cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endovascular aneurysm repair at 5 years: Does aneurysm diameter predict outcome?

Objective The appropriate size threshold for endovascular repair of small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is unclear. We studied the outcome of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) as a function of preoperative aneurysm diameter to determine the relationship between aneurysm size and long-term outcome of endovascular repair. Methods We reviewed the results of 923 patients treated in a prospective, multicenter clinical trial of EVAR. Small aneurysms were defined according to two size thresholds of 5.5 cm and 5.0 cm. Two-way analysis was used to compare patients with small aneurysms ( Results Median aneurysm size was 5.5 cm. The two-way comparison showed that 5 years after EVAR, patients with small aneurysms ( P = .006), a higher survival rate (69% vs 57%, P = .0002), and a lower secondary intervention rate (25% vs 32%, P = .03) than patients with large aneurysms (≥5.5 cm). Three-way analysis revealed that patients with small AAAs ( P P P = .003), and peripheral occlusive disease ( P = .008) than patients with larger AAAs. Patients with smaller AAAs also had more favorable aortic neck anatomy ( P P P = .01), and were more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( P = .005), obesity ( P = .03), and congestive heart failure ( P = .004). At 5 years, patients with small AAAs had better outcomes, with 100% freedom from rupture vs 97% for medium AAAs and 93% for large AAAs ( P = .02), 99% freedom from AAA-related death vs 97% for medium AAAs and 92% for large AAAs ( P = .02) and 98% freedom from conversion vs 92% for medium AAAs and 89% for large AAAs ( P = .01). Survival was significantly improved in small (69%) and medium AAAs (68%) compared to large AAAs (51%, P P = .04; hazard ratio [HR], 2.195), AAA-related death ( P = .03; HR, 2.007), surgical conversion ( P = .007; HR, 1.827), and survival ( P = .001; HR, 1.351). There were no significant differences in secondary intervention, endoleak, or migration rates between small, medium, and large AAAs. Conclusions Preoperative aneurysm size is an important determinant of long-term outcome following endovascular repair. Patients with small AAAs (
Rolling and shooting: two augmented reality games

We present two fast-paced augmented reality games. One is a single-player game experienced through a head-worn display. The player manipulates a tracked board to guide a virtual ball through a dynamic maze of obstacles. Combining the 3DOF absolute orientation tracker on the head-worn display with 6DOF optical marker tracking allows the system to always account for the correct direction of gravity. The second game is a networked, two-player, first-person-shooter, in which tracked hand-held UMPCs are used to blast virtual dominoes off a table. Players' virtual locations are warped to keep them from physically interfering with each other.
Westward Expansion, Preappointment Politics, and the Making of the Southern Slaveholding Supreme Court

In this article, I trace the historical lineage and dynamic processes leading to the creation of the Southern slaveholding Supreme Court of antebellum America. Supported by case studies of several Jeffersonian and Jacksonian era legislative battles over judicial reform, I argue that the complex, multistage creation of the Southern slaveholding Court—the Court that decided cases such as Prigg v. Pennsylvania, Dred Scott v. Sandford , and Ableman v. Booth —was the inadvertent result of certain institutional strictures concerning the size of the Court and the geographic organization of the federal circuit system. In so doing, I illustrate how the creation of a fundamentally Jacksonian but also disproportionately Southern and undeniably slaveholding Court was not simply about who was appointed but about the structures that determined who might be appointed, who could be appointed, and who should be appointed. It was these considerations, in turn, that shaped not only the makeup and composition of the Court during this tumultuous period of American political development but also the very character of the momentous decisions it was likely to make.
Adaptive incremental checkpointing for massively parallel systems

Given the scale of massively parallel systems, occurrence of faults is no longer an exception but a regular event. Periodic checkpointing is becoming increasingly important in these systems. However, huge memory footprints of parallel applications place severe limitations on scalability of normal checkpointing techniques. Incremental checkpointing is a well researched technique that addresses scalability concerns, but most of the implementations require paging support from hardware and the underlying operating system, which may not be always available. In this paper, we propose a software based adaptive incremental checkpoint technique which uses a secure hash function to uniquely identify changed blocks in memory. Our algorithm is the first self-optimizing algorithm that dynamically computes the optimal block boundaries, based on the history of changed blocks. This provides better opportunities for minimizing checkpoint file size. Since the hash is computed in software, we do not need any system support for this. We have implemented and tested this mechanism on the BlueGene/L system. Our results on several well-known benchmarks are encouraging, both in terms of reduction in average checkpoint file size and adaptivity towards application's memory access patterns.
Wafer-Scale Growth and Transfer of Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Experimental demonstration of wafer-scale growth of well-aligned, dense, single-walled carbon nanotubes on 4" ST-cut quartz wafers is presented. We developed a new carbon nanotube (CNT) wafer-scale growth process. This process allows quartz wafers to be heated to the CNT growth temperature of 865degC through the alpha-beta phase transformation temperature of quartz (573degC) without wafer fracture. We also demonstrate wafer-scale CNT transfer to transfer these aligned CNTs from quartz wafers to silicon wafers. The CNT transfer process preserves CNT density and alignment. Carbon nanotube FETs fabricated using these transferred CNTs exhibit high yield. Wafer-scale growth and wafer-scale transfer of aligned CNTs enable carbon nanotube very large-scale integration circuits and their large-scale integration with silicon CMOS.
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae ETH1 Gene, an Inducible Homolog of Exonuclease III That Provides Resistance to DNA-Damaging Agents and Limits Spontaneous Mutagenesis

The recently sequenced Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome was searched for a gene with homology to the gene encoding the major human AP endonuclease, a component of the highly conserved DNA base excision repair pathway. An open reading frame was found to encode a putative protein (34% identical to the Schizosaccharomyces pombe eth1(+) [open reading frame SPBC3D6.10] gene product) with a 347-residue segment homologous to the exonuclease III family of AP endonucleases. Synthesis of mRNA from ETH1 in wild-type cells was induced sixfold relative to that in untreated cells after exposure to the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). To investigate the function of ETH1, deletions of the open reading frame were made in a wild-type strain and a strain deficient in the known yeast AP endonuclease encoded by APN1. eth1 strains were not more sensitive to killing by MMS, hydrogen peroxide, or phleomycin D1, whereas apn1 strains were approximately 3-fold more sensitive to MMS and approximately 10-fold more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide than was the wild type. Double-mutant strains (apn1 eth1) were approximately 15-fold more sensitive to MMS and approximately 2- to 3-fold more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and phleomycin D1 than were apn1 strains. Elimination of ETH1 in apn1 strains also increased spontaneous mutation rates 9- or 31-fold compared to the wild type as determined by reversion to adenine or lysine prototrophy, respectively. Transformation of apn1 eth1 cells with an expression vector containing ETH1 reversed the hypersensitivity to MMS and limited the rate of spontaneous mutagenesis. Expression of ETH1 in a dut-1 xthA3 Escherichia coli strain demonstrated that the gene product functionally complements the missing AP endonuclease activity. Thus, in apn1 cells where the major AP endonuclease activity is missing, ETH1 offers an alternate capacity for repair of spontaneous or induced damage to DNA that is normally repaired by Apn1 protein.
Solving partial differential equations in a data-driven multiprocessor environment

Partial differential equations can be found in a host of engineering and scientific problems. The emergence of new parallel architectures has spurred research in the definition of parallel PDE solvers. Concurrently, highly programmable systems such as data-flow architectures have been proposed for the exploitation of large scale parallelism. The implementation of some Partial Differential Equation solvers (such as the Jacobi method) on a tagged token data-flow graph is demonstrated here. Asynchronous methods (chaotic relaxation) are studied and new scheduling approaches (the Token No-Labeling scheme) are introduced in order to support the implementation of the asynchronous methods in a data-driven environment. New high-level data-flow language program constructs are introduced in order to handle chaotic operations. Finally, the performance of the program graphs is demonstrated by a deterministic simulation of a message passing data-flow multiprocessor. An analysis of the overhead in the data-flow graphs is undertaken to demonstrate the limits of parallel operations in data-flow PDE program graphs.
Normal Form, Successive Interval Arrays, Transformations and Set Classes: A Re-evaluation and Reintegration

Normal form is an ordering standard for pitch-class sets that facilitates finding structural relationships and properties through comparative analysis. However, the analytical process often fails to correctly identify important relationships or properties, because the normal form algorithm generates misaligned orderings for many pitchclass sets. For example, a comparative analysis of normal form INT1 (Morris 1987, 40–41, 107–109) relationships often indicates pitch-class sets are not inversionally related even though they are members of the same Tn/TnI type.1 The normal form ordering also obscures important structural properties, such as symmetry, for many pitch-class sets. In these problematic cases, a comparative analysis of normal form orderings cannot produce the relevant structural information without the aid of supplemental ad hoc operations. Creating jury-rigged add-on procedures seems to be the accepted solution to working around these informational inconsistencies, whereas modifying the algorithm to eliminate them is an approach that has not been pursued in the literature. In this paper, I will introduce a new normal form conceptualization and a new algorithm that corrects the problems inherent in John Rahn’s (Rahn 1980, 31–39) normal form algorithm.2
The Effects Of Improvements In Information Technology On Growth Of Cities: An Extension

How will improvements in information technology affect growth of cities? Futurists have suggested that as telecommunications technology improves there will be no need for face-to-face contact and therefore cities, in which face-to-face interactions are facilitated, will become obsolete. This paper develops a general model where individuals involved in a relationship use two modes of interaction, face-to-face interactions and electronic communications. Comparative static analysis on the optimal solutions shows that improvements in telecommunications technology may increase or decrease the demand for face-to-face interactions, depending whether face-to-face interactions and telecommunications are substitutes or complements. The placement of the model within a spatial framework shows that city size increases with electronic communications if face-to-face interactions and electronic communications are complements.
Shape and tension distribution of the passive rat diaphragm

We developed an in vitro preparation to investigate shape and stress distribution in the intact rat diaphragm. Our hypothesis was that the diaphragm is anisotropic with smaller compliance in transv...
IRA Assets Continue to Grow

Individual retirement account (IRA) assets continued their sharp growth in 1999,reaching $2.47 trillion and representing a 21.9 percent growth rate from 1998 (table 3). Since 1994, IRA assets have increased approximately $1.4 trillion, translating into an average annual growth of just over 18 percent. If this growth continued in 2000,IRA assets would total more than $2.9 trillion. Most of the recent growth in IRA assets does not seem to be coming from new contributions, but rather from investment gains and rollovers from other tax-qualified retirement savings plans. The PDF for the above title, published in the January 2001 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another January 2001 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: "Retirement Plan Participation: Full-Time, Full-Year Workers Ages 18-64."
A Faster Algorithm for Checking the Dynamic Controllability of Simple Temporal Networks with Uncertainty

A Simple Temporal Network (STN) is a structure containing time-points and temporal constraints that an agent can use to manage its activities. A Simple Temporal Network with Uncertainty (STNU) augments an STN to include {\em contingent links} that can be used to represent actions with uncertain durations. The most important property of an STNU is whether it is dynamically controllable (DC)---that is, whether there exists a strategy for executing its time-points such that all constraints will necessarily be satisfied no matter how the contingent durations happen to turn out (within their known bounds). The fastest algorithm for checking the dynamic controllability of STNUs reported in the literature so far is the O(N^4)-time algorithm due to Morris. This paper presents a new DC-checking algorithm that empirical results confirm is faster than Morris' algorithm, in many cases showing an order of magnitude speed-up. The algorithm employs two novel techniques. First, new constraints generated by propagation are immediately incorporated into the network using a technique called rotating Dijkstra. Second, a heuristic that aims to exploit the nesting structure of so-called extension sub-paths is used to determine the order in which contingent links are processed by the algorithm.
THE IMPACT OF SMOKING AND SMOKING CESSATION ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND CENTRAL BLOOD PRESSURE

The effects of smoking on arterial stiffness and blood pressure are unclear, especially after quitting. The Wisconsin Smokers Health Study-2 is a longitudinal health study. Cross-sectional analyses compared arterial stiffness measures (pulse wave velocity [PWV], aortic augmentation index [AIx]),
Modeling High Speed Dynamics in Semiconductor Lasers

High speed semiconductor lasers are an integral part of modern optical fiber communication systems which are operating at increasingly higher and higher bit rates. Modern day systems have data rates exceeding 100 GBit/s transmitting error free over virtually unlimited distances [1,2]. Many of these systems are also being applied to solve the speed bottlenecks in short haul interconnections between high speed computing elements and control processes.
The Classic-period pictographs at Juliq’ Cave, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala: an interdisciplinary approach to cave art as organizing principle

The Cave of Juliq’ in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala contains an impressive corpus of ancient Maya rock art. Unlike other examples of rock art in this area, the Juliq’ pictographs are simply rendered, generally consisting of lines, handprints, and other basic shapes. We thus focus on context rather than on iconographic content in order to access the meaning of these ancient pictographs. We argue that they were used to record human presence in and movement through the alien cave environment in specific ways, demarcating procession routes, points of transition, moments of physical prowess, and places charged with sacred power. These circuits within Juliq’ reflect attempts to order the Underworld landscape and link it to the surface world through ritual movement akin to aboveground ritual processions.
Relations between the physiology of attention and the physiology of consciousness.

Consciousness, analyzed as a neurological system like any other, has four functions. The first is planning and setting up behavioral plans or schemata in advance of their execution in behavior. This function requires an internal record of the schema with its subordinate parts and of the current status of its execution. The second function is execution, which requires giving a priority to each schema and executing the one with the highest priority. The third is directing two kinds of attention: outside-in attention changes priorities as a result of demands from the environment; inside-out attention directs behavior toward particular aspects of the environment on the basis of the needs of the current schema. Fourth is retrieving long-term episodic memories, which can be used only in planning, executing, and attention. Aspects of these functions can be seen in neurophysiology, especially in frontal and temporal lobes. Psychophysical analysis of visual functions shows that most information processing proceeds without consciousness.
A new method for capturing stem taper variation for trees of diverse morphological types

Understanding variation in tree stem form is fundamental to both ecological and economic assessments of forest ecosystem structure and function. Stem taper models (STMs) are widely used to describe...
Raised Object on a Planar Surface Stroked Across the Fingerpad: Responses of Cutaneous Mechanoreceptors to Shape and Orientation

LaMotte, R. H., R. M. Friedman, C. Lu, P. S. Khalsa, and M. A. Srinivasan. Raised object on a planar surface stroked across the fingerpad: responses of cutaneous mechanoreceptors to shape and orien...
Relationship between distention and absorption in rat intestine. II. Effects of volume and flow rate on transport.

Abstract Studies in intact animals have shown that intestinal solute absorption may be enhanced with increasing intraluminal volume and flow rate, perhaps because of increases in functional absorptive surface area or perturbation of unstirred layers. We used single-pass perfusions of rat ileum, performed by simultaneously infusing and withdrawing at equal rates, to determine the separate effects of volume and flow rate on solute absorption at pressures between 3.0 and 12.5 cmH 2 O. Distention enhanced the absorption of passive probes ( 3 H 2 O, urea), had no effect on the absorption of solutes transported by carrier mechanisms (d-glucose, l-alanine), and led to decreases in the net absorption of sodium and water whenever intraluminal pressure exceeded 10 cmH 2 O. Increasing flow rate enhanced the absorption of both glucose and 3 H 2 O. However, the effects of increasing flow rate and distention on 3 H 2 O were not additive. In the presence of higher filling volume, faster flow rate led to no further increases in 3 H 2 O absorption; vice versa, at faster flow rate, no further increases in 3 H 2 O absorption were noted when luminal volume was increased. We conclude that increased intraluminal volume enhances the absorption of solutes transported by passive but not carrier-mediated mechanisms, perhaps via augmentation of functional absorptive surface area. Increased flow rate and volume may increase the absorption of passively absorbed probes, in part, by a similar mechanism.
Analysis of Human Blood Memory T Follicular Helper Subsets

Human blood contains a memory counterpart of T follicular helper (T(FH)) cells. Blood T(FH) cells are composed of subsets that differ in phenotype and function. Recent studies show that analysis of blood circulating memory T(FH) cells can provide clues to understand the mode of actions of vaccines and the pathogenesis of human autoimmune diseases. We will describe here a detailed protocol to analyze the memory T(FH) subsets in human whole blood samples. We will also describe a protocol to assess the helper capacity of blood memory T(FH) subsets.
Truncation as a Unifying Principle

On donne trois exemples particuliers, incluant l'analyse des tables de vie, la quasi-independance dans les tables de contingences a deux entrees, la determination des distributions a posteriori comme dans le theoreme de Bayes
Effects of aging and cooling rate on the transformation of nanostructured Ti-50.8Ni

Abstract The evolution of multiple peak transformation behavior in nanoscale sub-grain structured Ti-50.8Ni (at.%) was investigated as a function of aging temperature between 300 and 700 °C, time (0.5, 1 and 5 h) as well as cooling rate after aging (water quench, air cool and furnace cooling). Cooling rate effect becomes critical for structural applications of Nitinol with thick sections since its influence on the multiple-step martensitic (MST) transformations and hence on the transformation temperatures is significant. In the present work, it is shown that the cooling rates indeed have sufficient impact not only on the transformation temperatures, but also on the transformation sequence of various phases involved in the martensitic transformations. The evolution of the martensitic transformation was accomplished through a series of partial transformation cycles using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. These studies revealed that the alloy undergoes a transition from Mechanism 1 described as {(A → R) + (R → M1) + (R → M2) || (M2 → R) + (M1 → R) + (R → A)} for aging at T ≤ 500 °C, 1-hr; to Mechanism 2 described as: {(A → R) Volume1 + (A → M2) Volume2 + (R → M1) Volume1 || (M2 → A) Volume2 + (M1 → A) Volume1 } for aging at T > 500 °C, 1-hrs. A clear transition in alloy aged at 500 °C for 1 h was captured where both these mechanisms were operative.
A Review of Free iPhone Applications Designed to Target Anxiety and Worry

The purpose of the present study was to review the degree to which current iPhone apps targeting symptoms of worry and anxiety incorporate content consistent with evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy interventions for anxiety and worry. Searches for content-relevant iPhone apps for anxiety and worry were conducted in April 2015 and subsequently coded based on evidence-based treatment components for generalized anxiety (N = 361). Most freely available iPhone apps marketed toward decreasing symptoms of anxiety or worry were largely inconsistent with evidence-based treatments. More than half of apps (n = 269) failed to contain any content from cognitive-behavioral therapies. Only 46 (13%) apps were rated as “Consistent”; 87% of apps were rated as “Not Consistent” (n = 280) or “Partially Consistent” (n = 35). Furthermore, the most popular apps for anxiety as indexed by user ratings (n = 25) failed to include any content consistent with evidence-based treatments. Overall, if a user were to select a freely available iPhone app for anxiety management, the odds of selecting an app consistent with evidence-based treatments are very low. Implications and future directions are discussed. A list of CBT-consistent apps is included.
Applying Rhetorical Grease to the Squeaky Dialectics of IS Project Management

While the importance of establishing effective communication between the multiple and often conflicting stakeholders in a typical IS project is non-controversial and well supported in the IS project management literature, this paper argues that the traditional approach to achieving this goal is limited by its ontological and epistemological view of what constitutes effective discourse. Specifically, this paper asserts that while the prevalent dialectical approach to project management serves as a useful tool to help structure and create homogenous project discourse, it is nevertheless an inadequate a tool for managing the friction produced by the inevitably heterogeneous and conflicting discourses of an IS project. To make its case this paper shares insights developed from a yearlong longitudinal study that examined the role that argumentation played in the implementation of a health information exchange initiative in Southeast USA. The paper applies Toulmin’s dialectical theory of argumentation to illustrate its case and suggests the application of Perelman Olbrechts-Tyteca’s “New Rhetoric” as a more flexible means for managing project discourse.
Experimental investigation of heterogeneous hydrolysis with Zn vapor under a temperature gradient

Abstract The hydrolysis step of the Zn/ZnO thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production is experimentally investigated in a laboratory-scale tube-reactor. The current work uses a new approach in which the heterogeneous oxidation of gaseous Zn with steam is carried out under a negative axial temperature gradient in order to improve cycle efficiency by reducing the proportion of steam and inert carrier gas used. It is shown that complete conversion of Zn to ZnO is possible at steam-to-Zn stoichiometries greater than 5.0. As the steam-to-Zn stoichiometry approaches unity at reduced inert gas fractions, condensation of Zn on the reactor walls becomes more likely. In addition, the observed gas-phase equilibrium shift toward increased production of ZnO at temperatures under 800 K is consistent with earlier theoretical predictions. While complete conversion with low inert gas and steam usage was not achieved, our approach shows great improvement over previous aerosol-based approaches when considering the total amounts of steam and inert gas used per unit of hydrogen produced. Therefore, the current temperature gradient approach is promising for the design of an efficient reactor for water splitting via Zn vapor.
The Role of Aprepitant in Prevention of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting After Bariatric Surgery

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is common with bariatric surgery. We examined the PONV rate in bariatric surgical patients who received triple antiemetic prophylaxis (dexamethasone, droperidol, and ondansetron) with and without antiemetic aprepitant. Medical records of female patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery from January 1, 2014, to July 28, 2016, were reviewed for PONV episodes during 48 postoperative hours. In total, 338 patients received triple antiemetic, of whom 172 (51%) also received aprepitant. Rates of PONV in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) among patients with and without aprepitant therapy were 11 vs 17% (P = .09). Within 1 h after PACU discharge, fewer patients in the aprepitant group had PONV (19 vs 31%; odds ratio [OR] [95% CI], 0.5 [0.30–0.80]; P = .007). During the first 48 postoperative hours, PONV rates were similar between the groups (68 and 66%; P = .73), but fewer emesis episodes occurred in the aprepitant group (6 vs 13%; OR [95% CI], 0.45 [0.21–0.95]; P = .04). Analyses were also performed with a subset of patients matched on propensity for receiving aprepitant. In this subset, OR estimates quantifying aprepitant effect on PONV were similar to those obtained from multivariable regression analyses. Addition of aprepitant to a multimodal antiemetic prophylactic regimen may be associated with significant reduction of PONV during early recovery and potentially with reduced incidence of vomiting during the first 48 postoperative hours. The high PONV rate in the first 48 postoperative hours is suggestive that introduction of scheduled anti-PONV prophylactic treatment may be desirable.
Social Determinants of Overweight and Obesity Rates by Elementary School in a Predominantly Hispanic School District.

Abstract Objective This study analyzes the social determinants associated with the overweight or obesity prevalence of 85 elementary schools during the 2010–11 academic year in a predominantly Hispanic school district. Methods A binomial logistic regression is used to analyze the aggregate overweight or obesity rate of a school by the percent of Hispanic students in each school, selected school and neighborhood characteristics, and its geographical location. Results The proportion of Hispanic enrollment more readily explains a school's aggregate overweight or obesity rate than social determinants or spatial location. Number of fast food establishments and the academic ranking of a school appear to slightly impact the aggregate prevalence rate. Spatial location of school is not a significant factor, controlling for other determinants. Conclusions An elementary school's overall overweight or obesity rate provides a valuable health indicator to study the social determinants of obesity among Hispanics and other students within a local neighborhood.
Customized Versus Noncustomized Sound Therapy for Treatment of Tinnitus: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial:

Objectives:To determine the effectiveness of a customized sound therapy and compare its effectiveness to that of masking with broadband noise.Methods:Subjects were randomized to receive either cust...
Fine-Grained Ferrites. II. Ni 1− x Zn x Fe 2 O 4

A series of fine-grained single-phase ferrites was prepared according to the formula Ni1−x Zn x Fe2O4, where x took the values 0, 0.10, 0.33, 0.50, and 0.67. A previously-described process combining the so-called flame-spraying and hot-pressing techniques was used to obtain grain sizes of approximately 0.1 micron in the densified bodies, μ′ and μ″ were measured to 1000 Mc, with grain size and composition as parameters. Measurements were also made to 3800 Mc on a ferrite annealed through the critical size for multi-domains, confirming previously-reported theory that magnetic poles on the domain walls are the source of the microwave peak at about 2000 Mc. Wall displacement appears to contribute to the static μ0 in large-grained ferrites when x>0.
Racial differences in spatial patterns for poor glycemic control in the Southeastern United States.

Abstract Purpose Evidence consistently shows poor outcomes in racial minorities, but there is limited understanding of differences that are explained by spatial variation. The goal of this analysis was to examine contribution of spatial patterns on disparities in diabetes outcomes in the Southeastern United States. Methods Data on 64,022 non-Hispanic black (NHB) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) veterans with diabetes living in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina were analyzed for 2014. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was categorized as controlled (less than 8%) and uncontrolled (greater than or equal to 8%). Logistic regression was used to understand the additional explanatory capability of spatial random effects over covariates such as demographics, service connectedness, and comorbidities. Data aggregated at the county level were used to identify hotspots in distribution of uncontrolled HbA1c and tested using local Moran's I test. Results Overall percent uncontrolled HbA1c was 36.5% (40.8% in NHB and 33.4% in NHW). In unadjusted analyses, NHB had 37% higher odds of uncontrolled HbA1c (odds ratio [OR]: 1.37, 95% confidence interval, 1.32, 1.41). After adjusting for demographics and comorbidities, the OR decreased to 1.09 but remained significant (95% confidence interval, 1.05, 1.13). The OR further decreased after incorporating spatial effects (OR: 1.07, 95% confidence interval, 1.03, 1.11) but remained statistically significant. Hotspots of high HbA1c were detected, and spatial patterns differed across racial groups. Conclusions Differences in spatial patterns in glycemic control exists between NHB and NHW veterans with type 2 diabetes. Incorporating spatial effects helps explain more of the disparity in uncontrolled HbA1c than adjusting only for demographics and comorbidities, but significant differences in uncontrolled HbA1c remained.
Distance, elevation and environment as drivers of diversity and divergence in bumble bees across latitude and altitude.

Identifying drivers of dispersal limitation and genetic differentiation is a key goal in biogeography. We examine patterns of population connectivity and genetic diversity using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) in two bumble bee species, Bombus vosnesenskii and Bombus bifarius, across latitude and altitude in mountain ranges from California, Oregon and Washington, U.S.A. Bombus vosnesenskii, which occurs across a broader elevational range at most latitudes, exhibits little population structure while B. bifarius, which occupies a relatively narrow higher elevation niche across most latitudes, exhibits much stronger population differentiation, although gene flow in both species is best explained by isolation with environmental niche resistance. A relationship between elevational habitat breadth and genetic diversity is also apparent, with B. vosnesenskii exhibiting relatively consistent levels of genetic diversity across its range, while B. bifarius has reduced genetic diversity at low latitudes, where it is restricted to high-elevation habitat. The results of this study highlight the importance of the intersect between elevational range and habitat suitability in influencing population connectivity and suggest that future climate warming will have a fragmenting effect even on populations that are presently well connected, as they track their thermal niches upward in montane systems.
LARGE-TIME BEHAVIOR OF MODEL GASES WITH A DISCRETE SET OF VELOCITIES

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the large-time behavior of one-dimensional motions in a model gas whose particles have a discrete set of allowed velocities. Under certain assumptions, solutions of finite total mass tend toward a limiting state in which each component is a traveling wave without interaction. This description is known to hold for solutions of small amplitude in the full model in several space dimensions. The novel feature is that no smallness assumptions are made for the special case of one-dimensional solutions. Thus, for this relatively simple case of a nonlinear hyperbolic system, it is possible to give a complete qualitative description of the large-time evolution. The chapter also presents the techniques used for the specific case of the so-called Broadwell system.
Numerical Modeling of Data Center Clusters

This chapter deals with the numerical modeling of data centers. The chapter presents an overview of the fundamental equations governing the conservation of mass, energy, and momentum, with an emphasis on the most widely used numerical approaches used for discretizing the equations and solving them. The specific simplifications and assumptions that are typically used in modeling data centers are reviewed. Turbulent modeling is covered in some detail, with an emphasis on the suitability of different models for data centers. A review of recent numerical studies of data centers is presented and compared to available measurements and characterization studies. Results for different air cooling protocols are presented and ranked according to their overall performance. A detailed discussion of the impact of blockages in the plenum, due to wiring and cooling water pipes, is presented and general design guidelines are made pertaining to placement of such blockages. Specific attention is given to the modeling of data centers during dynamic fluctuations in power, airflow, and temperature. This is of particular relevance for the establishment of dynamic self-regulating data centers that may be optimized to operate at the lowest possible energy level while they are meeting specific performance metrics. A case is made for verified reduced order modeling of dynamic data centers. Such an approach may be the most suitable and pragmatic one to achieve real-time holistic models that are capable of predicting and optimizing the overall performance of complex data centers.
Population genomics and morphometric assignment of western honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) in the Republic of South Africa

Apis mellifera scutellata and A.m. capensis (the Cape honey bee) are western honey bee subspecies indigenous to the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Both bees are important for biological and economic reasons. First, A.m. scutellata is the invasive “African honey bee” of the Americas and exhibits a number of traits that beekeepers consider undesirable. They swarm excessively, are prone to absconding (vacating the nest entirely), usurp other honey bee colonies, and exhibit heightened defensiveness. Second, Cape honey bees are socially parasitic bees; the workers can reproduce thelytokously. Both bees are indistinguishable visually. Therefore, we employed Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS), wing geometry and standard morphometric approaches to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of these bees to search for diagnostic markers that can be employed to distinguish between the two subspecies. Apis mellifera scutellata possessed the highest mean number of polymorphic SNPs (among 2449 informative SNPs) with minor allele frequencies > 0.05 (Np = 88%). The RSA honey bees generated a high level of expected heterozygosity (Hexp = 0.24). The mean genetic differentiation (FST; 6.5%) among the RSA honey bees revealed that approximately 93% of the genetic variation was accounted for within individuals of these subspecies. Two genetically distinct clusters (K = 2) corresponding to both subspecies were detected by Model-based Bayesian clustering and supported by Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) inferences. Selected highly divergent loci (n = 83) further reinforced a distinctive clustering of two subspecies across geographical origins, accounting for approximately 83% of the total variation in the PCoA plot. The significant correlation of allele frequencies at divergent loci with environmental variables suggested that these populations are adapted to local conditions. Only 17 of 48 wing geometry and standard morphometric parameters were useful for clustering A.m. capensis, A.m. scutellata, and hybrid individuals. We produced a minimal set of 83 SNP loci and 17 wing geometry and standard morphometric parameters useful for identifying the two RSA honey bee subspecies by genotype and phenotype. We found that genes involved in neurology/behavior and development/growth are the most prominent heritable traits evolved in the functional evolution of honey bee populations in RSA. These findings provide a starting point for understanding the functional basis of morphological differentiations and ecological adaptations of the two honey bee subspecies in RSA.
Longer Operative Time Results in a Higher Rate of Subsequent Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Patients Undergoing Primary Joint Arthroplasty.

Abstract Background Whether prolonged operative time is an independent risk factor for subsequent surgical site infection (SSI) and periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) remains a clinically significant and underexplored issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between operative time and the risk of subsequent SSI and PJI in patients undergoing primary TJA. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 17,342 primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty performed at a single institution between 2005 and 2016, with a minimum follow-up of 1 year. A multivariate logistic regression model was conducted to identify the association between operative time and the development of SSI within 90 days and PJI within 1 year. Results Overall, the incidence of 90-day SSI and 1-year PJI was 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively. Patients with an operative time of >90 minutes had a significantly higher incidence of SSI and PJI (2.1% and 1.4%, respectively) compared to cases lasting between 60 and 90 minutes (1.1% and 0.7%), and those lasting ≤60 minutes (0.9% and 0.7%, P Conclusion In patients undergoing primary TJA, each 20-minute increase in operative time was associated with nearly a 25% increased risk of subsequent PJI. We advocate that surgeons pay close attention to this underappreciated risk factor while maintaining safe operative practices, which minimize unnecessary steps and wasted time in the operating room.
All-Digital-Very-Scalable-ADC TAD Showing Scaling-Effect in 40/16nm-CMOS Technology

This paper presents an all-digital-very-scalable-ADC TAD (Time A/D converter) with time-domain processing in order to achieve future RF-digitization for a carrier converter in automotive applications. TAD is very scalable and durable due to all-digital architecture, in which its speed and resolution can automatically be improved along with technology advances, confirmed using the technology of 40nm and 16nm-CMOS compared with that from 800 to 65nm-CMOS. Thanks to its small area in 40nm-CMOS, a TAD-parallel structure is effective to employ CKES (clock-edge-shift) construction consisting of a single RDL (ring-delay-line) together with four TAD-modules with L&E (latch-and-encoder) and subtractor, resulting in 2-bit higher voltage-resolution such as 1.5mV/LSB at 1GS/s compared to 6mV/LSB of a single-type TAD. Furthermore, 3.2mV/LSB (1GS/s) is also confirmed using an RDL in 16nm-FinFET CMOS. According to these results, TAD with finer technologies can be expected as very fast ADC for future RF-digitization.
Phototaxis of a sand-beach amphipod: Physiology and tidal rhythms

1. The response spectrum for phototaxis of the sand-beach amphipodSynchelidium sp. shows relatively uniform responsiveness from 460 to 600 nm (Fig. 1). 2. Animals on rising tides are more negatively phototactic and less sensitive to light than on falling tides (Fig. 2). 3. When suddenly stimulated with light on rising tides, they show an initial positive phototaxis, which quickly reverses to negative. Similar stimulation on falling tides evokes either continuous positive phototaxis or a positive response which reverses to negative after a much longer time than on rising tides. 4. Freshly collected animals have tidal rhythms in the general sign of phototaxis (more positive on falling tides) (Fig. 4) and the reversal in phototactic sign from positive to negative upon sudden stimulation with light (Fig. 3). These rhythms are endogenous and tidal, since they persist under constant conditions, and the timing is dependent upon natural tidal times. In addition, a circadian rhythm in sensitivity is suggested, in which they have a lower intensity threshold for phototaxis at night than during the day (Fig. 6). 5. It is proposed that these photoresponses are functionally significant during migration up the beach in the swash zone on rising tides and down the beach on falling tides.
WOLFF-PARKINSON-WHITE SYNDROME WITH RAPID STIMULATION OF ACCESSORY PATHWAY IN THE SETTING OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND RECENT COCAINE USE

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a pre-excitation syndrome wherein aberrant conduction is present between atrium and ventricle. Slurring of initial portion of QRS complex along with short PR interval are the hallmarks of this condition. In some patients, concomitant reciprocating tachycardia
Issue ownership and the priorities of party elites in the United States, 2004–2016:

Parties in government prioritize issues that voters trust them to handle more than other parties. However, scholars disagree about whether this relationship exists because parties strategically pri...
Are place cells just memory cells? Memory compression leads to spatial tuning and history dependence

Abstract The observation of place cells has suggested that the hippocampus plays a special role in encoding spatial information. However, place cell responses are modulated by several non-spatial variables, and reported to be rather unstable. Here we propose a memory model of the hippocampus that provides a novel interpretation of place cells consistent with these observations. We hypothesize that the hippocampus is a memory device that takes advantage of the correlations between sensory experiences to generate compressed representations of the episodes that are stored in memory. A simple neural network model that can efficiently compress information naturally produces place cells that are similar to those observed in experiments. It predicts that the activity of these cells is variable and that the fluctuations of the place fields encode information about the recent history of sensory experiences. Place cells may simply be a consequence of a memory compression process implemented in the hippocampus.
Abortion in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Abstract Abortion rights are a controversial topic in Ireland and Northern Ireland, but since the historic Irish abortion referendum in May 2018, the two countries have had vastly different abortion laws. In this article, we provide an overview of the current laws and policies governing abortion rights in both Ireland and Northern Ireland, discuss the ways in which people access abortion in each setting, including both online telemedicine and the particular roles and challenges for healthcare providers, and consider the future trajectory of abortion rights and service provision.
Oxygen-18 Tracer Measurements of Anion Diffusion in Uranium Dioxide Thin Films

Oxygen 18 was used as a tracer to quantify anion diffusion in thin-film UO2 using secondary ion mass spectroscopy to measure one-dimensional depth profiles. Both thermal and heavy ion bombardment (1.8 MeV Kr+) treatments were employed over a temperature range from 295 K to 623 K. Textured and single-crystal thin-film samples were grown using reactive-gas magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature. Both microstructures resulted in similar thermal activation energies, Ea = 0.2 eV. This activation energy is significantly lower than the known value for intrinsic anion vacancy-self diffusion in stoichiometric UO2.00 (Ea = 2.5 eV). We attribute this to an interstitialcy mechanism in our hyper-stoichiometric films. The activation energy for irradiated textured films was approximately half that of thermal diffusion, consistent with the chemical rate theory. The opposite was true for the single-crystal microstructure (irradiated Ea = 0.36 eV). This may be due to radiation-induced changes in the microstructure. The mixing parameter was quantified on the anion sublattice as well, ξ = 2.1 ± 0.2 A5eV−1.
Unsupervised and Supervised Learning over theEnergy Landscape for Protein Decoy Selection.

The energy landscape that organizes microstates of a molecular system and governs the underlying molecular dynamics exposes the relationship between molecular form/structure, changes to form, and biological activity or function in the cell. However, several challenges stand in the way of leveraging energy landscapes for relating structure and structural dynamics to function. Energy landscapes are high-dimensional, multi-modal, and often overly-rugged. Deep wells or basins in them do not always correspond to stable structural states but are instead the result of inherent inaccuracies in semi-empirical molecular energy functions. Due to these challenges, energetics is typically ignored in computational approaches addressing long-standing central questions in computational biology, such as protein decoy selection. In the latter, the goal is to determine over a possibly large number of computationally-generated three-dimensional structures of a protein those structures that are biologically-active/native. In recent work, we have recast our attention on the protein energy landscape and its role in helping us to advance decoy selection. Here, we summarize some of our successes so far in this direction via unsupervised learning. More importantly, we further advance the argument that the energy landscape holds valuable information to aid and advance the state of protein decoy selection via novel machine learning methodologies that leverage supervised learning. Our focus in this article is on decoy selection for the purpose of a rigorous, quantitative evaluation of how leveraging protein energy landscapes advances an important problem in protein modeling. However, the ideas and concepts presented here are generally useful to make discoveries in studies aiming to relate molecular structure and structural dynamics to function.