cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Labor Cervical Examination Simulation in Medical Student Education

OBJECTIVE:To estimate whether simulation training improves medical students' cervical examination accuracy.BACKGROUND:The training paradigm for the labor cervical examination exposes patients to additional examinations, lacks a gold standard, and does not objectively assess trainee competence. To ad
Thermochemical Nonequilibrium Analysis of Oxygen in Shock Tube Flows

The successful development of hypersonic vehicles requires a detailed knowledge of the flow physics around the vehicle. The physics knowledge and modeling confidence drives the development of the major vehicle flight systems including the thermal protection system and flight control system. Specifically, an understanding of the thermochemical nonequilibrium behavior is crucial for this flight regime. The hypersonic flight regime involves an extremely high level of energy so a small error in the modeling of the energy processes can result in drastic changes in the vehicle design, including prohibitive design requirements. This emphasizes the need for a deep understanding of the underlying flow phenomena and molecular energy transfer processes in order to adequately design a hypersonic vehicle computationally.
Filtrational resistance of hydrophobic associating polymer through porous media

Hydrophobic associating polymer is studied for its oil displacement mechanism and physical and chemical characteristics in porous media.This polymer has different percolation characteristics with traditional high molecular polymers.The changes of the flow resistance of the associating polymer solution with rheological parameters and throat diameter are analyzed by numerical method with contracted channel as pore throat model by using the field test data in Bohai block.This paper provides a reference to theoretical study and field analysis of hydrophobic associating polymer drive.
Angiogenin contributes to bladder cancer tumorigenesis by DNMT3b-mediated MMP2 activation

Epigenetic-mediated gene activation/silencing plays a crucial role in human tumorigenesis. Eliciting the underlying mechanism behind certain epigenetic changes is essential for understanding tumor biology. Previous studies in human cancers revealed an unrecognized interplay between Angiogenin (ANG) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) leading to pronounced tumorigenesis. Here we provide multiple lines of evidence further indicating ANG oncogenic potential. ANG expression resulted in the hypomethylated state of the MMP2 gene, which led to increased gene expression of MMP2. More than that, our global DNA methylation microarray analysis showed that gene manipulation of ANG affected a variety of pathways, such as cell migration, angiogenesis and specifically, tumor suppressor genes. Mechanistically, ANG negatively regulated DNA methyltransferase 3b (DNMT3b) enzymatic activity by down-regulating its expression and inhibiting its recruitment to the MMP2 promoter. Consistent with this, ANG-MMP2 overexpression and DNMT3b underexpression correlated with reduction in disease free survival of human bladder cancer patients. Together, the results continue to establish ANG as an oncoprotein and further reveal that ANG contributes to oncogenesis by the activation of MMP2 through modulation of DNMT3b functions.
Brain Emboli After Left Ventricular Endocardial Ablation

Background:Catheter ablation for ventricular tachycardia and premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) is common. Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation is associated with a risk of cerebral emboli ...
The phylogeny of the world's bulbuls (Pycnonotidae) inferred using a supermatrix approach

The bulbuls comprise an ecologically important group of frugivorous, seed-dispersing birds found in Asia and Africa. Although several studies have examined the phylogenetic relationships of subsets of bulbul species, a comprehensive phylogeny of the family Pycnonotidae has hitherto been lacking. We used publicly available sequences generated from previous phylogenetic studies, augmented by new sequences from several unstudied taxa, to create a supermatrix from which to infer the phylogeny of the family. In all, we compared 121 of the 130 bulbul species. Our tree supports the monophyly of the family and comprises an exclusively African and a predominantly Asian clade. Several genera were found not to be monophyletic and we suggest taxonomic changes to provide a more accurate classification based on phylogeny.
Rapid Factory Planning

Kurzfassung Schnellere Innovationsrhythmen, kurzere Produktlebenszyklen und die von Kundenwunschen diktierte grosere Variantenvielfalt setzen produzierende Unternehmen zunehmend unter Druck. Sie mussen, um ihre Produkte rechtzeitig und ohne Zugestandnisse bei der Qualitat auf den Markt zu bringen, ihre Produktion immer schneller auf Hochtouren bringen. Dafur gilt es, alle Effizienzsteigerungspotenziale zu ermitteln und zu nutzen. Mit exakt abgestimmten Workshops zum Rapid Factory Planning (RFP) unterstutzt die Ingenics AG ihre Kunden bei der Organisation der Planungsaufgaben, der Parallelisierung von Planungs- und Realisierungsphasen, der fruhzeitigen Implementierung eines KVP bereits in der Planungsphase und der Einbindung der Mitarbeiter in Probelaufen. Dies fuhrt zur signifikanten Reduzierung von Planungsaufwand und Planungszeit. Neben schnellen Erfolgen, den so genannten „Quick Wins“, die den Aufwand gerade auch fur den Mittelstand lohnend machen, werden durch massive Einspareffekte Gewinnpotenziale n...
Institutional Analysis of Competition Policy in Transition and Developing Countries: The Lessons from Latin America

This Article explores how institutions in developing countries shape competition policy-making and regulatory reform, the implications of this process on the adoption of a pro-market strategy to promote development, and the implications of its application to a country transitioning from a command economy to a market economy such as China. Institutional analysis is important for two reasons. First, it enables us to highlight the decisive role of social arrangements in shaping the way a policy aimed at changing institutional structures, like competition policy, is understood and enforced. This is important because institutional change creates unexpected challenges as market forces increasingly replace central planning as the driving force in allocating social resources. If not properly addressed, such challenges could frustrate the whole transition process. Second, exploring the role of institutions the development of competition policy raises important and controversial issues of law and economics, which scholars have not yet settled. In particular, institutional analysis overcomes some of the limitations of conventional economic and legal theory, which, due to its excessive emphasis on logical positivism, has blinded policy-makers to the fundamental role of institutions’ values and beliefs in enforcing social rules, thereby precluding a richer appraisal of social reality. Scholars usually agree institutions are defined by ideas, routines, and beliefs. But in order to assess their impact, we must examine the impact of these values and beliefs on the conduct of those involved in executing the policy. For example, we know that stronger institutions improve economic performance, but what does that imply? How do institutions
Adaline and Recursive Least Square Error Based Techniques for Submodule Voltage Monitoring for the Cascaded High Frequency AC Link System

This paper presents two techniques to monitor the voltage of the submodules of the cascaded high-frequency AC link (CHFAL) system. The first proposed technique is using the adaptive linear neuron (ADALINE) algorithm, and the second proposed technique is using the recursive least square error (RLSE) technique. Both of the two submodule voltage monitoring techniques need only one voltage sensor per phase to measure the output phase voltage. The proposed techniques eliminate the need for submodule voltage monitoring sensors and the associated communication links with the central controller, which makes the proposed techniques appealing to CHFACL systems with large number of submodules. The results are validated through Matlab/Simulink simulation software.
Trade Negotiations and Diplomatic Global Relations: Strategic Techniques and Negotiating Models

With the era of an incoming US administration and Presidency drawing ever closer, increased interest in US- China and global diplomatic relations are not only attributed to ongoing dynamics and exchanges between the incoming Presidency, China and Taiwan, but also to implications from a possible fall-out from the Trans Pacific Partnership – an agreement which could also impact the United States’ negotiating and economic influence, association and relations with current parties to the Agreement – as well as its position, impact and trade links in the Pacific Region. Kennedy’s “Essential Negotiation” explores various negotiation techniques and models which are likely to impact trade deals and negotiation outcomes – some of which include: Zero Sum Model: “Jargon from Game Theory: What You Gain, They Lose” Zeuthen’s Conflict Avoidance Model: a model which, in contrast to the zero sum model where a dilemma (or conflict scenario) is encountered: - Compares the gains likely to be made by accepting what is on offer with the net gains which are likely to generate from a conflicting zero sum position. Win Some – Lose Some Model Win - Win Model This volume explores and investigates how strategic associations, alliances and environmental influences – amongst other factors could hugely impact the outcome of trade and economic negotiations – as well as applicable models and techniques that are likely to feature in such scenarios. By way of reference to current global dynamics and selected ongoing trade agreements, it also highlights and proposes possible models whereby optimal trade negotiation outcomes can be achieved. Given the incoming President’s negotiation skills and expertise in business deals, it will be interesting to see what models or techniques of negotiation are likely to feature prominently in present and future global economic, trade – as well as environmental agreements.
A Metric Scale for 'Abstractness' of the Word Meaning

Web personalization involves automated content analysis of text, and modern technologies of semantic analysis of text rely on a number of scales. Among them is the abstractness of meaning, which is not captured by more traditional measures of sentiment, such as valence, arousal and dominance. The present work introduces a physics-inspired approach to constructing the abstractness scale based on databases of hypernym-hyponym relations, e.g., WordNet 3.0. The idea is to define an energy as a function of word coordinates that are distributed in one dimension, and then to find a global minimum of this energy function by relocating words in this dimension. The result is a one-dimensional distribution that assigns "abstractness" values to words. While positions of individual words on this scale are subject to noise, the entire distribution globally defines the universal semantic dimension associated with the notion of hypernym-hyponym relations, called here "abstractness".
WA-Dataspaces: Exploring the Data Staging Abstractions for Wide-Area Distributed Scientific Workflows

Data staging has been shown to be very effective for supporting data intensive in-situ workflows and coupling of applications. Experimental sciences are increasingly becoming collaborative among geographically distributed teams, and include experimental instruments and HPC facilities. This new way of doing science poses new challenges due to data sizes, complexity of computation, and the use of wide area networks between couplings. In this paper, we explore how the staging abstraction can be extended to support such workflows. Specifically, we develop a NUMA-like abstraction that orchestrates multiple distributed local-area staging abstractions, and provides asynchronous data put/get semantics to enable data sharing across them. To mask data movement overhead and provide in-time data access, we propose the use of predictive prefetching approaches that leverage the iterative nature of the coupling. We evaluate our prototype implementation using a fusion workflow and show that our design can effectively and transparently support widearea coupled workflows. Additionally, results show that the use of prefetching techniques leads to significant gains in data access times of data that needs to be moved over the wide area network.
Accumulation of Cyclic Nucleotides

The complexity of the interrelationships of the cyclases, phosphodiesterases, protein kinases, and phosphoprotein phosphatases with macromolecular factors, magnesium, manganese, and calcium ions, and levels of ATP and GTP and, in addition, the existence of multiple enzyme forms with differing properties even within one cell make it difficult or impossible to extrapolate results obtained with homogenates to the functional operation of cyclic nucleotide systems in intact cells. Studies on the accumulation of cyclic nucleotides in brain slices, ganglia, and cultured cells under various conditions can, however, provide pertinent information. The extent of accumulation of cyclic AMP in intact cells will be influenced by a number of factors: (1) the basal levels of adenylate cyclases and the availability of ATP as a substrate; (2) the degree of activation of this enzyme by biogenic amines, adenosine, and other compounds: (3) the levels and properties of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases; and (4) the levels of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases with binding sites that presumably sequester cyclic AMP. The subcellular distribution and availability of ions such as calcium and magnesium with their abilities to inhibit or activate these systems will be important in determining the extent of accumulation of cyclic AMP. Similar factors would be involved in the function of cyclic GMP-generating systems of intact cells.
TCT-376 Prognostic value of non-ischemic Fractional Flow Reserve in Patients with multi-vessel intermediate grade coronary stenosis

Deferral of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for intermediate grade coronary stenosis (ICS) based on non-ischemic fractional flow reserve (FFR) value is a safe strategy. Data regarding deferral of PCI in multi-vessel disease when more than one ICS lesions are present and FFR is non-ischemic
From Image to Information: Image Processing in Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology

Abstract The aim of this chapter is to examine image processing for skin conditions versus normal skin and engage readers from the clinical, healthcare, educational, research, and industrial settings. Dermatology is broadly defined to encompass skin diseases, skin cancers, photodamage, wounds, scars, skin restoration, cosmetics, and environmental effects. Contributions from academic medical, bioengineering, and skin-care industry researchers provide an overview of important concepts, research, and development. “Image processing” depends upon the particular purpose and the specific imaging modality being applied. The number and types of image processing techniques have increased considerably. To put them in context, varied objectives of skin imaging, skin imaging techniques, and the most up-to-date technologies are presented in this chapter. Image processing is discussed as an overview and specific examples illustrate various techniques for purpose of diagnosis and quantifying with change in condition over time. The vantage point also considers emerging methods, new applications, opportunities, and unmet needs.
Do Founders Control Start-Up Firms that Go Public?

Black & Gilson (1998) argued that an IPO-welcoming stock market stimulates venture deals by enabling VCs to give founders a valuable “call option on control”. We study 18,000 startups to investigate the value of this option. Among firms that IPO, 60% of founders are no longer CEO. With little voting power, only half of the others survive three years as CEO. At initial VC financing, the probability of getting real control of a public firm for three years is 0.4%. Our results shed light on control evolution in startups, and cast doubt on the plausibility of the call-option theory linking stock and VC markets.
Evaluation and Comparison of Satellite and GCM Rainfall Estimates for the Mara River Basin, Kenya/Tanzania

Water resources and climate change studies in data-scarce regions of the world are increasingly employing satellite rainfall estimates (RFEs) and rainfall outputs from general circulations models (GCMs). The reliability of these data sources is seldom verified with observed data prior to application. This chapter outlines the application of simple evaluation techniques to assess the potential of RFE and GCMs outputs as a potential rainfall information sources in the Mara River basin (MRB), Kenya/Tanzania. Results of the assessment show that proper care is required in comparing/mixing of results from studies using different RFE in the MRB. In general, RFE and GCMs are promising sources of information, but refining the estimates with a much improved algorithms is essential.
Assessment of rockburst hazard by quantifying the consequence with plastic strain work and released energy in numerical models

Abstract Quantifying the rockburst consequence is of critical importance to reduce the hazards with preventative measures in underground mines and deep tunnels. Contours of energy components within a pillar model are plotted at different rockmass damage stages, and plastic strain work and released energy are proposed as indicators of rockmass damage consequence. One pillar model under different loading stiffness is simulated to assess indicators of pillar burst and the resulting damages. The results show the rockmass damage under soft loading stiffness has larger magnitude of plastic strain work and released energy than that which is under stiff loading stiffness, indicating the rockburst consequence can be quantified with plastic strain work and released energy in numerical models. With the quantified rockburst consequence, preventative measures can be taken to avoid severe hazards to mine safety.
Expression of neuroendocrine markers in non-neuroendocrine endometrial carcinomas

Neuroendocrine (NE) tumours are uncommon in the gynecological tract. In addition to their histological features, what defines NE carcinoma is the expression of markers such as chromogranin, synaptophysin and neural cell adhesion molecule (CD56) by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Although limited data have demonstrated that some high-grade uterine tumours may focally express these markers, the incidence of such labelling in endometrial carcinomas in general is not well known. The goal of this study was to characterise the expression of NE markers in a cohort of endometrial carcinomas. We searched our institutional surgical pathology database for hysterectomy specimens containing endometrial carcinomas. Cases demonstrating classic morphological features of NE carcinomas were excluded. IHC for synaptophysin, chromogranin and CD56 was performed in whole-tissue sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumours. Thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) was also included, given its positivity in a subset of small cell carcinomas. Marker expression was graded based on percentage of positive tumour cells (0, not detected; 1, 1-25%; 2, 25-50%; 3, >50%). Chi-square was used for statistical analysis and significance was set at p<0.05. In total, 71 carcinomas of endometrioid (EMCA; 26 cases), serous (20), clear cell (12), undifferentiated (2) and dedifferentiated (1) histologies were obtained, as well as 10 carcinosarcomas. The majority expressed one or more NE markers (47/71; 66%), with most positive cases showing focal (1+) staining of a single marker. Significantly more tumours stained positive for CD56 than synaptophysin (58% vs 7%, p<0.01). Clear cell carcinomas were the least likely to express any NE marker (4/12; 33%), whereas serous carcinomas (80%) and carcinosarcomas (100%) were the most likely. CD56 labelling was seen in 9/10 carcinosarcomas, in both epithelial (7/9) and mesenchymal (5/9) elements. A slightly greater proportion of non-endometrioid histological types stained positive for TTF-1 compared with endometrioid type (31% vs 12%, p=0.06). Immunohistochemical expression of NE markers is relatively common in endometrial carcinomas that lack classic NE histology. The most frequent pattern encountered in our study was focal (1-25%) labelling of a single marker. Synaptophysin appeared reliably negative, while CD56 was commonly present in non-NE histology. Clear cell carcinomas tend to be consistently negative, whereas carcinosarcomas and serous carcinomas frequently express at least one marker. Awareness of these data may help to avoid misdiagnosis of a neuroendocrine carcinoma in limited samples.
Self-Reported Pain Interference and Analgesic Characteristics in Rural Older Adults.

Abstract Background Pain impacts the lives of millions of community-dwelling older adults. An important characteristic of pain is “pain interference” which describes the influence of pain on function. A description of pain interference is limited in rural settings where the number of older adults is expected to increase, and health disparities exist. Aims The purpose of this study was to describe pain interference and analgesic medication use, highlighting those that may be potentially inappropriate in a sample of rural community-dwelling older adults. Design This secondary analysis was from a cross sectional study. Sample and Settings Data were analyzed from a sample of 138 rural community-dwelling older adults. Methods Statistical analyses were performed on demographics, health characteristics, pain interference, and potentially inappropriate analgesic medication data. Results Pain interference with work activity was reported by 76% of older adults overall, with 23% reporting moderate and 4% extreme interference, and 41% reported sleep difficulty due to pain. Higher pain interference was significantly associated with higher body mass index, more health providers, and the daily use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Older women experienced more sleep difficulties due to pain. Over-the-counter analgesics were used most frequently by rural older adults to manage pain. Of most risk was the daily use of NSAIDs, in which only 30% used medications to protect the gastrointestinal system. Conclusions Older adults in rural settings experience pain interference and participate in independent-medicating behaviors that may impact safety.
Low-valent iron and cobalt complexes supported by a rigid xanthene-based disilylamido ligand

Abstract The dianionic ligand TIPSDAX (2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethyl-N4,N5-bis(triisopropylsilyl)-4,5-diamido-9H-xanthene) was synthesized and employed to support low-valent first-row transition metal complexes featuring iron(II) and cobalt(II). These neutral complexes were studied structurally and electrochemically. Cyclic voltammetry revealed a variety of oxidation features in the ligand and both metal complexes, while only the Co(II)(TIPSDAX)(THF) complex exhibited a reduction event. The cobalt(II) complex was chemically reduced to afford an isolable anionic Co(I) complex whose solid-state structure revealed a considerably more linear geometry at the metal center.
The effects of intergroup boundary permeability and hierarchy legitimacy on immigrant entrepreneurs' affective states, exchange strategies, and intentions toward suppliers

Abstract With globalization and immigration trends accelerating, today's entrepreneurial milieu is replete with culturally diverse, sometimes opposing, expectations and norms that affect industrial relationships vastly and deeply. Notwithstanding the large and multidisciplinary body of research on immigrant entrepreneurs, researchers have yet to explore how social structure influences the exchange relationships between immigrant entrepreneurs and suppliers. The present research employs relative deprivation theory to examine the influence of social structure on immigrant entrepreneurs' affective states, exchange strategies, and intentions toward suppliers. Results from a scenario-based experiment spotlight boundary permeability and hierarchy legitimacy as two key structural determinants of immigrant entrepreneurs' affective states (e.g., hope, stress, and anger), exchange strategies (i.e., status quo acceptance, upward mobility, opportunism, relationalism), and intentions toward suppliers (i.e., preference for ethnic suppliers, commitment to mainstream suppliers). The direct and indirect effects are delineated; and findings, along with their implications for research, practice, and policy are exposed.
Resilient Collaborative Distributed Energy Management System Framework for Cyber-Physical DC Microgrids

This article investigates the resilience of the consensus-based distributed economic dispatch (ED) in cyberphysical DC microgrid energy management system (EMS). A holistic framework, called resilient collaborative distributed EMS (R-CoDEMS), is proposed to model the system dynamics, adversaries, and the cybersecurity of the consensus-based distributed ED. Under the R-CoDEMS framework, a reputation-based distributed attack detection and mitigation algorithm is also proposed to improve the system’s resilience against typical non-colluding and colluding false data injection attacks. The effectiveness and scalability of the proposed R-CoDEMS countermeasure is evaluated on a typical microgrid system and large-scale networks via numerical simulations.
Electrolyte composition of tears in normal dogs and its comparison to serum and plasma.

Abstract Purpose The dog is an important animal model for tear dysfunction diseases, however to-date the electrolyte composition of the dog's tears is unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the electrolyte content of canine tears and compare it to serum and plasma. Methods Tear samples were collected from 18 eyes of 9 dogs. Blood for serum was collected in tubes with no anticoagulants; plasma was obtained by using two different anticoagulants: Citrate-Phosphate-Dextrose (CPD) and heparin. The electrolytes were measured in all samples, analyzed, and compared. Results Most of the electrolyte values in tears were statistically different (P Conclusions Herein, we report for the first time the electrolyte composition of the canine tears and its comparison to serum and plasma.
Trace Element Export From the Critical Zone Triggered by Snowmelt Runoff in a Montane Watershed, Provo River, Utah, USA

The Critical Zone is an important source of trace elements to headwater streams during the snowmelt runoff period, yet the mechanisms of trace element release are poorly characterized. To evaluate changes in water chemistry in response to snowmelt, we measured trace element and major ion concentrations at three sites in the upper Provo River in northern Utah, USA, over a five–year period spanning years with below– and above–average discharge. We also sampled snowpack, ephemeral streams, and soil water to investigate trace element sources. The river drains siliciclastic bedrock above the upper site, carbonate rocks between the upper and middle sites, and volcanic rocks between the middle and lower sites, with minimal anthropogenic impacts in the watershed. Concentrations of specific trace metals (Be, Al, Cu, and Pb) and rare earth elements (represented by La and Y) increased during snowmelt runoff each year at all three sites, with decreasing concentrations from upstream to downstream. In contrast, major ion concentrations, including Ca2+ and SO42-, were similar year–round at the upper site and were diluted during snowmelt at the lower sites, with increasing concentrations from upstream to downstream. The snowmelt runoff period (April–June) accounted for >84% of the annual trace element loading, with most trace element inputs occurring above the upper sampling site. Concentration–discharge (C–Q) relationships revealed variations in solute behavior from upstream to downstream. For example, at the upstream site the trace elements had a slight positive slope in log C–log Q space, while Ca2+ and SO42- had zero slope. At the downstream sites, the trace elements had a strong positive slope and Ca2+ and SO42- had a negative slope. Trace element concentrations were relatively low in snowpack but elevated in ephemeral streams and soil water, suggesting that flushing of shallow soils by snowmelt causes increased trace element concentrations with positive C–Q relationships in the upper part of the river. Trace element loads propagate downstream where concentrations are diluted by groundwater inputs from carbonate bedrock. Our results demonstrate that soil water flushing in the Critical Zone at the headwaters of mountain streams is an important control on downstream water chemistry.
Established and emergent roles for Ikaros transcription factors in lymphoid cell development and function.

Ikaros zinc finger transcription factors are important regulators of the gene programs underlying the development of hematopoietic cell lineages. The family consists of five members: Ikaros, Helios, Aiolos, Eos, and Pegasus, which engage in both homo- and heterotypic intrafamilial interactions to exert diverse functional effects. Pioneering studies focused on the role of these factors in early lymphoid development, as their absence resulted in severe defects in lymphocyte populations. More recent work has now begun to define nuanced, stage-specific roles for Ikaros family members in the differentiation and function of mature T, B, and innate lymphoid cell populations including natural killer (NK) cells. The precise transcriptional mechanisms by which these factors function, both independently and collaboratively, is an area of active investigation. However, several key themes appear to be emerging regarding the pathways influenced by Ikaros family members, including the end-to-end regulation of cytokine signaling. Here, we review roles for Ikaros factors in lymphoid cell development, differentiation, and function, including a discussion of the current understanding of the transcriptional mechanisms they employ and considerations for the future study of this important transcription factor family.
Implementation of Quadratic Axial Trial Functions in the High-Fidelity Transport Code Proteus-Moc

PROTEUS-MOC is a pin-resolved high-fidelity transport code, in which the axial variation of angular flux is represented in terms of orthogonal polynomials. Currently, PROTEUS-MOC employs linear functions and requires relatively fine axial meshes to achieve high accuracy, which increases the number of axial meshes and hence the memory requirement. In this study, aiming to reduce the memory requirement and potentially the computational time by allowing larger axial meshes, we have extended the PROTEUS-MOC transport solution method to quadratic trial functions. Preliminary tests for the performance of quadratic trial functions have been performed using the 3-D C5G7 benchmark problem. Test results showed that for the same axial mesh configuration with relatively large sizes, the quadratic approximation yields about 2 to 5 times more accurate pin powers than the linear approximation, depending on the degree of axial variation of angular fluxes. The quadratic approximation also allows the use of about 3 times coarser axial meshes than the linear approximation for comparable pin power accuracy, which consequently reduces the memory requirement by about 2 times. The memory reduction is not proportional because of the increased number of coefficients in each element from 2 to 3. However, the quadratic approximation did not reduce the computational time as expected because of the deteriorated performance of the pCMFD acceleration scheme due to large axial mesh sizes.
Isolated Dislocation of Hamate with Hook Fracture in Setting of Acute Hand Compartment Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Introduction A rare case of traumatic, isolated dislocation of the hamate with hook fracture in the setting of concomitant acute hand compartment syndrome is presented. This is the first described case of isolated hamate dislocation presenting with symptoms and examination consistent with acute compartment syndrome of the hand. Case report A 28-year-old man presented with a left hand crush injury. Plain radiographs demonstrated an isolated dorsal hamate dislocation without axial carpal dislocation and volar displacement of the hook fracture segment. Due to the clinical diagnosis of compartment syndrome, the patient was taken urgently to the operating room. Closed reduction of the hamate was performed, fasciotomies were performed, and the hamate was stabilized with percutaneous pinning. The patient at 6 months had full clinical recovery and returned to work. Conclusion Isolated, traumatic dislocation of the hamate is a rare injury that is most commonly caused by direct impact to the wrist at the level of the carpus. This injury can be readily diagnosed by history, physical examination, and radiographs. Computerized tomography scan may aid in diagnosis, but delay in treatment should not be tolerated in emergent cases. Importantly, crush injuries with a resulting hamate dislocation should increase clinical suspicion for hand compartment syndrome. If diagnosed and treated expediently, patients may benefit from improved and excellent outcomes.
TMEM184b is necessary for IL-31 induced itch

Abstract Nociceptive and pruriceptive neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) convey sensations of pain and itch to the spinal cord, respectively. One subtype of mature DRG neurons, comprising about 5% of neurons in the ganglia, is responsible for sensing mediators of acute itch and atopic dermatitis, including the cytokine IL-31. How itch-sensitive (pruriceptive) neurons are specified is unclear. Here we show that Tmem184b, a gene with roles in axon degeneration and nerve terminal maintenance, is required for the expression of a large cohort of itch receptors, including those for IL-31, Leukotriene C4, and Histamine. Male and female mice lacking Tmem184b show reduced responses to IL-31, but maintain normal responses to pain and mechanical force, indicating a specific behavioral defect in pruriception. Calcium imaging experiments indicate that a reduction in IL-31 induced calcium entry is a likely contributor to this phenotype. We identify an early failure of proper Wnt-dependent transcriptional signatures and signaling components in Tmem184b mutant mice that may explain the improper DRG neuronal subtype specification. Accordingly, lentiviral re-expression of Tmem184b in mutant embryonic neurons restores Wnt signatures. Together, these data demonstrate that Tmem184b promotes adult somatosensation through developmental Wnt signaling and promotion of proper pruriceptive gene expression. Our data illuminate a new key regulatory step in the processes controlling the establishment of diversity in the somatosensory system.
Compensating for Castro: Takings and Lawsuits over Cuba

During Fidel Castro’s first decade in power in the 1960s, he effectively converted all privately-owned property into state-owned property. Many of those who owned property in Cuba at the time fled to the United States to escape the increasingly socialist Castro regime at the time. Since then, much of that property has been put to other uses, from government offices to operation by foreign companies, such as Melia Hotels and Carnival Cruise Lines. In the latter case, companies and individuals have profited from the commercial use of formerly private property on the island. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Helms-Burton Act, which, among other things, gave a legal right to aggrieved former owners of private property in Cuba to sue entities and individuals that profited from commercial use of that property. Each U.S. Administration since 1996 has foregone the implementation of that provision given the political risk of harming diplomacy with Europe over European investments on the island. However, the Trump Administration has chosen to be the first to allow such lawsuits to proceed. I will review the history of Article III of the Act, examine the takings that are at the heart of the controversy, and highlight recent lawsuits filed under this Title.
Empirical Characteristics of Dynamic Trading Strategies: The Case of Hedge Funds

This paper presents some new results on an unexplored data set on hedge fund performance. The results indicate that hedge funds follow strategies that are dramatically different from mutual funds, and support the claim that these strategies are highly dynamic. The paper finds five dominant investment styles in hedge funds, which, when added to Sharpe's (1992) asset class factor model, can provide an integrated framework for style analysis of both buy-and-hold and dynamic trading strategies.
Electrohydrodynamic migration and dispersion of polyelectrolytes during simultaneous shear flow and electrophoresis

Simultaneous application of flow and electric fields along a microfluidic channel can focus flexible polyelectrolyte molecules. Electrohydrodynamic interactions drive the migration to the center. Though migration velocity increases monotonically with electric field strength, the polyelectrolyte concentration at the center of the channel diminishes after exceeding a critical electric field. The mean-field model developed here demonstrates that dispersion, induced by the electric field interacting with Brownian fluctuations in the polyelectrolyte configuration, causes this phenomena.
Harmonic Analysis using Time-domain Simulation of Sinusoidally Time-varying Materials

It is shown how spectra of any harmonic order may be obtained from time-domain simulation of devices involving sinusoidal modulation of the constituent materials. The technique involves conducting multiple simulations in which the global phase of the modulating signals is progressively incremented. The ensuing simulation results are linearly combined to extract the harmonic order of interest. The technique is demonstrated via finite-different time-domain analysis of a space-time modulated surface which shows good agreement with theoretical calculations.
Diffusion of helium in carbonates: Effects of mineral structure and composition

Abstract Diffusion of helium has been characterized in four carbonates: calcite, dolomite, magnesite, and aragonite. Cleaved or oriented and polished slabs of carbonate minerals were implanted with 100 keV or 3 MeV 3He at doses of 5 × 1015 3He/cm2 and 1 × 1016 3He/cm2, respectively, and annealed in 1-atm furnaces. 3He distributions following diffusion experiments were measured with nuclear reaction analysis using the reaction 3He(d,p)4He. Our results show that He diffusion in calcite is the fastest among the carbonates studied, with diffusivities progressively slower in magnesite, dolomite and aragonite. In the case of the isomorphic trigonal carbonates (calcite, dolomite, magnesite), these observations are broadly consistent with predictions based on lattice characteristics such as unit cell size and inter-atomic apertures, with diffusivities faster in more open carbonate structures. Dolomite is an exception to this trend, suggesting that its unique ordered R3 crystal structure may play a role in slowing helium diffusion. Diffusion is anisotropic in all of the trigonal carbonates, and is typically slowest for diffusion along the c direction, and faster for diffusion normal to c and in directions normal to cleavage surfaces. The patterns of diffusional anisotropy are predicted to first order by the size of limiting inter-atomic apertures along any given crystallographic direction, providing additional support to the concept of modeling crystal lattices as “molecular sieves” with regard to diffusion of helium. When the effects of anisotropy and diffusion domain size are considered, our results are in reasonable agreement with previous results from bulk degassing of natural samples. Modeling of helium diffusive loss shows that calcite and magnesite are unlikely to be retentive of helium on the Earth’s surface for typical grain sizes and time/temperature conditions. Dolomite and aragonite may be retentive under cooler conditions, but because helium retention is strongly dependent on diffusion domain size, general predictions are difficult given the structural complexities of natural samples. Our axis-specific diffusion measurements across a range of carbonate compositions, evaluated through direct profiling, offer important constraints for modeling helium mobility in carbonates, and for understanding the influence of the complexities of carbonate structures on He outgassing patterns.
Post-perihelion brightening of comet P/Halley: Springtime for Halley

Increased brightness and gas production rates for Halley’s comet after perihelion can be explained as a result of seasonal effects on an obliquely rotating nucleus. The highly eccentric cometary orbit causes a rapid change in solar declination as the comet rounds perihelion, resulting in drastic changes in the insolation reaching the northern and southern hemispheres of the nucleus. The rapid heating of the northern hemisphere post-perihelion likely results in substantial cracking of the nonvolatile surface crust due to thermal stresses, exposing areas of fresh volatile ices. The orientation of the triaxial ellipsoid nucleus may also play a role in exposing more surface area to continuous sunlight and sublimation after perihelion. Post-perihelion brightening models based on heat flow and storage in sub-surface layers of the nucleus pre-perihelion are likely not viable because of the low thermal conductivities of porous, low density cometary surface materials.
Analysis and visualization of market power in electric power systems

This paper discusses the assessment and visualization of market power in bulk electricity markets, with the explicit consideration of transmission system constraints. In general, market power is the ability of a particular seller or group of sellers to maintain prices profitably above competitive levels for a significant period of time. When an entity has mid exercises market power, it ceases to be a price taker and becomes a price maker. The restructuring of the electric industry in many parts of the world has encouraged competitive markets with the objective of reaping the benefits of lower prices and innovation that competition can provide. Such benefits are not attainable when a player utilizing the electric transmission system may exert market power. This paper describers the procedures for analyzing and visualizing such situations.
Continuous Production of Thermostable β-Amylase with Clostridium thermosulfurogenes : Effect of Culture Conditions and Metabolite Levels on Enzyme Synthesis and Activity

A β-amylase-overproducing mutant of Clostridium thermosulfurogenes was grown in continuous culture on soluble starch to produce thermostable β-amylase. Enzyme productivity was reasonably stable over periods of weeks to months. The pH and temperature optima for β-amylase production were pH 6.0 and 60°C, respectively. Enzyme concentration was maximized by increasing biomass concentration by using high substrate concentrations and by maintaining a low growth rate. β-Amylase concentration reached 90 U ml−1 at a dilution rate of 0.07 h−1 in a 3% starch medium. A further increase in enzyme activity levels was limited by acetic acid inhibition of growth and low β-amylase productivity at low growth rates.
Deliberation and Social Polarization

We develop a theory of social polarization induced by "deliberation as self-discovery." In such deliberation, intrinsically persuasive arguments activate the "latent" reasons of the corresponding listeners, whose beliefs about the best alternative change only in response to arguments they find persuasive. In equilibrium, agents sort into ideologically biased groups with speakers whose ideological bias reinforces their own. These choices, in turn, give rise to group polarization - a widely cited phenomenon whereby deliberation in biased groups leads individuals to adopt post-deliberative positions more extreme than their prior bias.
The fourth pillar of infrastructure sustainability: tailoring civil infrastructure to social context

This research proposes technical performance over time as a fourth pillar of sustainability theory for infrastructure. It also describes a method that allows us to discover how changes in the technical pillar (operationalized as reduced breakage rates) may moderate the influence of the social pillar (operationalized as repair rates) on sanitation infrastructure outcomes. Oral histories were used to develop a history of sanitation for each of 152 poor households in four rural communities in Bangladesh that have gained access to sanitation in the past decade. Transcriptions and qualitative coding identified reported states of sanitation (for example, broken vs. functional) at three time steps. These were used to develop an initial vector and transition matrix for a Markov chain analysis. The breakage rate in this model was then adjusted to investigate the impact of improved technical durability on sanitation outcomes. For the case analysed here, we found that increasing infrastructure durability by 50% (an ...
Electro-Osmotic Dewatering with Polarity Reversals

An increasing body of evidence suggests that reversal of electrode polarity or current direction during electro-osmosis leads to improved consolidation and more efficient dewatering. This note reviews the evidence and presents results of recent laboratory tests bearing directly on this question.
Techniques to Measure Magnetic Domain Structures

Critical to understanding the magnetic properties and the technological application of magnetic materials is the ability to observe and measure magnetic domain structure. The measurement challenge is quite varied. Magnetic fluids can be used to decorate and make simple domain structures visible while highly sophisticated electron microscopy-based methods may be needed to explore and image nanometer-scale magnetic phenomena. No one method will solve all of the important domain imaging problems. For that reason, the bases of all the important methods and the practical implications of each are discussed. For purposes of comparison, several important characteristics of each domain imaging technique are briefly summarized. There are several general comments that apply to every domain imaging method discussed in this article. First, each method is related either to a sample's magnetization or to the magnetic field generated by that magnetization. The former observation is of great usefulness in understanding or developing new materials, and the latter is of practical importance in devices. Second, all of the methods are limited to the topmost few micrometers of the sample, and are therefore dominated by magnetic structure related to the surface. None provide the domain structure of the interior of a thick sample where bulk magnetic microstructure is fully developed. Third, all of the methods require smooth, clean, damage-free surfaces. In general, the surfaces need to have at least the equivalent of a mirror polish, otherwise, topography and surface stress will affect the measurement to varying degrees. Fourth, correlations exist between several of the parameters in each technique we describe. For example, it may not be possible to achieve the ultimate sensitivity specified at the highest resolution possible. Finally, almost all of the techniques use digital signal acquisition and can benefit from the use of modern image processing tools. Expanded discussions of the basis of each technique, its practical aspects, sample preparation required, possible sample modifications, and problems that are specific to the technique described are given. Each section contains references to more complete treatments of the technique and recent examples of its use. Keywords: bitter pattern imaging; magnetic properties; practical aspects; sample preparation; magneto-optic imaging; magnetic force microscopy; lorentz transmission electron microscopy; type I scanning electron microscopy; type II scanning electron microscopy; polarization analysis; x-rays magnetic circular dichromism; spin polarized low energy electron microscopy; method automation