cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patient selection for trials

The last several decades have witnessed considerable progress in our understanding of the pathogenesis, refining diagnostic criteria, and identifying therapies of value for modifying the course of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. While the pace of progress has lagged for those with progressive phase disease, this now seems to be changing. This review considers those characteristics of patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis that may contribute to phase 3 trial success and identifies some of the thorny issues that remain ahead. The larger of the studies conducted thus far have sequentially informed our understanding of "pure" primary progressive disease, and also challenge both phase 3 and especially phase 2 trial designs and participant selection for investigations going forward. This may have particular relevance for testing therapeutics directed at neuroprotection and repair in the face of ongoing progression regardless of trial participant categorization using current conventional disease phenotypes.
Evaluations of a Class of Integrals That Arise in Wave Scattering Problems by Using the Taylor Product Theorem

Taylor product theorem is applied to the evaluation of a class of integrals that arise in high-frequency wave scattering problems. We expand a term $1/(t^{2}+1)$ under the integral into exponentiated powers of $t$ that are suitable for term-by-term integrations. We utilize the expansion in an example and make accuracy and speed analysis.
The future control of rotavirus disease: Can live oral vaccines alone solve the rotavirus problem?

Abstract Live oral rotavirus (RV) vaccines used worldwide are most effective in reducing diarrheal hospitalizations from RV in high income countries and least effective in low income countries where RV remains a prime cause of death in children. Research has failed to fully explain the reason for this difference of efficacy for RV vaccines, an observation made with other live oral vaccines for polio, cholera and typhoid fever. Use of parenteral vaccines have been successful in overcoming this problem for both polio and typhoid and parenteral RV vaccines are now in development. This approach should be pursued for rotavirus vaccine as well because in low income countries where oral RV vaccines have been introduced and are only partially effective, RV remains the most common cause of diarrhea in children under 5 years. The ultimate control of RV diarrheal will likely require both oral and parenteral vaccines.
“An inescapable network of mutuality”: the conversation between Senghor's philosophy and King's vision in the “Elegy for Martin Luther King”

ABSTRACTIn 1979, Leopold Sedar Senghor published his last book of poetry, Elegies Majeures (Major Elegies), a work that includes a tribute to the great American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. The “Elegy for Martin Luther King” consists of five distinct parts set off by roman numerals. The first three parts of the poem, with their allusions to Africa, the French Revolution, colonization, independence, and both the domestic and international perils facing the new nation of Senegal, might seem at first glance to be a digression from the subject announced by the title, but a reading of the elegy as a dialogue between Senghor and King as two men of ideas and action, whose writing shares common themes and whose battles were informed by similar challenges, allows us to see the unity of the work through the many ways that the African-American humanist's principles are confirmed and illustrated in the imagination of the Senegalese poet.
An intersubunit electrostatic interaction in the GABAA receptor facilitates its responses to benzodiazepines.

Benzodiazepines are positive allosteric modulators of the GABAA receptor (GABAAR), acting at the α–γ subunit interface to enhance GABAAR function. GABA or benzodiazepine binding induces distinct conformational changes in the GABAAR. The molecular rearrangements in the GABAAR following benzodiazepine binding remain to be fully elucidated. Using two molecular models of the GABAAR, we identified electrostatic interactions between specific amino acids at the α–γ subunit interface that were broken by, or formed after, benzodiazepine binding. Using two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology in Xenopus laevis oocytes, we investigated these interactions by substituting one or both amino acids of each potential pair. We found that Lys104 in the α1 subunit forms an electrostatic bond with Asp75 of the γ2 subunit after benzodiazepine binding and that this bond stabilizes the positively modified state of the receptor. Substitution of these two residues to cysteine and subsequent covalent linkage between them increased the receptor's sensitivity to low GABA concentrations and decreased its response to benzodiazepines, producing a GABAAR that resembles a benzodiazepine-bound WT GABAAR. Breaking this bond restored sensitivity to GABA to WT levels and increased the receptor's response to benzodiazepines. The α1 Lys104 and γ2 Asp75 interaction did not play a role in ethanol or neurosteroid modulation of GABAAR, suggesting that different modulators induce different conformational changes in the receptor. These findings may help explain the additive or synergistic effects of modulators acting at the GABAAR.
Effect of medial thighplasty on oxygen and metabolic consumption rates in a transfemoral amputee during sustained overground walking bouts

Energy expenditure during daily physical activity is notably higher for amputees, even when using a lower limb prosthetic device, due in part to the constraints surrounding the patient-device interface. This case study tracks changes in minute by minute metabolic data during a six minute walking test pre and post-medial thighplasty in a transfemoral amputee in order to gain a better understanding of how the procedure changes the metabolic rates and energy expenditure involved in overground walking for the amputee by altering the physical relationship between the patient and the prosthetic socket. Post medial-thighplasty, the subject is able to expend less metabolic energy and consume less O 2 which is reflected in the lower cost of transport when either metric is normalized to body weight.
Perceived Gender Presentation Among Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: Approaches to Analysis and Associations with Bullying Victimization and Emotional Distress

Abstract Purpose: As measures of birth-assigned sex, gender identity, and perceived gender presentation are increasingly included in large-scale research studies, data analysis approaches incorpora...
Challenging the rodent hegemony: a new rabbit model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Since its initial description in 1980, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become an increasingly important public health problem.1 It is projected that NAFLD will replace hepatitis C as the most common indication for liver transplantation in the United States within the next 20 years.2 Increasingly, NAFLD is being recognized as a problem not only in the developed countries but worldwide.3 A strong association with metabolic syndrome and the increasing prevalence of NAFLD has paralleled the rising epidemics of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus.4 While important advances have been made in understanding the pathogenesis of NAFLD, the precise molecular events that lead to its development remain elusive. Among the crucial challenges faced is the difficulty in differentiating the presence of fat in the liver (simple steatosis) from fat associated with hepatocellular injury, inflammation, and fibrosis (steatohepatitis, NASH). The latter condition is associated with progressive fibrosis that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis, with further complications of portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma.5 It is very difficult to investigate the molecular pathogenesis of NAFLD and NASH in humans because of the heterogeneity of human populations and wide differences in their diet and lifestyle. More importantly, the inability to obtain multiple liver biopsies from patients with NAFLD or NASH and healthy volunteers adds to the difficulty of these studies. Given these technical issues and associated ethical challenges involved in studying patients with NAFLD, considerable effort has been expended to develop animal models of fatty liver disease. In this issue of the American Journal of Pathology, Ogawa et al6 report another animal model of NAFLD, which utilizes rabbits fed a high-fat diet, resulting in the development of progressive liver fibrosis and hepatic cholesterol accumulation.
Morphology and Cytology of Paramecium

Throughout the world, paramecia have been intensively studied with the electron microscope (EM), and a number of these micrographs—many original—are included in this and other chapters.
DETERMINATION OF TRUE POINT-BY-POINT HEART WALL STIFFNESS

ABSTRACT A measurement system capable of determining the instantaneous changes in heart wall geometry through the use of laser speckle interferometry and acoustical holography is described. These data aid in developing improved heat models with nonstandard geometry and variable wall compliance.
Perceived Barriers to HIV Prevention Services for Transgender Youth

Abstract Purpose: Many transgender youth lack access to transgender affirming care, which may put them at risk for HIV. This study explored transgender youth's perceptions regarding encounters with...
A prospective, real-world study of treatment patterns in early-stage breast cancer (ESBC) patients (pts) at high risk for febrile neutropenia (FN).

e21653Background: ESBC is commonly treated with myelosuppressive chemotherapy, and maintaining high relative dose intensity (RDI) is associated with improved survival. However, FN can result in red...
Abstract WP407: Function and Reactivity of Pial Collaterals In Vivo in Normotensive and Hypertensive Rats: Response to Ischemia and Reperfusion

Background: Collateral therapeutics is an emerging treatment for acute ischemic stroke. However, whether pial collaterals have tone in vivo and thus the ability to vasodilate is not clear. We inves...
Upper and Lower Endoscopy for Gastrointestinal (GI) Bleeding in Pregnancy

Each year, more than 12,000 US pregnant women are in need of upper endoscopy, and around 6000 have conditions that may require lower endoscopy for evaluation. Despite this large number of endoscopic procedures performed in the USA in pregnant women, research in this area is limited, and the safety of their performance needs further review. Of note, the spectrum of gastrointestinal disease in the pregnant patient is very similar to that in nonpregnant women, but common causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in the acute setting may be different.
Improving Male Mating Competitiveness and Survival in the Field for Medfly, Ceratitis Capitata(Diptera: Tephritidae) SIT Programs

The success of the sterile insect technique (SIT) depends critically upon mating between released sterilized males and wild females. In Hawaii, improvements in the efficiency of sterile males were attempted on two separate fronts – mating enhancement and survival improvement. In the former, two methods have been investigated – selective breeding and aromatherapy. In the latter, flies which survived in field cages for several days were selected and bred to produce progeny with enhanced survival ability compared to control flies. Regarding mating selection, standard laboratory-reared males that successfully mated with wild females in field cages were allowed to breed. F1 offspring were inbred, then the selection procedure was repeated for four additional cycles. In the aromatherapy procedure, laboratory-reared males were exposed to ginger root oil for several hours 1 day prior to testing in field cages. Compared to controls, the selected flies improved the mating competitiveness of male flies ca. 3-fold, irradiation reduced this increase to ca. 2.5-fold. Exposing the selected, hybrid strain raised the fitness of the lab males to ca. 9-fold that of wild males. In the ongoing survival selection study, we have obtained lines in which the selected males survived ca. 2-fold better than laboratory control males over several days in an outdoor field cage, with food and water provided. The goal is to combine the traits of higher survival and mating ability into a single strain for SIT release.
A narrative review of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of latent stress urinary incontinence.

Aims To review the current literature on the development of latent stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or SUI that occurs following pelvic organ prolapse therapy in patients who were continent prior to therapy. To make recommendations on how to best evaluate and manage patients with pelvic organ prolapse who are continent. Methods This is a narrative review using Google scholar and cross referencing identified manuscripts. We used the British Medical Journals grading of literature to assign letter grades to level of statements and recommendations. Results The literature suggest about 40% of women with advanced pelvic organ prolapse who are continent will develop SUI after surgery to correct their pelvic organ prolapse. Reduction cough stress testing can help identify those patients at risk to develop SUI with a PPV of 60%. Reduction cough stress testing is best done using large rectal swabs or scopettes. The literature on how to best manage patients with advanced pelvic organ prolapse and are continent to avoid latent SUI is mixed and the best recommendations are based on sound literature that is incomplete. Conclusions Understanding that latent SUI is a potential complication in any subject with advanced pelvic organ prolapse is necessary to pre-operative counseling. Deciding on the best management strategy is not clear cut and therefore should involve patient input in the decision making process.
The Phase I Proton CT Scanner and Test Beam Results at LLUMC, invited.

Loma Linda University, in collaboration with Northern Illinois University and UC Santa Cruz, has built and tested a pre-clinical prototype proton CT (pCT) scanner based on a design presented previously [1]. The system is designed for scanning of head-sized phantoms and small animals. This report presents some of our preliminary test results for the scanner installed on the research beam line at Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC).
ESRA19-0111 Regional blocks benefit ambulatory breast cancer surgery patients after discharge home

Background and aims Regional blocks (RB) are increasingly administered to ambulatory mastectomy with immediate reconstruction (MWR) patients but their impact on recovery quality after discharge remains poorly defined. At the Josie Robertson Surgery Center (JRSC), patients are asked to report their symptoms for 10 days after discharge through a secure patient portal and the recovery tracker (RT), a 14-question survey adapted from the National Cancer Institute PRO-CTCAE instrument. We present novel data that correlate use of RB with improved post-discharge symptoms in MWR patients. Methods Following IRB approval for retrospective analysis, we analyzed data from 713 patients who underwent bilateral MWR from 4/2017 to 12/2018, stratified by patients who received RB (paravertebral, serratus, and/or PECS blocks) vs. patients who did not. For RT-reported pain and fatigue we used generalized estimating equations with a logit link to test association between moderate or greater symptom level and RB receipt, after adjusting for survey day, age, BMI, ASA score and OR time. Results 639 (90%) patients received a RB. Among the 559 patients with at least one RT survey (78% response rate), the odds of moderate or higher pain was 0.58 times lower among those with a RB (95% CI 0.34, 0.97; p=0.04; figure 1), with no differences regarding severe pain (p=0.7). Levels of moderate or higher fatigue also decreased over time, with no significant differences between groups. Conclusions We present novel patient-reported data that suggest RBs benefit MWR patients after discharge. Future studies should include quality and functional outcomes to demonstrate the broader impact of our anesthetic techniques.
Component software: a new software engineering course

In recent years component-based software development has emerged as an important new set of methods and technologies. This paper describes a new course-Component Software-that focuses on componentbased design using technology-independent methods and component implementation using Enterprise JavaBeans. The paper outlines the approach and structure of the course. It also presents a case study used in the course.
Consumers Perceptions Towards Buying Evaluation and Perceived Risks of E-Commerce Products: A Study on Influencing Factors

Online shopping has becoming the world’s bestselling platform for the wide variety of products. Online sellers need to understand the attitudes, perception of the customers. This study aimed to identify the factors that influence the consumers attitude towards online shopping. Questionnaire was used as a tool for the gathering the data, tabulated, analyzed and distributed accordingly. Online shopping behavior of the customers of the population. Subjects were selected by general random sampling method. 50 subjects were selected for the sampling. Since the emerging e-commerce as business medium, one of its primary uses has been for marketing. Soon, the online shopping will become a critical distribution channel for the majority of successful enterprises. The consumer marketers, mass media, and advertising agencies seem to be in the midst of e-commerce business. Before a company can envision what might sell online in the coming years, it must first understand the attitudes and behaviour of its potential customers. Hence, this study elucidates attitudes toward various aspects of online shopping and provides a better understanding of the potential of e-commerce for both producers and researchers. The results of the study have shown a statistically significant on evaluation, buying and perceived risk of customers attitudes.
Standard state free energies, not pK a s, are ideal for describing small molecule protonation and tautomeric states

The pKa is the standard measure used to describe the aqueous proton affinity of a compound, indicating the proton concentration (pH) at which two protonation states (e.g. A− and AH) have equal free energy. However, compounds can have additional protonation states (e.g. AH2+), and may assume multiple tautomeric forms, with the protons in different positions (microstates). Macroscopic pKas give the pH where the molecule changes its total number of protons, while microscopic pKas identify the tautomeric states involved. As tautomers have the same number of protons, the free energy difference between them and their relative probability is pH independent so there is no pKa connecting them. The question arises: What is the best way to describe protonation equilibria of a complex molecule in any pH range? Knowing the number of protons and the relative free energy of all microstates at a single pH, ∆G°, provides all the information needed to determine the free energy, and thus the probability of each microstate at each pH. Microstate probabilities as a function of pH generate titration curves that highlight the low energy, observable microstates, which can then be compared with experiment. A network description connecting microstates as nodes makes it straightforward to test thermodynamic consistency of microstate free energies. The utility of this analysis is illustrated by a description of one molecule from the SAMPL6 Blind pKa Prediction Challenge. Analysis of microstate ∆G°s also makes a more compact way to archive and compare the pH dependent behavior of compounds with multiple protonatable sites.
Variance in Engineering Identity in Master’s Degree-Seeking Engineering Students

The research reported here explores the variance in engineering master’s degree seeking students’ graduate engineering identity (GEI) as it relates to key factors such as advisor relationships, a thesis project, a paid research assistantship, belonging to a lab, and previous research experiences. This is part of a larger study exploring engineering graduate student (EGS) experiences through motivation and identity frameworks to elucidate why some students persist in the engineering discipline. GEI includes three identity domains of engineer, researcher, and scientist with each containing sub-constructs of performance/competence, recognition, and interest. Utilizing multilevel modeling, variance between individuals and universities is found in the scientist/recognition identity domain/sub-construct for master’s degree-seeking students. Advisor relationship and research experience explain significant portions of the variance for both individuals and universities. Implications for engineering graduate programs, faculty and universities are presented.
Management of Alcohol Withdrawal in the Emergency Department: Current Perspectives

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a common, heterogenous, and life-threatening complication of alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD is a leading cause of worldwide mortality, and many patients with AUD will develop AWS during their ED course. This review summarizes the epidemiology, pathology, and management of AWS and AUD in the emergency setting. The time course of AWS and its impact on ED treatment is emphasized. Once AWS is diagnosed, symptom-triggered benzodiazepine administration remains the most commonly provided treatment but may not be appropriate for patients with significant medical or psychiatric comorbidity or pending discharge. In these cases, ED clinicians may consider short courses of barbiturates or alternative regimens based on novel anticonvulsants. Specific treatment protocols are enumerated for clinical practice. Finally, emergency providers must not only manage acute patients' AWS but also lay the foundation for successful treatment of AUD. An approach to the disposition of the patient with AUD is presented. The authors examine shortcomings in the extant literature and suggest opportunities for further study.
A Level Playing Field? Empirical Evidence That Ethnic Minority Analysts Face Unequal Access to Corporate Managers

We investigate whether ethnic minority analysts face unique barriers to management access. We find managers are less likely to select minority analysts to participate in the Q&A session of public earnings conference calls, and minority analysts selected to participate receive lower levels of prioritization and engagement than nonminority analysts. Minority analysts’ unequal access to management persists over time, and their access does not improve with companies recognized for workplace diversity. However, we find some evidence that diverse executive teams are associated with more favorable participation outcomes for minority analysts. The consequences of unequal treatment extend beyond conference calls, as investors are less likely to vote for minority analysts as Institutional Investor All-Stars.
The Case of Beethoven: A Tie by Any Other Name...

In several late works of Beethoven, we find a curious tie over the barline, in string and especially in piano works, where we find the numbers 4,3 over the tie, seemingly indicating fingering. Sinc...
Ecological Civilization: The Political Rhetoric of “Marxism with Chinese Characteristics”

Critics argue that the Chinese rhetorical concept of ecological civilization has been used to justify an increasingly authoritarian government without substantial improvements in China’s environmental footprint. Far from instituting an ecologically responsible socialism, China appears to be continuing on a path of rapid industrialization, growing economic inequality, and repression of individual rights. However, the concept of ecological civilization has played a significant projective, polemical, and appropriative rhetorical role in the Chinese context. An analysis of the function of ecological civilization in Chinese policy shows that it has contributed to a national self-identity based on environmental responsibility by projecting a fictionalized image of itself as an alternative to Western capitalism. The rhetoric of ecological civilization has not always translated into improved environmental policy, nor is its vision for a holistic, socialist society likely to be translated into an objective reality. Still, the concept remains a useful rhetorical tool both for the government and for Chinese citizens attempting to hold the government accountable to its stated ideals. Rather than discounting ecological civilization because of its rhetorical function, its rhetorical effects should be analyzed on its own terms. On the whole, ecological civilization as a rhetorical concept has produced positive political effects with respect to climate change and should be encouraged as a potential tool for environmental progress in China, whether it is used by the Chinese government, Chinese citizens and activists, or international environmentalists.
Information Exchange in Prediction Markets: Do Social Networks Promote Forecast Efficiency?

This paper studies the effects of information transmission on wisdom of the crowd. We provide a game-theoretic framework to resolve the question: Do social networks promote the forecast efficiency in prediction markets? Our study shows that a social network is not a panacea in terms of improving forecast accuracy. The use of social networks could be detrimental to the forecast performance when the cost of information acquisition is high. We also study the effects of social networks on information acquisition in prediction markets. In the symmetric Bayes-Nash equilibrium, all participants use a threshold strategy, and the equilibrium information acquisition is decreasing in the number of participant's friends and increasing in the network density. The aforementioned results are robust to two commonly used mechanisms of prediction markets: a forecast-report mechanism and a security-trading mechanism.
Therapeutic Strategies for Lupus Myocarditis Complicated by Cardiogenic Shock

Purpose Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic disease which commonly involves the heart. Lupus myocarditis can present as a catastrophic event requiring aggressive therapy including mechanical circulatory support (MCS). We analyzed reported cases of cardiogenic shock in lupus in order to study utilized strategies and outcomes. Methods Three investigators independently searched PubMed, Ovid/Medline, and Google Scholar using terms “cardiogenic shock”, “cardiac shock” AND “lupus”, “systemic lupus erythematosus”, and “lupus myocarditis” for papers published in English in 1988-2020. We then manually searched the references in relevant articles. We included all cases of adult patients where individual patient data were present. Results We identified 22 cases, 18 (82%) females, mean age 27.7 +/- 3.35 years. All patients except two recovered (one patient died and one received heart transplantation). Left ventricular ejection fraction at the baseline was 20.5 +/- 3.49%, and after treatment it recovered to 46.1 +/- 6.2%. Management included inotropes and immunotherapy in all cases. In terms of immunotherapy, all received corticosteroids, but only 5 patients (25%) did not require any other immunotherapy. In six more patients, combination of steroids and cyclophosphamide appeared to be sufficient. In 10 of 20 patients, either plasmapheresis or intravenous immunoglobulin was also given. Remarkably, half of the patients (10 out of 21 patients who survived) received MCS: intra-aortic balloon bump placement (6 cases), venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (5), left ventricular assist device (1), and biventricular support (1). Conclusion Based on reported cases, cardiogenic shock in lupus myocarditis has a high potential for recovery, can be treated successfully, but it requires an aggressive approach with immunotherapy going beyond corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide, and utilization of mechanical circulatory support.
White and Red Sorghum as Primary Carbohydrate Sources in Extruded Diets of Felines.

The research objectives were to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of white (WSH) and red (RSH) sorghum grains on gastrointestinal health of felines through the determination of apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility (ATTD), fecal characteristics, fermentative end-products, and microbiota, compared with a traditional corn-based diet. We hypothesize that inclusion of RSH and WSH, respectively, would be well-accepted by cats, and the RSH and WSH diets would be comparable to corn when added as the main carbohydrate source in extruded diets. Three diets containing 30% corn, 30% WSH, or 30% RSH were formulated to meet or exceed the AAFCO (2018) nutrient profiles for cats during growth. Nine male cats (0.8 ± 0.00 yr) were randomly assigned to one of the three dietary treatments using a triplicated 3 × 3 Latin square design. Experimental periods consisted of 14 d (10 d of diet adaption and 4 d of total and fresh fecal collections). The ATTD of dry matter (DM) did not differ amongst treatments, organic matter was greatest (P 0.05). Fecal pH (6.3-6.5) and most fecal metabolites did not differ among diets except for phenol/indole concentrations that were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in cats fed the RSH diet (1.5 μmole/g DM) than for cats fed the corn diet (2.1 μmole/g DM). Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, and Proteobacteria were the major phyla observed in the microbiota of feces of cats fed the three experimental diets, with no differences seen amongst all treatments. Data indicate that dietary supplementation of these varieties of WSH and RSH as carbohydrate sources were well-tolerated by the cat.
Contemporary trends and survival outcomes of females with esophageal cancer in the United States.

e16100Background: Esophageal cancer (EC) is historically a male dominant disease. Current evidence on the impact of gender on clinical presentation and survival outcomes of EC is limited by small s...
The Endogenity of the Optimum Currency Area Criteria

A country' suitability for entry into a currency union depends on a number of economic conditions. These include, inter alia, the intensity of trade with other potential members of the currency union, and the extent to which domestic business cycles are correlated with those of the other countries. But international trade patterns and international business cycle correlations are endogenous. This paper develops and investigates the relationship between the two phenomena. Using thirty years of data for twenty industrialised countries, we uncover a strong and striking empirical finding: countries with closer trade links tend to have more tightly correlated business cycles.
Pre facto and Post facto Analysis

The classical value engineering methods provide a suitable benchmark for function-feature-cost analysis in VBD. In order to fully unravel this relationship we need to take a closer look at value engineering in its own terms. Value engineering aims to minimize cost without sacrificing function. Value engineering provides a clear motivation for VBD. In DAV analysis, design features provide the basis for costing functions included in the design. Since features are not accounted for in classical value engineering, this fills the void that is difficult to fill otherwise. These features help define branding, and add value through features with no apparent exchange value or use in the functional realm of a building. As a result, these design features elevate value beyond the initially expected levels. This chapter presents pre facto and post facto analysis methods which assist value engineering based on comparative precedents or available data analysis, respectively.
Gastrostomy Tube Placement in Neonates Undergoing Congenital Heart Surgery: A Novel Assessment for Improving Utilization and Timing of Placement.

Background:Neonates undergoing congenital heart defect repair require optimized nutritional support in the perioperative period. Utilization of a gastrostomy tube is not infrequent, yet optimal tim...
Access Needs: Centering Students and Disrupting Ableist Norms in STEM.

This essay provides concrete strategies for normalizing “access talk” and creating more accessible learning environments in STEM education. This supports both disabled and nondisabled students towa...
Robotic-Assisted Trajectory Into Kambin's Triangle During Percutaneous Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion-Initial Case Series Investigating Safety and Efficacy

Background Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) has the potential to further advance with the use of robot-assisted (RA) techniques. While RA pedicle screw placement has been extensively investigated, there is a lack of literature on the use of the robot for other tasks, such as accessing Kambin's triangle in percutaneous lumbar interbody fusion (percLIF). Objective To characterize the surgical feasibility and preliminary outcomes of an initial case series of 10 patients receiving percLIF with RA cage placement via Kambin's triangle. Methods We performed a single-center, retrospective review of patients undergoing RA percLIF using robot-guided trajectory to access Kambin's triangle for cage placement. Patients undergoing RA percLIF were eligible for enrollment. Baseline health and demographic information in addition to peri- and postoperative data was collected. The dimensions of each patient's Kambin's triangle were measured. Results Ten patients and 11 levels with spondylolisthesis were retrospectively reviewed. All patients successfully underwent the planned procedure without perioperative complications. Four patients underwent their procedure with awake anesthesia. The average dimension of Kambin's triangle was 66.3 m2. With the exception of 1 patient who stayed in the hospital for 7 d, the average length of stay was 1.2 d, with 2 patients discharged the day of surgery. No patients suffered postoperative motor or sensory deficits. Spinopelvic parameters and anterior and posterior disc heights were improved with surgery. Conclusion As MISS continues to evolve, further exploration of robot-guided surgical practice, such as our technique, will lead to creative solutions to challenging anatomical variation and overall improved patient care.
Collective Sex and Committed Relationships: A Qualitative Exploration of Relationship Desires among Gay Men Who Attend Sex Clubs.

Studies have documented gay men's engagement in collective sex (e.g., group sex in public or commercial environments) but little attention has been paid to these men's relationship desires or agreements. We report on qualitative interviews with 20 gay men who attended private sex clubs in New York City, asking how participants navigated sometimes conflicting desires for collective sex and committed relationships. Participants felt that collective sex was either a) incompatible with relationships, which should be monogamous; b) complementary to a primary non-monogamous relationship; or c) at least as important as relationships. Gay men attending sex clubs attribute different value to collective sex and to committed relationships, and experience different challenges in satisfying their desires for intimacy. Resources could help gay men navigating these apparently conflicting desires and making suitable choices regarding their relationships and/or sexual agreements.
Possible Approaches for a Lab-to-Lab Program Plan

The many presentations and discussions during this NATO Advanced Research Workshop showed strong interest and enthusiastic support for the U.S. and Russian Nuclear Materials Safety program. The goal of this program is to enhance the safety culture and practices of the storage and disposition activities for excess weapons plutonium (Pu) and highly enriched uranium (HEU). It is the consensus of the experts attending this meeting that this program will benefit both the United States and Russia, and also the Western European countries.
Moments of Joy

AbstractThis study examined (a) the nature of student engagement (enjoyment, concentration, perceived control, exploration, and challenge) in four hypermedia design tasks: chunking, linking, naming paths, and organizing information, and (b) the impact of designing hypermedia documents on students’ conceptual learning. The findings showed a high degree of student engagement in organizing information, and a greater organization and elaboration of concepts in students’ final knowledge representations. Although there were individual differences in students’ cognitive engagement and conceptual learning, the highly motivating task of organizing information and the characteristics of the learning context sustained their engagement in cognitively complex and challenging tasks.
The Full Utilization Of The Variables Of Open – Tubular Columns

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the full utilization of the variables of open-tubular columns. In gas chromatography, three special requirements are usually emphasized: high efficiency, reasonable analysis time and sufficient sample capacity. Since their introduction almost 30 years ago, open-tubular columns have been primarily considered as a tool providing efficiencies hitherto impossible. While the efficiencies of packed columns usually represent a few thousand theoretical plates, it is not rare to have capillary columns providing hundreds of thousands of theoretical plates. Naturally, emphasis on efficiency automatically restricts the other requirements: if very high absolute efficiency is required, it will take longer to get it and the amount of sample which can be introduced is limited.
Particulate Matter, Color, Turbidity, and Light

Natural waters contain particulate matter that increases turbidity, imparts apparent color, and interferes with light penetration. These particles originate from erosion on watersheds and within water bodies, vegetative debris from watersheds, and microorganisms produced in water bodies. Suspended particles vary from tiny colloids (1–100 mμ) that remain suspended indefinitely in still water to larger silt and sand particles held in suspension by turbulence. The settling velocity of particles in still water is estimated by the Stoke’s law equation and it depends mainly on particle diameter and density—large, dense particles settle the fastest. Organic particles settle slowly because of their low density, but planktonic organisms also have adaptions that lessen settling velocity. Solar radiation of all wavelengths is quenched quickly—about 50 % is reflected or converted to heat within the first meter. Within the visible spectrum, red and orange light is absorbed most strongly followed by violet, and by yellow, green, and blue. Plants absorb mostly red and orange light and yellow and green light for use in photosynthesis. Turbidity absorbs all wavelengths of light and diminishes photosynthesis. Two common ways of assessing turbidity in natural waters are by measuring the depth of disappearance of a 20-cm diameter disk (the Secchi disk) and by using nephelometry to determine the amount of light reflected at a 90 ° angle from a water sample. The weight of particles retained on a fine filter allows gravimetric assessment of suspended solids.
The reactivity of flavoproteins with sulfite. Possible relevance to the problem of oxygen reactivity.

Abstract The ability of sulfite ions to form an adduct with the flavin prosthetic group has been examined for a large number of flavoproteins. Reaction was found with glucose oxidase (1), d- and l-amino acid oxidases, oxynitrilase, lactate oxidase, and glycollate oxidase. The dissociation constant of the reversible reaction was determined under a variety of conditions. With glycollate oxidase the stoichiometry was found to be 1 mole of sulfite reacting with each equivalent of enzyme-bound flavin. No reaction of sulfite was detected with the other flavoproteins studied, even at high concentrations of sulfite. The correlation is made that those enzymes which react readily with sulfite are those which react catalytically with oxygen as a hydrogen acceptor; no sulfite reaction was found with flavoprotein dehydrogenases. An attempt has been made to correlate various properties of flavoproteins, such as the type of flavin semiquinone they exhibit, evidence for charged groups in the vicinity of the flavin, their ability to react with sulfite, and their reactivity with oxygen and with one-electron acceptors. A possible scheme is developed which might account for the different pathways of oxygen reactivity exhibited by the flavoprotein oxidases, dehydrogenases, and hydroxylases.
Representational support for collaborative inquiry

Empirical work with Belvedere, a software environment for the construction of diagrammatic representations of evidential relations, is summarized, leading to the hypothesis that variation in features of representational tools can have a significant effect on the learners' discourse and on learning outcomes. For example, by manipulating the concepts used by a toolkit, it is possible to manipulate the distinctions attended to by learners. Once learners have constructed some representations, their learning interactions appear to be further guided by the objects and relationships (expressed or potential) that these representations make salient. These kinds of design considerations are critical for collaborative learning software, yet are insufficiently studied. This paper describes the work that led to this position, sketches a theoretical analysis of the roles of constraint and salience in the effect of representational bias on collaborative learning discourse and describes initial studies now underway that varies textual, diagrammatic and tabular representations, and investigates their effects on the quality of discourse between learners.
Design and Fabrication of Low-Insertion-Loss and Low-Crosstalk Broadband $2\times 2$ Mach–Zehnder Silicon Photonic Switches

We present the design, fabrication, and measurement results of low-insertion-loss and low-crosstalk broadband $2\times 2$ Mach–Zehnder switches for nanosecond-scale optical data routing applications. We propose a simulation framework to calculate the spectral characteristics of switches and use it to design two switches: one based on directional couplers, the other using two-section directional couplers for broader bandwidth. We show that driving the switch in a push–pull manner enables to reduce insertion loss and optical crosstalk at the expense of the optical bandwidth. We achieve a good correlation between simulations and devices fabricated in IBM's 90-nm photonics-enabled CMOS process. We demonstrate a push–pull drive switch with insertion loss of $\sim$ 1 dB and an optical crosstalk smaller than $-$ 23 dB over a 45-nm optical bandwidth in the O-band. We further achieve a transition time of $\sim$ 4 ns with an average phase shifter consumption of 1 mW and a heater efficiency of $\sim$ 25 mW $/\pi$ .
IEEE Power Engineering Society

Technology costs have come down hugely, and wind is now knocking at the door of coal, nuclear, and even gas as the least-cost energy source in developed countries. The UK has experienced wind farms that have put in bids under the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) at about US$0.03/kWh, and this is probably a benchmark for many projects in the United States. Yet in many of the World Bank's client countries, which have good and in some cases outstanding wind regimes, costs are much higher, installed capacity is low, and the prospects are gloomy. The primary concern should be to build sustainable long-term markets in which wind can compete on a level playing field with the private sector undertaking most, if not all, of the construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of wind farms with their output being sold into the wholesale electricity market. That is what the World Bank is increasingly focusing on, a long way from old-fashioned lending for big lumps of infrastructure. They do this by working on policy and regulatory issues relating to renewables. Of particular importance is the introduction of mandated market schemes (renewables portfolio standards, systems benefit charges, and feed-in tariffs) accompanied market development measures to help support the growth of the market infrastructure.
Designing avionics computing systems using constraint bounded optimization

A side effect of Moore's law results in avionics computing systems becoming increasingly more granular resulting in 100s of processors interconnected into a realtime distributed network. This results in much greater information content per volume further resulting in increasing difficulty in making the best design decisions for real-time embedded avionics systems.
An infinite dimensional Schur-Horn theorem and majorization theory with applications to operator ideals

The main result of this paper is the extension of the Schur-Horn Theorem to infinite sequences: For two nonincreasing nonsummable sequences x and y that converge to 0, there exists a compact operator A with eigenvalue list y and diagonal sequence x if and only if y majorizes x (\sum_{j=1}^n x_j \le \sum_{j=1}^n y_j for all n) if and only if x = Qy for some orthostochastic matrix Q. The similar result requiring equality of the infinite series in the case that the sequences x and y are summable is an extension of a recent theorem by Arveson and Kadison. Our proof depends on the construction and analysis of an infinite product of T-transform matrices. Further results on majorization for infinite sequences providing "intermediate" sequences generalize known results from the finite case. Majorization properties and invariance under various classes of stochastic matrices are then used to characterize arithmetic mean closed operator ideals.
Good educational experiments are not necessarily good change processes

Design, problem solving, and scientific discovery are examples of important processes for which engineers and scientists have developed exemplary process models, i.e., a set of widely accepted procedures by which these functions may best be accomplished. However, undergraduate curriculum transformation in engineering, that is, systemic change in pedagogy, content, and/or course structure, lacks a widely recognized process model. In other words, engineering faculty members do not widely and explicitly agree upon a set of assumptions and flow diagrams for initiating, sustaining and integrating curriculum improvement. The two-loop model that is described in conjunction with the EC2000 criterion (http://www.abet.org/eac/two_loops.htm) provides a flow diagram that integrates assessment, evaluation and feedback processes. However the two-loop model does not provide a set of assumptions and flow diagrams for quantum actual change or improvement. To initiate discussion of models for the curriculum change process, referred to as change models, this paper examines three change models and advocates the organizational change model.
Analysis of saturated phosphatidylcholine in amniotic fluid by 31P NMR

A technique using solubilization with sodium cholate to resolve 31P NMR resonances of phospholipid molecular species was applied to amniotic fluid samples from 16 subjects. Gestational ages from 25 to 40 weeks were represented, and two subjects were sampled sequentially. Fitting of the partially resolved 31P NMR signal of phosphatidylcholine (PC) generated an estimate of percent disaturated acyl PC (%dsPC) which correlated more highly with gestational age than did several other potential indices of fetal lung maturation, such as the ratio of PC to inorganic phosphate from the solubilized spectra, or PC to sphingomyelin from extract spectra. In a few cases, enzyme-catalyzed PC hydrolysis limited the precision, but did not appear to affect the accuracy, of the %dsPC estimates. Resolution of palmitoyl and oleoyl lyso-PC species was observed for both the 1- and 2-acyl isomers. Upfield shifts due to the presence of cis double bonds in the lone acyl chain of the lyso-PCs were analogous to those observed for the diacyl PCs.