cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stress, chronic inflammation, and emotional and physical well-being: concurrent effects and chronic sequelae.

Abstract The importance of T H cells (specifically T H 2 cells) that produce IL-4, -5, -10, and -13 in the propagation of chronic allergic inflammation is well known. However, the role of the hypotha-lamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic system as immunomodulators of events leading to inflammation is less well established. Increases in stress levels are associated with elevations in circulating glucocorticoids and catecholamines, which may influence disease pathophysiologic factors and severity through changes in the number and activity of T H -cell populations and through other means. For instance, stress has been shown to shift the relative proportion and trafficking of T H 1 and T H 2 cells to a T H 2 phenotype. In this article, the current understanding of interactions of the stress and immune systems and the physiologic and pathophysiologic implications of these interactions in human health and disease are reviewed. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;106:S275-91.)
Debunking the Stereotype An Examination of Mass Murder in Public Places

Much attention has been devoted in the past several years to public incidents of mass murder. Events such as the shooting on a Long Island commuter train in 1993, the massacre in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, or the seemingly numerous workplace homicides have received intensive media coverage and public interest. As a consequence, a stereotype of mass murder has emerged that may or may not be very accurate. This study examines incidents of mass murder that occurred in public settings in the United States between 1965 and 1995 to more closely scrutinize both the events and the offenders involved.
Trois modèles de gouvernance multiniveau au-delà du clivage État-société

Par l’etude des interactions entre les institutions etatiques multiniveaux et l’organisation de la societe civile, nous posons les jalons d’une plus grande comprehension de la gouvernance multiniveau. Les autorites locales et celles des echelons superieurs creent des modeles de participation locale dans la vie politique et civique. Ces institutions evoluent a leur tour en fonction des modeles de pouvoir et d’influence au niveau local. A l’interieur d’une democratie bien etablie, ces configurations institutionnelles et ces associations s’inscrivent dans une infrastructure interreliee qui dicte les conditions en matiere de resolution collective de problemes, de relations de pouvoir et de participation. Les complementarites institutionnelles entre les formes d’autorites locales et les types d’organisations civiques viennent renforcer ces systemes. Ces differences expliquent une grande partie des contrastes transnationaux dans l’elaboration des politiques et les democraties locales.
Development of a Short-Span Fiber-Reinforced Composite Bridge for Emergency Response and Military Applications

A continued desire for increased mobility in the aftermath of natural disasters, or on the battlefield, has lead to the need for improved light-weight bridging solutions. Currently within the United States military there is a need for a light weight bridging system for crossing short-span gaps up to 4 m (13.1 ft) in length. The bridge must be capable of supporting up to Military Load Class 30 (MLC 30) vehicles including palletized load system (PLS) truck vehicles under extreme temperatures and loading conditions. This paper describes the design and analysis of a carbon/epoxy composite sandwich bridging system to satisfy the United States Army’s short-span gap crossing needs. The paper also includes a description of the fabrication of the bridge treadways, full scale proof testing of the treadways, and field testing using a fully loaded PLS truck. The study shows the bridging system to satisfy the design requirements and to have sufficient strength to support MLC 30 and PLS truck vehicles.
Copper Vapor Laser Used in Etching and Deposition

We have carried out experiments for etching manganese-zinc ferrite in aqueous KOH solution using a copper vapor laser. The high repetition rate (5-10 KHz), the high peak power (∼ 250 KW), and the short pulse length (24-30 ns) result in rapid etching of grooves with high aspect ratios. The depth of the grooves increased with laser power and slower scan speeds while, the width was limited to the laser beam focus. The etching process is believed to be purely thermal in nature and limited only by the removal of the molten material out of the grooves. The copper vapor laser was also used as a source for projection deposition of various metals on quartz substrate by a pyrolytic process. This system achieved patterns with finefeature sizes, good resolution, and metallic properties of the deposits. In this technique, both the spun-on organometallic films as well as LCVD were tried.
Delayed and Inconsistent Information and the Evolution of Trust

Trust is essential in virtually all economic interactions. In this paper, we build on previous work analyzing the “trust game” from the perspective of evolutionary dynamics. There are two players: an “investor” and a “trustee.” The investor begins with one monetary unit and can choose to transfer it to the trustee. The transfer, if made, is multiplied by a factor b>1 representing the gains that arise from cooperation. The trustee can then return a fraction of his choosing to the investor. Previous work has shown that adding information to this game can lead to trusting and trustworthy behavior. But in those models, information spreads instantaneously and investors never face conflicting information. Here, we relax both of these assumptions. We introduce delays in information propagation so that an investor may still be acting on old information after a trustee has changed his behavior. And we give investors “memories” and thereby allow for the possibility that they might face conflicting information about trustees. In both cases, we find that the trust and trustworthiness induced by information is robust to delays and conflicts. Even if it takes time for information to spread, and even if investors sometimes deem information to be unreliable, the benefits of trust are realized with just moderate levels of information about trustees. We conclude that information (or “reputation”) is a robust explanation for the trust and trustworthiness observed among humans.
Design issues in a mandatory greenhouse gas emissions registry for the United States

On March 10, 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule, Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases. When final, the rule would compel most large sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to report their emissions to EPA as well as fossil fuel suppliers and vehicle engine manufacturers to report their fuel sales and engine emissions rates, respectively. We suggest a number of improvements to the rule that would enhance compatibility with expected future climate legislation and enable a broader range of policies and analysis: (1) lower the threshold for reporting to a level more consistent with expected future legislation, (2) require reporting of electricity use along with direct emissions, (3) require reporting of emissions per unit output for a small number of selected sectors, (4) include a system of identifying corporate ownership of reporting facilities, and (5) identify a path toward coverage for sectors that were left out of the proposal due to underdeveloped reporting protocols.
Improved high moment FeAlN/SiO/sub 2/ laminated materials for thin film recording heads

FeAlN films and FeAlN/SiO/sub 2/ multilayers have been studied for head applications. The magnetic properties of FeAlN show similar dependences on N/sub 2//Ar flow rate ratio as those of FeN, but Al has been found to significantly affect their coercivity and magnetostriction, and also to prevent grain growth during annealing. FeAlN/SiO/sub 2/ multilayers also show similar dependences on the sputtering parameters as FeN/SiO/sub 2/. However, they demonstrate better magnetic properties and superior thermal stability when annealed at 300 degrees C. Multilayers with a saturation magnetization of 20 KGauss, a coercivity of 0.3 Oe, a saturation magnetostriction constant less than 2*10/sup -7/ and a permeability of 4000 have been achieved. >
When does metric use matter less? How firm and managerial characteristics moderate the relationship between metric use and marketing mix performance

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework, in an effort toward building a contingent theory of drivers and consequences of managerial metric use in marketing mix decisions, this paper develops a conceptual framework to test whether the relationship between metric use and marketing mix performance is moderated by firm and managerial characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – Based on reviews of the marketing, finance, management and accounting literatures, and homophily, firm resource- and decision-maker-based theories and 22 managerial interviews, a conceptual model is proposed. It is tested via generalized least squares – seemingly unrelated regression estimation of 1,287 managerial decisions. Findings – Results suggest that the impact of metric use on marketing mix performance is lower in firms which are more market oriented, larger and with worse recent business performance and for marketing and higher-level managers, while organizational involvement has a lesser nuanced effect. R...
Ziggurat: Steps Toward a General Episodic Memory

Evidence indicates that episodic memory plays an important role in general cognition. A modest body of research exists for creating artificial episodic memory systems. To date, research has focused on exploring their benefits. As a result, existing episodic memory systems rely on a small, relevant memory cue for effective memory retrieval. We present Ziggurat, a domain-independent episodic memory structure and accompanying episodic learning algorithm that learns the temporal context of recorded episodes. Ziggurat’s context-based memory retrieval means that it does not have to rely on relevant agent cues for effective memory retrieval; it also allows an agent to dynamically make plans using past experiences. In our experimental trials in two different domains, Ziggurat performs as well or better than an episodic memory implementation based on most other systems.
Myeloma with Disseminated Osseous Metastases

A 59-year-old black man with myeloma presented to the emergency room with severe right arm pain not relieved by narcotics. Radiographs showed a lytic lesion of the right humerus. Six months ago at diagnosis, he had a thoracic cord compression with improvement of his lower extremity strength after steroids, melphalan (Alkeran), and irradiation. His medical diagnosis includes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-P-D) deficiency, hypertension and bleeding peptic ulcer. Hemoglobin was 12.1 g/1, white blood cells (WBC) 3100 cells/mm3, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) 14 mmo1/1, creatinine 0.9 mg/dl, and calcium 10.1 mg/dl. A bone survey showed disseminated osseous metastases, more pronounced in ribs, skull, and bone of both arms.
A Generalization of a Sigma Coordinate Ocean Model and an Intercomparison of Model Vertical Grids

Numerical ocean models increasingly make use of σ — coordinate systems. A paper by Gerdes (1993) shows that these coordinate systems can be more general; he termed the generalized form an “s — coordinate” system. The main advantage of the σ or s — system is that, when cast in a finite difference form, a smooth representation of the bottom topography is obtained; one can also easily incorporate a bottom boundary layer as well as a surface boundary layer in those coordinate systems. This is intuitively appealing and Gerdes has shown that superior numerical results are obtained relative to a z — level system. However, in regions of steep topography and crude resolution — a limiting case would be a seamount represented by a single grid point surrounded by a flat bottom — the so-called sigma coordinate pressure gradient error exists (Haney 1991, Mellor et al. 1994, 1998) and at least locally a z — level coordinate system might be preferred. On the other hand, in a recent study, Bell (1997) has shown that the step structure of z — level models lead to vorticity errors and consequent errors in the barotropic component of the flow which, he reports, cause rather large temperature errors (3 to 4° C) on a 1° x 1° grid of an Atlantic Ocean model after 3 months of integration. And it is difficult to model bottom boundary layers in a z — level model (Winton et al. 1998).
Expert consensus on the nutritional therapy for patients with malignancies.

I applaud the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) for their efforts to create a consensus statement on nutritional therapy for patients with malignancies. The CSCO have accomplished a significant first step toward their goal by establishing operational definitions for key terms and by delineating specific hierarchical criteria for evaluating the current state of the scientific evidence upon which clinicians may base practice decisions. To this end, the CSCO relied heavily on the practice guidelines established by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and European Society for Parental and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) (1-6).
Genomic sources of phenotypic novelty in the evolution of eusociality in insects

Genomic resources are now available for closely related species that vary in social behavior, providing insight on the genomics of social evolution. Changes in the architecture of gene regulatory networks likely influence the evolutionary trajectory of social traits. Evolutionarily novel genes are likely important in the evolution of social diversity among insects, but it is unclear whether new genes played a driving role in the advent or elaboration of eusociality or if they were instead a result of other genomic features of eusociality. The worker phenotype appears to be the center of genetic novelty, but the mechanisms for this remain unresolved. Future studies are needed to understand how genetic novelty arises, becomes incorporated into existing gene regulatory networks, and the effects this has on the evolution of social traits in closely related social and solitary species.
Abstract P621: Cellular Localization of Angiotensin Type 1a Receptor mRNA in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus

The chronic neurogenic hypertension that involves increased effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) via its type 1 receptor (AT1R) within brain cardiovascular control centers is associated with induction of microglial activation and neuroinflammation in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). However, whether Ang II exerts direct effects via AT1R located on microglia is not established. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the cellular localization of AT1R in the PVN. Naive twelve-week old normotensive (Sprague Dawley, SD; Wistar Kyoto, WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were euthanized and perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde. Brains were removed and sectioned coronally at the level of the PVN. Sections throughout the entire PVN underwent RNAscope fluorescence in situ hybridization to determine AT1aR mRNA expression, combined with immunohistochemistry using microglia (Ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1; Iba1)-, neuron (HuC/D)-, or astrocyte (Glial fibrillary acidic protein; GFAP)-specific markers. The results, obtained from at least 3 SD and 3 WKY rats indicate strong co-localization of AT1aR transcripts with neurons in the neuroendocrine and parvocellular PVN regions, as expected. By contrast, there was no detectable co-localization of AT1aR mRNA with either microglia or astrocytes throughout the PVN of these rats. Further, qRT-PCR revealed that while both AT1aR- and AT1bR mRNAs were detectable in SD rat hypothalamus (1.00±0.14; 0.40±0.12; n=7), neither transcript was detectable in microglia cultured from the hypothalamus of SD rats (n=6). The pattern of AT1aR mRNA expression in the PVN of SHR, a hypertensive model that exhibits over activity of Ang II/AT1R actions at the PVN, was similar to that observed in the SD and WKY rats, i.e. strong co-localization with HuC/D-positive cells, and no detectable co-localization with either Iba1 or GFAP-positive cells. Collectively, these findings indicate that AT1R are localized to neurons, not glia, in the PVN of normotensive rats or SHR in situ . Further, they suggest that it is unlikely that Ang II exerts direct effects at microglia in the PVN, and that induction of microglial activation at this site following Ang II infusion is likely an indirect action.
Development of an Advanced Stimulation / Production Predictive Simulator for Enhanced Geothermal Systems

There are several well-known obstacles to the successful deployment of EGS projects on a commercial scale, of course. EGS projects are expected to be deeper, on the average, than conventional “natural” geothermal reservoirs, and drilling costs are already a formidable barrier to conventional geothermal projects. Unlike conventional resources (which frequently announce their presence with natural manifestations such as geysers, hot springs and fumaroles), EGS prospects are likely to appear fairly undistinguished from the earth surface. And, of course, the probable necessity of fabricating a subterranean fluid circulation network to mine the heat from the rock (instead of simply relying on natural, pre-existing permeable fractures) adds a significant degree of uncertainty to the prospects for success. Accordingly, the basic motivation for the work presented herein was to try to develop a new set of tools that would be more suitable for this purpose. Several years ago, the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office recognized this need and funded a cost-shared grant to our company (then SAIC, now Leidos) to partner with Geowatt AG of Zurich, Switzerland and undertake the development of a new reservoir simulator that would be more suitable for EGS forecasting than the existing tools. That project has nowmore » been completed and a new numerical geothermal reservoir simulator has been developed. It is named “HeatEx” (for “Heat Extraction”) and is almost completely new, although its methodology owes a great deal to other previous geothermal software development efforts, including Geowatt’s “HEX-S” code, the STAR and SPFRAC simulators developed here at SAIC/Leidos, the MINC approach originally developed at LBNL, and tracer analysis software originally formulated at INEL. Furthermore, the development effort was led by engineers with many years of experience in using reservoir simulation software to make meaningful forecasts for real geothermal projects, not just software designers. It is hoped that, as a result, HeatEx will prove useful during the early stages of the development of EGS technology. The basic objective was to design a tool that could use field data that are likely to become available during the early phases of an EGS project (that is, during initial reconnaissance and fracture stimulation operations) to guide forecasts of the longer-term behavior of the system during production and heat-mining.« less
Molecular adsorption to LiMo3Se3 nanowire film chemiresistors.

Thin films of metallic nanowire bundles derived from the Chevrel compound LiMo3Se3 undergo reversible increases of their electrical resistance (up to 70%) upon exposure to vapors of organic solvents (Qi, X. B.; Osterloh, F. E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127 (21), 7666−7667). Using quartz crystal microbalance measurements with four analytes, we demonstrate here that the temporal and steady-state resistance changes of the films depend on the time following the adsorption and on the number of molecules that adsorb to the nanowire films at a given pressure. The adsorption ability of the films and the corresponding film resistance increase in the row: hexane < THF < ethanol < DMSO, closely following the polarities of the solvents. On average, ∼105 analyte molecules per LiMo3Se3 unit are required to produce a measurable electrical response. Atomic force microscopy scans on nanowire films reveal that analytes deposit on top of the nanowire bundles and cause the films to swell by ∼6% in volume. The temporal and ste...
Method for Determining Completeness of Thyroidectomy Using Radioactive Iodine.

SummaryA simple and rapid method is suggested for ascertaining the presence or absence of iodine concentrating tissue (thyroid gland) in thyroidectomized animals. Injected radioactive iodine is assayed by radioautography of the entire neck region, either in the fresh or the fixed state.
Cartel Stability: Determinants and International Evidence

This special issue examines empirically the determinants of cartel formation, stability, and duration with the use of international evidence. Levenstein and Suslow examine the US experience; Zhou considers the problem of recidivism in cartel formation in Europe; Ghosal and Sokol examine both US and European experience with a focus on US policy changes; and Feinberg et al. analyze a recent entrant into strong antitrust enforcement: South Korea.
XIRR Guessing Games and Distribution Waterfalls

Distribution waterfalls in partnership and LLC agreements often incorporate IRR hurdles. Many of those agreements define IRR with reference to Microsoft Excel’s XIRR function. That function, if given the correct inputs, can guess an IRR with impressive accuracy. When repurposed to compute IRR hurdles, however, the XIRR function can be considerably less accurate. The function’s failure in this context can turn computing distribution requirements into a guessing game. This article illustrates how the XIRR function can create problems and proposes a better, direct way to define IRR for purposes of computing IRR hurdles.
INVESTIGATION OF HOSPITAL SEWAGE TREATMENT EFFECT IN XINNING

Objective To investigate the hospital sewage disinfection treatment and the results in Xining.Methods Questionnaire and on-site sampling and testing methods were used to investigate the sewage treatment facilities and disinfection efficacy at different levels of hospital in Xining.Results There are disinfection facilities in 28 those of 30 hospitals investigated,accounting for 93.33%.The disinfection facilities of 26 hospitals run well,accounting for 86.67%.The rate of hospital wastewater disinfection by using chlorine dioxide is 78.57%.A small part of hospitals use ozone,sodium hypochlorite and UV disinfection.Salmonella was not detected out in all the disinfected sewage.Shigella was not detected out in 96.43% sewage sample.Salmonella was both detected out in sewage of the two hospitals which did not have disinfection facilities.Conclusions The majority of hospitals in Xining have water disinfection facilities,and running well.The eligible rate sewage after disinfection is high,but there still exist unsatisfied management.
Healing and Transcendence A Roy Adaptation Model-Guided Comparison

Healing and transcendence are concepts of considerable interest to nurses who engage in holistic nursing practice. The two concepts are often used within the context of adaptation to describe the processes experienced by individuals who experience suffering and distress from various life events. Despite their intuitive significance to the human experience, the similarities and differences between the two concepts remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a Roy adaptation model-guided comparison of the two concepts that addresses their shared and distinct characteristics.
Health information exchange policies of 11 diverse health systems and the associated impact on volume of exchange.

Background Provider organizations increasingly have the ability to exchange patient health information electronically. Organizational health information exchange (HIE) policy decisions can impact the extent to which external information is readily available to providers, but this relationship has not been well studied. Objective Our objective was to examine the relationship between electronic exchange of patient health information across organizations and organizational HIE policy decisions. We focused on 2 key decisions: whether to automatically search for information from other organizations and whether to require HIE-specific patient consent. Methods We conducted a retrospective time series analysis of the effect of automatic querying and the patient consent requirement on the monthly volume of clinical summaries exchanged. We could not assess degree of use or usefulness of summaries, organizational decision-making processes, or generalizability to other vendors. Results Between 2013 and 2015, clinical summary exchange volume increased by 1349% across 11 organizations. Nine of the 11 systems were set up to enable auto-querying, and auto-querying was associated with a significant increase in the monthly rate of exchange ( P = .006 for change in trend). Seven of the 11 organizations did not require patient consent specifically for HIE, and these organizations experienced a greater increase in volume of exchange over time compared to organizations that required consent. Conclusions Automatic querying and limited consent requirements are organizational HIE policy decisions that impact the volume of exchange, and ultimately the information available to providers to support optimal care. Future efforts to ensure effective HIE may need to explicitly address these factors.
Predictions for Primordial Tensor Modes

Even though the detection turned out not to be of primordial origin [1], the BICEP2 results had the merit of putting the study of tensor modes in the spotlight by showing that the sensitivity for B-modes is reaching the levels of what is expected from theories. So far, most of the attention has been devoted to scalar perturbations, since those are the ones that give rise to the temperature anisotropies in the CMB. Although more easily connected to observations, the scalar sector is much more complex. The predictions for the power spectrum depends on many parameters, such as the speed of sound for the scalar, or the shape of the potential. This means that it is difficult to use temperature measurements to put robust constraints on models of inflation. The situation is even worse, since the almost scale invariant spectrum that Planck observed can be produced without having inflation [2].
Trans-pQTL study identifies immune crosstalk between Parkinson and Alzheimer loci

Objective: Given evidence from genetic studies, we hypothesized that there may be a shared component to the role of myeloid function in Parkinson and Alzheimer disease (PD and AD) and assessed whether PD susceptibility variants influenced protein expression of well-established AD-associated myeloid genes in human monocytes. Methods: We repurposed data in which AD-related myeloid proteins CD33, TREM1, TREM2, TREML2, TYROBP, and PTK2B were measured by flow cytometry in monocytes from 176 participants of the PhenoGenetic Project (PGP) and Harvard Aging Brain Study. Linear regression was used to identify associations between 24 PD risk variants and protein expression. The 2 cohorts were meta-analyzed in a discovery analysis, and the 4 most strongly suggestive results were validated in an independent cohort of 50 PGP participants. Results: We discovered and validated an association between the PD risk allele rs12456492 G in the RIT2 locus and increased CD33 expression ( p joint = 3.50 × 10 −5 ) and found strongly suggestive evidence that rs11060180 A in the CCDC62/HIP1R locus decreased PTK2B expression ( p joint = 1.12 × 10 −4 ). Furthermore, in older individuals, increased CD33 expression on peripheral monocytes was associated with a greater burden of parkinsonism ( p = 0.047), particularly bradykinesia ( p = 6.64 × 10 −3 ). Conclusions: We find that the rs12456492 PD risk variant affects expression of AD-associated protein CD33 in peripheral monocytes, which suggests that genetic factors for these 2 diseases may converge to influence overlapping innate immune-mediated mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration. Furthermore, the effect of the rs12456492 G PD risk allele on increased CD33 suggests that the inhibition of certain myeloid functions may contribute to PD susceptibility, as is the case for AD.
Model Reference Adaptive Control with Selective State Variable Weighting Applied to a Space Nuclear Power System

To ensure that a space nuclear power system will operate safely and respond in a predictable and desired manner, the system’s controller design must account for changes in the system parameters ove...
Expected Oil Prices and Stock Returns

I extract three oil risk factors using oil futures prices and returns of oil related firms. The first factor accounts for news that uniformly affects expected oil prices at all horizons, the second factor accounts for news that affects near term expected oil prices, and the third factor accounts for news that affects expected distant oil prices. I show that all three factors are important for explaining returns of oil-related portfolios, and account for over 35% of the non-market variation in these portfolios. As a comparison, non-market Fama-French-Carhart factors explain less than 8%. For non-oil industries, the oil risk factors explain a much lower portion of the variation (about 4% on average), however more than half of non-oil industries load significantly on at least one oil factor, and one fourth load significantly on at least two oil factors.
The Johns Hopkins Hospital template for urologic cytology samples: part I-creating the template.

Background The most important indicator for urologic surgeons at The Johns Hopkins Hospital to have a patient undergo cystoscopy is a cytologic diagnosis of high-grade urothelial carcinoma. The template was designed to standardize diagnostic categories so clinicians can manage their patients uniformly. The template was based in part on the Bethesda System for cervical cytology. Methods According to the template, reactive/inflammatory changes were included in the negative group (no urothelial atypia or malignancy identified). The category atypical urothelial cells of undetermined significance (AUC-US) was akin to atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), as was the category of atypical urothelial cells, favor high-grade carcinoma (AUC-H). The categories high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC) and low-grade urothelial carcinoma also were added. Results The Pathology Data System at the Johns Hopkins Hospital was searched for cases that met the following criteria over a period from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009: all cytologic specimens from the urinary tract and all surgical specimens with a diagnosis of HGUC, regardless of invasion status. All cytologic specimens were then matched with biopsies during the same period, and all surgical specimens from patients who had a cytologic diagnosis of AUC-US or AUC-H were retrieved for 18 months after the end of the 2-year study period. Greater than 50% of patients who had biopsy-confirmed HGUC had a preceding cytologic diagnosis of AUC-H or HGUC. When patients with AUC-US were added to the analysis, 80% of patients with HGUC had at least 1 abnormal urinary cytology result. Of those patients who had a diagnosis of AUC-H, 38% had urothelial cancer discovered at biopsy compared with only 10% of those with an AUC-US diagnosis. Conclusions The authors concluded that their template is effective in targeting those patients who need to undergo cystoscopy.
Microstructure characterization of alkali-glass particle and alkali-glass powder reacted gels with neutron scattering and imaging techniques

Abstract The major obstacles of the incorporation of recycled waste glass in concrete infrastructures are the deteriorations caused by alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Previous research found the concrete containing glass powder does not suffer from ASR. This indicates the size-effect, which is the main focus of this study, is crucial for the incorporation of waste glass in concrete. In order to gather the information for the proposed analytical models, the microstructure and morphology of the synthetic alkali-glass particle and alkali-glass powder reacted gels were characterized by using ultra small angle/small angle neutron scattering (USANS/SANS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The radius of gyration and the power-law constant of different gel samples were obtained by fitting the scattering intensity with a unified Guinier/power-law approach. The power-law constants were in the range from 3 to 4 for the condensed gel sample, indicating the gel particles are surface fractals with different roughness. The SEM images show that the gel particles were spherical-like with sizes around 2 to 3 μm, which is close to the characteristic size (3.4 μm) calculated from the radius of gyration. The dynamic alkali-glass particle reaction was captured with the synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray micro-CT). The reacted gel particle distributions at different reaction stages were analyzed (up to 64 h). At earlier reaction stage, the majority of gel particles has a size ranged from 2 to 3 μm. At later reaction stages, more large-sized particles were observed in the reaction solution, indicating the volume change of the glass-particle reaction gel.
Clones in matroids representable over a prime field

Abstract We show that for every prime number p , a 3-connected non-uniform G F ( p ) -representable matroid can have a clone set of size at most p − 2 .
A Filipino Painter in Paris: Juan Luna in the Field of Cultural Production

Academicism in France was breaking down and Manet had already redefined the criteria of artistic excellence when the Filipino painter Juan Luna won honors in the salons of Madrid and Paris. Luna’s paintings reaffirmed the classical norms, and while he introduced innovations that revitalized the Academic style, he never fully committed to impressionism. Occupying therefore a fraught position between traditionalism and experimentalism in a conflictive field of forces that was the art world of late nineteenth-century France and Spain, Luna’s work manifested an accumulating tension that was to lead to personal tragedy toward the end of his life.KEYWORDS: Juan Luna; the Paris Period; Pierre Bourdieu;field of cultural production
Development of Anti-Virulence Approaches for Candidiasis via a Novel Series of Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Candida albicans Filamentation.

Candida albicans remains the main etiologic agent of candidiasis, the most common fungal infection and now the third most frequent infection in U.S. hospitals. The scarcity of antifungal agents and their limited efficacy contribute to the unacceptably high morbidity and mortality rates associated with these infections. The yeast-to-hypha transition represents the main virulence factor associated with the pathogenesis of C. albicans infections. In addition, filamentation is pivotal for robust biofilm development, which represents another major virulence factor for candidiasis and further complicates treatment. Targeting pathogenic mechanisms rather than growth represents an attractive yet clinically unexploited approach in the development of novel antifungal agents. Here, we performed large-scale phenotypic screening assays with 30,000 drug-like small-molecule compounds within ChemBridge's DIVERSet chemical library in order to identify small-molecule inhibitors of C. albicans filamentation, and our efforts led to the identification of a novel series of bioactive compounds with a common biaryl amide core structure. The leading compound of this series, N-[3-(allyloxy)-phenyl]-4-methoxybenzamide, was able to prevent filamentation under all liquid and solid medium conditions tested, suggesting that it impacts a common core component of the cellular machinery that mediates hypha formation under different environmental conditions. In addition to filamentation, this compound also inhibited C. albicans biofilm formation. This leading compound also demonstrated in vivo activity in clinically relevant murine models of invasive and oral candidiasis. Overall, our results indicate that compounds within this series represent promising candidates for the development of novel anti-virulence approaches to combat C. albicans infections.IMPORTANCE Since fungi are eukaryotes, there is a limited number of fungus-specific targets and, as a result, the antifungal arsenal is exceedingly small. Furthermore, the efficacy of antifungal treatment is compromised by toxicity and development of resistance. As a consequence, fungal infections carry high morbidity and mortality rates, and there is an urgent but unmet need for novel antifungal agents. One appealing strategy for antifungal drug development is to target pathogenetic mechanisms associated with infection. In Candida albicans, one of the most common pathogenic fungi, morphogenetic transitions between yeast cells and filamentous hyphae represent a key virulence factor associated with the ability of fungal cells to invade tissues, cause damage, and form biofilms. Here, we describe and characterize a novel small-molecule compound capable of inhibiting C. albicans filamentation both in vitro and in vivo; as such, this compound represents a leading candidate for the development of anti-virulence therapies against candidiasis.
Parameterized joint reconstruction of the initial pressure and sound speed distributions in photoacoustic computed tomography (Conference Presentation)

Accurate estimation of the initial pressure distribution in photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) requires some knowledge of the sound speed distribution. However, the sound speed distribution is typically unknown. Further, the initial pressure and sound speed distributions cannot both, in general, be stably recovered from PACT measurements alone. In this work, a joint reconstruction method for the initial pressure distribution and a low-dimensional parameterized model of the sound speed distribution is proposed. By employing a priori information about the structure of the sound speed distribution, both the initial pressure and sound speed can be accurately recovered. The joint reconstruction problem is solved by use of a proximal optimization method that allows constraints and non-smooth regularization functions for initial pressure distribution. The gradients of the cost function with respect to the initial pressure and sound speed distributions are calculated by use of an adjoint state method that has the same per-iteration computational cost as calculating the gradient with respect to the initial pressure distribution alone. This approach is quantitatively evaluated through 2D computer-simulation studies for a small animal imaging model. The impact of the choice of the parameterized sound speed model is investigated. Even when the assumed parameterized sound speed model is inconsistent with the true sound speed distribution, the estimated initial pressure distribution is more accurate than that obtained by assuming a constant sound speed. The utility of the proposed approach is also demonstrated through application to experimental in vivo measurements of a mouse.
Information and resolution

The issue of resolution with complex-field measurement is first reviewed with emphasis on superresolution, discrete versus continuous measurement, and full versus compressive measurement. The main focus of the paper is on the other extreme: one-bit intensity measurement which collects the least amount of information from each sensor by proper thresholding. Reconstruction from one-bit intensity measurement is related to reconstruction from zero-crossings and is much harder than reconstruction from complex-field measurement. The proposed method, dubbed the null vector, is a linearization of phase retrieval and takes the form of a quadratic optimization with a row submatrix subject to an ellipsoidal constraint. The null vector differs from the spectral vector in two ways: (i) the former uses an ellipsoidal constraint while the latter uses the spheroidal constraint; (ii) the former uses binary, threshold-crossing information while the latter uses the intensity information to weight the quadratic optimization (i.e. row submatrix versus weighted matrix). Both contribute to the superior performance of the null vector. Further, the question of optimal weighting is explored to improve the performance of the null vector.
Electron Mobility in Delta-Doped Quantum Well Structures

Hall effect measurements of the mobility of electrons confined in doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells indicate that the ionized impurity scattering of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas immersed in the identical concentration of ionized impurities is greater than that of a bulk electron gas of the same density. This enhancement arises from fundamental differences between 2-D and 3-D scattering of charged carriers with ionized impurities. The enhanced scattering rate may be further increased by confining the dopant ions to a delta-like doping profile in the center of the well because of the further overlap of the electronic wavefunction with the impurities. Although electrons in center delta-doped AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells have lower low-field mobilities than do electrons in uniformly doped quantum wells, at electric fields between 2 and 4 kV/cm the differential mobility in delta-doped quantum wells rises dramatically. This large increase in differential mobility may be a result of the heating of the electrons out of the symmetric ground state into the anti-symmetric first excited state.
The Synergy of Casuistry and Virtue Ethics

Building upon prior descriptions of casuistry and virtue ethics, the following compares and contrasts the two methods and then argues that synergies can be created when the two are used together as “virtue-imbued casuistry.”
Decision Making and Surgical Technique in Urethroplasty

Surgical technical skills for urethroplasty can often be learned fairly quickly by the trainee. The difficult skill to acquire, which often requires years of experience, is proper pre- and intraoperative decision making. Herein we detail how to accurately evaluate urethral strictures by imaging, cystourethroscopy, and physical examination. Operative tricks and tips, patient selection, timing of surgery, patient positioning, and surgical technique specifics are elaborated. Key aspects of anterior and posterior urethroplasty are also detailed.
Regional Rates of Eight Conditions in the United States

This chapter focuses on the pervasive and persistent cultural influence of the four earliest British colonies in North America on the present and on eight biopsychosocial conditions or issues: education, births to unwed mothers, gonorrhea, syphilis, alcohol-related deaths, homicides, child sexual abuse, and child physical abuse.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation in acute pediatric respiratory failure

Clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation in acute pediatric respiratory failure
Temperature and pressure dependence of Raman active lattice mode frequencies of cubic C8H6(Br)2, evidence of a phase transition

ABSTRACTThe temperature dependence of the Raman active frequencies of the lattice modes of dibromocubane is measured below room temperature. The frequencies are linearly dependent on the temperature decreasing with increased temperature with a marked change in slope occurring at 200 K indicative of a structural phase transition. The pressure dependence of the frequencies measured at room temperature up to 24 KBar shows no evidence of a phase change. Density functional calculations of the structure and Raman frequencies of the internal modes of an isolated molecule of C8H6(Br)2 indicate the molecule is slightly distorted from a cubic carbon structure.
Discipline Reform: The Impact of a Statewide Ban on Suspensions for Truancy.

AbstractChronic absenteeism and truancy have been linked to a variety of undesirable outcomes for students including increased risk of dropout, lower test scores, lower educational and social engag...
Morphological changes and creep recovery behavior of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes used for membrane distillation

Abstract Existing studies of membrane distillation (MD) have shown changes in membrane surface microstructure along with decreased system performance during long-term MD system operation; however, changes in feed-side morphology during long-term operation have not been demonstrated in the absence of foulants. Also, the net effect of morphological changes alone on performance during long-term operation has not previously been quantified. Three 30-day direct contact MD experiments were operated at different feed temperatures and salinities with a flat-sheet expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane. Results showed that changes in membrane morphology (surface morphology, thickness, and bulk porosity) in the absence of foulants can result in decreasing water flux over time. Higher temperature (65 °C) experiments showed greater membrane morphology changes compared to lower temperature (45 °C) experiments. Creep recovery tests performed at different temperatures demonstrated membrane deformation over time under low and constant stress with the potential for permanent deformation after stress removal; these tests also demonstrated that higher temperatures result in greater deformation. Correlation between short-term creep recovery test results and long-term MD experimental results indicates that creep recovery tests may provide a useful shorter-term method for assessing and comparing propensity of different membranes to deform over time and at different temperatures.
Freestanding emergency departments in Texas do not alleviate congestion in hospital-based emergency departments

Abstract Objectives Ever since the passage of the Texas Freestanding Emergency Medical Care Facility Licensing Act in 2009, freestanding Emergency Departments (FrEDs) have spread throughout Texas. This study aims to determine whether the entry of FrEDs has been associated with less congestion in hospital-based EDs. Methods The dependent variables of interest were hospital-based ED annual visit volume, median wait time, length of visit for discharged patients and the percent of patients who left without being seen (LWBS). The explanatory variables of interest were the numbers of FrEDs within the same local market of each hospital-based ED, and an indicator variable for whether the hospital owned satellite FrEDs in outlying areas. Results Hospital ED visits, wait times, length of visit for discharged patients, and LWBS rates were not associated with the number of competitor FrEDs in the local market. Hospitals that opened satellite FrEDs had significantly higher visit volume in general, but did not experience shorter wait times, length of visit or LWBS rates if located in large metropolitan areas. Conclusions The entry of FrEDs did not help relieve congestion in nearby hospitals in major metropolitan areas in Texas. By offering more treatment options to patients, FrEDs are associated with increased usage of emergency services.
Understanding market functionality and trading success

We examine individual-level trading data from several markets in the PredictIt exchange to determine what strategies correlate with financial success. PredictIt provides many markets with futures contracts linked to political issues, ranging from ongoing policy outcomes to political elections. High fees along with restrictions blocking automatic trading and constraining a one-to-one match between people and accounts, combine to severely limit the upside to investment returns over the fixed costs: this ensures that traders are all retail investors. We have the individual-level data from two markets: Democratic and Republican Iowa Caucuses in 2016. This data includes all orders and trades from every trader across the markets. We are able to fully reconstruct market activity and study trader behavior both within and between markets. We show that understanding how markets and trades works is more important to financial success than proxies for (1) confidence or funding (2) information or objectivity in trading. The work should be a call-to-action in favor of simplifying markets and trading for any exchange with retail investors, and for more research into effects of differential trading efficiency in all financial markets.