cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dimensions of patient and physician roles in medical screening interviews

Abstract Social theorists have agreed that physicians are usually presumptuous and controlling while patients are usually deferent and acquiescent in medical encounters, but have disagreed about patient reaction to these reciprocal roles. One view has been that the status and power gap is bridged by a pattern of patient trust and physician attentiveness, while another view has been that patients become alienated as physicians use their control to maintain their institutionalized authority. These views were tested in a sample of 52 medical screening interviews with adults using an utterance-by-utterance coding system that yields scores on three dimensions in interpersonal roles, “attentiveness”, “acquiescence”, and “presumptuousness”. Coding yielded quantitative descriptions of patient-physician interaction that conformed closely to theoretical expectations. Patient satisfaction, assessed by a post-interview questionnaire, was positively correlated with physician acquiescence in the conclusion segment of the interview but not in the medical history or physical examination. Patients were also more satisfied when they expressed themselves in their own words during the medical history and when physicians were more informative in the conclusion segment. The results suggest possible refinements in current theoretical views of patient and physician roles.
A tag-mediated N-person Prisoner's Dilemma game on networks with different topologies

In tag-based Prisoner's Dilemma games, agents learn tolerance, copy traits from more successful neighbors, cooperate with in-group alters, and otherwise defect. Current research concludes that cooperation can emerge and be sustained, tolerance decreases, and agents become homogeneous. Such emergent societies are vulnerable to invasion by mutants with the same traits as those of cooperators but who defect. However, one question that has yet to be answered is whether these results can vary from one network structure to another. We investigate tag-based parochial cooperation not only on grid but also on local, small-world, and random network. We find that cooperation can be institutionalized at lower benefit-to-cost ratios than the average degree given tag-based identities, which would not otherwise happen. The average tolerance is positively influenced by the benefit-to-cost ratio, the number of identity dimensions, and heterogeneity. None of societies holds evolutionarily stable parochial cooperation since the selection pressure for homogenization is strong in a small population. Nonetheless, there are distinctive patterns in the emergence of cooperation, its diffusion, and invasion by mutants across societies. We propose future directions discussing how persistent heterogeneity and the dynamics of clustering and bridging are critical for the evolutionary stability of parochial cooperation in more tolerant societies.
Dynamic neural network detection of tremor and dyskinesia from wearable sensor data

We present a dynamic neural network (DNN) solution for detecting time-varying occurrences of tremor and dyskinesia at 1 s resolution from time series data acquired from surface electromyographic (sEMG) sensors and tri-axial accelerometers worn by patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The networks were trained and tested on separate datasets, each containing approximately equal proportions of tremor, dyskinesia, and disorder-free data from 8 PD and 4 control subjects performing unscripted and unconstrained activities in an apartment-like environment. During DNN testing, tremor was detected with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 95%, while dyskinesia was detected with a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 93%. Similar sensitivity and specificity levels were obtained when DNN testing was carried out on subjects who were not included in DNN training.
Stratigraphic occurrences and vegetational patterns of Pennsylvanian pteridosperms in Euramerican coal swamps

Abstract The vegetation of many Euramerican coal swamps is known from coal-ball peats in the tropical rainy zone across the paleocontinent of Laurussia in the Upper Carboniferous. The stratigraphic occurrences of coal balls in Europe (lower Westphalian) and in North America (upper Westphalian and lower Stephanian) are largely complementary and a revised correlation chart is given. Quantitative analyses of the vegetation from these autochthonous peats are combined with coal palynology to determine on overview of swamp vegetation patterns during the Westphalian and early Stephanian. In comparison to the dominance and great diversity of pteridosperms in the Upper Carboniferous compression floras, seed ferns were minor to subdominant elements in the coal-ball peats. The quantitative composition of organ assemblages of the principal pteridosperms is given with stratigraphic occurrences of Medullosa and Sutcliffia (Medullosaceae), Heterangium, Lyginopteris, Microspermopteris , and Schopfiastrum (Lyginopteridaceaea) and Callistophyton (Callistophytaceae). The major peat contributors among pteridosperms are Lyginopteris (⩾90%) in the Westphalian A and Medullosa (⩾95%) in the Westphalian D and Stephanian. Lyginopteris became extinct in the early Westphalian B and Medullosa became abundant during the Westphalian C–D transition and a subdominant in the Stephanian contributing 13–21% of the permineralized peats. Paleoecological interpretations indicate that medullosan trees were most abundant but patchy in distribution in drier swamp stages with enriched nutrients and near major channels in swamps during the Westphalian D. It is suggested that the swamp pteridosperms are probably quite similar to or identical with some of the representatives in the more diverse compression floras. The evolution and diversity noted in swamp pteridosperms are considered principally the product of adjacent lowland communities which repeatedly introduced seeds into the wetlands. The swamp pteridosperms exhibit the greatest fluctuation in abundance (biomass) from site to site in the same coal, probably the highest level of diversity and the only steady pattern of increase in importance during the Late Carboniferous with the possible exception of the Westphalian B–C interval. The close relationships inferred between swamp pteridosperms and their lowland seed sources are also compatible with the frequent association of tree ferns and seed ferns during the Westphalian D and in the Stephanian when these two kinds of frond-bearing trees formed most of the vegetation in both lowland and swamp environments.
Testing different biphasic waveforms and capacitances: Effect on atrial defibrillation threshold and pain perception

AbstractObjectives. The goal of this study was to compare the effect of different tilts and capacitances for biphasic shocks on atrial defibrillation efficacy and pain threshold.Background. Althoug...
A numerical model of the wind-Driven ocean circulation in a circular basin

Abstract The governing vorticity equation for the two-dimensional flow of a viscous homogeneous fluid on a β-plane is integrated numerically, and steady state results are presented for several values for the Reynolds number. The model and numerical techniques are similar to those used by Bryan (1963) with the important exception that we consider here a circular basin. The interior flow is forced by a negative uniform wind stress curl and the intense western boundary current is adequately resolved by means of variable grid spacing. For the highly non-linear case of Re = 20, the western boundary current undergoes distinct separation from the boundary before the end of the western boundary is reached. A strong vortex with intense recirculation develops in the northwest quadrant of the basin with damped stationary Rossby waves occurring in the transition region between boundary current and interior. The numerical solutions are then compared with streak photographs obtained with the sliced-cylinder laboratory ...
Variability of the Inflation Rate and the Forward Premium in a Money Demand Function: The Case of the German Hyperinflation

Since Cagan's (1956) classic study, the specification of the demand for money in the German hyperinflation has attracted much attention.
Effects of competition and coal-combustion wastes on recruitment and life history characteristics of salamanders in temporary wetlands.

Amphibians in natural systems must cope with a number of biotic and abiotic stressors that can potentially interact with pollutants to influence toxicity. Although interactive effects of short-lived pesticides with various environmental stressors have been studied, how persistent and bioaccumulative compounds such as metals interact with natural stressors to influence amphibians remains unexplored. We exposed the salamander Ambystoma talpoideum to coal-combustion wastes (a complex mixture of metals and metalloids, hereafter referred to as CCW) at low and high larval density throughout aquatic development in mesocosms simulating temporary wetlands. CCW and high density reduced survival to metamorphosis by 57–77% and 85–92%, respectively, and the effects of these two factors together were additive. Reduced metamorphosis was due in part to larval mortality prior to initiation of pond drying, but CCW and high density also extended the larval period, causing mortality of larvae that were not ready to metamorphose before the pond dried. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a pollutant-induced extension of larval period leading to reduction in amphibian recruitment. Metamorphs were smaller in high density compared to low in reference ponds, but those from CCW emerged at similar sizes irrespective of density, suggesting less-than-additive effects of density and CCW on metamorph size. The adverse responses of salamanders to CCW were likely due to direct toxicity, as A. talpoideum metamorphs accumulated high concentrations of a suite of trace elements (As, Se, Sr, and V), and also to indirect effects on the community food web. We conclude that in no case did the addition of a natural stressor (high density) exacerbate CCW-related effects, but that the effects of CCW alone can be detrimental to larvae of salamanders
Yield of nitrogen from minimally disturbed watersheds of the United States

Watersheds of the US Geological Survey’s Hydrologic Benchmark Network program were used in estimating annual yield of total nitrogen and nitrogen fractions (ammonium, nitrate, dissolved organic N, particulate N) in relation to amount of runoff, elevation, and watershed area. Only watersheds minimally disturbed with respect to the nitrogen cycle were used in the analysis (mostly natural vegetation cover, no point sources of N, atmospheric deposition of inorganic N < 10 kg ha−1 y−1). Statistical analysis of the yields of total nitrogen and nitrogen fractions showed that elevation and watershed area bear no significant relationship to nitrogen yield for these watersheds. The yields of total nitrogen and nitrogen fractions are, however, strongly related to runoff (r 2 = 0.91 for total N). Annual yield increases as runoff increases, but at a rate lower than runoff; annual discharge-weighted mean concentrations decline as annual runoff increases. Yields of total nitrogen and most nitrogen fractions bear a relationship to runoff that is nearly indistinguishable from a relationship that was documented previously for minimally disturbed watersheds of the American tropics. Overall, the results suggest strong interlatitudinal convergence of yields and percent fractionation for nitrogen in relation to runoff.
Ninety-six five-year survivors after liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Abstract Background: Studies have consistently confirmed the benefit of liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer. Few reports, however, have a long enough followup or sufficient 5-year survivors to study the clinical course of patients beyond 5 years. Study Design: From July 1985 through December 1991, 456 patients underwent liver resection for colorectal metastases. Ninety-six actual 5-year survivors (21%) were identified and their clinical course retrospectively reviewed. Results: Five-year survivors (n = 96) were more likely to have a Duke's B primary colorectal carcinoma, fewer than four metastatic lesions, unilobar disease, and a negative histologic margin when compared with patients not surviving 5 years (n = 298). Forty-four (46%) of the 96 five-year survivors had a recurrence after hepatectomy. Of these 44, 19 (43%) were rendered disease free after further treatment. Overall, 71 of the 96 five-year survivors were free of disease at last followup. The actuarial 10-year survival of this group was 78%. Conclusions: Patients that are disease free 5 years after liver resection are likely to have been cured by liver resection. Patients should be aggressively followed for recurrence because of the potential for further treatment and longterm survival.
Physical constraints on the establishment of intracellular spatial gradients in bacteria

Background Bacteria dynamically regulate their intricate intracellular organization involving proteins that facilitate cell division, motility, and numerous other processes. Consistent with this sophisticated organization, bacteria are able to create asymmetries and spatial gradients of proteins by localizing signaling pathway components. We use mathematical modeling to investigate the biochemical and physical constraints on the generation of intracellular gradients by the asymmetric localization of a source and a sink.
Interfaces in as-extruded XD Al/TiC and Al/TiB2 metal matrix composites

A detailed study was conducted of the microstructure and particle-matrix interfaces in Al/TiCp metal matrix composites prepared by the XD process and subsequent extrusion. A study of the morphology of the TiC particles showed that the surfaces are low index (111) and (200) planes, the former being more common. Direct contact on an atomic scale is established between Al and TiC, allowing chemical bonds to form. Young’s modulus is in the range expected for a composite of Al and TiC with good interfacial bonding and load transfer to the particles. No third element has been detected at the interfaces, showing that they are clean. Both incoherent and semicoherent interfaces are seen. The interface character depends on the size of the particles and their orientation with respect to the neighboring Al grains. “Special” interfaces with evidence for nearly periodic dislocations were observed in both XD Al/TiC and Al/TiB2 composites, indicating the general tendency of in situ composites to lower their interfacial energy by forming such boundaries.
Effects of the Great Recession on Child Development

The Great Recession and its reverberations resulted in levels of economic distress unprecedented since the 1930s. Economic downturns, including the Great Recession, are known to affect adult employment and income, housing, family composition, and financial strain. Many of these family characteristics affect child and adolescent development in the short and long run. The nature of children’s experiences in economically unstable families during the Great Recession is not yet fully understood. This article summarizes empirical research on the relationship between economic downturns and child and youth development. It also discusses theoretical perspectives linking economic downturns to child development through the family’s emotional and behavioral processes, on one hand, and family investments of time and money, on the other. The evidence from existing studies of parental job loss, residential moves, income instability, and financial strain suggests that the Great Recession may ultimately have negative effe...
Cost-Based Decision Analysis of Postreduction Imaging in the Management of Mandibular Fractures

ImportanceImmediate postreduction imaging is a standard practice in the management of mandibular fractures at many hospitals. However, the literature suggests that postreduction imaging in maxillof...
An evolutionary algorithm that constructs recurrent neural networks

Standard methods for simultaneously inducing the structure and weights of recurrent neural networks limit every task to an assumed class of architectures. Such a simplification is necessary since the interactions between network structure and function are not well understood. Evolutionary computations, which include genetic algorithms and evolutionary programming, are population-based search methods that have shown promise in many similarly complex tasks. This paper argues that genetic algorithms are inappropriate for network acquisition and describes an evolutionary program, called GNARL, that simultaneously acquires both the structure and weights for recurrent networks. GNARL's empirical acquisition method allows for the emergence of complex behaviors and topologies that are potentially excluded by the artificial architectural constraints imposed in standard network induction methods. >
A density functional theory investigation of Fe-N-O bonding in heme proteins and model systems.

We report the results of a series of density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the Mossbauer quadrupole splittings and isomer shifts in NO heme model compounds, together with the results of calculations of the Mossbauer quadrupole splittings, isomer shifts, and electron paramagnetic resonance hyperfine coupling constants in a model Fe(II)(NO)(imidazole) complex as a function of Fe-NO bond length and Fe-N-O bond angle. The results of the Mossbauer quadrupole splitting and isomer shift calculations on the NO heme model compounds show good accord between theory and experiment, with the largest errors being observed for structures having the largest crystallographic R1 values. The results of the property surface calculations were then used to calculate Fe-NO bond length and Fe-N-O bond angle probability surfaces (Z-surfaces) for a nitrosyl hemoglobin, using, in addition, an energy filter. The results obtained yielded a most probable Fe-NO bond length (r) of 1.79 A and an Fe -N-O bond angle (‚ )o f 136°-137°. This bond length is somewhat longer than those observed in most model compounds but may be due, at least in part, to hydrogen bond formation with the distal His residue. Bond elongation was also observed in a geometry optimized Fe(II)(NO)(imidazole) complex hydrogen bonded to an imidazole residue, in which we find r ) 1.76-1.78 A and‚ ) 137°-138°. The computed bond angles are close to the canonical140° value found in most model systems. Highly bent Fe-N-O bond angles or very long Fe-NO bond lengths seem unlikely to occur in proteins, due to their high energies. We also investigated the molecular orbitals and spin densities in each of the six coordinate systems investigated and found the orbitals and spin densities to be generally similar those described previously for five coordinate systems. Taken together, these results show that Mossbauer quadrupole splittings and isomer shifts, in addition to electron paramagnetic resonance hyperfine coupling constants, can now be calculated for nitrosyl heme systems with relatively good accuracy and that the results so obtained can be used to determine Fe-N-O geometries in metalloproteins. The Z-surface approach is thus applicable to both diamagnetic (CO) and paramagnetic (NO) heme proteins with in both cases the metal-ligand binding geometries found in the proteins being very close to those seen in model systems.
Effects of Microsatellite Null Alleles on Assignment Testing

Microsatellite null alleles are found to a varying degree across all taxa. They are problematic as they may inflate measures of genetic differentiation and create false homozygotes. Although there are several methods for correcting allele frequencies for null alleles and enable estimations of FST, much less is known about how null alleles affect assignment testing. Data presented here, based on simulations, show that the percentage of correctly assigned individuals in model-based clustering and Bayesian assignment methods were slightly, though significantly, reduced in the presence of null alleles (frequency range from 0.000 to 0.913). The bias in assignment tests caused by null alleles lead to a slight reduction in the power to correctly assigned individuals (0.2 and 1.0 percent units for STRUCTURE- and 2.4 percent units for GENECLASS-based assignment tests). Further, the presence of null alleles caused a small, however, significant overestimation of FST. Consequently, microsatellite loci affected by null alleles would probably not alter the overall outcome of assignment testing and could therefore be included in these types of studies. Nevertheless, loci prone to null alleles should be used with caution as they lower the power of assignment tests and alter the accuracy of FST, and loci less prone to null alleles should always be preferred.
Results of Surgery in Athletes with Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of pain, particularly in runners and certain other athletic groups. This syndrome must be distinguished from certain other conditions, such as the tarsal tunnel syndrome and achillodynia. Conservative therapy including rest, orthotics, heel cups, anti-inflammatory agents, and icing reduce symptoms in most patients. A few athletes may need surgery to continue running. The authors released the plantar fascia and excised areas of mucinoid degeneration in 15 athletes. Fourteen returned to full athletic activity.
Lipogenesis in human adipose tissue.

The pathways and some critical enzymes involved in lipogenesis in adipose tissue from 82 patients have been studied. Of the glucose-14C metabolized to lipid by isolated adipose cells, approximately 0.6% was recovered in fatty acids and the rest in glyceride-glycerol. Palmitate-lJ4C was readily incorporated into neutral lipid. Homogenates of human adipose tissue contained an active a-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase which was approximately twice as active as malate dehydrogenase. Mitochondria of human adipose tissue contained an NAD-independent a- glycerophosphate dehydrogenase; the reaction product, di- hydroxyacetone phosphate, was recovered extramitochon- drially. Homogenates of human adipose tissue also contained an active fatty acyl CoA synthetase which required ATP, CoA, and Mgff for maximal activity. The activity of acyl CoA synthetase varied greatly in a group of 40 patients. By contrast, the range of activity of malate dehydrogenase assayed in the same group of patients was much smaller. When palmitate or palmitoyl CoA was used as substrate, no difference was found in the rate of incorporation of a-glycerol- 1,3-14C phosphate into neutral lipid. If time was allowed for activation of palmitate, the incorporation of a-glycerol-1 ,3-14C phosphate into lipid was 3.5 times greater than for unactivated palmitate. Palmitate (200 p~) stimulated lipogenesis in homogenates of human adipose tissue and then caused a severe inhibition at 700 PM. Arachidate over the same concentration range did not depress lipogenesis below initial values. glycerol from glucose. Jansen, Hutchison, and Zanetti (2) found that in the mouse 90% of the glucoseJ*C converted into fat by epididymal fat pads is recovered in fatty acids and only 10% in glyceride-glycerol, whereas Goodridge and Ball (3) found that in the pigeon only about 7% of the glucose is metabolized to long-chain fatty acids by adipose tissue. The situation in man is not entirely clear. Reports have variously indicated that human adipose tissue, in vitro, can convert 16% of metabolized glucose to fatty acids and 84% to glyceride- glycerol (4) ; that the synthesis of fatty acids from glucose is quite variable and, in some cases, undetectable (5) ; and that human adipose tissue is probably an unimpor- tant site of synthesis of fatty acids since it lacks citrate cleavage enzyme (6). Although part of this variability may be due to nothing more than the different nutritional states of the subjects under study, further investigation seemed indicated. The present studies were designed to examine in more detail the paths of lipogenesis in human adipose tissue and provide information on some of the important enzymatic steps involved.
Influence of hydrologic pulses, flooding frequency, and vegetation on nitrous oxide emissions from created riparian marshes

ABSTRACT The effects of hydrologic conditions, water quality gradients, and vegetation on nitrous oxide gaseous emissions were investigated in two identical 1-ha surface-flow created riverine wetlands in Columbus, Ohio, USA. For two years, both wetlands experienced seasonal (winter-spring) controlled hydrologic flood pulses followed by one year in which they received a steady flow rate of water. Nitrous oxide fluxes were quantified in a transverse gradient at different elevations (edge plots and high marsh plots with alternate wet and dry conditions, and low marsh plots and open water plots that were permanently flooded). The highest average of N2O fluxes was observed in high marsh plots (21.8 ± 2.5 µg-N m−2 h−1), followed by edge plots (12.6 ± 2.5 µg-N m−2 h−1), open water plots (9.9 ± 2.1 µg-N m−2 h−1), and low marsh plots (7.0 ± 4.8 µg-N m−2 h−1). Highest nitrous oxide fluxes were consistently observed in high marsh plots during summer when soil temperatures were ≥ 20°C. In permanently flooded plots wi...
Association of reversible splenial lesion syndrome (RESLES) with Anti-VGKC autoantibody syndrome: a case report

A 50-year-old male presented with complaints of fatigue, confusion, and memory problems. Neurological evaluation revealed altered cognition, unsteady gait, ataxia, dysmetria, and weakness. MRI of the brain was initially unremarkable. Over several days, the patient experienced improvement of symptoms and a follow-up MRI revealed a small lesion in the splenium of the corpus callosum seen on diffusion weighted and T2 sequences. The patient was discovered to have elevated anti-voltage gated potassium channel serum autoantibodies. Follow-up MRI revealed resolution of the splenial lesion. The patient was treated with intravenous immune globulin, and improved back to his pre-treatment baseline. We believe this to be the first case of a reversible splenial lesion syndrome as a manifestation of the anti-voltage gated potassium channel autoantibody syndrome, and propose a pathophysiologic mechanism.
When Physicians and a Parent Conflict on When to Limit Treatment for a Child With Significant Disabilities.

My approach as an ethics consultant would be to meet with JR and Marcy and hear why JR opposes further treatment. I would also want to meet with the people who have been treating Marcy and know her...
Google and Internet Privacy (a)

Based on their use of a shared computer and the Internet ads that keep popping up, two co-workers suspect that another co-worker is HIV-positive or has AIDS. Using this story platform, the case explores Internet marketing, especially the powerhouse search engine Google and how it tracks its users’ habits. The history of Google is chronicled, as well as the privacy issues that have mushroomed as the Internet and its technology have developed.
Singapore's May Fourth Movement and Overseas Print Capitalism

Historians have long portrayed the May Fourth Movement as a seminal period in Chinese history. By the early 1920s, that movement increased in intensity until it reached the overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, newspapers such as the Le Bao (Lat Po) and the Nanyang Shang Bao (Nanyang Siang Pau) became the primary forums for discussing May Fourth ideas.Recently, historians have thoroughly altered accepted interpretation of the May Fourth Movement. Rather than describing it as a radical rupture with China's past, they highlight continuities that transcend the May Fourth era, linking it socially and intellectually with both the late Qing and with the later Republican and Communist eras. Others have suggested that the May Fourth Movement was a "powerful fiction" appropriated by intellectual and political elites for their own gain.This paper looks at Singapore's version of the May Fourth Movement in light of these revisionist interpretations. It demonstrates that May Fourth was indeed a momentous time for Singapore's Chinese residents. At the same time, however, Singapore's intellectuals manipulated May Fourth ideas to enhance their status relative to their rivals. In the process, they confronted their own relationship with their homeland and altered accepted definitions of the nation. For these reasons, Singapore's May Fourth Movement sheds much light on the function of overseas print capitalism in the formation of Chinese nationalism. Furthermore, it suggests that further research is necessary to understand the link between nationalism and overseas newspapers.
What is Time: An Exploratory Extension Toward the Far East

This paper is concerned with the way students from Thailand, Japan and Malaysia “define time” and is an extension of Lane and Lindquist (1989), the latter included data on U.S. students. The time definitions are compared and contrasted on the basis of time approach and processing. Potential differences were found on approach and processing. Implications for research and international commerce are offered.
Protection From Oxygen and Moisture Via Thin Oxide Barrier Coating for Organic Electronics

Protection from oxygen and moisture is crucial for organic light emitting diodes (OLED) used in flexible display applications. The surface coating is an effective way to protect the enclosed functional materials and organic substrates in order to ensure their device functionality. Parylene films, which can be vapor deposited at room temperature, are known as a superior conformal polymeric material. In fact, a few attempts have shown that the parylene can be a good barrier coating for the OLED devices. This polymer film cannot, however, provide a long-term reliability due to nature of the polymer degradation in the presence of oxygen and moisture. In order to compensate such a drawback, we have explored the ‘biomimetic’ solution processing to deposit the oxide films on the organic substrate. Oxide films can provide a better protection and more robust surface. In this study, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) commonly used for an organic substrate, is deposited with the TiO2 films with or without the parylene underlying layer. Importantly, the oxide coating is processed at very low temperatures (< 60 °C) in aqueous solution, so the process can avoid premature failure due to high-temperature processes, and is applicable to organic structures, cheap and environment-friendly. In addition, hermeticity tests are devised to measure the moisture and oxygen permeation. Interfacial structure and mechanical properties of the resultant coatings are tested via scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), optical microscope (OM) and nanoindentation.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Transforming the multifluid PPM algorithm to run on GPUs

In the past several years, there has been much success in adapting numerical algorithms involving linear algebra and pairwise N-body force calculations to run well on GPUs. These numerical algorithms share the feature that high computational intensity can be achieved while holding only small amounts of data in on-chip storage. In previous work, we combined a briquette data structure and a heavily pipelined CFD processing of these data briquettes in sequence that results in a very small on-chip data workspace and high performance for our multifluid PPM gas dynamics algorithm on CPUs with standard sized caches. The on-chip data workspace produced in that earlier work is not small enough to meet the requirements of today's GPUs, which demand that no more than 32 kB of on-chip data be associated with a single thread of control (a warp). Here we report a variant of our earlier technique that allows a user-controllable trade-off between workspace size and redundant computation that can be a win on GPUs. We use our multifluid PPM gas dynamics algorithm to illustrate this technique. Performance results for this algorithm in 32-bit precision on a recently introduced dual-chip GPU, the Nvidia K80, are 1.7 times that on a similarly recent dual CPU node using two 16-core Intel Haswell chips. The redundant computation that allows the on-chip data context for each thread of control to be less than 32 kB is roughly 9% of the total. We have built an automatic translator from a Fortran expression to CUDA to ease the programming burden that is involved in applying our technique. An optimization for limited workspace on the GPUs.Allowing trade-off between workspace size and redundant computation.Automatic translators to automate the optimizations.Delivered 1.7 to 2.4 times speedups compared to the CPU systems.Superior or comparable performance compared to other CFDs running on GPUs.
The glycoprotein Ib-IX complex-specific monoclonal antibody SZ1 binds to a conformation-sensitive epitope on glycoprotein IX: implications for the target antigen of quinine/quinidine-dependent autoantibodies

The monoclonal antibody SZ1 is of interest for two reasons: it was used to define complex formation between glycoprotein (GP) Ib and GP IX, and its epitope is likely to be identical to that recognized by most quinine- and quinidine-dependent autoantibodies that cause thrombocytopenia. To determine the location of the epitope for SZ1 within the GP Ib-IX complex (which consists of three subunits: GP Ib alpha, GP Ib beta, and GP IX), we tested the ability of the antibody to bind transfected cells that expressed different combinations of complex subunits, and compared this binding to the binding of antibodies of known specificity. SZ1 bound to cells that expressed the entire GP Ib-IX complex in the same pattern as did AN51 (an antibody specific for GP Ib alpha). However, unlike AN51, SZ1 did not bind alpha beta cells (ie, cells that express GP Ib alpha and GP Ib beta, but not GP IX), but did bind to beta IX and alpha IX cells. We then compared the binding patterns of SZ1 and FMC25, an antibody specific for GP IX. Both bound virtually identically to cell lines that expressed every combination of two of the three GP Ib-IX complex subunits. However, the epitopes of the two antibodies were not identical, because fixation with 4% paraformaldehyde of cells that expressed GP IX destroyed the SZ1 epitope while maintaining the FMC25 epitope. Because of the ability of SZ1 to block the binding of many quinine- and quinidine-dependent antibodies, these data strongly suggest that GP IX is the component of the GP Ib-IX complex recognized by those antibodies.
Claiming integration, performing exclusion: Yamina Benguigui’s documentaries:

This article examines Yamina Benguigui’s filmmaking in Memoires d’immigres, Le Plafond de verre / Les Defricheurs, and 9-3 memoire d’un territoire, three documentaries that explore policies of the French government and their consequences on postcolonial immigrants and their children in France. Benguigui’s documentaries intertwine official and personal testimonies while erasing the director’s presence. I analyse the implications of this (failed) erasure, as well as the limits of Benguigui’s projects. Benguigui’s attempts to stage a dialogue between the majority population and minorities seem to depend on the suppression of controversies. The traces that remain of the interviewer point to the ever-looming presence of the director in shaping the reality presented: a reality that glosses over a failing educational system and Islamophobia.
Unpolarized resonance grating reflectors with 44% fractional bandwidth

There is immense scientific interest in the properties of resonant thin films embroidered with periodic nanoscale features. This device class possesses considerable innovation potential. Accordingly, we report unpolarized broadband reflectors enabled by a serial arrangement of a pair of polarized subwavelength gratings. Optimized with numerical methods, our elemental gratings consist of a partially etched crystalline-silicon film on a quartz substrate. The resulting reflectors exhibit extremely wide spectral reflection bands in one polarization. By arranging two such reflectors sequentially with orthogonal periodicities, there results an unpolarized spectral band that exceeds those of the individual polarized bands. In the experiments reported herein, we achieve zero-order reflectance exceeding 97% under unpolarized light incidence over a 500 nm wide wavelength band. This wideband represents a ∼44% fractional band in the near infrared. Moreover, the resonant unpolarized broadband accommodates an ultra-high reflection band spanning ∼85 nm and exceeding 99.9% in efficiency. The elemental polarization-sensitive reflectors based on one-dimensional (1D) resonant gratings have a simple design and robust performance, and are straightforward to fabricate. Hence, this technology is a promising alternative to traditional multilayer thin-film reflectors, especially at longer wavelengths of light where multilayer deposition may be infeasible or impractical.
"The Spiral of Abuse? Reciprocal Relationships among Abusive Supervision, Performance, and Motives"

We propose a dynamic reciprocal relationship between abusive supervision and subordinate performance (i.e., task performance, citizenship behaviors, and deviance) in which subordinate performance p...
Flowfield Establishment and Unsteadiness in Hypervelocity Double Wedge Flows

Significant discrepancies between experiments and simulations have been reported in the normalized establishment times for hypervelocity double wedge and double cone flows. Experimental results for flow establishment times based on heat transfer measurements have been reported by Holden and Mallinson, Gai, and Mudford [1, 2].
DOMA and Conflicts Law: Congressional Rules and Domestic Relations Conflicts Law

This Essay proceeds to more fully develop the points of the preceding paragraph in two parts. Part I describes how DOMA runs contrary to normal conflicts principles. Part I.A. briefly notes how DOMA operates contrary to the normal conflicts judgment rules for final money judgments. Part I.B. then critiques DOMA's attempts to resolve apparent and true conflicts. DOMA is unnecessary to resolve the false conflict case of a couple fleeing their marital domicile to be "married" somewhere else. Part I.B. explores why these easy cases nevertheless have become potentially hard as a result of the misguided majority "place of celebration" rule. Part I.B. also describes DOMA's overbreadth in dealing with apparent and true conflicts. This overbreadth indicates that DOMA is not a choice of law rule, but rather a substantive rule.Expanding on this insight that DOMA is not a conflicts rule but a substantive rule, this Essay briefly explores in Part II why such substantive powers cannot constitutionally be exercised through the effects clause. DOMA is an improper exercise of potential federal conflicts power, because it invalidates state judgments based on their content alone. DOMA thereby vitiates state sovereignty. To have potential validity, a federal conflicts rule would instead need to choose, on a content neutral basis, which of several potentially interested jurisdictions' judgments would be given full faith and credit effect.
Neonatal outcomes following preterm birth classified according to placental features.

Background Preterm birth has staggering health implications, and yet the causes of most cases are still unknown. Placental features have been understudied as an etiology for preterm birth, and the association between placental pathologic lesions and neonatal outcomes are incompletely understood. Objective We sought to characterize births according to placental pathology and relate these to adverse neonatal outcomes. Study Design We studied 20,091 births (15,710 term and 4381 preterm) with placental evaluations. Births were classified according to the presence or absence of placental lesions consistent with malperfusion (vasculopathy, infarct, advanced villous maturation, perivillous fibrin, fibrin deposition) and intrauterine inflammation/infection (chorioamnionitis, funisitis, vasculitis). Outcomes were gestational week of delivery, birthweight z-score, neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, and intraventricular hemorrhage. Results Among all preterm births, evidence of placental malperfusion was identified more often than inflammation/infection (50.6% vs 27.3%, P P P P P = .001) were observed more often than when neither lesion was present. Findings were similar when restricted to cases of spontaneous preterm birth. Intraventricular hemorrhage was higher in preterm births with malperfusion lesions than cases with no lesions (7.6% vs 3.4%; odds ratio, 1.98; confidence interval, 1.18–3.32), accounting for gestational age and other covariates. Conclusion Placental pathology provides important insight into subtypes of preterm birth with adverse neonatal outcomes. Co-occurrence of malperfusion and inflammation/infection, especially among spontaneous preterm births, may be a novel pattern of placental injury linked to severe adverse outcomes.
Addressing of Micro-robot Teams and Non-contact Micro-manipulation

This manuscript presents two methods for the addressable control of multiple magnetic microrobots. Such methods could be valued for microrobot applications requiring high speed parallel operation. The first uses multiple magnetic materials to enable selective magnetic disabling while the second allows for independent magnetic forces to be applied to a set of magnetic micro-robots moving in three dimensions. As an application of untethered magnetic microrobots, we also present a non-contact manipulation method for micron scale objects using a locally induced rotational fluid flow field. The micro-manipulator is rotated by an external magnetic field in a viscous fluid to generate a rotational flow field, which moves the objects in the flow region by fluidic drag. Due to its untethered and non-contact operation, this micro-manipulation method could be used to quickly move fragile micro-objects in inaccessible or enclosed spaces such as in lab-on-a-chip devices. In addition to introducing the operation and capability of these fabrication and control methods, we discuss the implications of scaling these systems to smaller scales for comparison with other microrobotics actuation and control techniques.
Transmission characteristics of a two dimensional antiscatter grid prototype for CBCT.

Aim High fraction of scattered radiation in cone-beam CT (CBCT) imaging degrades CT number accuracy and visualization of low contrast objects. To suppress scatter in CBCT projections, we developed a focused, two-dimensional antiscatter grid (2DASG) prototype. In this work, we report on the primary and scatter transmission characteristics of the 2DASG prototype aimed for linac mounted, offset detector geometry CBCT systems in radiation therapy, and compared its performance to a conventional one-dimensional ASG (1DASG). Methods The 2DASG is an array through-holes separated by 0.1 mm septa that was fabricated from tungsten using additive manufacturing techniques. Through-holes’ focusing geometry was designed for offset detector CBCT in Varian TrueBeam system. Two types of ASGs were evaluated: a) a conventional 1DASG with a grid ratio of 10, b) the 2DASG prototype with a grid ratio of 8.2. To assess the scatter suppression performance of both ASGs, Scatter-to-primary ratio (SPR) and scatter transmission fraction (Ts) were measured using the beam stop method. Scatter and primary intensities were modulated by varying the phantom thickness between 10 and 40 cm. Additionally, the effect of air gap and bow tie (BT) filter on SPR and Ts were evaluated. Average primary transmission fraction (TP) and pixel specific primary transmission were also measured for both ASGs. To assess the effect of transmission characteristics on projection image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement factor was calculated. Improvement in contrast to noise ratio (CNR) was demonstrated using a low contrast object. Results In comparison to 1DASG, 2DASG reduced SPRs by a factor of 3 to 6 across the range of phantom setups investigated. Ts values for 1D and 2DASGs were in the range of 21 to 29%, and 5 to 14%, respectively. 2DASG continued to provide lower SPR and Ts at increased air gap and with BT filter. Tp of 1D and 2DASGs were 70.6% and 84.7%, respectively. Due to the septal shadow of the 2DASG, its pixel specific primary transmission values varied between 32.5% and 99.1%. With respect to 1DASG, 2DASG provided up to factor of 1.7 more improvement in SNR across the SPR range investigated. Moreover, 2DASG provided improved visualization of low contrast objects with respect to 1DASG and NOASG setups. Conclusions When compared to a conventional 1DASG, 2DASG prototype provided noticeably lower SPR and Ts values, indicating its superior scatter suppression performance. 2DASG also provided 19% higher average primary transmission that was attributed to the absence of interseptal spacers and optimized grid geometry. Our results indicate that the combined effect of lower scatter and higher primary transmission provided by 2DASG may potentially translate into more accurate CT numbers and improved contrast resolution in CBCT images. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Applications of Botulinum Toxin in the Urinary Tract

Robust evidence exists supporting the effectiveness of Botulinum toxin A (BoNTA) in the treatment of lower urinary tract disorders including neurogenic detrusor overactivity and non-neurogenic overactive bladder. Following several randomized controlled trials with promising outcomes, the US Food and Drug Administration approved application of BoNTA for treatment of urge urinary incontinence due to neurogenic detrusor overactivity in 2011 and for overactive bladder in 2013. Following regulatory approval, use of BoNTA has gained popularity among urologists. This chapter outlines applications of BoNTA in the management of lower urinary tract disorders and presents most recent data regarding efficacy, side effects, and cost-effectiveness of BoNTA in urologic applications.
Expression of degradative enzymes and protease inhibitors in corneas with keratoconus

Purpose Keratoconus is characterized by thinning and scarring of the central region of the cornea. Previous research showed that, in corneas obtained from patients with keratoconus, lysosomal enzyme activities are elevated, whereas levels of protease inhibitors such as alpha1-proteinase inhibitor are reduced. This study was undertaken to examine further the expression of a spectrum of proteolytic enzymes and protease inhibitors. Methods Corneal buttons were collected from patients with keratoconus, healthy subjects, and patients with other corneal diseases. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on paraffin sections. Enzymatic assays and western blot analysis were carried out for cathepsins B and G. In addition, an in situ zymography procedure was used to examine the gelatin- and casein-digesting activities in corneas with keratoconus. Results An enhanced staining was found with antibodies to cathepsins B and G. Enzymatic assays and western blotting confirmed that the levels of these two enzymes were elevated in corneas with keratoconus. No alteration was noted with any of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family members and other enzymes and inhibitors examined, although in situ zymography did indicate an increase in net gelatin- and casein-digesting activities in corneas with keratoconus. These activities were mostly abolished by inhibitors for serine and cysteine proteinases, but not by those for MMPs and aspartic proteinases. Conclusions Levels of cathepsins B and G are increased in corneas with keratoconus. These enzymes may contribute to the heightened in situ gelatin- and casein-digesting activities, leading to abnormalities in keratoconus.