cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty, first performed by Inoue in 1982, was a rational progression from 4 decades of experience with the blunt surgical dilatation technique of closed mitral commissurotomy. As with surgical commissurotomy, balloon valvuloplasty relieves mitral stenosis by the splitting of fused commissures. A series of studies have shown that balloon valvuloplasty achieves excellent acute hemodynamic results in close to 90% of patients, with a typical 100% increase in mitral valve area. Over the past 15 years since Inoue's first patient, a number of other techniques have been introduced and largely discarded in favor of the original approach. Advances have occurred along the lines of improved noninvasive assessment of mitral valve disease, which have allowed better case selection and prediction of outcome. Follow-up series have shown sustained improvement, with modest rates of complications and restenosis. Comparative studies have shown that balloon valvuloplasty is as effective and safe as surgical commissurotomy, and is a cost-effective procedure of first choice in ideal patients.
Digesting Virtual ``Geek'' Culture: The Summarization of Technical Internet Relay Chats

This paper describes a summarization system for technical chats and emails on the Linux kernel. To reflect the complexity and sophistication of the discussions, they are clustered according to subtopic structure on the sub-message level, and immediate responding pairs are identified through machine learning methods. A resulting summary consists of one or more mini-summaries, each on a subtopic from the discussion.
Comorbid Mood, Psychosis, and Marijuana Abuse Disorders: A Theoretical Review

There is a need to bridge the gap between the fields of addiction psychiatry and general psychiatry to effectively treat co-morbid substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. This alarming epidemic transcends communities and severely impacts healthcare worldwide, yielding poor treatment outcomes and prognoses for afflicted patients. Because substance abuse can exacerbate or trigger psychosis and mood disorders, it is important to keep these issues in the forefront when evaluating patients. To address some of the complications stemming from not enough interactions between various groups of practitioners, this review addresses the neurobehavioral effects of cannabis use and their impact on patients who suffer from psychotic or affective disorders. The hope is that this article will serve as a spring board for further discussions among practitioners who treat these patients. Greater interactions between caretakers are bound to impact the care of our patients in a very positive way.
Panel gap cover for millimetre-wave antenna

The reflector of the 10 m diameter, millimetre-wave, South Pole Telescope has been equipped with reflecting covers over the gaps between panels. The covers are thin metal strips that lie on the surface of the panels, with spring clip retainers that engage steps in the panel edges. Covering the gaps reduces thermal noise from the reflector by ∼2 K at the expense of increasing the surface profile error by ∼11 µm rms.
Correlation of audiometric data with changes in cochlear hair cell stereocilia resulting from impulse noise trauma.

In a previous experiment, after chinchillas had been exposed to impulse noise trauma, plastic-embedded surface preparations of the organ of Corti were examined with the light microscope. A consistent relationship between cochlear hair cell loss and hearing loss was not found (Hamernik et al., 1980). In the present study, four cochleas from that experiment were sectioned and examined with the transmission electron microscope to determine if there were consistent patterns of damage to the sensory cells at the ultrastructural level that would more closely correlate with the audiometric data. Alterations of the outer hair cell stereocilia were found when threshold was elevated 15 to 30 dB. The membranes of the stereocilia appeared loose and wrinkled and the stereocilia were no longer erect. In some cases, predominantly in the first row of outer hair cells, stereocilia were missing and in other cases, stereocilia were fused. Within these giant stereocilia, the rootlets of the individual stereocilia had disinte...
Higgs decays in supersymmetric models with light neutralinos

In the minimal supersymmetric standard model, neutralinos lighter than 50 GeV are compatible with all accelerator, precision, and cosmological bounds. Such neutralinos might constitute a relevant decay channel for the Higgs boson, modifying its expected signatures at hadron colliders. We study the branching ratio h{yields}{chi}{chi} and determine the region in the supersymmetric parameter space where it is significant. We have found that, in fact, the Higgs may dominantly decay into neutralino pairs. Besides, as a result of this new channel, the branching ratio into visible modes, such as h{yields}{gamma}{gamma}, gets suppressed.
Liability and maternal immunization: in utero injury claims in the VICP.

Generally, under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (Vaccine Act), vaccine administrators and manufacturers are shielded from medical malpractice or products liability actions stemming from vaccine-related injuries and deaths. That said, as generous as these protections may be, they have boundaries, some of which are clear and others of which are unsettled. This is particularly so for in utero injuries stemming from immunization of pregnant women. The issue of whether in utero injuries are afforded such protections, vis a vis compensation by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) under the Vaccine Act, has not definitively been resolved by the courts. Short of a decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or a statutory amendment by Congress specifically addressing this issue, the uncertainty remains.
Phenotypic and functional change of cytokine-activated neutrophils: inflammatory neutrophils are heterogeneous and enhance adaptive immune responses

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are the most abundant leukocytes, comprising about two-thirds of peripheral blood leukocytes, and play major roles in innate immunity. In addition, PMN play critical roles in the development of adaptive immunity. Recently, defensins and other peptides pre-stored in PMN granules were shown to attract monocytes, dendritic cells, and T cells, leading to the hypothesis that the release of PMN granular peptides may link innate and adaptive immunity. During the past several years, we have focused on an alternative hypothesis that activated PMN further differentiate and acquire new phenotypes and functions that enable them to link the two responses. To test our hypothesis, we have taken local and global approaches and have shown several key findings that support the hypothesis. The findings include the requirement for priming PMN by cytokines to induce the delayed expression of MCP-1/CCL2, a signal for mononuclear cells, and the expression of new cell-surface markers by such cytokine-activated PMN. In the present manuscript, we focus on the phenotypic and functional changes that occur during PMN activation with selected cytokines. The results of our study indicate that inflammatory PMN are heterogeneous and play roles in not only innate but also adaptive immunity in response to stimuli released in injured tissues.
Methods to limit attrition in longitudinal comparative effectiveness trials: lessons from the Lithium Treatment - Moderate dose Use Study (LiTMUS) for bipolar disorder.

Background High attrition rates, which occur frequently in longitudinal clinical trials of interventions for bipolar disorder, limit the interpretation of results.Purpose The aim of this article is to present design approaches that limited attrition in the Lithium Treatment – Moderate dose Use Study (LiTMUS) for bipolar disorder.Methods LiTMUS was a 6-month randomized, longitudinal multisite comparative effectiveness trial that enrolled bipolar participants who were at least mildly ill. Participants were randomized to either low to moderate doses of lithium or no lithium; other treatments needed for mood stabilization were administered in a guideline-informed, empirically supported, and personalized fashion to participants in both treatment arms.Results Components of the study design that may have contributed to low attrition (16%) among 283 participants randomized included the use of (1) an intent-to-treat design, (2) a randomized adjunctive single-blind design, (3) participant reimbursement, (4) assessm...
What's in a name: the Vermont Genetically Engineered Food Labeling Act

On May 8, 2014, Vermont passed the Vermont Genetically Engineered Food Labeling Act (Act) requiring labels on certain genetically engineered foods. Once the bill takes effect July 1, 2016, all Vermont-retailed foods with more than 0.9% of their total weight in genetically modified ingredients must be labeled with language stating, “may be partially produced with genetic engineering.” As genetically engineered food are considered scientifically equivalent to their traditional counterparts and are not subject to federal labeling by the FDA, the Act presents several legal questions. Several of the legal questions have been raised in a recent lawsuit filed by the Grocery Manufactures Association that claims the Act violates the First Amendment, Supremacy Clause, and Commerce Clause. This paper will discuss why the Second Circuit could strike down the Act as unconstitutional as to each claim.
Distributed Adaptive Protocols for Information Dissemination in Large-Scale Communication Systems

One approach for information dissemination in large-scale communication systems is using epidemic protocols. Current epidemic protocols, however, adopt a constant fanout policy, which does not enable end users to control the information dissemination process. For distributed applications that need to compute a global function within a pre-determined response time, better procedures to control the information dissemination process have to be developed. In this paper, we introduce two distributed adaptive epidemic protocols using a dynamic fanout scheme. They are named Round-Based dynamic fanout (RBdf) and Cluster-Based dynamic fanout (CBdf). In RBdf, the network topology is flat and each node transmits a message with a varied fanout every round. In CBdf, the network topology is hierarchical, and the fanout values in every cluster differ within the same round. The main objectives are to ensure that peers receive messages within a bounded latency and that the system message overhead is a bounded value. The performance of the proposed protocols are verified through both theoretical and simulation studies.
A perfect storm: two ecosystem engineers interact to degrade deciduous forests of New Jersey

Ecosystem engineers play a large role in physically structuring the ecosystem in which they are embedded. The focus of much of the research surrounding these species is to document the impacts of a single engineer on community composition and ecosystem processes. However, most ecosystems harbor multiple engineering species that interact in complex ways and rarely have the dynamics of such species been fully investigated. We look at how two ecosystem engineers, the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the invasive plant Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum), interact to completely alter the structure and composition of the subcanopy within northern deciduous forests. This interaction has wide-ranging repercussions on forest food webs which we explore through a case study of breeding woodland birds in the state of New Jersey, USA. We show that the guilds of birds that rely on the subcanopy have experienced greater declines from 1980 to 2005 than birds that specialize on the intact upper canopy of impacted forests. This dynamic is not restricted to immediate temporal effects and may act to derail the long-term successional pathway of northern deciduous forests. It is no longer prudent to set aside tracts of forest and expect them to retain their native biodiversity without active management.
Resonance Raman enhancement of the Mn-N-O bending mode in nitrosyl manganese "strapped" and "open" heme complexes.

Resonance Raman spectra of the MnII-NO moiety in synthetic nitrosyl manganese heme complexes with and without steric hindrance are reported. The "strapped" hemes having a hydrocarbon strap (variable length) across one face of the heme hinder the perpendicular bonding of a linear ligand. These complexes were employed to investigate the effects of ligand distortion (primarily tilting) on Mn-NO stretching, Mn-N-O bending, and N-O stretching modes. It is demonstrated that ligand distortion in the MnII-NO system is a valid mechanism for causing the resonance enhancement of the Mn-N-O bending mode, similar to that observed in the FeII-CO system (Yu, N.-T., E. A. Kerr, B. Ward, and C. K. Chang. 1983. Biochemistry. 22:4534–4540). More interesting is the observation of the delta(Mn-N-O) enhancement caused by the tilting of the trans Mn-N epsilon bond in the "open" heme complexes (e.g., heme-5 and proto-1X dimethylester) with 1,2-dimethylimidazole or piperidine as a base. The nu(Mn-NO) and nu(N-O) modes exhibit an increase and a decrease, respectively, as the strap length decreases (hence the steric hindrance increases). Both nu(Mn-NO) and nu(N-O) frequencies are insensitive to the strength of the trans base. The results from "strapped" and "open" model heme systems imply that the Mn-N-O geometry is essentially linear and perpendicular in the nitrosyl complexes of monomeric manganese insect hemoglobin CTT IV and sperm whale myoglobin. The unusually low nu(N-O) frequency in the manganese myoglobin complex may be caused by the distal histidine-NO interaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The strengths and weaknesses of the electronic nose.

Arrays of electronic sensors, capable of detecting and differentiating complex mixtures of volatile compounds, have been utilized to differentiate aromas of food and related materials. These sensor arrays have been dubbed “Electronic Noses” and have been commercially available in the USA for the past 4-5 years. Electronic nose technology is still in its development phase, both in respect to hardware and software development. The instruments contain an array of from one to 32 sensors, using a variety of different sensor technologies—from organic polymers to metal oxides to micro-balances. Electronic noses are being widely used by some companies as a quality control instrument. Strengths include high sensitivity and correlation to human sensory panels for many applications. Limitations to their full potential includes loss of sensitivity in the presence of water vapor or high concentrations of a single component like alcohol; sensor drift and the inability to provide absolute calibration; relatively short life of some sensors; necessity to do considerable method development work for each specific application; and lack of being able to obtain quantitative data for aroma differences. They do have a high sensitivity (ppt to ppm) and are often more sensitive than the human nose. There is some evidence that sensors differentiate aromas on the basis of relatively few compounds and in the future a relationship between specific chemicals and a single flavor attribute may be achievable. Also, the possibility exists to differentiate between “top” and “middle” notes of aroma.
Wettability of silicone-hydrogel contact lenses in the presence of tear-film components

Introduction. Modern application of soft contact lenses demands safe and comfortable wear over extended time periods up to one month. Lenses that exhibit and sustain complete water wetting allow th...
A Numerical Investigation of Land Surface Water on Landfalling Hurricanes

Little is known about the effects of surface water over land on the decay of landfalling hurricanes. This study, using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory hurricane model, examines the surface temperature changes due to hurricane‐land surface water interactions, and their effects on the surface heat fluxes, hurricane structure, and intensity. Different water depths and surface conditions are incorporated for a variety of experiments starting with a hurricane bogus embedded in a uniform easterly mean flow o f5ms 21. A salient feature of hurricane‐land surface water interaction is the local surface cooling near the hurricane core with the largest cooling behind and on the right side of the hurricane center. Unlike the surface cooling due to hurricane‐ocean interaction, the largest cooling in hurricane‐land surface water interaction can be much closer to the hurricane core. Without solar radiation during night, the surface evaporation dominates the local surface cooling. This causes a surface temperature contrast between the core area and its environment. During the day, the surface temperature contrast is enhanced due to additional influence from the reduced solar radiation under the core. Related to the local surface cooling, there is a significant reduction of surface evaporation with a near cutoff behind the hurricane center. A layer of half-meter water can noticeably reduce landfall decay although the local surface temperature around the hurricane core region is more than 48C lower than in its environment. Further experiments indicate that an increase of roughness reduces the surface winds but barely changes the surface temperature and evaporation patterns and their magnitudes since the increase of roughness also increases the efficiency of surface evaporation.
Northern Forest (D): The Forest Landowners Association's Views

This case series (see also the A [UVA-OM-1107], B [UVA-OM-1110], C [UVA-OM-1111], E [UVA-OM-1113], F [UVA-OM-1156], and G [UVA-OM-1158] cases) focuses students on the boom-and-bust behaviors in the Northern Forest sawmill industry. Stakeholders, from landowners to sawmill owners to government officials to environmentalists, all want to make sure that the overall demand for saw logs, as driven by sawmill capacity, does not exceed the rate at which the trees are growing. They do not want sawmill demand to overshoot the productive capacity of the forest resource, a classic problem in renewable-resource economies that the region had experienced approximately a century earlier. Students are called upon to use system-thinking skills (analysis of reference modes of behaviors, causal-loop mapping, and stock-flow mapping) in creating their causal hypotheses of the underlying system structure. Students are asked to design system-structure policies to help sustain both the industry and the natural resources of the region. The D case describes the roles and views of the people who own forested land in the Northern Forest.
Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide receptors (VIP1 and VIP2) are morphogenic modulators of embryonic coronary vessel tube formation

This study tested the hypothesis that selective activation or blockade of VIP1 and VIP2 receptors will affect embryonic coronary vessel tube formation. The in vitro quail heart explant model was us...
The Use of Antiepileptics in Migraine Prophylaxis

Background Migraine is a chronic debilitating disorder. Selected antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are proposed as preventives for migraine. Clinical efficacy and side effects of these AEDs are discussed. Summary of review The American Academy of Neurology and the American Society of Headache classify topiramate (TPM) and divalproex sodium (DVPX) as Level-A medications and recommend offering them to patients for migraine prophylaxis. Their mechanism(s) of actions remains not entirely known. Their recognized action as sodium channel blockers may affect the neural component of migraine pain. TPM or DVPX can be considered an obvious choice for those patients with a concomitant seizure disorder. Care must be taken to plan their treatment with their psychiatrist if a mood disorder is present. DVPX tends not to be prescribed as first/second choice due to its potential for weight gain and hepatotoxicity. TPM is generally first choice, but bears severe contraindications. Both medications require education on teratogenesis in childbearing women. Consideration of gabapentin, acetazolamide, leviteracetam, zonisamide, and carbamazipine may be given later as empiric options and in selected patients. Patients must be made aware that there is insufficient scientific support for their use in migraine. Conclusions Available AEDs to prophylactically treat migraine are few but of robust clinical efficacy. Special care needs to be exerted with respect to their side effects. Future research is needed for a better understanding of their mechanisms of action in migraine. Such research has the potential of providing some insight into the pathophysiology of migraine.
Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias: Pharrnacologic versus nonpharrnacologic approaches

Nonpharmacologic approaches to the long-term management of SVTs have evolved rapidly and now offer to patients a safe, effective alternative for symptomatic relief from many SVTs. By far, radiofrequency catheter ablation, a technology less than 10 years old, offers the least invasive and most cost-effective nonpharmacologic alternative for many SVTs. Knowledge gained through electrophysiologic and ablation studies has enlarged the understanding of SVTs and may enable electrophysiologists to approach the more common and morbid condition of atrial fibrillation. From a societal standpoint, catheter ablation can remain a cost-effective mode of treatment if patient selection is stringent. The next 10 years should see further refinement in technique and in understanding of SVTs, improved technology, and enlarging applications of radiofrequency energy to cure or modify cardiac arrhythmias.
Origin of the surprising enhancement of electrostatic energies by electron-donating substituents in substituted sandwich benzene dimers.

A recent study of substituted face-to-face benzene dimers by Lewis and co-workers [ J. Am. Chem. Soc.2011, 133, 3854–3862] indicated a surprising enhancement of electrostatic interactions for both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents. Here we demonstrate that charge penetration (an attractive electrostatic interaction arising from the overlap of the electron densities on the two monomers) is the cause of this counterintuitive effect. These charge penetration effects are significant at typical π–π interaction distances, and they are not easily described by multipole models. A simple measure of a substituent’s electron-donating or electron-withdrawing character, such as the Hammett parameter σm, is unlikely to capture subtle charge penetration effects. Indeed, correlation of the relative total energies or relative electrostatic energies with ∑σm breaks down for multiply substituted face-to-face benzene dimers.
Investigation on contamination of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in aquatic products in Wuhan city

Objective:To investigate the contamination status of Vibrio parahaemolyticu in aquatic products of Wuhan city,prevent and control food poisoning.Methods:24 samples were determined of VP according to the Chinese National Standard GB 4789.7-2008.Results:9 samples were positive of VP,and the positive rate was 37.5%.There was no significant difference in the positive rate of Vibrio parahaemolyticu among different kinds of aquatic products.Conclusion:The Vibrio parahaemolyticu contamination of aquatic products was serious in Wuhan city.The hygienic inspection and guidance of aquatic products should be enhanced.
Research on Electric Micrometeorological Disaster Monitoring and Early Warning Technology

Due to complex topography and landform in China, power transmission line is often affected by abnormal climate and environment, so relevant research on the micrometeorological disaster monitoring and early warning becomes increasingly important. This paper introduces the impact on the power system of the micrometeorological, studies the formation principles and warning methods of electric micrometeorological disaster, including the disaster monitoring and forecasting model, transmission conductor galloping monitoring model, frozen disaster forecasting model and evaluation model. This paper also studies the electric micrometeorological disaster early warning model and data processing methods, and proposes a construction scheme of an integrated micrometeorological early warning system, which can achieve the real-time weather monitoring and early warning on the grid, as well as general and special weather monitoring, analysis and forecasting and early warning.
Anti-penetration performance of reactive powder concrete reinforced with steel-wire-net

To research the anti-penetration performance of the shed structure made of a new RPC(reactive powder concrete) reinforced with SWN(steel-wire-net), the anti-penetration experiments and the corresponding numerical simulation were conducted.The samples made of RPC reinforced with SWN and steel fiber were designed respectively.The 7.62 mm-caliber rifle bullet and the 57 mm-caliber semi armour-piercing projectile were used in the anti-penetration tests.The velocities of the bullets and the projectiles are 710 m/s and 340 m/s respectively.The damaged models of the targets and the depth of penetration of the projectiles were compared in detail.The finite element model of the new type RPC reinforced with SWN was built to perform the numerical simulation of anti-penetration performance of the materials mentioned above using ANSYS/LS-DYNA.The results of numerical simulation accord well with the experimental results,and the feasibility of the analysis model is proved.The results of tests and numerical simulation show that the RPC reinforced with SWN has a better performance of anti-crack and a relative high ratio of cost effectiveness.
The Evolution of Dental Materials for Hybrid Prosthesis

Since the immemorial, the replacement of missing teeth has been a medical and cosmetic necessity for human kind. Nowadays, middle-aged population groups have experienced improved oral health, as compared to previous generations, and the percentage of edentulous adults can be expected to further decline. However, with the continued increase in the number of older adult population, it is anticipated that the need for some form of full-mouth restoration might increase from 53.8 million in 1991 to 61 million in 2020 [1]. Denture prosthetics has undergone many development stages since the first dentures were fabricated. The introduction of computer-aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) has resulted in a more accurate manufacturing of prosthetic frameworks, greater accuracy of dental restorations, and in particular, implant supported prosthesis.
Impact of trace element additives on anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge with in-situ carbon dioxide sequestration

Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge at wastewater treatment plants can benefit from addition of essential trace metals such as iron, nickel and cobalt to increase biogas production for utilization in combined heat and power systems, fed into natural gas pipelines or as a vehicle fuel. This study evaluated the impact and benefits of Ni/Co and olivine addition to the digester at mesophilic temperatures. These additions supplement previously reported research in which iron-rich olivine (MgSiO4) was added to sequester CO2 in-situ during batch AD of sludge. Trace element addition has been shown to stimulate and stabilize biogas production and have a synergistic effect on the mineral carbonation process. AD with 5% w/v olivine and 1.5 mg/L Ni/Co addition had a 17.3% increase in methane volume, a 6% increase in initial exponential methane production rate and a 56% increase in methane yield (mL CH4/g CODdegraded) compared to the control due to synergistic trace element and olivine addition while maintaining 17.7% CO2 sequestration from olivine addition. Both first-order kinetic modeling and response surface methodology modeling confirmed the combined benefit of the trace elements and olivine addition. These results were significantly higher than previously reported results with olivine addition alone [1] (Linville et al., 2016).
The Second Term: The Rise and Fall of the Left Alternative

1977 was a watershed year for the PNP government for what it did not do as well as what it did do. What it did do was enter into an agreement with the IMF. With this agreement, the reform process begun in 1972 essentially came to a halt and it was the IMF-imposed austerity policies (under a subsequent agreement) which ultimately led to the downfall of the government. What the PNP did not do was to adopt a left-wing alternative economic plan under which the country would have foregone the IMF loans and opted for a deepening of the reform process and structural transformation of the economy.
SMOKING IS A RISK FACTOR FOR PROLIFERATIVE VITREORETINOPATHY AFTER TRAUMATIC RETINAL DETACHMENT.

PURPOSE To determine the incidence of retinal redetachment due to proliferative vitreoretinopathy after open-globe trauma in smokers and nonsmokers. METHODS A total of 892 patients comprising 893 open-globe injuries, in whom 255 eyes were diagnosed with a retinal detachment, and 138 underwent surgical repair were analyzed in a retrospective case-control study. Time to redetachment was examined using the Kaplan-Meier method and analysis of risk factors was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards modeling. RESULTS Within one year after retinal detachment surgery, 47% (95% CI, 39-56%) of all 138 repaired retinas redetached because of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Being a smoker was associated with a higher rate of detachment (adjusted hazard ratio 1.96, P = 0.01). As shown in previous studies, the presence of proliferative vitreoretinopathy at the time of surgery was also an independent risk factor for failure (adjusted hazard ratio 2.13, P = 0.005). Treatment with vitrectomy-buckle compared favorably to vitrectomy alone (adjusted hazard ratio 0.58, P = 0.04). Only 8% of eyes that redetached achieved a best-corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or better, in comparison to 44% of eyes that did not redetach (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Proliferative vitreoretinopathy is a common complication after the repair of retinal detachment associated with open-globe trauma, and being a smoker is a risk factor for redetachment. Further study is needed to understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying this correlation.
Microprogrammable high-speed bit slice image processor

The problem of real time image processing for an Autonomous Acquisition system required the development of a special purpose high speed processor. Commercially available bit slice components were selected for the basic computational structure for speed and versatility. The processor's basic architecture is dynamically alterable into either a serial or pipelined configuration achieving higher speed than either architecture alone could provide. The high speed afforded by this structure is further enhanced by the availability of eight parallel paths allowing a maximum throughput in excess of 40 million operations per second. The algorithms which were implemented for this application include: Sobel edge, shape/connectivity, laplacian, histogram flattening and compression, a sophisticated peak detection scheme, and a "destreaking" function. Being microprogrammable, the processor will allow the implementation of additional algorithms for alter-native applications. Ensuing discussion develops the overall architecture from a functional point of view illustrating the parallelism in the architectural design which allowed the efficient implementation of this general class of algorithms.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Median and ulnar nerve injuries reduce volitional forelimb strength in rats.

Introduction Peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) are among the leading causes of physical disability in the United States. The majority of injuries occur in the upper extremities, and functional recovery is often limited. Robust animal models are critical first steps for developing effective therapies to restore function after PNI. Methods We developed an automated behavioral assay that provides quantitative measurements of volitional forelimb strength in rats. Multiple forelimb PNI models involving the median and ulnar nerves were used to assess forelimb function for up to 13 weeks post-injury. Results Despite multiple weeks of task-oriented training following injury, rats exhibit significant reductions in multiple quantitative parameters of forelimb function, including maximal pull force and speed of force generation. Discussion This study demonstrates that the isometric pull task is an effective method of evaluating forelimb function following PNI and may aid in development of therapeutic interventions to restore function. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
A View from the Top: Reflections of Leaders in the Electronic Health Record Industry

This chapter is comprised of responses from chief executive officers and chief medical officers of some of the major EHR vendors addressing two questions – what should clinicians be looking for now as they consider purchasing an EHR for their practice and where they feel the industry is going, that is to say what changes will we be seeing over the next 5 years of which the practicing physician should be aware. The expectation was that their thoughts would be interesting, but fairly consistent, in their positive outlook of the EHR industry and the promises of what EHRs might do for patient care. After all, they are the leaders in a industry which will change the way that health care is delivered more than any other single invention or discovery of this generation. Instead, what you will see in this chapter is that while their views are positive about the potential for EHRs to improve care, their views are anything but consistent as they speak honestly of the potential promises and pitfalls facing both the industry and the individual practitioners in choosing and implementing EHRs.
Teaching Community Organizing and the Practice of Democracy

This article builds on the political science literature on the pedagogy of civic engagement by discussing a recent pedagogical experiment that treats community partners as leaders and full particip...
Iterative learning control for output‐constrained nonlinear systems with input quantization and actuator faults

Summary In this work, we propose a novel iterative learning control algorithm to deal with a class of nonlinear systems with system output constraint requirements and quantization effects on the system control input. Actuator faults have also been considered, which include multiplicative, additive, and stuck actuator faults. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported work in the iterative learning control literature to deal with quantization effects for the control input of nonlinear systems under the effects of actuator faults and system output constraints. Under the proposed scheme, using backstepping design and composite energy function approaches in the analysis, we show that uniform convergence of the state tracking errors can be guaranteed over the iteration domain, and the constraint requirement on the system output will not be violated at all time. In the end, a simulation study on a single-link robot model is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Speaking and Singing

This chapter presents the theory of speaking and singing. A theory of how speech sounds can be produced reliably assumes that the articulators aim for specific target positions. The movement of the articulators toward the target positions is mediated by the gamma system. Initial results were promising for the spatial target theory, but later results were less so. A more recent theory is that the speech-production system attempts to bring the articulators to characteristic relative positions. As predicted in the theory, following external perturbations, there is rapid compensation that preserves relative positions needed for immediate articulatory goals. A possible mechanism for achieving invariant relative positioning relies on mutual inhibition between command centers for articulators whose relative positions must be coordinated. A parallel distributed system has recently been proposed as a model of coarticulation. The system anticipates features of forthcoming actions because of generalization to the states whose exact values at earlier (or later) times do not matter in the language being spoken. Pig Latin and backward speech provide evidence for the psychological reality of syllables and the autonomous representation of stress. Laboratory studies of the reaction time to begin speaking when a switch must be made from an initially prepared utterance to another utterance suggest that the syllables of a word are represented hierarchically. Hierarchical organization provides a basis for specifying characteristics of an entire word in a single processing step.
Effect of Pore Connectivity on Li Dendrite Propagation within LLZO Electrolytes Observed with Synchrotron X-ray Tomography

Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is a garnet-type material that demonstrates promising characteristics for all-solid-state battery applications due to its high Li-ion conductivity and its compatibility with Li metal. The primary limitation of LLZO is the propensity for short-circuiting at low current densities. Microstructure features such as grain boundaries, pore character, and density all contribute to this shorting phenomenon. Toward the goal of understanding processing-structure relationships for practical design of solid electrolytes, the present study tracks structural transformations in solid electrolytes processed at three different temperatures (1050, 1100, and 1150 °C) using synchrotron X-ray tomography. A subvolume of 300 μm3 captures the heterogeneity of the solid electrolyte microstructure while minimizing the computational intensity associated with 3D reconstructions. While the porosity decreases with increasing temperature, the underlying connectivity of the pore region increases. Solid electrolytes wi...
Recent Progress in Ultralow Background Ge Detector Searches for the ββ-Decay of 76Ge, Dark Matter Candidates, and Solar Axions

Recent results from a number of 76Ge ββ-decay experiments and the different approaches in nuclear structure calculations which impact their interpretation are discussed. An update of current efforts to improve the sensitivities of these experiments is given. A brief review of the recent publications on searches for dark matter candidates and solar axions is also given.
Influence of Finite Grating Size on Guided Mode Resonance Transmission Filters

Guided-mode resonant filters based on subwavelength dielectric gratings offer an effective means for narrowband transmission filters. The grating's lateral extent strongly influences the Bloch wave character of the guided mode and Fano resonance behavior responsible for narrowband transmittance. This are studied in this work for an asymmetric zero-contrast grating. Two mitigation techniques are proposed: reflectors surrounding the grating, and alternate geometries with increased guided-mode coupling.
Using gap-filled MAIAC AOD and WRF-Chem to estimate daily PM2.5 concentrations at 1 km resolution in the Eastern United States

Abstract To link short-term exposures of air pollutants to health outcomes, scientists must use high temporal and spatial resolution estimates of PM2.5 concentrations. In this work, we develop a daily PM2.5 product at 1 × 1 km2 spatial resolution across the eastern United States (east of 90° W) with the aid of 1 × 1 km2 MAIAC aerosol optical depth (AOD) data, 36 × 36 km2 WRF-Chem output, 1 × 1 km2 land-use type from the National Land Cover Database, and 0.125° × 0.125° ERA-Interim re-analysis meteorology. A gap-filling technique is applied to MAIAC AOD data to construct robust daily estimates of AOD when the satellite data are missing (e.g., areas obstructed by clouds or snow cover). The input data are incorporated into a multiple-linear regression model trained to surface observations of PM2.5 from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) monitoring network. The model generates a high-fidelity estimate (r2 = 0.75 using a 10-fold random cross-validation) of daily PM2.5 throughout the eastern United States. Of the inputs to the statistical model, WRF-Chem output (r2 = 0.66) is the most important contributor to the skill of the model. MAIAC AOD is also a strong contributor (r2 = 0.52). Daily PM2.5 output from our statistical model can be easily integrated into county-level epidemiological studies. The novelty of this project is that we are able to simulate PM2.5 in a computationally efficient manner that is constrained to ground monitors, satellite data, and chemical transport model output at high spatial resolution (1 × 1 km2) without sacrificing the temporal resolution (daily) or spatial coverage (>2,000,000 km2).
Acute prazosin administration does not reduce stressor reactivity in healthy adults.

Norepinephrine plays a critical role in the stress response. Clarifying the psychopharmacological effects of norepinephrine manipulation on stress reactivity in humans has important implications for basic neuroscience and treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders. Preclinical research implicates the norepinephrine alpha-1 receptor in responses to stressors. The No Shock, Predictable Shock, Unpredictable Shock (NPU) task is a human laboratory paradigm that is well positioned to test cross-species neurobiological stress mechanisms and advance experimental therapeutic approaches to clinical trials testing novel treatments for psychiatric disorders. We hypothesized that acute administration of prazosin, a noradrenergic alpha-1 antagonist, would have a larger effect on reducing stress reactivity during unpredictable, compared to predictable, stressors in the NPU task. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover randomized controlled trial in which 64 healthy adults (32 female) completed the NPU task at two visits (2 mg prazosin vs. placebo). A single acute dose of 2 mg prazosin did not reduce stress reactivity in a healthy adult sample. Neither NPU startle potentiation nor self-reported anxiety was reduced by prazosin (vs. placebo) during unpredictable (vs. predictable) stressors. Further research is needed to determine whether this failure to translate preclinical neuroscience to human laboratory models is due to methodological factors (e.g., acute vs. chronic drug administration, brain penetration, study population) and/or suggests limited clinical utility of noradrenergic alpha-1 antagonists for treating stress-related psychiatric disorders.
In-Hospital Management and Outcomes After ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Medicaid Beneficiaries Compared With Privately Insured Individuals

Background: Medicaid expansion among previously uninsured individuals has led to improved healthcare access. However, considerably lower reimbursement rates of Medicaid have raised concerns on the ...
Loss of ACOT7 potentiates seizures and metabolic dysfunction.

Neurons uniquely antagonize fatty acid utilization by hydrolyzing the activated form of fatty acids, long chain acyl-CoAs, via the enzyme acyl-CoA thioesterase 7, Acot7. The loss of Acot7 results i...
A duplex ddPCR assay for simultaneously detecting Ips sexdentatus and Ips typographus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in bulk trap samples

Bark beetles in the family Curculionidae present a growing hazard to forests worldwide. Like native bark beetles, introduced exotic species can pose a serious threat to North American forests. Ips ...
The National Robotics Initiative: A Five-Year Retrospective

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), together with other federal agencies, launched the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) program in 2011. The aim of the NRI is to accelerate the development and use of collaborative robots (corobots), which work beside or cooperatively with people. To date, the NRI program has involved multiple directorates of the NSF (Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Engineering; Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; and Education and Human Resources) and several other federal research funding agencies [the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)]. As the program prepared to announce its sixth round of awards in the summer of 2017, we took the opportunity to reflect on the impacts of the first five years of NRI funding.
In‐room Ultraviolet Air Filtration Units Reduce Airborne Particles during Total Joint Arthroplasty

Reducing airborne bioburden in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is of critical importance. The efficacy of crystalline ultraviolet-C (C-UVC) filtration in reducing bioburden in a dynamic operating room (OR) environment has not been evaluated. We assessed whether C-UVC filtration reduced (i) total particle counts (TPC); (ii) viable particle counts (VPC); and (iii) colony-forming units (CFUs). Fifty primary TJA cases were performed in a positive-pressure OR; 25 cases with the C-UVC unit and 25 cases without. The air was sampled by a particle counter and an impact air sampler to measure particle counts and CFUs, respectively. To compare TPC, VPC, and CFU/m3 between groups, independent t tests and multivariate regression, adjusted for number of OR staff and door openings, were performed. The C-UVC group had significantly lower TPC (2.6 × 106 vs. 4.7 × 106 particles, p = 0.001) and VPC (18,605 vs. 27,516 particles, p = 0.001). There were fewer CFUs in the C-UVC group (10.9 CFU/m3 vs. 13.7 CFU/m3 , p = 0.163). Multivariate analysis identified C-UVC filtration as a significant predictor of decreased TPC (β = -0.44, p = 0.002) and VPC (β = -0.47, p = 0.001) after accounting for door openings and number of OR staff. The reduction in CFUs was not significant on multivariate analysis. In this prospective pilot study, a C-UVC air disinfection and recirculation unit led to a significant reduction in both TPC and VPC and a non-significant reduction in CFU. Statement of clinical significance: Further studies are needed to investigate the effects of C-UVC filtration units on surgical-site infection rates. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 38:431-437, 2020.
Non-contact Raman spectroscopic pH measurement of cerebrospinal fluid: in vivo rat and perimortem swine models

We recently reported the first noninvasive, label free measurement of pH in a bodily fluid in vivo using only Raman spectra i.e. in vivo rat model measurements probing the immediate vicinity of a contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) in the first minutes and hours after injury. Calibrated and assigned using Raman spectra of authentic materials, in the rat model we were not able to sample the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to allow comparison with an independent measurement of the pH. Swine presents a better model because they allow physical sampling of CSF, although still not ideal for our purposes. We were only able to physically sample CSF from the fourth cerebral ventricle of 2 different animals, before and after all spectral measurements on cords were completed. One measurement each for 2 different animals on physically sampled CSF averaged a pH of 7.001±0.106 (N=2) as per standard laboratory instrumentation. Using a dynamic analysis and the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, the average of (N=12) noninvasive Raman-based pH measurements of CSF was 7.073±0.156 and at >95% confidence there is no statistically significant difference between the Raman-based and the physically sampled results. We discuss the difference between the dynamic and static analysis, the implications for our understanding of SCI, the accuracy, precision, calibration, general applicability of this approach and future work.