cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Kinetic and effective production of DMC-Sm-BioDs from Sapindus mukorossi seed kernel powder using dimethyl carbonate with KOH–Folch mixture solution as a catalyst

The kinetics and transesterification of Sapindus mukorossi seed kernel powder with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) were explored using a mixed KOH–Folch solution as a catalyst for the preparation of biodiesel. The effect of the reaction conditions (the molar ratio of S. mukorossi seed kernel powder with DMC, the catalyst amount and the reaction time, the reaction temperature and the agitation speed) on DMC-Sm-BioDs yields were investigated. The highest DMC-Sm-BioDs yield was 95% at 60 °C for 60 min with a molar ratio of S. mukorossi seed kernel powder to DMC 1:3 and 1.5% KOH (based on DMC weight). DMC-Sm-BioDs was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify the fatty acid dimethyl esters. The activation energy (Ea) was 75.2 kJ mol−1, and the pre-exponential factor was 1.09×108 min−1. The DMC-Sm-BioDs produced from S. mukorossi seed kernel powder is characterized for various properties, such as the kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, the specific gravity at 25 °C, the flash point, the pour poin...
Changes in regional hemodynamics after nitric oxide inhibition during ovine bacteremia.

We studied the action of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition on changes in regional blood flow during a continuous infusion of live bacteria. Eighteen ewes were chronically instrumented. After a 7-day recovery period, an infusion of 10(6) colony-forming units/min Pseudomonas aeruginosa was begun. At 24 h, cardiac output increased significantly above baseline in all groups (5.9 +/- 0.4 vs. 8.2 +/- 0.6 l.min 1.m-2), systemic vascular resistance decreased (1,362 +/- 120 vs. 821 +/- 145 dyn.g.cm-5.m-2), and cerebral, cephalic mesenteric, and hindlimb blood flows increased. The animals were then equally and randomly assigned to a bolus of a NOS inhibitor, either 25 mg/kg N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or 20 mg/kg N omega-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), followed by a continuous infusion of 7 mg.kg-1.min-1 L-NMMA or saline. After NOS inhibition, cardiac index decreased [5.6 +/- 0.1 (L-NAME) and 5.5 +/- 0.4 l.min-1.m-2 (L-NMMA)] and remained significantly decreased for 12 h. 1-NAME decreased carotid and mesenteric blood flows to 64% of the preseptic baseline, and they remained below baseline for 20 h. L-NMMA decreased blood flows only to preseptic baseline values. NOS inhibitors may affect blood flows independently of their hemodynamic effects.
Spatial patterns of arrests, police assault and addiction treatment center locations in Tijuana, Mexico

AIMS: In the context of a public health-oriented drug policy reform in Mexico, we assessed the spatial distribution of police encounters among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana; determined the association between these encounters and the location of addiction treatment centers; and explored the association between police encounters and treatment access. DESIGN: Geographically weighted regression (GWR) and logistic regression analysis using prospective spatial data from a community-recruited cohort of PWID in Tijuana and official geographic arrest data from the Tijuana Municipal Police Department. SETTING: Tijuana, Mexico. PARTICIPANTS: 608 participants (median age 37; 28.4% female) in the prospective Proyecto El Cuete cohort study recruited between January and December 2011. MEASUREMENTS: We compared the mean distance of police encounters and a randomly distributed set of events to treatment centers. GWR was undertaken to model the spatial relationship between police interactions and treatment centers. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with reporting police interactions. FINDINGS: During the study period, 27.5% of police encounters occurred within 500 meters of treatment centers. The GWR model suggested spatial correlation between encounters and treatment centers (Global R(2) = 0.53). Reporting a need for addiction treatment was associated with reporting arrest and police assault (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 2.74, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.25 - 6.02, p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: A geospatial analysis suggests that in Mexico, people who inject drugs are at greater risk of being a victim of police violence if they consider themselves in need of addiction treatment, and their interactions with police appear to be more frequent around treatment centres. Language: en
Clinical proton MR spectroscopy of neurodegenerative disease in childhood

PURPOSE To determine the contribution of MR spectroscopy in the assessment of childhood neurodegenerative disease. METHODS Fifty-one subjects (7 weeks to 17 years of age), 22 with either hereditary (n = 16) or acquired (n = 6) neurodegenerative disorders and 29 age-matched control subjects, were studied with combined proton MR spectroscopy and MR imaging. Single-voxel (2.0-8.0 cc) MR spectra were acquired at 1.5 T, with either short-echo-stimulated echoes and/or long-echo spin echoes. RESULTS MR spectra exhibited signals from n-acetyl-, creatine-, and choline-containing compounds, neurotransmitters (glutamate), intracellular mediators (inositols), and glycolytic products (lactate). Abnormal MR spectra in neurodegenerative disorders reflected: demyelination, neuronal loss, and gliosis (increased mobile lipid presence and reduction of n-acetylaspartate to choline); metabolic acidosis (lactate accumulation); and neurotransmitter neurotoxicity (increased glutamate, glutamine, and inositols). CONCLUSION Proton MR spectroscopy may complement MR imaging in diagnostic assessment and therapeutic monitoring of neurodegenerative disorders.
Does ground state Fe+ (iron(1+)) react with hydrogen?

While numerous investigations of the gas-phase reactions of iron ions have been conducted in recent years, none of these has suggested that the reactivity of the ground state may be over an order of magnitude less than that of the excited states. Previous work in our labs on the reactions of H/sub 2/ with several states of V/sup +4/ and Mn/sup +5/ led us to believe that the /sup 6/D ((4s)(3d)/sup 6/) ground state and the /sup 4/ F(3d)/sup 7/) first excited state of Fe/sup +/ should exhibit very different reactivity with H/sup 2/ primarily because they differ in their electronic configuration. In the present study, they find that Fe/sup +/(/sup 4/F) reacts efficiently with H/sup 2/ but Fe/sup +/(/sup 6/D) is about 80 times less reactive. This result is obtained despite the fact that these states are separated by only 0.25 eV. This work is the first to assess the individual reactivities of such closely spaced electronic levels of a transition-metal ion.
Role of Nucleation on the Growth of Nanocrystalline Diamond (NCD) Films: A Particular Study in the Fabrication of Micro-cantilevers

The effect of ultrasonic method of seeding on the growth of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films has been studied by investigating the nucleation densities of two nanodiamond slurries- 1) nanodiamond powder suspended in acetone 2) mixture of titanium nanopowder and nanodiamond powder suspended in acetone. The former has resulted in a lower nucleation density on the order of 108 cm−2 while the later has increased the nucleation density by over two orders (>1010 cm−2) of magnitude. NCD films were grown on Si(100) substrates in a Cyrannus I Iplas microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) reactor using 0.5% CH4, 1% H2 and 98.5% Ar gas chemistry at a substrate temperature of ∼ 750°C, pressure of 135 T and a microwave power of 1.8 kW. The double anchored cantilever structures with NCD as structural material have been fabricated by conventional photolithography. It was observed that the films grown after pre-treating the substrates in pure nanodiamond slurry have not provided a complete coverage at the anchor regions of the cantilevers due to the lower nucleation density. Hence during the sacrificial oxide etch, the anchor regions did not adhere well to the substrate and the entire structures got detached from the substrate. But on the other hand, the films grown by seeding the substrates in a suspension of titanium nanopowder and diamond nanopowder showed complete film coverage and consequently very good bonding to the Si substrate at the anchor pads. In this case, the cantilevers have been successfully released without any problems at the anchor pads. Further the mechanical properties of the films were conducted by evaluating the Young’s modulus and the hardness by nano-indentation technique.
Student Use of Keywords and Limiters in Web-scale Discovery Searching

Abstract Using transaction log analysis of student search histories in EBSCO Discovery Service, which we branded RVOneSearch, we seek to answer: 1. Do students use the limiters provided in RVOneSearch? 2. How effectively do students use keywords in RVOneSearch after receiving instruction on keywording? In Spring 2012, RVOneSearch became an integral part of our 80-minute librarian-led sessions that are required of all English Composition I courses. We began focusing our instruction on selecting appropriate keywords when we noticed that regardless of interface, students struggled most with identifying the right search terms. With RVOneSearch we stopped teaching multiple interfaces and instead began teaching one reference database for background and context, and RVOneSearch for scholarly sources. We spend less time on the nuances of interfaces and more time on evaluating results. We also teach students to use the facets and limiters available in RVOneSearch. In this study we wanted to determine if students used the available facets and limiters and whether they chose appropriate keywords after instruction on how to do so. Our results inform how and what we teach students and are applicable to others teaching with web-scale discovery.
Reinforcement in Silicone Elastomers. A Short Review

Selected topics on the use of particulate solids to build modulus and strength in silicone elastomers are briefly reviewed. Included are recent views advanced to explain the reinforcement phenomena, some more current approaches to particulate reinforcement and recommended areas for future endeavor.
E-072 Image Guided Targeted Radiofrequency (t-RFA) and Sacroplasty of Hypervascular Sacral Metastases for Pain Control

Haematogenous metastases to the sacrum can produce significant pain and lead to spinal instability. Conventional surgery to palliate pain with acceptable morbidity and mortality has been problematic given the usual short life expectancy of these patients and the high incidence of surgical complications. The Dfine STAR radiofrequency ablation system was recently approved for clinical use for the treatment of pain associated with bony spinal malignancy and other painful benign spinal lesions. In the subgroup of patients with hypervascular metastatic hepatocellular and renal cell cancer to the sacrum without neurological deficits, t-RFA and Sacroplasty using flat panel RCT or CT Fluroscopy in conjunction with electrophysiological monitoring preceeded by transarterial sacral embolisation has proven to be an effective method of pain palliation with extremely low morbidity in the eight patients performed to date. These patients have markedly reduced their requirements for narcotic analgesics and in most instances regained the ability to ambulate previously precluded by pain. Disclosures B. Zablow: None.
The Formation of Abrupt N+ Doping Profiles Using Atomic Hydrogen and Sb During Si MBE

Previously, atomic hydrogen has been shown to be effective in reducing the segregation of Sb on Si(100) during solid source molecular beam epitaxy growth. In this work we have investigated the electrical activation of the Sb. Using Hall measurements, spreading resistance profilometry, and secondary ion mass spectrometry, we have demonstrated that the co-deposition of atomic hydrogen during Sb doping of Si at 500δC produced well-defined doping spikes. Comparing the sheet carrier concentration obtained by Hall measurements to the Sb atomic concentration obtained by SIMS, the overall activation of the Sb was greater than 50%.
Students' discourse when working in pairs with Etoys in an eighth-grade mathematics class

ABSTRACTI examined students' discourse while working in pairs at the computer in an eighth-grade mathematics class to understand how students kept track of the people and things they discussed. I found that students most often referenced themselves and objects within the environment, through references to shared knowledge and the representations on the computer screen. Through these references, students communicated themselves as agents doing mathematical work situated through the use of the programming environment. This study contributes to articulating the complexity of students' mathematical discourse when they work with peers, using technology, for doing mathematics.
Conjugation Strategy Strongly Impacts the Conformational Stability of a PEG-Protein Conjugate

Site-specific PEGylation is an important strategy for enhancing the pharmacokinetic properties of protein drugs, and has been enabled by the recent development of many chemoselective reactions for protein side-chain modification. However, the impact of these different conjugation strategies on the properties of PEG–protein conjugates is poorly understood. Here we show that the ability of PEG to enhance protein conformational stability depends strongly on the identity of the PEG–protein linker, with the most stabilizing linkers involving conjugation of PEG to planar polar groups near the peptide backbone. We also find that branched PEGs provide superior stabilization relative to their linear counterparts, suggesting additional applications for branched PEGs in protein stabilization.
Precious mettle: alchemic aspiration as a metaphor for learning

Recent criticism of higher education challenges professors to facilitate learning which involves critical thinking, self-awareness, social consciousness, creativity, and interdisciplinary perspective. The ancient art of alchemy, which antedated post-Newtonian scientific categorizations, was directed toward much more than the transmutation of base metals into precious ones. As a process involving philosophical and religious views brought to bear on self-improvement as well as the improvement of all creation, alchemy may function as an appropriate metaphor for learning which is transformative of both learners and their environments. A psychological interpretation of alchemical pursuits facilitates an understanding of transformation in this way. Higher education is thus directed toward and affirmed in its mission of fostering in students a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to knowledge and skills which may be utilized both personally and socially.
Combined effects of water flow and copper concentration on the feeding behavior, growth rate, and accumulation of copper in tissue of the infaunal polychaete Polydora cornuta

We performed an experiment in a laboratory flume to test the effects of water flow speed and the concentration of aqueaous copper on the feeding behavior, growth rate, and accumulation of copper in the tissues of juvenile polychaetes Polydora cornuta. The experiment included two flow speeds (6 or 15 cm/s) and two concentrations of added copper (0 or 85 μg/L). Worms grew significantly faster in the faster flow and in the lower copper concentration. In the slower flow, the total time worms spent feeding decreased significantly as copper concentration increased, but copper did not significantly affect the time worms spent feeding in the faster flow. Across all treatments, there was a significant, positive relationship between the time individuals spent feeding and their relative growth rate. Worms were observed suspension feeding significantly more often in the faster flow and deposit feeding significantly more often in the slower flow, but copper concentration did not affect the proportion of time spent in either feeding mode. The addition of 85 μg/L copper significantly increased copper accumulation in P. cornuta tissue, but the accumulation did not differ significantly due to flow speed. There was a significant interaction between copper and flow; the magnitude of the difference in copper accumulation between the 0 and 85 μg/L treatments was greater in the faster flow than in the slower flow. In slow flows that favor deposit feeding, worms grow slowly and accumulate less copper in their tissue than in faster flows that favor suspension feeding and faster growth.
Facebook dethroned: Revealing the more likely social media destinations for college students' depictions of underage drinking.

Abstract Studies examining representations of college drinking on social media have almost exclusively focused on Facebook. However, recent research suggests college students may be more influenced by peers' alcohol-related posts on Instagram and Snapchat, two image-based platforms popular among this demographic. One potential explanation for this differential influence is that qualitative distinctions in the types of alcohol-related content posted by students on these three platforms may exist. Informed by undergraduate focus groups, this study examined the hypothesis that, of the three platforms, students tend to use Instagram most often for photos glamourizing drinking and Snapchat for incriminating photos of alcohol misuse and negative consequences. Undergraduate research assistants aided investigators in developing hypothetical vignettes and photographic examples of posts both glamorizing and depicting negative consequences associated with college drinking. In an online survey, vignette and photo stimuli were followed by counterbalanced paired comparisons that presented each possible pair of social media platforms. Undergraduates ( N = 196) selected the platform from each pair on which they would be more likely to see each post. Generalized Bradley-Terry models examined the probabilities of platform selections. As predicted, Instagram was seen as the most probable destination (and Facebook least probable) for photos depicting alcohol use as attractive and glamorous. Conversely, Snapchat was selected as the most probable destination (and Facebook least probable) for items depicting negative consequences associated with heavy drinking. Results suggest researchers aiming to mitigate the potential influences associated with college students' glamorous and consequential alcohol-related photos posted social media posts should shift their focus from Facebook to Instagram and Snapchat.
Visual exploration of multiway dependencies in multivariate data

Analyzing dependencies among variables within multivariate data is an important and challenging problem, especially when the number of data points is large, the number of variables is high, or multiway dependencies are of interest. Several visualization methods have been proposed to aid in the exploration of such information through the direct visualization of the summary statistics. These methods are typically limited to the study of all possible pairwise relationship but in a manner that does not scale to large multidimensional data. In cases where 3-way relationships are investigated, only subsets of dimensions are considered. In this paper, we propose a novel technique for analyzing multiway dependencies through an overview+detail visualization. In this approach, the overview represents all pairwise, 3-, and 4-way dependencies in the data using glyphs that provide a global visual exploration interface for selecting candidate relationships. Exploration is supported through interactive filtering, sorting, zooming, and selection operations. Once selected, the detailed view helps in developing an inference by providing specific information about those selected variables. Various use cases demonstrate how our approach helps to explore multiway dependencies efficiently in large datasets.
Reexamination of risk-taking incentives in banking: Realign incentives and curtail future episodes of mismanagement

Abstract CEO incentive compensation, in particular the equity-based compensation, has been blamed for excessive risk-taking by bank CEOs in the recent financial crisis. This study reassesses the impacts of deregulation on the incentives provided to CEOs and examines how bank boards redesigned CEO compensation contracts during and after the crisis to assess if the government interventions are necessary to realign incentives between CEO and shareholders. Employing a multiple-equation model that allows for simultaneity among vega, delta, and bank investment, I found that banks provided high-vega contracts as incentives for bank CEOs to exploit post-deregulation growth opportunities and to shift from traditional on-balance sheet portfolio lending to nontraditional fee-generating activities. No evidence shows the relation between incentive compensation and risk-taking activities before deregulation. In the crisis and post-crisis period, compensation committees attempted to manage excessive risk-taking incentives at these banks by reducing vega and establishing complementarily high values of delta to align incentives between CEOs and shareholders. Especially in the post-crisis period, the value of vega has been decreased significantly, suggesting government intervention of bank’s CEO compensation works effectively to reduce bank risk.
CHAPTER 25 – Familial Hypophosphatemia and Related Disorders

This chapter provides an overview of the prototype X-linked hypophosphatemic disease (XLH). The chapter discusses key elements central to the pathophysiology of XLH and its related disorders, including the putative function of the mutated endopeptidase PHEX and the substances that appear to be important candidates for mediation of the disease. The chapter reviews the biochemistry of FGF23 with respect to its role in the related disorder, autosomal-dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (ADHR). Clinical features of related disorders, including ADHR, hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets with hypercalciuria (HHRH), and tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) are compared to those observed in XLH. XLH is one of the most common bone diseases seen in children. XLH is characterized by renal phosphate wasting leading to hypophosphatemia and low or normal concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH) 2 D], an inappropriate response to hypophosphatemia. In children, the disorder first becomes apparent with the development of rickets, skeletal deformities, short stature, and dental abscesses. In adults, manifestations of XLH include osteomalacia, degenerative joint disease, enthesopathy, bone and joint pain, and continued dental disease.
Breast Ultrasound-Guided Core Biopsy or Cyst Aspiration

Ultrasound-guided procedures for core biopsy or cyst aspiration are commonly performed. This chapter describes indications, essential steps, variations, and complications of this procedure. It provides a detailed template operative note for both procedures.
From Evidence Based Medicine to Medicine Based Evidence

Evidence based medicine, using randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses as the major tools and sources of evidence about average results for heterogeneous groups of patients, developed as a reaction against poorly designed observational treatment research and physician reliance on personal experience with other patients as a guide to decision-making about a patient at hand. However, these tools do not answer the clinician's question: "Will a given therapeutic regimen help my patient at a given point in her/his clinical course?" We introduce fine-grained profiling of the patient at hand, accompanied by comparative evidence of responses from approximate matches to this patient on whom a contemplated treatment has/has not been administered. This represents medicine based evidence that is tuned to decision-making for the particular patient.
Adult Reconstruction Studies Presented at AAOS and AAHKS 2011-2015 Annual Meetings. Is There a Difference in Future Publication?

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare adult reconstruction abstracts presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) annual meetings. Methods A total of 1355 podium and 1731 poster presentations from the adult reconstruction sections of the AAOS and AAHKS meetings from 2011 to 2015 were reviewed for publication in peer-reviewed literature. Authors who were added or removed from the original abstract and the final manuscript were recorded. The corresponding journals were assigned the most recent impact factor. The publication rates for each annual meeting, the mean changes in authorship and journal's impact factors were compared. Results There were 2129 abstracts presented at AAOS and 957 abstracts presented at AAHKS. The overall publication rate was different between AAOS and AAHKS (56% vs 60%, P = .030). Compared with AAOS, there were more AAHKS abstracts published in 2011 (57% vs 77%, P = .0008) and 2012 (57% vs 76%, P = .0001); however, there were no significant differences in 2013, 2014, or 2015. The mean overall change in authors was lower for AAOS compared with AAHKS abstracts (0.78 vs 1.06, P Conclusion AAOS and AAHKS abstracts presented in the adult reconstruction subspecialty had a similar overall rate of publication, change in authorship, and impact factor. It would be beneficial if further studies subdivided these into basic and clinical science and review articles.
Miriam Makeba: The Revolutionary Warrior

This is a portrait of the most important female vocalist to emerge from South Africa and fittingly celebrated as a triumphant revolutionary. Hailed as “The Empress of African Song” and as “Mama Africa,” Miriam Makeba brought the rhythmic and spiritual sounds of Africa to a global audience in the 1960s. Her wonderful and versatile music is a soulful mix of jazz, blues, and Xhosa and Zulu folk songs shaded with potent political overtones.
Kolmogorov’s Equations

A stochastic process is a parameterized family of random variables. For the most part, in this book the stochastic processes with which we will deal are parameterized by \(t\in [0,\infty )\), to be thought of as “time,” and take values in some Euclidean space \({\mathbb {R}^N}\). When attempting to analyze such a family \(\{X(t): t\ge 0\}\) of random variables on a probability space \((\varOmega ,\mathcal {F},{\mathbb {P}})\), the first step is to understand the distribution \(\mu _t\) of X(t) for each \(t\ge 0\). Thus one is forced to consider paths \(t\rightsquigarrow \mu _t\) in the space \(\mathbf {M}_1({\mathbb {R}^N})\) of probability measures on \({\mathbb {R}^N}\), and, as usual, this leads one to consider the “tangent field” along the path. With this in mind, the goal of this chapter is to first make precise exactly what the tangent to a \(\mathbf {M}_1({\mathbb {R}^N})\)-valued path is and to then develop a procedure for recovering the path from its tangent field.
Redefining borders : The challenges of cybercrime

Cybercrime is the newest securitythreat in the world today, and is distinct from anyother threat facing the world. This paper attempts toplace cybercrime in relation to other securitythreats, as well as illustrate the uniquecharacteristics of cybercrime. First, aninvestigation of the major elements of cybercrime willbe conducted. After the parameters of cybercrime havebeen laid out, cybercrime will be analyzed as asecurity threat on both domestic and internationallevels. Finally, current security structures will beexamined for their effectiveness in controlling thethreat posed by cybercrime.
Four-point characterizations of real inner product spaces

Generalized euclidean spaces have been characterized among metric spaces by the requirement that each member of certain classes of quadruples of points of the metric space be congruent to a quadruple of points of a euclidean space. The present paper strengthens earlier characterizations which only require the embedding of certain classes of quadruples which contain a linear triple and in which some three of the six distances between pairs of points are equal. These results generalize some similar characterizations of euclidean spaces among normed linear spaces.
Evaluation of the VNTR region in the IDO promoter in women with preeclampsia

Indoleamine 2,3 – dioxygenase (IDO) is an enzyme that aids in immunosuppression and tolerance. Previous studies have shown decreased IDO activity in pregnancies affected by preeclampsia, but the mechanism for this altered activity is unknown. Our study was designed to analyze the promoter region of IDO in preeclamptic and control women and identify the frequency of a VNTR genotype that has been shown to be significantly correlated with tryptophan levels in women; a surrogate marker for IDO activity.
Behavior Mechanism in Decision Making

A dynamic micro mechanism of human behavior is sketched with some macro observations of behavior patterns. The concept of habitual domains is then introduced. We discuss the formation of stable habitual domains and methods of expanding our habitual domains. The implications and applications of the concepts of habitual domains to high stake decision problems, optimality/rationality, conflict resolution, career management and leadership are also sketched.
The Conservative Nature of Chromosomal Evolution

The foregoing discussions revealed the extremely conservative nature of natural selection, that the important parts of the gene have never changed in evolution, and that natural selection permits only trifling changes.
Exercise Training in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Historically, patients with heart failure were advised to avoid exertion due to fear that the added myocardial stress would worsen heart function. However, between 1979 and 1991, five uncontrolled trials demonstrated that moderate exercise training can partially reverse the exercise intolerance common among patients with heart failure. Since 1991, numerous randomized exercise trials demonstrated a 12% to 33% improvement in exercise capacity, as measured by oxygen consumption. The mechanisms by which this improvement occurs are now being studied. Potential mechanisms include improved cardiac output due to increases in both peak stroke volume and reversal of chronotropic incompetence; improved regional blood flow to the metabolically more active skeletal muscle; and partial reversal of skeletal muscle histochemical abnormalities such as increased oxidative enzymes and a “re-shift” in fiber type toward increased type I fibers. Improved sympathetic function has also been noted with exercise training, evidenced by decreased norepinephrine spillover and increased heart rate variability. Exercise training can be of benefit in selected patients with stable New York Heart Association class II or III heart failure.
First Trimester Bleeding: Evaluation and Management.

Approximately one-fourth of pregnant women will experience bleeding in the first trimester. The differential diagnosis includes threatened abortion, early pregnancy loss, and ectopic pregnancy. Pain and heavy bleeding are associated with an increased risk of early pregnancy loss. Treatment of threatened abortion is expectant management. Bed rest does not improve outcomes, and there is insufficient evidence supporting the use of progestins. Trends in quantitative s subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (s-hCG) levels provide useful information when distinguishing normal from abnormal early pregnancy. The discriminatory level (1,500 to 3,000 mIU per mL) is the s-hCG level above which an intrauterine pregnancy should be visible on transvaginal ultrasonography. Failure to detect an intrauterine pregnancy, combined with s-hCG levels higher than the discriminatory level, should raise concern for early pregnancy loss or ectopic pregnancy. Ultrasound findings diagnostic of early pregnancy loss include a mean gestational sac diameter of 25 mm or greater with no embryo and no fetal cardiac activity when the crown-rump length is 7 mm or more. Treatment options for early pregnancy loss include expectant management, medical management with mifepristone and misoprostol, or uterine aspiration. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy is 1% to 2% in the United States and accounts for 6% of all maternal deaths. Established criteria should be used to determine treatment options for ectopic pregnancy, including expectant management, medical management with methotrexate, or surgical intervention.
A design strategy for a 6:1 supersonic mixed-flow compressor stage

Abstract A surge in the small jet engine market due to aero-propulsion purposes generates requirement to develop compact and robust high-performance compressors. We address this necessity through the design of a single-stage high-pressure ratio mixed-flow compressor. Its compactness and reliability demonstrate its ability to replace a multistage axial design in the small aero-engine segment with high-performance envelope. We have perceived that though many design approaches are readily available for centrifugal and/or axial stages, mixed-flow compressor design systems are scarce. In this paper we intend to provide the designer a comprehensive background knowledge of a mixed-flow stage design. A brief historical development of these designs since the 1940s has been provided. It is observed that for a high-pressure ratio demand it necessitates a supersonic rotor exit flow. Hence, tandem stator configurations were investigated in the past to reduce blade loadings for efficient diffusion. However, most of the previous stage designs were inefficient due to inability of the stators to efficiently diffuse this supersonic flow. A tandem design based on Quishi et al. [1] has been implemented to solve this problem. A unique mean-line procedure based on isentropic equations is defined for mixed-flow stage. It is followed by a geometry construction technique based on Bezier curves. Furthermore, a rotor design evaluation study is conducted for 3.5 kg/s mass flow based on the mean-line code and additional computational analysis. Current computational results [2] have shown single-stage mixed-flow compressors designed using this method to generate reasonably high-pressure ratio up to 6:1 with 75.5% efficiency.
Seed Germination of Cyeas revoluta

Cycas revoluta seeds commonly take from a few months to a year or more to germinate and germination percentages are normally quite low. In an effort to improve germination, several seed treatments ...
Dolutegravir And Lamivudine Combination For The Treatment Of HIV-1 Infection

There have been remarkable advances in drug development for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. From the co-formulation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) into single-tablet regimens to the development of long-acting antiretroviral (ARV) drug formulations, the treatment of HIV has and will become much more tolerable and less complicated for patients. In addition, and appropriately, there is a focus on reducing short- and long-term toxicities of treatment while maintaining robust efficacy. One of such approaches includes 2-drug regimen constructs that contain and retain effective ARV compounds while excluding components that have relatively unfavorable toxicity profiles. The first-ever 2-drug regimen approved for the treatment of HIV-1 infection for treatment-naive people living with HIV (PLWH), consisting of the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir (DTG) and the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) lamivudine (3TC), is reviewed in this paper. The chemical composition and properties, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics profile, and clinical trial data on efficacy and safety of DTG/3TC are presented. An expert opinion aims to highlight important considerations for the use of DTG/3TC in the context of existing and emerging ARV options.
Idea Generation Compared between Children With and Without Learning Disabilities

The purposes of this quasi-experimental study were to: (a) compile a solution set of ideas and idea categories that could be used to measure ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality of ideas for future research studies, and (b) measure and compare the ideational performance of students with and without learning disabilities (LD). The idea generation performance of 13 students with LD and 11 children without LD was measured using 22 idea generation prompts modeled on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1974). Ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality was analyzed using hierarchical generalized linear modeling, and results indicated that for children with LD, fluency had a weaker positive association with originality (i.e., an interaction effect; F [1, 659] = 4.54, p = .03), indicating that students with LD utilized a more convergent thinking style approach to idea generation rather than a divergent thinking style approach employed by students without LD. A solution set for fluency, flexibility, and originality was compiled which could be used for scoring future studies investigating the effects of strategy instruction for idea generation performance in students who may demonstrate more difficulties in generating ideas for academic tasks than their similarly disabled peers. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.11.7
Challenges and opportunities in the continuity of care for hypertension: a mixed-methods study embedded in a primary health care intervention in Tajikistan.

Hypertension, a significant risk factor for ischemic heart disease and other chronic conditions, is the third-highest cause of death and disability in Tajikistan. Thus, ensuring the early detection and appropriate management of hypertension is a core element of strategies to improve population health in Tajikistan. For a strategy to be successful, it should be informed by the causes of gaps in service delivery and feasible solutions to these challenges. The objective of this study was to undertake a systematic assessment of hypertension case detection and retention in care within Tajikistan’s primary health care system, and to identify challenges and appropriate solutions. Our mixed methods study drew on the cascade of care framework to examine patient progression through the recommended stages of hypertension care. We triangulated data from household surveys and facility registries within Tajikistan’s Health Services Improvement Project (HSIP) to describe the cascade. Focus group discussions with local HSIP stakeholders identified the barriers to and facilitators for care. Drawing on global empirical evidence on effective interventions and stakeholder judgments on the feasibility of implementation, we developed recommendations to improve hypertension service delivery that were informed by our quantitative and qualitative findings. We review the results for the case detection stage of the cascade of care, which had the most significant gaps. Of the half a million people with hypertension in Khatlon and Sogd Oblasts (administrative regions), about 10% have been diagnosed in Khatlon and only 5% in Sogd. Barriers to case detection include misinformation about hypertension, ambiguous protocols, and limited delivery capacity. Solutions identified to these challenges were mobilizing faith-based organizations, scaling up screening through health caravans, task-shifting to increase provider supply, and introducing job aids for providers. Translating findings on discontinuities in care for hypertension and other chronic diseases to actionable policy insights can be facilitated by collaboration with local stakeholders, triangulation of data sources, and identifying the intersection between the feasible and the effective in defining solutions to service delivery challenges.
Interpretability and Validity of a Bifactor Model of ADHD in Young Adults: Assessing the General “g” and Specific IA and HI Factors

The current study investigated the clinical utility and validity of a bifactor model for representing ADHD symptoms in young adults. Two-hundred and seventy-eight participants (33.8% male) aged 18–24 and informants completed well-validated measures of ADHD symptoms and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results across self- and informant-report methods suggested a bifactor model with inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive specific factors as the best fitting conceptualization of ADHD symptoms. Within this bifactor model, the general (“g”) factor was found to be an interpretable representation of most ADHD symptoms that demonstrated significant associations with several internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Over and above “g,” inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive specific factors appeared to account for unique information in ADHD symptoms, particularly those corresponding with difficulties following through on instructions and verbal impulsivity, respectively. Specific factors also appeared to account for unique information pertaining to anxious/depressed and intrusive behavioral dysfunction, over and above either “g” or total ADHD symptom count scores. Overall, results suggested that integration of different components of the bifactor model, particularly HI, into clinical practice may help parse heterogeneity in ADHD-related phenotypes during young adulthood.
Reduced Emergence of Cylas formicarius elegantulus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Sweet Potato Roots by Heterorhabditis indica

Okinawan sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, is an important food staple and export crop for the Island of Hawaii. Cylas formicarius elegantulus, sweet potato weevil, is a major quarantine pest that causes severe destruction to the crop. Root malformation and a bitter taste occur when larvae feed and tunnel within the storage root. Off-grade roots are often left in the field after harvest and serve as a reservoir for the weevils. Current management involves the unsustainable practice of moving to virgin land for the next cropping cycle. Strains of Heterorhabditis indica isolated from the Hawaiian Islands were tested for their efficacy at causing mortality of C. formicarius and reducing the emergence of adults from infested roots. In well plate assays, H. indica caused mortality of 88% larvae, 96% pupae, and 4% adults after 48 h. When applied to infested roots, the nematodes caused an average mortality of 78% larvae, 66% pupae, and 32% adults. Greater mortality was observed at the highest inoculum levels (10,000 infective juveniles per storage tuber) but a reduction of 90% inoculum density was still effective at weevil management. In simulated field trials, infestation of storage roots was reduced by 42-99.6% when planted among infested roots that had been inoculated with H. indica. Rates of 2.5 billion IJs/hectare were just as effective as 5 billion IJs/hectare. Application of local H. indica strains in sweet potato production has the potential to manage C. formicarius populations and allow for consecutive cropping seasons.
Chapter 19 – Molecular pathology of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is an extremely genetically unstable tumor with multiple numerical and structural chromosomal alterations. Chromothripsis and alternative lengths of telomeres are potential sources of the instability. Genomic profiling of tumor DNA using array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays have revealed some recurrent chromosomal alterations. The roles of TP53 and RB pathway genes are well established as are the contributions of a variety of other oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Three of the RECQ helicases [RECQL4, WRN (RECQL2) and BLM (RECQL3)] are associated with autosomal recessive syndromes with an increased risk of osteosarcoma. Recent data suggest that miRNAs are differentially expressed in osteosarcoma, suggesting a novel post-translational mechanism for fine-tuning the pathways relevant to osteosarcoma. Furthermore, the frontier is now moving toward a better understanding of tumor progression, metastasis and a therapeutic response to this tumor. We expect that our knowledge of basic molecular events involved in osteosarcoma will further advance out understanding of this disease and highlight treatment modalities directed at these basic molecular pathways.
The Moral Status of Newborns: Before, during, and after the Pandemic.

Times of crisis sometimes force difficult moral choices, and in so doing often require reconsideration of the basis upon which such choices have been made in the past. The moral status of newborns,...
Use of the End to End Anastomotic Stapler From Above for Difficult Pelvic Surgery for Distal Rectal Disease

IntroductionTransabdominal utilization (TAU) of the end to end anastomotic (EEA) stapler in low anterior resection (LAR) for rectal cancer is an excellent alternative to the most widely performed t...
A Self-Test Framework for Detecting Fault-induced Accuracy Drop in Neural Network Accelerators

Hardware accelerators built with SRAM or emerging memory devices are essential to the accommodation of the ever-increasing Deep Neural Network (DNN) workloads on resource-constrained devices. After deployment, however, the performance of these accelerators is threatened by the faults in their on-chip and off-chip memories where millions of DNN weights are held. Different types of faults may exist depending on the underlying memory technology, degrading inference accuracy. To tackle this challenge, this paper proposes an online self-test framework that monitors the accuracy of the accelerator with a small set of test images selected from the test dataset. Upon detecting a noticeable level of accuracy drop, the framework uses additional test images to identify the corresponding fault type and predict the severeness of faults by analyzing the change in the ranking of the test images. Experimental results show that our method can quickly detect the fault status of a DNN accelerator and provide accurate fault type and fault severeness information, allowing for subsequent recovery and self-healing process.
Mental health symptoms and association with COVID-19 vaccination receipt and intention to vaccinate among adults ≥ 18 years, United States

Abstract Early studies suggest that adults with mental health conditions are at greater risk for COVID-19 infection, severe complications, and higher mortality, yet face barriers in accessing timely health services. Data from the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey, a large, nationally representative survey fielded from March 17–29, 2021 (n = 77,104) were analyzed to examine COVID-19 vaccination and intention among adults with mental health symptoms. Separate multivariable regression models were conducted to examine associations between symptoms of anxiety, depression, and anxiety or depression on vaccine receipt (≥ 1 dose) and intention to be vaccinated. Reasons for not being vaccinated were also assessed. Approximately 35% of adults had symptoms of anxiety or depression. This population was less likely to receive COVID-19 vaccination (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 0.94, 95%CI: 0.91–0.98) but more likely to intend to get a vaccine (aPR = 1.13, 95%CI: 1.08–1.19) than those without these conditions. Females with mental health symptoms were less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccination but more likely to intend to get vaccinated, while there were fewer significant associations between mental health symptoms and vaccination coverage and intentions to vaccinate among males. Reasons for not getting vaccinated, including concerns about possible vaccine side effects, efficacy, cost, dislike of vaccines, as well as lack of trust in the government and vaccines, were all greater among those with any symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders than those without symptoms. Efforts are needed to increase vaccination uptake and confidence among this vulnerable population by increasing vaccine confidence and addressing concerns about the vaccine.