cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transfer and Development Lengths and Prestress Losses in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Beams

Results from a project that measured the transfer and development lengths and prestress losses of beams cast with ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) are presented. Seven beams measuring 6.5 × 12 × 18 ft were cast. The beams had compressive strengths that ranged from approximately 27 to 29 ksi. The results were compared with the calculated values derived from the AASHTO load and resistance factor design (AASHTO LRFD) bridge specifications, NCHRP Report 603, and the University of New South Wales design guidelines for prestressed UHPC beams. The research findings indicated that measured transfer and development lengths were shorter than those predicted with the use of the various design guidelines and recommendations developed for conventional concrete. However, measured transfer lengths correlated well with those predicted with NCHRP 603 (neglecting ƒ'ci limits) and University of New South Wales recommendations and guidelines. The AASHTO LRFD specifications overestimated transfer length, development len...
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)–induced Liver Lesions in Two Strains of Mice Following Developmental Exposures PPARα Is Not Required

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a ubiquitous pollutant that causes liver toxicity in rodents, a process believed to be dependent on peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-alpha (PPARα) activation. Differences between humans and rodents have made the human relevance of some health effects caused by PFOA controversial. We analyzed liver toxicity at 18 months following gestational PFOA exposure in CD-1 and 129/Sv strains of mice and compared PFOA-induced effects between strains and in wild type (WT) and PPARα-knockout (KO) 129/Sv mice. Pregnant mice were exposed daily to doses (0.01–5 mg/kg/BW) of PFOA from gestation days 1 to 17. The female offspring were necropsied at 18 months, and liver sections underwent a full pathology review. Hepatocellular adenomas formed in PFOA-exposed PPARα-KO 129/Sv and CD-1 mice and were absent in untreated controls from those groups and WT 129/Sv. Hepatocellular hypertrophy was significantly increased by PFOA exposure in CD-1, and an increased severity was found in WT 129...
Surface (Local) Coils as NMR Receivers

The advent of “wide bore,” high-field, high-homogeneity magnets in the 1970s provided the opportunity to use nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for nondestructive chemical analysis of intact biological systems. Surface or local coils, when used as NMR receivers, provide the NMR experiment with both high signal-to-noise sensitivity and a good degree of spatial discrimination. Such attributes are critical to the examination of biological processes in laboratory animals and human patients when concentrations of the metabolites of interest are low and when the sample is characterized by large-scale heterogeneity, i.e., there are different tissues and organs of interest. The high signal sensitivity also provides for very high spatial resolution when such receivers are used in magnetic resonance imaging of regions such as the spine. This article describes the basic principles of surface coil NMR with the aim of illuminating the concepts underlying its widespread application for in vivo systems.
Standing at a Crossroad

To the Editor: Most physical therapists enjoy their work. Some physical therapists even love the work they do, which is uncommon for many working people. We, as physical therapists, have worked hard and are proud of our accomplishments in health care. But nothing stays the same. This includes the physical therapy profession. Gone are the days of endless physical therapist job openings. I believe that we are at a crossroad in determining the future of our profession. There are now 193 doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degree programs in physical therapy in the United States. There are also 44 developing programs (1998 statistics, APTA Accreditation Department). At the same time, there are 259 physical therapist assistant programs, with 37 developing programs. This makes a total of 533 accredited and developing programs in the United States. So how does that compare with other health fields?…
Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory Aggression Scales and Violence Potential Index in Veterans With PTSD

In this study, we examined the validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) Aggression (AGG) scales and Violence Potential index (VPI) in 399 male combat veterans presenting for formal evaluation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The AGG scales exhibited convergence with other measures of hostility and violence and demonstrated discriminant validity with alternative constructs. When we examined reports of interpersonal violence in the past year, the AGG composite scale displayed substantial incremental validity over the effects of PTSD severity, demographics, a simple dichotomous question regarding violence in the past 30 days, and MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) scales measuring aggression. The VPI, however, added no unique explanatory power over the AGG composite scale.
Beam quality of the Stokes output of continuous-wave Raman fiber amplifiers using multimode fiber

The beam quality of the Stokes output of a Raman fiber amplifier based on a long multimode graded-index fiber is examined. The beam quality of the Stokes output is modeled by considering the relative gain of the Stokes modes of the fiber; this model predicts that the beam quality of the coupled Stokes beam and the beam quality of the coupled pump beam determine the beam quality of the Stokes output. Experimental investigations validate this model by showing that the beam quality of the Stokes output is similar to the beam quality of the Stokes input.
A UNIX-based Gist specification processor: The system factory experience

The Gist specification language emerged at USC/ISI from more than five years of research into the development of operational specification languages and environments. We designed and implemented a Gist processor through extensive utilization of language development tools and a relational database management system available in a UNIX environment. We describe the architecture of this UNIX-based Gist language processor and investigate the process of system specification by examining usage of Gist language constructs in specifying nine software projects. This paper provides a preliminary empirical assessment of the system specification effort using Gist, and outlines directions for enhancements to the processor. To our knowledge, this is the first such analysis of a formal specification language.
Bile acids regulate hepatic gluconeogenic genes and farnesoid X receptor via Gαi-protein-coupled receptors and the AKT pathway

Bile acids are important regulatory molecules that can activate specific nuclear receptors and cell signaling pathways in the liver and gastrointestinal tract. In the current study, the chronic bile fistula (CBF) rat model and primary rat hepatocytes (PRH) were used to study the regulation of gluconeogenic genes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) and the gene encoding short heterodimeric partner (SHP) by taurocholate (TCA). The intestinal infusion of TCA into the CBF rat rapidly (1 h) activated the AKT (∼9-fold) and ERK1/2 (3- to 5-fold) signaling pathways, downregulated (∼50%, 30 min) the mRNA levels of PEPCK and G-6-Pase, and induced (14-fold in 3 h) SHP mRNA. TCA rapidly (∼50%, 1–2 h) downregulated PEPCK and G-6-Pase mRNA levels in PRH. The downregulation of these genes by TCA was blocked by pretreatment of PRH with pertussis toxin (PTX). In PRH, TCA plus insulin showed a significantly stronger inhibition of glucose secretion/synthesis from lactate and pyruvate than either alone. The induction of SHP mRNA in PRH was strongly blocked by inhibition of PI3 kinase or PKCζ by specific chemical inhibitors or knockdown of PKCζ by siRNA encoded by a recombinant lentivirus. Activation of the insulin signaling pathway appears to be linked to the upregulation of farnesoid X receptor functional activity and SHP induction.
Self-complementary graph decompositions

A complementary decomposition of XKn into a graph G is an edge-disjoint decomposition of lKn into copies of G such that if each copy H of G is replaced by its complement in V(H) then the result is an edge-disjoint decomposition of XKn into copies of G° ; it is a selfcomplementary decomposition if G = Gf . The spectrum for the last self-complementary graph on at most 7 vertices is found.
"Redo" fundoplications: satisfactory symptomatic outcomes with higher cost of care.

Introduction With ever greater numbers of fundoplications being undertaken, inevitably there will be an increase in the number of failed fundoplications, which will be considered for operative revision. This study was undertaken to compare the hospital costs of and outcomes after “redo” fundoplications to those of “first time” fundoplications. Methods Patients undergoing anti-reflux surgery were prospectively followed. From 2000 to 2006, costs of and outcomes after 76 “redo” fundoplications were compared with 76 concurrent “first time” fundoplications. Prior to and after fundoplication, patients scored the frequency and severity of many symptoms, including dysphagia, chest pain, regurgitation, choking, and heartburn, using a Likert scale (0 = none/never, 10 = severe/always). The cost of care, including medical equipment, operating room expenses, and anesthesia was determined with standardization to 2006 cost and dollars. Data are presented as median (mean ± standard deviation) where appropriate. Results Prior to “redo” fundoplications, patients reported significantly greater dysphagia frequency and severity scores and significantly greater chest pain severity. DeMeester scores for patients undergoing “redo” fundoplications versus “first time” fundoplications were similar (45 (62 ± 55.6) versus 39 (44 ± 27.7)). After fundoplication, dysphagia frequency and severity significantly improved for all patients. Length of stay was significantly longer for patients requiring “redo” fundoplications [3 d (6 ± 8.5) versus 1 d (3 ± 7.6)]. Hospital costs for patients undergoing “redo” fundoplications were significantly greater. Conclusions Patients requiring re-operative fundoplications report more frequent and severe symptoms, especially of dysphagia, when compared with patients undergoing “first-time” fundoplications. Laparoscopic “redo” fundoplications are technically challenging, more expensive, and more morbid (e.g., longer hospital stays). However, symptoms of reflux and dysphagia are ameliorated with “redo” fundoplications and application of “redo” fundoplication is warranted.
Protection of intellectual property on the national information infrastructure

Marybeth Peters, an official in the Copyright Office, is credited with saying “the Internet is the world’s biggest copying machine. ” [11] How can we provide protection of intellectual property rights especially copyright protection in an environment where most functions involve a copy? This question has been addressed by many groups including the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in the ACM Electronic Publishing Plan [3] and by the Clinton Administration’s Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights (Working Group) in their draft report referred to as the Green Paper [6]. The purpose of this article is to examine the issues surrounding protection of intellectual property on the National Information Infrastructure (NII) through the use of copyright laws.
A simple model for polyproline II structure in unfolded states of alanine-based peptides.

The striking similarity between observed circular dichroism spectra of nonprolyl homopolymers and that of regular left-handed polyproline II (PII) helices prompted Tiffany and Krimm to propose in 1968 that unordered peptides and unfolded proteins are built of PII segments linked by sharp bends. A large body of experimental evidence, accumulated over the past three decades, provides compelling evidence in support of the original hypothesis of Tiffany and Krimm. Of particular interest are the recent experiments of Shi et al. who find significant PII structure in a short unfolded alanine-based peptide. What is the physical basis for PII helices in peptide and protein unfolded states? The widely accepted view is that favorable chain-solvent hydrogen bonds lead to a preference for dynamical fluctuations about noncooperative PII helices in water. Is this preference simply a consequence of hydrogen bonding or is it a manifestation of a more general trend for unfolded states which are appropriately viewed as chains in a good solvent? The prevalence of closely packed interiors in folded proteins suggests that under conditions that favor folding, water—which is a better solvent for itself than for any polypeptide chain—expels the chain from its midst, thereby maximizing chain packing. Implicit in this view is a complementary idea: under conditions that favor unfolding, chain-solvent interactions are preferred and in a so-called good solvent, chain packing density is minimized. In this work we show that minimization of chain packing density leads to preferred fluctuations for short polyalanyl chains around canonical, noncooperative PII-like conformations. Minimization of chain packing is modeled using a purely repulsive soft-core potential between polypeptide atoms. Details of chain-solvent interactions are ignored. Remarkably, the simple model captures the essential physics behind the preference of short unfolded alanine-based peptides for PII helices. Our results are based on a detailed analysis of the potential energy landscape which determines the system's structural and thermodynamic preferences. We use the inherent structure formalism of Stillinger and Weber, according to which the energy landscape is partitioned into basins of attraction around local minima. We find that the landscape for the experimentally studied seven-residue alanine-based peptide is dominated by fluctuations about two noncooperative structures: the left-handed polyproline II helix and its symmetry mate.
Pathogenesis and Current Approaches to Control of Varicella-Zoster Virus Infections

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) was once thought to be a fairly innocuous pathogen. That view is no longer tenable. The morbidity and mortality due to the primary and secondary diseases that VZV causes, varicella and herpes zoster (HZ), are significant. Fortunately, modern advances, including an available vaccine to prevent varicella, a therapeutic vaccine to diminish the incidence and ameliorate sequelae of HZ, effective antiviral drugs, a better understanding of VZV pathogenesis, and advances in diagnostic virology have made it possible to control VZV in the United States. Occult forms of VZV-induced disease have been recognized, including zoster sine herpete and enteric zoster, which have expanded the field. Future progress should include development of more effective vaccines to prevent HZ and a more complete understanding of the consequences of VZV latency in the enteric nervous system.
User interfaces for network services: what, from where, and how

An important problem in the context of network services in ubiquitous computing is the support of ad-hoc interaction. Ad-hoc interaction allows a user entering an environment to discover, request, and interact with user interfaces for the locally available network services, even if she has done minimal or no installation in advance. We observe that most recently-proposed ad-hoc interaction frameworks lack two important mechanisms: distribution and personalization. A distribution mechanism would make it easy to add third-party UIs and to centrally administer UIs across multiple independent workspaces forming an administrative or logical unit, such as all workspaces on a campus. A personalization mechanism would enable a user to see familiar UIs as she roams to different workspaces. We propose extensions to an existing ad-hoc interaction system, ICrafter, that enable these two independent behaviors. The mechanisms raise important policy questions; although we have not studied optimal policies, we outline the policy space and the policies we have adopted.
Theory And Practice In CEO Pay: A Course Module And Integrative Case Based On Boeing Inc.

Business students may dream of receiving pay packages like that of Michael Eisner at Disney. However, many of them will work for the compensation consultant who determines the economics of the pay arrangements, for the valuation consultant who values the different components of the pay arrangements, for the accountant who must audit the financial statement impacts of the pay arrangements, or as a manager in the company whose employees respond to the incentives provided by the pay arrangements. No matter their eventual role, it is critical that every student understands these various aspects of executive pay arrangements, and how these practices have evolved over time. The course module presented herein is designed to effectively integrate these perspectives in as few as five or as many as nine 80-minute sessions that could be a substantive component of an MBA or Master of Accounting capstone course, or a component of a corporate governance elective. A case based on the CEO compensation of Boeing Inc. over the last 60 years provides a series of assignments that effectively integrate the module.
Laying the Groundwork

Every idea needs a champion, and every champion needs his/her supporters; it is not enough to come up with the solution to a problem. The world is full of solutions for every problem imaginable. What is usually needed is a plan to sell the solution, which is easier said than done. It is often difficult to envision all the ramifications of an innovation. In his welcoming speech to the 1990 International Videotex Industry Association (IVIA), Heiko Falk, president of the IVIA, provided a brief list of doubting Thomases. In 1908 the director of the London Patent Office proposed closing the office, since all essential inventions had been made. In 1927 the founder of Warner Brothers, Harry Warner, was reported to have asked; “Who in the hell wants to hear actors talk?” Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, supposedly estimated in 1943 the global need for computers to be five! More recently Ken Olson, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, reportedly said in 1977, “I can see no reason why anyone would want to have a computer at home.” The types of information systems discussed in this book have their doubting Thomases, Kens, and Harrys, too; it is human nature for some people to pose these questions and for others to answer them.
Control of Aircraft Pushbacks at an Airport using a Dynamic Programming Formulation

This paper describes a dynamic programming formulation of the airport surface tra c management problem. Movement of aircraft is modeled as the ow of tra c on a network, with stochastic link travel times. This is followed by an algorithm for controlling entry of aircraft into the taxiway system at an airport. Finally, two realistic variations of the formulation are presented variation of parameters and nite bu er capacity. Optimal control policies for all cases are calculated using policy iteration, with delay mitigation and aircraft fuel burn reduction as explicit objectives.
Association Between High-Flow Nasal Cannula and End-Expiratory Esophageal Pressures in Premature Infants

BACKGROUND: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is commonly being used to provide noninvasive respiratory support in newborn infants. Continuous distending pressure generated by these devices in preterm infants has not been elucidated. The aim of this work was to determine the association between HFNC flow in L/min and end-expiratory esophageal pressure in cm H2O in premature infants. METHODS: In a prospective observational study, end-expiratory esophageal pressure measurements were conducted in clinically stable premature infants who required HFNC. The end-expiratory esophageal pressure generated by the HFNC was measured by a regular feeding tube overlying the lower esophagus and connected to a pressure transducer. Each infant had different end-expiratory esophageal pressure measurements at different high flows ranging from 2 to 8 L/min. RESULTS: Nineteen premature infants were studied. Their birthweight (mean ± SD) was 904 ± 574 g, and gestational age was 26.6 ± 3.1 weeks. Overall, 93 end-expiratory esophageal pressure measurements were conducted. At the time of the end-expiratory esophageal pressure measurements, infants were 1,458 ± 828 g and 7.2 ± 4.8 weeks old. At HFNC flows ranging from 2 to 8 L/min, the corresponding esophageal pressures ranged from 2 to 15 cm H2O. There was a statistically significant association between esophageal pressures and flows. In a linear regression model with the end-expiratory esophageal pressure as the dependent variable and HFNC flow as the independent variable, there was a significant correlation between the 2 variables: end-expiratory esophageal pressure (cm H2O) = 1.18 × HFNC (L/min) (r2 = 0.95, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: HFNC-associated end-expiratory esophageal pressure is measurable in premature infants. There is a significant association between flows and generated esophageal pressures. There is also variability in the amount of end-expiratory esophageal pressure generated. These observations should be kept in mind when using high HFNC flows in preterm infants.
Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Violent Victimization:

The victimization literature has clearly established race, ethnicity, and gender disparity in victimization risks whereas contemporary work has demonstrated that the intersection of these characteristics produces complex patterns in victimization risks. However, explanations for these differences within and across gender and race and ethnicity must continue to be explored and to that end the purpose of this research is to examine whether the well-established risk factors for victimization such as daily or routine activities and neighborhood conditions similarly influence risks for violent victimization among varying gender, racial, and ethnic groups. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) 12 Cities study, the authors find that risks do vary both across and within gender. While routine activities are significant predictors of females' risks, neighborhood conditions seem to be better indicators of males' risks. Also, routine activities and neighborhood conditions have disparate effec...
Deployment Modeling of an Inflatable Solar Sail Spacecraft

A simp le model for the dynamic response of an inflatable solar sailcraft during deployment has been developed and tested for several distinct scenarios. The basic kinematics for the model were formulated in a deliberate manner that in future studies will allow s ystematic increases in model fidelity (and complexity) while at the same time leading to a straightforward implementation as a state space model in Matlab/Simulink. Despite the low order of the current model, clear trends were evident. The results expose t he existence of deployment conditions that have a destabilizing effect on a flexible sailcraft which is not seen in a similar rigid -body spacecraft. Future work with higher order models will provide further insight into these conditions so that, ultimately , a robust deployment can be guaranteed.
Isolation of Poliomyelitis Virus from Human Stools During the Incubation Period.

Since 1945, there have been 3 reports of the isolation of poliomyelitis virus from human stools collected during the incubation period. Pearson and Rendtorff1 recorded the isolation of poliomyelitis virus from the stool of a child taken 11 days before the onset of an “abortive” case of the disease; Brown, Francis, and Pearson2 from the stool of a boy taken 12 days before the onset of symptoms and 19 days before the onset of paralysis, and Gear and Mundel3 from the stool of a boy 12 days before onset of signs and paralysis.Melnick4 has isolated virus from the stools of monkeys and chimpanzees several days prior to the onset of clinical signs and symptoms following subcutaneous and intracutaneous inoculation of these animals with poliomyelitis virus.Poliomyelitis virus has been isolated by us from the stools of 3 more children, taken before the onset of the first signs and symptoms. Poliomyelitis in each of these children was what we believe to be the usual form of the disease, i. e., without stiff neck, st...
Analysis of chromium content in commercial foods containing gelatin

Objective To understand the chromium content in foods added gelatin in market. Methods The content of chromium was determined in yoghurt,pork jelly salad,sliced pork,soft sweets,pudding,seafood jelly salad,soup dumplings and tortoise jelly from the trading market from 2012 to 2013 according to the method of GB /T 5009. 123- 2003,and the detection results were evaluated in line with GB 2762- 2012. Results The chromium contents in 3 samples were found beyond the national limits. The total qualified rate was 97. 3% in 75 samples. Among the 8 categories of foods,the qualified rate was lowest in seafood jelly salad( 76. 9%),followed by pork jelly salad( 90. 9%). No samples were found over- limit in other six categories of food. The qualified rates were relatively lower in street peddler food and bulk food. Conclusion The overall level of chromium in gelatin- added food was low in market,but some foods were still contaminated. Therefore,the related departments should strengthen supervision on street peddler food and bulk food.
Power dispatching digital certificate system in smart grid

With the implementation of smart grid,in order to avoid data transmitted among power dispatching centers,power plants and users being altered or forged which will cause power system accident,authentication architecture is designed.A scheme named as smart power dispatching digital certificate system(SPDCert) was proposed by adopting PKI technology,OpenSSL,dual certification mechanism,OCSP protocol and role based privilege management.The scheme provides authentication,certificate generation and message encrypted transmission,and supports real-time online certificate query and ensure its own running security.The system can be easily applied to the smart grid power dispatching system and enhance security of dispatching system.
An evaluation on drug sales surveillance system at Shijingshan District of Beijing

Objective To evaluate the surveillance system of drugstores and to study its significance in early-warning of communicable diseases at Shijingshan District of Beijing.Methods Relationship between drug sales volume at drugstores and incidence of communicable diseases was analyzed based on the surveillance data.Results Linear correlation between sales volume of antidiarrheal agents in drugstores and incidence of enteric communicable diseases was observed,as well as correlation between daily sales volume of antipyretics,analgesics and antibiotics and incidence of influenza-like illness.Conclusion Drug sales in surveillance system associated strongly with incidence of communicable diseases.So,drug sales volume at drugstores could predict occurrence of communicable diseases.
Relativistic Force Field: Parametrization of 13C–1H Nuclear Spin–Spin Coupling Constants

Previously, we reported a reliable DU8 method for natural bond orbital (NBO)-aided parametric scaling of Fermi contacts to achieve fast and accurate prediction of proton-proton spin-spin coupling constants (SSCC) in (1)H NMR. As sophisticated NMR experiments for precise measurements of carbon-proton SSCCs are becoming more user-friendly and broadly utilized by the organic chemistry community to guide and inform the process of structure determination of complex organic compounds, we have now developed a fast and accurate method for computing (13)C-(1)H SSCCs. Fermi contacts computed with the DU8 basis set are scaled using selected NBO parameters in conjunction with empirical scaling coefficients. The method is optimized for inexpensive B3LYP/6-31G(d) geometries. The parametric scaling is based on a carefully selected training set of 274 ((3)J), 193 ((2)J), and 143 ((1)J) experimental (13)C-(1)H spin-spin coupling constants reported in the literature. The DU8 basis set, optimized for computing Fermi contacts, which by design had evolved from optimization of a collection of inexpensive 3-21G*, 4-21G, and 6-31G(d) bases, offers very short computational (wall) times even for relatively large organic molecules containing 15-20 carbon atoms. The most informative SSCCs for structure determination, i.e., (3)J, were computed with an accuracy of 0.41 Hz (rmsd). The new unified approach for computing (1)H-(1)H and (13)C-(1)H SSCCs is termed "DU8c".
The coastal marine Tardigrada of the Americas

The Western Hemisphere or the New World, also known as the Americas (North, Central and South America, associated islands and included seas) have historically been divided into two Realms, the Nearctic and Neotropical based on terrestrial biogeography. The coasts of these two terrestrial realms are bordered by six marine realms, 14 marine provinces and 67 marine ecoregions. From current literature, a comprehensive list of the marine tardigrade fauna from the Americas is presented. Data on marine tardigrades were obtained from 385 published Records of the Occurrence (RoO) of a species, their location, tidal zone, and the substrates from which they were reported. Authors’ identifications were accepted at face value unless subsequently amended. Thirty genera and 82 species or subspecies are reported from the Americas; 49 species are documented from margins of the terrestrial Nearctic realm (North America) and 48 from terrestrial Neotropical realm (South America) with only 17 species occurring in both. We define cosmopolitan distribution for marine tardigrades as occurring in or on the margins of five of the seven oceans, only two species of marine tardigrade meets this standard. From the Americas 39 species have been described as new to science, 32 species appear restricted to the hemisphere. Taxa were assigned to marine ecoregions based on adjacent geopolitical units (country, states, provinces, etc.) described in published records. Although tardigrades have been reported from all six marine realms, they are only known from 21 of the 67 ecoregions. Most marine tardigrade sampling in the Americas has focused on near shore substrate (sand, mud, barnacles); for some species no substrates have been reported. The west coasts of both continents have little or no data about tardigrade presence.
Management of high-grade splenic injury in children.

Using the National Trauma Databank, we identified 413 children (age ≤ 14 years) who sustained high-grade blunt splenic injury (Abbreviated Injury Scale scores ≥4) from 2001 to 2005. Overall mortality was 13.5 per cent. Early operation within 6 hours of injury (EOM) was performed in 128 patients (31%). Patients not undergoing EOM (n = 285) were assumed to have been treated with initial nonoperative management (NOM). NOM was successful in 84 per cent of patients. Operative intervention was necessary in 42 per cent of cases with 74 per cent of these undergoing early operation (EOM). Total splenectomy was the most common procedure (83%). EOM and failure of NOM were both associated with lower systolic blood pressure and lower Glasgow Coma Scale score at admission, higher Injury Severity Score, longer hospital stay, and higher mortality. Need for surgery was independent of patient age and gender. Failure of NOM was associated with increased mortality compared with successful NOM, but had similar mortality and length of hospital or intensive care unit stay compared with EOM. We conclude that operative treatment is necessary in nearly half of pediatric patients with high-grade splenic injury. With careful selection, nonoperative management is usually successful but must include close monitoring, because 16 per cent required delayed operation.
Preparation of potassium fluoroorganotrifluoroborates under non-etching conditions via a Li-K exchange

Abstract A non-etching preparation of potassium trifluoropropynyl- and fluoroaryltrifluoroborates from the corresponding organolithium and BF3-Et2O is described. The latter served as the fluoroboron source and a variety of aqueous saturated potassium salt solutions, other than KHF2, were examined for the Li-K exchange to generate the desired potassium organotrifluoroborates.
Do guanidinium and tetrapropylammonium ions specifically interact with aromatic amino acid side chains

Many ions are known to affect the activity, stability, and structural integrity of proteins. Although this effect can be generally attributed to ion-induced changes in forces that govern protein folding, delineating the underlying mechanism of action still remains challenging because it requires assessment of all relevant interactions, such as ion-protein, ion-water, and ion-ion interactions. Herein, we use two unnatural aromatic amino acids and several spectroscopic techniques to examine whether guanidinium chloride, one of the most commonly used protein denaturants, and tetrapropylammonium chloride can specifically interact with aromatic side chains. Our results show that tetrapropylammonium, but not guanidinium, can preferentially accumulate around aromatic residues and that tetrapropylammonium undergoes a transition at ∼1.3 M to form aggregates. We find that similar to ionic micelles, on one hand, such aggregates can disrupt native hydrophobic interactions, and on the other hand, they can promote α-helix formation in certain peptides.
Primary Myelofibrosis In Children

Abstract 3079 Primary myelofibrosis is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder characterized by cytopenias, leukoerythroblastosis, extramedullary hematopoiesis, hepatosplenomegaly and bone marrow fibrosis. It is a serious medical condition in adults, often requiring major interventions such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for cure. In comparison to adults, children are rarely affected by this entity; the largest case series reports on four such patients. Most of these reports suggest that the majority of affected children have spontaneous resolution of their myelofibrosis with no long term complications. To better describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric primary myelofibrosis, we performed a retrospective chart review of children diagnosed with myelofibrosis by bone marrow pathology at our institution from 1996 to 2009. Eighteen patients with primary myelofibrosis were identified. At presentation, all patients had one or more cytopenias and only one had leukoerythroblastosis. Three of 11 patients tested (27%) had cytogenetic abnormalities, as opposed to up to two-thirds of adults with primary myelofibrosis. Eleven of 18 patients (61%) demonstrated erythroid hypoplasia in the bone marrow, which is uncommon in adults. Based on recent molecular studies of myeloproliferative disorders in adults, the World Health Organization now includes the presence of a clonal marker such as JAK2V617F as a major criterion for diagnosis of myelofibrosis in adults. In contrast to approximately half of adults (43-63%) with primary myelofibrosis, JAK2V617F mutation in the bone marrow has not been reported in children. JAK2V617F mutation analysis was negative on 16 of 18 bone marrow specimens tested. In this series, only 5 of the 18 children (27.8%) had spontaneous recovery. No child developed malignant transformation. Eight children underwent HSCT, four of whom were cured of their myelofibrosis; the remaining four children died from infections acquired during transplantation. Four children died prior to transplantation, or were identified as having myelofibrosis at autopsy. One child transferred care to another facility and thus outcome data was not available. In all children, infection was the most common cause of death. Notably, the degree of bone marrow fibrosis did not correlate with outcome. Our series demonstrates that children with primary myelofibrosis have hematologic, bone marrow and molecular features that differ from adults. In contrast to what is found in the literature, our series of pediatric patients with primary myelofibrosis, the largest reported thus far, indicates a poor outcome for the majority of these patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
A river by any other name: Ganga/Ganges and the postcolonial politics of knowledge on Wikipedia

ABSTRACTThe historically established relationship between knowledge and power has enabled critical scholars across disciplines to interrogate the ways in which knowledge has served as the handmaiden of various forms of power. The ways in which that relationship operates in the digital realm however remains to be fully understood. This essay’s analysis of an edit war that occurred over the naming of the Wikipedia page on the Indian river Ganga, seeks to understand the operation of that relationship in the networked digital realm. Through analyzing the conflict and evaluating the different arguments proffered by the opposing sides in the debate, this essay attempts to uncover the contradictions within its desired goal of apolitical and neutral knowledge that Wikipedia is founded upon. The analysis shows that debates on Wikipedia are invariably imbued with pre-existing entrenched ideologies thus ensuring that persistence and numerical strength outweigh evidence and the merit of an argument as determining fac...
A Systematic Review of Culturally Tailored Obesity Interventions among African American Adults

ABSTRACTBackground: African Americans have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity at 48.1%. High rates of obesity contribute to the disproportionate share of chronic health conditions. In order to reduce these high rates and achieve health equity, intervention programs must address racial health disparities in culturally meaningful ways. Methods: The purpose of this investigation was to systematically review culturally tailored interventions conducted between 2005 and 2015 aimed at reducing obesity among African American adults. Several databases were used with search terms “African American adults,” obesity,” and “intervention.” Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used. Results: The search returned a total of 147 hits and after the 3-phase data extraction process, 8 studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Discussion: The interventions focused on individual-level change and most included a primarily female sample. Faith-based settings appear to be an ideal setting. Given the small amount of stu...
SAW based micro- and acousto-fluidics in biomedicine

Protein association starts with random collisions of individual proteins. Multiple collisions and rotational diffusion brings the molecules to a state of orientation. Majority of the protein associations are influenced by electrostatic interactions. To introduce: electrostatic rate enhancement, Brownian dynamics and transient complex theory has been traditionally used. Due to the recent advances in interdisciplinary sciences, an array of molecular assembly methods is being studied. Protein nanostructural assembly and macromolecular crowding are derived from the subsets of biochemistry to study protein-protein interactions and protein self-assembly. This paper tries to investigate the issue of enhancing the protein self-association rate, and bridging the gap between the simulations and experimental results. The methods proposed here include: electrostatic rate enhancement, macromolecular crowing, nanostructural protein assembly, microfluidics based approaches and magnetic force based approaches. Despite the suggestions of several methods, microfluidic and magnetic force based approaches seem to serve the need of protein assembly in a wider scale. Congruence of these approaches may also yield better results. Even though, these methods prove to be conceptually strong, to prevent the disagreement of theory and practice, a wide range of experiments is required. This proposal intends to study theoretical and experimental methods to successfully implement the aforementioned assembly strategies, and conclude with an extensive analysis of experimental data to address practical feasibility.
When and How Do Students Benefit From Ethnic Diversity in Middle School

The effects of school-based ethnic diversity on student well-being and race-related views were examined during the first year in middle school. To capture the dynamic nature of ethnic exposure, diversity was assessed both at the school-level (n = 26) and based on academic course enrollments of African American, Asian, Latino, and White students (n = 4,302; M = 11.33 years). Across all four pan-ethnic groups, school-level ethnic diversity was associated with lower sense of vulnerability (i.e., feeling safer, less victimized, and less lonely) as well as perceptions of teachers' fair and equal treatment of ethnic groups and lower out-group distance. Underscoring the role of individual experiences, exposure to diversity in academic classes moderated the association between school-level diversity and the two aforementioned race-related views.
Risk factors for the development of antibody-mediated rejection in highly sensitized pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

ABMR remains a significant concern for early graft loss, especially for those who are HS against HLA antigens. We sought to determine the risk factors leading to ABMR in HS pediatric kidney transplant recipients. From January 2009 to December 2015, 16 HS pediatric kidney transplant patients at our center (age range 2-21) were retrospectively reviewed for outcomes and risk factors for ABMR. All HS patients received desensitization with high-dose IVIG/rituximab prior to transplant. Two groups were examined: ABMR+ (n = 7) and ABMR− (n = 9). Patient survival was 100%; however, one patient in the ABMR+ group suffered graft loss from ABMR 16 months post-transplant. ABMR+ patients had higher Class I PRA at the time of transplant (Class I: 73.1 ± 19.1 vs 49.1 ± 28.3, P = .075), although not statistically significant. ABMR+ patients were more likely to have a history of transplant nephrectomy (P = .013). The characteristic that most strongly correlated with ABMR was the DSA-RIS (P = .045), a scoring system used to quantify cumulative intensity of all DSA. In conclusion, DSA, as quantified by the RIS at the time of transplant, should be considered as part of the initial allocation strategy and patients with high RIS monitored closely for ABMR post-transplant.
Corrections to “Fundamental Efficiency Limits for Small Metallic Antennas”

In [1] , it was stated that “An attempt to establish bounds on the maximum achievable gain and efficiency using a “loss merit factor” is reported in [2] . However, the results are clearly unphysical, since a single turn loop antenna can surpass these fundamental limits when $ka\ll 1$ ” [3] .
Are Autonomous-and-Creative Machines Intrinsically Untrustworthy?

Given what has been discovered in the case of human cognition, this principle seems plausible: An artificial agent that is both autonomous (A) and creative (C) will tend to be, from the viewpoint of a rational, fully informed agent, (U) untrustworthy . After briefly explaining the intuitive, internal structure of this disturbing (in the context of the human sphere) principle, we provide a more formal rendition of the principle designed to apply to the realm of intelligent artificial agents. The more-formal version makes use of some basic structures available in one of our cognitive-event calculi, and can be expressed as a (confessedly — for reasons explained — naive) theorem. We prove the theorem, and provide simple demonstrations of it in action, using a novel theorem prover (ShadowProver). We end by pointing toward some future defensive engineering measures that should be taken in light of the theorem.
Literature under the Microscope: Taking a Closer Look at Ramón y Cajal’s Narrative Fiction

There is no doubt that Ramon y Cajal’s scientific activities are familiar to many. Less well known are his undertakings as a writer. This is not to say that these have been ignored by the author’s contemporaries or by critics. As to the latter, attention has been paid to topics ranging from the connection between such work and late nineteenth-century Spanish ‘regenerationism’, to the inspirations for Cajal’s production. It is with the latter that we are concerned—i.e., we focus on three figures whose tangential treatment in Cajal studies surprises: Locke, Voltaire and Swift. Each coincides significantly with Cajal, as much in their connections to the empirical view as in their preoccupation with the microscopic realm and its consequences for humanity.
A Knowledge-Based Assessment of Dermatological Care for Transgender Women.

Abstract Dermatologic care plays an important role in the transitioning process for transgender women, with changes occurring to the skin from hormone therapy (HT) and gender affirming procedures. We sought to identify knowledge gaps in a group of transgender women pertaining to both skin and hair changes during the transitioning process. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey. Our results demonstrate potential gaps in knowledge that transgender women have regarding HT and gender affirming procedures.
Biotherapeutics in Orthopaedic Medicine

Musculoskeletal injuries have a significant human and financial impact on society. In particular, fractures that lead to delayed union or even nonunion represent a serious clinical challenge for which few treatment options are available. The multiple surgical procedures often needed are associated with patient morbidity and reduced quality of life. Biotechnological advances have made possible a host of potential treatments for enhancing and accelerating the repair of bone. By stimulating the body’s own healing mechanisms, clinical outcomes may be improved while also containing procedural costs. Biotherapeutics may take the form of proteins, genes or cells that can be used to treat the injury. Protein biotherapeutics have received the greatest attention. Using recombinant DNA techniques, growth factors that play important roles in bone development and repair are being produced. By delivering exogenous growth factors to the site of injury in an appropriate manner, bone formation can be stimulated. Although individual proteins have been the primary focus of investigation, combinations of biomolecules can have additive, and perhaps synergistic, effects. Alternatively, genes coding for osteotropic growth factors can be delivered to the site of injury. Expression of the gene effectively results in localised delivery of the growth factor. Delivery of cells having osteogenic potential can also result in bone formation. Furthermore, it may be possible to obtain additional benefits by combining biotherapeutic approaches, such as by introducing cells genetically modified to overexpress therapeutic proteins of interest. Although biotherapeutics have great potential for stimulating bone repair, only a limited number of treatments have been approved by governmental regulatory agencies for clinical use. Bone morphogenetic activity was initially described in 1965, but not until 2001 and 2002 did two protein biotherapeutics, utilising bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 7, receive approval for commercial distribution. Gene-and cell-based therapies are in a comparatively early stage of development.
Modeling the Difficulty for Centering Rectangles in One and Two Dimensions

Centering, positioning an object within specified bounds, is a common computer task, for example making selections using a standard mouse or on a touch screen using a finger. These experiments measured times for participants (n = 131) to position a rectangular cursor with various widths, p (10 px ≤ p ≤ 160 px), completely within rectangular targets with various widths, w , and tolerances, t = w-p (4 px ≤ t ≤ 160 px) in one and two dimensions. The analysis divides the movement time into two phases, the transport time and the centering time. Centering times are modeled well by 1/t . All models have high correlation, r 2 *** 0.95.