cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RNF166 Determines Recruitment of Adaptor Proteins during Antibacterial Autophagy

Xenophagy is a form of selective autophagy that involves the targeting and elimination of intracellular pathogens through several recognition, recruitment, and ubiquitination events. E3 ubiquitin ligases control substrate selectivity in the ubiquitination cascade; however, systematic approaches to map the role of E3 ligases in antibacterial autophagy have been lacking. We screened more than 600 putative human E3 ligases, identifying E3 ligases that are required for adaptor protein recruitment and LC3-bacteria colocalization, critical steps in antibacterial autophagy. An unbiased informatics approach pinpointed RNF166 as a key gene that interacts with the autophagy network and controls the recruitment of ubiquitin as well as the autophagy adaptors p62 and NDP52 to bacteria. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that RNF166 catalyzes K29- and K33-linked polyubiquitination of p62 at residues K91 and K189. Thus, our study expands the catalog of E3 ligases that mediate antibacterial autophagy and identifies a critical role for RNF166 in this process.
Emerging Adulthood: Theory, Assessment and Application

The later attainment of traditional adult roles by today’s youth compared to their counterparts of earlier decades has garnered considerable scholarly and public attention. This article describes a recent concept related to the transition to adulthood, known as emerging adulthood, including a discussion of relevant theory and historical background research. We then introduce a measurement instrument, the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA), which assesses identification with transition-to-adulthood themes. Results of initial scale-development studies were largely supportive of the measure’s reliability and validity. Respondents in their 20s identified with relevant themes to a greater extent than did their younger and older counterparts. Marital status differences on the IDEA emerged, but college and non-college respondents were largely similar. Finally, we provide suggestions for how parent educators can make use of the IDEA instrument in advising parents and their emerging adult children.
Causes and effects of unbalanced voltages serving an induction motor

A common requirement of a distribution system is to serve a combination of single-phase lighting loads and a three-phase induction motor. Two transformer connections for providing this combination service are the ungrounded wye-delta and the open wye-open delta. Each connection has its good points and bad points. Of concern are the three-phase voltages provided the induction motor. If the voltages are unbalanced, depending upon the degree of unbalance, the induction motor is subject to overheating. Sources of the voltage unbalance can be the unequal spacing between conductors of the primary and secondary lines, the transformer ratings and connection, and the amount of single-phase load relative to the three-phase load. This paper utilizes previously published models of the primary and secondary lines, transformer connections, and induction motors. A simple system is developed to demonstrate the voltage unbalance created by these components under normal and abnormal conditions and the effect of the resulting unbalances on the induction motor. The system model also provides an insight into the voltages that can appear across the transformer terminals during abnormal operating conditions.
Factors Associated with Survival during High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation in Children.

Our aim is to determine indicators of survival in children with severe hypoxic respiratory failure (HRF) after transition to high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV). Single-center retrospective examination of children with HRF transitioned to HFOV. Blood gases and ventilator settings 24 hours prior to and 48 hours after HFOV in survivors and nonsurvivors were evaluated. Sixty-two children with mean age of 7 years and mean weight of 26 kg were included with an observed mortality of 29%. Mean airway pressures (Paw), oxygenation index (OI), arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) (P/F) ratio, pH, bicarbonate, and arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure were similar prior to HFOV in survivors and nonsurvivors. During HFOV, mean OI and P/F ratio improved in both groups with an average Paw increase of ∼10 cm H2O. Survivors had lower OI than nonsurvivors (21 ± 0.9 vs. 26.5 ± 2.2; p 200. Survivors had higher pH than nonsurvivors at 36 hours (7.40 ± 0.01 vs. 7.32 ± 0.02; p
Interactive planning-based hypothesis generation with LTS++

We present LTS++, an interactive development environment for planning-based hypothesis generation in applications with unreliable observations.
Individualism and Corruption: A Cross-Country Analysis

While the role of cultural norms in determining corruption is well-explored in the empirical literature, the relationship between a specific aspect of culture, that is, individualism versus collectivism, and corruption is rather unexplored. This paper investigates the relationship between individualism/collectivism and corruption in a large cross-section of countries. To establish causality, the paper uses an index of historical prevalence of infectious diseases and a measure of genetic distance between the population in a country from that in the United States to instrument the individualism/collectivism variable. We find that more individualistic countries have lower levels of corruption (perception). This relationship is robust to the inclusion of a rich set of control variables and to the use of alternative measures of corruption.
Chiral magnetic superconductivity

Materials with charged chiral quasiparticles in external parallel electric and magnetic fields can support an electric current that grows linearly in time, corresponding to diverging DC conductivity. From experimental viewpoint, this “Chiral Magnetic Superconductivity” (CMS) is thus analogous to conventional superconductivity. However the underlying physics is entirely different – the CMS does not require a condensate of Cooper pairs breaking the gauge degeneracy, and is thus not accompanied by Meissner effect. Instead, it owes its existence to the (temperature-independent) quantum chiral anomaly and the conservation of chirality. As a result, this phenomenon can be expected to survive to much higher temperatures. Even though the chirality of quasiparticles is not strictly conserved in real materials, the chiral magnetic superconductivity should still exhibit itself in AC measurements at frequencies larger than the chirality-flipping rate, and in microstructures of Dirac and Weyl semimetals with thickness below the mean chirality-flipping length that is about 1 – 100 μ m. In nuclear physics, the CMS should contribute to the charge-dependent elliptic flow in heavy ion collisions.
Emergent gravity in spaces of constant curvature

In physical theories where the energy (action) is localized near a submanifold of a constant curvature space, there is a universal expression for the energy (or the action). We derive a multipole expansion for the energy that has a finite number of terms, and depends on intrinsic geometric invariants of the submanifold and extrinsic invariants of the embedding of the submanifold. This is the second of a pair of articles in which we try to develop a theory of emergent gravity arising from the embedding of a submanifold into an ambient space equipped with a quantum field theory. Our theoretical method requires a generalization of a formula due to by Hermann Weyl. While the first paper discussed the framework in Euclidean (Minkowski) space, here we discuss how this framework generalizes to spaces of constant sectional curvature. We focus primarily on anti de Sitter space. We then discuss how such a theory can give rise to a cosmological constant and Planck mass that are within reasonable bounds of the experimental values.
Spherical planetary robot for rugged terrain traversal

Wheeled planetary rovers such as the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) have provided unprecedented, detailed images of the Mars surface. However, these rovers are large and are of high-cost as they need to carry sophisticated instruments and science laboratories. We propose the development of low-cost planetary rovers that are the size and shape of cantaloupes and that can be deployed from a larger rover. The rover named SphereX is 2 kg in mass, is spherical, holonomic and contains a hopping mechanism to jump over rugged terrain. A small low-cost rover complements a larger rover, particularly to traverse rugged terrain or roll down a canyon, cliff or crater to obtain images and science data. While it may be a one-way journey for these small robots, they could be used tactically to obtain high-reward science data. The robot is equipped with a pair of stereo cameras to perform visual navigation and has room for a science payload. In this paper, we analyze the design and development of a laboratory prototype. The results show a promising pathway towards development of a field system.
A minimal actomyosin-based model predicts the dynamics of filopodia on neuronal dendrites

Dendritic filopodia are actin-filled dynamic subcellular structures that sprout on neuronal dendrites during neurogenesis. The exploratory motion of the filopodia is crucial for synaptogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. To study filopodial motility, we collected and analyzed image data on filopodia in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. We hypothesized that mechanical feedback among the actin retrograde flow, myosin activity, and substrate adhesion gives rise to various filopodial behaviors. We formulated a minimal one-dimensional partial differential equation model that reproduced the range of observed motility. To validate our model, we systematically manipulated experimental correlates of parameters in the model: substrate adhesion strength, actin polymerization rate, myosin contractility, and the integrity of the putative microtubule-based barrier at the filopodium base. The model predicts the response of the system to each of these experimental perturbations, supporting the hypothesis that our actomyosin-driven mechanism controls dendritic filopodia dynamics.
New broadband equalizer optimization technique for digital system designs

In this paper, a novel broadband equalizer optimization technique is introduced for digital system designs. Through effectively compensating both conductor loss and dielectric loss, this technique provides a new solution to find optimal equalizer for high speed signaling over printed circuit board (PCB) with continuous time linear equalizer (CTLE) as an application. Simulation results are presented to validate the technique.
DIFFERENCES IN FUNCTIONAL GAIN BETWEEN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND OSTEOARTHRITIS PATIENTS UNDERGOING ARTHROPLASTY: RESULTS FROM THE FORCE-TJR NATIONAL RESEARCH CONSORTIUM

Summary Statement For RA patients undergoing TKR, the gain in function at 6 months following surgery is less than that experienced by OA patients; for THR, however, gains are similar in OA and RA patients. Introduction Total joint replacement (TJR) is commonly used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and yet little information is available to quantify their functional gain following surgery and how it differs from what the osteoarthritis (OA) population experiences. Therefore, we examined 6-month functional outcomes of TJR in a population-based observational cohort of RA and OA patients who underwent total hip (THR) or knee (TKR) replacement. Methods Patients undergoing primary TKR from 7/1/11 through 12/3/12 were identified from the FORCE-TJR national research consortium which enrolls patients from 111 surgeons across 27 states in the US. The registry gathers data from patients, surgeons and hospitals on patient demographics, underlying type of arthritis, operative joint severity based on the estimated Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) using the Hip and Knee Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores, function based on the Short Form 36 Physical Component Score (PCS), and mental health using the SF-36 Mental Component Score (MCS). Descriptive statistics were performed. Results There were 95 RA and 991 OA patients who underwent primary TKR, and 59 RA and 740 OA patients who underwent primary THR. Among TKR patients, RA patients are more likely to be women (68% vs. 61%), nonwhite (17% vs. 9%), unmarried (59% vs. 70%) with an annual income of ≤$45,000 (57% vs. 39%) as well as lower baseline emotional health (48 vs. 52) and functioning (31 vs 33). Among THR patients, RA patients are more likely to be nonwhite (18% vs. 8%), unmarried (66% vs. 69%) with an annual income of ≤$45,000 (54% vs. 34%) as well as lower baseline emotional health (46 vs. 51) and functioning (30 vs 32). RA patients undergoing TKR have less functional gain 6 months post-surgery (6.6 vs. 9.7; p=0.002) as compared to OA patients. In contrast, RA patients who undergo THR have similar functional gain (11.6 vs. 13.8; p=0.13) as compared to OA patients. Discussion/Conclusion RA patients have less functional improvement as compared to those with OA when undergoing TKR but similar gains when undergoing THR.
FARMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR SOIL TESTING SERVICE IN NORTHERN HAITI

The study uses interval regression to investigate factors affecting farmers’ willingness to pay for soil testing services in Northern Haiti. The model reveals that factors such as the type of crops grown, group membership, farmers’ educational level, access to credit, gender, contact with extension services or any institution, type of soils, income level, participation in soil testing program and farm size affect the amount to be paid for soil testing services. These results imply that the training module on soil testing and financial support in form of subsidies or access to credit should be provided to farmers.
Crowdsourcing Universal Part-of-Speech Tags for Code-Switching.

Code-switching is the phenomenon by which bilingual speakers switch between multiple languages during communication. The importance of developing language technologies for codeswitching data is immense, given the large populations that routinely code-switch. High-quality linguistic annotations are extremely valuable for any NLP task, and performance is often limited by the amount of high-quality labeled data. However, little such data exists for code-switching. In this paper, we describe crowd-sourcing universal part-of-speech tags for the Miami Bangor Corpus of Spanish-English code-switched speech. We split the annotation task into three subtasks: one in which a subset of tokens are labeled automatically, one in which questions are specifically designed to disambiguate a subset of high frequency words, and a more general cascaded approach for the remaining data in which questions are displayed to the worker following a decision tree structure. Each subtask is extended and adapted for a multilingual setting and the universal tagset. The quality of the annotation process is measured using hidden check questions annotated with gold labels. The overall agreement between gold standard labels and the majority vote is between 0.95 and 0.96 for just three labels and the average recall across part-of-speech tags is between 0.87 and 0.99, depending on the task.
Exact solution to the steady-state dynamics of a periodically modulated resonator

We provide an analytic solution to the coupled-mode equations describing the steady-state of a single periodically modulated optical resonator driven by a monochromatic input. The phenomenology of this system was qualitatively understood only in the adiabatic limit, i.e., for low modulation speed. However, both in and out of this regime, we find highly non-trivial effects for specific parameters of the modulation. For example, we show complete suppression of the transmission even with zero detuning between the input and the static resonator frequency. We also demonstrate the possibility for complete, lossless frequency conversion of the input into the sideband frequencies, as well as for optimizing the transmitted signal towards a given target temporal waveform. The analytic results are validated by first-principle simulations.
Calibration and Expert Testing

Abstract I survey and discuss the recent literature on testing experts or probabilistic forecasts, which I would describe as a literature on “strategic hypothesis testing” The starting point of this literature is some surprising results of the following type: suppose that a criterion forjudging probabilistic forecasts (which I will call a test) has the property that if data are generated by a probabilistic model, then forecasts generated by that model pass the test. It, then, turns out an agent who knows only the test by which she is going to be judged, but knows nothing about the data-generating process, is able to pass the test by generating forecasts strategically. The literature identifies a large number of tests that are vulnerable to strategic manipulation of uninformed forecasters, but also delivers some tests that cannot be passed without knowledge of the data-generating process. It also provides some results on philosophy of science and financial markets that are related to, and inspired by the results on testing experts.
Predictive Nomogram for Recurrence following Surgery for Nonmetastatic Renal Cell Cancer with Tumor Thrombus

Purpose: Following surgery for nonmetastatic renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus the risk of recurrence is significant but variable among patients. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a predictive nomogram for individual estimation of recurrence risk following surgery for renal cell carcinoma with venous tumor thrombus.Materials and Methods: Comprehensive data were collected on patients with nonmetastatic renal cell carcinoma and thrombus treated at a total of 5 institutions from 2000 to 2013. Independent predictors of recurrent renal cell carcinoma from a competing risks analysis were developed into a nomogram. Predictive accuracy was compared between the development and validation cohorts, and between the nomogram and the UISS (UCLA Integrated Staging System, SSIGN (Stage, Size, Grade and Necrosis) and Sorbellini models.Results: A total of 636 patients were analyzed, including the development cohort of 465 and the validation cohort of 171. Independent predictors, including tumor d...
Fabrication-constrained nanophotonic inverse design.

A major difficulty in applying computational design methods to nanophotonic devices is ensuring that the resulting designs are fabricable. Here, we describe a general inverse design algorithm for nanophotonic devices that directly incorporates fabrication constraints. To demonstrate the capabilities of our method, we designed a spatial-mode demultiplexer, wavelength demultiplexer, and directional coupler. We also designed and experimentally demonstrated a compact, broadband 1 × 3 power splitter on a silicon photonics platform. The splitter has a footprint of only 3.8 × 2.5 μm, and is well within the design rules of a typical silicon photonics process, with a minimum radius of curvature of 100 nm. Averaged over the designed wavelength range of 1400–1700 nm, our splitter has a measured insertion loss of 0.642 ± 0.057 dB and power uniformity of 0.641 ± 0.054 dB.
TEMPORISING EXTERNAL FIXATION OF CALCANEAL FRACTURES PRIOR TO PLATE FIXATION

Background Surgical management of calcaneus fractures is demanding and has a high risk of wound complications. Traditionally these fractures are managed with splinting until swelling has subsided. We describe a novel protocol for the management of displaced intra-articular calcaneus fractures utilising a temporizing external fixator and staged conversion to plate fixation through a sinus tarsi approach. The goal of this technique is to allow for earlier treatment with open reduction and internal fixation, minimise the amount of manipulation required at the time of definitive fixation and reduce the wound complication rate seen with the extensile approach. Methods The records of patients with displaced calcaneus fractures from 2010–2014 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 10 patients with 12 calcaneus fractures were treated with this protocol. All patients underwent ankle-spanning medial external fixation within 48 hours of injury. Patients underwent conversion to open plate fixation through a sinus tarsi approach when skin turgor had returned to normal. Time to surgery, infection rate, wound complications, radiographic alignment, and time to radiographic union were recorded. Results The average Bohler9s angle improved from 13.2 (range −2 to 34) degrees preoperatively to 34.3 (range 26 to 42) degrees postoperatively. The average time from external fixation to conversion to internal fixation was 4.8 (range 3 to 7) days. There were no immediate post-surgical complications. The average time to weight bearing was 8.5 weeks. The average time to radiographic union was 9.5 (range 8 to 12) weeks. There were no infections or wound complications at the time of last follow-up. Conclusions Early temporizing external fixation for the acute management of displaced calcaneus fractures is a safe and effective method to reduce and stabilise the foot and may decrease the time to definitive fixation. In our series there were no complications related to the use of the external fixator. Level of Evidence IV Retrospective case series
Knowledge-driven binning approach for rare variant association analysis: application to neuroimaging biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease.

Rapid advancement of next generation sequencing technologies such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) has facilitated the search for genetic factors that influence disease risk in the field of human genetics. To identify rare variants associated with human diseases or traits, an efficient genome-wide binning approach is needed. In this study we developed a novel biological knowledge-based binning approach for rare-variant association analysis and then applied the approach to structural neuroimaging endophenotypes related to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). For rare-variant analysis, we used the knowledge-driven binning approach implemented in Bin-KAT, an automated tool, that provides 1) binning/collapsing methods for multi-level variant aggregation with a flexible, biologically informed binning strategy and 2) an option of performing unified collapsing and statistical rare variant analyses in one tool. A total of 750 non-Hispanic Caucasian participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort who had both WGS data and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were used in this study. Mean bilateral cortical thickness of the entorhinal cortex extracted from MRI scans was used as an AD-related neuroimaging endophenotype. SKAT was used for a genome-wide gene- and region-based association analysis of rare variants (MAF (minor allele frequency) < 0.05) and potential confounding factors (age, gender, years of education, intracranial volume (ICV) and MRI field strength) for entorhinal cortex thickness were used as covariates. Significant associations were determined using FDR adjustment for multiple comparisons. Our knowledge-driven binning approach identified 16 functional exonic rare variants in FANCC significantly associated with entorhinal cortex thickness (FDR-corrected p-value < 0.05). In addition, the approach identified 7 evolutionary conserved regions, which were mapped to FAF1, RFX7, LYPLAL1 and GOLGA3, significantly associated with entorhinal cortex thickness (FDR-corrected p-value < 0.05). In further analysis, the functional exonic rare variants in FANCC were also significantly associated with hippocampal volume and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ1–42 (p-value < 0.05). Our novel binning approach identified rare variants in FANCC as well as 7 evolutionary conserved regions significantly associated with a LOAD-related neuroimaging endophenotype. FANCC (fanconi anemia complementation group C) has been shown to modulate TLR and p38 MAPK-dependent expression of IL-1β in macrophages. Our results warrant further investigation in a larger independent cohort and demonstrate that the biological knowledge-driven binning approach is a powerful strategy to identify rare variants associated with AD and other complex disease.
Coumarins and Caterpillars: A Case for Coevolution

Ehrlich and Raven (1964) were among the first to focus on coevolution as a distinct evolutionary process. In their formulation, insect-plant coevolution is a five-step sequence: 1. by mutation and recombination, angiosperms produce novel secondary substances; 2. by chance, these new secondary substances alter the suitability of the plant as food for insects; 3. the plants, released from the restraints imposed by herbivory, undergo evolutionary radiation in a new adaptive zone; 4. by mutation or recombination, insects evolve mechanisms of resistance to the secondary substances; 5. able to exploit a plant resource hitherto excluded from herbivores, the adapted insects enter a new adaptive zone and undergo their own evolutionary radiation. This scenario was inspired by broad patterns of hostplant utilization among families of butterflies (Rhopalocera). Although the schema gained widespread acceptance, to date no specific example demonstrates most or all of the steps in the sequence. This lack of empirical evidence has been the subject of considerable criticism (e.g., Jermy, 1976; Janzen, 1980). Recent experimental work on associations between various insects and plants containing furanocoumarins and related compounds (Berenbaum, 1978, 1980, 1981a, 1981b, 1981c), however, provides a case study with either direct or circumstantial evidence for each part of the coevolutionary process.
Perceived motives and reciprocity

Abstract In reciprocal interactions, both genuine kindness and self-interested material gain may motivate socially beneficial actions. The paper presents results from two experiments that distinguish the role of perceived motives in reciprocal decision making from the role of outcomes or perceived intentions. The results indicate that positive reciprocity triggered by the same beneficial action is lower when the first-mover is more likely to be motivated by strategic incentives. Therefore, stronger incentives for beneficial behavior may not increase total welfare.
Demonstration of an optical-coherence converter

Studying the coherence of an optical field is typically compartmentalized with respect to its different physical degrees of freedom (DoFs)—spatial, temporal, and polarization. Although this traditional approach succeeds when the DoFs are uncoupled, it fails at capturing key features of the field’s coherence if the DOFs are indeed correlated—a situation that arises often. By viewing coherence as a “resource” that can be shared among the DoFs, it becomes possible to convert the entropy associated with the fluctuations in one DoF to another DoF that is initially fluctuation-free. Here, we verify experimentally that coherence can indeed be reversibly exchanged—without loss of energy—between polarization and the spatial DoF of a partially coherent field. Starting from a linearly polarized spatially incoherent field—one that produces no spatial interference fringes—we obtain a spatially coherent field that is unpolarized. By reallocating the entropy to polarization, the field becomes invariant with regard to the action of a polarization scrambler, thus suggesting a strategy for avoiding the deleterious effects of a randomizing system on a DoF of the optical field.
Treelicious: A System for Semantically Navigating Tagged Web Pages.

Collaborative tagging has emerged as a popular and effective method for organizing and describing pages on the Web. We present Treelicious, a system that allows hierarchical navigation of tagged web pages. Our system enriches the navigational capabilities of standard tagging systems, which typically exploit only popularity and co-occurrence data. We describe a prototype that leverages the Wikipedia category structure to allow a user to semantically navigate pages from the Delicious social bookmarking service. In our system a user can perform an ordinary keyword search and browse relevant pages but is also given the ability to broaden the search to more general topics and narrow it to more specific topics. We show that Treelicious indeed provides an intuitive framework that allows for improved and effective discovery of knowledge.
Bidding for Customer Orders in TAC SCM

Supply chains are a current, challenging problem for agent-based electronic commerce. Motivated by the Trading Agent Competition Supply Chain Management (TAG SCM) scenario, we consider an individual supply chain agent as having three major subtasks: acquiring supplies, selling products, and managing its local manufacturing process. In this paper, we focus on the sales subtask. In particular, we consider the problem of finding the set of bids to customers in simultaneous reverse auctions that maximizes the agent's expected profit. The key technical challenges we address are i) predicting the probability that a customer will accept a particular bid price, and ii) searching for the most profitable set of bids. We first compare several machine learning approaches to estimating the probability of bid acceptance. We then present a heuristic approach to searching for the optimal set of bids. Finally, we perform experiments in which we apply our learning method and bidding method during actual gameplay to measure the impact on agent performance.
Participatory design of probability-based decision support tools for in-hospital nurses.

Objective To describe nurses' preferences for the design of a probability-based clinical decision support (PB-CDS) tool for in-hospital clinical deterioration. Methods A convenience sample of bedside nurses, charge nurses, and rapid response nurses (n = 20) from adult and pediatric hospitals completed participatory design sessions with researchers in a simulation laboratory to elicit preferred design considerations for a PB-CDS tool. Following theme-based content analysis, we shared findings with user interface designers and created a low-fidelity prototype. Results Three major themes and several considerations for design elements of a PB-CDS tool surfaced from end users. Themes focused on "painting a picture" of the patient condition over time, promoting empowerment, and aligning probability information with what a nurse already believes about the patient. The most notable design element consideration included visualizing a temporal trend of the predicted probability of the outcome along with user-selected overlapping depictions of vital signs, laboratory values, and outcome-related treatments and interventions. Participants expressed that the prototype adequately operationalized requests from the design sessions. Conclusions Participatory design served as a valuable method in taking the first step toward developing PB-CDS tools for nurses. This information about preferred design elements of tools that support, rather than interrupt, nurses' cognitive workflows can benefit future studies in this field as well as nurses' practice.
Transient Ureteral Obstruction After Ureteral Stenting

Transient distal ureteral edema and obstruction have been recognized complications of retrograde ureteral catheterization for years. Similar changes in the proximal ureter may be induced by antegrade (percutaneous) ureteral intubation and are being more widely recognized as radiologists become more involved in upper urinary tract percutaneous manipulative procedures. Marked mucosal edema of the ureter was observed in four patients who had percutaneously placed, in-dwelling stent catheters. This was severe enough to produce transient ureteral obstruction after stent removal in two. Some degree of mucosal edema may be seen in most patients with in-dwelling stents. These ureteral changes may be secondary to the pressure effect of large diameter catheters on the proximal and midureter. Temporary proximal urinary diversion should be maintained until the edematous changes improve or subside, usually within 5-8 days.
Urethral Reconstruction in the Young Female Using a Perineal Pedicle Flap

Five young female patients with a functionally short or absent urethra are described. Two patients had an abnormal urethra related to a congenital malformation (1 female hypospadias, 1 urogenital sinus) and three patients had an absent urethra related to previous surgery. Four of the five patients were totally incontinent of urine. Urethral reconstruction was achieved by tubularizing the mucosa of the vaginal vault and swinging a full thickness pedicle skin flap from the posterior perineum and buttock to cover the urethral repair. In two patients previously diverted, undiversion was made possible. Urinary continence has been achieved in all five patients.
WALKING ALTERATIONS AFTER SEVERE TIBIAL PLATEAU FRACTURES (SCHATZKER IV-VI) TREATED WITH CIRCULAR ILIZAROV FRAME

Purpose Tibia plateau fractures are severe knee injuries which have a great impact on the patients9 lives, but in what extend is not clear yet in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the gait alternations after treatment of patients who had severe tibia plateau fractures which were treated with circular ilizarov frame. Materials & Methods We have evaluated the gait pattern of patients who were treated with circular Ilizarov frame after severe tibia plateau fractures (Schatzker IV-VI) in our department. The gait was tested by using a force plate in a walking platform. Ground Reaction Forces (GRF) data were collected during level walking at self-selected speeds. The patients performed two walking tasks for each limb and the collected data were averaged for each limb. Demographic, clinical, radiological and quality of life questionnaire (SF-12) data were also collected. Results We have analysed the gait through the GRF of fifteen patients (aged 50.8 ±17.3 years), who had undergone treatment with circular Ilizarov frame following severe tibia plateau fractures (Schatzker IV-VI). Nine were male and six were female. The tests were performed at an average of 13.2 months after the initial treatment. SF-12 Mental scores have returned to normal (mean 54.6 ±12.3) but physical scores remained impaired (mean 40.6 ±10.8). A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the GRFs and gait timing data of the affected limb with the normal one. Single limb support interval was significantly reduced to the affected limb (p=0.001) and terminal stance phase was prolonged for the normal limb (p=0.035). During this phase of the gait circle the knee is on its maximum flexion and the quadriceps contracts to bring the femur above the tibia. It seems that these patients during the gait circle reduce the flexion of their affected knee to make their single stance shorter. To the normal limb the patients manage to reduce more the GRFs during the mid-stance phase (F2 force), this difference do not reach significance, but illuminates the tendency of reduced knee flexion in that phase. The rest of the GRF and gait timing data did not had significant differences. Conclusions One year after severe tibia plateau fracture treated with circular ilizarov frame the patients manage to return to almost normal gait pattern. Reduce single limb stance and terminal stance phase to the affected knee can be explained by the tendency of not flexing their deficient knee as much during that gait phase.
Primary Lymphoma of the Testis

Abstract Seventeen patients with initial presentation of lymphoma of the testis were evaluated at the Mayo Clinic between 1969 and 1979. The mean age of the patients was 69 years with 15 of the 17 patients age 60 or older at the time of diagnosis. All histologies were diffuse according to the Rappaport classification with 12 of 17 patients being histiocytic. Eleven patients were classified clinically as Stage I E A, four as Stage II E A and two as Stage IV according to the Ann Arbor classification. Eleven of the 15 Stage I E A and II E A patients were treated with radiation therapy alone with doses ranging from 2,600 to 4,000 rad. Eight of these 11 Stage I E A patients experienced recurrence; in five of these eight, the first site of recurrence was Waldeyer's ring and adjacent structures. Four patients were treated initially with chemotherapy (one Stage I E , one Stage II E and two Stage IV). In all four patients the lymphoma recurred, in two patients in the central nervous system (CNS). The survival rate at two years was 73% in Stage I E A patients and 25 % in Stage II E A patients. There were no survivors at two years in those patients presenting with Stage IV disease. As patients with testicular lymphoma have a relatively high incidence of secondary involvement of Waldeyer's ring and the CNS, careful evaluation of these areas should be performed as part of the routine staging procedures. In view of the high incidence of secondary involvement of distant sites, systemic treatment should be given full consideration in addition to local irradiation as part of the initial treatment of patients with localized disease.
Chronic Caffeine Administration Exacerbates Renovascular, but not Genetic, Hypertension in Rats

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not caffeine would exacerbate renovascular hypertension. Therefore, we examined the effects of chronic caffeine administration on arterial blood pressure in rats subjected to either unilateral renal artery clipping (2K-1C rats) or sham-operation. Animals in each group were randomly assigned to receive either 0.1% caffeine in their drinking water or normal drinking water, and systolic blood pressure was monitored for 6 wk. Caffeine markedly exacerbated the severity of hypertension in 2K-1C rats and caused histological changes consistent with malignant hypertension. 6 wk after surgery, systolic blood pressure, plasma renin activity, and creatinine clearance in control 2K-1C rats were 169 +/- 5 mmHg (mean +/- SEM), 4.4 +/- 0.5 ng AI X ml-1 X h-1, and 2.9 +/- 0.2 ml/min, respectively; as compared with 219 +/- 4 mmHg, 31.8 +/- 7.8 ng AI X ml-1 X h-1, and 1.4 +/- 0.3 ml/min, respectively, in 2K-1C rats receiving caffeine (all values were significantly different compared with control 2K-1C). Chronic caffeine administration did not alter systolic blood pressure, plasma renin activity, or creatinine clearance in sham-operated rats or spontaneously hypertensive rats. Chronic treatment with enalapril (a converting enzyme inhibitor) prevented the development of hypertension in control 2K-1C rats and caffeine-treated 2K-1C rats; however, withdrawal of enalapril precipitated a rapid rise in systolic blood pressure in caffeine-treated 2K-1C rats, but not in control 2K-1C rats. These experiments indicate that caffeine specifically exacerbates experimental renovascular hypertension and might worsen the hypertensive process in patients with renovascular hypertension.
The Epidemiology and Prevention of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

The incidence of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has continued to increase worldwide. From June 1981 to September 1985, 12 932 cases have been diagnosed and reported in the United States; this number is expected to double during the next year. The incubation period is long and few persons infected with human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV) have AIDS diagnosed within 2 to 5 years of infection. The widespread use of HTLV-III/LAV serologic tests to screen donated blood and plasma, the continued deferral of donors from groups with an increased incidence of AIDS, and the use of heat-treated clotting factor concentrates should help prevent HTLV-III/LAV transmission through blood and blood products. Preventing transmission among sexual partners, among intravenous drug users, and from infected mothers to newborns will continue to be difficult without a vaccine, specific antiviral therapy, or both. Risk reduction strategies should involve community groups to provide accurate information and influence behaviors that lead to transmission of the virus.
IllusionPIN: Shoulder-Surfing Resistant Authentication Using Hybrid Images

We address the problem of shoulder-surfing attacks on authentication schemes by proposing IllusionPIN (IPIN), a PIN-based authentication method that operates on touchscreen devices. IPIN uses the technique of hybrid images to blend two keypads with different digit orderings in such a way, that the user who is close to the device is seeing one keypad to enter her PIN, while the attacker who is looking at the device from a bigger distance is seeing only the other keypad. The user’s keypad is shuffled in every authentication attempt, since the attacker may memorize the spatial arrangement of the pressed digits. To reason about the security of IPIN, we developed an algorithm which is based on human visual perception and estimates the minimum distance from which an observer is unable to interpret the keypad of the user. We tested our estimations with 84 simulated shoulder-surfing attacks from 21 different people. None of the attacks was successful against our estimations. In addition, we estimated the minimum distance from which a camera is unable to capture the visual information from the keypad of the user. Based on our analysis, it seems practically almost impossible for a surveillance camera to capture the PIN of a smartphone user when IPIN is in use.
Primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), an autoimmune, chronic, cholestatic liver disease that affects primarily women, is caused by the destruction of small bile ducts within the liver. A positive antimitochondrial antibody test is a sensitive and specific marker of this disease. PBC appears to be triggered by many different environmental factors in genetically susceptible hosts. Activated T lymphocytes recognize specific mitochondrial antigens, the dihydrolipomide acyltransferase component (E2) of pyruvate dehydrogenase and other oxoacid dehydrogenases, as foreign and attack bile duct epithelial cells that aberrantly express these antigens. If not treated, PBC progresses to cirrhosis and liver failure over a period of 10–15 years. The prognosis of PBC has improved greatly during the past decade because of its greater recognition by physicians, its diagnosis at early stages, and the good response of patients with early-stage disease to treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid. The disease is staged, from stages I to IV, based on liver biopsy findings. In stage I, disease is confined to portal triads. In stage II, inflammation and scarring have spread beyond portal triads. In stage III, adjacent portal triads are linked by bands of scarring and inflammation. In stage IV, there is nodule formation and unequivocal cirrhosis.
Baby-step giant-step algorithms for the symmetric group

Abstract We study discrete logarithms in the setting of group actions. Suppose that G is a group that acts on a set S. When r , s ∈ S , a solution g ∈ G to r g = s can be thought of as a kind of logarithm. In this paper, we study the case where G = S n and develop analogs to Shanks' baby-step / giant-step procedure for ordinary discrete logarithms. Specifically, we compute two sets A , B ⊆ S n such that every permutation of S n can be written as a product ab of elements a ∈ A and b ∈ B . Our deterministic procedure is optimal up to constant factors, in the sense that A and B can be computed in optimal asymptotic complexity, and | A | and | B | are a small constant from n ! in size. We also analyze randomized “collision” algorithms for the same problem.
New directions in entrepreneurship research with the Kauffman Firm Survey

Data is a fundamental impediment to a better understanding of the multifaceted process of new firm creation. With better data, we can form a better understanding of the causes, constraints, and outcomes associated with the decision to launch a new business. Towards this end, the Kauffman Foundation commissioned an eight-wave panel of businesses that were formed in 2004, chronicling a single cohort’s evolution from birth through important business milestones. This issue of Small Business Economics focuses on papers that use the Kauffman Firm Survey to examine new research questions in entrepreneurship. Articles in this issue analyze new research topics in entrepreneurship as well as shed light on enduring questions in the literature.
Growth of solutions to NLS on irrational tori

We prove polynomial bounds on the growth of higher Sobolev norms for the nonlinear Schrodinger equation set on a torus, in dimension 3, with super-cubic and sub-quintic nonlinearity. Due to improved Strichartz estimates, these bounds are better for irrational tori than they are for rational tori.
Cost effectiveness of patellofemoral versus total knee arthroplasty in younger patients.

AimsPatellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) has experienced significant improvements in implant survivorship with second generation designs. This has renewed interest in PFA as an alternative to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for younger active patients with isolated patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PF OA). We analysed the cost-effectiveness of PFA versus TKA for the management of isolated PF OA in the United States-based population.Patients and MethodsWe used a Markov transition state model to compare cost-effectiveness between PFA and TKA. Simulated patients were aged 60 (base case) and 50 years. Lifetime costs (2015 United States dollars), quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gains and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were calculated from a healthcare payer perspective. Annual rates of revision were derived from the National Joint Registry for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed for all parameters against a $50 000/QALY...
Molecular dynamics simulations and morphology analysis of TEM imaged PVDF nanofibers

Abstract With the goal of elucidating the structure of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) nanofibers, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were performed, and the results were compared with structures observed in high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at the molecular level. Simulation shows that the stability of the β-phase component in a PVDF nanofiber is influenced by the diameter of the nanofiber. In unstretched ultra-thin nanofibers, the β phase is readily transformed into a paraelectric phase. During the TEM imaging process, chain scission due to irradiation can accelerate this process. This transformation illuminates the spindle formation and serpentine motion of molecular segments observed by Zhong et al. (Polymer, 54, 2013, 3745–3756) in irradiated PVDF nanofibers. From a comparison between simulated and experimental TEM images it was possible to identify numerous features that are useful in unveiling inherent structures of PVDF nanofibers. These include the orientations of elongated dots with respect to the chain axis; kinks along the chain profile; varying sizes, shapes, and brightness of dots; and distances between dots. This information allows one to distinguish image of short chain segments having a conformation approximating the α phase from those approximating the β phase.
Frequency domain characterization of decentralized fixed modes

Frequency domain characterization for the existence of fixed modes of a linear system described in differential operator form are presented. It is shown that some well-known results are special cases given in this note.
STATISTICAL METHODS FOR PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION AND MODEL SELECTION IN DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS

Abstract In this paper we consider the problem of fitting partial differential equations to experimental data. The goal is to compare competing terms in the equation, and our approach is a statistical one, in the spirit of regression analysis.