cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous mitral valve repair: an overview of new interventional therapies and associated outcomes

Percutaneous alternatives to conventional surgery for mitral regurgitation have emerged over the last decade with devices modeled after existing surgical techniques. The most developed of these catheter approaches include leaflet repair and annuloplasty. A device that plicates the free edges of the mitral valve to create a double orifice repair is the only leaflet-repair method in development. This technology has completed a randomized trial, but results have yet to be reported. Annuloplasty devices include indirect approaches via the coronary sinus and direct approaches via retrograde left ventricular implantation. There is less human experience with annuloplasty devices than leaflet repair. Leaflet repair has been used in both degenerative and functional mitral regurgitation, while annuloplasty devices are used for annular dilatation associated with functional mitral regurgitation. There is obvious appeal for less invasive approaches in patients who are at high risk of surgery, and ongoing trials will d...
Critical behavior in quenched random structures: Mean‐field lattice‐gas approach

A new mean-field equation-of-state model is proposed for predicting the critical behavior of fluids confined in porous, random structures. The approach is based on a lattice-gas formalism and incorporates effects of both fluid confinement and energetically heterogeneous interactions between fluid molecules and pore surfaces. The model was used to predict a variety of thermodynamic properties in these systems, including the dependence of the confined fluid's critical properties on the porosity and relative strength of fluid-fluid and fluid-pore interaction energies. The study of surface-energy heterogeneities show that they significantly affect the critical temperature of the confined fluid, at a given porosity, compared to the uniform energy case. Comparison of the model performance with both grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation results and a set of adsorption data in a silica gel suggest that the approach taken in this paper provides a useful analytic method for calculating physical properties in complex systems of this kind.
Adenohypophysial Dopamine Content during Physiological Changes in Prolactin Secretion

Studies were undertaken to characterize the relationship between anterior pituitary dopamine (DA) content and changes in PRL secretion that occur during physiological states in which changes in tuberoinfundibular DA neuronal activity have been previously characterized. The results of these studies are summarized as follows. 1) Serum PRL concentrations and the anterior pituitary DA content were not different between male and diestrous female rats, an unexpected result considering that tuberoinfundibular DA neuronal activity in female rats is 2- to 3-fold greater than that in male rats. 2) The surge of PRL secretion during the afternoon of proestrus was accompanied by a significant decrease in the anterior pituitary content of DA. 3) Increases in PRL secretion that occur early in pregnancy and during suckling were accompanied by a decrease in tuberoinfundibular DA neuronal activity and a decrease in the DA content in the anterior pituitary. 4) Restraint stress increased PRL secretion and reduced the anterio...
Validation and modification of streptococcal pharyngitis clinical prediction rules

Objective To validate a simplified version of the Walsh clinical prediction rules (CPRs) for the presence of streptococcal pharyngitis in an inner-city, ethnically diverse population. Patients and Methods This prospective study conducted in New York City, NY, from January 1, 1997, to May 31, 1997, consisted of 171 consecutive adult walk-in patients who presented with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and/or sore throat. The patients were assessed by using 5 clinical factors: cough, exposure to known streptococcal contact, temperature, tonsillar-pharyngeal exudates, and cervical lymphadenopathy. Throat cultures for group A β-hemolytic streptococcus were obtained from all patients. Clinicians assessing the patients were unaware of throat culture results, and those processing the throat cultures were blinded to the clinical predictors. Results The prevalence of streptococcal pharyngitis was 24% (95% confidence interval, 18%-30%). The simplified version of the Walsh CPR for streptococcal pharyngitis predicted accurately the probability of a positive culture in our diverse population (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.71). The simplified CPR also showed clinically useful likelihood ratios and posterior probabilities. Conclusion A simplified version of the Walsh CPR is accurate for diagnosing streptococcal pharyngitis in an inner-city population. This finding should provide clinicians more confidence in applying the CPR in similar clinical settings.
Oral Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients: Randomized Trial of Ciprofloxacin versus Ciprofloxacin-Vancomycin

The optimal oral antimicrobial prophylactic regimen for bone marrow transplant recipients remains to be elucidated. We randomized 84 patients to receive either oral ciprofloxacin or ciprofloxacin plus vancomycin at hospital admission. Patients were monitored for bacteremias and clinical parameters, and stool and throat swab surveillance cultures were performed. The addition of vancomycin resulted in a significant decrease in the frequency of patients with surveillance cultures positive for coagulase-negative staphylococci (stool cultures, 44 versus 23%; throat swab cultures, 37 versus 19%) and alpha-hemolytic streptococci (throat swab cultures, 90 versus 60%). The frequencies of positivity for Candida spp. and gram-negative organisms on surveillance cultures were comparable. Despite these results, no differences in the incidences of bacteremias (12 of 41 versus 12 of 43 patients) or clinical parameters such as number of days to first fever, total number of febrile days, length of stay, and number of transfusions could be demonstrated. Because of a lack of efficacy of vancomycin and emerging problems with vancomycin-resistant isolates, vancomycin should not be used in oral antimicrobial prophylaxis regimens.
Comparison of Hindwing Hamuli from Five Species of Cereal Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Wing-coupling apparatuses of five species of cereal aphids [western wheat aphid, Diuraphis tritici (Gillette); corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch); bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.); greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani); and the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.)] were examined under a scanning electron microscope. The scanning electron micrographs showed that the wing-coupling apparatuses of the five cereal aphid species were similar to the structure found in the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko). The wing-coupling apparatuses were composed of a forewing fold and a set of spiral-shaped (or twice-curved) hindwing hamuli. The hindwing hamuli were not fish hook-like (or once-curved) structures. Previous light-microscopy description of fish hook-like hamuli was the result of limited resolving power and field depth of light microscopy. The number of hamuli varied among and within the aphid species. An asymmetric number of the hamuli between the left and right hindwings were also found in all aphids. Rhopalosiphum padi and D. tritici had the least number of the hamuli, ranging from one to four, whereas S. avenae had the most hamuli, ranging from five to seven. Wing-coupling mechanisms and possible use of the hamuli as a taxonomic character are discussed.
Genetic Epidemiology of Epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders, affecting approximately 4 percent of individuals at some time in their lives (1). An inherited contribution to its etiology has been suspected for centuries, yet until recently, little progress has been made in understanding the genetic influences on susceptibility. This slow progress is owed in part to methodological problems in previous studies and in part to underlying complexity in the genetic contributions. In most forms of epilepsy, the familial distribution is inconsistent with a simple Mendelian model, and the mode of inheritance is uncertain. Both genetic and environmental factors may contribute to susceptibility, and it is unclear how they interact in their influence on risk. Epilepsy is clinically very heterogeneous, and the important genetic and environmental effects may differ across clinically defined subsets or syndromes. Even within narrowly defined clinical syndromes, different susceptibility genotypes or environmental factors may influence risk in different families. On the other hand, a single susceptibility locus could influence risk for different syndromes in different individuals, either through allelic heterogeneity, pleiotropic expression of a single allele, or the modifying effects of environmental factors. Epilepsy is defined by recurrent (^2) unprovoked seizures (2). Seizures are considered to be unprovoked when they occur in the absence of an immediate precipitating factor (although an injury to the central nervous system may have occurred at some time in the past). Epilepsy is distinguished from the two other major classes of seizure disorders: acute symptomatic seizures, in which seizures occur only in association with acute structural or metabolic insults to the central
What's Insurance Got to Do with It? Recognizing Health Insurance as a Separate Species of Insurance

Health insurance can be, and to a large extent already is, a separate species of insurance. This article describes the different views of insurance that made health reform contentious. It argues that the goals of health reform are incompatible with conventional views of insurance. Nonetheless, reforming health insurance to achieve those goals does not require as dramatic shift as some might think, because health insurance has already become primarily a means of paying for health care, rather than a simple risk spreading device for specified losses.
Properties of Nanocrystalline Germanium-Carbon Films and Devices

Nanocrystalline Germanium-Carbon alloys, denoted by nc- (Ge,C):H, are a potentially useful new electronic material whose bandgap can be varied by changing the Ge:C ratios. We have shown previously that nanocrystalline (Ge,C):H films can be grown using remote ECR plasma deposition. In this paper, we report on the crystal structure, electron mobility and some device related properties of these materials. The materials were grown using mixtures of either Germane and methane, with significant hydrogen dilution, or from mixtures of ethylene and germane, also with significant hydrogen dilution. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated a predominantly crystal structure. The grain size was in the range of 10 nm. Raman measurements clearly show the 300 cm-1 Ge peak in the films. Electron Hall mobilities were measured in these films and were found to be in the range of 2.5-3 cm2/V-sec. Proof-of-concept p+nn+ junction devices were fabricated and showed distinct photovoltaic properties. The open circuit voltage was found to be a strong function of the itnerfaces between n+ and n layers, and between p+ and n layers. The use of an amorphous n+/n interface at the back of the improved the device performance significantly. Capacitance measurements indicated that the device behaved according to standard p/n junction theory, with the n- doping in the base layer being in the 1017/cm3 range. Thus, the base layer was not intrinsic, but rather n type, as may be expected for a crystalline as opposed to amorphous material. Quantum efficiency data indicated that as C was added to the material, the edge of the QE curve shifted to higher photon energies, indicating larger bandgaps.
Monitoring interannual variation in global crop yield using long-term AVHRR and MODIS observations

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data have been extensively applied for crop yield prediction because of their daily temporal resolution and a global coverage. This study investigated global crop yield using daily two band Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2) derived from AVHRR (1981–1999) and MODIS (2000–2013) observations at a spatial resolution of 0.05° (∼5 km). Specifically, EVI2 temporal trajectory of crop growth was simulated using a hybrid piecewise logistic model (HPLM) for individual pixels, which was used to detect crop phenological metrics. The derived crop phenology was then applied to calculate crop greenness defined as EVI2 amplitude and EVI2 integration during annual crop growing seasons, which was further aggregated for croplands in each country, respectively. The interannual variations in EVI2 amplitude and EVI2 integration were combined to correlate to the variation in cereal yield from 1982–2012 for individual countries using a stepwise regression model, respectively. The results show that the confidence level of the established regression models was higher than 90% (P value < 0.1) in most countries in the northern hemisphere although it was relatively poor in the southern hemisphere (mainly in Africa). The error in the yield predication was relatively smaller in America, Europe and East Asia than that in Africa. In the 10 countries with largest cereal production across the world, the prediction error was less than 9% during past three decades. This suggests that crop phenology-controlled greenness from coarse resolution satellite data has the capability of predicting national crop yield across the world, which could provide timely and reliable crop information for global agricultural trade and policymakers.
Daily morphine administration increases impulsivity in rats responding under a 5-choice serial reaction time task

Background and Purpose Repeated administration of a μ opioid receptor agonist can enhance some forms of impulsivity, such as delay discounting. However, it is unclear whether repeated administration alters motor impulsivity. Experimental Approach We examined the effects of acute administration of morphine and amphetamine prior to and during daily morphine administration in rats responding under a five-choice serial reaction time task. Rats (n = 5) were trained to detect a brief flash of light presented randomly in one of five response holes; responding in the target hole delivered food, whereas responding in the wrong hole or responding prior to illumination of the target stimulus (premature response) initiated a timeout. Premature responding served as an index of motor impulsivity. Key Results Administered acutely, morphine (0.1–10 mg·kg−1, i.p.) increased omissions and modestly, although not significantly, premature responding without affecting response accuracy; amphetamine (0.1–1.78 mg·kg−1, i.p.) increased premature responding without changing omissions or response accuracy. After 3 weeks of 10 mg·kg−1·day−1 morphine, tolerance developed to its effects on omissions whereas premature responding increased approximately fourfold, compared with baseline. Effects of amphetamine were not significantly affected by daily morphine administration. Conclusions and Implications These data suggest that repeated administration of morphine increased effects of morphine on motor impulsivity, although tolerance developed to other effects, such as omissions. To the extent that impulsivity is a risk factor for drug abuse, repeated administration of μ opioid receptor agonists, for recreational or therapeutic purposes, might increase impulsivity and thus the risk for drug abuse.
Design, synthesis, and antibacterial properties of dual-ligand inhibitors of acetyl-CoA carboxylase.

There is an urgent demand for the development of new antibiotics due to the increase in drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. A novel target is the multifunctional enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC)...
A Question of Taste: Touchstones for Determining the Certifiability of Class-Wide Claims for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Although the United States Supreme Court in its most recently completed term sharply curtailed the scope of class actions brought under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, questions under that Rule still abound. One of the open issues is how a court should treat a request to certify a class seeking declaratory or injunctive relief where members of the putative class disagree as to the desirability or efficacy of the requested relief. This Article develops a rubric for analyzing this type of scenario and determining whether alleged conflicts amongst members of a putative class are sufficient to defeat certification.
Mediation as a Calling: Addressing the Disconnect between Mediation Ethics and the Practices of Lawyer Mediators

The purpose of this essay is to outline a problem that I believe we face in lawyer-mediated cases, speculate about the causes of the problem, and tentatively and cautiously suggest possible solutions. The problem is the apparent disconnect between mediation’s core values as expressed in most, if not all, of the mediator standards of conduct, and the predominant practices of lawyer mediators.Mediator ethics has become a subject of widespread attention. Interest in developing appropriate standards of conduct for mediators has been fueled by the increasing popularity of court-sponsored mediation programs during the final decade of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Courts, both state and federal, in several jurisdictions, have promulgated mediator ethics rules to regulate the behavior of court-appointed mediators; these rules often borrow “language from standards of conduct for mediators that had been developed by professional organizations and ADR [Alternative Dispute Resolution] practitioners.” In some states, state bar associations or ADR organizations have published statewide standards.
Safety and Tolerability of Stribild in the Southeast United States

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to assess postmarketing safety and tolerability of Stribild (elvitegravir [EVG]/cobicistat [COBI]/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate [TDF]/emtricitabine [FTC]).Metho...
An Analysis of Refractive Surgery by the Finite Element Method

It is shown that numerical simulations by the FEM can be used for the study of refractive surgery.The specific case of geometric design in myopic keratomileusis is given to illustrate the possibilities of computer aided surgery.
Primary Adenocarcinoma of the Bladder: A Retrospective Study of 20 Patients

A retrospective analysis is presented of 20 patients with primary adenocarcinoma of the bladder treated with non-radical procedures. The survival rate has averaged less than 1 year, regardless of the mode of therapy, with only 1 patient alive 2 years after segmental cystectomy. The male-to-female ratio of patients was only 2 to 1. All patients had deeply infiltrating tumor at the time of initial diagnosis. Chemotherapy in conjunction with irradiation therapy used in the treatment of 1 of the patients proved to be ineffective.
Abstract 1365: Pseudo-cis and pseudo-trans amide conformations lead to potent targeted antifolates that are selectively transported by FR over RFC

Drugs usually bind to different targets in different conformations. As antitumor agents, antifolates first need to be selectively transported by tumor cells via the reduced folate carrier (RFC), the proton-coupled folate transporter (PCFT) or folate receptors (FRs). The second step is the binding of antifolates with the intracellular targets. We are systematically developing novel folate analogs with selective membrane transport for FRs and PCFT over the ubiquitously expressed RFC. These 6-substituted pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine antifolates are principally inhibitors of de novo purine biosynthesis at the steps catalyzed by glycinamide ribonucleotide formyl transferase (GARFTase) and 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide (AICA) ribonucleotide formyltransferase (AICARFTase). We previously demonstrated that classical antifolates bind to FRα and GARFTase in different conformations. An amide in the bridge region of classical antifolates has two interchangeable lowest energy conformers, pseudo-cis and pseudo-trans. We reported that a novel antifolate (AGF238) with an amide in the bridge region binds to FRα in a pseudo-trans conformation and binds to GARFTase in a pseudo-cis conformation. As part of our continued efforts to pursue targeted antifolates as antitumor agents, we designed an expand series of amide-bridged classical antifolates with different energy barriers between the pseudo-cis and pseudo-trans conformers. Among these, AGF266 was exclusively transported by Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells engineered to express human FRα (IC 50 = 0.42 nM) or FRβ (IC 50 = 0.88 nM) over CHO expressing human RFC (IC 50 > 1000 nM). AGF266 was also found to exhibit highly potent antitumor activity (IC 50 = 0.79 nM in KB human tumor cells). AGF266 inhibited GARFTase as its principal cellular target, based on patterns of protection from growth inhibition by adenosine and AICA. Our in vitro findings of antitumor activity associated with FR selectivity suggest that further preclinical evaluation of AGF266 as a potential antitumor agent is warranted. Citation Format: Aleem Gangjee, Weiguo Xiang, Aamod Dehkne, Mike R. Wilson, Adrianne Wallace-Povrik, Carrie O’Connor, Zhanjun Hou, Larry H. Matherly. Pseudo-cis and pseudo-trans amide conformations lead to potent targeted antifolates that are selectively transported by FR over RFC. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1365.
Kinetic Mechanism and Intrinsic Rate Constants for the Reaction of a Bacterial Phenylalanine Hydroxylase

The pterin-dependent aromatic amino acid hydroxylases are non-heme iron enzymes that catalyze the hydroxylation of the aromatic side chain of their respective substrates using an FeIVO intermediate. While the eukaryotic enzymes are homotetramers with complex regulatory properties, bacterial phenylalanine hydroxylases are monomers that lack regulatory domains. As a result, the bacterial enzymes are more tractable for mechanistic studies. Using single turnover methods, the complete kinetic mechanism and intrinsic rate constants for Chromobacterium violaceum phenylalanine hydroxylase have been determined with both tetrahydrobiopterin and 6-methyltetrahyropterin as substrates. In addition the kinetics of formation of the enzyme–pterin complex have been determined with the unreactive 5-deaza, 6-methyltetrahydropterin. For all three pterins, binding of phenylalanine and pterin occurs in random order with binding of the pterin first the preferred pathway. The reaction of the ternary enzyme–phenylalanine–tetrahyd...
On the Use of Off-the-Shelf Machine Learning Techniques to Predict Energy Demands of Power TAC Consumers

The Power Trading Agent Competition (Power TAC) is a feature-rich simulation that simulates an energy market in a smart grid, where software brokers can buy energy in wholesale markets and sell energy in tariff markets to consumers. Successful brokers can maximize their profits by buying energy at low prices in the wholesale market and selling them at high prices to the consumers. However, this requires that the brokers have accurate predictions of the energy consumption of consumers so that they do not end up having excess energy or insufficient energy in the marketplace. In this paper, we conduct a preliminary investigation that uses standard off-the-shelf machine learning techniques to cluster and predict the consumption of a restricted set of consumers. Our results show that a combination of the popular k-means, k-medoids, and DBSCAN clustering algorithm together with an autoregressive lag model can predict, reasonably accurately, the consumption of consumers.
Queer/Posthuman in Marie de France's Eliduc: Sanctuaires à Répit, Female Couples, and Human/Animal/Bare Life

In Eliduc , two female weasels show the heroine how to resurrect her rival using a plant pharmacon, implying an essential identity between animal and human life. This indistinction is frequent in Marie de France's Lais , where the plot turns on human/animal hybrids ( Bisclavret and Yonec ) and things (a knot, a bird/martyr/relic of love). I also place Eliduc in the context of sanctuaires a repit (respite shrines) where infants were returned to life long enough to be baptized. Respite miracles testify to the deeply felt need for indistinction between bare life and human life and they, along with Eliduc , show that posthumanism can be grounds for ethics, against Agamben and Aristotle who ground rights in exception and hierarchy.
Efficient experimental designs for isotropic generalized diffusion tensor MRI (IGDTI)

Purpose We propose a new generalized diffusion tensor imaging (GDTI) experimental design and analysis framework for efficiently measuring orientationally averaged diffusion-weighted images (DWIs), which remove bulk signal modulations attributed to diffusion anisotropy and quantify isotropic higher-order diffusion tensors (HOT). We illustrate how this framework accelerates the clinical measurement of rotation-invariant tissue microstructural parameters derived from HOT, such as the HOT-Trace and the mean t-kurtosis. Theory and Methods For a large range of b-values, we compare orientationally averaged DWIs measured with high angular resolution diffusion imaging to those obtained with the proposed isotropic GDTI (IGDTI) experimental design. We compare rotation-invariant microstructural parameters measured with IGDTI to those derived from HOTs measured explicitly with GDTI. Results In both fixed-brain microimaging and in vivo clinical experiments, IGDTI accurately quantifies mean apparent diffusion coefficient (mADC)-weighted DWIs over a wide range of b-values and allows efficient computation of HOT-derived scalar tissue parameters from a small number of DWIs. Conclusions IGDTI provides direct and accurate estimates of orientationally averaged tissue water mobilities over a wide range of b-values. This efficient method may enable new, sensitive, and quantitative assessments for clinical applications in which changes in mADC can be observe,d such as detecting and characterizing stroke, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. Magn Reson Med 000:000–000, 2017.
Explaining attractiveness: knowledge production and power projection in China’s policy for Africa

How is Chinese foreign policy building a positive image of China in Africa? IR literature on soft power and attractiveness abounds. This study builds on the existing works, especially contributions by Janice Bially Mattern and Ty Solomon, to account for the role of expert knowledge production in attractiveness and image-building. While the existing literature focuses on China’s media cooperation from the perspective of establishing Chinese media outlets in Africa, this article identifies an understudied aspect of China’s strategy in Africa—that of investing in human resource development and professional training programmes for African journalists. The study constructs its analysis based on a series of in-depth interviews and official document analysis. The findings suggest that Chinese-sponsored professional development programmes for African journalists are an opportunity for African trainees to be socialised in Chinese values, norms, and expert knowledge. These trainings contribute to build a positive image of China in Africa and are far more successful than material approaches including establishing Chinese media outlets across Africa.
The Virtue of Aristotle's Ethics: A Polis for Aristotle's Virtues

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics starts and ends with political concerns. At the beginning of his work, Aristotle says that the inquiry he is about to begin is a “sort of politics”; and at the end of the work, he suggests that the reader should complete the study of the humanities by studying different political systems. According to Aristotle, the political or social setting is crucial for the virtue and happiness of the citizens. In this chapter, then, I turn to the Politics , but my discussion, both of the polis and of Aristotelian happiness, is everywhere informed by the discussion of Aristotle's ethic of virtue that preceded it. In previous chapters, I have argued that Aristotle's ethic of virtue is not susceptible to Millian or Kantian interpretations. In this chapter, I argue that Aristotle's view is also antithetical to the social contract tradition of ethics, most notably exemplified by Hobbes. To that end, I explain why the polis is needed and why it is natural, according to Aristotle, and how the genesis and justification for the polis stems from Aristotle's objective view of the good for human beings. I also argue that Aristotle's account of the polis presupposes the non-remedial view of the virtues, as presented in Chapter 3 and explored in subsequent chapters. I then consider the type of happiness that the polis aims at, according to Aristotle, and the point of the apparent ranking of two types of happiness in the final book of the Nicomachean Ethics .
Analytical models for coupling reliability in identical two-magnet systems during slow reversals

This paper follows previous works which investigated the strength of dipolar coupling in two-magnet systems. While those works focused on qualitative analyses, this manuscript elucidates reversal through dipolar coupling culminating in analytical expressions for reversal reliability in identical two-magnet systems. The dipolar field generated by a mono-domain magnetic body can be represented by a tensor containing both longitudinal and perpendicular field components; this field changes orientation and magnitude based on the magnetization of neighboring nanomagnets. While the dipolar field does reduce to its longitudinal component at short time-scales, for slow magnetization reversals, the simple longitudinal field representation greatly underestimates the scope of parameters that ensure reliable coupling. For the first time, analytical models that map the geometric and material parameters required for reliable coupling in two-magnet systems are developed. It is shown that in biaxial nanomagnets, the x an...
Originator of the hormesis concept: Rudolf Virchow or Hugo Schulz:

In 2006, Henschler disputed the claim of Calabrese and Baldwin that Hugo Schulz should be considered the originator of the hormesis concept. Henschler cited an 1854 paper by Rudolf Virchow on the effects of two agents on the beating of cilia, which showed a hormetic-biphasic dose response. The interpretation of Henschler became broadly accepted over the past decade based on citations in the literature. However, a recent translation of the Virchow paper from German into English reveals that the claims of Henschler are not supported by the article.
The Use of Portfolio Advising with Recreation and Leisure Services Majors

Portfolios have been used in other fields for some time as a way to document development of competence and knowledge. Recently, the field of recreation and leisure studies has promoted the use of p...
Mean value theorem

The derivative of a function f at a point ξ $$f'\left( \xi \right) = \mathop {\lim }\limits_{\Delta x \to 0} {\rm{ }}{{f\left( {\xi + \Delta x} \right) - f\left( \xi \right)} \over {\Delta x}},$$ is the slope of the line tangent to the graph of f at the point P = (ξ ,f (ξ)). Restricting to Δx > 0 we see that f′(ξ) is the limit of the slopes of secants PQ, as Q → P from the right (Fig. 7.1 a).
Safety in Numbers: Revisiting the Risks to Client Confidences and Attorney-Client Privilege Posed by Internet Electronic Mail

Courts have not yet considered the application of the attorney-client privilege to electronic mail transmitted over the Internet. Despite the absence of a definitive ruling on the issue, legal commentators and ethics committees have presented opinions that tend to conclude that the privilege applies to electronic mail. This Comment addresses the possibility that these legal opinions are based on misconceptions about the underlying technology and security of Internet transmitted electronic mail. This Comment critically evaluates legal opinions regarding the relationship of the privilege to electronic mail by explaining the pertinent technology and security issues that attorneys should be aware of when discussing sensitive information with their clients over Internet transmitted electronic mail. Given the relative ease with which unencrypted electronic mail can be intercepted by third parties, encryption presents one cautionary measure that can be taken by attorneys seeking to ensure that communications with their clients remain privileged. © 1999 Joshua M. Masur. t J.D. 1999, Columbia Law School; A.B. 1990, Columbia College of Columbia University. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Masur worked in the computer and networking industries for eight years, including stints as director of management information services for a nonprofit law firm, director of consulting services for a computer consulting company, and computer technology manager for an international advertising agency. This article represents the views of the author only, and is not to be attributed to any client or employer of the author. The author wishes to thank the editorial staff of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal for their assistance and dedication; Richard Ziegler, for having suggested and guided his research into this topic; Michael Geist, for early editorial advice and input; Lance Liebman, for requesting that he teach relevant portions of this material in his course on telecommunications law; those unfortunate members of Columbia Law School's class of 2000 whom he forced to argue these issues as first-year students in Moot Court; and Shelly K. Masur and Julia Astrid Masur, for their love, understanding, and support. This Comment was the first-place winner of the 1999 Berkeley Technology Law Journal Comment Competition. BERKELEY TECHNOLOGY LAW JOURNAL
Reading, Sharing, and Experiencing Literary/Lived Narratives About Contemporary Racism:

This qualitative case study explores the literary/lived interpretations and experiences of middle school girls attending a book club located in an urban public school. We examine how the girls’ res...
Art of Economic Statecraft: When Pain Matters

When employing economic sanctions, what are the best practices to induce desired outcomes for the sending state(s)? Broad economic sanctions have been shown to be ineffective. Recognizing that sanctioning as a diplomatic strategy is unlikely to be abandoned, scholars have focused on making the case for smart timing and targeting of sanctions. Their arguments stem from deciphering the internal drivers of decision making within targeted states. Unlike work that is reliant on solely internal mechanisms, this paper enhances the understanding of targeted states by examining cost-benefit strategies of (1) individual leaders and (2) nation states that are in pursuit of strategic goals. This paper argues that when sanctions create large costs (anticipated or inflicted) on the target, those sanctions have a higher likelihood of producing successful outcomes regardless whether the sanctions are “smart” This study utilizes TIES data on sanctioning and Polity scores on democracy. I use ordinal logit and ordinary least squares regression to estimate the models and find strong support for the hypothesis.[1][1] I am thankful to Brooke Justus for her assistance in copy editing. I am also grateful to Daniel Tirone and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.
Japan Needs Single Entry Tax Cut

Japanese deflation and near zero interest rates have been around for many decades. Note that double entry book-keeping cancels all traditional macroeconomic stimulus spending by a matched entry increasing government debt. Market participants know that increased debt must be eventually repaid with interest. Bank of Japan's (BOJ) quantitative easing (QE) bought long-term assets raising their prices and lowering their yield to stimulate long-term investments. However, double entry rules required BOJ to match the buying part by selling short-term debt. The huge debt built by many failed double entry stimulus policies has now prompted Moody's Investor Services to lower the rating of Japanese debt. This note argues that Japan needs single entry net stimulus to extricate herself from the decades long vicious cycle.
Intraoperative Management of an Enlarged Suprameatal Tubercle During Microvascular Decompression of the Trigeminal Nerve, Surgical and Anatomical Description: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

The suprameatal tubercle is a variable prominence of the posterior aspect of the petrous part of the temporal bone located above the internal acoustic meatus. An enlarged suprameatal tubercle (EST) may present an obstacle during posterior fossa operations, including microvascular decompression (MVD). In this video we present the case of a 55-yr-old woman with 2 yr of medically refractory left V2-3 typical trigeminal neuralgia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was suspicious for a compressive superior cerebellar artery (SCA) loop, and negative for any other pathological findings. A left retrosigmoid craniotomy was performed, and upon initial exploration, only the most proximal, superior aspect of the trigeminal nerve was unobscured by an EST. The EST was subsequently removed using the ultrasonic aspirator with bone cutting attachment, allowing full visualization of the nerve from root entry zone (REZ) to Meckel's cave. Inferiorly, a small EST remnant was left to protect the VII-VIII complex. An MVD was performed using Teflon felt to elevate the SCA loop off the REZ and nerve, which was then fully explored, to ensure complete decompression. The patient recovered well with resolved trigeminal neuralgia and no new deficit. EST is a rare anatomic variant, with potentially significant implications for visualization of structures superior and deep to the internal acoustic canal, including the trigeminal REZ and nerve. Resection of the tubercle is safe, and recommended where it markedly obstructs the operative corridor. Care should be taken to wax the drilled surface of the petrous temporal bone and minimize incumbent risk of cerebrospinal fluid leak. Informed consent was appropriately documented and verified as outlined by our institutional guidelines.
Defining competition vectors in a temperate alley cropping system in the midwestern USA; 4. The economic return of ecological knowledge.

We tested the economic value of ecological knowledge in a midwestern USA alley-cropping system where row crops are planted in alleys between fine hardwood trees grown for veneer. Economic models were constructed to compare among agroforestry designs as well as to compare agroforestry with traditional forest plantation culture and row crop monoculture and rotational management. The general modeling approach was to quantify production inputs and outputs, estimate costs and revenues, simulate tree growth and crop productivity in agroforestry configurations, and estimate discounted cash flows. We incorporated scenarios that controlled both above- and below-ground competition through appropriate management as found in our previous research. This research showed the importance of below-ground competition in determining crop yields and the period of time that crop income could be expected from the agroforestry interplanting. Net present values and internal rates of return showed that agroforestry systems were generally more favorable investments than traditional agriculture and forestry. More importantly, the use of simple management techniques targeted at reducing below-ground competition allowed longer cultivation of row crops, greatly increasing returns to the landowner. Thus, the economic benefit of understanding the ecological interactions within agroforestry plantings dictates that accurate assessment of agroforestry alternatives will require the modeling of agroforestry as an integrated, interactive system.
A Ka-Band Power Amplifier with Reconfigurable Impedance Matching Network

A tunable matching network integrated with the power amplifier (PA) is described that can adapt to potential impedance variations presented by the antenna. The matching network is designed to match loads within half-gamma around nominal 50-$\Omega$ impedance. The tunability is achieved by modifying the length of transmission line segments within the matching network by using reverse saturated SiGe switches. S-parameters and load-pull measurements have been obtained and demonstrate that the PA is able to adapt to different load impedances, therefore is able provide constant PAE and output power at a significantly extended range of impedance variations. In this paper, the design approach is explained that leads to significantly improved performance of the presented PA compared to previously published reconfigurable PAs.
Male circumcision and prostate cancer: A geographical analysis, meta-analysis, and cost analysis.

Introduction Attempts to find an association between male circumcision and prostate cancer risk have produced inconsistent results. Methods Age-standardized prostate cancer incidence, life-expectancy, geographical region, and circumcision prevalence from 188 countries were compared using linear regression analysis. Following a systematic literature review, a meta-analysis was performed on studies meeting inclusion criteria with evaluations of between-study heterogeneity and publication bias. A cost analysis (discounted at 3% and 5% per annum) was performed using the meta-analysis's summary effect and upper confidence interval. Results Univariate analysis revealed a trend for a positive association between country-level age-standardized prostate cancer incidence (per 100 000 person-years) and circumcision prevalence (β=0.0887; 95% confidence interval [CI)]-0.0560, +0.233), while multivariate analysis found a significant positive association (β=0.215; 95% CI 0.114, 0.316). Twelve studies were included in meta-analysis. The random-effects summary odds ratio of the risk of being genitally intact was 1.10 (95% CI 0.96, 1.26, between-study heterogeneity χ2 15=27.43; p=0.03; I2=82.8%). There was no evidence of publication bias. Cost analysis found infant circumcision was prohibitively costly, returning only between 1.6¢ and 13.8¢ for each dollar expended. Conclusions Circumcision may be a positive risk factor on geographical analysis, but not in case-case-controlled studies. Circumcision is not economically feasible for preventing prostate cancer.
Longitudinal Study of Bacterial Infectious Agents in a Community of Small Mammals in New Mexico.

Background and Objectives: Vector-borne bacterial diseases represent a substantial public health burden and rodents have been recognized as important reservoir hosts for many zoonotic pathogens. This study investigates bacterial pathogens in a small mammal community of the southwestern United States of America. Methods: A total of 473 samples from 13 wild rodent and 1 lagomorph species were tested for pathogens of public health significance: Bartonella, Brucella, Yersinia, Borrelia, Rickettsia spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Results: Three animals were positive for Yersinia pestis, and one Sylvilagus audubonii had a novel Borrelia sp. of the relapsing fever group. No Brucella, Rickettsia, or A. phagocytophilum infections were detected. Bartonella prevalence ranged between 0% and 87.5% by animal species, with 74.3% in the predominant Neotoma micropus and 78% in the second most abundant N. albigula. The mean duration of Bartonella bacteremia in mark-recaptured N. micropus and N. albigula was 4.4 months, ranging from <1 to 18 months, and differed among Bartonella genogroups. Phylogenetic analysis of the Bartonella citrate synthase gene (gltA) revealed 9 genogroups and 13 subgroups. Seven genogroups clustered with known or previously reported Bartonella species and strains while two were distant enough to represent new Bartonella species. We report, for the first time, the detection of Bartonella alsatica in North America in Sylvilagus audubonii and expand the known host range of Bartonella washoensis to include Otospermophilus variegatus. Interpretation and Conclusion: This work broadens our knowledge of the hosts and geographic range of bacterial pathogens that could guide future surveillance efforts and improves our understanding of the dynamics of Bartonella infection in wild small mammals.
Geriatric Rheumatology: The Need for a Separate Subspecialty in the Near Future.

Rheumatology is a broad specialty in itself, and it involves caring for patients of all age groups. Patients of different age groups have different characteristics and a one-size-fits-all approach is not feasible in catering to their diverse medical needs. The presentation and the manifestations of diseases vary in different age groups. We have pediatric rheumatology as a separate subspecialty where pediatric patients with rheumatological diseases are provided specific care best suited to their needs. However, for older patients, such a separate subspecialty is not widely available in medical practice. Geriatric rheumatology or gerontorheumatology is a branch of rheumatology dealing with older patients with rheumatological diseases. It is high time to consider establishing geriatric rheumatology as a separate subspecialty to provide better care for older patients.
The Potential Benefit of Expedited Development and Approval Programs in Precision Medicine

Background: Increased understanding of the molecular causes of disease has begun to fulfill the promise of precision medicine with the development of targeted drugs, particularly for serious diseases with unmet needs. The drug approval regulatory process is a critical component to the continued growth of precision medicine drugs and devices. To facilitate the development and approval process of drugs for serious unmet needs, four expedited approval programs have been developed in the US: priority review, accelerated approval, fast track, and breakthrough therapy programs. Methods: To determine if expedited approval programs are fulfilling the intended goals, we reviewed drug approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2011 and 2017 for new molecular entities (NMEs). Results: From 2011 through 2017, the FDA approved 250 NMEs, ranging from 27 approvals in 2013 to 46 in 2017. The NME approvals spanned 22 different disease classes; almost one-third of all NMEs were for oncology treatments. Conclusions: As these pathways are utilized more, additional legislative changes may be needed to re-align incentives to promote continued development of innovative drugs for serious unmet needs in a safe, efficacious, and affordable manner.
Craniofacial implants in a failed autologous reconstruction of microtia: a case report.

Plastic surgical reconstruction is considered to be the gold standard for the repair of microtia as the results are permanent and constructed from the patient’s own tissue; however, the multiple surgeries required and the difficulty in attaining adequate cosmetic results often result in patients choosing a prosthesis as a long-term rehabilitation. Advances in osseointegration in the craniofacial region have improved the outcomes with auricular prosthetics by providing a reliable method of attachment of the prosthesis and increasing patient acceptance. A case presentation illustrates the results of both treatment modalities and examines the outcomes on the same patient.
Which Have Been the Most Research-Productive Finance Departments in the Past Twenty Years?

In this paper, we provide a global ranking of finance departments in business schools for the past 20 years and the past decade. The ranking is the first of its kind in many respects – it includes publications in the top 6 finance journals (by 2021 impact factor) as well as a host of top journals in Economics and Accounting. The rankings provide a per-capita sort where we compute the ratio of total publications by the number of finance faculty in the department. The rankings use a “manipulable” database that allows the user to change the time-period, chosen journals and whether to sort rankings on per-capita or gross output.