cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Thermal Ablation in Biological Tissues Using Short Pulse Lasers

For the past few years various photothermal methods such as Laser-induced Hyperthermia [1] and Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy [2] has been developed for tumor ablation. In all of these existing techniques, either continuous wave (CW) or long pulse laser sources have been used, which often produces heat affected zones that are larger than the boundaries of the tumor, which leads to collateral damage of surrounding healthy tissue. Moreover for these applications, either collimated or diffused laser beams are used, resulting in much of the energy being absorbed by tissues at the skin surface and very little remaining energy penetrating the skin. Such drawbacks can be eliminated if a beam from a short pulse laser source is focused directly at the targeted subsurface location. Tight focusing ensures that sufficient intensity to drive nonlinear optical absorption can be achieved with low pulse energy. This technique has been effectively used in applications such as non-ablative dermal remodeling [3] and treatment of striated muscles [4]. However, the use of focused beam from an ultra-short pulse laser source has never been applied to tumor ablation and is investigated in this paper.© 2010 ASME
Role of body size in the diets of sympatric gray and culpeo foxes

Feeding ecology of sympatric South American gray fox ( Dusicyon griseus ) and culpeo fox ( D. culpaeus ) was studied from 1987 to 1990 in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, to determine if these canids have different patterns of prey selection. Seasonal and species differences in use of prey were compared with availability of prey to determine prey selection by these foxes. Mammals accounted for 90% of 851 items of vertebrate prey occurring in 890 feces of gray foxes. The European hare ( Lepus capensis ) was the most common vertebrate prey (45%), with lesser amounts of the guanaco ( Lama guanicoe ; 14%) and Akodon (13%). Of 784 items of vertebrate prey in 645 feces of culpeo foxes, 93% were mammalian. The European hare accounted for 69% of the prey items, and rodents 20%. The proportion of vertebrate prey items consumed by gray and culpeo foxes changed seasonally. Yearly diets of gray and culpeo foxes were significantly different, with ungulates and the European hare contributing most to the difference. Gray foxes were more omnivorous than culpeo foxes, feeding more on beetles and plants, especially from spring through autumn. Gray foxes had a significantly higher ( X ± SE) index of food-niche breadth for vertebrates than did culpeo foxes (0.24 ± 0.01 versus 0.09 ± 0.01) and consumed vertebrate prey of a significantly lower mass (2.17 ± 0.07 versus 2.59 ± 0.09 kg). The index of similarity between the diets of the two species was low (0.14). Differences in feeding habits between gray and culpeo foxes evidently are attributable to differences in food availability in their respective habitats.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease: A review of surgical decision making.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a very common disorder with increasing prevalence. It is estimated that up to 20%-25% of Americans experience symptoms of GERD weekly. Excessive reflux of acidic often with alkaline bile salt gastric and duodenal contents results in a multitude of symptoms for the patient including heartburn, regurgitation, cough, and dysphagia. There are also associated complications of GERD including erosive esophagitis, Barrett’s esophagus, stricture and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. While first line treatments for GERD involve mainly lifestyle and non-surgical therapies, surgical interventions have proven to be effective in appropriate circumstances. Anti-reflux operations are aimed at creating an effective barrier to reflux at the gastroesophageal junction and thus attempt to improve physiologic and mechanical issues that may be involved in the pathogenesis of GERD. The decision for surgical intervention in the treatment of GERD, moreover, requires an objective confirmation of the diagnosis. Confirmation is achieved using various preoperative evaluations including: ambulatory pH monitoring, esophageal manometry, upper endoscopy (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) and barium swallow. Upon confirmation of the diagnosis and with appropriate patient criteria met, an anti-reflux operation is a good alternative to prolonged medical therapy. Currently, minimally invasive gastro-esophageal fundoplication is the gold standard for surgical intervention of GERD. Our review outlines the many factors that are involved in surgical decision-making. We will review the prominent features that reflect appropriate anti-reflux surgery and present suggestions that are pertinent to surgical practices, based on evidence-based studies.
Hovering and Twirling of Tethered Molecules by Confinement between Surfaces

Through STM images, we show that azobenzene-terminated alkanethiols hover and twirl when confined between the Ag tip and Au(111) substrate of an STM junction. In contrast with mechanisms of activation used to drive molecular rotors, twirling is induced by the effective elimination of lateral corrugation in the energy landscape when molecules hover by their van der Waals attraction to the approaching tip. While in the stationary state the benzenes of the head group lie flat with an inter-ring separation of 7.5 A, they stand on-edge as the molecule twirls and their separation contracts to 5.2 A, close to the value of the free molecule. The captured images of motion allow the characterization of physisorption potentials.
SOME BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS FOR THE WAVE EQUATION

Publisher Summary This chapter presents some results and open problems for nonlinear wave equations in a half strip. It is well-known that C2 solutions of the initial boundary value problem can break down in finite time for arbitrarily small data if the condition ϕ' (0) + 1 > 0 holds. However, a similar argument can be given for weak solutions satisfying energy conservation. Moreover, extension of this result to the full system of equations of nonlinear elasticity can also be shown.
Evaluation of a Thrombin Time Reagent

Quality control for thrombin time determinations has been unsatisfactory because dilute thrombin solutions are unstable. We have evaluated Thromboquik® reagent which contains 3—4 N.I.H. units of thrombin per milliliter. Our results indicate that the reagent is stable for at least ten days after reconstitution. The day-to-day and within-run precision of thrombin time results in both the normal and the abnormal range is acceptable. The reagent may be used with the Fibrometer® as well as the Coag-A-Mate®; however, the clotting times are significantly faster on the Coag-A-Mate.
Chaotic sequences for noisy environments.

There have been many attempts to apply chaotic signals to communications or radar, but one obstacle has been that there is no effective way to recover chaotic signals from noise larger than the signal. In this work, we create “pseudo-chaotic” signals by concatenating dictionary sequences generated from a chaotic attractor. Because the number of dictionary sequences is finite, these pseudo-chaotic signals are not actually chaotic, but they can still contain some of the desirable properties of chaos. Using dictionary sequences allows the pseudo-chaotic signal to be recovered from noise using a correlation detector and a Viterbi decoder, so the signal can be recovered from noise or interference that is larger than the signal itself.
An optimized RESURF LDMOS power device module compatible with advanced logic processes

An advanced optimized RESURF LDMOS device intended for use in low side applications and suitable for integration into advanced CMOS and BiCMOS processes is described. Devices with 84 V and 97 V breakdown voltages have been modeled and fabricated with excellent specific on-resistance performance at CMOS level gate drives. Specific on-resistance of 2.0 m Omega .cm/sup 2/ at 97 V represents the best performance in this voltage class. >
Antisperm Contraceptive Vaccine

Contraceptive vaccines (CV) may provide a viable and valuable alternative that could fulfill most, if not all, of the properties of an ideal contraceptive. The molecules for CV development either target gamete production [luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH)/GnRH, FSH], gamete function [sperm antigens and oocytes zona pellucida (ZP)], or gamete outcome (LIF and HCG). Sperm cell is an exciting target. Several antigens including Izumo, which are specifically expressed in sperm cell, have been/are actively investigated for CV development. Vaccines based on native/recombinant sperm proteins, synthetic peptides, and naked DNA have shown reversible contraceptive effects without any serious side effects in various species of animals. Presently, no sperm vaccine has undergone clinical trial in humans. As with any vaccine, the progress has been restricted due to variability of the immune response after active immunization to attain sufficiently high antibody titers, especially in the genital tract in all the vaccinated individuals, and uncertainty regarding how long the bioeffective antibodies will remain in circulation. It is envisaged that these concerns may be obliterated by the passive immunization approach using the performed antibodies. The antibody therapies are successful against various infectious diseases, both in animals and humans. Phage display technology has been widely used to obtain a variety of engineered antibodies, including single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies. Using this technology, recently our laboratory has isolated, produced, and characterized fully functional human scFv antibodies against specific human sperm antigens. These human antibodies are being examined for their utility as novel immunocontraceptives.
Markov-Type Inequalities for Products of Müntz Polynomials Revisited

Professor Rahman was a great expert of Markov- and Bernstein-type inequalities for various classes of functions, in particular for polynomials under various constraints on their zeros, coefficients, and so on. His books are great sources of such inequalities and related matters. Here we do not even try to survey Rahman’s contributions to Markov- and Bernstein-type inequalities and related results. We focus on Markov-type inequalities for products of Muntz polynomials. Let \(\Lambda _{n}:=\{\lambda _{0} <\lambda _{1} < \cdots <\lambda _{n}\}\) be a set of real numbers. We denote the linear span of \(x^{\lambda _{0}},x^{\lambda _{1}},\ldots,x^{\lambda _{n}}\) over \(\mathbb{R}\) by \(M(\Lambda _{n}):= \text{span}\{x^{\lambda _{0}},x^{\lambda _{1}},\ldots,x^{\lambda _{n}}\}\). Elements of \(M(\Lambda _{n})\) are called Muntz polynomials. The principal result of this paper is a Markov-type inequality for products of Muntz polynomials on intervals [a, b] ⊂ (0, ∞) which extends a less general result proved in an earlier publication. It allows us to answer some questions asked by Thomas Bloom recently in e-mail communications. The author believes that the new results in this paper are sufficiently interesting and original to serve as a tribute to the memory of Professor Rahman in this volume.
Mary I, Mary of Guise and the Strong Hand of the Scots: Marian Policy in Ulster and Anglo-Scottish Diplomacy, 1553–1558

This chapter considers Marian policy toward the Scots in Ulster. Mary I, like Henry VIII before her, aimed at establishing sovereignty over the north of Ireland. After initial attempts to resolve Scottish interference in Ulster by incorporation and diplomacy failed, Mary I appointed Thomas Radcliff, earl of Sussex, as lord deputy. He made expulsion of the Scots a priority and sought to unite the Gaelic Irish and Old English in anti-Scottish sentiment. Mary I’s former conciliatory attitude toward the Scots had always been contingent on Scottish cooperation, and Sussex’s stance did not signal a dramatic shift in royal policy.
Lafayette Strong: A Content Analysis of Grief and Support Online Following a Theater Shooting:

On July 23, 2015, in the Grand 16 Theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana, a gunman opened fire in the 7 o’clock showing of the movie, Trainwreck. Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33, both received f...
Ultrasound Characterization of Bone Demineralization Using a Support Vector Machine.

We propose an ultrasound-guided remote measurement technique, utilizing an acoustic radiation force beam as our excitation source and a receiving hydrophone, to assess non-invasively a bone's mechanical properties. Features, such as velocity, were extracted from the acoustic pressure received from the bone surface. The typical velocity of an intact bone (3540 m/s) was higher in comparison to that of a demineralized bone (2231 m/s). According to the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal velocity cutoff value of ≥3096 m/s yields 80% sensitivity and 82.61% specificity between intact and demineralized bone. Utilizing a support vector machine, the hours of bone demineralization were successfully classified with maximum accuracy >80% using 18% training data. The results indicate the potential application of our proposed technique and support vector machine for monitoring bone mechanical properties.
Coordinating Advanced Crowd Work: Extending Citizen Science

This paper presents a case study of an online citizen science project that attempted to involve volunteers in tasks with multiple dependencies including analyzing bulk data as well as interpreting data and writing a paper for publication. Tasks with more dependencies call for more elaborate coordination mechanisms. However, the relationship between the project and its volunteers limits how work can be coordinated. Contrariwise, a mismatch between dependencies and available coordination mechanisms can lead to performance problems, as were seen in the case. The results of the study suggest recommendations for design of online citizen science projects for advanced tasks.
Nitric Oxide Signaling and Atherothrombosis Redux: Evidence From Experiments of Nature and Implications for Therapy.

Article, see p 222 > Don’t reinvent the wheel, just realign it.1 > > —Anthony J. D’Angelo The relationship of nitric oxide (NO) to vascular disease has a long and storied history. Even before the identification of the endothelium-derived relaxing factor as NO, abnormalities in endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation were recognized in human atherosclerotic coronary arteries.2 Soon thereafter, Bossaller and colleagues3 showed that this impairment in endothelium-dependent relaxation in response to muscarinic agonists is associated with attenuated cyclic guanosine 5′-monophosphate (cGMP) accumulation, consistent with a key signaling mechanism for NO. Vita and colleagues4 subsequently demonstrated that impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation of angiographically smooth coronary arteries correlates with risk factor burden, ushering in the notion that endothelial dysfunction and associated NO insufficiency is a precursor to overt coronary atherosclerosis.5 From the thrombosis perspective, platelet-derived NO was shown to be critical in modulating hemostatic potential,6 largely by impairing recruitment of platelets to the growing platelet thrombus.7 In keeping with this key biological role, a deficiency of platelet-derived NO was shown to predict the presence of an acute coronary syndrome8 and to contribute to the overall propensity to arterial thrombosis.9 Taken together, these observations show that altered NO bioavailability and signaling functionally link NO to the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis. Furthermore, early evidence suggested that adequate bioavailable NO can promote the regression of established atherosclerosis, in part, by improving endothelial function,10 and by inducing monocyte/macrophage apoptosis, as well.11 Functional polymorphisms in the endothelial NO synthase gene ( NOS3 ) that attenuate NO production are experiments of nature that confirm the adverse consequences of inadequate generation of NO by the endothelium. Casas and colleagues12 reported a meta-analysis of 26 studies involving >23 000 subjects and showed that homozygosity for the loss-of-function Glu298Asp variant and for the intron-4a (27-bp insertion/deletion variable number tandem …
Transition Metal Hydride Catalysts for Sustainable Interconversion of CO2 and Formate: Thermodynamic and Mechanistic Considerations

Hydride transfer between transition metal hydride complexes and carbon dioxide is a known reaction, where the thermodynamically favored direction of hydride transfer determines whether CO2 reduction or formate oxidation occurs. Analysis of a growing database of thermodynamic parameters for transition metal hydride complexes now provides clear demarcation between metal hydrides which will function as oxidases and as reductases. The turning point is set at the hydricity of formate (44 kcal/mol in acetonitrile). Here, we utilize hydricity as a framework to reevaluate the catalytic activity and proposed mechanisms for formate oxidation and CO2 reduction with several Ni and Rh P2N2 (P2N2 = 1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane) complexes, respectively. The series of Ni P2N2 complexes have hydricities between 55–64 kcal/mol and are active catalysts for the electrochemical oxidation of formate. A surprising correlation of increased rate of electrochemical oxidation with decreased overpotential, η, is observed. The ...
Modeling pseudo-elastic behavior in small-scale ThCr2Si2-type crystals

Abstract Crystals of the ThCr2Si2-type structure comprise a large class of known compounds, and observations of superconductivity in some of the compounds generated significant interest in these materials. Recently, nano-indentation experiments have shown that at room temperature, small-scale crystals of CaFe2As2 exhibit pseudo-elastic behavior with recoverable strains of over 10%. These experiments also demonstrate the potential for shape memory effects at cryogenic temperatures, behavior which has previously been related to its magnetic phase transitions. In this work, the phase transitions of CaFe2As2 are investigated using density functional theory (DFT) in conjunction with analytical models. The models demonstrate that both uniaxial and hydrostatic loading can give rise to pseudo-elastic behavior. These models are then applied to LaRu2P2, which does not exhibit a magnetic phase change, but is still found to have a similar pseudo-elastic response. A suite of parameters useful in quantifying the complex responses of these compounds is presented and it is demonstrated that c-axis strain is the critical loading parameter in predicting the pseudo-elastic behavior. These results provide a method of connecting local chemical tuning to macroscopic behavior.
Creating Effective Online Training Videos from Live Training Event Recordings

Posting video of live training events is frequently requested but can often benefit from planning and minor editing. In this presentation, we will describe how live training events were staged and recorded with an eye toward later reuse, followed by a description of postprocessing tips to prepare the recording for asynchronous training use. Techniques to produce online training videos quickly and cost-effectively will be described. We will then discuss online training video usage data and feedback collection plans, and the application of analytics to understand learner behavior and improve future training materials.
Alternative methods for below-knee amputation: reappraisal of the Kendrick procedure.

Background In 1956, Kendrick described a technique for below-knee amputation (BKA) using anterior and posterior flaps in a length ratio of 1:2. There has been no review of the utility and safety of this technique over the past four decades. Study design The Kendrick method was studied in 96 consecutive patients who underwent 100 BKAs from 1982 to 1995. Follow-up examination was continued through the period of rehabilitation and included all revisional surgery. Results Eighty-one patients had diabetes mellitus, 15 patients were nondiabetic, and the mean age was 67 years (range, 12 to 94 years). Fifty-seven patients underwent BKA for diabetic foot sepsis with healing failure after debridement or nonreconstructable vascular disease, 19 patients underwent BKAs for progressive necrosis despite a patent arterial reconstruction, and 24 patients underwent BKAs for other causes, including microembolism, calciphylaxis-related gangrene, bypass failure, trauma, frostbite, and calf-wound healing failure after coronary revascularization. Preliminary guillotine amputations were performed on three limbs. There was an incision in the calf from previous vascular surgery in 25 limbs. The 30-day mortality rate was 6 percent. Healing of the stump and knee salvage occurred in 93 limbs (93 percent). Four patients had local wound complications develop in the stump, yet they eventually healed. During the follow-up period, conversion to an above-knee amputation was necessary in seven patients, five within 30 days. Only one of these was in a limb with a previous arterial reconstruction in the calf. Conclusions The Kendrick procedure for BKA with anterior and posterior flaps is efficacious and safe. This procedure is advantageous for its anatomic basis, the ease with which the flaps can be designed despite leg edema or overall size, and the ability of the surgeon to distance the posterior flap margin from sepsis in the lower one-third of the calf.
Gender Disparities in Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Among 3 Specialties From 2007 to 2017

Abstract Despite women accounting for nearly half of all U.S. medical school graduates, this balanced representation is lacking in the cardiovascular specialties. To explore this question further, gender-based trends in the selection of cardiovascular subspecialty fellowship training were investigated among three core specialties: anesthesiology, medicine, and surgery. Using enrollment and workforce data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and the Journal of the American Medical Association Annual Report on Graduate Medical Education, trends in cardiovascular fellowship selection among women were examined over a 10-year period (2007-2017). An attempt was also made to better understand barriers that might contribute to any discrepancies, as well as factors that might influence women's choices of cardiovascular specialties over other fields.
Racial differences in retinal neurodegeneration as a surrogate marker for cortical atrophy in multiple sclerosis

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) has both an inflammatory and a neurodegenerative component, with gray matter (GM) atrophy being an important contributor to disability. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) may serve as a prognostic tool for neuroaxonal health by measuring ganglion cell inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness. There is a paucity of literature regarding the effects of race on pathobiology of MS, as racial minorities are underrepresented in research studies. Objective The aim of this paper is to compare the correlation between GM fraction (GMF) and GCIPL thickness in Caucasian Americans with MS (CAMS) and African Americans with MS (AAMS). Methods Fifty-nine patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were included. Using a cross-sectional design, we compared the OCT (GCIPL thickness) and MRI (GMF) data of 32 CAMS and 27 AAMS patients. Results No significant correlation was observed between GMF and GCIPL in our study group (p = 0.127, r = 0.148). CAMS exhibited a significant correlation between these measures (p = 0.0004, r = 0.434), while in AAMS these measures did not correlate significantly (p = 0.187, r = −0.201). Conclusion GCIPL might be a sensitive biomarker predicting GM atrophy and disability in CAMS, but not in AAMS. Larger studies are needed to investigate reliable biomarkers across races. Inclusion of AAMS in research studies is necessary to shed more light on the pathobiology of MS.
A multi-objective reliability-based decision support system for incorporating decision maker utilities in the design of infrastructure

Abstract Infrastructure comprises the most fundamental facilities and systems serving society. Because infrastructure exists in economic, social, and environmental contexts, all lifecycle phases of such facilities should maximize utility for society, occupants, and designers. However, due to uncertainties associated with the nature of the built environment, the economic, social, and environmental (i.e., triple bottom line) impacts of infrastructure assets must be described as probabilistic. For this reason, optimization models should aim to maximize decision maker utilities with respect to multiple and potentially conflicting probabilistic decision criteria. Although stochastic optimization and multi-objective optimization are well developed in the field of operations research, their intersection (multi-objective optimization under uncertainty) is much less developed and computationally expensive. This article presents a computationally efficient, adaptable, multi-objective decision support system for finding optimal infrastructure design configurations with respect to multiple probabilistic decision criteria and decision maker requirements (utilities). The proposed model utilizes the First Order Reliability Method (FORM) in a systems reliability approach to assess the reliability of alternative infrastructure design configurations with regard to the probabilistic decision criteria and decision maker defined utilities, and prioritizes the decision criteria that require improvement. A pilot implementation is undertaken on a nine-story office building in Los Angeles, California to illustrate the capabilities of the framework. The results of the pilot implementation revealed that “high-performing” design configurations (with higher initial costs and lower failure costs) had a higher probability of meeting the decision maker’s preferences than more traditional, low initial cost configurations. The proposed framework can identify low-impact designs that also maximize decision maker utilities.
Micro-invasive glaucoma surgery – an interventional glaucoma revolution

The glaucoma surgical landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade with the introduction and integration of micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) techniques. These modalities target physiologic outflow pathways or optimize previously utilized glaucoma surgical methods in order to deliver safety, efficacy, and individualized care to the patient. MIGS techniques can be classified based on anatomical location as well as method of intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction. This review will focus on MIGS optimizing the conventional outflow pathway via intervention at Schlemm’s canal, MIGS optimizing the uveoscleral outflow pathway via suprachoroidal shunting, and MIGS optimizing the transscleral or subconjunctival outflow pathway which has long been utilized by glaucoma surgeons performing traditional filtration procedures. The wide array of currently available MIGS modalities can be staggering to the glaucoma care provider, but an understanding of the landscape and the large classes of interventional strategies can allow for clinical decision making based on the specifics of the patient’s needs and the pathophysiology of their disease.
A revision of the spider beetle genus Eutaphroptinus Borowski (Coleoptera: Ptinidae)

A revision of the genus Eutaphroptinus is presented. Eutaphroptinus pseudonatalensis is proposed as a junior synonym of Eutaphroptinus natalensis. Illustrations showing some of the morphological variation are included, and new records of this now monotypic genus are also provided.
Coordinating Autism Care Across Schools and Medical Settings: Considerations for School Psychologists:

Optimal service delivery for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often involves interdisciplinary care coordination between primary care clinicians, community-based providers, and school p...
Visioning the Future of Gerontological Digital Social Work

Gerontological Social Work education has been substantially altered by the advancement of today's digital technologies, influencing both the training and tools required to ensure student success in social work research, policy, and practice. The goal of this paper is to present the state of the science on gerontological digital social work education, identify implications for emerging technologies, and define areas for social work student competencies and proficiencies to advance the field of gerontological digital social work. This paper underlines the role of gerontological digital social work education in preparing future researchers, practitioners, and policymakers when engaging in Digital Therapeutic Teams. We provide insightful considerations pertaining to emerging technologies which present unique opportunities for innovation. Furthermore, this paper presents training and education opportunities for social work education in preparing future gerontologist practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to engage in multidisciplinary team efforts and leverage digital technologies and digital therapeutics.
National Trends in Cervical Cancer Screening in Adolescents

ABSTRACT Study Objective To characterize patterns of cervical cancer screening among adolescents ages 14-20 years before and after the 2009 American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommendations. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 2005-2016 data. Participants Female adolescents and young women ages 14-26 years. Interventions Multivariable logistic regression models identified independent predictors of unindicated cervical cancer screening at office-based visits among adolescents ages 14-20 years. Main Outcome Measures Cervical cancer screening in women ages 14-20 and 21-26 years in 2 time periods: 2005-2008 and 2009-2016. Results Between 2005 and 2016, 11,768 office visits were among adolescents ages 14-20 years. Overall, the cervical cancer screening rate for young women ages 14-20 years was 4.0%, which decreased from 4.5% to 0.4% (P = .008) during the study period. Adolescents who received cervical cancer screening during an office visit were older (18-20 years: 24.1% vs 14-17 years: 8.2%; P Conclusion Despite recommendations, cervical cancer screening continued to occur in the adolescent population—especially older adolescents—creating unnecessary costs and potential harms. These findings show a slow uptake of guidelines nationally and the need for initiatives that encourage implementation of performance measures for providers, including ongoing provider and patient education.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé Syndrome

Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome (BHD), also known as fibrofolliculomas with trichodiscomas and acrochordons syndrome, is an autosomal dominant genodermatosis [1]. Internal tumors, such colonic polyps and renal carcinomas, have also been described in these patients. This condition was originally described in 1977, when Birt, Hogg, and Dube described a family in which 15 of 70 members over three generations exhibited multiple, skin-colored, dome-shaped papules distributed over the face, neck, and upper trunk [2, 3]. It has been shown that BHD is caused by a germline mutation in the FLCN (folliculin) gene (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man #135150) [4].
Atomic force microscope

The scanning tunneling microscope is proposed as a method to measure forces as small as 10-18 N. As one application for this concept, we introduce a new type of microscope capable of investigating surfaces of insulators on an atomic scale. The atomic force microscope is a combination of the principles of the scanning tunneling microscope and the stylus profilometer. It incorporates a probe that does not damage the surface. Our preliminary results in air demonstrate a lateral resolution of 30 A and a vertical resolution less than 1 A.
Electrocatalytic generation of hydrogen peroxide on cobalt nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon

Abstract Electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen is a growing synthetic technique for the sustainable production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The current challenges concern seeking low-cost, highly active, and selective electrocatalysts. Cobalt-nitrogen-doped carbon containing catalytically active cobalt-nitrogen (Co-Nx) sites is an emerging class of materials that can promote the electrochemical generation of H2O2. Here, we report a straightforward method for the preparation of cobalt-nitrogen-doped carbon composed of a number of Co-Nx moieties using low-energy dry-state ball milling, followed by controlled pyrolysis. This scalable method uses inexpensive materials containing cobalt acetate, 2-methylimidazole, and Ketjenblack EC-600JD as the metal, nitrogen, and carbon precursors, respectively. Electrochemical measurements in an acidic medium show the present material exhibits a significant increase in the oxygen reduction reaction current density, accompanied by shifting the onset potential into the positive direction. The current catalyst has also demonstrated an approximate 90 % selectivity towards H2O2 across a wide range of potential. The H2O2 production rate, as measured by H2O2 bulk electrolysis, has reached 100 mmol gcat.−1 h−1 with high H2O2 faradaic efficiency close to 85% (for 2 h at 0.3 V vs. RHE). Lastly, the catalyst durability has been tested (for 6 h at 0.3 V vs. RHE). The catalyst has shown relatively consistent performance, while the overall faradic efficiency reaches approximate 85% throughout the test cycle indicating the promising catalyst durability for practical applications. The formed Co-Nx moieties, along with other parameters, including the acidic environment and the applied potential, likely are the primary reasons for such high activity and selectivity to H2O2 production.
Is there a gender gap in national Cardiology research? Data review from the Portuguese Journal of Cardiology.

Abstract gA ender gap is apparent in several professional areas, including in Medicine and particularly in the Cardiovascular field. We present a brief review of the subject and we analyse data from the Portuguese Journal of Cardiology regarding women authorship.
Critical Three-Dimensional Ising Model on Spheriods from the Conformal Bootstrap

We construct a conformal map from $\mathbb{R}^3$ to a three-dimensional spheriod, which includes $\mathbb{S}^3$, a double-cover of the 3-ball, and $\mathbb{R} \times \mathbb{S}^2$ as limiting cases. Using the data of the critical three-dimensional Ising model on $\mathbb{R}^3$ that was computed using the conformal bootstrap method, we numerically estimate the fourth-order Binder cumulant of the critical three-dimensional $\phi^4$ theory on $\mathbb{S}^3$. We expect this estimate will enable an interesting comparison between the conformal bootstrap and future calculations of critical $\phi^4$ theory on $\mathbb{S}^3$ using the Quantum Finite Element (QFE) method.
Zusammenfassung und Schluss

Zur Erleichterung der Ubersicht seien abschliesend die wichtigsten Einsichten der vorliegenden Arbeit thesenartig zussammengestellt. Diese Zusammenstellung ist freilich nicht (als ein „Konigsweg“) bestimmt zum Gebrauch des hier erst beginnenden Lesers, sondern soll die Hauptergebnisse noch einmal vergegenwartigen.
Faculty Have Few Incentives for Becoming Board Certified in Pharmacotherapy

A telephone survey of all colleges of pharmacy in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada was conducted to assess the incentives offered for pharmacy practice faculty to become board-certified pharmacotherapy specialists (BCPS). Board certification is not a requirement for employment at any college of pharmacy; however, it plays a part in promotion, tenure, and merit salary increases at several schools. Fewer than half of the schools provide at least partial reimbursement of examination-related expenses. Sixteen have initiated BCPS study groups. We perceive that faculty must have more incentives to take the examination. It may be difficult to change institutional policies regarding merit increases or promotion and tenure, but colleges of pharmacy can do more to decrease the cost burden and to promote study groups within the department.
Dahl’s concept of leadership: notes towards a theory of leadership in a democracy

Robert Dahl’s writings contain a number of intriguing passages about leadership. The relevant sections appear in several of his key writings, including the Preface to Democratic Theory, Who Governs?, Modern Political Analysis, After the Revolution, and Democracy and its Critics. In these works, Dahl’s conception of leadership evolves from an emphasis on ‘control’ to ‘influence’, and finally broadens to include ‘competence’ and ‘expertise’. These sections are episodic and disconnected from one work to another; they repay close attention, nonetheless. This essay identifies these promising themes and sketches out some directions that a political theory of democratic leadership based on Dahl’s insights might take.
Female rats exhibit greater susceptibility to early alcohol-induced liver injury than males

It is known that women develop hepatic injury more rapidly and with exposure to less ethanol than men; however, mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine if an enteral alcohol delivery model could be used to study susceptibility of females to alcohol-induced liver injury. Male and female Wistar rats (age- or weight-matched) were given ethanol (11-12 g.kg-1.day-1) continuously for up to 4 wk via intragastric feeding, and control rats received a high-fat diet without ethanol. There were no significant differences in body weight among the groups studied. Furthermore, mean ethanol concentrations, their cyclic pattern in urine, and rates of ethanol elimination were also not different between the genders under these conditions. Ethanol treatment elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase levels in male rats to 126 +/- 10 IU/l after 4 wk. In females, however, values increased more rapidly and reached significantly higher values at 4 wk (168 +/- 18 IU/l). Steatosis, inflammation, and necrosis assessed histologically also developed more rapidly and were more severe in females than males. Steatosis due to ethanol exposure, which was localized in centrilobular areas in males, was panlobular in the female. Moreover, endotoxin in plasma, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 expression in hepatic sinusoidal-lining cells, and the number of infiltrating inflammatory cells in the liver were 2-2.5-fold greater in females than males. These changes possibly account for increased hepatic injury due to ethanol in the female.
The cross-talk between spinal cord stimulators and the Confirm™ cardiac monitor

Introduction Spinal cord stimulators (SCS) function by transmission of electrical impulses to electrode contacts placed within the epidural space depending on the painful area to be treated. Because of the electrical nature of the SCS, there has been concern about the interaction between these devices and devices that monitor or augment the cardiac system. Implantable loop recorders help to identify the causes of syncope or palpitation by continuously evaluating and recording portions of an electrocardiograph in patients being evaluated for cardiac conduction arrhythmias. The purpose of the study is to simulate the possible effects of spinal cord stimulation on a Confirm cardiac monitor (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA). Methods Twenty patients without preexisting cardiac disease, who were successfully being treated with SCS, were enrolled. Confirm loop recorders (St. Jude Medical) were placed on their chest wall in a noninvasive manner, with all programmed at identical settings. Multiple stimulation settings were adjusted on the stimulators and the recordings from the Confirm loop recorder were analyzed for evidence of interference. Results Fifteen of the patients had no electrical noise detected at any of the tested combinations of stimulation. Five patients had some electrical “noise” detected by the loop recorder, but it did not inhibit the cardiologist evaluating the recording from analyzing the electrocardiograph for diagnostic purposes. At no point with any of the patients at any tested setting was there an appearance of a life-threatening arrhythmia. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that spinal cord stimulation is unlikely to interfere with the data collected by the Confirm loop recorder, and the presence of an SCS should not interfere with the ability to use a loop recorder for diagnostic purposes.
Fastener Pattern Optimization of an Eccentrically Loaded Multi-Fastener Connection

This paper presents the use of a genetic algorithm in conjunction with geometric nonlinear finite element analysis to optimize the fastener pattern and lug location in an eccentrically loaded multi-fastener connection. No frictional resistance to shear was included in the model, as the connection transmitted shear loads into four dowel fasteners through bearing-type contact without fastener preload. With the goal of reducing the maximum von Mises stress in the connection to improve fatigue life, the location of the lug hole and four fastener holes were optimized to achieve 55% less maximum stress than a similar optimization using the traditional instantaneous center of rotation method. Since the maximum stress concentration was located at the edge of a fastener hole where fatigue cracks could be a concern, reduction of this quantity lowers the probability of crack growth for both bearing-type and slip-resistant connections. It was also found that the location of the maximum von Mises stress concentration jumped from the fastener region to the lug as the applied force angle was decreased below 45 degrees, thus the fastener pattern could not be optimized for lower angles.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
The FANCM/FAAP24 Complex Is Required for the DNA Interstrand Crosslink-Induced Checkpoint Response

Cells from Fanconi anemia (FA) patients are extremely sensitive to DNA interstrand crosslinking (ICL) agents, but the molecular basis of the hypersensitivity remains to be explored. FANCM (FA complementation group M), and its binding partner, FAAP24, anchor the multisubunit FA core complex to chromatin after DNA damage and may contribute to ICL-specific cellular response. Here we show that the FANCM/FAAP24 complex is specifically required for the recruitment of replication protein A (RPA) to ICL-stalled replication forks. ICL-induced RPA foci formation requires the DNA-binding activity of FAAP24 but not the DNA translocase activity of FANCM. Furthermore, FANCM/FAAP24-dependent RPA foci formation is required for efficient ATR-mediated checkpoint activation in response to ICL. Therefore, we propose that FANCM/FAAP24 plays a role in ICL-induced checkpoint activation through regulating RPA recruiment at ICL-stalled replication forks.
Architectural support for thread communications in multi-core processors

In the ongoing quest for greater computational power, efficiently exploiting parallelism is of paramount importance. Architectural trends have shifted from improving single-threaded application performance, often achieved through instruction level parallelism (ILP), to improving multithreaded application performance by supporting thread level parallelism (TLP). Thus, multi-core processors incorporating two or more cores on a single die have become ubiquitous. To achieve concurrent execution on multi-core processors, applications must be explicitly restructured to exploit parallelism, either by programmers or compilers. However, multithreaded parallel programming may introduce overhead due to communications among threads. Though some resources are shared among processor cores, current multi-core processors provide no explicit communications support for multithreaded applications that takes advantage of the proximity between cores. Currently, inter-core communications depend on cache coherence, resulting in demand-based cache line transfers with their inherent latency and overhead. In this paper, we explore two approaches to improve communications support for multithreaded applications. Prepushing is a software controlled data forwarding technique that sends data to destination's cache before it is needed, eliminating cache misses in the destination's cache as well as reducing the coherence traffic on the bus. Software Controlled Eviction (SCE) improves thread communications by placing shared data in shared caches so that it can be found in a much closer location than remote caches or main memory. Simulation results show significant performance improvement with the addition of these architecture optimizations to multi-core processors.
Adaptation to Pediatric Physical Disability within the Family System: A Conceptual Model for Counseling Families:

Thefoundation offamily systems theory is that all members in afamily are affected by the actions and experiences of any one member As a member of a family, the child with a physical or medical disability has an effect on each of the other family members and on thefamily unit itself Pediatric physical disability is explored within the context offamily systems theory and the stress, coping, and grief processes within families. This article's primary aim is to present a conceptual framewvork and intervention strategy models that counselors can use when counseling families with a child who has a physical disability.
Businesses and Universities: Similar Challenges, Shared Solutions

Abstract Businesses and business schools must operate in a turbulent, rapidly changing environment. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. businesses and business schools have been criticized for being unresponsive to customer and student needs, for lack of global vision, and for failure to emphasize quality. This article discusses improving customer satisfaction, broadening the skills of employees and students, and creating reward structures that are congruent with organization goals as a means for helping organizations become competitive and meet the challenges of the 1990s. Customer satisfaction can be achieved by recognizing the diversity among individuals, flexibility in product delivery, and custom tailoring products for specific clientele. Employees and students can develop broader skills through cross-training, integrative learning techniques, and focusing on the total organization rather than a single component. Finally, a reward structure that encourages employees to develop a wide array of skills...