cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Silicon Germanium Alloy Devices

In the past few years, SiGe alloys have become an important alternative to pure silicon for high performance integrated circuits (ICs) and devices. This chapter on the whole gives a striking account of SiGe alloys, focusing on their properties, design, fabrication and applications. The advantages that SiGe alloys provide for circuits and devices arise from its different physical properties as compared to pure Si. The composition dependence of the bandgap and band offset energies can produce heterostructures similar to those of the group III-V compound semiconductors. The Si 1-x Ge x alloys form a solid solution that is miscible over the entire range of Ge atomic fractions x. The addition of Ge to Si decreases the optical bandgap for absorption at longer wavelengths, depending on composition and layer strain. The band offsets in heterojunctions of SiGe with Si can be controlled in both positive and negative energy directions using composition and strain. Predicting the details of device behavior by modeling and simulation is performed by applying the carrier transport equations of drift, diffusion and recombination, along with Poisson and Schroedinger equation solvers. Computer aided techniques have revolutionized the device and circuit simulations. The chapter also describes the main epitaxial techniques for growing SiGe thin films such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and ion implantation. Furthermore it provides details of SiGe device characteristics and limitations, theory and models, performance, sensitive parameters, design trade-offs, frequency response, noise properties, comparisons with alternative structures, and applications. Finally the chapter illustrates various parameters that could be used to characterize SiGe devices, such as direct current and low-frequency electrical measurement, microwave measurements, electrical noise measurements and optical measurements.
How the Myths have Fared

Fashions in Platonic scholarship have changed a good deal over the years, being mostly coloured by the strains of thought uppermost at the time the scholars have written; with whatever care I take to avoid reading back into Plato some of the leading concerns in contemporary philosophy I hardly expect to escape this criticism altogether. But it will be useful to trace at least some of the dominant approaches to the myths, including the rare and elusive hints that Plato himself gives.
LOGIC WITH DENUMERABLY LONG FORMULAS AND FINITE STRINGS OF QUANTIFIERS

Publisher Summary This chapter explains logic with denumerably long formulas and finite strings of quantifiers. In making an extension to an infinitary logic, Tarski originally suggested that infinite strings of quantifiers also be allowed. In some ways, in the denumerable case, this plan is not reasonable. The logic discussed in this paper is called L ω1 ω0 , where the second subscript indicates that the strings of quantifiers prefixing any subformula of a formula must be finite in length. L ω1 ω0 is the ordinary finitary predicate logic. Among countable systems at least, the axioms (**) do characterize the well-orderings. Non-standard models of (**) must be uncountable. The downward LOWENHEIM-SKOLEM theorem for L ω1 ω0 is that every countable set of sentences which has a model of infinite cardinality has models of all smaller infinite cardinalities. The proof is immediate when one realizes that the sub-formulas require Skolem functions for their initial quantifiers, which are each functions of only a finite number of arguments. The corresponding upward theorem is not so obvious.
Can Gridded Precipitation Data and Phenological Observations Reduce Basis Risk of Weather Index-based Insurance?

AbstractAdverse weather events occurring at sensitive stages of plant growth can cause substantial yield losses in crop production. Agricultural insurance schemes can help farmers to protect their income against downside risks. While traditional indemnity-based insurance schemes need governmental support to overcome market failure caused by asymmetric information problems, weather index–based insurance (WII) products represent a promising alternative. In WII the payout depends on a weather index serving as a proxy for yield losses. However, the nonperfect correlation of yield losses and the underlying index, the so-called basis risk, constitutes a key challenge for these products. This study aims to contribute to the reduction of basis risk and thus to the addition of risk-reducing properties of WII. More specifically, the study tests whether grid data for precipitation (vs weather station data) and phenological observations (vs fixed time windows for index determination) that are provided by public insti...
Effects of Rolled Plate Thickness on Anisotropy, with Application to Acoustic Stress Measurement

Common structural materials which are normally idealized as isotropic for most engineering purposes must be considered anisotropic for purposes of acousto-elastic stress measurement. The degree of anisotropy affects the number of moduli, as well as their departure from the usual isotropic values. For instance, rolled plates made of the same alloy, with the same temper designation, may have different moduli for different amounts of rolling. It is the purpose of this paper to determine whether the acousto-elastic constants are identical for commercial rolled plates of the same alloy and temper but different thicknesses.
Fast Uncovering of Graph Communities on a Chip: Toward Scalable Community Detection on Multicore and Manycore Platforms

Graph representations are pervasive in scientific and social computing.They serve as vital tools to model the interplay among differentinteracting entities.In this paper, we visit the problem of community detection, which isone of the most widely used graph operations toward scientific discovery.Community detection refers to the process of identifying tightlyknitsubgroups of vertices in a large graph. These sub-groups or communitiesrepresent vertices that are tied together through commonstructure or function. Identification of communities could help in understandingthe modular organization of complex networks. However,owing to large data sizes and high computational costs, performingcommunity detection at scale has become increasingly challenging.Here, we present a detailed review and analysis of some of the leadingcomputational methods and implementations developed for executingcommunity detection on modern day multicore and manycorearchitectures. Our goals are to: a define the problem of community detectionand highlight its scientific significance; b relate to challengesin parallelizing the operation on modern day architectures; c providea detailed report and logical organization of the approaches that havebeen designed for various architectures; and d finally, provide insightsinto the strengths and suitability of different architectures for communitydetection, and a preview into the future trends of the area. It is ourhope that this detailed treatment of community detection on parallelarchitectures can serve as an exemplar study for extending the applicationof modern day multicore and manycore architectures to othercomplex graph applications.
Fast Mechanically Driven Daughter Cell Separation Is Widespread in Actinobacteria

ABSTRACT Dividing cells of the coccoid Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus undergo extremely rapid (millisecond) daughter cell separation (DCS) driven by mechanical crack propagation, a strategy that is very distinct from the gradual, enzymatically driven cell wall remodeling process that has been well described in several rod-shaped model bacteria. To determine if other bacteria, especially those in the same phylum (Firmicutes) or with similar coccoid shapes as S. aureus, might use a similar mechanically driven strategy for DCS, we used high-resolution video microscopy to examine cytokinesis in a phylogenetically wide range of species with various cell shapes and sizes. We found that fast mechanically driven DCS is rather rare in the Firmicutes (low G+C Gram positives), observed only in Staphylococcus and its closest coccoid relatives in the Macrococcus genus, and we did not observe this division strategy among the Gram-negative Proteobacteria. In contrast, several members of the high-G+C Gram-positive phylum Actinobacteria (Micrococcus luteus, Brachybacterium faecium, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and Mycobacterium smegmatis) with diverse shapes ranging from coccoid to rod all undergo fast mechanical DCS during cell division. Most intriguingly, similar fast mechanical DCS was also observed during the sporulation of the actinobacterium Streptomyces venezuelae. IMPORTANCE Much of our knowledge on bacterial cytokinesis comes from studying rod-shaped model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. Less is known about variations in this process among different bacterial species. While cell division in many bacteria has been characterized to some extent genetically or biochemically, few species have been examined using video microscopy to uncover the kinetics of cytokinesis and daughter cell separation (DCS). In this work, we found that fast (millisecond) DCS is exhibited by species in two independent clades of Gram-positive bacteria and is particularly prevalent among the Actinobacteria, a diverse group that includes significant pathogens as well as bacteria that generate medically important antibiotics.
Is He a Hero or a Weirdo? How Norm Violations Influence the Halo Effect

First impressions are often influenced by the context in which we experience them. Many factors, such as behavior, appearance, and our own personal attitudes can affect the way that these perceptions are constructed. The present experiment sought to examine the effect of positive norm violation on females’ perceptions of male facial attractiveness. Two male faces (attractive and unattractive) with similar features were partnered with two scenarios of positive norm violation (low intensity and high intensity) while being rated on personality characteristics. Two separate halo effects were hypothesized in the experiment: attractiveness and high violation. An interaction effect in the form of a magnified halo was also predicted. Participants were 178 female college students. Results showed favorable ratings for the attractive male face and the low violation condition, with the attractive, low violation condition receiving the most positive results. Data supported a significant effect for positive norm violation, but not for male facial attractiveness. A significant interaction effect between the two variables was also observed.
Zoon politikon: The evolutionary origins of human socio-political systems.

We deploy the most up-to-date evidence available in various behavioral fields in support of the following hypothesis: The emergence of bipedalism and cooperative breeding in the hominin line, together with environmental developments that made a diet of meat from large animals adaptive, as well as cultural innovations in the form of fire, cooking, and lethal weapons, created a niche for hominins in which there was a significant advantage to individuals with the ability to communicate and persuade in a moral context. These forces added a unique political dimension to human social life which, through gene-culture coevolution, became Homo ludens—Man, the game player—with the power to conserve and transform the social order. Homo sapiens became, in the words of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, a zoon politikon.
A path model of different forms of impulsivity with externalizing and internalizing psychopathology: Towards greater specificity

Objectives A growing empirical literature indicates that emotion-related impulsivity (compared to impulsivity that is unrelated to emotion) is particularly relevant for understanding a broad range of psychopathologies. Recent work, however, has differentiated two forms of emotion-related impulsivity: A factor termed Pervasive Influence of Feelings captures tendencies for emotions (mostly negative emotions) to quickly shape thoughts, and a factor termed Feelings Trigger Action captures tendencies for positive and negative emotions to quickly and reflexively shape behaviour and speech. This study used path modelling to consider links from emotion-related and non-emotion-related impulsivity to a broad range of psychopathologies. Design and methods Undergraduates completed self-report measures of impulsivity, depression, anxiety, aggression, and substance use symptoms. Results A path model (N = 261) indicated specificity of these forms of impulsivity. Pervasive Influence of Feelings was related to anxiety and depression, whereas Feelings Trigger Action and non-emotion-related impulsivity were related to aggression and substance use. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that emotion-relevant impulsivity could be a potentially important treatment target for a set of psychopathologies. Practitioner points Recent work has differentiated two forms of emotion-related impulsivity. This study tests a multivariate path model linking emotion-related and non-emotion-related impulsivity with multiple forms of psychopathology. Impulsive thoughts in response to negative emotions were related to anxiety and depression. Impulsive actions in response to emotions were related to aggression and substance use, as did non-emotion-related impulsivity. The study was limited by the reliance on self-report measures of impulsivity and psychopathology. There is a need for longitudinal work on how these forms of impulsivity predict the onset and course of psychopathology.
Luísa Dias Diogo: Gender and Political Leadership in Mozambique

Luisa Diogo, prime minister of Mozambique from 2004 to 2010, was the first female head of state in Lusophone Africa. When she was appointed in February of 2004, Mozambique, no longer a one-party state, was moving firmly in the direction of democratic consolidation as a post-transition democracy. I suggest that Diogo may have been a beneficiary, perhaps directly and indirectly, of the efforts of women to change/challenge gender norms during the struggle for independence and beyond. The success of the challenges to gender norms directly shaped the gendered power relations within party organizations, cultural and political norms and views of women who participate in the decision-making process. Thus while the Mozambican state has articulated a commitment to gender symmetry, the above factors have shaped Diogo’s tenure as prime minister. Although Diogo had some success in shoring up the gender machinery and formulating policies, their implementation continues to be hampered by cultural norms and circumscribed by adherence to party line.
The Phenotypic Consequences of the White-Opaque Transition in Candida Albicans: The Cell Wall and Gene Regulation

There are two levels of phenotypic variability in the dimorphic yeast Candida albicans and both impact on the cell wall. The basic level includes the bud-hypha transition. Cells growing in the budding form can generate a narrow, elongate germ tube which continues to grow as a compartmentalized, sometimes branching tube. All normal cells are capable of converting between the two growth forms, and under experimental conditions, rapid mass conversion from one form to the other can be induced (Odds, 1988; Buffo et al.,1984; Simonetti et al.,1974). The bud-hypha transition has been considered a developmental process involving both differential gene expression (Finney et al., 1985; Maiming and Mitchell, 1980) and the differential utilization of common cell cycle functions (Soll, 1986; Soll and Mitchell, 1983). As in most cases in which rapid and reversible differentiation of an entire cell population can be induced, it is assumed that the molecular mechanisms involved in regulation include environmentally induced gene activation and deactivation in regulatory cascades, and reorganizations of metabolism and subcellular architecture (Soll, 1986), but usually no reorganization of the basic genetic material.
Climate impacts on agricultural land use in the USA: the role of socio-economic scenarios

We examine the impacts of climate on net returns from crop and livestock production and the resulting impact on land-use change across the contiguous USA. We first estimate an econometric model to project effects of weather fluctuations on crop and livestock net returns and then use a semi-reduced form land-use share model to study agricultural land-use changes under future climate and socio-economic scenarios. Estimation results show that crop net returns are more sensitive to thermal and less sensitive to moisture variability than livestock net returns; other agricultural land uses substitute cropland use when 30-year averaged degree-days or precipitation are not beneficial for crop production. Under future climate and socio-economic scenarios, we project that crop and livestock net returns are both increasing, but with crop net returns increasing at a higher rate; cropland increases with declines of marginal and pastureland by the end of the twenty-first century. Projections also show that impacts of future climate on agricultural land uses are substantially different and a larger variation of land-use change is evident when socio-economic scenarios are incorporated into the climate impact analysis.
Computational Modeling and Treatment Identification in the Myelodysplastic Syndromes

This review discusses the need for computational modeling in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and early test results. As our evolving understanding of MDS reveals a molecularly complicated disease, the need for sophisticated computer analytics is required to keep track of the number and complex interplay among the molecular abnormalities. Computational modeling and digital drug simulations using whole exome sequencing data input have produced early results showing high accuracy in predicting treatment response to standard of care drugs. Furthermore, the computational MDS models serve as clinically relevant MDS cell lines for pre-clinical assays of investigational agents. MDS is an ideal disease for computational modeling and digital drug simulations. Current research is focused on establishing the prediction value of computational modeling. Future research will test the clinical advantage of computer-informed therapy in MDS.
Electroanalytical Assessment of the Function of Nickel in Alkaline Electrocatalysis of Glycerol

Ni-based electrocatalysts are attractive for cost-effective anodes in direct alcohol fuel cells. However, to promote the net electron yield of alcohol oxidation, often it is necessary to incorporate one or more co-catalyst(s) with Ni. The material designs of such electrodes rely on adequately identifying the application-specific catalytic functions of Ni as well as the needs for co-catalysts. Using a Ni anode, we explore this topic for a model case of glycerol (Gly) oxidation in an alkaline (NaOH based) electrolyte. Scan rate-dependent voltammetry is used to determine the electron count of Gly oxidation, and the anode’s electrochemical stability is checked by chronoamperometry. The results show that anodically formed nickel hydroxide on Ni catalyzes the rate-determining initial oxidation step of Gly to glyceraldehyde, where nickel oxyhydroxide is generated as an intermediate phase of the catalyst. The NiOOH surface species also acts as a catalyst for anodic oxygen evolution, and this interferes with further oxidation of Gly. These findings are further clarified using impedance spectroscopy and are discussed in view of designing Ni-based anodes for direct glycerol fuel cells.
Contributions of Academic Emergency Medicine Programs to U.S. Health Care: Summary of the AAAEM-AACEM Benchmarking Data.

Objectives The societal contribution of emergency care in the United States has been described. The role and impact of academic emergency departments (EDs) has been less clear. Our report summarizes the results of a benchmarking effort specifically focused on academic emergency medicine (EM) practices. Methods From October through December 2016, the Academy of Academic Administrators of Emergency Medicine (AAAEM) and the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM) jointly administered a benchmarking survey to allopathic, academic departments and divisions of emergency medicine. Participation was voluntary and nonanonymous. The survey queried various aspects of the three components of the tripartite academic mission: clinical care, education and research, and faculty effort and compensation. Responses reflected a calendar year from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016. Results Of 107 eligible U.S. allopathic, academic departments and divisions of emergency medicine, 79 (74%) responded to the survey overall, although individual questions were not always answered by all responding programs. The 79 responding programs reported 6,876,189 patient visits at 97 primary and affiliated academic clinical sites. A number of clinical operations metrics related to the care of these patients at these sites are reported in this study. All responding programs had active educational programs for EM residents, with a median of 37 residents per program. Nearly half of the overall respondents reported responsibility for teaching medical students in mandatory EM clerkships. Fifty-two programs reported research and publication activity, with a total of $129,494,676 of grant funding and 3,059 publications. Median faculty effort distribution was clinical effort, 66.9%; education effort, 12.7%; administrative effort, 12.0%; and research effort, 6.9%. Median faculty salary was $277,045. Conclusions Academic EM programs are characterized by significant productivity in clinical operations, education, and research. The survey results reported in this investigation provide appropriate benchmarking for academic EM programs because they allow for comparison of academic programs to each other, rather than nonacademic programs that do not necessarily share the additional missions of research and education and may have dissimilar working environments.
Sensor Performance and Data Quality Control

This chapter discusses the optimization of meteorological and oceanographic measurements from ocean surface moorings. First, we give guidelines and procedures for the selection of appropriate instruments and their preparation (calibration, configuration, integration and testing). Then, we present critical steps to evaluate and improve the data quality. We also discuss the limitations and benefits of real-time data, including various data quality control steps. Finally, we briefly compare two commonly used telemetry systems – ARGOS and Iridium.
High-throughput serum proteomics for the identification of protein biomarkers of mortality in older men.

The biological perturbations associated with incident mortality are not well elucidated, and there are limited biomarkers for the prediction of mortality. We used a novel high-throughput proteomics approach to identify serum peptides and proteins associated with 5-year mortality in community-dwelling men age ≥65 years who participated in a longitudinal observational study of musculoskeletal aging (Osteoporotic Fractures in Men: MrOS). In a discovery phase, serum specimens collected at baseline in 2473 men were analyzed using liquid chromatography-ion mobility-mass spectrometry, and incident mortality in the subsequent 5 years was ascertained by tri-annual questionnaire. Rigorous statistical methods were utilized to identify 56 peptides (31 proteins) that were associated with 5-year mortality. In an independent replication phase, selected reaction monitoring was used to examine 21 of those peptides in baseline serum from 750 additional men; 81% of those peptides remained significantly associated with mortality. Mortality-associated proteins included a variety involved in inflammation or complement activation; several have been previously linked to mortality (e.g., C-reactive protein, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin) and others are not previously known to be associated with mortality. Other novel proteins of interest included pregnancy-associated plasma protein, VE-cadherin, leucine-rich α-2 glycoprotein 1, vinculin, vitronectin, mast/stem cell growth factor receptor, and Saa4. A panel of peptides improved the predictive value of a commonly used clinical predictor of mortality. Overall, these results suggest that complex inflammatory pathways, and proteins in other pathways, are linked to 5-year mortality risk. This work may serve to identify novel biomarkers for near-term mortality.
Influence of family on expected benefits of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients

Cancer patients often use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) based on recommendations from family. However, the relationship between family endorsement of CAM and the patient’s expectation of its benefits has never been quantified. Between 2010 and 2011, we conducted a cross-sectional survey study among patients with a diagnosis of cancer recruited from thoracic, breast, and gastrointestinal medical oncology clinics at a single academic cancer center. We performed multivariate linear regression analyses to evaluate the relationship between perceived family endorsement of and expected benefits from CAM, adjusting for covariates. Among the 962 participants, 303 (31.3%) reported family endorsement of CAM use. Younger patients and those who had college or higher education were more likely to report family endorsement (both p < 0.05). Patients with family support had expectation scores that were 15.9 higher than patients without family support (coefficient 15.9, 95% CI 13.5, 18.2, p < 0.001). Participants with family encouragement of CAM use were also more likely to expect CAM to cure their cancer (12 vs. 37%) and prolong their life (24 vs. 61%). These relationships remained highly significant after adjusting for covariates). Family endorsement of CAM use is strongly associated with patient expectation of its clinical efficacy, including expectations for cure and improved survival. These findings underscore the importance of including family in counseling and education on CAM use in order to achieve realistic patient expectations, maximize benefits, and avoid potential medical adverse effects through herb-drug interactions or rejections of conventional care.
New sampling and filtering approaches to label-free ultrasonic perfusion imaging

Color-flow and power Doppler imaging are safe, low-cost, non-invasive techniques for assessing blood flow throughout the body. Imaging microvascular flows and perfusion generally requires injectable contrast agents to separate tissue clutter from blood echoes. Our innovation is to modify echo acquisition to expand data dimensionality and increase sensitivity of non-enhanced PD imaging to very slow, disorganized flows. To separate perfusion from other echo signals, we developed a higher-order singular value decomposition filter that appropriately reduces data dimensionality. Effective elimination of clutter and noise results improved perfusion specificity. Our methods are applied to existing commercial US instruments, which makes them immediately valuable to medical practice. Our methods were previously tested at 24 MHz in a study involving muscle ischemia and highly-vascular melanoma lesions in mice. This study translates the methods to lower frequencies (5-10 MHz) for human trials. We developed a dialysi...
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Inversely Associated With Clustering of Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors: The Ball State Adult Fitness Program Longitudinal Lifestyle Study

Abstract Objective The focus of this study was the association between the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) defined as maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Although previous research has shown a relationship between MetSyn and CRF, most studies are based on less objective measures of CRF and different cardiometabolic risk factor thresholds from earlier guidelines. Participants and Methods The metabolic markers included in the present study were central obesity, elevated plasma triglycerides, elevated fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, impaired fasting plasma glucose, hypertension, or pharmacologic treatment for diagnosed hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or diabetes. A cohort of 3636 adults (1629 women, 2007 men; mean ± SD age, 44.7±12.3 years) completed CRF and metabolic risk factor assessment between January 1, 1971, and November 1, 2016. The CRF was defined as a measured VO2max from a cardiopulmonary exercise test on a treadmill, with a respiratory exchange ratio value of 1.0 or more. Results Prevalence of MetSyn (≥3 factors) was 26% (n=953) in the cohort, with men having a greater likelihood for MetSyn compared with women (P Conclusion These results with current risk factor thresholds and a large number of women demonstrate that low VO2max is associated with MetSyn.
Organic Carbon Chemistry in Soils Observed by Synchrotron-Based Spectroscopy

Abstract Synchrotron radiation opens new opportunities for the application of C (1s) near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to the study of soil organic carbon chemistry. The high-energy source allows significant improvements to the signal-to-noise ratio. This is critical to analyses of soils that typically contain comparatively low amounts of C. It also offers the option for analyses at high spatial resolution including imaging of entire areas, which is key to the study of soil assemblages. Recent studies have shown that (1) soil organic matter forms are highly heterogeneous at small spatial scales; (2) the functional group chemistry of soil organic C at the submicron scale is very different from that of total soil C; (3) specific soil organic matter forms determined by FTIR relate to certain mineral forms at the spatial scale of a single aggregate; (4) organic matter filling micrometer-size pores show different functional groups than organic matter coating minerals; (5) adsorption of metal ions or protons may change spectral signatures of NEXAFS and pose both constraints and opportunities for determining interactions between minerals and C. Synchrotron-based spectroscopy has significantly contributed to recent advances in characterizing soil C chemistry. The results underpin the importance of observations at high spatial resolution for the investigation of soils that complements existing observations using other techniques. Significant advances are still needed to fully capitalize on the spectral information obtained from both FTIR and NEXAFS analyses of soils, which require detailed studies of microbial and mineral matter.
Unilateral otitis externa induced by a plastic foreign body

A nine-year-old, male, neutered Tibetan terrier was evaluated for unilateral otitis externa associated with the history of a dog bite injury to the pinna five years prior. Examination findings of the left ear included severe inflammation, abundant purulent exudate and a polypoid mass, obscuring view of the horizontal ear canal and tympanic membrane. CT scan confirmed the visualised mass location and confinement to the ear canal. Aerobic otic culture revealed abundant colonies of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Corynebacterium species. Histopathology was consistent with a fibrous polyp. Otitis externa treatment provided minimal relief following mass removal, and the patient was re-examined. A transparent plastic foreign body lodged within the horizontal canal was identified and removed. The item was recognised as a cap used for packaging of topical treatments prescribed at the time of the original traumatic injury. All clinical signs resolved following removal of the foreign body and oral anti-inflammatory therapy.
High Speed Pneumatic Stepper Motor for MRI Applications

Presented in this paper is an exploration into the efficacy of a plastic, four-cylinder piston pneumatic motor designed for driving medical instruments inside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. Because of the increasing use of MRI for diagnostic and interventional purposes and the benefits that could be realized by operating with real-time MR image guidance, there exists a significant need for MRI compliant surgical devices. Some type of actuation mechanism is necessary to drive such devices. The motor can be controlled to operate in a “step” type motion by using pneumatic valves to sequentially apply air pressure to push the piston surfaces, meaning the motor is metal-free and does not use electricity. The stepwise nature of this piston stepper motor is ideal for the accurate, controlled movements required for MRI-guided interventions. The motor was geared down by a gearbox to increase torque. Performance indices determined include output torque and achievable rotational velocity with respect to factors such as air pressure and load conditions. The stepper motor achieved speeds of approximately 2000 rpm, and maximum output torques of approximately 19 N mm. The motor represents a high speed pneumatic stepper motor design capable of actuating devices in MR environments without affecting image quality.
Minimal Residual Disease May Predict Bone Marrow Relapse in Patients With Hairy Cell Leukemia Treated With 2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine

Minimal residual disease (MRD) can be detected in bone marrow core biopsies of patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) after treatment with 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) using immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the presence of MRD predicts bone marrow relapse. We studied paraffinembedded bone marrow core biopsies from 39 patients with HCL in complete remission (CR) 3 months after a single cycle of 2-CdA. Biopsies performed 3 months posttherapy and annually thereafter were examined by routine hematoxylin and eosin (HE Parke-Davis, Moms Plains, NJ) and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA; Leustatin; Cladribine). In particular, 2-CdA is effective for HCL, inducing complete remission (CR) in approximately 80% of patients with newly diagnosed or previously treated disease.24 The remarkable efficacy of 2-CdA in the treatment of HCL has led to the examination of posttreatment bone marrow biopsies to identify minimal residual disease (MRD). We and others have reported the usefulness of immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect MRD not evident by routine morphology in bone core biopsies from patients with HCL after treatment with 2-CdA.5s6 In these reports, paraffin-embedded biopsies have been studied using anti-CD20 and DBA.44 antibodies to identify cells with the morphology of hairy cells. DBA.44 is a monoclonal antibody that recognizes some B-cell lymphomas and is reactive with hairy cells.7 The purpose of this study was to determine whether the presence of MRD in patients in remission by routine morphologic examination at 3 months after treatment with 2-CdA predicts subsequent bone marrow relapse.
Household Extension and Earnings Among Foreign-Born Asian and Non-Hispanic White Households:

Previous research to understand socioeconomic well-being of immigrants finds the type of living arrangement is significantly correlated with household-level earnings. Present study employing 2009-2...
Rheology of two-phase systems: A microphysical and observational approach

Abstract Ductile shear zones commonly contain distinctive bands of high strain rock characterized by intimately mixed fine-grained two-phase or polyphase material. These ultramylonite bands are weaker than the surrounding material, and may play a critical role in strain localization. How such zones develop, how the phases become evenly dispersed, the bulk rheology, and the controls on grain size, are all unclear. The following generic scenario may resolve some of these questions. 1) Dislocation creep and dynamic recrystallization cause grain-size reduction: commonly, the recrystallized grain sizes of the two phases differ. 2) Grain size reduction causes a switch to grain-boundary diffusion creep, which requires grain-boundary sliding. Diffusion allows one phase to fill spaces that open between grains of the other: this will happen most rapidly in the finer-grained phase. The grain size of the resulting mixture is therefore controlled by that of the finer-grained phase. This leads to mixing and dispersion of the two phases, producing a fine-grained, evenly dispersed two-phase aggregate. 3) The bulk rheology will be controlled by grain-boundary diffusion creep of the two phases, with the grain size controlled by the finer-grained phase. Bulk flow laws can be developed for quartz-feldspar and olivine-orthopyroxene ultramylonites based on these concepts, using appropriate mixing laws.
Factors associated with breastfeeding duration: SI of infant's grandmothers

Background: Breastfeeding benefits both mother and infant. U.S. breastfeeding initiation rates are steadily increasing, but duration rates still fall short of recommendations. Postnatal depression has a significant negative impact on breastfeeding duration. Studies show grandmothers may play an important role in infant feeding decisions. Objective: Evaluate the relationship of maternal postnatal depression and social influence (SI) of infant’s grandmothers on …
Discovery of Non-peptide Small Molecule Allosteric Modulators of the Src-family Kinase, Hck

The eight mammalian Src-family tyrosine kinases are dynamic, multi-domain structures, which adopt distinct "open" and "closed" conformations. In the closed conformation, the regulatory SH3 and SH2 domains pack against the back of the kinase domain, providing allosteric control of kinase activity. Small molecule ligands that engage the regulatory SH3-SH2 region have the potential to modulate Src-family kinase activity for therapeutic advantage. Here we describe an HTS-compatible fluorescence polarization assay to identify small molecules that interact with the unique-SH3-SH2-linker (U32L) region of Hck, a Src-family member expressed exclusively in cells of myeloid lineage. Hck has significant potential as a drug target in acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of cancer with substantial unmet clinical need. The assay combines recombinant Hck U32L protein with a fluorescent probe peptide that binds to the SH3 domain in U32L, resulting in an increased FP signal. Library compounds that interact with the U32L protein and interfere with probe binding reduce the FP signal, scoring as hits. Automated 384-well high-throughput screening of 60,000 compounds yielded Z'-factor coefficients > 0.7 across nearly 200 assay plates, and identified a series of hit compounds with a shared pyrimidine diamine substructure. Surface plasmon resonance assays confirmed direct binding of hit compounds to the Hck U32L target protein as well as near-full-length Hck. Binding was not observed with the individual SH3 and SH2 domains, demonstrating that these compounds recognize a specific three-dimensional conformation of the regulatory regions. This conclusion is supported by computational docking studies, which predict ligand contacts with a pocket formed by the juxtaposition of the SH3 domain, the SH3-SH2 domain connector, and the SH2-kinase linker. Each of the four validated hits stimulated recombinant, near-full-length Hck activity in vitro, providing evidence for allosteric effects on the kinase domain. These results provide a path to discovery and development of chemical scaffolds to target the regulatory regions of Hck and other Src family kinases as a new approach to pharmacological kinase control.
Non-Genomic Effects of Estradiol on Human Platelets: Regulation of Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Activation and Enhanced Spreading and Aggregation.

17β-estradiol or estrogen (E2) is a sex hormone that modulates platelet function and is widely used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT). We and others have previously demonstrated that human megakaryocytes and platelets posses estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ. HRT treatment augmented the bone marrow megakaryocytes without increasing other bone marrow cells, suggesting that E2 can modulate proliferation of megakaryocytes. Since mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are critical for 1) cell proliferation, 2) megakarytocyte differentiation and proplatelet formation and estrogen activates MAPK in other cell types, we hypothesized that estrogen regulates the activation of MAPK in human platelets. Signaling was studied using washed platelets from male and female subjects in response to varying concentrations of estrogen. Compared to the ethanol (vehicle) treated platelets, 1 nM E2 treated platelets for 60 seconds resulted in an enhanced activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK 2) and P38 but not Jun N-kinase (JNK). These results suggest that E2 can cause a non-genomic signaling in human platelets. The MEK inhibitors PD98059 and U0216 blocked the E2 effect, suggesting that the activation of ERK 2 was mediated through the upstream mitogen activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK). Because E2 can modulate actin reorganization in other cell types and cell spreading is promoted by ERK 2 activation, we examined the effect of E2 on platelet spreading - a process not dependent on agonist stimulation. Compared to ethanol treated platelets, platelets preincubated with 100 nM E2 for 60 seconds and stained with rhodamine phallodine exhibited a ~60 % greater spreading at 5 and 15 minutes. This observation suggests that that E2 can cause rapid actin cytoskeletal reorganization in platelets. Since inhibition of ERK 2 activation blocks aggregation to low doses of thrombin and collagen, we examined a role for E2 in platelet aggregation. E2 alone did not induce platelet aggregation. However, E2 potentiated aggregation with low but not high doses of thrombin and collagen related peptide (CRP) (P=0.05 for 0.02 μg/ml thrombin and P
Almost excellent unique factorization domains

Let ( T , 𝔪 ) be a complete local (Noetherian) domain such that depth T > 1 . In addition, suppose T contains the rationals, | T | = | T ∕ 𝔪 | , and the set of all principal height-1 prime ideals of T has the same cardinality as T . We construct a universally catenary local unique factorization domain A such that the completion of A is T and such that there exist uncountably many height-1 prime ideals 𝔮 of A such that ( T ∕ ( 𝔮 ∩ A ) T ) 𝔮 is a field. Furthermore, in the case where T is a normal domain, we can make A “close” to excellent in the following sense: the formal fiber at every prime ideal of A of height not equal to 1 is geometrically regular, and uncountably many height-1 prime ideals of A have geometrically regular formal fibers.
The Impact of Land Fiscal Revenue and Household Consumption to Real Estate Prices

The real estate market enjoys booming development after reform and opening policy in China. However, soaring real estate price generates expanding bubbles in land prices and brings instability to macroeconomy. The factors which stimulate the real estate prices are worth studying so as to serve as reference for the government to stabilize real estate market and the society. In this research, we focus on panel data from 33 main cities from 2013 to 2017 and use fixed effects model to investigate the relation between real estate prices and land finance and household consumption. The results show that the impact of land fiscal revenue on housing prices is very significant. The government will promote the real estate market price when it obtains the main fiscal revenue through transferring the land. Secondly, this paper finds that the consumption level of urban residents will also have a positive impact on housing prices. Residents who have more disposable income will have a positive impact on house prices. Finally, this paper demonstrates the effect of land finance and urban residents' consumption level on housing price fluctuations. It can be used as a reference basis for the government to make decisions and has practical significance for achieving the dual goals of "stable housing prices and promoting economic development".
Excision and Reconstruction for Urachal Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report With an Emphasis on Cosmesis.

Abstract Objective We report a urachal adenocarcinoma case managed surgically with two incisions and an emphasis on cosmesis while maintaining oncologic principles. Introduction Depending upon the cancer, excision of the urachal remnant and umbilectomy may require abdominal wall reconstruction and potentially could leave the patient with an altered anterior abdominal wall. Restoring function and cosmesis after surgery can be very important to oncologic quality of life. Therefore, we present a patient with urachal adenocarcinoma who underwent open partial cystectomy, urachal ligament excision with umbilectomy, and neo-umbilicoplasty via two incisions. Conclusion This case demonstrates the feasibility of performing an oncologically-sound operation for urachal adenocarcinoma while maintaining an emphasis on cosmesis.
Predictors of Developmental Patterns of Obesity in Young Children

Introduction: The current study characterizes longitudinal patterns in obesity in young children and their prediction from developmental programming and social determinant hypotheses. Materials and Methods: The data are based on the Family Life Project, a prospective longitudinal study of 1,292 families recruited from low-income, racially diverse, rural communities in Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Pre-natal, peri-natal, and post-natal risks for childhood obesity were collected from 2 months of age; in-person assessments of child growth were used to identity obesity on multiple occasions from 24 to 90 months of age. Results: Two major novel findings emerged. First, longitudinal analyses identified four distinct obesity development profiles: stable obesity, later-onset obesity, moderate/declining obesity, and non-obese; these groups had distinct risk profiles. Second, prediction analyses favored developmental programming explanations for obesity, including evidence even in early childhood that both low- and high birth weight was associated with stable obesity. There was no indication that pre- and peri-natal and post-natal factors predicted obesity differently in non-minority and minority children. Discussion: Factors derived from the developmental programming model of obesity overlapped with, but predicted early onset obesity independently from, risks associated with social determinant models of obesity.