cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Management of endoleaks associated with endovascular treatment of descending thoracic aortic diseases

Objective Endoluminal grafting is emerging as a less invasive alternative to the treatment of descending thoracic aorta diseases. Endoleaks (continued pressurization of the treated aorta external to the endoluminal graft) are a potential complication. We reviewed our cumulative endovascular experience for descending thoracic aorta pathologies with respect to the management of endoleaks and associated patient outcomes. Methods As part of a single-site investigational device–exemption protocol, 249 patients (146 men, 103 women) with thoracic aortic diseases underwent attempted delivery of a TAG endoprosthesis (W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz) between February 2000 and August 2005. Indications for study enrollment included 111 atherosclerotic aneurysms (44.6%), 67 aortic dissections (26.9%), 27 penetrating aortic ulcers (10.8%), 14 contained ruptures (5.6%), 11 pseudoaneurysms (4.4%), 9 acute aortic transections (3.6%), 7 aortobronchial fistulas (2.8%), 2 endoleaks (0.8%) after prior thoracic endoluminal grafting, and 1 (0.4%) adult coarctation. Endoleak surveillance was performed using serial computed tomography scans. Results Mean patient age was 68 years (range, 23-91 years). Endoleak developed in 38 patients (15.3%): 15 distal type I (39.5%), 13 proximal type I (34.2%), 8 type II (21.1%) and 2 type III (5.3%). No surgical intervention was performed in 26 patients (68.4%), in which the endoleak spontaneously resolved in 14 (53.8%), 8 (30.8%) are being monitored and are asymptomatic, 3 (11.5%) died of unrelated causes, 2 (7.7%) withdrew from the study, and 1 (3.8%) was lost to follow-up. Twelve patients (31.6%) required reintervention using an additional endoluminal graft: 8 (66.7%) with a proximal type I endoleak, 2 (16.7%) with a distal type I endoleak, 1 (8.3%) with both distal type I and type III endoleaks, and 1 (8.3%) with a type III endoleak. Open conversions were necessary secondary to device deployment difficulties in two patients (0.8%), and due to expansion of a thoracoabdominal aneurysm and rupture of an aneurysm secondary to a type II endoleak in one patient (0.5%) each. Conclusion Endoleaks are an infrequent, yet important, complication after thoracic endografting. Many endoleaks will resolve spontaneously, but some patients may require another endovascular intervention. Close surveillance is recommended for these patients; however, open conversion is rarely indicated. Because more diseases of the thoracic aorta are being treated using an endovascular approach, a standardized treatment algorithm is essential to safely and effectively manage associated endoleaks.
Adaptive transmitter optimization for blind and group-blind multiuser detection

The linear subspace-based blind and group-blind multiuser detectors recently developed represent a robust and efficient adaptive multiuser detection technique for code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. In this paper, we consider adaptive transmitter optimization strategies for CDMA systems operating in fading multipath environments in which these detectors are employed. We make use of more recent results on the analytical performance of these blind and group-blind receivers in the design and analysis of the transmitter optimization techniques. In particular, we develop a maximum-eigenvector-based method of optimizing spreading codes for given channel conditions and a utility-based power control algorithm for CDMA systems with blind or group-blind multiuser detection. We also design a receiver incorporating joint optimization of spreading codes and transmitter power by combining these algorithms in an iterative configuration. We will see that the utility-based power control algorithm allows us to efficiently set performance goals through utility functions for users in heterogeneous traffic environments and that spreading code optimization allows us to achieve these goals with lower transmit power. The signal processing algorithms presented here maintain the blind (or group-blind) nature of the receiver and are distributed, i.e., all power and spreading code adjustments can be made using only locally available information.
Perspectives on Climate Change, Mountain Hydrology, and Water Resources in the Oregon Cascades, USA

Abstract From both social and environmental perspectives, water is the main connection between highland and lowland processes in mountain watersheds: Water flows downhill while human impacts flow uphill. For example, in the Oregon Cascades mountain range, geology, vegetation, and climate influence the hydrologic connections within watersheds. Geology determines which watersheds are surface runoff-dominated and which are groundwater-dominated. In this Mediterranean climate with dry summers, surface runoff watersheds will consistently experience near-zero late summer discharge, so declining snowpacks will have little effect on low flows. This contrasts with groundwater-dominated watersheds, where a shift from snow to rain or a decline in precipitation will reduce recharge, thereby reducing late summer groundwater contributions to streamflow. Earlier snowmelt causes forests to transpire earlier, resulting in decreased springtime streamflow. Reduced snowpacks lead to soil moisture stress, making forests more ...
Remote services of spectroscopy instruments using grid computing

Grid computing supports sharing of distributed resources across boundaries and authorization domains, and can help scientists by providing secure, transparent and easy access to computing resources. We have designed and developed grid-based services for accessing, visualizing, and reliably manipulating remote spectrometry instruments. We harness grid-computing technologies to allow scientists to concentrate on performing experiments and data analysis, without having to become experts in the software technologies enabling these activities.
Theory and experiment on the low-Reynolds-number expansion and contraction of a bubble pinned at a submerged tube tip

The expansion and contraction of a bubble pinned at a submerged tube tip and driven by constant gas flow rate Q are studied both theoretically and experimentally for Reynolds number Re[Lt ]1. Bubble shape, gas pressure, surface velocities, and extrapolated detached bubble volume are determined by a boundary integral method for various Bond (Bo=ρga2/σ) and capillary (Ca=μQ/σa2) numbers, where a is the capillary radius, ρ and μ are the liquid density and viscosity, σ is the surface tension, and g is the gravitational acceleration.Bubble expansion from a flat interface to near detachment is simulated for a full range of Ca (0.01–100) and Bo (0.01–0.5). The maximum gas pressure is found to vary almost linearly with Ca for 0.01[les ]Ca[les ]100. This correlation allows the maximum bubble pressure method for measuring dynamic surface tension to be extended to viscous liquids. Simulated detached bubble volumes approach static values for Ca[Lt ]1, and asymptote as Q3/4 for Ca[Gt ]1, in agreement with analytic predictions. In the limit Ca→0, two singular time domains are identified near the beginning and the end of bubble growth during which viscous and capillary forces become comparable.Expansion and contraction experiments were conducted using a viscous silicone oil. Digitized video images of deforming bubbles compare well with numerical solutions. It is observed that a bubble contracting at high Ca snaps off.
Hilbert transform associated with the fractional Fourier transform

The analytic part of a signal f(t) is obtained by suppressing the negative frequency content of f, or in other words, by suppressing the negative portion of the Fourier transform, f/spl circ/, of f. In the time domain, the construction of the analytic part is based on the Hilbert transform f/spl circ/ of f(t). We generalize the definition of the Hilbert transform in order to obtain the analytic part of a signal that is associated with its fractional Fourier transform, i.e., that part of the signal f(t) that is obtained by suppressing the negative frequency content of the fractional Fourier transform of f(t). We also show that the generalized Hilbert transform has similar properties to those of the ordinary Hilbert transform, but it lacks the semigroup property of the fractional Fourier transform.
Reduction of false positives in lung nodule detection using a two-level neural classification

The authors have developed a neural-digital computer-aided diagnosis system, based on a parameterized two-level convolution neural network (CNN) architecture and on a special multilabel output encoding procedure. The developed architecture was trained, tested, and evaluated specifically on the problem of diagnosis of lung cancer nodules found on digitized chest radiographs. The system performs automatic "suspect" localization, feature extraction, and diagnosis of a particular pattern-class aimed at a high degree of "true-positive fraction" detection and low "false-positive fraction" detection. In this paper, the authors aim at the presentation of the two-level neural classification method in reducing false-positives in their system. They employed receiver operating characteristics (ROC) method with the area under the ROC curve (A/sub z/) as the performance index to evaluate all the simulation results. The two-level CNN showed superior performance (A/sub z/=0.93) to the single-level CNN (A/sub z/=0.85). The proposed two-level CNN architecture is proven to be promising and to be extensible, problem-independent, and therefore, applicable to other medical or difficult diagnostic tasks in two-dimensional (2-D) image environments.
Partisan Discourse, Polarization, and the Politics of Military Fatalities in Iraq

Public deliberation on the costs of war is important to democratic decision-making. This article explores congressional rhetoric about military fatalities within the U.S. House of Representatives and in television news media interviews from 2004 to 2006. In the House, the results are consistent with the “ideological opportunism” model of congressional rhetoric, which suggests that politicians–particularly the president’s partisan opponents–will be highly communicative about combat deaths in an effort to express ideological perspectives on war and criticize opponents’ positions. The results also show that as local combat fatalities accumulate, the president’s partisan opponents tend to become increasingly vocal about these deaths. The results do not support the “newsworthiness” model of congressional rhetoric in TV media interviews, which expects opposition party support and presidential party criticism of the president. Politicians on the far ends of the ideological spectrum dominate discussions about the...
Robert Fulton and the Pennsylvania Canals

THE canals of eastern Pennsylvania long ago passed into economic oblivio , and ome have passed into phys cal oblivion. Few people realize the great monetary cost and sacrifice entailed in their construction. The hopes of economic greatness for the state once rested chiefly upon them. The promise was made that revenue from the levy of tolls "would support the gov ernment and educate every child in the Commonwealth." Else where "the revenues from tolls were soon to pay off the state debts and provide a surplus of funds so great as to free the inhabitants forever from the burdens of taxation." But the canals of Pennsylvania, like those of most other states, did not yield returns sufficient to cover capital charges and maintenance ex penses. The panic of 1837 and the advent of rail transportation wrecked the hopes of the builders, and in 1857-58, when most of them were sold to railroad companies, the net loss to the state amounted to approximately sixty million dollars.1 Interest in canals began in Pennsylvania before 1800. Governor Mifflin, who was particularly concerned with the development of inland transportation, did what he could to stimulate the forma tion of societies and companies that would encourage the building of canals or roads. One of the earliest of these was the "Society for the Improvement of Roads and Inland Navigation," consisting mostly of Philadelphians, which was formed in the upper room in the northwest corner of the State House in Philadelphia on Monday, January 31, 1791. The organization, with Robert Morris its president, Timothy Matlack its secretary, and Samuel Miles its
Urinary Phthalate Metabolites and Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in a Mexican-American Cohort: Variability in Early and Late Pregnancy

People are exposed to phthalates through their wide use as plasticizers and in personal care products. Many phthalates are endocrine disruptors and have been associated with adverse health outcomes. However, knowledge gaps exist in understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with the effects of exposure in early and late pregnancy. In this study, we examined the relationship of eleven urinary phthalate metabolites with isoprostane, an established marker of oxidative stress, among pregnant Mexican-American women from an agricultural cohort. Isoprostane levels were on average 20% higher at 26 weeks than at 13 weeks of pregnancy. Urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations suggested relatively consistent phthalate exposures over pregnancy. The relationship between phthalate metabolite concentrations and isoprostane levels was significant for the sum of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate and the sum of high molecular weight metabolites with the exception of monobenzyl phthalate, which was not associated with oxidative stress at either time point. In contrast, low molecular weight metabolite concentrations were not associated with isoprostane at 13 weeks, but this relationship became stronger later in pregnancy (p-value = 0.009 for the sum of low molecular weight metabolites). Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to phthalates may influence oxidative stress, which is consistent with their relationship with obesity and other adverse health outcomes.
Electron and Spin-Density Analysis of Tirapazamine Reduction Chemistry

Tirapazamine (TPZ, 1, 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazine 1,4-N,N-dioxide), the radical anion 2 formed by one-electron reduction of 1, and neutral radicals 3 and 4 formed by protonation of 2 at O(N4) or O(N1), respectively, and their N-OH homolyses 3 → 5 + ·OH and 4 → 6 + ·OH have been studied with configuration interaction theory, perturbation theory, and density functional theory. A comprehensive comparative analysis is presented of structures and electronic structures and with focus on the development of an understanding of the spin-density distributions of the radical species. The skeletons of radicals 3 and 4 are distinctly nonplanar, several stereoisomeric structures are discussed, and there exists an intrinsic preference for 3 over 4. The N-oxides 1, 5, and 6 have closed-shell singlet ground states and low-lying, singlet biradical (SP-1, SP-6) or biradicaloid (SP-5) excited states. The doublet radicals 2, 3, and 4 are heavily spin-polarized. Most of the spin density of the doublet radicals 2, 3, and 4 is located in one (N,O)-region, and in particular, 3 and 4 are not C3-centered radicals. Significant amounts of spin density occur in both rings in the singlet biradical(oid) excited states of 1, 5, and 6. The dipole moment of the N2-C3(X) bond is large, and the nature of X provides a powerful handle to modulate the N2-C3 bond polarity with opposite effects on the two NO regions. Our studies show very low proton affinities of radical anion 2 and suggest that the pK(a) of radical [2+H] might be lower than 6. Implications are discussed regarding the formation of hydroxyl from 3 and/or 4, regarding the ability of 5 and 6 to react with carbon-centered radicals in a manner that ultimately leads to oxygen transfer, and regarding the interpretation of the EPR spectra of reduced TPZ species and of their spin-trap adducts.
Asymptomatic Microscopic Hematuria

Asymptomatic microscopic hematuria is a prevalent condition that requires urologic evaluation. Complete assessment must include non-urologic conditions. Of 246 patients reviewed 10 per cent were found to have a urologic neoplasm, while 12 per cent had other significant urologic lesions. However, 51 per cent of the patients had no urologic abnormality discovered and 27 per cent had insignificant urologic findings in which the relationship to microhematuria is questionable. A method of following patients with unexplained microhematuria that may clarify the implications of this disorder is proposed.
A Qualitative Study of Feminist Multicultural Trainees’ Social Justice Development

Social justice–oriented development was examined by recruiting practicum trainees from a site selected for its unique emphasis on feminist multiculturalism and social justice. The grounded theory design triangulated multiple data from 20 female participants. Analysis yielded an empirical model of how core experiences contributed to 3 types of growth: (a) doing your own work, (b) honoring your voice and others’ voices, and (c) challenging power to create systemic change. Counseling, supervision, and training implications are provided.
Evolution of dentition in salamanders: relative roles of phylogeny and diet

Despite being widely regarded as generalist predators, amphibians exhibit a diversity of tooth shapes and dentition patterns, which may indicate the influence of dietary specialization on the evolution of tooth morphology. Very few studies have analysed the relationship between tooth morphology and diet (i.e., prey items) in amphibians, and those existing studies are highly speculative. We investigated the evolution of salamander teeth and the relationship between tooth morphology and diet in a phylogenetically independent fashion. We used a phylogeny of 23 species of salamander representing three families (Ambystomatidae, Plethodontidae, and Salamandridae) to, first, analyse the divergence of tooth morphology and its relationship to phylogeny and, second, to analyse the relationship between tooth morphology and diet diversity. We used electron scanning microscopy and a statistical comparative approach using Spatial Evolutionary and Ecological Analysis (SEEVA) and phylogenetic generalized least-squares regression in R. Our results indicated significant divergence in tooth morphology at major phylogenetic splits. Moreover, there was a significant, phylogenetically independent relationship between tooth morphology and diet diversity. The relationship between diet and tooth morphology indicates not only a reflection of phylogenetic history, but also a degree of dietary specialization, indicating that evolution in tooth morphology has had an adaptive aspect in relation to salamander diet.
A topology study of single-phase offline AC/DC converters for high brightness white LED lighting with power factor pre-regulation and brightness dimmable

Due to the recent advancement in the light emitting diode (LED) technology, high brightness white LED becomes feasible in residential, industry and commercial applications to replace the incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, and even compact fluorescent light bulbs. In these offline applications, high power factor, and low harmonics are of primary importance. Single stage power factor pre-regulation technology is preferred in these cost sensitive applications where power factor regulation is mandatory, while adding additional power factor correction controller will surely increase the cost. In this paper, we exam several single stage offline ac/dc power converters with power factor pre-regulation for LED lighting applications, including boost converter, SEPIC converter, flyback converter, and half-bridge converter. A boost converter is suitable for high efficiency, large LED string applications. A SEPIC converter has the best power factor correction performance, but the efficiency is not comparable with the other solutions. Flyback converter is the most commonly used topology for low power offline applications. For medium power applications, symmetrical and asymmetrical half bridge converters can be used with better power factor and high efficiency. The harmonics of the input line current is reduced and power factor is high if the current in the input inductor is discontinuous and the converter is driven with constant duty ratio. A current feedback loop can be used to control the LED brightness. The performance of these converters will be analyzed and compared in terms of power factor, efficiency, etc, based on the lab prototype boards.
Rhetorical Matriphagy and the Online Commodification of Higher Education

Although online education has been promoted as an important tool for ensuring equal access to higher education in a climate of declining financial support, the evidence indicates that online education tends to hasten the development of a highly stratified educational system where the opportunities of marginalized students are limited. This essay introduces the rhetorical matriphagy as an extended analogy to illustrate how online education discourse derives rhetorical force by aligning its central features with three points of correspondence located in the neoliberal reinvention of higher education. The essay concludes by discussing opportunities for critique and moral reflection illuminated by the rhetorical matriphagy beyond higher education.
Comprehensive JP8 Mechanism for Vitiated Flows

With the intent of optimizing the combustion process of complex hydrocarbon liquid fuels such as JP8 in internal combustion jet engines and their afterburners, simpler surrogate hydrocarbon compounds were used in a counterflow diffusion flat flame burner to validate the chemical kinetic modeling process. The combustion products sampled from the flame produced during the burning of the validation fuels methane and n-heptane were analyzed using a Varian CP3800 gas chromatograph. The effects of sampling with a 350 micron outer diameter (OD) fused-silica tube were compared to those of a 3.5 mm quartz probe in order to minimize sampling effect on the flame. Simulations of the sampled species were performed using the OPPDIF package of CHEMKIN with chemistry models provided by UIC. Concentrations of major species (e.g. CO, CH 4 , CO 2 , O 2 ) were found to be well simulated with the models, with the best fit occurring for methane and n-heptane, and wider variation occurring with some species in all validation fuels.
Plasmonic metamaterials at visible and ultraviolet frequencies (Conference Presentation)

Artificial metamaterials – metallo-dielectric composites tailored on deep-subwavelength scale – enable implementation of electromagnetic responses not found in nature, leading to potentially useful applications as well as yielding new insights into the fundamental nature of light. Here we show how we have leveraged ultrasmooth planar nanoplasmonic waveguides deposited by ion-beam-assisted sputter deposition to implement easy-to-fabricate bulk metamaterials operating at visible and ultra-violet wavelengths and having refractive indices ranging from highly anisotropic and positive [1] to quasi-isotropic and negative [2]. Exploiting these structures to tailor the flow of light in exotic ways, we realize devices ranging from high-contrast, near-field nanoparticle optical sensors working in the visible, to the first implementation of a Veselago flat lens [3] functioning in the near ultraviolet. Substituting Al for Ag as the constituent plasmonic metal of choice, we investigate the extension of bulk metamaterial operation into the mid-ultraviolet, for lithographic applications beyond the diffraction limit. [1] T. Xu and H.J. Lezec, Nat. Comm. 5, 4141 (2014). [2] T. Xu, A. Agrawal, M. Abashin, K.J. Chau, and H.J. Lezec, Nature 497, 470 (2013). [3] V.G. Veselago, Sov. Phys. Usp. 10, 509 (1968).
Photonic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Film for the Detection of Testosterone in Aqueous Samples

The detection of testosterone in aqueous solutions is a difficult task due to the low concentration levels that are relevant in environmental and physiological samples. Current analytical methods are expensive and/or complex. To address this issue, we fabricated a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) photonic film for the detection of testosterone in water. The films were obtained using colloidal crystals as templates for the pore morphology. Monodispersed silica particles with an average diameter 330 nm were used to obtain the colloidal crystal by vertical deposition. A solution of acrylic acid with testosterone as the imprinted template was infiltrated in the colloidal crystal and polymerized via bulk polymerization; the particles were then removed by acid etching and the testosterone eluted by a suitable solvent. The material was characterized by FTIR, swelling experiments and microscopy; MIPs were investigated by equilibrium rebinding, kinetics and reuse experiments. The results showed that the MIPs exhibited selectivity to the template, a 30-min equilibration time and stability after at least six cycles of use and regeneration. After incubation, the reflectance spectra of the films showed a shift of the Bragg diffraction peak that correlated with testosterone concentration in the 5–100 ppb range.
Early Results of Extreme Hypofractionation Using Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for High-risk, Very High-risk and Node-positive Prostate Cancer.

Abstract Aims Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer has shown encouraging results. However, its use in high-risk patients is limited due to lack of data regarding adequate radiotherapy dose, need for pelvic nodal treatment and androgen deprivation therapy. Herein we report our experience of SBRT in this subgroup. Materials and methods Analysis of a prospectively maintained database of 68 consecutive patients of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) high-risk, very high-risk and node-positive adenocarcinoma prostate treated with SBRT was undertaken. All patients were treated with rotational intensity-modulated radiotherapy with daily image guidance. The dose delivered to the prostate and gross node was 35–37.5 Gy in 5 alternate day fractions. Node-positive patients received 25 Gy to pelvic nodal regions until the common iliac nodes. Treatment was delivered in 7–10 days. All patients received long-term androgen deprivation therapy (79% medical and 21% surgical). Results Most patients (65%) had a Gleason score ≥ 8. The median prostate-specific antigen was 42. Twenty patients were high risk (30%), 11 (16%) very high risk and 37 (54%) node positive. No acute Radiation Therapy Oncology Group grade ≥ 3 genitourinary or gastrointestinal toxicity was noted. Acute grade 2 genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity were 12% and 3%, respectively. Late grade 3 genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity was 3% and 0%, respectively. There was no increase in acute or late gastrointestinal toxicity with prophylactic pelvic nodal radiotherapy. Prior transurethral resection of prostate (n = 11) did not increase toxicity. At a median follow-up of 18 months, 97% patients were alive and 94% were biochemically controlled. Conclusion SBRT is safe in the treatment of high-risk, very high-risk and node-positive prostate cancer, even with prophylactic pelvic radiotherapy or prior transurethral resection of prostate. Longer follow-up is required to determine efficacy.
Lead levels in fresh water mollusk shells

Abstract The possibility of using the shells of various fresh water mollusks as indicators of lead levels has been investigated. Shells of Corbicula manillensis (Asiatic clam) were found to be reliable and readily available indicators of lead levels. Samples collected at a relatively clean site were found to yield a mean lead concentration of 0.6 ppm with a range of .1 ‐ 1.3 ppm. The sample means from other sites were increased by factors between 2 and 3. Also, the shells from very young (less than one year old) C. manillensis contained unusually high concentrations of lead.
Modeling of Hydrodemetallation

Summary The central problem in the design of hydrodemetallation catalyst is in prolonging catalyst life under metal deposition. The kinetic modelling of HDM has evolved from a simple A to B kinetics to a consecutive kinetics with an intermediate; the modelling of deposit morphology has evolved from uniform layers to large crystallites; and the modelling of support structure has evolved from uniform cylindrical pores to random spheres and needles. A significant increase in catalyst life can be obtained by nonuniform activation of catalysts to produce center-loaded pellets.
Restaurant employees and food safety compliance: motivation comes from within

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of restaurant employee internal belief systems on their motivation to comply with food safety guidelines in restaurants. Food safety training...
The Monomial Conjecture and order ideals II

Abstract Let I be an ideal of height d in a regular local ring ( R , m , k = R / m ) of dimension n and let Ω denote the canonical module of R / I . In this paper we first prove the equivalence of the following: the non-vanishing of the edge homomorhpism η d : Ext R n − d ( k , Ω ) → Ext R n ( k , R ) , the validity of the order ideal conjecture for regular local rings, and the validity of the monomial conjecture for all local rings. Next we prove several special cases of the order ideal conjecture/monomial conjecture.
High grade renal trauma management: a survey of practice patterns and the perceived need for a prospective management trial.

Background: To evaluate the current practice patterns of practitioners managing high grade renal trauma and determine perceived need for a prospective trial on the management of renal trauma. Methods: We distributed an electronic survey to members of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) and The Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons (GURS). The survey evaluated demographics, interventional radiology (IR) access, and renal trauma management. Descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze participants’ responses. Results: A total of 253 practitioners responded (age 48.4±10.4 years). The majority were acute care/trauma surgeons (ACS/TS) (63.2%), followed by urologists (34.4%) practicing at level 1 trauma centers (80.6%) in 39 US states. Most participants were in practice >10 years (62.8%); and had completed an ACS/TS (53.8%), or trauma/reconstructive urology (25.7%) fellowship. Ninety-five percent (241/253) found value in renal preservation with 74% utilizing IR embolization in the last year. However, there was wide variation in threshold for angiography, low rates of renal repair (24%) or packing (20%) and half reported performing a nephrectomy within the prior year. More than 80% believed there was value in a prospective trial to evaluate a protocol to decrease nephrectomy rates in renal trauma management. Conclusions: The majority of respondents had access to IR, reported comfort in renorrhaphy, and valued renal preservation. There was variation in thresholds for bleeding intervention, and nephrectomy was still a common management strategy. There is great interest among trauma surgeons and urologists for a prospective trial of renal trauma management aimed at decreasing nephrectomy when possible.
Short-Term Clopidogrel Plus Aspirin Prevents Second Ischemic Stroke Better Than Aspirin Alone.

Combined treatment with clopidogrel and aspirin, started within 24 hours of the first event, will decrease the likelihood of a recurrent stroke in an additional 2% of patients compared with aspirin alone, with a slight increase in the risk of extra-cranial bleeding.
Miniature Tesla Coil Teaching Lab

The Tesla coil is one of the most famous and popularly recognizable high voltage devices. Utilizing the fame of recognizability of the Tesla coil in a “Build Your Own” laboratory exercise is a great way to create a successful and highly interesting learning activity. Classical Tesla coils utilize a spark gap as the primary switch, whereas modern Tesla coils use solid state components instead such as the transistor for the Tesla coil described here. Building a miniature Tesla coil is also a convenient teaching tool for the instruction of electric fields, electromagnetic induction, and transistors. The equipment needed is readily available and affordable while the resulting “mini” Tesla coil is robust and entertaining. In addition, the concepts needed to give a basic description are readily available to students finishing a typical algebra-based physics course.
Connecting and Coping with Stigmatized Others: Examining Social Support Messages in Prison Talk Online

Having a loved one who is incarcerated affects significant others financially, emotionally, and relationally. Many who maintain a relationship with incarcerated individuals also experience courtesy...
Imaging effects of hyperosmolality on individual tricellular junctions

The use of hyperosmolar agents (osmotherapy) has been a major treatment for intracranial hypertension, which occurs frequently in brain diseases or trauma. However, side-effects of osmotherapy on the brain, especially on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are still not fully understood. Hyperosmolar conditions, termed hyperosmolality here, are known to transiently disrupt the tight junctions (TJs) at the endothelium of the BBB resulting in loss of BBB function. Present techniques for evaluation of BBB transport typically reveal aggregated responses from the entirety of BBB transport components, with little or no opportunity to evaluate heterogeneity present in the system. In this study, we utilized potentiometric-scanning ion conductance microscopy (P-SICM) to acquire nanometer-scale conductance maps of Madin-Darby Canine Kidney strain II (MDCKII) cells under hyperosmolality, from which two types of TJs, bicellular tight junctions (bTJs) and tricellular tight junctions (tTJs), can be visualized and differentiated. We discovered that hyperosmolality leads to increased conductance at tTJs without significant alteration in conductance at bTJs. To quantify this effect, an automated computer vision algorithm was designed to extract and calculate conductance components at both tTJs and bTJs. Additionally, lowering Ca2+ concentration in the bath facilitates tTJ disruption under hyperosmolality. Strengthening tTJ structure by overexpressing immunoglobulin-like domain-containing receptor 1 (ILDR1) protein abrogates the effect of hyperosmolality. We posit that osmotic stress physically disrupts tTJ structure, as evidenced by super-resolution microscopy. Findings from this study not only provide a high-resolution view of TJ structure and function, but also can inform current osmotherapy and drug delivery strategies for brain diseases.
Whole-Body Movement during Videogame Play Distinguishes Youth with Autism from Youth with Typical Development.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder struggle with motor difficulties throughout the life span, and these motor difficulties may affect independent living skills and quality of life. Yet, we know little about how whole-body movement may distinguish individuals with autism spectrum disorder from individuals with typical development. In this study, kinematic and postural sway data were collected during multiple sessions of videogame play in 39 youth with autism spectrum disorder and 23 age-matched youth with typical development (ages 7–17 years). The youth on the autism spectrum exhibited more variability and more entropy in their movements. Machine learning analysis of the youths’ motor patterns distinguished between the autism spectrum and typically developing groups with high aggregate accuracy (up to 89%), with no single region of the body seeming to drive group differences. Moreover, the machine learning results corresponded to individual differences in performance on standardized motor tasks and measures of autism symptom severity. The machine learning algorithm was also sensitive to age, suggesting that motor challenges in autism may be best characterized as a developmental motor delay rather than an autism-distinct motor profile. Overall, these results reveal that whole-body movement is a distinguishing feature in autism spectrum disorder and that movement atypicalities in autism are present across the body.
Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with multimorbidity in a geographically-defined community.

Persons with low socioeconomic status may be disproportionately at risk for multimorbidity. Adults aged ≥20 years on 4/1/2015 from 7 counties in Minnesota were identified using the Rochester Epidemiology Project (population-based sample). A composite measure of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, the area deprivation index (ADI), was estimated at the census block group level (n = 251). The prevalence of 21 chronic conditions was obtained to calculate the proportion of persons with multimorbidity (≥2 chronic conditions) and severe multimorbidity (≥5 chronic conditions). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to estimate the association of ADI with multimorbidity and severe multimorbidity using odds ratios (OR). Among 198,941 persons (46.7% male, 30.6% aged ≥60 years), the age- and sex-standardized (to the United States 2010 census) median prevalence (Q1, Q3) was 23.4% (21.3%, 25.9%) for multimorbidity and 4.8% (4.0%, 5.7%) for severe multimorbidity. Compared with persons in the lowest quintile of ADI, persons in the highest quintile had a 50% increased risk of multimorbidity (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.39–1.62) and a 67% increased risk of severe multimorbidity (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.51–1.86) after adjusting for age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Associations were stronger after further adjustment for individual level of education; persons in the highest quintile had a 78% increased risk of multimorbidity (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.62–1.96) and a 92% increased risk of severe multimorbidity (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.72–2.13). There was evidence of interactions between ADI and age, between ADI and sex, and between ADI and education. After age 70 years, no difference in the risk of multimorbidity was observed across quintiles of ADI. The pattern of increasing multimorbidity with increasing ADI was more pronounced in women. Finally, there was less variability across quintiles of ADI for the most highly educated group. Higher ADI was associated with increased risk of multimorbidity, and the associations were strengthened after adjustment for individual level of education, suggesting that neighborhood context plays a role in health above and beyond individual measures of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, associations were more pronounced in younger persons and women, highlighting the importance of interventions to prevent chronic conditions in younger women, in particular.
Evidence for communication of peripheral iron status to cerebrospinal fluid: clinical implications for therapeutic strategy

Iron is crucial for proper functioning of all organs including the brain. Deficiencies and excess of iron are common and contribute to substantial morbidity and mortality. Whereas iron’s involvement in erythropoiesis drives clinical practice, the guidelines informing interventional strategies for iron repletion in neurological disorders are poorly defined. The objective of this study was to determine if peripheral iron status is communicated to the brain. We used a bi-chamber cell culture model of the blood–brain-barrier to determine transcytosis of iron delivered by transferrin as a metric of iron transport. In the apical chamber (representative of the blood) we placed transferrin complexed with iron59 and in the basal chamber (representative of the brain) we placed human cerebrospinal fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples (N = 24) were collected via lumbar puncture. The integrity of the tight junctions were monitored throughout the experiments using RITC-Dextran. We demonstrate that iron transport correlates positively with plasma hemoglobin concentrations but not serum ferritin levels. The clinical ramifications of these findings are several- fold. They suggest that erythropoietic demands for iron take precedence over brain requirements, and that the metric traditionally considered to be the most specific test reflecting total body iron stores and relied upon to inform treatment decisions–i.e., serum ferritin–may not be the preferred peripheral indicator when attempting to promote brain iron uptake. The future direction of this line of investigation is to identify the factor(s) in the CSF that influence iron transport at the level of the BBB.
Challenges in the Prenatal Diagnosis of Cloaca.

Background:Cloaca is a common excretory channel for the genital, urinary, and gastrointestinal tracts. It is considered a severe anorectal malformation caused by failed partitioning of the genital,...
Wicking Nanofence-Activated Boundary Layer to Enhance Two-Phase Transport in Microchannels.

Controlling the movement of liquids/vapors on solid interfaces is of importance for numerous applications ranging from fluid processing to lab-on-chip and thermal management systems. In this study,...
Bubbles, Human Judgment, and Expert Opinion

Research in psychology tells us how even the experts can get caught up in speculative bubbles.
Interpretable Network Representation Learning with Principal Component Analysis.

We consider the problem of interpretable network representation learning for samples of network-valued data. We propose the Principal Component Analysis for Networks (PCAN) algorithm to identify statistically meaningful low-dimensional representations of a network sample via subgraph count statistics. The PCAN procedure provides an interpretable framework for which one can readily visualize, explore, and formulate predictive models for network samples. We furthermore introduce a fast sampling-based algorithm, sPCAN, which is significantly more computationally efficient than its counterpart, but still enjoys advantages of interpretability. We investigate the relationship between these two methods and analyze their large-sample properties under the common regime where the sample of networks is a collection of kernel-based random graphs. We show that under this regime, the embeddings of the sPCAN method enjoy a central limit theorem and moreover that the population level embeddings of PCAN and sPCAN are equivalent. We assess PCAN's ability to visualize, cluster, and classify observations in network samples arising in nature, including functional connectivity network samples and dynamic networks describing the political co-voting habits of the U.S. Senate. Our analyses reveal that our proposed algorithm provides informative and discriminatory features describing the networks in each sample. The PCAN and sPCAN methods build on the current literature of network representation learning and set the stage for a new line of research in interpretable learning on network-valued data. Publicly available software for the PCAN and sPCAN methods are available at this https URL.
Robust Services: People or Processes?

Service systems are inherently subject to variability, whether through customers, service providers, suppliers, or unexpected events. Yet customers demand excellence and consistency regardless of this variability. In general, there are two ways to handle this variability—through people or through processes. We use the concept of robustness to describe these two approaches, addressing when one or the other might be appropriate and discussing how and why one might transition from one approach to the other. Excerpt UVA-OM-1607 Rev. Feb. 25, 2019 Robust Services: People or Processes? We spend a lot of time and resources on hiring robust people because our processes are weak right now. We are also spending a lot of time and energy strengthening our processes so we don't have to devote as many resources on finding robust people in the future. —Dan FitzHenry, Director of Operations, Grit Coffee, Charlottesville, Virginia Service systems are inherently subject to variability, whether through customers, service providers, suppliers, or unexpected events. Yet customers demand excellence and consistency regardless of this variability. In general, there are two ways to handle this variability—through people or through processes. We use the concept of robustness to describe these two approaches, addressing when one or the other might be appropriate and discussing how and why one might transition from one approach to the other. . . .
Beyond policy patrons: A ‘MADE’ framework for examining public engagement efforts of philanthropic foundations on Twitter

This study conceptualises four mechanisms—Mobilisation, Advocacy, Dialogue, and Education ('MADE')—through which foundation actors engage the public on Twitter. We analysed stakeholders targeted and message contents of more than 16,000 tweets collected from 299 Twitter accounts of U.S. community foundations during two 12-month periods. We found evidence that foundations tend to serve as 'a knowledge hub' to educate the public. Notably, the 2020 sample suggests lessened dialogic messages yet increased mobilisation and advocacy messages amid the COVID-19 pandemic and political movements. This study reveals foundations’ intermediary and shifting roles in engaging the public in times of normalcy and crisis. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Intrusive dike complexes, cumulate cores, and the extrusive growth of Hawaiian volcanoes

[1] The Hawaiian Islands are the most geologically studied hot-spot islands in the world yet surprisingly, the only large-scale compilation of marine and land gravity data is more than 45 years old. Early surveys served as reconnaissance studies only, and detailed analyses of the crustal-density structure have been limited. Here we present a new chain-wide gravity compilation that incorporates historical island surveys, recently published work on the islands of Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i, and Ni‘ihau, and >122,000 km of newly compiled marine gravity data. Positive residual gravity anomalies reflect dense intrusive bodies, allowing us to locate current and former volcanic centers, major rift zones, and a previously suggested volcano on Ka‘ena Ridge. By inverting the residual gravity data, we generate a 3-D view of the dense, intrusive complexes and olivine-rich cumulate cores within individual volcanoes and rift zones. We find that the Hāna and Ka‘ena ridges are underlain by particularly high-density intrusive material (>2.85 g/cm3) not observed beneath other Hawaiian rift zones. Contrary to previous estimates, volcanoes along the chain are shown to be composed of a small proportion of intrusive material (<30% by volume), implying that the islands are predominately built extrusively.