cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Morphological enhancement of coronary angiograms using decomposition of skipped structuring element

To improve the computational speed of the rolling ball image enhancement algorithm, the authors introduce a new skipped structuring element (SE) and present an algorithm to decompose this and other kinds of skipped structuring elements. To evaluate the performance of the enhancement algorithm with different SEs, they designed a set of synthetic test images which mimic the real angiogram blood vessels and background. A performance index for image quality measurement of the enhanced coronary angiograms has been applied to all test images. The experimental results led to the conclusion that the new approach, which preserves most of the enhancement capability of using the complete structuring element, improves the computational speed by at least one order of magnitude. >
Discontinuous Fiber-reinforced Composites above Critical Length

Micromechanical physics of critical fiber length, describing a minimum filament distance for resin impregnation and stress transfer, has not yet been applied in dental science. As a test of the hypothesis that 9-micron-diameter, 3-mm-long quartz fibers would increase mechanical strength over particulate-filled composites, photocure-resin-pre-impregnated discontinuous reinforcement was incorporated at 35 wt% into 3M Corporation Z100, Kerr Corporation HerculiteXRV, and an experimental photocure paste with increased radiopaque particulate. Fully articulated four-point bend testing per ASTM C 1161-94 for advanced ceramics and Izod impact testing according to a modified unnotched ASTM D 256-00 specification were then performed. All photocure-fiber-reinforced composites demonstrated significant improvements over particulate-filled compounds (p < 0.001) for flexural strength, modulus, work of fracture, strain at maximum load, and Izod toughness, with one exception for the moduli of Z100 and the experimental reinforced paste. The results indicate that inclusion of pre-impregnated fibers above the critical aspect ratio yields major advancements regarding the mechanical properties tested.
Experimental evaluation of apparent tissue surface tension based on the exact solution of the Laplace equation

The notion of apparent tissue surface tension offered a systematic way to interpret certain morphogenetic processes in early development. It also allowed deducing quantitative information on cellular and molecular parameters that is otherwise difficult to obtain. To accurately determine such tensions we combined novel experiments with the exact solution of the Laplace equation for the profile of a liquid drop under the employed experimental conditions and used the exact solution to evaluate data collected on tissues. Our results confirm that tissues composed of adhesive and motile cells indeed can be characterized in terms of well-defined apparent surface tension. Our experimental technique presents a way to measure liquid interfacial tensions under conditions when known methods fail.
A Rapidly Convergent Iterative Method for the Solution of the Generalised Nonlinear Least Squares Problem

A new iterative method is described for the solution of the generalised nonlinear least squares problem: where the model may be nonlinear in its parameters and in the independent variable(s) and all variables are subject to error. The method is described for the case of two arbitrarily related variables; does not require the analytic calculation of derivatives; leads to exceptionally close satisfaction of the least squares conditions; and exhibits especially rapid convergence arising from the use of somewhat unconventional numerical approximations for partial derivatives. Examples are given which compare the results of the method of those of other existing techniques.
Tibione: Laboratory and Clinical Studies

1)Tibione is a drug of moderate toxicity. 2)The greatest toxic manifestations are gastro-intestinal disturbances which develop primarily during the third week and generally persist only a short time. 3)Other complications are dermatitis, anemia, and impaired hepatic function. 4)A decrease in cough and sputum, and a sense of well-being occur with tibione. 5)Tibione is a chemotherapeutic agent capable of conversion of the sputum. 6)X-ray film improvement after 120 days of tibione therapy has been noted. The improvement is not as marked as with streptomycin for a comparable period. 7)There has been demonstrated an acquired resistance of M. tuberculosis toward tibione. 8.Tibione should be administered only where adequate laboratory facilities are available so that frequent laboratory tests can be made.
Evaluating the effects of increasing surgical volume on emergency department patient access

Aim To determine how increases in surgical patient volume will affect emergency department (ED) access to inpatient cardiac services. To compare how strategies to increase cardiology inpatient throughput can either accommodate increases in surgical volume or improve ED patient access. Methods A stochastic discrete event simulation was created to model patient flow through a cardiology inpatient system within a US, urban, academic hospital. The simulation used survival analysis to examine the relationship between anticipated increases in surgical volume and ED patient boarding time (ie, time interval from cardiology admission request to inpatient bed placement). Results ED patients boarded for a telemetry and cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) bed had a mean boarding time of 5.3 (median 3.1, interquartile range 1.5–6.9) h and 2.7 (median 1.7, interquartile range 0.8–3.0) h, respectively. Each 10% incremental increase in surgical volume resulted in a 37 and 33 min increase in mean boarding time to the telemetry unit and CVICU, respectively. Strategies to increase cardiology inpatient throughput by increasing capacity and decreasing length of stay for specific inpatients was compared. Increasing cardiology capacity by one telemetry and CVICU bed or decreasing length of stay by 1 h resulted in a 7–9 min decrease in average boarding time or an 11–19% increase in surgical patient volume accommodation. Conclusions Simulating competition dynamics for hospital admissions provides prospective planning (ie, decision making) information and demonstrates how interventions to increase inpatient throughput will have a much greater effect on higher priority surgical admissions compared with ED admissions.
Supporting development efforts of clinical care teams

This paper describes the results of a longitudinal study of team communication structure for two distinct interdisciplinary healthcare teams at a large academic children medical centre in the USA. Our goal was to inform teams of opportunities and strategies that strengthen their communication structure. To this purpose we proposed an operational framework based on four steps: observation, measurement, mirroring and design. We analysed the e-mail archives of two teams to monitor structural changes in e-mail communication over one year. Since the first analyses, both teams were designated as strategic priorities by the institution, underwent off site meetings to define and put into execution a strategic plan, initiated processes to improve care delivery and reviewed the results of the initial social network analysis. We found that for both teams the communication network improved over time showing a higher cohesiveness, an increase in density, network resilience and external connectivity.
Political economy, media, and climate change: sinews of modern life

In this 21st century, examining how climate change is described and considered, largely through mass media, is as important as formal climate governance to the long-term success or failure of efforts to confront the challenge. Mass media stitch together formal science and policy with the public sphere. And many dynamic, contested factors contribute to how media outlets portray climate change. This paper addresses contemporary political economics—from greater workloads and reductions in specialist science journalism to digital innovations and new media organizational forms—as they relate to media coverage of climate change. By way of recent studies and indications of these dynamics, we appraise how power flows through culture, politics, and society, to construct coverage, public discourses, and knowledge on climate change. In so doing, we explore how media representations of climate change have changed over time, and particularly how the rise of digital media has reshaped climate coverage. Considerations of climate change, arguably the most heavily politicized scientific issue at the turn of the new millennium, seek to inform and anticipate corollary science issues, such as ongoing concerns for genetically modified organisms, nanotechnology risks, and increased threats to water quantity and quality. The focus on political economy—the ‘sinews’ of modern life—can also then help to inform perceptions and decision making in associated environmental challenges. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. How to cite this article:
Maximal Ratio Diversity Combining Enhanced Security

In this paper, we present a method of utilizing channel diversity to increase secrecy capacity in wireless communication. With the presence of channel diversity, an intended receiver can achieve a relatively high secrecy capacity even at low SNRs. We present a theoretical analysis on the outage probability at a normalized target secrecy capacity in Rayleigh fading environment. Our numerical results strongly support our conclusion that maximal ratio combining of channel diversity can enhance the security of the wireless communication system in normal operating scenarios.
Psychological Science on Pregnancy: Stress Processes, Biopsychosocial Models, and Emerging Research Issues

Psychological science on pregnancy is advancing rapidly. A major focus concerns stress processes in pregnancy and effects on preterm birth and low birth weight. The current evidence points to pregnancy anxiety as a key risk factor in the etiology of preterm birth, and chronic stress and depression in the etiology of low birth weight. Key mediating processes to which these effects are attributed, that is neuroendocrine, inflammatory, and behavioral mechanisms, are examined briefly and research on coping with stress in pregnancy is examined. Evidence regarding social support and birth weight is also reviewed with attention to research gaps regarding mechanisms, partner relationships, and cultural influences. The neurodevelopmental consequences of prenatal stress are highlighted, and resilience resources among pregnant women are conceptualized. Finally, a multilevel theoretical approach for the study of pregnancy anxiety and preterm birth is presented to stimulate future research.
Hypoxia regulation of gene transcription.

The adaptive responses to hypoxia include the transcriptional activation of various genes like those encoding for glycolytic enzymes, growth factors and vasoactive peptides that tend to ameliorate the damaging effect of the lack of oxygen. Most of these genes are regulated by the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 complex (HIF-1), a heterodimer protein complex that activates transcription through binding to specific hypoxic-responsive sequences (HRE) present in those genes. Hypoxia induces HIF-1 complex formation by stabilizing the HIF-1α sub-unit, which under normoxic conditions is degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The molecular mechanisms by which cells sense the hypoxic signal and transduce the hypoxic response are still not clear. The more accepted models for oxygen sensing involve the participation of heme-proteins sensors or are based in redox-reactions which may or not involve participation of mitochondria.
Prevention of Influenza in Children

Influenza infects 5% to 20% of school-age children annually. Although universal influenza vaccine is recommended for children and adults 6 months of age and older, uptake is below national targets. Influenza immunization of the child and the family is the key to decreasing annual disease burden. Antiviral therapy is an important treatment strategy for children and adults, especially those who are at high risk of complications from influenza, irrespective of immunization status or whether illness onset is greater than 48 hours. Although antiviral therapy may also be used for pre-exposure and postexposure prophylaxis, it should not replace immunization as a preventive strategy when immunization is feasible.
Cyclic nucleotide systems in the microcirculation of mammalian brain.

The cellular elements of the central microcirculation, namely the capillaries, choroid plexus and pia, contain adrenergic nerve endings whose functions may be involved in the regulation of permeability (1–6). An important aspect of noradrenergic action is stimulation of the receptor enzyme, adenylate cyclase with concomitant formation of adenosine cyclic 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP). Recent work that I did with co-investigators (7–10) and the works of others (11–15) showed that the cellular components of the microcirculation contain active adenylate cyclase systems capable of responding to a variety of neurohumoral agonists, including norepinephrine. Joō (16) found that an infusion of dibutyryl cyclic AMP yielded an enhanced number of pinocytotic vesicles in mouse cerebral capillaries, and suggested that the cyclic nucleotide has a role in central nervous system transport mechanisms. In this chapter I will discuss our previous work and present new data characterizing the specific nature of the receptor enzymes in rat and rabbit cerebral microvessels. In addition, since the cerebral capillaries develop altered permeability in certain pathologic conditions such as hypertension (6,17–19), we will report changes seen in the cyclase system of cerebral capillaries from the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).
Effect of Molecular Hydrogen on Acetate Degradation by Methanosarcina Barkeri 227

Acetate is the ultimate intermediate for over two-thirds of the methane produced by anaerobic digestors, and methanosarcinae are the predominant aceticlastic methanogens, especially in high-rate digestors. The remainder of the methane produced in anaerobic digestors (about one third) comes from the oxidation of hydrogen and the concomitant reduction of carbon dioxide to form methane. Hydrogen concentrations control many important catabolic reactions in anaerobic digestion, especially those involved in hydrogen production and degradation. Because hydrogen concentration is normally very low (several tenths of a micromole) and its turnover is very rapid, the entire pool size is degraded many times per second, and so minute changes in the production or degradation rate of hydrogen may be instantaneously translated into fluctuations in its concentration. Also, hydrogen concentration may not be uniform in the digestor. It is likely that there are microenvironments in anaerobic digestors having higher and lower concentrations than the average since hydrogen production is not uniform, and particles may account for a major portion of the hydrogen production. These fluctuations and the presence of microenvironments may be important in the inhibition of acetate degradation by Methanosarcina barkeri.
Migration and Human Dignity in Pieces D'Identite and Letters from Alou

In Pieces d’Identite (1998), a Congolese king travels from his native land all the way to Brussels, Belgium, to try to find his daughter who had gone there to go to medical school. On his first trip abroad, he experiences new adventures and new states of mind as he finds himself in a culture and social surroundings totally distinct from his. In Letters from Alou (199'7, a Senegalese man enters Spain illegally along with other illegal workers. Trying to integrate into Spanish society, he is faced with many challenges and survival situations. He must all at once figure out how to deal with language barrier, racism, supervisors, and Spanish administration. Both films are engaging and credible. Through their characters, they examine the condition of millions of people on earth, from all backgrounds and all continents. The human feelings and emotions these films explore are universal. They express a deep need for survival, integration, and acceptance.
The hazards of button battery ingestion

The research report by Mohamed Sameh Shalaby1 stresses the potentially dangerous outcome of magnet ingestion. It is therefore opportune to highlight the importance of increasing awareness of magnet and button battery ingestion. There are many household battery-operated items in the modern home including toys, remote controls, hearing aids, that contribute to the availability of button batteries to young children. Children may mistake them for sweets or pills, leading to inadvertent ingestion. The size and power of batteries have changed over the decades. Despite precautions such as blister packs and education of families, there is often a failure to prevent such accidents and the incidence of these events is ever increasing.2 Depending on whether the event has been witnessed or not, the presentation may vary. Even if witnessed, there remains a lack of understanding in parents and medical personnel alike as to the emergency nature of such an event. There is an imminent need to spread awareness to the general public as well as medical front-line staff about the potentially catastrophic outcomes of inadvertent button battery ingestion and the need for early intervention and a high index of suspicion.2–4 In the USA, the National Battery Ingestion Hotline (NBIH) at The National Capital Poison Centre (NCPC) is a designated hotline to call if battery ingestion is seen or suspected. NCPC data suggest …
Immature Compost Suppresses Weed Growth Under Greenhouse Conditions

The influence of immature municipal solid waste-biosolids composts on emergence and mean days to emergence (MDE) of several weed species was evaluated in a pot trial under greenhouse conditions. The experiment consisted of placing a 7.5 cm deep layer of three-day-old immature compost, a mature and stable compost, an artificial medium or control sand as a mulch on ivyleaf morning glory seeds. Immature three-day-old compost decreased percentage emergence, shoot and root dry weight, and increased MDE of ivyleaf morning glory. In an experiment with eight-week-old immature compost utilizing mulching depths of 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 cm and the untreated control on seeds of three weed species, common purslane did not emerge under any of the immature compost treatments. The MDE of ivyleaf morning glory and barnyard grass increased linearly as immature compost depths increased. Next, eight economically important weed species were sown in pots with either mature or immature (eight-week-old) compost utilizing mulching dept...
Elastodynamics of thin plates with internal dissipative processes part II. Computational aspects

In part one of this paper an integral solution of the dynamic behavior of viscoplastic isotropic thin plates with ductile damage is derived. The main topic of the second part is the numerical solution of these integral equations. Green's functions due to external and internal excitation are split into a quasistatic part and a purely dynamic part. Often the quasistatic part can be computed in a more convenient way than the complete dynamic fundamental solution. Especially in the case of a circular plate under axisymmetric loading conditions, which is treated as an example, the quasistatic solution exists in a closed form. The paper develops an implicit time integration algorithm, where the resulting system of equations is solved by an accelerated Newton-Raphson method.
Glycogen Stores in Glucagon-Treated Rats. I. Time Factors.

Summary and Conclusions1. Effects of epinephrine and various doses of glucagon on liver and muscle glycogen and on adrenal ascorbic acid were studied. 2. Twenty minutes after injection of epinephrine a decrease in liver and muscle glycogen, and in adrenal ascorbic acid were observed. Two hours after injection, liver glycogen was significantly higher than in controls, while muscle glycogen and adrenal ascorbic acid were still below normal. 3. Glucagon caused immediate decrease in liver glycogen. When large doses were used this decrease was followed by secondary increase to values greater than normal. 4. The glycostatic effect of large doses of glucagon in the liver was probably associated with an earlier decrease in adrenal ascorbic acid. 5. Glucagon caused an occasional slight increase of muscle glycogen. 6. It is suggested that the primary effect of epinephrine and of glucagon in all doses is an acceleration of liver glycogenosis and that their glycostatic effects are due to secondary increases in secret...
Best practices for community gardening in a US–Mexico border community

Minority communities such as those on the US-Mexico border are placed at disproportionate high risk for child and adult obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. A built environment characterized by an arid desert climate, lack of access to healthy foods, barriers to increasing physical activity, cultural and community norms which deter healthy eating and sustainable food production, shape obesity-related health disparities in these communities. Three pilot community gardens (implemented by two local governmental organizations and one community-based organization) were funded through the local Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) initiative in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces and Anthony, New Mexico (US-MX border communities with high obesity rates) in order to encourage healthy lifestyles among families in the region. A mixed-methods evaluation (n = 223) examined the implementation process, immediate outcomes and best practices of implementing and sustaining community gardens in these minority binational communities. In addition to nutrition-related outcomes, the potential for psychosocial outcomes from participating in community and school garden projects were observed. The best practices in relation to (i) assessing community norms related to growing food, (ii) increasing access to land and water for community/school gardening and (iii) enhancing social support for gardening are discussed. The implications of these best practices for obesity prevention and implementing community gardens in a minority US-MX border community characterized by cultural, geographical and socioeconomic barriers are examined.
Physiological Basis of Stomach Oil Formation in Leach's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa)

We describe the mechanisms and kinetics of stomach oil formation in a representative procellariiform, Leach's Storm-Petrel. We relate the mechanics of stomach oil formation to the process by which procellariiforms are able to use the dietary lipids. We show how birds concentrate food into a store, the composition of which is determined largely by properties of the meals, the lipids, and a specialized gastrointestinal morphology
Towards More Sustainable Chemical Engineering Processes: Integrating Sustainable and Green Chemistry Into the Engineering Design Process

Abstract Sustainable chemical engineering processes are best designed, implemented, and realized by taking a principled, sustainable, and green chemistry and engineering design approach from project inception. The application of these principles helps to frame in a manner that the scientist or engineer thinks about any given problem, process, or service they are working to implement. This chapter will lay out how chemistry and engineering principles must be integrated in the conceptualization and design in order for a more sustainable chemical engineering process to be developed.
Flaw sensitivity of highly stretchable materials

Abstract Elastomers and gels can often deform multiple times their original length. The stretchability is insensitive to small cuts in the samples, but reduces markedly when the cuts are large. We show that this transition occurs when the depth of cut exceeds a material-specific length, defined by the ratio of the fracture energy measured in the large-cut limit and the work to rupture measured in the small-cut limit. This conclusion generalizes a result in the fracture mechanics of hard materials. For an acrylic elastomer and a polyurethane, we measure the stretch to rupture as a function of the depth of cut, and show that the experimental data agree well with the prediction of the nonlinear elastic fracture mechanics. In a space of material properties we compare many materials (elastomers, gels, ceramics, glassy polymers, biomaterials, and metals), and find that the material-specific length varies from nanometers to centimeters.
'The art of known and feeling sorrows': Rethinking Capitalist Transition, and the Performance of Class Politics, in Shakespeare’s King Lear

The historiographic paradigm of early capitalist emergence through a conflict of bourgeois individualism with the traditional authority and values of the feudal warrior aristocracy proved immensely influential through the twentieth century for the reading of Shakespeare's King Lear . Tracing that mediated tradition which posited an essentially pro-feudal Lear , this essay seeks to terminate it. Sketching the new paradigm of capitalist emergence which has supplanted the old, this paper rethinks the play and its treatment of class-conflict in sharply different terms, as dramatizing the reciprocal hostility of paranoid authority and agggrieved populism around the beginning of the seventeenth century. It further argues that Shakespeare, prudentially, builds criticism of government policy into concealed stagecraft effects, scarcely visible on the page read by the censor. Through reading Lear thus in terms of historical topicality and close attention to staging, new dimensions of Shakespeare's social protest and political scepticism are recovered.
Breast Cancer Chemoprevention in an Integrated Health Care Setting.

PurposeNational guidelines encourage counseling high-risk women about pharmacologic breast cancer risk reduction. We evaluated the use of integrated health care data to identify and characterize breast cancer chemoprevention use. Chemoprevention included US Food and Drug Administration–approved use of tamoxifen and raloxifene and off-label use of aromatase inhibitors (AIs).Patients and MethodsUsing electronic medical and pharmacy records (EMRs) in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California health care system, we sampled cancer-free women age 35 to 69 years who used tamoxifen, raloxifene, exemestane, anastrozole, or letrozole from 2005 to 2013. Risk-benefit profiles were calculated for tamoxifen and raloxifene using published indices. The proportion of days covered was calculated from pharmacy records to assess adherence.ResultsAmong 90 chemoprevention users (confirmed with EMR review from a sample of 371 women), 74% used tamoxifen, 11% used raloxifene, and 13% used an AI. For tamoxifen and raloxifene users...
Endoscopic ultrasound with or without fine-needle aspiration has a meaningful impact on clinical care in the pediatric population.

Background and Objectives: The safety and utility of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for the evaluation and management of gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders among adults has been established. The literature on safety and efficacy in a pediatric referral population (under 21 years of age) is limited. We hypothesized that EUS is safe and useful in the pediatric population. We reviewed the pediatric EUS experience at a single tertiary-care system. We describe the indications, findings, safety, technical success rate, and impact on clinical outcomes. Patients and Methods: All patients 21 years of age or younger referred for EUS between 5, 2007 and 11, 2012 were identified from our electronic medical record databases. Retrospective chart review was then conducted to document demographics, procedure indications, procedure type (diagnostic or therapeutic), type of anesthesia used, EUS findings, and the clinical impact of EUS on the subsequent management of the patients. Results: Seventy EUS procedures were attempted in 58 patients during the study. Of these, two EUS procedures were aborted due to inadequate moderate sedation and 68 were successfully completed. The median age at initial endoscopy was 18 years (range 6–21 years), 50% were male and 65% were Caucasian. Four patients underwent EUS-guided pseudocyst drainage. Among the remaining 54 patients, the indications for EUS were the evaluation of GI mucosal/submucosal lesions (n = 14), acute or recurrent pancreatitis (n = 10), localization of suspected insulinoma (n = 8), evaluation of pancreatic abnormalities seen on prior imaging (n = 6), surveillance of tumors or evaluation of luminal lesions in hereditary syndromes (n = 6), abdominal pain of suspected pancreatobiliary origin (n = 5), and other rare indications (n = 5). Fine-needle aspiration was performed in 13 (9 diagnostic, 4 therapeutic) and trans-gastric fine-needle contrast injection of the pancreatic duct was performed in one patient without any complications. Sedation (data available for 66 procedures) included general endotracheal anesthesia in 38 (57%), monitored anesthesia care (MAC) in 19 (29%), and moderate sedation in 9 (14%). There were 4 minor intra-procedural anesthesia-related complications (laryngospasm in 2 and hypoxemia from airway obstruction and secretions in 2) in MAC and general endotracheal anesthesia (GA) cases, and 1 postprocedural complication (fever after pseudocyst drainage). EUS can achieve the diagnostic or therapeutic goal and ruled out suspected pathology in 88% of cases precluding need for additional testing. Conclusions: (1) EUS in the pediatric population is technically successful and efficacious. (2) Therapeutic and diagnostic EUS impacted clinical care decisions. (3) There is a low risk of immediate significant complications. (4) The overall efficacy and safety support the performance of EUS in a pediatric population by experienced endoscopists.
Identity management using blockchain for cognitive cellular networks

Cloud-centric cognitive cellular networks utilize dynamic spectrum access and opportunistic network access technologies as a means to mitigate spectrum crunch and network demand. However, furnishing a carrier with personally identifiable information for user setup increases the risk of profiling in cognitive cellular networks, wherein users seek secondary access at various times with multiple carriers. Moreover, network access provisioning — assertion, authentication, authorization, and accounting — implemented in conventional cellular networks is inadequate in the cognitive space, as it is neither spontaneous nor scalable. In this paper, we propose a privacy-enhancing user identity management system using blockchain technology which places due importance on both anonymity and attribution, and supports end-to-end management from user assertion to usage billing. The setup enables network access using pseudonymous identities, hindering the reconstruction of a subscriber's identity. Our test results indicate that this approach diminishes access provisioning duration by up to 4x, decreases network signaling traffic by almost 40%, and enables near real-time user billing that may lead to approximately 3x reduction in payments settlement time.
Shape Memory Alloy Actuation of a Metered-Dose Inhaler

Respiratory diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) affect millions of people around the world. The most common treatment approach is to take an inhaled corticosteroid as needed with a dry-powder inhaler or a metered-dose inhaler. Unfortunately, rates of inhaler mishandling and misuse are staggeringly high and as a result, the majority of those suffering from asthma and COPD are not receiving proper treatment. There are a myriad of ways inhalers are mishandled and misused, but one significant challenge results from the timing miscoordination of the medicine dispersion and inhalation breath. To address this, the current study successfully demonstrates the feasibility of automating the timing of the medicine dispersion by the addition of a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) actuator and a differential pressure sensor into the casing of a traditional metered-dose inhaler. To meet actuation requirements and reliably depress the inhaler cartridge, the SMA wire was routed around a set of miniature bearings within the casing of the inhaler. By demonstrating that a metered-dose inhaler may be actuated by SMA without a significant increase of its weight or size, this study provides a practical technological approach to reducing the improper treatment of asthma and COPD due to inhaler misuse.Copyright © 2017 by ASME
Silence in Official Representations of History: Implications for National Identity and Intergroup Relations

Dominant representations of history evolve through differential exercise of power to enable memory of collective triumphs and silence memory of collective misdeeds. We examined silence regarding minorities in official constructions of history and the implications of this silence for national identity and intergroup relations in Turkey. A content analysis of official constructions of history inscribed in Turkish national university admissions exams (Study 1) revealed an emphasis on celebratory events, silence about ethnic and religious minorities, and a construction of national identity in ethno-cultural (e.g., as “Turk” and “Muslim”) rather than civic terms (e.g., in terms of citizenship). An investigation with Turkish participants (Study 2) revealed that denial of historical information regarding minority populations documented in sources outside the national curriculum was associated with greater endorsement of ethno-cultural constructions of identity and less support for minority rights and freedom of expression. We discuss the liberatory potential of alternative forms of historical knowledge to promote more inclusive models of identification and improve intergroup relations.
Four frames for systemic change in STEM departments

This paper adapts the four-frame model of organizational change to the context of higher education. We offer the model as a tool for researchers and change agents who wish to study and enact systemic change within STEM departments. We provide the four frames in contrast to overly simplistic models of change that have been shown to be unlikely to result in sustainable improvements. As we outline the four frames, we discuss both how the frames provide insight into potential products for change and how they influence the process of change. We provide an extended example of how the four frames can be used to analyze an existing change effort and implications of this approach for future work. This paper adapts a model for promoting and understanding change efforts in STEM departments. This is a model that can be used by nearly any researcher or administrator to help increase the impact of their work.
Phase Shift and Compressible Fluid Dynamics in Inertance Tubes

The phase shift between pressure and mass flow predicted by an analytic solution for incompressible oscillatory flow in an infinite tube is presented and compared with numerical solutions to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for an inertance tube computed by a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. Compressible flow equations are also solved by the CFD program and the resulting phase shifts and temperature profiles are reported. A parametric study of the dependence of inertance tube phase shift upon diameter, frequency and length is presented. A turbulence model is included in some runs to evaluate the effect of turbulence on computed phase shift.
A World of Universals

L'A. defend une theorie des universaux immanents definis comme les elements fondamentaux du monde actuel et s'inscrivant dans le cadre d'une theorie-paquet de la substance (Bundle Theory of substance). Soulevant la question de savoir si (tous) les mondes possibles et le monde actuel sont constitues d'universaux immaments, l'A. montre que la theorie-paquet est la structure adequate pour une description du monde actuel et de tous les mondes possibles. Examinant le probleme du changement, des proprietes contingentes, de la duplication et de la triplication, de la regression, de l'espace-temps, du vide et des anges, l'A. defend la pertinence de la theorie-paquet comme metaphysique speculative
Chapter 5 Avian Embryos: A Model for the Study of Primary Vascular Assembly in Warm‐Blooded Animals

The formation of a primary vascular bed is a dynamic process, aspects of which are readily amenable to time-lapse imaging in avian embryos. At early developmental stages, the body plan of avian embryos is very similar to mammals and has many properties that make it ideal for imaging. We devised labeling, culturing, and imaging techniques that capture high-resolution images of intact avian embryos in four dimensions over large length scales (1 to 5000 microm). Here, we describe multiple techniques for labeling and culturing avian embryos to study the cellular, tissue, and extracellular matrix dynamics of vascular morphogenesis.
Attenuation of cocaine seeking in rats via enhancement of infralimbic cortical activity using stable step-function opsins

The infralimbic cortex (IL) and its downstream projection target the nucleus accumbens shell (NAshell) mediate the active suppression of cocaine-seeking behavior. Although an optogenetic approach would be beneficial for stimulating the IL and its efferents to study their role during reinstatement of cocaine seeking, the use of channelrhodopsin introduces significant difficulties, as optimal stimulation parameters are not known. The present experiments utilized a stable step-function opsin (SSFO) to potentiate endogenous activity in the IL and in IL terminals in the NAshell during cocaine-seeking tests to determine how these manipulations affect cocaine-seeking behaviors. Rats first underwent 6-h access cocaine self-administration followed by 21–27 days in the homecage. Rats then underwent cue-induced and cocaine-primed drug-seeking tests during which the optogenetic manipulation was given. The same rats then underwent extinction training, followed by cue-induced and cocaine-primed reinstatements. Potentiation of endogenous IL activity did not significantly alter cue-induced or cocaine-primed drug seeking following the homecage period. However, following extinction training, enhancement of endogenous IL activity attenuated cue-induced reinstatement by 35% and cocaine-primed reinstatement by 53%. Stimulation of IL terminals in the NAshell did not consistently alter cocaine-seeking behavior. These results suggest the utility of an SSFO-based approach for enhancing activity in a structure without driving specific patterns of neuronal firing. However, the utility of an SSFO-based approach for axon terminal stimulation remains unclear. Moreover, these results suggest that the ability of the IL to reduce cocaine seeking depends, at least in part, on rats first having undergone extinction training.
The Protection and Deployment of (In)Imitatble Resources

This paper makes the following contributions to technology and innovation management theory. First, it identifies specific actions firms take to protect critical resources such as technological discoveries. Second, it examines the extent to which these actions expedite or impede resource imitation by competitors. It provides greater theoretical clarity on the link between resource attributes, resource deployment, and their imitation by competitors. Thirdly, it proposes that the interaction between resource attributes and how firms deploy these resources predict the probability and timing of resource imitation. Lastly, it begins to explicate how particular resources are susceptible to imitation. We empirically assess the imitability construct under this multi-dimensional framework. Using patent data from 25 years of ongoing invention in the financial innovation domain, we determine that patents with greater external linkages were imitated more quickly by rivals, while resource visibility actually may extend the gestation period of a patent's technological advantage. Other findings suggest that greater visibility interacts with resource innovativeness and external linkages to accelerate imitation.
Sequencing, Ranking, and Selection Algorithms in General Combinatorial Families (SELECT)

This chapter presents a method that exploits a common feature of families of combinatorial objects, and many other families. The basic property of the families considered is that they can be constructed recursively. There must be a recursive relationship, which establishes a one-to-one correspondence between the set of objects of a certain order and a (disjoint) union of (multiple copies of) sets of objects of lower order. The recursive construction provides a natural way to sequence the objects, to find the rank (sequence number) of an object, to construct the object with a given rank, or to select an object uniformly at random. The chapter presents algorithms for performing any of the four tasks—sequencing, ranking, unranking, random selection—on any of the seven combinatorial families. These algorithms apply to the coded form of the combinatorial objects, that is, it is supposed that the objects are represented as paths on their appropriate graphs. For some ordinary applications, this is sufficient. For most applications, it will be necessary to translate the coded form of the object to one of the familiar forms which are more easily recognizable.
Abstract 2897: Therapeutic efficacy of antibodies targeting domain 1 of HSPG2 in breast cancer

Significant advancements in chemotherapy have improved the survival rates of patients presenting with local or regional breast cancer to as high as 99% and 85%, respectively. On the contrary, patients with metastatic breast cancer have a dismal 5-year survival rate of 26%. Thus, there is an urgent need for research strategies directed towards treatment of metastasis. Our lab used a phage display-based cell panning procedure to develop two fully humanized antibodies (Clone 6 and AM6) that are able to bind specifically to breast cancer metastatic cells. Target deconvolution revealed HSPG2/Perlecan Domain 1 as the cell surface antigen bound by the antibodies. Immunohistochemistry studies revealed high HSPG2 expression across various tumor subtypes including melanoma, bladder cancer, glioblastoma and ovarian cancer. There was a significant correlation between high HSPG2 and with poor survival in bladder and ovarian cancers. Interestingly, we observed significant tumor growth inhibition in the triple-negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer xenograft model. This efficacy was significantly reduced when the tumor growth inhibition studies were repeated in NSG mice, suggesting NK cell-mediated antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) as the potential mechanism of action. The data presented here point to the relevance of HSPG2 as a novel target for not only breast cancer but also other malignancies. We also show the potential of Clone 6 and AM6 as therapeutic and targeting agents. Further studies are required to understand the significance of HSPG2 overexpression and its correlation with tumor progression as well as to confirm the mechanism of action with Clone 6 and AM6 antibodies. Citation Format: Vidhi Khanna, Stephen Kalscheuer, Jayanth Panyam, Da Yang, Sihan Li. Therapeutic efficacy of antibodies targeting domain 1 of HSPG2 in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2897.
Efficient, Multifidelity Perceptual Representations via Hierarchical Gaussian Mixture Models

This paper presents a probabilistic environment representation that allows efficient high-fidelity modeling and inference toward enabling informed planning (active perception) on a computationally constrained mobile autonomous system. The proposed approach exploits the fact that real-world environments inherently possess structure that introduces dependencies between spatially distinct locations. Gaussian mixture models are employed to capture these structural dependencies and learn a semiparametric, arbitrary resolution spatial representation. A hierarchy of spatial models is proposed to enable a multifidelity representation with the variation in fidelity quantified via information-theoretic measures. Crucially for active perception, the proposed modeling approach enables a distribution over occupancy with an associated measure of uncertainty via incorporation of free space information. Evaluation of the proposed technique via a real-time graphics processing unit based implementation is presented on real-world data sets in diverse environments. The proposed approach is shown to perform favorably as compared to state-of-the-art occupancy mapping techniques in terms of memory footprint, prediction accuracy, and generalizability to structurally diverse environments.
HSR Commentary: Linking VA and Non‐VA Data to Address Important US Veteran Health Services Research Issues

OBJECTIVE This commentary summarizes the methods and topics addressed in the special issue of HSR focused on linkage of United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA datasets. The issue illustrates that researchers are increasingly linking diverse datasets as a valuable method for obtaining outcomes, treatments, and covariates to evaluate and examine health care delivery that includes non-VA services. The issue serves as a reference to VA and non-VA investigators alike who employ data linkage methods to address high-impact clinical and health policy evaluations that span different care systems and different datasets.
Neural evidence for automatic value-modulated approach behaviour.

Abstract Reward learning has the ability to bias both attention and behaviour. The current study presents behavioural and neural evidence that irrelevant responses evoked by previously reward-associated stimuli are more robustly represented in the motor system using a combined go/no-go and flankers task. Following a colour-reward association training, participants were instructed to respond to a central target only in a response-relevant context, while ignoring flankers that appeared either in a high-value or low-value colour. The motor cortex and cerebellum exhibited reduced activation to low-value flankers in a response-irrelevant context, consistent with goal-directed response suppression. However, these same regions exhibited similar activation to high-value flankers regardless of their response relevance, indicating less effective suppression, and the resulting interaction in motor cortex activation was strongly predicted by the influence of the flankers on behaviour. These findings suggest that associative reward learning produces a general approach bias, which is particularly evident when it conflicts with task goals, extending the principle of value-driven attention to stimulus-evoked responses in the motor system.