cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vibration and buckling of beam-columns subjected to non-uniform axial loads

The small-displacement free vibration of elastic Euler-Bernoulli beams subjected to non-uniform axial forces and the buckling of elastic columns are both analysed by means of various types of beam finite elements. The procedure incorporates beams and columns of varying cross-sections, such as linear tapers, inhomogeneous beams and columns, distributed axial forces, elastic end and interior restraints and point masses with linear and rotary inertias. All of these topics individually or in some combinations have been analysed by others. The purpose of this paper is to bring together under a single umbrella the various problems studied by others, and to provide the solution to one problem apparently not yet solved—the buckling and vibration of tapered columns under non-uniform axial thrust. The mass, stiffness and geometric stiffness matrices for the standard beam element are fully written out for direct incorporation into existing finite element programs. A FORTRAN subroutine for generating these matrices, and those for various higher-order beam elements, is also provided.
The Foraging Ecology of the Gray Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides). II. Influence of Habitat Structural Complexity when Searching for Arboreal Avian Prey

A predator's behavior and success when foraging can be compromised by a variety of environmental factors. We examined the effect of variation in habitat structural complexity on the predatory success of the semi- arboreal gray rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) foraging for arboreal bird nest contents. Individual snakes searched for nests in enclosures containing one of eve levels of vegetation density that ree ected the range of structural complexity measured at a e eld site where predator and prey species are common. Subjects were most proe cient at locating prey in enclosures having low levels of structural complexity, and experienced decreased predatory success in barren or highly-complex habitats. Ten behaviors comprised over 95% of the trial durations, and four of these occurred more often than the other six regardless of variation in structural complexity within the enclosure. Wesuggest that low levels of structural complexity offer snakes concealment from predation while not obscuring their view of provisioning activity at the nest.
Understanding criteria for surveillance of patients with a small renal mass.

Objective To better delineate which factors influence the decision to undergo active surveillance of small renal masses. Methods We identified 204 consecutive patients at our institution with clinical Stage T1 renal masses from June 2009 through June 2010. A variety of demographic and clinical characteristics were measured. Based on our previous work, the “ideal” criteria for active surveillance included tumor size ≤4 cm, Charlson comorbidity index of ≥2, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) of ≥2, and estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min. We performed sensitivity analyses to identify the characteristics associated with choice of active surveillance and compared these with our “ideal” criteria. Results Of the 204 patients, 73 (36%) and 131 (64%) underwent active surveillance and treatment, respectively. The patients undergoing active surveillance versus treatment differed with respect to distance from hospital >60 miles (P = .04), ECOG PS of ≥2 (P < .01), tumor size (P < .01), multifocality (P = .03), endophytic nature of lesion (P = .04), and whether the patient's surgeon generally used a robotic, laparoscopic, or open approach (P = .01). Neither the baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (P = .91) nor the Charlson comorbidity index (P = .69) were significant factors. The combination of tumor size <3 cm, ECOG PS of ≥2, and an endophytic lesion were most predictive of active surveillance. Conclusion Patient, tumor, and surgeon characteristics all influence the choice of active surveillance. From the sensitivity analyses, active surveillance was driven by a tumor size <3 cm, poor PS (ie, ECOG PS of ≥2), and an endophytic lesion.
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer Coefficient and Friction Factor in Internal Channels With Fins

Surface heat transfer enhancement is widely used in a wide range of industrial applications. The turbulence created by the enhancement has significant effects on increasing the heat transfer. On the other hand, the surface enhancement usually causes a larger friction that leads to a larger pressure drop. In this study, an experimental investigation with computational verification of the wall heat transfer and the friction characteristics of a fully-developed turbulent air flow in a square channel with circular micro-fins was reported. The protuberances of 6.35×10−3 m diameter and 6.35×10−3 m height were placed in three different configurations. Tests were performed for the Reynolds numbers ranging from 27,000 to 96,000. The fin height-to-channel hydraulic diameter ratio, e/Dh, was kept at 0.125. The channel length-to-hydraulic diameter ratio, L/Dh, was 20. The heat transfer was enhanced using micro-fins as turbulence promoters. The computational analysis was also performed and found in close agreement with the experimental results. The simulations can be used in predicting local turbulence characteristics, thus the turbulence-heat transfer relationship. The simulation results can also predict the local heat and friction characteristics and in locating high temperature regions, or “hot spots,” which is beyond the potential of the experimental setup. This investigation could be helpful in applications concerning internal channel turbulent flows and involving micro-fins to boost heat transfer. Heat Exchangers, Air Compressors, Turbines are some of equipment where the results of this study can be utilized.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Tariff At Risk: Can The Florida Citrus Industry Survive?

For over 70 years, the Florida citrus industry has been protected from foreign competition by a tariff on orange juice. The orange juice tariff is currently being threatened by negotiations over the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Brazil is the leading foreign competitor to the Florida citrus industry. The tariff prevents Brazil from becoming a large citrus cartel that could take control of the worlds orange juice market. The Florida citrus industry contributes $9.1 billion to Floridas economy and provides jobs for 90,000 Florida citizens. Orange juice production is a key to the strength of Floridas economy. Florida citrus growers argue that the tariff is the most important issue facing the industrys survival. Without the tariff, Florida citrus growers are in danger of going out of business. This could devastate Floridas economy. It is important that Florida citrus growers and FTAA negotiators unite and intensify efforts to protect the citrus tariff and ensure the survival of Floridas citrus industry.
Consciousness and Self-Awareness

In having an experience, which is a conscious mental process, one has a direct awareness of the experience, and of oneself as subject of the experience. Indeed, what makes the experience conscious is just that awareness of the experience as it transpires. And it is in just that awareness that one is acquainted with one’s experience, and with oneself.
From Pruett to Presley: The Long and Winding Road to Abrogation of Common Law Sovereign Immunity in Mississippi

The purpose of this Article is to provide an overview of the long and complex struggle to abrogate the court-created sovereign immunity doctrine in Mississippi. This review will include the decade-long effort of the judicial branch to overturn a doctrine it considered to be against modern public policy, while at the same time acknowledging the authority of the legislative branch to determine and define the public policy of the state. This Article will also canvass the slow evolution of the Sovereign Immunity Act of 1984, including an examination of the current legislative scheme for governmental tort liability established by the Act's 1993 amendments. Finally, this Article will briefly consider the possible future of sovereign immunity in Mississippi, focusing primarily upon potential judicial challenges to the current legislative scheme left open following the court's decision in Presley.
Molecular basis for alpha-thalassemia associated with the structural mutant hemoglobin Suan-Dok (alpha 2 109leu----arg) [published erratum appears in Blood 1991 Mar 15;77(6):1404]

Hemoglobin (Hb) Suan-Dok (alpha 109Arg) is a rare alpha-globin structural mutation that is linked to an alpha-thalassemia (alpha-thal) determinant. When inherited in trans to an alpha-thal-1 mutation (-), it results in Hb H disease associated with low levels (9%) of the Suan- Dok Hb. The nature of the thalassemic defect associated with the alpha SD mutation has been investigated by structural and functional studies. Sequence analysis of the cloned Suan-Dok allele showed a missense mutation (T\---|-G) at codon 109 in an otherwise normal alpha 2-globin gene. When the alpha 2SD-globin gene was introduced into mouse erythroleukemia cells, the steady state alpha-globin messenger RNA (mRNA) level was equivalent to the alpha A-globin gene control. Although in vitro translation of a synthetic alpha 2SD-globin mRNA generated levels of alpha globin equivalent to alpha 2A-globin mRNA at early time points, the ratio of alpha SD to alpha A globin decreased markedly at later time points. These data suggest that the thalassemic defect associated with the Suan-Dok mutation results from a significant instability of the alpha SD globin.
Pedigree and Heritability Influences on Mate Selectivity and Mating Aggressiveness in the Screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Asymmetric mating patterns between newly colonized (new line) and massrearing adapted (old line) screwworm strains have been periodically investigated for over 15 yr. The underlying cause of these patterns appears to be change in certain cuticular lipids in females and behavioral changes in males such that they do not require these lipids to initiate copulatory attempts. Crossing tests involving series of single pairs of flies were carried out to determine effects of pedigree on mate selection by males (selectivity) and activity level (aggressiveness). Matings, numbers of males attempting to copulate, and numbers of mating attempts for 24 or 25 males during 2 h were found to be significantly correlated for reciprocal old-line × new-line and intraline crosses. Positive correlations between mating attempts and number of matings, as well as analysis of variance tests, indicated that under the conditions tested, level of male activity was mainly responsible for degree of mating success. New-line males seldom initiated matings with old-line females and were less active with new-line females than were old-line males. Hybrid (old line × new line) males and old-line males were equally attracted to hybrid females, but hybrid males were less active than old-line males with old-line females. Offspring from single-egg-mass families developed from old-line × hybrid crosses showed clear asymmetric mating patterns in reciprocal crosses with the old lines, but level of activity was highly variable. This indicated that environmental or complex genetic interactions (epistasis, heterosis) influence activity level. A series of crosses using several old lines from various geographic regions with isofemale and outcrossed new lines indicated that asymmetric matings are not geographically related, nor are they caused by inbreeding of new lines.
On imperfections and stowage creases in aluminum-rigidized inflated cylinders

Due to their thin and flexible constituent walls, the stiffness and stability performance of inflatable structures is highly sensitive to geometric and material imperfections. For aluminum-rigidized inflatables, crease lines associated with stowage and deployment represent a well pronounced and easily identifiable source of imperfections. However, the mechanics of creases is not understood well enough to enable design to quantitatively assess their effects and/or optimize their configuration. To enhance this understanding, the present paper addresses some aspects of creases and crease-induced imperfections, with special attention paid to longitudinal fold lines in the walls of pressurized cylinders. The fundamental concepts of metal plasticity are interpreted in the context of an inflatable cylinder. Common characteristics between the evolution of a plastic fold in a planar aluminum strip of constrained width under uniaxial tension and one longitudinally oriented on an inflated cylinder are identified. A simple formulae is presented to assess the alleviating effect of plastic straining on smooth shape imperfections of small magnitude. The flattening of a crease via stretching is numerically and experimentally studied.
Chemistry at Polyimide-Metal Interfaces: In Situ FTIR Studies of Polymer Curing Processes and Thermal Stability

We report in-situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) reflection-absorption studies of curing chemistry of polyimide thin films on Crand Cu surfaces, and of the thermal stability of the resulting thin film interfaces when exposed to air at elevated temperatures. The polyimide investigated is based on 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)bis(phthalicanhydride)-4,4'-bis(4-aminophenoxy)-biphenyl. The imidization process takes place at temperatures higher than 90°C anda small amount of anhydride is generated during curing. This by-product is converted to imide at temperatures above 250°C. Complete imidization is achieved after curing at 300°C on Cr substrates, while evidence for incomplete curing on Cu is observed under the same conditions. Thermal stability studies with Cr and Cu substrates show that thermal decomposition of thin (∼1000A) polyimide filmsoccurs on Cu when the film is exposed to air at 200°C, while the polyimide is stable on Cr.
Analysis of detection for measles antibody in people in Dushanzi District of Karamay, Xinjiang

Objective To understand epidemic characteristics and distribution of measles antibody level in population in Dushanzi District,to provide theoretical basis for formulating immunization strategy in Dushanzi District.Methods A randomized stratified cluster sampling method was taken to sample 691 respondents.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was carried out to detect measles antibody IgG.Measles antibody levels were analyzed and compared among all age groups.Results Positive level of measles antibody IgG was the lowest at age group of 4-8 months,compared with that in other age groups.OD value of measles antibody level at other age groups was more than 200,with high level of protection,while it was the highest at age from 19 to 22 year-old(t= 2.46,P0.05).Positive rate of measles antibody fluctuated in different age groups,and tended to be adscendent generally along with the growth of age.Conclusions Measles antibody levels are higher in people in Dushanzi District of Karamay.The important measures to keep measles away and prevent it from epidemic are to carry out the second vaccination by intensive immunization or routine immunization,eliminate blank immunization,develop follow-up immunization and reduce susceptible population.
Inpatient citrate-based hemodialysis in pediatric patients.

Citrate-based dialysate is an effective method of hemodialysis (HD) anticoagulation in adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate this therapy as an alternative to heparin anticoagulation in pediatric patients in the inpatient setting requiring HD. We performed a prospective, non-randomized study of citrate-based dialysate HD treatments (N = 119) over a 9-month period in 18 pediatric patients (age range 0–18 years) admitted to hospital. Primary outcome measures were thrombosis incidence rates that resulted in circuit loss, catheter loss or early dialysis termination. Secondary outcome measures were hypocalcemia incidence and heparin use. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and comparative statistics. There was a thrombosis incidence rate of 2.5 % circuit loss, 2.5 % catheter loss and 5.9 % early dialysis termination due to the thrombosis risk. In 64 % of treatments a circuit clot developed but with no circuit loss, and mild asymptomatic hypocalcemia deveoped in 58 % of the monitored HD sessions . No patient required additional heparin during the citrate-based HD treatments, but 11.1 % were subsequently converted to heparin anticoagulation. Our study showed a low percentage of thrombotic episodes resulting in catheter or circuit loss. Hypocalcemia was common but remained mild and asymptomatic. Citrate-based dialysate was well tolerated by our patients. We therefore conclude that citrate-based dialysate is a safe alternative to heparin-based hemodialysis anticoagulation.
Formalizing Incomplete Information

This chapter motivates and describes a representation for incomplete information and an implementation of that representation to track possible world states despite incomplete information. Section 3.1 describes the sources of incomplete information faced by a control system. Section 3.2 presents the representation and defines new terms and functions. Section 3.3 describes a control system that tracks possible world states using the given representation. Finally, Section 3.4 describes related work.
The Optimal Design of Pharmacological Experiments

This chapter discusses the practical aspects of pharmacological experimentation designed to measure drug affinity and efficacy. The use of the null experiment, the comparison of data to mathematical models and the interpretation of numerical pharmacological data in molecular terms is highlighted. Finally, selected aspects of in vivo pharmacology (target coverage and drug combination effects) are discussed.
Capsular bag stabilization during lens extraction and intraocular lens implantation in cases of Marfan syndrome with ectopia lentis using ultra-high-viscosity ophthalmic viscosurgical devices.

Capsule-sparing lens surgery in the setting of compromised zonular support presents several surgical challenges. One challenge has been achieving early stabilization of the capsular bag prior to cataract removal. We developed a technique that uses a high-molecular-weight viscoadaptive substance to distend and stabilize the capsular bag from within, with or without early insertion of a capsular tension ring, during lens extraction and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in cases of zonular insufficiency. The technique obviates the use of capsule hooks or similar devices that have been used traditionally for early stabilization of the capsular bag. It has also resulted in immediate and long-term stability of the IOL–zonule–capsular bag complex, with excellent visual outcomes in both pediatric and adult patients. Financial Disclosure Dr. Rosenthal is a consultant to Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Ophtec USA, and Bausch & Lomb/Valeant. Dr. Venkateswaran has no financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Real-Time Simulation of Ship Motions in Waves

We propose a new method for simulating ship motions in waves. Although there have been plenty of previous work on physics based fluid-solid simulation, most of these methods are not suitable for real-time applications. In particular, few methods are designed specifically for simulating ship motion in waves. Our method is based on physics theories of ship motion, but with necessary simplifications to ensure real-time performance. Our results show that this method is well suited to simulate sophisticated ship motions in real time applications.
Evaluation of Institute of Medicine Guidelines for Gestational Weight Gain in Women with Chronic Hypertension.

Objective To assess the impact of gestational weight gain (GWG) outside the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations on perinatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by chronic hypertension (HTN). Methods The study consisted of a retrospective cohort of all singletons with HTN from 2000 to 2014. Maternal outcomes examined were superimposed preeclampsia and cesarean delivery. Neonatal outcomes were small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), and preterm birth (PTB). Groups were compared using analysis of variance and chi-squared test for trend. Backward stepwise logistic regression was adjusted for confounding factors. Results Of 702 subjects, 106 (15.1%) gained within, 176 (25.0%) gained less, and 420 (59.8%) gained more weight than the IOM recommendations. After adjusting for confounders, GWG above IOM recommendations remained associated with LGA (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.53, confidence interval [CI] 95%:1.29–4.95). Weight gain less than recommended was associated with a decreased risk of superimposed preeclampsia (AOR: 0.49, CI 95%: 0.26–0.93) without increasing the risk of SGA (AOR: 1.03, CI 95%: 0.57–1.86). Conclusion Women with pregnancies complicated by chronic HTN should be counseled regarding the association of LGA with excessive GWG. Additionally, they should be counseled that weight gain below recommendations may be associated with a decreased risk of superimposed preeclampsia; however, this association deserves further investigation.
Treatment and survival vary by race/ethnicity in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer

Background Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is the rarest type of thyroid cancer and has the lowest overall survival. To the authors' knowledge, the impact of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity has not yet been described. Methods Data regarding 719 patients diagnosed with their first primary malignant ATC from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2011 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program registries were examined. Differences in receipt of thyroidectomy, radiotherapy, and lymph node examination were examined by race/ethnicity. Survival also was examined by race/ethnicity. Results Nearly 70% of patients were non-Hispanic white, and 55.4% of patients received treatment. Tumor size (P = .13), lymph node involvement (P = .60), and residence in high poverty neighborhoods (P = .08) did not vary by race/ethnicity. Nonwhite patients were more likely to receive no treatment (adjusted odds ratio, 0.29; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.16-0.54). When receipt of radiotherapy was adjusted for, nonwhite patients had a higher risk of overall death (adjusted hazards ratio [aHR], 1.24; 95% CI, 1.01-1.54), although not disease-specific death (aHR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.92-1.42). Patients living in areas of high poverty had lower overall survival (aHR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.09-2.18) and disease-specific survival (aHR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.19-2.36). Conclusions In this population-based study of patients with ATC, nonwhite patients were found to be less likely to receive treatment. Furthermore, nonwhite patients had poorer overall survival, and patients living in areas of high poverty had both worse overall and disease-specific survival. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities appear to exist in the treatment and survival of patients with ATC. Cancer 2018;124:1780-90. © 2018 American Cancer Society.
Theories and tools for designing application-specific knowledge base data models

The aim of this dissertation is to make developing knowledge-intensive applications easier by providing a methodology for designing their knowledge base. This is done by providing a very expressive, graphical knowledge base which is customized for each application. Each application has its own user-defined data model to specify access to the knowledge base. The application-specific data models allow knowledge to be shared between applications, yet access is tailored to the current task. The application developer uses our knowledge base design tool, called scWEAVE, to design new knowledge base data models and develop prototype knowledge bases which use those data models. The application developer defines each knowledge base with type constructors and abstract data types from constructive type theory, methods on the types, and declarative graph constructors which specify how the knowledge is to be stored and retrieved from the graphical knowledge base provided by scWEAVE. scWEAVE then sets up an interface to the provided graphical knowledge base which appears as a prototype knowledge base with the specified data model. The knowledge base is accessed through an extensible knowledge base programming language that allows general views to be created for definition, manipulation, and retrieval of the knowledge. To guide development of the application-specific knowledge base and its data model, we have developed a process for knowledge base design which is incorporated in scWEAVE. We take advantage of sophisticated theoretical tools which have been proven effective in other areas of computer science and extend them to form a strong, theoretical foundation for knowledge base design. This allows scWEAVE to create prototype knowledge bases from a high-level specification given by the application developer. We import formalisms from knowledge representation, natural language semantics, programming language research, constructive type theory, and databases. We give the theoretical foundations for knowledge base design and explain how we have used them to cleanly implement the tool scWEAVE which incorporates them. We demonstrate our approach by developing knowledge base data models which are useful in the areas of general knowledge representation, problem solving, natural language processing, object-oriented databases, and molecular biology. We show how scWEAVE supports our process for knowledge base design by developing example applications with emphasis on a realistic application from human genetics, specifically integrating order and distance information from genetic linkage, physical, and radiation hybrid genome maps.
Singular perturbations, stochastic differential equations and applications

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses singular perturbations, stochastic differential equations, and applications. It discusses the effect of small random perturbations of the type referred to as Gaussian white noise on a (deterministic) dynamical system x = b(x). Using formal expansions, Ludwig derived asymptotic formulas for the expected exit time and for the principal eigenvalue of the corresponding elliptic operator. To consider the singular perturbation problem of diffusion against a flow, it will be necessary to modify one of the standard methods for dealing with such problems. Specifically, it will be necessary to augment the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The diffusion coefficients in different directions differ in their exponential rates. A model for the conductivity of ionic crystals is considered wherein the motion of an ion of charge q in a crystal that is subjected to a uniform electrostatic field. The Nernst-Einstein formula expresses the fact that the ratio of the current flow to the applied electric field E is a constant depending on the properties of the crystal but independent of E.
The Seventy-Eighth William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition

The 78th William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition took place on December 2, 2017. There were 4,638 undergraduates who participated in the competition at 575 institutions across the United Sta...
Trust and Respect at Work: Justice Antecedents and the Role of Coworker Dynamics:

The authors address three overlooked issues regarding the well-established organizational justice and trust relationship: how an authority’s enactment of fair outcomes, procedures, and interactions...
N,N′-Bis(5-bromo­pyridin-2-yl)methane­diamine

The V-shaped title compound, C11H10Br2N4, lies on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis which passes through the central C atom. In the crystal, an infinite tape motif, which propagates in the a-axis direction, is formed by inversion-related N—H⋯N hydrogen-bonding inter­actions. The structure confirmed the identity of the compound as a reaction side product.
‘Phospha-variations’ on the themes of Staudinger and Wittig: phosphorus analogs of Wittig reagents

Abstract The Wittig and Aza-Wittig reactions have undergone tremendous development over the past 50 years in light of their potential in organic synthesis to construct carbon–carbon and carbon–nitrogen double bonds. In contrast, the development of the analogous phospha-Wittig reaction has only seen progress over the last 12 years. A phospha-Wittig process is one that uses phosphaylides to convert carbonyl compounds to new materials possessing phosphorus–carbon double bonds (phosphaalkenes). The phospha-Wittig reaction has evolved from initial work involving metal-assisted phospha-Wittig reactions to phospha-Wittig reactions, of terminal phosphinidene complexes to, more recently, free phosphanylidene-σ4-phosphoranes as phospha-Wittig reagents. The major developments in the phospha-Wittig reaction are highlighted and divided into these three methodologies. The complementary nature and the differences between the three approaches is also discussed. Finally, wherein applicable, comparisons between the Wittig reaction and the phospha-Wittig reaction are presented.
Modeling Gestalt Visual Reasoning on the Raven's Progressive Matrices Intelligence Test Using Generative Image Inpainting Techniques.

Psychologists recognize Raven's Progressive Matrices as a very effective test of general human intelligence. While many computational models have been developed by the AI community to investigate different forms of top-down, deliberative reasoning on the test, there has been less research on bottom-up perceptual processes, like Gestalt image completion, that are also critical in human test performance. In this work, we investigate how Gestalt visual reasoning on the Raven's test can be modeled using generative image inpainting techniques from computer vision. We demonstrate that a self-supervised inpainting model trained only on photorealistic images of objects achieves a score of 27/36 on the Colored Progressive Matrices, which corresponds to average performance for nine-year-old children. We also show that models trained on other datasets (faces, places, and textures) do not perform as well. Our results illustrate how learning visual regularities in real-world images can translate into successful reasoning about artificial test stimuli. On the flip side, our results also highlight the limitations of such transfer, which may explain why intelligence tests like the Raven's are often sensitive to people's individual sociocultural backgrounds.
Fasical defect size predicts recurrence following incisional hernia repair: A 7-year, single-surgeon experience

BACKGROUND: This paper determines the most important risk factors associated with surgical site occurrence (SSO) and recurrence following open incisional hernia repair using synthetic mesh. METHODS: Retrospective review at a tertiary care hospital of adults who underwent incisional hernia repair using synthetic mesh by a single surgeon (2008–2015). Primary outcomes were SSO and hernia recurrence. Risk factors of body mass index >25, diabetes, active smoking, previous repair, bridged repair, and fascial defect size >10 cm were analyzed via Cox proportional hazard model and stepwise regression for SSO and recurrence. A Kaplan–Meier curve compares hernia recurrence for small versus large hernia groups. RESULTS: The overall recurrence rate was 19%. Only large fascial defect size was significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrence at all levels of analysis. Bridged repair was significantly associated with SSO on all levels of analysis except when paired with large hernia size in Cox multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Key technical aspects of the hernia repair surgery, specifically a fascial defect over 10 cm in width and performance of a bridged fascial repair pose a greater risk for hernia recurrence and SSO than patient comorbidities, including diabetes, active smoking, previous repair, and obesity. These results further indicate that synthetic mesh can be used safely in the one-stage repairs of incisional hernias in patients with comorbidities, without unacceptably high rates of SSO or hernia recurrence.
DISSEMINATED TUBERCULOUS PERICARDITIS IN A YOUNG ADULT WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE

The incidence of tubercle bacilli (TB) pericarditis has decreased in the modern era. Clinical evidence of TB may be subtle, making the diagnosis tricky especially in vulnerable patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Late cardiac complications include constrictive pericarditis and increased
100 – Diabetes Mellitus

Publisher Summary This chapter reveals that with the introduction of insulin treatment for diabetes, an additional risk factor for cognitive morbidity was identified in diabetic patients: iatrogenic hypoglycemia. Insulin brought the elevated-blood-glucose levels characteristic of diabetes closer to the normal range, and thereby led to a dramatic improvement in health and longevity. Nevertheless, when glycemic levels fell too low, transient reductions in mental efficiency occurred. If left untreated, the resulting hypoglycemia could eventuate in permanent neurological and neurocognitive sequela, seizures, coma, or even death. A large body of research now demonstrates that diabetes, its complications, and its management can induce transient or permanent cognitive impairment, which is largely a consequence of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction.
Thinking Outside the Book: Research on Non-traditional Cataloging & Classification. A Report of the ALCTS CaMMS Cataloging & Classification Research Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington DC, June 2019

The ALCTS CaMMS Cataloging & Classification Research Interest Group held its program at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C, Marriott Marquis Hotel on Sunday, June 23, 2019. It was very we...
Mother and Father Prescription Opioid Misuse, Alcohol Use Disorder, and Parent Knowledge in Pathways to Adolescent Alcohol Use

Parenting during early adolescence is key in protecting adolescents against substance use initiation and patterned use. Parental alcohol use disorder is a robust risk factor for maladaptive parenting and adolescent alcohol use. However, it is unclear what effect parent prescription opioid misuse has on parenting and adolescent alcohol use. Associations were examined among parent alcohol use disorder, prescription opioid misuse, and parent knowledge of adolescent activities in early adolescence and their prediction of adolescent alcohol use approximately five years later. The current sample consisted of mothers (N = 457) and fathers (N = 368) drawn from a large longitudinal sample (The Adult and Family Development Project: AFDP). The average age was 11.68 in early adolescence and 16.22 in adolescence and 47% of adolescents were female. Parent knowledge was tested as a mediator of the effects of parent alcohol disorder and parent opioid misuse on adolescence alcohol use. This model was examined separately in mothers and fathers. For mothers, alcohol use disorder and prescription opioid misuse both predicted adolescent alcohol use indirectly via parent knowledge. Mothers’ alcohol use disorder also directly predicted adolescent alcohol use. For fathers, no direct or indirect effects of alcohol use disorder or prescription opioid misuse were detected although a covariate effect of illicit drug use on parent knowledge emerged. The results are discussed with regards to the processes that may explain how alcohol disorder or prescription opioid misuse affect mothers’ knowledge and increase risk for adolescent alcohol use.
Oral bisphosphonate treatment in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy on long term glucocorticoid therapy

Abstract Osteoporosis is a major problem in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), due to glucocorticoid therapy and muscle weakness. Evidence on which to base optimal prevention and treatment strategies, including bisphosphonate use, in DMD are limited. Our objective was to describe bone health outcomes of oral alendronate treatment in patients with DMD and glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. We retrospectively studied 54 patients treated between 2005 and 2017, and assessed changes in DXA whole body and lumbar spine bone mineral density and content (BMD and BMC), and lateral distal femur BMD. We also examined vertebral fracture development in a subset with serial spine radiographs. Pre-alendronate DXA Z-score trajectories decreased progressively. Over three years post-alendronate initiation, Z-score trajectories improved (p
When Disasters Strike: Navigating the Challenges of “Sudden Science”

Natural disasters, like hurricanes, floods, and other environmental events, are associated with catastrophic destruction and sometimes loss of life. These events can be frightening and terribly disruptive for directly affected towns and communities, yet they also bring a unique opportunity for researchers to conduct studies that advance the disaster science literature. In this chapter, we focus on the challenges and opportunities associated with reactive disaster research, which we have termed “sudden science.” To be precise, sudden science refers to situations where a research protocol must be developed and implemented quickly to capture behavioral responses during the immediate impact phase of a disaster. Three examples are considered here: the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and the 2016 flooding, which damaged many south Louisiana towns and communities. We note the challenges faced while carrying out sudden science behavioral research in these disaster contexts. Ethical considerations are brought into sharp focus as we consider best practices for conducting research on psychosocial outcomes after a disaster. We close the chapter by noting risks and rewards in connection with sudden science disaster research.
Endoplasmic reticulum stress in biological processing and disease

The ability of translated cellular proteins to perform their functions requires their proper folding after synthesis. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for coordinating protein folding and maturation. Infections, genetic mutations, environmental factors and many other conditions can lead to challenges to the ER known as ER stress. Altering ER homeostasis results in accumulation of misfolded or unfolded proteins. To eliminate this problem, a response is initiated by the cell called the unfolded protein response (UPR), which involves multiple signaling pathways. Prolonged ER stress or a dysregulated UPR can lead to premature apoptosis and an exaggerated inflammatory response. Following these discoveries, ER stress was shown to be related to several chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative disorders, fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease that have not yet been clearly demonstrated pathophysiologically. Here, we review the field and present up-to-date information on the relationship between biological processing, ER stress, UPR, and several chronic diseases.
CHA2DS2-VASc and has-BLED scores do not accurately stratify risk for stroke or bleed in fall victims with atrial fibrillation.

Abstract Background Falls are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Non-valvular Atrial fibrillation (AF) is present in up to 9% of this group and often requires oral anticoagulation (OAC). The CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores are validated tools assessing risk of ischemic stroke from AF and major bleeding (MB) from OAC. It is unclear if these predictions remain accurate in post-fall patients. This study seeks to determine the stroke and major bleeding rate in atrial fibrillation patients after a ground level fall and identify if validated risk scoring systems accurately stratify risk in this cohort. Methods Retrospective review of patients with AF presented to the emergency department after a fall. CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores were calculated. Follow up information was reviewed to 1 year. Patients were grouped according to discharge thromboprophylaxis plan (DTP): no treatment, Anti-platelet (AP), OAC, and AP + OAC. Outcomes were ischemic stroke, MB, or death at 1 year. Ischemic stroke and MB rates were calculated. Kruskal-Wallis, Χ2, Fisher's exact, and multivariable logistic regression were used to evaluate for clinical associations. Results 192 patients were included. MB rate was 14.5 bleeds/100 person-years, and ischemic stroke rate was 10.9/100 person-years. There were no observed differences between DTPs. Overall, one-year mortality was 22.1%. On unadjusted analysis, CHA2DS2-VASc did associate with ischemic stroke (p = 0.03); HAS-BLED did not associate with MB (p = 0.17). After logistic regression accounting for known risk factors, neither system associated with ischemic stroke or MB. Conclusions Fall patients are at higher risk for both ischemic stroke and MB compared to previously published reports. Current risk assessment tools should be used with caution. Further study of risk factors is warranted to guide medication decisions in these patients.
Fast Yaw Optimization for Wind Plant Wake Steering Using Boolean Yaw Angles

Abstract. In wind plants, turbines can be yawed into the wind to steer their wakes away from downstream turbines and achieve an overall increase in plant power. Mathematical optimization is typically used to determine the best yaw angles at which to operate the turbines in a plant. In this paper, we present a new method to rapidly determine the yaw angles in a wind plant. In this method, we define the turbine yaw angles as Boolean—either yawed at a predefined angle or nonyawed—as opposed to the typical methods of formulating yaw angles as continuous or with fine discretizations. We then optimize which turbines should be yawed with a greedy algorithm that sweeps through the turbines from the most upstream to the most downstream. We demonstrate that our new Boolean optimization method can find turbine yaw angles that perform well compared to a traditionally used gradient-based optimizer where the yaw angles are defined as continuous. There is less than 0.6 % difference in the optimized power between the two optimization methods for randomly placed turbine layouts. Additionally, we show that our new method is much more computationally efficient than the traditional method. For plants with nonzero optimal yaw angles, our new method is generally able to solve for the turbine yaw angles 50–150 times faster, and in some extreme cases up to 500 times faster, than the traditional method.
Joint Commission on Prescription Drug Use

It is important to put Dr. Reidenberg’s report and comments about the Joint Commission on Prescription Drug Use into historical perspective for, as was emphasized, the Commission’s existence may have been analgous to an enzyme which catalyzes a number of existing efforts that were already going in the desired direction. As shown in Figure 1, the Joint Commission’s existence has occurred relatively recently, since for several years there had been a number of efforts directed toward collecting the type of information which the Joint Commission felt should be collected and used. It is important to note from this figure that a number of efforts were going on prior and in parallel to the Joint Commission’s efforts, most prominently involving FDA’s and the Department of Commerce’s Experimental Technology Incentives Program (ETIP) interagency agreement to study post-marketing surveillance. The Joint Commission joined in this interagency effort to support the contract; and three publications (Tasks A, B, and have resulted and have provided an overview 191 of existing post-marketing activities. The third publication, Task C, presents one type of plan for a system for post-marketing surveillance. It is important to note that Tasks A and B were incorporated into both the summary and appendices of the Joint Commission report, but, in fact, represent a mutual effort coordinated by the FDA, the Joint Commission, and the Department of Commerce’s ETIP group.
Presidential Leadership of the Tone of News Coverage and Public Opinion on Iraq

Much research questions the president’s ability to lead public opinion. Yet most of this research does not directly assess how news coverage might influence presidential leadership of public opinion. If presidents can affect the tone of news coverage, then presidents may be able to indirectly lead public opinion. We argue that public exposure to the president’s policy positions through news media increases public access to the president’s positions. This exposure increases the president’s influence over public opinion. To examine whether the tone of presidential rhetoric affects the tone of news coverage and public opinion, we analyze an original dataset of presidential speeches, media coverage, and public opinion on Iraq from 1990-2008. Our findings suggest that analysis of presidential leadership of public opinion should carefully consider indirect leadership effects through the media. Doing so may lead to more favorable assessments of the president’s ability to influence public opinion through speechmaking.
The peptide cargo of class I molecules: not just passive passengers.

The paper by Townsend and colleagues ([1][1]) was a major advance in our understanding of Ag presentation by class I MHC products. The structure of a class I MHC product in a complex with peptide had been published at the time ([2][2]), but how a class I MHC product acquired its peptide cargo was
Modeling of radiative properties of metallic microscale rough surface

The radiative properties of a gold surface with one-dimensional Gaussian random roughness distribution were obtained with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and the recursive convolution treatment of the Drude Model. The bi-directional reflection distribution function (BRDF) for both TM mode and TE mode were obtained and compared with the highly accurate experimental data from the earlier work. The incident wavelength varies from 1.152 μm to 3.392 μm and incident angle is at 30°–70°, respectively. The results show that, the predicted values and experimental results are in good agreement. The highly specular peak in the BRDF is reproduced in the numerical simulations, and the increase of the TM mode BRDF is found to be attributed to the effect of a variation in the optical constant at the incident wavelength period.
Rethinking the Specific-General Intent Doctrine in California Criminal Law

Because the concepts of specific-general intent and diminished capacity stem from separate origins and do not reflect a unitary thread of logic or policy, their intersection in recent years has created confusion, anomaly and unjust results. In California the specific-general intent dichotomy is paradoxically susceptible to both arbitrary and rigid application. Furthermore, it often serves to exclude psychiatric evidence of diminished mental capacity in cases where such evidence might be especially relevant. The overlap of diminished capacity and specific-general intent has highlighted the fundamental principle of criminal law requiring unity of wrongful act and intent.' This common law concept is embodied in California Penal Code section 20, which states that for every crime "there must exist a union or joint operation of act and intent ... .,"2