cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ORIGINAL RESEARCH—SURGERY: Concomitant Ventral Phalloplasty During Penile Implant Surgery: A Novel Procedure That Optimizes Patient Satisfaction and Their Perception of Phallic Length After Penile Implant Surgery

ABSTRACT Introduction Despite previous reports showing consistently elevated patient satisfaction with penile implantation, it is our impression that patients who have had a prosthesis placed often complain of penile shortening postoperatively. Aim We sought to evaluate if the release of the penoscrotal web would optimize patient perception and satisfaction regarding penile length after such procedure. Main Outcome Measure Utilizing a questionnaire, we evaluated patient satisfaction, focusing on phallic size. Methods Ninety patients (mean age 62) underwent penile prosthesis placement during a 17-month period. Forty-three were carried out with takedown of penoscrotal web during a 17-month period (group 1). Of group 1, 39 patients had an inflatable implant placed (inflatable penile prosthesis) and 4 had a semirigid implant. The patients were directly inquired with a seven-item questionnaire 3 months after the procedure. These results were then compared to a group of 37 patients that had penile implants placed without release of the penoscrotal web (group 2). All the patients involved in the study had a high insertion of the scrotum ventrally (penoscrotal web). Results Of the patients, 42/43 (98%) (group 1) reported good overall satisfaction of the surgical procedure; 36/43 (84%) reported some degree of increase in penile length; 5/43 (12%) reported no significant change in their perception of penile length postoperatively. The remaining two patients reported a decreased penile length. The clinical records from group 2 demonstrated 31/37 (84%) of the patients complained of penile shortening, and only one patient reported an increase in penile length. Postoperative complications in group 1 consisted of wound hematoma (2/43) and focal superficial wound dehiscence (3/43). The operative time for group 1 patients was approximately 12 minutes (mean 11.7) longer. Conclusions Release of penoscrotal web is a simple, safe, and reproducible procedure that can enhance patient perception of penile length and further improve satisfaction. Miranda-Sousa A, Keating M, Moreira S, Baker M, and Carrion R. Concomitant ventral phalloplasty during penile implant surgery: A novel procedure that optimizes patient satisfaction and their perception of phallic length after penile implant surgery.
A NEW SPECIES OF CERCERIS FROM SOUTHERN UTAH (HYMENOPTERA: SPHECIDAE, PHILANTHINAE)

Abstract A new species, Cerceris escalante, is described from Kane and Garfield counties, Utah.
Abstract W MP46: Beyond the Brain: Stroke Induces Vascular Breakdown and Unique Profiles of Peripheral Inflammatory Response in the Eye and Spinal Cord

Ischemic stroke, a leading cause of death and long-term disability, has far-reaching effects across the CNS beyond the region of infarct. As extensions of the brain, neural networks of the eye and spinal cord are affected by cerebral ischemia through the transmission of inflammatory and degenerative changes. Although neuropathological effects of MCAO have been reported in both regions, the contribution of the peripheral inflammatory response to the evolution of injury in these CNS regions is unknown. We evaluated local glial responses, vascular integrity, leukocyte infiltration, and cytokine expression after stroke in the eye and spinal cord. Adult male C57Bl/6 WT or GFP+ bone marrow chimeric mice were subjected to 90-min MCAO or sham surgery (n=3-6). Imaging of the retinal vasculature was performed by ophthalmoscopy. At 8h, 24 and/or 36h, 72h and 7d post-stroke mice were perfused with PBS and sacrificed. Organs were harvested for immunohistochemistry, Evans blue extravasation, flow cytometry, and RT-qPCR. Early (8h) after MCAO, over four-fold increases in TNFα and IL-1β gene expression were observed in the ipsilateral eye relative to sham (4.64±1.21, 1±0.17; 11.03±7.75, 1±0.21). Microglial activation indicated by increased CD11b, CD45, and cell granularity at 36h was accompanied by an influx of peripheral leukocytes predominantly comprised of neutrophils (81%). In contrast to BBB breakdown which was highest at 24h, blood-retinal barrier breakdown peaked in the ipsilateral eye at 36h, shown by a twelve-fold increase in Evans blue concentration (sham, 24h, 36h: 0.16, 0.41, 1.95 ug/mg tissue wet weight). Similarly, major blood-spinal cord barrier breakdown occurred at 36h (0.32 vs 0.052 ug/mg). This was followed by a largely monocytic response with corresponding increases in TNFα, IL-1β, and IFNγ gene expression. Together, our data show robust unilateral peripheral inflammatory responses after stroke in CNS regions outside of the brain. In addition, blood-parenchymal barrier permeability peaks later in the eye and spinal cord than in the brain. Given the distinct time course and inflammatory components associated with each region, these findings may have wide implications for treatments attenuating CNS-wide inflammatory damage after stroke.
Probing Electric Field Effect on Covalent Interactions at a Molecule–Semiconductor Interface

Fundamental understanding of the energetic coupling properties of a molecule–semiconductor interface is of great importance. The changes in molecular conformations and vibrational modes can have significant impact on the interfacial charge transfer reactions. Here, we have probed the change in the interface properties of alizarin–TiO2 system as a result of the externally applied electric field using single-hot spot microscopic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SMSERS) and provided a theoretical understanding of our experimental results by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The perturbation, caused by the external potential, has been observed as a shift and splitting of the 648 cm–1 peak, typical indicator of the strong coupling between alizarin and TiO2, at SMSERS. On the basis of our experimental results and DFT calculations, we suggest that electric field has significant effects on vibrational coupling at the molecule–TiO2 interface. The presence of perturbed alizarin–TiO2 coupling under i...
Developing new sources of proxy climate data from historical structures in the Lake Michigan-Huron Basin

Abstract The need to understand lake level variability in the Great Lakes is underscored by record low stands in 2012 followed by a quick shift back to the historic averages by 2014 in the Michigan-Huron basins. These rapid changes have important implications for near-shore ecology, sedimentology, water management, tourism, and industrial commerce throughout the Great Lakes region. Attempts to reconstruct climatic controls of lake level variability from tree rings have either been based on spatially and temporally limited tree-ring data sets or tree-ring records from sites in the Pacific Northwest teleconnected to Great Lakes climate. The necessary local tree-ring chronologies to develop more robust reconstructions of climate and its relation to Great Lakes levels simply do not exist. A particularly evident gap in available data exists in Lower Michigan, where logging in the 1800s removed most old growth forests. Here we report the development of three new tree-ring chronologies derived from a pier near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River that was constructed ca. 1871. The new chronologies include multi-century Pinus resinosa (1673–1878), Quercus spp. (1628–1847), and Tsuga canadensis (1643–1864) tree-ring data that exhibit patterns of correlation among reference chronologies of the same species indicative of origins within the Great Lakes Region, and possibly Lower Michigan. Our results illustrate the excellent potential to develop a more complete network of sites with tree-ring data throughout the Michigan-Huron Basin by utilizing wood incorporated into historical structures.
Response of Tunnels to Incident SH-Waves

The two-dimensional scattering and diffraction of plane-state SH-waves by a circular tunnel in a homogeneous elastic half space has been analyzed. Using the series solution of the problem for a general angle of wave incidence, stresses and deformations near the tunnel have been studied. Their amplitudes have been demonstrated to be dependent upon the following parameters: the angle of incidence, ratio of the tunnel thickness to its diameter, ratio of the shear moduli of its wall to that of its surroundings, and the ratio of its depth to its diameter. The incidence angle determines the overall trends of the amplitudes. Higher frequency incident waves lead to greater complexity of the computed amplitudes. Stiffer tunnel leads to higher stresses on the outer tunnel surface. Perturbations of surface displacement amplitudes, which result from wave interference between tunnel and stress-free half-space surface, diminish with increasing depth of tunnels.
Size of electromagnetic effects in psi '-->J/ psi + pi 0.

We reexamine the question of the relative size of electromagnetic and quark-mass-difference-induced contributions to the amplitude for ${\ensuremath{\psi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\frac{J}{\ensuremath{\psi}}+{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ and find that the ratio of the former to the latter is significantly smaller than estimated by Donoghue and Tuan, further strengthening their case for $\frac{\ensuremath{\Gamma}({\ensuremath{\psi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\frac{J}{\ensuremath{\psi}}+{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0})}{\ensuremath{\Gamma}({\ensuremath{\psi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\frac{J}{\ensuremath{\psi}}+\ensuremath{\eta})}$ as a reliable source for the determination of the mass ratio $\frac{{m}_{u}}{{m}_{d}}$.
Laboratory Tests with Entomogenous Bacteria and the Fungus Beauveria bassiana Against the Little House Fly Species Fannia canicularis and F. femoralis

Infectivity tests were conducted with several species of Bacillus and a fungus, Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin, against Fannia canicularis (L.) and F. femoralis (Stein). Results of qualitative tests with bacteria were variable, and relatively few of the isolates were capable of producing moderate (40–60%) levels of mortality against larvae of F. canicularis, which was the most susceptible of the host species. The most effective bacterium, causing 67% kill, was an unidentified variety of B. thuringiensis Berliner. The NRRL A-6511 strain of B. bassiana produced higher levels of mortality against larvae of both species of host than the comparative bacteria, and caused up to 87% kill of F. femoralis larvae after 3 successive passages through susceptible hosts.
Time Resolved Filtered Rayleigh Scattering for Temperature and Density Measurements

Early development of a spatio-temporally resolved filtered Rayleigh scattering (STRFRS) instrument to measure temperature and density in compressible flows is discussed. This technique relies on new detector technology and FPGA data acquisition which promises many point, high repetition rate measurements. Results from a small cold jet are presented using similar technology as the full STRFRS technique, showing the robust fundamentals of the technique. Expected ratios of filtered-to-unfiltered Rayleigh scattering agree with theoretical predictions within a few percent. Additionally, numerical results are presented for using two iodine cells to maximize temperature and density measurement sensitivity in transonic jet flows. Future plans are to couple this technique with time resolved velocity measurements in flows of interest to the aeroacoustics community to correlate density and temperature fluctuations with noise production.
Discussion on the Design of Airbag Calibration Technology of Light Passenger Car Airbag

Based on the design of light passenger car airbag,the paper demonstrates the basis,the requirement for vehicles, and the calibration focus and the ignition point for the airbag-calibration car impact test in car design to get the accurate calibration report and to guide the design and production.
Detection of Testicular Torsion by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Rat Model

AbstractTesticular torsion is one of the most common pediatric urological emergencies. Incorrect or delayed diagnosis contributes significantly to morbidity. We previously have shown that magnetic resonance displays scrotal contents with great detail using hydrogen concentration weighted and T2 weighted images.Sprague-Dawley rats underwent either unilateral 720-degree testicular torsion or a sham procedure. Magnetic resonance images were obtained at intervals with a 3 or 5-inch surface coil. Scans after surgical torsion showed a characteristic spiral distortion of the fascial planes of the spermatic cord, not seen in the sham animals, as well as a decrease in testicular size with prolonged torsion. (J. Urol, part 2, 140:1178-1180, 1988)
Review: Three-Dimensional Scanning

Three-Dimensional Scanning As Eyal Weizman points out in the introduction to his 2014 book Forensis , “The part or the detail becomes an entry point from which to reconstruct larger processes, events, and social relations, conjunctions of actors and practices, structures and technologies.”1 The detail also offers a point of entry for architectural historians to conceptualize a building through the distillation of a design concept into a small but intensely meaningful element. Historians can now capture fully scanned three-dimensional architectural details in all of their gritty materiality and insert them into larger digital models of buildings. The emerging multimedia technique of 3-D scanning offers a broad range of accessible applications for measuring and visualizing both indoor and outdoor environments with the unprecedented precision of full photorealistic imagery. The fields of architectural design, analysis, and historical research stand to be affected tremendously by this technology. As with most technological advances over the past thirty years, the exponential improvement of 3-D scanning's production qualities, processing speeds, and software interfaces has led to a dramatic increase in availability along with a relative decline in the price of scanners; scanning applications are now even available as cell phone software. Three-dimensional scanners assemble complex information about the relationships among objects at a single point in time. In law enforcement, for example, they allow for intensive analysis of crime scenes and bullet trajectories. They also form the basic technology that allows autonomous cars to monitor their surroundings at speed. These same cars offer the potential for constant updating of 3-D models of the inhabited world based on the continuous scans that the vehicles make while in motion. In 2015, …
Leveraging Synesthesia for Novel Idea Generation

A firms’ ability to constantly generate new products is strongly related to the capacity to achieve a competitive advantage, especially in times of uncertainty (Gronhaug and Kaufmann 1988; Han et al. 1998). Not surprisingly, a recent survey of more than 1,500 senior executives conducted by the Boston Consulting Group in 2013, indicated that executives rate the importance of innovation as higher than ever (Wagner et al. 2013). In this effort, idea generation is of critical importance as it is tightly related to innovation success (Soo et al. 2002). A relevant concept here is synesthesia, which permits associations among seemly-unrelated cognitive sensations (e.g. hearing colors) (Ramachandran and Hubbard 2005). Although generally considered “fixed”, recent evidence suggests that a type of pseudo-synesthesia may be acquired through training (Colizoli et al. 2012). This study draws from associative theory to explore the unexamined link between learned synesthesia and creativity.
Groundhog Day: Is the Field of Human Intelligence Caught in a Time Warp? A Comment on Kovacs and Conway

Kovacs and Conway (this issue) present a well thought through “unified account of the general factor of intelligence.” The account integrates cognitive, psychometric, and neuropsychological evidenc...
Optimal Taxes on Foreign Investment in an Overlapping Generation Model

This article uses an overlapping generations model to define the opportunity cost of capital to an economy when the capital stock is determined by individual optimizing behavior. The opportunity cost concepts developed are used to specify optimal tax or subsidy policies toward both foreign and domestic capital income. Policies are noted for situations both with and without optimal intergenerational transfer policies. Principal results are that, contrary to many previous findings, foreign and domestic source capital income should be taxed or subsidized at substantially different rates. However, if optimal intergenerational transfers are in use, both taxes (subsidies) should be zero.
Peptides, Peptidomimetics, and Polypeptides from Marine Sources: A Wealth of Natural Sources for Pharmaceutical Applications

Nature provides a variety of peptides that are expressed in most living species. Evolutionary pressure and natural selection have created and optimized these peptides to bind to receptors with high affinity. Hence, natural resources provide an abundant chemical space to be explored in peptide-based drug discovery. Marine peptides can be extracted by simple solvent extraction techniques. The advancement of analytical techniques has made it possible to obtain pure peptides from natural resources. Extracted peptides have been evaluated as possible therapeutic agents for a wide range of diseases, including antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic and anticancer activity as well as cardiovascular and neurotoxin activity. Although marine resources provide thousands of possible peptides, only a few peptides derived from marine sources have reached the pharmaceutical market. This review focuses on some of the peptides derived from marine sources in the past ten years and gives a brief review of those that are currently in clinical trials or on the market.
Intellectualizing Property: The Tenuous Connections Between Land and Copyright

Increased use of the intellectual property label to describe copyright and related areas of law has spawned analogies to the protections afforded real property. These analogies ignore significant differences between the foundations that undergird real and intellectual property rights. In particular, real property rights operate to avoid breaches of the peace and tragedies of the commons—problems that do not arise with intellectual works—while copyright and other intellectual property rights are designed to provide an incentive to create, an incentive irrelevant when land is at issue. These disparities in justification caution against routine importation of real property concepts into copyright law. After exploring the weak correlation between justifications for rights in land and in works of authorship, the article explores how the disparate justifications should and do shape doctrine. In particular, the article suggests that differences in the duration of rights, in the scope of the right to exclude, and in the availability of injunctive relief can be explained by differences in justification for property rights. The article then turns to the interplay between copyright and contract, and suggests that here, too, the difference in foundation for real and intellectual property rights cautions against resort to easy analogies to resolve unique and difficult problems. * Mack Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. I would like to thank Vicki Been, David Carlson, Susan Crawford, Rochelle Dreyfuss, John Duffy, Niva Elkin-Koren, Harry First, Marci Hamilton, Justin Hughes, Mark Lemley, Diane Zimmerman, and participants at the NYU Colloquium on Innovation Policy for their insightful criticisms of earlier drafts. Washington University Open Scholarship p417 Sterk book pages.doc 11/18/2005 418 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW QUARTERLY [VOL. 83:417
Serum amyloid A: an ozone-induced circulating factor with potentially important functions in the lung-brain axis

Accumulating evidence suggests that O3 exposure may contribute to CNS dysfunction. Here, we posit that inflammatory and acute-phase proteins in the circulation increase after O3 exposure and systemically convey signals of O3 exposure to the CNS. To model acute O3 exposure, female Balb/c mice were exposed to 3 ppm O3 or forced air for 2 h and were studied after 6 or 24 h. Of 23 cytokines and chemokines, only KC/CXCL1 was increased in blood 6 h after O3 exposure. The acute-phase protein serum amyloid A (A-SAA) was significantly increased by 24 h, whereas C-reactive protein was unchanged. A-SAA in blood correlated with total leukocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage from O3-exposed mice. A-SAA mRNA and protein were increased in the liver. We found that both isoforms of A-SAA completely crossed the intact blood-brain barrier, although the rate of SAA2.1 influx was approximately 5 times faster than that of SAA1.1. Finally, A-SAA protein, but not mRNA, was increased in the CNS 24 h post-O3 exposure. Our findings suggest that A-SAA is functionally linked to pulmonary inflammation in our O3 exposure model and that A-SAA could be an important systemic signal of O3 exposure to the CNS.-Erickson, M. A., Jude, J., Zhao, H., Rhea, E. M., Salameh, T. S., Jester, W., Pu, S., Harrowitz, J., Nguyen, N., Banks, W. A., Panettieri, R. A., Jr., Jordan-Sciutto, K. L. Serum amyloid A: an ozone-induced circulating factor with potentially important functions in the lung-brain axis.
An Introduction to Social Network Analysis for Personality and Social Psychologists

Social network analysis (SNA) is a methodology for studying the connections and behavior of individuals within social groups. Despite its relevance to social and personality psychology, SNA has bee...
Safe navigation in dynamic, unknown, continuous, and cluttered environments

We introduce ProbLP, a probabilistic local planner, for safe navigation of an autonomous robot in dynamic, unknown, continuous, and cluttered environments. We combine the proposed reactive planner with an existing global planner and evaluate the hybrid in challenging simulated environments. The experiments show that our method achieves a 77% reduction in collisions over the straight-line local planner we use as a benchmark.
6.12 Benzoin and Stetter Reactions

Asymmetric benzoin and Stetter reactions exploit the catalytic reversal of aldehyde polarity to access 1,2- and 1,4-difunctionalized carbonyl derivatives. Enzymes, metallophosphites, and especially N -heterocyclic carbenes mediate the asymmetric benzoin and Stetter reactions with high levels of enantioinduction. This review discusses the advantages and limitations of these approaches in inter- and intramolecular benzoin and Stetter reactions, and it highlights the application of these reactions to cascade catalysis. Mechanistic discussions throughout the review aim to illuminate the proposed origin of selectivity in various transformations.
RADIOAUTOGRAPHIC STUDIES OF BONE MARROW LYMPHOCYTES IN VIVO AND IN DIFFUSION CHAMBER CULTURES.

Radioautography with tritiated thymidine has been utilized to examine the turnover rate and origin of small lymphocytes in the bone marrow of the guinea-pig. Very few marrow lymphocytes were initially labeled by a single injection of tritiated thymidine, but thereafter the number of labeled lymphocytes rapidly increased to high maximum levels at 3 days. Analysis of the labeling curves and grain counts indicates that the population of marrow lymphocytes is maintained in a dynamic steady state with an average turnover time of 3 days or less. Suspensions of bone marrow cells were isolated from the circulation within intraperitoneal diffusion chambers after short-term labeling with tritiated thymidine in vivo. Although very few small lymphocytes were labeled when introduced into the diffusion chambers, a considerable percentage became labeled during the subsequent culture period. Tritiated thymidine was also administered intravenously whilst excluded from one hind limb by the application of an occlusive compression bandage for 20 minutes. Very few labeled small lymphocytes were found after 72 hours in the tibial marrow of the initially occluded limb, whereas the normal high percentage was labeled in the control tibial marrow. These experiments do not demonstrate any large-scale influx of small lymphocytes from the blood stream into the marrow parenchyma. They suggest that newly formed small lymphocytes appear in the marrow as a result of the division of locally situated precursor cells, but the mechanism of intramedullary lymphocytopoiesis is uncertain. "Transitional" cells, intermediate in morphology between blast cells and small lymphocytes, synthesize DNA and are actively proliferative, but they do not appear to account fully for the rate of lymphocyte production. Certain large, undifferentiated labeled cells appeared in the bone marrow as a result of hematogenous migration. Some implications of these findings are discussed.
Kinematics of a Three Degree-of-freedom, Two Links Lightweight Flexible Arm

Abstract The objective of this paper is to develop the kinematic transformations of a three degree-of-freedom, two-link flexible arm. These transformations are needed to carry out real-time control of robots. For rigid arms, these relations can be easily calculated, but in flexible arm they turn out to be nonlinear and coupled. Several algorithms to calculate these transformations are proposed in this paper, and a comparative study is performed. It was fouund that a noniterative algorithm to accurately estimate these kinematic transformations exists and is well suited for the control of flexible arms.
Forelimb skeletal muscle and skin glucose uptake during Escherichia coli endotoxin shock in the dog.

We previously demonstrated an increase in gracilis muscle glucose uptake during endotoxin shock in the dog. The present study was completed to investigate this phenomenon in forelimb skeletal muscle and skin. The isolated forelimb preparation was used. Mongrel dogs were anesthetized with nembutal and heparinized. Shock was induced by i.v. infusion of E. coli endotoxin. When isolated forelimb temperature was maintained at contralateral intact forelimb temperature (which was always the same as core temperature), forelimb skeletal muscle and skin glucose uptake increased by 30 minutes of shock, and remained above control for the 4 hour shock period. Total forelimb blood flow decreased and the limb became severely hypoxic (mean venous PO2 = 24 mmHg). However, when the isolated forelimb temperature was not artificially maintained at contralateral intact forelimb temperature (same as core temperature), the isolated forelimb temperature fell approximately 3 degrees C and the elevation of glucose uptake was not observed. Although forelimb blood flow decreased to the same level as in the temperature controlled group, the forelimbs were only moderately hypoxic. This study emphasizes the important influence of temperature on tissue metabolism and the recognition of its importance in experimental data interpretation, especially when metabolic variables are involved. It also demonstrates that changes in glucose uptake during shock are similar in dog forelimb skeletal muscle, provided that changes in muscle temperature are similar.
phylotree.js - a JavaScript library for application development and interactive data visualization in phylogenetics.

While several JavaScript packages for visualizing phylogenetic trees exist, most are best characterized as frameworks that are designed with a specific set of tasks in mind. Extending such packages to use cases that are not available as features often ends up being difficult. Moreover, existing packages tend to produce standalone widgets that are not designed to serve as middleware, as opposed to flexible tools that can integrate with other components of an application. phylotree.js is a library that extends the popular data visualization framework d3.js, and is suitable for building JavaScript applications where users can view and interact with phylogenetic trees. The effects of such interactions can be captured and communicated to other package components, making it possible to engineer complex and responsive applications that include phylogenetic trees. phylotree.js implements several abstractions in addition to features, and comes with a documented application programming interface, thus promoting interoperability and extensibility. Example applications include a tool to visualize and annotate phylogenetic trees, a web application for comparative sequence analysis, a structural viewer that interacts with a large phylogenetic tree, and an interactive tanglegram. phylotree.js is a useful tool and application module for a variety of computational biology software applications. The code is available on Github and is released under the MIT license.
Diseases of the Urogenital System

Abstract Diseases of the urinary and reproductive systems of the common marmoset are reviewed. These include both prominent and prevalent conditions such as spontaneous progressive glomerulonephropathy and embryonic and fetal death, as well as uncommon ones such as nephroblastoma and uterine rupture. The information described is of particular importance to clinicians and colony managers seeking both to maintain animal health and maximize reproductive performance. The available literature on diagnostic modalities used in characterizing the urinary and reproductive systems in common marmosets is also reviewed.
Prognostic value of fluorine18 flourodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND Factors indicative of a negative prognosis for appendicular osteosarcoma (OSA) in dogs are visible metastatic disease, location, and size of lesion. In human medicine maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax ), as measured on a fluorine18 flourodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18 F-FDG PET/CT), is prognostic for survival for several tumor types. OBJECTIVE Determine if SUVmax is associated with progression-free interval (PFI) and determination of survival in dogs with appendicular OSA. ANIMALS Sixty-two dogs with untreated appendicular OSA that had been staged with 18 F-FDG PET/CT. METHODS Retrospective analysis of the 18 F-FDG PET/CT was performed. Dogs were excluded from the study if they did not receive definitive intent treatment for their primary OSA and adjuvant chemotherapy with carboplatin, or had visible metastatic disease on initial imaging. A region of interest (ROI) was created around the primary tumor to measure SUVmax . Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to evaluate for associations between variables including SUVmax and outcome of PFI and overall survival (OS). RESULTS Maximum standard uptake value of the primary tumor was significantly associated with the OS (P = .04) with adjustment for treatment type and monocyte count. The overall median survival time (OST) was 284 days (range, 39-1293 days) with the OST of dogs having an SUVmax of ≥7.4 of 254 days (range, 98-428 days) and dogs with an SUVmax of <7.4 of 680 days (range, 108-811 days, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Maximum standard uptake value as measured via 18 F-FDG PET/CT is significantly associated with survival in dogs with appendicular OSA with a high SUVmax being an indicator of a negative prognosis.
Reactions of the dirhenium(II) complexes Re2X4(μ-dppm)2 (X=Cl, Br; dppm =Ph2PCH2PPh2) with isocyanides

Abstract The reactions of the halogens X2 (X=Cl or Br) with the diamagnetic dirhenium(II) complexes Re2X4(μ-dppm)2(L), where dppm=Ph2PCH2PPh2, X=Cl or Br, and L=XylNC (xylyl isocyanide), t-BuNC or CO, and with salts of the edge-sharing bioctahedral species [Re2X3(μ-dppm)2(CO)(NCMe)2]+, provide convenient routes to the dirhenium(III) species [Re2X5(μ-dppm)2(L)]+. These cations, where L=XylNC, t-BuNC or CO, have been isolated as their halide (Cl− or Br3−), [PF6]− and [O3SCF3]− salts. IR spectroscopy shows that terminal RNC and CO ligands are present, and a crystal structure determination of the complex [Re2Cl5(μ-dppm)2(CO)]PF6 confirms that the cation has the edge-sharing bioctahedral structure [Re2(μ-Cl)2(μ-dppm)2Cl3(CO)]+ with a formal ReRe bond (ReRe distance=2.6607(4) A). 31P-NMR spectroscopy indicates that these salts are weakly paramagnetic, with their P resonances exhibiting unusually large upfield shifts.
Photorefractive Transport and Multiwave Mixing

The photorefractive effect [1] can loosely be defined as a light-induced change in the optical properties of a material when the incident light is spatially nonuniform. The spatial nonuniformity is a key feature that distinguishes the photorefractive effect from other common nonlinear optical effects that occur under spatially uniform intensities [2, 3]. In other words, the optical changes are driven by the gradient of the intensity, rather than by the intensity itself.
Persistently Elevated PTH After Parathyroidectomy at One Year: Experience in a Tertiary Referral Center.

CONTEXT/OBJECTIVE Increased PTH after successful parathyroid surgery represents a clinical conundrum. We aimed to determine the prevalence of persistently elevated PTH (PePTH) postsurgery, along with predisposing factors. DESIGN and Setting: Patients ≥ age 18 with parathyroidectomy performed at University of North Carolina Hospitals for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) over a 12-year period were identified from the Carolina Data Warehouse. Clinical and demographic characteristics were collected, transformed, and analyzed. RESULTS Five hundred seventy patients met initial criteria for PHPT, and of those 407 had postoperative values. One hundred forty-four had laboratory results within 3 to 18 months post operatively. There was no clinical difference between those with and without long-term laboratory follow-up. Presurgery, patients had average calcium of 11 mg/dL and PTH 125.4 pg/mL. Ninety-seven percent of patients had normalized calcium after surgery, but 30% had PePTH, which can be predicted at 3 months. Patients with PePTH (persistent elevation of PTH) after surgery did not differ from those with normalized PTH in terms of sex, age, body mass index, or excised gland weight; presurgery 25-vitamin D was slightly lower, but not abnormal (26 ± 15 vs 36 ± 11). The presurgical PTH was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in those with PePTH (156.5 pg/mL compared with presurgical level of 102.5 in those whose PTH normalized). CONCLUSIONS Nearly one-third of PHPT patients have elevated PTH levels postsurgery in a tertiary hospital setting. At presentation, patients with PePTH tend to have higher PTH relative to calcium levels. Whether PePTH after surgical treatment of PHPT has pathological consequences is unknown.
Warmth portrayals to recruit students into science majors

Negative perception of scientists is disquieting for the future of science and US economic and scientific competitiveness. Drawing on studies suggesting that warmth guides people’s judgments of soc...
Transfer of Calibration in Virtual Reality to both Real and Virtual Environments

It is often questioned whether task performance attained in a virtual environment can be transferred appropriately and accurately to the same task in the real world. With advancements in virtual re...
Regulation of mesenchymal stem cell differentiation on microstructured titanium surfaces by semaphorin 3A.

Abstract Peri-implant bone formation depends on the ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to colonize implant surfaces and differentiate into osteoblasts, but the precise mechanisms controlling this process remain unclear. In vitro, MSCs undergo osteoblastic differentiation on microstructured titanium (Ti) surfaces in the absence of exogenous media supplements and produce factors that promote osteogenesis while regulating osteoclast activity, including semaphorins. The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) on surface-mediated osteoblastic differentiation and determine the hierarchy of this signaling cascade. Human MSCs were cultured on 15 mm grade 2 smooth (pretreatment, PT), hydrophobic-microrough (sand blasted/acid etched, SLA), hydrophilic-microrough Ti (mSLA) (Institut Straumann AG, Basel, Switzerland), or tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS). Expression of SEMA3A family proteins increased after 7 days of culture, and the increased expression in response to microstructured Ti was dependent on recognition of the surface by integrin α2β1. Exogenous Sema3A increased differentiation whereas differentiation was decreased in cells treated with a Sema3A antibody. Furthermore, Sema3A influenced the production of osteoprotegerin and osteopontin suggesting it as an important local regulator of bone remodeling. Inhibition of Wnt3A and Wnt5A revealed that activation of Sema3A occurs downstream of Wnt5A and may facilitate the translocation of β-catenin bypassing the canonical Wnt3A initiating signal associated with osteoblastic differentiation. Furthermore, chemical inhibition of calmodulin (CaM), Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMKII), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), protein kinase C (PKC), and BMP receptors suggest that Sema3A could serve as a feedback mechanism for both Wnt5A and BMP2. Here, we show novel roles for Sema3A family proteins in the surface-dependent modulation of MSCs as well as important interactions with pathways known to be associated with osteoblastic differentiation. Moreover, their effects on bone remodeling markers have significant implications for peri-implant bone remodeling and downstream modulation of osteoclastic activity. These results suggest that Sema3A aids in peri-implant bone formation through regulation on multiple stages of osseointegration, making it a potential target to promote osseointegration in patients with compromised bone remodeling.
Reconstruction of burn contractures of the anterior neck with pre-expanded free anterolateral thigh flaps.

Abstract Burn contractures of the anterior neck result in severe functional and aesthetic deformities. The release of wide contractures leads to defects that cannot be closed with local flaps. In these cases, tissue expansion of local tissues may be a solution. However, when local tissues are also burned or inadequate, microsurgical free tissue transfer may be necessary. In order to increase the surface are of the transferred flap, pre-expansion of the donor site can be combined with the procedure. Five patients with burn contractures of the anterior neck were treated using pre-expanded free anterolateral thigh (ALT) perforator flaps. The anterolateral thigh was dissected on top of the fascia lata in an avascular plane. The borders of the dissection were kept 2 cm lateral to the pre-identified perforators. A 1000cc rectangular tissue expander was placed. The time of expansion ranged from 4–11 months with a final over expanded volume of 1200cc. The defect sizes ranged from 10 × 21 cm to 20 × 27 cm. There were either one or two perforators included in the flaps. All flaps survived completely with good functional and aesthetic outcomes. Donor areas were closed primarily in one patient and with various amounts of skin grafts in five patients. Overall, pre-expansion decreased the amount of total skin grafted area in the donor site. Pre-expanded ALT perforator flap can be a good option in extensive burns with wide contractures where the regional donor areas are also affected. This technique has several advantages: 1) large flaps can be safely harvested, 2) the expanded skin thins out making it more aesthetically appropriate to resurface superficial defects, 3) expansion period of the thigh is well tolerated by the patients, 4) two teams can work simultaneously, decreasing the operating time, 5) the donor area can be closed either primarily or with minimal skin graft application, and 6) there is no functional loss in the donor area and the donor scar stays under the clothes.
A Critical Look at Choice Options as Solutions to Milwaukee's Schooling Inequities.

Background/ContextThe lack of court-ordered support for race-based policies that maintain and create integrated schools has forced communities of color to seek other avenues to obtain equitable edu...
Patterns of emergency department utilization for LVAD patients compared with non-LVAD patients.

Abstract Background Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients are vulnerable to over-utilization of resources. Methods and results We explored the pattern of emergency department (ED) presentations of LVAD patients and their costs compared with non-LVAD heart failure patients. ED visits between 7/2008 and 7/2017 were reviewed to identify 145 LVAD patients, and 435 patients with known heart failure were selected using propensity score matching for age and sex. ED evaluation metrics, hospitalization cost, and length of stay (LOS) were analyzed. Although the most common ED presentations and their frequency differed between groups, few were LVAD specific. LVAD patients were more likely to have taken personal vehicles or be flown to the ED. They had similar times to triage, rooming, and physician evaluation compared with non-LVAD patients. However, LVAD patients were noted to have a shorter time from physician assessment to disposition (109.8 min vs. 177.0 min, p Conclusion Shorter disposition times without increases in LOS or costs may identify a created healthcare disparity among LVAD patients.
Combined karapandzic and radial forearm free flap with dual palmaris longus tendons for complex lip reconstruction

Near-total lip defects present a unique challenge preserving both oral competence and aesthetics. While lip reconstruction is commonly accomplished with local flaps to preserve function, in large defects, this technique alone can result in microstomia, speech inarticulation, and facial distortion. Free tissue transfer has become an attractive alternative, yet this approach presents its own set of functional challenges. For complex lip defects, the goal of reconstruction is preserving function and cosmetic appearance while avoiding debilitating microstomia. In this pictorial essay, we describe the anatomy, harvest, inset, and reconstructive approaches for using a combined Karapandzic and radial forearm free flap with dual palmaris longus tendons as an effective option for lip reconstruction in large ablative defects involving the oral commissure. This novel technique uses local, regional, and free tissue to provide an excellent functional and cosmetic reconstructive option for this and similar large lip defects.
Time-restricted feeding rescues high-fat-diet-induced hippocampal impairment.

Summary Feeding rodents a high-fat diet (HFD) disrupts normal behavioral rhythms, particularly meal timing. Within the brain, mistimed feeding shifts molecular rhythms in the hippocampus and impairs memory. We hypothesize that altered meal timing induced by an HFD leads to cognitive impairment and that restricting HFD access to the “active period” (i.e., night) rescues the normal hippocampal function. In male mice, ad-lib access to an HFD for 20 weeks increased body weight and fat mass, increased daytime meal consumption, reduced hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), and eliminated day/night differences in spatial working memory. Importantly, two weeks of time-restricted feeding (TRF) at the end of the chronic HFD protocol rescued spatial working memory and restored LTP magnitude, even though there was no change in body composition and total daily caloric intake. These findings suggest that short-term TRF is an effective mechanism for rescuing HFD-induced impaired cognition and hippocampal function.
A Strategy for Field Evaluations of Exposures and Respiratory Health of Workers at Small- to Medium-Sized Coffee Facilities.

Coffee production is a global industry with roasteries throughout the world. Workers in this industry are exposed to complex mixtures of gases, dusts, and vapors including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, coffee dust, allergens, alpha-diketones, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Adverse respiratory health outcomes such as respiratory symptoms, reduced pulmonary function, asthma, and obliterative bronchiolitis can occur among exposed workers. In response to health hazard evaluations requests received from 17 small- to medium-sized coffee facilities across the United States, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted investigations during 2016–2017 to understand the burden of respiratory abnormalities, exposure characteristics, relationships between exposures and respiratory effects, and opportunities for exposure mitigation. Full-shift, task-based, and instantaneous personal and area air samples for diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione and other VOCs were collected, and engineering controls were evaluated. Medical evaluations included questionnaire, spirometry, impulse oscillometry, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide. Exposure and health assessments were conducted using standardized tools and approaches, which enabled pooling data for aggregate analysis. The pooled data provided a larger population to better address the requestors’ primary concern of the effect of exposure to alpha-diketones on the respiratory heath of coffee workers. This paper describes the rationale for the exposure and health assessment strategy, the approach used to achieve the study objectives, and its advantages and limitations.
Optimization of traffic flow splits

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A METHOD FOR PREDICTING CHANGES IN A SPECIFIED MEASURE OF THE LEVEL OF SERVICE PROVIDED BY A STREET SYSTEM UNDER VARIOUS SYSTEM CONTROLS. THE PROCEDURE CONSISTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MAXIMIZATION MODEL, AN ANALYSIS OF MODEL SENSITIVITY, AND THE COMPARISON OF THIS MODEL OUTPUT TO THE OUTPUT FROM MODELS PRESENTLY IN USE. THE MODEL IS AN APPLICATION OF THE TECHNIQUE OF MAXIMIZATION UNDER CONSTRAINTS. THE OBJECTIVE FUNCTION SELECTED FOR MAXIMIZATION IS THE NUMBER OF VEHICLE- MILES PER HOUR PRODUCED WITHIN THE DESIGNATED STREET SYSTEM. THE VARIABLES STUDIED INCLUDE STREET CAPACITIES, FLOW CHARACTERISTICS, ONE-WAY STREETS, FREEWAY CAPACITIES, AND RAMP CAPABILITIES. THE MODEL IS USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS POSSIBLE CONTROL SYSTEMS WHEN EVALUATED BY INCREASES IN THE OBJECTIVE FUNCTION. THE RESULTS OF THIS ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT INCREASING THE CAPACITY OF A FREEWAY HAS THE GREATEST EFFECT ON THE TOTAL SYSTEM OUTPUT. ALTHOUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING SYSTEM OUTPUT IS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY, THE APPLICATION OF THESE RESULTS IN THE DECISION- MAKING PROCESS IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL. THERE ARE TWO MAJOR AREAS WHERE USE OF THIS MODEL TYPE WOULD ADD SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE FIELD OF TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT AND CONTROL. FIRST, IT PROVIDES AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE FOR EVALUATING CONTROL METHODS, AND SECOND, IT PROVIDES A METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE SYSTEM EFFECT OF CHANGES IN AN INDIVIDUAL ELEMENT. THE RESULTS OF THE MODEL WERE USED TO ILLUSTRATE THE DECISION- MAKING PROCESS FOR THREE SELECTED CRITERIA: (1) A MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE AVERAGE VELOCITY, (2) A MAXIMUM ACCEPTABLE NUMBER OF STORED VEHICLES, AND (3) A MAXIMUM OUTPUT PER DOLLAR EXPENDITURE. /AUTHOR/
New Architectures for WISIWYSWIWSWYS (What I See Is What You See When I Want to See What You See)

The theory of Decision Support Systems (DSS) developed by Chang, Holsapple and Whinston is extended to Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS). Based on this theory, an architecture is developed for GDSS which extends the concept of What You See Is What I See (WYSIWIS) to the concept of What I See Is What You See When You See What I Want You to See What You See (WISIWYSWIWSWYS) which is more appropriate for international GDSS, as well as other multi-cultural GDSS which cross functional, rather than national, boundaries.