupů při řeseni podobných připadů.
The Functional Neuroanatomy of the Auditory Cortex

Primates have an array of cortical areas that are devoted to processing auditory inputs and are arranged in a hierarchical pattern. Three primary or primarylike areas, termed A1 for the traditional primary area, R for the rostral area, and RT for the rostrotemporal area, constitute the first level of cortical processing. These areas appear to be activated via parallel outputs from the ventral division of the medial geniculate nucleus of the auditory thalamus. These primary areas of the auditory core project to a surrounding belt of eight proposed secondary auditory fields that distribute differently to two caudal and rostral divisions of the third level of auditory processing in cortex termed the auditory parabelt. The belt areas, together with the parabelt divisions, distribute more broadly to higher-level areas in the temporal lobe and frontal cortex that are largely bi-sensory or multisensory and relate to a diverse range of functions. Core, belt, and parabelt areas differentially interconnect to form a so-called ventral stream of processing, more devoted to sound identification, and a parallel dorsal stream focused on sound localization.
The Science and Practice of Self-Control:

In 2005, we discovered that self-control “outdoes” talent in predicting academic success during adolescence. Since then, a surfeit of longitudinal evidence has affirmed the importance of self-contr...
Family Influences on Sleep: Comparative and Historical-Evolutionary Perspectives

Humans are distinctive for the central roles that culture and sociality play in sleep behaviors, experiences, and processes. Moreover, pair bonding and family-kinship configurations structure the social relations and conditions of everyday life in which sleep is embedded. This chapter takes an ecological approach to characterize the human sleep niche as the nexus for interactions between culture and sleep and their consequences for functioning and well-being. Recent advances in techniques for phylogenetic analysis permit detection of distinctive features of both human sleep and the evolution of family and social formations. These two trajectories are juxtaposed to characterize a spectrum of family influences on sleep, drawing also upon ethnographic and empirical examples from a range of societies.
Differential growth response to fertilization of ten elite shrub willow (Salix spp.) bioenergy cultivars

Shrub willow triploid hybrid cultivars obtained the greatest aboveground biomass compared to diploid and tetraploid cultivars, and greater biomass was highly correlated with leaf traits and rapid early stem elongation. Shrub willow (Salix L. spp.) is a strong candidate for use as a dedicated bioenergy crop in moist, temperate climates due to high growth rates, excellent regenerative properties and relatively low nutrient demand. Large discrepancies exist in the literature as to the benefits of fertilization for improving biomass production. Controlled environment fertilization studies can remove some confounding edaphic and climatic factors present in field studies. Ten top-performing commercial or pre-commercial cultivars, mostly bred in the US, were assessed for response to five fertilization levels by measuring 20 biomass and growth traits. Triploid hybrid Salix viminalis × S. miyabeana cultivars had the greatest total aboveground biomass, as well as high stem biomass. There was a strong relationship between early stem growth and final aboveground biomass, but only under adequate fertilization. Different strategies for high biomass production among cultivars are discussed in the context of nitrogen investment in leaves. Comparing field trial results and this greenhouse experiment indicates that while the yield ranking is generally preserved, the greenhouse results diverged greatly for two cultivars.
Nonlocal response with local optics

For plasmonic systems too small for classical, local simulations to be valid, but too large for ab initio calculations to be computationally feasible, we developed a practical approach---a nonlocal-to-local mapping that enables the use of a modified local system to obtain the response due to nonlocal effects to lowest order, at the cost of higher structural complexity. In this approach, the nonlocal surface region of a metallic structure is mapped onto a local dielectric film, mathematically preserving the nonlocality of the entire system. The most significant feature of this approach is its full compatibility with conventional, highly efficient finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation codes. Our optimized choice of mapping is based on the Feibelman's $d$-function formalism, and it produces an effective dielectric function of the local film that obeys all required sum rules, as well as the Kramers-Kronig causality relations. We demonstrate the power of our approach combined with an FDTD scheme, in a series of comparisons with experiments and ab initio density functional theory calculations from the literature, for structures with dimensions from the subnanoscopic to microscopic range.
Management Strategies for Disaster Policies

Our discussion of past efforts to develop and implement hazard mitigation and preparedness policies leads to fundamental questions about the appropriate modes of shared governance and the need for a federal agency like FEMA. Addressing these questions at the broadest level requires a basic reconsideration of the mandates for federal involvement in the disaster policy arena. A narrower focus to these questions requires a rethinking of the question of how mandates become translated into programs and operations.
Adaptive Responses to Environmental and Sociopolitical Change in Southern Zambia

The Gwembe Tonga live in Zambia’s Southern Province, a region of climatic extremes including severe multiyear droughts over the past century, coupled with periods of flooding and pest infestation. This, together with political fluctuations over the last 50 years, has significantly influenced their livelihood choices and ecological impacts, and they have learned to anticipate difficulties beyond local control. The building of the Kariba Dam on the Middle Zambezi River in the late 1950s, initiated by the colonial government in conjunction with the World Bank, resulted in the forced and very unwelcome relocation of the Gwembe Tonga. Almost 50 years after this forced resettlement, which virtually overnight undermined the local livelihood system and resource base, and drastically altered their social world, we find the Gwembe Tonga voluntarily colonizing “frontier” regions in different ecosystems on the plateau above their original Valley home. It is thus possible to examine a long trajectory of adaptation to new ecosystems and look for patterns over time.
Detection of Epstein-Barr virus by in situ hybridization. Progress toward development of a nonisotopic diagnostic test.

Abstract This work presents some initial quantitation of an in situ hybridization method for detection of Epstein-Barr (EB) virus nucleic acids. The purpose is to develop evaluative criteria for diagnosis of viral presence in clinical tissue specimens. In this work simultaneous denaturation of probe and target DNA and an alkaline phosphatase conjugate to detect biotinated probe were used as described by Unger et al. For evaluation of the hybridization, a variety of cell lines, both productively and latently infected, that were hybridized in situ using nick translated 32P-labeled viral probe sequences and counted by scintillation after the method of Lawrence and Singer were used. Producer cells (B95-8) showed intense foci of staining in approximately 5% of cells, with most of the other cells showing varying staining intensity. Raji cells showed varying amounts of signal from cell to cell. Namalwa cells exhibited one spot in most cells that was decreased after cells were treated with Actinomycin D (dactinomycin, Merck Sharp & Dohme, West Point, PA). Signal was identified in only a third of these same cells after sectioning. EB virus-negative Ramos cells showed no signal. The nuclear punctate nature of the signal generated is diagnostic of infected cells, and may be a useful test for cultured cells or pathologic specimens.
Iliotibial Band Release

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome comprises a variety of disorders about the lateral hip region [1]. Common complaints may include pain, weakness, numbness, and mechanical symptoms. The clinician’s role is to differentiate the source of the complaint between intra-articular and extra-articular sources. One’s history and physical examination will clarify the etiology in a significant number of cases. Additionally, radiology resources such as plain film, magnetic resonance imaging, bone scintigraphy, and ultrasound will define specific pathoanatomy such as calcific tendonitis, abductor muscle tears, and insidious fracture patterns. Despite modern imaging resources, a diagnostic challenge arises when one attempts to differentiate pain originating from the iliotibial band versus other sources.
HEAT TRANSFER IN FLUIDIZED BED COMBUSTORS

ABSTRACT The physical mechanism of heat transfer to surfaces in fluidized beds is explained. These include solid contact, conduction and convection through the separating gas layers and radiation heat transfer. A predictive model for heat transfer in large-particle fluidized bed conductors is developed based on the fundamentals.
Introduction: Overriding Public Values

One way to describe constitutional law has been concern with security, driven by fear not only of crime, insurrection, and subversion, but fear of rights, fear that claims of life, liberty, and property would cripple the Republic. Yet these very fears can be positively described as concern with that selfsame life, liberty, property, equality, and democracy. Therein lies a vision not of fear but of hope - a vision generous enough to embrace those values of the Preamble the Court has held are not empowering but only prefatory - general welfare, liberty, and justice. The essay explores these very different visions of constitutional law and their implications.
Central Obesity Increases the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Partially Through Increasing Insulin Resistance.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the associations of central obesity measures, waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC), in early pregnancy with subsequent risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and evaluated the potential mediating role of insulin resistance markers. METHODS Within the prospective Pregnancy Environment and Lifestyle Study cohort of 1,750 women, WC and hip circumference were measured at gestational weeks 10 to 13. In a nested case-control study within the cohort, 115 GDM cases and 230 controls had fasting serum insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and adiponectin measurements at gestational weeks 16 to 19. Poisson and conditional logistic regression models were used, adjusting for established risk factors for GDM, including prepregnancy overweight or obesity. RESULTS For women with WHR < 0.85, one or more established risk factors increased GDM risk 1.99-fold (95% CI: 0.99-4.02). For women with WHR ≥ 0.85 but no established risk factors, GDM risk increased 2.41-fold (95% CI: 1.14-5.06), and in those with established risk factors it increased 6.22-fold (95% CI: 3.49-11.10). Similar but attenuated results were observed for WC ≥ 88 cm. Insulin, HOMA-IR, and adiponectin levels mediated the WHR-GDM association by 9% to 11%; corresponding mediation proportions for the WC-GDM association were 35% to 41% (all P < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Central obesity in early pregnancy represented a high-risk phenotype for GDM independent of other risk factors, including overweight or obesity, and may inform early screening and prevention strategies.
Rediscovering the Delphi Technique: A Review of the Literature

The popularity of the Delphi technique as a research method has declined in the last decades. A review of the literature focusing on the technique presents a new and different opportunity for rediscovering the benefits of this type of research. Few recent studies have examined the process, reviewed the validity and reliability, and identified the appropriate sample size for the technique. In this paper, the author will include a review of the literature to discuss the pros and cons of using the Delphi technique in research.
An exploratory analysis approach for understanding variation in stochastic textured surfaces

Abstract Stochastic textured surface data are increasingly common in industrial quality control and other settings. Although there are a number of recently developed methods for understanding variation (e.g., due to manufacturing inconsistency) across a set of profiles or other multivariate quality control data, these existing methods are not applicable to stochastic textured surfaces due to their stochastic nature. One challenge is that it is not straightforward how to define distances or dissimilarities between surface samples. An approach is developed for understanding variation in stochastic textured surfaces by deriving a new pairwise dissimilarity measure between surface samples and using these dissimilarities within a manifold learning framework to discover a low-dimensional parameterization of the surface variation patterns. Visualizing how the stochastic nature of the surfaces changes as the manifold parameters are varied helps build an understanding of the individual physical characteristic of each variation pattern. The approach is demonstrated with simulation and textile examples, in which the physical characteristics of the variation patterns are clearly revealed. The computer codes for implementing the approach are available in the spc4sts R package.
Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies

What explains contemporary variations in African legislative institutions – including their strengths and weaknesses? Compared with the more powerful executive branches, legislatures throughout the continent have historically been classified as weak and largely inconsequential to policy-making processes. But, as Ken Ochieng' Opalo suggests here, African legislatures actually serve important roles, and under certain conditions, powerful and independent democratic legislatures can emerge from their autocratic foundations. In this book, Opalo examines the colonial origins of African legislatures, as well as how postcolonial intra-elite politics structured the processes of adapting inherited colonial legislatures to local political contexts and therefore continued legislative development. Through case studies of Kenya and Zambia, Opalo offers a comparative longitudinal study of the evolution of legislative strength and institutionalization as well as a regional survey of legislative development under colonial rule, postcolonial autocratic single-party rule, and multiparty politics throughout Africa.
The individualized Goals of Care Discussion Guide: A simple tool to empower patients with metastatic breast cancer.

11622Background: Individualized treatment planning is a critical part of quality cancer care, but how best to achieve this for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is unclear. We evaluated ...
The behavioral architecture and biological utility of aesthetic reactions

ABSTRACTThe article presents a behavioral and biological theory as to how aesthetic reactions form. It takes a naturalistic perspective in exploring the likely phylogenetic origins of aesthetic rea...
Parental Expectations, Concerns, and Acceptance of Storytelling Robots for Children

Robots that tell children stories are becoming common. Given that the practice of parent-child storytelling is part of family culture, it is critical to investigate parental acceptance of storytelling robots. Drawing on technology acceptance models, the theory of planned behavior, and Bowen family systems theory, we conducted a mixed-methods study involving an online survey of 115 respondents and 18 in-person interviews. We aimed to propose a model of parental acceptance of storytelling robots contextualized in potential use case scenarios. Preliminary findings indicate an overall positive attitude towards children's storytelling robots and identify factors that can affect parental acceptance of these robots. This study may inform the design of storytelling robots tailored to the needs of parents and their children in the home.
Teaching NeuroImages: Spinal cord infarct due to fibrocartilaginous embolism in an adolescent

A 15-year-old healthy, active girl presented with acute bilateral upper extremity tingling and hand weakness while playing golf; within several hours, she developed numbness and weakness in all limbs. She denied preceding trauma and bowel/bladder incontinence. Examination showed global weakness, normal tone and reflexes, a C5 sensory level, and decreased light touch/temperature/pinprick in all limbs. Neuroimaging revealed an anterior spinal artery cervical cord infarct (figure), along with a degenerative disk, attributed to fibrocartilaginous embolism.
Counterpoint: Conventional Fluoroscopy-Guided Selective Cervical Nerve Root Block-A Safe, Effective, and Efficient Modality in the Hands of an Experienced Proceduralist.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The conventional fluoroscopy-guided (CF) selective cervical nerve root block (SCNRB) is being used commonly as a treatment for cervical radicular pain as well as a diagnostic tool. This study aimed to identify any major complications and determine the safety and clinical utility of CF-SCNRB performed in a university hospital and associated outpatient clinics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two-hundred fifty-four conventional fluoroscopy-guided selective cervical nerve root blocks were retrospectively identified from 2011 to 2018 using a radiology report search tool. Each procedure was performed by an experienced neuroradiologist performing spinal injections on a full-time basis in clinical practice. A 10-point pain scale was used for pre- and postprocedural pain-level assessment. Successful conventional, fluoroscopy-guided, selective cervical nerve root block was defined as a patient-reported pain scale reduction of at least 50% and/or alleviation of numbness or paresthesia at ≥2 weeks postinjection. All clinically important immediate and delayed complications were also recorded. RESULTS: Two-hundred fifty-four conventional fluoroscopy-guided selective cervical nerve root blocks were performed via an anterolateral approach with an average fluoroscopy time of 24.3 seconds for all cases. There were no aborted procedures and no major or permanent complications. There were 14 minor complications; 12 of these were periprocedural and resolved by the 2-week follow-up visit. One-hundred eighty-five patients (75.2%) reported pain improvement of >50% from baseline at 15 minutes postinjection. Overall, 172 patients (67.7%) reported >50% pain scale reduction or alleviation from paresthesia at least 2 weeks postinjection. CONCLUSIONS: Conventional fluoroscopy-guided selective cervical nerve root block is an efficacious, efficient, and safe outpatient procedure when performed by a skilled and experienced proceduralist.
Spatial-dependent regularization to solve the inverse problem in electromyometrial imaging

Recently, electromyometrial imaging (EMMI) was developed to non-invasively image uterine contractions in three dimensions. EMMI collects body surface electromyography (EMG) measurements and uses patient-specific body-uterus geometry generated from magnetic resonance images to reconstruct uterine electrical activity. Currently, EMMI uses the zero-order Tikhonov method with mean composite residual and smoothing operator (CRESO) to stabilize the underlying ill-posed inverse computation. However, this method is empirical and implements a global regularization parameter over all uterine sites, which is sub-optimal for EMMI given the severe eccentricity of body-uterus geometry. To address this limitation, we developed a spatial-dependent (SP) regularization method that considers both body-uterus eccentricity and EMG noise. We used electrical signals simulated with spherical and realistic geometry models to compare the reconstruction accuracy of the SP method to those of the CRESO and the L-Curve methods. The SP method reconstructed electrograms and potential maps more accurately than the other methods, especially in cases of high eccentricity and noise contamination. Thus, the SP method should facilitate clinical use of EMMI and can be used to improve the accuracy of other electrical imaging modalities, such as Electrocardiographic Imaging. Graphical abstract The spatial-dependent regularization (SP) technique was designed to improve the accuracy of Electromyometrial Imaging (EMMI). The top panel shows the eccentricity of body-uterus geometry and four representative body surface electrograms. The bottom panel shows boxplots of correlation coefficients and relative errors for the electrograms reconstructed with SP and two conventional methods, the L-Curve and mean CRESO methods.
Review article: Elobixibat: a novel treatment for chronic constipation.

Background A subset of patients with chronic constipation has associated slow colonic transit and reduced faecal bile acid excretion. In addition to traditional approaches to treat chronic constipation, a novel therapeutic option is to increase the colonic concentration of intraluminal bile acids. This can be achieved through inhibition of the ileal bile acid transporter. Aim To evaluate the evidence for efficacy and safety of an ileal bile acid transport inhibitor in the treatment of chronic constipation METHODS: We reviewed published literature on elobixibat, based on a PubMed search. Results Elobixibat is a novel ileal bile acid transport inhibitor that has demonstrated efficacy in proof of concept studies in experimental animals as well as phase 1, 2 and 3 trials in humans. Phase 4 studies have now documented that the beneficial effects are related to increase in the secretory bile acids in the colon as measured by stool bile acid content. The studies documented efficacy in patients with severe constipation, which is often associated with slow colonic transit. These changes in bile acid composition were associated with minor differences in the faecal microbiota in patients treated with elobixibat compared to placebo. Elobixibat appears to be safe. The only adverse effects of note are associated with its pharmacological actions in patients with chronic constipation,namely the induction of diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Conclusion This new class of compound appears to be safe and efficacious in the treatment of chronic constipation.
How to Be a Better Surgical Pathology Consultant.

Objectives Consultation on surgical pathology specimens is part of the daily professional practice of every pathologist. We evaluated the characteristics of a good consultant and the habits that should be avoided. Methods A 1-page questionnaire was prepared to evaluate how pathologists select their consultants. Results The questionnaire was emailed to 106 pathologists. Fifty-eight pathologists completed the questionnaire (55% response rate). The most important criteria for a consultant were knowledge and expertise. Accessibility, turnaround time, and teaching (providing explanation about the case) were selected next for choosing a consultant. The 2 factors that contributed to avoiding a consultant were expensive workup and changing the diagnosis. Open questions about "definition of best/worst consultant," "when to change the consultant," and "if the criteria for consultant have changed over time" provided additional valuable information. Conclusions Accessibility, short turnaround time, and teaching are the most important reasons for selecting a consultant. Performing an expensive workup and being in the habit of changing the diagnosis are the factors that make a consultant less favorable.
Positive reframing: An important but underutilized coping strategy in youth athletes undergoing sports-related knee surgery.

Context It is unknown how specific coping strategies are associated with the short-term outcomes among athletes following knee surgery. Objective 1) To determine whether specific coping strategies are associated with satisfaction, return to sport, self-reported knee function, or kinesiophobia following sports-related knee surgery. 2) To determine whether these associations vary by age, sex, or surgical procedure. Study design Case series. Methods Athletes (n=184 total; n=104 men, n=80 women; n=38 age 40) who underwent outpatient knee surgery were enrolled from a single center. Utilization of specific coping strategies (self-distraction, use of emotional or instrumental support, venting, positive reframing, and acceptance) was assessed pre-operatively with the Brief-COPE inventory. Relationship between coping strategies and post-operative satisfaction, return to sport, International Knee Documentation Committee-subjective (IKDC-S) and Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia scores at median 10.7 months follow-up were determined with consideration for age, sex, and surgical procedure. Results Return to prior level of sport was 72%, and satisfaction was 86%. Most coping strategies had age-specific utilization rates; positive reframing was utilized least frequently in ages 40 years. No other coping strategies were associated with outcomes. Surgical procedure was not related to association between coping strategies and outcomes. Conclusion Coping strategies have age-specific associations with outcomes after knee surgery in athletes. Positive reframing is infrequently utilized in younger athletes. Greater use of positive reframing in this group may improve satisfaction, return to sport, and lower fear of re-injury.