cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The influence of selected verb characteristics on the acceptance of generic assertions

Abelson and his associates have shown that the tendency of people to agree with generalizations is dependent upon the verbs employed rather than the subjects or objects of assertions. The present study investigated the effects on generalization power (probability of generic agreement) of selected inherent and transfer features of 32 subjective-state verbs. Generic assertions, based on inductive and deductive evidence providing varying degrees of support, were presented to subjects for their acceptance or rejection. The results show that generalization power is influenced primarily by inherent verb characteristics. The notion that transfer features depend on assertion-related evidence for their effect was substantiated, while an implicit-quantifier interpretation of the findings was rejected.
Cross-Sectional TEM Studies of Indentation-Induced Phase Transformations in Si: Indenter Angle Effects

Nanoindentations were made on a (100) single crystal Si wafer at room temperature with a series of triangular pyramidal indenters having centerline-to-face angles ranging from 35° to 85°. Indentations produced at high (80 mN) and low (10 mN) loads were examined in plan-view by scanning electron microscopy and in cross-section by transmission electron microscopy. Microstructural observations were correlated with the indentation load-displacement behavior. Cracking and extrusion are more prevalent for sharp indenters with small centerline-to-face angles, regardless of the load. At low loads, the transformed material is amorphous silicon for all indenter angles. For Berkovich indentations made at high-load, the transformed material is a nanocrystalline mix of Si-I and Si-III/Si-XII, as confirmed by selected area diffraction. Extrusion of material at high loads for the cube-corner indenter reduces the volume of transformed material remaining underneath the indenter, thereby eliminating the pop-out in the unloading curve.
Effects of diterpene acids on components of a conifer bark beetle–fungal interaction: tolerance by Ips pini and sensitivity by its associate Ophiostoma ips

Conifer resin and phloem tissue contain several phytochemical groups, composed primarily of monoterpenes, diterpene acids, and stilbene phenolics. The effects of monoterpenes and phenolics on stem-colonizing bark beetles and their associated microorganisms have been studied to some extent, but the roles of diterpene acids are largely unknown. Diterpene acids are known to have substantial feeding deterrent and growth inhibiting effects on a variety of insect groups and are known to inhibit a variety of fungi. We tested three diterpene acids present in red pine, Pinus resinosa ,a t various concentrations, on several life history components of the bark beetle Ips pini and the fungus Ophiostoma ips. No diterpene acid affected the host acceptance behavior or larval survival of Ips pini. In contrast, abietic acid and isopimaric acid strongly inhibited spore germination of O. ips, and abietic acid strongly inhibited mycelial growth. The levels of inhibition observed were higher than with any previous assays of monoterpenes or phenolics in this system. These results support the view that conifer defenses against bark beetleÐfungal complexes are multifaceted, with all three phytochemical groups being important to P. resinosa, but each with varying relative activity against the beetles and fungi.
Facultative Intraguild Predation of Red Oak Borer Larvae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

In the Ozark National forests of Arkansas and Missouri, an outbreak of a native cerambycid beetle, the red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), seems responsible for widespread oak mortality. The underlying reasons for this outbreak are being studied. Historically, a small portion of within-tree red oak borer mortality has been attributed to natural enemies (woodpeckers and nitidulid larvae), but the majority of mortality is from unknown factors. In four experiments, phloem sandwiches were used to observe inter- and intraspecific predation on red oak borer larvae. Our studies revealed that red oak borer was cannibalistic and that this behavior resulted in statistically significant weight gain. Observations were also made on predaceous behavior by associated insect larvae, specifically carpenterworms, elaterids, and nitidulids. We found that carpenterworms and elaterids will eat red oak borer larvae, but nitidulids exhibited no predaceous behavior. These observed behaviors may have important implications for red oak borer population dynamics because they identify potential mortality factors to red oak borer larvae.
A framework for enhancing readability and opportunistic reuse of enterprise software

During in-house development of custom enterprise web based applications, a lot of reusable code is written by software developers. This code from smaller units to sub systems and sometimes even fully functional autonomous components is, at times, required in other projects due to related needs across the enterprise. In the absence of a component model based development, it becomes nearly impossible to organize, maintain and reuse such code. The challenge of meeting enterprise automation needs vis-a-vis an ever shrinking project timeline tends to provide for lesser code documentation time. This results into poorly documented source code that though provides required functionality on time and meets user requirements accurately, yet allows for minimal reuse, mostly relying on developer's memory and is difficult to maintain. This problem is typically faced by newly built IT infrastructures in public sector organizations when business processes are being automated and new business requirements for automation keep accumulating. The job of a solution designer becomes complex when source code and component information is not organized in a way that allows for it to be reused in an upcoming project. This paper proposes a framework for documenting source code of custom developed enterprise application software that may not conform to a component model in the form of XML descriptors. Resultantly, it becomes possible to enhance the readability and opportunistic reuse of otherwise non reusable source code.
A new paradigm for radial ion plasma transport in axisymmetric magnetic field

A series of basic transport physics experiments on the anomalous ion thermal conduction due to ion temperature gradient instabilities are performed in Columbia Linear Machine [1,2]. The CLM results like most tokamak experimental data results indicate dependence of the ion thermal conductivity on the isotopic mass close to Χ⊥ ∼ A -0.5 i i-e., inverse gyro-Bohm [3], where A i is the mass number of the isotope of hydrogen. This is in stark contradiction to most present theoretical models predicting Bohm (A 0 i ) or gyro-Bohm (A 0.5 i ) scaling. We now report another series of experiments designed to explore the physics basis of this scaling which appears to lead to a new model for this scaling based on 3-wave coupling of two ion temperature gradient radial harmonics and an ion acoustic wave [4]. The resulting isotopic scaling of transport is ∼ A -0.5 i dictated primarily by the ion acoustic damping. This basic physics is deemed to be extrapolatable to other experiments resolving the paradox and is tantamount to new paradigm for plasma turbulent transport.
Shared Intention and Reasons for Action

Most theories of intentional action agree that if acting for a reason is a necessary condition for the action in question to be an intentional action, the reason need not genuinely justify it. The same should hold for shared intentional action, toward which philosophers of action have recently turned their attention. I argue that some of the necessary conditions proposed for shared intention turn out to require that we deny this claim. They entail that shared intention is possible only if the participating agents form their intentions on the grounds of genuinely rational considerations. Thus, they “over-rationalize,” as I call it, shared intention.
Biomechanical analysis of skeletal muscle in an interactive digital human system

Biomechanical analysis of skeletal muscles is an important task in digital human systems. The standard finite element method (FEM) can be used for muscle analysis; however, a full-scale FEM model can be overly complicated in a digital human system. In this work, we describe an efficient method of muscle analysis. The method is a combination of the Non-Uniform Rational B-spline (NURBS) geometric representation and the Galerkin methods. The basic idea is to establish the discrete equations of motion on the basis of NURBS geometry directly, without resorting to additional meshing. The method can adequately model muscle motion and stress while keeping the model size and complexity at a tractable level. As the first step towards interactive stress analysis in a digital human, we have developed NURBS FEM model for isolated muscles in human upper limb. The geometries of the muscles are extracted from the Visible Human Data Set [15], and the mechanical behavior is characterized by an active, anisotropic hyperelastic model. We also discuss how the muscle model will be implemented in and interacts with the virtual human (Santos) developed at the University of Iowa.
MCNP Variance Reduction Developments in the 21st Century

Improvements incorporated into MCNP variance reduction methodology and code releases since 2000 are discussed. Some of the improvements are modifications or generalizations of older techniques, and...
Matriks jako metafizyka

Tytul oryginalny: The Matrix as Metaphysics . Pierwotna wersja tekstu zamieszczona zostala na niedostepnej juz stronie internetowej filmu Matrix . Nastepnie artykul zostal przedrukowany w tomie Philosophers Explore The Matrix , red. Christopher Grau (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 132–176. Obecnie mozna go znaleźc pod adresem: http://consc.net/papers/matrix.html. Przeklad za zgodą Autora.
Amino Acids in Hosts and Nonhosts of the Boll Weevil, Anthonomus grandis

Protein and nonprotein amino acids were detected in the buds of several hosts and nonhosts of Anthonomus grandis Boheman by ion exchange chromatography, and identifications were confirmed by thin-layer chromatography. Twenty-three amino acids plus ammonia were identified in the cotton samples, including 5 that had not been previously reported in cotton buds. These 5 were: beta-alanine, cysteic acid, ethanolamine, glucosamine, and taurine. Concentrations were always greater in the protein samples. All plant buds analyzed contained 9 of the 10 amino acids essential for the weevil. A microbiological assay detected tryptophan in cotton bud tissue. Amino acid profiles of these hosts and nonhosts were established. There were not sufficient qualitative and quantitative differences in the amino acids to explain the host and nonhost status.
Optimization of processing conditions of decomposing potassium feldspar with alkali solution at low temperature

Influences of temperature,reaction time,alkali dosage and lime dosage on decomposing potassium feldspar with alkali solution at low temperature was studied.The processing conditions of decomposing potassium feldspar with alkali solution was optimized by adopting orthogonal experiment method,and the optimized processing conditions obtained from the experiments were that reaction temperature was 200 ℃,reaction time was 4 hours,n(Ca)/n(Si) was 1.75,and n(Na)/n(Al) was 2.25.
Surgical treatment of a case of multiple lung cysts infected with aspergillosis

An 18-year-old male case in which multiple lung cysts with Aspergillus infection was diagnosed is reported. The case was recognized during the clinical course of bilateral pneumothorax, and chest X-ray showed cystic shadows in the middle field of the right lung. At first, bullectomy and partial cystectomy of the lung was performed, and Aspergillus fumigatus was cultured from the fluid in the cysts. The cysts were located in the right upper and middle lobe, so upper and middle lobectomy was performed in the second surgical operation. In this case, the check valve mechanism caused by the pneumothorax provided the conditions for Aspergillus infection. In cases of air-fluid levels shown by chest X-ray such as this, Aspergillus infection should be suspected.
Effect of nitric oxide synthase inhibition on postischemic cerebral hyperemia

We tested the hypothesis that inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in brain before ischemia decreases postischemic hyperemia. Pentobarbital-anesthetized piglets underwent 15 min of complete global cerebral ischemia induced by elevation of intracranial pressure followed by 20 min of reperfusion. Before ischemia the animals were randomly assigned to receive either intravenous N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME 10 mg/kg, n = 6, or 50 mg/kg, n = 6) or an equal volume of saline (10 ml, n = 8). Serial cerebral blood flow (radiolabeled microspheres) was measured at baseline and during ischemia and reperfusion. Forebrain postischemic hyperemia was documented after administration of saline (42 +/- 4 to 88 +/- 10 ml.min-1.100 g-1) and 10 mg/kg L-NAME (36 +/- 4 to 59 +/- 9 ml.min-1.100 g-1) but not after 50 mg/kg L-NAME (29 +/- 3 to 34 +/- 7 ml.min-1.100 g-1). However, the percent reduction in cerebral vascular resistance (CVR) fell during reperfusion to a similar extent in all three groups because of differences between groups in cerebral perfusion pressure changes during the protocol. CVR fell to the lowest level at 8 min of reperfusion in the saline-treated animals (2.0 +/- 0.16 to 0.68 +/- 0.05 mmHg.ml-1.min.100 g) compared with the L-NAME-treated animals (50 mg/kg: 4.0 +/- 0.3 to 1.8 +/- 0.2 mmHg.ml-1.min.100 g).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Hospitalizations of more than 5 days predict for worse outcomes after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND Patients undergoing chemoradiation for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are predisposed to unplanned hospitalizations. OBJECTIVE To assess the factors associated with prolonged hospitalization and its impact on patient outcomes. METHODS We assessed the outcomes of patients hospitalized for ≥5 days or <5 days in 251 patients with advanced HNSCC who were undergoing radiotherapy during 2000-2012. RESULTS Patients who had been hospitalized for ≥5 days were more likely to be admitted for infection, acute renal failure, and/or dehydration. We found no other patient, tumor, or treatment characteristics associated with prolonged hospitalizations. Hospitalizations of ≥5 days were associated with a higher incidence of delays in radiotherapy (RT; odds ratio [OR], 2.49; 95% confidence index [CI], 1.09-5.69; 𝑃 = .03) and worse performance status after RT (OR, 5.76; 95% CI, 1.85-18.38; 𝑃 = .003). On multivariate analysis, hospitalization of ≥5 days predicted for worse local-regional control (hazard ratio [HR], 1.85; 95% CI, 1.08-3.17; 𝑃 = .03) and time to treatment failure (HR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.03-2.61; 𝑃 = .04), and performance status after RT predicted for worse local-regional control, time to treatment failure, progression-free survival, and overall survival. LIMITATIONS As a retrospective review, we report only hypothesis-generating observations, which may have been affected by having incomplete patient information. CONCLUSIONS Hospitalizations of ≥5 days was associated with infections and/or dehydration and predicted for worse disease control. Our results suggest that patients may benefit from efforts to reduce hospitalization length by minimizing precipitators of hospitalizations as well as interventions to reduce the length of hospital stays.
Use of the polymerase chain reaction to help determine the presence of blackpatch ( Rhizoctonia leguminicola ) in inoculated red clover leaves

Rhizoctonia leguminicola, the traditional name for the causal agent of blackpatch of red clover (Trifolium pratense) and other legumes, produces alkaloids, one of which causes livestock to salivate excessively. Fungal presence is generally confirmed by microscopy, disappearance of symptoms in livestock after removal of suspect forage, and chromatography of the alkaloid slaframine, in legume tissue. Use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify a pathogen-specific DNA fragment would complement the other methods of pathogen identification. Primers were designed to the R. leguminicola ITS region, sequence provided by another laboratory. Two separate primer pairs each amplified a different fragment–one ~250 bp long (expected length 249 bp), and the other 300 to 400 bp long (expected length 368 bp)–in DNA extracted from cultures of R. leguminicola. Under the experimental conditions, the primers to the larger fragment amplified a stronger band, and a minimum of 0.1 ng DNA per reaction was needed to produce a detectable band. With the primers to the 368-bp fragment, a band 300 to 400 bp long was also amplified in DNA extracted from red clover (cultivar Kenland) inoculated with R. leguminicola and harvested 70 h post inoculation. No amplification with this primer set occurred in DNA extracted from mock-inoculated red clover plants, supporting the likelihood that the primers amplified R. leguminicola DNA extracted from inoculated red clover. This primer set did not amplify DNA extracted from a red clover isolate of the legume pathogen Stemphylium sarcinaeforme, or DNA extracted from two isolates of the legume pathogen Colletotrichum trifolii, indicating specificity for R. leguminicola DNA. Lack of amplification of alfalfa DNA indicated that the R. leguminicola primers will be useful for testing for the presence of blackpatch in alfalfa.
Speech Abnormalities and Temporal Lobe Seizures

The role of speech manifestations in the lateralization of temporal lobe seizures was reviewed at the Section of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH by the review of videotapes of 100 complex seizures in 35 patients who underwent temporal lobectomy for intractable epilepsy.
A Look Back at Modern Finance: Accomplishments and Limitations

In a conversation held in June 2016 between Nobel laureate Eugene Fama of the University of Chicago and Joel Stern, chairman and CEO of Stern Value Management, Professor Fama revisited some of the landmarks of “modern finance,” a movement that was launched in the early 1960s at Chicago and other leading business schools, and that gave rise to Efficient Markets Theory, the Modigliani-Miller “irrelevance” propositions, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model. These concepts and models are still taught at prestigious business schools, whose graduates continue to make use of them in corporations and investment firms throughout the world. But while acknowledging the staying power of “modern finance,” Fama also notes that, even after a half-century of research and refinements, most asset-pricing models have failed empirically. Estimating something as apparently simple as the cost of capital remains fraught with difficulty. He dismisses betas for individual stocks as “garbage,” and even industry betas are said to be unstable, “too dynamic through time.” What's more, the wide range of estimates for the market risk premium—anywhere from 2% to 10%—casts doubt on their reliability and practical usefulness. And as if to reaffirm the fundamental insight of the M&M “irrelevance” propositions—namely, that what companies do with the right-hand sides of their balance sheets “doesn't matter”—Fama observes that “we still have no real resolution on the key questions of debt and taxes, or dividends and taxes.” But if he has reservations about much of modern finance, Professor Fama is even more skeptical about subfields now in vogue such as behavioral finance, which he describes as “mostly just dredging for anomalies,” with no underlying theory and no testable predictions. Although he does not dispute that a number of well-documented traits from cognitive psychology show up in individual behavior, Fama says that behavioral economists have thus far failed to come up with a testable theory that links cognitive psychology to market prices. And he continues to defend the concept of “efficient markets” with which his name has long been closely associated, while noting that empirically based asset pricing models such as his (with Ken French) “three-factor” CAPM have produced much better results than the standard CAPM.
Changes in Neonatal Mineral Administration and Contaminant Exposure due to Sodium Phosphate Shortage.

Background National pharmaceutical shortages continue to affect clinical patient care, including neonatal patients. Early postnatal nutrition influences health and growth of infants; quantitative reports describing specific effects of drug shortages on neonatal care are not common. Methods Parenteral nutrition (PN) orders created during the study period were modified to adjust for sodium phosphate unavailability. Original PN orders were collected retrospectively and compared with the modified orders for daily mineral doses, calcium:phosphorus ratio, and potential aluminum exposure. The corrected phosphorus dose was determined to compensate for algorithm-driven changes in phosphorus administration. Results The PN corrected phosphorus dose decreased from 58.9 ± 19.7 mg/kg/day to 42.7 ± 21.7 mg/kg/day (mean ± standard deviation [SD], n = 226 from 22 patients, range, 0–63.4 mg/kg/day, p 2.5:1, which was above the desired ratio of 1.8:1. Using potassium phosphate as the only intravenous phosphate source increased the potential aluminum exposure to 60% (9.6 ± 5.0) above the recommended Food And Drug Administration (FDA) limit. Discussion Neonatal PN phosphate administration decreased during the sodium phosphate shortage, raised calcium:phosphate ratios, and increased the potential aluminum exposure. Drug shortages continue to affect preterm infants. Coordinated efforts of health professionals with administrative resources are needed to provide effective short-term solutions and develop long-term strategies. Clinical Relevance Providing optimal PN to neonates is essential for postnatal health and growth. This report describes the effect of a national drug shortage of injectable sodium phosphate on PN composition and infant mineral administration.
Assessment of patient perception of glaucomatous visual field loss and its association with disease severity using Amsler grid.

Purpose To investigate patients’ perception of glaucomatous VF loss and its association with glaucoma severity using the Amsler grid test. Methods In this prospective cross-sectional study, glaucoma patients with abnormal 10–2 Humphrey Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm-standard VF tests were enrolled consecutively. All patients underwent a black-on-white Amsler grid test for each eligible eye. They were asked to outline any perceived scotomas (areas with abnormal grid lines) on the grid and then describe verbally their perception of the scotomas. Examiners asked patients to clarify their descriptions. All descriptions used by patients were recorded in their own words, which were then sorted into descriptor categories according to similar themes. The number of descriptor categories was counted for each eye. 10–2 VF mean deviation (MD) was compared among eyes that reported different number of descriptor categories. The mean 10–2 VF MD values were compared among different descriptor categories. Results Fifty glaucoma patients (88 eyes) were included. Patients used a total of 44 different descriptors for their scotomas. Patients’ descriptors were classified into categories that incorporated similar themes, resulting in 4 overarching descriptor categories: Missing/White, Blurry/Gray, Black, and Not Aware. Fifty-two eyes reported one descriptor category and 19 eyes reported two descriptor categories (mean number of descriptor categories = 1.27±0.45). Eyes that reported two descriptor categories had worse VF MD than those that reported one (-17.86±10.31 dB vs. -12.08±7.53 dB; p = 0.012). When eyes were organized according to its combination of descriptor categories, each eye naturally sorted into one of the following 5 groups, in frequency order: Missing/White (27 eyes; 31%), Blurry/Gray (21 eyes; 24%), combined Missing/White and Blurry/Gray (19 eyes; 21%), Not Aware (17 eyes; 19%), and Black (4 eyes; 5%). The mean 10–2 VF MD severity order was Black (-21.18±10.59 dB), combined Missing/White and Blurry/Gray (-17.86±10.31 dB), Missing/White (-11.92±6.76 dB), Blurry/Gray (-10.55±7.03 dB), and Not Aware (-3.91±4.05 dB) (p<0.001). Conclusion Paracentral vision loss in glaucoma is perceived by patients. As the perception of scotomas and the variety of terms to describe scotomas are related to glaucoma severity, clinicians should pay attention to patients’ subjective descriptions of their glaucomatous VF loss. The historical notion that glaucoma patients lose their peripheral vision first and eventually look through a black tunnel needs to be updated to reflect the true perception of glaucoma.
A Critical Realist Engagement with Glen Stassen’s ‘Just Peacemaking’ Approach

David P. Gushee critically examines ‘just peacemaking theory’ as pioneered by the late Glen Stassen, a Christian ethicist from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. After an exploration of the personal and intellectual origins of Stassen’s just peacemaking theory, Gushee describes and critiques each of the theory’s ten practices, which involve nonviolent direct action, independent initiatives, acknowledgment of responsibility, and cooperative conflict resolution. According to Stassen, many of these practices parallel specific teachings of Jesus. Despite the weaknesses and limitations of Stassen’s theory of just peacemaking or practice, Gushee concludes that it has a substantial contribution to make in contemporary global peacemaking efforts.
Constipation and diarrhea during the menopause transition and early postmenopause: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship of constipation and diarrhea severity during the menopause transition (MT) with age, MT stage, reproductive biomarkers, stress-related biomarkers, and stress-related perceptions. METHODS From 1990 to 1992, women aged 35 to 55 years were recruited from the greater Seattle area; 291 of them consented to ongoing (1990-2013) annual data collection by daily menstrual calendar, health diary, and annual health questionnaire. A subset (n = 131) provided a first morning voided urine specimen (1997-2013). These were assayed for levels of E1G, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone, cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Mixed-effects modeling was used to identify how changes in constipation and diarrhea severity over time related to age, MT stage, reproductive biomarkers, stress-related biomarkers, and stress-related perceptions. RESULTS In a univariate model, age, late reproductive (LR) stage, tension, and anxiety were all significantly and positively related to constipation severity, whereas cortisol was significantly and negatively associated. In a multivariate model, only tension and cortisol remained significant predictors of constipation severity (P < 0.05). In a univariate model, age, LR stage, and estrone glucuronide were significantly and negatively associated with diarrhea severity, whereas tension, anxiety, and perceived stress were significantly and positively related. In a multivariate model, only tension and age remained significant predictors of diarrhea severity. CONCLUSIONS Key reproductive hormones do not play a significant role in constipation or diarrhea severity in the MT. In contrast, stress perception, tension, anxiety, and cortisol do. These factors should be evaluated in further research involving constipation and diarrhea.
Assessing the Burden of Abnormal LFTs and the Role of the Electronic Health Record: A Retrospective Study

Abstract Background Primary care clinicians encounter abnormal liver function tests (LFTs) frequently. This study assesses the prevalence of abnormal LFTs and patient follow-up patterns in response. Methods This is a retrospective study from 2007-2016 of adult patients with abnormal LFTs seen in an internal medicine clinic. The proportion of patients with follow-up testing and the time (in days) to repeat LFTs were the primary outcomes measured. Results were evaluated before and after the implementation of the institution’s electronic health record (EHR). Results This study identified a period prevalence for abnormal LFTs of 39%. Of these, 9,545 unique patients met inclusion criteria, with 8,415 patients (88.2%) possessing follow-up LFTs and no significant difference in the proportion of patients receiving follow-up by degree of initial abnormality. Median time to follow-up in mild abnormalities (1-2 times normal) was 138 days, compared to 21 days for severe abnormalities (>4 times normal, P Conclusions Abnormal LFTs were detected in 39% of all patients seen. The degree of LFT abnormality did not influence rates of follow-up testing, but does appear to play a role in the timing of repeat testing, when obtained. Follow-up rates did not improve with EHR implementation.
A METHOD FOR QUANTIFICATION OF 3-DIMENSIONAL MOTION OF THE KNEE JOINT

ABSTRACT A technique is developed for studying the 3-D, six degrees of freedom, motion of the tibia with respect to the femur in cadaver knee joints using a photo-encoded 3-D motion transducer. The method is being used in the author's laboratory for objective comparison of ligament injuries and repairs.
Sustainable Water Resources Management: Groundwater Depletion

Water resources management must overcome the dilemma between the timing of water demands and availability. Groundwater resources are often tapped to fulfill demands during reduced surface water availability or in regions without access to surface water, resulting in a global phenomenon of groundwater depletion as groundwater withdrawals exceed recharge. Sustainable groundwater management requires approaches to assess the influence of adaptive management on the evolution of groundwater systems. In this chapter, we evaluate the spatiotemporal groundwater dynamics in the Coachella Valley of California to assess relationships between groundwater management and use. Our results illustrate spatially limited effects of adaptive management that occur against a setting of long-term groundwater depletion, highlighting the need to employ integrative and diverse adaptive management schemes to achieve sustainable groundwater management.
Ibn ‘Arabī on the Ultimate Model of the Ultimate

Ibn ‘Arabi’s vast corpus of writings analyzes a great variety of templates that allow seekers of understanding to grasp the Necessary Being and the entire realm of contingency. By the necessity of its very nature the Necessary Being gives rise to three complementary images of itself—the universe, the human self, and scripture. It discloses itself in each in keeping with its inherent attributes, both the “natural,” such as life, consciousness, desire, power, speech; and the “moral,” such as compassion, love, justice, forgiveness, and pardon. The goal of human existence is to actualize these attributes in perfect harmony. No human model can possibly embrace the infinity of the Necessary Being, but each model will necessarily reveal something of its nature. Ibn ‘Arabi shows why each model must be simultaneously affirmed and denied if we are to achieve the full potentiality of our human existence.
Myocardial Management in Arterial Revascularization

The objectives of every cardiac operation must be a technically perfect anatomic result and avoidance of intraoperative damage in pursuit of this goal. Nevertheless, perioperative myocardial damage remains the most common cause of morbidity and death following technically successful coronary bypass operation. This occurs whether the conduits are arterial or venous. Cardiac damage from inadequate myocardial protection leading to low output syndrome can prolong hospital stay, and may also result in delayed myocardial fibrosis leading to cardiac dysfunction months to years later [1, 2]. Cardioprotective strategies, like cardiac operations, have evolved to the point that it is essential to understand various techniques in order to limit intraoperative damage during a complicated operation. Surgeons must refrain from using simplistic cardioplegic protection strategies for the very reason that simplicity and safety are not synonymous. As with technical aspects of the surgical repair, the primary object of protection techniques is the use of the best strategy. Integration of surgical techniques is usually required to perform the best technical operation. Similarly, optimal myocardial protection also requires integration of various techniques to achieve the best results.Most surgeons would not abandon a complex surgical procedure (like all arterial revascularization) that was proved superior solely because of its lack of simplicity. Likewise, we should not choose a protection strategy for simplicity, unless it provides optimal and complete myocardial protection. Optimal myocardial protection is as important as an excellent technical repair in achieving the best long-term outcome with surgical correction. Although, the surgeonmight desire simplicity, the patient is only concerned with success. This chapter describes how oxygenated cardioplegia solutions can be delivered warm to allow their use for active resuscitation before ischemia is imposed, cold to limit damage, and again warm to avoid and reverse ischemic and reperfusion damage before and after aortic unclamping [1, 2]. It focuses primarily on the principles that form the basis for clinical strategies for cardioplegic delivery that can ensure that the selected cardioplegic solution can exert its desired effect, and it describes how these can be implemented. The described Table 6.1. Myocardial supply/demand balance during aortic cross-clamping
The Structure of Semisimple Algebras

This chapter focuses on one of the early monuments of algebra: the Wedder-burn structure theorem for semisimple algebras. Most of the other results in the chapter are preliminaries to the proof of Wedderburn’s theorem. It should be added, however, that much of this preparation leads to basic tools of algebra that are needed for work in many areas of mathematics. One other “name theorem” is proved in Section 6. This is Maschke’s theorem, which shows that semisimple algebras arise naturally in the theory of finite groups.
Oxidative stress levels in the brain are determined by post-mortem interval and ante-mortem vitamin C state but not Alzheimer's disease status.

The current study highlighted several changes in measures of oxidative stress and antioxidant status that take place in the mouse brain over the course of 24 h post-mortem. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and glutathione both decreased significantly in cortex in as little as 2 h and malondialdehyde levels increased. Further change from baseline was observed up to 24 h, including carbonyl and sulfhydryl formation. The greatest changes were observed in brains that began with low ascorbic acid levels (gulo−/− mice) compared to wild-type or 5XFAD mice. Cortical samples from nine Alzheimer’s Disease cases and five controls were also assayed under the same conditions. Post mortem intervals ranged from 6 to 47 h and all samples had low ascorbic acid levels at time of measurement. Malondialdehyde levels were lower in Alzheimer’s Disease cases. Despite a strong positive correlation between ascorbic acid and glutathione levels, no other correlations among oxidative stress measures or post mortem interval were observed. Together the data suggest that molecular changes occurring within the first hours of death may mask differences between patient groups. Care must be taken interpreting studies in human brain tissue where ante-mortem nutrient status is not known to avoid bias or confounding of results.
Anxiety and Anxiety Syndromes

1. An emergency psychiatric consultation was requested for a 48-year-old man who was admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) with massive myocardial infarction (MI). He was reported to be acutely agitated, and he wanted to sign out against medical advice. The reason for consultation was to determine the patient’s competence to sign out. When the consultant arrived in the CCU, a number of staff members were surrounding the patient as he attempted to exit the cubicle. He shouted, “I want to get out! You cannot hold me here!” The consultant told him, “I am a psychiatrist, and I am here to help you. I think it might be possible for you to leave if you wish, but I need to speak with you first.” “Not here, not in this room!” replied the patient. “OK, would it be OK if we talked in the waiting room?” The patient agreed. He was placed in a gurney and wheeled to the waiting room. The consultant said, “Since you became quite anxious and flushed, I would like the nurse to give you a sedative to help you relax as we talk.” Lorazepam 1 mg IV was administered, which calmed the patient considerably. In the interview, the consultant learned that the patient became panicky when he was rushed into the particular cubicle in the CCU, as it was the same cubicle in which his father had died of an MI some 4 months prior to the patient’s own admission. The patient was convinced that he would die in that cubicle just as his father did. When the patient was offered another cubicle, he gladly accepted it without any hesitation. He recovered uneventfully. 8
Understanding the Effects of Freeriding in Team Dynamics

Social and business researchers have long recognized freeriding as a main obstacle to team success. Previous research focuses much on the causes of freeriding and the design of reward/sanction systems to counteract freeriding. The impacts of freeriding on team progress are however less understood. A longitudinal study is designed to investigate the dynamic effects of freeriding in student work teams. The results suggest that during team progress, freeriding not only has a strong detrimental effect on the current team performance, it also affects the team’s future performance by influence the development of team morale. Implications for both research and team practices are discussed.
OR-054 A Comparative Study of Different Intervention Methods on Protein Expression of ERα in Uterus of Ovariectomized Osteoporosis Rats

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different intervention methods on the protein expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in the uterus of ovariectomized osteoporosis rats. Methods Eighty healthy female SD rats, aged 3 months, were randomly divided into the following two groups by body weight: sham-operation (Sham) and ovariectomized (OVX). After ten weeks, the OVX groups were randomly divided into the following six groups by body weight: OVX; 17β-estradiol (E2); Genisteine (G); treadmill exercise (TE); Lithium chloride (Licl); Whole-body vertical vibration (WBVV). Then the rats was began to be treated with different intervention methods. The WBVV group rats were vibrated on a vibration platform twice per day for 7 weeks according to the following schedule: 90 hertz a minute and 15 minutes a time. The TE group rats were running on 5-uphill treadmills 45 minutes per day, 4 times a week, at a speed of 18 meters per minute. The G group rats were lavaged by genistein once per day according to body weight (dose 1mg/kg).The E2 group rats were treated with neck subcutaneous injection with 17β-E2 three times a week according to their body weight (dose 25ug/kg). At the end of 8 weeks intervention, during 36-48 hours, took blood from the abdominal aorta, and extracted the protein. The proteinexpression of ERα in uterus was detected by western blot. Results After OVX, the uterus weight index and serum E2 was significantly decreased. Both the uterus weight index and the serum E2 level were significantly increased after treatment with E2. However, no significant differences were seen after treatment with the other four methods. As revealed by the western blot results, the protein expression of ERα in the OVX groups was significantly higher than that of in the Sham group. After treatment with E2, treadmill exercise, whole-body vertical vibration, and lithium chloride, the protein expression of ERα was significantly lower than that of in OVX group. However, the genistein treatment had no significant difference. Conclusions Apart from genistein treatment, the other four interventions had inhibitive effects on the protein expression of ERα in uterus of OVX osteoporosis rats.
Imaging features of immune-mediated genitourinary disease

Imaging features of immune-mediated genitourinary diseases often overlap, and the same disease may manifest in different ways, so understanding imaging findings in the context of the patient’s entire clinical picture is important in providing the correct diagnosis. In this article, diseases mediated by the immune system which affect the genitourinary system are reviewed. Examples of immune-mediated genitourinary disease including IgG4-related disease, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorder due to immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory medications, lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma, amyloidosis, and histiocytosis. Clinical and imaging features will be presented which may help narrow the differential diagnosis for each disease. Recognition of immune-related genitourinary disease is important for appropriate medical management as they may mimic other diseases both by imaging and clinical presentation.
Bringing a Learning Strategies Project to Scale in a First-Year Seminar

This paper describes the impact of a learning strategies intervention conducted in first-year seminar courses that, 1) disaggregated components of academic skills into meaningful components for first-year students, 2) taught students academic skills within an authentic context, and 3) scaled-up the intervention for implementation at a programmatic level. This work is grounded in research on metacognition, self-regulation, and motivation, as well as literature on the academic transition to college. Results reinforced earlier findings indicating significant improved use of metacognitive learning strategies, even when the intervention was expanded to include multiple instructors in multiple course sections. Further research is needed to determine the precise factors precipitating improvement when the project was brought to scale.
Impact of pericardial effusion for patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.

e14121Background: Various immune-related adverse events (IRAE) have been reported with the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). Although a rare event, the increasing incidence of ICI related ...
Persistent free-floating pelvic trophoblastic cysts following an interstitial ectopic pregnancy.

Persistent trophoblast after ectopic pregnancy has been demonstrated at the surgical site or as peritoneal implants. A 37-year-old woman (G5P2) experienced persistently low levels of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) after surgical treatment for an interstitial pregnancy. Evaluation for persistent trophoblast, gestational trophoblastic neoplasm and heterophilic antibodies was negative. After 15 months without resolution, she elected for hysterectomy. We found four smooth, freely floating avascular cysts intraoperatively; pathological evaluation identified the cysts as trophoblastic tissue. Serum beta-hCG resolved postoperatively and remained negative at 1 year. Our case demonstrates the novel finding of trophoblastic tissue existing as free-floating cysts in the peritoneal cavity. With appropriate suspicion, these cysts can be identified on radiologic investigation and removed laparoscopically.
Improving Evaluation Methodology for Autonomous Surface Vessel COLREGS Compliance

This article presents methodology for evaluating the performance of black box autonomous surface vessel (ASV) software, with particular focus placed on determining COLREGS compliance in the presence of competing priorities. The approach utilizes adaptive sampling and unsupervised clustering to automatically identify failure modes and performance boundaries in the system under test. Analysis of the evaluation methodology applied to a candidate ASV is presented in a high-dimensional testing space. Results show that conventional methods for testing ASV software are incomplete for the purpose of evaluating the full range of system behavior.
The splicing component ISY1 regulates APE1 in base excision repair

The integrity of cellular genome is continuously challenged by endogenous and exogenous DNA damaging agents. If DNA damage is not removed in a timely fashion the replisome may stall at DNA lesions, causing fork collapse and genetic instability. Base excision DNA repair (BER) is the most important pathway for the removal of oxidized or mono-alkylated DNA. While the main components of the BER pathway are well defined, its regulatory mechanism is not yet understood. We report here that the splicing factor ISY1 enhances apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) activity, the multifunctional enzyme in BER, by promoting its 5'-3' endonuclease activity. ISY1 expression is induced by oxidative damage, which would provide an immediate up-regulation of APE1 activity in vivo and enhance BER of oxidized bases. We further found that APE1 and ISY1 interact, and ISY1 enhances the ability of APE1 to recognize abasic sites in DNA. Using purified recombinant proteins, we reconstituted BER and demonstrated that ISY1 markedly promoted APE1 activity in both the short- and long-patch BER pathways. Our study identified ISY1 as a regulator of the BER pathway, which would be of physiological relevance where suboptimal levels of APE1 are present. The interaction of ISY1 and APE1 also establishes a connection between DNA damage repair and pre-mRNA splicing.
A Multi-method Investigation of the Personality Correlates of Functional Ability in Older Adults.

This study evaluated the role of personality in predicting functional ability (FA) in older adults using self-report, collateral report, and performance-based measures of FA. Participants included ...
Merging into strings of cooperative-adaptive cruise-control vehicles

Cooperative-adaptive cruise-control (CACC) offers the potential to increase roadway capacity by decreasing the size of gaps between vehicles. However, smaller gaps may reduce drivers’ ability to sa...
Time-stepping DPG formulations for the heat equation

Abstract For a wide range of PDEs, the discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin (DPG) methodology of Demkowicz and Gopalakrishnan provides discrete stability starting from a coarse mesh and minimization of the residual in a user-controlled norm, among other appealing features. Research on DPG for transient problems has mainly focused on spacetime discretizations, which has theoretical advantages, but practical costs for computations and software implementations. The sole examination of time-stepping DPG formulations was performed by Fuhrer, Heuer, and Gupta, who applied Rothe’s method to an ultraweak formulation of the heat equation to develop an implicit time-stepping scheme; their work emphasized theoretical results, including error estimates in time and space. In the present work, we follow Fuhrer, Heuer, and Gupta in examining the heat equation; our focus is on numerical experiments, examining the stability and accuracy of several formulations, including primal as well as ultraweak, and explicit as well as implicit and Crank–Nicolson time-stepping schemes. We are additionally interested in communication-avoiding algorithms, and we therefore include a highly experimental formulation that places all the trace terms on the right-hand side of the equation.