cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface-Heating Algorithm for Water at Nanoscale

A novel surface-heating algorithm for water is developed for molecular dynamics simulations. The validated algorithm can simulate the transient behavior of the evaporation of water when heated from a surface, which has been lacking in the literature. In this work, the algorithm is used to study the evaporation of water droplets on a platinum surface at different temperatures. The resulting contact angles of the droplets are compared to existing theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies. The evaporation profile along the droplet’s radius and height is deduced along with the temperature gradient within the drop, and the evaporation behavior conforms to the Kelvin–Clapeyron theory. The algorithm captures the realistic differential thermal gradient in water heated at the surface and is promising for studying various heating/cooling problems, such as thin film evaporation, Leidenfrost effect, and so forth. The simplicity of the algorithm allows it to be easily extended to other surfaces and integrated i...
Giant Hydronephrosis of a Duplex System Associated with Ureteral Ectopia

AbstractGiant hydronephrosis is an infrequent urological entity. To our knowledge, only 1 case has been reported previously that was associated with a duplicated collecting system and ureteral ectopia.
Large Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Three Classical Cadherins Involved in Cell Adhesion

Cadherins are a family of proteins responsible for intercellular adhesion between epithelial cells and for maintaining tissue integrity. E-cadherin, found in adherens junctions, and desmogleins and desmocollins, found in desmosomes, are three classical-type cadherins that interact through their extracellular domains. These have five extracellular cadherin (EC) repeats that link adjacent cells through a tip-to-tip interaction mediated by an exchange of conserved tryptophans in their distal extracellular repeats. Here we present large-scale molecular dynamics simulations that model the complete extracellular domains of available crystal structures, with systems encompassing up to 5 million atoms. Equilibrium and steered molecular dynamics simulations of E-cadherin lattices predict a two-phase elastic response in which E-cadherin complexes first straighten and then unbind without unfolding. Cis-interactions are predicted to play a minor role in the mechanical response of these complexes. Simulations of the desmoglein/desmocollin systems show that forces required to unbind both the homodimer of desmoglein-2 and a canonical heterodimer of desmoglein-2 and desmocollin-1 are similar, even in the presence of a salt-bridge shown to be important for the heterodimer interaction. As with the E-cadherin system, both the desmoglein dimer and desmoglein/desmocollin systems exhibited unbinding after an initial straightening of both molecules, with no unfolding. Overall, our simulations provide insights into the molecular mechanics of adherens junctions and desmosomes.
Human Dependency and Christian Ethics

Dependency is a central aspect of human existence, as are dependent care relations: relations between caregivers and young children, persons with disabilities, or frail elderly persons. In this book, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar argues that many prominent interpretations of Christian love either obscure dependency and care, or fail to adequately address injustice in the global social organization of care. Sullivan-Dunbar engages a wide-ranging interdisciplinary conversation between Christian ethics and economics, political theory, and care scholarship, drawing on the rich body of recent feminist work reintegrating dependency and care into the economic, political, and moral spheres. She identifies essential elements of a Christian ethic of love and justice for dependent care relations in a globalized care economy. She also suggests resources for such an ethic ranging from Catholic social thought, feminist political ethics of care, disability and vulnerability studies, and Christian theological accounts of the divine-human relation.
Testosterone is protective against impaired glucose metabolism in male intrauterine growth-restricted offspring

Placental insufficiency alters the intrauterine environment leading to increased risk for chronic disease including impaired glucose metabolism in low birth weight infants. Using a rat model of low birth weight, we previously reported that placental insufficiency induces a significant increase in circulating testosterone in male intrauterine growth-restricted offspring (mIUGR) in early adulthood that is lost by 12 months of age. Numerous studies indicate testosterone has a positive effect on glucose metabolism in men. Female growth-restricted littermates exhibit glucose intolerance at 6 months of age. Thus, the aim of this paper was to determine whether mIUGR develop impaired glucose metabolism, and whether a decrease in elevated testosterone levels plays a role in its onset. Male growth-restricted offspring were studied at 6 and 12 months of age. No impairment in glucose tolerance was observed at 6 months of age when mIUGR exhibited a 2-fold higher testosterone level compared to age-matched control. Fasting blood glucose was significantly higher and glucose tolerance was impaired with a significant decrease in circulating testosterone in mIUGR at 12 compared with 6 months of age. Castration did not additionally impair fasting blood glucose or glucose tolerance in mIUGR at 12 months of age, but fasting blood glucose was significantly elevated in castrated controls. Restoration of elevated testosterone levels significantly reduced fasting blood glucose and improved glucose tolerance in mIUGR. Thus, our findings suggest that the endogenous increase in circulating testosterone in mIUGR is protective against impaired glucose homeostasis.
Sensitization of multidrug-resistant colon cancer cells to doxorubicin encapsulated in liposomes.

The effectiveness of liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin in overcoming multidrug resistance was studied in various human colon cancer cells. Colon-cancer cell lines SW403, HT29, SW620, and SW620/R overexpressed P-glycoprotein as determined by immunoflow cytometry, thereby confirming the presence of the multidrug-resistant phenotype. Important differences were observed in the cytotoxicity of free doxorubicin as represented by IC50 values of 0.168, 0.058, 0.023, and 9.83 μm for SW403, HT29, SW620, and SW620/R, respectively. Liposomally encapsulated doxorubicin provided an IC50 that was 1.4 times lower than that of the free drug in the doxorubicin-resistant SW 620/R cell line, whereas no difference was evident in the sensitive parental SW620 cells. In addition, liposomeencapsulated doxorubicin exhibited 1.31- and 2.33-fold cytotoxicity to HT-29 and SW403 cells, respectively. The ittracellular drug accumulation in SW620/R cells was enhanced by liposomally encapsulated doxorubicin, whereas it was reduced in all other cell lines as compared with that of free drug. The colon-cancer cell lines demonstrated different degrees of doxorubicin-induced DNA strand breakage that correlated with their sensitivities to drug-induced cytotoxicity. However, no difference was observed between DNA breakage caused by the free drug and that induced by liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin in any of the cell lines. The results suggest that the enhanced cytotoxicity of liposomal doxorubicin to colon cancer cells was due to some secondary non-DNA target. However, liposomally encapsulated doxorubicin appears to be effective in diminishing the multidrug-resistant phenotype and may have clinical applications.
Sengstaken-Blakemore tube placement. Use of balloon tamponade to control bleeding varices.

This article concerns itself with the use of balloon tamponade to control bleeding varices. After a brief review of portal hypertension and currently available treatment options, the article concentrates on the technique of insertion of a gastroesophageal balloon for tamponade purposes. The efficacy of balloon tamponade and complications involved in its use are also discussed.
Bone Marrow Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia: Conditioning with Cyclophosphamide plus Low-Dose Total-Body Irradiation

The UCLA Bone Marrow Transplantation Team Bone marrow transplantation is now recognized as an effective form of therapy in selected cases of severe aplastic anemia. Recent reports suggest that nearly one-half of patients with severe aplastic anemia who receive a marrow transplant from a histocompatible sibling will become long-term survivors with restored hemopoietic function (1,2,18,19,27).
Signal-to-Noise Ratios in Mass Spectroscopic Ion-Current-Measurement Systems

When an analytical result is based upon a mass spectroscopic measurement, the uncertainty which must be assigned to the result is directly related to the standard deviation of the ion-current measurement. For such an electrical measurement, the standard deviation characterizing the scatter in the observations is correctly termed the noise, while the ion-current level is the signal.
Polyploidy: Mechanisms and Cancer Promotion in Hematopoietic and Other Cells

Polyploidy, the state of having greater than a diploid content of DNA (e.g., tetraploid, octaploid, etc) has been recognized in a large variety of both, plant and animal cells. Human and murine megakaryocytes, hepatocytes, arterial smooth muscle cells and cardiac myocytes, all develop a certain degree of polyploidy during their normal lifespan. In addition, polyploid cells may be found in some tissues under conditions of stress, including uterine smooth muscle during pregnancy, aortic vascular smooth muscle cells during aging and hypertension, beta-cells in diabetic human or mouse thyroid cells in hyperthyroidism and cells in seminal vesicles with aging. Polyploid cells are also found in malignant tissues in which they are believed to contribute to the development of cells with intermediate DNA content values (e.g., 3n, 4.5n, etc.) (reviewed in refs. 1,2). With the use of micro-array, researchers have demonstrated that genetically identical yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) with differences only in ploidy status (from haploid to tetraploid) display a substantial difference in gene expression, including of the G1 cyclins.3 This finding has suggested that DNA content per se might affect cellular functions.
Hyperpolarized C-13 pyuvate metabolic MR imaging of solid tumor liver metastases as a biomarker of PI3K/mTOR pathway activity.

e24168Background: The PI3K/mTOR pathway is a relevant therapeutic target yet real-time monitoring of pathway inhibition is challenging. Metabolic MR imaging using hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate provid...
Introduction to contrast-enhanced ultrasound of the brain in neonates and infants: current understanding and future potential

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a valuable bedside imaging technique that enables both qualitative and quantitative assessment of cerebral perfusion. In neonates and infants whose fontanelles remain open, the technique is particularly useful as it delineates cerebral pathology with high soft-tissue contrast. The technique has the potential to be a valuable alternative to computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in critically ill neonates and infants in need of bedside imaging. While further studies are needed to validate the technique, preliminary data in this regard appear promising. This review introduces the current understanding and future potential of brain CEUS.
Second Language Research Forum Colloquia 2009: Colloquium Language Learning Abroad: Insights from the Missionary Experience

Presented at the Second Language Research Forum, Michigan State University, USA; 30 October 2009Recent years have brought increasing attention to studies of language acquisition in a country where the language is spoken, as opposed to formal language study in classrooms. Research on language learners in immersion contexts is important, as the question of whether study abroad is valuable is still somewhat controversial among researchers (DeKeyser 2007; Sunderman & Kroll 2009). In the introduction to a pioneering volume on language study abroad, Freed (1995, pp. 17–18) noted that a vital question concerns the relative linguistic benefits of a summer, a semester or a year in the foreign environment. Our purpose in this colloquium, which was organized by Lynne Hansen, was to introduce a new line of research which allows comparisons of L2 attainment over these exposure times as well as longer periods. Tens of thousands of young missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS or Mormon Church), advanced speakers of some fifty languages, return home annually after two years of language learning abroad. This natural sample of learners, in its relative uniformity of learner characteristics and learning contexts, allows for the control of variables in SLA research which can be problematic in studies of more heterogeneous groups.
Determination of Personalized Asthma Triggers From Multimodal Sensing and a Mobile App: Observational Study

Background: Asthma is a chronic pulmonary disease with multiple triggers. It can be managed by strict adherence to an asthma care plan and by avoiding these triggers. Clinicians cannot continuously monitor their patients’ environment and their adherence to an asthma care plan, which poses a significant challenge for asthma management. Objective: In this study, pediatric patients were continuously monitored using low-cost sensors to collect asthma-relevant information. The objective of this study was to assess whether kHealth kit, which contains low-cost sensors, can identify personalized triggers and provide actionable insights to clinicians for the development of a tailored asthma care plan. Methods: The kHealth asthma kit was developed to continuously track the symptoms of asthma in pediatric patients and monitor the patients’ environment and adherence to their care plan for either 1 or 3 months. The kit consists of an Android app–based questionnaire to collect information on asthma symptoms and medication intake, Fitbit to track sleep and activity, the Peak Flow meter to monitor lung functions, and Foobot to monitor indoor air quality. The data on the patient’s outdoor environment were collected using third-party Web services based on the patient’s zip code. To date, 107 patients consented to participate in the study and were recruited from the Dayton Children’s Hospital, of which 83 patients completed the study as instructed. Results: Patient-generated health data from the 83 patients who completed the study were included in the cohort-level analysis. Of the 19% (16/83) of patients deployed in spring, the symptoms of 63% (10/16) and 19% (3/16) of patients suggested pollen and particulate matter (PM2.5), respectively, to be their major asthma triggers. Of the 17% (14/83) of patients deployed in fall, symptoms of 29% (4/17) and 21% (3/17) of patients suggested pollen and PM2.5, respectively, to be their major triggers. Among the 28% (23/83) of patients deployed in winter, PM2.5 was identified as the major trigger for 83% (19/23) of patients. Similar correlations were not observed between asthma symptoms and factors such as ozone level, temperature, and humidity. Furthermore, 1 patient from each season was chosen to explain, in detail, his or her personalized triggers by observing temporal associations between triggers and asthma symptoms gathered using the kHealth asthma kit. Conclusions: The continuous monitoring of pediatric asthma patients using the kHealth asthma kit generates insights on the relationship between their asthma symptoms and triggers across different seasons. This can ultimately inform personalized asthma management and intervention plans.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Meningitis

Meningitis is an inflammatory process of the membranes and fluids that surround the brain and spinal cord, including the arachnoid, pia mater and surrounding cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). From its recognition in the early 1800s to the beginning of the twentieth century, bacterial meningitis was nearly 100% fatal [1]. Although antibiotics have made the disease curable [2, 3], morbidity and mortality remain high throughout the world, even with appropriate treatment [1, 4]. Meningitis can occur in healthy individuals and can strike at any age. However, patients at the extremes of age (young children and the elderly) and those who are immunosuppressed are at increased risk [5]. Infants who survive Gram-negative bacterial meningitis have a high rate of developmental and neurological sequelae [6]. The overall case fatality rate of bacterial meningitis in adult patients is 13–27% [4, 7–14].
Wideband Bi-static Offset-Fed Reflector Simultaneous Transmit And Receive Antenna System

A wideband offset-fed circularly polarized (CP) reflector based bi-static STAR antenna system is proposed. The system operates from 18 to 45 GHz (mmWave) with high isolation between transmitting (TX) and receiving (RX) antennas. The high isolation is achieved by orienting the feeds away from each other and operating in CP. The CP operation increases F/B of the feeds and facilitates additional cancelation of the coupled signals. The designed TX and RX have directivity > 20dBic, |S 11 | < −15 dB, and average isolation of 65 dB over the operating frequency band. The proposed configuration compactness allows enclosing both the TX and RX reflectors in a common enclosure and a radome.
Sources of errors in hematology testing

Abstract In this chapter, errors in hematology testing that are known to significantly affect test results have been addressed. The sources of these errors can be found in both pre-analytical and analytical phases of testing. Knowing the sources of errors is essential for trouble-shooting unexpected laboratory results that are not correlated with clinical information. There are also pre-analytical artifacts present in patient samples that cause rejection of samples by the laboratory. Similarly, interferences in analytical testing may produce unexpected results in hematology testing. Knowing these artifacts and interferences should help clinicians to work with laboratory personnel to prevent future incidences or to pursue alternative methods of testing.
Outcomes for pediatric patients with osteosarcoma treated with palliative radiotherapy

Background Few studies have addressed the efficacy of palliative radiotherapy (RT) for pediatric osteosarcoma (OS), a disease generally considered to be radioresistant. We describe symptom relief, local control, and toxicity associated with palliative RT among children with OS. Procedure Patients diagnosed with OS at age 18 and under and treated with RT for palliation of symptomatic metastases or local recurrence at the primary site from 1997 to 2017 were included. We retrospectively reviewed details of RT, symptom improvement, local control, survival, and toxicity. Results Thirty-two courses of palliative RT were given to 20 patients with symptomatic metastatic and/or locally recurrent primary disease. The median equivalent dose in 2 Gy fractions (EQD2) was 40.0 Gy (range, 20.0-60.4). The median number of fractions per course was 15 (range, 5-39). Symptom improvement occurred in 24 (75%) courses of RT at a median time of 15.5 days (range, 3-43). In nine courses (37.5%), symptoms recurred after a median duration of symptom relief of 140 days (range, 1-882). Higher EQD2 correlated with longer duration of response (r = 0.39, P = 0.0003). Imaging revealed local failure in 3 of 14 courses followed with surveillance imaging studies (21.4%). The median time to progression was 12.9 months (range, 4.4-21.8). The median follow-up time following the first course of palliative RT was 17.5 months (range, 1.74-102.24), and median time to overall survival was 19.4 months. Toxicity was mild, with grade 2 toxicity occurring in one course (3.1%). Conclusions RT is an effective method of symptom palliation for patients with recurrent or metastatic OS, with higher delivered dose correlating with longer symptom relief and with little associated toxicity.
Toward a 21st-Century International Tax Regime

The OECD has been struggling to respond to countries that wish to tax large US technology companies on the basis of where their consumers live. The current OECD work program on digitalization is unlikely to produce a stable consensus or prevent countries from following the lead of France, India, Italy and the United Kingdom toward digital services taxes. The United States response should not be to target French, Indian, Italian or British companies for retaliation. Instead, the United States should consider adopting a sales-based formulary apportionment (SFA) solution that would apply to all large enterprises. Such a move is more likely to lead to a stable outcome than the OECD proposals. SFA also has important advantages relative to other proposals such as Residual Profit Allocation by Income (RPA-I) or the Destination Basis Cash Flow Tax (DBCFT).
Identification of regulators of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor response through complementary CRISPR knockout and activation screens

Abstract Inhibitors of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase 1 (PARPi) are highly effective in killing cells deficient in the homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway, such as those lacking BRCA2. In light of this, PARPi have been utilized in recent years to treat BRCA2-mutant tumors, with many patients deriving impressive clinical benefit. However, positive response to PARPi is not universal, even among patients with HR-deficient tumors. Here, we present the results of three genome-wide CRISPR knockout and activation screens which provide an unbiased look at genetic determinants of PARPi response in wildtype or BRCA2-knockout cells. Strikingly, we reveal that depletion of the histone acetyltransferase TIP60, a top hit from our screens, robustly reverses the PARPi sensitivity caused by BRCA2 deficiency. Mechanistically, we show that TIP60 depletion rewires double strand break repair in BRCA2-deficient cells by promoting 53BP1 binding to double strand breaks to suppress end resection. Our work provides a comprehensive set of putative biomarkers that serve to better understand and predict PARPi response, and identifies a novel pathway of PARPi resistance in BRCA2-deficient cells.
A Preliminary 18F-FDG-PET/MRI Study Shows Increased Vascular Inflammation in Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract Background Recent data suggest that atopic dermatitis/AD patients have increased systemic immune activation and cardiovascular risk. However, unlike psoriasis, evaluation of active vascular inflammation using state-of-the-art imaging is lacking in AD. Objective To assess aortic and carotid vascular inflammation using 18F-FDG-PET/MRI imaging in moderate-to-severe AD vs. healthy individuals. Methods 27 moderate-to-severe AD patients and 12 healthy controls were imaged using 18F-FDG-PET/MRI. Target-to-background ratio/TBR values were calculated in multiple segments of the aorta and carotid vessels. Results AD patients had elevated aortic max TBR (fold change/FCH=1.45, P=0.057) vs. healthy controls and significantly elevated mean TBR (FCH=1.20; P Conclusions This preliminary study is the first that establishes greater vascular (aorta and carotid) inflammation in moderate-to-severe AD vs. healthy controls. Furthermore, very severe AD showed higher inflammation than both moderate/severe patients and healthy controls. Future studies with larger patient cohorts and evaluation before and after treatment are needed to determine the extent to which vascular inflammation in AD is modifiable.
Reproducibility of the Rocabado pain map.

This study aimed to demonstrate the reproducibility of the Rocabado pain map (RPM) through its application by different evaluators. Forty participants (18–45 years old) were evaluated. The examiner...
Informative use of “not” is N400-blind

While sentence processing is generally a highly incremental and predictive process, negation seems to present an exception to this generalization. Two-step models of negation processing claim that predicate negation is computed only after the meaning of the core proposition has been computed. Several ERP studies eliciting the N400 (an index of semantic integration or lexical expectation) have found a "negation-blind" pattern of N400 results, suggesting that the negation has not been integrated into the overall sentence meaning by the time the critical word for the N400 is encountered. Recent research, however, showed that the N400 was sensitive to the negation-modulated truth value of the sentence when negation was pragmatically licensed. We investigate the possibility that negation-blind N400 is due to under-informativeness of stimuli in past experiments. We found that ERPs to simple class-exclusion statements ("A hammer is not a bird") still exhibit negation blindness, even when negation is presented in a more meaningful context. The current findings provide new support for late/non-incremental interpretation of negation even when negation is pragmatically licensed.
Using phase boundary mapping to resolve discrepancies in the Mg2Si–Mg2Sn miscibility gap

Mg2Si–Mg2Sn compositions within the Mg–Si–Sn materials system have potential as inexpensive, efficient thermoelectrics. These compositions lie specifically along the pseudobinary line with compositions of Mg2Si1−xSnx. The alloying and possible nanostructuring within the miscibility gap could further increase the thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) for these materials. However, the solubility limits of the miscibility gap differ greatly in the literature. Such a discrepancy could be a result of differing Mg-compositions due to excess magnesium added during sample annealing. To define these limits better and explain the change in proposed solubility limits based on magnesium content, the three-phase regions on either side of the pseudobinary phase region are phase boundary mapped and defect energy calculations are performed. This study presents a new understanding of the Mg–Si–Sn ternary phase diagram around the pseudobinary phase region. The solubility limits on either side of the pseudobinary should be essentially identical between the Mg-rich and Mg-poor three-phase regions unless the system temperature is brought above about 565 °C, at which eutectic liquid Mg0.9Sn0.1 forms. This creates a second Mg-rich three-phase region which intersects the pseudobinary with a lower Sn solubility. Thus, samples prepared along the pseudobinary line are not well-defined thermodynamically when excess magnesium is added. Excess Mg can push the system into a new three phase region with Mg2Si1−xSnx composition different from that of the true miscibility gap. This understanding presents new guidelines for evaluating the miscibility gap and assists strategies for microstructure engineering and thermoelectric material processing.
Optimal field-effect transistor operation for high-resolution biochemical measurements

Field-effect transistors (FETs) are powerful tools for sensitive measurements of numerous biomarkers (e.g., proteins, nucleic acids, and antigen) and gaseous species. Most research studies in this field focused on building discrete devices with high performance. We show that instrumentation that is commonly used in multiple areas of physics and engineering can greatly improve the performance of measurement systems that embed FET-based transducers for biological applications. We review the state-of-the-art instrumentation in the field as applied to sensing with FETs. We show how high-performance dual-gate 2D FETs that we recently developed, when operated using closed-loop proportional–integral–derivative control, can drastically improve both the sensitivity and resolution. We further show that this closed-loop control approach can be extended to commonly used single-gate silicon FETs. The generalizability of the results will allow their application to virtually any previously developed FET-based sensor. Finally, we provide insight into further optimization and performance benefits that can be extracted by using the closed-loop feedback approach for applications in biosensing.
Integrating the fire department response within a fire following earthquake framework for application in urban areas

Abstract This paper improves the existing frameworks on simulating fire following earthquake (FFE) by explicitly modeling the suppression process and the fire department response. The paper focuses on the impacts of FFE on urban areas and quantifies induced economic losses based on resources and efficiency of the fire department during post-earthquake fires. Layers of infrastructure systems, including transportation, water, and electric networks, and the building inventory are modeled and the earthquake damage to the community is characterized. The behavior of fire spread inside and between buildings is simulated based on major fire spread mechanisms. In parallel, the suppression activities are explicitly modeled and a decision-making algorithm for fire engine assignments to locations of ignition is implemented. The proposed methodology is applied to a case study. The performance of fire department response is characterized using the probability of exceedance of unsuccessful suppression scenarios, presented in the form of fragility functions. The expected direct economic losses are also presented as a function of earthquake intensity. The proposed framework can be used for planning and response applications, and to identify the tipping point of a community, above which the rate of fire spread exceeds that of suppression and the fires burn out of control.
Botulinum Toxin Injection of the Inferior Oblique Muscles for V-Pattern Strabismus and Primary Position Hypertropia.

PURPOSE To evaluate outcomes of botulinum toxin (BTX) injection of the inferior oblique (IO) muscle. DESIGN Retrospective case series. METHODS Setting: Single center, ophthalmology department at Boston Children's Hospital. STUDY POPULATION All patients treated with IO muscle injection of BTX (onabotulinumtoxinA) between 2010 and 2020. OBSERVATION PROCEDURE Sensorimotor evaluations at short-term (<2 months), medium-term (2-4 months), and long-term (≥4 months) intervals. OUTCOME MEASURE Primary outcomes included median improvement in V-pattern strabismus and primary position hypertropia. Secondary outcomes included IO muscle overaction. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to identify differences before and after injection. RESULTS Record review identified 20 patients with a median age of 4.5 (range, 1-69) years. Median BTX dose injected (31 IO muscles) was 5.0 (range, 3.0-7.0) units. Indications included V-pattern strabismus (N = 8), hypertropia (N = 7), or both (N = 5). Median long-term interval was 6.4 (range, 4.1-26.6) months. Injections were concurrent with treatment of horizontal strabismus in all but 3 cases. Median V-pattern magnitude changed from 10 prism diopters (PD) preoperatively to 0 PD short-term (P = .006) and 3.5 PD long-term (P = .34). Median hypertropia changed from 8.5 PD preoperatively to 1.5 PD short-term (P = .01) and 8 PD long-term (P = .87). Median IO muscle overaction grade improved significantly at short-term (P < .001) and long-term (P = .007) intervals. There were no complications associated with the IO muscle injections. CONCLUSIONS BTX injection of the IO muscles can be a useful adjunct to the management of V-pattern strabismus. Intervention for primary position hypertropia may be helpful for short-term relief with no expectation of long-term benefit.
Perceiving “Natural” Environments: An Ecological Perspective with Reflections on the Chapters

The way that psychologists conceptualize the nature of visual perception directly influences the way they conceptualize the environment from a psychological standpoint. For that reason, commentary on the contributions to this symposium volume addressing the relationship between the natural environment and psychological functioning is organized with regard to the implicit approach to visual perception each chapter adopts. Such theoretical commitments shape how we think about the environment from a psychological perspective, the kind of research questions we ask, the particular methodologies that are employed and, in some cases, the practical applications that stem from them. This examination of the volume’s chapters is preceded by a discussion of the complexities attending a definition of the natural environment, and a proposal that psychologists might base that definition on those environmental properties that perceivers attend to when designating an environment as natural. Having specified those perceivable properties, we can proceed to inquire on what basis perceivers express greater preference for natural environments. In the course of these reflections, other pertinent issues are discussed, including environmental preference in relation to evolutionary theory; affordances and environmental preference; and psychological restoration as a process of re-establishing functional stability. Particular attention is paid to the place of perception-action in relation to the environment.
Influence Spread Control in Complex Networks via Removal of Feed Forward Loops

Selective removal of certain subgraphs called motifs based on the spread function value is one of the most powerful approaches to curb the overall influence spread in any complex network. In this paper, we first prove that any general spread function preserves both monotonicity and submodularity properties even under motif removal operations. Next, we propose a scoring mechanism as a novel spread function that quantifies the relative importance of a given motif within the overall influence spread dynamics on the complex network. We design a novel algorithm that eliminates motifs with high spread scores to curb influence spread. We evaluate the performance of our proposed spread control algorithm using simulation experiments in the context of 3-node motifs called feed forward loops (FFLs) in both real and synthetic network topologies. We demonstrate that high-scoring motifs intercept a high number of short paths from the pre-assigned source and sinks, because of which their elimination results in a significant effect on curbing the influence spread. Furthermore, we empirically evaluate the run-time and cost versus performance trade-off of the proposed algorithm.
Intra-articular administration of vancomycin and tobramycin during primary cementless total knee arthroplasty : determination of intra-articular and serum elution profiles.

AIMS Intra-articular administration of antibiotics during primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may represent a safe, cost-effective strategy to reduce the risk of acute periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Vancomycin with an aminoglycoside provides antimicrobial cover for most organisms isolated from acute PJI after TKA. However, the intra-articular doses required to achieve sustained therapeutic intra-articular levels while remaining below toxic serum levels is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine the intra-articular and serum levels of vancomycin and tobramycin over the first 24 hours postoperatively after intra-articular administration in primary cementless TKA. METHODS A prospective cohort study was performed. Patients were excluded if they had poor renal function, known allergic reaction to vancomycin or tobramycin, received intravenous vancomycin, or were scheduled for same-day discharge. All patients received 600 mg tobramycin and 1 g of vancomycin powder suspended in 25 cc of normal saline and injected into the joint after closure of the arthrotomy. Serum from peripheral venous blood and drain fluid samples were collected at one, four, and 24 hours postoperatively. All concentrations are reported in µg per ml. RESULTS A total of 22 patients were included in final analysis. At one, four, and 24 hours postoperatively, mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) serum concentrations were 2.4 (0.7 to 4.1), 5.0 (3.1 to 6.9), and 4.8 (2.8 to 6.9) for vancomycin and 4.9 (3.4 to 6.3), 7.0 (5.8 to 8.2), and 1.3 (0.8 to 1.8) for tobramycin; intra-articular concentrations were 1,900.6 (1,492.5 to 2,308.8), 717.9 (485.5 to 950.3), and 162.2 (20.5 to 304.0) for vancomycin and 2,105.3 (1,389.9 to 2,820.6), 403.2 (266.6 to 539.7), and 98.8 (0 to 206.5) for tobramycin. CONCLUSION Intra-articular administration of 1 g of vancomycin and 600 mg of tobramycin as a solution after closure of the arthrotomy in primary cementless TKA achieves therapeutic intra-articular concentrations over the first 24 hours postoperatively and does not reach sustained toxic levels in peripheral blood. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(11):1702-1708.
TU-G-BRB-01: Topic Introduction: Do We Need Clinical Trials in Particle Therapy and How Can Medical Physics Support Them?

Proton therapy, in particular, and ion therapy, just beginning, are becoming an increasing focus of attention in clinical radiation oncology and medical physics. Both modalities have been criticized of lacking convincing evidence from randomized trials proving their efficacy, justifying the higher costs involved in these therapies. This session will provide an overview of the current status of clinical trials in proton therapy, including recent developments in ion therapy. As alluded to in the introductory talk by Dr. Schulte, opinions are diverging widely as to the usefulness and need for clinical trials in particle therapy and the challenge of equipoise. The lectures will highlight some of the challenges that surround clinical trials in particle therapy. One, presented by Dr. Choy from UT Southwestern, is that new technology and even different types of particles such as helium and carbon ions are introduced into this environment, increasing the phase space of clinical variables. The other is the issue of medical physics quality assurance with physical phantoms, presented by Mrs. Taylor from IROC Houston, which is more challenging because 3D and 4D image guidance and active delivery techniques are in relatively early stages of development. The role of digital phantoms in developing clinical treatment planning protocols and as a QA tool will also be highlighted by Dr. Lee from NCI. The symposium will be rounded off by a panel discussion among the Symposium speakers, arguing pro or con the need and readiness for clinical trials in proton and ion therapy. Learning Objectives: 1. To get an update on the current status of clinical trials allowing or mandating proton therapy. 2. Learn about the status of planned clinical trials in the U.S. and worldwide involving ion therapy. 3. Discuss the challenges in the design and QA of clinical trials in particle therapy. 4. Learn about existing and future physical and computational anthropomorphic phantoms for charged particle clinical trial development and support. Research reported in this presentation is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National; Institutes of Health under Award Number P20CA183640.
Molecular pharmacology of manoalide. Inactivation of bee venom phospholipase A2.

Abstract The marine natural product manoalide (MLD) was shown to directly inactivate bee venom phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ). Inactivation was pH dependent (maximum inactivation occurred at pH 8.0), time dependent and concentration dependent. The IC 50 was estimated at 0.05 μM and virtually complete inactivation of the enzyme occurred at 4.0 μM. The time-dependent loss of PLA 2 activity suggested that inactivation does not follow typical Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Reversibility was studied directly by dilution and dialysis; both methods were ineffective in dissociating the MLD-PLA 2 complex. A kinetic plot of initial velocity ( v ) versus [PLA 2 ] supported our hypothesis that MLD apparently inactivates bee venom PLA 2 by an irreversible mechanism.
WISE: A Web-Based Intelligent Sensor Explorer Framework for Publishing, Browsing, and Analyzing Sensor Data over the Internet

In this paper, we present WISE, an Internet-scale framework for publishing, browsing, and analyzing real-time sensor data. This environment enables providers to advertise their sensors on the Internet, and unsolicited users to locate desired sensors through a scalable peer-to-peer search facility. A specialized browser allows a user to remotely control the incoming data streams which activate corresponding plug-ins, such as a visualization module, to present the data in an intelligible way. Therefore, WISE also facilitates sharing of sensor data analysis tools in the form of software plug-ins.
The effect of parental leave on female employment: evidence from state policies

This paper analyzes the effect of federal and state maternity leave policies on female employment. We analyze if the enactment of the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) differentially affected states that previously implemented maternity leave laws than those states which did not. Additionally, we study whether FMLA caused an increase in the female employment and labor force participation in those states that expanded its benefits and relaxed the eligibility criteria. Finally, we analyze the Paid Family Leave program in California, comparing how the change in female employment and labor force participation differs from those states which have FMLA alone and those which have complemented the benefits of FMLA. Using March CPS data available from the Integrated Public Use Micro data Series (IPUMS), our results suggest, first, a positive and significant effect of FMLA on female employment and, second, a positive and significant effect on the change in female employment for some of the states that expanded the benefits and eligibility criteria of FMLA.
Handicapping Currency Design: Counterfeit Deterrence and Visual Accessibility in the United States and Abroad

Despite the increasing use of electronic payments, currency retains an important role in the payments system of every country. Two aspects of currency usage drive currency design worldwide: deterring counterfeiting and making paper currency accessible to the visually impaired. Further, among the world's currencies, only U.S. banknotes are widely owned and used in transactions outside their country of issue (although the euro also has some external circulation). In this article, we compare and contrast major currencies and their design features. We conclude that the designs of the two most widely used currencies in the world - the U.S. dollar and the euro - have successfully deterred counterfeiting; data on other currencies are not public. We also conclude that, among the world's major currencies, U.S. banknotes have the fewest features to assist the visually impaired.
Randomization inference for treatment effects on a binary outcome

Two methods are developed for constructing randomization based confidence sets for the average effect of a treatment on a binary outcome. The methods are nonparametric and require no assumptions about random sampling from a larger population. Both of the resulting 1 − α confidence sets are exact in the sense that the probability of containing the true treatment effect is at least 1 − α. Both types of confidence sets are also guaranteed to have width no greater than one. In contrast, a previously proposed asymptotic confidence interval is not exact and may have width greater than one. The first approach combines Bonferroni adjusted prediction sets for the attributable effects in the treated and untreated. The second method entails inverting a permutation test. Simulations are presented comparing the two randomization based confidence sets with the asymptotic interval as well as the standard Wald confidence interval and a commonly used exact interval for the difference in binomial proportions. Results show for small to moderate sample sizes that the permutation confidence set attains the narrowest width on average among the methods that maintain nominal coverage. Extensions that allow for stratifying on categorical baseline covariates are also discussed.
Pakistan’s Strategic Use of Lashkar-e-Taiba: It’s Not Just Kashmir

Pakistan has long raised and supported an array of Islamist militant groups to act on the state’s behalf in India and Afghanistan. Scholars generally argue that Pakistan has done so due to its long-standing security competition with India over the disputed territorial disposition of Kashmir. Pakistan, which lacks military, political or diplomatic means to wrest Kashmir from India, has relied upon these Islamist militant groups in hopes of coercing India to make some territorial concession in Pakistan’s favor. By extension, Pakistan’s pre-occupations in Afghanistan stem principally from its concerns about India. Pakistan has sought to use Islamist militants there to deny India access to Afghanistan from which it could support insurgencies in Pakistan. This understanding of Pakistan’s principle reasons for supporting these militants leads to a policy prescription that focuses upon resolving the Indo-Pakistan security competition as a necessary if insufficient condition that would permit Pakistan to abandon its reliance upon Islamist militant groups throughout South Asia. However, in this article, I argue that this understanding is incomplete because it disregards the domestic politics of these groups. Focusing upon Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in particular, I marshal a new body of evidence to demonstrate that LeT also services Pakistan’s domestic security goals. This suggests that even if Pakistan and India could normalize relations, Pakistan would not likely turn against LeT.
Origin of the Worzel Deep-Sea Ash

IN a recent paper1, Worzel announced the discovery of an extensive ash deposit at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Ewing, Heezen and Ericson2 have suggested in a companion paper that the deposit may well be of world-wide extent. If this should prove to be the case, the origin of the Worzel ash layer becomes a matter of extraordinary interest. The mass of a world-wide layer would be of the order of 1 × 1020 gm., which exceeds by a factor of ∼ 300 the yield of the largest volcanic eruption recorded during historic times (Tambora, 1815). Moreover, the areal distribution of volcanic ash is usually quite limited2. Worzel and Ewing et al. have therefore proposed the following events as possible sources of the ash: a single very large volcanic explosion, the simultaneous explosion of many volcanoes, a cometary collision, or some other catastrophic event involving bodies of cosmic origin.
Strain distribution and crack detection in thin unbonded concrete pavement overlays with fully distributed fiber optic sensors

This study aims at evaluating the feasibility of strain measurement and crack detection in thin unbonded concrete pavement overlays with pulse prepump Brillouin optical time domain analysis. Single-mode optical fibers with two-layer and three-layer coatings, respectively, were applied as fully distributed sensors, their performances were compared with analytical predictions. They were successfully protected from damage during concrete casting of three full-scale concrete panels when 5 to 10-cm-thick protective mortar covers had been set for 2 h. Experimental results from three-point loading tests of the panels indicated that the strain distributions measured from the two types of sensors were in good agreement, and cracks can be detected at sharp peaks of the measured strain distributions. The two-layer and three-layer coated fibers can be used to measure strains up to 2.33% and 2.42% with a corresponding sensitivity of 5.43×10−5 and 4.66×10−5 GHz/μϵ, respectively. Two cracks as close as 7 to 9 cm can be clearly detected. The measured strains in optical fiber were lower than the analytical prediction by 10% to 25%. Their difference likely resulted from strain transfer through various coatings, idealized point loading, varying optical fiber embedment, and concrete heterogeneity.