cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reproductive response of yearling beef heifers to a melengestrol acetate-prostaglandin F2 alpha estrus synchronization system.

A study was designed to evaluate estrus response and fertility after treatment with melengestrol acetate (MGA) and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) in yearling beef heifers. Three hundred four heifers at three locations were allotted to one of two treatments: Treatment 1 served as a nonsynchronized control (CON); and heifers in Treatment 2 received .5 mg of MGA.animal-1.d-1 for 14 d and 25 mg of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) 17 d after MGA (MGA-PGF). Heifers in CON and MGA-PGF groups were artificially inseminated 12 h after observed estrus for 21 and 6 d after PGF2 alpha, respectively. Blood samples were collected from each heifer 10 d before and on the day MGA feeding began and 10 d before and on the day PGF2 alpha was administered. Heifers with concentrations of serum progesterone greater than 1 ng/mL on either date before administration of MGA or PGF2 alpha were considered pubertal. More (P = .02) prepubertal heifers that received MGA attained puberty by initiation of breeding than did CON heifers (72 vs 45%, respectively). The proportion of heifers that displayed estrus within 6 d after PGF2 alpha was greater (P less than .001) for MGA-PGF than for CON heifers (77 vs 25%, respectively) but was also influenced by location (P = .03). Conception rate at first service for MGA-PGF heifers that attained puberty during MGA feeding and before PGF2 alpha was not different (P = .50) from that of CON that attained puberty during the same period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Vitamin D Supplementation: Not So Simple in Sarcoidosis

Abstract Introduction Americans are increasingly receiving vitamin D supplementation, often based on low-measured 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-vit D). In sarcoidosis, there is often increased metabolism of 25-OH-vit D to 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D (1,25-OH-vit D), so 25-OH-vit D may remain low, despite high levels of 1,25-OH-vit D. In such cases, vitamin D supplementation may lead to hypercalcemia. Methods We randomly selected 196 patients with sarcoidosis who received at least 1 prescription of vitamin D between 2005 and 2011 and 196 control patients. Primary outcome was the incidence of hypercalcemia during the 2 years following the vitamin D prescription. A secondary outcome was the proportion of patients who had received vitamin D prescriptions and who had adequate blood work performed before the prescription. Results The 25-OH-vit D and 1,25-OH-vit D levels were measured in only 70% and 23%, respectively, of those receiving supplementation. Hypercalcemia was noted more frequently in the group that received vitamin D (42.3%) as compared with the nonsupplemented group (18.3%), P P = 0.001. In multivariate analysis, having a prescription for vitamin D increased the risk of developing hypercalcemia to approximately 2-fold. The risk of developing hypercalcemia (odds ratio=4.1) was increased with renal failure. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that a substantial proportion of patients with sarcoidosis who receive vitamin D are not getting appropriate pretesting. This increases their risk for developing hypercalcemia.
Risk stratification for sudden cardiac death in North America – current perspectives

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for approximately 360,000 deaths annually in the United States, and is the cause of half of all cardiovascular deaths. In patients with severely depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) have been shown to significantly reduce total mortality, but many factors beyond LVEF influence the relative benefit afforded by ICD implantation. In fact, among patients with prior myocardial infarction, approximately half of all SCDs occur in patients without severe LV dysfunction, and in analyses of large ICD trials, certain patient subgroups derive no benefit to ICD implantation despite having low LVEF, often due to competing non-arrhythmic mortality. Improved risk stratification tools to help select patients who are likely to derive the most benefit from ICD implantation are therefore needed. This manuscript will review studies evaluating use of ICDs in patients with mild LV systolic dysfunction and LVEF >35%, currently available ICD risk stratification models, and the rationale for designing a cohort study to prospectively validate use of an ICD risk stratification score.
Genetics and Biology of Adeno-Associated Virus

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on genetics and biology of adeno-associated virus (AAV). Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a defective member of the parvovirus family. The AAV genome is encapsidated as a single-stranded DNA molecule of plus or minus polarity. Strands of both polarities are packaged, but in separate virus particles and both strands are infectious. Five serotypes of AAV have been identified, but the most extensively characterized is AAV-2. The chapter details the genetics of AVV including the genome structure, the capsid structure, and replication. The nonenveloped virion is icosohedral in shape and one of the smallest that is described, about 20–24 nm in diameter. In case of AVV gene expression, Rep proteins are capable of repressing both AAV and heterologous gene expression. This repression is considered to be dependent on expression from one of the viral promoters; the rep gene is also capable of repressing heterologous promoters. Helper virus function is also studied with adenovirus. The role of the helper virus is clouded by the fact that certain cells can become permissive for AAV DNA replication in the absence of helper virus if they are appropriately perturbed. This effect is observed by transforming cells with viral or cellular oncogenes, as well as treating cells with reagents that transiently arrest cellular DNA synthesis. One of the most interesting aspects of the AAV life cycle is the ability of the virus DNA to integrate into the host genome in the absence of a helper virus. AAV integration appears to have no effect on cell growth and there is no evidence of AAV functioning as a tumor virus. The development of gene transfer vectors from AAV has provided an efficient and effective way of delivering genes into mammalian cells. AAV possesses several unique properties that distinguish it from other vectors. Its advantages include stable and efficient integration of viral DNA into the host genome.
Heuristic detection of one type of erroneous dynamic models in power system stability simulations

In power system stability simulations with commercial software programs, given the large number and diversity of dynamic models, the presence of erroneous models is inevitable. The paper proposes a heuristic approach to the detection of erroneous vendor-specific models that can write to the memory allocated to other models. The idea is that specially designed contingency scenarios are evaluated for the original power system dynamic setup and then for its modifications intended to change the memory allocation. If the results noticeably differ, while they should not, a suspicious model is disabled and the simulations are repeated to assess and clarify its role. The approach is illustrated by a case study with a large power system database. As a system model verification exercise, the approach is recommended for the early stages of a planning study, before its dynamic setup starts to be used in actual stability simulations.
Tumor Cell-Independent Estrogen Signaling Drives Disease Progression Through Mobilization of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells

The role of estrogens in anti-tumor immunity remains poorly understood. Here we show that estrogen signaling accelerates the progression of different estrogen insensitive tumor models by contributing to deregulated myelopoiesis by both driving the mobilization of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and enhancing their intrinsic immunosuppressive activity in vivo. Differences in tumor growth are dependent on blunted anti-tumor immunity and, correspondingly, disappear in immunodeficient hosts and upon MDSC depletion. Mechanistically, estrogen receptor alpha activates the STAT3 pathway in human and mouse bone marrow myeloid precursors by enhancing JAK2 and SRC activity. Therefore, estrogen signaling is a crucial mechanism underlying pathological myelopoiesis in cancer. Our work suggests that new anti-estrogen drugs that have no agonistic effects may have benefits in a wide range of cancers, independently of the expression of estrogen receptors in tumor cells, and may synergize with immunotherapies to significantly extend survival.
Involution of breast tissue and mammographic density

Mammographic density decreases and involution of breast tissue increases with age; both are thought to be risk factors for breast cancer. The current study investigated the relationship between involution or hormone treatment (HT) and breast density among multiethnic patients with breast cancer in Hawaii. Patients with breast cancer cases were recruited from a nested case-control study within the Multiethnic Cohort. HT use was self-reported at cohort entry and at the time of the density study. Mammographic density and involution in adjacent non-tumor breast tissue were assessed using established methods. Linear regression was applied to evaluate the correlation between involution and four density measures and to compute adjusted means by involution status while adjusting for confounders. In the 173 patients with breast cancer, mean percent breast density was 41.2% in mammograms taken approximately 1 year before diagnosis. The respective proportions of women with no, partial, and complete involution were 18.5, 51.4, and 30.1%, respectively and the adjusted density values for these categories were 32.5, 39.2, and 40.2% (p = 0.15). In contrast, the size of the dense area was significantly associated with involution (p = 0.001); the values ranged from 29.7 cm2 for no involution to 48.0 cm2 for complete involution. The size of the total breast area but not of the non-dense areas was also larger with progressive involution. Percent density and dense area were significantly higher in women with combined HT use. Contrary to previous reports, greater lobular involution was not related to lower mammographic density but to higher dense area. Possibly, percent density during the involution process depends on the timing of mammographic density assessment, as epithelial tissue is first replaced with radiographically dense stromal tissue and only later with fat.
The Unethical Monetization of Business Schools (and What We Can Do About It)

We may take for granted that the business school context promotes and rewards ethical research, teaching, and service. I provide an alternative perspective, describing how the context, especially a...
Dravet syndrome: Characteristics, comorbidities, and caregiver concerns.

Abstract The Dravet Syndrome Foundation (DSF) conducted the largest in-depth survey of parents and caregivers of patients with Dravet syndrome (DS) to date, in order to (1) identify top concerns among caregivers, (2) establish an approximate frequency of characteristics and comorbidities of DS beyond seizures, and (3) provide direction for clinicians and researchers looking to study the effects of DS on the patient and family unit. Two hundred fifty-six responses were received representing a patient age range of 9 months to 32 years with a median age group of 7–10 years ( IQR = 8 ). In an open response, caregivers ranked speech/communication, impacts on siblings, and cognitive impairment as their top concerns after seizure control, and nearly two-thirds of caregivers reported having suffered from depression. Some characteristics of DS such as gait issues increased with patient age, while others, including photosensitivity, hypotonia, and ataxia, were present from a young age. Comorbidities such as sleep disturbances and cardiac abnormalities were more frequently reported than in previous studies and some (including bradycardia) were correlated with SCN1A mutation status. This survey supports the concept of Dravet syndrome as a disease of the central nervous system with far-reaching effects and highlights the importance of the patient voice in determining appropriate research objectives. While seizure frequency is a relatively well-understood objective, seizures represent only a portion of parent and caregiver concerns. Studying the characteristics of DS described herein may identify additional outcomes significant for research.
Toward achieving flexible and high sensitivity hexagonal boron nitride neutron detectors

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) detectors have demonstrated the highest thermal neutron detection efficiency to date among solid-state neutron detectors at about 51%. We report here the realization of h-BN neutron detectors possessing one order of magnitude enhancement in the detection area but maintaining an equal level of detection efficiency of previous achievement. These 3 mm × 3 mm detectors were fabricated from 50 μm thick freestanding and flexible 10B enriched h-BN (h-10BN) films, grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition followed by mechanical separation from sapphire substrates. Mobility-lifetime results suggested that holes are the majority carriers in unintentionally doped h-BN. The detectors were tested under thermal neutron irradiation from californium-252 (252Cf) moderated by a high density polyethylene moderator. A thermal neutron detection efficiency of ∼53% was achieved at a bias voltage of 200 V. Conforming to traditional solid-state detectors, the realization of h-BN epilayers wit...
Work System Theory: Overview of Core Concepts, Extensions, and Challenges for the Future

This paper presents a current, accessible, and overarching view of work system theory. WST is the core of an integrated body of theory that emerged from a long-term research project to develop a systems analysis and design method for business professionals called the work system method (WSM). After discussing WST’s basic premises and its two central frameworks, this paper summarizes the relationship between WST and WSM. It shows how experience with early versions of WSM led to three extensions of WST that addressed limitations-inuse in one of the central frameworks in WST. After comparisons with related theories, this paper closes with an evaluation of progress to date, new directions for research related to WST, and implications for the IS discipline. The two appendices summarize the long term research from which WST emerged and use a positioning map to show how WST is related to other topics in the IS discipline.
Serum Proteomic Variability Associated with Clinical Phenotype in Familial Transthyretin Amyloidosis (ATTRm)

Transthyretin (TTR), normally a plasma circulating protein, can become misfolded and aggregated, ultimately leading to extracellular deposition of amyloid fibrils usually targeted to heart or nerve tissues. Referred to as TTR-associated amyloidoses (ATTR), this group of diseases is frequently life threatening and fatal if untreated. ATTR, caused by amyloid-forming variant TTR proteins (ATTRm) that arise from point mutations in the TTR gene, were classically referred to as familial amyloid cardiomyopathy (FAC) or familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), reflecting the clinical phenotype. FAC and FAP are pathologies that can be challenging to diagnose as there are no definitive biomarkers of disease; moreover, disease-specific measures of progression are lacking, and treatment options are limited. Thus, the discovery of sensitive and specific indicators of disease has the potential to improve recognition, enable accurate measurement of amyloid progression and response to treatment, and reveal key information ...
Hyperagents: Migrating Host Agents to the Hypervisor

Third-party software daemons called host agents are increasingly responsible for a modern host's security, automation, and monitoring tasks. Because of their location within the host, these agents are at risk of manipulation by malware and users. Additionally, in virtualized environments where multiple adjacent guests each run their own set of agents, the cumulative resources that agents consume adds up rapidly. Consolidating agents onto the hypervisor can address these problems, but places a technical burden on agent developers. This work presents a development methodology to re-engineer a host agent in to a hyperagent, an out-of-guest agent that gains unique hypervisor-based advantages while retaining its original in-guest capabilities. This three-phase methodology makes integrating Virtual Machine Introspection (VMI) functionality in to existing code easier and more accessible, minimizing an agent developer's re-engineering effort. The benefits of hyperagents are illustrated by porting the GRR live forensics agent, which retains 89% of its codebase, uses 40% less memory than its in-guest counterparts, and enables a 4.9x speedup for a representative data-intensive workload. This work shows that a conventional off-the-shelf host agent can be feasibly transformed into a hyperagent and provide a powerful, efficient tool for defending virtualized systems.
Optically Levitated Torque Sensor and Ultrafast Nanomechanical Rotor

We propose to optically levitate a nonspherical nanoparticle in vacuum to detect the quantum vacuum torque (Casimir torque). We have levitated nonspherical nanoparticles in vacuum and driven them to mechanically rotate at several hundred MHz.
Ibrutinib-associated ventricular arrhythmia in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System.

We herein report our findings of ibrutinib-associated ventricular arrhythmia (VA) cases retrieved through our FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and literature searches as well as the regul...
Imagining Themselves in Europe: Two Nineteenth-Century Balkan Perspectives

Upon Bulgaria’s admission into the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007, a Bulgarian friend of mine made the following remark: “Now that we have become members of the EU, it will either dissolve ...
Alterations in Membrane Phospholipids, Mechanisms of Free Radical Damage and Antioxidant Protection during Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion

The mechanisms involved in cell damage during ischemia and the progression of damage observed during reperfusion are not completely understood. However, it has become apparent that a major alteration in the integrity of cell membranes may be a critical event in the evolution of ischemic damage from a reversible to an irreversible condition. Several mechanisms capable of altering membrane biochemistry have been examined for their role in initiating irreversible injury including oxygen-derived free radical reactions and activation of phospholipases. This chapter will review membrane phospholipid alterations observed during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, and possible interventions aimed at attenuating phospholipid degradation. The role of free radical-mediated myocardial damage also will be reviewed. Free radicals have the potential to initiate peroxidation of membrane phospholipids and may cause extensive membrane damage contributing to the development of irreversible myocardial injury.
The wall as a Kafkaesque symbol: Helga Schubert's ‘das verbotene zimmer’

The narrator in the East German writer's story from the early 1980's, prefaced with a quote from Franz Kafka'sBeim Bau der chinesischen Mauer (The Great Wall of China), expresses continual frustration with authority, maddening encounters with bureaucracy, and a wall that signifies control and power. Allusions to the absurdity of the Berlin Wall and life in the divided city are centered on interconnections between Kafka's spatial metaphors and symbols of confinement, Freud's work on dreams and the subconscious, and Grimms' fairy tales with the motif of the forbidden room. This article focuses on Schubert's text in relationship to her intertexts, particularly in regard to the narrator's subconscious and her “Alptraume” (anxiety-ridden dreams) about visits to West Berlin-the forbidden room. I analyze the Wall as an outer and inner space. The narrator's impressions and reactions during her actual visit to West Berlin as a professional writer in 1978 reflect her internalization of political indoctrination and propaganda against the promises of capitalism. Schubert's text with its Kafkaesque dream elements and symbolic structures is read as a journey toward self-understanding and as a subtle appeal to relax travel restrictions.
Soliton-Like Features in a Two-Dimensional XY Model with Quartic Anisotropy

Recently [1,2] we have shown that in a two-dimensional XY model with quartic anisotropy, soliton-like features do occur. Here we extend this study to include a variable anisotropy. Our results include: (i) the cluster wall thickness multiplied by Tc seems to remain constant, (ii) the rather sharp cluster walls prevent the formation of vortices [3], and (iii) the phase diagram agrees quite well with predictions as obtained by the real-space renormalization group [4].
RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH NON-CONTACT ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INJURY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Background With the increasing number of individuals participating in sports every year, injury - specifically anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - remains an inherent risk factor for participants. The majority of ACL injuries occur from a non-contact mechanism, and there is a high physical and financial burden associated with injury. Understanding the risk factors for ACL injury may aid in the development of prevention efforts. Purpose The purpose of this review was to synthesize and appraise existing literature for risk factors associated with non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in both sexes. Study design Systematic review. Methods An electronic literature search was conducted utilizing the MEDLINE database and The Cochrane library for articles available through February 2016. All titles and abstracts were reviewed and full text articles meeting eligibility criteria were assessed in detail to determine inclusion or exclusion. Articles reviewed in full text were reviewed for scientific evidence of risk factors for ACL injury. Results from studies were extracted and initially classified as either intrinsic or extrinsic risk factors, and then further categorized based upon the evidence presented in the studies meeting inclusion criteria. Data extracted from eligible studies included general study characteristics (study design, sample characteristics), methodology, and results for risk factors included. Results Principal findings of this systematic review identified the following risk factors for ACL injury in both sexes: degrading weather conditions, decreased intercondylar notch index or width, increased lateral or posterior tibial plateau slope, decreased core and hip strength, and potential genetic influence. Conclusions Neuromuscular and biomechanical risk factors may be addressed through neuromuscular preventative training programs. Though some extrinsic and other inherent physiological factors tend to be non-modifiable, attempts to improve upon those modifiable factors may lead to a decreased incidence of ACL injury. Level of evidence 2a.
War Violence Exposure, Reintegration Experiences and Intimate Partner Violence Among a Sample of War-Affected Females in Sierra Leone

Although international attention has focused mostly on boys as child soldiers and youth affected by armed conflict, girls account for more than 40 % of this population globally. Primarily recruited and abducted into armed conflict to serve as “wives” and sexual slaves for commanders and other soldiers, girls experienced high rates of rape and sexual abuse. Using data from a longitudinal study conducted in collaboration with a major international Non-Government Organization (NGO) in Sierra Leone, this study examined the contributions of potentially stigmatizing war violence exposures and more recent post-conflict reintegration experiences to IPV. Results indicate the various aspects of wartime violence, this sample of female youth showed the highest rates of ambient wartime violence, victimization, and sexual assault. However, this sample also showed a non-trivial proportion of perpetrating wartime violence. Overall, this sample reported middling levels of community reintegration, and similar average rates of family reintegration. This study indicates a need for war-affected females to have greater access to resources that can empower them post-conflict.
Sofia's Story: The Sad Reality Behind a Humanitarian Crisis.

This graphic narrative is a storybook drawn on sketch paper with graphite and charcoal pencils and scanned into Microsoft Word. Sofia represents children of undocumented families currently living in the United States who are being denied fundamental human rights including health care
Venous Thromboembolism after Abdominal Wall Reconstruction: A Prospective Analysis and Review of the Literature.

Background Ventral hernias are a common problem after exploratory laparotomy, and plastic surgeons often become involved for hernia repair in complex situations. Plastic surgeons can achieve fascial closure through primary repair, an external oblique aponeurosis release, or a transversus abdominis release. Currently, there is scant literature evaluating venous thromboembolism rates after these procedures. The authors sought to evaluate their own experience with complex abdominal wall reconstruction and venous thromboembolism events. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed their prospectively collected database of all patients who have undergone complex abdominal wall reconstruction performed by a single surgeon at their institution from September of 2013 to February of 2018. Demographic data, anticoagulant use, Caprini score, operative time, and postoperative venous thromboembolism events were recorded. A literature search was also performed, identifying all published articles evaluating venous thromboembolism events after abdominal wall reconstruction. Results The authors identified 175 patients for analysis. Four patients were found to have postoperative venous thromboembolism events, for a total venous thromboembolism rate of 2.3 percent. The average Caprini score for these patients was 8.5, compared to 5.26 for those without a venous thromboembolism event, and no deaths were reported from these complications. On literature review, three articles were identified in the literature discussing venous thromboembolism after abdominal wall reconstruction, all based on the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Conclusions Patients undergoing complex abdominal wall reconstruction are at high risk for venous thromboembolism events. There is scant literature published on this topic, but surgeons should be aware of the risk for venous thromboembolism after complex abdominal wall reconstruction and work to minimize this risk as much as possible. Clinical question/level of evidence Therapeutic, IV.
Identifying Patients With Hepatic Encephalopathy Using Administrative Data in the ICD-10 Era.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a common complication of cirrhosis resulting in relapsing-remitting mental status changes ranging from deficits in executive function to coma. Incident HE is associated with an abrupt increase in mortality1 and frequent hospitalization.2 To further the understanding of the burden and impact of HE at the population level, valid algorithms are required to identify patients in administrative data. An International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 code is specific for HE (572.2), offering a 0.92 positive predictive value (PPV) and 0.36 negative predictive value (NPV).3 When applied in an algorithm to patients with ICD-9 codes for cirrhosis (eg, 571.5), Kanwal et al4 found a PPV and NPV of 0.86 and 0.87. Unfortunately, the switch to ICD-10 in 2015 rendered algorithms validated using ICD-9 invalid. Kaplan et al5 previously showed that lactulose and rifaximin use correlated with grade of HE for Child classification. Herein, we validate a diagnostic coding algorithm for HE using ICD-10 and medication records.
GaN HEMTs on Si With Regrown Contacts and Cutoff/Maximum Oscillation Frequencies of 250/204 GHz

This work demonstrates the high-frequency and high-power performance capacity of GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on Si substrates. Using a T-gate and ${n}^{++}$ -GaN source/drain contacts, the InAlN/GaN HEMT with a gate length of 55 nm and a source-drain spacing of 175 nm shows a maximum drain current ${I}_{{D,MAX}}$ of 2.8 A/mm and a peak transconductance ${g}_{m}$ of 0.66 S/mm. The same HEMT exhibits a forward-current-gain cutoff frequency ${f}_{T}$ of 250 GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation ${f}_{{MAX}}$ of 204 GHz. The ${I}_{{D,MAX}}$ , peak ${g}_{m}$ and ${f}_{T} -{f}_{{MAX}}$ product are among the best reported for GaN HEMTs on Si, which are very close to the state-of-the-art depletion-mode GaN HEMTs on SiC without a back barrier. Given the low cost of Si and the high compatibility with CMOS circuits, GaN HEMTs on Si prove to be particularly attractive for cost-sensitive applications.
A Compact Machinable 90° Waveguide Twist for Broadband Applications

We present a novel machinable 90° waveguide twist design suitable for broadband applications from microwave to terahertz frequency. The design achieves compactness and ease of fabrication by utilizing a series of quarter-wave transformer steps machined in split blocks. Three WR3.4 (220–330 GHz) prototypes with standard UG-387 flanges were fabricated and measured. The prototypes outperform two commercial waveguide twists in both return loss and insertion loss. The simulation and measurement results show that this design achieves a performance of −25 dB return loss for full waveguide bandwidth. Tolerance studies confirm that this design could be scaled up to terahertz frequency with modern computer numerical control (CNC) fabrication technology. In integrated waveguide systems, the waveguide twist design presented in this article can reduce losses at millimeter wave frequencies and achieve valuable weight savings in aerospace and other applications.
An Approach to Measure Functional Parameters for Ball-Screw Drives

Linear Ball screw drives are commonly used for precise motion control of different mechanical systems including CNC machine tools, robotics and various aerospace systems. These drives are specifically designed on the basis of required operating performance parameters like output torque, rated power, slew rate, backlash, friction and required efficiency. These desired parameters significantly affect the functionality of ball-screw drive systems. Parameters like torque capability and slew rate should be tested to validate design and ensure safety during operation. Factors like Friction (dead band) and mechanical backlash offers very adverse effect on the repeatability and operation of overall dynamic system; specifically, when precise positioning accuracy is desired under extensive loading. This paper gives an approach to measure performance parameters for ball screw drives. Torque capacity & slew rate are analyzed and evaluated experimentally on a self-designed Hex Twist suspension test setup. Initially, Hex Twist setup was calibrated to find the deflection scale factor. A complete closed loop testing is also performed on the same testing setup to measure the overall functionality of ball screw drive actuator. The results indicate that the developed testing setup is very accurate in measuring open loop and close loop torque and slew rate values.
Mucolytic enzyme systems

Summary The blood sera from sixty-four parents and sixty-seven siblings of rheumatic fever subjects and seventy-one normal individuals were analyzed for their concentration of nonspecific hyaluronidase inhibitor. Forty-three parents and siblings (33 per cent) had values below 15 per cent inhibition of hyaluronidase, whereas only seven normal individuals (10 per cent) had such low values. This difference was found to be statistically significant.
Nonprofit and Civic Engagement (NPACE) Center: Building Mutually Beneficial Community Relationships

This paper discusses the purpose, reach, and function of the Non-Profit and Civic Engagement (NPACE) Center in the Department of Communication . Additionally, it explores how the ground-up creation of NPACE resulted from a thorough examination of the strengths and needs of both department and community and how the center offers substantive solutions to meet real-life challenges of both. Along the way, the paper addresses how faculty members negotiated with faculty and administrators across campus to gain support to launch the center. Moreover, the paper discusses key achievements of a few select projects executed in the past 5 years of service to the university and community. It also addresses the value of NPACE to its students, including a recent trend that has potential for further examination regarding the effect of the learning model and the center on fostering the civic and community engagement of graduates. Finally, the paper discusses emerging challenges, lessons learned, and opportunities for NPACE. Subscribe to JNEL
Introduction. Understanding Neuronal Pathways: Novel Targets for the Management of Insomnia

From the Sleep Disorders and Research Center, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich. The symposium “Understanding Neuronal Pathways: Novel Targets for the Management of Insomnia,” a satellite symposium of SLEEP 2006, the 20th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), was held June 19, 2006, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and supported by an educational grant from Merck and Lundbeck. Dr. Roth is a consultant for Abbott, Acadia, Acoglix, Actelion, Alchemers, Alza, Ancil, Arena, AstraZeneca, Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cephalon, Cypress, Dove, Elan, Eli Lilly, Evotec, Forest, GlaxoSmithKline, Hypnion, Jazz, Johnson & Johnson, King, Lundbeck, McNeil, MediciNova, Merck, Neurim, Neurocrine, Neurogen, Novartis, Orexo, Organon, Orginer, Prestwick, Proctor and Gamble, Pfizer, Purdue, Resteva, Roche, Sanofi, ScheringPlough, Sepracor, Servier, Shire, Somaxon, Syrex, Takeda, TransOral, Vanda, Vivometrics, Wyeth, Yamanuchi, and Xenoport; has received grant/research support from Aventis, Cephalon, GlaxoSmithKline, Neurocrine, Pfizer, Sanofi, Schering-Plough, Sepracor, Somaxon, Syrex, Takeda, TransOral, Wyeth, and Xenoport; and is a member of the speakers/advisory boards for Sanofi and Takeda. Corresponding author and reprints: Thomas Roth, Ph.D., Sleep Disorders and Research Center, Henry Ford Hospital, 2799 West Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202 (e-mail: troth1@hfhs.org). Introduction
Depth of Powers of Squarefree Monomial Ideals (Research)

We derive two general bounds for the depths of powers of squarefree monomial ideals corresponding to hyperforests. These bounds generalize known bounds for the depths of squarefree monomial ideals, which were given in terms of the edgewise domination number of the corresponding hypergraphs and the lengths of initially regular sequences with respect to the ideals.
Do Extended Oral Postoperative Antibiotics Prevent Early Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Morbidly Obese Patients Undergoing Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty

Abstract Background Extended oral antibiotic prophylaxis after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥40 kg/m2 may reduce the rate of early periprosthetic joint infection (PJI); however, existing data are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine rates of wound complications and PJI in patients with BMI ≥40 kg/m2 treated with and without extended oral antibiotic prophylaxis after surgery. Methods We retrospectively identified all primary THA and TKA performed since 2015 in patients with a BMI ≥40 kg/m2 at a single institution. Extended oral antibiotic prophylaxis for 7-14 days after surgery was prescribed at the discretion of each surgeon. Wound complications and PJI were examined at 90 days postoperatively. Results In total, 650 cases (205 THA and 445 TKA) were analyzed. Mean age was 58 years and 62% were women. Mean BMI was 44 kg/m2. Extended oral antibiotic prophylaxis was prescribed in 177 cases (27%). At 90 days, there was no difference between prophylaxis and nonprophylaxis groups in rate of wound complications (11% vs 8%; P = .41) or PJI (1.7% vs 0.6%; P = .35). The univariate analysis demonstrated increased operative time (odds ratio (OR) 1.01; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.01-1.02) and diabetes mellitus (OR 1.88; 95% CI 1.03-3.46) to be associated with increased risk of 90-day wound complications. No patient factors were associated with increased risk of PJI at 90 days postoperatively. Conclusion Extended oral antibiotic prophylaxis after primary THA and TKA did not reduce rates of wound complications or early PJI in a morbidly obese patient population.
Online therapy: lessons learned from the COVID-19 health crisis

This study explored counsellors’ experiences with online therapy during the COVID-19 crisis, which presented an opportunity to examine how counsellors evaluated the drawbacks, benefits, and appropr...
Review of Building Social Business by Mohammad Yunus

Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus, professor emeritus of Economics at Dhaka University in Bangladesh is the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank. Before this, he was the chairman of the economic department at Chittagong University. The dire poverty situation in Bangladesh coupled with the 1974 famine compelled him to become a social activist (Yunus & Weber, 2010). Due to frustration with local banks that refused to give loans to the poor, he decided to boldly act as a “guarantor” for several poor people so that banks would give them loans. Despite this, there still existed a lot of red tape in the banking sector that slowed down his noble intentions. To overcome them, rather than turn his bank on the poor, he decided to give up his academic work and started a bank. “Grameen Bank” which means “village bank” was founded in 1976 and through its various businesses aimed at poverty alleviation became the first micro finance bank. To simplify the repayment process his “clients” would receive loans using no collateral and pay back interest free in weekly increments in line with set rules. The bank taught the borrowers how to effectively manage and use their loans so as to create small successful businesses (Yunus, 1940). In its initial stages, it loaned money to both men and women but soon realized that due to cultural practices, children of borrowers benefited much more when the borrower was the mother and not father. This is due to the fact that, whereas men would in most cases spend the borrowed money on themselves, the women on the other hand would spend this money on children for food and education. Empowerment of the “Grameen ladies” has had a positive impact on their social status within their families and communities (Yunus, 2010).
Influences of student race/ethnicity and gender on autism special education classification considerations.

Although the prevalence of autism continues to rise, identification disparities across race/ethnicity and gender persist in schools. The under- and overidentification of specific populations receiv...
Low-Cost Algorithmic Recourse for Users With Uncertain Cost Functions.

The problem of identifying algorithmic recourse for people affected by machine learning model decisions has received much attention recently. Some recent works model user-incurred cost, which is directly linked to user satisfaction. But they assume a single global cost function that is shared across all users. This is an unrealistic assumption when users have dissimilar preferences about their willingness to act upon a feature and different costs associated with changing that feature. In this work, we formalize the notion of user-specific cost functions and introduce a new method for identifying actionable recourses for users. By default, we assume that users' cost functions are hidden from the recourse method, though our framework allows users to partially or completely specify their preferences or cost function. We propose an objective function, Expected Minimum Cost (EMC), based on two key ideas: (1) when presenting a set of options to a user, it is vital that there is at least one low-cost solution the user could adopt; (2) when we do not know the user's true cost function, we can approximately optimize for user satisfaction by first sampling plausible cost functions, then finding a set that achieves a good cost for the user in expectation. We optimize EMC with a novel discrete optimization algorithm, Cost-Optimized Local Search (COLS), which is guaranteed to improve the recourse set quality over iterations. Experimental evaluation on popular real-world datasets with simulated user costs demonstrates that our method satisfies up to 25.89 percentage points more users compared to strong baseline methods. Using standard fairness metrics, we also show that our method can provide more fair solutions across demographic groups than comparable methods, and we verify that our method is robust to misspecification of the cost function distribution.
Economic Globalization and Transnational Terrorism: A Pooled Time-Series Analysis

The effect of economic globalization on the number of transnational terrorist incidents within countries is analyzed statistically, using a sample of 112 countries from 1975 to 1997. Results show t...
Teaching computer organization and architecture using SystemC

Hardware simulation is often used in courses that contain a hardware component. We describe and introduce SystemC, a C++ library for designing, simulating, and analyzing digital systems. We compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of SystemC to other technologies used in hardware courses such as breadboards and other simulation technologies including schematic capture and traditional hardware description languages Verilog and VHDL. We ascertained the strengths and weaknesses of using SystemC as a teaching tool by having a student use SystemC to design a subset of the MIPS microprocessor described in the popular textbook [6].
Legal Contours of Expert Testimony

Forensic psychologists often provide expert testimony at trials, hearings, and administrative proceedings. Good practice entails sufficient knowledge of the method by which the legal system regulates expert testimony embodied within the various rules of evidence. These rules provide the structure by which expert testimony may be admitted or barred, who is deemed qualified to proffer the testimony, and the basis for expert testimony. Customary skill, proficiency, and care by the expert require familiarly with the developments and doctrine of the rules of evidence. This chapter reviews the growth and development of psychological experts, the legal doctrine that regulates their testimony, and typical areas of pitfalls to be avoided by the ethical expert. Keywords: evidence; legal procedure; expert testimony
Iterative Ethical Discussion in Hybridized Practice Classes

An increasing number of social work programs at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels utilize online or hybridized instruction, including practice courses. These courses may be of particular advantage to students in rural communities by minimizing commute times and making social work education more available. However, a concern is whether these venues allow essential content, such as the development of professional ethics, to be adequately addressed. This teaching note is based on the authors’ experiences with conducting online ethics discussions and provides suggestions for incorporating online scenarios that reflect practice dilemmas, which students must consider critically before responding to posted questions.
Radio emission from type II supernovae

Over the past five years the study of radio emission from supernovae has developed from a few weak detections of SN1970g into a field with detailed, multifrequency radio “light curves” on several objects, with extensive spectral information, and with complex models for the radio supernova (RSN) phenomenon. This work is continuing and will provide within the next few years detailed studies of individual supernovae as well as statistics concerning the properties of the radio emission from different classes of supernovae.
Two different G-proteins mediate neuropeptide Y and bradykinin-stimulated phospholipid breakdown in cultured rat sensory neurons.

Abstract We have previously demonstrated that neuropeptide Y (NPY) inhibits voltage sensitive Ca2+ channels in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons and that this effect is mediated by a pertussis toxin-sensitive, guanyl nucleotide-binding protein (G-protein). We now demonstrate that NPY can also stimulate the synthesis of inositol trisphosphate (InsP3) and diacylglycerol in dorsal root ganglion neurons. The effects of NPY were compared with those of bradykinin (BK) which also stimulates phosphoinositide turnover in these cells. NPY-stimulated InsP3 synthesis could be completely blocked by treatment with pertussis toxin and significantly enhanced by cholera toxin although not by other agents which raised cellular concentrations of cyclic AMP. In contrast, the effects of BK were completely unaltered by either toxin. Furthermore the maximal effects of BK and NPY were additive. In spite of the lack of toxin effects, stimulation of InsP3 synthesis produced by BK was clearly mediated by a G-protein. Thus BK stimulated InsP3 production in digitonin-permeabilized neurons, and these effects were enhanced by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) and blocked by guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate). The stimulatory effects of both NPY and BK were also blocked by treatment of neurons with phorbol esters. Fura-2-based microfluorimetry of single dorsal root ganglion neurons demonstrated that both BK and NPY increased cytoplasmic-free Ca2+ concentration and that both peptides could produce this effect in the same neuron. Both agents could still increase cytoplasmic-free Ca2+ concentration in Ca2+-free medium indicating that the source of the Ca2+ was an intracellular store. Thus, both NPY and BK can activate InsP3 synthesis in the same cell but seem to utilize different G-proteins. NPY utilizes a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein and BK a toxin-insensitive one.
Triazoline photodecomposition : The preparation of aziridines

Abstract Triazoline photodecomposition has been found suitable for the preparation of aziridines bearing a variety of substituents. The nature and position of substituents in the starting triazoline does not generally hinder the reaction, although difficulties were encountered when photoreactive groups were present. A quantitative study of the effect of alkyl and cycloalkyl groups on the aziridine yield revealed a dependence on triazoline geometry. The effect, however, was not large.
Radiative transfer limit of two-frequency Wigner distribution for random parabolic waves: An exact solution

Abstract The present Note establishes the self-averaging, radiative transfer limit for the two-frequency Wigner distribution for classical waves in random media. Depending on the ratio of the wavelength to the correlation length the limiting equation is either a Boltzmann-like integral equation or a Fokker–Planck-like differential equation in the phase space. The limiting equation is used to estimate three physical parameters: the spatial spread, the coherence length and the coherence bandwidth. In the longitudinal case, the Fokker–Planck-like equation can be solved exactly. To cite this article: A.C. Fannjiang, C. R. Physique 8 (2007).