cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estrogen Alters Remodeling of the Vaginal Wall after Surgical Injury in Guinea Pigs

Loss of pelvic organ support (i.e., pelvic organ prolapse) is common in menopausal women. Surgical reconstruction of pelvic organ prolapse is plagued with high failure rates. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of estrogen on biomechanical properties, lysyl oxidase (LOX), collagen content, and histomorphology of the vagina with or without surgical injury. Nulliparous ovariectomized guinea pigs were treated systemically with either 50 μg/kg/day estradiol (E2,) or vehicle. After 2 wk, vaginal surgery was performed, and animals were treated with either beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN, an irreversible LOX inhibitor), or vehicle to determine the role of LOX in recovery of the vaginal wall from injury with or without E2. Estradiol resulted in (i) significant growth, increased smooth muscle, and increased thickness of the vagina, (ii) increased distensibility without compromise of maximal force at failure, and (iii) increased total and cross-linked collagen. In the absence of E2, BAPN resulted in decreased collagen and vaginal wall strength in the area of the injury. In contrast, in E2-treated animals, increased distensibility, maximal forces, and total collagen were maintained despite BAPN. Interestingly, LOX mRNA was induced dramatically (9.5-fold) in the injured vagina with or without E2 at 4 days. By 21 days, however, LOX levels declined to near baseline in E2-deprived animals. LOX mRNA levels remained strikingly elevated (12-fold) at 21 days in the estrogenized vagina. The results suggest that prolonged E2 induced increases in LOX, and collagen cross-links may act to sustain a matrix environment that optimizes long-term surgical wound healing in the vagina.
Computer Professional Ethics in Theory and in Practice

The starting place for professional ethics is with the idea that certain occupational groups have special expertise that leads to special responsibilities. The organization of the group into a profession with an organization that controls admission and promulgates a code of ethics is a mechanism for ensuring that the special expertise of members is deployed in ways that benefit the public (consumers, users, non-experts) or, at least, does not harm the public.
Plasma Propagation Through Porous Dielectric Sheets

The propagation of plasmas through porous materials is one extreme example of a packed-bed reactor. Mechanisms for atmospheric-pressure plasmas flowing through porous dielectric films are computationally investigated. Images of this plasma flow are discussed.
Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds

“Transportation into a narrative world” is an experience of cognitive, emotional, and imagery involvement in a narrative. Transportation theory (Green & Brock, 2000, 2002) provides a lens for understanding the concept of media enjoyment. The theory suggests that enjoyment can benefit from the experience of being immersed in a narrative world, as well as from the consequences of that immersion. Consequences implied by transportation theory include connections with characters and self-transformations.
Effect of Hormones on the Development of Enzyme Systems

The nature of the biochemical mechanisms underlying the appearance of a specific enzyme in a specific tissue of the fetus at a specific time in development is among the most challenging of current biological problems. Advances in molecular biology have greatly increased our understanding of the means by which biological information is transferred from one generation of cells to the next and transcribed in each cell to produce its constituent proteins. It is not yet possible, within the framework of this hypothesis to explain either how a gene may determine the quantity of an enzyme produced, what determines the time in development at which the enzyme appears, or how certain cells of a multicellular organism may have a given enzyme or protein when other cells of the same organism with the same genome do not.
Fresh vegetable demand behaviour in an urban food desert

Food deserts are associated with lower quality diets and higher obesity rates. One hypothesis for their emergence is that retailers avoid food deserts because demand side factors such as low income...
Neuropilin 1 balances β8 integrin-activated TGFβ signaling to control sprouting angiogenesis in the brain

Angiogenesis in the developing central nervous system (CNS) is regulated by neuroepithelial cells, although the genes and pathways that couple these cells to blood vessels remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we have used biochemical, cell biological and molecular genetic approaches to demonstrate that β8 integrin (Itgb8) and neuropilin 1 (Nrp1) cooperatively promote CNS angiogenesis by mediating adhesion and signaling events between neuroepithelial cells and vascular endothelial cells. β8 integrin in the neuroepithelium promotes the activation of extracellular matrix (ECM)-bound latent transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) ligands and stimulates TGFβ receptor signaling in endothelial cells. Nrp1 in endothelial cells suppresses TGFβ activation and signaling by forming intercellular protein complexes with β8 integrin. Cell type-specific ablation of β8 integrin, Nrp1, or canonical TGFβ receptors results in pathological angiogenesis caused by defective neuroepithelial cell-endothelial cell adhesion and imbalances in canonical TGFβ signaling. Collectively, these data identify a paracrine signaling pathway that links the neuroepithelium to blood vessels and precisely balances TGFβ signaling during cerebral angiogenesis.
Withholding Net Will Now Catch More Debt Arrangements

When the U.S. terminated its income tax treaty with the Netherlands Antilles in 1984, there was criticism from U.S. corporations that they were being unfairly kept out of the competitive Eurobond financing market. In order to provide access to the Eurobond market, Congress enacted Section 871(h) to provide an exemption (the “portfolio interest exemption”) from the 30% withholding tax on U.S.-source income earned by a nonresident alien individual or foreign corporation that is not effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business. Portfolio interest, under Sections 871(h) and 163(f), is any U.S.-source interest (including original issue discount) that is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business and (1) is paid on an obligation that satisfies certain registration requirements or specified exceptions contained in Section 163(f), or for which the U.S. payor (or U.S. person whose duty it would otherwise be to withhold tax) obtains a statement that the beneficial owner is not a U.S. person, and (2) which is not received by a 10% owner or issuer of the obligation taking into account shares owned by attribution.
The Role of MFN of GATT/WTO in the 'New Trade' Model

In this paper, I extend Ossa (2011) to study the impact of the Most-Favored-Nation principle (MFN) of GATT/WTO on the characterization of Pareto-improving bilateral trade agreements. The paper offers four main model predictions. First, I characterize bilateral trade agreements with third-country tariff adjustments that improve the welfare of negotiating countries while preserving the welfare of the outside country unchanged. Second, MFN guarantees that a bilateral trade agreement always improves the welfare of outside country and potentially causes a free- rider problem. Third, MFN can be too restrictive and prevent possible Pareto-improving trade agreements if initial tariffs are generally low. Lastly, this paper suggests a reason of why free trade agreements (FTAs) are more desirable than bilateral trade agreements under MFN, when current tariffs are sufficiently low. I quantify the firm-delocation effects and welfare changes in three counterfactual situations: (i) a bilateral trade agreement without third-country tariff adjustments, (ii) a bilateral trade agreement under MFN, and (iii) moving to a global free-trade economy. The quantitative results support the model predictions.
Reduction of bacterial populations on vacuum-packaged ground beef patties with fumaric and lactic acids

The effects of fumaric and lactic acid on the total numbers of aerobic, psychrotrophic, and coliform bacteria on vacuum-packaged ground beef patties at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 days of storage at 4°C were studied. Fumaric acid treatments resulted in greater reductions in microbial growth than lactic acid treatments. When 5.0% fumaric acid was used, the lag phase was prolonged and microbial growth was reduced (P < 0.05), with total aerobic, psychotrotrophic, and coliform populations reaching net maximum growths of only 1.46, 1.44, and 0.98 log units, respectively, after storage at 4°C for 10 days. Increasing the acid concentrations significantly decreased the growth of all microorganisms. The 5.0% lactic acid was the most inhibitory against coliforms. resulting in a 3.88-log unit reduction after 10 days of storage.
Concentrated Dispersions of Equilibrium Protein Nanoclusters That Reversibly Dissociate into Active Monomers

Stabilizing proteins at high concentration is of broad interest in drug delivery, for treatment of cancer and many other diseases. Herein, we create highly concentrated antibody dispersions (up to 260 mg/mL) comprising dense equilibrium nanoclusters of protein (monoclonal antibody 1B7, polyclonal sheep immunoglobulin G, and bovine serum albumin) molecules which, upon dilution in vitro or administration in vivo, remain conformationally stable and biologically active. The extremely concentrated environment within the nanoclusters (∼700 mg/mL) provides conformational stability to the protein through a novel self-crowding mechanism, as shown by computer simulation, while the primarily repulsive nanocluster interactions result in colloidally stable, transparent dispersions. The nanoclusters are formed by adding trehalose as a cosolute which strengthens the short-ranged attraction between protein molecules. The protein cluster diameter was reversibly tuned from 50 to 300 nm by balancing short-ranged attraction ...
Utilization of Network Theory for the Enhancement of ATO Air Route Forecast

Current air traffic forecast methods employed at the FAA function under the assumption that the network of flight routes will not change, that is, no new flight routes will be added nor existing flight routes removed. However, the competitive nature of the airline industry is such that new routes are routinely added between cities possessing significant passenger demand and other city-pairs are removed. This paper investigates models for forecasting network reconfiguration that exploit knowledge of network topology structure in the Air Transportation System (ATS). Algorithms for new route prediction are combined with the FAA’s existing method for an initial exploration of improving the quality of overall forecasts that drive policy and infrastructure enhancement decision-making.
Awareness of Low Self-Control: Theory and Evidence

Self-reported survey measures of self-control continue to appeal to practitioners for ease of implementation, necessitating further investigation of how well they predict outcomes. We provide a simple theoretical model and empirical evidence that relates how awareness of self-control and availability of commitment devices affect the way survey responses predict outcomes. This paper focuses on the Ameriks et al. (2007) survey, which utilizes the deviation between self-reported ideal and predicted behavior, namely Expected Deviation (ED), to capture self-control problems. Our model predicts that ED will largely be negatively correlated with outcomes, except in settings where awareness can play a large role (e.g. when self-control is low and commitment devices are available). Previous empirical evidence, derived from highly successful populations, has shown that larger ED is correlated with worse outcomes. We complement this with evidence from the homeless population, showing that ED is positively correlated to amount saved in shelter lockboxes, a commitment savings device. As a whole, it appears that the ED measure correlates with outcomes in a theoretically-consistent manner after accounting for awareness.
Exploration of the Mode and Way to Cultivate the Domestic Service Personnel——Analysis of the Case“Yue Xiang Sao”in Shengzhou City

To explore the brand of the domestic service training mode is an important task in front of us. Shengzhou city takes"Yue Xiang Sao"for the brand strategy,and actively implement"three set"training mode by vigorously promoting the effective way of training. It formed the integration of enrollment,training,employment,research,service in the annual evaluation system,provided a large number of domestic service personnel to increase employment and improve people's livelihood,to expand domestic demand,and played an important role in promoting the development of society.
Retraction brain ischaemia: mannitol plus nimodipine preserves both cerebral blood flow and evoked potentials during normoventilation and hyperventilation.

AbstractIn our miniature swine model simulating operating room brain retraction, we investigated the effects of mannitol plus nimodipine on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and evoked potentials (EP) ipsilateral and contralateral to retraction, in comparison with either agent alone, during both normoventilation and hyperventilation. We here report results in 27 animals with intravenous mannitol (2g kg-1 over 15 min) and/or nimodipine (1 ¼g kg-1 min-1 constant infusion). Mannitol plus nimodipine was superior both to controls and to either mannitol alone or nimodipine alone in preserving EP amplitude ipsilateral to retraction during both normoventilation and hyperventilation. Mannitol alone was effective in normoventilation at preserving EP, while nimodipine alone was effective in hyperventilation. No significant asymmetries in CBF or EP were seen with mannitol plus nimodipine in either normoventilation or hyperventilation. By five minutes postretraction CBF had returned to preretraction values for all groups, and...
Effects of exogenous insulin and body condition on metabolic hormones and gonadotropin-induced follicular development in prepuberal gilts.

To determine influences of insulin and body condition on follicular growth, prepuberal gilts (n = 16) treated with pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG) were used in a 2 X 2 factorial experiment with main effects of insulin (0 or .4 IU/kg every 12 h beginning at 1800 on the day before PMSG) and backfat depth (moderate, 25 +/- .8; high, 32 +/- .7 mm; P less than .0001). Body weights were similar. Blood sampling was at 6-h intervals for analyses of LH, FSH, growth hormone (GH), glucagon, cortisol, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), plasma urea nitrogen (PUN), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), testosterone, estradiol-17 beta, and progesterone. Ovaries were removed 75 h after PMSG treatment, and visible small (less than or equal to 3 mm), medium (4 to 6 mm), large (greater than or equal to 7 mm), and macroscopically atretic follicles were counted. Administration of insulin increased IGF-I in fluid of medium follicles (108.8 vs 60.7 ng/ml; SEM = 13.3; P less than .05). Neither insulin nor fatness affected hCG binding by granulosa cells (12.5 +/- 1.6 ng/10(6) cells) or numbers of large (16.7 +/- 2.6) and medium (10.4 +/- 2.3) follicles. However, insulin increased the number of small follicles (58.9 vs 29.9; SEM = 9.7; P less than .05) and reduced the number of atretic follicles (3.8 vs 11.3; SEM = 1.1; P less than .05). The predominant effect of insulin on reducing number of atretic follicles was in the small size class (.6 vs 6.9; SEM = .6, P less than .01). Follicular fluid estradiol and progesterone were not affected by treatments; however, testosterone concentrations in large follicles were lower in gilts with higher backfat (32.5 vs 59.9 ng/ml; SEM = 4.0; P less than .05). Systemic LH, FSH, glucagon, cortisol, PUN, NEFA, estradiol, and testosterone were not affected by insulin or level of feeding. However, GH was lower in gilts that had higher backfat (overall average of 3.2 vs 2.8 ng/ml; SEM = .1; P less than .05). Insulin reduced atresia and altered intrafollicular IGF-I independently of body condition and without sustained effects on other hormones.
Burr Hole Craniotomy

Extradural hematoma (EDH) or subdural hematoma (SDH) with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) <8 and unavailability of timely neurosurgical intervention in the face of increased intracranial pressure
Overview of the 2016 US Food and Drug Administration Circulatory System Devices Panel Meeting on the AngelMed Guardian System.

On March 16, 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a meeting of the Circulatory System Devices Panel to consider a premarket approval application for the AngelMed Guardian System based on the results of the pivotal ALERTS trial (AngelMed for Early Recognition and Treatment of STEMI) (URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00781118). The system comprises an implantable device similar to a single-chamber pacemaker, an external device that the patient carries, and a physician console. The device analyzes ST-segment shift through a single active-fixation lead in the right ventricular apex. If ST shift is identified, then the implantable device vibrates and the external device flashes and sounds an auditory alarm. More than 1 in 3 acute myocardial infarctions occur without chest pain, most commonly in women, diabetic patients, and the elderly. ST shift occurs rapidly in humans following coronary balloon occlusion.1 The AngelMed Guardian aims to reduce time to presentation by alerting the patient to ST shift even in the absence of symptoms. The ALERTS trial tested the safety and effectiveness of the Guardian System. A Bayesian adaptive design was used to adjust sample size based on interim treatment effect. The trial enrolled high-risk patients with a history of coronary artery disease (97% had previous revascularization). The trial was stopped early because of concerns that the predictive model did not accurately account for new Q waves. Nine hundred ten patients had the Guardian implanted (451 in the treatment arm versus 456 in the control arm with the device deactivated). Study …
Emotion, Memory, and Bilingualism

Language is a primary vehicle through which we communicate our beliefs, perceptions and knowledge of the world, and thoughts and information about ourselves. One of the types of information that we readily communicate involves reports of our feelings and emotions.
C. elegans Stress-Induced Sleep Emerges from the Collective Action of Multiple Neuropeptides.

The genetic basis of sleep regulation remains poorly understood. In C. elegans, cellular stress induces sleep through epidermal growth factor (EGF)-dependent activation of the EGF receptor in the ALA neuron. The downstream mechanism by which this neuron promotes sleep is unknown. Single-cell RNA sequencing of ALA reveals that the most highly expressed, ALA-enriched genes encode neuropeptides. Here we have systematically investigated the four most highly enriched neuropeptides: flp-7, nlp-8, flp-24, and flp-13. When individually removed by null mutation, these peptides had little or no effect on stress-induced sleep. However, stress-induced sleep was abolished in nlp-8; flp-24; flp-13 triple-mutant animals, indicating that these neuropeptides work collectively in controlling stress-induced sleep. We tested the effect of overexpression of these neuropeptide genes on five behaviors modulated during sleep—pharyngeal pumping, defecation, locomotion, head movement, and avoidance response to an aversive stimulus—and we found that, if individually overexpressed, each of three neuropeptides (nlp-8, flp-24, or flp-13) induced a different suite of sleep-associated behaviors. These overexpression results raise the possibility that individual components of sleep might be specified by individual neuropeptides or combinations of neuropeptides.
Foreign Direct Investments In Bangladesh: Some Recent Trends And Implications

For many developing nations, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been viewed as a powerful instrument for economic development. In particular, FDI has become a major source of capital formation and an instrument for facilitating knowledge transfer. Expansion of FDI has led countries to build physical capital, increase employment, trade, and gross domestic product, and consequently helped to eradicate poverty. Using secondary data for Bangladesh, this paper investigates the effect of FDI on some major economic indicators of growth and examines the functional relationship between FDI and indicators.
Characteristics and performance of Xiamen VSC-HVDC transmission demonstration project

Xiamen VSC-HVDC transmission demonstration project is the highest voltage level and the largest capacity VSC-HVDC project in the world. In this paper, the structure and operation modes of this project are detailed. System control strategies and engineering results in STATCOM operating mode and HVDC operating mode are also given. The recorded waveforms show that the setout requirements of active power and reactive power are well satisfied in the two operating modes. The characteristics and performance of the project show a bright future of VSC-HVDC technology in high voltage and large capacity power transmission area.
High-Q magnetic inductors for high efficiency on-chip power conversion

We experimentally demonstrate high performance magnetic inductors with Q as high as 17 in the frequency range of 50–250 MHz. These inductors meet target requirements for >90% efficient on-chip power converters. Physics-based models were used to understand magnetic losses, design novel magnetic stacks and innovative processes to achieve high Q.
CILIA: before and after

This is a history of cilia research before and after the discovery of intraflagellar transport (IFT) and the link between primary cilia ciliogenesis and polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Before IFT, ca. the beginning of the new millennium, although sensory and primary cilia were well described, research was largely focused on motile cilia, their structure, movement, and biogenesis. After IFT and the link to PKD, although work on motile cilia has continued to progress, research on primary cilia has exploded, leading to new insights into the role of cilia in cell signaling and development. Genomics, proteomics, and new imaging techniques have unified the field and pointed out the critical role of cilia as a restricted cell organellar compartment, functionally integrated with other cell organelles including the autophagosome and the nucleus.
Study on High Temperature Creep Test of P92 Material Based on the Minimally Invasive Technique

The tensile and creep properties of P92 steel have been studied using a precision tensile and creep test machines for miniature and conventional specimens under various stress level at 625°C. The results showed that the data stability of miniature plate specimens is high whether at room or high temperature tensile tests. Compared with the conventional plate specimens, tensile strength, yield strength and total elongation is slightly lower, the uniform elongation is higher for miniature plate specimens at room temperature. By contrast, the tensile strength and uniform elongation is slightly higher, and the yield strength and total elongation is lower at high temperature. Besides, there had similar creep curves between miniature and conventional specimens, and the creep rupture time and minimum creep rate are closer under the same stress. By comparing the power law creep index and damage tolerance factor at the second creep stage, it can be derived that the creep mechanism is identical for the micro and conventional specimens, which is controlled by the dislocation movement.
Information, Uncertainty, and War

Uncertainty about capabilities, intent, or resolve has long been linked to war. More recently, the bargaining model of war has established uncertainty, also referred to as asymmetric information, as one of the two major causes of costly conflict, the other being the dynamics of commitment in anarchy. A growing theoretical literature has made significant strides in fleshing out causal mechanisms and expanding our understanding of the role of information in conflict onset and how it relates to crisis bargaining and arms races. This article reviews these theoretical developments and describes current efforts to better understand the relationships between information, uncertainty, and war.
Hope and Destiny: The Patient and Parent’s Guide to Sickle Cell Disease and Sickle Cell Trait, Revised 4th ed., Allan F. Platt, James Eckman, and Lewis L. Hsu

Now in its fourth edition, this patient handbook created by health care providers at the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center manages to strike a balance between scientifically accurate, practi...
Solis Flores

Solar energy is harvested, traditionally, either through photovoltaic technology or through the ingestion of crops. Since the two functions are utilized in distinct areas of human lives, it is assumed the two cannot coexist. This paper proposes a design for the integration of photovoltaic technology and plant physiology. The Solis Flores is an autonomous solar panel powered system that is intercropped within agricultural fields. This plant inspired photovoltaic system is synchronized with the agricultural crop fields by monitoring their health statuses. The Solis Flores surveys soil moisture levels and pH levels to manage and improve the agricultural plant health without competing for land. Through the inspiration of plant anatomy and function, the Solis Flores utilizes solar energy as its source energy, and rooted sensors to analysis possible health contingencies then communicate to the user the status of the field. The Solis Flores' solar panels, resembling the leaves and flowers of a plant, is designed to sun track and optimize the collection of solar energy. The circuitry is protected by a housing unit resembling a pot which also host the internal battery storage powering the complete system. The Solis Flores implements a wireless ad hoc network or WANET and a sensor based plant health monitoring system to an autonomous solar panel system. The ZigBee XBee platform is the WANET system chosen due to its range capacity and power efficiency. In addition, the XBee is designed to enable a security authentication allowing additional units to join or leave the network. Each Solis Flores has a master microcontroller which will monitor the soil moisture and pH level. Under stressful situations the microcontroller will be alerted and the message will be broadcasted across the network. The user as coordinator of the network can access the status of the field and monitor the crop health. This data can be logged in an external storage for seasonal evaluation and tracking. Through the successful implementation, the union between plant physiology and the technological expansion can be further explored.
Designing a Distributed Learning Experience

With the availability of Internet and digital technologies, many universities are integrating new interactive media into course curricula, both to enhance conventional classroom-based learning and to enable remote students to overcome barriers of time and distance. Although the focus of computer-mediated communication in teaching and learning has traditionally been on distance education—delivering courses to students in remote locations—colleges are increasingly using interactive media to enhance on-campus courses, with positive outcomes. “Distributed learning” describes educational experiences that combine face-to-face teaching with synchronous and asynchronous mediated interaction (Dede, Brown-L’Bahy, Ketelhut, & Whitehouse, 2004). This instructional strategy distributes learning across a variety of geographic settings, across time, and across various interactive media. This study extends prior research findings on the design and educational outcomes of a Harvard Graduate School of Education course, Learning Media that Bridge Distance and Time, as a prototypical distributed learning experience.
Distributionally Robust Optimization for Planning and Scheduling under Uncertainty

Abstract Distributionally robust optimization (DRO) is an emerging and effective method to address the inexactness of probability distributions of uncertain parameters in decision-making under uncertainty. We propose an effective DRO framework for planning and scheduling under demand uncertainties. A novel data-driven approach is proposed to construct ambiguity sets based on principal component analysis and first-order deviation functions, which help excavating accurate and useful information from uncertainty data. Moreover, it leads to mixed-integer linear reformulations of planning and scheduling problems. To account for the multi-stage sequential decision-making structure in process operations, we further develop multi-stage DRO models and adopt affine decision rules to address the computational issue. Applications in industrial-scale process network planning and batch process scheduling demonstrate that, the proposed DRO approach can effectively leverage uncertainty data information, better hedge against distributional ambiguity, and yield more profits.
TRANSITION FROM FORCED TO NATURAL CONVECTION FLOW IN AN LMFBR UNDER ADVERSE THERMAL CONDITIONS

One of the most important aspects of the demonstration of the safety of liquid metal cooled fast reactors (LMFBR) is the assurance of adequate cooling of the reactor and critical structures during all potential or hypothetical events. To this end, a design philosophy has developed in which alternate heat removal systems are included in a plant in order to provide independent, diverse, and redundant cooling from the normal heat transport system. Recent studies have examined various aspects of natural convective flow in such systems and preliminary conclusions from these efforts have indicated that the basic phenomena are reasonably well understood and predictable in most cases. However, in certain situations where significant thermal stratification occurs, the resulting buoyancy-driven flow patterns can become quite complex and as a result, the confidence in computer simulations diminishes. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an experimental and analytical study of one class of such problems in which the development of natural convective flow requires a transition through an unstably stratified condition. The experiments were conducted in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) and the analytical tool used was the NATDEMO system simulation code.
Potential prognostic markers for survival and neurologic death in patients with breast cancer brain metastases who receive upfront SRS alone.

Purpose/Objectives Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is used as a treatment option for breast cancer brain metastases. It is unclear what factors predict neurologic death for these patients. Materials/Methods A total of 128 patients with breast cancer brain metastases were treated with upfront SRS alone in this study. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Clinicopathologic factors evaluated included age, ER/PR status, Her2 status, numbers of brain metastases treated, minimum SRS dose, disease-specific GPA, extracranial disease status and systemic disease burden. Results ER or PR positivity was associated with a trend towards decreased neurologic death (subdistribution hazard ratio (sHR) = 0.54, p=0.06). Factors associated with non-neurologic death include extracranial disease status (sHR = 2.02, p=0.02) and dose (sHR = 1.11, p=0.02); Her2-positivity was associated with reduced hazard of non-neurologic death (sHR 0.52, p=0.05). Conclusions ER/PR positivity was associated with a trend towards less neurologic death. HER2 positivity was associated with a trend towards less non-neurologic death.
Interhospital Variability in Quality Outcomes of Pancreatic Surgery.

Abstract Background Assessment of optimal patient outcomes from health care delivery is critical for success amidst current reform. We developed a composite index of quality for pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and compared high and low performers nationwide. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 17,220 patients undergoing elective PD between October 2010 and June 2014 using the Vizient database. A quality index score (QIS) was developed from five variables associated with optimal outcomes: postoperative complication rate, length of stay, 30-d readmission rate, mortality rate, and hospital volume. Value was defined as hospital-based QIS divided by mean hospital charges. High-value centers (top quintile) were compared to low-value centers (bottom quintile). Results The majority of high-value centers (79%) achieved top performer status in 1-2 of five quality categories though only 11% were low performer in at least one category. Conversely, 41% of low-value centers were top performers in at least one category, although rarely more than one (8%); 63% of low-value centers were low performers in two or more categories. There was no significant association between QIS and hospital charges (−570, 95% CI −1308 to 168, P = 0.13). Conclusions High-value centers infrequently provided high quality surgical care across all five metrics but instead excelled in a few quality metrics while avoiding low performance in any quality metric. Although low-value centers could achieve excellence in one quality metric, they were frequently low performers in two or more outcomes. Improvements in value of PD can be achieved by a consistent effort across all quality metrics rather than efforts at constraining financial expenditures of health care delivery.
Large-D Limit for Metalic Hydrogen

Dimensional scaling is applied to metallic hydrogen by treating the large-D limit of the electronic structure for rigid three-dimensional proton lattices. The uniformly scaled D →∞ limit localizes the electrons, but approximately preserves D = 3 expectation values. The problem is treated for simple, body-centered, and face-centered cubic lattices, and both with and without correlation. Although the absolute errors are much larger than the energy differences associated with structural changes or electron correlation, the small differences are modeled surprisingly well. Correlation effects are especially amenable to dimensional scaling treatment, because solutions can be obtained in the large-D limit without invoking any approximations to the interelectron potentials. Converged correlation energies have been computed for simple cubic lattices for a wide range of densities (0.1 <rs< 10). Comparison with known results at D = 3 reveals that the computed values are too low by a factor of about 2 in the van der Waals regime, and diverge too slowly in the electron gas regime. The fact that the large-D limit can be treated with equal almost equal ease at all densities makes it a potentially useful tool for investigating the effects of correlation on the metallization transition. However, further work will be required if the method is to be used quantitatively.
Rectal Carcinoma: Operative Treatment, Transanal

The evolution of transanal local excision techniques was driven by the need for less invasive alternatives to radical rectal cancer resections, particularly in the management of early rectal tumors. Over the last 3 decades, conventional transanal excision through standard anoscopes has been supplanted by transanal endoluminal techniques through the use of transanal endoscopic platforms, collectively referred to as transanal endoscopic surgery (TES). Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) and was originally designed to perform submucosal or full-thickness local resection of rectal adenomas, but its use has since expanded to include the curative resection of appropriately selected early-stage rectal cancer. The advent of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) combines the advantages of earlier techniques such as laparoscopic and robotic procedures, with respect to reduced incision size and oncological adequacy for total mesorectal excision (TME) for rectal surgery. In this chapter, current indications and contraindications for TES and taTME in the treatment of rectal cancer will be discussed, in addition to current obstacles, patient selection, preoperative preparation perioperative considerations, and complications.
Mild hydrotreating of bio-oils with varying oxygen content produced via catalytic fast pyrolysis

Abstract Several biomass catalytic fast pyrolysis oils produced over HZSM-5 at varying levels of catalyst of deactivation, and therefore exhibiting oxygen contents ranging from 6 wt% to 33 wt% (enabled due to catalyst deactivation) were subjected to mild hydrotreating over Ru/C at 140 °C. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of these catalytic pyrolysis oils in this process, which is often used as a stabilization step prior to exposure of the bio-oil to more severe hydrodeoxygenation conditions in pyrolysis based biorefinery concepts. This will help better define the desired deoxygenation rate during CFP, and inform decisions about yield/quality and cost tradeoffs during CFP. High liquid product recoveries were achieved for the mild hydrotreating in all samples with varying O-contents, meaning the yield of hydrogenated liquids from biomass was nearly exclusively dependent on the catalytic pyrolysis step. However, a trend was observed that the bio-oils were more responsive to the hydrogenation with increasing oxygen content. For example, no aromatic ring hydrogenation was observed for the bio-oils with 25 wt% oxygen content was observed for exposure to the hydrogenation conditions, suggesting some oligomerization occurred prior to hydrogenation in these cases. Taken together, bio-oils with about 25 wt% oxygen content responded well to the mild hydrotreatment and were stable to the conditions, and offered a 2–3 fold increase in carbon yield from biomass over the bio-oils that were more severely deoxygenated during catalytic pyrolysis. This suggests that severe reduction of oxygen in the CFP step may be not needed to economically produce fungible, stabilized biofuel intermediates in high carbon yield.
Anisotropy of thin-walled tubes by a new method of combined tension and shear loading

Abstract We propose an experimental method for generating combined tension and shear stress-states in thin-walled tubes, with the purpose of calibrating anisotropic yield functions. The method involves extracting wide rings from the parent tubes and machining two notches that form the test-section between them. The rings are then fitted over two semicircular, or D-shaped, mandrels that are parted in a universal testing machine. The test-section remains on the top mandrel and, by virtue of its geometry, it experiences plane-strain deformation during this stretching. Hence we term the specimens as Ring Plane-Strain Tension specimens, or RPST. By controlling the orientation of the notches and thus the test-section, infinite combinations of tension and shear on the test-section can be created. We begin by describing the design of a family of RPST specimens using numerical simulation and comparing them to existing similar designs for sheets. We then proceed to describe RPST experiments that we performed on extruded Al-6061-T4 tubes. We use Digital Image Correlation to probe the strain fields in the test-section and establish the validity of the plane-strain conditions. Subsequently, we describe the post-processing method that we propose for the RPST specimens. Finally, we calibrate two non-quadratic anisotropic yield functions to the data. We demonstrate the value of the proposed method and highlight that due to its simplicity, it can be used in conjunction with existing experimental methods to generate a more complete picture of the material anisotropy.
Analysis of Ocean-Space and Sea-Level Rise Policy in Two Coastal Cities

Global sea-level rise (SLR) is among the most alarming aspects of anthropogenic climate change. The human impacts of SLR are experienced unequally between and within municipalities. Existing resear...
The Destructive Legacy of McCulloch v. Maryland

McCulloch v. Maryland is probably the Supreme Court’s single most influential opinion, and certainly one of its most celebrated. As countless commentators have recognized, McCulloch’s importance arises from its doctrine of implied congressional powers, which has been applied even to constitutional amendments adopted decades after the McCulloch decision itself. Revered though it may now be, Chief Justice Marshall’s opinion provoked a hostile commotion when it was issued. So much so that he was moved to defend it in a series of anonymous newspaper essays. The opinion remained controversial for many years, and it deserves to become controversial once again. Like Marshall, all of the current Justices can say that the abstract principle of limited and enumerated powers is “now universally admitted.” But the legacy of his opinion has been the effective destruction of that principle. McCulloch famously proclaimed that “we must never forget, that it is a constitution we are expounding.” This sonorous aphorism is frequently, if unnecessarily and improperly, taken to mean that it is merely a constitution, which judges are free (or obligated!) to amend under the guise of interpretation. That attitude has triumphed historically, and perhaps irrevocably. Constitutional law is widely regarded now as a branch of political philosophy or as a field on which to play junior varsity statesmanship. Or, not infrequently, as an arena for flamboyant moral posturing or as a weapon of partisan warfare. Rather than submissively celebrate these developments, we could choose to stop forgetting that the Constitution was originally meant to be a law, and that it was meant to be more authoritative than what the Supreme Court says about it. If we did, McCulloch and its rank progeny would become controversial once again.
The high-contrast spectroscopy testbed for segmented telescopes (HCST): new wavefront control demonstrations

The High-Contrast Spectroscopy Testbed for Segmented Telescopes (HCST) in the Exoplanet Technology Laboratory (ET Lab) at Caltech is designed to test the technologies that will enable direct imaging and characterization of exoplanets with future segmented ground- and space-based telescopes. Wavefront sensing and control has been successfully implemented with electric field conjugation (EFC) using the FALCO Matlab package, yielding a baseline raw contrast of 1×10-8 in narrowband light with a Vector Vortex Coronagraph over a clear aperture. Here we report on progress towards our next HCST milestones: 1- Demonstration of 10-8 raw contrast levels in broadband light with the apodized vortex coronagraph using a LUVOIR B-like segmented aperture. 2- Integration of a fiber injection unit (FIU) and corresponding wavefront control algorithm to achieve 10-8 raw contrast in broadband light through a single mode fiber enabling high dispersion coronagraphy.
Goniometer not better than unaided visual inspection at estimating ventral penile curvature on plastic models.

Summary Introduction and objective The assessment of penile curvature is a key component of hypospadias surgery, as it often determines if a one- or two-stage procedure should be performed. The objective of this study was to compare unaided visual inspection (UVI) against goniometry estimations of ventral penile curvature (VC) among pediatric urologists. Methods A total of nine different penile models (1.5 cm wide and 5–6 cm long) representing each decile of curvature from 10° to 90° were created. The nine models were divided in two groups: one with five models (group 1: 10°, 30°, 50°, 70°, and 90°) and the other with four models (group 2: 20°, 40°, 60°, and 80°). Each subject measured the VC of each model in group 1 using one method (i.e. UVI) and the curvature of each model in group 2 using the other method (i.e. goniometry). The next subject then used the opposite method for group 1 (goniometry) and group 2 (UVI), and so on, alternating the methods used to measure each group in between the subjects (Figure). The mean error (difference in between the true curvature and the subject estimation) was compared in between the two measurement methods (UVI and goniometry). A statistician calculated that 20–30 subjects would be needed to detect more than 10° difference in between the methods. Results A total of 25 subjects were recruited for the study (24 pediatric urologists and 1 adult urologist). Mean errors for all degrees of penile curvature and methods ranged from 3.5° (90° model) to 13.6° (30° model). The mean error was not statistically different in between UVI and goniometry methods for any degree of curvature. A subgroup analysis of only goniometry estimations comparing subjects with and without prior experience with goniometry showed a statistically significant difference only for the 60° model. If choosing the correct surgery depended on determining if the curvature was ≤30° or >30°, all subjects would have chosen the right surgery for all except the 20°, 30°, and 40° models, where wrong surgery was chosen in 6/25, 15/25, and 7/25, respectively. Conclusions In this preliminary study, goniometry was not superior to UVI at estimating VC. There is pressing need in the field of hypospadias surgery to develop a tool that can measure VC in a reproducible and reliable fashion. Download : Download high-res image (285KB) Download : Download full-size image Summary fig .
Beyond Academic Math: The Role of Applied STEM Course Taking in High School:

Background/ContextEducational policymakers and researchers are concerned about the declining quantity and quality of U.S. students in line to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and...
Open-source tools and benchmarks for code-clone detection: past, present, and future trends

A fragment of source code that is identical or similar to another is a code-clone. Code-clones make it difficult to maintain applications as they create multiple points within the code that bugs must be fixed, new rules enforced, or design decisions imposed. As applications grow larger and larger, the pervasiveness of code-clones likewise grows. To face the code-clone related issues, many tools and algorithms have been proposed to find and document code-clones within an application. In this paper, we present the historical trends in code-clone detection tools to show how we arrived at the current implementations. We then present our results from a systematic mapping study on current (2009-2019) code-clone detection tools with regards to technique, open-source nature, and language coverage. Lastly, we propose future directions for code-clone detection tools. This paper provides the essentials to understanding the code-clone detection process and the current state-of-art solutions.
A Novel Prosthetically Driven Workflow Using Zygomatic Implants: The Restoratively Aimed Zygomatic Implant Routine.

Purpose Zygomatic implants present a unique treatment option for patients with severe resorption of the maxilla; however, palatally positioned zygomatic implant platforms will result in a significant buccopalatal cantilever, speech disturbances, and unhygienic prosthesis contours. The purpose of the present study was to introduce a novel preoperative workflow to help attain predictable surgical and prosthetic outcomes with zygomatic implants. Methods To minimize prosthetic complications, an appropriate preoperative workup is imperative. A restoratively driven approach commonly used in traditional intra-alveolar implant dentistry has been adapted for zygomatic implant rehabilitation and described in the present report. Results With zygomatic implants, applying a prosthetically driven approach is possible. However, it involves a unique application of traditional biomechanical and soft tissue principles of implant dentistry and digital integration of the prosthetic and surgical treatment plans. Conclusions Striving to attain zygomatic implant platforms as close as possible to the central fossae and cingulum of prosthetic teeth should be the goal when placing zygomatic implants. The restoratively aimed zygomatic implant routine introduced in the present report is a progressive and modern approach to prosthetically driven implant rehabilitation.