cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Core Practice Outcomes for Clinical Nurse Specialists: A Revalidation Study

Measuring outcomes of clinical nurse specialist (CNS) practice is essential for demonstrating accountability. Literature is limited with respect to the scope of reported CNS outcomes. The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists' (NACNS) published listing of CNS outcomes could serve as an outcome measurement framework. Revalidation of these outcomes is an important step in creating a structured outcome measurement approach. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess CNSs' perceptions of the ongoing validity of NACNS published outcomes. A Web-based survey asked participants to describe, for each of 42 outcomes, the frequency of outcome accountability, importance to practice, and frequency of monitoring. Of the 427 surveys returned, 347 (81%) were included in analysis. Findings demonstrated concordance between identified outcomes and actual CNS practice. When job descriptions included the CNS outcomes, more CNSs reported using the outcomes in practice. Both accountability and importance predicted the monitoring of outcomes (p < .001). This study demonstrated the ongoing validity of NACNS outcomes. Nurse educators must ensure that CNS program curricula are based on the NACNS framework and that successful achievement of program outcomes are congruent with the framework. These outcomes have potential for use as a conceptual framework for guiding future CNS outcome investigations and ongoing monitoring systems. Finally, the findings of this study give voice to CNS practice and provide knowledge about expectations for practice outcomes.
Lymphoid VDJ Recombinase Activity: Development of a Novel Fluorescence-Based Assay System

We describe two retroviral vector-based recombination substrate systems designed to assay for lymphoid VDJ recombinase activity in cultured cells. Both incorporate a constitutive dominant marker gene (the simian virus promoter driven neo gene) to allow selection of cells that stably integrate the substrate. A second marker gene is included in the substrates that can undergo transcriptional activation when inverted by a site-specific recombination event between flanking immunoglobulin variable region gene segments. In the first vector, the activatible gene is the bacterial guanine-xanthine phosphoribosyl transferase gene (gpt); detection of inversion (VDJ recombinase activity) involves drug selection and Southern blotting analyses. We have used this vector to assay VDJ recombinase activity in a panel of cell lines representing various stages of the B cell differentiation pathway and compared the results to those of other studies that employ transient recombination substrates. In the second vector, the activatible gene is the bacterial beta-galactosidase gene (lacZ). Detection for inversional activation of this gene is achieved by a fluorogenic assay that detects beta-galactosidase activity in viable cells. The latter assay has the unique advantage of rapidly detecting cells that undergo recombination and also allows viable sorting of cells based on the presence or absence of VDJ recombinase activity. We discuss the potential applications of this vector for obtaining variant cell lines expressing differing levels of recombinase activity and for assaying VDJ recombinase activity in cells of transgenic mice.
Ethnic minority participation in Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) research studies

1550 Background: Low minority participation in clinical research is concerning for both research and for the public health. Objective: The aim of this project was to investigate barriers and succes...
Why Is Optimal Growth Theory Mute? Restoring its Rightful Voice

Optimal growth theory as it stands today does not work. Using strictly concave utility functions systematically inflicts on the economy distortions that are either historically unobserved or unacceptable by society. Moreover, we show that the traditional approach is incompatible with competitive equilibrium: Any economy initially in such equilibrium will always veer away into unwanted trajectories if its investment is planned using a concave utility function. We then propose a rule for the optimal savings-investment rate based on competitive equilibrium that simultaneously generates three intertemporal optima for society. The rule always leads to reasonable time paths for all central economic variables, even under very different hypotheses about the future evolution of population and technical progress.
A Simple Mean-Field Diagnostic from Stokes V Spectra

It is shown that the diagnostics from an observed circularly polarized line in a rapidly rotating star are directly interpretable, not in terms of the observed Stokes V profiles, but in terms of its antiderivative with respect to wavelength (in velocity units if preferred). This also leads to a new mean-field diagnostic that is just as easily obtained as the standard “center of gravity” approach, and is less susceptible to cancellation if the line-of-sight field changes sign over the face of the star.
Quantitating error in blood flow measurements with radioactive microspheres.

Accurate determination of the reproducibility of measurements using the microsphere technique is important in assessing differences in blood flow to different organs or regions within organs, as we...
Investigating Srebrenica: Institutions, Facts, Responsibilities

Srebrenica fell on 11 July 1995. Dutch peace-keepers under NATO command, tasked to protect this enclave, proclaimed a “safe haven” by the United Nations, were captured with no resistance by Serbian...
Role of Real-Time Three-Dimensional Echocardiography in the Diagnosis of Ventricular Septal Defect

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic potential of real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) in patients with ventricular septal defects (VSD).Methods:One hundred and two patients with VSD were diagnosed by RT3DE and two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE),and the results were compared with surgical findings.Results:The defects were delineated objectively from many unique directions and angles by RT3DE that would not be available with 2DE,even simulated intraoperative visualization.The RT3DE views of VSD included the anatomical shape,position,size and spatial relations.The VSD maximum diameters obtained from RT3DE were (1.02±0.14) cm,from 2DE was (0.86±0.28) cm,and from surgical findings was (1.05±0.36) cm.There was no statistical difference between measurements made by RT3DE and those obtained at surgery.There were a statistical differences in the measured values between 2DE and RT3DE or surgical findings.The VSD diameter measured by RT3DE and 2DE was correlated well with the VSD diameter measured from surgical findings (r = 0.952,P 0.01;r = 0.675,P 0.01 respectively).Conclusion:Compared with 2DE,RT3DE could display the true stereoscopic views of VSD,and provide better quantitative evaluation of the size,and lead to an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of VSD.
Clinical characteristics of 6 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases reported in Guangzhou city

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), and enhance the diagnosis and therapeutic effect. Method A retrospective analysis study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics of the 6 CJD cases reported in Guangzhou. Results Most of the cases are of acute and subacute onset. The first symptom of CJD is rapidly progressive dementia(2 cases) and extrapyramidal system disorder (2 cases). There were no family history of dementia among these cases, and there were no surgery and pituitary growth hormone use history either. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) examination had shown no significant abnormal signals. The electroencephalogram (EEG) examination had shown diffusing slow waves, and 4 of the cases had shown distinctive periodic three phase waves. The 14-3-3 protein was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid in 3 cases but PRNP gene mutation was not detected. Brain biopsy was done in 1 case, and PrPSc was detected in the brain tissue. Conclusions The incipient symptom of CJD was not typical. Detecting 14-3-3 protein in CSF and continuous EEG monitoring could be specific methods for early diagnosis of CJD.
Importance of Runtime Considerations in Performance Engineering of Large-Scale Distributed Graph Algorithms

Due to the ever increasing complexity of the modern supercomputers, performance analysis of irregular applications became an experimental endeavor. We show that runtime considerations are inseparable from algorithmic concerns in performance engineering of large-scale distributed graph algorithms, and we argue that the whole system stack, starting with the algorithm at the top down to low-level communication libraries must be considered.
Profane archaeology and the existential dialectics of the city

What does it mean to view the landscape dialectically? I here experiment with an approach inspired by Benjamin, the intent of which is to expand our understanding of dialectics beyond the structura...
Tissue Maturation in Vivo and in Vitro: Gamete and Early Embryo Ontogeny

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses various aspects of tissue maturation in vivo and in vitro. The primary oocyte stage of gamete differentiation in most female mammals is reached during fetal life after proliferation of primordial germ cells and oogonia with subsequent entry into meiosis and transformation of the gamete into the primary oocyte. Primary oocytes from tertiary follicles are most frequently recovered postmortem, surgically, with the aid of a laparoscope or most recently through ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration. Each in vitro protocol has its own rate of success and the outcome of the total process will be a multiplicative factor comprising all the steps. A system for producing bovine embryos in vitro has actually worked at some level of efficiency for a number of nondomestic ungulates. The buffering system in the medium selected for maturation will dictate the CO2 concentration required for culture. Macromolecular supplements used in tissue culture perform two basic roles. One of the roles is to provide a fixed source of nitrogen and the other is to reduce stickiness of the cell surfaces to make handling and manipulation easier. The follicular and ovarian factors affecting oocyte competency are also elaborated.
Herpes Zoster and the Risk of Stroke in Patients With Autoimmune Diseases.

Objective Herpes zoster (HZ) is an opportunistic infection caused by varicella-zoster virus and observed with increasing frequency in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapies. The literature has suggested that the risk of stroke may increase shortly after HZ, but little is known about this association in patients with autoimmune diseases, who are at increased risk of both zoster and stroke. Methods Medicare data from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013 were used to identify patients with autoimmune diseases. The outcome of interest was hospitalized stroke. The hypothesis tested was that the incidence of stroke immediately following HZ is increased compared to the incidence of stroke at later time points. Secondary analyses included assessment of the impact of antiviral therapy on subsequent stroke, as well as the influence of varicella-zoster virus–related complications on stroke incidence. Results The crude incidence of stroke ranged from a high of 2.30 per 100 patient-years (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.96–5.52) within 90 days of HZ in patients who had HZ-related cranial nerve complications and did not receive treatment to a low of 0.87 per 100 patient-years (95% CI 0.75–1.02) at 366–730 days in those without complication who received antiviral treatment. After multivariable adjustment for multiple stroke-related factors, the overall incidence rate ratio (IRR) for stroke in the first 90 days after HZ was 1.36 (95% CI 1.10–1.68) compared to stroke occurring at 366–730 days after HZ. The risk was greater for patients with zoster and cranial nerve complications (IRR 2.08 [95% CI 0.99–4.36]). Prompt antiviral therapy was associated with lower incidence of subsequent stroke (IRR 0.83 [95% CI 0.70–0.98]). Conclusion In patients with autoimmune diseases, incident HZ was associated with as much as a 2-fold increased risk of stroke in the subsequent few months. These data underscore the urgency of developing strategies for reducing the risk of varicella-zoster virus.
Dynamic polygon cloud compression

We introduce a compressible representation of 3D geometry (including its attributes, such as color texture) intermediate between polygonal meshes and point clouds called a polygon cloud. Polygon clouds, compared to polygonal meshes, are more robust to live capture noise and artifacts. Furthermore, dynamic polygon clouds, compared to dynamic point clouds, are easier to compress, if certain challenges are addressed. In this paper, we propose methods for compressing dynamic polygon clouds using transform coding of color and motion residuals. We find that, compared to static polygon clouds and a fortiori static point clouds, dynamic polygon clouds can improve color compression by up to 2–3 dB in fidelity, and can improve geometry compression up to a factor of 2–5 in bit rate.
Very high voltage AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic power HEMTs

This paper reports the development of double recessed pseudomorphic GaAs High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) for high voltage operation. The GaAs-based power HEMT with 0.25 mu m gate-length exhibited a gate to drain breakdown voltage of 30 volts, a peak g/sub m/ of 510 mS/mm, and a maximum current density of 540 mA/mm. When biased to 14 volts on the drain, the 400 mu m wide HEMT delivered 505 mW (1.26 W/mm) output power at 4.5 GHz. This is the highest output power density and drain-source operating voltage ever reported for HEMT devices. The device also showed excellent 4.5 and 10 GHz power performance combination (power gain, power density, power-added efficiency) at V/sub ds/=8V. The significant extension of device drain bias range as well as increase in the product of current density and breakdown voltage were attributed to the adoption of channel recess using reactive ion etching. >
Background of SAM atom-fraction profiles

Abstract Atom-fraction profiles acquired by SAM (scanning Auger microprobe) have important applications, e.g. in the context of alloy surface engineering by infusion of carbon or nitrogen through the alloy surface. However, such profiles often exhibit an artifact in form of a background with a level that anti-correlates with the local atom fraction. This article presents a theory explaining this phenomenon as a consequence of the way in which random noise in the spectrum propagates into the discretized differentiated spectrum that is used for quantification. The resulting model of “energy channel statistics” leads to a useful semi-quantitative background reduction procedure, which is validated by applying it to simulated data. Subsequently, the procedure is applied to an example of experimental SAM data. The analysis leads to conclusions regarding optimum experimental acquisition conditions. The proposed method of background reduction is based on general principles and should be useful for a broad variety of applications.
Harvesting ambient wind energy with an inverted piezoelectric flag

Abstract The paper describes an experimental study of wind energy harvesting by self-sustained oscillations (flutter) of a flexible piezoelectric membrane fixed in a novel orientation called the “inverted flag”. We conducted parametric studies to evaluate the influence of geometrical parameters of the flag on the flapping behavior and the resulting energy output. We have demonstrated the capability for inducing aero-elastic flutter in a desired wind velocity range by simply tuning the geometrical parameters of the flag. A peak electrical power of ∼5.0 mW/cm3 occurred at a wind velocity of 9 m/s. Our devices showed sustained power generation (∼0.4 mW/cm3) even in low-wind speed regimes (∼3.5 m/s) suitable for ambient wind energy harvesting. We also conducted outdoor experiments and harvested ambient wind energy to power a temperature sensor without employing a battery for energy storage. Moreover, a self-aligning mechanism to compensate for changing wind directions was incorporated and resulted in an increase in the temperature sensor data output by more than 20 times. These findings open new opportunities for self-powered devices using ambient wind energy with fluctuating conditions and low speed regimes.
Surviving "Open-ended Projects" in Project-Based Learning: A Teacher's Perspective (Abstract Only)

Supervising students in project-based courses is challenging, particularly when the projects are "open-ended," such as real-world projects or projects whose ideas are generated by the students. These projects often have undefined scope and use technologies and tools where we lack expertise. In this session, we plan to discuss the challenges faced by teachers in supervising open-ended projects in project-based learning environments. Some of the questions we address in this session: How do we support students with a project in a domain we know nothing about? How do we help students find meaningful and relevant projects with appropriate scope? How do we assist students in selecting appropriate technologies and tools? How do we guide students in planning their iterations to deliver business value and core functionality? This BoF is for instructors who teach or are interested in teaching courses with open-ended projects.
Update on Treatment in Cardiac Sarcoidosis

The prevalence of cardiac sarcoidosis has exponentially increased over the past decade, primarily due to increased awareness and diagnostic modalities for the disease entity. Despite an expanding patient cohort, the optimal management of cardiac sarcoidosis remains yet to be established with a significant lack of prospective trials to support current practice. Corticosteroids remain first-line treatment of this disorder, and we recommend that immunosuppressive therapy should be initiated in all patients diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis. Additional pharmacotherapy may be necessary based on disease manifestations and response to treatment. The use of nuclear imaging with 18fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) to guide treatment has become more common, but lacks rigorous data from larger cohorts. Whether an improvement in inflammatory burden as assessed by 18FDG-PET is correlated with clinical outcomes is as yet unproven. Device therapy with implantable-cardioverter defibrillators should be considered in all cardiac sarcoidosis patients for either primary or secondary prevention of ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac death.
Learning Parametric Stress without Domain-Specific Mechanisms

State-of-the-art learning mechanisms for stress in Optimality Theory (see, e.g., Tesar and Smolensky 2000; Boersma and Pater 2016; Jarosz 2013) make use of probabilistic mechanisms that are domain-general in that they do not refer to the content of constraints and must not be in UG. By contrast, Pearl (2007, 2011) has argued that domain-general probabilistic learners of parametric grammars (Yang 2002) are insufficient for word stress, and, instead, domain-general learning mechanisms must be stipulated in UG alongside the parameters themselves. We propose a modification of Yang’s (2002) learner based on Jarosz’s (2015) learner for Optimality Theory: the Expectation Driven Parameter Learner, and show that this modification yields a dramatic improvement in accuracy (from 4.3% to 96%) on a representative typology generated by Dresher and Kaye’s (1990) parameter set. This suggests that domain-general learning mechanisms may be sufficient for learning stress after all, contra Pearl (2007, 2011), regardless of which grammatical representation (parameters or violable constraints) is a better reflection of the human language capacity.
Introduction to Feature Selection

This is an era of information. However, the data is only valuable if it is efficiently processed and useful information is derived out of it. It is now common to find applications that require data with thousands of attributes. Problem with processing such datasets is that they require huge amount of resources. To overcome this issue, research community has come up with an effective tool called feature selection. Feature selection lets us select only relevant data that we can use on behalf of the entire dataset. In this chapter we will discuss necessary preliminaries of feature selection.
Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas without Cortical Venous Reflux.

Background The rationale for treatment of dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) without cortical venous reflux is symptomatic resolution. Most studies of dAVF treatment, including those for stereotactic radiosurgery, have focused on angiographic obliteration instead of clinical symptomatic outcome. Methods The authors evaluated their institutional experience with stereotactic radiosurgery for cerebral dAVFs without cortical venous reflux from 1991 to 2016, evaluating angiographic and clinical outcomes, focusing on the course of pulsatile tinnitus and/or ocular symptoms after treatment. They subsequently pooled their results with those from a systematic literature review. Results Pooled outcomes data from 349 low-risk dAVF (120 patients with pulsatile tinnitus and 229 patients with ocular symptoms) were analyzed. Over a mean follow-up of 2.6 years, 77% of patients presenting with pulsatile tinnitus experienced resolution and an additional 21% had improvement, with an angiographic obliteration rate of 70.9%. Among 229 patients with ocular symptoms from carotid-cavernous dAVFs, improvement or resolution of symptoms occurred in 95% of those with chemosis, 90% of those with ophthalmoparesis, and 96% of those with proptosis. The angiographic obliteration rate was 76.2%. There were six permanent complications in 349 total treated low-risk dAVF (1.7%). Conclusions Rates of clinically significant symptomatic improvement/resolution of symptoms referable to “low-risk” dAVFs are even greater than their angiographic obliteration rate, an important factor in patient counseling and when considering the optimal treatment approach for these dAVFs.
An innovative hybrid battery management system for telecom

Lead-acid battery has been widely used as a standby power for telecom industry. As the different electrical characteristic of battery among different categories, even battery banks of same category and same manufacture but different serving age, they can't be directly used in parallel connection, or it will bring disastrous consequences, including fewer discharge capacity, shorter battery life. This rule leads to trouble for existing lead-acid battery utilization during telecom base station expansion. Operators should pay much more money for the new larger capacity of lead-acid battery, then existing battery is replaced and abandoned, it's not environmental too. This paper introduces an innovative hybrid battery management system to solve the issue that old battery banks can't be reused with new battery banks during site expansion. It can help operators to realize low TCO, high reliability of power supply, and best cost performance. The hybrid battery management system supports managing the new and old two categories of lead-acid battery banks with same or different rated capacity. Especially, it also supports the hybrid application of lithium battery and lead-acid battery though upgrading the software.
Scaling Electrowetting with Printed Circuit Boards for Large Area Droplet Manipulation

Droplet based microfluidics (digital microfluidics) with Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) has gained popularity with the promise of being technology for a true lab-on-chip device with applications spanning across assays/library prep, next-gen sequencing and point-of-care diagnostics. Most electrowetting device architecture are linear electrode arrays with a shared path for droplets, imposing serious limitations -- cross contamination and limited number of parallel operations. Our work is in addressing these issues through large 2D grid arrays with direct addressability providing flexible programmability. Scaling electrowetting to larger arrays still remains a challenge due to complex and expensive cleanroom fabrication of microfluidic devices. We take the approach of using inexpensive PCB manufacturing, investigate challenges and solutions for scaling electrowetting to large area droplet manipulation. PCB manufactured electrowetting arrays impose many challenges due to the irregularities from process and materials used. These challenges generally relate to preparing the surface that interfaces with droplets -- a dielectric material on the electrodes and the top most hydrophobic coating that interfaces with the droplets. A requirement for robust droplet manipulation with EWOD is thin (<10um) hydrophobic dielectric material which does not break down at droplet actuation voltages (AC/DC, 60V to 200V) and has a no droplet pinning. For this, we engineered materials specifically for large area PCBs. Traditionally, digital microfluidic devices sandwich droplets between two plates and have focussed on sub-microliter droplet volumes. In our approach, droplets are on an open surface with which we are able to manipulate droplets in microliter and milliliter volumes. With milliliter droplet manipulation ability on our electrowetting device, we demonstrate “digital millifluidics”. Finally, we report the performance of our device and to motivate the need for large open arrays we show an example of running multiple parallel biological experiments.
CALCIUM TRANSIENTS IN SF-9 INSECT CELLS EXPOSED TO FLUID STRESSES REPRESENTATIVE OF TURBULENT EDDIES

ABSTRACT The interaction of a suspended cell with a turbulent eddy in a bioreactor subjects the cell to a brief and rapidly varying set of forces, the magnitude and frequency of which may be estimated. To study their effect we have monitored intracellular free calcium ion concentrations while exposing Sf-9 insect cells to repetitive laminar stresses of 0.2 second duration. There is a transient increase which increases with the number of stressing cycles in the range 2–20. Stresses repeated at 0.7 and 5 minute intervals cause a continuing elevation of the baseline calcium level but a decreasing immediate response. Pluronic F-68 surfactant greatly reduces these calcium transients. This calcium response may be part of the biochemical means by which agitation damages cells. Keywords: calcium, fura-2, turbulence, shear stress
Physical and Chemical Hazards

This chapter deals with hazard assessment, including identification, evaluation, and mitigation of hazards. The process of hazard identification involves the identification of potential sources of hazards and types of hazards. Sources of hazards are inclusive of a wide range of structures, materials, operations, activities, circumstances, and phenomena. The types of hazards include specific physical, chemical, and biological agents irrespective of their source. Industrial facilities are under increasing regulatory control regarding the types of hazards that are typically associated with particular types of industrial activities. Agencies and organizations having responsibility for responding to emergencies give particular attention to the types of hazards they are likely to encounter as responders. The range of hazards are extremely comprehensive or considerably narrow. The wider the range of potential hazards, the more comprehensive planning effort is devoted to maximize the day-to-day control of hazards and efficient and effective emergency responses. The effective control of hazards must be achieved through a partnership of facility owners and operators, emergency response authorities, and municipal authorities.
Junior otolaryngology resident in-service exams predict written board exam passage.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the association between the Otolaryngology Training Examination (OTE) taken during residency and the passage rate of first-time examinees on the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Written Qualifying Examination (WQE). METHODS Retrospective cohort study using a de-identified database containing information on examinees who took the WQE in 2007 through 2014, and examinees who took the OTE exam 2005 through 2014. A total of 2,214 otolaryngology residents took the WQE for the first time in 2007 through 2014 after taking the OTE during residency training. Data were analyzed using one-way frequencies and table analyses. Logistic regression was used to model the relationship between the pass/fail WQE result and the OTE stanine. Data transformations were used to analyze WQE passage as a function of OTE scores. RESULTS There is a significant relationship between OTE score and passage of the WQE on the first attempt, evident even for junior residents. The probability of passing the WQE on the first attempt is 97% if the resident scores in the top six stanines of the OTE during residency training compared to 71% to 79% if the examinee scores in the bottom three stanines. CONCLUSION There is a significant relationship between performance on the OTE and passing the WQE on the first attempt. Because this relationship is evident even in the first years of residency, it allows early identification of those with a higher chance of failing the WQE so that extra efforts can be undertaken to prepare for the WQE. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3 Laryngoscope, 129:124-128, 2019.
Promoting the Diffusion of Sustainable Innovations in the Cosmetic Industry

In this article, key factors that contribute to the successful diffusion of sustainable innovations are explored in the cosmetic industry. Through case studies and surveys, obstacles and challenges facing cosmetic companies that either start as a sustainable cosmetic company or decides to include sustainable cosmetics in its product portfolio are discussed. Suggestions for those companies to not only survive but also thrive in an already saturated cosmetic product industry are provided. They include strategies that help cosmetic companies to better integrate sustainability into the core of their business strategies and managerial operations. Based on insights gained from the literature review and case studies, three main successful factors-customer education, company image building, and establishing strategic alliance are identified and illustrated in details.
UNIT 9.18 Stem Cell Identification and Sorting Using the Hoechst 33342 Side Population (SP)

This unit describes the use of Hoechst 33342 to identify and purify murine hematopoietic stem cells, the so-called side population. Three properties of the dye contribute to the ability to distinguish stem cells in this way. Hoechst is a DNA-binding dye. It has at least two binding modes that result in different spectral properties, allowing resolution of multiple populations by viewing fluorescence at two wavelengths simultaneously. The ability to discriminate SP cells is based on the differential efflux of the dye by a multi-drug-like transporter. Particular attention is given to the critical aspects of Hoechst concentration, cell concentration, staining time, and staining temperature.
Violence Exposure and Psychopathology as Potential Correlates and Risk Factors of Relational Aggression among Diverse College Students

Longitudinal research has demonstrated that the prevalence of physical aggression among youth in the United States has been waning over the past decade; however, the prevalence of relational aggres...
Lessons from Theory: The Blunted Blade of One-Mark Ballots

The prioritizing of ballot structure over contest structure to seek a way out of the dilemma of disempowerment is explored in this chapter. Here, readers are plunged into a deep, dark pool of theory—but with airtight goggles and a powerful flashlight. A good conceptual framework is an indispensable guide to reform options, the most promising of which use distributive instead of exclusive input rules for the expression of variable levels of support across multiple candidates per contest. Multi-mark ballots are smarter ballots. The lessons of theory reveal that the dilemma of disempowerment’s apparent stranglehold on voters is an artifact of the input structure of one-mark ballots.
Numerical study on the effectiveness of precursor isolation using N2 as gas barrier in spatial atomic layer deposition

Abstract Spatial atomic layer deposition (ALD) is capable to increase film deposition rate dramatically by eliminating the need of traditional pulse/purge steps in ALD process. Numerical simulations offer valuable information on spatial ALD system design and development. In this paper, a numerical study of inline spatial ALD process with a large gap (36 mm) is presented to investigate the effectiveness of precursor isolation using N2 flow as gas barrier in two different geometric designs, namely, top and bottom purge configurations. Bottom purge configuration is shown more effective in preventing precursor intermixing than top design. Higher N2 injecting flow rate and higher relative purging pressure are beneficial to construct an effective gas barrier in spatial ALD system. Evenly assigned precursor dosing pressure is advantageous to further prevent material intermixing. Transient material distributions in the flow field, contour plots of species, velocity field, and material tracelines have confirmed the effective gas barrier built by N2. Precursor intermixing molar fraction is shown as low as 0.0045%, and the intermixing molar concentration is as low as 9.105 × 10−5 mol/m3. The study provides invaluable information in determining geometric and process parameters for system design, and the effectiveness of precursor isolation using N2 as gas barrier in spatial ALD with a large gap is validated.
Using EC-STM to obtain an understanding of amino acid adsorption on Au(111)

With increasing interest into the origin of life as well as the advancement of medical research using nanostructured architectures, investigations into amino acid assemblies have increased heavily in the field of surface science. Amino acid self/assisted-assembly on metallic surfaces is typically investigated with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy at low temperatures and under ultra-high vacuum in order to maintain a pristine surface and to provide researchers the tools to atomically interrogate the surface. However, in doing so, results often tend to be uncertain when moving to more realistic conditions. The investigation presented focuses on the electrochemical STM study of five simple amino acids as well as two modifications of a single amino acid and the means by which they interact with Au(111). Using EC-STM under in situ conditions, the amino acids were shown to have a considerable interaction with the underlying surface. In all cases, the amino acids trapped diffusing adatoms to form islands. These findings have also been observed under UHV conditions, but this is the first demonstration of the correlation in situ. Results indicate that an increase in the molecular footprint of the amino acid had a subsequent increase in the area of the islands formed. Furthermore, by shifting from a nonpolar to polar side chain, island area also increased. By analyzing the results gathered via EC-STM, fundamental insight can be gained into not only the behavior of amino acids with the underlying surface, but also into the direct comparison of LT-UHV-STM data with imaging performed under ambient conditions.
Demonstration of a GaN/AlGaN Superlattice-Based p-Channel FinFET With High ON-Current

In this letter, we report on the demonstration of a Mg-doped GaN/Al0.2Ga0.8N superlattice (SL) based depletion mode p-channel FinFET to improve the on current (ION). A two-step approach involving a dry etch followed by a Tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) wet etch was employed to obtain fins with minimum width of 50 nm using optical lithography. Normalizing current with fin height, an ION of 52 mA/mm and 110 mA/mm were achieved for 80 and 105 nm wide fins respectively.
Environment as provider

Abstract Earth and its biosphere provide air water, nutrients including food and minerals for human survival and flourishing. In this chapter each of these essentials will be considered in light of their functions and current status on planet earth. Aspects of the ecosystem and biosecurity are presented. Insights into functions of these essential components have been in part gathered through clinical and research studies in cases of deficiencies and also in cases where genetic mutations impact functions. Impacts of nutritional deficiencies and of deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals are discussed. In addition, genetic disorders leading to impaired homeostasis of certain mineral, and vitamins, e.g. iron, calcium vitamin D, iodine, are presented. Aspects of water security, water pollution, air pollution and human heath are briefly reviewed.
Design of porous aluminum oxide ceramics using magnetic field-assisted freeze-casting

Magnetic field-assisted freeze-casting of porous alumina structures is reported. Different freeze-casting parameters were investigated and include the composition of the original slurry (Fe3O4 and PVA content) and the control of temperature during the free casting process. The optimum content of the additives in the slurry were 3 and 6 wt% for PVA and Fe3O4, respectively. These conditions provided the most unidirectional porous structures throughout the length of the sample. The sintering temperature was maintained at 1500 °C for 3 h. The application of a vertical magnetic field (parallel to ice growth direction) with using a cooling rate mode technique was found to enhance the homogeneity of the porous structure across the sample. The current study suggests that magnetic field-assisted freeze-casting is a viable method to create highly anisotropic porous ceramic structures.
Definition, Causes, Pathogenesis, and Consequences of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are episodes of symptom worsening which have significant adverse consequences for patients. Exacerbations are highly heterogeneous events associated with increased airway and systemic inflammation and physiological changes. The frequency of exacerbations is associated with accelerated lung function decline, quality of life impairment and increased mortality. They are triggered predominantly by respiratory viruses and bacteria, which infect the lower airway and increase airway inflammation. A proportion of patients appear to be more susceptible to exacerbations, with poorer quality of life and more aggressive disease progression than those who have infrequent exacerbations. Exacerbations also contribute significantly to healthcare expenditure. Prevention and mitigation of exacerbations are therefore key goals of COPD management.
Greening the neurointerventional suite.

If you have ever surveyed the angiographic procedural suite after the patient has left the room, you likely have been struck by the pile of garbage bags at the end of the case. Do you know what is in your garbage, where it goes when it leaves your suite, and what the cost is for clean up? In this issue, Shum et al go ‘dumpster diving’, measuring and classifying the trash generated by an angiographic suite.1 They find that a typical neurointerventional procedure generates approximately 8 kg of waste, similar to hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement. Embolization procedures, however, can produce nearly twice this, largely from packaging and user manuals. In addition to weighing the trash, Shum et al classified the types of waste produced: roughly 65% was regulated medical waste and sharps, 20% was general waste, and the remainder was recyclable paper and plastics.1 Current procedural care is far from environmentally green. Operating rooms and procedural suites generate an enormous amount of garbage, responsible for 30%–70% of all healthcare waste.2 …
Changes in Self-Reported Fruit and Vegetable Intake following Nutritional Modification in High Risk Older Veterans.

This project aimed to determine the feasibility of implementing a dietary intervention in older Veterans participating in an exercise and health promotion program (Gerofit) and whether this interve...
Safety in Autonomous Driving: Can Tools Offer Guarantees?

Persistent challenges in making autonomous vehicles safe and reliable have hampered their widespread deployment. We believe that formal methods will play an essential role in the enterprise of ensuring AV safety by providing tools for the modeling, verification, synthesis, and runtime assurance of AV systems. In this paper, we outline the progress we and others have made towards this goal, and the challenges that remain.
Analysis of a thickness-shear piezoelectric transformer

A theoretical analysis is performed on a high voltage piezoelectric transformer operating with thickness-shear modes using the zero-dimensional equations of a piezoelectric parallelepiped. Analytical solutions for the transforming ratio and efficiency of the transformer are obtained. Their dependence on the driving frequency, load impedance and geometric parameters are examined.
Abstract 12971: Aspirin Use is Not Associated With Primary Prevention of All-Cause, Cardiovascular, or Oncologic Mortality

Introduction: The role of aspirin in the primary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) disease is controversial, with the FDA recently rejecting a request to market aspirin for primary prevention of heart disease citing too little data showing clear benefit. Few studies have found mortality benefit for using aspirin in primary prevention of CV disease, with some studies showing potential for harm as well. Studies have also suggested that aspirin use may reduce oncologic mortality. Hypothesis: We tested the hypothesis that aspirin use is significantly associated with all-cause, CV, and oncologic mortality. Methods: Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), we examined the association of aspirin use and all-cause, CV, and oncologic mortality within 15,968 individuals. After weighting, we used propensity score matching within participants using an optimal 1:4 matching technique to control for age, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, glomerular filtration rate, race, gender, use of...
A study of water vapor absorption at CO2 laser frequencies using a differential spectrophone and white cell

Abstract : Water vapor absorption at CO2 laser frequencies has been studied using a differential spectrophone and a long path multiple traversal cell. The results of these measurements have been analyzed in terms of the Lorentz line shape and the far wing model for continuum absorption in the 9-10 micrometers wavelength region. An electronically stabilized, grating tunable cw CO2 laser with a nominal output power of 2 watts was used in performing measurements of water vapor absorption as a function of both pressure and temperature. Pressure broadened studies of H2O in N2 at a total pressure of 1 atm. were performed at 27 CO2 laser lines in the 9.4 and 10.4 micrometers bands. A technique for pure (low pressure) H2O measurements using the spectrophone is presented together with some preliminary results at the 10.6 micrometers P(20) laser line. White cell measurements of pure water vapor were performed at seven laser lines in the 9.4 and 10.4 micrometers bands; these data also indicate a significant negative temperature dependence for continuum absorption.
Phenotypic and Functional Characterization of Kidney-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Renal Ischemia Reperfusion Injury

T and B lymphocytes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). The trafficking of lymphocytes into kidneys during IRI has been postulated to underlie this effect, but has not been rigorously studied. We therefore characterized the lymphocyte populations infiltrating into mouse kidneys 3 and 24 h after renal IRI. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry staining of kidney lymphocytes showed increased trafficking of CD3 + T cells and CD19 + B cells in both sham-operated and IRI mice 3 h after renal IRI. In the IRI mice, increased infiltration of NK1.1 + and CD4 + NK1.1 + cells compared with normal and sham-operated mice was observed 3 and 24 h after renal IRI, respectively. After 24 h of renal IRI, the decreased percentages of CD3 + , CD19 + , and NK1.1 + populations in the IRI mice compared with control groups were observed. Increased TNF-α and IFN-γ production of kidney infiltration CD3 + T cells in IRI mice but not sham-operated mice was found. Unexpectedly, isolation and transfer of kidney-infiltrating lymphocytes 24 h after renal IRI into T cell-deficient mice reduced their functional and histological injury after renal IRI, suggesting that kidney-infiltrating lymphocytes could have a protective function. These quantitative, qualitative, and functional changes in kidney lymphocytes provide mechanistic insight into how lymphocytes modulate IRI, as well as demonstrating that abdominal surgery alone leads to lymphocyte changes in kidney.
A randomized crossover comparison between the Laryngeal Mask Airway-Unique™ and the air-Q intubating laryngeal airway in children.

Summary Objectives: The purpose of this randomized crossover study was to evaluate the feasibility of the air-Q intubating laryngeal airway (ILA) in clinical practice when compared with the Laryngeal Mask Airway-Unique™ (LMA-U), the current standard of care for primary airway maintenance. Aim: We hypothesized that the ILA would have better airway seal pressures and laryngeal alignment than the LMA-U in anesthetized nonparalyzed children. Background: The ILA is a newer supraglottic airway for children with design features that allow it to be used for primary airway maintenance and as a conduit for tracheal intubations. Methods: Fifty healthy children, 6–36 months of age, 10–15 kg, who were scheduled for elective surgery in which the use of a size two LMA-U and size 1.5 ILA would be appropriate for airway maintenance, were enrolled into this randomized crossover study. Primary outcome measures were airway leak pressures and fiberoptic grades of view. Secondary outcome measures included ease and time for successful insertion, incidence of gastric insufflation, ventilation parameters, and complications. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in regard to the ease of device insertion, time to ventilation, gastric insufflation, and ventilation parameters between the ILA and the LMA-U. All devices were successfully placed on the first attempt, and there were no instances of failure. There were statistically significant differences in the airway leak pressure between the ILA (19.0 ± 5.4 cmH2O) and the LMA-U (16.1 ± 4.9 cmH2O), P = 0.001. There were also statistically significant differences in the fiberoptic grades of view between the ILA and LMA-U, P = 0.004. Conclusions: The ILA had higher airway leak pressures and superior fiberoptic grades of view when compared with the LMA-U and can be a suitable alternative to the LMA-U in children weighing 10–15 kg.