cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using an IBI to assess effectiveness of mitigation measures to replace loss of a wetland-stream ecosystem

Approximately 7.3 hectares of wetlands, composed of six separate cells, were created to mitigate the loss of a 6-hectare, beaver-influenced, wetland-stream complex destroyed by the construction of a multipurpose impoundment in the Cedar Run watershed in Fauquier County, Virginia, USA. The mitigation action physically replaced the lost wetlands and was judged successful in meeting planned objectives and regulatory requirements (which did not include standards for biota). A pre-project fish survey conducted in 1974 in the wetland-stream complex and three nearby streams provided a baseline condition from which to assess project impacts on fish, as determined from yearly surveys in the cells and the stream reach immediately upstream. In addition, fish communities were sampled at 157 stream locations within the northern Virginia Piedmont from 1997 to 1999 to establish a regional Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) based on fish assemblages. A modification of that IBI was developed to assess the effectiveness of the mitigation based on 22 stream segments that were heavily influenced by beaver. Pre- and post-project conditions were assessed by gauging them against the wetland-stream complexes using this IBI. The IBI score for the mitigation area dropped from the pre-project 34 to 18 the first year after construction and ranged from 18 to 28 over the ten-year post-project monitoring period. A reduction in the number of native species was observed, and there was a dramatic shift in composition and relative abundance within key species groups. In general, the mitigation benefited species favoring lentic environments over those preferring lotic environments and had negative effects on trophic and habitat specialists and less tolerant species. Scores for the mitigation cells were lower than scores for the original wetlands for the following IBI metrics: number of darter species, number of minnow species, percent of the assemblage comprised of the single most dominant species, percent of tolerant individuals, percent of benthic invertivores, and percent of specialist carnivores minus tolerants. Upstream reach IBI scores also diminished over the same 10-year period, although more gradually. The IBI showed that, despite meeting all regulatory requirements, the mitigation failed to replace the original fish community in the wetland-stream complex and adversely impacted additional stream habitat. Using tools such as an IBI to monitor biological condition can help planners effectively mitigate unavoidable project impacts and avoid the unintended loss of important natural resources caused by compensatory mitigation actions.
Note on Strategy Implementation Through Organization Design

This note is a brief description of various organizational-structure alternatives appropriate to different business strategies. It complements "Organization Structure" (OB-0361) in that it relates design decisions to strategy and to organizational evolution.
Surgery for rheumatoid arthritis--timing and techniques: the upper extremity.

Early synovectomy and reconstructive procedures not only improve the function of the hand but also prevent further destruction of these joints by the rheumatoid arthritis. Frequently by judicious use of tourniquet time, definitive surgical care can be provided for the thumb, wrist, and a number of j
An integrated study of crustal structure and regional wave propagation for southeastern Missouri

Teleseismic receiver function analysis and published refraction studies are used to infer the existence of first-order discontinuities within the crust and mantle of the Ozark uplift at the Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) station Cathedral Cave, Missouri (CCM). This information is then used to study the nature of regional wave propagation from the New Madrid seismic zone to CCM across the Ozark Dome to interpret broadband seismograms written by small events. Receiver function inversion indicates a crust 40 km thick characterized by smooth-velocity gradients down to the Moho. Secondary Ps conversions late in the receiver functions show the existence of a high-velocity mantle layer 10 to 15 km thick at approximately 60 km depth with P -wave velocity of about 8.5 km/sec. The data resolve both the top and bottom of the layer. Such high velocities suggest rocks with eclogite or dunite compositions. Regional data from the 26 September 1990 Cape Girardeau earthquake ( M 1 = 4.7) are used to model average crustal velocities and the nature of the velocity gradient near the Moho through inversion of relative arrival times of observed phases. Regional P and S waveforms are exceptionally simple at ranges of 180 km showing the mantle head waves Pn and Sn with a triplicated Pg and Sg arriving within a few seconds, respectively. sP is quite prominent and is an accurate indicator of source depth for the Cape Girardeau event, which occurred between 14 and 16 km depth. There is no evidence for other major phases, except Rg , after the Sg arrival confirming the observation that the crust is dominated by smooth-velocity gradients. A grid search technique is used to model relative phase amplitudes to obtain the focal mechanism for the Cape Girardeau event. Allowable focal mechanisms are dominated by thrust faults striking NS or NE-SW. The inferred earth structure is used to model the 4 May 1991 Risco event ( M 1 = 4.6), but observed differences in relative arrival times between P, S , and Rayleigh phases suggest that crustal velocities are slightly lower within the Mississippi Embayment and that the uppermost mantle has a higher positive gradient than further northwest. Nevertheless, sP constrains the source depth between 7 and 9 km, and P, SV , and SH wave amplitudes yield mechanisms consistent with that obtained by the Portable Array for Numerical Data Acquisition (PANDA) deployment. Waveforms from two small events with poor signal-to-noise ratios are compared with waveforms of the larger events to infer source depths. Modeling broadband waveforms from small local and regional events shows great promise in determining source parameters and inferring details of crustal and upper mantle structure. However, lateral heterogeneity in velocity structure will remain one of the principal obstacles to overcome.
Solid Phase Extraction of Phencyclidine from Urine Followed by Capillary Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

This communication describes a method for the solid phase extraction of phencyclidine (PCP) from urine, followed by GC/MS analysis. The method is linear over the range 5-1000 ng/mL and consistently produces cleaner chromatograms than can be obtained by liquid-liquid extraction. The limits of detection and quantitation are 0.47 and 1.38 ng/mL, respectively. Extraction efficiency, or recovery, was found to be 100.8 +/- 6.5%, and the between-run precision was 3.5% (25 ng/mL, n = 51). This solid phase method for extraction of PCP from urine has several advantages over liquid-liquid extraction for laboratories of any size.
Skin Friction Sensor Validation for High-Speed, High-Enthalpy Flow Applications

This investigation concerns the design, build, and testing of a new class of skin friction sensors capable of performing favorably in high-speed, high-enthalpy flow conditions, such as those experienced by atmospheric re-entry vehicles, scramjets, jet engines, material testing, and industrial processes. Fully understanding and optimizing these complex flows requires knowledge of the relevant aerodynamic properties, which, in turn, requires numerical and analytical modeling as well as reliable diagnostic instrumentation. The present skin friction sensor design was founded on a direct-measuring, non-nulling, cantilever beam arrangement. A rigorous, multi-step approach was developed to systematically test the sensor through various facilities, where flow enthalpy and run duration were progressively increased, culminating in simulated scramjet flight conditions at the Air Force Research Laboratory. The first phase of the investigation concerns itself with the validation of the sensor to ensure that the measured wall shear values were within an accurate range of the true values. The validation cycle was conducted through an initial series of calibrations to characterize the sensors’ static, dynamic, pressure, and thermal responses. The use of bench test facilities further identified the vibratory response and electromagnetic interference properties of the sensor. The cycle was concluded in the Virginia Tech Hypersonic Tunnel under simple, Mach 3 flow conditions. Flow stagnation temperatures and pressures ranged from 300 to 655 K (540 to 1180 °R) and 750 to 1000 kPa (109 to 145 psia), respectively. Wall shear was experimentally measured between 132 and 248 Pa (2.76 and 5.18 psf) over a skin friction coefficient range from 0.00104 to 0.00192. The experimental measurements demonstrated favorable agreement with independent analyses including flat-plate analytical estimations, numerical turbulence model predictions, and historical direct-measuring skin friction sensor data. The total uncertainty of the present skin friction sensor was determined to be ±8.7% at 95% confidence.
Precision and Dynamics of Positioning by Canada Geese Flying in Formation

A method is described for reconstructing perspective-distorted film images of geese flying in V formations to allow measurements of wing tip spacing (WTS, the distance between wing tips of adjacent birds perpendicular to the flight path) and depth (the distance along the flight path between birds). Measurements for eight formations are used to test for savings in induced power from wing placement in a vortex field generated by other wings, using the model of Lissaman & Schollenberger (1970) to estimate savings. The median WTS for 55 geese corresponded to an induced power saving of 36%, about half the maximum possible. There was considerable variation in WTS between and within formations. Some birds maintained WTS close to an optimum for saving energy; others maintained WTS with excessive gap. Birds at the apex and those at large depths achieved low energy savings. Savings were enhanced by periodic changes in flight direction in response to variations in the position of the bird ahead. Individuals in some formations adjusted WTS more rapidly when they were displaced a greater distance from the optimum, and some position adjustments appeared to reflect the distribution of savings predicted from vortex theory.
Efficient and Scalable Query Authentication for Cloud-Based Storage Systems with Multiple Data Sources

Storage services are among the primary cloud computing offerings, providing advantages of scale, cost and availability to its customers. However, studies and past experiences show that large-scale storage service can be unreliable, and vulnerable to various internal and external threats that cause loss and/or corruption of customer data. In this work, we present a query authentication scheme for cloud-based storage system where the data is populated by multiple sources and retrieved by the clients. The system allows clients to verify the authenticity and integrity of the retrieved data in a scalable and efficient way, without requiring implicit trust on the storage service provider. The proposed mechanism is based on our recently proposed multi-trapdoor hash functions, using its properties to achieve near constant communication and computation overhead for authenticating query responses, regardless of the data size, or the number of sources. We develop a discrete log-based instantiation of the scheme and evaluate its security and performance. Our security analysis shows that forging the individual or aggregate authentication tags is infeasible under the discrete log assumption. Our performance evaluation demonstrates that the proposed scheme achieves superior efficiency and scalability compared to existing query authentication schemes offering support for multiple sources.
Agglomeration, Industrial Districts and Industry Clusters: Foundations of the 20th Century Literature

Agglomeration, Industrial Districts and Industry Clusters: Foundations of the 20th Century Literature
Development of Multi-axes Motion Control System based on DSP Processor

This paper have expatiated the systematic design of motion controller bases on PCI which uses multi-MCUs and DSP as the core processors,mainly including the hardware design. It introduces several module function circuit of the mobile control and interface chips,including the DSP and PCI communication circuit,the accessory circuit of the DSP,JTAG test interface circuit,power circuit,clock circuit and the memory extension circuit.
Stability Analysis of Continuous Time Sigma Delta Modulators

Several methods have been developed for predicting the stability of continuous time sigma delta modulators (CT ΣΔMs). In this paper, an analytical root locus method is used to determine the stability criteria for CT ΣΔMs that include exponential functions in their signal transfer functions and noise transfer functions. This method can be used to determine the minimum quantizer gains that keep a CT ΣΔM stable. Using the minimum quantizer gains, a CT ΣΔM’s maximum input amplitude that guarantees stability can be determined.
Laboratory evaluation of Amalgambond and Amalgambond Plus.

PURPOSE To evaluate the shear bond strength (SBS) of a microfilled resin restorative material and an amalgam alloy to dentin using the Amalgambond Plus adhesive system with a variety of bonding regimens. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study design incorporated bonding composite to both dry and moist dentin using open-ended plastic matrices and closed-ended gelatin capsules. In addition, the bond strength of amalgam to dry dentin was determined. RESULTS The mean SBS of Silux Plus to dentin using Amalgambond without the HPA powder ranged from 17.55 +/- 1.96 MPa to 22.47 +/- 3.89 MPa. The SBS range observed when the microfilled composite was bonded to dentin with Amalgambond Plus (includes the HPA powder) was from 20.33 +/- 3.84 MPa to 22.50 +/- 3.69 MPa. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the SBS of the microfilled resin restorative material to dentin between the groups that were bonded using an open-ended cylinder-shaped plastic matrix and those prepared using a closed-ended gelatin capsule matrix, nor was there a difference (P > 0.05) in the SBS when the microfilled resin restorative material was bonded to either wet or dry dentin surfaces. The use of multiple applications of Amalgambond adhesive did not markedly increase the SBS with this system. The mean bond strength of amalgam alloy (Dispersalloy) to dentin using Amalgambond Plus was 10.41 +/- 1.47 MPa.
Characterization of Rose Petals and Fabrication and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Surfaces with High and Low Adhesion

Unlike the Lotus leaf, some rose petals (rosea Rehd), scallions, and garlic exhibit superhydrophobicity with high contact angle hysteresis (Feng et al., 2008; Chang et al., 2009; Bhushan and Her, 2010). While a water droplet can easily roll off the surface of a Lotus leaf, it stays pinned to the surface of these leaves. The different behavior of wetting between the Lotus leaf and the rose petal can be explained by different designs in the surface hierarchical micro- and nanostructure. Since the rose petal’s microstructure, possibly nanostructure, has a larger pitch value and lower height than the Lotus leaf, the liquid is allowed to impregnate between the microstructure and partially penetrates into the nanostructure, which increases the wetted surface area. As a result, contact angle hysteresis increases with increasing wetted surface area.
Caribbean Boat People

Caribbean boat people have gained attention as successive, illegal migratory waves of boaters have braved life and limb to flee their island-countries. Important boat-people similarities will be noted first, followed by a country-by-country assessment of distinctive aspects of successive waves of Caribbean migrants by sea. The comparison between similarities and differences leads to some conclusions about Caribbean boat people.
Assessment of numerical procedures for residual stress analysis of multipass welds

Two-dimensional finite element modeling procedures are addressed to predict the residual stresses for multipass welds. A generalized plane strain model with a five-pass weld in a plate and an axisymmetric model with a six-pass girth weld in a pipe are considered. Element rebirth and pass-lumping techniques are employed in both models. The combined heat input using surface and body flux components is applied in simulating arc heat effects. In the generalized plane strain model, the calculated temperature histories and stresses are compared with the measured ones. Residual stress results are compared between non-lumped and lumped models. In the pipe girth-weld model, the calculated residual stresses are compared with the experimental data. The effects of heat input magnitudes and prescribed initial temperature conditions for welds on residual stresses are discussed in this article.
Elasticity Pessimism, Absorption and Flexible Exchange Rates

The remarkable resurgence of interest in flexible exchange rates — which has even invaded circles, such as central banks, where formerly the subject was close to anathema — is doubtless in considerable measure inspired by the now justly famous ‘Tinbergen Principle’: the rule that, to assure the attainment of policy goals, the makers of policy need as many techniques as they have objectives. According to this criterion, if those in power want full employment and price stability and a high rate of capital formation and international balance without direct controls, they cannot hope to achieve these objectives by relying on only one or two techniques, such as variation in the money supply or in the level of government expenditure. Only by a happy coincidence will all objectives be attained if the number of tools is less than the number of goals and, in the absence of such an unlikely conjuncture, the most that can be achieved is some kind of ‘second-best’ compromise involving ‘trade-offs’ between, for example, employment and price stability, or employment and liberal trade policies.
Classical Optimization Techniques

The classical techniques of optimization include methods of maxima and minima in differential calculus for solving continuous optimization problems. The theory of maxima and minima is universally applied in science and engineering. In statistics, such techniques are needed in estimation. Optimality criteria such as those of least squares, maximum likelihood, and minimum chi-square utilize classical techniques of maxima and minima. In other areas of statistics, such as in design of experiments, survey sampling, testing hypotheses, and regression analysis, extensive use of these techniques is made. This chapter describes the necessary and sufficient conditions for an optimum of a function defined on the Euclidean space R n . The constrained optimization problem is considered later. One way to solve the constrained optimization problem is to convert it to an unconstrained problem through elimination of constraints, if possible. However, in many cases, the constraints may not be explicitly solvable to allow simple elimination, so other methods, such as the method of Lagrange multipliers, are used.
Abstract 1143: EGF induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer stem-like cell properties in human head and neck cancer cells via promoting Warburg Effect

Head and neck cancer is one of the 10 most common cancers worldwide. Over-expression of EGFR has been demonstrated in approximately 90% of head and neck cancers, which is associated with progressive tumor growth, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to chemo- and radiation therapies. Recurrent tumors are often therapy-resistant and may have their origin in resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs) and/or in tumor cells with an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype. Recently it is increasingly accepted that metabolic changes in cancer cells can drive tumor formation and progression. In our study, we used 20ng/ml EGF to treat human tongue cancer cell line, SCC-1 cells. Our results demonstrated that EGF induces EMT in oral SCC cells as characterized by a downregulation of E-cadherin (an epithelial marker), an upregulation of vimentin (a mesenchymal marker), increased invasive and metastatic capacities, and acquisition of stem-like properties such as the increased expression of ALDH1 and enrichment of CD44+/CD24− proportion of cancer cells. We also found that EGF treatment concomitantly enhanced L-lactate production and blocking glycolysis by 2-DG robustly reversed EGF-induced EMT and CSC-like phenotypes of OSCC cells. Then we further demonstrated that EGF regulates glycolysis/EMT/CSCs axis through downstream EGFR/PI3K signaling pathways in an EGFR/PI3K-dependent but AKT-independent manner. Importantly, we showed that in vivo treatment with 2-DG remarkably reduced the expression of ALDH1 and vimentin at both the in situ tumors and regional lymph nodes. Taken together, these findings have demonstrated that EGF drives tumor growth and metastasis through induction of EMT and CSC generation, which is orchestrated by an enhanced glycolytic metabolic program in OSCC cells. This work was supported by National Institute of Health Research Grant, R01DE 019932, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation (OMSF) Research Grant, and the Schoenleber funding support Citation Format: Qilin Xu, Qunzhou Zhang, Ahn D. Le. EGF induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer stem-like cell properties in human head and neck cancer cells via promoting Warburg Effect. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1143. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1143
Getting started with the internet of things: pre-conference workshop

With the continued adoption of IPv6 and as cost of computing, sensing, and communication drops toward zero, the Internet of Things (IoT) promises to change how people interact with computers. It is likely that intelligent agents will be embedded in everything from light bulbs to packaging and will actively track, react and anticipate the information/computing needs of the unsuspecting human.
Targeting Busulfan to Concentration Steady State of 600–700 ng/Ml Is Associated with Robust Engraftment and Decreased Toxicity in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease Receiving An HLA Identical Donor Transplant

Abstract 1966 Sickle cell disease is a chronic illness with significant morbidity and mortality. The most frequent adverse events are painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) that often require hospitalization. VOC are recurrent and unpredictable and associated with higher mortality. Adults frequently suffer from the consequences of cumulative organ damage. The life expectancy of patients with sickle cell disease is still in the 40s by the most recent evaluation. The only curative therapy is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The major complication related to transplant includes transplant related mortality and graft rejection. We used the previously described regimen of busulfan, cyclophosphamide and ATG. Concentration steady state (CSS) of busulfan 900 ng/ml is associated with increased risk of regimen related toxicity. We targeted busulfan to a CSS of 600–700 ng/ml in an attempt to decrease regimen related toxicity and achieve donor engraftment. Between 2004 and 2011 14 patients underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplant from HLA identical siblings. Preparative regimen consisted of intravenous busulfan 0.8–1 mg/kg/dose for 16 doses, cyclophosphamide of 50 mg /kg daily for 4 doses, and equine ATG 30 mg/kg daily for 3 doses. Busulfan levels were measured after the first dose busulfan and subsequent doses were adjusted to provide a total exposure of concentration steady state of 600–700 ng/ml. Graft versus host disease prophylaxis was with cyclosporine starting on day −3 and short course methotrexate. Indications for transplantation included stoke or abnormal transcranial doppler (n=2), acute chest syndrome (n=1), renal disease (n=1), history of vaso-occlusive crisis in (n=10) and availability of HLA identical donor. The median age at time of transplant was 6.1 years (range 1.2–19 years). All patients received anti-seizure prophylaxis and antihypertensive therapy until all immune suppression was discontinued. All patients received a bone marrow graft from HLA identical siblings. The median busulfan steady state exposure was 648 ng/ml (range 607–670). Only 3 patients (21%) developed mucositis requiring parentral nutrition and none of the patients developed sinusoidal obstructive syndrome post transplant. All patient achieved neutrophil and platelet engraftment at a median of 18 and 22 days respectively. Grade II acute graft versus host disease developed in 2 patients (14%) and none of the 13 evaluable patients developed chronic GVHD (one patient is We conclude that targeting of busulfan between 600 and 700 ng/ml in combination with cyclophosphamide and ATG can result in excellent and sustained engraftment with low risk of toxicity in young patients with sickle cell disease. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Single molecule-level study of donor-acceptor interactions and nanoscale environment in blends

Organic semiconductors have attracted considerable attention due to their applications in low-cost (opto)electronic devices. The most successful organic materials for applications that rely on charge carrier generation, such as solar cells, utilize blends of several types of molecules. In blends, the local environment strongly influences exciton and charge carrier dynamics. However, relationship between nanoscale features and photophysics is difficult to establish due to the lack of necessary spatial resolution. We use functionalized fluorinated pentacene (Pn) molecule as single molecule probes of intermolecular interactions and of the nanoscale environment in blends containing donor and acceptor molecules. Single Pn donor (D) molecules were imaged in PMMA in the presence of acceptor (A) molecules using wide-field fluorescence microscopy. Two sample configurations were realized: (i) a fixed concentration of Pn donor molecules, with increasing concentration of acceptor molecules (functionalized indenflouorene or PCBM) and (ii) a fixed concentration of acceptor molecules with an increased concentration of the Pn donor. The D-A energy transfer and changes in the donor emission due to those in the acceptor- modified polymer morphology were quantified. The increase in the acceptor concentration was accompanied by enhanced photobleaching and blinking of the Pn donor molecules. To better understand the underlying physics of these processes, we modeled photoexcited electron dynamics using Monte Carlo simulations. The simulated blinking dynamics were then compared to our experimental data, and the changes in the transition rates were related to the changes in the nanoscale environment. Our study provides insight into evolution of nanoscale environment during the formation of bulk heterojunctions.
RESPONSE TO LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Boerhaave syndrome - case report. A case of acute necrotizing esophagitis Black esophagus: new insights and multicenter international experience in 2014.

They describe a rare case of spontaneous esophageal perforation in the setting of hematemesis in association with duodenal ulcer and black esophagus.Boerhaave syndrome is an unusual entity in clinical medicine that was historically described by classical physical examination findings of the Mackler triad (vomiting, chest pain and sub-cutaneous emphysema), Hamman’s mediastinal crepitus with heartbeat and pneumomediasti-num on X-ray imaging. Computed tomography scans showing Gastrografin extravasation are diagnostic on call to the operating room.
An empirical case for container-driven fine-grained VNF resource flexing

In this paper, we make a case for using lightweight containers for fine-grained resource flexing for Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) to meet the demands of varying workloads. We quantitatively compare the VNF performance and infrastructure resource usage of three instantiations (bare metal, virtual machine, and container) of three selected VNFs. The three VNFs we experiment with are the Mobility Management Entity (MME) of the Evolved packet core (EPC) architecture for cellular networks, the Suricata multi-threaded Intrusion Detection System (IDS), and the Snort single-threaded IDS. Our results show that container-based instantiations not only incur lower resource usage but also have shorter boot time. This makes containers an attractive choice for fine-grained VNF resource flexing. The lessons learned from our empirical case studies with EPC and IDS provide important guidelines for building an elastic micro-service architecture for NFV deployments.
Language, Thought, and Economy

The ideologies of American capitalism have effected semantic shifts in the vocabulary used to discuss political and economic issues. Terms such as conservative, ethnic, exceptionalism, left, liberal, red, right, social, and tipping, which once shared common meanings with related terms in European languages, gradually slipped along their chain of associations and have acquired anomalous connotations. Research on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis can illustrate a peculiar political vocabulary that restricts and channels thought and discourse into modes that reinforce the neoliberal economy itself. The resultant vocabulary terms make it very difficult to reason and discuss outside of the system. Psychoanalytic techniques can help account for the restriction of meanings to those that reinforce the interests of the class in power, as well as the refusal to yield semantic space to meanings that could jeopardize the hierarchical political structure.
Preoperative Evaluation in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease

Optimal preoperative management of dialysis patients remains challenging. Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have higher mortality in the perioperative setting compared with non-ESRD patients. However, it is well established that dialysis should be done on the day before surgery. Additional dialysis session prior to surgery does not improve outcomes. All dialysis patients should undergo blood work to check electrolytes and especially serum potassium prior to any surgery. Some medications, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, and diuretics, should be stopped prior to surgery to minimize hemodynamic changes during surgery. The dialysis access should be carefully examined for any signs of infection. The arteriovenous fistula or graft should be evaluated for patency. Glycemic control in diabetic ESRD and chronic kidney disease patients is very important, and clinicians should be aware of the risk of bleeding and the appropriate analgesics that can be use...
Fluorescence Polarization Assay for Small Molecule Screening of FK506 Biosynthesized in 96-Well Microtiter Plates.

The fluorescence polarization (FP) assay has been widely used to study enzyme kinetics, antibody–antigen interactions, and other biological interactions. We propose that the FP assay can be adapted as a high-throughput and potentially widely applicable screen for small molecules. This is useful in metabolic engineering, which is a promising approach to synthesizing compounds of pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial importance using bioengineered strains. There, the development of high-yield strains is often a costly and time-consuming process. This problem can be addressed by generating and testing large mutant strain libraries. However, a current key bottleneck is the lack of high-throughput screens to detect the small molecule products. The FP assay is quantitative, sensitive, fast, and cheap. As a proof of principle, we established the FP assay to screen for FK506 (tacrolimus) produced by Streptomyces tsukubaensis, which was cultivated in 96-well plates. An ultraviolet mutagenized library of 160...
The Effects of Schooling on Thinking in Northeastern Nigeria with Implications for Christian Education

The study investigates the effects of schooling on the way males of northeastern Nigeria prefer to sort dissimilar stimuli into equivalent groups. A picture-grouping instrument was constructed, fie...
Beyond the Shadow State: The Public–Private Food Assistance System as Networked Governance:

The public–private food assistance system (PPFAS) emerged during the 1970s to address “emergency” food needs and has since grown into a regularized social welfare system of grocery and meal provisi...
Characteristics of Arguments and Arguing.

Four observations are made in response to Professor O'Keefe's essay, “Two Concepts of Argument.” It is claimed that Brackriede's construct of argument, as constituted by six defining characteristic...
Prescription contraceptives: countering the risks.

Drug companies have been at work throughout the 1960s 1970s and 1980s trying to reduce the steroid content of their oral contraceptives (OCs). Researchers have been successful in reducing steroid content while maintaining effectiveness thereby making OCs safer. In the 1st half of the natural menstrual cycle a woman secretes estrogen as the dominant steroid product. In the 2nd half estrogen is the principal reproductive hormone. Estrogens inhibit ovulation possibly by inhibiting implantation altering ovum transplant or in some way preventing corpus luteum function which is necessary to maintain early pregnancies and the endometrium. There are still only 2 estrogens and 6 progestins on the market today. They are probably the most thoroughly studied chemical ever seen in the history of pharmacy or medicine. 1 of the estrogens mestranol is really a drug of the past. In the body mestranol is converted to ethinyl estradiol the other estrogen on the market. Consequently there is no reason to use mestranol itself. Within the dose range of 50-100 mcg theres little difference in contraceptive effect. Progestins are the other active ingredient in the combination OC. Their principal action is the thickening of the cervical mucus which prevents sperm penetration. Also with sufficient progesterone ovulation is inhibited but this happens in only 40% of those patients taking for instance the "mini-pill" (which consists of progesterone only). The progestins and the estrogens work in concert to make OCs a highly effective contraceptive method. Recent surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and National Cancer Institute looked into the relative effectiveness of OCs. Nordette had a use effectiveness failure rate of 3.5; Ovral 3.6. Loestrin 1/20 -- norethindrone acetate 1 mg and estinyl estradiol 20 mcg -- shows a failure rate of 4.5. This indicates that the threshold for an effective dose of estinyl estradiol in OCs is 30 mcg. For 1 mini-pill Ovrette the failure rate is 9.5 -- much higher. Depo-Provera has a failure rate of 0.7. The primary complaint from women taking OCs is spotting and breakthrough bleeding during the cycle. 30-50% of women given OCs stop taking them within a year. OC side effects include nausea fluid retention breast tenderness leukorrhea hypomenorrhea headaches spotting around the face hypertension and visual changes. 1 of the risks of birth control pills may be cervical dysplasia -- changes in the cells of the cervix. The relative risk of cervical cancer with OCs after 5-9 years is approximately 1.8. Clinical cases of deep vein thrombosis number 1/1000 per year among nonusers of OCs. Among users the rate is 3 times as high: 3/1000. The most serious potential adverse effect is myocardial infarction. Of the excess deaths attributed to OCs (23.3 total per 100000 users) 22.7 are due to myocardial infarctions and hemorrhage. The discussion also briefly reviews other methods of contraception -- Depo-Provera male contraceptives implants the diapragm and IUDs.
Quantum Ontologies: Metaphysics in Modern Physics

The insurmountable problem in preserving the classical view of correspondence in the face of the evidence disclosed by Bell’s theorem and the recent experiments testing that theorem has been defined by physicist Henry Stapp. The simultaneous correlations of results between space-like separated regions in the Aspect experiments indicate that nonlocality is a fact of nature. However, one cannot posit any causal connection between these regions in the absence of faster-than-light communication. As Stapp put it: No metaphysics not involving faster-than-light propagation of influences has been proposed that can account for all of the predictions of quantum mechanics, except for the so-called many-worlds interpretation, which is objectionable on other grounds. Since quantum physicists are generally reluctant to accept the idea that there are faster-than-light influences, they are left with no metaphysics to promulgate.1
Cortisol as Mediator of Stress-Associated Immunosuppression in Cattle

Stress is a term used to describe a wide variety of adverse external influences on an animal. Some researchers consider stress to be the internal manifestation of the external influence, or “stressor.” There is no general agreement as to what constitutes a stress on an animal or how stress should be defined (29). It is clear, however, that stress can lead to increased susceptibility to disease and that the increased susceptibility is partially due to alterations in immune function (47). Other chapters in this book address stress-induced alterations in the immune system and illustrate the complexity of the effects of various stressors. To understand the effects of stress on the immune system it is important to study individual mechanisms of stress-induced immunosuppression. Perhaps the easiest mechanism to separate and define is the immunosuppression caused by increased plasma cortisol concentrations. A general response of the body to stress is the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary gland, which stimulates the adrenal cortex to increase the synthesis and secretion of cortisol (hydrocortisone). If the effects of cortisol on the immune system can be defined, then the other effects of stress on host defense mechanisms, which may be unique to specific stressors and superimposed on the cortisol effect, can be better understood.
Postnatal maturation of the intestinal epithelial barrier in prairie voles.

Abstract Intestinal epithelium develops during gestation and continues to mature post-natally into a selective barrier that will protect the individual while still allowing passage of nutrients. Until fully mature, the risk of translocation of microorganisms, toxins or antigens into the sub-epithelial tissue is high and could result in pathologies with life-altering consequences, or even premature death. Because of their monogamous mating system, prairie voles are an emerging model for studying the role of the intestinal microbiota in modulating social behavior via the microbiota-gut-brain-behavior axis. However, knowledge about the voles’ intestinal barrier maturation is lacking. Understanding the maturation of the intestine epithelial barrier can complement the extensive behavioral literature for future studies involving the vole gut-brain axis. In this study, we characterized intestinal barrier function by demonstrating that two-week-old prairie voles have high paracellular absorption of FITC-dextran molecules prior to markedly decreased permeability at three weeks of age. In light of the fundamental role of tight junctions in maintaining epithelial integrity regulating intestinal permeability, we examined tight junction gene expression profiles. Transmission electron microscopy was used to visualize tight junction structure. Our results provide a timeline for intestinal barrier maturation and point to tight junction proteins involved in this process in prairie voles.
Chemomechanical behaviors of layered cathode materials in alkali metal ion batteries

Layered cathode materials (LCMs), because of their high energy density and relatively stable performance, represent an important class of cathode materials for alkali metal ion (e.g., Li+ and Na+) batteries. Chemomechanical behaviors of LCMs, which affect battery performance dramatically, have drawn extensive attention in recent years. Most chemomechanical processes have some common chemical and structural origins that are at the center of materials chemistry, for example, defects and local bonding environments in the solid state. In this review, we first discuss the chemomechanical breakdown of LCMs by introducing their categories and negative effects on the battery performance. We then systematically analyze factors that govern the initiation and propagation of chemomechanical breakdown and summarize their formation mechanisms. Strategies that can enhance the chemomechanical properties of LCMs or reduce the destructive effects of chemomechanical breakdown are then discussed. Finally, light is shed on the new state-of-the-art techniques that have been applied to study chemomechanical breakdown. This review virtually includes most aspects of the chemomechanical behaviors of LCMs and provides some insights into the important chemical motifs that determine the chemomechanical properties. Therefore, we believe that advanced design protocols of LCMs can be developed to effectively address the chemomechanical breakdown issue of LCMs.
Intracranial Mass Lesions

Primary brain tumors in women of reproductive age are rare, yet the mortality is significant. Primary intracranial mass lesions are the fifth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women aged 20–39 years. Metastatic intracranial lesions are more common during pregnancy than primary ones. The incidence of intracranial mass lesions, whether primary brain neoplasms or metastatic tumors, does not appear to increase during pregnancy and seems to share related characteristics with the nonpregnant patient, of similar demographics [1].
Proton fixed-target scintillation experiment to search for millicharged dark matter

We propose a low-cost and movable setup to probe minicharged particles using high-intensity proton fixed-target facilities. This proposal, FerMINI, consists of a scintillator-based detector, requiring multicoincident scintillation signatures within a small time window, located downstream of the proton target of a neutrino experiment. During the collisions of a large number of protons on the target, intense minicharged particle beams may be produced via meson photo-decays and Drell-Yan production. We take advantage of the high statistics, shielding, and potential neutrino-detector-related background reduction to search for minicharged particles in two potential sites: the MINOS near detector hall and the proposed DUNE near detector hall, both at Fermilab. We also explore several alternative designs, including modifications to increase signal yield, and combining this detector technology with existing and planned neutrino detectors to better search for minicharged particles. FerMINI can achieve unprecedented sensitivity for minicharged particles in the MeV to few GeV regime with fractional charge ϵ=Qχ/e as low as 10-4.
Hearing Loss in Pediatric Septo-Optic Dysplasia

Objective:To identify and characterize hearing loss (HL) in children with septo-optic dysplasia (SOD).Methods:Otologic and audiometric data for patients less than 18 years of age identified as havi...
The board monitoring committees: an intellectual capital perspective

The paper examines the intensity of monitoring at Malaysian Stock Market and its influence on intellectual capital Efficiency, namely human capital and structural capital and explores the impact of boards' monitoring on the market performance of firms and whether an active monitoring may moderate the influence of ICE on value of firms. The paper adopts ordinary least square and quantile regression techniques to test the objectives of study. The empirical evidence reports a variation in the results between the estimation of both econometrics techniques. In brief, our reported findings indicate that as the board increases its monitoring activities, the ICE of the firms is not affected. Also, the influence of the intense monitoring on market valuation is more apparent and obvious in small and medium corporations. This study contributes to current debate by providing a further understanding of the relationship between the ICE, firm valuation and intensity of monitoring.
Multiscale XCT Scans to Study Damage Mechanism in Syntactic Foam

In this work, we applied the in-situ X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) mechanical testing method that coupled the in-situ mechanical loading with the XCT imaging to study the damage mechanism of GMBs inside the Sylgard as the material was subject to mechanical loading. We studied Sylgard specimens with different volume fraction of GMBs to understand how they behave differently under compression loading and how the volume fraction of GMBs affect the Sylgard failure.
New lower bounds for Tverberg partitions with tolerance in the plane

Abstract Let P be a set n points in a d -dimensional space. Tverberg’s theorem says that, if n is at least ( k − 1 ) ( d + 1 ) + 1 , then P can be partitioned into k sets whose convex hulls intersect. Partitions with this property are called Tverberg partitions. A partition has tolerance t if the partition remains a Tverberg partition after removal of any set of t points from P . Tolerant Tverberg partitions exist in any dimension provided that n is sufficiently large. Let N ( d , k , t ) be the smallest value of n such that tolerant Tverberg partitions exist for any set of n points in R d . Only few exact values of N ( d , k , t ) are known. In this paper we establish a new tight bound for N ( 2 , 2 , 2 ) . We also prove many new lower bounds on N ( 2 , k , t ) for k ≥ 2 and t ≥ 1 .
Controlled axisymmetric body-wake coupling in a pitching motion

The coupling between a pitching axisymmetric bluff body and its wake is modified in wind tunnel experiments using controlled interactions between fluidic actuators and the cross-flow over its aft end. The model trajectory is controlled using eight servo-controlled support wires with inline force transducers that are operated in closed loop with feedback from a motion analysis system which effects control authority of the wind tunnel model in all six degrees of freedom. The model dynamics studied in the present work is constrained to pitch. Actuation is effected by two integrated aft-facing synthetic jet actuators in the plane of the body pitch oscillation such that each actuator effects a time-dependent segment of local flow attachment over the aft surface. The present investigation focuses on the reciprocal relation between the response of the near and far wake to the actuation and the associated changes in the induced aerodynamic loads when the body executes nearly time-harmonic pitch over a range of reduced oscillation frequencies (up to k = 0.26) for ReD up to 2.3 × 105. The response of the wake to stabilizing and destabilizing actuations that effect reduction or enhancement of the aerodynamic loads is investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and hotwire anemometry in the near and far wake, respectively. It is shown that the studied flow control approach induces aerodynamic loads that are comparable to the loads on the base flow pitching motions and therefore may be suitable for in-flight stabilization. The global unsteady aerodynamic loads on a pitching axisymmetric bluff body are controlled by modification of the coupling between the flow over body and its near wake using two synthetic jet actuators in the plane of motion on the body’s aft end. This actuation results in a time-dependent partial flow attachment of the nominally axisymmetric separating shear layer of the base flow over the aft end of the body, and the asymmetric changes have a profound effect on the evolution of the wake. These changes in the wake dynamics feed back to alter the global aerodynamic forces and moments, leading to about a 50% increase or decrease in the dynamic lift force or pitching moment, depending on the flow control strategy.