cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural and aeroelastic analysis of composite wing box sections using higher-order laminate theory

A higher-order-based theory is developed for structural and aeroelastic analysis of composite wing box sections with moderately thick walls. In this new model, each wall is analyzed using a refined displacement field to account for the variations in transverse shear strains through the wall thickness. Appropriate boundary conditions are imposed at the corners of the beam cross sections. Both in-plane and out-of-plane warping deformations are included in the analysis. The structural model is validated through correlation with other existing theories and available experimental data. The procedure is then used to perform aeroelastic analysis of composite wings with various ply arrangements. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effect of ply orientation on aeroelastic behavior, such as flutter and divergence speeds. (Author)
Clinical Recovery from Acute Ischemic Stroke after Early Reperfusion of the Brain with Intravenous Thrombolysis

To the Editor: A 1995 study found that treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was efficacious for intravenous thrombolysis if given within three hours after the onset of ischemic stroke...
Synthesis and in Vitro Studies of a Series of Carborane-Containing Boron Dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs)

A series of seven BODIPYs functionalized with ortho-carborane groups at the 8(meso) or 3/5(α) position were synthesized and characterized by NMR, HRMS, HPLC, and in the cases of 2b and 5b, by X-ray analysis. The BODIPYs exhibited low dark toxicity and phototoxicity toward human glioma T98G cells, and their cellular uptake varied significantly, with 5b accumulating the most and 7 the least. All BODIPYs localized mainly within the cell ER. The BODIPYs showed higher permeabilities than lucifer yellow across human hCMEC/D3 brain endothelial cell monolayers as the BBB model. Among this series, 1b showed the highest BBB permeability (Pe = 16.4 × 10–5 cm/s), probably as a result of its lower MW (366 Da) and favorable hydrophobicity (log P = 1.5). The combination of low cytotoxicity, amphiphilicity, high boron content, high cellular uptake, and moderate BBB permeability renders these compounds promising boron delivery agents for the BNCT of brain tumors.
Estimating Prerequisite Structure From Noisy Data.

There has been a long-standing interest in how to estimate the prerequisite structure among a set of skills. This prerequisite structure is important for intelligent tutoring systems and the educational data mining community, because it has important implications for student modeling, and for automatically constructing teaching policies. Here we present preliminary work towards inferring skill prerequisite structure given a set of noisy observations of student knowledge. We compare models using likelihood calculations and provide experimental results on a set of Algebra skills.
Abstract P644: Mineralocorticoid receptor activation may contribute to supine hypertension in patients with primary autonomic failure

Primary autonomic failure is characterized by disabling orthostatic hypotension; but at least half of these patients have paradoxical supine hypertension. Renin-angiotensin (Ang) mechanisms were not initially thought to contribute to this hypertension as autonomic failure patients often have undetectable plasma renin activity. Despite suppressed renin, plasma aldosterone levels are normal and we recently showed that plasma Ang II is elevated and acts at AT 1 receptors to contribute to supine hypertension in these patients. Since aldosterone and Ang II also bind mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) to elevate blood pressure, we tested the hypothesis that MR activation plays a role in the hypertension of autonomic failure. To test this, we determined the acute effects of the MR antagonist eplerenone (50 mg, PO) versus placebo on supine blood pressure in a randomized, double blind, crossover study. Medications were given at 8:00 PM and blood pressure was recorded q2 hours for 12 hours. Seven autonomic failure patients with supine hypertension completed this study (5 pure autonomic failure, 1 Parkinson’s, 1 multiple system atrophy; 5 male; 68±2 years of age). Eplerenone maximally reduced supine systolic blood pressure by 34±6 mmHg at 8 hours after administration (vs. 6±12 mmHg for placebo, p=0.047), with no effect on volume measures (12-hour urine volume: 927±205 placebo vs. 1247±151 ml eplerenone, p=0.438; nocturnal weight loss: -1.1±0.2 placebo vs. -1.2±0.2 kg eplerenone, p=0.813). These findings suggest that inappropriate MR activation may contribute to hypertension in autonomic failure, and provide rationale for use of eplerenone in treatment of these patients. While still under investigation, the lack of effect on volume measures combined with the rapid time course for blood pressure lowering following eplerenone may suggest extra-renal mechanisms are involved in MR antagonism in autonomic failure.
A Survey of Gastrointestinal Hormonology

This chapter presents a survey of the gastrointestinal hormonology. Most of the gastrointestinal hormones appear to have effects that are localized to the gut. Each of the gastrointestinal hormones is a polypeptide whose effects depend on its molecular structure. Gastrin and cholecystokinin (CCK), for example, possess identical four-amino residues at the carboxyl terminal of the polypeptide chain and have similar stimulant effects on the stomach, gall bladder, and pancreas. This residue alone is capable of producing the effects of the full molecule although not to the same degree. Similarly, the effect of CCK on the oxyntic—acid-secreting—cells of the stomach is not nearly as strong as the effects of equal amounts of gastrin even though it appears to have a stronger affinity for surface receptors on these cells. Because of this, equimolecular doses of CCK inhibit the full effect of gastrin in the secretion of acid. While hormones of the secretin family also have structural and functional similarities, the entire molecule is required to induce the key physiologic responses. These hormones include secretin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, and glucagon.
Magnetomechanical Measures of Internal Stress

ABSTRACT We introduce a model for magnetomechanical phenomena in demagnetized specimens. The model, derived from damping measurments, is based on a systematic description of these phenomena in terms of magnetic quadrupoles and elastic dipoles model. The elementary hysteretic event is identified as the nucleation of magnetic quadrupoles of newly favored orientation. The other mechanism, momentary imbalance of local domain structures, we associate with Ruuskanen-Kettunen emission. The data from all three kinds of experiment is interpreted on the assumption that static internal stresses make the elementary hysteretic events more difficult, while mobile internal stresses promote these events.
Symmetries in the entropy space

This paper investigates when Shannon-type inequalities completely characterize the part of the closure of the entropy region Γ n * that is symmetric under the action of a specified random variable permutation group. This question is answered exhaustively for every group permuting n = 4 and n = 5 random variables, while multiple examples for arbitrary n ≥ 6 are provided for both tightness and non-tightness of the Shannontype inequalities. For instance, a new result shows that non-Shannon-type inequalities are necessary under the action of the cyclic group C n , the dihedral group D n , as well as S 1 × C n−1 and S 1 × D n−1 , for every n ≥ 6.
A review of the general effects of whole–body vibration

This paper reviews the various areas of concentration in which research on whole body vibration has so far been covered. The different effects of the whole–body vibration that has been reviewed in this paper include: comfort, interference with activities, health effects, and motion sickness including the effects of low–magnitude vibration. These effects are in turn dependent on various factors like the frequency, exposure time, vibration intensity and direction besides other physiological conditions. In this paper, the research concerning the effects of these factors on human subjects and the developments and changes to the IS0 standards are presented. It can be concluded from the review that the extensive research done so far and the pertinent changes to the standards are satisfactory, although the research work is neither complete nor exhaustive in some areas.
Jesus, Figure of Arrival

Jesus, Figure of Arrival continues with a discussion of Derridean hauntological and Jesus’s subjectivity in the context of Christian theology. This also takes the form of an extended analysis of Spectres of Marx in which Derrida deals most directly with the philosophical and, more specifically, metaphysical implications of constructing a Christian heritage without theological completeness. The chapter concludes with references to Carl Rashke’s book GloboChrist and Derrida’s earlier references to Heidegger in Of Sprit, which prefigures his work in Spectres of Marx and Archive Fever.
Role of natural killer cells in ovarian cancer chemoresistance (TUM3P.1050)

Novel immunotherapeutic approaches revolutionize cancer prognosis but the role of innate immunity in chemoresistance remains poorly understood. For example, toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands in combination with anticancer treatments yielded unpredictable effects, either beneficial or deleterious. We hypothesized that the function of tumor-infiltrating immune cells depends on constitutive TLR variants. We characterized healthy donor T cells, B cells, monocytes and natural killer (NK) for functional polymorphism after transwell co-culture with chemosensitive (OVCAR5) vs. chemoresistant (SKOV3TR) ovarian tumor cells +/- (1) medium only; (2) LPS; (3) PamCys3; (4) Paclitaxel (PTX); (5) OVCAR5; (6) OVCAR5+PTX; (7) SKOV3TR; (8) SKOV3TR+PTX. CD8 + T cell activation was measured by perforin staining, monocyte and B cell maturations by cytokine expression array, and NK-mediated cytotoxicity by PI staining of GFP-transfected K562 after 4 hour-incubation. We observed minor functional variations between donor T cells, B cells and monocytes. However, while all NK cells killed GFP-K562 cells as expected, in some donors NK cytotoxicity was specifically inhibited by SKOV3RT co-culture. NK genotyping and phenotyping are ongoing including tumor-dependent NKG2D expression, and PTX-dependent MICA release by tumor cells. These results support the hypothesis that chemoresistant tumors release soluble factors that modulate NK function though specific interactions with innate immune receptor variants.
Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction Versus Repair With Internal Bracing: Comparison of Cyclic Fatigue Mechanics.

Background:Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries have increased significantly in recent years, and reconstruction has become the preferred treatment for UCL injury over ligament repair. In a rec...
QTL mapping and epistatic interaction analysis of field resistance to sudden death syndrome ( Fusarium virguliforme ) in soybean

Two interactive quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlled the field resistance to sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybean. The interaction between them was confirmed. Sudden death syndrome (SDS), caused by Fusarium virguliforme, is a major disease of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in the United States. Breeding for soybean resistance to SDS is the most cost-effective method to manage the disease. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize quantitative trait loci (QTLs) underlying field resistance to SDS in a recombinant inbred line population from the cross GD2422 × LD01-5907. This population was genotyped with 1786 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using SoySNP6 K iSelect BeadChip and evaluated for SDS resistance in a naturally infested field. Four SDS resistance QTLs were mapped on Chromosomes 4, 8, 12 and 18. The resistant parent, LD01-5907, contributed the resistance alleles for the QTLs on Chromosomes 8 and 18 (qSDS-8 and qSDS-18), while the other parent, GD2422, provided the resistance alleles for the QTLs on Chromosomes 4 and 12 (qSDS-4 and qSDS-12). The minor QTL on Chromosome 12 (qSDS-12) is novel. The QTL on Chromosomes 8 and 18 (qSDS-8 and qSDS-18) overlapped with two soybean cyst nematode resistance-related loci, Rhg4 and Rhg1, respectively. A significant interaction between qSDS-8 and qSDS-18 was detected by disease incidence. Individual effects together with the interaction effect explained around 70% of the phenotypic variance. The epistatic interaction of qSDS-8 and qSDS-18 was confirmed by the field performance across multiple years. Furthermore, the resistance alleles at qSDS-8 and qSDS-18 were demonstrated to be recessive. The SNP markers linked to these QTLs will be useful for marker-assisted breeding to enhance the SDS resistance.
Strong disorder leads to scale invariance in complex biological systems

Despite the innate complexity of the cell, emergent scale-invariant behavior is observed in many biological systems. We investigate one example of this phenomenon: the dynamics of large complexes in the bacterial cytoplasm. The observed dynamics of these complexes is scale invariant in three measures of dynamics: mean-squared displacement (MSD), velocity autocorrelation function, and the step-size distribution. To investigate the physical mechanism for this emergent scale invariance, we explore minimal models in which mobility is modeled as diffusion on a rough free-energy landscape in one dimension. We discover that all three scale-invariant characteristics emerge generically in the strong disorder limit. (Strong disorder is defined by the divergence of the ensemble-averaged hop time between lattice sites.) In particular, we demonstrate how the scale invariance of the relative step-size distribution can be understood from the perspective of extreme-value theory in statistics (EVT). We show that the Gumbel scale parameter is simply related to the MSD scaling parameter. The EVT mechanism of scale invariance is expected to be generic to strongly disordered systems and therefore a powerful tool for the analysis of other systems in biology and beyond.
Using the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund’s Ethical Guidelines as a Model for Investors

The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Government Pension Fund - Global (GPFG), formally established in 1990, is the largest in Europe and second largest in the world, now valued at over $500 billion. It was created to support the long-term management of petroleum revenues and to facilitate government savings necessary to meet the rapid rise in public pension expenditures in the coming decades with an ageing population. Since the GPFG is owned ultimately by the Norwegian citizens and they cannot withdraw from investments as typical shareholders can, a set of Ethics Guidelines were adopted to legitimize the GPFG. Hence, the GPFG avoids investments in companies whose practices constitute an unacceptable risk because of grossly unethical activities. The Ethics Guidelines are based on the view that there is a link between sustainable economic development and sustainable social and environmental development. The idea is that the Fund, being a long-term investor, will benefit from companies respecting fundamental ethical norms based upon internationally recognized standards, such as the UN Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. After explaining the workings of the GPFG and its Ethical Guidelines, this paper will argue that there is growing consensus that sustainable development is a legitimate concern for all investors, be they private or state-owned funds. Hence, using ethics guidelines such as the ones used by the GPFG should not be a reason for promoting special regulation of SWFs. Regulation to deal with geopolitical state interests or national security issues could be addressed in separate legislation against all types of owners, not singling out SWF. The author is a member of the project team of the Sustainable Companies project at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.
Properties and Characterization of Surface Oxides on Aluminum Alloys

The technical properties of an aluminum alloy surface are strongly affected by the structure, morphology, and chemical composition of the oxide film.
Alcohol Impairment of Granulocyte Function During Lung Infection

Heavy alcohol consumption increases the incidence and severity of bacterial pneumonia and other infections. Neutrophil recruitment into the lung is a critical early host response to infection. This chapter focuses on the defects in neutrophil function and production in the alcohol-abusing host. Most of the preclinical literature on this subject has been produced using acute, intoxicating doses of alcohol. These models identify that alcohol-induced suppression of neutrophil recruitment and production are strongly associated with an increased severity of lung infection. Mechanisms responsible for this alcohol-induced granulocyte suppression include decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokine, CXC chemokine, and granulopoietic growth factor production. Neutrophil and/or granulocyte progenitor cell responsiveness to these mediators is also suppressed by alcohol. Additionally, studies indicate that neutrophil functions such as phagocytosis and pathogen killing may also be impaired by severe alcohol intoxication or chronic consumption. Human studies, though fewer in number, identify similar defects imparted by intoxicating concentrations of alcohol. Taken together, present knowledge supports the conclusion that defects in neutrophil recruitment, function and production are pivotal consequences of alcohol abuse and render the host susceptible to a multitude of respiratory infections.
Photonic Crystal Waveguides and Filters

In this chapter, the current state of silicon-based photonic crystal waveguides, photonic crystal cavities, and photonic crystal dispersive filters is discussed. Starting from the basic mode properties, different aspects of design and optimization of these photonic crystal devices for different applications are briefly surveyed. Here, the main focus is on the two-dimensional planar realization of the semiconductor photonic crystal structures, because of their compatibility with other integrated optical components and their compatibility with mature microelectronics fabrication technology. In this context, the implementation considerations and fabrication techniques are reviewed, and major challenges, including loss in these structures, are addressed. Finally, future prospects of photonic crystal-based devices in different areas including optical interconnects and photonic sensing are explored.
Diverse compounds from pleuromutilin lead to a thioredoxin inhibitor and inducer of ferroptosis

The chemical diversification of natural products provides a robust and general method for the creation of stereochemically rich and structurally diverse small molecules. The resulting compounds have physicochemical traits different from those in most screening collections, and as such are an excellent source for biological discovery. Herein, we subject the diterpene natural product pleuromutilin to reaction sequences focused on creating ring system diversity in few synthetic steps. This effort resulted in a collection of compounds with previously unreported ring systems, providing a novel set of structurally diverse and highly complex compounds suitable for screening in a variety of different settings. Biological evaluation identified the novel compound ferroptocide, a small molecule that rapidly and robustly induces ferroptotic death of cancer cells. Target identification efforts and CRISPR knockout studies reveal that ferroptocide is an inhibitor of thioredoxin, a key component of the antioxidant system in the cell. Ferroptocide positively modulates the immune system in a murine model of breast cancer and will be a useful tool to study the utility of pro-ferroptotic agents for treatment of cancer. A set of stereochemically complex and structurally diverse compounds were created from the diterpene natural product pleuromutilin using the complexity-to-diversity strategy. Phenotypic screening identified a compound that induces rapid ferroptotic death of cancer cells. Experiments to probe the mechanism revealed the compound to be an inhibitor of thioredoxin.
Dementia and Memory Disorders in Abuse in the Elderly

Abstract Abuse of the elderly is common, rarely recognized, and often the cause of death. Knowledge of aging and disease processes related to memory and cognitive impairment is necessary to evaluate maltreatment of the older person, whether through creation of stress related to financial abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and physical or sexual assaults. Other intersections include determination of medical capacity and legal competency, as well as the local and state laws protecting the older person throughout their life, especially when there is decline in function. When surviving maltreatment, the older persons’ memory of events following a specific incidence of maltreatment is compromised by dementia or memory disorders. Discovery of what happened to the older person remains challenging and requires a multidisciplinary approach to discovery with the possible involvement of family or neighbors, home-care providers, elder advocates, law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, social services, and advanced health-care providers. Because memory loss occurs gradually in the majority of older persons, determining if verbal and behavioral cues imply abuse starts with a skilled advanced health-care provider, who is familiar with the patient, their comorbidities, and the functional extent of cognitive decline. Likely, the older person has records with a primary or specialty care provider, who first determines if memory loss or cognitive impairment exist and to what extent. This chapter is directed toward helping the reader review and incorporate current science about the aging disorders of memory loss and brain disease in the application of new knowledge to maltreatment case exemplars. The exemplars are designed to challenge the advanced health-care provider and other multidisciplinary team members in decisions about the accuracy of the report of maltreatment and the subsequent care of an older person with dementia and memory disorders affected by maltreatment.
Coarctation of the Aorta in Adulthood

Coarctation of the aorta in adulthood presents as a number of clinical scenarios relating to residual coarctation from previous surgical or transcatheter therapy, undiagnosed coarctation presenting with hypertension, or the rarer complications relating to endocarditis, aneurysmal dilatation, or congestive heart failure. Today, recoarctation (and in some cases, native coarctation) is usually treated with transcatheter balloon dilation and covered stent interventions, but there are instances in which surgical therapy is preferable for various anatomic reasons.
Rampant Misexpression in a Mimulus (Monkeyflower) Introgression Line Caused by Hybrid Sterility, Not Regulatory Divergence.

Divergence in gene expression regulation is common between closely related species and may give rise to incompatibilities in their hybrid progeny. In this study, we investigated the relationship between regulatory evolution within species and reproductive isolation between species. We focused on a well-studied case of hybrid sterility between two closely related yellow monkeyflower species, Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus nasutus, that is caused by two epistatic loci, hybrid male sterility 1 (hms1) and hybrid male sterility 2 (hms2). We compared genome-wide transcript abundance across male and female reproductive tissues (i.e., stamens and carpels) from four genotypes: M. guttatus, M. nasutus, and sterile and fertile progeny from an advanced M. nasutus-M. guttatus introgression line carrying the hms1-hms2 incompatibility. We observed substantial variation in transcript abundance between M. guttatus and M. nasutus, including distinct but overlapping patterns of tissue-biased expression, providing evidence for regulatory divergence between these species. We also found rampant genome-wide misexpression, but only in the affected tissues (i.e., stamens) of sterile introgression hybrids carrying incompatible alleles at hms1 and hms2. Examining patterns of allele-specific expression in sterile and fertile introgression hybrids, we found evidence for interspecific divergence in cis- and trans-regulation, including compensatory cis-trans mutations likely to be driven by stabilizing selection. Nevertheless, species divergence in gene regulatory networks cannot explain the vast majority of the gene misexpression we observe in Mimulus introgression hybrids, which instead likely manifests as a downstream consequence of sterility itself.
Rates of positive lung cancer screening examinations in academic versus community practice

The benefits and harms of lung cancer screening reported in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) likely differ from those observed in academic and community settings. High rates of positive screening findings in the NLST led to the development of the Lung CT Screening Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS) to standardize interpretation and reporting. We conducted a prospective observational study of lung cancer screening data from four lung cancer screening sites in North Carolina to compare prospective use of Lung-RADS in a real-world screened population versus Lung-RADS retrospectively applied to the NLST, and to determine if Lung-RADS assessment use differs in academic versus community settings. We included 4,037 screening examinations from 11/2014 to 12/2018 in academic and community sites and 75,126 NLST LDCT screening exams. On baseline screening exams, the proportion of positive LDCT exams was higher in community versus academic sites or the NLST (17.7% vs. 11.4% and 13.6%, P value <0.01). On subsequent screens, the proportion of positive exams was lowest in the NLST and higher in community and academic sites (5.9% vs. 12.7% and 11.6%, P value <0.01). After adjusting for age, race, sex, and smoking status, patients screened at academic versus community sites were 34% less likely to have a positive screen at baseline [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) =0.66; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.51-0.86] but on subsequent examinations, there was no difference in academic versus community sites (aOR =0.91; 95% CI: 0.58-1.43). Our findings may be due to differences in radiologists' training or experiences or the availability of prior images for comparison.
Renal fibrosis detected by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging remains unchanged despite treatment in subjects with renovascular disease.

Tissue fibrosis is an important index of renal disease progression. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging’s (DWI-MRI) apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) reveals water diffusion is unobstructed by microstructural alterations like fibrosis. We hypothesized that ADC may indicate renal injury and response to therapy in patients with renovascular disease (RVD). RVD patients were treated with medical therapy (MT) and percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (MT + PTRA) (n = 11, 3 bilaterally, n = 14 kidneys) or MT (n = 9). ADC and renal hypoxia (R2*) by blood-oxygen-level-dependent MRI were studied before (n = 27) and 3 months after (n = 20) treatment. Twelve patients underwent renal biopsies. Baseline ADC values were correlated with changes in eGFR, serum creatinine (SCr), systolic blood pressure (SBP), renal hypoxia, and renal vein levels of pro-inflammatory marker tumor necrosis-factor (TNF)-α. Renal oxygenation, eGFR, and SCr improved after MT + PTRA. ADC inversely correlated with the histological degree of renal fibrosis, but remained unchanged after MT or MT + PTRA. Basal ADC values correlated modestly with change in SBP, but not in renal hypoxia, TNF-α levels, or renal function. Lower ADC potentially reflects renal injury in RVD patients, but does not change in response to medical or interventional therapy over 3 months. Future studies need to pinpoint indices of kidney recovery potential.
Summation and synthesis: from the cancer cell biology point of view.

I believe I speak for most people here in saying that I learned a lot about the interrelationship between aging and cancer the last couple of days, but I learned very little about the “why’s”. And I suppose that’s why we are here. Very clearly, the phenomenon is out there; however, there is very little knowledge as to why it occurs.
The Threat of Law: Regulatory Blackmail or an Answer to Congressional Inaction?

The administrative state has become an increasingly dominant force in American jurisprudence, at times wielding its power even beyond the reach of judicial and legislative control. Notwithstanding the fact that many legal scholars, regulated entities, and politicians have lamented the expanding role of the administrative state, regulatory agencies are more frequently flexing their newly acquired muscle and acting in contravention to traditional notions of checks and balances. In this Article, I examine a burgeoning administrative law phenomenon I term the “threat of law,” whereby an administrative agency unilaterally imposes its regulatory will on regulated entities outside of the traditional boundaries of its rulemaking authority. The regulatory body can exercise this threat of law by issuing regulations grounded in dubious statutory authority and daring regulated entities to challenge them in court. In the absence of Congressional action, regulated entities can be left with the options to comply with the disputable regulation, defy the regulation and face penalties and litigation, or fight an often protracted and expensive court battle to get the regulation overturned. The threat of law also ups the ante for an increasingly impotent Congress. By changing the status quo, the threat of law can push Congress to either act to change the questionable regulation or acquiesce. In order to illustrate the tangible pressure this threat of law can inflict on affected regulatees, this Article focuses on recent actions taken by the Treasury Department in response to the growing tide of corporate tax inversions, whereby entities historically domiciled in the United States move their headquarters to lower-tax jurisdictions. Treasury issued expansive notices attacking inversion transactions, pushing their regulatory powers to the limit. Even though Treasury may have lacked the power to act without congressional intervention, its actions produced a threat of law that, at least temporarily, had the same chilling effect on transactions as a legitimately exercised force of law. This Article will examine this attempt by Treasury to circumvent congressional action. It will explore the efficacy this threat of law can have on an agency’s ability to act swiftly in response to emerging challenges, particularly in the face of congressional gridlock. Moreover, this Article will address the implications an effective threat of law has on an agency’s statutory retroactivity powers, traditional notions underlying Congress’s perceived delegation of authority, and to the level of justiciability protections that these actions should be afforded.
Updating the Taxonomy of Intrusion Detection Systems

Intrusion detection technology is a version of security technology that monitors systems to detect and handle malicious activities. The most important purpose of an intrusion detection system is to identify attacks against computer systems and connected networks. Thus, network intrusion detection continues to be a highly relevant research topic. This paper reflects our efforts to provide an updated taxonomy of IDS research as basic platform for comparison of various algorithm and strategy implementations of IDS. Although IDS technology has been reviewed over the years, fast-paced progress in the cybersecurity and networked field necessitates ongoing efforts
Trends, Drivers, and Dynamics of Flight and Migration

This chapter provides an overview of current trends in international migration and displacement. Nearly all countries in the world experience significant out- or in-migration, however, the majority of migrants reside in a few countries, while a few major emigration countries account for a large share of the global emigrant stock. In addition to a brief demographic profile, the chapter discusses drivers and migration motivations, climate and environmentally induced migration, categories of entry, irregular migration, and unsafe migration routes.
Power and domination

The ‘power debate’ raises hard questions to which the recent ‘domination debate’ among philosophers embracing neorepublicanism contributes. Concerning agents and structures, the neorepublican focus...
Nutrition and Hunger: Can the Voluntary Agencies Meet the Challenge?

Private voluntary organizations are unique among those donor agencies engaged in bilateral and multilateral assistance programs designed to benefit the poor majority of the Third World. I would like to explore with you some of the factors that contribute to our uniqueness in order to familiarize you with the role we can and do play in improving the nutritional status of citizens in developing nations.
Certified acute care surgery programs improve outcomes in patients undergoing emergency surgery: A nationwide analysis.

BACKGROUND: Differences in outcomes among trauma centers (TCs) and non-TCs (NTCs) in patients undergoing emergency general surgery (EGS) are well established. However; the impact of development of certified acute care surgery (ACS) programs on patient outcomes remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes in patients undergoing EGS across TCs, NTCs, and TCs with ACS (ACS-TC). METHODS: National estimates for EGS procedures were abstracted from the National Inpatient Sample database. Patients undergoing emergent procedures (appendectomy, cholecystectomy, hernia repair, as well as small and large bowel resections) were included. TCs were identified based on American College of Surgeons' verification. ACS-TC programs were recorded from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Outcome measures were hospital length of stay, complications, and mortality. Regression analysis was performed after adjusting for age, sex, race, Charlson comorbidity index, and type of procedure. RESULTS: A total of 131,410 patients undergoing EGS were analyzed. Patients managed in ACS-TCs had shorter hospital stay (p = 0.045) and lower complication rate (p = 0.041) compared with patients managed in both TCs and NTCs. There was no difference in mortality in patients managed across the groups; however, there was a trend toward lower mortality in patients managed in ACS-TCs in comparison with TCs (p = 0.064) and NTCs (p = 0.089). The overall hospital costs were lower for patients managed in ACS-TCs compared with TCs (p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: TCs with ACS have improved outcomes in EGS procedures compared with both TCs and non-TCs. ACS training with the associated infrastructure standards may contribute to these improved outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic/care management study, level IV.
Disentangling the Associations Between Contextual Stress, Sensitive Parenting, and Children's Social Development

The impact of an accumulation of sociocontextual stress on children's social skill development was examined among 167 predominantly African American mothers and their 2-year-old children. Two theoretical models were considered. First, based on Rutter's (1979) cumulative risk approach, an accumulation of stress was hypothesized to moderate the impact of sensitive parenting on change in social skills such that the protective effects of sensitive parenting declined when cumulative stress reached a critical threshold. Second, based on a family stress model approach, an accumulation of stress was expected to indirectly affect social skills by way of sensitive parenting; that is, sensitive parenting was expected to explain or mediate any direct links between cumulative stress and children's social skills. Results were only consistent with the moderational hypothesis. Contrary to expectations, sensitive parenting predicted increases in social skills from age 2 to 4 only under conditions of the highest cumulative stress.
Analytic elements for the modeling of multi-aquifer flow

Publisher Summary This chapter outlines a general analytic element theory for steady state groundwater flow in multi-aquifer systems, to present the analytic elements that are currently available for the modeling of multi-aquifer flow, and to discuss new elements that are under development. An analytic element method for multi-aquifer flow may be formulated in terms of a column vector of discharge potentials, where the components of the vector represent the potentials in the different aquifers.
L-arginine and calmodulin regulation of the heme iron reactivity in neuronal nitric oxide synthase

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is a calmodulin-dependent, flavin-containing hemoprotein that forms NO from L-arginine, NADPH, and molecular oxygen. Calmodulin binding to NOS triggers reduction of its heme groups (Abu-Soud, H., and Stuehr, D.J. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 10769-10762), leading to NADPH oxidation and NO synthesis. We have examined how L-arginine and calmodulin control the ligand binding and electron acceptor properties of the NOS heme iron. In the absence of bound calmodulin, ferric NOS exhibited a Kd of 0.6 microM for L-arginine, as determined by the substrate-dependent shift in heme spin equilibrium toward a high spin state. L-Arginine binding reduced the affinity of the ferric NOS heme for cyanide by 8-fold. Carbon monoxide binding to substrate-free ferrous NOS occurred at a rate of 2 x 10(5) M-1 S-1; this rate was decreased 12-fold when L-arginine was bound. In contrast, bound calmodulin did not significantly affect cyanide or carbon monoxide binding to the NOS heme, nor did it alter NOS binding affinity for L-arginine. Anaerobic titration of a calmodulin-bound, L-arginine-free NOS with NADPH led to incomplete reduction of the heme iron; full reduction was achieved only in the presence of added L-arginine. Thus, our data suggest that L-arginine controls NOS heme iron reactivity in at least two ways: 1) it slows ligand interactions by binding in the distal pocket very near the heme and 2) it also appears to increase the reduction potential of the iron. In contrast, bound calmodulin does not alter the NOS affinity for L-arginine or heme ligands and may function solely as a switch that enables electrons to pass from the flavin domain onto the heme iron.
The Physics of Laser-Plasma Interaction in Gaseous Targets

In studying the fundamental physics of laser-plasma interaction, gaseous targets offer some definite advantages over solid targets. Because they are experimentally cleaner and more controllable, gaseous targets have enabled us to isolate some specific physical processes. For example, we have found fast electron emission in a direction 30° away from the electric vector of the light wave, but in the plane of optical polarization. This effect is the clear signature of the resonant acceleration mechanism for laser beam absorption. The angle of electron emission determines the plasma density scale length. In addition, we have used the sudden plasma nucleation in a gas target as an optical shutter. This has resulted in the generation of 30 psec CO2 laser pulses—a record. There will also be some discussion of the possibility of compressing a gaseous target to produce net fusion energy.
WE-A-304-01: Strategies and Technologies for Cranial Radiosurgery Planning: MLC-Based Linac

The high fractional doses, stringent requirements for accuracy and precision, and surgical perspective characteristic of intracranial radiosurgery create considerations for treatment planning which are distinct from most other radiotherapy procedures. This session will introduce treatment planning techniques specific to two popular intracranial SRS modalities: Gamma Knife and MLC-based Linac. The basic treatment delivery characteristics of each device will be reviewed with a focus on how those characteristics determine the paradigm used for treatment planning. Basic techniques for treatment planning will be discussed, including considerations such as isodose selection, target and organ-at-risk definition, quality indices, and protection of critical structures. Future directions for SRS treatment planning will also be discussed. Learning Objectives: 1. Introduce the basic physical principles of intracranial radiosurgery and how they are realized in the treatment planning paradigms for Gamma Knife and Linac radiosurgery. 2. Demonstrate basic treatment planning techniques. 3. Discuss metrics for evaluating SRS treatment plan quality. 4. Discuss recent and future advances in SRS treatment planning. D. Schlesinger receives research support from Elekta, AB
Import Response And Inflationary Pressures In The New Economy: The Quantity Theory Of Money Revisited

Contending with the rationale for rate increases to counter inflationary pressures, this study revisits the quantity theory of money and the equation of exchange developed in the sixteenth century by the likes of John Locke, John Law, etc., and popularized over the years by economists, such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Irvin Fisher to predict the response of some variables, especially imports of goods and services, on the rate of inflation. The vector autoregression (VAR) process was used to estimate the model. Results show that import is significant in its impact in the reduction of the growth rate of CPI inflation, thereby dampening the weight of inflationary pressures on economic policy formulations. Because of present economic environment, coupled with author’s fulfilled seven-year prediction, the urgency of incorporating this into our economic policy determination cannot be overemphasized.
Clinical Pharmacist Impact on Care, Length of Stay, and Cost in Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Patients

Background Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are often treated with aminoglycoside (AG) antibiotics during infective pulmonary exacerbations. Achieving pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) targets to improve outcomes and counteract resistance is paramount. Purpose The primary objective was to compare the number of pediatric CF patients achieving AG PK/PD targets when a clinical pharmacist (CP) managed therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) compared with usual care (UC). Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted on the records of 40 CF patients that received AGs and ≥2 serum samples between 1/2007 and 5/2009. Chi-square and Student's t-test were used to analyze nominal and continuous variables, respectively. Results Twenty-nine patients with 52 courses of AGs were included the CP group, and 22 patients with 42 courses were included the UC group. Ninety-eight percent of patients in the CP group reached AG PK/PD targets compared with 71% in the UC group, P < 0.001. Patients in the CP group reached the AG PK/PD target in a mean of 1.9 ± 0.8 days compared with 4.8 ± 3.4 days in the UC group, P < 0.0001. The average LOS in the CP group was 9 ± 5 days compared with 12 ± 7.5 days in the UC group, P = 0.033. The mean number of levels per patient was 2.7 in the CP group compared with 5.2 (range of 2–20) in the UC group, P < 0.001. Resource utilization associated with drug levels, dosing adjustments and LOS were $26,549, $14,069, and $1,680,000 in the CP group as compared with $40,683, $27,812, and $1,940,000, respectively, in the UC group. Conclusion CP managed TDM resulted in a significantly higher percentage of pediatric CF patients achieving AG PK/PD targets 3 days sooner with an average LOS that was 3 days shorter. CP managed TDM resulted in significantly fewer dosage adjustments, drug levels, and cost associated with serum sampling, drug wastage, and LOS. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2013; 48:1190–1194. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Destruction and Replanting of the Urban Forest of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, experienced severe damage during the 1991–1995 Yugoslav wars. During the 47-month-long Siege of Sarajevo from April 1992 to March 1996, the energy supplies to the city were cut off, and the besieged residents gradually cut down over three-quarters of all urban trees within the siege lines for use as firewood. In addition, some urban green spaces were converted into cemeteries, further reducing the number of urban trees. After the war, the city trees have gradually been replanted using primarily imported tree stock, as most of the local tree nurseries had been destroyed during the siege. This chapter presents the observations and measurements of trees which survived the war, as well as of the trees that have been planted after the war, made in Sarajevo in 2008, 13 years after the siege. We summarize the lessons learned from the Sarajevo experience, regarding both the patterns of damage and the effective strategies for replanting, which include the close relationship between the urban tree damage and the specifics of military operations, the importance of the initial planting stock, and the advantages of collaboration between academic researchers and urban forest managers in a large-scale replanting program.
Model representation with aesthetic computing: Method and empirical study

We define a new methodology, aesthetic computing, for customizing discrete structures found in mathematics, programming, and computer simulation. The methodology is presented as a procedure, defined within the context of the semantic web, involving a successive chain of model transformations from a source model to a target model, with the source model being the discrete structure to represent and the target model being the geometric model. We also present an implementation based on this methodology, and a class where empirical studies were performed to assess student perceptions on how customized model structures affected their understanding and preferences regarding visual and interactive model representations. Students appear to prefer the methodology as a way to inject creativity into model building, and to allow them to explore alternative, analogical representations influenced by the fields of aesthetics and the arts.
Ureteroscopic management of ureteral calculi: electrohydraulic versus holmium:YAG lithotripsy.

ABSTRACT Purpose This study compared electrohydraulic and holmium:YAG lithotripsy for ureteral calculi. Materials and Methods Two cohorts of consecutive patients with ureteral calculi treated with ureteroscopic electrohydraulic or holmium:YAG lithotripsy were retrospectively compared. Electrohydraulic lithotripsy was done using a 1.9F fiber at energy settings between 50 and 100 v. Holmium:YAG lithotripsy was done using a 365 micro m. fiber at energy settings of 0.6 to 1.5 J. Results A total of 23 and 47 consecutive patients underwent electrohydraulic and holmium: YAG lithotripsy, respectively. For preoperative calculi less than 15 mm. mean stone size plus or minus standard deviation was 9 +/− 3 versus 9 +/− 3 mm. (p = 0.5), mean operative time was 72 +/− 21 versus 102 +/− 38 minutes (p = 0.004), stone-free rate at the end of ureteroscopy was 65 versus 97 (p Conclusions The overall likelihood that a patient would be rendered stone-free at ureteroscopy and 3 months after ureteroscopy favored holmium:YAG over electrohydraulic lithotripsy. For ureteral calculi less than 15 mm. electrohydraulic lithotripsy was more rapid than the holmium:YAG procedure but for ureteral calculi 15 mm. or greater the holmium:YAG technique was more rapid than electrohydraulic lithotripsy. The outcomes differences may have resulted from the different mechanisms of electrohydraulic and holmium:YAG lithotripsy.