cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Result Integrity Verification of Outsourced Bayesian Network Structure Learning.

There has been considerable recent interest in the datamining-as-a-service paradigm: the client that lacks computational resources outsources his/her data and data mining needs to a third-party service provider. One of the security issues of this outsourcing paradigm is how the client can verify that the service provider indeed has returned correct data mining results. In this paper, we focus on the problem of result verification of outsourced Bayesian network (BN) structure learning. We consider the untrusted service provider that intends to return wrong BN structures. We develop three efficient probabilistic verification approaches to catch the incorrect BN structure with high probability and cheap overhead. Our experimental results demonstrate that our verification methods can capture wrong BN structure effectively and efficiently.
Infective oesophagitis: epidemiology, cause, diagnosis and treatment options.

Purpose of reviewThis review summarizes recent literature pertaining to infectious oesophagitis.Recent findingsInfectious oesophagitis is an uncommon condition of the oesophagus caused by viral, bacterial or fungal agents. A compromised immune system is the most important risk factor for the develop
Aesthetic surgery of the face.

Aesthetic facial plastic surgical procedures are carried out to improve the appearance and well-being of healthy patients. Careful patient selection and meticulous surgical technique are mandatory to achieve favorable results and to eliminate unwanted sequelae. A thorough knowledge of aesthetic principles, facial anatomy and conservative rejuvenation procedures facilitate safety in facial plastic surgery.
Conceptualizing the Effect of Community and Neighborhood Factors on Type 2 Diabetes Health Outcomes

The objective of this study was to validate a conceptual framework of the relationship between neighborhood factors and diabetes process and outcomes in type 2 diabetes. Structural equation modelin...
Measurement of factors influencing industrial location

This chapter examines how the location factor orientations described in Chapter 1 can be measured. First, however, a measure of randomness in location is developed. The proposition that a significant proportion of manufacturing firms in the U.S. has located systematically, and therefore is not ‘footloose,’ is tested using this measure of randomness. Measures of the various factor orientations of industries are then developed for use in explaining geographic location in Chapter 5. Potential labor orientation is measured using the ratio of wages to value added. Market orientation is measured using the proportion of outputs sold to final demand sectors and the degree of geographic association of firms in an industry with final demand markets. Material orientation is measured using the proportion of inputs obtained from primary resource extractors and the degree of geographic association of firms in an industry with resource areas. Potential agglomerative economies are identified using flows of inputs and outputs between pairs of manufacturing industries. Potential agglomerative economies affecting more than two industries are examined in Chapter 4.
Survey Data on Expectations: What Have We Learnt?

Expectations play a major role in all economic activity. They are so ubiquitous in all economic modelling that it is not necessary to dwell on this issue at length. Early models of expectation were mostly extrapolative and the most popular model in the 1950s was the adaptive expectations model. Around 1960, Muth suggested that theories of expectation formation should be consistent with the economic model being considered and he said that, for lack of a better term, he would use the word ‘rational’ (Muth, 1961). In the 1970s, mainly with the impetus of Robert E. Lucas, Jr, the rational expectations model took off and now almost every paper published with the word ‘expectations’ in its title comes with a prefix ‘rational’.
Autism and Epilepsy Follow-up Study

One hundred thirty subjects with autism in childhood (males 104, females 26) and first seen from 1 to 14 years of age (median 4 years) were followed over 10 years, at Yokohama Central Area Habilitation Center for Children, Japan.
Spatiotemporal digital forensic toolkit for mass casualty incidents: Interactive incident playback and anomaly detection

Analyzing and visualizing spatiotemporal events at a disaster site is a challenging task due to the vast number of events captured during the rescue process. At the same time, the availability of spatial temporal information during a disaster event is invaluable to understand the rescue process and enhance the MCI training accordingly. For this purpose, we have developed a spatiotemporal toolkit that will enable us to analyze and visualize these events, playback the events and detect anomalies. This toolkit will be very useful for forensics analysis of the rescue process during a real disaster or during training sessions. Our novel techniques will be used by analysts to examine current practices and significantly enhance our understanding of the rescue process enabling us to improve training.
Reticle decision center: a novel applications platform for enhancing reticle yield and productivity at 10nm technology and beyond

In the semiconductor IC manufacturing industry, challenges associated with producing defect-free photomasks have been dramatically increasing. At the 10nm technology node, since the 193nm immersion scanner numerical aperture has remained the same 1.35 as in previous nodes, more multi-patterning and aggressive SMO illumination sources are being used to effectively print smaller feature CDs and pitches. To accommodate such specialized sources, more model-based mask OPC and ILT have been used making mask designs very complicated. This in turn makes mask manufacturing very challenging especially for the defect inspection, repair, and metrology processes that need to guarantee defect-free masks. Over the past few years, considerable innovation have been made in the areas of defect inspection and disposition that has ensured continued predictability of mask quality to wafer and final chip yields. The accurate disposition of each mask defect before and after repair has been facilitated by a suite of automated applications such as ADC, LPR, RPG, AIA, etc. that work together with the inspection, repair, and metrology tools and effectively also provide the best possible utilization of the tool capability, capacity and operator resources. In this paper we introduce a new consolidated applications platform called the Reticle Decision Center (RDC) which hosts all these supporting software applications on a centralized server with direct connectivity to mask inspection, repair, metrology tools and more. The paper details how the RDC server is architected to host any application in its native operating system environment and provides for high availability with automatic failover and redundancy. The server along with its host of applications has been tightly integrated with KLA-Tencor’s Teron mask inspectors. The paper concludes with showing benefits realized in mask cycle-time and yield as a result of implementing RDC into a high-volume 10nm mask-shop production line.
Compensating for changing muscle geometry of the biceps brachii during neuromuscular electrical stimulation: A switched systems approach

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is commonly used in rehabilitation therapy for people with injuries or various neurological disorders. Noninvasive treatments use surface electrodes to provide a potential field across the muscle and induce contractions/output force. The placement of the electrodes has a significant impact on the induced force output. As the muscle geometry changes (i.e., muscle lengthening or shortening), the force induced by the static electrode placement may also change. In this paper, an array of electrodes is placed across the biceps brachii and the electric field is switched across the electrodes (i.e., channels) to maximize the induced muscle force throughout the arm's range of motion, despite changes in the muscle geometry. To yield this outcome, a switched systems approach is used to develop a position-based switching law for the uncertain nonlinear system. Specifically, a switched robust sliding mode controller is developed to track a desired angular trajectory about the elbow. Lyapunov-based methods for switched systems are used to prove global exponential tracking and experimental results demonstrate the performance of the switched control system.
Nonparametric Mixture of Gaussian Processes with Constraints

Motivated by the need to identify new and clinically relevant categories of lung disease, we propose a novel clustering with constraints method using a Dirichlet process mixture of Gaussian processes in a variational Bayesian nonparametric framework. We claim that individuals should be grouped according to biological and/or genetic similarity regardless of their level of disease severity; therefore, we introduce a new way of looking at subtyping/clustering by recasting it in terms of discovering associations of individuals to disease trajectories (i.e., grouping individuals based on their similarity in response to environmental and/or disease causing variables). The nonparametric nature of our algorithm allows for learning the unknown number of meaningful trajectories. Additionally, we acknowledge the usefulness of expert guidance by providing for their input using must-link and cannot-link constraints. These constraints are encoded with Markov random fields. We also provide an efficient variational approach for performing inference on our model.
Adaptive Performance/Robust Control Design for Low-Dimensional Systems

Abstract The adaptive robust control design problem for low-dimensional systems is addressed in this article. A measure of the system uncertainty is quantified through the application of the Set Membership (SM)-identification scheme. The SM-estimator identifies a feasible convex set (parallepiped) of parameters which is consistent with the data and the model structure. Based on these parameters, a robust stabilizing controller computes the feasible set (convex cone) of stabilizing controller gains. Subsequently, a pole assignment controller selects a subset from the stabilizing gains in order to place the closed loop poles at a certain disk inside the unit disk. Simulation studies were used to validate the efficiency of the proposed method in one ill-behaved system (unstable and nonminimum phase)
Planning Sustainable Cities: An infrastructure-based approach

Planning Sustainable Cities: An infrastructure-based approach provides an analytical framework for urban sustainability, focusing on the services and performance of infrastructure systems. The book approaches infrastructure as a series of systems that function in synergy and are directly linked with urban planning. This method streamlines and guides the planning process, while still highlighting detail, each infrastructure system is decoded in four "system levels". The levels organize the processes, highlight connections between entities and decode the high-level planning and decision making process affecting infrastructure. For each system level strategic objectives of planning are determined. The objectives correspond to the five focus areas of the Zofnass program: Quality of life, Natural World, Climate and Risk, Resource Allocation, Leadership. Developed through the Zofnass Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, this approach integrates the key infrastructure systems of Energy, Landscape, Transportation, Waste, Water, Information and Food and explores their synergies through land use planning, engineering, economics and policy. The size and complexity of infrastructure systems means that multiple stakeholders facing their own challenges and agendas are involved in planning; this book creates a common, collaborative platform between public authorities, planners, and engineers. It is an essential resource for those seeking Envision Sustainability Professionals accreditation.
The Choice Is Yours: Infants' Expectations about an Agent's Future Behavior Based on Taking and Receiving Actions.

Our social world is rich with information about other people's choices, which subsequently inform our inferences about their future behavior. For individuals socialized within the American cultural context, which places a high value on autonomy and independence, outcomes that are the result of an agent's own choices may hold more predictive value than similar outcomes that are the result of another person's choices. Across two experiments we test the ontogeny of this phenomenon; that is, whether infants are sensitive to the causal history associated with an agent's acquisition of an object. We demonstrate that on average, 12.5-month-old American infants view taking actions as a better indication of an agent's future behavior than are receiving actions. Furthermore, there were significant individual differences in the extent to which infants perceived object receipt to be indicative of future behavior. Specifically, the less autonomous infants were perceived to be (by their parents), socialized to be, and behaved, the more they viewed object receipt as indicative of future behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the role of individual and cultural experience in early understanding of intentional action. (PsycINFO Database Record
An Overview of Group Factor Screening

The idea of using a group screening procedure to identify the important or active factors using a small designed experiment was described by Watson (1961) and is now applied in a variety of areas of science and engineering. Watson’s work built on the earlier ideas of Dorfman (1943) for screening pooled samples of blood in order to identify diseased individuals using minimal resources. Generalizations and extensions of Watson’s technique have been developed by a number of authors who have relaxed some of the stringent assumptions of the original work to make the methods more widely applicable to real problems. An overview of some of the proposed screening strategies is presented, including the use of several stages of experimentation, the reuse of runs from earlier stages, and screening techniques for detecting important main effects and interactions
First Experiences with the AVR ATmega32 Microcontroller

In the fall of 2013, the Electrical Engineering department at the University of Minnesota Duluth reconfigured its microcontroller instructional laboratory to use the AVR ATmega32 microcontroller from Atmel for the first time. This change was prompted by pressure from students, who displayed considerable interest in the AVR family of processors due to its use in popular Arduino microcomputer systems. In response to this expressed interest from students, the microcontroller lab was redesigned around this new processor. Atmel’s ATmega32 is an 8-bit RISC processor, based on Harvard architecture. This new hardware replaced systems using Freescale’s S12 processor, which is a 16-bit CISC processor, based on Princeton architecture. Thus, this change was a fundamental shift on at least three axes of computer characteristics. Was this change a gain or a loss on each of those three axes? Experience this year with teaching the lab using the ATmega32 has been generally positive, and this paper reports that experience in making the switch from the S12 to the ATmega32. Despite the fundamental architectural differences between the former processor (S12) and the new processor (ATmega32), there are many similarities between the processors as well. The hardware features of the ATmega32 mimic the S12’s features almost exactly, although the ATmega32 generally contains less of each feature, such as memory, I/O ports, timing features, etc. Many of the resources of the S12 were unused and wasted in lab exercises in the past. The scaled-back ATmega32, with basically the same features but in less abundance, is a better match to the instructional needs of this lab. Students feel they are getting a more complete exposure to the ATmega32, since nearly all the resources of the processor have been used in lab exercises, whereas many of the resources of the S12 were ignored in lab assignments because they exceeded the needs of the lab. This paper will address the adaptations that were made in the structure and pedagogy of the microcontroller course to implement the change in processors from the S12 to the ATmega32. It will document some of the troubles and surprises encountered along the way, and should provide some guidance for others contemplating such a change in their microcontroller labs. Setting The “Microprocessor Systems” course at the University of Minnesota Duluth is a sophomorelevel required course in the Electrical Engineering program intended to teach students to program in assembly language. It uses as prerequisite a first course in digital circuit design, basically just to acquaint students with digital terminology and with the logical functions AND, OR, NOT, and their derivatives. Over the years the course has used a variety of microprocessors and microcontrollers as foundation for the laboratory, to provide specific examples of the topics
Popliteal Artery Aneurysm: Endovascular Surgery

Popliteal artery aneurysms are the most common peripheral aneurysms. This chapter was written to provide the reader with background information regarding the popliteal artery aneurysm and its anatomy. A literature review is provided summarizing studies that have been done comparing endovascular treatment to open surgical repair. Endovascular treatment is discussed in-depth including stent types, progression of technology, advantages and disadvantages of stents, in addition to providing information in choosing patients for procedures. Empirical evidence for endovascular treatment is provided as well as information regarding the technique utilized by the author and colleagues.
The production of carbon-11 for medical uses by a Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator by the reaction 11B(p,n)11C.

Abstract Carbon-11 for medical uses was produced by the 11 B( p , n ) 11 C reaction on the Ohio University Tandem Accelerator. The proton energy was 6 MeV with a beam current of 3 μA. Boron trioxide was used as a target with helium as a carrier gas. A Havar window separated the pressure in the target cell from the accelerator vacuum. Liquid nitrogen and chemical traps were used to collect the active material which was recovered in the forms of 11 CO 2 and 11 CO. Activities of approximately 50 mCi were recovered for runs of 100 min. The ratio of 11 CO 2 / 11 CO was found to be 3·5. The effect of the flow rate of the carrier gas on the recovered total activity is presented. The significant advantages of the 11 B( p , n ) 11 C reaction over the extensively used 10 B( d , n ) 11 C reaction are discussed. The feasibility of the production of useful amounts of 11 C by Van de Graaff accelerators is also discussed.
Population genetic studies of HLA-E: Evidence for Selection

HLA-E is a nonclassical, class I gene (Ib) of unknown function. The study was initiated to determine the amount and nature of the variation in the class Ib gene HLA-E in diverse ethnic groups. A single base-pair substitution (A-->G at 382, exon 3) resulting in a change from an arginine (R) to a glycine (G) at codon 107 was found. A glycine was present at position 107 in individuals from four ape species, suggesting that EG107 is the older of the two alleles. The two human alleles were present in all samples studied. The alleles were in linkage disequilibrium with HLA-A (W = 0.58), HLA-B (W = 0.59) and HLA-C (W = 0.55) in the Hutterites. The frequencies of the two HLA-E alleles were more equal than expectations based on neutrality in inbred and outbred Caucasian samples (Watterson's F = 0.506, p = 0.02 and F = 0.512, p = 0.047, respectively) and nearly significant in African-American and Hispanic samples (F = 0.513, p = 0.063 and F = 0.508, p = 0.053). These data suggest that this polymorphism arose before the expansion of Homo sapiens and has been maintained in diverse populations by stabilizing selection.
Multiresolution image-space rendering for interactive global illumination

Global illumination adds tremendous visual richness to rendered images. Unfortunately, such illumination proves quite costly to compute, and is therefore often coarsely approximated by interactive applications, or simply omitted altogether. Global illumination is often quite low-frequency, aside from sharp changes at discontinuities. This thesis describes three novel multiresolution image-space methods that exploit this characteristic to accelerate rendering speeds. These techniques run completely on the GPU at interactive rates and require no precomputation, allowing fully dynamic lighting, geometry, and camera. The first approach, multiresolution splatting, is a novel multiresolution method for rendering indirect illumination. This work extends reflective shadow maps, an image space method that splats contributions from secondary light sources into eyespace. Splats are refined into multiresolution patches, rendering indirect contributions at low resolution where lighting changes slowly and at high resolution near discontinuities; this greatly reduces GPU fill rate and enhances performance. The second method, image space radiosity, significantly improves the performance of multiresolution splatting, introducing an efficient stencil-based parallel refinement technique. This method also adapts ideas from object-space hierarchical radiosity methods to image space, introducing two adaptive sampling methods that allow much finer sampling of the reflective shadow map where needed. These modifications significantly improve temporal coherence while maintaining performance. The third approach adapts these techniques to accelerate the rendering of direct illumination from large area light sources. Visibility is computed using a coarse screen-space voxelization technique, allowing binary visibility queries using ray marching. This work also proposes a new incremental refinement method that considers both illumination and visibility variations. Both diffuse and non-diffuse surfaces are supported, and illumination can vary over the surface of the light, enabling dynamic content such as video screens.
Strategic development of AZD1775, a Wee1 kinase inhibitor, for cancer therapy.

Introduction: Wee1 kinase controls the G2-M checkpoint. Wee1 inhibition by AZD1775 allows cells with a deregulated G1 checkpoint to progress, resulting in catastrophe and apoptosis. The challenges ...
Use of a chemical equilibrium model to understand soil chemical processes that influence soil solution and surface water alkalinity

A chemical equilibrium model was applied to soil chemistry data (Spodosols) collected from 30 and 21 forested watersheds in New York and Maine, respectively, during the EPA Pilot Soil Survey. Chemistry data were evaluated between states using lumped series and within New York using three series (Adams, Becket, and Canaan). All New York horizons had soil characteristics that tend to cause lower solution alkalinity in comparison to Maine horizons. Negative alkalinities were produced in all E horizons (− 69 to − 37 μmol LU−1) at each of the pCO2 levels used (0.3 to 2%). All B horizons had negative alkalinities at low PCO2 levels, which became positive at higher levels, except for the Canaan B and New York Bh horizons, which were negative at all pCO2 levels. C horizons generated positive alkalinities (1 to 67 μmol L−1) at most pCO2 levels. Results indicate the importance of water contact with different horizons and soil series in determining solution alkalinity. Because of degassing effects, solutions with a positive alkalinity will increase in pH after leaving the soil, whereas solutions with a negative alkalinity will remain at low pH (pH < 5.5) and cause the surface water to be acidic. Application of the model to soil chemistry data collected in the northeastern U.S. illustrates the importance of various factors such as pCO2, Al solubility, base saturation, and exchange coefficients in determining surface water chemistry.
Nanoparticles and danger signals: Oral delivery vehicles as potential disruptors of intestinal barrier homeostasis

Gut immune system homeostasis involves diverse structural interactions among resident microbiota, the protective mucus layer, and a variety of cells (intestinal epithelial, lymphoid, and myeloid). Due to the substantial surface area in direct contact with an "external" environment and the diversity of xenobiotic, abiotic, and self-interactions coordinating to maintain gut homeostasis, there is enhanced potential for the generation of endogenous danger signals when this balance is lost. Here, we focus on the potential generation and reception of damage in the gut resulting from exposure to nanoparticles (NPs), common food and drug additives. Specifically, we describe recent evidence in the literature showing that certain NPs are potential generators of damage-associated molecular patterns, as well as potential immune-stimulating molecular patterns themselves.
Safety, Diagnostic Accuracy, and Effects of Endoscopic Ultrasound Fine-Needle Aspiration on Detection of Extravascular Migratory Metastases.

Background & Aims Tumor cells can migrate via diminutive perivascular cuffing to distant sites along blood vessels to form extravascular migratory metastases (EVMM). These metastases usually are identified during surgery or autopsies. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) of perivascular soft-tissue cuffs to detect EVMM. We compared findings from EUS with those from noninvasive cross-sectional imaging (reference standard) of patients who underwent EUS-FNA to assess suspected EVMM and studied the effects on pancreatic tumor staging and determination of resectability. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 253 patients (mean age, 62 ± 12 y) who underwent EUS-FNA of 267 vessels for evaluation of suspected EVMM, from April 2001 through May 2018. EUS findings were compared with those from computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the reference standard. Lesions were considered to be malignant based on cytology analysis of FNA samples, histology analyses of surgical or biopsy specimens, or vascular abnormalities detected by CT or MRI that clearly indicate EVMM. Results Thirty patients were found to have benign lesions. The remaining 223 patients who had malignancies (166 with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas [PDACs]), underwent further analyses. A median of 4 FNAs (range, 1–20 FNAs) were obtained from 4-mm perivascular soft-tissue cuffs (range, 2–20 mm). FNA and cytology analysis showed malignant cells in 163 vessels (69.4%) from 157 patients (70.4%). CT or MRI did not detect EVMM in 44 patients (28%) with malignancies, including 24 patients (24%) with newly diagnosed PDAC. Detection of EVMM by EUS-FNA resulted in upstaging of 15 patients and conversion of 14 patients with PDAC from resectable (based on CT or MRI) to unresectable. No adverse events were reported during a follow-up period of 3.9 months (range, 0–117 mo). Conclusions EUS-FNA and cytologic analysis of perivascular soft-tissue cuffs can detect EVMM that were not found in 28% of patients by CT or MRI. Detection of EVMM affects tumor staging and determination of tumor resectability.
A rare case of purpuric rash caused by Saprochaete clavata in a pediatric patient with acute leukemia.

We present a 13-year-old boy who developed invasive infection with Saprochaete clavata after induction chemotherapy for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, complicated by fungemia, septic shock and acute renal, and liver failure. He developed purpuric papulonodules over bilateral upper and lower limbs, which also grew S clavata on fungal culture.
Fatal arrhythmia mistaken as anxiety and pseudo-seizures in an adolescent

Introduction Congenital Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a disorder of ventricular myocardial repolarization with potential to cause symptomatic ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). This case presents a young female presenting in cardiac arrest due to underlying LQTS. Patient had symptoms that was misdiagnosed as anxiety and pseudo-seizures. Case Report A 20-year-old female, history of pseudo-seizures, depression and anxiety, was air lifted for cardiac arrest. She was found down outside a health clinic; unwitnessed loss of consciousness, no pulse or respirations requiring CPR and 2 defibrillations. Reportedly was in Ventricular Fibrillation and required intubation by EMS for GCS of 3 and desaturations …
Environmental correlates of richness, community composition, and functional traits of terrestrial birds and mammals in a fragmented tropical landscape

Tropical forest loss and fragmentation and the associated loss in species diversity are increasing in both magnitude and scope. Much attention has been paid to how attributes of forest fragments, such as area and forest structure, impact the diversity and functional composition of vertebrate communities, while more recent work has begun to consider the importance of landscape-level variables, such as surrounding tree cover. Yet, the relative impacts of these factors on species diversity and functional composition remain unclear, particularly among under-studied taxonomic groups. We quantified how species richness, community composition, and functional traits of terrestrial birds and mammals are associated with variation in fragment area, elevation, habitat structure and surrounding tree cover. Our goal was to determine the degree to which these diverse explanatory variables contribute to species diversity. We used motion-activated camera traps to sample terrestrial birds and mammals in 22 forest fragments in northwestern Ecuador. We used a hierarchical multi-species occupancy model accounting for imperfect species detection to estimate species richness and species composition differences among fragments, weighted multiple regression and distance matrix regression to assess covariates of richness and composition, and an RLQ ordination to assess co-variation of environmental conditions and species traits. Terrestrial mammals and birds exhibited similar relationships to key environmental variables, but also showed guild-specific differences. Elevation was significantly associated with differences in species richness and community composition for both groups. Forest cover in the surrounding matrix was associated with higher species richness and changes in community composition in mammals, but not terrestrial birds. Canopy openness showed a positive association with mammalian species richness but no relationship with bird species richness. There was no association between density of large trees and richness for either group. We found no significant associations between environmental variation and functional composition among forest fragments. This work highlights the general importance of elevation and forest cover in shaping patterns of species diversity and composition in forest fragments and suggests heightened sensitivity to matrix conditions in mammals relative to terrestrial birds.
Interspecies collision-induced losses in a dual species 7 Li- 85 Rb magneto-optical trap

In this article, we report the measurement of collision-induced loss rate coefficients βLi,Rb and βRb,Li, and also discuss means to significantly suppress such collision-induced losses. We first describe our dual-species magneto-optical trap (MOT) that allows us to simultaneously trap 5 × 10 87 Li atoms loaded from a Zeeman slower and 2 × 10 88 5 Rb atoms loaded from a dispenser. We observe strong interspecies collision-induced losses in the MOTs which dramatically reduce the maximum atom number achievable in the MOTs. We measure the trap loss rate coefficients βLi,Rb and βRb,Li, and, from a study of their dependence on the MOT parameters, determine the cause for the losses observed. Our results provide valuable insights into ultracold collisions between 7 Li and 85 Rb, guide our efforts to suppress collision-induced losses, and also pave the way for the production of ultracold 7 Li 85 Rb molecules.
Neuromuscular and Clinical Recovery in Thoracic Surgical Patients Reversed with Neostigmine or Sugammadex

BACKGROUND Patients undergoing thoracoscopic procedures may be at high-risk for incomplete neuromuscular recovery and associated complications. The aim of this clinical investigation was to assess the incidence of postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade in adult thoracic surgical patients administered neostigmine or sugammadex when optimal dosing and reversal strategies for these agents were used. The effect of choice of reversal agent on hypoxemic events and signs and symptoms of muscle weakness were also determined. Additionally, operative conditions in each group were graded by surgeons performing the procedures. METHODS Two hundred patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgical procedures were enrolled in this nonrandomized controlled trial. One hundred consecutive patients maintained at moderate levels of neuromuscular blockade were reversed with neostigmine (neostigmine group) followed by 100 consecutive patients given sugammadex to antagonize deeper levels of neuromuscular blockade (sugammadex group). Anesthetic and neuromuscular management were standardized. Surgeons rated operative conditions at the conclusion of the procedure on a 4-point scale (grade 1 = excellent to grade 4 = poor). Train-of-four ratios were measured immediately before extubation and at PACU admission (primary outcomes). Postoperatively, patients were assessed for adverse respiratory events and 11 signs and 16 symptoms of muscle weakness. RESULTS The 2 groups were similar in intraoperative management characteristics. The percentage of patients with residual neuromuscular blockade, defined as a normalized train-of-four ratio <0.9, was significantly greater in the neostigmine group than the sugammadex group at both tracheal extubation (80% vs 6%, respectively, P < .0001) and PACU admission (61% vs 1%, respectively, P < .0001). Patients in the neostigmine group had less optimal operative conditions (median score 2 [good] versus 1 [excellent] in the sugammadex group; P < .0001), and more symptoms of muscle weakness were present in these subjects (median number [interquartile range] 4 [1-8] vs 1 [0-2] in the sugammadex group, P < .0001). No differences between groups in adverse airway events were observed. CONCLUSIONS Despite the application of strategies documented to reduce the risk of residual neuromuscular blockade, a high percentage of thoracoscopic patients whose neuromuscular blockade was reversed with neostigmine were admitted to the PACU with clinical evidence of residual paralysis. In contrast, muscle weakness was rarely observed in patients whose neuromuscular blockade was antagonized with sugammadex.
The Nth Degree: Examining Intra-Racial Use of the N-Word in Employment Discrimination Cases

Although strikingly different opinions on use of the N-word have provoked much debate, the conclusions reached in Johnson and Weatherly — that intraracial use of the N-word can create a racially hostile work environment — are correct because they comport with the longstanding legal recognition of intraracial, same-sex, and third-party associative employment discrimination. The shameful historical legacy of the N-word underscores the extent to which a reasonable person of any race would likely object to its use at the workplace, even if the speaker is black. Furthermore, social science research indicates that black individuals’ implicit antiblack biases may lead to ill-intended use of the N-word against other blacks. Finally, applying the same objective standard to intraracial and interracial use of the Nword, regardless of the speaker’s intent, promotes fairness, consistency, and judicial efficiency.
Analytical Models for Understanding Constitutional Amendation in Socialist Transitional Societies: The Case of Vietnam

A theory of constitutional instrumentalism has dominated scholarly understanding of Vietnam’s constitutions and other socialist and transitional socialist constitutions since the 1950s. The instrumentalist theory is relatively clear-cut: Constitutions in Communist Party-run socialist countries have been, and remain, a means of political control by a single party, a way of expressing Communist Party political, economic and social policy in constitutional terms, a method for mobilizing action, and a malleable document subject to redrafting and adoption by a compliant legislature as times and policy changed. This analysis has dominated foreign as well as Vietnamese understanding of Vietnam’s constitutions, as it has dominated our perception of Chinese and other socialist constitutions, and of the Soviet and east European constitutions before the end of Party rule.
The TGFβ and Androgen Receptor Signaling Pathways Converge to Support Anoikis Resistance in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype with limited treatment options for chemo-resistant disease. Evidence from preclinical models and patient circulating tumor cells indicate that both the androgen receptor (AR) and TGFb pathways support anchorage independent survival, or anoikis resistance, to TNBC. Inhibition or knockdown of AR causes reduced TNBC growth in soft agar, invasion, mammosphere formation, and tumorigenicity. The transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) pathway, known to be important for epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), is also heavily involved in anoikis resistance and is active in TNBC circulating tumor cells (CTCs). While there is evidence for a strong link between TGFβ and AR in prostate cancer, the collaboration between these two pathways in anoikis resistance and the potential for a combined targeting strategy was only recently studied in TNBC. Gene expression profiling combined with reverse phase protein array of TNBC cells in anchorage independent culture conditions revealed increased components of the TGFβ signaling pathway at the level of ligands, receptors and phosphorylated, nuclear Smad 3 localization and activity combined with AR activity and a positive feedback loop between these two pathways. These data are substantiated by the finding that when both TGFβ pathway components and AR are highly expressed in human breast cancer publicly available data sets, a poor outcome is predicted. These findings warrant further investigations into whether combined inhibition of the AR and TGFβ pathways may decrease metastatic recurrence rate and mortality from AR positive TNBC, which responds less well to chemotherapeutic approaches.
Anatomical characteristics of the membranous septum are predictive of pacemaker requirement in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

We aimed to study the characteristics of the membranous septum (MS) and its relationship with the aortic valve (AoV) and aortic annulus (AA) in patients who required PPM post-TAVR. We performed a retrospective case–control study of 144 patients undergoing TAVR from 2016 to 2018. Thirty-four patients, requiring PPM implantation, were compared with 34 matched controls who did not require pacing. The total MS length, supra-annular MS (SA-MS) length, infra-annular MS (IA-MS) length, angle between the plane of the AA and MS (AA-MS), and degree of AoV calcifications (AVC) were obtained from preoperative CT. AoV prosthesis implantation depth was obtained from intra-operative fluoroscopy. There were no significant differences in valve type (self-expandable: 23 cases vs 25 controls, and balloon-expandable: 11 vs 9, p = 0.79), degree of AVC (0.65 cm3 vs 0.82 cm3, p = 0.62), or implantation depth (7.76 mm vs 7.28 mm, p = 0.83). Compared to controls, there was no difference in total MS length (6.68 mm vs 6.06 mm, p = 0.97), but the IA-MS was significantly shorter (3.64 mm vs 4.56 mm, p = 0.02) and the SA-MS was significantly longer (2.73 mm vs 1.67 mm, p = 0.02) in patients requiring PPM. Patients requiring PPM also had a larger AA-MS angle (103.5° vs 96.7°, p = 0.01). The position of the MS with respect to the AA and MS distance below the annular plane were more closely associated with post-TAVR conduction abnormalities requiring PPM than the absolute length of the MS. Patients undergoing TAVR with such anatomy have a higher risk of requiring PPM and should be monitored for developing these complications.
High-Dimensional Constrained Discrete Expensive Black-Box Optimization Using a Two-Phase Surrogate Approach.

This paper develops an extension of a surrogate-based algorithm for high-dimensional discrete constrained black-box optimization called CONDOR that can be used when no feasible initial point is provided. The proposed extension uses a two-phase approach where the first phase searches for a feasible point whose objective value is then improved in the second phase. Each iteration of Phase I identifies the infeasible points that are nondominated according to three criteria: number of constraint violations, maximum constraint violation, and sum of squares of constraint violations. Then, multiple trial points are generated in some neighborhood of a randomly chosen nondominated point. The function evaluation point is then chosen from the trial points according to the predicted values of the above criteria. Moreover, each iteration of Phase II generates multiple trial points in some neighborhood of the current best feasible point. Then, among the trial points that are predicted to be feasible, the function evaluation point is chosen according to the predicted objective value and distance from previous sample points. In the numerical experiments, radial basis function (RBF) surrogates are used and the proposed algorithm is applied to test cases and to a benchmark based on a car structure design problem that has 222 discrete ordinal variables and 54 black-box constraints. The proposed method outperforms a genetic algorithm and a direct search method in terms of the number of function evaluations to obtain a feasible point and in the best feasible objective value obtained within a relatively limited computational budget.
Stress fields generated by kinetic energy projectile interaction with ceramic targets

Two-dimensional axisymmetric calculations were performed with the Eulerian hydrocode MESA2D and the Lagrangian structural analysis code PRONTO2D. The calculated stress distributions were compared shortly after impact and found to be similar in magnitude and profile. For certain geometric configurations, the interaction of the kinetic energy penetrators with the ceramic targets produce high compressive principal stresses as well as, significant tensile principal stresses ahead of the projectile/ceramic interface. The principal tensile stresses fracture the ceramic ahead of the penetrator. The crack trajectories measured from a recovered ceramic target were compared with crack trajectory estimates based upon MESA2D principal stress states within the tile. The fracture process degrades the ceramic and allows the projectile to penetrate a fractured ceramic media. 12 refs., 3 figs.
C-peptide-stimulated nitric oxide production in a cultured pulmonary artery endothelium is erythrocyte mediated and requires Zn(2+).

Background C-peptide has been shown to stimulate the production of nitric oxide (NO) in aortic endothelial cells via activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) through an increased calcium influx. Here, results obtained using cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (bPAECs) suggest that C-peptide does not induce eNOS activation directly in cultured pulmonary artery endothelium. However, C-peptide has been shown to stimulate the release of ATP from erythrocytes, a well-documented stimulus of eNOS activity in the pulmonary endothelium. Therefore, studies were performed to examine if C-peptide can indirectly stimulate NO production in a cultured pulmonary endothelium that is erythrocyte mediated. Methods NO production and free intracellular calcium changes were monitored in immobilized bPAECs using specific intracellular fluorescent probes after stimulation with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), calcium ionophore A23187, or C-peptide. A microfluidic device enabled immobilized bPAECs to interact with flowing erythrocytes in the presence and absence of C-peptide to determine the role of the erythrocyte in C-peptide-stimulated NO production in cultured bPAECs. Results ATP and the calcium ionophore stimulate significant increases in both intracellular NO production and influx of free calcium in cultured bPAECs. In contrast, C-peptide, ranging from physiological to above physiological concentrations, was unable to stimulate NO production or calcium influx in the bPAECs. However, when erythrocytes were pre-incubated with a mixture containing physiological concentrations of C-peptide with Zn2+ and haemodynamically pumped beneath bPAECs cultured on a microfluidic device, an 88.6 ± 7.5% increase in endothelial NO production was observed. Conclusions C-peptide does not affect NO production in bPAECs directly but can impact NO production through an erythrocyte-mediated mechanism. Furthermore, in the absence of Zn2+, C-peptide does not stimulate this NO production directly or indirectly. These results suggest that C-peptide, in the presence of Zn2+, may be a determinant in purinergic receptor signalling via its ability to stimulate the release of ATP from erythrocytes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Feminism, Multiculturalism, and Spirituality

Abstract This article explores the interacting forces of feminism, multiculturalism and spirituality both in our society and in the practice and profession of psychotherapy. Although all three forces exist within society, therapists may identify with and relate differently to these three movements, both professionally and personally. This article focuses upon points of convergence and divergence among feminism, multiculturalism and spirituality. The interactions of these three forces are examined as they inform and counterbalance each other and as they influence the theory and practice of psychotherapy. The authors suggest that when the interactions of these potent forces are considered creatively and complexly, innovative and energizing possibilities emerge. Moving from the personal through sociopolitical to professional realms, the article is organized by the following topics: authors' personal statements, definitions, historical overview, discussion of divergent and convergent forces, and integrative a...
Logistic Regression: Basic Foundations and New Directions

Logistic regression is a regression-modeling technique that is optimum when the response variable is categorical. Binary logistic regression applies when the criterion is dichotomous. The probability of an event is modeled as a nonlinear function of the regressor set, although the equation is easily linearized via the logit link function. Exponentiated coefficients, known as odds ratios, are interpreted as multiplicative analogs of the slope coefficients in linear regression. Empirical consistency can be assessed via a formal test, and analogs of the OLS R2 are available to assess a model's discriminatory power. Multinomial logistic regression is an extension applicable when a qualitative response has more than two categories. On the other hand, ordered logit models are useful when multinomial responses consist of ordered values. Recent applications of logistic regression include propensity-score matching and fixed-effects logistic regression models. A propensity score is the estimated probability of receiving the treatment, given a subject's measured characteristics. Propensity scores are easily estimated using logistic regression. Treated and untreated subjects with comparable propensity scores can be compared as though they were randomly assigned to treatment groups, provided no unmeasured heterogeneity exists. With two or more measurement occasions per subject, however, fixed-effects logistic regression models can eliminate the threats to causal inference posed by unmeasured heterogeneity. The chapter concludes with suggested further readings. Keywords: logistic regression; proportional odds models; propensity scores; fixed effects