cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemical and biological characteristics of low-temperature plasma treated ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene for biomedical applications.

Several low-temperature radio-frequency (RF) plasma surface treatments were performed on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) used in biomedical applications. Process gases included Ar, C3F6, CH4, hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), and NH4. These treatments were carried out at pressures in the range of 64–400 mTorr, RF powers of 240–1200 W, and temperatures well below the melting point of UHMWPE. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to obtain information about the surface characteristics of UHMWPE treated with the HMDSO, C3F6, and CH4 gases as a function of treatment conditions. XPS spectra of UHMWPE treated with C3F6 and CH4 and exposed to a laboratory environment for different time periods were examined in order to assess the stability of these treatments. It was found that for the C3F6 process gas the amount of fluorine at the surface decreased over time, whereas the oxygen content of the CH4 treated samples increased as a function of time. In vitro cytotoxicity of Ar, C3F6, CH4, and NH4 plasma treated samples was studied in light of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test results. The hemolytic nature of the various plasma treatments was evaluated using standard hemolysis tests. All of the samples tested in this study exhibited no cytotoxic and negligible hemolytic effects. The process parameters for several low-temperature plasma treatments demonstrating chemical and structural stability and good biocompatibility are discussed in conjunction with the broad applicability to other biomedical polymers. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers
Supporting the Supporters: Professional Development for Science Coordinators

ABSTRACTWe investigated changes in district science coordinators’ understandings and practices following their participation in a statewide professional development (PD). Participants included 13 male and 34 female science coordinators from 42 different school districts in Virginia. Data included presurvey, postsurvey, and delayed postsurvey responses; follow-up interviews; and observations of the PD and of science coordinators at work in their district. Results indicated that science coordinator understandings about pedagogy and job responsibilities changed following the PD and were aligned with the goals of PD. However, coordinators’ practices following PD did not fully reflect their understandings about pedagogy. Results suggest that PD aligned with a situated learning framework, specifically the components of collaboration and authentic context, supports coordinators in changing their understandings and some of their practices.
Time Out — Charting a Path for Improving Performance Measurement

Time Out As performance measures proliferate, an American College of Physicians committee rated the validity of 87 measures that are relevant to ambulatory general internal medicine. The committee found that 37% were valid, 35% were not valid, and 28% were of uncertain validity.
Academic Influence and Its Relationship to Industry Payments in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Author(s): Buerba, Rafael A; Sheppard, William L; Herndon, Karen E; Gajewski, Nicholas; Patel, Ankur D; Leong, Natalie L; Bernthal, Nicholas M; SooHoo, Nelson F | Abstract: BACKGROUND:The Hirsch index (h-index) quantifies research publication productivity for an individual, and has widely been considered a valuable measure of academic influence. In 2010, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (PPSA) was introduced as a way to increase transparency regarding U.S. physician-industry relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between industry payments and academic influence as measured by the h-index and number of publications among orthopaedic surgeons. We also examined the relationship of the h-index to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. METHODS:The h-indices of faculty members at academic orthopaedic surgery residency programs were obtained using the Scopus database. The PPSA web site was used to abstract their 2014 industry payments. NIH funding data were obtained from the NIH web site. Mann-Whitney U testing and Spearman correlations were used to explore the relationships. RESULTS:Of 3,501 surgeons, 78.3% received nonresearch payments, 9.2% received research payments, and 0.9% received NIH support. Nonresearch payments ranged from $6 to $4,538,501, whereas research payments ranged from $16 to $517,007. Surgeons receiving NIH or industry research funding had a significantly higher mean h-index and number of publications than those not receiving such funding. Surgeons receiving nonresearch industry payments had a slightly higher mean h-index and number of publications than those not receiving these kinds of payments. Both the h-index and the number of publications had weak positive correlations with industry nonresearch payment amount, industry research payment amount, and total number of industry payments. CONCLUSIONS:There are large differences in industry payment size and distribution among academic surgeons. The small percentage of academic surgeons who receive industry research support or NIH funding tend to have higher h-indices. For the overall population of orthopaedic surgery faculty, the h-index correlates poorly with the dollar amount and the total number of industry research payments. Regarding nonresearch industry payments, the h-index also appears to correlate poorly with the number and the dollar amount of payments. These results are encouraging because they suggest that industry bias may play a smaller role in the orthopaedic literature than previously thought.
Catalysis of Baryon Decay

Recent studies of the interaction between fermions and grand unification monopoles have shown that the cross-sections for monopole-catalysed proton decay reactions such as M + p → M + e+ + π0 are independent of the unification scale, MX, in fact of typical strong interaction size.1,2 Other speakers at this conference have discussed the phenomenological implications of this result, so I will concentrate on trying to explain why it happens. Since fairly subtle field theory phenomena are involved, I will not be able to give an exhaustive discussion in the short time available to me. Instead, I will present a line of argument which, while incomplete, brings out what I believe to be the essential physical mechanisms underlying this rather paradoxical phenomenon. I hope to convince the baffled experimentalist as well as the skeptical theorist that sensible physics, not magic, is responsible for monopole catalysis of baryon decay.
Lo colonial en la contemporaneidad. Imaginario, archivo, memoria

espanolEste articulo explora preguntas en torno a los sentidos de lo colonial en la contemporaneidad. Especificamente, se abordan los temas de lo imaginario, el archivo y la memoria cultural con relacion a lo colonial. Se enfatiza el potencial critico y politico de heuristicas que puedan surgir a partir de esta configuracion y sean capaces de producir dislocaciones profundas en el entramado de dispositivos y formaciones imaginarias moderno/coloniales. Estas inquietudes se ponen en discusion a partir de la experiencia de mi primer seminario de estudios coloniales en Estados Unidos, simultanea con el ataque a las Torres Gemelas el 11 de septiembre de 2001 y el comienzo oficial de la Guerra Contra el Terrorismo. Se valorizan los espacios institucionales en los que lo imaginario colonial instituido puede ser disputado por distintos actores, y se propone observar nuestras practicas y posiciones en los dominios de injerencia que nos sean propios con respecto a como construimos imaginarios y memoria hoy. EnglishThis paper explores questions around the senses of the colonial in contemporary times. Specifically, I will address the topics of the imaginary, archive, and cultural memory in relation to the colonial. I will underscore the critical and political potential of heuristics that may arise from that configuration, to produce deep dislocations within the framework of modern/colonial imaginary devices and formations. These concerns are brought up in light of the experience of my first doctoral seminar in Colonial Studies in the United States, simultaneous to the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, and the official beginning of the War on Terror. This essay highlights the institutional spaces where the established colonial imaginary can be disputed by different actors, and aims to look upon our practices and stances in the our domains of intervention, concerning how we are building upon imaginaries and memory in the present.
Predation and disease-related economic impacts of wild pigs on livestock producers in 13 states

Abstract We report the results of a survey on wild pigs (Sus scrofa) damage to livestock producers in 13 US states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas). The survey was distributed by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service in the summer of 2017 to a sample of livestock producers in the 13-state region. Findings indicate that predation and disease-related damage can be substantial in certain states and for certain types of livestock. In particular, damage to cattle operations in Texas and Arkansas was substantially higher than damage in other states and types of livestock operations. When extrapolated to livestock producers across the entire 13-state region, we estimated that damages sum to an annual cost of about $40 million. We hope findings from this survey will help guide control efforts and research, as well as serve as a benchmark against which the effectiveness of future control efforts can be measured.
Range Expansion of the Viburnum Leaf Beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull, 1799) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in Connecticut

The Eurasian viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull, 1799), can injure and sometimes kill wild and cultivated Viburnum spp. in North America. A survey conducted in Connecticut in 2009–2010 showed that this invasive beetle was established mainly in northern Connecticut. A second two-year survey was initiated in 2016 because P. viburni was appearing south of its previous known range. The second survey revealed that P. viburni had spread throughout the state, being present at 247 of 248 (99.6%) sites sampled. Thus, susceptible species of viburnum are now at risk of injury throughout Connecticut.
Follicular, hormonal, and pregnancy responses of early postpartum suckled beef cows to GnRH, norgestomet, and prostaglandin F2alpha.

Cycling (n = 16) and noncycling (n = 24), early postpartum, suckled beef cows of three breeds were assigned randomly to three treatments: 1) 100-microg injection of GnRH plus a 6-mg implant of norgestomet administered on d -7 before 25 mg of PGF2alpha and implant removal on d 0 (GnRH+NORG); 2) 100 microg of GnRH given on d -7 followed by 25 mg of PGF2alpha on d 0 (GnRH); or 3) 2 mL of saline plus a 6-mg implant of norgestomet administered on d -7 followed by 25 mg of PGF2, and implant removal on d 0 (NORG). All cows were given 100 microg of GnRH on d +2 (48 h after PGF2alpha). Blood sera collected daily from d -7 to d +4 were analyzed for progesterone and estradiol-17beta, and ovaries were monitored daily by transrectal ultrasonography to assess changes in ovarian structures. Luteal structures were induced in 75% of noncycling cows in both treatments after GnRH, resulting in elevated (P < .01) progesterone on d 0 for GnRH+NORG-treated cows. Concentrations of estradiol-17beta (P < .01) and LH (P < .05) were greater on d +2 after GnRH for cows previously receiving norgestomet implants. Pregnancy rates after one fixed-time AI at 16 h after GnRH (d +2) were greater (P < .05) in GnRH+NORG (71%) than in GnRH (31%) and NORG (15%) cows. Difference in pregnancy rate was due partly to normal luteal activity after AI in over 87% of GnRH+NORG cows and no incidence of short luteal phases. The GnRH+NORG treatment initially induced ovulation or turnover of the largest follicle, induction of a new follicular wave, followed later by increased concentrations of estradiol-17beta and progesterone. After PGF2alpha, greater GnRH-induced release of LH occurred in GnRH+NORG cows before ovulation, and pregnancy rates were greater after a fixed-time AI.
Case–control study of brain and other central nervous system cancer among workers at semiconductor and storage device manufacturing facilities

Objective This study evaluated the relationship between brain and other central nervous system cancer (‘CNS cancer’) and exposures at two semiconductor and electronic module manufacturing facilities and at a storage device manufacturing facility. Methods The case–control study, nested in a cohort of 126 836 employees, compared 120 CNS cancer cases and 1028 matched controls with respect to employment in 10 process groups and estimated cumulative exposure to 31 known or possible carcinogens. Results CNS cancer was associated with module manufacturing operations at two facilities. Module manufacturing is a process that begins with production of ceramic substrates followed by attachment of completed semiconductor chips and metal-containing circuitry resulting in a high performing electronic device. Positive associations with the highest tertile of estimated cumulative exposure were found for several chemicals, including 2-butoxyethanol, cyclohexanone, ortho-dichlorobenzene, cadmium, molybdenum, trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride. Conclusions Results suggested positive associations between CNS cancer and specific operations and chemicals experienced in the semiconductor and electronic module manufacturing industry. However, lack of external support for these findings precludes a causal interpretation, and the observed associations may have been due to chance.
La langue, the Proper Object of Linguistics

According to the dominant structuralist view, a language system (la langue) can be approached on its own, independently of speech (la parole) as well as the plurality of world languages (les langues). Bally and Sechehaye established this presumed autonomy of the language system by means of dubitable editorial strategies. They inserted an apocryphal statement, according to which language (la langue) is a single and simple object of linguistic study, into the conclusion of the Course in General Linguistics, and they subsequently cited it in dedicated book reviews and specialized essays in linguistics. This so-called famous formula became a structuralist motto. It created an impression of a seamless transition from Saussureanism to structuralism. Furthermore, the editorial presentation of Saussure’s argument in the Introduction to the Course tends to overstate the distinction between la langue and la parole such that la langue alone is deemed an object worthy of scientific interest.
Use of a Fuzzy Neural Network to Evaluate the Cable Lines Insulation State

The article discusses the issues of monitoring and assessing the cable lines insulation state. Two approaches to the organization of cable line service are presented. The benefits of a risk-based approach are shown. The main factors affecting the state of cable insulation are indicated. Their division into three categories according to the mechanisms of influence on insulation is given. It is shown that numerous heterogeneous factors makes the task of assessing the cable lines insulation state difficult to formalize. The complex nature of the task of assessing the insulation status of cable lines also leads to the need to use the expert knowledge to increase the validity of the final result. It is shown that at present such problems are easily solved by using the mathematical apparatus of fuzzy systems or fuzzy logic. Systems based on fuzzy logic make it possible to adequately represent the experts knowledge of a subjective or incomplete nature. But these systems cannot automatically acquire knowledge for use in the mechanisms of conclusions, which does not allow to fully overcome the subjectivity of expert knowledge. It is shown that in order to overcome this problem it is necessary to switch to the fuzzy neural networks which allow to acquire new knowledge in the process of their work. The modernized structure of the hybrid network is presented, which allows to reduce the complexity of compiling the knowledge base rules for this network.
The role of ultrasound in various office-based laryngeal procedures

Ultrasonography is a well-established imaging modality for evaluation of head and neck anatomy. Advantages include that it is painless and well-tolerated by patients, it is a short procedure that can be done in outpatient settings due to its portability, it is radiation-free, it is relatively inexpensive, and does not require the need for sedation or anesthesia. Transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasonography has been shown to be an encouraging noninvasive device in laryngeal examination that may compliment the current gold standard of flexible laryngoscopy. This literature review aims to illustrate the utility of traditional ultrasound to assess vocal fold mobility and use as an adjunct to various laryngeal procedures including vocal cord medialization injections, superior laryngeal nerve blocks, and botulinum toxin injection for muscle hypertonia.
Axillary Impella® Improves Risk Stratification for Early, Severe Right Heart Failure Following Durable LVAD Implantation

Purpose To evaluate the impact of axillary Impella support in the risk assessment for early right heart failure (RHF) after durable LVAD. Methods Between June 2016 and May 2020, 20 patients were bridged to LVAD with axillary Impella® 5.0/5.5. Seventeen were deemed moderate or high risk for RHF by EUROMACS-RHF score. Hemodynamic parameters of RV function were assessed pre- and post-Impella for their associations with early, severe RHF after LVAD using the INTERMACS definition. Values of continuous variables are expressed as median and interquartile range. Results Seven patients (35%) developed RHF. In all patients, measures of RV load [effective arterial elastance (EA), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and pulmonary vascular compliance (PCA)] similarly improved after Impella insertion. The non-RHF group had greater improvements in RV adaptation parameters (RAP, RAP:PCWP, PAPi) compared to the RHF group [ΔRAP: -12 (-14 - -8) vs. -2.00 (-8 - 4) p = 0.008; ΔRAP:PCWP: -0.28 (-0.33 - -0.21) vs. -0.11 (-0.13 - 0.19), p = 0.05; ΔPAPi: 4.54 (1.20 - 8.03) vs. 0.55 (-1.58 - 1.44), p = 0.025]. Empirical cutoff values after axillary Impella insertion for changes in RAP, RAP:PCWP, and PAPi to identify early RHF after LVAD implantation are provided in Table 1. Conclusion In patients at moderate or high risk for early, severe RHF after LVAD implantation, greater improvements in RAP, RAP:PCWP, and PAPi after Impella insertion are associated with lower RHF risk.
Leveling up to a Reasonable Woman's Expectation of Privacy

Various privacy law doctrines involve a reasonable expectation of privacy or similar analysis that takes into account social privacy norms. In the public context, a reasonable expectation of privacy triggers Fourth Amendment protections. In the private context, three of the four traditional privacy torts — public disclosure of private facts, intrusion upon seclusion, and false light — ask whether a particular privacy invasion would be “highly offensive to a reasonable person.” For the most part, however, neither courts nor scholars have explicitly grappled with either the descriptive question of whether courts do, or the normative question of whether courts should, take into account gender in deciding what constitutes a reasonable expectation of privacy. This is despite the fact that in various scenarios a reasonable woman’s expectation of privacy might differ from a man’s in light of different lived experiences, biological differences and existing societal gendered privacy norms. This Article addresses how courts do and should take into account a reasonable woman’s expectation of privacy. The Article delves into the case study of monitored drug testing, a scenario in which the reasonable expectation of privacy may differ for women in light of gendered privacy norms surrounding restrooms. Within that case study it identifies various approaches to taking into account gender as part of the reasonableness analysis in privacy law: 1) an express gender norm approach; 2) a silent gender norm approach; and 3) a gender norm irrelevant approach. Ultimately, the Article concludes that courts ought to adopt a new variant on the express gender norm approach —a ‘gender norm floor approach’ in which gender norms are expressly taken into account as relevant to the reasonableness analysis, but then that level of privacy becomes a minimum floor leveling up privacy protection for everyone regardless of gender.
MT Error Detection for Cross-Lingual Question Answering

We present a novel algorithm for detecting errors in MT, specifically focusing on content words that are deleted during MT. We evaluate it in the context of cross-lingual question answering (CLQA), where we try to correct the detected errors by using a better (but slower) MT system to retranslate a limited number of sentences at query time. Using a query-dependent ranking heuristic enabled the system to direct scarce MT resources towards retranslating the sentences that were most likely to benefit CLQA. The error detection algorithm identified spuriously deleted content words with high precision. However, retranslation was not an effective approach for correcting them, which indicates the need for a more targeted approach to error correction in the future.
Sheer Blue Milken Dreaminess:Galway Kinnell’s Answer to Logopoeia in “The Fly,” “Saint Francis and the Sow,” and “Blackberry Eating”

Sheer Blue Milken Dreaminess: Galway Kinnell's Answer to Logopoeia in "The Fly," "Saint Francis and the Sow," and "Blackberry Eating" by Tanya Long Bennett Abstract An analysis of Galway Kinnell's poems "The Fly, "Saint Francis and the Sow," and "Blackberry Eating," reveals Kinnell's treatment of the concept of logopoeia , a term coined by Ezra Pound to describe a particular use of language in poetry. Pound defined the term through illustration in the poems of Mina Loy and Jules Laforgue; it refers to the use of abstract, ironic vocabulary, which generates an objective, anti-sentimental, and satirical poetic stance. Kinnell, who adopts a distinctly Romantic role as a poet, nonetheless employs key aspects of logopoeia in order to adapt the Romantic ideology to the contemporary reader. Through a unique integration of Romantic sentiment with the intellectually playful, logopoeic use of diction, Kinnell produces poetry that both exploits and celebrates language and its multiple levels of meaning as well as addressing the painful wounds of the contemporary psych.
Finding Structural Similarity in Time Series Data Using Bag-of-Patterns Representation

For more than one decade, time series similarity search has been given a great deal of attention by data mining researchers. As a result, many time series representations and distance measures have been proposed. However, most existing work on time series similarity search focuses on finding shape-based similarity. While some of the existing approaches work well for short time series data, they typically fail to produce satisfactory results when the sequence is long. For long sequences, it is more appropriate to consider the similarity based on the higher-level structures. In this work, we present a histogram-based representation for time series data, similar to the "bag of words" approach that is widely accepted by the text mining and information retrieval communities. We show that our approach outperforms the existing methods in clustering, classification, and anomaly detection on several real datasets.
Integration of caption editing system with presentation software

There is an increasing number of rich content that includes audio and presentations. It is important to caption these contents to assure accessibility for hearing impaired persons and seniors. Initially, we conducted a survey and found that the combination of video with audio, captions, and presentation slides (hereafter "multimedia composite") is helpful in understanding the content. Also our investigation shows that the availability of captioning is still very low and therefore there is a strong need for an effective captioning system. Based on this preliminary survey and investigation, we would like to introduce a new method which integrates caption editing software with presentation software. Three major problems are identified: Content layout definition, editing focus linkage, and exporting to speaker notes. This paper will show how our Caption Editing System with Presentation Integration (CESPI) solves these problems. Experiments showed 37.6% improvement in total editing time.
Emerging Markets: An Opportunity and a Challenge

Emerging markets, countries with relatively low levels of GDP yet high GDP growth, are becoming increasingly important in today's global economy. Firms face a number of challenges in emerging economies, including institutional voids; different consumer concerns, tastes, and preferences; and competition from local, emerging market firms. To succeed in emerging markets, there are various strategies, including modifying existing business models, treating institutional voids as opportunities, and leveraging local knowledge to develop products, services, and processes for local and global markets. Keywords: emerging markets; bottom of the pyramid; BRIC; institutional voids; strategies for success in emerging markets
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Determination of Functional Capacity in Mitral Regurgitation: Physiologic and Outcome Implications

Objectives This study was designed to evaluate prevalence, determinants, and clinical outcome implications of reduced functional capacity (FC) in patients with organic mitral regurgitation (MR). Background Evaluation of FC by exercise testing is rarely performed in MR because little is known about the clinical determinants and outcome implications of FC. Methods Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was prospectively performed in 134 asymptomatic patients with organic MR to assess FC (peak oxygen consumption [V o 2]) simultaneously to Doppler-echocardiographic quantitation of MR (effective regurgitant orifice [ERO]) and left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. Results Peak V o 2was 26 ± 6 ml/kg/min (96 ± 16% of age-predicted), but varied widely (57% to 145% of predicted) and was markedly reduced (≤84% of predicted) in 19% of patients. Although ERO of MR was univariately associated with reduced FC (26 vs. 9% with ERO ≥40 vs. Conclusions In asymptomatic organic MR, FC quantitatively assessed by CPET is unexpectedly markedly reduced in one out of every four to five patients. Reduced FC is independently determined by consequences rather than severity of MR and predicts increased subsequent clinical events. Therefore, CPET frequently reveals functional limitations not detected clinically and is an important tool in managing patients with organic MR.
Mississippi mud in the 1990s: risks and outcomes of vancomycin-associated toxicity in general oncology practice.

BACKGROUND Discrepancies between the severity of toxicities reported in early clinical trials and recent clinical experience with vancomycin have led to confusion regarding the need for routine serum vancomycin level monitoring and discontinuation of vancomycin when toxicities occur. Therefore, the authors examined the incidence, outcomes, and predictive factors of vancomycin-associated toxicities in general oncology practice with the goal of developing clinically relevant prediction rules and guidelines. METHODS All 742 consecutive cancer patients who received vancomycin at a comprehensive cancer center during a 3-month period were followed prospectively for the development and outcome of phlebitis, rash, ototoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. Logistic regression was used to derive a multiple variable model of the risk of nephrotoxicity. A clinical prediction rule, the Nephrotoxicity Risk Score, was developed from the risk model and validated prospectively. RESULTS Phlebitis occurred in 3% of patients (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2-4%), predominantly those with recently inserted central venous catheters. Rashes occurred in 11% of patients (95% CI, 9-13%); however, all but 4 patients also were receiving β-lactam antibiotics. Clinical evidence of ototoxicity developed in 6% of patients (95% CI, 4-9%) who were receiving vancomycin plus other ototoxic agents and only 3% of patients (95% CI, 2-5%) not receiving other ototoxic agents (P = 0.08). Nephrotoxicity occurred in 17% of patients (95% CI, 15-20%). Logistic regression revealed that factors associated with an increased risk of nephrotoxicity included administration of other mild to moderate (P = 0.01) or severely nephrotoxic agents (P 40 (P = 0.002). Elevated serum vancomycin peak levels did not reliably predict subsequent nephrotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS Vancomycin-associated toxicities usually are mild and self-limiting. Some patients are at a significantly higher risk of nephrotoxicity but the authors believe these individuals can be identified reliably with the Nephrotoxicity Risk Index using information available at vancomycin initiation. Further testing of the Nephrotoxicity Risk Index is ongoing. Cancer 1998;83:2597-2607. © 1998 American Cancer Society.
Retrospective review of outcome post open reduction and K-wire fixation for grade III acromioclavicular joint subluxations

There is controversy about the therapy for grade III acromioclavicular dislocation according to Tossy and Rockwood's classification. We identified 25 patients who underwent acromioclavicular joint wiring for grade III subluxations under the care of a single consultant in the last 5-year period. All patients were asked to fill in a DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) questionnaire to assess outcome following acromioclavicular joint repair, and their clinical notes were reviewed. Our results show that open reduction and Kirschner- (K) wire fixation of grade III AC joint disruptions results in good strength and range of motion of the affected shoulder. It is associated with DASH scores, which are comparable to those of the general population for the same age, indicating little residual disability. All patients returned to their pre-injury occupation, and all but one returned to previous sporting activities. Complications occurred in four patients, but only one required K-wire repositioning.
The genetics of vitiligo.

Vitiligo is one of the most striking of all human disease phenotypes, and it is perhaps the most common pigmentary disorder. The patchy loss of skin pigmentation and the marked contrast between involved and uninvolved skin particularly impacts persons of color, with consequent stigmatization that has long been recognized to result in significant social inequality and morbidity in affected individuals (Brito, 1885). Because of its visually evident cutaneous manifestations, vitiligo has been known for thousands of years. However, only relatively recently has there been real progress in understanding its pathobiological basis, which, it is hoped, may facilitate progress in vitiligo treatment and ultimately even prevention. Surprisingly, in several instances key discoveries seem to have been overlooked or discounted, only to be rediscovered and republished by others a decade or more later.
Advanced Neutron Source enrichment study

A study has been performed of the impact on performance of using low-enriched uranium (20% {sup 235}U) or medium-enriched uranium (35% {sup 235}U) as an alternative fuel for the Advanced Neutron Source, which was initially designed to use uranium enriched to 93% {sup 235}U. Higher fuel densities and larger volume cores were evaluated at the lower enrichments in terms of impact on neutron flux, safety, safeguards, technical feasibility, and cost. The feasibility of fabricating uranium silicide fuel at increasing material density was specifically addressed by a panel of international experts on research reactor fuels. The most viable alternative designs for the reactor at lower enrichments were identified and discussed. Several sensitivity analyses were performed to gain an understanding of the performance of the reactor at parametric values of power, fuel density, core volume, and enrichment that were interpolations between the boundary values imposed on the study or extrapolations from known technology.
Wedge: A musical interface for building and playing composition-appropriate immersive environments

We present Wedge—a novel musical interface designed for building an immersive environment of notes that is appropriate for the musician and the composition being played. The interface uses two simple gestures for building and playing composition-appropriate immersive environments. A horizontal-finger gesture allows users to place note “wedges” from a virtual keyboard and to move them between snapping grids with their own local coordinate systems. A vertical-finger gesture allows users to play the notes and chords by striking the wedges like strings, with the velocity determining the volume of the sounds.
Psychosocial Impact of Cancer Survival on School-Age Children and Their Parents

Data for this study on the experience of surviving childhood cancer were collected in interviews with 118 school-age and early adolescent children who were long-term survivors of cancer and 120 of their parents. Forty percent of the children's statements were "positive" and 60 percent were negative. The children's negative responses included health concerns and physical, school, social, emotional, and family difficulties. Because the parents presented dichotomous views (76 percent positive and 79 percent negative), both answers were counted. The parents were grateful that their children had survived, but they were concerned about the recurrence of cancer and their child's adjustment to impairments caused by the disease or its treatment. The findings highlight the importance of continuing to develop clinical strategies to address the problems identified in this study.
Improved survival with increased IC/TLC ratio, DLCO and FEV1 in an analysis of a COPD pulmonary function database

Introduction: COPD is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. FEV1 is predictive of COPD mortality. The IC/TLC is a measure of static lung hyperinflation. Aims: Analysis of a pulmonary function (PF) database evaluating the influence of FEV1, DLCO, IC/TLC and other variables on survival. Design: Retrospective analysis of PF data base (31 year). 984 PF9s with a reduced FEV1/FVC, increased TLC and reduced DLCO were analyzed. The date of initial PF test was used as the initiation of the survival analysis. 596 subjects had dates of death. Kaplan-Meier survival plots, in addition to Cox analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship of age, FEV1 (GOLD stage), DLCO and IC/TLC ratio on survival, in addition multivariate analyses was performed assessing the effects of age, FEV1, gender, DLCO and BMI with the IC/TLC ratio. Results: Cox analysis for the risk of death, revealed that a reduced IC/TLC ratio (≤ 25%) [HR 1.69, p Conclusion: Analysis of a PF database reveals statistically significant associations of a number of measured and demographic variables with survival. IC/TLC ratio > 25%, DLCO ≥ 22%, Mild FEV1, Female gender, and BMI >25 is associated with survival.
Transient bit error rate analysis of data recovery systems using jitter models

This paper presents a method for analyzing the bit error rate of recovered data for PLL-based data recovery systems (DRS) as the PLL comes into lock. This method is based on the analyses of the transient response of the phase-locked loop (PLL) and the associated jitter models. It provides a means to predict the acquisition time needed for a data recovery system to reach a given BER. Practical criteria are established to help determine the "lock" status of a PLL.
A 1-M bit SRAM on SIMOX material

A 1-M bit SRAM with 0.8 um feature sizes has been successfully fabricated using SIMOX material. The advantages of SOI for low capacitance, latch-up immunity, and reduced collection charge for single events have been long recognized. The demonstration of a 1-M SRAM at 0.8 um is a significant milestone in the evaluation of the technology for fabrication of very large scale integrated circuits. >
Extending Spark Analytics through Tika-Based Information Extraction and Retrieval

In this paper, we focus on techniques to merge the parallelized data processing (i.e. map-reduce) capabilities of Apache Spark with the extensive file-type parsing support of Apache Tika. These two frameworks each have unique appeal for data scientists. Where Spark makes highly efficient the parallelized processing of very large, often text-based data sets, Tika makes consistent the information extraction of over 1,200 text and binary file types on a sequential file basis. The technical integration of these two frameworks is the subject of our investigation, and is relevant for data scientists pursuing two types of use cases: (1) analysis of numerous (1000x) un-partitioned small to medium sized Tika parse-able files, and (2) analysis of very large partition-able Tika parse-able files. Given Tika's niche specialization of file extraction and Spark's specialization of parallelized computing, there is a need to explore the benefits of integration. Thus, we investigate best practices so as to empower data scientists with tools to gain insight into a greater portion of data formats commonly in use.
Minireview: More Than Just a Hammer: Ligand “Bias” and Pharmaceutical Discovery

Conventional orthosteric drug development programs targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have focused on the concepts of agonism and antagonism, in which receptor structure determines the nature of the downstream signal and ligand efficacy determines its intensity. Over the past decade, the emerging paradigms of "pluridimensional efficacy" and "functional selectivity" have revealed that GPCR signaling is not monolithic, and that ligand structure can "bias" signal output by stabilizing active receptor states in different proportions than the native ligand. Biased ligands are novel pharmacologic entities that possess the unique ability to qualitatively change GPCR signaling, in effect creating "new receptors" with distinct efficacy profiles driven by ligand structure. The promise of biased agonism lies in this ability to engender "mixed" effects not attainable using conventional agonists or antagonists, promoting therapeutically beneficial signals while antagonizing deleterious ones. Indeed, arrestin pathway-selective agonists for the type 1 parathyroid hormone and angiotensin AT1 receptors, and G protein pathway-selective agonists for the GPR109A nicotinic acid and μ-opioid receptors, have demonstrated unique, and potentially therapeutic, efficacy in cell-based assays and preclinical animal models. Conversely, activating GPCRs in "unnatural" ways may lead to downstream biological consequences that cannot be predicted from prior knowledge of the actions of the native ligand, especially in the case of ligands that selectively activate as-yet poorly characterized G protein-independent signaling networks mediated via arrestins. Although much needs to be done to realize the clinical potential of functional selectivity, biased GPCR ligands nonetheless appear to be important new additions to the pharmacologic toolbox.
Tryptophan Operon: Structural Gene Mutation Creating a "Promoter" and Leading to 5-Methyltryptophan Dependence

A strain carrying the mutation trpA515, which maps in the "unusual" region (between the genes trpA and trpB) of the tryptophan operon of Salmonella typhimurium is capable of utilizing anthranilic acid as a growth factor only in the presence of the analog 5-methyltryptophan, normally a potent growth inhibitor. The reason for this peculiar phenotype is the creation by trpA515 of a transcription-initiating signal in the "unusual" region.
Experimental study of saturated flow boiling heat transfer in an array of staggered micro-pin-fins

Abstract This study concerns water saturated flow boiling heat transfer in an array of staggered square micro-pin-fins having a 200 × 200 μm 2 cross-section by a 670 μm height. Three inlet temperatures of 90, 60, and 30 °C, six mass velocities for each inlet temperature, ranging from 183 to 420 kg/m 2 s, and outlet pressures between 1.03 and 1.08 bar were tested. Heat fluxes ranged from 23.7 to 248.5 W/cm 2 . Heat transfer coefficient was fairly constant at high quality, insensitive to both quality and mass velocity. Heat transfer was enhanced by inlet subcooling at low quality. Possible heat transfer mechanism was discussed.
The evaporating cloud: a tool for resolving workplace conflict

Purpose – This article has two purposes. The first is to synthesize the important current concepts, definitions, and styles of resolving and/or managing workplace conflicts. The second is to introduce a systematic approach to resolving workplace conflicts.Design/methodology/approach – Historical approaches to conflict management are briefly reviewed and Goldratt's evaporating cloud is introduced as a structured approach to achieving win‐win solutions to workplace conflicts. A comprehensive case is used to demonstrate the application of the suggested approach.Findings – Goldratt's evaporating cloud provides a systematic approach to identifying the conflicting needs or interests of the parties to a conflict, and a process for making explicit the assumptions underlying the conflict and challenging their validity, leading to win‐win solutions to workplace conflicts. The evaporating cloud incorporates well‐accepted principles of achieving win‐win solutions and complements existing approaches.Research limitatio...
Analytic techniques for sizing the walls of advanced composite electronics enclosures

Abstract Electronic enclosures for space or avionics application can be designed using laminated composites to reduce weight, provide a modular design that has equal or better thermal and mechanical performance, and has a lower cost per enclosure than the standard “black” aluminum design. Initial sizing of an enclosure to determine the number of plies and ply orientation can be accomplished by subdividing the structure into simple shapes and analytic closed-form equations used to calculate bending stresses and deflections, uniaxial and shear buckling allowables, and natural frequencies. This initial sizing was performed on a three-sided enclosure with integral mounting flanges. The walls were analyzed using static equivalent of random vibration loads in closed-form analytic approximate or exact equations and compared with those using finite element analysis (FEA). Depending on the degree of orthotropy, i.e., how close the off-diagonal flexural stiffnesses are to zero, the analytic predictions for laminae stresses vary with finite element results. Two different hybrid PAN/pitch fiber/epoxy laminates and a carbon fabric/epoxy laminate with varying degrees of orthotropy were chosen for comparison. The margins of safety for the analytic results was within 5% of the FEA results for the orthotropic laminate but was different by factors of 1.5 to 13 for the non-orthotropic laminates. There was good comparison between analytic solutions and FEA for buckling, natural frequency, deflection, and stresses. In all cases the analytic predictions were conservative. These analytic equations were used for initial sizing of an enclosure, and a detailed FEA was performed on the electronics enclosure under actual random vibration loads. The final enclosure was fabricated and tested under these random vibration loads.
Metabolic fingerprinting reveals a new genetic linkage between ambient pH and metabolites associated with desiccation tolerance in Fusarium verticillioides

Fusarium verticillioides, a kernel-rotting pathogen of maize, produces fumonisin mycotoxins that are detrimental to both human and animal health. Current knowledge about the environmental regulation of fumonisin biosynthesis is centered on the influence of pH and carbohydrate availability. In this study, we report metabolic changes in F. verticillioides associated with conditions that are conducive (pH 3) or repressive (pH 8) for fumonisin biosynthesis, as well as changes associated with targeted disruption of PAC1, a pH-responsive transcription factor. To this end, metabolic fingerprints were generated from F. verticillioides with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A total of 46 metabolites were detected, of which approximately one third matched reference spectra of various carbohydrates and fatty acids. Analysis of wild type and Δpac1 fingerprints by principal component analysis revealed that the biosynthesis of arabitol, mannitol, and trehalose was significantly affected by pH and disruption of PAC1. Consistent with this finding, the expression of genes involved in trehalose biosynthesis was significantly reduced in the Δpac1 strain. This study is the first report linking PAC1 to polyol biosynthesis in F. verticillioides, and could indicate a broadly conserved function for PAC1 orthologs among filamentous fungi. Additionally, by presenting a metabolic fingerprinting technique for F. verticillioides, this study provides a new resource to understand pathogenesis and mycotoxigenesis through functional genomics.
On the asymptotic analysis of the Painlevé equations via the isomonodromy method

During the last ten years considerable progress in the theory of classical Painleve equations has been achieved. This progress is based on the so-called Isomonodromy Method which makes the Painleve transcendents as effective in modern nonlinear analysis as the usual special functions are in linear analysis. In this paper, the problem of the rigorous justification of the global asymptotic results which are obtained via Isomonodromy Method, is considered. Taking the pure imaginary solutions of the second Painleve equation as an example, we discuss in detail three different rigorous methodologies of their asymptotic analysis including derivation of the corresponding connection formulae.
Correlation functions of a function of a finite-state Markov process with application to channel kinetics

Abstract We show that the lagged moments of all orders of a function of a finite-state Markov process are determined by the first three moments. We discuss the application of this and subsidiary results to the analysis of data on channels in cell membranes.
Moving towards Ethnorelativism: A Framework for Measuring and Meeting Students' Needs in Cross-Cultural Business and Technical Communication:

Scholars in business and technical communication have continuously made efforts to look for effective teaching approaches for cross-cultural business and technical communication; however, little re...
An engineering fracture mechanics analysis of the Pilgrim I nozzle-to-pressure vessel weld discontinuities☆

Abstract The influence function method for calculation of stress intensity factor K I ( a ) is applied to the case of a semicircular surface crack, of radius a , used to model a discontinuity revealed by in-service inspection of a nozzle-to-shell weld in the Pilgrim I pressure vessel. Results of the analysis are discussed in detail.
"Motion-resistant" pulse oximetry: a comparison of new and old models.

Several pulse oximeter manufacturers have recently developed instruments that are claimed to be resistant to the effects of patient motion. We performed a laboratory volunteer experiment to compare the performances of several of these instruments, as well as some older models, during combinations of
TOWARD A REVISED FRAMEWORK FOR EXAMINING BELIEFS ABOUT THE CAUSES OF POVERTY

This study uses survey data from Baltimore, Maryland to assess predictions from the dominant ideology thesis and the public arenas theory concerning causal beliefs about three specific types of pov...