cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GaN based inverter with high conversion ratio and sinusoidal output for motor drive applications stress analysis

This paper discusses a GaN based motor drive topology with a high conversion ratio and sinusoidal output voltage. This inverter topology is based on the z-source inverter and provides many benefits over the traditional three-phase inverter or traditional inverter with a DC-DC boost converter input. The semi-quasi-z-source inverter allows the input voltage source and the load to share a ground so the problem of handling leakage current is eliminated. Thanks to the high conversion ratio with the semi-quasi-z-source topology, a lower input voltage can be used to generate a desired output. The proposed topology can also take advantage of many popular modulation strategies of traditional inverters. The output of this inverter is sinusoidal so it is perfect for motor drive applications. This paper also compares the voltage and current stress of the semi-quasi-z-source inverter against a traditional inverter with a DC-DC boost converter. Simulations for a 10 kW semi-quasi-z-source inverter are also discussed at the end of this paper.
PROTECTING, BALANCING, AND CONFRONTING: HEALTH-SEEKING AMONG HOMELESS YOUTH IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

The objective of this study was to explore health-seeking behaviors and barriers faced in accessing care among homeless youth living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with homeless youth aged 18 to 25. Participants were identified using purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory techniques. Interviews with youth revealed that while living on the streets, they had to balance their need for security with attending to their daily survival needs, which led to a disconnection from thinking about their health. When faced with a major health issue, youth turned to their informal networks of support instead of seeking immediate medical care. To manage their basic health needs, youth obtained medicine and health advice from local pharmacies and sought advice from social workers. Homeless youth interviewed in this study relied on an informal network of peers, social workers, and pharmacies when engaging with the health care system. They also faced several barriers to accessing health services, many of which are tied specifically to policies that make homelessness discriminated against in Vietnam. Within Vietnam’s unique political and social context, there is a need for increased collaboration between service providers such as health clinics, local pharmacies, and social workers to provide appropriate health services to this vulnerable population.
Exploring the effects of botulinum toxin type A injections on depression

Depression is a common condition affecting over 300 million people around the world. There are many known treatments for depression, however in long-lasting, moderate-to-severe conditions, depression can, in some cases, lead to suicide. The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial musculature not only expresses mood states, but also regulates them. By contracting a specific muscle, humans can create an emotion and, conversely, by relaxing those muscles, they can minimise an emotion. Botulinum toxin type A is a neurotoxin which acts as a blocking agent, leading to muscles being temporarily weakened or paralysed. Numerous studies have shown the link between a reduction in depressive symptoms and the treatment of the glabella with botulinum toxin type A injections. The manufacturer of Botox (Allergan) has continued with this research and, in 2017, it announced data from a phase 2 study supporting the advancement of botulinum toxin type A for the treatment of major depressive disorder. The company will n...
Usefulness of an immunohistochemical panel in paraffin-embedded tissues for the differentiation of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of small lymphocytes.

Abstract Diagnosis of small B-cell lymphomas is sometimes difficult without fresh tissue for flow cytometry (FC) or immunohistochemistry (IHC). Therefore, we examined the usefulness of a paraffin section IHC panel consisting of antibodies to CD5, CD10, CD20, CD23, CD43, and cyclin D1. We tested 55 formalin-fixed small B-cell lymphomas, including 16 small lymphocytic lymphomas (SLLs), 10 mantle cell lymphomas (MCLs), 25 follicle center lymphomas (FCLs), and 4 mantle zone lymphomas (MZLs). Seventeen cases had B5-fixed sections that were stained in the same manner. The findings were correlated with FC immunophenotyping when available. All of the SLLs and 90% of the MCLs expressed CD5 by IHC, with occasional weak expression in some MCLs. All of the FCLs and MZLs lacked CD5 expression. These results were comparable to those obtained by FC. CD43 expression was seen in 100% of the SLLs, 90% of the MCLs, and 75% of the MZLs. CD23 expression was seen in 94% of the SLL; of these, 100% also showed expression of CD23 by FC. Cyclin D1 was detected in all of the MCLs by IHC but also in 3 of the 16 SLLs. CD23 was absent in all of the MCLs. CD10 expression was present in 21 (95%) of 22 FCLs. All of the 17 cases fixed in B5 showed a decreased immunoreactivity for CD5 in the neoplastic cells. In contrast, CD10 immunoreactivity was judged better in B5-fixed sections. We concluded, therefore, that anti-CD5 and -CD10 were useful tools in the differential diagnosis of B-cell lymphomas of small lymphocytes and that a paraffin-section IHC panel consisting of antibodies to CD5, CD10, CD20, CD23, CD43, and cyclin D1 was a useful ancillary technique that compared favorably with FC.
Multiscale Optimization in VLSI Physical Design Automation

The enormous size and complexity of current and future integrated circuits (IC’s) presents a host of challenging global, combinatorial optimization problems. As IC’s enter the nanometer scale, there is increased demand for scalable and adaptable algorithms for VLSI physical design: the transformation of a logical-temporal circuit specification into a spatially explicit one. There are several key problems in physical design. We review recent advances in multiscale algorithms for three of them: partitioning, placement, and routing.
Theoretical study of the stress transfer in fiber-reinforced composites

The stress transfer in fiber-reinforced composites is studied theoretically with the help of a finite difference type of approach. The results show that the efficiency of stress transfer between matrix and fiber is a unique function of the fiber aspect ratio and of the mismatch in elastic moduli between the matrix and the fiber. The effect of the adhesion between fiber and matrix is also studied. The predictions of the theory are compared to available experimental data and a good agreement is found.
Relations of change in fruit and vegetable intake with overall energy reduction and physical activity with weight change: Assessing theory-based psychosocial mediators.

Abstract Background Increased physical activity and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake are typically suggested to counter obesity. Sustained behavior change in those areas has, however, been poor, possibly because of a lack of understanding of the effects of psychosocial factors. Using data from previous research, this study aimed to better define the role of physical activity and FV intake in short- and long-term weight loss via changes in malleable psychosocial mediators and moderators. Methods Women who were obese (n = 183; age = 50.0 ± 7.9 years; body mass index = 35.2 ± 3.2 kg/m2, mean ± SD) and who previously participated in 3 different community-based behavioral weight-loss treatments were assessed over 2 years. Changes in FV intake, physical activity, self-regulation of physical activity and eating (aggregated), negative mood, and weight were measured over 6 and 24 months. Results Changes in each variable over both 6 and 24 months were significant (all p values Conclusion Findings clarified theory-based targets for weight-management treatments and suggested that future weight-loss treatments strongly focus on developing self-regulatory skills to address barriers to behavioral changes.
Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis Identifies Chronic Alcohol-Mediated Shift in Hepatocyte Molecular States After Partial Hepatectomy

The analysis of molecular states of individual cells, as defined by their mRNA expression profiles and protein composition, has gained widespread interest in studying biological phenomena ranging from embryonic development to homeostatic tissue function and genesis and evolution of cancers. Although the molecular content of individual cells in a tissue can vary widely, their molecular states tend to be constrained within a transcriptional landscape partly described by the canonical archetypes of a population of cells. In this study, we sought to characterize the effects of an acute (partial hepatectomy) and chronic (alcohol consumption) perturbation on the molecular states of individual hepatocytes during the onset and progression of liver regeneration. We analyzed the expression of 84 genes across 233 individual hepatocytes acquired using laser capture microdissection. Analysis of the single-cell data revealed that hepatocyte molecular states can be considered as distributed across a set of four states irrespective of perturbation, with the proportions of hepatocytes in these states being dependent on the perturbation. In addition to the quiescent, primed, and replicating hepatocytes, we identified a fourth molecular state lying between the primed and replicating subpopulations. Comparison of the proportions of hepatocytes from each experimental condition in these four molecular states suggested that, in addition to aberrant priming, a slower transition from primed to replication state could contribute toward ethanol-mediated suppression of liver regenerative response to partial hepatectomy.
What’s the state of the evidence on pre-K programmes in the United States? A systematic review

We systematically examine the existing evidence and compute meta-analytic averages for the effects of scaled-up, publicly funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programmes in the United States on student ...
Privacy-Preserving Methods for Feature Engineering Using Blockchain: Review, Evaluation, and Proof of Concept

Background: The protection of private data is a key responsibility for research studies that collect identifiable information from study participants. Limiting the scope of data collection and preventing secondary use of the data are effective strategies for managing these risks. An ideal framework for data collection would incorporate feature engineering, a process where secondary features are derived from sensitive raw data in a secure environment without a trusted third party. Objective: This study aimed to compare current approaches based on how they maintain data privacy and the practicality of their implementations. These approaches include traditional approaches that rely on trusted third parties, and cryptographic, secure hardware, and blockchain-based techniques. Methods: A set of properties were defined for evaluating each approach. A qualitative comparison was presented based on these properties. The evaluation of each approach was framed with a use case of sharing geolocation data for biomedical research. Results: We found that approaches that rely on a trusted third party for preserving participant privacy do not provide sufficiently strong guarantees that sensitive data will not be exposed in modern data ecosystems. Cryptographic techniques incorporate strong privacy-preserving paradigms but are appropriate only for select use cases or are currently limited because of computational complexity. Blockchain smart contracts alone are insufficient to provide data privacy because transactional data are public. Trusted execution environments (TEEs) may have hardware vulnerabilities and lack visibility into how data are processed. Hybrid approaches combining blockchain and cryptographic techniques or blockchain and TEEs provide promising frameworks for privacy preservation. For reference, we provide a software implementation where users can privately share features of their geolocation data using the hybrid approach combining blockchain with TEEs as a supplement. Conclusions: Blockchain technology and smart contracts enable the development of new privacy-preserving feature engineering methods by obviating dependence on trusted parties and providing immutable, auditable data processing workflows. The overlap between blockchain and cryptographic techniques or blockchain and secure hardware technologies are promising fields for addressing important data privacy needs. Hybrid blockchain and TEE frameworks currently provide practical tools for implementing experimental privacy-preserving applications.
Long‐term outcomes after liver transplantation in the Hispanic population

BACKGROUND & AIMS Racial/ethnic disparities in liver transplantation (LT) are well-recognized. Although Hispanics represent the largest and youngest minority group in the United States, limited data exist on long-term outcomes. We aimed to investigate long-term post-liver transplant outcomes in Hispanic patients and identify potential disparities compared to a baseline demographic of non-Hispanic white patients. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study of first-time liver transplant recipients using the United Network for Organ Sharing database from 2002 to 2013, with follow-up through 2018. The primary outcomes of interest were overall patient and graft survival after LT. RESULTS 45 767 patients underwent LT (85.0% non-Hispanic white, 15.0% Hispanic). Hispanics had lower socioeconomic status, higher prevalence of pretransplant comorbidities and more severe liver disease compared to non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics had similar patient (76.6% vs 75.6%; P = .12) and graft (71.7% vs 70.8%; P = .28) survival at 5 years and significantly better patient (62.9% vs 59.7%; P < .001) and graft (58.6% vs 55.6%; P = .002) survival at 10 years. In multivariable analysis, Hispanics had lower associated all-cause mortality (HR 0.86, 95% CI, 0.82-0.91; P < .001) and graft failure (HR 0.89, 95% CI, 0.85-0.93; P < .001) compared to non-Hispanic whites. In etiology-specific subanalysis, Hispanics transplanted for ALD, NASH and HCV had lower all-cause mortality compared to non-Hispanic whites. CONCLUSIONS Hispanics have similar or better long-term post-LT outcomes compared to non-Hispanic whites despite a worse pretransplant risk factor profile. Further research is needed to clarify if this survival advantage reflects uncaptured protective factors or more stringent transplant selection in the Hispanic population.
Structure and regulation of ZCCHC4 in m 6 A-methylation of 28S rRNA

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification provides an important epitranscriptomic mechanism that critically regulates RNA metabolism and function. However, how m6A writers attain substrate specificities remains unclear. We report the 3.1 A-resolution crystal structure of human CCHC zinc finger-containing protein ZCCHC4, a 28S rRNA-specific m6A methyltransferase, bound to S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine. The methyltransferase (MTase) domain of ZCCHC4 is packed against N-terminal GRF-type and C2H2 zinc finger domains and a C-terminal CCHC domain, creating an integrated RNA-binding surface. Strikingly, the MTase domain adopts an autoinhibitory conformation, with a self-occluded catalytic site and a fully-closed cofactor pocket. Mutational and enzymatic analyses further substantiate the molecular basis for ZCCHC4-RNA recognition and a role of the stem-loop structure within substrate in governing the substrate specificity. Overall, this study unveils unique structural and enzymatic characteristics of ZCCHC4, distinctive from what was seen with the METTL family of m6A writers, providing the mechanistic basis for ZCCHC4 modulation of m6A RNA methylation.
Unsupervised Anomaly Detection in Daily WAN Traffic Patterns

Growth in large-scale experiments using high capacity reliable networking as part of their design is creating a need for better monitoring and analysis of observed traffic. Network providers need intelligent solutions that can help quickly identify and understand anomalous behaviors at the network edge, allowing reactions to unexpected traffic or attacks on facilities and their peerings. However, due to lack of labeled data in network traffic analysis and user diversity, we introduce novel methods that process very large network datasets quickly for outlier identification.
Telogen effluvium associated with COVID-19 infection.

Telogen effluvium (TE) is characterized by diffuse hair shedding 2-3 months after a stressor, and COVID-19 infection is potentially one such stressor. Those who were infected with the virus were under immense psychosocial and physiologic stress. We retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records of 552 patients who were evaluated by a Henry Ford Health System dermatologist between February 2020 and September 2020 and had a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Ten patients were identified with TE attributed to COVID-19 infection and described their presentations as a case series. For the ten patients selected, the mean age was 48.5 years old and 90% were female. Six of the patients were Black, one Middle Eastern, and three White. On average, the hair shedding began 50 days after the first symptom of COVID-19 infection. About 80% of these patients were treated with antibiotics, systemic corticosteroids, and/or hydroxychloroquine for their COVID-19 infection and 70% were hospitalized. The presentations of these patients suggest that COVID-19 infection may be a significant trigger of TE. TE caused by hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin or other medications cannot be ruled out, and the global pandemic itself is a source of psychosocial stress. Further studies will be needed to understand the long-term prevalence and prognosis of TE associated with COVID-19 infection.
Forum: Serving African American English Speakers in Schools Through Interprofessional Education & Practice.

Purpose African American English (AAE) speakers often face mismatches between home language and school language, coupled with negative attitudes toward AAE in the classroom. This forum, Serving Afr...
Primary synovial chondromatosis: an elemental investigation of a rare skeletal pathology.

Background: Primary synovial chondromatosis (PSC) is a rare idiopathic pathology characterized by the formation of osseocartilaginous nodules within synovial joints, tendons, or bursae. The mineralization pattern of PSC nodules is poorly understood and has yet to be investigated using elemental analysis. Mapping this pattern could elucidate the progression of the disease. Materials and methods: PSC nodules discovered during dissection of a formalin fixed donor were analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy paired with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used to quantify calcium and phosphorus levels to distinguish mineralized components from cartilage, indicated by increased carbon and oxygen concentrations. Results: Nine nodules with average dimensions 1.76cm x 1.25cm were identified in the semimembranosus bursa. SEM-EDS demonstrated increased calcium phosphate levels in nodular cores, while outer margins contained primarily carbon and oxygen. Quantification of these elements revealed nodular peripheries to contain 68.0% carbon, 30.2% oxygen, 0.8% calcium, and 1.0% phosphate, while cores were comprised of 38.1% carbon, 42.1% oxygen, 14.1% calcium, and 5.7% phosphate. Conclusions: Nodules were found to have mineralized cores embedded within a cartilaginous matrix. This pattern suggests disease progression is facilitated by endochondral ossification, opening the potential for new therapeutic techniques.
Development of a Mobile Planter Structure to Enable Ease of Use and Enjoyment for the Aging Gardener.

The physical activity of gardening promotes positive benefits to the aging body through exercise and mobility, provides opportunities to be inspired through social interactions and improves the quality of life through nurturing. This research focused on designing a mobile planter system for aging users that promoted ease of use and enjoyment, to prevent the physical and mental challenges faced from prolonged inactivity. A multi-phased design approach was used that explored form, materials, functionality and aesthetic, all to develop a structure that allowed for up-right gardening, as opposed bending, kneeling on ground or squatting for the aging user.
The Sovereign Crisis: Credit Crunch, Flight-to-Quality and Flight-Home by Loan Types and Geographies

We examine the changes in cross-border bank lending during the European sovereign crisis. We find evidence of: (i) a “flight-to-quality” in “core” European sovereigns and residential mortgages that is specific to large highly levered banks with a small number of defaulted loans in their portfolios; (ii) a “flight-home” in sovereigns that is independent of bank characteristics, including the leverage ratio; and (iii) “risky-lending” to crisis-hit “periphery” countries that is specific to banks with a large number of defaulted exposures and high residential loan-to-value ratios. Along these findings, we provide estimates of changes in cross-border lending by loan types and geographies.
James Gustafson: Piety and the Ethics of Theocentric Discernment

One of the points of comparison raised in this study is the extent to which each moralist’s work depends upon theological insights or beliefs in making moral claims — or, in other words, the extent to which each considers his applied ethics to be “distinctively Christian.” We have seen genuine variety, both in their views about theological sources for moral knowledge and in their assessments of which theological themes or concepts should be central to our understanding of moral life.
The Central Nervous System

Since almost all space-occupying intracranial lesions are operated on for diagnosis, the least traumatic and most cost effective diagnostic procedure is highly desirable.
A Novel Multi-Probe Resistivity Approach to Inspect Green- State Metal Powder Compacts

This paper describes a new instrumentation approach to the nondestructive testing of green-state powdered metallurgy components. These samples are likely to generate surface-breaking and subsurface defects prior to sintering. Exploiting the principles of electric resistivity or potential drop measurements in solids, a system is configured which is capable of recording surface voltage distributions due to impressed current inputs. At the heart of this novel testing procedure is a multiple-pin sensor which allows for flexible measurement conditions in order to cover wide surface areas. Practical tests with production samples compare well with both analytical and numerical modeling techniques in predicting surface voltage distributions. Furthermore, initial studies of surface-breaking flaws exhibit excellent defect detectability.
How top‐level managers develop: a field study

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to determine how top‐level managers continue their development/performance improvement, once they have reached the highest levels of their organizations.Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were conducted with 106 of senior‐level managers who were asked to identify the specific things they did to continue their development.Findings – The top ten practices identified by executives included: seeking out honest/accurate performance feedback from a wide variety of sources; reading relevant material; self‐reflection/self‐appraisal; recruiting, hiring, and promoting talented people attending formal continuing education programs, workshops and/or seminars; membership in professional/trade organization associations; mentoring and coaching others; benchmarking and observing the practices of other leaders/organizations; working at knowing the current needs of your own organization and the demands of your job; always knowing the current needs of your own organization and t...
The subunit interface of the Escherichia coli ribosome: Identification of proteins at the interface between the 30 S and 50 S subunits by crosslinking with 2-iminothiolane☆

Abstract The 70 S ribosomes of Escherichia coli were treated with 2-iminothiolane with the resultant addition of 110 sulfhydryl groups per ribosome. The modified ribosomes were oxidized to promote disulfide bond formation, some of which formed intermolecular crosslinks. About 50% of the crosslinked 70 S ribosomes did not dissociate when exposed to low concentrations of magnesium in the absence of reducting agent. Dissociation took place in the presence of reducing agents, which indicated that the subunits had become covalently linked by disulfide linkages. Proteins extracted from purified crosslinked 70 S ribosomes were first fractionated by polyacrylamide/urea gel electrophoresis. The proteins from sequential slices of these gels were analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide/sodium dodecyl sulfate diagonal gel electrophoresis. Monomeric proteins derived from crosslinked dimers appeared below the diagonal containing non-crosslinked proteins, since the second electrophoresis, but not the first, is run under reducing conditions to cleave the crosslinked species. Final identification of the proteins in each dimer was made by radioiodination of the crosslinked proteins, followed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide/urea gel electrophoresis in the presence of non-radioactive total 70 S proteins as markers. This paper describes the identification of 23 protein dimers that contained one protein from each of the two different ribosomal subunits. The proteins implicated must have some part of their structure in proximity to the other ribosomal subunit and are therefore defined as “interface proteins”. The group of interface proteins thus defined includes 50 S proteins that are part of the 5 S RNA: protein complex and 30 S proteins at the initiation site. Correlations between the crosslinked interface proteins and other functional data are discussed.
PKCγ Contributes to a Subset of the NMDA-Dependent Spinal Circuits That Underlie Injury-Induced Persistent Pain

In previous studies we provided evidence that the γ isoform of protein kinase C (PKCγ) is an important contributor to the increased pain sensitivity that occurs after injury. Here we combined electrophysiological and behavioral approaches in wild-type and PKCγ-null mice to compare the hyperexcitability of wide dynamic range neurons in lamina V of the spinal cord dorsal horn with the behavioral hyperexcitability produced by the same injury [application of a C-fiber irritant, mustard oil (MO), to the hindpaw]. Wild-type and null mice did not differ in their response to mechanical or thermal stimuli before tissue injury, and the magnitude of the response to the MO stimuli was comparable. In wild-type mice, MO produced a dramatic and progressive enhancement of the response of lamina V neurons to innocuous mechanical and thermal stimuli. The time course of the neuronal hyperexcitability paralleled the time course of the MO-induced behavioral allodynia (nocifensive behavior in response to a previously innocuous mechanical stimulus). Neuronal hyperexcitability was also manifest in the PKCγ-null mice, but it lasted <30 min. By contrast, the behavioral allodynia produced by MO in the PKCγ-null mice, although reduced to approximately half that of the wild-type mice, persisted long after the lamina V hyperexcitability had subsided. Because the MO-induced behavioral allodynia was completely blocked by an NMDA receptor antagonist, we conclude that PKCγ mediates the transition from short- to long-term hyperexcitability of lamina V nociresponsive neurons but that the persistence of injury-induced pain must involve activity within multiple NMDA-dependent spinal cord circuits.
Cyclic variation of Doppler backscattering power from porcine blood in a pulsatile flow model

Measurements made on polystyrene microspheres, porcine red cells suspended in normal saline solution, and porcine whole blood of 4% and 40% hematocrits in a pulsatile mock flow loop model are discussed. Different mean flow velocities and two pulsation rates (20 and 70 beats/min) were investigated. Results on polystyrene microspheres (diameters of 20 to 130 mu m) suspended in a mix of saline solution and glycerol show a progressive decrease of the root-mean-square (RMS) power in the accelerating phase of the systolic period, a minimum at peak systole, and an increase during deceleration of flow. Results obtained for red cell suspension exhibit a similar behavior independent of hematocrit. For porcine whole blood, no cyclic variation was observed at high flow velocity and pulsation of 70 beats/min for high hematocrit. However, reducing the pulsation of 20 beats/min gave rise to a significant drop of the RMS power near peak systole. These results suggest that Doppler power from blood is cyclic dependent. >
The dynamics of fibroblast–myocyte–capillary interactions in the heart

In the heart, electrical, mechanical, and chemical signals create an environment essential for normal cellular responses to developmental and pathologic cues. Communication between fibroblasts, myocytes, and endothelial cells, as well as the extracellular matrix, are critical to fluctuations in heart composition and function during normal development and pathology. Recent evidence suggests that cytokines play a role in cell-cell signaling in the heart. Indeed, we find that interactions between myocytes and cardiac fibroblasts results in increased interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secretion. We also used confocal and transmission electron microscopy to observe close relationships and possible direct communication between these cells in vivo. Our results highlight the importance of direct cell-cell communication in the heart, and indicate that interactions between fibroblasts, myocytes, and capillary endothelium results in differential cytokine expression. Studying these cell-cell interactions has many implications for the process of cardiac remodeling and overall heart function during development and cardiopathology.
Estrogen and the aging brain: an elixir for the weary cortical network

The surprising discovery in 1990 that estrogen modulates hippocampal structural plasticity launched a whole new field of scientific inquiry. Over the past two decades, estrogen-induced spinogenesis has been described in several brain areas involved in cognition in a number of species, in both sexes and on multiple time scales. Exploration into the interaction between estrogen and aging has illuminated some of the hormone's neuroprotective effects, most notably on age-related cognitive decline in nonhuman primates. Although there is still much to be learned about the mechanisms by which estrogen exerts its actions, key components of the signal transduction pathways are beginning to be elucidated and nongenomic actions via membrane bound estrogen receptors are of particular interest. Future studies are focused on identifying the most clinically relevant hormone treatment, as well as the potential identification of new therapeutics that can prevent or reverse age-related cognitive impairment by intercepting specific signal transduction pathways initiated by estrogen.
Linkage Between GDP And Emissions: A Global Perspective On Environmental Kuznets Curve

In this paper we present a mathematical framework for the linkage between GDP and emissions for a particular nation or group of nations. The properties of the functions will be discussed, followed by an empirical section that illustrates the methodology employed. We will also present the greenhouse gases emissions data and GDP data and discuss the results of the empirical study.
Aneurysmal Bone Cysts of the Hand, Wrist, and Forearm

Purpose To determine the outcomes of surgical management of aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) in the hand, wrist, and forearm. Methods The medical records of 11 patients undergoing surgical treatment of ABCs distal to the elbow from 1994 to 2011 with at least 12 months follow-up were reviewed retrospectively. Mean follow-up was 29 months (range, 13–56 months). There were 7 males and 4 females. Four lesions presented in the radius, 3 in the ulna, 2 in the metacarpals, and 2 in the phalanges. Results Ten patients underwent wide unroofing and intralesional curettage with 9 undergoing associated high-speed burring. Multiple chemical and thermal adjuvants were used. One patient underwent en bloc resection with reconstruction. There was 1 recurrence in a periphyseal lesion in a 2-year-old boy treated with curettage, burring, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Ten patients incorporated the bone graft and healed without further surgery. One patient required revision bone grafting. Conclusions The diagnosis of ABC should remain in the differential diagnosis for cystic lesions in the upper extremity in pediatric and adult patients. Low recurrence has been obtained predominantly with intralesional curettage and high-speed burring with and without chemical and thermal adjuvant therapy. Appropriate healing has been obtained with both allograft and autograft reconstructions. Periarticular and periphyseal lesions remain challenging and provide the highest chance for incomplete resection and recurrence. Follow-up with plain radiographs did not lead to any delay in diagnosis of recurrence in any case. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic IV.
Caregiving as coregulation: Psychobiological processes and child functioning.

Although considerable research has sought to understand the relations between parental behavior and a range of child developmental outcomes, much of this work has been conducted at a very broad level of analysis. Psychobiological theory and research point to the need for models of caregiving that offer greater specificity regarding processes that may be implicated in the effects of these relationships. Recent work on animals and some work on humans have focused more on the proximal mechanisms through which caregivers and infants affect one another. This chapter presents a model of the caregiver–child relationship that focuses on proximal processes operating within both caregiver and child. This model uses a self-regulatory framework to capture the levels of influence of the caregiver’s behavior on the child’s functioning. Next, I present an overview of physiological regulation and findings that support its role as foundational to more sophisticated emotional and behavioral regulation. Then, I provide evidence for the effects of caregiver behavior on physiological regulation. Finally, I offer general recommendations for future research that could illuminate how specific types of caregiver behavior influence multiple levels of child behavior.
Role of the forebrain in nociception.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the role of the forebrain in the sensory aspects of pain. Evidence concerning the pathways ascending from the spinal cord that carry nociceptive information crucial to pain sensation has been reviewed. Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that the forebrain plays an important role in pain sensation. Sensory discriminative processing of pain sensation appears to depend chiefly upon pathways ascending in the lateral funiculus contralateral to a painful stimulus, but ipsilateral pathways may play an ancillary role as well. Nociceptive neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus transmit information about painful stimuli to neurons in the somatosensory cortex. The chapter considers experimental work on neurons in the somatosensory thalamus and cerebral cortex that respond to painful stimuli. It also discusses the effects of stimulation of the somatosensory thalamus and cerebral cortex in modulating nociceptive transmission in the spinal cord.
Optimal Excitation Force Design in Indentation-Based Rapid Broadband Nanomechanical Spectroscopy: Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Example

This paper presents an optimal input design approach to achieve rapid broadband nanomechanical measurements of soft materials using indentation-based method. The indentation-based nanomechanical measurement provides unique quantification of material properties at specified locations. The measurement, however, is currently too slow and too narrow in frequency (range) to characterize time-elapsing material properties during dynamic evolutions (e.g., the rapid-stage of the crystallization process of polymers). These limitations exist because the excitation input force used in current methods cannot rapidly excite broadband nanomechanical properties of materials. The challenges arise as a result of the instrumental hardware dynamics being excited and convoluted with the material properties during the measurement when the frequencies in the excitation force increase, resulting in large measurement errors. Moreover, measurement takes a long time when the frequency range is large, which, in turn, leads to large temporal measurement errors upon dynamic evolution of the sample. In this paper, we develop an optimal-input design approach to tackle these challenges. Particularly, an input force profile with discrete spectrum is optimized to maximize the Fisher information matrix of the linear compliance model of the soft material. Both simulation and experiments on a Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) sample are presented to illustrate the need for optimal input design and the efficacy of the proposed approach in probe-based nanomechanical property measurements.
Static Reference Analysis for GUI Objects in Android Software

The popularity of Android software has grown dramatically in the last few years. It is essential for researchers in programming languages and compilers to contribute new techniques in this increasingly important area. Such techniques require a foundation of program analyses for Android. The target of our work is static object reference analysis, which models the flow of object references. Existing reference analyses cannot be applied directly to Android because the software is component-based and event-driven.An Android application is driven by a graphical user interface (GUI), with GUI objects responding to user actions. These objects and the event handlers associated with them ultimately determine the possible flow of control and data. We propose the first static analysis to model GUI-related Android objects, their flow through the application, and their interactions with each other via the abstractions defined by the Android platform. A formal semantics for the relevant Android constructs is developed to provide a solid foundation for this and other analyses. Next, we propose a constraint-based reference analysis based on the semantics. The analysis employs a constraint graph to model the flow of GUI objects, the hierarchical structure of these objects, and the effects of relevant Android operations. Experimental evaluation on real-world Android applications strongly suggests that the analysis achieves high precision with low cost.The analysis enables static modeling of control/data flow that is foundational for compiler analyses, instrumentation for event/interaction profiling, static error checking, security analysis, test generation, and automated debugging. It provides a key component to be used by compile-time analysis researchers in the growing area of Android software.
Development of a physical theory of plasticity

Abstract A physical theory of plasticity is developed from the slip theory given by Lin and his associates. In this slip theory, a large region composed of innumerous identical cubic blocks of 27 differently oriented face-centered-cubic crystals is embedded in an infinite isotropic elastic medium. Loading is applied to the infinite medium. The stress and strain fields in the center block is calculated using the analogy between plastic strains and applied force. These fields satisfy the conditions of equilibrium and continuity of displacement throughout the block. The average stress and strain of this block is considered to represent the macro-stress-strain of the metal. The 27-crystal model gives some plastic shear strain under tensile loading that does not agree with test data. In this paper a 64-crystal model is used. These crystals are arranged to give symmetry about 3 orthogonal planes and same crystal orientations relative to the three perpendicular axes. With this model, the undesirable plastic shear strain is removed. Significant simplifications in the numerical calculations have been developed. Calculations by this theory have been made on an aluminum alloy subject to three different ratios of incremental axial and torsional loadings after being compressed beyond the elastic range. These calculated results agree with experimental data in a thin wall cylinder, considerably better than the commonly used flow and deformation theories of plasticity. Lode parameters of strain were calculated for different Lode parameters of stress. These calculated results again agree considerably better than the commonly used mathematical theories of plasticity.
Heat Transfer by Conduction and Radiation in One-Dimensional Planar Media Using the Differential Approximation

The combined conduction and radiation heat transfer problem for a gray planar medium between two diffuse, isothermal infinite parallel plates is considered using the differential approximation. The P-1 and P-3 spherical harmonics approximations for the intensity distribution are used. In addition, isotropic scattering and uniform volumetric generation terms are included. The governing energy equations developed using the P-1 and P-3 intensity expressions are fourth and sixth order nonlinear ordinary differential equations, respectively, and these equations have been solved numerically using a spline-collocation algorithm. Results are compared with the exact solutions and show that the differential methods are accurate for predicting both temperature profiles and heat transfer rates.
Clinical assessment of asymptomatic knees: comparison of men and women

Abstract Two hundred ten adults, 100 women and 110 men, were recruited on the condition of always having asymptomatic knee joints. These recruits were initially solicited by newspaper advertisement. The women were recruited in 3 weeks, but additional efforts and 3 months were necessary to assemble the group of men. The volunteers underwent a uniform comprehensive medical history questionnaire, physical examination, and plain film radiographs. The data collected were subjected to computerization and statistical analysis. Although these subjects were always asymptomatic, only 4.5% of 200 women's knees and 21% of 220 men's knees had no "positive" physical findings. The findings of hypermobile patella, patellar crepitus, and lateral patellar position on Merchant x-ray view were common. Findings not present or infrequent in these asymptomatic subjects and potentially pathological were patellar J-sign, decreased range of motion, asymmetrical ligamentous laxity, McMurray's sign, compartmental crepitus, and severe degenerative arthritis or loose bodies on radiograph. The findings in women were different from those observed in men. This gender-specific information should be helpful in patient management but also useful and timely for establishing practice guidelines, treatment algorithms, and outcome study instruments. Arthroscopy 1998 May-Jun;14(4):347-59
Outcomes in younger and older adults with chronic advanced systolic heart failure: a propensity-matched study

Background Older age is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with mild to moderate heart failure (HF). Whether older age is also an independent predictor of mortality in patients with more advanced HF is unknown.
Achieving control and interoperability through unified model-based systems and software engineering

Control and interoperation of complex systems is one of the most difficult challenges facing NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. An integrated but diverse array of vehicles, habitats, and supporting facilities, evolving over the long course of the enterprise, must perform ever more complex tasks while moving steadily away from the sphere of ground support and intervention.
Advantages and challenges of mass spectrometry assays for steroid hormones

Although steroid hormones have been measured, primarily in urine, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) assays for many years, in the past decade both clinical and research laboratories have dramatically increased usage of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays for measuring circulating levels of steroid hormones. Because of their high validity and throughput, mass spectrometry (MS) assays have replaced conventional radioimmunoassays (RIAs) and direct immunoassays for steroid hormones in larger reference laboratories, and they are touted to become the "gold standard" for steroid hormone quantitation. These advances in MS assays present several major challenges, which include the affordability of smaller laboratories to purchase MS instruments and pay for related operating costs; improving assay sensitivity, especially for measuring low estradiol levels in postmenopausal women and women treated with aromatase inhibitors; developing assays for quantitating profiles of steroid hormone metabolites in serum and tissues; standardizing steroid MS assays; and obtaining reliable reference intervals. The present review discusses the advantages of MS assays over conventional RIAs and direct immunoassays in steroid hormone measurements, and points out some of the important challenges facing the rapid increase in usage of MS assays.
A Case of Esophageal Pseudomembranes

290 Question: A 36-year-old woman presented for evaluation of chronic retrosternal burning. She continued to have daily symptoms despite using omeprazole twice daily. She rarely had liquid regurgitation. Otherwise, she denied dysphagia, odynophagia, and weight loss. Her medical history was notable for migraine headaches and constipationpredominant irritable bowel syndrome. Aside from omeprazole, the only other medication used was an oral contraceptive. Because of the persistence of her symptoms despite high-dose proton pump inhibitor treatment, she underwent testing. Esophageal manometry demonstrated frequent failed peristalsis, but normal basal lower esophageal sphincter pressure and normal relaxation. A subsequent barium esophagram demonstrated normal esophageal peristalsis. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed large white membranes adjacent to normal appearing mucosa in both the mid and distal esophagus (Figure A). Esophageal biopsies were obtained (Figure B). What is the most likely diagnosis? Look on page 489 for the answer and see the GASTROENTEROLOGY web site (www.gastrojournal.org) for more information on submitting your favorite image to Clinical Challenges and Images in GI.
Drop-weight impact of plain-woven hybrid glass–graphite/toughened epoxy composites

Abstract The progressive damage behaviors of hybrid woven composite panels (101.6 mm × 101.6 mm) impacted by drop-weights at four different velocities were studied by a combined experimental and 3-D dynamic nonlinear finite element approach. The specimens tested were made of plain-weave hybrid S2 glass-IM7 graphite fibers/toughened epoxy (cured at 177 °C). The composite panels were damaged using a pressure-assisted Instron-Dynatup 8520 instrumented drop-weight impact tester. During these low-velocity simpact tests, the time-histories of impact-induced dynamic strains and impact forces were recorded. The damaged specimens were inspected visually and using ultrasonic C-Scan methods. The commercially available 3-D dynamic nonlinear finite element (FE) software, LS-DYNA, incorporated with a proposed user-defined damage-induced nonlinear orthotropic model, was then used to simulate the experimental results of drop-weight tests. Good agreement between experimental and FE results has been achieved when comparing dynamic force, strain histories and damage patterns from experimental measurements and FE simulations.
Educators’ Beliefs and Practices About Parent Involvement in Transition Planning

The purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs and stated practices of educators from local education agencies with differing levels of parent involvement during the transition planning proce...