cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonequal reactivity model for biocatalytic polytransesterification

The lipase-catalyzed polytransesterification of divinyl adipate and 1,4-butanediol is a dynamic process controlled by the relative magnitudes of the rates of transesterification and hydrolysis as the polymerization proceeds. A mathematical model that describes the kinetics of the biocatalytic polytransesterification process is presented. Initial rate studies with model substrates in transesterification, hydrolysis, and esterification were used to provide the initial kinetic parameters that, when combined with the effect of enzyme specificity, were used to predict product compositions under different reaction conditions. A comparison of experimental data and model predictions shows that the product composition is strongly influenced by the selective nature of enzyme catalysis, and this model effectively predicts the results of a step condensation polymerization where reactivity depends on molecular weight.
NASA Integrated Model-Centric Architecture (NIMA) model use and re-use

This whitepaper accepts the goals, needs and objectives of NASA's Integrated Model-centric Architecture (NIMA); adds experience and expertise from the Constellation program as well as NASA's architecture development efforts; and provides suggested concepts, practices and norms that nurture and enable model use and re-use across programs, projects and other complex endeavors. Key components include the ability to effectively move relevant information through a large community, process patterns that support model reuse and the identification of the necessary meta-information (e.g. history, credibility, and provenance) to safely use and re-use that information.
Increasing health examination survey participation rates by SMS reminders and flexible examination times

Aims: Declining participation rates are an increasing problem in population surveys. Different kinds of methods have been used to ensure participation rates as high as possible. Monetary incentives and reminders have been found to be effective ways to increase participation rates, but these are rather expensive to implement in large population surveys. There is a need for cheaper ways to motivate survey invitees to participate. Methods: The Kuusamo Health Examination Survey was conducted in May–June 2011. A random sample of 250 people was selected for the survey. Mobile phone numbers, when available, were obtained for people within the sample. For a random sample of 50% of survey invitees with a mobile phone number, a short message service (SMS) reminder was sent prior to their appointment. All survey participants were asked to fill in a feedback questionnaire. Results: Participation rate was 58% for men and 74% for women. Mobile phone numbers were available for 66% of the sample. Among those receiving an...
Share Repurchase Choice and Executive Pension Compensation

ABSTRACT: Shareholders and regulators have increasingly been calling upon firms to reign in executive compensation. Most of this discussion has focused on bonuses and stock options, the more observable portions of an executive compensation package. More difficult for investors to assess, however, is long-term incentive pay, such as supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs), which has become a significant portion of executive compensation. Our study examines whether managers use accelerated share repurchases (ASRs) to increase total compensation through this under-emphasized form of pay. Managers wishing to increase their total compensation through an increase in earnings per share (EPS) should prefer ASRs, which generally have a more immediate and significant impact on EPS relative to open market repurchases (OMRs). For a sample of repurchase firms, we find evidence that managers who have performance-contingent SERPs in place (i.e., a SERP based on salary and bonus or on average earnings), together ...
Predicting Course of Illness in Patients With Severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

OBJECTIVE Few data are available to inform clinical expectations about course and prognosis of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Such information is necessary to guide clinicians and to inform criteria for invasive interventions for severe and intractable OCD. This study sought to examine course and prospective predictors of a chronic course in patients with severe OCD over 5 years. METHOD A selected subset of adults in the Brown Longitudinal Obsessive-Compulsive Study (BLOCS) was included. Adult BLOCS participants were enrolled between 2001 and 2006. All participants in the current study (N = 113) had DSM-IV OCD diagnosis, severe OCD symptoms at baseline, and at least 1 year of follow-up data. RESULTS Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the general pattern of course in the severe OCD sample based on Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation (LIFE) psychiatric status ratings, as well as test predictors of chronically severe course. Results indicated that approximately half of patients with severe OCD at baseline had illness drop to a moderate or lower range of severity during 5 years of follow-up (50.4%) and that marked improvement was rare after 3 years of severe illness. The only unique predictor of a more chronically severe course was patient report of ever having been housebound for a week or more due to OCD symptoms (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Findings of this study were 3-fold: (1) half of participants with severe OCD have symptom improvement over 5 years of follow-up, (2) the majority of participants that drop out of the severe range of symptom severity do so within the first 3 years of follow-up, and (3) patient-reported history of being housebound for 1 week or more due to OCD is a significant predictor of OCD's remaining severe over the 5-year follow-up.
EUROGRAPHICS Tutorial on Sketch Recognition.

Sketch recognition is the automated understanding of hand-drawn diagrams. Despite the prevalence of keyboards and mice, hand-drawings still pervade in education, design, and other diagrams. This full day tutorial explains why sketch recognition is important, the underlying algorithms, how sketch recognition can be used in traditional interfaces, and the field’s experiences with sketch recognition used in different domains.
Quality of life and symptoms following stereotactic body radiotherapy in early-stage lung cancer patients.

About 15%-20% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) present with early-stage disease without clinical evidence of lymph node metastasis.1 It is noteworthy that up to 80% of screen-detected lung cancers are detected as stage I disease.2 Surgical resection has been the traditional therapy for these patients, but recently, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), also known as stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR), has emerged as an alternative for patients who are either medically unfit for surgery or who choose not to undergo surgery. Numerous studies have demonstrated good rates of local control for SBRT in lung cancer.3-6 Despite the increasing use of SBRT as standard of care in early-stage lung cancer, there is limited information about patients' quality of life (QoL) with this treatment modality. For this patient population with substantial comorbid disease, the impact of treatment on QoL is of particular importance. Dutch investigators examined QoL before and after SBRT in 39 patients with lung cancer who received SBRT.7 There was no significant change in QoL scores except for an increase in emotional function after treatment. Respiratory symptoms, including dyspnea, chest pain, and cough were not significantly different. Another study from the Netherlands of 382 patients with lung cancer found no significant difference in quality of life scores after SBRT.8 Likewise, a prospective study of 21 patients from the Cleveland Clinic found no significant change in QoL and shortness of breath scores, despite a decrease in measured diffusion capacity on pulmonary function tests.9 Current published studies on SBRT are limited in their depth of QoL assessment. For example, the EORTC-QLQ-C30 has been used in several studies as the only main QoL instrument,6,7 while another study used only the FACT-L and UCSD shortness of breath questionnaire.9 The inclusion of symptom, social well-being, and functional well-being measures allows for a more in-depth perspective of overall QoL in SBRT patients. The purpose of this prospective study was to describe comprehensive QoL, symptoms and functional status in a cohort of early-stage, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who were treated with SBRT.
Aligning Mission and Measurement

Research on school mission statements at the K-12 level clearly indicates that schools are interested in developing more than just mathematics, science, reading, and writing skills in their students. A vast array of other skills including empathy, self-esteem, motivation, self-directed learning, citizenship, leadership, teamwork, and ethics are emphasized as well. School leaders often cite a lack of existing measures for these broader competencies as the primary reason why there is a discrepancy between the idealized competencies they seek to foster and those that get measured for accountability purposes. Thus, the main goal of this chapter is to provide school leaders and policy makers with a reference that will help them to easily identify strong psychometric measures of the skills and competencies that they aim to foster in their students with the hope of bringing measurement into alignment with mission. We begin by identifying various skills and competencies that schools aim to develop in their students. We then spend the bulk of the chapter summarizing the scientific research related to the measurement of a variety of broader competencies of interest to schools. Finally, we speculate on the implications of integrating the measurement of broader skills into school accountability and/or feedback systems.
My Pilgrimage in Mission

This self-reflection on my missionary journey is characterized as a process of learning, particularly about the meaning of “mission.” Missionary formation is part of one’s spiritual development, an...
Erythrophagocytosis in Gaucher cells.

The patient was a 62-year-old woman with an approximately 50-year history of Gaucher disease who pre
The Internet and the Commercial Banking Industry: Strategic Implications from a US Perspective

The banking industry provides an interesting and important case study of how changes in technology and regulation influence competitive structure, business strategy and industrial evolution. Indeed a narrow focus on traditional bank products and performance measures conditioned on the rapid pace of technological change confronting the industry would lead one to conclude that banking is essentially a declining industry. In fact, according to some observers the commercial bank — an institution that conducts the twin activities of accepting deposits payable on demand and originating loans — has outlived its usefulness. Such a focus, however, misses most of the true innovations that have taken place in the industry in recent years — most notably the move towards off-balance-sheet and information-based activities. A broader perspective shows banks evolving in ways that are enabling them to provide the same basic functions as before, but in new, more efficient ways.
Effective Field Theory for Relativistic Strings

In this section, along the lines of [12], we review the coset construction for long relativistic strings that naturally leads to the static gauge description. We also relate it to the Polchinski–Stominger description in the orthogonal gauge [26]. In Sect. 2.2 following [13] we compare the results of perturbative calculation of the flux tube spectra with available lattice data [8]. This comparison reveals to us a few interesting problems.
Nanomedicine: An iron age for cancer therapy.

Two reports show FDA-approved nanoparticles can kill cancer cells through iron- and reactive oxygen species-dependent mechanisms, offering new strategies for cancer treatment.
Simplify Your Code with

Removing duplication is an important principle to keep in mind with your code; however, equally important is to keep your code efficient and readable. Efficiency is often accomplished by leveraging functions and control statements in your code. However, efficiency also includes eliminating the creation and saving of unnecessary objects that often result when you are trying to make your code more readable, clear, and explicit. Consequently, writing code that is simple, readable, and efficient is often considered contradictory. For this reason, the package is a powerful tool to have in your data wrangling toolkit.
Discovering user information by aggregating social media data: poster session

Social networking sites are changing the way that people communicate and interact with each other. Over 90% of college students are involved in at least one social networking site and many are involved in several sites. In this research we try to expose the privacy and security risks of using the social networking sites: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and FourSquare. We want to know how much information can be gathered about a single user when the data from these four sites are aggregated. We use the APIs (Application Program Interfaces) provided by the sites to examine exactly what different variables/ attributes each site collects on a single user. We then put these attributes in a unified data model and generate sample queries in order to build a complete profile for a single user and expose any privacy or security issues that may or may not exist.
Toward designing semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunctions for photocatalytic applications

Abstract Semiconductor photocatalysts show a great potential for environmental and energy-related applications, however one of the major disadvantages is their relatively low photocatalytic performance due to the recombination of electron-hole pairs. Therefore, intensive research is being conducted toward design of heterojunctions, which have been shown to be effective for improving the charge-transfer properties and efficiency of photocatalysts. According to the type of band alignment and direction of internal electric field, heterojunctions are categorized into five different types, each of which is associated with its own charge transfer characteristics. Since the design of heterojunctions requires the knowledge of band edge positions of component semiconductors, the commonly used techniques for the assessment of band edge positions are reviewed. Among them the electronegativity-based calculation method is applied for a large number of popular visible-light-active semiconductors, including some widely investigated bismuth-containing semiconductors. On basis of the calculated band edge positions and the type of component semiconductors reported, heterojunctions composed of the selected bismuth-containing semiconductors are proposed. Finally, the most popular synthetic techniques for the fabrication of heterojunctions are briefly discussed.
Generalized Clifford algebras and their representations

The Clifford algebras of quadratic forms have been extensively studied by mathematicians and physicists for many years. Recently there has been considerable interest in analogous algebras constructed for forms of higher degree. Because of the structure of these algebras, the most productive analysis seems to be via representations. General results about these representations are presented, and specific examples are demonstrated.
A Table Mounted Cardiopulmonary Bypass System for Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Systemic inflammatory response and hemodilution are prominent factors associated with cardiopulmonary bypass and result in increased morbidity and mortality in children. Miniaturized systems have evolved to decrease such effects and restrict use of blood products, especially in the neonatal population. We have developed a table mounted cardiopulmonary bypass system that allows closer proximity of the system to the patient with consequent decrease in priming volumes, hemodilution, and its associated effects, and contributes to development into an ideally bloodless surgical approach.
Outcomes of a novel intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomotic technique

Abstract Objectives Anastomotic complications represent a significant source of morbidity and occasionally mortality after esophagectomy. Since 2009, we have used a novel “side-to-side: staple line-on-staple line” (STS) technique for intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomoses, designed to create a wide-diameter esophagogastric anastomosis while preserving stomach conduit blood supply. In this study, we describe the technique and review outcomes of our institution's initial 6-year experience. Methods An institutional database query identified 278 consecutive patients who underwent Ivor Lewis esophagogastrectomy using an STS esophagogastric anastomotic technique from 2009 through 2015. A retrospective review was conducted to assess outcomes with a focus on anastomotic complications. Results There were a total of 8 (2.9%) anastomotic leaks in patients who underwent STS esophagogastric anastomosis, 3 of which were grade I/II leaks and required no intervention. There was a leak rate of 6.3% (2 of 32) after esophagectomy for benign conditions (both leaks occurring in 8 total patients (25%) who received surgery for end-stage achalasia) compared with a 2.4% leak rate (6 of 246) in whom esophagectomy was performed for malignancy (P = .22). Fourteen patients (5.0%) required a median of 2 dilatations for anastomotic stricture after STS anastomosis. Supplemental jejunostomy feedings were required in only 11.1% of these patients after hospital discharge. Conclusions We believe this novel STS technique provides excellent results with respect to the incidence of intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomotic leak and stricture after esophagectomy. Additionally this technique has significantly reduced the need for enteral feeding after hospital discharge.
Computation of Steady Euler Equations Using Finite Element Method

A Clebsch variable form of the steady Euler equations is solved using the finite element method. The method is applied to the solution of two-dimensional transonic Euler equations for presentation at the 1986 GAMM Workshop. The numerical results include transonic flow around a circular cylinder at M∞ = 0.50, lifting transonic flow around NACA0012 airfoil at M∞ = 0.85 and β∞ = 1.0°, and a supercritical flow around Korn airfoil at M∞ = 0.75.
Quantitative correlations and reexamination of the importance of hydrophobic and steric factors in anticholinergic drug receptor interactions.

The pA 2 (or log K) values at the muscarinic cholinergic receptor of the guinea pig ileum for a series of 1,3-dioxolanes have been correlated with the hydrophobic constant π and π2. A correlation coefficient of 0.97 and standard deviation of 0.30 were obtained with 16 of the 18 compounds (P < 0.05). A series of 17 analogues of amino esters of α-methyl tropic acid and α-substituted phenyl acetic acids, which were tested in the isolated rat ileal muscle, was analyzed, with a correlation coefficient of 0.92 and a standard deviation of 0.25 (P < 0.05). Based on these results, the role of hydrophobic forces in the drug receptor interactions of muscarinic cholinergic receptors was analyzed. Optimum values for the physicochemical parameters were determined and their use in enhancing potency was suggested.
Who dotted that 'i'?: context free user differentiation through pressure and tilt pen data

With the proliferation of tablet PCs and multi-touch computers, collaborative input on a single sketched surface is becoming more and more prevalent. The ability to identify which user draws a specific stroke on a shared surface is widely useful in a) security/forensics research, by effectively identifying a forgery, b) sketch recognition, by providing the ability to employ user-dependent recognition algorithms on a multi-user system, and c) multi-user collaborative systems, by effectively discriminating whose stroke is whose in a complicated diagram. To ensure an adaptive user interface, we cannot expect nor require that users will self-identify nor restrict themselves to a single pen. Instead, we prefer a system that can automatically determine a stroke's owner, even when strokes by different users are drawn with the same pen, in close proximity, and near in timing. We present the results of an experiment that shows that the creator of an individual pen strokes can be determined with high accuracy, without supra-stroke context (such as timing, pen-ID, nor location), and based solely on the physical mechanics of how these strokes are drawn (specifically, pen tilt, pressure, and speed). Results from free-form drawing data, including text and doodles, but not signature data, show that our methods differentiate a single stroke (such as that of a dot of an 'i') between two users at an accuracy of 97.5% and between ten users at an accuracy of 83.5%.
Mechanisms of tamoxifen-induced apoptosis.

Tamoxifen (TAM) has been used in the treatment of breast cancer for over a decade. The observed clinical efficacy of TAM has been attributed to both growth arrest and induction of apoptosis within the breast cancer cells. Although the primary mechanism of action of TAM is believed to be through the inhibition of estrogen receptor (ER), research over the years has indicated that additional, non-ER-mediated mechanisms exist. These include modulation of signaling proteins such as protein kinase C (PKC), calmodulin, transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), and the protooncogene c-myc. Recent studies, including those from our laboratory, have implicated the role of caspases and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), including c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 in TAM-induced apoptotic signaling. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), ceramide generation as well as changes in cell membrane fluidity may also play important roles in TAM-induced apoptosis. These various signaling pathways underlying TAM-induced apoptosis will be reviewed in this article.
Photoelectron holography of {Pb}/{Si(111) }-(√3 × √3) R30°-β

Abstract The technique of holographic image reconstruction based on photoelectron detection has been applied to the Pb Si (111) -(√3 × √3) R 30°-β phase for a determination of the surface structure. Angle-resolved photoemission from the Pb 5d core level shows intensity oscillations as a function of photon energy. These constant-initial-state spectra were taken at various emission angles and Fourier inverted to yield three-dimensional real-space images of the nearest neighbors to the emitter atom. These images clearly show Pb atoms adsorbed at the T4 site.
Two Lectures on Chaotic Dynamics in the Solar System

The material presented in these lectures has to a large extent been published elsewhere. In particular, reviews of my work on chaotic behavior in the solar system are published in Wisdom (1987) Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. A413, 109 and in somewhat greater detail in Wisdom (1987) Icarus 72, in press. Only an abstract of the topics will be given here, with references to the original literature. References to associated literature may be found in the cited references
The use of an IL1-receptor antagonist to reverse the changes associated with established tendinopathy in a rat model

Interleukin-1 (IL1) is a cytokine that plays a role in inflammation and is a potential contributor to the inflammation present in tendinopathy. Its inhibition may be of use in the treatment of tendinopathy and has been a target for treatment. To evaluate how an IL1-receptor antagonist (IL1-RA) reverses pathologic changes associated with established patellar tendinopathy, we randomized 48 Sprague-Dawley retired breeder rats into three groups having weekly bilateral patellar tendon injections for 6 weeks. The control group received 0.1 mL saline for 6 weeks. The intervention groups were treated with 0.1 mL 2% carrageenan for 4 weeks. Beginning at week three, the IL1-RA group received 0.94 mg of the IL1-RA (2.5 mg/kg) added to the 0.1 mL 2% carrageenan and 0.94 mg of the IL1-RA alone for the final 2 weeks, while the CAR received 0.1 mL saline for the final 2 weeks. Animals were euthanized 6 weeks after initial injection. The CAR group demonstrated significantly (P < 0.05) shorter tendon lengths (7.81 ± 0.44 mm) than the control (8.25 ± 0.58 mm) and IL1-RA (8.34 ± 0.52 mm) group (P < 0.05). Macroscopically, plaque-like formations were reduced and margins of the tendon were more evident in the IL1-RA group compared to the CAR group. CAR group demonstrated significantly greater histopathologic changes (inflammatory cell density, disorganization of collagen, nuclear rounding, and angiogenesis) than the control and IL1-RA group. No significant difference in mechanical properties of the tendon was noted. These findings demonstrate IL1-RA can reduce pathologic changes in the patellar tendon in an established tendonitis model although did not demonstrate a difference in mechanical properties.
Evaluation of effects of over-expression of osteoprotegerin in C4-2 prostate cancer cells on character of bone metastasis

1845 Advanced prostate cancer (CaP) metastasizes frequently to the skeleton. CaP cells present in bone alter the normal physiology of the bone, leading in a large percentage of cases to a net increase in bone formation. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) plays a central role in controlling bone resorption. We have recently shown that CaP cells in bone exhibit increased levels of OPG and that serum levels of OPG are increased in patients with CaP bone metastases. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of OPG over-expression on tumor-bone cell interactions. OPG-transfected C4-2 cells expressed 8001.5 pg OPG/ml/10 6 cells, while no OPG was detected in the media of C4-2 cells transfected with an empty plasmid. Conditioned media from OPG-C4-2 cells decreased osteoclast formation in vitro . Subcutaneous OPG-C4-2 and control C4-2 tumors exhibited similar growth and take-rate characteristics and serum PSA levels. Expression of OPG in vivo was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and determination of serum OPG levels (74.8 pg OPG/ml/mm 3 of tumor). To evaluate tumor-bone cell interactions in vivo tumor cells were injected directly into tibiae of SCID mice. Animals were sacrificed at three or eight weeks after injection. Histomorphometric analysis of bone metastases at three weeks revealed no significant changes in bone characteristics or tumor volume between the groups. At eight weeks OPG-C4-2 cells caused increases in bone mineral density vs. C4-2 control cells (111.2 ± 1.7% vs. 100.0 ± 3.3%, p=0.007). The percentage of bone volume in tissue volume was also increased in bone metastases of OPG-C4-2 cells vs. C4-2 cells (11.91 ± 1.57 vs. 5.08 ± 2.05, p=0.007). Osteoblast and osteoclast perimeters per bone perimeter were also decreased by overexpression of OPG (p=0.003 and 0.019, respectively). The percentage of tumor volume in tissue volume was significantly lower in OPG-C4-2 vs . C4-2 (32.85 ± 2.50 vs. 48.64 ± 1.11, p=0.0004). Our data indicate that overexpression of OPG in C4-2 cells present in the bone environment inhibits bone lysis associated with C4-2 bone metastasis, suggesting that OPG expressed in CaP patient bone metastases may be at least partially responsible for the development of osteoblastic bone lesions. Our results also suggest that in this model tumor growth may be suppressed by inhibition of bone lysis and the concomitant decrease in release of growth factors from bone extracellular matrix.
Approaches to understanding sustainable peace: qualitative causal loop diagrams and quantitative mathematical models

Scholarly research on peace has overwhelmingly focused on negative peace, or the absence of conflict, aggression, violence, and war. We seek to understand holistic peace systems, the political, eco...
Compatible-strain mixed finite element methods for 3D compressible and incompressible nonlinear elasticity

Abstract A new family of mixed finite element methods — compatible-strain mixed finite element methods (CSFEMs) — are introduced for three-dimensional compressible and incompressible nonlinear elasticity. A Hu–Washizu-type functional is extremized in order to obtain a mixed formulation for nonlinear elasticity. The independent fields of the mixed formulations are the displacement, the displacement gradient, and the first Piola–Kirchhoff stress. A pressure-like field is also introduced in the case of incompressible elasticity. We define the displacement in H 1 , the displacement gradient in H ( c u r l ) , the stress in H ( d i v ) , and a pressure-like field in L 2 . In this setting, for improving the stability of the proposed finite element methods without compromising their consistency, we consider some stabilizing terms in the Hu–Washizu-type functional that vanish at its critical points. Using a conforming interpolation, the solution and the test spaces are approximated with some piecewise polynomial subspaces of them. In three dimensions, this requires using the Nedelec edge elements for the displacement gradient and the Nedelec face elements for the stress. This approach results in mixed finite element methods that satisfy the Hadamard jump condition and the continuity of traction on all the internal faces of the mesh. This, in particular, makes CSFEMs quite efficient for modeling heterogeneous solids. We assess the performance of CSFEMs by solving several numerical examples, and demonstrate their good performance for bending problems, for bodies with complex geometries, and in the near-incompressible and the incompressible regimes. Using CSFEMs, one can capture very large strains and accurately approximate stresses and the pressure field. Moreover, in our numerical examples, we do not observe any numerical artifacts such as checkerboarding of pressure, hourglass instability, or locking.
Surgical Games: A Simulation-Based Structured Assessment of Orthopedic Surgery Resident Technical Skill

BACKGROUND Simulation-based education and objective evaluation of surgical skill have been incorporated into many surgical training programs. We describe the development and implementation of a timed, multitask, station-based Surgical Games to evaluate orthopedic resident surgical skills. METHODS Participants in the study were postgraduate-year 2 to 5 orthopedic surgery residents from a single institution. Residents completed 4-timed simulated tasks: cadaveric carpal tunnel release (CTR), Sawbones model of total knee arthroplasty (TKA), Sawbones model of ankle fracture open reduction internal fixation (ORIF), and knee arthroscopy simulator (KAS) of removal of loose body. Evaluations were performed using standardized score sheets by attending surgeons. Resident performance was analyzed by postgraduate-year and number of weeks of prior task-related residency training. RESULTS A total of 32 residents were assessed at the 4 stations. Total scores were significantly different for CTR (p = 0.006), TKA (p = 0.05), and the KAS (p = 0.004) by year of training, but not for the ankle ORIF task. Residents with more task-specific experience performed significantly better on the KAS (p CONCLUSIONS This Surgical Games exercise provided an objective evaluation of surgical skill that correlated with year-in-training and prior experience in skill-specific rotations for the KAS, TKA, and CTR tasks. This surgical skills assessment provided an opportunity for effective structured feedback and identification of areas for improvement.
Hybrid versus open retromuscular abdominal wall repair: early outcomes.

The hybrid approach to abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) for abdominal wall hernias combines minimally invasive posterior component separation and retromuscular dissection with open fascial closure and mesh implantation. This combination may enhance patient outcomes and recovery compared to the open approach alone. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the operative outcomes of hybrid vs. open abdominal wall reconstruction. A retrospective review was conducted to compare patients who underwent open versus hybrid AWR between September 2015 and August of 2018 at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Patient demographics and perioperative data were collected and analyzed using univariate analysis. Sixty-five patients were included in the final analysis: 10 in the hybrid and 55 in the open groups. Mean age was higher in the hybrid vs. open group (65.1 vs. 56.2 years, p 0.05) in gender distribution, mean BMI, and ASA score. Intraoperative comparison found hybrid patients parallel to open patients (p > 0.05) in mean operative time (294.5 vs. 267.5 min), defect size (14.4 vs. 13.6 cm), mesh area, and drain placement. The mean total hospital cost was lower in the hybrid group compared to the open group ($16,426 vs. $19,054, p = 0.43). The hybrid group had a shorter length of stay (5.3 vs. 3.6 days, p = 0.03) after surgery and was followed for a similar length of time (12.3 vs. 12.6 months, p = 0.91). The hybrid group showed a lower trend of seroma, hematoma, wound infection, ileus, and readmission rates after surgery. A review of patient outcomes after hybrid AWR highlights a trend towards shorter length of stay, lower hospital cost, and fewer complications without significant addition to operative time. Long-term studies on a larger number of patients are definitively needed to characterize the comprehensive benefits of this approach.
Reversible multicolor chromism in layered formamidinium metal halide perovskites.

Metal halide perovskites feature crystalline-like electronic band structures and liquid-like physical properties. The crystal–liquid duality enables optoelectronic devices with unprecedented performance and a unique opportunity to chemically manipulate the structure with low energy input. In this work, we leverage the low formation energy of metal halide perovskites to demonstrate multicolor reversible chromism. We synthesized layered Ruddlesden-Popper FAn+1PbnX3n+1 (FA = formamidinium, X = I, Br; n = number of layers = 1, 2, 3 … ∞) and reversibly tune the dimensionality (n) by modulating the strength and number of H-bonds in the system. H-bonding was controlled by exposure to solvent vapor (solvatochromism) or temperature change (thermochromism), which shuttles FAX salt pairs between the FAn+1PbnX3n+1 domains and adjacent FAX “reservoir” domains. Unlike traditional chromic materials that only offer a single-color transition, FAn+1PbnX3n+1 films reversibly switch between multiple colors including yellow, orange, red, brown, and white/colorless. Each colored phase exhibits distinct optoelectronic properties characteristic of 2D superlattice materials with tunable quantum well thickness. Metal halide perovskites feature crystalline-like electronic band structures and liquid-like physical properties that allow chemical manipulation of the structure with low energy input. Here, the authors leverage the low formation energy of 2D metal halide perovskites to demonstrate films that reversibly switch between multiple colors using tunable quantum well thickness.
China’s economic development history and Xi Jinping’s “China dream:” an overview with personal reflections

Since Xi Jinping became leader of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, he has promoted the goal of realizing the “China dream,” which centers on the effort to sustain rapid economic growth so that ...
Concurrent Correctness in Vector Space

Correctness verification of a concurrent history is challenging and has been proven to be an NP-complete problem. The reason that verifying correctness cannot be solved in polynomial time is a consequence of the way correctness is defined. Traditional correctness conditions require a concurrent history to be equivalent to a legal sequential history. The worst case number of legal sequential histories for a concurrent history is O(n!) with respect to n methods invoked. Existing correctness verification tools improve the time complexity by either reducing the size of the possible legal sequential histories or improving the efficiency of generating the possible legal sequential histories. Further improvements to the time complexity of correctness verification can be achieved by changing the way correctness of concurrent programs is defined. In this paper, we present the first methodology to recast the correctness conditions in literature to be defined in vector space. The concurrent histories are represented as a set of method call vectors, and correctness is defined as properties over the set of vectors. The challenge with defining correctness in vector space is accounting for method call ordering and data structure semantics. We solve this challenge by incorporating a priority assignment scheme to the values of the method call vectors. Using our new definitions of concurrent correctness, we design a dynamic analysis tool that checks the vector space correctness of concurrent data structures in \(O(n^2)\) with respect to n method calls, a significant improvement over O(n!) time required to analyze legal sequential histories. We showcase our dynamic analysis tool by using it to check the vector space correctness of a variety of queues, stacks, and hashmaps.
Validation of SMAP Soil Moisture at Terrestrial National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Sites Show Potential for Soil Moisture Retrieval in Forested Areas

Soil moisture influences forest health, fire occurrence and extent, and insect and pathogen impacts, creating a need for regular, globally extensive soil moisture measurements that can only be achieved by satellite-based sensors, such as NASA's soil moisture active passive (SMAP). However, SMAP data for forested regions, which account for ∼20% of land cover globally, are flagged as unreliable due to interference from vegetation water content, and forests were underrepresented in previous validation efforts, preventing an assessment of measurement accuracy in these biomes. Here we compare over twelve thousand SMAP soil moisture measurements, representing 88 site-years, to in situ soil moisture measurements from forty National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites throughout the US, half of which are forested. At unforested NEON sites, agreement with SMAP soil moisture (unbiased RMSD: 0.046 m3 m−3) was similar to previous sparse network validations (which include inflation of the metric due to spatial representativeness errors). For the forested sites, SMAP achieved a reasonable level of accuracy (unbiased RMSD: 0.06 m3 m−3 or 0.053 m3 m−3 after accounting for random representativeness errors) indicating SMAP is sensitive to changes in soil moisture in forest ecosystems. Moreover, we identified that both an index of vegetation water content and canopy height were related to mean difference (MD), which incorporates measurement bias and representativeness bias, and suggests a potential approach to improve SMAP algorithm parameterization for forested regions. In addition, expanding the number and extent of soil moisture measurements at forested validation sites would likely further reduce MD by minimizing representativeness errors.
Engineering functional human gastrointestinal organoid tissues using the three primary germ layers separately derived from pluripotent stem cells

SUMMARY The development of human organoid model systems has provided new avenues for patient-specific clinical care and disease modeling. However, all organoid systems are missing important cell types that, in the embryo, get incorporated into organ tissues during development. Based on the concept of how embryonic organs are assembled, we developed an organoid assembly approach starting with cells from the three primary germ layers; enteric neuroglial, mesenchymal, and epithelial precursors, all separately derived from human pluripotent stem cells. From these we generated human gastric tissue containing differentiated glands, surrounded by layers of smooth muscle containing functional enteric neurons that controlled contractions of the engineered tissue. We used this highly tractable system to identify essential roles for the enteric nervous system in the growth and regional identity of the gastric epithelium and mesenchyme and for glandular morphogenesis of the antral stomach. This approach of starting with separately-derived germ layer components was applied to building more complex fundic and esophageal tissue, suggesting this as a new paradigm for tissue engineering.
Amyloid β-Binding Bifunctional Chelators with Favorable Lipophilicity for 64Cu Positron Emission Tomography Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease

Herein, we report a new series of bifunctional chelators (BFCs) with a high affinity for amyloid aggregates, a strong binding affinity toward Cu(II), and favorable lipophilicity for potential blood-brain barrier penetration. The alkyl carboxylate ester pendant arms offer up to 3 orders of magnitude higher binding affinity toward Cu(II) and enable the BFCs to form stable 64Cu-radiolabeled complexes. Among the five compounds tested, the 64Cu-YW-7 and 64Cu-YW-10 complexes exhibit strong and specific staining of amyloid plaques in ex vivo autoradiography studies. Importantly, these BFCs have promising partition coefficient (log Doct) values of 0.91-1.26 and show some brain uptake in biodistribution studies using CD-1 mice. Overall, these BFCs could serve as lead compounds for the development of positron emission tomography imaging agents for AD diagnosis.
An Introduction to the Eclectic Paradigm as a Meta-Framework for the Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of International Business

A major aim of this book on the eclectic paradigm is to enable scholars coming to the International Business (IB) field from a cognate discipline, perhaps for the first time, to be able to connect their own way of thinking about IB issues to a framework for IB analysis that is already well established in our field. It is also hoped that this collection of chapters originally published in the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS), the leading journal in the IB field, will help to remind mainstream IB scholars of how the framework of the eclectic paradigm has emerged and developed, and of the contribution that JIBS has played in this development.
Piperacillin-Tazobactam: A New β-Lactam-β-Lactamase Inhibitor Combination

We reviewed the spectrum of activity, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, adverse effects, and relative advantages of piperacillin-tazobactam, a new beta-lactam-beta-lactamase inhibitor. Piperacillin-tazobactam has a wide spectrum of activity that includes gram-positive organisms such as staphylococci and streptococci, as well as many gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The combination distributes rapidly after parenteral administration and penetrates well into skin, lung, and intestinal mucosa. Compared with other beta-lactam-beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations, piperacillin-tazobactam has comparable efficacy in the treatment of intraabdominal infections, skin and soft tissue infections, and upper and lower respiratory tract infections. It may have better in vitro activity than the currently available combinations against selective bacteria that produce class I beta-lactamases (Richmond-Sykes classification). The combination is well tolerated, with diarrhea being the most common reported adverse effect. Additional controlled trials and clinical experience are required to define its role in clinical practice.
Efficient route to TlBa2Ca2Cu3O9+x thin films by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition using TlF as a thallination source

Thin TlBa2Ca2Cu3O9+x films were grown on single crystal (110) LaAlO3 from metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition-derived Ba–Ca–Cu–Ox precursor films employing Ba(hfa)2⋅mep, Ca(hfa)2⋅tet, and Cu(dpm)2 (hfa=hexafluoroacetylacetonate; dpm=dipivaloylmethanate; tet=tetraglyme; mep=methylethylpentaglyme) as the volatile metal sources. Thallination is then accomplished by annealing the precursor films in the presence of a bulk BaO+CaO+CuO+TlF source at 885 °C in flowing O2. The presence of TlF is essential for nucleating the Tl-1223 phase. The resulting Tl-1223 films are nearly phase-pure, highly oriented, epitaxial by x-ray diffraction, and contain negligible fluoride by windowless energy-dispersive x-ray measurements. The films exhibit a transport measured Tc=103 K and Jc=4.4×104 A/cm2 (77 K, 0 T). Magnetic hysteresis measurements yield Jc=1.9×105 A/cm2 (30 K, 0.01 T) and show considerable flux pinning at low temperatures with Jc=1.4×105 A/cm2 (5 K, 4.5 T).
The common ecotoxicology laboratory strain of Hyalella azteca is genetically distinct from most wild strains sampled in eastern North America.

The amphipod Hyalella azteca is commonly used as a model for determining safe concentrations of contaminants in freshwaters. The authors sequenced the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for representatives of 38 populations of this species complex from US and Canadian toxicology research laboratories and eastern North American field sites to determine their genetic relationships. With 1 exception, all US and Canadian laboratory cultures sampled were identified as conspecific. In 22 wild populations spanning 5 US states and 1 Canadian province, the commonly occurring laboratory species was found only in northern Florida, USA. Therefore, the diversity of the H. azteca species complex detected in the wild is not accurately represented in North American laboratories, questioning the reliability of H. azteca cultures currently in use to accurately predict the responses of wild populations in ecotoxicological assays. The authors also examined the utility of different COI nucleotide fragments presently in use to determine phylogenetic relationships in this group and concluded that saturation in DNA sequences leads to inconsistent relationships between clades. Amino acid sequences for COI were not saturated and may allow a more accurate phylogeny estimate. Hyalella azteca is crucial for developing water-quality regulations; therefore, laboratories should know and standardize the strain(s) they use to confidently compare toxicity tests across laboratories and determine whether they are an appropriate surrogate for their regions. Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:2637–2647. © 2013 SETAC
Directional Hearing in Owls: Neurobiology, Behaviour and Evolution

Birds are primarily active in the daytime, and most birds rarely venture forth from their roosts at night. Many species of owls, however, are nocturnal predators, and they exhibit a number of sensory adaptations for this existence. Most owls have large, frontally directed eyes (see Sect. 1.6.2) that are tubular in shape, with retinas that are densely packed with rod photoreceptors. These features help maximize image brightness and visual acuity at low light levels, (cf. Martin 1986; Chap. 1). Owls’ auditory systems are also specialized for detecting and localizing prey. Owls have large heads, and many species have a complete or partial facial ruff of stiff, sound-reflective feathers that acts as an effective sound collector (Fig. 14.1). In addition, the ears of some owls are oriented asymmetrically in the vertical plane, which gives them the ability to perceive both the azimuth and elevation of a sound source simultaneously and with high precision. In contrast, owls with symmetrical ears most likely must listen from at least two different head positions to locate a sound in both axes.
Intrahepatic Iron Variation May Greatly Affect the Hepatic Iron Index

The quantitative hepatic iron index is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of primary hemochromatosis. While intrahepatic variability in the amount of stainable iron in histologic sections of liver is well known, the quantitative variability has not been addressed. Eight native livers removed at transplantation for cirrhosis associated with hepatitis C were studied. Iron-stained sections from multiple different areas of each liver were examined, and small areas were graded for iron content on a scale of 0 to 4. The fragments of liver corresponding to these were then cut out of the corresponding section of the paraffin block and sent for iron quantitation. We found that marked quantitative heterogeneity in iron content (>260%) can exist in a given liver, leading, in two cases, to false positive results for the diagnosis of hemochromatosis. In addition, it was found that quantitative iron content did indeed linearly correlate with histologic grading. Thus, intrahepatic variation in iron content i...