cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A performance update for production power processes

Power processes continue to evolve and achieve higher performance levels than previous generations. Market- or application-specific solutions allow a semiconductor manufacturer to meet tough specifications for highly-competitive end products by optimizing production processes for performance and yield. The system designers' challenges in computing, wireless communications, portable equipment, industrial and automotive applications are being answered with a variety of silicon technologies. These technologies include: megahertz and ultrafast rectifiers, power MOSFETs in very low ( 250 V) voltage ratings and IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) (500-2000 V) from a number of suppliers. More advanced technologies such as GaAs (gallium arsenide) are provided by a limited number of suppliers and meet very specific market/application requirements. Also, the addition of on-board circuitry, including smart power levels of integration, continues to provide performance advantages for many applications. With increasing speed and lower power dissipation requirements, packaging is more critical than ever to the successful application of power devices. This paper discusses the advantages and differences between production power technologies in the context of the applications that they are addressing and provides some insight into where they are going in the near future. Packaging is also covered as it relates to performance targets of the applications.
Legitimacy and Political Power: Queen Njinga, 1624-1663

Queen Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba has recently been viewed as a usurper of the throne, largely because some contemporary documents describe her as such. But the issue of legitimacy to rule in Ndongo was a complex one, based not on a fixed constitution but a set of contradictory historical precedents which were cited to establish authority. Njinga managed to find such precedents to support her claims, which were further reinforced by her control of the chief military officials of the country. In so doing, she was able to establish her legitimacy and even became a precedent for female rule in the years that followed her death.
Series resistance calculation for source/drain extension regions using 2-D device simulation

Series resistance in the source/drain region is becoming a bottleneck for MOS device performance. A rigorous, simulation-based method for calculating resistance components that correctly accounts for current spreading is presented. Resistance calculation strategies used to project lateral abruptness requirements for future scaling, based on partitioning the device into vertical strips, are shown to cause substantial errors when current spreading occurs. This can result in an overestimate of the benefits of abrupt junctions. The physical resistances obtained from simulated devices are compared with the extracted resistances from the shift-and-ratio method. Discrepancies can be explained based on violation of the basic assumptions of the shift-and-ratio method: that series resistance is bias independent and the channel resistance is directly proportional to the channel length. A new extraction method that relaxes these assumptions is presented and used to provide deeper understanding in the application of the shift-and-ratio method to deep submicron devices.
Evolution of the national disease prevention and health promotion strategy: establishing a role for the schools

The history and evolution, during the past decade, of the national disease prevention and health promotion strategy is recounted, culminating with a description of the national prevention objectives. Objectives that directly could be attained by: (1) school health education; (2) school health services; (3) efforts to ensure healthy school environments; and (4) school physical education programs are delineated, as are objectives that could be influenced in important ways by school health programs. The nation's schools could contribute significantly and measurably toward improving the health of all Americans, if school health professionals, individually as well as within their various organizations, could seize and create opportunities to work with other health and educational professionals, and the public, to impel and enable schools to attain relevant national prevention objectives.
Performance Productivity and Quality of Frontline Employees in Service Organizations

Abstract To understand mechanisms that govern the productivity and quality of frontline employees (FLEs), this study (1) provides a conceptual distinction between frontline productivity and quality, (2) proposes an extended role theory-based model for mapping the influence of key antecedents and consequences of FLE productivity and quality, and (3) examines the effects of coping resources—boss support and task control—in helping employees cope with the inherent productivity-quality tension in frontline jobs. Using data from 159 customer service and 147 bill collection representatives, the author examines proposed hypotheses through multiple-group path analysis. The results indicate support for the distinction between productivity and quality. Moreover, with increasing burnout levels, FLEs are found to maintain their productivity levels while their quality deteriorates directly. Relative to boss support, task control emerges as a more powerful resource in aiding FLEs in coping with role tension. Key implic...
The Impact of Mood on Persuasion

A meta-analysis of 14 studies reporting the effect of argument strength on attitude under various mood states was conducted. The analyses included 39 estimates of effect size that were used to test the predictions of the processing deficit perspectives (i.e., motivational or ability deficits) and the hedonic contingency model. The results were most consistent with the hedonic contingency model, indicating that participants’ processing of messages seemedto be motivated toward attaining or maintaining positive moods.
The Global CAPM and a Firm's Cost of Capital in Different Currencies

In an integrated global market, a firm's cost of capital expressed in one currency should be consistent with its cost of capital expressed in another currency. This article presents and illustrates a process for estimating consistent costs of capital in different currencies for a U.K. based multinational. In so doing, it uses a simple, easy-to-use version of the global CAPM that attempts to incorporate the effect of uncertain exchange rates by calculating exchange rate “betas.” As argued in the previous article, at least part of a company's currency exposure is systematically related to the global market and thus should be treated as a component of the firm's systematic equity risk. For example, the U.K. firm featured in this article is shown to have an exchange rate beta of 0.20 from the perspective of a U.S. investor. This implies that a 10% return on the global market in U.S. dollars tends to be associated with a 2% change in the U.S. dollar value of the British pound. One interesting consequence of incorporating exchange risk in this fashion is that two firms with identical U.S. global betas and costs of equity will have different expected returns expressed in another currency if they have different exposures to that currency.
Congruences for visibly pushdown languages

We study congruences on words in order to characterize the class of visibly pushdown languages (Vpl), a subclass of context-free languages. For any language L, we define a natural congruence on words that resembles the syntactic congruence for regular languages, such that this congruence is of finite index if, and only if, L is a Vpl. We then study the problem of finding canonical minimal deterministic automata for Vpls. Though Vpls in general do not have unique minimal automata, we consider a subclass of VPAs called k-module single-entry VPAs that correspond to programs with recursive procedures without input parameters, and show that the class of well-matched Vpls do indeed have unique minimal k-module single-entry automata. We also give a polynomial time algorithm that minimizes such k-module single-entry VPAs.
Uniquely shaped cardiovascular stents enhance the pressure generation of intravascular blood pumps

Objective Advances in the geometric design of blood-contacting components are critically important as the use of minimally invasive, intravascular blood pumps becomes more pervasive in the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with congestive heart failure. The present study reports on the evaluation of uniquely shaped filaments and diffuser blades in the development of a protective stent for an intravascular cavopulmonary assist device for patients with a single ventricle. Methods We performed numeric modeling, hydraulic testing of 11 stents with an axial flow blood pump, and blood bag experiments (n = 6) of the top-performing stent geometries to measure the levels of hemolysis. A direct comparison using statistical analyses, including regression analysis and analysis of variance, was completed. Results The stent geometry with straight filaments and diffuser blades that extended to the vessel wall outperformed all other stent configurations. The pump with this particular stent was able to generate pressures of 2 to 32 mm Hg for flow rates of 0.5 to 4 L/min at 5000 to 7000 RPM. A comparison of the experimental performance data to the numeric predictions demonstrated an excellent agreement within 16%. The addition of diffuser blades to the stent reduced the flow vorticity at the pump outlet. The average and maximum normalized index of hemolysis level was 0.0056 g/100 L and 0.0064 g/100 L, respectively. Conclusions The specialized design of the stents, which protect the vessel wall from the rotating components of the pump, proved to be advantageous by further augmenting the pressure generation of the pump, reducing the flow vorticity at the pump outlet, and enhancing flow control.
Outcome Expectancy and Self-Efficacy: Theoretical Implications of an Unresolved Contradiction:

According to self-efficacy theory, self-efficacy—defined as perceived capability to perform a behavior—causally influences expected outcomes of behavior, but not vice versa. However, research has shown that expected outcomes causally influence self-efficacy judgments, and some authors have argued that this relationship invalidates self-efficacy theory. Bandura has rebutted those arguments saying that self-efficacy judgments are not invalidated when influenced by expected outcomes. This article focuses on a contradiction in Bandura’s rebuttal. Specifically, Bandura has argued (a) expected outcomes cannot causally influence self-efficacy, but (b) self-efficacy judgments remain valid when causally influenced by expected outcomes. While the debate regarding outcome expectancies and self-efficacy has subsided in recent years, the inattention to this contradiction has led to a disproportionate focus on self-efficacy as a causal determinant of behavior at the expense of expected outcomes.
Factors affecting the willingness of counselors to integrate preconception care into sexually transmitted disease clinics.

Abstract Background The high rate of unintended pregnancy is an immediate barrier to providing preconception care (PCC). Failure to deliver additional PCC messages at sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics might represent a major missed opportunity to target women at increased risk for unintended pregnancy for behaviors that also put them at risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods Using a survey questionnaire, we assessed perceptions of PCC and factors influencing the willingness of STD counselors to integrate PCC as an intervention service provided by the STD clinics of 140 STD counselors. We used a cross-sectional design and selected survey participants with a minimum of 2 years' experience in providing HIV pretest and posttest counseling and syphilis interviewing using a nonprobability, purposive sample. Results The level of occupational responsibility and the amount of time available seemed to affect counselor perceptions of the importance of PCC and whether it should be integrated as an intervention service provided by STD clinics. Findings suggested that, although most STD counselors reported that PCC was an important issue, there was significant variation in the perception of whether PCC should be delivered at STD clinics. Conclusion STD counselors perceived PCC to be an important intervention service that can be delivered at STD clinics. Additional study is needed to identify factors that might affect full integration into the STD clinic setting.
Theory for the mechanism of action of “miracle fruit”

The action of miracle fruit in changing the quality of a sour stimulus to that of sweet is hypothesized as being caused by blocking of the sour receptor sites. It is assumed, according to a new theory that holds that proton acceptors are sweet-evoking, that many sour stimuli are also simultaneously stimuli for the sweet receptors. However, the resulting sweet information is strongly inhibited by the sour system, so that sweet is not reported.
A Parallel Version of the Lindsey-Fox algorithm for factoring High Degree Polynomials in Signal Processing

The Lindsey-Fox algorithm is a very efficient procedure for factoring very high degree polynomials that are reasonably well conditioned. It conducts a grid search by evaluating the polynomial using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the coefficients. The structure of the algorithm is such that it is easily implemented on a parallel computer. We present results of implementations on an AMD cluster and on a Cray XD1. The highest degree random coefficient polynomial factored so far is of 4 million.
Misuse of tetanus immunoprophylaxis in wound care

We prospectively studied medical personnel compliance with antitetanus prophylaxis in 211 patients with wounds in three emergency departments. The guidelines were incorrectly followed in 13.4% of the patients, with 88.9% of the mistakes resulting from overimmunization. The most common mistake was the practice of giving tetanus and diphtheria toxoid (Td) to a patient with a clean wound who had complete primary immunization and a booster within ten years. This mistake accounted for 63% of the mistakes. The next most common, accounting for 18.5%, was the practice of giving Td and tetanus immune globulin to the never-immunized patient who had sustained a clean wound. Overimmunization increases the possibility of adverse reactions, and undertreatment places the patient at risk for tetanus.
Pharmacological actions of the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine: a review.

Clozapine [8-chloro-11-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-3H-dibenzo (b,e)(1,4) diazepinel, or clozaril, is a member of the dibenazepine class of antipsychotic drugs. Initially, studies in animals using a number of neurochemical, biochemical, electrophysiological, and behavioral paradigms indicated that clozapine was markedly different from various typical antipsychotic drugs such as haloperidol and chlorpromazine. Subsequently, clinical studies have shown that clozapine is effective in ameliorating the core symptoms, as well as the negative symptoms, in schizophrenia. However, clozapine has a much lower propensity for inducing neurological side effects after acute or repeated administration compared to various typical neuroleptics. Furthermore, clozapine is therapeutically effective in treating about 30% of schizophrenic patients who are resistant to standard antipsychotic drugs. Based on the above information, clozapine has been designated an atypical antipsychotic drug. However, at this time, it is not entirely clear why clozapine is such a unique antipsychotic drug. To date, there has not been a comprehensive review regarding clozapine's pharmacological profile. Therefore, we will review clozapine's profile in the following areas: 1) affinity for neurotransmitter receptors in the brain; 2) electrophysiology (in vivo, single-cell recording and iontophoresis; in vitro studies); 3) in vivo microdialysis and voltammetry; 4) monoamine turnover or metabolism; 5) intermediate early gene expression; 6) positron emission tomography studies; and 7) molecular biological studies. We will also compare and contrast clozapine's acute and chronic effects, and discuss the merits of various hypotheses that have been put forward to explain clozapine's unique profile. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Discrete-time simulation of air-flow cut-off in pressure-controlled valves

Pressure controlled valves exist in musical instruments such as brasses and woodwinds and are also found in many biological sound producing mechanisms such as the human larynx and the avian syrinx. The behaviour of the differential equation governing volume flow through a pressure-controlled valve is examined with particular attention given to the rather troublesome transition between an open and closed valve. A closed-form solution for the time evolution of volume flow is given and used to derive an update for the volume flow. The result is a smooth, nearly alias free transition between the two states. The form of the update is similar to that of a leaky valve where the leakage decreases as the volume flow decreases. This research was developed while modeling the avian syrinx.
Localized delivery of non-viral gene-bearing nanoparticles into the rat brain following focused ultrasound-mediated BBB opening

By preventing more than 98% of currently used pharamaceutical agents from entering the brain, the blood-brain barrier critically reduces the ability of therapeutics to treat a variety of central nervous system (CNS) disorders including glioblastoma and neurodegenerative diseases. Focused ultrasound (FUS) mediated microbubble oscillation and subsequent blood brain barrier (BBB) permeabilization has been explored as a powerful non-invasive strategy for the delivery of circulating therapeutic agents into the CNS. FUS in conjunction with microbubbles has been shown to facilitate non-damaging, reversible and localized disruption of the BBB, leading to substantial increases in nanoparticle (NP) concentrations in ultrasound-treated tissue. Once beyond the BBB, the extracellular matrix acts as a steric and adhesive barrier and limits NP distribution. Coating sub-100 nm nanoparticles with a dense brush layer of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to limit the interactions with the ECM leads to a significant improvement of their diffusivity in brain tissue. The current study investigates the ability of FUS to deliver densely PEGylated brain penetrating cationic polymer-based gene vectors across the BBB to mediate robust and long-term transgene expression.
Reconstructing American Law: The Politics of Narrative and Eudora Welty's Empathic Vision

In the 1960s, in my home town of Jackson, the civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered one night in darkness, and I wrote a story that same night about the murderer (his identity then unknown) called ‘Where Is the Voice Coming From?’ But all that absorbed me, though it started as outrage, was the necessity I felt for entering into the mind and inside the skin of a character who could hardly have been more alien or repugnant to me. Trying for my utmost, I wrote it in the first person. I was wholly vaunting the prerogative of the short-story writer. It is always vaunting, of course, to imagine yourself inside another person, but it is what a story writer does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose.
Death and Nostalgia: The Future of Beowulf in the Post‐National Discipline of English

This co-authored essay considers the past and future of Beowulf studies in the form of a dialogue between Historia and Poesis, two allegorical figures used by J. R. R. Tolkien in his lecture ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics’. Historia explains how Beowulf studies emerged in the early nineteenth century through the work of John Mitchell Kemble and other philologists who sought the origin of the English nation in its heroic past. Poesis contends that the future of Beowulf studies is best served by the discipline of English, long the host of poetry and its potential for self-discovery. Both agree that Beowulf will continue to appeal to readers even in the post-national era because of the nostalgia the poem evokes, be it a yearning for the past or the mourning of a lost home or the death of a culture.
Use of Immunostimulatory Sequence-Containing Oligonucleotides as Topical Therapy for Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection

Synthetic oligonucleotides containing CpG motifs in specific sequence contexts have been shown to induce potent immune responses. We have evaluated mucosal administration of two immunostimulatory sequence (ISS)-containing phosphorothioate-stabilized oligonucleotides for antiherpetic efficacy in animal models. The ISS oligonucleotides, suspended in phosphate-buffered saline, were tested in mouse and guinea pig vaginal models of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection. For comparison, groups of untreated, non-ISS oligonucleotide-treated, and acyclovir-treated animals also were monitored. The results indicated that vaginal epithelial application of ISS (up to 6 h after viral inoculation) with mice lethally challenged with HSV-2 delayed disease onset and reduced the number of animals that developed signs of disease (P 0.003). ISS application significantly increased survival rates over those of controls (P 0.0014). The ISS also impacted an established infection in the guinea pig model of HSV-2 disease. A single administration of ISS (21 days after viral inoculation) significantly reduced the frequency and severity of HSV-2 lesions compared to results with non-ISS oligonucleotide-treated and untreated guinea pigs (P < 0.01). HSV-2 is shed from the vaginal cavity of the guinea pig in the absence of lesions, similar to the case with humans. As an additional indication of ISS efficacy, the magnitude of viral shedding also was significantly reduced in ISS-treated animals (P < 0.001). These effects appeared to be immunologically mediated, since ISS had no direct effect on HSV-2 replication in vitro using standard plaque assays. These data suggest that ISS may be useful in the treatment and control of genital herpes in humans.
Mammalian cell transformation by a recombinant murine retrovirus containing the avian erythroblastosis virus erbB gene.

Avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) is a replication-defective retrovirus which induces erythroblastosis, sarcomas and carcinomas in chickens and transforms immature avian erythroid and fibroblastic cells in vitro (Graf and Beug, 1978). The genome of AEV contains two distinct oncogenes, v-erbA and v-erbB (Vennstrttm and Bishop, 1982). V-erbB is a member of the src family of retroviral oncogenes (Yamamoto et. al., 1983). The products of these src -related oncogenes as well as the receptors Tor several growth factors have been slown to exhibit tyrosine-specific kinase activity (Hunter and Cooper, 1985). Recently, it has been found that the v-erbB gene sequence possesses extensive homology with the mammalian epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor gene (Downward et al., 1984). Analysis of the range of mammalian target cells susceptible to transformation by v-erbB has been impaired by difficulties in introducing this avian virus into mammalian cells. Therefore, we constructed a recombinant v-erbB-containing murine retrovirus which has allowed for more extensive investigation of the function of this EGF receptor-related gene as a transforming or growth-promoting gene in well defined mammalian systems.
Development of biosimilars.

Abstract Objective To provide an overview of the underlying scientific principles and standards for developing a biosimilar product. Methods An Internet-based literature search through June 2015 was performed for information related to biosimilar manufacturing and development, including a review of regulatory guidelines and requirements. Results Biologics, both biosimilars and their corresponding reference products, are complex molecules produced by biotechnology in living systems. The development of biologics involves multiple levels of intricate, highly controlled manufacturing processes, combined with pre-clinical structural, functional, and biological assessments, as well as clinical efficacy and safety, including immunogenicity, analyses. In addition, to ensure a high degree of similarity, a biosimilar must undergo a comparability exercise at every step of its development, as outlined by regulatory agencies, to demonstrate that potential differences from the reference product are not clinically meaningful with regard to quality, safety, and efficacy [European Medicines Agency (EMA)] or safety, purity, and potency [US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)]. At the foundation of the biosimilar development process lays the establishment of a high degree of structural similarity with its reference product. State-of-the-art technologies must be employed to demonstrate a high degree of structural and functional similarity. Finally, clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic as well as clinical efficacy and safety similarity must be confirmed between biosimilar and originator. Regulators, including the FDA and the EMA consider the totality of the evidence from this comprehensive step-wise comparative similarity exercise in its determination of biosimilarity for licensing. Conclusions The rigorous and highly regulated processes required to develop a biosimilar have been designed as such to establish a high degree of biosimilarity with a reference product in terms of the structural, functional, biological, and clinical attributes.
Relationship of personality to virtual communications efficacy within a military combat environment

Military forces worldwide are increasing utilization of computer-mediated communications (CMC) systems and processes during combat operations. Interestingly, studies of CMC utilization in industry virtual team settings reveal cultural, personal, and cognitive dynamics influencing virtual team efficacy, not examined in military settings. Examination of the behavior types associated with military combat decision makers in a virtual environment is an important step in determining the potential of CMC systems, particularly with the ongoing development of the Future Combat Systems program of the U.S. Army. The study utilizes the Insights-Discovery model to assess personalities of participating Army and Marine Corps combat leaders who operated in CMC environments during the Bosnian, Desert Storm, Afghani, and Iraqi conflicts. The study associates the personality data with information on the participants’ perceived efficacy in communications skills using information transmitted via virtual means. The study determined that evidence exists indicating that personality, trust, and expectation violation influence combat decision making when utilizing virtual systems. The study concludes recommending steps the U.S. Army should take to ascertain the degree of influence of personality, trust, and expectation violation in CMC decision making to develop mitigating procedures.
The Genus Scaphoidophytes Kirkaldy and Description of One New Species

The African genus Scaphoidophytes Kirkaldy, new combination, (type-species Scaphoideus ( Scaphoidophytes ) annae Kirkaldy) is described as well as the 2 included species, annae Kirkaldy and pyrus n. sp.
US Federal Climate Change Law in Obama’s Second Term

This commentary details the United States’ progress in advancing climate change law since President Barrack Obama’s re-election in 2012, in spite of congressional dysfunction and opposition. It describes how the Obama administration is building upon earlier regulatory efforts by using existing statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from both new and existing power plants. It also explains the important role the judiciary has played in facilitating more robust executive actions, while at the same time courts have rejected citizen efforts to force judicial remedies for the problem of climate change. Finally, it suggests some reasons why climate change has gained more prominence in the Obama administration’s second term agenda and considers how domestic actions help the United States to reposition itself in international climate diplomacy.
An Association between Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Migraine Headaches-National Health Interview Survey, 2010.

Background: Migraine headaches have not historically been considered a compression neuropathy. Recent studies suggest that some migraines are successfully treated by targeted peripheral nerve decompression. Other compression neuropathies have previously been associated with one another. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether an association exists between migraines and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), the most common compression neuropathy.
New insights into response functions of liquids by electric field-resolved polarization emission time measurements.

We resolve information about the dynamics of simple liquids that has been obscured in prior frequency and time-domain measurements by way of full field-resolved polarization emission time (FR-PET) measurements of carbon disulfide. The amplitude and phase of the field-resolved transient-grating signal is used to calculate a spectrogram of the signal field at each delay between the transient-grating (TG) pump and probe pulses. The temporal maximum of the spectrogram, defined to be the signal emission time, varies with pump−probe delay; it follows the convolution of the TG pulses while the pulses overlap and exhibits recurrences at times when the nuclear dynamics are the main component of the liquid material response. Since this is a third-order nonlinear spectroscopic method, the isotropic and anisotropic signals are constructed from the polarization tensor components. The frequency-integrated anisotropic component of the signal is equivalent to the signal measured in optical Kerr Effect (OKE) experiments. ...
Chemotherapy in elderly patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Purpose of review Using chemotherapy in elderly nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is often challenging given concerns of treatment-related toxicity. However, data have demonstrated that chemotherapy can lead to improved survival in this age group. In this review, we summarize existing data and discuss the role of chemotherapy in elderly patients with localized, locally advanced, and metastatic NSCLC. Recent findings Clear evidence-based guidelines for chemotherapy management in elderly patients is lacking given the limited prospective data available. However, there are more clinical trials investigating optimal chemotherapy agents and dosing schedules specific to the elderly. Comprehensive geriatric assessment-directed interventions are also being prospectively investigated to improve treatment selection for elderly patients. Summary Chronological age should not be a limiting factor for chemotherapy use in elderly NSCLC patients. Several studies have demonstrated similar survival benefits than in younger patients when chemotherapy is given as adjuvant treatment for localized disease; part of definitive treatment with radiation in locally advanced disease; and palliative treatment for advanced NSCLC, however, at the cost of greater toxicity. Tolerability of chemotherapy in this heterogeneous group can be difficult to predict. Therefore, therapeutic decisions should be individualized based on performance status. Comprehensive geriatric assessment should be used to supplement performance status measures to minimize both under and overtreatment.
The study of intravenous Nicadipine therapy in severe hypertension during pregnancy

Objective To assess the efficacy of Nicadipine therapy in severe hypertension disorder during pregnancy on decreasing blood pressure and the safety to mother and fetus.Methods 16 cases of severe hypertension during pregnancy were treated with intravenous Nicadipine. An automatic cardio - electric monitor record of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) was used continuously about 24 hours to assess the effect and stability of blood pressure. Fetal heart rate, ultrasonic S/D value of umbilical artery flows, Apgar scores, birth weight and newborn outcome were observed to evaluate the safety of nicadipine to fetus. Results all patients' blood pressure (Bp) were decreased to expected level (140 - 150/95-100(?)mHg) after intravenous infusion of nicadipine in 5 to 40 minutes. Heart rate was increased except one patient (6.25%) complained of palpitation but recovered in 2 hours. The fetal heart rates (FHR) were (143.73±8.16) bpm before treatment and (143.93±7.56) bpm after treatment (P = 0.93) .The UmAF S/D ratio was(3.32±2.36)before therapy and(3.00±2.01)after therapy( P = 0.34). The difference of FHR and UmAF S/D ratio was insignificant. No severe side effects were observed in pregnant women and fetus. Conclusions Nicadipine therapy in severe pregnancy induced hypertension is effective, and there is no severe side effects occurred. Its safety is similar to that of other calcium antagonists.
Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn: The Black Box Revisited

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn remains a significant public health problem. The pathophysiology, and possible treatments, are reviewed. Treatment of this disease is hampered by the complete absence of controlled therapeutic trials in this area.
Peripheral Nerve and Neuromuscular Disorders

Mononeuropathies, plexopathies, and radiculopathies may have distinctive clinical manifestations during pregnancy and the puerperium. Examples include Bell's palsy, carpal tunnel syndrome, meralgia paresthetica, and maternal obstetrical palsies. When im- munologically mediated disorders of the peripheral nervous system, such as inflammatory neuropathies, myasthenia gravis, and polymyositis occur during pregnancy they present challenging issues of clinical management.
A Compiler Framework for Supporting Speculative Multicore Processors

As multi-core technology is currently being deployed in computer industry primarily to limit power consumption and improve throughput, continued performance improvement of a single application on such systems remains an important and challenging task. Because of the shortened on-chip communication latency between cores, using thread-level parallelism (TLP) to improve the number of instructions executed per clock cycle, i.e., to improve ILP performance, has shown to be effective for many general-purpose applications. However, because of the program characteristics of these applications, effective speculative schemes at both thread- and instruction-level are crucial.
Comparison of Various Modal Vector Estimation Methods Used in Modal Parameter Estimation

Modal vectors can be estimated in a number of different ways in modern modal parameter estimation (MPE) methods. At the very least, when using single frequency response function (FRF), single degree of freedom (SDOF) methods, the modal vectors are estimated from a least squares estimate of the residues of a partial fraction model in the frequency domain, with or without various residuals, or an equivalent model in the time domain. Once the MPE methods involve multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) FRFs, many options exist. These MIMO MPE methods often involve a matrix polynomial equation that is solved using eigenvalue-eigenvector methods. Depending on the spatial dimensionality of the MIMO FRF matrix, these methods estimate an eigenvector that can be used as an estimate of the modal vector directly or an estimate of a portion (subset) of the modal vector. Alternately, these eigenvectors can be used as weighting in a MIMO version of estimating the residues of the partial fraction model using a weighted least squares method, with or without residuals. These weighting vectors can be normalized to remove arbitrary rotations in the eigenvectors and/or real normalized to influence the potential nature of complex-valued modal vectors. This paper reviews all of the approaches using MIMO FRF data on a simple structure where the modal vectors can be expected to be nearly normal modes. Both modal vectors and the associated modal scaling and mean phase correlation (MPC) are evaluated to document the similarities and differences.
January 1979–September 1979

The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia had a dramatic impact on both conditions within Cambodia and for the development of Western responses to the situation there. By bringing to a halt the draconian policies of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, the invasion led to a definite improvement in the living conditions of most Cambodians. It also forced Western states to re-evaluate fundamentally their responses to the human rights abuses which had taken place in Cambodia under the deposed regime.
Fabrication of a Bronze Age Sword using Ancient Techniques

A khopesh was cast and forged for the TMS 2016 Bladesmithing Symposium. The khopesh was the first sword style, originating during the Bronze Age in the Near East. The manufacturing process used in this study closely followed Bronze Age techniques to determine the plausibility of open mold casting coupled with cold work and annealing cycles. Forging and annealing cycles substantially increased blade strength and diminished intergranular δ-phase inclusions. While a functional blade was not completed due to casting defects, the process gives valuable insight into the effort required to fabricate a khopesh during the Bronze Age. Forging and annealing cycles following casting were necessary to produce the mechanical properties desired in a sword.
Humerus Shaft Fracture

Various common injuries in the shoulder, humerus, and elbow are investigated in this section. Significant attention is paid not only to proper diagnostic examination and imaging, but also to optimal non-operative and operative treatment options to manage these conditions.
A Lawyer's Odyssey: Constitutive Conversation in Literature and Law

Through a close reading and original translation of several passages from The Odyssey, this essay suggests that lawyers can learn from a certain sort of engagement with literature — and with Homer in particular. Reading The Odyssey in the way I describe highlights the constitutive capacity of speech. What we say, and how we say it, does not merely reveal who we are; it helps makes us who we are. Moreover, our speech also helps construct the character of those to whom we speak. Homer brings this home. Reading the Odyssey can thus help us think more deeply about what we choose to say and how we choose to say it. Homer can help us learn to take responsibility for what we do — to ourselves and to others — when we speak.
What Causes People to Change Their Opinion about Climate Change

After a decade of steady growth in the acceptance of the existence of climate change and its anthropogenic causes, opinions have polarized, with almost one third of Americans, mostly Republicans, denying that the climate is changing or that human activity is responsible. What causes Americans to change their minds on this issue? Using a large panel data set, we examined the impacts of direct experience with weather anomalies, ideology, relative prioritization of environmental conservation in comparison to economic development, and motivated reasoning that adjusts individual opinion to align with others who share one's party identification. A generalized ordered logit model confirmed the importance of political ideology, party identification, and relative concern about environmental conservation and economic development on attitude change. The effect of party identification strengthened with attentiveness to news and public affairs, consistent with the logic of motivated reasoning. Recent experience with h...
Critical Analysis of the Lever Test for Diagnosis of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Insufficiency.

Purpose To critically analyze the "lever test" in detecting anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and to compare its accuracy with the Lachman, anterior drawer (AD), and pivot shift tests. Methods From June 2014 to June 2015, 91 subjects were analyzed. Inclusion criteria were subjects aged 16 to 60 years, presenting after a knee injury with subjective swelling, or an objective effusion and an uninjured normal contralateral knee for comparison. Exclusion criteria included previous knee ligamentous reconstruction, fracture of the distal femur or proximal tibia, bilateral knee injuries, or known cruciate ligament tear. The Lachman, AD, pivot shift, and lever tests were performed in the office by 2 board-certified orthopaedic surgeons with patient awake. Examiners were blinded to the presence or absence of ACL injury. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine injury. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were evaluated for all 4 tests. Accuracy was compared using χ -square and receiver operator curves. Results Average subject age was 28 ± 11 years (61 males, 30 females). Seventy-one (79%) had ACL tears diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the lever test were 83%, 80%, and 82%, respectively. Accuracy was not statistically different from the Lachman, AD, and pivot shift tests ( P = .78, .99, .07, respectively). Subanalyses were performed based on the presence of another ligament tear, timing of injury, and the presence of a meniscus tear. Although the groups were smaller and thus underpowered, the results were reported. Neither the presence of another ligament tear nor the timing of the injury affected accuracy ( P = .62 and P = .47); however, the presence of a meniscus tear decreased its accuracy ( P = .003). Conclusions The lever test showed high sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy in the detection of ACL tears. The accuracy of the lever test was not significantly different from the Lachman, AD, or pivot shift tests. Level of Evidence Level II, prospective comparative study.
Albedo, Land Cover, and Daytime Surface Temperature Variation Across an Urbanized Landscape

Land surface albedo is a key parameter controlling the local energy budget, and altering the albedo of built surfaces has been proposed as a tool to mitigate high near-surface temperatures in the urban heat island. However, most research on albedo in urban landscapes has used coarse-resolution data, and few studies have attempted to relate albedo to other urban land cover characteristics. This study provides an empirical description of urban summertime albedo using 30 m remote sensing measurements in the metropolitan area around Boston, Massachusetts, relating albedo to metrics of impervious cover fraction, tree canopy coverage, population density, and land surface temperature (LST). At 30 m spatial resolution, median albedo over the study area (excluding open water) was 0.152 (0.112–0.187). Trends of lower albedo with increasing urbanization metrics and temperature emerged only after aggregating data to 500 m or the boundaries of individual towns, at which scale a −0.01 change in albedo was associated with a 29 (25–35)% decrease in canopy cover, a 27 (24–30)% increase in impervious cover, and an increase in population from 11 to 386 km−2. The most intensively urbanized towns in the region showed albedo up to 0.035 lower than the least urbanized towns, and mean mid-morning LST 12.6°C higher. Trends in albedo derived from 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements were comparable, but indicated a strong contribution of open water at this coarser resolution. These results reveal linkages between albedo and urban land cover character, and offer empirical context for climate resilient planning and future landscape functional changes with urbanization.
The Kanaka Maoli:Native Hawaiians and heir Testimony of Trauma and Resilience

“. . . the Sandwich Islands – to this day the peacefullest, restfullest, suniest, balmiest, dreamiest haven of refuge for aworn andweary spirit the surface of the earth can offer. . . . There they lie, the divine islands, forever shining in the sun, forever smiling out of the sparkling sea, with its soft mottling drifting cloud shadows and vagrant cat’s paws of wind, forever inviting you.’’ (Frear, 1969, Quoted in Nordyke, 1989, p. xix).
New use for CETSA: monitoring innate immune receptor stability via post-translational modification by OGT

O-GlcNAcylation is a dynamic and functionally diverse post-translational modification shown to affect thousands of proteins, including the innate immune receptor nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (Nod2). Mutations of Nod2 (R702W, G908R and 1007 fs) are associated with Crohn's disease and have lower stabilities compared to wild type. Cycloheximide (CHX)-chase half-life assays have been used to show that O-GlcNAcylation increases the stability and response of both wild type and Crohn's variant Nod2, R702W. A more rapid method to assess stability afforded by post-translational modifications is necessary to fully comprehend the correlation between NLR stability and O-GlcNAcylation. Here, a recently developed cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) that is typically used to demonstrate protein-ligand binding was adapted to detect shifts in protein stabilization upon increasing O-GlcNAcylation levels in Nod2. This assay was used as a method to predict if other Crohn's associated Nod2 variants were O-GlcNAcylated, and also identified the modification on another NLR, Nod1. Classical immunoprecipitations and NF-κB transcriptional assays were used to confirm the presence and effect of this modification on these proteins. The results presented here demonstrate that CETSA is a convenient method that can be used to detect the stability effect of O-GlcNAcylation on O-GlcNAc-transferase (OGT) client proteins and will be a powerful tool in studying post-translational modification.
Hydrodynamic theory of flocking in the presence of quenched disorder

The effect of quenched (frozen) orientational disorder on the collective motion of active particles is analyzed. We find that, as with annealed disorder (Langevin noise), active polar systems are far more robust against quenched disorder than their equilibrium counterparts. In particular, long ranged order (i.e., the existence of a non-zero average velocity $\langle {\bf v} \rangle$) persists in the presence of quenched disorder even in spatial dimensions $d=3$, while it is destroyed even by arbitrarily weak disorder in $d \le 4$ in equilibrium systems. Furthermore, in $d=2$, quasi-long-ranged order (i.e., spatial velocity correlations that decay as a power law with distance) occurs when quenched disorder is present, in contrast to the short-ranged order that is all that can survive in equilibrium. These predictions are borne out by simulations in both two and three dimensions.
Reproductive Coercion and Contraceptive Use in Ethiopia

Context: While intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a major contributor to poor reproductive health outcomes, the relationship between IPV and contraceptive use is unclear. Reproductive coercion (RC), a mechanism by which power is maintained over a partner through enforced reproductive behaviours, could be the missing link in understanding this relationship. However, there is limited understanding of RC and contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa. Data Source and Methods: We use large-scale population based survey data from Ethiopia and examine the relationship between reproductive coercion and contraceptive use and estimate the predictors of reproductive coercion using multivariate logistic regression models. Findings: Our findings suggest a strong negative association between RC and contraceptive use after adjusting for IPV and other factors, while emotional IPV was strongly predictive of RC. Conclusion: RC can be critical for understanding how controlling behaviours and violence manifest in the reproductive arena and impact family planning decision-making.
Abnormalities of the Cerebral Microcirculation after Traumatic Injury: The Relationship of Hypertension and Prostaglandins

Abnormalities of the cerebral circulation are frequently seen in patients with head injury, as well as in animals subjected to experimental brain injury (1). Despite considerable interest in the mechanisms underlying these abnormalities, no comprehensive hypothesis has been advanced to explain their pathogenesis. The practical value of a fuller understanding of the mechanisms responsible for abnormal circulatory function in brain injury is high because it may lead to more rational, therapeutic intervention.