cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Normal Modes of a Rotating, Self-gravitating Inhomogeneous Earth

This present study focuses on three topics: (i) formulation of the first- order perturbation problem of the Earth's normal modes; (ii) formulation of a variational method based on the solutions of first-order quasi- degenerate perturbation calculation; and (iii) numerical results for both ordinary degenerate and quasi-degenerate multiplets using formulation (i). The Earth considered is a rotating, laterally-inhomogeneous Earth. To zeroth order, however, it is approximated by a spherically symmetric, non-rotating, elastic and isotropic sphere. Lateral perturbations and Earth's rotation are treated as perturbations. Examples of lateral perturbations are Earth's ellipticity of figure and lateral inhomogeneities. Because of the symmetry in the Earth model, unperturbed modes form multiplets with varying degrees of degeneracy. For almost all of these multiplets, the perturbation calculation need be carried out to first order. When one multiplet and another nearly coincide in their frequencies, first-order ordinary degenerate perturbation method must be replaced by first-order quasi-degenerate perturbation method. Since the latter is a more general form of the former, the first-order perturbation problem is completely solved. The perturbations considered in this study consist of Earth's rotation, ellipticity of figure, a continent-ocean discontinuity near the Earth's surface, and an artificially contrived discontinuity about the core-mantle interface. When the effect due to rotation becomes dominant, the first-order calculation becomes insufficient, and a variational method is posed. Such a method can be formulated from quasi-degenerate solutions. The numerical results show that ellipticity corrections are important and should always be included in the computations of the Earth's normal modes, that lateral inhomogeneities in the Earth's deep interior become an important perturbation for high-overtone multiplets, and that Coriolis coupling between a spheroidal and a toroidal multiplet overshadows all other types of coupling.
Directional analysis of image textures for feature extraction and segmentation

This paper describes a new approach for texture feature extraction, appropriate for unsupervised image segmentation applications. The pixel features are obtained by using directional filters to analyze the given image to a set of subimages, each one containing an isolated angular section of the initial image spectrum, and estimating the pixel local energy in them. By incorporating the proposed feature extraction technique into a single multicomponent texture segmentation procedure, some experiments with texture separation have been implemented and the effectiveness of the presented method has been tested. The results are presented and a comparison with feature extraction techniques, based on the discrete wavelet decomposition of the image, is made.
Optimizing the Product Derivation Process

Feature modeling is widely used in software product-line engineering to capture the commonalities and variabilities within an application domain. As feature models evolve, they can become very complex with respect to the number of features and the dependencies among them, which can cause the product derivation based on feature selection to become quite time consuming and error prone. We address this problem by presenting techniques to find good feature selection sequences that are based on the number of products that contain a particular feature and the impact of a selected feature on the selection of other features. Specifically, we identify a feature selection strategy, which brings up highly selective features early for selection. By prioritizing feature selection based on the selectivity of features our technique makes the feature selection process more efficient. Moreover, our approach helps with the problem of unexpected side effects of feature selection in later stages of the selection process, which is commonly considered a difficult problem. We have run our algorithm on the e-Shop and Berkeley DB feature models and also on some automatically generated feature models. The evaluation results demonstrate that our techniques can shorten the product derivation processes significantly.
A New Framework for FMRI Data Analysis: Modeling, Image Restoration, and Activation Detection

We propose a new model for event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and develop a new set of tools for activation detection. A novel feature of our framework is the explicit modeling of the spatial correlation introduced by the scanner. We propose simple, efficient algorithms to estimate model parameters. We develop an activation detection algorithm which consists of two parts: image restoration and least-squares estimation of the parameters of the hemodynamic response function. During the image restoration stage, a total-variation-based approach is employed to restore each data slice, for each time index. The amplitude of the least-squares fit of the hemodynamic response function is then thresholded to yield an estimate of the activation map. We illustrate the promise of our method through several experiments with synthetic data as well as one example with real data.
The Economics and Politics of Climate Change Dieter Helm & Cameron Hepburn (Eds)

This book departs from the somewhat pessimistic, albeit realistic, point of view that little progress has been made in coming to an international agreement on how to reduce global greenhouse gas em...
Adverse Reactions from Botulinum Toxin Administration

As a biopharmaceutical, botulinum toxin has increasingly been administered for therapeutic indications both approved and not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Local adverse effects from its administration have been recognized since its original introduction, but recently generalized and remote adverse effects have been witnessed, some life threatening or fatal. While uncommon, these effects are currently unexplained and necessitate practitioner familiarity with their potential occurrence as well as requiring clear and consistent education of patients as to the risk, benefits and early signs of adverse reactions after botulinum toxin administration.
Digital simulation of field-oriented control of induction motor drives using EMTP

The use of the electromagnetic transients program (EMTP) to simulate the field-oriented control in an induction-motor drive system, prior to its hardware implementation, is described. Specifically, the interface needed between the universal machine model within EMTP and the field-orientation control is described. The results include torque and speed control, effect of incorrect rotor time constant, and the simulation results of a current-regulated inverter using a tolerance-band control. >
Syntaxin 6 and CAL mediate the degradation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator.

The PDZ domain–containing protein CAL mediates lysosomal trafficking and degradation of CFTR. Here we demonstrate the involvement of a CAL-binding SNARE protein syntaxin 6 (STX6) in this process. Overexpression of STX6, which colocalizes and coimmunoprecipitates with CAL, dramatically reduces the steady-state level and stability of CFTR. Conversely, overexpression of a STX6 dominant-negative mutant increases CFTR. Silencing endogenous STX6 increases CFTR but has no effect on ΔTRL-CFTR, which cannot bind to CAL. Silencing CAL eliminates the effect of STX6 on CFTR. Both results suggest a dependence of CAL on STX6 function. Consistent with its Golgi localization, STX6 does not bind to ER-localized ΔF508-CFTR. Silencing STX6 has no effect on ΔF508-CFTR expression. However, overexpression of STX6 coimmunoprecipitates with and reduces temperature-rescued ΔF508-CFTR that escapes ER degradation. Conversely, silencing STX6 enhances the effect of low temperature in rescuing ΔF508-CFTR. Finally, in human bronchial epithelial cells, silencing endogenous STX6 leads to increases in protein levels and Cl− currents of both wild-type and temperature-rescued CFTR. We have identified STX6 as a new component of the CAL complex that regulates the abundance and function of CFTR at the post-ER level. Our results suggest a therapeutic role of STX6 in enhancing rescued ΔF508-CFTR.
Increased Ligament Thickness in Previously Sprained Ankles as Measured by Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Context: Lateral ankle sprains are among the most common injuries in sport, with the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) most susceptible to damage. Although we understand that after a sprain, sca...
Essential veterinary education in water-borne transmission of disease.

Summary In this paper, the author reviews the reasons for the current interest in waterborne transmission of infectious agents in the veterinary curriculum. In addition, the paper provides short summaries of some of the major zoonotic outbreaks that have caused this new interest in water-borne diseases. Some curricular recommendations are made, including: basic training in modern methodologies in microbiology; a brief introduction to water and sewage treatment, with some discussion of pathogens in relation to the basic treatment processes of flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, denitrification and phosphorus removal; and an introduction to the regulations being promulgated to reduce the pathogen loading of water on farms.
Nonequiiibrium Surface Segregation in Aluminum-Doped TiO2 under an Oxidizing Potential: Effects on Redox Color-Boundary Migration

During the oxidation of redued single crystals of Al-doped rutile, unusual anisotropies in color-boundary migration have been observed that are opposite to those predicted from published diffusion data. Analysis of the redox kinetics and of surface segregation (using ESCA and AES) shows that rapid transport of minority Al interstitials in the c-axis direction occurs under an oxidation potential, resulting in a surface segregation layer inhibiting further reoxidation. This surface segregation is nonequilibrium in nature, is driven by oxidation, and bears similarities to the phenomena of kinetic demixing in ionic systems. The results show that minority defects can play critical roles in demixing at the local scale; in their absence this system would not be expected to demix. This thus appears to be an additional mechanism for nonequilibrium interfacial segregation in ionic systems.
Escherichia coli DNA Topoisomerase I Copurifies with Tn5 Transposase, and Tn5 Transposase Inhibits Topoisomerase I

Tn5 transposase (Tnp) overproduction is lethal to Escherichia coli. Genetic evidence suggested that this killing involves titration of E. coli topoisomerase I (Topo I). Here, we present biochemical evidence that supports this model. Tn5 Tnp copurifies with Topo I while nonkilling derivatives of Tnp, Δ37Tnp and Δ55Tnp (Inhibitor [Inh]), show reduced affinity or no affinity, respectively, for Topo I. In agreement with these results, the presence of Tnp, but not Δ37 or Inh derivatives of Tnp, inhibits the DNA relaxation activity of Topo I in vivo as well as in vitro. Other proteins, including RNA polymerase, are also found to copurify with Tnp. For RNA polymerase, reduced copurification with Tnp is observed in extracts from a topA mutant strain, suggesting that RNA polymerase interacts with Topo I and not Tnp.
Covert channel detection in VoIP streams

This paper presents two approaches to detect VoIP covert channel communications using compressed versions of the data packets. The approach is based on specialized random projection matrices that take advantage of prior knowledge about the normal traffic structure. The reduction scheme relies on the assumption that normal traffic packets belong to a subspace of smaller dimension or that can be included a convex set. We show that through the incorporation of this information in the design of the random projection matrices, the detection of anomalous traffic packets can be performed in the compressed domain with a slight performance loss with respect to the uncompressed domain. The validation of the detection algorithm is based on real data captured on a test bed designed to that end.
Topical Psoralen-Ultraviolet A Therapy for Palmoplantar Dermatoses: Experience With 35 Consecutive Patients

Objective To report the effectiveness of topical psoralen-ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy for palmoplantar dermatoses and to describe our method of administration of this treatment modality. Design We conducted a retrospective study of 35 patients, 27 to 66 years of age, who received topical hand and foot PUVA therapy. Material and Methods Ten patients had psoriasis vulgaris, 8 had pustular psoriasis, 5 had dyshidrotic eczema, and 12 had other types of dermatitis. The affected area was soaked in a psoralen solution, 0.0005% methoxsalen (10 mg of methoxsalen in 2 L of warm water), for 30 minutes and then exposed to incremental amounts of ultraviolet A light three times weekly until the dermatosis subsided or cleared. Treatment frequency was then reduced and ultimately discontinued. Time to maximal improvement of the hands and feet was defined as the period from the beginning of PUVA treatment to the point at which the frequency of treatment was reduced from three times weekly to twice weekly. Results Fourteen patients (40%) had clearing of their disease, and 14 others (40%) had improvement of their conditions. The mean time to clearing was 2.8 months (range, 2 weeks to 7 months), and the mean number of treatments was 27.3 (range, 10 to 55). The mean total dose of ultraviolet A received was 140 J/cm 2 (range, 9 to 530). Two patients (6%) had no response to treatment. Mild localized ultraviolet-related erythema developed in 16 patients (46%). Five patients "dropped out" of treatment, and nine other patients discontinued treatment during maintenance therapy. The principal reason cited was inconvenience. Conclusion Topical PUVA therapy is an effective and safe treatment option for recalcitrant dermatoses affecting the palms and soles.
Secondary traumatic stress among disaster mental health workers responding to the September 11 attacks

Relationships between secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms and therapist characteristics and assignment variables were examined for 81 disaster mental health (DMH) workers who responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Higher STS was associated with therapist variables of heavier prior trauma caseload, less professional experience, youth, and therapist's discussion of his or her own trauma or trauma work in his or her own therapy. Therapist gender and personal trauma history were not significantly related to STS. Assignment variables associated with higher STS included longer length of assignment and more time spent with child clients, firefighters (who suffered great losses in the tragedy), or clients who discussed morbid material. Recommendations for practice include informing DMH recruits of therapist risk factors and assigning at-risk DMH workers to lower-risk assignments.
Onset and organ specificity of Tk2 deficiency depends on Tk1 down-regulation and transcriptional compensation

Deficiency of thymidine kinase 2 (TK2) is a frequent cause of isolated myopathy or encephalomyopathy in children with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion. To determine the bases of disease onset, organ specificity and severity of TK2 deficiency, we have carefully characterized Tk2 H126N knockin mice (Tk2−/−). Although normal until postnatal day 8, Tk2−/− mice rapidly develop fatal encephalomyopathy between postnatal days 10 and 13. We have observed that wild-type Tk2 activity is constant in the second week of life, while Tk1 activity decreases significantly between postnatal days 8 and 13. The down-regulation of Tk1 activity unmasks Tk2 deficiency in Tk2−/− mice and correlates with the onset of mtDNA depletion in the brain and the heart. Resistance to pathology in Tk2 mutant organs depends on compensatory mechanisms to the reduced mtDNA level. Our analyses at postnatal day 13 have revealed that Tk2−/− heart significantly increases mitochondrial transcript levels relative to the mtDNA content. This transcriptional compensation allows the heart to maintain normal levels of mtDNA-encoded proteins. The up-regulation in mitochondrial transcripts is not due to increased expression of the master mitochondrial biogenesis regulators peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1 alpha and nuclear respiratory factors 1 and 2, or to enhanced expression of the mitochondrial transcription factors A, B1 or B2. Instead, Tk2−/− heart compensates for mtDNA depletion by down-regulating the expression of the mitochondrial transcriptional terminator transcription factor 3 (MTERF3). Understanding the molecular mechanisms that allow Tk2 mutant organs to be spared may help design therapies for Tk2 deficiency.
Effect of repeated stress on body weight and body composition of rats fed low- and high-fat diets

Exposure to the moderate stressor of 3-h restraint for 3 consecutive days causes a temporary drop in food intake but a permanent reduction in body weight in adult rats. Young rats did not show the same response. Food intake of adult rats exposed to repeated restraint was significantly lower than that of controls for 4 days after the end of stress, and there was no rebound hyperphagia. Body weight remained significantly lower for at least 40 days after stress. When the rats were fed a high-fat diet of 80% chow and 20% vegetable shortening (48% kcal fat, 16% protein), lean body mass accounted for all of the weight loss in stressed rats. When the experiment was repeated with a purified high-fat diet containing corn oil and coconut oil as the source of fat (41% kcal fat, 16% protein), weight loss consisted of both lean and fat tissue. There were no sustained changes in single time point measures of corticosterone, insulin, or leptin that could account for the reduced body weight in these rats.
Determining the True Costs of Treating Small Renal Masses Using Time Driven, Activity Based Costing

Abstract Introduction We report the implementation of time driven, activity based costing for competing treatments of small renal masses at an academic referral center. Methods To use time driven, activity based costing we developed a process map outlining the steps to treat small renal masses. We then derived the costs of supplying every resource per unit time. Known as the capacity cost rate, this included equipment and its depreciation (eg price per minute of the operating room table), personnel and space (eg cost per minute to rent clinic space). We multiplied each capacity cost rate by the time for each step. Time driven, activity based costing was defined as the sum of the products for each intervention. Results Robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy was the most expensive treatment for small renal masses. It was 69.7% more costly than the most inexpensive inpatient modality, laparoscopic radical nephrectomy ($17,841.79 vs $10,514.05). Equipment costs were greater for laparoscopic radical nephrectomy than for open partial nephrectomy. However for laparoscopic radical nephrectomy vs open partial nephrectomy the lower personnel capacity cost rate due to faster operating room time (195.2 vs 217.3 minutes, p = 0.001) and shorter length of stay (2.4 vs 3.7 days, p = 0.13) were the primary drivers in lowering costs. Radiofrequency ablation was 48.4% less expensive than laparoscopic radical nephrectomy ($5,093.83 vs $10,514.05) largely by avoiding inpatient costs. Renal biopsy contributed 3.5% vs 12.2% to the overall cost of robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy vs radiofrequency ablation but it may allow for increased active surveillance. Conclusions Using time driven, activity based costing we determined the relative resource utilization of competing small renal mass treatments, finding significant cost differences among various treatments. This informs value considerations, which are particularly relevant in the current health care milieu.
Creating British Global Leadership: The Liberal Trading Community from 1750 to 1792

This paper explores the process by which Great Britain rose to a position of global leadership in the 1800s. It examines the critical period from 1750 to 1792 when Great Britain moved from global leadership based on colonial/mercantile power to leadership based on industrial/commercial power. I hypothesize that the roots of the Pax Britannica of 1815-1873 have their source in the emerging liberal trading community created by the British in the fifty years before the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. This coalition of states was created around a dominant new idea (economic liberalism) based in the distribution of positive benefits from inclusion in the community, and intended to provide an innovative solution to the problems of international political economy created by the burgeoning industrial revolution. The community was created through the actions of successive British governments throughout the period, and served as the basis for the British-led coalitions which emerged victorious from the global wars of 1792 to 1815. This case study helps answer important questions about how Great Britain was able to move from one period of global leadership to another, and on a more general level provides some insights into the role coalition-building plays in attaining and exercising global power.
The Idea of a Franciscan Academy

It is with genuine pleasure that I bring to the founders of the Academy of American Franciscan History the good wishes and congratulations of the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Having said this, and having said it with all the sincerity at my command, I ought, if a Spartan laconicism were proper, to sit down. The assembly will recognize, I am sure, that I am a pious fraud. I represent a novel and interesting version of what I may term invincible ignorance. I venture to address you as fellow students, but I do not dare to address you as fellow scholars, since this would either exalt me beyond my desert or degrade you below your merit. This Academy is being founded to recapture a tradition descending from the Middle Ages—and I am no mediaevalist, except in the sense that it was once said of a lady of uncertain time of life that around her hung the last enchantments of the middle ages. You are launching an historical venture, but I am, alas, only a dean, and no opinion is more universal in the learned world than that a dean, whatever lower virtues he may possess, is ipso facto no scholar. When the harassed chairman of an alumni club, in search of better oratory, wired the president of his alma mater to send him a good speaker, preferably a professor but certainly not lower than a dean, the president replied: “I am sending you two assistant professors. There is nothing lower than a dean.”
On Transcription and Oral Transmission in Aseneth : A Study of the Narrative’s Conception

The purpose of this article is to investigate and elucidate the oral aspects of Joseph and Aseneth. This is to suggest that Joseph and Aseneth had an oral tradition that preceded, and likely also proceeded, the written version(s) that is (are) now extant. The text is best understood using oral hermeneutics. By making this argument I do not postulate any one oral or written genre for the text, nor any argument for how it might have been composed. Instead, I seek to demonstrate that Joseph and Aseneth retains strong residual orality. Many of the oral features of the text are salient in its written form, including: the consistent use of paratactic καί; the use of the ‘intonation unit’; the one new idea constraint, which is often accomplished by the form ἦν; the visible and descriptive nature of the narrative; and the redundancy of certain words and phrases. The second half of the article offers some repercussions that an oral existence of the narrative might have on Joseph and Aseneth scholarship. The most pertinent effects relate to the assumption that Joseph and Aseneth is a Jewish Hellenistic romance novel and to the scholarly divide concerning the ‘originality’ of the longer b-family textual recension as opposed to the shorter d-family textual recension.
Rapid Synthesis Method of Faujasitic Zeolite Frameworks Probed with Eu(III) Fluorescence Spectroscopy

We report a method for rapid synthesis of faujasitic frameworks with Si/Al ranging from 1.5 to 2.5. Shorter synthesis time is achieved by tuning the supersaturation during a dehydration–rehydration...
Assessing Sustainable Development Goals from the standpoint of equity for children

The article develops a discourse about equality for children and their recent evolution from adult-centred consideration to definition as a separate, critical constituency as stated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with their child-focused goals and targets. Challenges implementing equality and fairness are discussed, from the World Summit for Children (WSC) in 1990 to the nearly simultaneous ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which gives children agency through its legally binding clauses, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The article reviews past lessons learned and the post-2015 agenda debate, from which worldwide agreement evolved about multidimensional poverty and an equality roadmap. The article suggests social accountability processes to achieve lasting SDG targets. It provides a methodology for implementing social accountability actions, accompanied by examples to mobilise communities and encourage child and youth participation at the local level.
Relative differences in resting-state brain connectivity associated with long term intensive lifestyle intervention

A number of studies have reported that type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with alterations in resting-state activity and connectivity in the brain. There is also evidence that interventions involving physical activity and weight loss may affect brain functional connectivity. In this study, we examined the effects of nearly 10 years of an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI), designed to induce and sustain weight loss through lower caloric intake and increased physical activity, on resting-state networks in adults with T2DM. We performed a cross-sectional comparison of global and local characteristics from functional brain networks between individuals who had been randomly assigned to ILI or a control condition of health education and support. Upon examining brain networks from 312 participants (average age: 68.8 for ILI and 67.9 for controls), we found that ILI participants (N=160) had attenuated local efficiency at the network-level compared with controls (N=152). Although there was no group difference in the network-level global efficiency, we found that, among ILI participants, nodal global efficiency was elevated in left fusiform gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and pars opercularis of right inferior frontal gyrus. These effects were age-dependent, with more pronounced effects for older participants. Overall these results indicate that the individuals assigned to the ILI had brain networks with less regional and more global connectivity, particularly involving frontal lobes. Such patterns would support greater distributed information processing. Future studies are needed to determine if these differences are associated with age-related compensatory function in the ILI group or worse pathology in the control group.
Antfarm: efficient content distribution with managed swarms

This paper describes Antfarm, a content distribution system based on managed swarms. A managed swarm couples peer-to-peer data exchange with a coordinator that directs bandwidth allocation at each peer. Antfarm achieves high throughput by viewing content distribution as a global optimization problem, where the goal is to minimize download latencies for participants subject to bandwidth constraints and swarm dynamics. The system is based on a wire protocol that enables the Antfarm coordinator to gather information on swarm dynamics, detect misbehaving hosts, and direct the peers' allotment of upload bandwidth among multiple swarms. Antfarm's coordinator grants autonomy and local optimization opportunities to participating nodes while guiding the swarms toward an efficient allocation of resources. Extensive simulations and a PlanetLab deployment show that the system can significantly outperform centralized distribution services as well as swarming systems such as BitTorrent.
Climate Smart Food Supply Chains in Developing Countries in an Era of Rapid Dual Change in Agrifood Systems and the Climate

Food supply chains are essential to food security in developing regions where today the great majority of food consumed is purchased from rural-urban, rural-rural, and urban-rural supply chains. Disrupting those supply chains means disrupting food security. Yet short-term climate shocks and long-term climate change threaten to cause that disruption. This chapter does four things: (1) analyzes the types and determinants of vulnerabilities of food supply chains to climate shocks and change; (2) considers how those vulnerabilities are conditioned by urbanization, diet change, and rapid transformation of food systems; (3) discusses how supply chain actors, from farmers to processors and distributors and input suppliers, invest in mitigation of the risks of these shocks and reduction of their vulnerabilities; (4) discusses policy implications and lays out an agenda for research for climate smart food supply chains in developing regions.
Memory Effects in RNA Folding Dynamics Revealed by Single-Molecule Fluorescence

RNA molecules are biopolymers that play numerous essential roles in all basic cellular processes. To perform their functions, they must fold into the correct three-dimensional structures. RNA folding potential energy surfaces are rugged and full of kinetic traps, which can prevent the formation of the native structure and result in persistent differences in behavior between molecules, termed folding memory effects. In this review, we revisit the discovery of persistent memory effects in folding of RNA molecules. The study of memory effects is closely linked to the development and application of single-molecule fluorescence methods, which were instrumental in the dissection of RNAs into discrete subpopulations with different dynamic properties. We explore possible hypotheses that account for memory effects such as secondary structure differences, surface immobilization effects, and metal ions. The ability to interconvert subpopulations confirms that memory effects are an intrinsic property of RNA folding and enables their thermodynamic and kinetic characterization.
The Role of Clinical Registries in Health Care

Abstract The current medical reform environment has signified a new era for health care delivery, physician accountability, and care optimization. In this context, outcomes data become a vital component in establishing the value of surgical care and guiding clinical decisions. Prospective clinical registries represent a possible solution that can collect information in a uniform and standardized fashion. Registry-generated data, which represent real-world clinical care, may be more germane than randomized controlled trials in crafting decision-making and health care policies. Registries provide an opportunity for benchmarking, value-based purchasing, disease characterization, comparative effectiveness research, and stimulation for quality improvement efforts. Given the significant ramifications of health care reform, surgical care needs to be successfully measured and integrated in this changing contour of regulatory landscape. For that purpose, participation in prospective clinical registries provides neurosurgeons with access to risk-adjusted measures of the value and benefits of surgical interventions.
Use of lung treatment plans to evaluate DIR algorithms

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the accuracy of two deformable image registration algorithms by examining their influence on the dose summation results obtained using 4DCT (four dimensional computed tomography) dose distributions based on '4D' planned and '4D optimal' IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy) plans. For ten lung cancer patients, 4D step and shoot IMRT plans were produced. The breathing cycle was divided into ten parts and for each part a set of CT images was acquired. For each patient the treatment plan was copied to the CTs of each phase and subsequently recalculated. Each phase CT was then registered to the average intensity projection (AIP) CT using a deformable image registration (DIR) algorithm and the composite dose distribution was then calculated by summing up the deformed dose distributions from all the phases ('4D' treatment plan). The '4D optimal' treatment plan was created by producing an optimal plan on the CTs of each phase of the respiratory cycle and summing up the deformed dose distributions from all the phases. The results indicate that it is possible to map the dose distributions of different breathing phases in lung using DIR, and that different DIR methods and target characteristics (motion amplitude, size, location) affect the differences between original plan, '4D' and '4D optimal' dose distributions. Although the '4D optimal' plans were designed to achieve 95% target coverage, both of the used DIR methods failed to translate that coverage in some instances. The same variation between these methods was also observed in the '4D' plan comparison. This study shows that it is feasible to perform an acceptably accurate calculation of the composite deformed dose. However, it is important to account for tumor motion and body deformation especially when the tumor volume is small and/or located in the lower lobe of the lung.
Perioperative Risk Factors for Thirty-Day Morbidity and Mortality in the Resection of Extradural Thoracic Spine Tumors

Objective Resection of epidural thoracic spine tumors is uniquely challenging owing to the dangers posed by the surrounding anatomy and the unforgiving nature of the thoracic spinal cord. We assessed the preoperative and postoperative risk factors for 30-day morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing resection of these tumors. Methods Adults who underwent laminectomy for excision of thoracic spine tumors from 2011 to 2014 were included. The demographic data and medical comorbidities and major morbidities and mortalities within 30 postoperative days were collected and assessed using multivariate binary logistic analysis. Results The database search yielded 616 patients, of whom 232 (37.7%) were female. Overall, complications within 30 days of surgery occurred in 322 patients (52.3%). Of the 616 patients, 64 (10.4%) died within 30 days of surgery. Smoking history was associated with significantly greater 30-day morbidity (P = 0.019), as was preoperative anemia for females (P = 0.003) and preoperative hypoalbuminemia (P Conclusions Excision of epidural thoracic spinal tumors carries a high complication rate. The present series has revealed distinct preoperative and postoperative factors that contribute to 30-day morbidity and mortality for tumors in this region, many of which are amenable to careful preoperative management.
Chevron Patterns in the Circuit Courts

Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC required courts to defer to federal agencies reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes that are administered through the agency. However, recently this “Chevron deference” has been called into question by the judiciary, the legal academy, and Congress. In this essay we briefly describe and highlight three of the most noteworthy findings from our empirical study of over 1,300 decisions of agency statutory interpretation (based on articles published in Chevron in the Circuit Courts, 116 Mich. L. Rev. 1 (2017) (Barnett and Walker); Chevron Step Two’s Domain, 93 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1441 (2018) (Barnett and Walker); The Politics of Selecting Chevron Deference, 15 J. Empirical L. Stud. 597 (2018) (Barnett, Boyd, and Walker); and Administrative Law’s Political Dynamics, 71 Vand. L. Rev. __ (2018) (Barnett, Boyd, and Walker).
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Upper Extremity Motor Recovery: Does It Help?

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) noninvasively modulates brain excitability in humans and influences mediators of plasticity in animals. When applied in humans in the months to years after stroke, potentiation of motor recovery has been limited. Recently, investigators have shifted rTMS administration into the early weeks following stroke, when injury-induced plasticity could be maximally engaged. This article provides an overview of basic mechanisms of rTMS, consideration of its interaction with various forms of neuroplasticity, and a summary of the highest quality clinical evidence for rTMS given early after stroke. Studies of repetitive magnetic stimulation in vitro and in vivo have found modulation of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission and induction of cellular mechanisms supporting plasticity. A handful of clinical studies have shown sustained improvements in grip strength and UE motor impairment when rTMS is delivered in the first weeks after stroke. Though in its infancy, recent research suggests a plasticity-enhancing influence and modest motor recovery potentiation when rTMS is delivered early after stroke.
The Sisk Gemological Reference by Jerry Sisk. 3 vols. in slipcase (vol. 1, 436 pages; vol. 2, 302 pages; vol. 3, 301 pages). American Collectibles Network, Inc. (dba Jewelry Television [JTV]; order online through JTV). 2016; $199.99 (hardbound).

This 3-volume set of gem and mineral reference books memorializes the work of Jerry Sisk, an originator of television gemstone sales. Each volume is a stand-alone publication that develops a certai...
Applying Stages of Change in an Academic Context to Help Students Adopt Healthy Learning Dispositions and Behaviors

In this work in progress paper for the research category, we describe preliminary results from our design-based research project. Students leave engineering majors for many reasons. However, studies on goal orientation theory have shown that mastery goal orientation has positive correlations with outcomes such as persistence, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. We developed and taught an eight-week, one-credit course called Engineering the Mind as an intervention to encourage students to adopt positive learning dispositions and behaviors. We used the Stages of Change model as our theoretical framework to understand how engineering students adopt these learning dispositions and behaviors. We used multiple methods to assess student outcomes, collecting pre-post survey data as well as students’ self-reflection assignments. In our preliminary results, we describe students in different Stages of Change based on their weekly course assignment on planning.
Violence and its interpretations: towards a semiotic theory of state power

ABSTRACTWe propose a semiotic theory of the state via an account of deadly physical violence and its variable interpretation. A sociological examination of the racialized investigatory traffic stop...
Long Distance Trans DNA Hypomethylation in Cyclin D1 Deregulated B Cell Malignancies.

Cyclin D1 is a common target gene in B cell malignancies. Cyclin D1 is deregulated by translocation in most patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and 15–20% of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Cyclin D1 is not expressed in normal lymphocytes. Gene targeting experiments in cyclin D1 overexpressing MCL and MM were carried out and genetic variants isolated which had lost the translocated or inserted 11:14 chromosomes. These clones no longer expressed cyclin D1 but expressed high levels of cyclin D3. Analysis of DNA methylation patterns in these clones demonstrated that the translocated chromosome exerts a long distance trans DNA hypomethylating effect on the normal chromosome (transvection) at the cyclin D1 locus and at least 100 kilobases upstream. Thus, in the absence of the translocated chromosome, the normal chromosome is densely DNA methylated. This long distance trans hypomethylating effect was also demonstrated in a MM cell line (U266) which contains an insertion rather than a translocation of IgH sequences. Combined FISH/ immunofluorescent antibody labelling studies have shown the presence of both the normal and translocated chromosome 11’s at the outer nucleolar membrane, where they are tethered by the proteins CTCF and nucleophosmin, as demonstrated using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Tethering of the translocated and nontranslocated chromosomes by CTCF/nucleophosmin provides a mechanism for pairing and long distance DNA transhypomethylation.
Spring Rigs for Skinning

Animation tools have benefited greatly from advances in skinning and surface deformation techniques, yet it still remains difficult to author articulated character animations that display the free and highly expressive shape change that characterize hand-drawn animation. We present a new skinning representation that allows skeletal deformation and more flexible shape control to be combined in a single framework, along with an intuitive, sketch-based interface. Our approach offers the convenience of skeletal control and smooth skinning with the functionality to embed surface deformation and animation as a core component of the skinning technique. The approach binds vertices to attachment points on the skeleton, defining a vector from bone to surface. Three types of springs are defined: intervertex springs help maintain surface relationships, springs from vertices to the attachment point help maintain appropriate bone offsets, and torsion springs around these attachment vectors help with deformation control as bones rotate. Edits to the mesh surface can also be represented by varying the radial length and direction of these vectors, enabling a new range of expressive power. Use of sketch-based interfaces and graphics hardware make both skeletal and mesh deformation simple to control and fast enough for interactive use.
Meso-scopic model for progressive failure of resin impregnated yarns in composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs)

ABSTRACT Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) are widely used in space launch vehicles and the automotive industry. Due to the potential for catastrophic loss caused by failure of COPVs, improved understanding of its mechanical and damage growth behavior is necessary to ensure its safe operation. In this paper, we described a developed mesoscopic model with the capability of modeling tows/yarns with inserted, in-ply interface elements and interface layers as resin rich zones. Furthermore, the model realizes 1) arbitrary winding angle build-up of overwrap plies, 2) controllable detailed dimensions, and 3) user defined material behavior for all regions. These features are critical for potential studies of in-situ and parametric overwrap failure in COPVs. In the present work, stress profiles and progressive failure around a single tow break are shown by case studies involving various interface and damage evolution properties. The investigation indicates that the strength and damage evolution law of interface elements both have direct effect on the stress concentration factors and damage evolution around a tow break/fracture. Resulting physical phenomena and stress overload profile are discussed as well.
Fluorouracil-Induced Hyperpigmentation.

Fluorouracil-Induced Hyperpigmentation A 57-year-old man received FOLFOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) as treatment for colon cancer. With treatment, he had progressive hyperpigmentat...
Improv as Creative Aging: The Perceived Influences of Theatrical Improvisation on Older Adults

This article adds to the literature on improvisation and creative aging with a phenomenological study of six older adults’ experiences with improvisation through a senior education program offered ...
Resident Training on Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase: a National Survey

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an enzyme important in folate metabolism. Genetic polymorphisms of MTHFR have potential clinical implications, particularly in treating mental disorders, where a biologically active form of metafolin is FDA approved in the treatment of major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. Therefore, residents in a variety of specialties must understand the link between genetic polymorphisms of MTHFR and clinical disorders. To identify current gaps in residency curricula with regards to the MTHFR gene. Using a snowball sampling method, a national online survey was sent to residency program directors in family medicine, internal medicine, and psychiatry to be forwarded to their corresponding residents. Data was collected between April 5, 2019, and May 14, 2019. Statistical tests included a Pearson chi-square test. Qualitative content analysis for open item responses was conducted in which recurring keywords and phrases were summarized. The primary outcome of interest was a dichotomous question: Does your curriculum teach about MTHFR? The results showed that many of residency programs surveyed do not include MTHFR in their courses (family medicine 153/166, 92%; internal medicine 135/151, 89%; psychiatry 70/90, 78%) and a majority of residents are unaware of the clinical associations of MTHFR genetic polymorphisms with cardiovascular diseases and psychiatric disorders. While many residents were aware of the MTHFR gene, knowledge about the gene was minimal and many curricula do not include MTHFR as part of their program. Therefore, we recommend residency training programs assess their level of training on MTHFR and its genetic polymorphisms.
Tech Won't Save Us: Reimagining Digital Technologies for the Public

Critical information scholars continue to demonstrate how technology and its narratives are shaped by and infused with values, that is, that it is not the result of the actions of impartial, disembodied, unpositioned agents. Technology consists of a set of social practices, situated within the dynamics of race, gender, class, and politics. This talk, stemming from the recent book, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, addresses the issues of racial equity and public interest technologies that could foreground civil and human rights in the 21st century movements for AI.
Pioneer Transcription Factors Initiating Gene Network Changes

Pioneer transcription factors have the intrinsic biochemical ability to scan partial DNA sequence motifs that are exposed on the surface of a nucleosome and thus access silent genes that are inaccessible to other transcription factors. Pioneer factors subsequently enable other transcription factors, nucleosome remodeling complexes, and histone modifiers to engage chromatin, thereby initiating the formation of an activating or repressive regulatory sequence. Thus, pioneer factors endow the competence for fate changes in embryonic development, are essential for cellular reprogramming, and rewire gene networks in cancer cells. Recent studies with reconstituted nucleosomes in vitro and chromatin binding in vivo reveal that pioneer factors can directly perturb nucleosome structure and chromatin accessibility in different ways. This review focuses on our current understanding of the mechanisms by which pioneer factors initiate gene network changes and will ultimately contribute to our ability to control cell fates at will.
Exchange Interactions in Cu ( N H 3 ) 4 S O 4 · H 2 O

Considering the specific heat, the magnetic susceptibility, and the crystal structure of Cu${(\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{H}}_{3})}_{4}$S${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O, we conclude that this substance has the magnetic linear chain property. The ratio of the exchange integrals $|{J}_{1}|$ within the chain and $|{J}_{2}|$ between the chains cannot be determined by the former theories. In this paper we have determined it as about 0.01 by the Green function method.