cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Review of solar radiation utilizability

The utilizability concept was originally developed for estimating the performance of flat-plate solar collectors over long time periods. In this application, low critical radiation levels are desirable in that they result in high utilizability values and thus efficient collection of solar energy. For this reason, early correlations of the utilizability function were designed to provide accurate estimates of the utilizability at low to intermediate critical levels. It is now apparent that the utilizability concept is useful for other applications such as passive and photovoltaic system analysis. In these latter applications, high critical levels and thus low utilizability (unutilizability) values are desirable in that they imply a better match of collectable solar energy to the load. Utilizability correlations that retain acceptable accuracy at high critical levels are needed for these applications. A complicating factor is that as the critical level increases, utilizability becomes more sensitive to the distribution of solar radiation. At high critical levels, utilizability may be sensitive to variations in the solar radiation at time intervals shorter than one hour. These factors place a limit on the accuracy achievable with a location-independent correlation. To improve accuracy, it may be necessary to introduce one or more additional parameters (in additionmore » to the clearness index) to characterize the local solar climate. The utilizability function also contains information about operating times through its derivative with respect to critical level. None of the existing correlations were developed with the concern to accurately represent both the utilizability function and its derivative and so the estimation of operating time is perhaps not as accurate as it could be.« less
Amplification of closed circular DNA in vitro

The polymerase chain reaction is a powerful technique used to amplify nucleic acids in vitro . The reaction produces linear products, and as of yet, closed circular products have not been possible. Since the replicatively competent form of many DNA molecules is the closed circular form, it would be adventitious to amplify closed circular DNA as closed circular molecules. Until now, these molecules could only be amplified in vivo in appropriate host cells. Here, we describe an in vitro procedure, ligation-during-amplification (LDA), for selective amplification of closed circular DNA using sequence-specific primers. LDA is useful for site-directed mutagenesis, mutation detection, DNA modification, DNA library screening and circular DNA production.
Implementation of a discrete Legendre adaptive IIR filter using the DSP56001

This paper presents the results of an implementation of a discrete Legendre adaptive IIR filter using the Motorola DSP56001 processor. The impulse response of the adaptive filter is a linear combination of orthogonal sequences. The filter is attractive because a long-duration impulse response can be realized with fewer taps than an FIR filter, with the additional advantage that the simple and well-known LMS algorithm, can be used to update the weights. The paper discusses some practical issues related to the implementation of the filter on the fixed-point DSP56001 processor in an adaptive line enhancer configuration.
Multicriticality in hexatic-liquid crystals

The elegant theories of defect mediated transitions1 provide an interesting scenario for melting of two dimensional crystals. In particular they predict an intermediate phase with quasi-long-range orientational order: the hexatic 2. However, observation of the crystal-hexatic-liquid sequence in either experiments or simulations has proved controversial1 - the hexatic phase can be pre-empted by a direct discontinuous melting transition. Birgeneau and Litster3 observed that certain liquid crystal phases can be regarded as three dimensional stacked hexatic layers. The coupling of layers in the third dimension, endows them with true long-range orientational order, and changes the nature of the corresponding transitions4. However, by looking at successively thinner films of such liquid crystals one may hope to approach the two dimensional limit, and indeed recently several groups have been engaged in such a pursuit, using diffraction studies of freely suspended liquid crystal films5–7. These studies may provide the most accurate and cleanest probe1 of the two dimensional melting sequence.
WS/PIDS: Standard Interoperable PIDS in Web Services Environments

An electronic health record depends on the consistent handling of people's identities within and outside healthcare organizations. Currently, the Person Identification Service (PIDS), a CORBA specification, is the only well-researched standard that meets these needs. In this paper, we introduce WS/PIDS, a PIDS specification for Web Services (WS) that closely matches the original PIDS and improves on it by providing explicit support for medical multimedia attributes. WS/PIDS is currently supported by a test implementation, layered on top of a PIDS back-end, with Java- and NET-based, and Web clients. WS/PIDS is interoperable among platforms; it preserves PIDS semantics to a large extent, and it is intended to be fully compliant with established and emerging WS standards. The specification is open source and immediately usable in dynamic clinical systems participating in grid environments. WS/PIDS has been tested successfully with a comprehensive set of use cases, and it is being used in a clinical research setting.
'Cause You've Got Personality: Political Participation and the Tendency to Join Civic Groups

The integration of the Big Five personality traits into models of political participation represents an important advance in the political behavior literature. However, because national surveys that include political and personality measures are not widespread, such analyses have been limited in number. In addition, there have been inconsistencies within and across studies on personality and participation. The availability of more data make it possible to compare the performance of personality measurement batteries across recent political surveys, reexamine hypotheses about the link between personality and participation, test the explanatory power of personality across samples and in different contexts, and expand measures of political and civic engagement, all of which I do in this article. Personality traits do influence political participation, although the magnitude and direction of effects depend on the particular act. Extraversion has a consistent effect on participation, but the effects of Agreeableness, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability are much less consistent.
Air pollution: A half century of progress

In the 50 years since the air pollution episodes of Donora, PA and London, U.K., a great deal of progress has been made in understanding the nature and sources of air pollution and the atmospheric transport and transformation of pollutants. Also, many significant technological advances in air pollution control equipment, such as the automobile exhaust gas catalytic converter, have led to effective reduction of emissions from a variety of major pollution sources. Finally, remarkable developments in instrumentation for sampling the trace species in the atmosphere have been and continue to be made. Relatively less progress has been made in understanding the biological mechanisms by which pollutants lead to human injury and mortality. In this review the focus is on the extraordinary progress that has been made over the last half century in understanding the atmospheric nature and behavior of pollutants, both gaseous and particulate. A major breakthrough was the determination of the gas-phase chemistry of both the natural and polluted atmosphere, chemistry that leads to the formation of ozone and a vast array of oxidized molecules. The mechanisms of the oxidation of atmospheric sulfur dioxide, one of the main primary pollutants, were elucidated. Finally, the chemistry, physics, and optics of atmospheric particulate matter (aerosols) have been laid open by many stunning research achievements. Whereas 50 years ago air pollution was thought to be confined to the area around a city, it is now recognized that species emitted on one continent frequently find their way to other continents. Strategies for dealing with a truly global atmospheric backyard now represent a major challenge. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50:1096–1108, 2004
Treatment of peritonitis due to curvularia and trichosporon with amphotericin B

Fungal infection is a rare cause of peritonitis among patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Most cases of fungal peritonitis are secondary to candida infection. TWo uncommon agents of fungal peritonitis are Curvularia species and Tichosporon beigelii. We report on two patients receiving peritoneal dialysis who presented for medical evaluation within a 1-week period. Fungal culture of the dialysis catheter was positive for Curvularia species in one case and for T beigelii in the other. Both patients probably had acquired their infections through environmental contamination. Successful treatment of these infections includes removal of the peritoneal dialysis catheter and administration of intravenous amphotericin B.
A turbulence model for rapid flows of granular materials part I. basic theory

Abstract A one-equation closure model for rapid flows of granular material is developed. A complete system of equations governing the transport of mass, momentum and fluctuation energy is derived. The functional dependences of the material parameters on the solid volume fraction are obtained and several simple examples are presented. A stress transport model for rapid flows of granular materials is also outlined.
Word-length effects in immediate memory: Overwriting trace decay theory

Memory is worse for items that take longer to pronounce, even when the items are equated for frequency, number of syllables, and number of phonemes. Current explanations of the word-length effect rely on a time-based decay process within the articulatory loop structure in working memory. Using an extension of Nairne's (1990) feature model, we demonstrate that the approximately linear relationship between span and pronunciation rate can be observed in a model that does not use the concept of decay. Moreover, the feature model also correctly predicts the effects of modality, phonological similarity, articulatory suppression, and serial position on memory for items of different lengths. We argue that word-length effects do not offer sufficient justification for including time-based decay components in theories of memory.
Electrocardiographic mapping in a realistic torso tank preparation

Presents preliminary findings of mapping transient myocardial ischemia in an isolated heart preparation suspended in an instrumented, human shaped, electrolytic torso tank. The preparation allows the authors to record both epicardial and tank surface potentials simultaneously and thus capture the dynamic nature of acute ischemia through repeated episodes. The authors' results demonstrate the utility of the preparation and reveal the need to consider geometrical relationships when using electrocardiographic potentials to estimate cardiac activity.
AQL - A Relational Data Base Management System and its Geographical Applications

AQL (acronym for: A Query Language) is a Data Base management system based on n-ary relational model. It has been designed to help the nonspecialist in data processing in solving interactively unstructured problems, in building applications, in running simulations. A rich pattern of default options, synonyms, attribute definitions, inference and a menu facility provide an easy-to-use interface which combines data extraction facility and computational capabilities of the host programming language (i.e. APL). The extension of such a system to cover the geographic data requires extensions in both the conceptual schema and the language to represent and express concepts pertaining to the geographic nature of data. Also, definition mechanism are found to be extremely useful to represent aggregate concepts in geographic data processing. The general characteristics of AQL are widely discussed in (ANT78): here they will be reviewed briefly, then the geographic extension will be discussed.
Differences in Developmental Movement Patterns Used by Active Versus Sedentary Middle-aged Adults Coming from a Supine Position to Erect Stance

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to further validate categories for the movement pattern of supine to standing in adults and (2) to evaluate the influence physical activity might have on the movement patterns used for rising. Seventy-two adults, between 30 and 39 years of age (mean = 34.1, SD = 2.8), performed the rising task while being videotaped. Subjects were divided into three groups by self-reports of level of physical activity (daily to rarely). Individual videotaped trials were classified using the previously described categories. Comparisons among the activity-level groups revealed that more active subjects demonstrated more developmentally advanced movement patterns in the righting task, consistent with earlier research on older adults. Results suggest that lifestyle patterns of regular, moderate physical activity may influence how a person performs the basic righting task of coming from a supine to a standing position. This investigation also provided additional support for the use of developmental sequences for the movement pattern of supine to standing.
Calculations of diffusion and diffusion-limited processes in Ni3Al using accelerated molecular dynamics

We present a systematic microscopic approach to diffusion and diffusion-limited processes in Ni3Al. These processes have been identified as controlling the deformation of the material under specific circumstances. The embedded atom method calculations are done using kinetic Monte Carlo combined with the Dimer method of finding saddlepoints. We compute the tracer diffusivities as functions of composition and temperature. The comparison with available experiments is good. We find that at temperatures below about 1000 K, the diffusivity is a sharp function of composition, showing a pronounced dip on the Ni-rich side at 76 at.% Ni. This agrees well with experiment, except that the experiments show this structure setting in a temperatures below about 1300 K. We show that the structure arises from the composition dependence of both the vacancy formation energy and pre-exponential of the diffusivity. We also compute the mobility of an anti-phase boundary perpendicular to its plane, and conclude that vacancy-assistance is very plausible. We conclude that the kMC + Dimer method works well for these problems above 700 K but less effectively below, owing to the presence of short-range, low-energy hops that tend to localize the vacancy and lower the efficiency of the calculation. � 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Utilizing critical angles in sensing partially ordered liquid crystal profile

This paper investigates a new approach for tracking nematic uniaxial liquid crystal (LC) profile in partially ordered LC based sensors. This approach utilizes measuring critical angles for total internal reflection (TIR) at the interface of optically isotropic and partially ordered LC film. The proposed optical transduction requires measuring of the ordinary critical angle and two extraordinary critical angles in orthogonal directions to report the LC degree of ordering and the director axis orientation.
Role of Molecular Imaging in Stem Cell Therapy for Myocardial Restoration

During the past two decades, stem cells have created enthusiasm as a regenerative therapy for ischemic heart disease. Transplantation of bone marrow stem cells, skeletal myoblasts, and endothelial progenitor cells has shown to improve myocardial function after infarction. Recently, attention has focused on the potential use of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells because they possess the capacity to differentiate into various cell types, including cardiac and endothelial cells. Clinical trials have shown positive effects on the functional recovery of heart after myocardial infarction and have answered questions on timing, dosage, and cell delivery route of stem cells such as those derived from bone marrow. Despite the current advances in stem cell research, one main hurdle remains the lack of reliable information about the fate of cell engraftment, survival, and proliferation after transplantation. This review discusses the different cell types used in cardiac cell therapy as well as molecular imaging modalities relevant to survival issues.
Structure and Function of Observation Units in Children's Hospitals: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract Objective Observation unit (OU) use has been promoted recently to decrease resource utilization and costs for select patients, but little is known about the operations of pediatric OUs. This study aimed to characterize the infrastructure and function of OUs within freestanding children's hospitals and to compare characteristics between hospitals with and without OUs. Methods All 43 freestanding children's hospitals that submit data to the Pediatric Health Information System were contacted in 2013 to identify OUs that admitted unscheduled patients from their emergency department (ED) in 2011. Semistructured interviews were conducted with representatives at hospitals with these OUs. Characteristics of hospitals with and without OUs were compared. Results Fourteen (33%) of 43 hospitals had an OU during 2011. Hospitals with OUs had more beds and more annual ED visits compared to those without OUs. Most OUs (65%) were located in the ED and had Conclusions OUs were located in higher volume hospitals and varied by location, size, and staffing. Most functioned as hybrid OUs. OUs based admissions on intuition, had staffing cultures centered on rapid turnover of patient care, lacked consistent outcome measures, and faced challenges regarding utilization review and patient copayments.
Effect of omeprazole on gene expression in canine gastric parietal cells

Stimulation of gastric parietal cells by carbachol induces coordinate expression of the genes for two enzymes involved in the process of acid secretion, H(+)-K(+)-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase II (CA II). The basis of this coordinate expression was examined in experiments using parietal cells that had been pretreated with omeprazole. We observed a twofold increase in the steady-state mRNA levels of both H(+)-K(+)-ATPase and CA II after cells were treated with the inhibitor. The induction of CA II mRNA by carbachol followed the same kinetics in omeprazole-pretreated cells as in those that were not pretreated, suggesting that the induction of CA II gene expression by carbachol was not dependent on activation of the gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase. In addition, carbachol stimulation of omeprazole-pretreated cells resulted in an induction of one or more larger mRNA species that hybridized with the H(+)-K(+)-ATPase probe. The observation that carbachol-induced increases in steady-state levels of beta-actin mRNA in parietal cells could be inhibited by omeprazole pretreatment suggests a possible linkage between increased beta-actin gene expression and the process of acid secretion.
LMO2 Is a Specific Marker of T-Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma.

Objectives: The diagnosis of T-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) involving the thymus can be difficult to establish since neoplastic T lymphoblasts show significant phenotypic overlap with both normal thymocytes and thymocytes from epithelial thymic neoplasms (thymomas). LIM Domain Only 2 (LMO2) gene translocations have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a small subset of T-ALLs, and LMO2 protein has recently been reported to be expressed in a large proportion of T-ALLs. Methods: In this study, we tested specificity of LMO2 for distinction between neoplastic and nonneoplastic T-precursor cells in thymus and bone marrow. Results: Our findings show that LMO2 is expressed in neoplastic lymphoblasts of T-ALL and is absent in thymocytes of normal thymuses or thymomas. Conclusions: LMO2 is therefore a useful marker for immunophenotypic assessment of thymic neoplasms.
Bacteriophage Ecology and Plants.

Introduction Plant biology cannot be fully appreciated absent microbial flora, and plant-associated bacteria are incompletely understood without an awareness of phage -the viruses of prokaryotes. Phage have been found in association with “buds, leaves, root nodules (leguminous plants), roots, rotting fruit, seeds, stems and straw; crown gall tumors... healthy or diseased alfalfa, barley, beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, buckwheat, clover, cotton, cucumber, lucerne, mulberry, oats peas, peach trees, radish, rutabaga, ryegrass, rye, timothy, tobacco, tomatoes, [and] wheat” (4). In this overview we consider the myriad ways that phage can impact ecologically on plant-associated bacteria.
India Today: From Brain Drain to Brain Gain

In today’s globalized world, manpower development through higher education has become a crucial and necessary activity for almost all countries. Skilled and professional manpower is therefore becoming a very valuable asset that countries are struggling to acquire. There was a time when manual labor and “muscle” power was in great demand for trade; today, with the advent of technology, the empha- sis has shifted to “brain” power, which is now in short supply. India continues to generate educated manpower which it is not always able to absorb. This has resulted in professionals leaving the country for better career opportunities abroad. This was the origin of what became known as the issue of “brain drain,” which hindered national development.
Highlights from the North Carolina Preconception Health Strategic Plan.

In June 2006 the North Carolina Folic Acid Council, the North Carolina Chapter of the March of Dimes, and the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health created an inventory of preconception health activities in North Carolina. The resulting booklet, Looking Back Moving Forward: North Carolina’s Path to Healthier Mothers and Babies,was developed in response to a recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and included action steps for the state. The booklet was officially released on March 14, 2007 by a leadership team that included the North Carolina Chapter of the March of Dimes, the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign, the University of North Carolina Center for Maternal and Infant Health, and the North Carolina Division of Public Health.
The use of colony-stimulating factors in primary hematologic disorders.

Background. The cloning of the human colony-stimulating factors (CSF), granulocyte CSF, granulocyte-macrophage CSF, and interleukin-3 has led to their use in a variety of clinical settings. Resulfs. These CSF have been used successfully to raise neutrophil counts and prevent or control infection in patients with neutropenia due to primary hematologic disorders. Their effects on platelet and erythrocyte counts have been modest; occasional patients have multilineage improvement in hematopoiesis. Conclusions. The CSF can be given for several months at effective and tolerable doses
Heaven’s Gate: America’s UFO Religion, by Benjamin E. Zeller, New York: New York University Press, 2014, 304 pp., ISBN 978-1-4798-8106-2, US$26 (paperback)

The UFO religion, Heaven’s Gate, achieved notoriety in 1997 when 39 of its members committed ritual suicide in a posh California mansion, all in the hopes of achieving salvation through translation...
Music Ensemble Participation: Personality Traits and Music Experience.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to examine the relationship between personality type and ensemble choice and (2) to examine the differences in personality across age and music experience in young adults. Participants (N = 137; 68 instrumentalists, 69 vocalists) completed a demographic survey and the Big Five Personality Inventory. Results of a multivariate analysis of covariance show significantly higher levels of Extroversion by vocalists compared to instrumentalists, F(135) = 5.71, p = .02, d = 0.44. However, mean personality scores by section show high levels of Extroversion in percussionists, similar to vocalists, suggesting that extroverted individuals may be more likely to choose percussion or voice as their primary instrument. These data have many implications for structuring curriculum, establishing learning environments, and facilitating teacher-student communications.
Exploiting the Poor in Faraway Locations: a Corporate Guide

We offer of model of corporate exploitation. Our theory is grounded in data from qualitative interviews that were conducted at eleven sites of exploitation across Honduras. Because little is known ...
Industrial Production in the United States: Some Statistics

Media pundits and some politicians would have us believe that industrial production has been declining in the United States. Some would even say that “we don’t make things anymore.” However, the statistics show a different picture. This paper examines the trade statistics for the United States from 1920-2016. The statistics show that industrial production is at a near all-time high. The present study also includes a bibliography of more than 100 trade studies, with links to those studies.
Carpool: a bufferless on-chip network supporting adaptive multicast and hotspot alleviation

Modern chip multiprocessors (CMPs) employ on-chip networks to enable communication between the individual cores. Operations such as coherence and synchronization generate a significant amount of the on-chip network traffic, and often create network requests that have one-to-many (i.e., a core multicasting a message to several cores) or many-to-one (i.e., several cores sending the same message to a common hotspot destination core) flows. As the number of cores in a CMP increases, one-to-many and many-to-one flows result in greater congestion on the network. To alleviate this congestion, prior work provides hardware support for efficient one-to-many and many-to-one flows in buffered on-chip networks. Unfortunately, this hardware support cannot be used in bufferless on-chip networks, which are shown to have lower hardware complexity and higher energy efficiency than buffered networks, and thus are likely a good fit for large-scale CMPs. We propose Carpool, the first bufferless on-chip network optimized for one-to-many (i.e., multicast) and many-to-one (i.e., hotspot) traffic. Carpool is based on three key ideas: it (1) adaptively forks multicast flit replicas; (2) merges hotspot flits; and (3) employs a novel parallel port allocation mechanism within its routers, which reduces the router critical path latency by 5.7% over a bufferless network router without multicast support. We evaluate Carpool using synthetic traffic workloads that emulate the range of rates at which multithreaded applications inject multicast and hotspot requests due to coherence and synchronization. Our evaluation shows that for an 8×8 mesh network, Carpool reduces the average packet latency by 43.1% and power consumption by 8.3% over a bufferless network without multicast or hotspot support. We also find that Carpool reduces the average packet latency by 26.4% and power consumption by 50.5% over a buffered network with multicast support, while consuming 63.5% less area for each router.
The Relationship Between Eating Habits and Gout in Taiwanese

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To evaluate the use of alkaline producing foods in addition to restriction of alcohol and purine foods to lower serum uric acid levels. Consumption of high purine foods and alcohol as a predictor of gout occurrence in Taiwanese as well as the value of purine/alcohol restriction plus consumption of alkaline producing foods to lower serum uric levels (SUA) were studied. (Alkaline salts produced during metabolism of some foods such as citrus fruits may increase pH fostering uric acid solubility and excretion.) Seventy people (47 with gout and 23 healthy individuals) from the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei were interviewed. Twenty-eight gout subjects interviewed were randomly separated into two groups for the 14 day experiment, the control group (n = 13) and the experimental group (n = 15). Subjects in control group were asked to comply with the following: [1] consume a low purine diet; [2] drink more than 2000 mL liquid per day; and [3] abstain from alcoholic beverages. Subjects in the experimental group were requested to follow procedures (1) and [3], plus consume the juice of 1-2 lemons or grapefruit or 2-3 oranges diluted to 500 mL and an additional 1500 mL liquid per day. There was a significant difference in the mean serum uric acid change after 14 days of dietary treatment between the experimental group who consumed citrus juice in additional to limiting purine and alcohol consumption (serum uric acid was 1.63mg/dL lower) and the control group who limited alcohol and purine intake (serum uric acid was only 0.52mg/dL lower). More gout patients than healthy individuals indicated legumes as their favorite food and consumed more frequently mung bean soup, lentils, garden peas, soybean milk and dried bean curd. Gout patients also drank more alcoholic beverages. A preference for and frequent consumption of high purine foods and alcoholic beverages was predictive of gout occurrence. The nutritional intervention of prescribing alkaline producing foods i.e., citrus fruits, while restricting purine and alcohol intake appears to lower serum uric acid concentration to a greater extent than merely limiting dietary purine and alcohol consumption.
Technology, Society, and the Future

Science and technology are advancing in the world today at a rapid pace that is difficult to appreciate. Humans have not traditionally been very good at using new technologies in new ways. In order to take advantage of new and emerging technologies in education, we must embrace theoretical underpinnings that position us to keep up with the pace of change and allow us to further the development of humanity.
IMPACT OF SEX AND SMOKING ON CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE EXTENT AND SEVERITY BY CORONARY CT ANGIOGRAPHY: RESULTS FROM THE CONFIRM (CORONARY CT ANGIOGRAPHY EVALUATION FOR CLINICAL OUTCOMES: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTICENTER) REGISTRY

Epidemiologic studies exhibit conflicting data on the interaction between sex and smoking for myocardial infarction. We examined the interaction of sex, age and smoking for coronary artery disease (CAD) extent and severity by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) Patients in the CONFIRM (
Metastatic gynecologic malignancies: advances in treatment and management

Gynecologic cancers comprise of mostly uterine, ovarian, and cervical malignancies and are responsible for 95,000 new cases annually in the United States. Uterine cancer is the most common and the number of new cases and mortality has been increasing. Cervical cancer has decreased due to screening, early detection, and treatment of pre-invasive cancers. However, ovarian cancer remains the most lethal because of advanced stage at diagnosis and drug resistance. The metastatic spread pattern differs amongst these cancers, with uterine and cervical cancer found mostly in the primary organ and ovarian cancer disseminating throughout the peritoneum and upper abdomen at presentation. The primary treatment of ovarian cancer typically involves surgery followed by systemic therapy for more advanced disease. Previously, systemic chemotherapy with platinums, taxanes, doxorubicin, topotecan, and gemcitabine has been the standard in either upfront or recurrent setting. With molecular and genetic breakthroughs, we now have over eight new indications and five novel biologic therapies including antiangiogenics, poly ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors, and immunotherapies approved over the last 3 years. In this review, we will examine the biology of gynecologic cancer metastasis and focus on new treatment options for these cancers with a focus on ovarian cancer.
Brain Ascorbate: Protective, Yet Permissive for Redox Signaling

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) occurs physiologically as the ascorbate anion. Ascorbate is a water-soluble antioxidant found throughout the body, but occurs in especially high concentrations (10 mM) in neurons. In the central nervous system (CNS), ascorbate is part of the antioxidant network, and as such is normally neuroprotective. Recent studies suggest that ascorbate may play a unique role in the CNS by permitting signaling by a novel diffusible messenger, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), yet providing protection from damage from the reactive hydroxyl radical, which can be formed from H2O2 oxidation. In order to learn about the function of ascorbate in the CNS, it is necessary to understand how it is compartmentalized. Ascorbate enters the CNS primarily by active transport at the choroid plexus, but also by uptake of oxidized ascorbate, dehydroascorbate, via glucose transporters. After entry into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), it diffuses into brain extracellular fluid (ECF), where its concentration is regulated homeostatically, as well as dynamically. From ECF, ascorbate is taken up into brain cells, where it is further concentrated up to 20-fold. Thus, brain ascorbate is located predominantly in the intracellular compartment of brain tissue, with complementary distribution between neurons and glia that may contribute importantly to its role as a neuroprotective agent that also permits redox signaling.
Network inclusion probabilities and Horvitz-Thompson estimation for adaptive simple Latin square sampling

Consider a survey of a plant or animal species in which abundance or presence/absence will be recorded. Further assume that the presence of the plant or animal is rare and tends to cluster. A sampling design will be implemented to determine which units to sample within the study region. Adaptive cluster sampling designs Thompson (1990) are sampling designs that are implemented by first selecting a sample of units according to some conventional probability sampling design. Then, whenever a specified criterion is satisfied upon measuring the variable of interest, additional units are adaptively sampled in neighborhoods of those units satisfying the criterion. The success of these adaptive designs depends on the probabilities of finding the rare clustered events, called networks. This research uses combinatorial generating functions to calculate network inclusion probabilities associated with a simple Latin square sample. It will be shown that, in general, adaptive simple Latin square sampling when compared to adaptive simple random sampling will (i) yield higher network inclusion probabilities and (ii) provide Horvitz-Thompson estimators with smaller variability.
Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND Patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are predisposed to venous thromboembolic (VTE) complications, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. OBJECTIVE To evaluate, in a multicenter, retrospective cohort study, the rate of VTE complications in ICH patients during acute hospitalization, identify potential risk factors, and assess their association with functional outcome. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed prospectively collected data from 19 centers and 41 sites that participated in the Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage study, from August 2010 to February 2016. We compared ICH patients with VTE complications to those without VTE complications. Statistical analyses were performed to determine predictors of VTE complications and poor outcome (modified Rankin Scale ≥ 4) at discharge and 3-mo follow-up. RESULTS Of the 2902 ICH patients who were eligible for analysis, 87 (3.0%) had VTE complications: 57 (2.0%) had only deep vein thrombosis, 19 (0.7%) had only pulmonary embolism, and 11 (0.4%) had both. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, a prior history of VTE (odds ratio [OR] = 6.8; P < .0001), intubation (OR = 4.0; P < .0001), and presence of IVH (OR = 1.8; P = .0157) were independent predictors of VTE complications. After controlling for ICH volume and location, IVH, age, and presenting Glasgow Coma Scale, the occurrence of VTE complications was an independent predictor of poor outcome at discharge (OR = 2.9; P = .002) and 3-mo follow-up (OR = 2.1; P = .02). CONCLUSION Although VTE complications are uncommon after ICH, they are associated with significantly worse outcomes. Further studies will be needed to determine the optimal treatment regimen for the prevention and treatment of VTE complications in ICH patients.
Biocatalytic "Oxygen-Fueled" Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization.

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) can be carried out in a flask completely open to air using a biocatalytic system composed of glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with an active copper catalyst complex. Nanomolar concentrations of the enzymes and ppm amounts of Cu provided excellent control over the polymerization of oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate (OEOMA500 ), generating polymers with high molecular weight (Mn >70 000) and low dispersities (1.13≤Đ≤1.27) in less than an hour. The continuous oxygen supply was necessary for the generation of radicals and polymer chain growth as demonstrated by temporal control and by inducing hypoxic conditions. In addition, the enzymatic cascade polymerization triggered by oxygen was used for a protein and DNA functionalized with initiators to form protein-b-POEOMA and DNA-b-POEOMA bioconjugates, respectively.
Enhanced Control to Improve Navigation and Manipulation of Power Wheelchairs

Our team developed a mobile wheelchair control kit designed to allow power wheelchair users the ability to maneuver their wheelchair without the need to manipulate a joystick with their hands. A smartphone and its internal accelerometer sensor was used to detect the vector of gravity, and thus detecting the pitch and roll. The wheelchair control system was tested with the phone attached in three mounting positions: hand held, hat and arm band and compared to the manipulation using the wheelchair joystick. To determine the viability of the commercialization of this kit as well as which features to further develop, a customer discovery was completed. Over a hundred interviews of power wheelchairs users, therapists, care takers, manufacturers, dealers, and assistive technology professionals were conducted at clinics, tradeshows, disabilities support groups, and rehabilitation organizations. After discovering the needs of the customers, collision avoidance was implemented into the control kit and back up cameras were added into the smart phone app to allow for the camera view to be seen without additional screens attached to the wheelchair. Future work will test these new design features and will concentrate on removing excess weight from the control kit. Improving the ease of installation of the kit to any power wheelchair will also be a focus.
Starting Problems in Mechanical Engineering

This Research Work in Progress Paper analyzes the process by which students start solving mechanical engineering problems. Participants of this study were given a problem and asked “what is the first step that you would take?” The participants’ first steps to problems were categorized into bins, such as “simple technique” and “complex technique.” Problems that had a large starting problem space were chosen, so participants were not confined to one or two solution paths. The performance of undergraduate students, graduate students, and university faculty were compared. Information used from participants responses was used to analyze the relationship between technique used and participant expertise level.
Maximum Likelihood Estimation of a Semiparametric Two-component Mixture Model using Log-concave Approximation

Motivated by studies in biological sciences to detect differentially expressed genes, a semiparametric two-component mixture model with one known component is being studied in this paper. Assuming the density of the unknown component to be log-concave, which contains a very broad family of densities, we develop a semiparametric maximum likelihood estimator and propose an EM algorithm to compute it. Our new estimation method finds the mixing proportions and the distribution of the unknown component simultaneously. We establish the identifiability of the proposed semiparametric mixture model and prove the existence and consistency of the proposed estimators. We further compare our estimator with several existing estimators through simulation studies and apply our method to two real data sets from biological sciences and astronomy.
Disruptive Energy Technologies and Military Capabilities

Energy is a critical input in military functions. As more advanced technology and weapons are deployed, the demand for energy is also expected to rise. However, it is pertinent to examine the possibility and extent of any fundamental changes in the way energy technology is deployed by the US military and the implications on national security. While large research projects are currently underway to support moves toward enhancing energy efficiency in operational energy usage, it is unclear to what extent these would create major tactical or strategic disruptions. To identify the possibility of major energy technology related disruptions, an exploratory framework that analyzes different options along the different stages of the energy value chain—generation, storage, transfer, and usage—is developed, and different technologies that fit within it are identified. These technologies are then assessed in the context of the Lethality-Survivability-Mobility triad framework to understand where and how strategic disruptions could be generated. Finally, this chapter provides recommendations on key areas where research could be pursued to gain maximum returns and the organizational aspects of energy technology acquisitions of the US military.
In Vitro Characteristics of Fondaparinux On HIT/HITT Samples.

Abstract 1319 Poster Board I-335 Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and HIT-associated thrombosis (HITT) are secondary to immune-mediated IgG antibodies that develop against the molecular complex of platelet factor 4 (PF4)–heparin, occurring with exposure to unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH). Fondaparinux, a synthetic pentasaccharide that binds antithrombin and selectively inhibits Factor Xa, is indicated for prophylaxis and treatment of thrombosis. Fondaparinux has occasionally been reported to induce production of PF4–heparin antibodies; whether these antibodies activate platelets, in vitro or in vivo, remains unclear. Thus, fondaparinux has not been approved for patients with HIT/HITT. This study examined the in vitro cross-reactivity of fondaparinux in 2 HIT assays: a serotonin release assay (SRA) and an anti-PF4 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with neutralization. Serum samples (n=10) from patients with confirmed HIT/HITT were tested by SRA with UFH, LMWH (enoxaparin), and fondaparinux; and for anti-PF4 using a polyspecific ELISA (GTI, Waukesha, WI). In addition, 20 previously characterized samples strongly positive on the anti-PF4 ELISA (>1.000 OD) were used for confirmatory quenching studies with UFH, LMWH, and fondaparinux. LMWH-SRA and UFH-SRA results were concordant (positive) in all but one sample, which was positive with UFH but indeterminate with LMWH (Table). The fondaparinux-SRA was negative in 6 of 10 cases and indeterminate in 4. The indeterminate fondaparinux-SRA results were reproducible with a second platelet donor and when diluted 1:4 with negative anti-PF4 serum. Of note, platelet activation was observed in the buffer well (ie, without UFH, LMWH, or fondaparinux) in 3 of the 4 indeterminate cases but not in the 6 negative fondaparinux-SRA samples. All 10 samples showed positive results in the anti-PF4 ELISA (range=0.423-3.408 OD; median OD=2.588). In the second group of samples tested by anti-PF4 ELISA (range=1.395-3.204 OD; median=2.417 OD), quenching studies with excess UFH or LMWH yielded ≥50% inhibition, confirming anti-PF4 positivity, in 17 of 20 samples. Quenching with fondaparinux was not confirmatory, yielding only equivocal inhibition (range=0 to 46.7%; median=9.1%). In conclusion, fondaparinux appears to be generally not cross-reactive in SRAs performed on HIT/HITT-positive samples. The four fondaparinux-SRA cases were indeterminate despite heat inactivation of complement and the addition of hirudin to neutralize any thrombin contamination; this suggests that there may be heterogeneous pathogenic subpopulations that bind PF4 even in the absence of heparin or heparin-like molecules. The considerable variability in anti-PF4 confirmation studies with fondaparinux, relative to UFH and LMWH, warrants further study. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
“Deep Cover”: Identities and ethics in martial arts fieldwork

Qualitative research in the social sciences typically requires a personal engagement with resource persons. The widely used participant-observation method requires that the researcher assume as far as possible the role of community member. Even when participant observation is not the chosen method, group members assign identities to investigators. Role assignment in martial contexts may range from the “intruder” who disrupts ongoing events (e.g., outsiders may not see “secret techniques”) to one who is allowed insider access, usually after having gone through some test or rite of passage. Data collected in “natural context” is ideal. The primary problem here is that act of observation inevitably changes phenomena under examination. The most effective means of gathering information in a natural context is by engaging in what is known in the Intelligence community as “deep cover” actually joining a community for the purpose of secretly gathering information. This, of course, brings with it serious ethical dilemmas. While it is clear that we must all address the issue of transparency vs. efficiency, most decisions actually are made on a case by case basis. I suggest that it may be time to develop a general set of guidelines to help us keep faith with informants and accomplish our academic goals of accurately depicting the martial cultures with which we engage.
Surgical errors and the relationships of disease, risks, and adverse events.

Abstract Background Relationships between surgical errors and adverse events have not been fully explored and were examined in this study. Materials and methods This retrospective cohort study reviewed records of deceased surgical patients over 12 months. Bivariate associations between predictors and errors were examined. Results 84 deaths occurred following 5,209 operations. Errors in care (63%) compared to those without had significantly more adverse events, (98% vs 80% respectively, p = 0.004). Significant association occurred between error and emergency status, p = 0.016); length of stay >10 days, p = 0.011; adverse events, p = 0.005). Regression results indicated number of adverse events (OR = 1.27, 95% CI (1.08–1.49), p = 0.003) and length of stay (OR = 1.05, 95% CI (1.01–1.09), p = 0.008) were associated with surgical errors. Conclusions Examining postoperative adverse events in error cases identified opportunities for improvement. Reducing medical errors requires measuring medical errors.