cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Community-Wide Conjugate Pneumococcal Vaccine Use in Infancy on Nasopharyngeal Carriage through 3 Years of Age: A Cross-Sectional Study in a High-Risk Population

Background A 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PnCRM7) has been shown to be highly effective in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines also protect against nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine serotypes, but the duration of protection against nasopharyngeal carriage is not known. Methods A group-randomized efficacy trial of PnCRM7 (vaccine serotypes 4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F, and 23F) was conducted on the Navajo and White Mountain Apache reservations from April 1997 to October 2000. A group C meningococcal conjugate vaccine was used as the control vaccine. Infants enrolled between 6 weeks and 7 months of age received 3 doses of vaccine 2 months apart and a fourth dose at 12-15 months of age. Vaccinees were enrolled in a nasopharyngeal carriage study from February 2001 to January 2002 to assess the duration of protection against pneumococcal carriage induced by PnCRM7. Results We included 749 children in the analysis, including 468 children vaccinated with PnCRM7 and 281 children vaccinated with group C meningococcal conjugate vaccine. The median age was 3.3 years (range, 1-7 years), and the median time since last dose of study vaccine was 27 months (range, 12-48 months). Frequencies of overall pneumococcal carriage were similar among PnCRM7 and group C meningococcal conjugate vaccine recipients (63.9% vs. 60.5%, respectively). The absolute frequency of vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage was lower among PnCRM7 recipients (10.3%) than among controls (17.1%; P = .01). This reduction was offset by an increase of nonvaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among PnCRM7 recipients (39.2% vs. 29.8%; P = .01). Conclusion Community-wide PnCRM7 vaccination in infancy reduces the prevalence of vaccine-type carriage and increases the prevalence of nonvaccine-type carriage through at least 3 years of age.
The Effect of Concave and Convex Forebody on the Wake of a Circular Cylinder

The effect of upstream streamline curvature on the three dimensionality of the wake was investigated by fitting a concave and a convex forebody to a circular cylinder. Proper orthogonal decomposition was employed to analyze data collected by Particle Image Velocimetry which revealed that concave curvature strengthened the secondary structures in the cylinder wake. The energy in the periodic Karman vortices was found to be distributed to these secondary structures as evident by the attenuation of the magnitude of shedding component in the hot wire spectra. A larger shift in the primary shedding frequency to higher wave numbers was observed in case of the convex forebody which was attributed to additional stretching of the streamwise vortices resulting in the appearance of finer scales.
Teachers See What Ability Scores Cannot Predicting Student Performance With Challenging Mathematics

Teacher nominations of students are commonly used in gifted and talented identification systems to supplement psychometric measures of reasoning ability. In this study, second grade teachers were requested to nominate approximately one fourth of their students as having high learning potential in the year prior to the students’ participation in a randomized control trial of an advanced mathematics curriculum intervention. Treatment students completed researcher-developed unit pretests and posttests intended to measure higher order conceptual mathematical problem solving. Results from multilevel analyses indicate that third grade treatment students who were nominated during second grade significantly outperformed their un-nominated peers on these posttest measures, after controlling for students’ composite reasoning scores and pretest scores. This finding supports the view that teachers perceive student qualities beyond cognitive factors that facilitate student success with atypically challenging mathematics content, reinforcing prior recommendations to include teacher nominations as one component of gifted and talented identification systems.
SnapShot: T Cell Exhaustion

Exhaustion is a state of T cell differentiation common during chronic infection and cancer that results in T cell dysfunction. Exhausted T cells (T EX ) progressively lose effector functions and develop defects in memory T cell properties due to exposure to persistent antigen and inflammation. Exhaustion can be reversed, at least partially, by blocking inhibitory pathways such as PD-1, resulting in improved pathogen or tumor control. To view this SnapShot, open or download the PDF.
A simulated annealing algorithm for optimizing RF power efficiency in coupled-cavity traveling-wave tubes

Decreasing the radio frequency (RF) phase velocity in the output section of a traveling-wave tube (TWT) is a technique commonly used to increase RF power efficiency. In order to optimize the profile of the phase velocity, a simulated annealing algorithm has been developed and implemented into the NASA multidimensional large-signal coupled-cavity TWT computer model. This algorithm allows the determination of the lengths of the individual cavities at the end of the output section necessary to provide the optimized phase velocity profile. The resulting nonlinear computer-generated phase velocity profile provides a design with optimized RF efficiency. In this paper, the optimization algorithm is described and computational results are shown. These results indicate an increase in center-frequency RF efficiency from 7.1 to 13.5% for a V-band coupled-cavity TWT.
RefProtDom: a protein database with improved domain boundaries and homology relationships.

Summary: RefProtDom provides a set of divergent query domains, originally selected from Pfam, and full-length proteins containing their homologous domains, with diverse architectures, for evaluating pair-wise and iterative sequence similarity searches. Pfam homology and domain boundary annotations in the target library were supplemented using local and semi-global searches, PSI-BLAST searches, and SCOP and CATH classifications. Availability: RefProtDom is available from http://faculty.virginia.edu/wrpearson/fasta/PUBS/gonzalez09a Contact: moc.liamg@zelaznogwydelim; ude.ainigriv@nosraep
Impact of integrated sheep grazing for cover crop termination on weed and ground beetle (Coleoptera:Carabidae) communities

Cover crops are a suite of non-marketable plant species grown to improve soil quality. They may have additional benefits including reduced weed pressure and enhanced habitat for beneficial arthropods, but they do not provide direct revenue. Integrating sheep grazing for cover crop termination could make the use of cover crops more economically feasible. However, if grazing shifts biological communities to assemblages of less desired species, producers are unlikely to use this method of cover crop termination. We compared weed and carabid beetle (Coleoptera:Carabidae) communities between cover crops terminated by sheep grazing and those terminated by mowing. Our study consisted of two trials of a two-phase experiment. In the first phase (cover crop phase), we seeded a four-species cover crop to enhance nutrient cycling and prevent erosion. The cover crop consisted of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis), beets (Beta vulgaris), and peas (Pisum sativum). The cover crop grew to anthesis, and was terminated by either sheep grazing or mowing. In the second phase (cash crop phase), we sowed three cash crops through the previously grazed or mowed plots to assess legacy impacts of cover crop termination strategies on weed community structure. Both years, weed species richness and biomass were greater prior to than after cover crop termination, but overall weed diversity, species richness, and biomass did not differ between grazed and mowed plots. We found no difference in weed diversity, species richness, biomass, or density in the cash-crop phase between previously grazed and mowed plots. Despite temporal differences in species richness and activity–density, carabid diversity, species richness, and activity–density did not differ between grazed and mowed plots. Overall, our results suggest that grazing and mowing act as similar ecological filters of both weed and carabid beetle communities.
Increasing Student Responsibility and Active Learning in an Undergraduate Capstone Finance Course.

This paper focuses on the effectiveness of factors in designing and delivering a complex, capstone course in an undergraduate major in finance. The course uses an instructional delivery system that is contrasted to the standard lecture format and has a broader set of objectives than is usually specified for a finance course. An objective of the instructional design of the course is to harness student responsibility while making them more active participants in the delivery of the content. The goal is to equip them to solve the typical non-structured problems they will deal with in their professional careers. The effect of these factors is measured by analyzing this course compared to all other finance courses taken. The outcomes of this paper show that this method is superior to the standard lecture method across a variety of scales. This provides insight into the future development of this method for this type of course, as well as ideas for developing other advanced instructional delivery systems for similar complex courses.
Results from a New Global Oral Health Course: A Case Study at One Dental School

To channel students' interest in global oral health and prepare them to respond adequately to the health effects of globalization as future practitioners, new courses in dental curricula may be needed. This article documents the results of Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM)'s new course, Global Oral Health: Interdisciplinary Approaches. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first course of its kind in dental education. HSDM developed learning objectives for the course based on the literature, the training and experience of HSDM global health faculty, and the mission of the HSDM Global Health Initiative. Dental residents and public health students enrolled, and some dental students audited. The discussion-based critical thinking course examined the extensive relationship between oral health and global health, and concept development was determined by in-class participation. After taking the course, students' assessments of their global oral health knowledge increased on average 100 percent. Nearly all students reported that they were very likely to use the concepts of global oral health in their careers and that they would definitely recommend the course to others. This course model seems to have met the expectations of students and faculty, and its fundamentals appear to be readily transferrable to other dental schools.
Moment Coefficients for Frame Analysis

A method for the analysis of frames, by use of moment coefficients, is presented. This method is ideally suited for the solution of structures that would normally give convergence difficulties with...
Reforming Capital Taxation in Italy

This paper reviews capital taxation issues in Italy based on a comprehensive definition encompassing taxes on income, transactions, and ownership. It discusses options to enhance the neutrality of the capital income tax system, followed by a detailed analysis of the property tax, the inheritance tax, and various transaction taxes. The paper also examines the case for replacing the set of existing taxes on financial and real assets with a single net wealth tax.
Assessing Work Disability After Radical Prostatectomy.

In this issue of European Urology, Plym and colleagues [1] evaluate short-term and long-term disability following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). To complete the study, the authors reviewed surgical outcomes from a nationwide population-based database for men who underwent prostatectomy between 2007 and 2009. They used Cox regression models to assess return to work, duration of sick leave, and long-term disability after surgery. The final retrospective study cohort of 2571 men included 1062 (41%) undergoing RARP and 1509 (59%) undergoing RRP. Among these, 22% of RARP and 12% of RRP patients did not have registered sick leave. The authors found that among men with registered sick leave the median return to work was significantly shorter after RARP compared to RRP (35 vs 48 d, p [1_TD$DIFF]< [1_TD$DIFF]0.001). They also noted that differences between the surgical approaches were seen early. In fact, RARP patients were able to return to work nearly four times faster than men treated with RRP. When looking at long-term disability based on the median 3.6-yr follow-up after surgery, no significant differences were observed between RARP and RRP [1]. It is important to point out that in this study RARP patients were significantly younger, lived in urban settings, were treated in university hospitals, had lower-risk disease, and had higher socioeconomic status when compared to patients undergoing RRP. At first glance, one might deduce that these differences between study groups alone contributed to the shorter sick leave after RARP. To address this potential bias, the authors completed a second analysis that was limited tomen treated in 2009 in the university setting, from large cities, and in the highest category for occupation, income, and education. In this secondary analysis, RARPwas
The Measurement of Achievement in Physical Education

(1927). The Measurement of Achievement in Physical Education. American Physical Education Review: Vol. 32, No. 8, pp. 563-568.
144 Use of Intranasal Naloxone by Basic Life Support Providers

Study Objectives: Intranasal delivery of naloxone to reverse the effects of opioid overdose by Advanced Life Support (ALS) providers has been studied in several prehospital settings. In 2006, in re...
Fractionation of extracellular matrix components from urediospore germlings of Uromyces

Secreted proteins and other components of the Uromyces appendiculatus urediospore germling ex? tracellular matrix were fractionated by a scheme em- ploying a hydrophobic-silanized, fumed silica matrix. Two fractions of secreted proteins were obtained by this procedure. One fraction was adsorbed by hydro- phobic interactions from germination water filtrate. The second group of components, apparently less hy- drophobic in character and left behind in solution, was subsequently fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography. The total protein and glycoprotein profiles of several fractions were compared after so? dium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electropho? resis. Batch extraction of putative adhesion proteins by silanized fumed silica matrices is proposed as a one- step procedure for extracellular matrix antigen prep? aration.
Analysis of emergency exercise on disinfection in disease prevention and control agencies of Pingdingshan in 2012

Objective The exercise was designed to gather experience of emergency exercise,and improve response capacity on emergency public health events. Methods The exercise with terminal disinfection in cholera patient's family was conducted by combining operation and written test. Results The exercise was well-designed and well- positioned. The skill and knowledge of disinfection could be mastered by the members of the teams,but it was inadequate in the technical proficiency and detail. Conclusions From the exercise,the ability of disease prevention and control agencies on this issues was evaluated,some problems were found,is good for improve the ability of disease control and prevention agencies.
Validation of the CPS + EG Staging System for Disease-Specific Survival in Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

CPS + EG staging, which incorporates estrogen receptor (ER) status and tumor grade with pretreatment clinical stage (CS) and post-treatment pathologic stage (PS), has been reported to have better correlation with outcome than classic TNM staging for patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Our goal was to evaluate the performance of CPS + EG staging system in an external cohort treated with NAC. We reviewed patients with stages I–IIIC breast cancer treated with NAC and surgery at our institution between 1988 and 2014. ER status, Nottingham grade, treatment, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) CS before NAC and PS after NAC, and follow-up data were collected. The discrimination of CPS + EG and pathologic AJCC stage were assessed using area under the curve (AUC) for survival data. A total of 769 patients were analyzed with a median follow-up of 2.6 (range 0.0–19.4) years; 103 patients died of breast cancer. Overall, the 5-year breast cancer cause-specific survival was 81.5 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 77.6–85.5]. The 5-year, cause-specific survival by CPS + EG score was 93.8 % score 0, 89.9 % score 1, 90.7 % score 2, 84.8 % score 3, 67.7 % score 4, and 43.4 % score 5/6. CPS + EG score was significantly associated with cause-specific survival (p < 0.001) with an AUC of 0.69 (95 % CI 0.62–0.77) at 5 years. This was higher than the AUC of 0.63 (95 % CI 0.56–0.70) for AJCC PS (p = 0.10). This study validates the CPS + EG staging system using Nottingham grade in an external cohort. Addition of tumor biology and treatment response shows promise in improving survival estimates for patients treated with NAC.
Real-time unmanned aerial vehicle 3D environment exploration in a mixed reality environment

This paper presents a novel human robot interaction system that can be used for real-time 3D environment exploration with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The method creates a mixed reality environment, in which a user can interactively control a UAV and visualize the exploration data in real-time. The method uses a combination of affordable sensors, and transforms the control and viewing space from the UAV to the controller's perspective. Different hardware and software configurations are studied so that the system can be adjusted to meet different needs and environments. A prototype system is presented and test results are discussed.
Tunnel junction devices with monolithic optically pumped and electrically injected InGaN quantum wells for polarized white light emission

We demonstrate polarized white light emission from a semipolar device in which a tunnel junction is used to monolithically integrate a blue electrically injected light-emitting diode (LED) and yellow-emitting InGaN quantum wells (QWs) that are optically pumped by the LED emission. Polarized white light has important applications, for example, in backlighting liquid crystal displays. The use of a tunnel junction allows the optically pumped QWs for long wavelength emission to be grown after the blue LED, which protects the high indium content InGaN layers from high temperature growth steps and thermal damage. The tunnel junction allows n-GaN above the tunnel junction to be used for current spreading across the LED area, and our molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) tunnel junction growth technique enables buried p-GaN. Optically pumping—rather than electrically injecting—offers several advantages for realizing long wavelength emission from InGaN QWs, and growth on (2021) enables optically polarized emission.
Patients' and Physicians' Perceptions Regarding the Benefits of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether patients and physicians understand that atrial fibrillation ablation (AFA) has been shown to only improve symptomology and not reduce morbidity or mortality. METHODS Note that 177 of 445 (40%) consecutive patients referred to an electrophysiology clinic for atrial fibrillation (AF) management responded anonymously to our survey via mail. Note that 105 of 656 (15%) physicians responded to our survey via email. Comparisons among groups were conducted using χ2 test for categorical variables. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS Almost half of patients and physicians believed AF ablation (AFA) would eliminate the need for anticoagulation (43% vs. 44%, P > 0.05) while the majority of both groups believed AFA would improve survival (58% vs. 67%, P = 0.308). The great majority of both groups believed AFA would decrease stroke rates (89% vs. 80%, P = 0.106). When comparing noncardiologists (n = 86) to cardiologists (n = 19), noncardiologists were more likely to believe that an AFA would eliminate the need for anticoagulation 49% vs. 21% (X = 4.9, P = 0.04), improve survival 80% vs. 11% (X = 30.2, P < 0.001), and decrease stroke 87% vs. 44% (X = 15.6, P < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The perceived benefit of AFA by patients and physicians is not supported by the medical literature. It is the responsibility of the electrophysiology community to educate patients and referring physicians regarding the true benefits of AFA. In addition, our study displays the great need for long-term clinical trials examining the impact AFA has on morbidity and mortality.
La corrupción política en la República Dominicana y la entronización del partido cartel

Este articulo analiza la crisis institucional que padece la Republica Dominicana producto de los altos niveles de corrupcion administrativa del gobernante Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana (PLD), que la autora identifica como un partido cartel siguiendo el modelo de Katz y Mair (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2009). Se examinan la relacion entre corrupcion, crecimiento macroeconomico y pobreza, el modelo de partido cartel, la practica electoral y gubernativa del PLD como un partido cartel y casos factuales de corrupcion que involucran a funcionarios del PLD de las administraciones de Leonel Fernandez y Danilo Medina, incluyendo el propio expresidente Fernandez. Se destaca la impunidad imperante en el pais ante los casos de corrupcion sostenido por el caracter neo-corporativo del sistema politico mediante la entronizacion del PLD como una organizacion partido/Estado que controla todos los estratos de la funcion publica. La autora plantea que ello permite la impunidad de los actos de corrupcion y el trasvase a otras funciones administrativas de los funcionarios implicados en actividades de corrupcion, frente a un sistema judicial disfuncional, un prevalente sistema de prevaricacion y prebendas, y un electorado cautivo sostenido mediante nominas supernumerarias y subvenciones estatales de caracter populista y clientelar. This article analyzes the institutional crisis prevailing in the Dominican Republic as a result of the high levels of administrative corruption of the official Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) that the author identifies as a cartel party following Katz and Mair’s model (1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2009). It is examined the relation between corruption, macroeconomic growth and poverty, the cartel party model, the electoral and governmental practice of the PLD as a cartel party and factual cases of corruption involving PLD officials from Leonel Fernandez and Danilo Medina’s administrations, including ex-president Fernandez. It emphasizes the country’s prevailing impunity of corruption cases sustained by the neo-corporatist character of the political system through the enthronement of PLD as a party/State organization that controls all the strata of public function. The author points out that this allows the impunity of corruption acts and the transference to other administrative functions of officials implicated in corruption activities versus a dysfunctional judicial system, a prevalent breach of trust and prebends, and a captive electorate sustained through supernumerary appointments and state subventions of popular and patronizing character.
Large-scale structure of the interplanetary medium. II - Evolving magnetic configurations deduced from multi-spacecraft observations

We introduce a method for constructing large-scale (∼0.25 AU) interplanetary magnetic field lines using only solar wind velocity from well-separated appropriately located spacecraft. The technique is based on ‘labeling’ the field lines at each spacecraft with their coronal connection longitudes calculated in the EQRH (extrapolated quasi-radial hypervelocity) approximation (Nolte and Roelof, 1973). Even though the EQRH approximation is most applicable to quasi-steady solar wind, we propose that it should also be satisfactorily accurate for moderately evolving conditions. For strongly evolving conditions (e.g., flare-associated plasma) we propose a straightforward correction based on the inferred coronal longitudinal velocity profile. To illustrate the multispacecraft EQRH technique, we perform a calculation in which the interplanetary field lines in a model evolving solar wind disturbance are deduced from model observations at separated spacecraft. Since the expected agreement is found, we use data from Pioneers 8 and 9 and Vela to construct field lines for an unusually quiet period (April 26–30, 1969) and for a flare-associated disturbance accompanied by a Forbush decrease (March 23–25, 1969). The deduced field lines (even though strongly distorted by the disturbance), order the onsets of the Forbush decrease at the separated spacecraft, and the interplanetary plasma and field structures correspond to equatorial structures apparent in Hα synoptic charts of chromospheric magnetic features.
A Structure-Biodegradability Relationship Model by Discriminant Analysis

Multivariate analysis, in the strictest sense, is the study of systems of correlated random variables or random samples from such systems (Gifi 1990). However, practically,multivariate methods deal with the problem of linear representation of relationships among a set of measurements on a number of objects. When objects are chemical structures and measurements are molecular descriptors and rate of aerobic biodegradation, for instance, the techniques of multivariate analysis are well suited for studying structure-biodegradability relationships.
Credentialing the clinical ethics consultant: an academic medical center affirms professionalism and practice

In response to national trends calling for increasing accountability and an emerging dialogue within bioethics, we describe an effort to credential clinical ethicists at a major academic medical center.This effort is placed within the historical context of prior calls for credentialing and certification and efforts currently underway within organized bioethics to engage this issue.The specific details, and conceptual rationale, behind the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's graduated credentialing plan are shared as is their evolution and ratification within the context of institutional policy. While other programs will design their credentialing schema consistent with their local context and demographics, the description of one such effort is offered to be instructive to others who want to bring additional standardization to the assessment of the readiness and credentials of those who will engage in the practice of clinical ethics case consultation.
Environmental Effects on Properties of Composites

Environmental effects on composite materials must be considered in the earliest stages of a system design. Failure to do so can lead to expensive design iterations during the later design stages or to a great increase in the cost of ownership as a result of failures caused by the environment. The design engineer must consider both natural and induced environments. Most important, when considering environmental effects, is to address the combined effects of the total environmental factors to which the system will be exposed.
Achieving educational mission and vision with an educational scorecard.

Achieving an academic section’s educational mission and vision is difficult, particularly when individual faculty contributions may be self-directed and uncoordinated. Balanced scorecards have been used in other environments; however, a process for developing one focusing on the educational mission of an academic medical section has not previously been described. We aimed to develop and use an educational scorecard to help our academic clinical section achieve its educational mission and vision. Six medical educators participated in a task force that developed, implemented, and evaluated an educational scorecard that incorporates four domains of educational value and six stakeholder perspectives. A modified Delphi process using 14 experts built expert consensus on the most valuable metrics. The task force then developed performance targets for each metric. Review of the scorecard at the sectional level resulted in both sectional and individual strategies which lead to a more balanced educational impact, including service structure changes and increased mentorship. Our section has used the scorecard and metrics to evaluate performance since 2014. An educational scorecard is a feasible way for academic groups to communicate educational goals, engage faculty, and provide objective information with which to base strategic decisions affecting their educational mission.
Determination of constant viscosity for a power-law melt flow inside a circular tube

Abstract For a melt flow with viscous heating, a temperature-independent viscosity model is simple to use in estimating its temperature profile. In this model, a constant viscosity is chosen to represent a temperature-dependent one. However, it is still not clear about what value should be selected for the constant viscosity. In this short communication, we derive a relation to find it, followed by validation using existing numerical examples.
Galaxy Morphology at High Redshift

The morphology of galaxies at high redshift ranges from elliptical and spiral to clumpy, including chains, clump clusters, doubles and tadpoles. Clumpy galaxies observed in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field at redshifts z = 1–5 contain star-forming complexes that are hundreds of times more massive than those forming in local galaxies, reflecting the more turbulent and gas-rich conditions in the early Universe. Numerical simulations suggest that the clumpy phase lasts for about a Gyr, fueled by cold flow accretion; feedback from supernovae does not quench star formation. Bulges and disks build up through coalescence or dispersal of large clumps. Grand design spiral structure first appears in the Universe at about z = 2. Local analogs of high redshift tadpole and clumpy galaxies have high star formation rates but metallicities that are lower in star-forming regions, consistent with ongoing external gas accretion.
Review of Robotic Needle Guide Systems for Percutaneous Intervention

Numerous research groups in the past have designed and developed robotic needle guide systems that improve the targeting accuracy and precision by either providing a physical guidance for manual insertion or enabling a complete automated intervention. Here we review systems that have been reported in the last 11 years and limited to straight line needle interventions. Most systems fall under the category of image guided systems as they either use magnetic resonance image, computed tomography, ultrasound or a combination of these modalities for real time image feedback of the intervention path being followed. Actuation and control technology along with materials used for construction are the main aspects that differentiate these systems from each other and have been reviewed here. Image compatibility test details and results are also reviewed as they are used to ensure proper functioning of these systems under the respective imaging environments. We have also reviewed needle guide systems which either don’t use any image feedback or have not reported any but provide physical guidance. Throughout this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the technological aspects and trends in the field of robotic, straight line, needle guide intervention systems.
Abstract WP285: tPA Variant tPA-A296-299 Prevents Impairment of Cerebral Autoregulation and Hippocampal Neuronal Necrosis After Stroke Through Inhibition of ET-1 Upregulation

Introduction: The sole FDA approved treatment for acute stroke is tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA). However, its brief therapeutic window and post-treatment complications markedly constrain ...
Two New Genera of Neotropical Cantacaderinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae), with the Description of Five New Species from Costa Rica and Ecuador

The subfamily Cantacaderinae was first found in Costa Rica and Ecuador after a detailed review of specimens. Two new genera and five new species are described; Carinacader lewisi n. gen. and n. sp., C. minuta sp. n., C. huaoroni n. sp., C. adelphi n. sp., and Taurcader heptabison n. gen. and n. sp. Color images and diagnoses of new genera are provided along with color images of all new species and a key to species of Carinacader.
Adhesion properties of polymeric microstructures fabricated by two-photon polymerization (Conference Presentation)

This Conference Presentation, "Adhesion properties of polymeric microstructures fabricated by two-photon polymerization," was recorded at Photonics West 2020 held in San Francisco, California, United States.
The Consequences of Collaboration Overload

Collaboration is a key ingredient to organizational performance, yet employees in many companies struggle to achieve the right balance of collaborative activities. A common problem occurs when empl...
E-125 Primary rapid-exchange coronary balloon angioplasty for the treatment of recurrent symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic disease

Background Treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD), a common cause of ischemic stroke worldwide, has been highly controversial. The SAMMPRIS trial revealed that best medical management (BMM) is superior to Gateway balloon angioplasty and Wingspan stenting for patients with symptomatic high-grade ICAD. Therefore, stenting is reserved for those failed BMM. Early evidence suggests that primary balloon angioplasty (PBA) may be an alternative option for ICAD who fails BMM. However, PBA of non-rapid-exchange system for ICAD has been frequently undermined due to the increase incidence of arterial recoil, restenosis and dissection. Objective We report three cases of PBA using rapid-exchange coronary balloon for the treatment of symptomatic refractory ICAD in the vertebrobasilar arterial system who failed BMM. Cases: The cases consist of a 73-year-old-man with 90% vertebral artery stenosis, a 66-year-old-woman with 95% vertebrobasilar junction stenosis and a 49-year-old man with 98% stenosis of the basilar artery. Patients had history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and smoking and failed BMM. Therefore, underwent rapid-exchange PBA using undersized Maverick coronary balloons. First case required single PBA using 2.5 × 20 mm balloon, 2nd required two PBA with 2 × 20 mm in two sessions and 3rd required single session three PBA using 2 × 20 mm. PBA resulting in reduction of stenosis less than 50% in all without any events and achievement of good clinical outcomes. Conclusions Rapid-exchange PBA is technically feasible and may offers an alternative option to refractory ICAD who fails BMM. Further studies are warranted. Disclosures Y. Lodi: None. S. Chin: None. B. Pulgarin: None. Z. Weiss: None. V. Reddy: 2; C; Terumo. 3; C; Janssen, Chiesi Inc, Portola.
The Friendship House Community: Christian Community as a Lived Framework for Theological Education

The author briefly presents and seeks to interrogate enduring biases present within the dominant framework for engaging in Western Christian theological education. Readers are introduced to the Fri...
Severe Calcaneus Injury Probability Curves Due to Under-Body Blast

The lower extremity is the most frequently injured body region to mounted soldiers during underbody blast (UBB) events. UBB events often produce large deformations of the floor and subsequent acceleration of the lower limb that are not sufficiently mitigated by the combat boot, leaving the calcaneus bone vulnerable to injury. Biomechanical experiments simulating UBB loading scenarios were conducted in a laboratory environment using isolated postmortem human subject (PMHS) leg components. Each leg component was tested twice: one sub-injurious test followed by a injury-targeted test. This enabled the use of interval censoring for each specimen in the survival statistical analysis to generate the human injury probability curves (HIPCs). Foot contact forces were measured in both the hindfoot and forefoot. Strains and acoustic emission signals at the calcaneus and distal tibia were utilized to determine injury timing. The footplate velocities of the injury tests ranged 8-13 m/s with time-to-peak velocity of 1.8-2.5 ms while the velocities of non-injury tests ranged from 4 to 6 m/s with the same time-to-peak. The majority of the injuries were severe calcaneus fractures (Sanders III-IV). Secondary injuries included fractures to the distal tibia, talus, cuboid and cuneiform. These injury outcomes were found to be consistent with those reported in UBB injury literature. The HIPCs for the severe calcaneus fracture were developed using the vertical heel contact force as the injury correlation measure through survival analysis statistical method in the form of lognormal function. This work represents the first set of HIPCs dedicated to the severe calcaneus fracture using the biomechanical force measurement closest to the injury location. This injury probability curve will enable biomechanical response validation of computational models, development of ATD injury assessment reference curve, and injury prediction capability for computational models or ATDs in the UBB environment.
Drug-induced Grover’s disease: a case report and review of the literature

Background Grover's disease (GD) is a relatively rare transient dermatosis that can be idiopathic or acquired. Acquired GD may occur secondary to internal triggers such as medications and malignancies and external factors such as friction. Objective The purpose of this report is to describe the clinical and histological presentation of drug-induced Grover's disease (DIGD) and discuss potential pathogenic mechanisms. Methods A systemic review of the literature was performed to identify medications implicated in DIGD. Results We identified 13 reports of patients with DIGD. Most patients presented with a papular or papulovesicular morphology involving the trunk and extremities. Pruritus was the most common symptom. The majority of the offending agents were cancer therapeutics. Discontinuation of the culprit medication was sufficient for rash clearance and symptom resolution in most cases. Conclusion The overlap in morphology and associated symptoms in DIGD and GD makes the diagnosis of DIGD challenging and has potentially led to underdiagnosis. However, in cases of more extensive involvement and treatment recalcitrance, a drug-induced eruption should be considered.
The Everyday Ageism Scale: Development and Evaluation:

ObjectivesOlder adults regularly encounter age-based discrimination and stereotyping in their day-to-day lives. Whether this type of routine ageism negatively affects their health and well-being is...
Ecological Associations Between Inclusionary Zoning Policies and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prevalence: An Observational Study.

Background: Providing an adequate supply of affordable housing has become an increasingly difficult challenge for US cities. Inclusionary zoning (IZ) policies have become an increasingly popular re...
Retheorizing Shakespeare through Presentist Readings

Introduction: Retheorizing Shakespeare 1. Spectres of Intention: Epic Theatre and the Lessons of Theory 2. Boys Will Be Boys: Subtexts and Afterthoughts in the Comedies 3. Racism and Homophobia in The Merchant of Venice 4. Love and Object-Cathexis in Troilus and Cressida: Just One of Those Things 5. The Exotic/Erotic and the Group: Othello 6. King Lear and the Art of Dying Notes Performance Bibliography Index
Separation of Histone Variants and Post-Translationally Modified Isoforms by Triton/Acetic Acid/Urea Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis

Due to their similarities in size and charge, complete resolution of histones by electrophoresis poses a considerable challenge. The addition of nonionic detergents to the traditional acetic acid/urea (AU) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) system has afforded an excellent method to separate not only the different modified forms of histones, but also the primary sequence variant subtypes of selected histone species; it is widely used to separate histones with varying levels of acetylation. This unit describes the use of gels containing the nonionic detergent Triton X-100, referred to as Triton/acetic acid/urea (TAU) polyacrylamide gels, for analysis of histones. Also included are support protocols detailing several accessory techniques: assembly of gel plates for the TAU gel, preparation of histones from isolated nuclei in a solubilized form amenable to electrophoresis, and electrophoretic transfer of proteins from these gels to PVDF membranes.
MR Arthrography of Shoulder

The glenohumeral joint boasts the greatest range of motion of any peripheral joint in the body, but not without cost; it is also the most frequently dislocated joint in the body. Stability of this articulation is limited for two major reasons. The articulating surface of the glenoid is significantly smaller than that of the humeral head, and the joint capsule is redundant and provides little support. This unit presents a basic MR arthrography protocol for evaluation of glenohumeral joint instability.
Influences on spatial patterns of Gulf of Maine harbor porpoises

Abstract Background: inter-annual spatial and temporal differences in the sighting rates of harbor porpoises in the Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy region have been documented since 1970. This paper explores a possible reason for these differences. Methods: using data collected in 1991 and 1992, harbor porpoise densities adjusted for sea state were related to environmental factors (surface temperature, water depth, density index of prey species, and spatial location) by inspecting contour maps of kriged values of each factor and by fitting generalized additive models (GAMs) to all the factors simultaneously. Results: on a large spatial scale, high density aggregations of harbor porpoises were located in the same general regions during both years. However, on a smaller spatial scale, exact location and magnitude of the aggregations were correlated with the small scale distributions of environmental factors. High densities of harbor porpoises were associated with waters that had surface temperatures of 10–13.5°C, contained fish densities of 1.5–11 fish caught per minute of trawling, and were 30–70 fathoms deep. Conclusions: inter-annual changes in surface temperature and fish density may be a reason for changes in the distribution and abundance of harbor porpoises.
Natural Killer Cell Memory

Natural killer (NK) cells have historically been considered short-lived cytolytic cells that can rapidly respond against pathogens and tumors in an antigen-independent manner and then undergo cell death. Recently, however, NK cells have been shown to possess traits of adaptive immunity and can acquire immunological memory in a manner similar to that of T and B cells. In this review, we discuss evidence of NK cell memory and the mechanisms involved in the generation and survival of these innate lymphocytes.
Discordance of first-trimester crown-rump length is a predictor of adverse outcomes in structurally normal euploid dichorionic twins.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between discordant crown-rump length (CRL) measurements in structurally normal euploid dichorionic twins and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods. This retrospective cohort study included women with dichorionic twins who underwent chorionic villus sampling and delivered in our facility from January 2000 to September 2007. Only pregnancies with viable twin fetuses and normal karyotypes were included. The association between CRL discordance, defined as a CRL discrepancy of 9% or greater, and adverse pregnancy outcomes was evaluated. Results. Seventy-eight women met inclusion criteria and included 24 discordant twins (group 1) and 54 concordant twins (group 2). Maternal ages were similar: mean ± SD, 38.2 ± 3.1 years in group 1 versus 39.2 ± 3.9 years in group 2 (P = not significant). The median gestational ages at delivery were 35.6 ± 3.1 weeks in group 1 and 37.3 ± 2.0 weeks in group 2 (P .01). At least 1 major complication occurred in 19 women (79%) in group 1 and 25 (46%) in group 2 (P = .01). Group 1 had significantly more major complications overall (P = .0008). Preterm premature rupture of membranes occurred in 10 women (42%) in group 1 and 6 (11%) in group 2 (P = .005). Delivery before 37 weeks' gestation occurred in 19 of 24 women (79%) in group 1 and 24 of 54 (44%) in group 2 (P = .006). There was a significant difference for younger gestational age at delivery in the discordant group (P < .01). Conclusions. Our data suggest that there is an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in chromosomally normal dichorionic twins with first-trimester discordant CRL measurements. These results may be clinically useful for counseling, management, and antenatal surveillance.
Corporate Rules and Political Rules: Antitrust as Campaign Finance Reform

This Article addresses itself to two of the most significant political moments in the last decade: the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, and the 2008 bailout of the “Too Big To Fail” companies. It proposes that in light of these two watershed moments, policy makers should explore new antitrust laws with absolute size caps. First and foremost, it proposes that the existing division between the study of market structure and the study of political structure disables both fields. It argues that corporate rules are political rules, and should be treated as such, and understood in terms of their impact on democratic design. In particular, antitrust, which was considered a political tool for the first sixty years of its existence, should be again understood politically. Second, it argues that large-scale companies have disproportionate influence in the political marketplace because of their size. It engages the public choice “rent-seeking” literature, using models to show why spending money on politics becomes cheaper and more likely with scale. The models suggest significant economies of scale in the production of political power, and therefore greater incentives for larger companies to spend money seeking wealth through changes in laws and regulations instead of innovation and development. The existing evidence conforms to these models. In light of the model and evidence, it proposes new laws that would limit the absolute size of all limited liability companies. The laws would be enforced through the antitrust framework, but also rely on the self-enforcement of liability rules (companies over a certain size would lose limited liability). The Article anticipates several objections to the proposal: most prominently the objection that limiting size would be harmful for our economy. It reviews the evidence, demonstrating that in the production of goods and services over a certain size, there is very little evidence that large size adds social value. In the final section, the article explores some unproven assumptions about the relationship between size and the pursuit of political power that might help explain why scholars concerned with rent-seeking have not previously embraced a robust size-based antitrust.
Sifting Statistical Significance From the Artifact of Regression- Discontinuity Design

When the covariate of an evaluation study using regression analysis is falhbly measured, the statistical test of program effectiveness is biased. In programs where the target population is "below average, " the bias tends to suppress the beneficial effects of the program, while raising them in programs designed for those "above average. " The magnitude of this bias is calculated, and a correction method is derived and illustrated. In many cases, these biases will make practical differences in program assessment, lending further support to the general distrust of nonexperimental methods. Nonetheless, our approach improves the reliability of nonexperimen tal methods by correcting one potential source of their bias.