cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aerobic exercise in obese diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease: a randomized and controlled pilot study

Background: Patients with obesity, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are generally physically inactive, have a high mortality rate, and may benefit from an exercise program. Methods: We performed a 24-week randomized controlled feasibility study comparing aerobic exercise plus optimal medical management to medical management alone in patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 30 kg/m 2 ), and stage 2-4 CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] 15-90 mL/min/1.73 m 2 with persistent proteinuria). Subjects randomized to exercise underwent thrice weekly aerobic training for 6 followed by 18 weeks of supervised home exercise. The primary outcome variable was change in proteinuria. Results: Seven subjects randomized to exercise and 4 control subjects completed the study. Exercise training resulted in an increase in exercise duration during treadmill testing, which was accompanied by slight but insignificant decreases in resting systolic blood pressure and 24-hour proteinuria. Exercise did not alter GFR, hemoglobin, glycated hemoglobin, serum lipids, or Creactive protein (CRP). Caloric intake and body weight and composition also did not change with exercise training. Conclusion: Exercise training in obese diabetic patients with CKD is feasible and may have clinical benefits. A large-scale randomized controlled trial to determine the effects of exercise on renal functions, cardiovascular fitness, inflammation, and oxidative stress in diabetic patients with CKD is planned.
Active laser cavity particle counters: a fundamental problem and solution for airborne application

A previously unreported air-density-related detuning effect for active cavity aerosol optical particle counters is described, and a simple device for correcting the problem is presented. Airborne field tests with and without the correction device illustrate the effect and the good degree to which the deficiency can be overcome. The effect is shown to have an important impact on instrument calibration.
Theory, model, and applications of non-Gaussian probability density functions for random jitter/noise with non-white power spectral densities

In high speed data communications, timing jitter and voltage noise analyses often depend on mathematical models to predict long-term reliability of the system, typically merited by a low bit error ratio (BER). Many methods involve the extrapolation of random jitter (RJ) and random noise (RN) to very low BER, assuming that RJ is white Gaussian noise. In reality, RJ spectra are not always white. Thus, RJ statistical distributions can deviate from an ideal Gaussian, affecting the accuracy of extrapolations. This paper presents a theory and model for relating RJ distributions with colored spectra. We apply this model to various filtered RJ spectra, including the extreme case of Brownian (1/f2) noise, and show correlation between simulation and measurement.
Selected Grassy Weeds as Alternate Hosts of Northern Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

We evaluated the suitability of three grassy weed species, large crabgrass (Digitaria sanquinalis L. Scop.), giant foxtail (Setaria faber Herrm.), and barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli L. Beauv.), and a forage grass, tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), along with maize (Zea mays L.), as hosts of the northern corn rootworm, Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence. Potted greenhouse plants were infested with northern corn rootworm eggs, and after hatch, larvae were recovered over time by using Tullgren funnels. The percentage of larvae recovered varied significantly between species at each sample date. The highest percentage of larvae were recovered from barnyardgrass, maize, and large crabgrass followed by giant foxtail and tall fescue. When sample dates were combined to test the main effect of species, there was no significant difference in the percentage of larvae recovered between maize and three other species (barnyardgrass, large crabgrass, and giant foxtail). The change in head capsule width (growth to new instars) also varied significantly between grass species on the second, third, and fourth sample date, but not the first. On the second sampling date, most of the larvae from maize were third instars, and their head capsule width was greater than the head capsule width of larvae recovered from any of the other species. Although the greatest percentage of larvae was recovered from barnyardgrass, larval development on this species was reduced, because average head capsule width of larvae recovered from all sample dates indicated they were mostly second instars. Average larval weights were not impacted by the grassy weed species evaluated. In a laboratory experiment, we studied the host-searching behavior of neonate larvae, in which the movement patterns were traced after contact with and removal from the roots of different species. In this study, we included the above-mentioned species, side-oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula Michx. Torr), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), and moistened filter paper, which served as a control. There were significant differences in the area searched, number of turns, path crossings, and the average velocity of the northern corn rootworm neonate larvae exposed to the different plant species and the control. The importance of the results in relation to resistance management is discussed.
An IF 8-element 2-beam bit-stream band-pass beamformer

We introduce a new ADC-digital co-design approach to IF digital beamforming (DBF) that combines continuous-time band-pass ΔΣ modulators (CTBPDSMs) and bit-stream processing (BSP) to achieve highly flexible and low-cost DBF. Our prototype DBF IC digitizes eight 260MHz IF signals at 1040MS/s with band-pass ADCs, and performs DBF directly on the over-sampled, un-decimated ADC outputs, achieving band-pass filtering in both spatial and frequency domains. With 12b programmable complex weights, the prototype generates two simultaneous beams, and achieves an SNDR of 63.3dB with an 8.9dB array improvement over a 10MHz bandwidth. Fabricated in 65nm CMOS, the prototype is the first IC implementation of IF DBF, occupies 0.28mm2, and consumes 124mW.
Risks of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia among DES-exposed women.

This article describes the increased occurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in women with in utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES). Among 335 self-referred women exposed to DES 14.9% (50) had at least 1 cytologic smear interpreted as CIN and 16.2% (54) had at least 1 biopsy interpreted as CIN. Excluding those with grade 1 CIN 8.7% (29) had at least grade 2 CIN on biopsy and 4.2% (14) had biopsies interpreted as grade 3 CIN. No invasive lesions were detected. Because the problem of differentiating true intraepithelial neoplasia from morphologically indistinguishable but benign lesions in DES-exposed women remains unresolved the authors believe a conservative approach to treatment is still indicated. This study supports the recommendation that DES-exposed women merit continued thorough gynecologic evaluation including regular cytologic evaluation and colposcopy with biopsies as indicated. (authors)
GPR21 KO mice demonstrate no resistance to high fat diet induced obesity or improved glucose tolerance

Gpr21 KO mice generated with Gpr21 KO ES cells obtained from Deltagen showed improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity when fed a high fat diet. Further mRNA expression analysis revealed changes in Rabgap1 levels and raised the possibility that Rabgap1 gene may have been modified. To assess this hypothesis a new Gpr21 KO mouse line using TALENS technology was generated. Gpr21 gene deletion was confirmed by PCR and Gpr21 and Rabgap1 mRNA expression levels were determined by RT-PCR. The newly generated Gpr21 KO mice when fed a normal or high fat diet chow did not maintain their improved metabolic phenotype. In conclusion, Rabgap1 disturbance mRNA expression levels may have contributed to the phenotype of the originally designed Gpr21 KO mice.
CYP2A6 Effects on Subjective Reactions to Initial Smoking Attempt

INTRODUCTION In very novice smokers, CYP2A6 genotypes that reduce nicotine metabolism to an intermediate rate may increase smoking risk, relative to both normal and slow rates. The present study examined the hypothesis that intermediate metabolism variants are associated with greater pleasurable effects of the initial smoking attempt than either normal or slow metabolism variants. METHODS Participants were novice smokers (N = 261, 65% female) of European descent. Predicted nicotine metabolic rate based on CYP2A6 diplotypes (CYP2A6 Diplotype Predicted Rate [CDPR]) was partitioned into Normal, Intermediate, and Slow categories using a metabolism metric. Subjective reactions to the initial smoking attempt were assessed by the Pleasurable Smoking Experiences (PSE) scale, which was collected within 3 years of the initial smoking attempt. The effect of CDPR on PSE was tested using a generalized linear model in which CDPR was dummy coded and Intermediate CDPR was the reference condition. Gender was included in the model as a control for higher PSE scores by males. RESULTS Lower PSE scores were associated with Normal CDPR, β = -0.34, P = .008, and Slow CDPR, β = -0.52, P = .001, relative to Intermediate CDPR. CONCLUSIONS Intermediate CDPR-enhanced pleasurable effects of the initial smoking attempt relative to other CYP2A6 variants. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that the risk effect of Intermediate CDPR on early smoking is a function of optimal pleasurable effects. IMPLICATIONS This study supports our recent hypothesis that CYP2A6 diplotypes that encode intermediate nicotine metabolism rate are associated with enhanced pleasurable events following the initial smoking attempt, compared with diplotypes that encode either normal or slow metabolism. This hypothesis was offered to account for our unexpected previous finding of enhanced smoking risk in very novice smokers associated with intermediate metabolism rate. Our new finding encourages further investigation of time-dependent relations between CYP2A6 effects and smoking motives, and it encourages laboratory study of the mechanisms underlying the initial smoking enhancement in novice smokers associated with intermediate metabolism.
Creations and Terminations of Joint Tenancies in Real Property When One Spouse is Not a U.S. Citizen

The rules surrounding the creation and termination of spousal joint tenancies in real property are unduly complex and sometimes yield perceived inequitable results when one spouse is a non-U.S. citizen. The many amendments to the gift tax marital deduction, the grandfathering of certain gifts upon creation of a joint tenancy, and the application of repealed rules to joint tenancies in real property created today, coupled with the rules applicable to the termination of a joint tenancy in real property, combine to form a system of taxation governing marital transfers that is extremely difficult to synthesize. The application of these rules to the creation and termination of joint tenancies in real property is made more difficult when one spouse is not a U.S. citizen. The rules also result in counterintuitive, seemingly unfair and apparently unintended consequences when the donee spouse predeceases the donor spouse, and/or when the wealthier spouse is a noncitizen. This article outlines the marital deduction rules, QDOT rules, availability of the annual exclusion for gifts to noncitizen spouses and the spousal joint tenancy and contribution rules. The article also demonstrates the complex analysis that must be undertaken to determine the tax ramifications of terminating a joint tenancy in real property, either during life or upon the death of one spouse.
On tritium, DNA, and serendipity.

There is an old saying: "I'd rather be lucky than good, any day." I sometimes (read often) believe that I am living proof of the truth of that adage. In 1955, intermediary metabolism was in its last throes as the "glamour" subject of biology. I finished my Ph.D. work at Ohio State with a dissertation on how Pseudomonas utilized ethylene glycol as a sole carbon source. It was not a brilliant piece of work-it was never published-and I was left feeling very uncertain about my potential as an independent investigator. I had applied to many places for a job (postdoctoral appointments were relatively rare in those days), and one of them was to Brookhaven National Laboratory. I had earlier generated an interest in the killing effects of incorporated radioisotopes, when working on 32p uptake into bacteria, and in my letter to Brookhaven I mentioned this interest. The letter came to the attention of Dr. Walter L. (Pete) Hughes, then head of the Microbiology Division of the Medical Department, who was envisaging the use of tritium as a means of selectively killing growing cells. Thus the letter fortuitously hit the right target. I went to work with Pete in January 1956, just as he prepared the first batch of tritium-labeled thymidine. I had stumbled in on the development of one of the most important tools of modern biology, namely, the use of tritium as a biological tracer in general and, as [3H]thymidine, a specific labeled precursor for DNA. Early in the summer of 1956 Pete informed me that some fellow by the name of Herb Taylor was visiting Phil Woods in the Biology Department and wanted to use [3H]thymidine for a tracer experiment he had devised. We had already begun to grow cells in [3H]thymidine to see if it would kill them, so the [3H]thymidine was available, and Pete agreed
Transference to Egg and Chick of the Radionuclides Strontium-89, Calcium-45 and Barium-133 When Administered to Laying Hens,

Abstract STUDIES on the secretion of radioactive calcium in the hen's eggs following oral administration were reported by Driggers and Comar (1949). These workers found that radioactive calcium (Ca45) was present in the shell of an egg laid 15 minutes after dosing and that 30 to 35 percent of the ingested Ca45 was present in an egg laid 24 hours after dosing. Studies by Driggers et al. (1951) showed that Ca45 administered to laying hens was transferred to the chick by way of the egg. The highest concentration of Ca45 was found in chicks from eggs laid two days after administration of the isotope. Shirley et al. (1951) determined the quantity of Ca45 excreted in the feces and urine of hens dosed orally with Ca45 and found that the hens excreted approximately 50 percent of the Ca45 dose in the feces in 45 days. Hashizume et al. (1952) found that the …
Mechanical Response of Borosilicate and Soda-Lime Glass Under Dynamic Triaxial Compression

Dynamic triaxial compression experiments were performed on borosilicate and soda-lime glass using a triaxial compression Kolsky bar that has two pressure chambers, one enclosing the specimen and the other enclosing the end of the transmission bar. A specimen is pre-stressed hydrostatically before being loaded by a dynamic axial stress wave. Specimen axial stress and strain are determined at high strain rates under a range of hydrostatic pressures. Borosilicate glass was subjected to pressures of 25, 50, and 100 MPa at a strain rate of 1500 s−1, and soda-lime glass was subjected to 25, 50, and 75 MPa at 1100 s−1. Dynamic results were compared to high-rate unconfined experiments, as well as low-rate confined experiments. It was observed that confined glass strength did not show clear strain-rate dependency. But confining pressure increased the glass strength.
XLinkDB 2.0: integrated, large-scale structural analysis of protein crosslinking data.

Motivation: Large-scale chemical cross-linking with mass spectrometry (XL-MS) analyses are quickly becoming a powerful means for high-throughput determination of protein structural information and protein–protein interactions. Recent studies have garnered thousands of cross-linked interactions, yet the field lacks an effective tool to compile experimental data or access the network and structural knowledge for these large scale analyses. We present XLinkDB 2.0 which integrates tools for network analysis, Protein Databank queries, modeling of predicted protein structures and modeling of docked protein structures. The novel, integrated approach of XLinkDB 2.0 enables the holistic analysis of XL-MS protein interaction data without limitation to the cross-linker or analytical system used for the analysis. Availability and Implementation: XLinkDB 2.0 can be found here, including documentation and help: http://xlinkdb.gs.washington.edu/ . Contact : jimbruce@uw.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Families in crisis due to multiple trauma.

There has been an emergence of the recognized necessity for professional focus on the family as the unit of treatment within multiple trauma. Families bring their own combinations of anxiety, emotional relationship structure, multigenerational traditions and patterns and communication styles to bear on the identified patient. The overall reciprocal impact of this crisis on the patient and family can be effectively mediated by an adequate assessment of family context and process immediately within the crisis phase. The trauma nurse is in a key position to intervene in the enhancement of optimal family function and to ease transition into the progressive stages of recovery.
Analysis of the monitoring results of the flies in 2001-2007 of Liaocheng City

Objective City urban master a variety of flies,the changes of season,to create a national health provide the basis for cities.Methods Cage lure law.Results Musca Linnaeus,Lucilia sericata,Muscina stabulans,Fannia canicularisfor the dominant population,in each of April into the cage,5,8 month peak,basically flies in November,after city reunification killing flies,flies density decreased.
Palliative Care and the Dying Patient

Geriatric patients experience significant debility and decline. Although the trajectory of illness will differ by disease, an important focus on quality of life remains a key component to patient-centered care. Palliative care supports patients living with life-limiting illnesses through intensive symptom management and providing support for patients and families who need to make critical decisions about their medical care. Through helping patients understand their illness, palliative care clinicians can clarify a treatment plan that is aligned with patient values and goals. Some clinicians may express ethical concerns about end-of-life care that has been opined by the judicial system and medical societies at least in the North American cultures. This chapter highlights management of symptoms commonly seen in end-of-life care and how to support grieving families during the dying process.
Basal forebrain projections to the lateral habenula modulate aggression reward

Maladaptive aggressive behaviour is associated with a number of neuropsychiatric disorders and is thought to result partly from the inappropriate activation of brain reward systems in response to aggressive or violent social stimuli. Nuclei within the ventromedial hypothalamus, extended amygdala and limbic circuits are known to encode initiation of aggression; however, little is known about the neural mechanisms that directly modulate the motivational component of aggressive behaviour. Here we established a mouse model to measure the valence of aggressive inter-male social interaction with a smaller subordinate intruder as reinforcement for the development of conditioned place preference (CPP). Aggressors develop a CPP, whereas non-aggressors develop a conditioned place aversion to the intruder-paired context. Furthermore, we identify a functional GABAergic projection from the basal forebrain (BF) to the lateral habenula (lHb) that bi-directionally controls the valence of aggressive interactions. Circuit-specific silencing of GABAergic BF-lHb terminals of aggressors with halorhodopsin (NpHR3.0) increases lHb neuronal firing and abolishes CPP to the intruder-paired context. Activation of GABAergic BF-lHb terminals of non-aggressors with channelrhodopsin (ChR2) decreases lHb neuronal firing and promotes CPP to the intruder-paired context. Finally, we show that altering inhibitory transmission at BF-lHb terminals does not control the initiation of aggressive behaviour. These results demonstrate that the BF-lHb circuit has a critical role in regulating the valence of inter-male aggressive behaviour and provide novel mechanistic insight into the neural circuits modulating aggression reward processing.
UHF Clocks Based on Ovenized AlN MEMS Resonators

This work describes temperature compensated UHF oscillators based on AlN MEMS resonators with co-integrated heaters. Two approaches are proposed and experimentally verified. In the first, the heater is used to maintain the resonators temperature, and hence its frequency, constant. In the second, the heater is used as a tuning knob to compensate for both the temperature dependency of the resonator and its driving circuitry. With this latter approach, a 586 MHz oscillator was shown to exhibit a temperature stability of 1.7 ppm from −45°C to 85°C, with phase noise better than 91 and −160 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz and 40 MHz offsets, respectively.
The effect of Si and Al concentrations on the removal of U(VI) in the alkaline conditions created by NH 3 gas

Abstract Remediation of uranium in the deep unsaturated zone is a challenging task, especially in the presence of oxygenated, high-carbonate alkalinity soil and pore water composition typical for arid and semi-arid environments of the western regions of the U.S. This study evaluates the effect of various pore water constituencies on changes of uranium concentrations in alkaline conditions, created in the presence of reactive gases such as NH3 to effectively mitigate uranium contamination in the vadose zone sediments. This contaminant is a potential source for groundwater pollution through slow infiltration of soluble and highly mobile uranium species towards the water table. The objective of this research was to evaluate uranium sequestration efficiencies in the alkaline synthetic pore water solutions prepared in a broad range of Si, Al, and bicarbonate concentrations typically present in field systems of the western U.S. regions and identify solid uranium-bearing phases that result from ammonia gas treatment. In previous studies (Szecsody et al. 2012; Zhong et al. 2015), although uranium mobility was greatly decreased, solid phases could not be identified at the low uranium concentrations in field-contaminated sediments. The chemical composition of the synthetic pore water used in the experiments varied for silica (5–250 mM), Al3+ (2.8 or 5 mM), HCO3− (0–100 mM) and U(VI) (0.0021–0.0084 mM) in the solution mixture. Experiment results suggested that solutions with Si concentrations higher than 50 mM exhibited greater removal efficiencies of U(VI). Solutions with higher concentrations of bicarbonate also exhibited greater removal efficiencies for Si, Al, and U(VI). Overall, the silica polymerization reaction leading to the formation of Si gel correlated with the removal of U(VI), Si, and Al from the solution. If no Si polymerization was observed, there was no U removal from the supernatant solution. Speciation modeling indicated that the dominant uranium species in the presence of bicarbonate were anionic uranyl carbonate complexes (UO2(CO3)2−2 and UO2(CO3)3−4) and in the absence of bicarbonate in the solution, U(VI) major species appeared as uranyl-hydroxide (UO2(OH)3− and UO2(OH)4−2) species. The model also predicted the formation of uranium solid phases. Uranyl carbonates as rutherfordine [UO2CO3], cejkaite [Na4(UO2)(CO3)3] and hydrated uranyl silicate phases as Na-boltwoodite [Na(UO2)(SiO4)·1.5H2O] were anticipated for most of the synthetic pore water compositions amended from medium (2.9 mM) to high (100 mM) bicarbonate concentrations.
Polymeric Ionic Liquid Gel Electrolyte for Room Temperature Lithium Battery Applications

Abstract Free-standing gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) composed of the polymeric ionic liquid poly[diallyldimethylammonium] bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonimide, the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonimide, and lithium salt are reported for their use in lithium batteries. The GPEs are thermally stable and contain ionic liquid and salt contents of up to 80 wt.% which results in highly ionically conductive electrolyte films with σ = 3.35 mS cm −1 . The affinity of the polymeric ionic liquid with the ionic liquid and salt components of the GPE allows wide electrochemical stability window −0.1–4.9 V and increased lithium ion transference number. In addition, the GPEs suppressed dendrite formation compared to ionic liquid electrolytes and in turn enabled the use of these GPEs in batteries with lithium anodes. Galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling of Li/GPE/LiFePO 4 cells shows discharge capacity of 169.3 mAh g −1 at C/10, 126.8 mAh g −1 at 1C, and impressive capacity retention capability for 40 cycles at up to 5C rate, at 22 °C.
Active Share and the Three Pillars of Active Management: Skill, Conviction and Opportunity

We introduce a new formula for Active Share that emphasizes that a fund’s Active Share is only reduced through overlapping holdings with its benchmark. Next, we relate Active Share to the fund manager’s individual stock picking skill, conviction and opportunity. We show why and how to adjust the expense ratio for the level of Active Share and the cost of investing in the benchmark. We conclude that Active Share matters for fund performance: investors should not pay (too) much for low Active Share funds, while among high Active Share funds only patient managers with long-term convictions have been successful.
Genetic approaches for the study of PTSD: Advances and challenges

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly debilitating stress and anxiety-related disorder that occurs in response to specific trauma or abuse. Genetic risk factors may account for up to 30–40% of the heritability of PTSD. Understanding the gene pathways that are associated with PTSD, and how those genes interact with the fear and stress circuitry to mediate risk and resilience for PTSD will enable the development of targeted therapies to prevent the occurrence of or decrease the severity of this complex multi-gene disorder. This review will summarize recent research on genetic approaches to understanding PTSD risk and resilience in human populations, including candidate genes and their epigenetic modifications, genome-wide association studies and neural imaging genetics approaches. Despite challenges faced within this field of study such as inconsistent results and replications, genetic approaches still offer exciting opportunities for the identification and development of novel therapeutic targets and therapies in the future.
Automation in Metal Processing: A Review

Abstract The iron and steel industry is characterized by the enormous size of its production processes and machinery and by ever-increasing requirements of precision and accuracy on its steel products. Automation through the use of digital computers has been a significant factor in increasing unit production per process and per plant. In addition, computer software has become a principal part of the technology of metallurgical processes. For example, on strip and plate mills, near optimal interactive control programs involve value trade-offs amongst product qualities, including flatness or crown, thickness, width, grain growth and tensile characteristics, and the more conventional values of yield and tonnage.
Establishing auditory-tactile-visual equivalence classes in children with autism and developmental delays.

The current study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a stimulus equivalence training procedure in establishing auditory–tactile–visual stimulus classes with 2 children with autism and developmental delays. Participants were exposed to vocal–tactile (A–B) and tactile–picture (B–C) conditional discrimination training and were tested for the emergence of vocal–picture (A–C) and picture–vocal (C–A) responses. The results demonstrated that, following training, both participants responded successfully on both the training stimulus arrangements and the test probes that were never trained, illustrating emergence of cross-modal transitive and equivalence relations.
An asymptotic approximation to the N-mixture model for the estimation of disease prevalence

N-mixture models are probability models that estimate abundance using replicate observed counts while accounting for imperfect detection. In this article, we propose an asymptotic approximation to the N-mixture model which efficiently estimates large abundances without the computational limitations of the generalized N-mixture model introduced by Dail and Madsen in 2011. It has been suggested in the literature that N-mixture models do not perform well when counts from the same sites show weak patterns of population dynamics. Our proposed model addresses this issue by using the asymptotic information matrix to diagnose model parameter estimability and to derive parameter standard errors. A simulation study show that this model performs almost as well as the Dail-Madsen Generalized N-mixture model at low abundances and improves on it at higher abundances. We illustrate the procedure using two data sets: the American robin data from Dail and Madsen (2011), and counts of chlamydia cases in the state of Oregon from 2007-2016. The chlamydia data exhibit very large abundances and demonstrate the potential usefulness of the proposed model for disease surveillance data.
Extensor Mechanism Reconstruction with Use of Marlex Mesh: A Series Study of 77 Total Knee Arthroplasties.

Background:Disruption of the extensor mechanism after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is debilitating, and the reported results of numerous reconstructive options have varied. We previously reported the early results of 13 patients who underwent reconstruction of the extensor mechanism with use of Mar
Assessing Employee Support during Union Organizing Campaigns

Many labor unions assess support among prospective members to guide decision making during organizing campaigns, and to predict voting in representation elections. However, research on the actual p...
Reservoirs and continent conduits

A continent reservoir should have the capacity to retain urine at a low pressure with compliance and little contractile activity. Geometric capacity is achieved by reconfiguring the bowel to resemble a sphere; accommodation occurs as the tension in the wall rises with stable pressure; viscoelasticity enables the segment to be compliant; and detubularization breaks the coordination of bowel contractions. A conduit provides continence and allows catheterization. This may be achieved by luminal compression, peristalsis, equilibration of pressure, or valve action. By making use of the basic principles involved, the surgeon can select the construction most appropriate for the patient.
The Morbidity Costs of Air Pollution: Evidence from Spending on Chronic Respiratory Conditions

Medical expenditures on respiratory ailments such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exceed $75 billion annually in the US, and research demonstrates that exposure to air pollution can exacerbate symptoms from these diseases. How much of this spending is attributable to air pollution, and what are the welfare consequences of pollution-induced changes in expenditures? Despite the enormous scale of spending on respiratory diseases, there is little research in economics examining these questions related to morbidity. In this paper, we link household level data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to concentrations of particulate matter across 23 US metropolitan areas for the years 1999–2003. Using an extensive set of fixed effects and an instrumental variables strategy, we find that a standard deviation increase in fine particulate matter increases spending on asthma and COPD by 12.7%. Our theoretical framing implies a lower bound willingness to pay for a reduction of this size that exceeds $9 billion annually.
Neural correlates of cardiac interoceptive accuracy across development: implications for social symptoms in autism spectrum disorders

Abstract Background Interoception involves the processing of sensory information relevant to physiological functioning and is integral to building self-awareness, emotional states, and modulating social behaviors. With the role of interoception in emotional processing and social functioning, there is growing interest in characterizing interoception in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet, there are mixed results regarding cardiac interoceptive accuracy in ASD. Methods In this study, we explored the neural basis of cardiac interoception using an fMRI heartbeat counting task in order to assess neural correlates of primary interoception. We predicted that interoceptive-specific response in the insula, a “hub” for interoception, would be related to ASD symptomatology. We investigated the relationship of insula responses during cardiac interoceptive accuracy and a self/caregiver-reported autism-related symptom scale (Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS)). Participants included 46 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (age 8-54, mean= 19.43±10.68 years) and 54 individuals with typical development for comparison (TC, age 8-53, mean= 21.43±10.41 years). Results We found no significant difference in cardiac interoceptive accuracy or neural response to cardiac interoception in ASD. Several insula sudivisons had a curvilinear relationship to age, peaking in early adulthood. Interoceptive-specific insula response was associated with adult self-report SRS scores; this association differed by diagnostic group and self/other report. Conclusions This work suggests that 1) there is no global deficit in interoception in ASD, but that integrating interoceptive cues with social information may distinguish individuals with ASD, and 2) there is a developmental trajectory for interoceptive processing in the insula that may be relevant for socio-emotional health.
The igmspec Database of Public Spectra Probing the Intergalactic Medium

We describe v02 of igmspec, a database of publically available ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared spectra that probe the intergalactic medium (IGM). This database, a child of the specdb repository in the specdb github organization, comprises 403277 unique sources and 434686 spectra obtained with the world's greatest observatories. All of these data are distributed in a single ~25 GB HDF5 file maintained at the University of California Observatories and the University of California, Santa Cruz. The specdb software package includes Python scripts and modules for searching the source catalog and spectral datasets, and software links to the linetools package for spectral analysis. The repository also includes software to generate private spectral datasets that are compliant with International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) protocols and a Python-based interface for IVOA Simple Spectral Access queries. Future versions of igmspec will ingest other sources (e.g. gamma-ray burst afterglows) and other surveys as they become publicly available. The overall goal is to include every spectrum that effectively probes the IGM. Future databases of specdb may include publicly available galaxy spectra (exgalspec) and published supernovae spectra (snspec). The community is encouraged to join the effort on github: this https URL
Evidence for K + -->π + π - +e + +ν Decay Mode

A K/sup +/-meson decay of particular interest has been found during studies of K/sup +/ endings in 800 mu Ilford G-5 emulsion. The event appears to be an example of a Kl decaying into two particles of pion or muon mass, one electron, and one or more neutral particles. A thorough analysis of the event is presented with a number of possible decay modes considered and rejected. The most likely possibility for the event is K/sup +/ yields pi /sup +/ + pi /sup -/ + e/sup +/ + nu . (H.D.R.)
Thinking with the Intimacy Contract: Social Contract Critique and the Privatization of US Empire

This essay considers how an “intimacy contract,” as a conceptual tool and a political reality, extends existing critiques of the social contract tradition by accounting for the privatized nature of...
Matching Cross Network for Learning to Rank in Personal Search

Recent neural ranking algorithms focus on learning semantic matching between query and document terms. However, practical learning to rank systems typically rely on a wide range of side information beyond query and document textual features, like location, user context, etc. It is common practice to concatenate all of these features and rely on deep models to learn a complex representation. We study how to effectively and efficiently combine textual information from queries and documents with other useful but less prominent side information for learning to rank. We conduct synthetic experiments to show that: 1) neural networks are inefficient at learning the interaction between two prominent features (e.g., query and document embedding features) in the presence of other less prominent features; 2) direct application of a state-of-art method for higher-order feature generation is also inefficient. Based on the above observations, we propose a simple but effective matching cross network (MCN) method for learning to rank with side information. MCN conducts an element-wise multiplication matching of query and document embeddings and leverages a technique called latent cross to effectively learn the interaction between matching output and all side information. The approach is easy to implement, and adds minimal parameters and latency overhead to standard neural ranking architectures. We conduct extensive experiments using two of the world’s largest personal search engines, Gmail and Google Drive search, and show that each proposed component adds meaningful gains against a strong production baseline with minimal latency overhead, thereby demonstrating the practical effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach.
Palliative Radiotherapy Versus Esophageal Stent Placement in the Management of Patients With Metastatic Esophageal Cancer.

BACKGROUND Patients with advanced esophageal cancer often experience pain and dysphagia, yet the optimal palliative management remains unclear. This retrospective study evaluated outcomes and adverse effects of palliative radiotherapy (RT) compared with esophageal stenting among a cohort of U.S. veterans with metastatic esophageal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS We identified 1,957 veterans in the United States with metastatic esophageal cancer who received palliative RT to the esophagus or esophageal stenting, and assessed the risks of severe adverse effects, including esophageal fistula formation, perforation, obstruction, hemorrhage, and esophagitis. We determined palliative efficacy by evaluating pain and dysphagia scores before and after intervention. Multivariable analyses were used to control for potential confounding factors. RESULTS In our cohort, 1,593 patients underwent RT and 364 underwent esophageal stenting. The cumulative incidence of any severe adverse effect at 6 months was higher among patients who received stents compared with those who received RT (21.7% vs 12.4%; P<.0010). In multivariable analysis, patients who received stents had an increased risk of any severe adverse effect, including fistula, perforation, and hemorrhage (all P<.0500). Multivariable analysis also showed that, compared with stenting, RT was associated with more rapid and durable pain relief (P<.0010) with no difference in relief of dysphagia over time when accounting for pretreatment dysphagia scores (P=.1029). CONCLUSIONS Compared with esophageal stenting, RT was associated with a decreased risk of adverse effects, greater pain relief, and equivalent relief of moderate to severe dysphagia over time. Unmeasured patient- or tumor-related factors could have influenced the choice of intervention, thereby impacting our study outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date analyzing the comparative risks and benefits of palliative RT and esophageal stenting among patients with metastatic esophageal cancer.
Designing on the page: Composing picturebooks in a Kevin Henkes author study:

A team of four general education second grade teachers, who work in a neighbourhood state elementary school in a large urban area in the northeast United States, and their staff developer, redesign...
History and Evolution of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model

The first section of this monograph describes the NAWCM and the difficulties it faces confronting circumstances very different from those that created it, namely the local overabundance of whitetail deer, wild hogs, and other wild game animals. It describes scientific wildlife management and argues that it constitutes the sole necessary cause of sustainable consumptive use of living natural resources. It concludes by showing that scientific wildlife management and markets for wild game meat can be compatible when commercial influences on wildlife managers are adequately checked. Section two reviews the history of wildlife management in North America, from American Indians through the development of the NAWCM in the late nineteenth century, and surveys the interplay between biology, ecology, markets, range, and population size of a dozen important types of wild animals. The key takeaway is that common pool problems and species-specific characteristics, like herding and flocking behaviors, endanger wild game populations far more than the scientifically-managed commercialization of their flesh does. The third section warns that the facile application of “democracy” to wildlife management poses grave risks for wildlife, especially wild game species, by threatening the authority of scientific wildlife management and further eroding the wildlife dollars volunteered by consumptive users. The fourth section suggests several ways that wildlife managers, short of reinstating markets for wild game meat, can increase the number of consumptive users and political support for the sustainable, consumptive use of wildlife. The most important suggestion is for the legalization of proxy hunting as a way, short of full-blown commercialization, of increasing wild game harvests where needed to meet local scientific wildlife management goals. The conclusion argues that by stressing the importance of scientific wildlife management over its other components, instead of making a fetish of prohibitions on wild game markets, the NAWCM can continue to protect North America’s wildlife throughout the twenty-first century.
Retrospective evaluation of image-guided cholecystostomy tube utilization and outcomes during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a perceived increase in the number of cholecystostomy tube placements. We have retrospectively analyzed the incidence and outcomes of cholecystostomy tube placement during the COVID-19 pandemic surge. Material and Methods: Cholecystostomy tube placement and overall interventional radiology (IR) case volume were analyzed at our tertiary care center during the pandemic (March 15, 2020–July 30, 2020) and compared to the same time period in 2019. In addition, an age- and gender-matched control study of outcomes for 40 patients (25 from our home institution and 15 from our affiliated hospitals) grouped by COVID-19 status who received percutaneous cholecystostomy tubes between March 15, 2020, and July 30, 2020, was performed. Results: We observed a significant increase in relative cholecystostomy tube volume during the pandemic, despite a decrease in total IR case volume. There was no significant difference in pre- or post-procedural laboratory data, vital signs, imaging, or mortality between COVID-positive and COVID-negative patients who received cholecystostomy tubes. Conclusion: Percutaneous cholecystostomy tube placement is likely a safe treatment for acalculous cholecystitis in patients with COVID-19 with equivalent outcomes to patients without COVID-19.
Does the Self Reflect Society? Examining the Relationship Between Personal Network Assortativity and Role-Based Groups

Despite the primacy of social networks in identity theory, there are only a few studies that directly examine how social network processes play out in role-based groups. To address this gap, I assess the extent to which individuals’ personal social networks are characterized by “specialized” and distinct clusters of role-based others (i.e., highly clustered networks, centered around role-based groups) or by overlapping and undifferentiated social networks (i.e., low clustering). I use unique data from a convenience sample of students from a large Midwestern University that elicits extensive personal social networks of respondents, directly measures the structure of social relations within individuals’ networks, and situates social contacts within role-based groups (e.g., religion, family, school, work, and peer groups). The results suggest substantial variation in network clustering across individuals and role-domains, reflecting structural symbolic interactionism’s view of social networks as “structured yet random.” Results also highlight demographic trends in clustering and suggest non-role-based patterns of clustering.
Hypoxia-inducible factors regulate T cell metabolism and function

Resolution of infection requires the coordinated response of heterogeneous cell types to a range of physiological and pathological signals to regulate their proliferation, migration, differentiation, and effector functions. One mechanism by which immune cells integrate these signals is through modulating metabolic activity. A well-studied regulator of cellular metabolism is the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) family, the highly conserved central regulators of adaptation to limiting oxygen tension. HIF's regulation of cellular metabolism and a variety of effector, signaling, and trafficking molecules has made these transcription factors a recent topic of interest in T cell biology. Low oxygen availability, or hypoxia, increases expression and stabilization of HIF in immune cells, activating molecular programs both unique and common among cell types, including glycolytic metabolism. Notably, numerous oxygen-independent signals, many of which are active in T cells, also result in enhanced HIF activity. Here, we discuss both oxygen-dependent and -independent regulation of HIF activity in T cells and the resulting impacts on metabolism, differentiation, function, and immunity.
Efficient Expression Templates for Operator Overloading-based Automatic Differentiation.

Expression templates are a well-known set of techniques for improving the efficiency of operator overloading-based forward mode automatic differentiation schemes in the C\(++\) programming language by translating the differentiation from individual operators to whole expressions. However standard expression template approaches result in a large amount of duplicate computation, particularly for large expression trees, degrading their performance. In this paper we describe several techniques for improving the efficiency of expression templates and their implementation in the automatic differentiation package Sacado (Phipps et al., Advances in automatic differentiation, Lecture notes in computational science and engineering, Springer, Berlin, 2008; Phipps and Gay, Sacado automatic differentiation package. http://trilinos.sandia.gov/packages/sacado/, 2011). We demonstrate their improved efficiency through test functions as well as their application to differentiation of a large-scale fluid dynamics simulation code.