cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical results of suprarenal placement of the Greenfield vena cava filter

Twelve patients have had Greenfield vena cava filter placement above the renal veins since 1975. The indication for placement was most commonly contraindication to anticoagulation or recurrent pulmonary embolism during treatment. The follow-up consisted of physical examination, isotope phlebography-lung scan, venous Doppler evaluation, serum specimen evaluation of renal function, and abdominal roentgenograms. The follow-up averaged 16.9 +/- 6.2 months (range 5 weeks to 58 months) in 10 patients. Five patients died after filter insertion, but no death was attributable to filter placement or recurrent embolism. Renal function was unchanged in all patients. Recurrent embolism was documented postoperatively in one patient. Migration of the filter was not observed. The vena cava was demonstrated to be patent in all patients. Two patients had evidence of embolus trapped in the filter.
Regulation of blood flow to respiratory muscles during hypoxia and hypercapnia.

AbstractThe effect of systemic hypoxia or hypercapnia on regional blood flow was measured in respiratory muscles, limb muscles, and kidneys of rabbits by using radioactive microspheres. Blood flow to both the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles was increased in a direct relationship with the severity of the hypoxia or hypercapnia in spontaneously breathing animals. Blood flow to the kidneys decreased while blood flow to limb muscle remained unchanged. During mechanical ventilation, following paralysis with Flaxedil, blood flow to the respiratory muscles was about 10% of that seen during quiet breathing and was unchanged by hypoxia or hypercapnia. Renal flow decreased as in the nonparalyzed animals while flow to limb muscle remained unchanged during the hypoxic and hypercapnic episodes. It is concluded that the major factor involved in regulating blood flow to the respiratory muscles is their level of activity.
Pharmacists’ role in a hospital’s initiative to become a certified primary stroke center

Purpose Significant pharmacy department contributions to a medical center’s efforts to attain certification as a primary stroke center (PSC) are described. Summary As part of an initiative to improve outcomes in patients with stroke and earn the PSC designation, the pharmacy department of an 855-bed community teaching hospital participated in developing a multifaceted “Code Stroke” program. Pharmacists deployed in the emergency department (ED), intensive care units, and medical units are involved in all aspects of stroke care from admission to discharge. Pharmacists attend ED responses to Code Stroke alerts, assisting in patient evaluation and helping to ensure timely tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) administration and prompt computed tomography scanning. Throughout the hospital stay of a patient with stroke, pharmacists are involved in verifying that applicable Joint Commission core measures are met. Once a patient with stroke is deemed ready for discharge, a transitions-of-care pharmacist ensures that the patient receives the assistance necessary to obtain newly prescribed medications and counseling to promote postdischarge compliance. Implementation of the Code Stroke program was associated with improvements in stroke care quality measures, including a reduction in the median time from hospital arrival to t-PA administration and improved core measure compliance. Conclusion By participating in the implementation of a number of transformative initiatives, the pharmacy department played an important role in enabling the medical center to provide consistent, excellent care for all patients with stroke as it prepared for certification as a PSC.
Heuristic algorithm for minimum energy multicast in Ad Hoc networks with multi-radio multi-channel adaptive antennas

To solve the problem of minimum energy multicast in energy-constraint wireless Ad Hoc networks,the communication model of multi-beam antennas based on Multi-Radio Multi-Channel Adaptive Antennas(MR-MCAAs) was constructed,and the formal definition on the problem of the minimum energy multicast with MR-MCAAs was given,and then a heuristic algorithm for this NP-hard problem was proposed.The algorithm suggested two possible strategies for beam reassignment to optimize the scheme of the beam assignment and beam transmitting of every node,and constructed the minimum energy multicast tree with MR-MCAAs multi-beam antennas.The algorithm has the time complexity of O(n3 log n),where n denotes the number of nodes in the networks.The simulations show that the energy consumption of minimum energy multicast with 2-beam antennas has reduced by 59 percent to 72 percent,compared with the single beam directional antennas.
The Deterrent Effects of the International Criminal Court: Evidence from Libya

ABSTRACTThe International Criminal Court (ICC) was designed to try the worst war criminals for crimes against humanity, genocide, and other instances of mass human suffering. By providing a permanent, international mechanism to hold perpetrators of mass human rights abuse accountable, the ICC is also meant to be a deterrent—to prevent potential genocidaires from committing systematic human rights abuses in the first place. But what if the effect is actually quite the opposite? While advocates of international justice have made conjectures about the effect of the ICC on stopping human rights abuses, the existing scholarship does not empirically test assumptions about the relationship between international criminal justice and violence. This article outlines the causal mechanisms by which the ICC could affect ongoing violence and tests these assumptions using event count models of the relationship between the ICC and the level of violence against civilians in Libya during the 2011 crisis. These analyses sug...
Complications of Thoracic Surgery: Avoidance and Recognition

This article focuses primarily on major complications associated with pulmonary thoracic surgical procedures. These complications are infrequent, but they are often either life- threatening or chronically disabling in nature. Most are avoidable if proper attention is given to patient selection and preparation as well as to meticulous intraoperative technique and care.
AsseSS: A Tool for Assessing the Support Structures of Arguments in User Comments.

We present AsseSS, a tool for identifying and assessing the support structures of arguments in user comments. Given a comment, the system first classifies elementary units of arguments comprising the comment based on the type of appropriate support. Then, it detects support relations among the elementary units. With this information, it is possible to decide whether the existing support relation is of suitable type. Also, in the case that no support has been provided for an elementary unit, an appropriate type of support can be determined.
Meeting data sharing needs of heterogeneous distributed users

The fast growth of wireless networking and mobile computing devices has enabled us to access information from anywhere at any time. However, varying user needs and system resource constraints are two major heterogeneity factors that pose a serious challenge to information sharing systems. For instance, when a new information item is produced, different users may have different requirements for when the new value should become visible. The resources that each device can contribute to such information sharing applications also vary. Therefore, how to enable information sharing across computing platforms with varying resources to meet different user demands is an important problem for distributed systems research. In this thesis, we address the heterogeneity challenge faced by such information sharing systems. We assume that shared information is encapsulated in distributed objects, and we use object replication to increase the scalability and robustness, which introduces the consistency problem. Many consistency models have been proposed in recent years but they are either too strong and do not scale very well, or too weak to meet many users' requirements. We propose a Mixed Consistency (MC) model as a solution. We introduce an access constraints based approach to combine both strong and weak consistency models together. We also propose a MC protocol that combines existing implementations together with minimum modifications. It is designed to tolerate crash failures and slow processes/communication links in the system. We also explore how the heterogeneity challenge can be addressed in the transportation layer by developing an agile dissemination protocol. We implement our MC protocol on top of a distributed publisher-subscriber middleware, Echo. We finally measure the performance of our MC implementation. The results of the experiments are consistent with our expectations. Based on the functionality and performance of mixed consistency protocols, we believe that this model is effective in addressing the heterogeneity of user requirements and available resources in distributed systems.
Filling N-sided Holes

Smooth surface patches, such as Gregory patch, Brown’s square and Nielson- Foley patch, which interpolate a given function and its derivatives on the boundary of a rectangle or a triangle, with incompatible twist terms, have been constructed with rational parametric representation by using boolean sum techniques, convex combination methods and procedural methods to fill N-sided holes. Chiyokura and Kimura proposed a representation of Gregory patch in Bernstein-Bezier form, where interior control points are expressed as convex combinations of incompatible control points via rational blending functions. No such representation is known for solutions to the above problem over pentagonal domains. We construct smooth rational surface patches which interpolate a given function and its cross-boundary C k derivatives on the boundary of any convex polygonal domain with incompatible twist data. These patches are represented in S-patch form, where control points are expressed as convex combinations of incompatible control points via rational blending functions. This constructive rational technique provides novel solutions for blending incompatible C k data over polygonal domains. In particular, new solutions are constructed for rectangular and triangular patches as well.
Prophetic Utterance: Nature, Human History, Divine Justice and the Universe

In spite of the controversy regarding his biography of Carlyle, no one would doubt Froude’s depiction of Carlyle’s religion as a ‘Calvinist without Theology’.1 Even less controversial are Carlyle’s own words. Carlyle, for instance, nowhere expresses a belief in a ‘supernatural’ Deity. ‘He based his faith’, stresses Froude, ‘not on a supposed revelation…. Experienced fact was to him revelation, and the only true revelation. Historical religions, Christianity included, he believed to have been successive efforts of humanity, loyally and nobly made in the light of existing knowledge’ (Froude, ii, pp. 2–3).
Pharmacodynamic Considerations in the Development of New Drug Delivery Concepts

The ultimate therapeutic value of a drug depends upon its pharmacodynamic effects and the temporal expression of these effects. A dosing regimen that is appropriate for the treatment of a disease state in a specific patient population is best instituted when one knows the plasma concentration which will maximize the efficacy of the drug and the level below which drug concentrations or amounts in the body must be maintained to avoid toxicity (Benet, 1984). Effective and toxic concentration values for a number of drugs have been reported (Benet and Sheiner, 1980) and these may be useful in defining drug dosage regimens, however, there is no general agreement about the best way to describe the relationship between the concentration of drug in plasma and its effect. For many drugs the form of this relationship between effect and plasma concentration is unknown. For those concentration-effect correlations that have been defined, it is important to realize that the relationships are only meaningful at steady state or at a time when the ratio of the drug concentrations at the site of action and in plasma can be expected to remain constant over time; that is, during the terminal log-linear phase of the concentration versus time curve.
Defining small vessels and bioresorbable vascular scaffold outcomes.

Key Points Bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) are non-inferior to second generation drug eluting stents (DES) but thrombosis rates for BVS in small vesseles is a concern. The BVS-SAVE registry of small vesseles (<2.75 mm) supports safety and efficacy of BVS in this high risk lesion subset. Definitive recommendation for BVS in small vessels require further trials DES with evaluation of the lower threshold for minimal reference vesseles diameter.
The association between reproductive and hormonal factors and ovarian cancer by estrogen-α and progesterone receptor status

Abstract Objective We assessed the association between reproductive and hormonal factors and ovarian cancer incidence characterized by estrogen receptor-α (ERα) and progesterone receptor (PR) status. Methods Tissue microarrays were used to assess ERα and PR expression among 197 Nurses' Health Study (NHS), 42 NHSII and 76 New England Case-Control Study (NECC) ovarian cancer cases. NHS/NHSII cases were matched to up to 4 controls (n=954) on diagnosis date and birth year. NECC controls (n=725) were frequency matched on age. Cases were considered receptor positive if ≥1% of tumor cells stained positive. Associations by ERα and PR status were assessed using polytomous logistic regression. p-Value for heterogeneity was calculated using a likelihood ratio test. Results 45% of ovarian tumors were PR(+), 78% were ERα(+) and 45% were ERα(+)/PR(+), while 22% were ERα(–)/PR(–). Postmenopausal status was associated with an increased risk of PR(–) tumors (OR: 2.07; 95%CI: 1.15–3.75; p-heterogeneity=0.01) and age at natural menopause was inversely associated with PR(–) tumors (OR, per 5years: 0.77; 95%CI: 0.61–0.96; p-het=0.01). Increasing duration of postmenopause was differentially associated by PR status (p-het=0.0009). Number of children and tubal ligation were more strongly associated with ERα(–) versus ERα(+) tumors (p-het=0.002 and 0.05, respectively). No differential associations were observed for oral contraceptive or hormone therapy use. Conclusions Postmenopausal women have an increased risk of developing PR(–) ovarian tumors compared to premenopausal women. The associations observed for ovarian cancer differ from those seen for breast cancer suggesting that the biology for tumor development through ERα and PR pathways may differ.
Does acetaminophen affect liver function in alcoholic patients

Acetaminophen in doses of 4 g/d did not affect liver function of alcoholic patients in this randomized study. These results do not rule out the possibility of acetaminophen-induced liver failure in alcoholic patients, especially patients with pre-existing liver disease or those who continue to drink. Patient-oriented outcomes (ie, studying chronic acetaminophen use in alcoholics to determine the incidence of developing hepatic failure) ultimately would resolve this controversy. However, these data do cast doubt on the medical myth (based on case reports) that acetaminophen use in alcoholics causes hepatotoxicity.
Comprehensive Renal Function Studies: Technical Aspects

A combined in vitro-in vivo renal function procedure has proved to be an important clinical tool in the nuclear medicine laboratory. This noninvasive test is relatively simple from the patient’s standpoint. For the technologist, however, it involves scintigraphic imaging as well as a complex series of calculations including effective renal plasma flow, excretion rates, bladder retention, etc., all derived from a single injection of 131I-orthoiodohippurate.
The critical role of Krüppel-like factors in kidney disease

Kruppel-like factors (KLFs) are a family of zinc-finger transcription factors critical to mammalian embryonic development, regeneration, and human disease. There is emerging evidence that KLFs play a vital role in key physiological processes in the kidney, ranging from maintenance of glomerular filtration barrier to tubulointerstitial inflammation to progression of kidney fibrosis. Seventeen members of the KLF family have been identified, and several have been well characterized in the kidney. Although they may share some overlap in their downstream targets, their structure and function remain distinct. This review highlights our current knowledge of KLFs in the kidney, which includes their pattern of expression and their function in regulating key biological processes. We will also critically examine the currently available literature on KLFs in the kidney and offer some key areas in need of further investigation.
The professionalization of criminal profiling

Criminal Profilers enjoy a prominent status in the public eye due to dramatized media coverage, both fictionally and non-fictionally. However, literature is scarce on how one becomes a profiler and the degree to which the occupation is independent and professional. This study examines the current level of professionalism among criminal profilers. Through a content analysis of both literature and job announcements, this article suggests that, currently, there is little movement toward the professionalization of criminal profilers. Using Friedson’s model of professionalization, this article suggests the professionalization of profilers is hindered by the lack of centralized expertise, the absence of any formal credentialism, and minimal autonomy.
What Is Currently Known About the Effects of Climate Change on the Coral Immune Response

It is well documented that climate change has a negative effect on coral reefs worldwide. Recurrent warming events, ocean acidification, and nutrient pollution are some of the hallmarks of climate change; each affects the health of coral, and together, their effects are multiplied. It is hypothesized that a healthy coral will have a strong, highly active immune system when confronted with different stressors. However, there is very little that we understand about how the coral immune system reacts to different climate change stressors. In this review, we will examine what is known about the effects of heat stress, ocean acidification, and nutrient pollution on the coral immune system. We will identify gaps in our knowledge and briefly discuss a path forward to address these gaps.
Effect of glycl-tRNA concentration on in vitro serine incorporation into the peptidoglycan of S. epidermidis

Abstract Seven species of seryl-tRNA have been isolated from S. epidermidis strain Texas 26 by the use of Plaskon CTFE powder as the support for Adogen 464 in reversed-phase chromatography. All but one of these seven seryl-tRNA incorporated 14C-serine into in vitro biosynthesized peptidoglycan. This suggested that at least one of the functional roles of six of the seven seryl-tRNA peaks isolated may be involved in in vivo cell wall synthesis. It has also been shown that the ratio of glycine to serine in the pentapeptide bridge depended upon the concentration of glycyl-tRNA in the assay mixture. By increasing the concentration of glycyl-tRNA the amount of serine inserted into the bridge is increased. Thus the amount of serine incorporated into the pentapeptide bridge appears to be dependent upon the concentration of glycyl-tRNA.
Technical Communication and Project Management: A Mixed Methods Study in a Corporate Context

A mid-size manufacturing business grew from a family start-up to a global leader in less than three decades, but no plan was developed for Project Management or Technical Communication. Recently upper management acknowledged this corporate weakness and asked us to research interdepartmental communication, with emphasis on New Product Development. Formal Project Management had not previously been attempted at this company, and New Product Development was conducted as a committee. After a literature review, we conducted a mixed-method study to assess employee satisfaction with current project processes, technology, and communication. A survey combining two existing tools was administered to all personnel in departments involved with New Product Development. Downs and Hazen’s Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire was tailored to evaluate the company’s communications, and a customized version of the Universal Technology Adoption and Use Theory tool assessed technology use and acceptance within the company. Subsequent to the survey, all department managers directly involved with New Product Development at the organization were interviewed. Quantitative results were analyzed statistically, and qualitative results were analyzed through open coding. Findings from this study can provide insight into the dynamics of improving both Project Management and Technical Communication within a corporate context.
New insights on critical reagent optimization for antidrug antibody assays

Aim: Conjugated critical reagents are a pillar of ligand binding analysis. Although good practices for characterization have already been discussed, little is known about how assays are affected by specific conjugation parameters. Results: Here we developed, characterized and screened a toolset of bioconjugates that provided new insights about the optimization of conjugated critical reagent attributes. Biotinylated and sulfo-tagged trastuzumab were utilized as capture and detection antibodies, respectively, in an antidrug antibody (ADA) assay. The optimal conjugation window was identified by functional assessment. Excess of unlabeled biotin, but not sulfo-tag, affected the assay performance. An increase in the assay baseline was observed when sulfo-tagged trastuzumab underwent increasing freeze-thaw cycles. Conclusion: Upfront systematic screening and characterization of conjugated critical reagent attributes benefit assay robustness.
Toll-like receptors 2 and 7 mediate coagulation activation and coagulopathy in murine sepsis.

Background Sepsis is a life-threatening condition often manifested as marked inflammation and severe coagulopathy. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a pivotal role in inflammation, organ dysfunction and mortality in animal sepsis. Objectives To investigate the role of TLR signaling in mediating sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) in a mouse model. Methods Polymicrobial sepsis was created by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) or fecal slurry peritoneal injection. To quantify global clotting function, two viscoelastic assays were performed with rotational thromboelastometry, and the results were presented as maximum clot firmness (MCF): (a) EXTEM to test tissue factor (TF)-initiated clot formation; and (b) FIBTEM to test EXTEM in the presence of a platelet inhibitor, cytochalasin D. Plasma coagulation factors were quantified with ELISA. TF gene expression and protein expression were determined with real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR and flow cytometry, respectively. Results Between 4 and 24 hours after CLP surgery, wild-type mice showed significant MCF reduction in both EXTEM and FIBTEM tests. This was accompanied by marked thrombocytopenia and a significant increase in the levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, plasma TF, and D-dimer. In comparison, TLR2-/- and TLR7-/- CLP mice showed preserved MCF and platelet counts, and near-normal plasma TF levels. Bone marrow-derived macrophages treated with a TLR2 agonist Pam3cys-Ser-(Lys)4 (Pam3cys) or a TLR7 agonist (R837) showed marked increases in TF gene expression and protein expression. MicroRNA-146a, a newly identified proinflammatory mediator that is upregulated during sepsis, induced TF production via a TLR7-dependent mechanism. Conclusions Murine sepsis leads to an increased procoagulant response, thrombocytopenia, and global coagulopathy. TLR2 and TLR7 play an important role in procoagulant production and in SIC.
Regioselective 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Reactions of Unsymmetrical Münchnones (1,3-Oxazolium-5-olates) with 2- and 3-Nitroindoles. A New Synthesis of Pyrrolo[3,4-b]indoles

Abstract The unsymmetrical mesoionic munchnones 13 (3-benzyl-2-methyl-4-phenyl-1,3-oxazolium-5-olate) and 14 (3-benzyl-4-methyl-2-phenyl-1,3-oxazolium-5-olate) react with the N-protected 2- and 3-nitroindoles 1 (ethyl 2-nitroindole-1-carboxylate), 6 (3-nitro-1-(phenylsulfonyl)indole), and 17 (ethyl 3-nitroindole-1-carboxylate) in refluxing THF to afford in good to excellent yields the pyrrolo[3,4-b]indoles 15 (2-benzyl-1-methyl-3-phenyl-4-carboethoxy-2,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-b]indole), 16 (2-benzyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-carboethoxy-2,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-b]indole), 18 (2-benzyl-1-methyl-3-phenyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)-2,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-b]indole), and 19 (2-benzyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-(phenylsulfonyl)-2,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-b]indole). In several cases the regiochemistry, which is opposite to that predicted by FMO theory, is very high and leads essentially to a single pyrrolo[3,4-b]indole; e.g., 6+13→19 in 74% yield.
New polymorphism and structural sensitivity in triphenylmethylphosphonium trihalide salts

In the course of our ongoing study of halogen bonding in cocrystals of organoiodine molecules with triiodide salts, we have isolated three of the four known polymorphs of triphenylmethylphosphonium triiodide (PPh3MeI3) and found that one of the tetramorphs exhibits a low temperature phase transition not previously described in the literature. Variable temperature crystallographic studies coupled with differential scanning calorimetry were used to determine the transition temperature and solid-state single crystal to single crystal reversibility of the phase change. To monitor the effect of the size of the anion, bromine was introduced to the reaction mixtures to produce trihalide salts (PPh3MeX3) having varying degrees of mixed iodine and bromine content. The resulting modification of anion size led to structural perturbations beyond those previously observed for the PPh3MeI3 polymorphs, giving three different structure types with similar but not identical packing arrangements of the ions. In addition to providing insight into the effect of subtle changes to crystal packing, the mixed trihalides offer structural and electronic tuning to the applicability of rod-shaped trihalides and functional halogen bonding acceptors.
Impact of grain size on performance degradation of TREAT LEU

Abstract We argue that radiation damage induced degradation of thermal conductivity does not set a lower limit on fuel grain sizes for the low enriched uranium fuel design of the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT). Earlier work reports that smaller grains cause a larger degradation of thermal conductivity than larger grains constraining the smallest feasible size of fuel grains. This work assesses TREAT’s transient performance in the presence of radiation damage. The difference between the two studies is in treating damaged and fresh graphite as serial (this work) or parallel (previous) heat resistors. We use a multiphysics model of TREAT fuel grains to compute the reduction in transient capability measured by the total deposited energy as a function of irradiation dose. We find that radiation damage has a negligible effect on energy deposition.
“Let’s move the earth and build a canal!” The management of water infrastructures in a Sumerian city at the end of the third millennium

The birth and the development of Mesopotamian civilization has been seen as being intrinsically linked to the building of water-related infrastructure to “tame” the environment. Therefore, earthwork projects and the building of reservoirs, dams and canals were essential for the development of the society and for the survival of the Mesopotamian cities. The majority of the documentation comes from the last century of third millennium BC, in the so-called Ur III (or Third Dynasty of Ur) period (conventionally dated to 2112–2004 BC). Among the tens of thousands administrative tablets of this period, we have numerous documents describing the building and repair of canals or their components that shed light on the administrative management of this crucial sector. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the role of the administrative officials in charge of managing the earthworks, in the province of Umma, in Southern Mesopotamia.
Double Duty: The Amplified Role of Special Circumstances in California’s Capital Punishment System

Legal scholars have argued that relying solely upon the eligibility decision in capital case processing to reduce arbitrary outcomes contravenes the underlying goal articulated in Gregg v. Georgia. This Article adds to this line of scholarship by illustrating how eligibility and selection are not easily distinguished as discrete decisions when capital juries are tasked with doing both in the course of their duties. To the extent that most sentencing schemes rely upon capital juries to do both jobs — determine eligibility and make the selection decision — the consideration of aggravating evidence for the purpose of eligibility, and its use as something to be weighed in determining sentencing, is messier in practice. Specifically, the Article focuses on California’s death penalty scheme to illustrate how its over-broad eligibility criteria “bite twice,” first by failing to narrow the pool of defendants who may face the death penalty (the “eligibility decision”), and then by swamping the selection decision by exerting extraordinary influence on the jury’s sentencing decision, relative to mitigating evidence. The Article first details California’s death penalty process including its narrowing mechanism. Then the Article presents evidence from empirical research that offers insight into how death-eligible Californians understand and consider statutory aggravation (“special circumstances” in California’s statutory scheme), especially in relation to mitigating evidence. The Article concludes by outlining next steps for further research on how eligibility and selection determinations work together to produce the twin failures of California’s current death penalty machinery: a failure to narrow eligibility and a failure to ensure coherence in sentence outcomes.
Measuring the Deadly Embrace: Systemic and Sovereign Risks

Abstract This study contributes to the literature by making a first step toward implementing a comprehensive internally coherent measurement of systemic risk in a country. It measures systemic risk and the ensuing conditional contingent liabilities of the sovereign stemming from Luxembourg’s Other Systemically Important Institutions (OSIIs), the Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) to which they belong, the investment funds sponsored by the OSIIs, the household and the non-financial corporate sectors. The ensuing estimated systemic contingent claims are included in a stochastic version of the general government’s balance sheet to gauge their impact on the country’s sovereign risk. Results indicate that time-varying conditional implicit guarantees from OSSIs are larger than those from G-SIBs and investment funds, while systemic risk stemming from the household and non-financial corporate sectors is moderate. The robustness of the sovereign is not drastically affected by systemic risk stemming from the rest of the economy. However, illustrating the so-called “deadly embrace”, sovereign risk would significantly rise as a result of a historically plausible increase in sovereign assets’ value volatility combined with an economy-wide shock. The main policy implication is that financial stability stands on two columns, a resilient financial sector and a sustainable fiscal position.
IDDF2020-ABS-0013 Effectiveness and safety of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir for hemodialysis patients with hepatitis c virus infection at a single center

Background Glecaprevir/pibrebtasvir(GLE/PIB) is anpan-genotypic regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection. GLE and PIB are direct-acting antiviral(DAA)agents that can be used for patients with chronic renal failure who are on hemodialysis(HD) and those with HCV genotype 2 infections. Here, we report the usefulness and safety of GLE/PIB in 13 hemodialysis(HD) patients with HCV infection. Methods The subjects comprised patients with genotype 1and 2(six each) and one unknown genotype patients in whom GLE/PIB therapy was introduced by December 2018. The mean age was 69.2(59–78)years (seven men and six women). The mean HCV RNA amount prior to treatment initiation was 4.81(2.1–6.5). The administration periods were 8 and 12 weeks(n=9 and 4, respectively). Results Twelve patients received all the doses orally while an increase in total billrubin(T-BIL) caused the administration to be discontinued in one patient. HCV RNA at week 4 after treatment initiation became undetectable 1nn 11(91.6%) of the 12 patients. All patients achieved a rapid viral response(RVR). Concerning adverse effects, although itching occurred in three(25%) patients, the symptom improved following administration of oral medication, and the treatment was able to be continued. Conclusions The results suggest that GLE/PIB can also be safely administered to HD patients. However, the usefulness and safety need to be further studied by examining more cases.
HReplica: A Dynamic Data Replication Engine with Adaptive Compression for Multi-Tiered Storage

As the diversity of big data applications increases, their requirements diverge and often conflict with one other. Managing this diversity in any supercomputer or data center is a major challenge for system designers. Data replication is a popular approach to meet several of these requirements, such as low latency, read availability, durability, etc. This approach can be enhanced using new modern heterogeneous hardware and software techniques such as data compression. However, both these enhancements work in isolation to the detriment of both. In this work, we present HReplica: a dynamic data replication engine which harmoniously leverages data compression and hierarchical storage to increase the effectiveness of data replication. We have developed a novel dynamic selection algorithm that facilitates the optimal matching of replication schemes, compression libraries, and tiered storage. Our evaluation shows that HReplica can improve scientific and cloud application performance by 5.2x when compared to other state-of-the-art replication schemes.
Iron chelates hitch a ride on PAT1.

The nicotianamine-iron chelate [NA-Fe2+], which is found in many plant-based foods, has been recently described as a new form of bioavailable iron in mice and chickens. How NA-Fe2+ is assimilated from the diet, however, remains unclear. The current investigation by Murata et al. has identified the proton-coupled amino acid transporter 1 (PAT1) as the main mechanism by which NA-Fe2+ is absorbed in the mammalian intestine. Discovery of this new form of dietary iron and elucidation of its pathway of intestinal absorption may lead to the development of improved iron supplementation approaches.
After redemption and abandonment: José Antonio Aponte’s Libro de pinturas in the field of visual portraiture

Portraiture was at the core of the events known in Cuban historiography as the ‘Aponte Conspiracy.’ A misnomer of sorts, it refers to a string of slave rebellions that shook the island in 1812, the...
Can Adhesives Meet the Challenge of Vehicle Bodyshell Construction

Recent advances in adhesive technology such as the ability to bond directly to oily steel and the emergence of toughened variants, together with developments in robotic application methods and new materials have caused motor manufacturers to reappraise the role of structural adhesives in future vehicle bodyshell designs.
Characterization of the Immunological Properties of Retina-Specific Basigin Variant-1

A recent study indicated that Basigin variant-1 can induce the expression of interleukin (IL)-6 in the U937 monocytic cell line via its amino-terminal immunoglobulin (Ig) domain. Basigin variant-1 ...
Generalization of Extended Baum-Welch Parameter Estimation for Discriminative Training and Decoding

We demonstrate the generalizability of the Extended Baum-Welch (EBW) algorithm not only for HMM parameter estimation but for decoding as well. We show that there can exist a general function associated with the objective function under EBW that reduces to the well-known auxiliary function used in the Baum-Welch algorithm for maximum likelihood estimates. We generalize representation for the updates of model parameters by making use of a differentiable function (such as arithmetic or geometric mean) on the updated and current model parameters and describe their effect on the learning rate during HMM parameter estimation. Improvements on speech recognition tasks are also presented here.
Autosomal recessive syndrome due to amazing consanguinity

We report on a patient with a syndrome of MR/MCA who was the product of a highly consanguineous family. The patient was the result of a union between a man and his daughter. The daughter was in turn the product of a mating between the man and his mother. Major findings include: severe psychomotor and mental retardation, microcephaly with cerebral dysgenesis and cerebellar hypoplasia, delayed visual development, seizures, early hypotonia and late hypertonia; short stature and failure to thrive, early swallowing incoordination with aspiration pneumonias; dysmorphic face with striking hypertelorism, upslanting palpebral fissures and dysplastic, asymmetric, low-set ears; wide set nipples, sacral dimple, right inguinal hernia, hypospadias, cryptorchidism, overlapping fingers, and rocker-bottom feet. At onset of puberty, he developed severe scoliosis with secondary pulmonary restriction. He died at age 14 secondary to post-operative sepsis. Chromosomal and metabolic studies were normal. Although this patient presents some features of other syndromes (such as the Opitz-GBBB syndrome), the severity and peculiarity of his phenotype suggests a new, probably private, autosomal recessive disorder due to homozygosity for one or more loci.
Wireless sensor networks and LTE-A network convergence

In recent years, machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, which do not require direct human intervention, is increasing at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, the need of a wireless platform with a vast coverage and low network deployment cost for controlling and monitoring these M2M networks has not yet been met. Mobile cellular networks (MCNs) and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are emerging as two heterogeneous networks that can meet the challenges of M2M communication through network convergence. In this paper, we propose a model for network convergence between a Long Term Evolution-Advance (LTE-A) cellular network and a wireless sensor network. Quality of service (QoS) issues are assessed by a comparative study of the network delay in tight coupling and loose coupling LTE-A configurations. Simulation results indicate that the network delay in our proposed converged network is acceptable for various M2M applications.
Beta blockers and alpha2 agonists for cardioprotection

Perioperative beta blockade or the use of alpha2 agonists remains a contentious and controversial area of perioperative medicine. Although there is no question that the liberal use of beta blockers (or alpha2 agonists) to prevent or reduce overt signs of sympathetic overactivity, particularly at known periods of stress (e.g. induction, incision, emergence, etc) is an important and routine part of the management of high risk patients, there remains considerable controversy in the literature regarding the efficacy of either short or long-term regimens on cardiac morbidity or long-term outcomes, particularly in those patients not previously receiving medication for known coronary artery disease or hypertension. The role of strict heart rate control (and its safety with regards to hypotension and possibly congestive heart failure) versus intermittent fixed dosing of beta blockers is particularly contentious. We consider the latest literature on this topic and identify areas of agreement and contention and present the latest recommendations of the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Perioperative Guidelines Group.
The droplet model in three dimensions: Monte Carlo calculation results

Abstract Fisher's droplet model in three dimensions has been investigated using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. For clusters consisting of less than l ≈ 100 particles, considerable deviation from the phenomenological model is found. Recently proposed corrections cannot explain this deviation satisfactorily.
Determiners in reading: Miscues on a few little words

Abstract. The English system of determiners seems to be very simple, since there are so few articles, the and alan. But it is more complex than it appears which serves pragmatic text functions: it is used to differentiate definite and indefinite noun phrases and to signal in a text whether particular information is given or new. Using an existing data base from reading miscue research the miscues (unexpected responses) of readers in second, fourth, and sixth grades in 8 American populations were studied to understand the control of the determiner system by the subjects and how they used determiners in the reading of cohesive narrative texts. Miscues were far less frequent than on general text words and they were limited to a small number of categories. There were almost no substitutions of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. A large proportion of the miscues were article for article substitutions. Omissions and insertions were much more common than for general miscues which reflects the use of null dete...
Release of ultraviolet-absorbing compounds by the red-tide dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedra

We tested the hypothesis that ultraviolet-absorbing compounds known as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are not only synthesized but also excreted by marine phytoplankton. An experiment was performed with cultures of the marine dinoflagellateLingulodinium polyedra (previously known asGonyaulax polyedra) exposed to visible (photosynthetically available, PAR, 400 to 700 nm) and ultraviolet (UV, 290 to 400 nm) radiation. Absorption properties of both particulate and dissolved organic matter pools (POM and DOM, respectively) showed maxima in ultraviolet absorption at 360 nm. Chromatographic analysis confirmed the presence of MAAs in both pools. Release of organic matter byL. polyedra, as measured spectrophotometrically by changes in UV absorption in the surrounding medium, showed a differential increase at 360 nm in cultures exposed to UV-B + PAR radiation. The changes in absorption in the DOM fraction were inversely proportional to intracellular UV absorption. Photodegradation experiments in which the DOM fraction was exposed to visible and UV-B radiation showed a decrease in absorption with dose. First-order photooxidation decay rates varied between − 0.005 and − 0.26 m2 (mol quanta)−1 and were also a function of the initial optical density (OD). These results indicate that UV-absorbing compounds synthesized by phytoplankton, such as certain dinoflagellates, may be a component of the DOM pool in surface waters of the ocean and contribute to the attenuation of UV radiation in the water column. Photooxidation consumes only 3 to 10% of the daily production of the DOM absorbing between 280 and 390 nm (including MAAs). This suggests that MAAs dissolved in seawater may contribute to the decrease of UV transmission through the water column on a time scale representative of phytoplankton growth (days) and bloom development (weeks).
Cell fusion induced by a plant virus

Abstract Cytopathic effects of a plant rhabdovirus on established cultures of leafhopper cell monolayers were studied. When potato yellow dwarf virus inoculum with multiplicities of about 800 infectious units per cell was used to inoculate Aceratagallia sanguinolenta vector-cell monolayers, damage to the cells could be observed under a phase contrast microscope as early as 30 min after the start of inoculations. Subsequent development of damage caused gradual detachment of cells from the surface of culture flasks. However, surviving infected cells began to exhibit some morphological changes 8 to 10 hr after inoculation. The distinctness of the perimeter of the cells began to disappear. A reduction in cytoplasm and a congregation of nearby nuclei occurred 20 to 24 hr after inoculation. Extensive cell fusion was observed by phase contrast microscopy 40 hr after inoculation and was also evident by fluorescence microscopy when infected cells were stained with fluorescein-conjugated antibodies to the virus. Similar cytopathic effects and cell fusion were also observed in Dalbulus elimatus non-vector-cell monolayers inoculated with concentrated virus inoculum. Virus inoculum rendered noninfectious by exposing it to ultraviolet light still caused cell fusion, and the longer the uv irradiation, the greater the capacity of the preparation to cause cell fusion.
Henry Stubbe and the First English Book on Chocolate

Main considers the fascinating life and works of Henry Stubbe (1632-1676), with special attention to his book on chocolate, "The Indian Nectar, or a Discourse concerning Chocolata" published in 1662. Main characterizes Stubbe's book on chololate as "the kind of book [Robert] Burton would have written had he been Defoe."
Materials informatics part I: A diversity of issues

Seeking structure-property relationships is an accepted paradigm in materials science, yet these relationships are often not linear and the challenge is to seek patterns among multiple length and time scales. There is rarely a single multiscale theory or experiment that can meaningfully and accurately capture such information. This series of articles will introduce the rationale as to why informatics is needed by briefly summarizing the challenges of information complexity one has to deal with in material science in order to systematically establish structure-property-processing relationships. The value of materials informatics lies in its ability to permit one to survey complex, multiscale information in a high-throughput, statistically robust, and yet physically meaningful manner. The search for new or alternative materials or processing strategies, whether through experiment or simulation, has been a slow and arduous task, punctuated by infrequent and often unexpected discoveries. Each of these findings prompts a flurry of studies to better understand the underlying science governing the behavior of these materials. While informatics is well established in fields such as biology, drug discovery, astronomy, and quantitative social sciences, materials informatics is still in its infancy. The few systematic efforts that have been made to analyze trends in data as a basis for predictions have in large part been inconclusive. This is partially due to the lack of large amounts of organized data and, even more importantly, Materials Informatics Part I: A Diversity of Issues
An investigation of the thermal energy storage capacity of Glauber's salt with respect to thermal cycling

Abstract Calorimetric measurements have been performed on mixtures of Glauber's salt and borax and Glauber's salt, borax and attapulgite clay (the last serves as a thickener) in order to compare the thermal energy storage capacity of the unthickened mixture to the thickened as a function of thermal cycling. The results show a significant improvement in performance of the thickened mixture over that of the Glauber's salt and borax mixture. However, the thickened mixture shows a decline in performance with thermal cycling; several hypotheses to rationalize the decline are presented, tested and discussed.