cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Titanium-Porcelain System Part I: Oxidation Kinetics of Nitrided Pure Titanium, Simulated to Porcelain Firing Process

The bonding strength of porcelains to metals depends on the oxide layer between the porcelain and the metal. Oxidation of a metal surface increases the bonding strength, whereas excessive oxidation decreases it. Titanium and its alloys are gaining acceptance for dental use since they exhibit excellent biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, low specific gravity, good mechanical properties, and low cost. However, titanium suffers from its violent reactivity with oxygen at high temperatures that yields an excessive thick layer of TiO2, and this presents difficulties with porcelain bonding. The present study deals with the oxidation kinetics of titanium simulated to porcelain firing and evaluating surface nitridation of titanium as a process of controlling the oxidation behavior of titanium. Nitrided samples with the Arc Ion Plating PVD process and un-nitrided control commercially pure titanium (CPT, Grade 1) were subjected to oxidation simulating firing of Procera porcelain with 550 degrees, 700 degrees, and 800 degrees C firing temperatures for 10 min in both 1 and 0.1 atmospheric air. Weight difference before and after oxidation was calculated and the parabolic rate constant, Kp (mg2/cm4/s), was plotted against inverse absolute temperature. Surface layers of the samples were subjected to x-ray and electron diffraction techniques for phase identifications. Results revealed that both nitrided and un-nitrided samples obey a parabolic rate law with activation energy of 50 kcal/mol. In addition this study shows that nitrided CPT had a Kp about 5 times lower than the un-nitrided CPT and hence the former needs about 2.24 times longer oxidation time to show the same degree of oxidation. Phase identification resulted in confirming the presence of TiO2 as the oxide film in both groups but with 1-2 microns thickness for the un-nitrided CPT and 0.3-0.5 micron thickness for the nitrided samples. Therefore it can be concluded that nitridation of titanium surface can be effective in controlling the surface oxide thickness that might ensure satisfactory bonding with porcelain.
An Assessment of Microhabitat Variables and Capture Success of Striped Skunks (Mephitis Mephitis)

The association of microhabitat variables and capture (¼ occurrence) of striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) was assessed at 3 sites in western Tennessee. Sixteen features were included in univariate and stepwise logistic regressions to investigate relationships between occurrence and habitat factors and to construct models predictive of occurrence. Accuracy of models was examined using jackknife procedures, and maps predictive of occurrence were developed through semivariance and kriging analyses. Average height of stand, hardwood snags .35 cm diameter at breast height, number of stems, distance to permanent water sources, and distance to open areas were among the habitat features most frequently found to be related to occurrence. Models derived from logistic regression predicted occurrence of the species at varying levels (56% to 75%). Overall, classification percentages appeared to be at a level useful for predicting the occurrence of M. mephitis, and mapping procedures sufficient for illustrating the association between occurrence and habitat.
Robotic liver surgery: technical aspects and review of the literature

Minimally invasive surgery for liver resections has a defined role and represents an accepted alternative to open techniques for selected cases. Robotic technology can overcome some of the disadvantages of the laparoscopic technique, mainly in the most complex cases. Precise dissection and microsuturing is possible, even in narrow operative fields, allowing for a better dissection of the hepatic hilum, fine lymphadenectomy, and biliary reconstruction even with small bile ducts and easier bleeding control. This technique has the potential to allow for a greater number of major resections and difficult segmentectomies to be performed in a minimally invasive fashion. The implementation of near-infrared fluorescence with indocyanine green (ICG) also allows for a more accurate recognition of vascular and biliary anatomy. The perspectives of this kind of virtually implemented imaging are very promising and may be reflected in better outcomes. The overall data present in current literature suggests that robotic liver resections are at least comparable to both open and laparoscopic surgery in terms of perioperative and postoperative outcomes. This article provides technical details of robotic liver resections and a review of the current literature.
Jury Instructions: A Persistent Failure to Communicate

This article reports on an empirical study of juror comprehension of pattern jury instructions. It demonstrated that comprehension of the original instructions was poor, but that rewriting significantly improved their ability to understand and explain the meaning of the instructions. A separate study showed that jurors report that they discuss and consider the language of the instructions provided to them.
Demystifying Performance Predictions of Distributed FFT3D Implementations

This paper presents a comprehensive story of the development of simpler performance models for distributed implementations of the Fast Fourier Transform in 3 Dimensions (FFT3D). We start by providing an overview of several implementations and their performance models. Then, we present arguments to support the use of a simple power function instead of the full performance models proposed by other publications. We argue that our model can be obtained for a particular problem size with minimal experimentation while other models require significant tuning to determine their constants.
Public response to flood warnings

Warnings systems for floods are defined from a public response viewpoint. The factors that influence public response to flood warnings are then reviewed and synthesized. Finally, how to use what is known about public response to flood warnings in planning and practice is presented.
SEMICONDUCTOR THIN FILMS GROWN BY LASER PHOTOLYSIS.

Thin (< 1.2 µpm) Ge and Si films have been grown with rates up to 3.6 µm/hr by laser-induced chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) on a variety of substrates. Germanium films grown on amorphous SiO2 (quartz) by photodissociating GeH4 in He at 248 nm (KrF laser) exhibit grain sizes of 0.3–0.5 µm that increase only slightly up to the pryolytic threshold for GeH4 (280°C). On (100) NaCl, however, Ge films grown at a substrate temperature of 120°C are expitaxial. The activation energy for the LCVD growth of Ge films (from GeH4) on SiO2 is measured to be 85 ± 20 meV which suggests that germanium is arriving at the substrate in atomic form. The wavelength and intensity dependence of the initial film growth rate supports the conclusion that this process is photolytic and is initiated by the absorption of a single photon.
Assessment of nutrition education of dental students

This study was undertaken to determine the source and quality of the nutrition education received and to determine the nutritional knowledge gained by dental students. The assessment of the dental education program revealed a limited nutrition component uidely scattered among a number of departments and offered diversely in each of the four years. Faculty interviews and a review of course outlines indicated that some material was presented on foods; disorders; diets; nutrition, biochemistry, and physiology; and anatomical terms. A "self-instructional unit" contained seven tapes on aspects of nutrition. National Dental Board Examinations contained nutrition-related questions which would be helpful in developing a nutrition program, including the development of a dental-related nutritional knowledge test. Such a test, developed within the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, was administered to the dental students on an honor-code basis early in the fall semester. Tests were completed by 178 students. The mean per cent score, 58.7 +/- 10.2, was below the mean for undergraduate students who had completed a basic course in nutrition with a grade of "C". Evidence is presented indicating that the general nutritional knowledge of the dental students increased only during the first year of their program. A gain in nutritional knowledge was noted in the categories of: Nutrition, biochemistry, and physiology; disorders, diets, and organisms.
COMPUTERS MADE TO TOLERATE DEFECTS

Defects are a fact of life in any form of manufacturing. One way to ensure that the end product actually works is to test each component before assembly and discard those that are not perfect, or do not perform within acceptable tolerances. This testing method is used for computer chips, but the increasing size and complexity of integrated circuits makes it more likely that imperfections will occur. And as the equipment used to manufacture chips becomes more expensive, the cost of rejecting faulty devices will eventually become prohibitive.
Mechanical energy dissipation modeling of exfoliated graphite based on interfacial friction theory

Abstract Mechanical energy dissipation is important for vibration damping and sound absorption. This paper provides an analytical model for the interfacial-friction-based viscous behavior of exfoliated graphite, thereby establishing a methodology that may be applied to such behavior of materials in general. This model is in contrast to the conventional bulk viscous deformation model. It can be used to predict the viscous behavior (e.g., loss modulus) from the material properties. A dimensionless deformation factor is introduced to describe the off-axis dimensional change upon viscous deformation. The interfacial-friction-based energy loss is calculated from the equivalent friction force and equivalent sliding displacement, which are in phase during dynamic sinusoidal flexural loading. Each cell in exfoliated graphite is modeled as a pore bounded by Voigt-element-based cell walls, which have merged in order to form the cellular structure. The viscous behavior stems primarily from the sliding between the merged cell walls. The contribution of sliding between graphite layers within a cell wall is negligible. The greater is the solid content, the smaller is the displacement, the higher is the friction force, the less is the energy loss and the lower is the degree of viscous character. Excellent agreement is obtained between the modeling and experimental results.
Analyzing Fluid Compression Effects in Complicated Micro-machined Devices

Optimization of the dynamic performance of air-packaged micromachined devices requires accurate estimation of drag forces. Recently developed accelerated integral equations solvers have made accurate drag force estimation computationally inexpensive even for very complicated three-dimensional geometries, but the incompressible Stokes flow model used by these solvers could not model fluid compression. In this paper we describe a new approach to analyzing the fluid compression effect in micro-machined devices. A linearized compressible Stokes flow formulation and a corresponding Boundary Element Method (BEM) are presented. The formulation exploits the fact that the flow in many micromachined devices has a low Reynolds number and that the pressure variation is small comparing with ambient pressure. Computation results show this model is more accurate than the linearized compressible Reynolds equation.
Laser cladding of 420 stainless steel with molybdenum on mild steel A36 by a high power direct diode laser

Abstract Laser cladding, as one of the most promising surface modification technologies, is being widely applied in industry to improve the wear and corrosion resistance of components. The high energy input and high cooling rate during the cladding process lead to severe metallurgical reactions that determine the microstructure and properties of the cladded layer. In this study, a 3-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model was developed to study heat transfer during laser cladding of 420 stainless steel + 4% molybdenum on mild steel A36. In this model, the effects of laser-powder interaction, temperature-dependent material properties, latent heat, and Marangoni flow were considered. A method based on mass balance was adopted to predict the clad geometry. The thermal results such as the temperature history, temperature gradient, and solidification rate were investigated. Based on the simulated thermal results, the microstructure and Mo distribution in the clad layer were studied. In order to verify the established model, a series of experiments was conducted by using an 8-kW high-power direct diode laser (HPDDL). Thermocouples and a CCD camera were used to monitor the temperature history and molten pool size. The predicted clad height and width showed a good agreement with the experimental results.
Susceptibility Etching on MRI in Patients with Microangiopathy.

BACKGROUND We detected a novel imaging sign, which consists of a specific imaging pattern of diffuse susceptibility effect, delineating the cortical-subcortical junction on high-resolution susceptibility-weighted images (SWIs). We describe magnetic resonance imaging findings in 10 patients with “susceptibility etching” and possible association with their abnormal coagulation profile. MATERIALS/METHODS A retrospective case series study with a search for cases that demonstrated susceptibility effect at the cortical-subcortical junction on SWI sequences was performed. The patients’ respective coagulation profiles including prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, D-dimer values, and platelet counts were reviewed. In addition, clinical history and neurological deficits were recorded. RESULTS We identified 10 patients with the “susceptibility etching” pattern at the cortical-subcortical junction. All patients were acutely ill and had a significantly elevated D-dimer (4,309 mcg/L to >10,000 mcg/L) with variably reduced platelet count. Two patients had reduced fibrinogen and 5 patients had prolonged international normalized ratio. Of the 10 patients, 4 died during hospitalization, within a few days of imaging. Pathology of 1 patient at autopsy demonstrated findings suggestive of a microvascular thrombotic or embolic event without overt parenchymal microhemorrhage. CONCLUSION In this preliminary case series, we describe patients with “susceptibility etching” on SWI who were also found to have profound coagulation impairment. While other comorbities may also contribute to this novel sign, we suggest that a possible etiology may be secondary to microvascular in situ formation of fine thrombi and/or emboli lodged into an area of vascular caliber reduction and maybe related to thrombotic microangiopathy.
Pore size manipulation of hydrophilic nano/microporous polymer photonic crystal

Here we report a low cost fabrication method to finely manipulate the pore size of nano/microporous materials and demonstrate its application for reversible color tuning of porous polymer photonic crystals based on atmosphere humidity condensation.
GPIbα Is Essential for Platelet Adhesion during Thrombus Formation: Studies with Mutant Mice Deficient in the Extracellular Domain of GPIbα.

GPIbα binding to von Willebrand factor (vWf) exposed at a site of vascular injury is the first step in the formation of a hemostatic plug. In addition, GPIbα binding to platelet-bound vWf has previously been shown to play a key role in the incorporation of circulating platelets into a growing thrombus. However, studies in vWf-deficient mice demonstrated delayed but not absent arterial thrombus formation, suggesting that GPIbα may bind a ligand other than vWf to facilitate platelet adhesion, or that a platelet surface receptor other than GPIbα can mediate platelet adhesion in arterioles in the absence of vWf. Here we studied thrombus formation in transgenic mice expressing GPIbα in which the extracytoplasmic sequence has been replaced by an isolated domain of the human interleukin 4 receptor (IL4R-tg mice). Early platelet adhesion to ferric chloride-treated mesenteric arterioles in IL4R-tg mice was decreased by >98% when compared with controls. As a consequence, thrombus formation was completely inhibited in all of the mutant mice. To study the role of GPIbα in platelet adhesion to already adherent platelets, we studied thrombus formation in wild-type mice infused with wild-type platelets labeled with calcein-green and IL4R-tg platelets labeled with calcein-orange/red. Upon ferric chloride-induced injury, wild-type but not IL4R-tg platelets incorporated into the growing thrombus. A similar result was observed with wild-type platelets treated with O-sialoglycoprotein endopeptidase to remove the 45 kD N-terminal domain of GPIbα. In summary, our studies in GPIbα mutant mice provide additional evidence that under arterial flow conditions GPIbα is the only receptor expressed on the platelet surface that mediates initial platelet adhesion to the subendothelium as well as to already adherent platelets. Our data further suggest that a ligand other than vWf may contribute to GPIbα-dependent platelet adhesion to subendothelium and to a growing thrombus.
The Relationship Between Bullying Victimization and School Avoidance: An Examination of Direct Associations, Protective Influences, and Aggravating Factors

ABSTRACTThis study examines the impact of bullying victimization on school avoidance by proposing the following hypotheses: (1) Net of other factors, students who have experienced bullying victimization are more likely to engage in school avoidance behaviors; (2) There are protective factors that will decrease this relationship between bullying victimization and avoidance behaviors; and (3) There are aggravating factors that will increase this relationship between bullying victimization and avoidance behaviors. Binary logistic regression models are estimated, using data from the 2011 National Crime Victimization Survey: School Crime Supplement, with a nationally representative sample of 6,547 middle and high school students. Findings provide strong support for the effect of bullying victimization on school avoidance, such that students who have experienced bullying are more likely to avoid places in school. Additionally, results suggest that participation in school activities and fear can influence the re...
Transcribing the connectome: roles for transcription factors and chromatin regulators in activity-dependent synapse development

The wiring of synaptic connections in the developing mammalian brain is shaped by both intrinsic and extrinsic signals. One point where these regulatory pathways converge is via the sensory experience-dependent regulation of new gene transcription. Recent studies have elucidated a number of molecular mechanisms that allow nuclear transcription factors and chromatin regulatory proteins to encode aspects of specificity in experience-dependent synapse development. Here we review the evidence for the transcriptional mechanisms that sculpt activity-dependent aspects of synaptic connectivity during postnatal development and discuss how disruption of these processes is associated with aberrant brain development in autism and intellectual disability.
Loss of adiabaticity with increasing tunneling gap in nonintegrable multistate Landau-Zener models

We consider the simplest nonintegrable model of the multistate Landau-Zener transition. In this model, two pairs of levels in two tunnel-coupled quantum dots are swept past each other by the gate voltage. Although this $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ model is nonintegrable, it can be solved analytically in the limit when the interlevel energy distance is much smaller than their tunnel splitting. The result is contrasted to the similar $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$ model, in which one of the dots contains only one level. The latter model does not allow interference of the virtual transition amplitudes, and it is exactly solvable. In the $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1$ model, the probability for a particle, residing at time $t\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\infty}$ in one dot, to remain in the same dot at $t\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, falls off exponentially with tunnel coupling. By contrast, in the $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ model, this probability grows rapidly with tunnel coupling. The physical origin of this growth is the formation of the tunneling-induced collective states in the system of two dots. This can be viewed as a manifestation of the Dicke effect.
The Effects of Electricity Prices on Productive Efficiency of States’ Wind Power Performances in the United States

Wind power is the largest renewable energy source which produces a negligible amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, has gained enormous attention in the electricity generation sector over the past decade in the United States. In this study, a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is implemented to quantitatively evaluate the relative efficiencies of the 39 states’ wind power productivity for the electricity generation. Eight output-oriented CCR (Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes) models are developed with different combinations of pre-determined four input and five output variables to investigate the effect of electricity prices on the productive efficiency and to test the robustness of the DEA models. The DEA results indicate that two-thirds of the states operate wind power efficiently. Although the high retail price of electricity has a significant contribution to the productive efficiency of the six states, it does not affect the relative efficiency scores of the nineteen states. The location and the size of operation are not advantages or disadvantages for operating wind power at the most productive scale.
Electronics of Ultra-High-Frequency Triodes

The electronic behavior of ultra-high-frequency triodes is well understood, but there is need for an easily interpreted relationship correlating the various factors in terms of performance. An empirical relation for anode efficiency as a function of frequency, interelectrode spacing, and operating voltage which largely fulfills this need is deduced from the aforementioned theory and existing experimental data.
A portable mid-infrared spectrometer and a non-targeted chemometric approach for the rapid screening of economically motivated adulteration of milk powder

Abstract A portable, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) device in conjunction with chemometrics was evaluated as rapid screening tools for the non-targeted detection of milk powder (MP) adulteration using melamine (MEL) as a surrogate contaminant. A single-class soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) model was developed for each of two spectral ranges using a diverse set of MPs and applied to the classification of both wet-blended (WB) and dry-blended (DB) MEL and a set of MP control test samples. Satisfactory prediction of economically motivated (EM) concentrations of MP adulteration was obtained along with 100% correct classification rates for concentrations as low as ≥0.30% for WB and ≥1.0% for DB MEL test samples. This portable infrared device in conjunction with SIMCA classification is potentially an ideal screening tool for the rapid and routine non-targeted assessment of economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of milk powder.
The power of relaxed models

Recall that our main theorems for finite executions in Chapter 2 and Chapter 5 show that in order to construct an efficient, reliable protocol for achieving a goal, it must be possible to efficiently verify that the goal has been achieved. We know that this places limits on what kinds of goals we could hope to achieve—for example, as we saw in Section 3.3, any problem we can solve using such a communications protocol in polynomial time with the class of all helpful servers must lie in PSPACE. Some natural computational problems are outside PSPACE, though, and so it is very natural to wonder if some weaker benefit could be obtained for these problems via communication with helpful servers. Now, although we saw that strong sensing in the infinite execution model was also bound by similar limitations in Theorem 6.47, we also saw that it was possible to construct universal users from weak safety in Theorem 6.23, which was not bound by such limitations. We will see, in this chapter, that this gap can be exploited: when the reliability requirement of the protocols is relaxed in some natural ways, we can substantially extend the class of goals that we can achieve universally. We will first show, in Section 7.1.1, a protocol for deciding any computable decision problem with all helpful servers in the infinite executions model of Chapter 6. We will then show, in Section 7.1.2, how this protocol can be converted into a protocol for deciding the same problems in finite executions if we allow the protocol to err on a finite set of instances (which may depend on the server and its initial state). Finally, in Section 7.2, we return to the infinite execution setting, and consider what aspects of computational goals we used in the design of our protocols. We will introduce exploration sessions as an abstraction of the key property, and show how, together with the ability to reset the server, we can obtain a universal user that only makes a finite number of mistakes with each server that is independent of the size parameter.
Strategien in schrumpfenden und reifen Märkten

Strategische Planung wird oft assoziiert mit der Suche nach gesunden, wachsenden Markten und mit der Entwicklung von Strategien, um diese Markte zu penetrieren. Aber, wie bereits in Kapitel 6 deutlich wurde, gibt es eine Vielzahl von Risiken in starken Wachstumsfeldern, unter anderen auch die Gefahr, das der Markt mit Wettbewerbern uberfullt ist, die alle versuchen, eine Nische zu finden. Andererseits konnen schrumpfende und reife Markte gute Chancen fur Unternehmen mit der richtigen Strategie bieten, zum Teil weil sie fur Wettbewerber nicht so attraktiv sind. Daher sollte man schrumpfende Markte nicht immer meiden. Auserdem mussen viele Unternehmen, die sich in einem stagnierenden oder schrumpfenden Marktumfeld befinden, Strategien entwickeln.
Order Statistics of Normal Variables

The theory and applications of order statistics have been studied extensively in the literature, a convenient reference is David (1981). In this chapter we present some results concerning the distributions and moments of order statistics when the parent distribution is multivariate normal.
Being Explicit About Culture: Maori in the Neoliberal New Zealand Parliament

I explore how people use the culture concept in legislatures to understand the minorities they legislate for and about. I focus on recent debates in the New Zealand parliament over whether the indigenous Maori are a cultural group or a racial group. A Westminister-style parliament encourages these debates in which political parties argue that Maori are either cultural or racial but not both. For the ruling Labour Party and its allies, the Maori are cultural. And for their opposition, the National Party and its allies, Maori are a racial group. This division is possible only because of the legislators' neoliberal assumptions about identity categories. To complicate these political divisions, Maori MPs currently belong to political parties from all parts of the political spectrum, and their effectiveness as culture-bearers in a parliamentary context can disrupt the terms of this debate.
Commonalities, Regional Science and the Future: A Septuagenarian Perspective

Knowing well Ake Andersson’s intense concern for the future and given the very title of this book, Knowledge and Networks in the Dynamical Economy. I find it impossible to avoid grappling with the problem of projecting what’s ahead. And since among regional scientists I can claim to have more years than most of struggle to understand the dynamics of spatial development (space-time paths), I dare to extrapolate the past. I choose to do so beginning from the first event identified by scientific man, the Big Bang, and in doing this I will draw heavily upon the analysis in my forthcoming book, Commonalities of Art, Science and Religion: An Evolutionary Perspective (Scheduled for July 1996 publication by Avebury Press).
Anxiety Sensitivity and Response to Hyperventilation Challenge: Physiologic Arousal, Interoceptive Acuity, and Subjective Distress

Twenty-four female undergraduates, 12 high on anxiety sensitivity and 12 low on anxiety sensitivity, were subjected to a hyperventilation challenge task. Physiologic and subjective measures of arousal and distress were obtained before, during, and after the hyperventilation challenge. Alternating between the eight 15-second intervals of hyperventilation, participants engaged in a heartbeat-tracking task for eight 10-second intervals to assess interoceptive acuity. Although the hyperventilation challenge produced phase main effects for physiologic arousal, and group and time main effects for subjective distress, there were no significant interaction effects. Results revealed no significant interoceptive acuity differences across the low and high anxiety sensitivity groups. However, subjective ratings of physiological sensations during hyperventilation were significantly greater for the high anxiety sensitivity group. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that anxiety sensitivity accounted for additional variance beyond trait anxiety in explaining subjective ratings of arousal and distress in this nonclinical sample in response to a hyperventilation challenge.
Free Fecal Immunochemical Test Disbursement in Eight Family Physician Offices

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death. CRC screening with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is important as occult blood may be detected. To offer Iowa Research Network members in family physician offices the opportunity to provide FITs at no charge to patients in need and determine how many of the tests would be handed out to patients and how many would be returned to the office. Eight family physician offices agreed to participate and 50 two-day FITs were provided, potentially providing 400 patients a CRC screening test. One hundred and eighty (45 %) of the 400 FITs were handed out to patients. Of the 92 (51 %) patients who returned at least one card, 77 (84 %) had negative results, 13 (14 %) were positive, and 2 (2 %) were indeterminate. Of 13 patients with a positive result, 11 (85 %) had a follow-up colonoscopy. Providing 400 FITs at no charge to the offices was an expensive endeavor. Implementing this forced a change in office routine and the type of fecal occult blood test used. Less than half of the FITs were given out to patients and of those given out, about half of the patients returned a FIT. For those who returned FITs and had positive findings, 85 % followed-up with a colonoscopy. Office nurses implementing the CRC screening need to be included in the planning of the type of fecal occult blood test used and receptive to the project.
CHAPTER 5 – Feeding in Frogs

Comparative studies have demonstrated that frogs exhibit at least three different mechanisms to protract their tongues. These are mechanical pulling, inertial elongation, and hydrostatic elongation. These mechanisms differ in the extent of tongue movement relative to the head; in the velocity, acceleration, and trajectories of tongue movements; in aiming ability; and in the accuracy of prey capture. The feeding behavior of anurans has proved to be an interesting model to understand the process of functional diversification during evolution. Morphologically, the feeding apparatus of frogs is rather homogeneous. All species possess similar sets of muscles and bones, although there is variation in the presence of compartments within muscles—for example, the dorsoventral compartment of the M. genioglossus in hydrostatic elongators, which has a major effect on tongue function. There are also differences among species in the contractile properties of tongue muscles as well as in the connective tissue that is responsible for transmitting the forces produced by the tongue muscles during feeding. In general, numerous small qualitative and quantitative morphological differences among species appear to be responsible for the rather large differences in the biomechanics of tongue protraction across anuran species. A major implication of these studies on the evolution of frog tongues is that, for any given species, the neural networks that subserve sensory motor coordination are fine-tuned to its particular morphology and environment.
Abstract 617: Apolipoprotein E Receptor-2 Deficiency Accelerates Smooth Muscle Cell Senescence via Impairment of Protein Phosphatase-2-mediated Cytokinesis

Objective: Genome-wide association studies revealed apoE receptor-2 (apoER2) variants increase atherosclerosis risk in humans. ApoER2 deficiency in hypercholesterolemic Ldlr-/- mice also displayed ...
Accurate Prediction of Antegrade and Retrograde Femoral Intramedullary Implant Length From Patient-Reported Height.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether patient height correlates with implant length selection of antegrade or retrograde femoral intramedullary implants. DESIGN Case-control Study. SETTING A single level 1 trauma center. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS All patients with operatively treated femoral shaft fractures from 2011 to 2017. INTERVENTION All fractures were treated with an intramedullary nail. Retrograde or antegrade insertion was decided at the discretion of the surgeon and fracture location. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS Length of femoral implant and patient height. RESULTS Five hundred sixty-seven operatively treated fractures were reviewed, 322 antegrade and 245 retrograde. The correlation between patient height and actual nail length was 0.55 for antegrade implants (P < 0.01) and 0.59 for retrograde implants (P < 0.01). Separate prediction equations for nail length based on patient height were estimated for antegrade and retrograde implants and found accurate prediction of length 86% and 88% of the time, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Intramedullary nail length can be accurately predicted based on patient height and the technique using the equations below. This is the first study to establish a simple equation to serve as an adjunct for selecting the most appropriate length implant. This equation can be used in cases of bilateral femur fractures, templating to have appropriate sized implants in close proximity to the odds ratio, and in remote environments where surgical planning is critical for determining implant needs.
Recovery of Gram-Negative Bacteria from Aerobic Blood Culture Bottles Containing Antibiotic Binding Resins after Exposure to β-Lactam and Fluoroquinolone Concentrations

ABSTRACT Blood culture bottles containing antibiotic binding resins are routinely used to minimize artificial sterilization in the presence of antibiotics. However, the resin binding kinetics can differ between antibiotics and concentrations. This study assessed the impact of clinically meaningful peak, midpoint, and trough concentrations of meropenem, imipenem, cefepime, cefazolin, levofloxacin, and piperacillin-tazobactam on the recovery of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae from resin-containing BacT/Alert FA Plus and Bactec Aerobic/F blood culture bottles. P. aeruginosa-inoculated bottles alarmed positive in 4/20 (20%), 16/20 (80%), and 20/20 (100%) of those with peak, midpoint, and trough concentrations of antipseudomonal agents, respectively (P ≤ 0.001). E. coli was recovered from 8/24 (33%), 11/24 (46%), and 14/24 (58%) of bottles with peak, midpoint, and trough concentrations, respectively (P = 0.221). K. pneumoniae was recovered from 8/16 (50%) at all concentrations of the studied antibiotics (P = 1.0). BacT/Alert and Bactec bottles inoculated with antibiotics and P. aeruginosa had similar times to detection (TTD) (P = 0.352); however, antibiotic-containing BacT/Alert bottles had a shorter TTD compared with antibiotic-containing Bactec bottles for E. coli (P = 0.026) and K. pneumoniae (P ≤ 0.001). Pathogen recovery in BacT/Alert FA Plus and Bactec Aerobic/F blood culture bottles containing antibiotic binding resins was greatly reduced in the presence of antibiotics, especially at higher concentrations. These data support the practice of drawing blood cultures immediately before an antibiotic dose to maximize the chances of pathogen recovery.
Solar Radiation and Water Temperature

Temperature is a measure of the heat content of an object which results from the energy content of that object. The main source of energy in ecological systems is solar radiation. The earth’s energy budget is essentially balanced with the incoming solar radiation being balanced by the reflection of solar radiation and the re-radiation of energy absorbed by the earth as longwave radiation. The temperature of natural water bodies vary in response to diurnal and seasonal changes in solar radiation. The penetration of light into water bodies which regulates the depth to which photosynthesis occurs is strongly influenced by water clarity. Solar radiation heats the surface layers of water in lakes, reservoirs, and ponds more quickly than it warms deeper water. Water bodies often experience thermal stratification in which warmer, lighter water of the surface layer does mix with cooler, heavier deeper water. Warmth also favors greater rates of most chemical and physical process, and respiration of organisms increases with greater temperature within the temperature tolerance range of organisms.
Vertical hierarchical MPC for constrained linear systems

Abstract A hierarchical Model Predictive Control (MPC) formulation is presented for discrete-time linear systems with state and input constraints. A vertical hierarchical controller, with one controller per level, reduces the computational burden associated with the solution of centralized MPC having long prediction horizons and short time steps. To guarantee satisfaction of state and input constraints in the presence of both known and unknown disturbances, a robust MPC formulation is used at each level while waysets are used as a novel coordination mechanism between controllers at different levels. These waysets are implemented as terminal state constraints on lower-level controllers and are computed on-line based on the optimal state trajectory of upper-level controllers. To achieve the computational efficiency necessary for on-line calculation, waysets are represented as constrained zonotopes. State and input constraint satisfaction is proven for a hierarchical controller with an arbitrary number of levels and two numerical examples demonstrate the key features, performance, and scalability of the approach.
Prospects of 60 GHz mmWave WBAN: A PHY-MAC Joint Approach

Two key challenges of the PHY-MAC layers of the wireless body area network (i.e., WBAN) are - achieving high system capacity and ensuring secure coexistence. Besides capacity and coexistence, a WBAN PHY (i.e., physical) layer is required to fulfill some preconditions such as it should not impose any detrimental effect on the human health, the network devices must be small enough to be wearable, and it should be suitable for the small area coverage. On the other hand, besides coexistence, the MAC (i.e., Media Access Control) layer needs to ensure service priority, and fairness in resource sharing. Traditionally, the WBAN PHY-MAC is based on 2.4 GHz microwave. However, recently, 60 GHz mmWave based WBAN has been envisioned as a possible solution to the above mentioned challenges. In this paper we have conducted the quantitative comparisons between the 60 GHz and the 2.4 GHz based WBANs. We have also shown the superiority of the 60 GHz based PHY over the 2.4 GHz based PHY grounded on the derived mathematical formulas and simulation results in terms of the system capacity, per cell channel ratio, co-channel reuse ratio, network coverage, device miniaturization, and health issues. Furthermore, we have proposed a game theory based solution for the WBAN MAC layer to ensure coexistence, service priority, and fairness in resource sharing.
Establishment of Murine Model of Kidney Failure Induced by Severe Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Useful to Evaluate Transplantation and Regenerative Therapies

Abstract Background Severe ischemia-reperfusion injury (SIRI) seems to be the key factor that can significantly affect the function of both native kidneys and renal allografts. Therefore, the development of a successful strategy is of a paramount importance in both basic and clinical research. Methods To determine the effects of SIRI on the native kidney function, a murine model was planned as follows: group 1 (n = 6) mice underwent to nephrectomy plus ischemia-reperfusion injury for 30 minutes; group 2 (n = 6) mice underwent to nephrectomy without ischemia-reperfusion injury and thus served as sham controls for SIRI. The results of serum creatinine (SCr) were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests to calculate the significance between mean values. Survival between groups was measured by Kaplan-Meier test. Results To reliably achieve an elevation of SCr levels animals were exposed to a SIRI. The values of SCr increased from 0.35 (SD, 0.09) mg/dL to about 2-fold within 2 days and 3-fold within the following 5 days. Under these given conditions the mice displayed signs and histologic findings of severe kidney damage. The survival rate was about 83% of the animals within a week, and they showed no capacity of complete spontaneous self-regeneration. Conclusions In this study, we aim to establish a murine model with extensive structural kidney damage and significant elevation of SCr levels, which could be used in basic and translational research of transplantation and regenerative therapies.
The effects of size and shape of the ovarian cancer spheroids on the drug resistance and migration.

Abstract Background High fatality in ovarian cancer is attributed to metastasis, propagated by the release of multi-cellular aggregates/spheroids into the peritoneal cavity and their subsequent mesothelial invasion of peritoneal organs. Spheroids are therefore a common and clinically relevant in vitro model for ovarian cancer research. Spheroids in patients vary significantly in size and shape and display enhanced resistance to anti-cancer drugs compared to monolayers. However, there is no consensus on how spheroid size and shape affect drug resistance. Moreover, existing data regarding the influence of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) profile on spheroid shape and migration is inconclusive. Methods We formed spheroids with OVCAR-3 and OVCAR-8 cells, chosen for their established genetic similarity to the patient tumor samples. We monitored their morphology using confocal microscope with dipping objective and fluorescent microscope. We characterized important EMT biomarkers; E-cadherin, Vimentin and Slug through western blotting in monolayers and spheroids. We treated these spheroids with Taxol and Cisplatin and investigated their migratory profile based on their morphology. Results We report two distinct multicellular structures: loose aggregates (OVCAR-3) and compact spheroids (OVCAR-8). We attribute these different morphologies to the expression of the EMT biomarkers, and their changes upon spheroid formation. Importantly, we did not observe a difference in resistance to the anti-cancer drugs as a function of spheroid size and shape. However, migration capacity of compact spheroid (OVCAR-8) was 15-fold higher compared to that of loose aggregates (OVCAR-3). Conclusions These results highlight the importance of spheroid size and shape on anti-cancer drug resistance and migration profiles. The results of this study can, therefore, help to elucidate general rules for ovarian cancer studies based on 3D samples.
Geographic Variation in Racial Disparities in Health and Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Mortality.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the race-stratified state-level prevalence of health determinants and the racial disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cumulative incidence and mortality in the United States. Patients and Methods The age-adjusted race-stratified prevalence of comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity), preexisting medical conditions (pulmonary disease, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and malignant neoplasm), poor health behaviors (smoking, alcohol abuse, and physical inactivity), and adverse socioeconomic factors (education, household income, and health insurance) was computed in 435,139 American adult participants from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Correlation was assessed between health determinants and the race-stratified COVID-19 crude mortality rate and infection-fatality ratio computed from respective state public health departments in 47 states. Results Blacks had a higher prevalence of comorbidities (63.3%; 95% CI, 62.4% to 64.2% vs 55.1%; 95% CI, 54.7% to 55.5%) and adverse socioeconomic factors (47.0%; 95% CI, 46.0% to 47.9% vs 30.9%; 95% CI, 30.6% to 31.3%) than did whites. The prevalence of preexisting medical conditions was similar in blacks (30.4%; 95% CI, 28.8% to 32.1%) and whites (30.8%; 95% CI, 30.2% to 31.4%). The prevalence of poor health behaviors was higher in whites (57.2%; 95% CI, 56.3% to 58.0%) than in blacks (50.2%; 95% CI,46.2% to 54.2%). Comorbidities and adverse socioeconomic factors were highest in the southern region, and poor health behaviors were highest in the western region. The cumulative incidence rate (per 100,000 persons) was 3-fold higher in blacks (1546.4) than in whites (540.4). The crude mortality rate (per 100,000 persons) was 2-fold higher in blacks (83.2) than in whites (33.2). However, the infection-fatality ratio (per 100 cases) was similar in whites (6.2) and blacks (5.4). Within racial groups, the geographic distribution of health determinants did not correlate with the state-level COVID-19 mortality and infection-fatality ratio (P>.05 for all). Conclusion Racial disparities in COVID-19 are largely driven by the higher cumulative incidence of infection in blacks. There is a discordance between the geographic dispersion of COVID-19 mortality and the regional distribution of health determinants.
The Predicted Signature of Neutrino Emission in Observations of Pulsating Pre-White Dwarf Stars

Pre-white dwarf (PWD) evolution can be driven by energy losses caused by neutrino emission in the core. Unlike the solar neutrino flux, this is not the by-product of nuclear fusion but is instead the result of electron-scattering processes in the hot, dense regions of the PWD core. We show that the observed rate of period change in cool PWD pulsators will constrain neutrino emission in their cores, and we identify appropriate targets for future observation. Such a measurement will tell us whether the theories of lepton interactions correctly describe the production rates and therefore neutrino cooling of PWD evolution. This would represent the first test of standard lepton theory in dense plasma.