cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accuracy of simulated cervical dilation and effacement measurements among practitioners.

Objective To determine whether hard or soft cervical models produced more accurate results when examined by practitioners of various experience levels. Study design Simulated hard and soft cervical models were placed in a chamber designed to simulate a realistic vaginal examination. These cervical dilation and effacement models ranged from 1 cm to 6 cm and from thick (4 cm) to complete (0.2 cm). Each examiner had 20 seconds to evaluate each of 12 models of varying dilation and effacement using the soft and then the hard models. Models of the same dilation and effacement were presented to each practitioner in the same sequence. Physicians, nurses, and residents did the cervical evaluations. Results Of 360 recorded dilation measurements, only 19% were exactly correct using the soft models, whereas 54% were exact using the hard models. The percentages correct using hard cervix models progressively decreased with advancing cervical dilation. No consistent trend was found using the soft models. The respective results for correct effacement measurements were 49% soft versus 58% hard. Conclusions Assessment of cervical dilation and effacement was consistently more accurate in the hard, compared with the soft, cervical model. The greatest deviation between the models was noted among the residents, suggesting that beginning practitioners may benefit from learning on firm models before progressing to more realistic soft models. However, it should also be noted that all practitioners might benefit from practice with soft models, especially to determine accurate dilation because scores in this category were consistently below what might be expected.
Coalescent theory for age-structured random mating populations with two sexes.

Abstract Consider a population that develops over units of time labelled by zero and the negative integers. It is assumed that at any time r ⩽ 0 there are respectively N(m, a) males of age a and N(f, b) of females of age b, where a = 1, … , Am and b = 1, … , Af. At time 0 a sample of n copies of a gene are assumed to be observed, where n ≪ minab(N(m, a), N(f, b)). It is assumed that at any particular time r any possible mating is equally probable and that numbers of gametes contributed to offspring of age 1 and sex u by parents of sex v are exchangeable within age groups and independently distributed among age-groups. Coalescent theory is then derived, with time measured in multiples 2NeC of the effective population size NeC, which depends on a measure T of the generation interval. Theory is developed for both autosomal and sex-linked loci in two special cases.
IgG antibodies from patients with bullous pemphigoid bind to fusion proteins encoded by BPAg1 cDNA

Abstract Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering skin disease characterized in part by the presence of circulating and tissue-bound IgG antibodies directed against the epidermal basement membrane zone. IgG from over 95% of patients with BP have been shown to immunoprecipitate a 230-kD epidermal protein, BPAgl, which has been cloned and sequenced. Although sera from almost all patients with BP react with the 230-kD BP antigen the specific epitope(s) of BPAgl that IgG binds is not known. We have generated fusion proteins from the 230-kD BP antigen cDNA and analyzed sera from patients with BP for binding to these fusion proteins by immunoblot. Sera from 21 of 30 (70%) patients with BP reacted with FP3A (amino acid 873–1193) compared to four of 13 (30%) normal subjects (p
Primed to Fight The “Can/Must” Syndrome and the Conflict Proneness of Nations

Ample empirical evidence suggests that there exist structural differences between groups of states in terms of conflict involvement rates. A small group of states accounts for most conflicts and wa...
The Role of Social Scientists 25 Years after Brown

The Appendix to the Appellant's Brief (known as the Social Science Brief) submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court for its consideration in Brown vs. Board of Education was prepared by three social scientists and endorsed by thirty-two other researchers in the field of American race relations. The brief summarized studies treating social and psychological aspects of segregation and was cited by the Court in its ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Brown decision ushered in intense legislative and judicial action and positive involvemnt of social scientists. When the center of gravity of the civil rights movernnt shifted to Northern urban centers, however, more subtle, sophisticated methods were used to limit desegregation through the exercise of political power. Scme well-publicized social scientists, perhaps identifying with those sources of power, used their expertise to support neo-conservative and "practical" impedimnts to the progress of racial justice.
’Lost Boys’ and the promised land: US newspaper coverage of Sudanese refugees

This textual analysis of top US newspapers examines coverage of the Sudanese ‘Lost Boys’ as they were being resettled in the USA after enduring years of civil war and exile. I uncover some of the narrative elements employed in the text that perpetuate US myths such as ‘the rugged individualist’ and ‘the Promised Land’, even as a complex foreign news story is made palatable to local news consumers. I find that the refugees were presented as coming from a situation beyond understanding, vessels waiting to be filled by US material culture. As human-interest features, the stories provide a human face to far-away tragedy but also are unsuccessful at moving beyond surface explanations of complex international situations. This indicates that an authentic paradigm shift concerning international news coverage has not yet occurred.
Poromechanics Response of Inclined Wellbore Geometry in Chemically Active Fractured Porous Media

The porochemoelastic analytical models and solutions have been used to describe the response of chemically active saturated porous media such as clays, shales, and biological tissues. To date, all existing solutions are only applicable to single-porosity and single-permeability model, which could fall short when the porous material exhibits multiporosity and/or multipermeability characteristics, such as secondary porosity or fractures. This work summarizes the general linear dual-porosity and dual-permeability porochemoelastic formulation and presents the solution of an inclined wellbore drilled in a fluid-saturated chemically active fractured formation, such as fractured shale, subjected to a three-dimensional in situ state of stress. The analytical solution to this geometry incorporates coupled matrix-fracture deformation, simultaneous fluid flows, solute transports and interporosity exchanges induced by the combined influences of stress variation, fluid pressure and solute chemical salinity gradients u...
Congratulations to the 2013 RSNA Outstanding Educator: Bruce G. Haffty, MD

An internationally recognized expert in breast radiation oncology, Dr Bruce G. Haffty has forged a legacy as one of the specialty’s premier educators through a lifelong commitment to mentoring, educating, and advising the scores of students fortunate enough to call him teacher. Along with his educational accomplishments, Dr Haffty’s groundbreaking work as a clinician and breast cancer researcher has consistently garnered him national recognition as one of the country’s leading physicians. Dr Haffty’s research has focused on developing new methods for delivering radiation therapy targeting breast cancer and on exploring novel molecular targets that may influence the effectiveness of therapy. Dr Haffty completed his medical school training, internal medicine internship, and radiology residency at Yale University School of Medicine in 1988 and spent the next 18 years specializing in breast cancer and head and neck cancer in the Department of Therapeutic R adiology at Yale. Dr Haffty was a professor of therapeutic radiology from 1992 to 2001, residency program director from 1992 through 2004, and vice-chairman and clinical director from 2002 to 2005. He accepted his current positions as professor and chairman of the department of radiation oncology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School of Rutgers University, and associate director of clinical sciences at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, in 2005. As director of the residency program at Yale, Dr Haffty personally mentored countless medical students, residents, fellows, and junior attending physicians who went on to carve their own indelible marks within the specialty. He served as Valerie P. Jackson, MD—RSNA Board Liaison for Education
What We Don’t Know About the Universe

Despite progress on many fronts in cosmology, outstanding questions remain. What is the nature of the dark matter? Is the inflationary big bang model viable? Must we accept a non-zero cosmological constant? Do we know the true population of galaxies? What is the range of star formation histories in the universe? Can gravity alone explain the large scale structure we observe? Studies of the low surface brightness universe may provide the answers to many of these questions.
High Performance, Wide Bandwidth (Hg, Cd)Te Detectors

The frequency dependence of responsivity and detector noise for (Hg,Cd)Te detectors operating in the 8-14 pm region at 77°K was investigated. The results showed that these quantities have the same frequency dependence and corner frequency. Values of f* were thus experimentally determined and found to be >10 MHz for detectors that have D*X - 5 X 1010 cm Hz% Watt-1. The results are shown to be consistent with a simple photoconductive theory based on the assumption of equal lifetimes for holes and electrons.
Acid-catalyzed degradation of poly(2-butyl-1, 3, 6-trioxocane)

Abstract : Polyacetals, owing to the acid sensitivity of the acetal linkage, are attractive candidates for end uses in which acid sensitivity is a desirable property, e.g. photo- or electron-resists. Acid catalyzed degradation of poly (2-butyl-1,3,6-trioxocane) (1) has been studied. With ethyl tosylate as the catalyst, the cyclic monomer 2 was the major product. The minor products are cis and trans isomers of C3H7CH=CH-OCH2CH2OCH2CH2OH, and three stereoisomers of C3H7CH=CH-OCH2CH2OCH2CH2O-CH=CH-C3H7 elucidated by 1H and 13C NMR, IR, electron impact and chemical ionization MS, and in the case of 2 also by comparison with an authentic sample. With 98% H2SO4 as the catalyst 2 is only a minor product. The major products are diethylene glycol, valeraldehyde, and 1,4-dioxane with some 2-butyl-1,3-dioxolane. Capillary GC/Mass spectrometry led to identification of the following less abundant products: tri-n-propylbenzene, alpha, beta- unsaturated aldehydes and cyclic dimer. The products of H2SO4-catalyzed decomposition of polymer were also obtained by heating monomer 2 with H2SO4. A detailed mechanism for the formation of the 8-member ring 2 in the decomposition is proposed which involves unzipping proceeds via open carbocation intermediates. According to the principle of microscopic reversibility, the same open carbocation is the propagating species in the polymerization of 2 under similar conditions.
Northern Hemisphere sea ice simulations by global climate models

The study described here is a synthesis of global climate model projections of Northern Hemisphere sea ice through the end of the 21st century. The synthesis includes an enhancement of the informational content of the projections from a set of five global atmosphere–ocean–ice models. The adjustments are based on the systematic errors in the models’ present-day simulations relative to the HadISST observational data set. All models show decreases of sea ice through the 21st century when forced by the B2 scenario of greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations. However, the differences in the present-day ice coverage simulated by the models are sufficiently large that they dominate the across-model variances of the projected ice extents. The adjustments based on the present-day biases remove much of the spread among the projections. The decreases of the adjusted ice extent by the year 2100 range from about 12 % to about 46 %. The percentage decreases are larger in summer than in winter; much of the Arctic Ocean is ice-free at the time of the summer ice minimum by the year 2099.
Recovery of kainic acid excitotoxicity in chinchilla cochlea.

: The present study examines the recovery of the inner hair cell (IHC)/auditory nerve synapse following cochlear excitotoxicity induced by kainic acid (KA). Three hours after KA treatment, there was massive swelling of type I afferent endings under the IHCs. Five to ten days later, the pattern of IHC innervation appeared to be normal. Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions were normal during the whole experiment. The amplitude of the auditory nerve compound action potential (CAP) was significantly reduced immediately after KA treatment and then recovered over a 30-day period. However, it only took five days for the evoked response from the inferior colliculus (IC) to recover from a substantial depression. In contrast to amplitudes, thresholds for the CAP and IC recovered at the same rate and returned to normal within 5 days after KA. Single auditory nerve fibers were also assessed at various times after the KA treatment. Ten days after KA, these fibers had almost normal thresholds, tuning, spontaneous, and driven discharge rates. The results indicate that (1) excitotoxically damaged cochlear afferent neurons can rapidly regenerate and establish viable synapses with the IHCs, and (2) the central auditory system recovers more rapidly than the periphery.
Sparse video recovery using Linearly Constrained Gradient Projection

This paper concerns the reconstruction of a temporally-varying scene from a video sequence of noisy linear projections. Assuming that each video frame is sparse or compressible in some basis, this inverse problem can be formulated as an l 2 -l 1 minimization problem, which can be solved efficiently using gradient projection. Since the signal of interest corresponds to nonnegative pixel intensities, additional nonnegativity constraints are included in the minimization problem, rendering the optimization problem more difficult to solve but with a greater potential for more accurate reconstructions. In this paper, we propose a method for reconstructing a video sequence that incorporates nonnegativity constraints and exploits inter-frame correlations to improve upon the naive approach of solving each frame independently. We present numerical experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Channel-hopping based single transceiver MAC for cognitive radio networks

To improve the utilization of the precious radio spectrum, we propose a channel-hopping based cognitive radio medium access control (MAC) protocol for synchronized wireless networks that can enable the secondary (unlicensed) users to opportunistically utilize the unused licensed-spectrum without interfering with the primary (licensed) users. In our proposed scheme, the secondary users switch across the licensed channels with their distinct channel-hopping sequences. In particular, when a secondary user sender wants to send packets to its intended secondary user receiver, the secondary user sender changes its hopping schedule and follows the hopping sequence of the intended receiver to conduct the negotiation and then transmit data packets if the channel is not currently used by primary users. The main advantages of our proposed scheme include the followings: (1) no extra control channel is needed; (2) it overcomes the single control channel bottleneck; and (3) one transceiver is sufficient. We develop an Markov chain based analytical model to analyze the performance of our proposed scheme in terms of throughputs. We also identify the tradeoff between the channel utilization and the packet transmission delay.
Vibrational stabilization of distributed parameter systems

A condition of vibrational stabilizability for a class of linear partial differential equations is given. An example of vibrational stabilization in a nonlinear situation (Benard instability) is described.
The propagation of plane waves in a thermally stratified atmosphere

The behavior of a plane wave reflecting from a finite impedance surface with a realistic atmospheric temperature profile is investigated. An approximate solution has been implemented on a digital computer and this solution is presented graphically for a number of cases at low incidence angles.
Lyapunov Exponents, Dimension and Entropy in Coupled Lattice Maps

Recent years have seen advances in understanding of complex dynamics and chaos displayed by rather simple systems. Some routes to chaos are now well understood and have been observed experimentally in diverse fields. Quantitative measures of the chaos, principally Lyapunov exponents, dimensions and entropies12have been developed and used to connect theory and experiment.
America's Healthcare Dilemma

The article focuses on problems faced by American health-care industry. Current public policy efforts to contain costs are looking to increased competition as a solution, which is strange considering the difficulty consumers already have in judging the quality of health care, not to mention the fact that little is known about the outcome of competition among commercial, government, and private non-profit organizations. The enormous increase in medical-care expenditures can be traced to two principal factors: the explosion in technology and the health insurance system. Most important of all, however, is the interplay between these two factors. The dilemma is that technological success in health care breeds political pressure for access to it, which tends to snowball as the resulting expansion of health-insurance coverage not only increases access to the new technology but also provides incentives for the development of more effective but costly new health-care techniques and devices. Public policy is now in the midst of a revolutionary attempt to alter those incentives. It can succeed at some of its goals, such as diminishing the share of gross national product devoted to health care.
Monoclonal Antibodies to Chicken Hemopoietic-Lymphoid Cellular Differentiation Antigens

Characterization of chicken fetal antigen (CFA) using polyclonal antibodies reveal a minimum of 13 CFA determinants localized to hemopoietic-lymphoid cells. CFA determinants are differentially expressed during erythroid cellular differentiation. Splenic lymphocytes from Balb/c mice immunized with SC strain chicken hatch-one (H1) RBC were hybridized to P3 myeloma cells. The specificity of the antibodies secreted by the hybridomas for CFA was determined by hemagglutination assays. Supernatants from hybrid cells that did not agglutinate RBC from adult chickens but did agglutinate RBC from H1 chickens revealed 84 hybrid cells secreting antibodies reactive to H1 RBC. Five hybridoma clones have been established that secrete monoclonal antibodies (McAb) specific for H1 RBC. Although none of the monoclonal antibodies have given reaction patterns that correlate with any of the 13 CFA determinants detected by polyclonal antisera, differing patterns of antigen expression on peripheral RBC, bursa and thymus cells from different aged embryonic and developing chickens have been observed- Antigens reactive with the McAb were isolated from extracts of 125I-labeled erythroid cell populations and AEV transformed erythroid cells (before and after chemically induced differentiation) and were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. (Supported by NIH Grants CA 12851, BGS; and CA26321 and CA 26981, JPA.)
Computational Modeling and Simulations of Isothermal Plane (Linear) Air Jet Velocity Profile for Slot Diffusers

In the present work, computational modeling and simulations of isothermal plane (linear) air jet velocity profile for slot diffusers are performed. Plane air jets are formed by linear slots or rectangular openings with a large aspect ratio. Numerical simulations are performed using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS FLUENT. Three plane air jet flow simulations will be investigated such as free plane (linear) jets, attached jets, and air flow through a slot diffuser in a room setting. The purpose of simulating the free plane jet through a slot diffuser is to study the behavior of jet velocity profile that is not blocked by side walls or ceilings. The jet velocity profile is modified when obstructed by the walls and the air jet desires to attach to the surfaces along its path. For this reason, attached jet simulations through a slot diffuser will be conducted. The CFD study of plane air jet flows will eventually be extended to jet flows through a slot diffuser to a room to investigate the fluid flow behavior that enters a room under a ceiling. In addition, effects of two-equation turbulence models such as standard, renormalization group (RNG), and realizable k-e on the CFD simulations will be investigated. Predicted velocity profiles and decays of free plane jet through a slot diffuser will be validated with a semi-empirical model [1]. Predicted velocity profiles of attached jet simulations will also be compared with a semi-empirical expression [2]. The slot diffuser air flow simulations will be compared with experimental data by the work of Chen and Srebric [3]. All simulations will be conducted at a specified inlet air velocity. The effects of grid resolution are also examined. It is established that the standard k-e turbulence model best simulates attached and free jet flows. The standard k-e turbulence model is applied to a room setting under isothermal conditions. The results are compared with non-isothermal experimental data [3]. It is shown that temperature which is a passive scalar has less influence on the flow pattern at a high air velocity than at a low air velocity in a room setting.© 2014 ASME
The effect of overtraining on the shift behavior of albino rats

Rats were trained to criterion to respond to 1 dimension of a 2-dimensional discrimination and then to respond either (a) to the previously negative stimulus or (b) to the previously irrelevant dimension. One half of the Ss received 200 training trials beyond criterion before undergoing the discrimination shifts. Overtraining had no effect, and (b) was accomplished faster than (a) by both criterion and overtrained Ss.
Closest pairs data selection for support vector machines

This paper presents data selection procedures for support vector machines (SVM). The purpose of data selection is to reduce the dataset by eliminating as many non support vectors (non-SVs) as possible. Based on the fact that support vectors (SVs) are those vectors close to the decision boundary, data selection keeps only the closest pair vectors of opposite classes. The selected dataset will replace the full dataset as the training component for any standard SVM algorithm.
Contention, consensus, and memories of communism: Comparing Czech and Slovak memory politics in public spaces, 1993–2012:

Memorial spaces can reinforce consensus or deepen conflict over the past. Memories of communism in Europe are particularly fraught mnemonic landscapes. Although they experienced the communist regime as a single country, Czechs and Slovaks now manifest very different political memories in public spaces with different levels of contention surrounding them. Through a media analysis (1993–2012) of events surrounding the 12 memorials addressing the communist past in the capital cities of Prague and Bratislava, this study generates a theory of differing levels of contention between societies with similar ‘difficult’ pasts. The Czech case is characterized by official and unofficial actors, who are cooperative or noncooperative, presenting often competing versions of the past through an individualistic, human rights-focused mnemonic frame. Slovak memory politics are less contentious, dominated by official memory actors, and interpreted through religion and nationalism. The collective memory literature lacks a way...
High-speed planar laser-induced fluorescence of the CH radical using the $$C^{ 2} \varSigma ^{ + } {-}X^{ 2} \varPi \left( {0,0} \right)$$ band

The potential for kHz-rate or high-speed planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of the Methylidyne (CH) radical using its $$C^{ 2} \varSigma ^{ + } {-}X^{ 2} \varPi$$ (v′ = 0, v′′ = 0) band was investigated. We show that due to its strength and the excitation wavelength (~314 nm), which is conveniently generated by a dye laser operating with a red dye, the C–X(0,0) band is a good choice for CH LIF studies wherein suppression of background scattering is not required. While interference from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is small, that caused by hydroxyl (OH) can be significant. Nonetheless, the OH lines can be avoided, and we observe good CH image fidelity. Most importantly, we show that due to the favorable properties of the CH C–X band (i.e., good signal strength and convenient wavelength), it can be used for PLIF at kHz acquisition rates using a continuously pulsing laser system. This is demonstrated in laminar and turbulent CH4-air flames with a laser system operating at 10 kHz and delivering ~0.2 mJ/pulse at 314 nm.
The Peñalosa Principle of Transportation Democracy: Lessons from Bogotá on the Morality of Urban Mobility.

The mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa strives to deliver transit services that promote social equity through bicycle lanes, improved sidewalks, and a world-famous Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, "TransMilenio." Through examining the principles that guide his planning, we can flesh out a starting point for socially just transit systems. While such measures can alleviate several harms that transit systems cause, they rest on an incomplete foundation due to their top-down nature. To amend this situation, the author argues for a restorative justice approach to transportation democracy, using examples from Penalosa's mayoral tenure. In turn, lessons from Bogota's transportation history reveal how to develop transit systems that strongly favor justice.
Social networks and popular understanding of science and health: Sharing disparities, by Brian G. Southwell

We live in an era of information where each of us acts as both transmitter and receiver of information via the Internet. Online social networks can improve the flow of some kinds of information, wh...
The interplay of hybridization and clonal reproduction in the evolution of willows – Experiments with hybrids of S. eriocephala[R] & S. exigua[X] and S. eriocephala & S. petiolaris[P].

Clonal reproduction may contribute to plant evolution either by affecting population biology or by allowing partially sterile individuals (e.g., hybrids) repeated opportunities to reproduce sexually. The interplay of hybridization and clonal reproduction was first proposed by Stebbins (1950), but previously has not been tested experimentally. Alternative models for the effects of hybridization include speciation, introgression, and swamping. Salix spp. were chosen to test comparatively these hypotheses because they are easily hybridized and cloned. Over 500 separate crosses and backcrosses were made and over 6000 separate plants were measured in field experiments and statistically compared for significance to both evolutionary theory and plant breeding for biomass production. The F1 hybrids in this study always equalled, and in the case of the hybrid PR, outperformed their parents in vegetative parameters. It seems likely that even without reproducing sexually, these F1 hybrids could exist as successful individuals (sensu Stebbins 1950). However, it also seems likely that they would sexually reproduce: three of four F1 hybrids studied (RX, RP, and PR) equalled or surpassed their parents in sexual parameters when crossing with at least one other accession. Of the alternative models, experimental data suggest that introgression would be the most likely outcome of a hybridization event. The hybrid XR, however, was partially sterile and performed poorly when crossing with all other accessions in its group except S. exigua (pistillate parent). Thus, this hybrid may fit Stebbins' model of a partially sterile yet vegetatively vigorous plant that can exist as a successful individual and make some contribution to interspecific gene flow over time. This is the first experimental study to confirm the evolutionary importance of clonal reproduction coupled with hybridization. However, distinguishing any of these evolutionary pathways would be difficult in nature using morphological techniques, as interspecific hybrids tend to resemble their pistillate parents in terms of leaf shape.
Histamine release from leukocytes of hypersensitive individuals: II. Reduced sensitivity of leukocytes after injection therapy

Abstract Four ragweed-sensitive patients were treated by courses of injections of aqueous ragweed extract. Specific histamine release from peripheral leukocytes and circulating antibody to purified ragweed antigen were measured at various times. During treatment, a progressive increase was observed in the concentration of antigen required to release a significant proportion of the total cellular histamine. No marked changes occurred in any patient before a total of at least 20, 000 PNU of ragweed extract had been administered. The level of circulating antibody rose during therapy. Changes in serum antibody preceded changes in sensitivity of the leukocytes. After treatment a decrease in symptoms during the next ragweed season was reported by each of the patients.
Temporal trends, center-level variation, and the impact of prevalent state obesity rates on acceptance of obese living kidney donors.

The impact of predonation obesity on long-term outcomes of living kidney donors remains controversial. Published guidelines offer varying recommendations regarding body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) thresholds for donor acceptance. We examined temporal and center-level variation in BMI of accepted donors across US transplant centers. Using national transplant registry data, we performed multivariate hierarchical logistic regression modeling using pairwise comparisons (overweight, BMI 25-29.9; mildly obese, BMI 30-34.9; very obese, BMI >35; versus normal BMI, 18.5-24.9). Metrics of heterogeneity, including median odds ratio (MOR), were calculated. Among 90,013 living kidney donors, 2001-2016, proportions who were very obese decreased and proportions who were mildly obese or overweight increased. Significant center-level heterogeneity was noted in BMI of accepted donors; the MOR varyed from 1.10 for overweight to 1.93 for very obese donors. At centers located in the 10 states with the highest general population obesity rates, adjusted odds of very obese donor status were 185% higher (reference: normal BMI) than in states with the lowest obesity rates. Although there is a declining trend in acceptance of very obese living kidney donors, variation across centers is significant. Further, local population obesity rates may affect the decision to accept obese individuals as donors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Software-defined storage for fast trajectory queries using a deltaFS indexed massive directory

In this paper we introduce the Indexed Massive Directory, a new technique for indexing data within DeltaFS. With its design as a scalable, server-less file system for HPC platforms, DeltaFS scales file system metadata performance with application scale. The Indexed Massive Directory is a novel extension to the DeltaFS data plane, enabling in-situ indexing of massive amounts of data written to a single directory simultaneously, and in an arbitrarily large number of files. We achieve this through a memory-efficient indexing mechanism for reordering and indexing data, and a log-structured storage layout to pack small writes into large log objects, all while ensuring compute node resources are used frugally. We demonstrate the efficiency of this indexing mechanism through VPIC, a widely-used simulation code that scales to trillions of particles. With DeltaFS, we modify VPIC to create a file for each particle to receive writes of that particle's output data. Dynamically indexing the directory's underlying storage allows us to achieve a 5000x speedup in single particle trajectory queries, which require reading all data for a single particle. This speedup increases with application scale while the overhead is fixed at 3% of available memory.
Compatibility between bioceramics and the physiological environment

Before dealing with the specific subject of this chapter, it will be useful to give a brief outline of some of the information acquired by the operators in this sector through experimentation on animals and, for some aspects, by analysing statistically the incidence of successful interventions on humans.
Haptics: The Present and Future of Artificial Touch Sensation

This article reviews the technology behind creating artificial touch sensations and the relevant aspects of human touch. We focus on the design and control of haptic devices and discuss the best practices for generating distinct and effective touch sensations. Artificial haptic sensations can present information to users, help them complete a task, augment or replace the other senses, and add immersiveness and realism to virtual interactions. We examine these applications in the context of different haptic feedback modalities and the forms that haptic devices can take. We discuss the prior work, limitations, and design considerations of each feedback modality and individual haptic technology. We also address the need to consider the neuroscience and perception behind the human sense of touch in the design and control of haptic devices.
Treating Unemployed Adolescents

Young people who cannot find jobs to confirm their adult status often develop dysfunctional behavior patterns and low self-esteem. In treatment, interventions focusing on job opportunities have bee...
What's in a Name? The Ethical Importance of Respecting a Patient's "Unexplained" Medical Concerns.

In the first-year clinical skills course medical students take here at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, one of the key aspects of the medical interview that students learn ...
The utility of point-of-care ultrasound in targeted automobile ramming mass casualty (TARMAC) attacks

As terrorist actors revise their tactics to outmaneuver increasing counter-terrorism security measures, a recent trend toward less-sophisticated attack methods has emerged. Most notable of these "low tech" trends are the Targeted Automobile Ramming MAss Casualty (TARMAC) attacks. Between 2014 and November 2017, 18 TARMAC attacks were reported worldwide, resulting in 181 deaths and 679 injuries. TARMAC attack-related injuries are unique compared to accidental pedestrian trauma and other causes of mass casualty incidents (MCI), and therefore they require special consideration. No other intentional mass casualty scenario is the result of a blunt, non-penetrating trauma mechanism. Direct vehicle impact results in high-power injuries including blunt trauma to the central nervous system (CNS), and thoracoabdominal organs with crush injuries if the victims are run over. Adopting new strategies and using existing technology to diagnose and treat MCI victims with these injury patterns will save lives and limit morbidity. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is one such technology, and its efficacy during MCI response is receiving an increasing amount of attention. Ultrasound machines are becoming increasingly available to emergency care providers and can be critically important during a MCI when access to other imaging modalities is limited by patient volume. By taking ultrasound diagnostic techniques validated for the detection of life-threatening cardiothoracic and abdominal injuries in individuals and applying them in a TARMAC mass casualty situation, physicians can improve triage and allocate resources more effectively. Here, we revisit the high-yield applications of POCUS as a means of enhanced prehospital and hospital-based triage, improved resource utilization, and identify their potential effectiveness during a TARMAC incident.
The First Electronic Electrocardiograph

The history of discovery of the presence of an electrical signal accompanying the beat of the heart is traced from the mid 1800s, when there were no electrical recording instruments to the modern ECG. The saga is one of the use of brain power to overcome the lack of technology and illustrates the psychological difficulty in accepting new ideas.
Ponding of Liquids on Flat Roofs

Expressions are developed for the moments and deflections of simply-supported, prismatic beams subjected to various loading conditions simultaneous with ponding. These can be combined by a form of superposition to solve cases of combined loadings and different support conditions including continuous beams. The simply-supported beam problem is generalized by means of Fourier series to handle any loading condition plus initial crookedness. An examination of the analogy between the ponded beam and the vibrating beam problem reveals why the critical ponding factor is a function of end conditions and is independent of the type of applied load.
NETWORKS—FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

This chapter reviews modern applications of networks to assist in the solution of problems such as those dealing with scheduling and optimization. A network usually has physical interpretations, such as an electric network or a water distribution network, in addition to its abstract properties. Thereafter, a theory of networks forms the basis for a wide range of different systems analysis tools and techniques. The power of these tools and techniques stems in part from their flexibility and ability to represent widely different entities as well as many logical relationships. Circuits may be present in connected networks. This distinguishes such networks from trees where no circuits exist and where there is only one possible route by which one can traverse from a node to any other node. The concept of trees is frequently useful in network analysis and trees are often developed by removing arcs from richer networks. The result is called a spanning tree so-called as it spans all nodes in the network. Many different spanning trees can usually be developed for a network. Moreover, for any useful network processing to take place in the computer, the network structure must be represented in some machine understandable form. Wide spectrums of different representation methods are available. In many critical path type networks, activities are represented by branches while nodes represent discrete points in time. When this approach is used, it is necessary to uniquely identify links and nodes.
Biostratigraphy of Paleogene Non-marine Ostracoda from East China

In eastern China, five non-marine ostracode zones can be recognized from the Paleocene to the Oligocene. These are discussed and compared with Paleogene ostracode assemblages in the western United States. Two of the assemblages can be subdivided into freshwater non-marine and marginal marine or saline lake types.
The Role of Acetyl Cysteine in Cocaethylene (Non-Acetaminophen) Acute Liver Failure.

Background. Acute liver failure can result from acetaminophen overdose, viral infection, toxins, and other disease conditions. Liver transplant is available in limited fashion and the criteria are strict as to who should get an available liver. N- Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) has been used in non-acetaminophen induced liver failure with success. Here we report a case of acute liver failure from cocaethylene that was reversed with NAC along with other medical therapy. Case Presentation. A 50-year-old female patient presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with a two-day history of coffee ground vomiting and hematemesis. She reported occasional substance abuse and heavy alcoholism. She reported shortness of breath and chest pain from the recurrent forceful vomiting. The rest of the review of systems was unremarkable except a fall from intoxication. Physical examination revealed anicteric conjunctiva and nontender abdomen and her vital signs were within normal limits. Initial blood work revealed acute liver and renal failure. The patient was started with general medical management and liver transplant service rejected the case due to active substance abuse. She underwent brief hemodialysis and was started on NAC. Over the course of her hospital stay her liver function and kidney function improved significantly and patient was discharged to home. Conclusion. In cases where liver transplant is not an option for various reasons including active substance abuse, a trial of N-Acetyl Cysteine may be beneficial and should be considered in the Emergency Department.
Dealing with Partial Observations in Dynamic Spectrum Access: Deep Recurrent Q-Networks

This paper investigates the use of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to solve a fundamental problem in dynamic spectrum access. Specifically, we develop a technique to allow a secondary radio node to share the spectrum with multiple existing (primary) radio nodes in the presence of partial observations and no a priori knowledge of the primary nodes' behaviors. There are multiple discrete channels shared by the radio nodes, and the secondary node cannot communicate with the primary nodes, but instead must base its spectrum access decisions on partial observations of the spectrum at each time step. The secondary radio node's objective is to maximize its own long-term expected number of successful transmissions (i.e., probability of full spectrum utilization) while minimizing collisions using limited feedback. The problem is formulated as a Partially-Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) with unknown system dynamics. In order to overcome the challenge of an unknown environment combined with partial observations, we apply a specific DRL approach: the Deep Recurrent Q Network (DRQN). We examine two partial observation patterns along with full observations in order to gain insight into the impact partial observations. Further, we compare previously proposed deep Q-networks (DQN) with the DRQN approach and demonstrate that the proposed DRQN approach can overcome the limitations of DQN-based solutions. We examine four specific scenarios which involve different types of primary nodes and show that the proposed DRQN technique can learn to avoid collisions and achieve near optimal performance.
Dilated Blood and Lymphatic Microvessels, Angiogenesis, Increased Macrophages, and Adipocyte Hypertrophy in Lipedema Thigh Skin and Fat Tissue.

Background and Aim. Lipedema is a common painful SAT disorder characterized by enlargement of fat primarily in the legs of women. Case reports of lipedema tissue samples demonstrate fluid and fibrosis in the interstitial matrix, increased macrophages, and adipocyte hypertrophy. The aims of this project are to investigate blood vasculature, immune cells, and structure of lipedema tissue in a cohort of women. Methods. Forty-nine participants, 19 controls and 30 with lipedema, were divided into groups based on body mass index (BMI): Non-Obese (BMI 20 to ) and similar to Obese Lipedema and Obese Controls. Macrophage numbers were significantly increased in Non-Obese ( ) and Obese ( ) Lipedema skin and fat compared to Control groups. No differences in T lymphocytes or mast cells were observed when comparing Lipedema to Control in both groups. SMA staining revealed increased dermal vessels in Non-Obese Lipedema patients ( ) compared to Non-Obese Controls. Lyve-1 and D2-40 staining showed a significant increase in lymphatic vessel area but not in number or perimeter in Obese Lipedema participants ( ) compared to Controls (Obese and Non-Obese). Areas of angiogenesis were found in the fat in 30% of lipedema participants but not controls. Conclusion. Hypertrophic adipocytes, increased numbers of macrophages and blood vessels, and dilation of capillaries in thigh tissue of non-obese women with lipedema suggest inflammation, and angiogenesis occurs independent of obesity and demonstrates a role of altered vasculature in the manifestation of the disease.
On the performance of MF-TDMA multi-carrier demultiplexer/demodulators (MCDs) under five critical degrading factors

Performance of two MCD (multi-carrier demultiplexer/demodulator) architectures (M-MCDD and PPF) for the on-board processing (OBP) satellite are analytically modeled and numerically evaluated in the presence of five critical degrading factors: narrow-band AWGN, carrier frequency offset/phase offset, ISI and quantization error. Cumulative effects of these factors on two different MCD structures are also assessed for comparison and tradeoff assuming MF-TDMA signal using QPSK. Results show that both MCDs are commonly vulnerable to most degrading factors. When all five degrading factors are considered, PPF method exhibits better BER performance than M-MCDD, especially when carrier phase offset is significant.
Novel specimen geometries for fatigue testing of additive manufactured metals under axial, torsion, and combined axial-torsion loadings

Abstract Using the geometric freedom offered by additive manufacturing, a plate-type specimen geometry for axial fatigue testing, a hollow cylindrical specimen for torsion testing, and two thin-walled circular cross section specimens for torsion or axial-torsion fatigue testing are proposed. The proposed geometries reduce the stress concentration at the gage-to-grip transition area, improve the uniformity of the shear stress distribution throughout the wall thickness, and increase buckling resistance during the compression part of the loading cycle. Some preliminary fatigue test results conducted with the proposed specimens are presented and the results are compared with the conventional ASTM tubular specimen.
Dealing with Periods of Tension in Buyer-Vendor Relationships

The construction and maintenance of successful relationships between retail firms and their vendor suppliers have frequently been suggested to be a source of competitive advantage for a retail organization. However, all relationships experience periods of tension that must be dealt with if the relationship is to survive and continue. This research employed a perspective and methodology commonly used in personal relationship literature to examine how successful buyer-vendor relationships deal with periods of tension.
Teaching virtual apparel technology through industry collaboration: an assessment of pedagogical process and outcomes

Graduates of apparel programmes are entering a workforce that requires the use of emerging technologies that are relevant to performing job requirements. Among apparel companies, virtual technologi...
A Simple Method for Estimating the Number of Unconfirmed COVID-19 Cases in a Local Area that Includes a Confidence Interval: A Case Study of Whatcom County, Washington

Abstract Along with many other data problems affecting the unfolding of the COVID-10 pandemic in the United States, virtually nothing is known about the number of positive, unconfirmed cases, especially in local areas. We show that it is possible to estimate the number of positive, unconfirmed COVID-19 cases using a simple, long-established method employed by demographers to estimate a population in the absence of a census count. We go on to show how a confidence interval can be constructed around an estimate of positive, unconfirmed COVID-19 cases constructed from this method, using Whatcom County, Washington as a case study.