cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fertilization Effects on Carbon Pools in Loblolly Pine Plantations on Two Upland Sites

A study was conducted in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations on sandy and clayey upland sites, with and without the addition of 250 kg ha - 1 of diammonium phosphate (DAP) applied at planting, to estimate the effects of fertilization on ecosystem C storage. Soil C pools were inventoried before planting and in the 11th year of stand development. Tree inventory data were used to convert stand volume to accumulated biomass. During the 11 yr of stand development, total ecosystem C increased by 24.2 Mg ha - 1 on average across sites, averaging 2.2 Mg C ha - 1 yr - 1 . Fertilization increased accretion by 25.3 Mg ha - 1 , or 2.3 Mg C ha - 1 yr - 1 , with the majority of increase (65%) occurring in biomass. The clayey site averaged 64% more total ecosystem C than the sandy site. With the exception of a 12 Mg ha - 1 loss in mineral soil C for the 10- to 20-cm depth in nonfertilized (control) plots on the sandy site, soil C in the surface 20 cm did not change during the 11 yr of stand development, suggesting that the mineral soil C is a minor sink in these aggrading pine plantations. The loss in mineral soil C observed in control plots on the sandy site may be explained by the macroporosity of this coarse-textured sandy soil creating an environment conducive to oxidation and in turn optimal for respiration and C losses following site preparation, and a disadvantaged opportunity for C accumulation owing to higher soil temperatures. Fertilization may have improved the opportunity for C accumulation on the plots having been fertilized on the sandy site in early years by creating a cooler soil as a result of more rapid canopy closure and forest floor accumulation.
Commentary from the flower garden: responding to Gregg, 2000

I begin my necessarily brief commentary on Gregg (2000) with a confession: I am not, nor have I ever been, a practising postmodernist. I freely admit, however, that some of the ideas that have emerged from this project are sufficiently interesting to take seriously. I wrote my 1996 article to stir up the waters and to explore what a postmodernist perspective might do for, and to, second language acquisition (SLA). It can be useful for any discipline to have its accepted way of doing business interrogated and even disturbed. Judging from Gregg’s response, I seem to have succeeded. In what follows I limit my comments to some specific points that appear to have raised most of Gregg’s hackles.
The Use of Information Technologies Among Rural and Urban Physicians in Florida

This study examines rural---urban differences in the use of various information technologies (IT) applications by physicians in the ambulatory setting. Findings suggest that no differences exist between rural and urban physicians with respect to the use of a computer (77.4 vs 81.4; p?=?.144) or with the availability of an Internet connection (95.0 vs 96.5; p?=?.249) in the office. However, rural physicians were significantly less likely than urban doctors to indicate using e-mail with patients (7.9 vs 17.2%; p?<?.001) and slightly less likely to use a personal digital assistant (PDA) (32.3 vs 37.9; p?=?.091). Rural doctors were significantly less likely to indicate routinely using an electronic health records (EHR) system (17.6 vs 24.1; p?=?.020). EHR differences between rural and urban physicians were not significant (p?=?.124) in multivariate analyses and were explained away by practice size (p?<?.001) and practice type (p?=?.015). Most barriers to EHR did not differ between rural and urban physicians. However, rural physicians more commonly cited barriers associated with temporary disruptions to productivity or disruptions in access to records when computers systems fail. In sum, EHR use and patient e-mailing is less common in rural areas. While much of this variability can be explained by rural practice characteristics, these findings illustrate the need for further efforts to identify and alleviate barriers and encourage health IT adoption in rural areas.
Neural adaptive control of excavators

An automatic control system for backhoe type excavators during free motion and digging operations is presented. Some of the uncertainties associated with the basically unstructured environment of soil digging tasks are dealt with by using an adaptive control system capable of on-line learning and control of the dynamic response over a wide range of parameter variations. The proposed control system comprises a primary and a secondary controller; the former is used to linearize the plant and the latter to compensate for modeling errors. The primary controller is implemented as a feedforward multilayer neural net trained to emulate the inverse dynamics of the plant. The secondary controller is a PID controller with the gains tuned so as to provide a satisfactory transient behavior. Simulation results are used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed control scheme.
Quantifying Privacy for Privacy Preserving Data Mining

Data privacy is an important issue in data mining. How to protect respondents' data privacy during the data collection and mining process is a challenge to the security and privacy community. In this paper, we describe two schemes for privacy preserving naive Bayesian classification which is one of data mining tasks. More importantly, for each scheme, we present a method to measure data privacy. We finally compare these two methods
Testing Low-Balling Strategy in Rural Road Procurement

A “low-balling strategy” by bidding contractors has increasingly been recognized as an important issue in public infrastructure procurement. Public works contracts are often imperfect and renegotiated after the contract award. Given the expectation for ex post adjustments, bidders seem motivated to take advantage of the low-balling strategy. This paper analyzes the endogeneity between the bid strategy and ex post adjustments. Using procurement data on rural road projects in Nepal, it shows that the bid strategy and adjustments are determined endogenously in the system. Anticipating cost and time overruns, firms would likely undercut normal bid prices. Then, ex post contract adjustments actually happen, because of their too aggressive bids.
Perceptions of Overt and Personality‐based Integrity Tests

Differences in test-taker perceptions between overt and personality-based integrity tests were examined. Following administration of both types of integrity tests, 255 undergraduate students provided ratings of perceived face validity and perceived predictive validity. Following receipt of actual test scores, 126 test takers participated in a second phase of the study in which they reported perceptions of distributive justice. Test takers perceived overt integrity tests as having greater face validity and predictive validity than personality-based integrity tests. Perceptions of job-relatedness were not strongly related to test performance on either test type. Distributive justice perceptions were related to test performance, but not type of integrity test.
X-Band MEMS Capacitive Shunt Switches with Metal-Insulator-Metal Contacts for Improved Isolation

This paper introduces MEMS electro-statically actuated switches that utilize a fixed metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure for capacitive coupling with a movable shunt bridge to improve the isolation in the off-state. These switches, with single and dual beams, were designed for operation in the X-band frequency range using fixed inductive line section. The advantage of this design is that the isolation, which is directly related to the quality of the capacitive coupling in the actuated state, is not dependent on the planarity of the movable beam structure. Isolations greater than 45 dB and 35 dB at 10 GHz were measured for the double and single beam switches, respectively. From 8 to 12 GHz, an insertion loss of less than 0.3 dB was measured in the on-state for both switch designs. Switching speeds of 40 and 70 ?s for the rise and fall times, respectively, of the single beam switch were also measured.
Forebrain astroglial plasticity is induced following withdrawal from repeated cocaine administration.

Astrocytes actively participate in synaptic plasticity and respond to insult or metabotropic glutamate receptor activation with increased expression of the intermediate filament glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Extended withdrawal from repeated cocaine administration induces many forms of neuroplasticity. The present study with rats utilized a 3-week withdrawal period from daily cocaine administration (i.p.; 7 days) to investigate whether astrocytes participate in cocaine-mediated plasticity observed in brain nuclei associated with addiction. Following the 3-week withdrawal period, immunoblotting revealed increased GFAP expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and in the shell and core compartments of the nucleus accumbens (NAshell and NAcore). Upregulation of GFAP did not occur in the striatum or in any brain region tested following shorter withdrawal times from repeated cocaine (24 h or 1 week) or following 2-h withdrawal from an acute cocaine injection (30 mg/kg i.p.). However, GFAP expression increased following a 3-week withdrawal from a single cocaine injection selectively in the NAshell. Cell counts revealed that astrocyte cell number increased only in the NAcore while immunoblots of a marker for immature or reactive astrocytes, vimentin, showed an increase only in the PFC following the 3-week withdrawal. Taken together, these results suggest that altered intermediate filament expression within forebrain astrocytes may be a significant part of the plasticity occurring during withdrawal from repeated cocaine. Furthermore, the increase in GFAP may arise from regionally distinct mechanisms, with the NAcore relying more on cell proliferation while the PFC relies on a larger reactive astrocyte population.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS: UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING THE “SILENT TSUNAMI”

The food riots and demonstrations that occurred in more than 50 countries in 2008 signaled the oncoming global economic recession. Skyrocketing food and fuel prices spurred on violence in poorer countries where there is no social safety net and in places impacted by food insecurity and malnutrition. Today, while the prices for some food staples have retracted a little, the deepening economic recession poses a threat in wealthier nations including the United States and members of the European Union. For example, the shuttering fall in the U.S. stock market in October 2008 resulted in the loss of billions of dollars not only to individual investors but also to states and local municipalities. In this environment, there is a potentially grave threat to the social safety net in the United States including food assistance programs. The World Food Program (WFP) has cited the increase in world food prices as the biggest challenge in its 45-year history, calling the impact a “silent tsunami” that threatened to plunge millions into hunger. In this volume, practicing and applied anthropologists examine the current global food crisis in a variety of settings including Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, and the United States. Further, they use a variety of theoretical orientations and methodological approaches to understand the chronic nature of food insecurity and the ways in which global food policies and economic restructuring have resulted in increasing food inequities across the globe. Throughout this volume, the authors make suggestions for combating the global food crisis through the application of anthropological principles and practices.
Measurement of 10Be from Lake Malawi (Africa) drill core sediments and implications for geochronology

Abstract The cosmogenic radionuclide 10 Be was measured from drill core sediments from Lake Malawi in order to help construct a chronology for the study of the tropical paleoclimate in East Africa. Sediment samples were taken every 10 m from the core MAL05-1C to 80 m in depth and then from that depth in core MAL05-1B to 382 m. Sediment samples were then later taken at a higher resolution of every 2 m from MAL05-1C. They were then leached to remove the authigenic fraction, the leachate was processed to separate out the beryllium isotopes, and 10 Be was measured at the TAMS Facility at the University of Arizona. The 10 Be/ 9 Be profile from Lake Malawi sediments is similar to those derived from marine sediment cores for the late Pleistocene, and is consistent with the few radiocarbon and OSL IR measurements made from the same core. Nevertheless, a strong correlation between the stable isotope 9 Be and the cosmogenic isotope 10 Be suggests that both isotopes have been well mixed before deposition unlike in some marine sediment cores. In addition, the correlation of beryllium isotopes to a proxy of lake level TOC (Total Organic Matter) from Lake Malawi indicates that the concentrations of 10 Be in the lake sediments result from the combined effects of global and local climates on lake level, local hydrology, and sediment transport in the Lake Malawi basin rather than as a direct response to its production in the atmosphere modulated by the intensity of the Earth's dipole. Therefore, a direct correlation of the 10 Be/ 9 Be to a chronology derived from the paleomagnetic variations measured from marine sediments was not possible. Nevertheless, a comparison of the 10 Be/ 9 Be chronology, allowing for decay, at Lake Malawi to that of the global marine paleomagnetic record suggests that the bottom of core MAL05-1B is no more than 750 ka in age.
Urinary microprotein concentrations in the long-term follow-up of dilating vesicoureteral reflux patients who underwent medical or surgical treatment

This study examined the relationship between urinary microprotein concentrations and renal functional parameters in children with dilating (grade III–V) vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) who underwent either medical or surgical treatment. All 44 dilating VUR patients who were followed for 4 years were screened for inclusion in this study. The patients’ clinical features and clinical outcomes, as well as the urinary activities of albumin (ALB), transferrin (TRF), immunoglobulin G (IgG), alpha-1-microglobulin (α1-MG), and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG), were retrospectively analyzed. High values of NAG, α1-MG, IgG, TRF, and ALB were noted in 73.33, 58.33, 43.33, 24.14, and 53.33 % of patients, respectively, at the first examination. Cystatin C, eGFR, and urinary microprotein levels were associated with a good prognosis after 4 years of follow-up. No differences in recurrent UTI, cystatin C concentration, most microprotein/creatinine (Cr) ratios, eGFR, or ΔGFR4 % were found between the groups. High levels of urinary proteins were found in 2.38–9.52 % of cases after 4 years of follow-up. ALB/Cr, IgG/Cr, and α1-MG/Cr levels were positively correlated with 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) grade, and α1-MG excretion was inversely correlated with eGFR. The levels of microprotein were elevated at diagnosis in a higher proportion of patients than for the other markers examined. At long-term follow-up, the reflux level had decreased or completely resolved in all patients, and the proportions of microproteins that were elevated were significantly reduced. Renal impairment measured by eGFR and DMSA grade was related to increased urinary α1-MG levels.
Kinematic and energy analysis of single axis solar panel tracker system (a comparative study)

Energy needs are becoming more and more complex, especially in underdeveloped countries. The solar energy is one of best solution for increasing demand of energy by mankind. Sun energy can fulfil our domestic and irrigation requirement because fossil fuels are running short day by day. Therefore, it is one of the most important source of energy to explore for its maturity. In this paper, kinematic and energy analysis of two solar trackers panel systems are studied comparatively for maximising efficiency. Structure of model 1 (single axis tracker) previously designed was bulky, causing the linear actuator to consume more electrical energy. Kinematic and force analysis of model 1 showed the drawbacks of displaced centre of gravity and excessive energy consumption due to weight of frame which supports the panel. Based on kinematic and force analysis of model 1, new model 2 has been designed in which all the above problems are addressed by shifting the centre of gravity on the axis of rotation, reducing weight of upper frame and readjusting the rotating mechanism. The calculation shows 39.5 % decreased consumption of energy by linear actuator. The new design also reduces material cost by approximately 34%. This research supports only small (Domestic) systems and can be applied to practical projects.
The Occurrence of Squamous-Cell Carcinoma in the Lining Epithelium of an Ovarian Dermoid Cyst: With a Brief Review of the Literature

Carcinoma of the ovary is a fairly common malignant lesion, forming from 5 to 8 per cent of the reported malignant neoplasms of the female generative tract. Dermoid cyst of the ovary is likewise seen with considerable frequency, one hundred cases being collected from the records of the Mayo Clinic during a four-and-one-half-year period. But the occurrence of carcinoma arising from the epithelial structures of a dermoid cyst of the ovary is an extremely rare finding, but forty-three authentic cases having been reported up to October, 1933. It has, therefore, been considered justifiable to put on record the case which is the occasion of this paper, and to make a search of the literature to bring the record of authentic cases up to date.
Federal Regulation of Abortion Counseling and Referral: Doctoring the First Amendment

(1992). Federal Regulation of Abortion Counseling and Referral: Doctoring the First Amendment. Free Speech Yearbook: Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 74-87.
Transiciones: a space for research and design for transitions to the pluriverse

AbstractThis article outlines a research and action project for advancing an ontological design approach to the pluriverse –or ‘a world where many worlds fit.’ It reviews recent trends in ontological design and pluriversal and transition studies. Finally, it considers two empirical applications for the creation of transition design imaginaries for two regions in Colombia devastated by decades of ‘development.’
Spurious relationships arising from aggregate variables in linear regression

Linear regressions that use aggregated values from a group variable such as a school or a neighborhood are commonplace in the social sciences. This paper uses Monte Carlo methods to demonstrate that aggregated variables produce spurious relationships with other dependent and independent variables in a model even when there are no underlying relationships among those variables. The size of the spurious relationships (or postulated effects) increases as the number of observations per group decreases. Although this problem is remedied by including the individual-level variable in the regression, the problem has not been discussed in the methodological literature. Accordingly, studies using aggregate variables must be interpreted with caution if the individual-level measurements are not available.
Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: an update on etiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

Necrotizing enterocolitis is a unique surgical disease of the neonate characterized by diffuse or patchy intestinal necrosis, accompanied by sepsis, and often followed by perforation, peritonitis, and death. It is an acquired condition that can be successfully treated without operation in most cases.
Reconciliation and Resolution: Etiquette, Ethics and Professionalisation

This analysis of manners literature supports those revisionist scholars, notably Wiener, who challenge the view that Victorian culture was simply an embodiment of middle-class ideals. For it reveals that the middle-class conduct book gradually gave way, after the 1830s, to the etiquette book which codified aristocratic behavioural ideals. In contrast to Wiener, however, this study has argued that aristocratic ideals were not anachronistic hangovers from a pre-industrial world whose survival explains England’s economic decline. In fact, it was middle-class behavioural ideals which looked back to a former time, seeking to combat commercialisation and to perpetuate such old-world sources of security as moral consensus and face-to-face communities.
Using Presilicon Knowledge to Excite Nonlinear Failure Modes in Large Mixed-Signal Circuits

With the continuous growing of analog circuit complexity, identifying critical failure modes is of great importance today. This article develops an information-theoretic framework to rank important parameters based on presilicon data. The proposed framework is further used to design the optimal test set that maximizes the probability of observing out-of-specification failures. A phase-locked loop example is adopted to validate the proposed framework.
Special ways of knowing in science: expansive learning opportunities with bilingual children with learning disabilities

The field of bilingual special education is currently plagued with contradictions resulting in a serious underrepresentation of emergent bilinguals with learning disabilities in professional science fields. This underrepresentation is due in large part to the fact that educational systems around the world are inadequately prepared to address the educational needs of these children; this inadequacy is rooted in a lack of understanding of the linguistic and cultural factors impacting learning. Accepting such a premise and assuming that children learn in unexpected ways when instructional practices attend to culture and language, this study documents a place-based learning experience integrating geoscience and literacy in a fourth-grade dual language classroom. Data sources include transcribed audio-taped conversations from learning experience sessions and interviews that took place as six focus children, who had been identified as having specific learning disabilities, read published science texts (i.e. texts unaltered linguistically or conceptually to meet the needs of the readers). My analysis revealed that participants generated responses that were often unexpected if solely analyzed from those Western scientific perspectives traditionally valued in school contexts. However, these responses were also full of purposeful and rich understandings that revealed opportunities for expansive learning. Adopting a cultural historical activity theory perspective, instructional tools such as texts, visuals, and questions were found to act as mediators impacting the learning in both activity systems: (a) teacher-researcher learning from children, and (b) children learning from teachers. I conclude by suggesting that there is a need to understand students’ ways of knowing to their full complexity, and to deliberately recognize teachers as learners, researchers, and means to expansive learning patterns that span beyond traditional learning boundaries.
Folate-Binding Protein Self-Aggregation Drives Agglomeration of Folic Acid Targeted Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Folate-conjugated nanomaterials have been widely investigated for drug and imaging-agent delivery. In this work, two folic acid (FA) conjugated iron oxide particles (IOP), a ∼40 nm diameter FA–IOP and a ∼450 nm diameter FA–IOP(FA–SeraMag), were synthesized. Both particles aggregated in the presence of serum folate-binding protein (FBP) at physiological concentration and buffer conditions. Mixing 0.01% w/w FA-conjugated iron oxide particles with FBP-induced agglomeration generated an average hydrodynamic particle diameter of 3800 ± 1100 nm for ∼40 nm FA–IOP and 4030 ± 1100 nm for FA–SeraMag as measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The presence of excess human serum albumin (HSA) (600 μM) did not prevent agglomeration of the ∼40 nm FA–IOP; however, it did inhibit agglomeration of FA–SeraMag. Atomic force microscopy measurement provided additional insight into particle morphology with the detection of individual particles in the agglomerate. This behavior is an example of a triggered cascade. A protein...
Inferior Pedicle Reduction Mammaplasty

Reduction mammaplasty can be performed with a variety of incisional patterns as well as variety of pedicle designs to maintain the vascularity of the nipple areolar complex. The inferior pedicle technique using an inverted T skin design was one of the first methods of the modern era of reduction mammaplasty. The technical aspects of this operation are important in order to reduce the incidence of adverse events. In this chapter for operative dictations, the inferior pedicle method will be described with an emphasis on preoperative markings and intraoperative technical details.
Volatile Organic Compounds and the Conservation of Inorganic Materials

This slim and unprepossessing volume demystifies the seemingly bizarre and unpredictable deterioration reactions caused by volatile organic acids. The book focuses specifically on formic and acetic...
Environmental conditions and animal behavior influence performance of solar-powered GPS-GSM transmitters

ABSTRACT Solar-powered GPS transmitters linked to the GSM cellular transmission system are a powerful new tool for avian research. Data collection can be researcher programmed or use dynamic fix (DF) rates that are automatically adjusted in accordance with battery charge. Lack of prior knowledge of fix (location) collection rates represents an obstacle to designing studies with transmitters that use DF rates. We assessed the quantity and quality of data collected by a commercially available DF transmitter. To assess fix collection rates, factors influencing fix collection rates, GPS accuracy, and the ability of transmitters to differentiate movement from nonmovement, we used a combination of controlled static tests at known locations, deployments on free-ranging Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), and motion tests. During static testing, transmitters often collected upwards of 500 fixes per day in open habitats with little cloud cover. Hourly fix rates varied, commonly ...
Thin Film Nanocomposite Membrane Filled with Metal-Organic Frameworks UiO-66 and MIL-125 Nanoparticles for Water Desalination.

Knowing that the world is facing a shortage of fresh water, desalination, in its different forms including reverse osmosis, represents a practical approach to produce potable water from a saline source. In this report, two kinds of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) nanoparticles (NPs), UiO-66 (~100 nm) and MIL-125 (~100 nm), were embedded separately into thin-film composite membranes in different weight ratios, 0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.2%, and 0.3%. The membranes were synthesized by the interfacial polymerization (IP) of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) in aqueous solution and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) in an organic phase. The as-prepared membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), contact angle measurement, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy, and salt rejection and water flux assessments. Results showed that both UiO-66 and MIL-125 could improve the membranes’ performance and the impacts depended on the NPs loading. At the optimum NPs loadings, 0.15% for UiO-66 and 0.3% for MIL-125, the water flux increased from 62.5 L/m2 h to 74.9 and 85.0 L/m2 h, respectively. NaCl rejection was not significantly affected (UiO-66) or slightly improved (MIL-125) by embedding these NPs, always at >98.5% as tested at 2000 ppm salt concentration and 300 psi transmembrane pressure. The results from this study demonstrate that it is promising to apply MOFs NPs to enhance the TFC membrane performance for desalination.
Perceptions of How the Transition From Home Life to College Life Affects Type 1 Diabetes Management.

An estimated 7,700 freshmen with type 1 diabetes enter college every year (1). Challenges that arise with regard to diabetes self-management increase the need to support this population during the transition from home life to college life. Management of diabetes is important not only to prevent physical complications resulting from high blood glucose levels, but also to address psychological issues. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), people with type 1 diabetes are more likely than those without diabetes to experience depression, which can cause disruptions in sleep behavior, difficulty concentrating, and a decrease in energy (2). Students suffering from these symptoms may have a hard time maintaining high academic performance. Forms of support for these students include emotional support, assistance from medical professionals, and available campus resources. First-year college students must learn how to cope with new academic challenges and the psychosocial expectations of higher education (3). Developing psychosocial identity involves living up to social expectations, identifying one’s purpose, and maintaining stability through hormonal changes (4). The ADA’s Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2017 (5) recommends that “diabetes self-management education and support should address psychosocial issues, since emotional well-being is associated with positive diabetes outcomes.” This emphasis on support of psychosocial well-being points to the importance of providing assistance to first-year college students with diabetes as they enter a crucial milestone in the development of psychosocial identity. The potential vulnerabilities inherent in teens’ transition to adulthood elicit the need for both pediatric and adult health care teams to be involved in the provision of support and assistance with resources (5). Students’ ability to cope with their diagnosis of diabetes and self-management while going to school has been the focus of many research studies (6–13). However, there is a dearth of literature focusing specifically on young adults moving …
End-stage renal disease after pediatric heart transplantation: A 25-year national cohort study.

Background End-stage renal disease (ESRD), defined as the need for chronic dialysis and/or kidney transplantation (KTx), is a known complication after heart transplant (HTx). However, factors associated with ESRD are not well elucidated. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes associated with ESRD after pediatric HTx. Methods Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data were linked, using direct identifiers, to the United States Renal Data System to identify patients (aged ≤ 18 years) who underwent primary HTx between 1989 and 2013. Risk factors for ESRD and death were analyzed using Cox regression analysis. Results Combining the above 2 databases identified ~25% additional HTx patients who developed ESRD that were not captured by either database alone. During a median follow-up of 11.8 years, ESRD developed in 276 of 6,901 patients (4%). The actuarial risk of developing ESRD after HTx was 3% at 10 years and 16% at 20 years. Age at HTx > 1 year, African-American race, year of HTx before 2000, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, re-HTx, acute dialysis, graft failure, and hospitalized infection were significant risk factors for ESRD development. Those who remained on chronic dialysis had higher risk of death than those who received KTx (hazard ratio, 31.4; 95% confidence interval, 20.8–48.4; p Conclusions ESRD after pediatric HTx is more prevalent in HTx survivors than documented by a transplant database alone. A number of factors develop at or after HTx that increase the risk for developing ESRD. Use of KTx in post-HTx ESRD is associated with improved survival.
Suspended nano scale QD-OLED on Si substrate

We report a fabrication method of nanoscale quantum-dot (QD) organic light-emitting diode (OLED) structure suspended on a monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) sheet on nano-hole-patterned SiO 2 /Si substrate. In our proposed OLED, the junction area is defined by a non-lithographically patterned oxide layer on Si substrate. We utilized self-organized gold nanoparticles to create nanoscale etch windows in alumina thin-film that is used as a dry etching mask. Previously, we demonstrated a carrier injection mechanism originating from the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) system available at the SiO2/Si interface [1]. The electron injection, as well as the resulting luminescence, is found to occur predominantly at the junction's periphery, not area, resulting in a low turn-on voltage (∼1–2 V). An efficient way to increase total device perimeter is to reduce the junction diameter. In this report, we demonstrated a cost-effective non-lithographic method to fabricate nanoscale OLEDs with a dense distribution that increases total device perimeter without requiring extra substrate area. In the later part we also suspended the OLED on nano-holes with a monolayer h-BN sheet to suppress area injection while utilizing the low-voltage carrier injection through the device periphery.
Short-Range Electron Transfer in Reduced Flavodoxin: Ultrafast Nonequilibrium Dynamics Coupled with Protein Fluctuations

Short-range electron transfer (ET) in proteins is an ultrafast process on the similar time scales as local protein–solvent fluctuation, and thus the two dynamics are coupled. Here we use semiquinone flavodoxin and systematically characterized the photoinduced redox cycle with 11 mutations of different aromatic electron donors (tryptophan and tyrosine) and local residues to change redox properties. We observed the forward and backward ET dynamics in a few picoseconds, strongly following a stretched behavior resulting from a coupling between local environment relaxations and these ET processes. We further observed the hot vibrational-state formation through charge recombination and the subsequent cooling dynamics also in a few picoseconds. Combined with the ET studies in oxidized flavodoxin, these results coherently reveal the evolution of the ET dynamics from single to stretched exponential behaviors and thus elucidate critical time scales for the coupling. The observed hot vibration-state formation is rob...
Use of MPH hemostatic powder for electrophysiology device implantation reduces postoperative rates of pocket hematoma and infection.

Background: Surgical site bleeding and infection are potential complications after electrophysiology (EP) device implantation procedures. To date, there is a wide variety of tools for management of...
Regulation of M1 muscarinic receptor-mediated signaling in intact cells by exogenous, but not endogenously produced, nitric oxide.

Regulation of nitric oxide (NO) formation is critical to ensure maintenance of appropriate cellular concentrations of this labile, signaling molecule. This study investigated the role exogenous and endogenously produced NO have in feeding back to regulate NO synthesis in intact cells. Two NO donors inhibited activation of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) in response to the muscarinic receptor agonist carbachol in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with the M1 muscarinic receptor and nNOS. The presence of the NO scavenger [2-(4-Carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide · potassium salt] (C-PTIO) potentiated carbachol-induced activation of nNOS in transfected CHO cells. C-PTIO also potentiated nNOS activity in response to the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin. In contrast, the NO scavenger oxyhemoglobin depressed carbachol- and ionomycin-induced NO formation. These discrepant results suggest that it is unlikely that endogenously produced NO induces feed back inhibition at the level of nNOS activation itself. Exogenous sources of NO inhibited carbachol-induced inositol phosphates formation. However, endogenously produced NO did not appear to feed back to regulate phosphoinositide hydrolysis as there was no difference in [3H]inositol phosphates formation between cells that do or do not express nNOS. There was also no change in carbachol-induced [3H]inositol phosphates formation in the presence or absence of a NOS inhibitor or the NO scavenger C-PTIO. A decrease in the carbachol-mediated transient Ca2+ peak was observed in cells that express nNOS as compared to cells lacking the enzyme, suggesting that endogenous NO might inhibit receptor mediated Ca2+ signaling. This conclusion, however, was not supported by the lack of ability of a NOS inhibitor to modulate carbachol-induced Ca2+ elevations. Taken together, these results highlight differences in the regulation of the nNOS activation cascade by endogenous vs. exogenous sources of NO.
Tempo Relations in Music: A Universal?

Performing musicians devote a good deal of their time to concerns about tempo. Small wonder, for tempo exerts one of the most powerful controls in music, affecting everything that will occur in the performance of a work. Curiously, for a musical factor so far-reaching in its scope, tempo is also a factor with the largest degree of variability in music. By contrast, for example, we can “bend” the pitches of a piece only minimally in the interests of intonation. The margin is small between “coloring” a note in this way and rendering it simply “out of tune.” Likewise, we can bend the rhythms of a phrase only slightly for purposes of expressive nuance. Beyond a certain point, these changes distort the rhythmic shape inherent in the phrase. Again, the margin of variability is small.
Osteomyelitis and Septic Arthritis

Osteoarticular infections are relatively infrequent bacterial infections seen most commonly during childhood. Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis most typically occurs during the first 5 years of life, while acute hematogenous septic arthritis peaks at the slightly younger age of 3 years. Bone and joint infections in children primarily occur from hematogenous seeding, but infection related to penetrating trauma, surgery, implantable devices, and contiguous spread from other anatomic sites occurs across all age groups. Overall, the most common pathogen cultured from infected bones and joints is Staphylococcus aureus, although other organisms play a more prominent role in specific age groups and clinical settings. Clues pointing to a diagnosis of an osteoarticular infection include physical examination findings of fever, pain, edema, and warmth in the affected area. In addition, reluctance or refusal to use the affected extremity is commonplace. Magnetic resonance imaging is the diagnostic method of choice as it provides exquisite bone and soft tissue detail. Plain radiographs may be diagnostic in patients who have had symptoms for >10 days and in newborns, where the bony cortex is so thin that destructive erosion can often be seen early on. Attempts to isolate the offending organism should include blood cultures and cultures of the joint fluid, the bone, and any associated abscess since identification and susceptibility testing help guide antibiotic therapy. Even when aggressive attempts are made to secure a microbiologic isolate prior to treatment with antibiotics, cultures can be negative. Empiric antibiotic treatment should target the typical pathogens seen in osteoarticular infections, followed by targeted therapy if and when the infecting pathogen is identified and susceptibility results are available. In some settings, arthrotomy, with joint irrigation, or bone debridement is necessary aspects of management. In the setting of severe infection, several visits to the operating room may be required.
A roadmap towards strong and tunable Peano-HASEL actuators (Conference Presentation)

Traditional robots – made from electric motors and gears – are noncompliant, complex, and bulky, which limits their ability to perform in unstructured environments and increases risk during human-robot interactions. As a result, there have been efforts to design actuators from soft, compliant materials for use in versatile and adaptable robots. Electrohydraulic Peano-HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing ELectrostatic) actuators have shown promise as linearly contracting soft actuators with high-speed operation, scalability, and simple design. Coupled with their versatility in fabrication and material systems, Peano-HASEL actuators have broad potential in robotics. In this presentation, we derive an analytical model that accurately predicts the quasi-static stress-strain behavior and scaling laws of Peano-HASEL actuators without using fitting parameters. We provide extensive experimental validation of this model using actuators constructed from heat-sealable biaxially-oriented polypropylene shells, vegetable-based transformer oil, and ionically-conductive hydrogel electrodes. Despite using a simple set of geometric assumptions, we find robust agreement between model and experiment. From these results, we identify several straightforward methods for tuning and improving the performance of Peano-HASELs – including the creation of actuators optimized for maximum strain or maximum force, and a strategy for improving the specific energy of these devices from 6 J/kg currently to > 1000 J/kg. The basic principles of these methods are applicable to a wide range of HASEL actuators. Further, we experimentally demonstrate actuators with increased specific energies following the predictions of these modeling results. Moving forward, these results will serve as a roadmap for the development of high-performance Peano-HASEL actuators, opening new applications in robotics.
The cognitive aspects of sexual intimacy in dementia patients: a neurophysiological review.

Changes in higher-order cognitive behaviors such as reward recognition, salience processing, novelty perception, decision-making, emotional contagion, motivation, and empathy may contribute to inti...
HomeStyles: Tracking Participant Progress in a Randomized Control Trial

Tracking participant progress in large Randomized Control Trials (RCT) is essential to success, yet tracking procedures are seldom discussed in the research literature. This abstract describes the ...
Genetic analysis and dissection of crown rust resistance in diploid Avena

The colinearity of markers linked with resistance loci on linkage group A of diploid oat, on the homoeologous groups in hexaploid oat, barley chromosome IH, and on homoeologous maize chromosomes were determined. Thirty-two DNA probes from homoeologous group 1 chromosomes of the Gramineae were tested. Most of the heterologous probes detected polymorphisms that mapped to linkage group A of diploid oat, two linkage groups of hexaploid oat, barley chromosome IH, and maize chromosomes 3, 6, and 8. Many of these DNA markers appeared to have conserved Unkage relationships with resistance and prolamin loci in Avena, Hordeum, and Zea mays. These resistance loci included the Pea crown rust resistance cluster in diploid oat, the R203 crown rust resistance locus in hexaploid oat, the Mia powdery mildew resistance cluster in barley, and the rp3, wsml, wsm2, mdml, ht2, and htnl resistance loci in maize. Prolamin encoding loci included Avn in diploid oat and Horl and Horl in barley. A high degree of colinearity was revealed among the common RFLP markers on the small chromosome fragments among these homoeologous groups. 'interdepartmental Genetics Program, ^Department of Plant Pathology, ^Com Insects and Crop Genetics Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, (USDA-ARS), Iowa State University, Ames, lA 50011-1020, U.S.A.
Spin-Orbital Density Wave and a Mott Insulator in a Two-Orbital Hubbard Model on a Honeycomb Lattice.

Inspired by the recent discovery of correlated insulating states in twisted bilayer graphene, we study a two-orbital Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice with two electrons per unit cell. Based on the real-space density matrix renormalization group simulation, we identify a metal-insulator transition around ${U}_{c}/t=2.5--3$. In the vicinity of ${U}_{c}$, we find strong spin-orbital density wave fluctuations at commensurate wave vectors, accompanied by weaker incommensurate charge density wave fluctuations. The spin-orbital density wave fluctuations are enhanced with increasing system sizes, suggesting the possible emergence of long-range order in the two-dimensional limit. At larger $U$, our calculations indicate a possible nonmagnetic Mott insulator phase without spin or orbital polarization. Our findings offer new insight into correlated electron phenomena in twisted bilayer graphene and other multiorbital honeycomb materials.
Effect of high flow oxygen on exertional dyspnea in cancer patients: A double-blind randomized clinical trial.

11600Background: High flow oxygen therapy is effective for hypoxemic respiratory failure. However, its effect on dyspnea in non-hypoxemic patients is unknown. In this 2x2 factorial, double-blind ra...
Striving for Equity in the Educational System: A Brazilian Case Study

An attempt to address the lack of racial and social diversity in higher education in Brazil was met with an Affirmative Action Law, the Law of Social Quotas, for students vying for university level, government-funded institutions. Despite the government-driven initiatives, the gap in filling reserved seats for non-white students evidenced the disparate reality that for non-white students to successfully compete for those scholarships, quality education and support from the government must begin in public elementary schools. This chapter examines current policies and scholarship practices in place to leverage racial equity in education in Brazil. Suggestions for lessening the gap of racial inequality among students in public and private sectors will be examined
Multimodal single-cell chromatin analysis with Signac

The recent development of experimental methods for measuring chromatin state at single-cell resolution has created a need for computational tools capable of analyzing these datasets. Here we developed Signac, a framework for the analysis of single-cell chromatin data, as an extension of the Seurat R toolkit for single-cell multimodal analysis. Signac enables an end-to-end analysis of single-cell chromatin data, including peak calling, quantification, quality control, dimension reduction, clustering, integration with single-cell gene expression datasets, DNA motif analysis, and interactive visualization. Furthermore, Signac facilitates the analysis of multimodal single-cell chromatin data, including datasets that co-assay DNA accessibility with gene expression, protein abundance, and mitochondrial genotype. We demonstrate scaling of the Signac framework to datasets containing over 700,000 cells. Availability Installation instructions, documentation, and tutorials are available at: https://satijalab.org/signac/
Randomized phase II trial of sipuleucel-T with or without radium-223 in men with bone-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Purpose: To investigate whether radium-223 increases peripheral immune responses to sipuleucel-T in men with bone-predominant, minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Patients and Methods: A total of 32 patients were randomized 1:1 in this open-label, phase II multicenter trial. Patients in the control arm received three sipuleucel-T treatments, 2 weeks apart. Those in the combination arm received six doses of radium-223 monthly, with sipuleucel-T intercalated between the second and fourth doses of radium-223. The primary endpoint was a comparison of peripheral antigen PA2024-specific T-cell responses (measured by proliferation index). Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and PSA responses. Results: We enrolled 32 patients, followed for a median of 1.6 years. Six weeks after the first sipuleucel-T dose, participants in the control arm had a 3.2-fold greater change in PA2024-specific T-cell responses compared with those who received combination treatment (P = 0.036). Patients in the combination arm were more likely to have a >50% PSA decline [5 (31%) vs. 0 patients; P = 0.04], and also demonstrated longer PFS [39 vs. 12 weeks; HR, 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.14–0.76] and OS (not reached vs. 2.6 years; HR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.08–1.23). Conclusions: Our data raise the possibility of greater clinical activity with the combination of sipuleucel-T and radium-223 in men with asymptomatic bone mCRPC, despite the paradoxically lower immune responses observed. Additional study to confirm these findings in a larger trial is warranted.