cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficient shape-based algorithms for modeling patient specific anatomy from 3D medical images: applications in virtual endoscopy and surgery

Virtual reality environments provide highly interactive, natural control of the visualization process, significantly enhancing the scientific value of the data produced by medical imaging systems. Due to the computational and real-time display update requirements of virtual reality interfaces, the complexity of organ and tissue surfaces which can be displayed is limited. In this paper, we present two new algorithms for the production of anatomic surface models containing a pre-specified number of polygons from patient- or subject-specific volumetric image data sets. The advantage of these algorithms is that they efficiently tile complex surfaces with a specified number of polygons selected to optimize the trade-off between surface detail and real-time display rates. Surface detail is preserved by extracting key shape features from the segmented objects, which adaptively constrains the model tilers. To illustrate the utility of these models, we present an overview of their application in computed endoscopy and surgery planning as developed in the Virtual Reality Assisted Surgery Program (VRASP) in the Biomedical Imaging Resource.
Corrosion of Aluminum Metallization Through Flawed Polymer Passivation Layers; In-Situ Microscopy

Aluminum corrosion in a polymer-coated circuit model was studied using in-situ microscopy coupled with time-lapse video recording. Pinholes in the polymer coating and exposure to water with bias voltage of 40V applied between adjacent aluminum tracks resulted in fast anode corrosion, accompanied by gas evolution. A mathematical model is developed that is in good agreement with the observed current-time relationship. The rate of corrosion is controlled by the resistance of a 6000A thick water film occupying the space of the corroded Al film between wafer and polymer coating. A tentative corrosion mechanism is proposed.
P2A-5 Effect of Contrast Microbubble Concentration on Quality of Echo Particle Image Velocimetry (Echo PIV) Data: Initial In Vitro Studies

We have recently developed a novel contrast-based ultrasonic particle image velocimetry (Echo PIV) technique to measure multi-component velocity vectors in opaque flows. In the technique, ultrasound contrast microbubbles are used as flow tracers, and digitally acquired backscattered RF-data are used with custom velocimetry analysis to obtain velocity vectors. The technique has been shown as useful in obtaining 2D flow velocity from various flow patterns, including blood flow. Well control of timely sensitive microbubble concentration in Echo PIV is very important to produce robust data quality. In this paper, effect of microbubble concentration on Echo PIV data quality was examined and a quantitative tool based on feature of Echo PIV image cross-correlation was developed to evaluate real time robustness of Echo PIV data quality induced by bubble concentration and image quality
Personnel costs and perceived benefit oftelephone care in the management of childrenwith type 1 diabetes1

Intensive management of patients with type 1 diabetes improves control and reduces rates of long-term complications. Telephone care as an adjunct to office visits is important in the management of children with type 1 diabetes in pediatric endocrine practices in the USA. The goal of this project was to assess the personnel costs and patients' perceptions of telephone care in a moderately sized pediatric diabetes care center (301 patients with a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes). There were two parts to this study. First, telephone logs were kept by three pediatric endocrine nurses (2.2 full-time equivalents [FTEs]) and three pediatric endocrinologists (2.0 FTEs) for two 1-wk blocks. Computerized databases were used to determine the number of clinic visits in 1998. Second, a survey assessing the frequency, perceived value and consequences of phone contact with the diabetes team was distributed to 40 families at clinic visits. Mean nurse/certified diabetes educator (CDE) time spent on the phone was 12.1 h/wk, with an additional 9.7 h/wk spent preparing and documenting. Physicians spent 6.4 h/wk on the phone, and 6.1 h/wk preparing/supervising/documenting. For our 301 patients with diabetes, the weekly personnel cost for telephone care at our institution was 1367 US dollars or 236 US dollars/patient/yr. Of the families surveyed, 80% reported that they had used the phone to obtain care for their child with diabetes and 55% had paged the doctor on call in the previous 6 months. Seven patients reported that phone contact prevented a total of 13 emergency department (ED) visits and 35 office visits. Using a cost estimate of 550 US dollars per ED visit, and 103 US dollars per office visit, the cost of prevented visits was 232 US dollars/patient/yr in our center. These data indicate that telephone care is effective in reducing the cost of reimbursable care via the ED and office visits, as well as avoiding hospitalization. However, the cost of providing this telephone care is not reimbursable to providers.
A longitudinal study of the dietary practices of black and white girls 9 and 10 years old at enrollment: The NHLBI growth and health study

Purpose: To determine whether there are racial differences in the frequency with which black and white girls engaged in eating practices commonly targeted for modification in weight reduction programs. Methods: This is part of the NHLBI Growth and Health Study, a longitudinal study of preadolescent girls designed to examine the factors associated with development of obesity, and its later effects on cardiovascular risk factors. Black and white girls ages 9–10 years at entry ( n = 2,379) were recruited at three clinical sites. Racial differences were examined in 11 "weight-related" eating practices such as eating with TV, eating while doing homework, and skipping meals. Multiple logistic regression analyses were then conducted for each of the dependent variables. Results: Black girls were more than twice as likely as white girls to frequently engage in the targeted weight-related eating practices. The odds of a study girl frequently engaging in most of these eating practices decreased with an increase in parents' income and education level. However, even when controlling for socioeconomic and demographic effects, black girls remained more likely to engage in these eating practices than white girls. For most of the behaviors, girls who frequently practiced a behavior had higher energy intakes compared to those who practiced it infrequently. Conclusions: The finding that black girls at an early age more frequently engage in eating practices associated with weight gain may have significant implications for obesity development. For both young black and white girls, early education efforts may be necessary in helping develop good eating habits. Since it appears that black girls have a higher risk of developing adverse weight-related eating practices, culturally appropriate education materials may be required.
The 'Sophisticated Judge' Standard: A New Approach to Judicial Deception Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The goal of a plaintiff seeking a default judgment in a debt collection suit is to convince the judge that the alleged debt is valid and owed, and therefore there is nothing for the judge to do but enter a judgment in favor of the debt collector. Unfortunately, some debt collectors take it too far. A serious problem arises when questionable tactics are used; in particular, the submission of misleading and deceptive documents in an effort to deceive the court. Although the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is meant to protect consumers from deceptive practices of debt collectors, the Seventh Circuit has recently held that the FDCPA does not extend to communications directed at judges. This article examines the background of the FDCPA and its application in the Seventh Circuit's recent decision in O'Rourke v. Palisades Acquisition XVI. It will argue that, contrary to the majority‘s holding in O'Rourke, Section 1692e of the FDCPA should cover communications provided to a judge. The article explains the necessity of a new alternative, the 'sophisticated judge' standard, to cover these types of misleading and deceptive representations. Finally, the article proposes that the 'sophisticated judge' standard could allow judges hearing FDCPA suits to view the issue of deception as a question of law, rather than a question of fact - thus, extrinsic evidence would not be needed to overcome a defendant‘s motion for summary judgment.
Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis recurrence after kidney transplantation: using the new classification

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is an uncommon glomerular disorder that may lead to end stage renal disease (ESRD). With new understanding of the disease pathogenesis, the classical classification as MPGN types I, II, III has changed. Data on post-transplant MPGN, in particular with the newly refined classification, is limited. We present our center’s experience of MPGN after kidney transplantation using the new classification. This is a retrospective study of 34 patients with ESRD due to MPGN who received 40 kidney transplants between 1994 and 2014. We reviewed the available biopsies’ data using the new classification. We assessed post transplantation recurrence rate, risk factors of recurrence, the response to therapy and allografts’ survival. Median time of follow up was 5.3 years (range 0.5–14 years). Using the new classification, we found that pre-transplant MPGN disease was due to immune complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (ICGN) in 89 % of cases and complement-mediated glomerulonephritis (CGN) in 11 %. Recurrence was detected in 18 transplants (45 %). Living related allografts (P = 0.045), preemptive transplantations (P = 0.018), low complement level (P = 0.006), and the presence of monoclonal gammopathy (P = 0.010) were associated with higher recurrence rate in ICGN cases. Half of the patients with recurrence lost their allografts. The use of ACEi/ARB was associated with a trend toward less allograft loss. MPGN recurs at a high rate after kidney transplantation. The risk of MPGN recurrence increases with preemptive transplantation, living related donation, low complement level, and the presence of monoclonal gammopathy. Recurrence of MPGN leads to allograft failure in half of the cases.
A semi-implicit discrete-continuum coupling method for porous media based on the effective stress principle at finite strain

Abstract A finite strain multiscale hydro-mechanical model is established via an extended Hill–Mandel condition for two-phase porous media. By assuming that the effective stress principle holds at unit cell scale, we established a micro-to-macro transition that links the micromechanical responses at grain scale to the macroscopic effective stress responses, while modeling the fluid phase only at the macroscopic continuum level. We propose a dual-scale semi-implicit scheme, which treats macroscopic responses implicitly and microscopic responses explicitly. The dual-scale model is shown to have good convergence rate, and is stable and robust. By inferring effective stress measure and poro-plasticity parameters, such as porosity, Biot’s coefficient and Biot’s modulus from micro-scale simulations, the multiscale model is able to predict effective poro-elasto-plastic responses without introducing additional phenomenological laws. The performance of the proposed framework is demonstrated via a collection of representative numerical examples. Fabric tensors of the representative elementary volumes are computed and analyzed via the anisotropic critical state theory when strain localization occurs.
Spectroscopic investigation of Yb,Ho,Pr:YAG as a 3 μm laser source

In addition to the well-established 5I7 to 5I8 transition at 2.09 μm in holmium doped laser materials, there also exists a less energetic transition from the 5I6 level to 5I7 at 2.95 μm. As there has been a recent increase in interest and applications for 3.0 μm light, this material stands to be a viable alternative to other rare earth doped laser systems. Unfortunately, the wavelength required to directly pump the 5I6 level at 1.13 μm is not convenient for commercial laser diodes. Furthermore, the emission lifetime of the 5I7 state is longer than the 5I6 level, leading to a suppression of lasing due to “bottlenecking” in the material. To overcome these effects, we investigated the activation and deactivation of holmium doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) using ytterbium and praseodymium respectively. By including ytterbium ions in the host material, readily available 914 nm diode light can be used to resonantly excite the 5I6 level in holmium. Similarly, the presence of praseodymium resonantly de-excites the 5I7 state, reducing its lifetime, and making the material more suitable for lasing. Here, we report the absorption and photoluminescence spectra of this triply doped Yb,Ho,Pr:YAG crystal. In addition, the emission lifetime for both the 2.09 μm and 2.95 μm transitions are reported and compared to a Yb,Ho:YAG control sample.
Object-based attention in real-world scenes.

We are continually confronted with more visual information than we can process in a given moment. In order to interact effectively with our environment, attentional mechanisms are used to select subsets of environmental properties for enhanced processing. Previous research demonstrated that spatial regions can be selected based on either their low-level feature or high-level semantic properties. However, the efficiency with which we interact with the world suggests that there must be an additional, midlevel, factor constraining effective attentional space. The present study investigates whether object-based attentional selection is one such midlevel factor that constrains visual attention in complex, real-world scenes. Participants viewed scene images while their eye movements were recorded. During viewing, a cue appeared on an object which participants were instructed to fixate. A target then appeared either on the same object as the cue, on a different object, or floating. Participants initiated saccades faster and had shorter response times to targets presented on the same object as the fixated cue. The results strongly suggest that when attending to a location on an object, the entire object benefits perceptually. This object-based effect on the distribution of spatial attention forms a critical link between low-and high-level factors that direct attention efficiently in complex real-world scenes.
Influence of bile acids, vitamin K and cincophen on erosions of the chick gizzard lining.

We have reported1,2 the curative and preventive effect of bile acids, particularly cholic acid, in experimental deficiency lesions or erosions of the chick gizzard lining. These studies have been c...
Cognitive functioning in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and traumatic brain injury: A longitudinal study

Abstract Objective To examine longitudinal changes in cognition in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) with and without a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods Twenty-five PD participants with a history of mild-moderate post-acute (>9 months) TBI and 25 demographically-matched PD controls without a history of TBI were administered measures of cognition (Mattis Dementia Rating Scale), mood, and motor functioning at baseline and at a two-year follow-up evaluation. Results Individuals with PD and a history of TBI evidenced significantly greater decrements in overall cognition over the two year follow-up period compared to those without a history of TBI. Secondary subscale analyses suggest cognitive decrements may be mainly in the area of executive function, while a trend for group differences on the memory subscale was also observed. Groups did not differ on demographic, motor function, disease severity, cognitive, and mood profiles at baseline and evidenced comparable changes in mood and motor symptoms from baseline to follow-up. Conclusion Findings suggest that a history of mild-moderate TBI is a risk factor for cognitive decline in individuals with PD.
Pharmacoepidemiology: Examples of Databases and Studies

Pharmacoepidemiology, the study of the effects of drugs in large numbers of people, is a relatively new discipline that applies the methods of epidemiology to clinical pharmacology. Premarketing clinical trials remain the only way to scientifically determine whether a drug is causally effective, yet these trials do not provide information that allows for estimates about rare, late, or off-label toxicities associated with the drug in question. Increasing concern about common and debilitating adverse effects of medications has highlighted the need for enhanced postmarketing surveillance to follow up on clinical trials. There is a further concern regarding the broader issue of the risk-benefit ratio of certain medications. Computerized databases are a good source of information on which to lay the foundations of postmarketing research. A system of cross-linked computerized medical records may better enable researchers and physicians to realistically monitor postmarketing safety and incorporate monitoring benefits. The same research could also elucidate the net public health effect of regulatory decisions. The Veterans Affairs database in the United States and PHARMO in the Netherlands may represent good models on which to base future postmarketing surveillance studies.In this expert roundtable supplement, Brian L. Strom, MD, provides an overview of the appropriate use of large computer databases in pharmacoepidemiology studies. Philip Wang, MD, DrPH, discusses the advantages of pharmacoepidemiologic studies over clinical trials in correctly detecting drug safety issues. Francesca Cunningham, PharmD, reviews a large computer database that is currently in use within the VA healthcare system, and Ron M.C. Herings, PharmD, PhD, discusses the development of the PHARMO system in the Netherlands
Bolstering the Nasoseptal Flap Using Sphenoid Sinus Fat Packing: A Technical Case Report.

Background Resection of extensive skull base lesions often necessitates relatively large dural openings and arachnoid, resulting in skull base defects with the potential for a postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak. A nasoseptal flap (NSF) is a vascularized graft that has greatly diminished the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leak. Annealing of flaps against the ventral skull base can be tenuous within the first few days after surgery. We report the use of sphenoid sinus fat packing as a buttress to support the nasoseptal flap during skull base reconstruction. Case Description A 37-year-old man presented with pan-hypopituitarism, bitemporal hemianopsia, and imaging consistent with a craniopharyngioma. He underwent an endoscopic endonasal approach with resection of the planum and tuberculum sphenoidale for resection of this mass. An NSF was harvested, and a combination of suprasellar fat packing, tensor fasciae lata graft, and Porex plate along with the flap were used to reconstruct the skull base. Postoperatively, he precipitously experienced copious rhinorrhea necessitating surgical re-exploration. A redundant segment of the NSF had retracted into the sphenoid sinus, and was no longer supported against the ventral skull base. We repositioned the NSF and used sphenoid sinus fat packing to help support the graft against the ventral skull base. A postoperative computed tomographic scan demonstrated a clear delineation between the vascularized graft and the fat packing, confirming proper positioning of the flap. Conclusion Sphenoid sinus fat packing can be an important technical adjunct in bolstering the nasoseptal flap against the ventral skull base in the tenuous early perioperative period.
FinFET performance with Si:P and Ge:Group-III-Metal metastable contact trench alloys

We achieved mid-10−10 Ω-cm2 n-type S/D contact resistivity (npc) and 1.9×10−9 Ω-cm2 p-type S/D contact resistivity (ppc) by employing laser-induced liquid or solid phase epitaxy (LPE/SPE) of Si:P and Ge:Group-III-Metal metastable alloys inside nano-scale contact trenches. The Ge: Group-III-Metal alloy allows for a metal-Ge Fermi level pinning effect to lower Schottky barrier height (SBH) while reducing both bulk and unipolar heterojunction resistances. Correspondingly, large Ron reduction and Id gain have been realized in scaled n- and p-FinFETs with the contact length of less than 20nm.
Successful Treatment of Clostridium difficile Bacteremia with Aortic Mycotic Aneurysm in a Patient with Prior Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair

The clinical spectrum of Clostridium difficile infection can range from benign gastrointestinal colonization to mild diarrhea and life threatening conditions such as pseudomembranous colitis and toxic megacolon. Extraintestinal manifestations of C. difficile are rare. Here, we report a patient with a history of an endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) presenting with an endovascular leak complicated by C. difficile bacteremia and a mycotic aneurysm. He was successfully treated with an explant of the EVAR, an aorto-left renal bypass, and aorto-bi-iliac bypass graft placement along with a six-week duration of intravenous vancomycin and oral metronidazole.
Recording Tropical Cyclone Activity from 1909 to 2014 Along the Northern Gulf of Mexico Using Maritime Slash Pine Trees ( Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.)

ABSTRACT Tucker, C.S.; Trepanier, J.C.; Harley, G.L., and DeLong, K.L., 2018. Recording Tropical Cyclone Activity from 1909 to 2014 along the Northern Gulf of Mexico using Maritime Slash Pine Trees (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.). The temporally incomplete tropical cyclone (TC) observational record limits the understanding of recurrence intervals and the impacts of repeated TCs on coastal ecosystems. Growth of maritime trees near the Gulf of Mexico may be affected by high winds, precipitation, and storm surges from TCs. Proxy records, such as tree growth recorded in annual ring widths, can be used to extend TC records temporally but must be verified with the observational record first. This study develops chronologies of total ring width (TRW), earlywood ring width (ERW), and latewood ring width (LRW) from slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii Engelm.) trees located 2 km from an open saltwater bay in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in coastal Mississippi, U.S.A. These chron...
Assessing Quality Control Strategies for HbA1c Measurements From a Patient Risk Perspective.

Background:Current laboratory risk management principles emphasize the importance of assessing laboratory quality control (QC) practices in terms of the risk of patient harm. Limited practical guid...
Quantitative Myocardial Perfusion from Static Cardiac and Dynamic Arterial CT

Quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) estimation by dynamic contrast enhanced cardiac computed tomography (CT) requires multi-frame acquisition of contrast transit through the blood pool and myocardium to inform the arterial input and tissue response functions. Both the input and the tissue response functions for the entire myocardium are sampled with each acquisition. However, the long breath holds and frequent sampling can result in significant motion artifacts and relatively high radiation dose. To address these limitations, we propose and evaluate a new static cardiac and dynamic arterial (SCDA) quantitative MBF approach where (1) the input function is well sampled using either prediction from pre-scan timing bolus data or measured from dynamic thin slice 'bolus tracking' acquisitions, and (2) the whole-heart tissue response data is limited to one contrast enhanced CT acquisition. A perfusion model uses the dynamic arterial input function to generate a family of possible myocardial contrast enhancement curves corresponding to a range of MBF values. Combined with the timing of the single whole-heart acquisition, these curves generate a lookup table relating myocardial contrast enhancement to quantitative MBF. We tested the SCDA approach in 28 patients that underwent a full dynamic CT protocol both at rest and vasodilator stress conditions. Using measured input function plus single (enhanced CT only) or plus double (enhanced and contrast free baseline CT's) myocardial acquisitions yielded MBF estimates with root mean square (RMS) error of 1.2 ml/min/g and 0.35 ml/min/g, and radiation dose reductions of 90% and 83%, respectively. The prediction of the input function based on timing bolus data and the static acquisition had an RMS error compared to the measured input function of 26.0% which led to MBF estimation errors greater than threefold higher than using the measured input function. SCDA presents a new, simplified approach for quantitative perfusion imaging with an acquisition strategy offering substantial radiation dose and computational complexity savings over dynamic CT.
Non-Iterative Holographic Image Reconstruction and Phase Retrieval Using a Deep Convolutional Neural Network

We demonstrate a non-iterative holographic image reconstruction and phase retrieval framework based on deep learning. After its training, a deep convolutional neural network rapidly recovers phase and amplitude images of specimen from a single hologram.
Navigating through Dense Annotation Spaces

Pattern matching, or querying, over annotations is a general purpose paradigm for inspecting, navigating, mining, and transforming annotation repositories - the common representation basis for modern pipelined text-processing frameworks. Configurability of such frameworks and expressiveness of feature structure-based annotation schemes account for the high density of some such annotation repositories. This particular characteristic makes challenging the design of a pattern matching engine, capable of interpreting (or imposing) flat patterns over an arbitrarily dense annotation lattice. We present an approach where a finite state device carries out the application of (compiled) grammars over what is, in effect, a linearized projection of a unique route through the lattice; a route derived by a mix of static pattern (grammar) analysis and interpretation of navigational directives within the extended grammar formalism. Our approach achieves a mix of finite state scanning and lattice traversal for expressive and efficient pattern matching in dense annotations stores.
Conscious sedation in cardiovascular procedures.

The prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) disease in our society has led healthcare providers to focus on developing and refining diagnostic and therapeutic options for cardiovascular treatment. Conscious sedation is commonly used in conjunction with CV procedures. The RN in the CV procedure laboratory plays a key role in the management of patients receiving conscious sedation. By formulating an individualized conscious sedation plan that integrates procedure risks, underlying disease processes, and medication effects, the RN minimizes patient risk and optimizes symptom management.
Columns of the Mammalian Cortex

The mammalian cortex is organized into modular-like structures known as columns that traverse the horizontal lamina in a vertical fashion. These may represent the basic unit around which cortical processing is organized and have been useful as models for understanding brain evolution, anatomy and physiology of the cortex, and selected pathologies and anomalies of the human brain. Over the decades, it has become clear that these units are not simple nor are they uniform in composition, but display highly complex and subtle variations around a basic template.
Drug-Induced Motor Behavior

The property of directed movement which most animals possess is a major difference between them and other living things and is largely responsible for their ability to manipulate their environment. In fact, active motor behavior appears to be crucial for perceptual development and learning (Held and Hein, 1963). Here we consider some of the neural mechanisms which underly three types of drug-induced motor behavior. The first of these, locomotor activity, is influenced not only by drugs but by a wide variety of genetic, developmental, hormonal, environmental, motivational, and endogenous rhythmic factors. It is hoped that elucidation of the mechanisms of drug-induced locomotor activity can provide clues as to how some of these other factors might affect locomotor behavior. The second type of activity, stereotyped behavior, is rarely seen in the undrugged animal but is reported to be a striking feature of human schizophrenic behavior (Bleuler, 1950). The third type of behavior, drug-induced circling, is generally studied in animals with some type of unilateral lesion but can be induced in the intact animal (Glick et al., 1976). The behavior is closely related to asymmetric dopaminergic activity in the corpora striata, and its study may reveal functional relationships within the basal ganglia and between them and other brain structures. For reasons of consistency the experiments considered here are mainly restricted to those performed on the rat.
Hermeneutics and the natural sciences: Introduction

One of the oddest quirks of the development of 20th century Continental thought has been its default of the investigation of the natural sciences.
Recursive generation of the Galerkin–Chebyshev matrix for convolution kernels

The Galerkin–Chebyshev matrix is the coefficient matrix for the Galerkin method (or the degenerate kernel approximation method) using Chebyshev polynomials. Each entry of the matrix is defined by a double integral. For convolution kernels K(x-y) on finite intervals, this paper obtains a general recursion relation connecting the matrix entries. This relation provides a fast generation of the Galerkin–Chebyshev matrix by reducing the construction of a matrix of order N from N 2+O(N) double integral evaluations to 3N+O(1) evaluations. For the special cases (a) K(x-y)=|x-y|α-1(-ln|x-y|) p and (b) K(x-y)=K ν(σ|x-y|) (modified Bessel functions), the number of double integral evaluations to generate a Galerkin–Chebyshev matrix of arbitrary order can be further reduced to 2p+2 double integral evaluations in case (a) and to 8 double integral evaluations in case (b).
Eye movement abnormalities in carriers of blue-cone monochromatism.

Purpose Although impaired color vision and ERG changes have been detected in carriers of blue-cone monochromatism (BCM), no eye movement abnormalities have been identified. Quantitative eye movements of three obligate carriers of BCM were analyzed. Methods Horizontal and vertical eye movements of three obligate carriers of two families with BCM with visual acuity of 20/20 or better were recorded using the magnetic search coil technique. Subjects were examined fixing in primary and eccentric gaze and during horizontal and vertical smooth pursuit at 20 degrees, 40 degrees, and 80 degrees per second. Results All carriers displayed fixation instability. In two subjects, fine-amplitude upbeat, jerk-type nystagmus was detected. Reduced pursuit gain was found in the carriers. The third subject had small downbeat nystagmus. Conclusion Abnormal eye movements are described for the first time in carriers of BCM. The nystagmus is clearly distinct from congenital or latent nystagmus and is similar to the nystagmus reported in BCM. Because all carriers had excellent visual acuity, in BCM, nystagmus is intrinsic to the disease and can appear independently of the visual defect.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Help-Seeking for Health-Related Interventions in Young Adults

Although college students have increasingly higher health needs, they underutilize interventions. Given the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poor health, the goal of thi...
Next Generation Firewall for Network Security: A Survey

In today's world, with the advent of internet, the network security has become a necessity to protect the usability and integrity of network and data. Traditional firewalls are incapable of coping with emerging threats such as targeted and data focused attacks. In this paper, a survey of the different types of current and next generation firewalls are discussed in details highlighting their potential functionalities. The different technologies implemented in Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for network security are highlighted. Additionally, the advantages of the next generation firewalls were compared against the traditional firewalls. Also in this paper, the primary network security goals, their recent emerging security threats, and their potential solutions to protect the network are discussed.
The Great Armenian Flight: Migration and Cultural Change in the Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire

The seventeenth century was a turning-point in the cultural and demographic history of the Ottoman Empire. Beginning in the late sixteenth century, Ottoman-Armenian subjects began to flee en masse from the Celali Revolts, war with Persia, and famine in Eastern Anatolia to more secure territories in Western Anatolia, Istanbul, and Thrace. This article documents the arrival of Armenian refugees in Thrace using Ottoman Turkish court records from the coastal town of Rodosto (Tekirdag). After describing the micro-history of an Armenian refugee crisis, this article suggests that these migrations played a catalyzing role in the rise of a distinct “Western Armenian” culture and society, which developed for the first time in the seventeenth-century Ottoman Empire. The rise of this new society was an event of great importance in Ottoman history, as the Armenians would become a critical part of Ottoman economic and cultural life in the empire’s coastal trade cities.
Listener sensitivity to structured phonetic variation

Memory for spoken language is not a veridical representation of experience. Instead, memory reflects integration across our interlocutors’ messages, resulting in robust memory for meaning with relatively poor memory for the specific form of the message. This is striking considering that in the process of mapping from speech to meaning, listeners show exquisite sensitivity to the acoustic-phonetic structure of speech. In this talk, I will review selected findings from work in our laboratory that examines listeners' ability to dynamically adapt to structured phonetic variation, focusing on variation associated with talkers' idiolects. These studies examine mechanisms that allow listeners to exploit structured variation for speech perception, voice recognition, and memory of spoken language. Collectively, the results (1) identify principles that govern how listeners modify the mapping to speech sounds to reflect cumulative experience with talkers’ phonetic input, (2) show that sensitivity to structured phonetic input facilitates identification of a talker’s voice in addition to the linguistic message, and (3) demonstrate that talker identity provides a critical structure for the integration of spoken language in memory. These findings help explicate a theoretical framework that accounts for tension in a linguistic architecture that uses both abstract and instance-specific representational knowledge to guide spoken language processing.
Initial Developments of a Low Drag Variable Depth Acoustic Liner

The purpose of this study is to assess the acoustic performance and relative drag of a new type of variable depth liner containing pairs of resonators coupled together by shared inlet volumes just below the facesheet. This type of liner has the potential to achieve a targeted impedance with fewer openings in the facesheet, and therefore less drag, than previous designs. To better understand the limitations of the concept, three sets of samples were designed and tested in the NASA Langley normal incidence and grazing flow impedance tubes. Each set of samples consisted of a baseline variable depth liner with straight chambers, and a prototype liner with shared inlet volumes. Measurements conducted in both the normal incidence and grazing flow impedance tubes confirm that the prototype liner can achieve the same impedance as the baseline variable depth liner at discrete frequencies with 50% less open area. This results in a 75% reduction in the drag penalty relative to the baseline design. The proposed concept is not, however, able to achieve a flat, broadband impedance as effectively as the baseline liner. So, while the proposed concept is well suited for multitonal design metrics, tradeoffs must be made between liner drag and acoustic performance when broadband attenuation is required.
TRANSFORMATIVE AND DISRUPTIVE ROLE OF LOCAL DIRECT CURRENT POWER NETWORKS IN POWER AND TRANSPORTATION SECTORS

The power sector is about to undergo a major disruptive transformation. In this paper, we have discussed the best possible energy solution for addressing the challenges of climate change and eradication of energy poverty. This paper focusses on the decentralized power generation, storage and distribution through photovoltaics and lithium batteries. It encompasses the need for local direct current (DC) power through the factors driving this change. The importance of local DC power in the transportation sector is also established. Finally, we conclude with data bolstering our argument towards the paradigm shift in the power network.
Effect of Class 2 Ceramic Capacitor Variations on Switched-Capacitor and Resonant Switched-Capacitor Converters

Class 2 ceramic capacitors, such as X7R, have relatively high energy density compared to Class 1 ceramic capacitors. However, they experience changes due to aging, temperature, and electric field. The measured X7R capacitance drop is 1%–2% per decade hour due to aging, 18% due to a temperature change from 25 °C to 125 °C, and 75% due to an applied voltage that is 80% of the rated voltage. The measured equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the X7R capacitors shows an increase of 20% to 70% due to aging of 1680 h, and a 50% fluctuation in value when we apply 20% to 80% of the rated voltage. In switched-capacitor (SC) and resonant SC (ReSC) converters, these variations can shift a converter’s operating point and result in higher equivalent output resistance and lower efficiency. We quantified the converter performance degradation caused by capacitor variations in the simulation and demonstrated the results by implementing a 1 MHz 25 W 1:4 Dickson ReSC converter. The converter efficiency decreases from 93.1% to 90.7% as a result of capacitor variations mainly due to the aging effect.
Analysis of Mammalian Succinate Dehydrogenase Kinetics and Reactive Oxygen Species Production

Abstract Succinate dehydrogenase is an inner mitochondrial membrane protein complex that links the tricarboxylic acid cycle to the electron transport system. It catalyzes the reaction between succinate and ubiquinone to produce fumarate and ubiquinol. In addition, it can produce significant amounts of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide under the right conditions. While the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is the putative site of reactive oxygen species production, free radical production from other sites are less certain. Herein, we developed a computational model to analyze free radical production data from complex II and identify the mechanism of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production. The model includes the major redox centers consisting of the FAD, three iron-sulfur clusters, and a transiently catalytic bound semi quinone. The model consists of five-states that represent oxidation status of the enzyme complex. Each step in the reaction scheme is thermodynamically constrained, and transitions between each state involve either one-electron or two-electron redox reactions. The model parameters were simultaneously fit using data consisting of enzyme kinetics and free radical production rates under a range of conditions. In the absence of respiratory chain inhibitors, model analysis revealed that the 3Fe-4S iron-sulfur cluster is the primary source of superoxide production followed by the FAD radical. However, when the quinone reductase site of complex II is inhibited or the quinone pool is highly reduced, superoxide production from the FAD site dominates at low succinate concentrations. In addition, hydrogen peroxide formation from the complex is only significant when these one of these conditions is met and the fumarate concentrations is in the low micromolar range. From the model simulations, the redox state of the quinone pool was found to be the primary determinant of free radical production from complex II. This study highlights the importance of evaluating enzyme kinetics and associated side-reactions in a consistent, quantitative and biophysical detailed manner. By incorporating the results from a diverse set of experiments, this computational approach can be used to interpret and explain key differences among the observations from a single, unified perspective.
Near-field modeling of the 1964 Alaska tsunami: the role of splay faults and horizontal displacements

Near-field observations of tsunami waves generated by the Mw9.2 1964 Alaska earthquake reveal a complex relationship between coseismic slip and the tsunami wavefield in the source area. The documen...
The limits and challenges of antiobesity pharmacotherapy.

Introduction: Pharmacotherapy is a useful adjunct when patients with obesity are unable to achieve adequate benefit from lifestyle interventions.Areas covered: This review covers the history of ant...
Three Questions About Clinical Information Retrieval.

Abstract : Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) have greatly expanded the potential for the evidence-based improvement of clinical practice by providing a data source for computable medical information. The Text REtrieval Conference 2012 Medical Records Track (TREC-med) explored how information retrieval may support clinical research by providing an efficient means to identify cohorts for clinical studies. A shared task called participants to find cohorts of relevant patients for 50 different topic queries. The users in TREC-med information retrieval systems would be medical experts who are searching for cohorts. In our previous work, we have collaborated with such experts on specific queries; the assortment of 50 queries makes this competition a standardized benchmark task. Thus, techniques that have shown case-by-case improvement can be tested against a much larger number of queries. We have taken this opportunity to investigate three core questions around which many of our algorithms are designed: 1. What is the relative value of structured data (e.g., fields in EMRs, or document metadata) compared to clinical text? 2. Are extensive information extraction (IE) efforts any benefit when we consider the applied question of information retrieval (IR)? 3. Can distributional semantics help supply missing information in a query?
A Crowdsourcing Approach to Revitalizing Scholarship on Black Women Suffragists

This article draws on a collection of crowdsourced biographical sketches of Black women suffragists to explore the contributions of these activists to the expansion of voting rights that accompanied the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. It explores the motivations and strategies adopted by Black women suffragists and interracial alliances that emerged in the course of the suffrage struggle, comparing and contrasting the experiences of suffragists across racial lines.
Mechanisms for the Slowing of Desupersaturation of a Weak Acid at Elevated pH

Supersaturating drug delivery systems are used to achieve higher oral bioavailability for poorly soluble drugs. However, supersaturated solutions often decline to lower concentrations by precipitation and crystallization. The purpose of the current research is to provide a mechanistic understanding of drug crystallization as a function of pH, using indomethacin (IMC, pKa 4.18) as a model compound. Desupersaturation kinetics to the γ-form of IMC was measured at pH 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 4.5 from an initial degree of supersaturation of 2.5-6. At equivalent levels of supersaturation, crystal growth rates decreased with an increase in solution pH. Two mechanisms for this phenomenon, reactive diffusion (resulting in a higher surface pH as compared to bulk pH) and inhibition of crystallization by structurally similar ionized IMC at higher pH, were explored. Non-steady-state models for reactive diffusion showed that the surface pH was only 0.01 units above that of the bulk solution pH. Mass transport models for reactive diffusion during crystallization could not explain the decrease in desupersaturation kinetics at higher pH. However, zeta potentials as high as -70 mV suggested that IMC- is adsorbed on the surface of the particles. A mathematical model for inhibition of crystal growth by IMC- accounted for the pH effect suggesting that ionized IMC acts as an effective crystallization inhibitor of IMC.
Models and Mathematics.

taught in the elementary school (Begle 1966) and that these ideas should be taught meaningfully (Dawson and Ruddell [a] 1955), there is little agreement on how learning environments should be structured to facilitate this learning. One reason for this lack of agreement is an inadequate recognition of the role that concrete and symbolic models can and should play in facilitating the learning of mathematical ideas.
A FAN-C Exploration of RC Circuits

Recently, small computer fans have been demonstrated to be an effective method for teaching simple resistive circuits both qualitatively and quantitatively. The current through the fans is related to the rotational speed of the fans and allows multiple senses to be engaged (touch, sight, and hearing). Methods for learning simple circuits in an effective and accessible way have been explored for decades, and the prevailing approach has been the use of incandescent light bulbs. However, light bulbs can only be used to build a qualitative foundation. Quantitative experiments require non-bulb circuits, as the resistance of incandescent light bulbs changes with current. When fans are used, plots of current vs. voltage exhibit a linear relationship, which provides a nearly constant effective resistance for the fan. This suggests that fans can also be used to explore RC circuits both qualitatively and quantitatively, where the fans act as the resistive elements as well as the indicator. In this contribution, we will demonstrate that computer fans can be used to qualitatively explore the charging and discharging times for RC circuits. By monitoring the voltage across the capacitor as a function of time, we will also show that fans can be used for quantitative RC analysis.
Meta-analysis of intravascular volume expansion strategies to prevent contrast-associated acute kidney injury following invasive angiography.

OBJECTIVE To perform a detailed analysis of published data regarding intravascular volume expansion to prevent contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) and to determine if an ideal dose of IV fluids can be recommended. BACKGROUND Administration of contrast media during invasive angiography is associated with CA-AKI. Intravascular volume expansion is the most effective intervention to prevent CA-AKI, yet evidenced based protocols are lacking. METHODS Literature review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) of patients receiving IV volume expansion as prophylaxis for CA-AKI was performed. Normal saline, Lactated Ringer's and sodium bicarbonate were included. The primary outcome was incidence of CA-AKI. RESULTS 37 RCTs studying 12,166 patients were included. Mean age was 67 ± 5 years, 70% of the patients were male. 68% had chronic kidney disease, 41% diabetes, and 30% heart failure. The incidence of CA-AKI was 9.5% (95% CI: 8-12%). IV expansion versus no volume administration was associated with a lower risk of CA-AKI (RR:0.62; 95% CI: 0.49-0.77, p < .001). Intensive IV volume expansion was associated with a reduced risk of CA-AKI(RR: 0.66; 95%CI: 0.52-0.85, p < .01). The intensive IV volume expansion arm received significantly more fluids than the standard protocols: 1,574(1,123 - 1,913) ml versus 849(558-1,067) ml (p = .03) without significant difference in the duration of infusion (median of 12 vs. 17 hr, p = .1) or pulmonary edema (1.7% vs 1.3%, p = .7). CONCLUSIONS Despite high variability in protocols used, IV volume expansion is effective in preventing CA-AKI. Intensive IVF expansion (median 1.6 L over 17 hr) was associated with decreased risk of CA-AKI.