cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predicting the limits of cerebral autoregulation during cardiopulmonary bypass

Because cerebral blood flow autoregulation is functional during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using α-stat pH management, arterial blood pressure targets are empirically chosen often to a mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) of 50 mmHg depending on patient age, preoperative blood pressure, or medical history.1,2 The foundation of this practice, though, is based on data that are more than 15 years old and derived from patients who were generally younger and had fewer co-morbid conditions than patients in current practices.3-5 The accuracy of empiric targeting of MAP for identifying a pressure above the lower limit of autoregulation (LLA) in clinical practice is not known. Other data suggest a benefit of higher MAP during CPB on myocardial and neurologic outcomes, but these results have limitations and have not been independently reconfirmed.6-9 Importantly, whether the practice of targeting low MAP during CPB is appropriate for the increasing number of elderly patients with cerebral vascular disease is not known.10,11 Our group, in fact, has found a high frequency of hypoperfusion type “watershed” strokes after cardiac surgery that were associated with MAP during CPB that was ≥ 10 mmHg lower than before CPB.11 Real-time autoregulation monitoring can be accomplished by the continuous calculation of the correlation between transcranial Doppler-measured cerebral blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery and cerebral perfusion pressure (termed mean velocity index).12-14 Our group has demonstrated in laboratory experiments and in patients undergoing cardiac surgery that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signals provide an acceptable surrogate for monitoring changes in cerebral blood flow for autoregulation monitoring.15-17 The latter approach might provide a method for individualizing MAP during CPB without the need for specialized equipment and without the limitations of transcranial Doppler monitoring (e.g., need for trans-temporal insonating window, interference from electric cautery, movement artifact, etc). The hypothesis of this study was that real-time autoregulation monitoring using NIRS-based methods is more accurate for delineating the MAP at the LLA during CPB than empiric determinations based on age, preoperative history, and preoperative arterial blood pressure.18-20
Wrist arthrodesis: A combined intramedullary pin and autogenous iliac crest bone graft technique

Forty-six wrist arthrodeses in 36 patients were reviewed. The technique used provided a reliable fusion method for a variety of wrist disorders. The arthrodeses were performed using an autogenous iliac crest bone graft, with an intramedullary Steinman pin placed within the distal radial and third metacarpal shafts, and an obliquely-placed Kirschner wire across the second metacarpal base into the radius. The distal ulna, instead of the radius, was used in patients with radial agenesis. Three patient populations were identified: group 1, connective tissue wrist disorders; group 2, congenital wrist disorders; and group 3, acquired wrist disorders. A residual flexion, radial deviation deformity was noted with the congenital disorders. All patients had low demand requirements for this fused wrists. The average time of fusion for each group as 14, 15, and 12 weeks, respectively.
Characterization of a Charge-coupled Device Photoarray as a Molecular Absorption Spectrophotometric Detector

Recently there has been a great deal of interest in the use of solid-state multichannel detectors as sensors for rapid-scan spectroscopy. The charge-coupled device (CCD) photoarray, not previously characterized for this application, is described. The unit has 1728 elements, arranged linearily, which integrate light over the same time frame; the photo signals are then read serially. The CCD was found to produce signals which are linear with both intensity and integration time. The dark signal at −10°C is 0.1% of saturation for a 10 ms integration time, and the noise level is less than 0.08% of saturation. The wavelength response is in the visible region. The application for rapid-scan spectrophotometry is also discussed.
Domain-independent search expertise: A description of procedural knowledge gained during guided instruction

This longitudinal study examined the search behavior of 10 students as they completed assigned exercises for an online professional course in expert searching. The research objective was to identify, describe, and hypothesize about features of the behavior that are indicative of procedural knowledge gained during guided instruction. Log-data of search interaction were coded using a conceptual framework focused on components of search practice hypothesized to organize an expert searcher's attention during search. The coded data were analyzed using a measure of pointwise mutual information and state-transition analysis. Results of the study provide important insight for future investigation of domain-independent search expertise and for the design of systems that assist searchers in gaining expertise.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthetase genetic variants, metabolic syndrome and endothelial function in schizophrenia.

Objective:The increasing rates of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in schizophrenia led to investigation into their causes, including atypical antipsychotics and pharmacogenetic variants. This study focused on the peripheral vasculature as a cardiovascular phenotype and the influence of atypical antipsychotics, the aberrant metabolism of nitric oxide caused by endothelial nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS) genetic variants and metabolic syndrome in a cross-sectional sample of schizophrenia subjects.Methods:Associations between eNOS genetic variants and endothelial function was assessed in a cohort of schizophrenia patients taking antipsychotic drugs, whom were undergoing a clinical assessment for endothelial function via the method of peripheral artery tonometry (RH-PAT), as well as metabolic syndrome criteria screening. Analyses were conducted on the entire cohort, then again after stratifying by metabolic syndrome, to investigate the effect of the eNOS variants and metabolic syndrome on endothe...
Model-Based Engineering Design Pilots at JPL

This paper discusses two recent formulation phase model-based engineering design pilot projects at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It describes how model-based functional and state analyses were synthesized and integrated with system performance simulation and mission planning then piloted in the formulation phase of two deep space missions.
Combination of stromal cell-derived factor-1 and collagen–glycosaminoglycan scaffold delays contraction and accelerates reepithelialization of dermal wounds in wild-type mice

While dermal substitutes can mitigate scarring and wound contraction, a significant drawback of current dermal replacement technologies is the apparent delay in vascular ingrowth compared with conventional skin grafts. Herein, we examined the effect of the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) on the performance of a porous collagen-glycosaminoglycan dermal analog in excisional wounds in mice. C57BL/6 mice with 1 cm × 1 cm dorsal full-thickness wounds were covered with a collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffold, followed by four daily topical applications of 1 μg SDF-1 or phosphate-buffered saline vehicle. Some animals were also pretreated with five daily doses of 300 mg/kg granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Animals treated with SDF-1 and no granulocyte colony-stimulating factor reepithelialized 36% faster than vehicle controls (16 vs. 25 days), and exhibited less wound contraction on postwounding day 18 (∼ 35% greater wound area) plus three-fold longer neoepidermis formed than controls. Conversely, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor promoted contraction and no epidermal regeneration. Early (postwounding Day 3) inflammatory cell infiltration in the SDF-1-treated group was 86% less, while the fraction of proliferating cells (positive Ki67 staining) was 32% more, when compared with controls. These results suggest that SDF-1 simultaneously delays contraction and promotes reepithelialization and may improve the wound-healing performance of skin substitutes.
FAUNA OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK LAKES HAS LOW RESISTANCE BUT HIGH RESILIENCE TO FISH INTRODUCTIONS

The ratio of the number of taxa observed at a site to that expected to occur in the absence of anthropogenic impacts (O/E) is an ecologically meaningful measure of the degree of faunal alteration. We used O/E ratios to describe the response by amphibian, reptile, benthic macroinvertebrate, and zooplankton taxa in originally fishless lakes in Yosemite National Park to the introduction and subsequent disappearance of nonnative fish. To quantify resistance (the degree to which a system is altered when the environment changes) and resilience (the degree to which a system returns to its previous configuration once the perturbation is removed), we compared O/E ratios between lakes that were never stocked, were previously stocked and still contained fish, or were previously stocked but had reverted to a fishless condition. On average, stocked-fish-present sites had 16% fewer taxa than never-stocked sites (O/E = 0.84 vs. 1.00, respectively). This statistically significant difference in O/E ratios indicates that n...
Localization of the pH gate in Kir1.1 channels.

We used cysteine-modifying reagents to localize the pH-sensitive gate in the renal inward-rectifier K+ channel Kir1.1a (ROMK1). Cytoplasmic-side methanethiosulfonate (MTS) reagents blocked K+ permeation in native Kir1.1 channels, expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Replacement of three cysteines in the N-terminus, C-terminus, and transmembrane domains eliminated this sensitivity to MTS reagents, as measured with inside-out macropatches. Reintroduction of one cysteine at 175-Kir1.1a in the second transmembrane domain allowed blockade of the open channel by the MTS reagents MTSEA, MTSET, and MTSES and by Ag+. However, closure of the channel by low pH protected it from modification. Cysteine was also introduced into position G223, which is thought to line the cytoplasmic pore of the channel. MTSET blocked G223C in both the open and closed state. In contrast, MTSEA reduced G223C single-channel conductance from 40 to 23 pS but did not produce complete block. We conclude that cytoplasmic acidification induces a conformational change in the channel protein that prevents access of cysteine-modifying reagents, and presumably also K+ ions, to the transmembrane pore from the cytoplasm. This is consistent with localization of the Kir1.1 pH gate at the helix bundle crossing near the cytoplasmic end of the transmembrane pore.
Crystal structure of NFAT bound to the HIV-1 LTR tandem kappaB enhancer element

The host factor, nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT), regulates the transcription and replication of HIV-1. Here, we have determined the crystal structure of the DNA binding domain of NFAT bound to the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) tandem kappaB enhancer element at 3.05 A resolution. NFAT binds as a dimer to the upstream kappaB site (Core II), but as a monomer to the 3' end of the downstream kappaB site (Core I). The DNA shows a significant bend near the 5' end of Core I, where a lysine residue from NFAT bound to the 3' end of Core II inserts into the minor groove and seems to cause DNA bases to flip out. Consistent with this structural feature, the 5' end of Core I become hypersensitive to dimethylsulfate in the in vivo footprinting upon transcriptional activation of the HIV-1 LTR. Our studies provide a basis for further investigating the functional mechanisms of NFAT in HIV-1 transcription and replication.
Fabrication of two-sided anamorphic microlenses and direct coupling of tapered high-power diode laser to single-mode fiber

An anamorphic microlens has been developed to couple a tapered unstable-resonator laser directly to a single-mode fiber, and has demonstrated capability for simple, compact and efficient high-power diode laser systems. Far high collection and coupling efficiencies, the refractive microlens has been fabricated by utilizing both sides of a GaP substrate, in which the first side was used to remove the astigmatism of the laser output and the second side to focus the beam to a spot size comparable to the fiber mode. The microlenses have been accurately formed by using a recent technique of mass-transport smoothing of etched multimesa preforms. Initial fiber-coupling experiments showed powers as high as 360 mW at the fiber output, and coupling efficiency as high as 29.5% has been measured at a lower power. >
A simple solution-based route to high-efficiency CZTSSe thin-film solar cells

Solution-based Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 (CZTSSe) thin film deposition routes focusing on chemistries with attractive scalability and handling characteristics, while delivering high efficiency devices are promising technologies for low-cost solar cells. In this paper we describe a new approach for the fabrication of CZTSSe thin films using inks comprised of mixtures of binary and ternary metal-chalcogenide nanocrystals dispersed in simple organic solvents. The resulting blended inks can be coated under ambient conditions to give precursor films which are in turn converted to device-quality CZTSSe absorbers via thermal annealing in a selenium atmosphere. Using this approach we have demonstrated CZTSSe solar cells with total area efficiencies in excess of 8.5% (or 9.6% per active area) under 1 Sun AM1.5 illumination.
DETECTION OF CARDIAC MASSES IN DOGS BY TWO‐DIMENSIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY

From a two-year review of diagnostic two-dimensional real-time echocardiographic studies, a diagnosis of cardiac mass lesion was made in 18 dogs. Thirteen of 18 also had pericardial effusion. Three types of lesions were identified: (1) right atrial masses (7 dogs; 5 confirmed as hemangiosarcoma) originating from the wall of the right atrium of right auricle and projecting into the atrial lumen, pericardial space, or both; (2) large cavitary pericardial masses (2 dogs; both confirmed as abscesses) located over the right ventricle; (3) heartbase masses (9 dogs; 6 confirmed as neoplasms) attached to the ascending aorta, with varying degrees of infiltration of heartbase structures. Although extrapericardial portions of the masses were not outlined as well as intrapericardial portions, surgical accessibility was correctly predicted in most dogs. It was concluded that two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE), performed systematically using multiple imaging planes, allowed accurate detection and localization of cardiac and pericardial masses in dogs and was useful in predicting surgical accessibility of these lesions.
Human genomic deletions mediated by recombination between Alu elements.

Recombination between Alu elements results in genomic deletions associated with many human genetic disorders. Here, we compare the reference human and chimpanzee genomes to determine the magnitude of this recombination process in the human lineage since the human-chimpanzee divergence ∼6 million years ago. Combining computational data mining and wet-bench experimental verification, we identified 492 human-specific deletions (for a total of ∼400 kb) attributable to this process, a significant component of the insertion/deletion spectrum of the human genome. The majority of the deletions (295 of 492) coincide with known or predicted genes (including 3 that deleted functional exons, as compared with orthologous chimpanzee genes), which implicates this process in creating a substantial portion of the genomic differences between humans and chimpanzees. Overall, we found that Alu recombination-mediated genomic deletion has had a much higher impact than was inferred from previously identified isolated events and that it continues to contribute to the dynamic nature of the human genome.
Dimensionality analysis of a simulation outcome space

This paper investigates the dimensionality characteristics of the outcome space of a combat simulation. The independent state variables of all of the outcome states for a simulation run for given event management policies were analyzed using techniques based on Principal Component Analysis and Singular Value Decomposition, to give metrics for dimensionality. The number of dimensions in the outcome space is indicative of variety of possible outcomes, a property potentially important in hierarchical simulation. Events were managed using random choices, multitrajectory methods designed to give greater preference to high probability trajectories, and by various methods guided by analysis of the impact of the various events. The number of dimensions could not be increased greatly by the event management techniques used for selecting event outcomes for multitrajectory resolution. Beyond 1000 replication runs, the size of the state space did not even strongly influence the metrics.
Nanoparticles for tumor-specific intracellular drug delivery

While intraperitoneal (IP) therapy of ovarian cancer is a theoretically promising treatment option, it is not clinically well accepted due to the several challenges in IP drug delivery. Nanoparticles are promising drug carriers, which may alleviate the difficulties in IP chemotherapy. However, currently available nanoparticles need to be further improved to fulfill the following requirements: (i) they must remain non-interactive with normal cells and prevent the payload from premature leaking; (ii) once the drug carriers reach the tumor, they should enter the cells efficiently and release the drug in the cells to effectively kill the targeted cells. Our recent observation indicates that a popular nanoparticle system fails these expectations by large margin. For safe and effective IP chemotherapy, new types of carriers and/or surface modification strategies are urgently needed.
Menarche delay and menstrual irregularities persist in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Background Menarche delay has been reported in adolescent females with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), perhaps due to poor glycemic control. We sought to compare age at menarche between adolescent females with T1DM and national data, and to identify factors associated with delayed menarche and menstrual irregularity in T1DM.
Pluralism, Group Rights, and Corporate Religion Reply to Critics

My article focuses on an expansive conception of religious freedom propagated by a vocal group of American legal scholars, often working with well-funded conservative foundations like the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty and influencing accommodation decisions throughout the US.1 Although not stated doctrine, religious status-group ‘jurisdictional pluralism’ is implicit in recent Supreme Court rulings and in the state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs) passed before and after Hobby Lobby.2 Recent critical work calls the shift in religion clause scholarship ‘the new religious institutionalism’.3 But I see the logic of the jurisdictional approach also in the complicity-based, integralist conscience claims at issue in Hobby Lobby and in the proliferating demands for exemptions from anti-discrimination laws for religious individuals running for-profit businesses who do not want to cater to same sex couples.4 So I do not adopt the ‘religious institutionalism’ or ‘church autonomy’ labels because the demands reach beyond churches and religious institutions and pertain to individuals as well as to corporate business groups. My paper unearths the deeper logic, political projects and threats to liberal democratic constitutionalism underlying the new accommodationism.
Characterization of User’s Behavior Variations for Design of Replayable Mobile Workloads

Mobile systems leverage heterogeneous cores to deliver a desired user experience. However, how these cores cooperate in executing interactive mobile applications in the hands of a real user is unclear, preventing more realistic studies on mobile platforms. In this paper, we study how 33 users run applications on modern smartphones over a period of a month. We analyze the usage of CPUs, GPUs and associated memory operations in real user interactions, and develop microbenchmarks on an automated methodology which describes realistic and replayable test runs that statistically mimic user variations. Based on the generated test runs, we further empirically characterize memory bandwidth and power consumption of CPUs and GPUs to show the impact of user variations in the system, and identify user variation-aware optimization opportunities in actual mobile application uses.
Molecular basis of the neurodegenerative disorders.

Neurodegenerative disorders, which are chronic and progressive, are characterized by selective and symmetric loss of neurons in motor, sensory, or cognitive systems. Delineation of the patterns of cell loss and the identification of disease-specific cellular markers have aided in nosologic classification: senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal loss, and acetylcholine deficiency define Alzheimer's disease1,2; Lewy bodies and depletion of dopamine characterize Parkinson's disease3; cellular inclusions and swollen motor axons are found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis4; and γ-aminobutyric acid–containing neurons of the neostriatum are lost in Huntington's disease.5 Mendelian inheritance can be demonstrated in many of these disorders . . .
[2Fe-2S] proteins in Chlorosomes: CsmI and CsmJ participate in light-dependent control of energy transfer in Chlorosomes of Chlorobaculum tepidum.

Chlorosomes of Chlorobaculum tepidum are formed from stacks of syn–anti coordinated bacteriochlorophyll c dimers, which form a suprastructure comprised of coaxial nanotubes and are surrounded by a glycolipid monolayer envelope containing 10 proteins. Three of these proteins, CsmI, CsmJ, and CsmX, have sequences very similar in their N-terminal domains to those of [2Fe-2S] ferredoxins of the adrenodoxin/putidaredoxin subfamily. The roles of these proteins in chlorosomes were studied in single-, double-, and triple-mutant strains. In each mutant, only the protein(s) corresponding to the mutated gene(s) was missing, and the amounts of other chlorosome proteins did not vary significantly. Electrophoretic analyses and immunoblotting showed that CsmX was much less abundant than CsmI or CsmJ. The growth rates and the pigment and isoprenoid quinone contents of isolated chlorosomes of the mutants were similar to wild-type values. Quenching and recovery of energy transfer in isolated chlorosomes and intact cells we...
The Residual Effect of Insecticides Applied to Meadow and Pasture Sod for Control of the European Chafer

The soil in the plots of each of five experiments established between 1950 and 1954 was sampled at intervals ranging from 1 to 3 years to determine the residual effectiveness of various insecticides upon larvae of the European chafer, Amphimallon majalis (Raz.). Parathion at 8 pounds of actual toxicant and BHC at 8 pounds of gamma isomer per acre had lost their effectiveness by 3 and 6 years, respectively, after application, while chlordane at 8 pounds was still providing almost complete control after 7 years. Strobane at 5 or 10 pounds and toxaphene at 10 or 20 pounds per acre gave inferior control during the year of application and succeeding years. The remainder of the materials, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, isodrin, and heptachlor, showed evidence of a lasting residual effectiveness at rates of application varying between 0.5 and 2 pounds of actual toxicant per acre.
Study on Partner Selection Strategy in Dynamic Alliance

This paper presents a partner selection strategy in dynamic alliance. First, it gives the process of partner selection and analyses partnerselection evaluation indicator system. Then, considering the case in which experts have unequal weights in some group decision problems, it presentsa method of weighting group decision in fuzzy AHP. Last, it gives a case using this strategy
Photo-induced drug eruption in a patient on combination simeprevir/sofosbuvir for hepatitis C.

Recently there has been a rapid evolution in the treatment of hepatitis C heralded by development of the direct-acting antiviral agents, which target specific aspects of the hepatitis C virus viral cycle. These agents have shown improved sustained virologic response rates compared with traditional therapy with combined pegylated interferon and ribavirin.1, 2 Simeprevir, a direct-acting antiviral agent, is a second-generation viral protease inhibitor that has proven highly effective and safe for the treatment of genotype I chronic hepatitis C and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in November 2013.2 In clinical trials, simeprevir was initially used in combination with ribavirin and pegylated interferon alfa but recently has been paired with another newly emerged targeted antiviral, sofosbuvir. Sofosbuvir is a nucleotide analog inhibitor of hepatitis C viral polymerase.1 In a recent randomized trial that compared patients on combined simeprevir/sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin, a rash was seen in 13.6% of the patients on the combined therapy without ribavirin.3 To date, there are few clear descriptions of this rash in the medical literature. We present a case of a photo-induced drug eruption in a patient on simeprevir and sofosbuvir for hepatitis C.
Effects of antral vagotomy in dogs on gastrin and gastric secretion with various stimuli.

In four gastric-fistula dogs, selective antral vagotomy markedly reduced the vagal stimulation of gastrin release, thereby defining both the vagal pathway for stimulation of gastrin and the anatomic source of such gastrin release. Despite loss of gastrin response, vagal excitation by 100 mg/kg 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) produced the same acid and pepsin responses after antral vagotomy as before, but there was an approximately 40% diminished fundic response to pentagastrin, histamine, and synthetic human gastrin, as well as to endogenous gastrin released by graded doses of bombesin. Bethanechol did not reverse the defect, ruling out inadvertent fundic vagal denervation, nor did raising serum gastrin by bombesin alter the response to vagal stimulation by 2-DG. Fundic response to bethanechol was increased by approximately 60%, and the output of gastrin increased at least fivefold after antral vagotomy. Gastrin responses to food were diminished and those to sham feeding were eliminated. Separation of the denerv...
3 Inverse Monoids

An important class of regular monoids is the class of inverse monoids. In fact, many semigroup theorists would assert that inverse monoids form the most important class of monoids outside of groups. They abstract the notion of partial symmetry in much the same way that groups abstract the notion of symmetry. For a detailed discussion of this viewpoint, see Lawson [Law98]. From the perspective of this book they provide a natural class of monoids whose representation theory we can understand as well as that of groups. Namely, we shall see in Chapter 9 that the algebra of an inverse monoid can be explicitly decomposed as a direct product of matrix algebras over the group algebras of its maximal subgroups (one per \(\mathcal{J}\)-class).
Testbed and Simulation-Based Evaluation of Privacy-Preserving Algorithms for Smart Grid AMI Networks

Although it is a deployed system, the data collection process of Smart Grids (SGs) is still a topic that needs consideration. The reason behind this is that Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) applications used for collection can cause leakage of sensitive information about the users if data is sent as plaintext. In this paper, we propose a system that provides privacy with the Paillier cryptosystem and two-factor authentication with ECDSA and OpenSSL certificates. In order to test the system, an IEEE 802.11s-based SG AMI network testbed is constructed with Beaglebone Black boards that imitate the behavior of smart meters. The same network is also simulated in ns-3. Tests are done in two modes (hop-by-hop and end-to-end aggregation) and results are collected based on three metrics (packet delivery ratio, throughput, and completion time). The results showed that ns-3 simulation and testbed results are parallel and the proposed system can perform effectively. However, there are still many differences that need to be taken into account in deploying real systems.
Factors associated with gerontological career choice: The role of curriculum type and students’ attitudes

Background and objective: Caring for a growing aging population presents a challenge in contemporary health care. This study aims to identify factors associated with nursing student’s career choice in older adult care and predictors of attitudes toward older adults. Such information is critical to inform effective gerontological nursing education. Methods: Undergraduate nursing students (N = 411) from three nursing schools in California participated in a cross-sectional, web-based survey. Results: In covariate-adjusted analyses, students who had prior experiences taking gerontology-related courses, working with older adults, living with older adults, being confident in providing older adults care, and having lower negative attitudes toward older adults were more likely to consider a future career in gerontological nursing. Students’ confidence in older adult care was negatively correlated with negative attitudes towards older adults. Conclusions: To increase students’ career choice in gerontology, nursing schools should provide more gerontology content in nursing curricula and explore avenues to increase student confidence in older adult care.
Model-based risk assessment and public health analysis to prevent Lyme disease

The number of Lyme disease (LD) cases in the northeastern United States has been dramatically increasing with over 300 000 new cases each year. This is due to numerous factors interacting over time including low public awareness of LD, risk behaviours and clothing choices, ecological and climatic factors, an increase in rodents within ecologically fragmented peri-urban built environments and an increase in tick density and infectivity in such environments. We have used a system dynamics (SD) approach to develop a simulation tool to evaluate the significance of risk factors in replicating historical trends of LD cases, and to investigate the influence of different interventions, such as increasing awareness, controlling clothing risk and reducing mouse populations, in reducing LD risk. The model accurately replicates historical trends of LD cases. Among several interventions tested using the simulation model, increasing public awareness most significantly reduces the number of LD cases. This model provides recommendations for LD prevention, including further educational programmes to raise awareness and control behavioural risk. This model has the potential to be used by the public health community to assess the risk of exposure to LD.
Volumetric Textural Analysis of Colorectal Masses at CT Colonography: Differentiating Benign versus Malignant Pathology and Comparison with Human Reader Performance.

Rationale and Objectives To (1) apply a quantitative volumetric textural analysis (VTA) to colorectal masses at CT colonography (CTC) for the differentiation of malignant and benign lesions and to (2) compare VTA with human performance. Materials and Methods A validated, quantitative VTA method was applied to 63 pathologically proven colorectal masses (mean size, 4.2 cm; range, 3–8 cm) at noncontrast CTC in 59 adults (mean age, 66.5 years; range, 45.9–91.6 years). Fifty-one percent (32/63) of the masses were invasive adenocarcinoma, and the remaining 49% (31/63) were large benign adenomas. Three readers with CTC experience independently assessed the likelihood of malignancy using a 5-point scale (1 = definitely benign, 2 = probably benign, 3 = indeterminate, 4 = probably malignant, 5 = definitely malignant). Areas under the curve (AUCs) and accuracy levels were compared. Results VTA achieved optimal sensitivity of 83.6% vs 91.7% for human readers (P = .034), with specificities of 87.5% and 77.4%, respectively (P = .007). No significant difference in overall accuracy was seen between VTA and human readers (85.5% vs 84.7%, P = .753). The AUC for differentiating benign and malignant lesions was 0.936 for VTA and 0.917 for human readers. Intraclass correlation coefficient among the human readers was 0.76, indicating good to excellent agreement. Conclusion VTA demonstrates excellent performance for distinguishing benign from malignant colorectal masses (≥3 cm) at CTC, comparable yet potentially complementary to experienced human performance.
Group Actions and Covering Maps

In the preceding chapter, we introduced covering spaces, and answered the isomorphism question for coverings: two coverings of the same space are isomorphic if and only if they induce the same conjugacy class of subgroups of the fundamental group of the base. In this chapter, we study the question of existence of coverings.
The Sperner Property

A finite ranked poset has the Sperner property if no antichain is larger than the largest rank in P. This was first shown to hold in the lattice of subsets of an n-set by Sperner in 1928, Efforts to prove analogues of Sperner's theorem for other posets have led to the emergence of an entire theory. A big advance has been the introduction into the field of techniques from linear algebra, category theory, and even algebraic geometry. This is a survey of progress made in this area over the past few years. Resume Soit {A1, A2,… Ak} une famille de sous-ensembles de {1,…, n} telle que Ai ⊄ Aj des que i ≠ j. Pour n, fixe, quelle est la taille maximum d'une telle famille? En 1928, Sperner [Sr] a montre que k ≤ . Cette borne est la meilleure possible et il y a egalite si et seulement si la famille des Ai est la famille de tous les sous-ensembles a elements de {1, …, n} ou de tous les sous-ensembles a elements. En termes d'ensembles partiellement ordonnes (posets) le theoreme de Sperner se traduit par: dans l'algebre de Boole Bn de tous les sous-ensembles de {1, …, n} (ordonnes par inclusion), aucune antichaine n'est plus grande que le rang maximum. Quelques quarante ans plus tard, Rota [Ro] emit une celebre conjecture:le treillis des partitions de {l, …, n} (ordonnes par raffinement) aurait la meme propriete ou plus precisement, aucune antichaine ne contiendrait plus d'elements que le maximum (pris pour h variant de 1 a n) du nombre de partitions de {1, …, n} en h parties. Cela est vrai pour des petites valeurs de n, mais, il y a presque dix ans, Canfield [CL] a montre que cette conjecture est fausse lorsque n est suffisamment large, n ∼ 6 × 1024. Cet ordre de grandeur a ete abaisse depuis a n ∼ 5 × 106 [Sh, p. 3]. Bien que cette conjecture soit fausse, les essais pour la prouver ont entraine la decouverte de toute une theorie sur les “posets” qui satisfont la propriete du theoreme de Sperner. De recentes contributions a ce domaine tres vivant ont utilise, avec succes, des outils empruntes a l'algebre lineaire, la theorie des categories, la programmation lineaire et měme a la geometrie algebrique, Ici notre principal interět portera sur les relations entre la propriete de Sperner et les conditions d'existence de certaines families d'ensembles totalement ordonnes dans un “poset” et de certaines transformations lineaires dansl'espaee vectoriel associe auposet”. Une synthese plus complete doit etre differe mais la bibliographle couvre tout le domaine. Pour de larges syntheses couvrant entierement le domaine de la theorie des ensembles extremaux, voir [GK3, We2].
Ebola Virus Shed Glycoprotein Triggers Differentiation, Infection, and Death of Monocytes Through Toll-Like Receptor 4 Activation

A better understanding of the mechanisms used by Ebola virus to disable the host immune system and spread the infection are of great importance for development of new therapeutic strategies. We demonstrate that treatment of monocytic cells with Ebola virus shed glycoprotein (GP) promotes their differentiation resulting in increased infection and cell death. The effects were inhibited by blocking Toll-like receptor 4 pathway. In addition, high levels of shed GP were detected in supernatants of cells treated with Ebola vaccines. This study highlights the role of shed GP in Ebola pathogenesis and also in adverse effects associated with Ebola vaccines.
Poverty, economic strengthening, and mental health among AIDS orphaned children in Uganda: Mediation model in a randomized clinical trial

Abstract Some evidence points to the positive effects of asset accumulation programs on mental health of children living in low-resource contexts. However, no evidence exists as to why and how such impact occurs. Our study aims to understand whether child poverty, child work, and household wealth serve as pathways through which the economic strengthening intervention affects the mental health of AIDS-orphaned children. The study employed a cluster-randomized experimental design with a family-based economic strengthening intervention conducted among 1410 school-going AIDS-orphaned children ages 10 and 16 years old in 48 primary schools in South Western Uganda. To test the hypothesized relationships between the intervention, mediators (household wealth, child poverty, and child's work) and mental health, we ran structural equation models that adjust for clustering of individuals within schools and account for potential correlation among the mediators. We found significant unmediated effect of the intervention on children's mental health at 24 months (B = −0.59; 95% CI: 0.93, −0.25; p
“Never Abandon, Never Give Up”: Soldiers Sortie as a New Red Classic of the Reform Era

At the height of the socialist era, China produced decidedly influential revolutionary subjects, generating a legacy that is a source of vibrant cultural production in the reform era. This article explains the success of the popular TV drama series Soldiers Sortie (Shibing tuji, 2007) by contextualizing its reworking of core social values through re-fashioning socialist heroic subjects. This revision conjoins the collectivism of a socialist past with the individualism of a capitalist economy in order to promote a new Chinese identity. This adaptation of Chinese personhood keeps the revolutionary spirit alive by erasing historical specificity in order to develop group and individual identity without neglecting the reality of incomplete revolution and uneven development in China.
Abstract P146: Dopaminergic Stimulation Increases Gastrin Secretion via a PKA-PPAR-Alpha Pathway

Dietary sodium stimulates renal excretion of sodium long before the sodium is enterally absorbed. Moreover, intravenously administered sodium does not stimulate as large an excretory response as so...
We Think It's Good Business:

Convinced that a well-run vending-stand program is a boon to vocational rehabilitation, the Pennsylvania Office for the Blind conducts a full-scale program that has proved beneficial to the stand o...
683-P: Menstrual Cycle and Glycemic Differences during Prolonged, Fasting Exercise in Females with Type 1 Diabetes

Glycemic control may differ throughout the menstrual cycle, with increased incidence of hyperglycemia in the luteal phase. However, it is unclear if glycemic differences exist in the follicular vs. luteal phase during prolonged fasted exercise in T1D. The aim of this study was to determine if the early follicular vs. luteal phase impacts blood glucose levels during and post-exercise. Females with T1D (n = 7, age 28±6 years, A1c 6.9±0.6%) completed two 2-hr aerobic exercise sessions (∼45% VO2peak), during the luteal (days 18-24) and early-follicular phases (days 1-6) of menstruation. Carbohydrate (CHO) intake (0.3g/kg/hr) occurred every 30-min if glucose was between 72-180 mg/dL. No differences existed between the two phases for starting glucose, changes in glucose, CHO consumption and CHO oxidation during exercise (Table). Baseline glucagon was elevated in the luteal (28±25pg/mL) vs. follicular phase (13±12pg/mL; P 180 mg/dL) was greater in the luteal (59±44%) vs. follicular phase (21±30%; P Overall, glycemic responses during prolonged fasting exercise are similar between luteal and follicular phases in women with T1D, as are CHO intake needs. However, after exercise in the luteal phase, glycemia tends to be elevated and appears to contribute to greater time in hyperglycemia. Disclosure S.M. McGaugh: None. D. Zaharieva: Speaker’s Bureau; Self; Ascensia Diabetes Care, Insulet Corporation, Medtronic. R. Pooni: None. N.C. D’Souza: None. J.E. Yardley: Research Support; Self; Abbott, Dexcom, Inc., LifeScan Canada. Speaker’s Bureau; Self; Dexcom, Inc. M. Riddell: Advisory Panel; Self; Zucara Therapeutics Inc. Consultant; Self; Lilly Diabetes. Research Support; Self; Dexcom, Inc., Insulet Corporation. Speaker’s Bureau; Self; Medtronic, Novo Nordisk A/S.
Social Justice and Corporate Mission Statements: Analyzing Values in Business Writing

This article describes and reflects on a collaborative, in-class activity that asks students in a business writing course to analyze the intersection of language, values, and social justice through a rhetorical analysis of corporate mission statements. The activity looks at how mission statements, as a genre, work to construct an ethos of civic engagement targeting a specific audience. Students reflect on values embedded in mission statements and compare these values with corporate action. Students then work in groups to create their own mission statements that direct their research and teamwork for their other, collaborative course projects. I offer this activity focused on mission statements as a concrete way to discuss social justice, values, and civic engagement in a business writing course; specifically, students explore how language impacts social justice and structural (in)equality.
The Interplay between Individual and Collective Activity: an Analysis of Classroom Discussions about the Sierpinski Triangle

This article uses a cultural-developmental framework to illuminate the interplay between collective and individual activity in the mathematical reasoning displayed in a university Masters level lesson on fractals. During whole class and small group discussions, eleven students, guided by an instructor, engage in inductive reasoning about the area and perimeter of the Sierpinski triangle, a unique mathematical object with zero area and infinite perimeter. As participants conceptualize and communicate about the Sierpinski problem, they unwittingly generate a linguistic register of action word forms (e.g., fencing, zooming) and object word forms (e.g., area, infinity) to serve Sierpinski-linked mathematical reasoning functions, a register that we document in the first analytic section of the article. In the second analytic section, we report a developmental analysis of microgenetic, ontogenetic, and sociogenetic shifts in the word forms constitutive of the register and their varied functions in participants’ activities. In the third analytic section, we provide a cultural analysis of the classroom’s collective practices, practices that enable and constrain participants’ constructions of form-function relations constituting the register. We examine the ways in which participants work to establish a common ground of talk in their communicative exchanges, exchanges supported by classroom norms for public displays of reasoning and active listening to one another’s ideas. We show that it is as participants work to establish a common ground that the register emerges and is reproduced and altered. We conclude by pointing to ways that the analytic framework can be extended to illuminate learning processes in other classroom settings.
Finite element and meshless methods in NDT applications

Eddy current nondestructive testing (NDT) methods are extensively used in the inspection of aging aircrafts. Thousands of fasteners and bonded joints on each aircraft should be inspected and in order to handle the huge task, fast, accurate and cost effective inspection methods are clearly needed. Some of the challenges encountered in eddy current testing are (1) detection of corrosions or cracks in the multi-layer structures, (2) detection of cracks under the fastener (CUF), (3) detection of surface and subsurface defects close to edges. Conventional eddy current inspection method is time consuming due to the small probe size and large inspection area. Furthermore it requires trained operators for data interpretation. Development of new techniques for rapid and accurate inspection is of considerable interest to the aviation industry. In this dissertation, a more recent eddy current technique called magneto-optic imaging (MOI) is studied. The availability of a theoretical model that can simulate the MOI system performance is extremely important for understanding and optimizing the MOI sensor and hardware system. In this dissertation, finite element (FE) methods have been applied to numerically compute the electromagnetic fields associated with MOI testing with respect to variation in parameters such as operating frequency, source current and sensor parameters. Most of the testing geometries are three-dimensional and consequently the FE models require extensive computational resources. This paper presents a robust FE model based on A-V formulation and a fast iterative solver, which offers a distinct advantage in terms of computational time and data storage. A major contribution of this work is the development of Element-Free Galerkin (EFG) method for NDE applications. In order to model the complex CUF geometry, EFG method has been studied. Two and three-dimensional models for Poisson equation and diffusion equation, describing static or low frequency problems, have been developed and compared with conventional FE methods. EFG methods have also been applied to multi-frequency and pulsed eddy current problems. Simulation results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the method for time-dependent field applications.
Nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors revisited for applications of microalgal biomass conversion to food, feed and fuel

Accurately determining protein content is important in the valorization of algal biomass in food, feed and fuel markets. Conversion of elemental nitrogen to protein is a well-accepted and widely practiced method, but depends on developing an applicable nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor. The most complete method to determine this factor takes six different hydrolyses of the subject material and these are not always carried out in reported literature studies. We report new data for conservative conversion factors determined from 21 algae samples along with over 50 amino acid profiles from the literature, representing distinct cultivation conditions for fresh and marine algae. We find that the amino acid profile among different algae samples is consistent, however the large variability between strains in non-protein nitrogen (up to 54% in microalgae) causes variability in the calculated conversion factor. We include our calculated novel nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors for model and commercially relevant biofuel algal strains and compare these with the literature.
Flow Strength of 6061-T6 Aluminum in the Solid, Mixed Phase, Liquid Regions

Shock waves have been used to determine material properties under high shock stresses and very-high loading rates. The objectives of the present experiments were to obtain information on the mechanical response of aluminum at shock stresses approaching and in the solid–liquid mixed phase regions, which is not routinely available with other methods. The accurate determination of compressive strength under shock compression has proven to be difficult due to the need for accurate reshock experiments from the initial shock state, with the consequence that estimates of shear strength have been limited to relatively low stresses. In this investigation, we have significantly improved the shock/reloading technique to obtain high quality data on reloading from the shocked states for initial shock stresses up to about 80 GPa. This has allowed the first self-consistent determination of the shear strength and the initial shear stress state of aluminum in the shocked state in this stress region. In addition, unloading experiments have been extended to over 140 GPa to understand how the strength of the material behaves when shocked beyond the solid–liquid mixed phase boundary. The combined wave velocity and strength data provide estimates of the onset and completion of shock-induced melting.