cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chronic Noninvasive Positive-Pressure Ventilation: Considerations During Sleep

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has become a proven and accepted treatment for respiratory failure from a variety of underlying causes. NIV during sleep can improve gas exchange in both acute and chronic respiratory failure. During sleep, numerous physiologic changes take place that increase the work of breathing and can therefore worsen sleep quality. These include decrements in tidal volume, worsening of gas exchange, and altered lung mechanics. While institution of NIV has been shown to improve nocturnal Paco 2 and Pao 2 levels and reduce the work of breathing, less is known regarding its effects on sleep and sleep quality. This article reviews data from case series, uncontrolled studies, randomized clinical trials, and meta-analyses. While there is some controversy, the predominance of data suggests that NIV can significantly improve several measures of sleep quality and duration in patients with chronic respiratory failure from numerous underlying causes. Studies have demonstrated improvements in total sleep time, sleep efficiency, subjective sleep quality, and overall quality of life in patients using NIV. In patients with the obesity hypoventilation syndrome, NIV is a cornerstone of therapy, improving daytime hypersomnolence as well as gas exchange. The data for NIV in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are conflicting and it is unclear if these patients have overall improvements with NIV use. Implementation of chronic NIV is discussed, along with indications and contraindications to therapy.
Robust multithreaded applications

This thesis discusses techniques for improving the fault tolerance of multithreaded applications. We consider the impact on fault tolerance methods of sharing address space and resources. We develop techniques in two broad categories: conservative multithreaded fault-tolerance (C-MTFT), which recovers an entire application on the failure of a single thread, and optimistic multithreaded fault-tolerance (O-MTFT), which recovers threads independently as necessary. In the latter category, we provide a novel approach to recover hung threads while improving recovery time by managing access to shared resources so that hung threads can be restarted while other threads continue execution.
Canyon Wren Territory Occupancy and Site Attributes in Northern Colorado

Abstract In this study we examined patterns of habitat occupancy by canyon wrens (Catherpes mexicanus), an insectivorous, cliff-obligate bird species, in Northern Colorado. Canyon wren territories are generally large and widely spaced, and it is currently unclear if their densities are limited by the availability of cliff habitats that have particular biotic and/or abiotic attributes. We used playback of conspecific song to survey 138 cliff sites and found 23 occupied territories, confirming the species occurs in low densities. Using a model-fitting approach, we assessed the importance of seven factors hypothesized to be important to canyon wren territory settlement and found occupied territories had cliffs that were more likely to be overhung, rather than vertical. Habitat occupancy of canyon wrens was also associated with the presence of cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and their nests, with canyon wrens observed nesting and foraging within cliff swallow nests throughout the year. As no abiotic...
Relaxation of multiple integrals in the space BV(Ω;Rp)

A characterisation of the surface energy density for the relaxation in V(Ω; Rp) of the functionalis obtained. A lemma of De Giorgi is used to modify a sequence near the boundary without increasing its total energy.
DESIGNING PLATFORMS FOR CUSTOMIZABLE PRODUCTS IN MARKETS WITH NON-UNIFORM DEMAND

The Product Platform Constructal Theory Method enables a designer to develop product platforms for customizable products while handling issues of multiple levels of commonality, multiple product specifications, and the inherent tradeoffs between platform extent and performance. The method is limited, however, by its reliance on an assumption that demand in the market is uniform for each product variant. This is a critical limitation, as the method does not adequately model the fragmented demand inherent in markets of customizable products. The authors address this limitation in this paper by infusing several different demand modeling techniques in order to develop an augmented PPCTM that is capable of handling any type of non-uniform demand scenario. The approach is illustrated through the design of a product platform for a line of customizable pressure vessels for several non-uniform demand scenarios. Several insights into the relationship between the structure of the market’s demand and the architecture of the product platform are drawn from the results of this work.
The World Language Problem

Antagonists in the ancient controversy over world multilingualism agree that a successful artificial language must overcome a coordination problem: to motivate learners when few speak the language....
Determination of Nuclear Receptor Corepressor Interactions with the Thyroid Hormone Receptor

The thyroid hormone receptor (TR) recruits the nuclear corepressors, nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR) and silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT), to target DNA elements in the absence of ligand. While the TR preferentially recruits NCoR, the mechanism remains unclear. The corepressors interact with the TR via interacting domains (IDs) present in their C terminus which contain a conserved motif termed a CoRNR box. Despite their similarity, the corepressor IDs allow for nuclear receptor specificity. Here we demonstrate that NCoR stabilizes the TR homodimer when bound to DNA by preventing its dissociation from thyroid hormone response elements. This suggests that NCoR acts to hold the repression complex in place on target elements. The TR homodimer recruits NCoR through two of its three IDs, one of which is not present in SMRT. This unique ID, N3, contains a CoRNR box but lacks the extended helical motif present in each of the other IDs. Instead, N3 contains an isoleucine just proximal to this motif. This isoleucine is also conserved in N2 but not in the corresponding S2 domain in SMRT. On thyroid hormone response elements and in mammalian cells this residue is critical in both N3 and N2 for high-affinity TR binding. In addition, this residue also controls specificity for the interactions of TR with NCoR. Together these data suggest that the specific recruitment of NCoR by the TR through a unique motif allows for stabilization of the repression complex on target elements.
Estimating the Size of the Methamphetamine-Using Population in New York City Using Network Sampling Techniques

As part of a recent study of the dynamics of the retail market for methamphetamine use in New York City, we used network sampling methods to estimate the size of the total networked population. This process involved sampling from respondents’ list of co-use contacts, which in turn became the basis for capture-recapture estimation. Recapture sampling was based on links to other respondents derived from demographic and “telefunken” matching procedures–the latter being an anonymized version of telephone number matching. This paper describes the matching process used to discover the links between the solicited contacts and project respondents, the capture-recapture calculation, the estimation of “false matches”, and the development of confidence intervals for the final population estimates. A final population of 12,229 was estimated, with a range of 8,235 - 23,750. The techniques described here have the special virtue of deriving an estimate for a hidden population while retaining respondent anonymity and the anonymity of network alters, but likely require larger sample size than the 132 persons interviewed to attain acceptable confidence levels for the estimate.
The ear in Amphisbaenia (Reptilia); further anatomical observations

The anatomy of the ear, and especially of the sound-receptive and conductive system, was studied in nine species of amphisbaenians. In all species a region of skin is used as the sound-receptive surface, and the vibrations are transmitted along a columellar apparatus consisting of cartilage and bone that expands to form a footplate in the oval window of the cochlea. In all species but one the receptive skin area is on the face; in the form Bipes biporus it is in the region of the neck constriction. The structures of the inner ear present a fairly uniform pattern, except for species variations of nearly four-fold in the size of the hair-cell population. The amphisbaenian extracolumella is shown to be an epihyal and not homologous to the structure of the same name in lizards.
L-arginine prevents hypoxia-induced vasoconstriction in dual-perfused human placental cotyledons.

Abstract Introduction Chronic hypoxia in the uteroplacental unit is associated with increased resistance to blood flow in the fetal-placental circulation. These changes can lead to adverse cardiovascular events in adulthood. This study investigates whether l -arginine (substrate for nitric oxide synthase (NOS) or endothelin-A receptor antagonist BQ123 administration reverses hypoxia-induced changes in perfusion pressure in the fetal compartment in dual-perfused placental cotyledons. Methods Human placental cotyledons (n = 15) from term deliveries (n = 15) were perfused with Krebs solution from maternal and fetal sides. Normal and reduced oxygen tension conditions were sequentially created in the perfused maternal compartment. Fetal perfusion pressure was continuously monitored. 1 mM l -arginine, d -arginine (an enantiomer of l -arginine and not a substrate for NOS), and BQ123 or normal saline were administered to the fetal compartment; l -arginine was also administered to the maternal compartment prior to maternal side hypoxia. Changes in perfusion pressure were compared between groups. Results Maternal hypoxia increased (19 ± 6%) perfusion pressure and this was blunted by l -arginine injection (3 ± 5%; p = 0.006) into the fetal compartment. l -arginine in the maternal compartment had no significant effect (22 ± 4% with l -arginine vs.14 ± 3% at control) on perfusion pressure. Similarly, d -arginine (23 ± 11% vs.19 ± 8% at control) or BQ123 (12 ± 3% vs.13 ± 3% at control) in the fetal compartment did not blunt the hypoxia-induced increase in perfusion pressure. Conclusions Fetal vasoconstriction induced by maternal hypoxia is blunted by NO synthase substrate l -arginine, but not by d -arginine, in the fetal compartment, suggesting the involvement of NO synthesis in regulating the hypoxia-induced fetal vasoconstriction. Endothelin A receptor-related mechanisms does not appear to play a role in the maternal hypoxia-induced fetal vasoconstriction.
Religious Pluralism and Values in the Public Sphere, by Lenn E. Goodman: An Appreciation and Critique

Religious pluralism is preferable to what has been called liberal monism. But what orders the value of religious pluralism? To what other values must it respond? This paper explores the nature and limits of religious pluralism with respect to some concrete cases and argues that religious pluralism must be ordered to a conception of the common good.
Some unsolved problems of unknown depth about operators on Hilbert space

The paper presents a list of unsolved problems about operators on Hilbert space, accompanied by just enough definitions and general discussion to set the problems in a reasonable context. The subjects are: quasitriangular matrices, the resemblances between normal and Toeplitz operators, dilation theory, the algebra of shifts, some special invariant subspaces, the category (in the sense of Baire) of the set of non-cyclicoperators, non-commutative(i.e. operator) approximation theory, infinitary operators, and the possibility of attacking invariance problems by compactness or convexity arguments.
When Counsel Abandonment Forecloses Post-Conviction Relief: An Argument for Applying the Doctrine of Cause and Prejudice to the AEDPA Statute of Limitations

If a post-conviction petitioner is abandoned by counsel, the ability of the petitioner to have his case heard by a federal court depends on whether the abandonment is a procedural default or a statute of limitations default. Federal courts arrived at different results in two similar cases because in one, counsel’s abandonment resulted in a procedural default and in the other, it resulted in a statute of limitations default. In the procedural default case, the Supreme Court held that counsel’s abandonment could constitute cause under the doctrine of cause and prejudice and excuse the procedural default, thus allowing federal review of the petitioner’s case. In the statute of limitations default case, the petitioner was required to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances and due diligence on his part in order to qualify for equitable tolling of the statute of limitations. Given the cognitive limitations of the petitioner, and many similarly situated petitioners, the courts held that he had not exercised due diligence in following his case through byzantine post-conviction proceedings. As such, the federal court held that it was barred from reviewing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus on the merits. The facts of the two cases are similar, the results diametrically opposed. This article argues that the same standard – cause and prejudice – should be applied to both procedural defaults and statute of limitations defaults when a post-conviction petitioner is abandoned by counsel.
Assay of Adrenal Cortical Extract

SummaryThe merits of the cat, dog, rat and guinea pig as assay animals for adrenal cortical extracts is discussed. The guinea pig is found to be the most satisfactory animal because (1) it is easy to operate and handle; (2) it has no accessory adrenal cortical tissue, and (3) it requires small amounts of extract to maintain it in an apparently normal state.We wish to thank Dr. Carlson for his advice during the course of this work.
Observations on the Kurloff Bodies in the Blood of Guinea Pigs

Kurloff1 first described granular inclusions within the cytoplasm of what he called lymphocytes in guinea pigs' blood. It was shown subsequently that the cells containing these bodies were monocytes.2 Wright's stained blood smears reveal the Kurloff bodies as dark red, homogeneous masses in the cytoplasm. Although many workers have observed and studied these inclusions, little is known concerning their origin and function. They appear to be found only in the blood of guinea pigs.Bender and DeWitt,3 while studying the blood picture of tuberculous guinea pigs, observed that their normal control pigs showed an unexpected eosinophilia. At the same time, Kurloff bodies appeared in the blood. They decided that there was a relationship between eosinophilia and Kurloff bodies. They were able to reduce the eosinophiles with mercurial medication, but not the number of Kurloff bodies.During an investigation4 of eosinophilia in trichinous guinea pigs about 3 months old obtained from one source, I observed the number ...
Lysophosphatidic Acid Promotes the Proliferation of Adult Schwann Cells Isolated from Axotomized Sciatic Nerve

We have previously found that adult Schwann cells express receptors for lysophosphatidic acid (EDG2, EDG7) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (EDG5) and that expression of these receptors is significantly upregulated in injured sciatic nerve coincident with postaxotomy Schwann cell proliferation. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that lysophosphatidic acid and/or sphingosine-1-phosphate promote Schwann cell mitogenesis in injured adult nerve. We found that both saturated and unsaturated forms of lysophosphatidic acid, but not sphingosine-1-phosphate, induce DNA synthesis in adult Schwann cells isolated from surgically transected sciatic nerve. Lysophosphatidic acid induces adult Schwann cell DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner, acting at 0.1- to 10-microM concentrations. Lysophosphatidic acid-mediated stimulation of adult Schwann cell DNA synthesis occurs via a signaling pathway involving a pertussis toxin-sensitive (G(i)/G(o)) G-protein. Activation of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, cAMP-dependent protein kinase A and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase is also required for lysophosphatidic acid-induced Schwann cell mitogenesis. These findings demonstrate that lysophosphatidic acid promotes proliferation of adult Schwann cells isolated from injured nerve and are consistent with the hypothesis that lysophosphatidic acid promotes in vivo Schwann cell mitogenesis in regenerating peripheral nerve.
Corrections for quantitative NO concentration measurements using time-resolved picosecond laser-induced fluorescence

The corrections necessary to obtain nitric oxide mole fractions from picosecond laser-induced fluorescence signals are outlined.
Metal-polypyridyl catalysts for electro- and photochemical reduction of water to hydrogen.

ConspectusClimate change, rising global energy demand, and energy security concerns motivate research into alternative, sustainable energy sources. In principle, solar energy can meet the world’s energy needs, but the intermittent nature of solar illumination means that it is temporally and spatially separated from its consumption. Developing systems that promote solar-to-fuel conversion, such as via reduction of protons to hydrogen, could bridge this production–consumption gap, but this effort requires invention of catalysts that are cheap, robust, and efficient and that use earth-abundant elements. In this context, catalysts that utilize water as both an earth-abundant, environmentally benign substrate and a solvent for proton reduction are highly desirable. This Account summarizes our studies of molecular metal–polypyridyl catalysts for electrochemical and photochemical reduction of protons to hydrogen. Inspired by concept transfer from biological and materials catalysts, these scaffolds are remarkably...
On gene patenting.

Certain breakthroughs — such as the discoveries of electricity, the atom, and DNA — transcend their time by redefining our world. But the exact nature of the transformation is never known with certainty at the outset. This has been the case with the biologic revolution, and in particular with the ability it has conferred to define, recombine, and express at will the genes of virtually all living organisms. The discovery of a gene traditionally starts from a known protein with a defined biologic function or an inherited characteristic and works back to the cloning of the gene. This process has . . .
Improvement of the medical device management through the suspicious harmful events reporting

This paper shows the shortcomings of hospital medical appliance managements and the imp- erfection of laws about medical appliance supervision through some suspicious adverse events of high frequency electric knife. This paper calls that we should build a quality evaluation system and verify rules to make the medical appliance managements specialization and civilization such as training clinic- al engineers to take part in the supervision of medical appliance.
Performance of Portable Ventilators Following Storage at Temperature Extremes

In the current theater of operation, medical devices are often shipped and stored at ambient conditions. The effect of storage at hot and cold temperature extremes on ventilator performance is unknown. We evaluated three portable ventilators currently in use or being evaluated for use by the Department of Defense (731, Impact Instrumentation; T1, Hamilton Medical; and Revel, CareFusion) at temperature extremes in a laboratory setting. The ventilators were stored at temperatures of 60°C and -35°C for 24 hours and were allowed to acclimate to room temperature for 30 minutes before evaluation. The T1 required an extra 15 to 30 minutes of acclimation to room temperature before the ventilator would deliver breaths. All delivered tidal volumes at room temperature and after storage at temperature extremes were less than the ±10% American Society for Testing and Materials standard with the Revel. Delivered tidal volumes at the pediatric settings were less than the ±10% threshold after storage at both temperatures and at room temperature with the 731. Storage at extreme temperature affected the performance of the portable ventilators tested. This study showed that portable ventilators may need an hour or more of acclimation time at room temperature after storage at temperature extremes to operate as intended.
Research on Information Communication Design Guide System in the Process of City

With the development of the globalization of knowledge economy,the global information age comes. China city urbanization continues to accelerate the scale and structure of rapid expansion of city,and the city construction comes into a peak stage. Design has become one of the most important parts of the city environment guide design. It is urgent to build the perfect and scientific guide system. Considering the present situation of China city urbanization environmental planning,through the design of signage system how to disseminate information,the paper expounds the elements in system design,the detailed analysis of the nature and the properties of the design system,so as to create a harmonious living environment for the people.
Operative management of penetrating wounds of the chest in civilian practice. Review of indications in 125 consecutive patients.

Although most patients with penetrating chest wounds can be managed successfully with early tube thoracostomy, blood volume replacement, and close observation, the remainder can be saved only by an aggressive operative intervention. Between July, 1972, and June, 1977, 600 patients with penetrating chest wounds were treated at the Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center, with an over-all mortality rate of 2.2 percent. One hundred twenty-five patients required thoracotomy. They included 110 male and 15 female subjects with an average age of 29 years. Fifty-four percent had stab wounds and 46 percent gunshot wounds. On admission 92 percent were in shock. Hemothorax was the most common x-ray finding, being significant (average 1,200 ml.) in 88 percent. Fourteen patients (11 percent) had cardiac arrest before reaching the hospital. They underwent immediate thoracotomy in the emergency room, and two survived. Eighty-five percent of the deaths were due to severe cardiac wounds. Ninety-nine patients (79 percent) underwent early thoracotomy (within 24 hours), with only one death; 92 percent were operated upon within 2 hours of admission. Persistent hemorrhage was the indication in 60 percent. There were no deaths among the 24 patients with cardiac wounds who reached the operating room alive or among the 26 patients who underwent both thoracotomy and exploratory laparotomy. Other indications for early thoracotomy included pulmonary and hilar wounds and perforations of the esophagus, trachea, and major bronchi. Late thoracotomy (after 24 hours) was required in 12 patients. The indications included significant clotted hemothorax in nine, infected hemothorax in one, and subclavian arteriovenous fistula in two patients. All survived. The over-all mortality rate was 10.4 percent, but less than 1.0 percent for the 111 patients who reached us alive. The over-all complication rate was 7 percent, and the average period of hospitalization was 11.8 days.
Fibers from Polymer Blends

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview on the fibers from polymer blends. In fiber technology, two or more polymers may be incorporated into a product to obtain combinations of individual material characteristics or new ones by either of two routes, both of which are known as blending. The first is the older and well-developed concept of fiber–fiber blending in which conventional synthetic or natural fibers are mixed and are referred to as fiber blends. Fiber blending can be done in different ways. This chapter discusses an approach in which the polymer–polymer blends comprise the individual filaments that is known as the blend fibers. It is limited to synthetic fibers as the polymer blending occurs prior to fiber formation rather than in later steps of textile processing. The chapter also discusses the classification of blend fibers by phase morphology. The chapter further highlights the new products that lead to solving problems faced while using the old blend fiber. One polymer simply serves as a convenient fiber additive that has advantages over other potential additives because its high molecular weight makes it less prone to loss by evaporation or leaching and thereby more permanent. The chapter also discusses the improved hot–wet mechanical properties, flame retardance, and dyeability among other improved properties.
The future of three-dimensional thinking

Most structures studied by science exist in three dimensions: molecules, organisms, ecosystems, galaxies. Flat-screen visualizations of these entities limit our understanding and experience of the objects and interactions that we study. Likewise, flat-screen–based video communication constrains our ability to interact with remote colleagues and collaborators. The Microsoft Hololens Development Edition, released on 30 March 2016, is a holographic platform that demonstrates the potential to enhance scientific understanding, education, and collaboration by transforming our interactions with three-dimensional representations and with one another.
Testing the lipschitz property over product distributions with applications to data privacy

In the past few years, the focus of research in the area of statistical data privacy has been in designing algorithms for various problems which satisfy some rigorous notions of privacy. However, not much effort has gone into designing techniques to computationally verify if a given algorithm satisfies some predefined notion of privacy. In this work, we address the following question: Can we design algorithms which tests if a given algorithm satisfies some specific rigorous notion of privacy (e.g., differential privacy)? We design algorithms to test privacy guarantees of a given algorithm $\mathcal{A}$ when run on a dataset x containing potentially sensitive information about the individuals. More formally, we design a computationally efficient algorithm ${\cal T}_{priv}$ that verifies whether $\mathcal{A}$ satisfies differential privacy on typical datasets (DPTD) guarantee in time sublinear in the size of the domain of the datasets. DPTD, a similar notion to generalized differential privacy first proposed by [3], is a distributional relaxation of the popular notion of differential privacy [14]. To design algorithm ${\cal T}_{priv}$, we show a formal connection between the testing of privacy guarantee for an algorithm and the testing of the Lipschitz property of a related function. More specifically, we show that an efficient algorithm for testing of Lipschitz property can be used as a subroutine in ${\cal T}_{priv}$ that tests if an algorithm satisfies differential privacy on typical datasets. Apart from formalizing the connection between the testing of privacy guarantee and testing of the Lipschitz property, we generalize the work of [21] to the setting of property testing under product distribution. More precisely, we design an efficient Lipschitz tester for the case where the domain points are drawn from hypercube according to some fixed but unknown product distribution instead of the uniform distribution.
Assessing quality in alternative payment models

Abstract Within an alternative payment model, the focus of both the payers and the providers is on reduction of cost in providing care. Both the payers and the providers must, however, meet the moral, ethical, and legal requirement to show that quality was maintained, or, more ideally, improved for having gone through process changes. Being episodic, total joint arthroplasty is better suited for bundled payment models. This article reviews types of performance measures, their current application in the CMS value-based purchasing (VBP) and CJR programs, future measures and applications, and potential unexpected consequences and their possible solutions.
Women’s Narratives of Racialized and Gendered Space in Austin, Texas

This article examines African American women’s movement in racialized and gendered space in Austin, Texas in the mid twentieth century, reflecting on the relationship between race, gender, power and space. It draws on oral history interviews with African American women to consider how they negotiated the racialized and gendered geography of the city as well as the microspaces – especially downtown clothing stores – that were racialized and gendered in particular ways.
Risk factors for hospitalization of children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

SummaryBackground and objectives Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) owing to 21-hydroxylase deficiency are prone to potentially life-threatening adrenal crises. We tried to identify risk factors for postdiagnosis hospitalization for children with the salt-wasting form of CAH. Methods We reviewed medical records of all children who presented to Children's Medical Center, Dallas, from 1999 to 2013 with CAH (ICD-9 code 255·2). Results Five hundred and twenty-two unique patients were coded for ICD-9 code of 255·2 (CAH) from 1999 to 2013; 155 patients had salt-wasting disease. Fifty-five patients were hospitalized a total of 105 times. Patients who were hospitalized were more likely to have noncommercial insurance (RR = 1·8; 95% CI [1·1–2·8]; P = 0·02); this included five patients hospitalized a total of 37 times. Children younger than 2 years (RR = 3·3 [2·2–4·8]; P < 0·0001) were more likely to be hospitalized. In a nested case–control analysis, the risk of hospitalization was correlated with daily fludrocortisone dose (P ≤ 0·0001) but not hydrocortisone dose; no outpatient laboratory test predicted hospitalization. Gastroenteritis was the most frequent admitting diagnosis. Conclusions Younger children may be at greater risk of hospitalization owing to increased susceptibility to viral infections and decreased ability to withstand stress and dehydration. A minority of patients with noncommercial insurance may have higher risk owing to social barriers that interfere with treatment compliance. Those requiring higher daily fludrocortisone dosages likely have inherently more severe disease leading to higher rates of hospitalization.
Hydrologic Impacts of Landslide Disturbances: Implications for Remobilization and Hazard Persistence

Landslides typically alter hillslope topography, but may also change the hydrologic connectivity and subsurface water-storage dynamics. In settings where mobile materials are not completely evacuated from steep slopes, influences of landslide disturbances on hillslope hydrology and susceptibility to subsequent failures remain poorly characterized. Since landslides often recur at the site of previous failures, we examine differences between a stable vegetated hillslope (VH) and a recent landslide (LS). These neighboring hillslopes exhibit similar topography and are situated on steep landslide-prone coastal bluffs of glacial deposits along the northeastern shore of Puget Sound, Washington. Our control hillslope, VH, is mantled by a heterogeneous colluvium, supporting a dense forest. In early 2013, our test hillslope, LS, also supported a forest before a landslide substantially altered the topography and disturbed the hillslope. In 2015, we observed a clay-rich landslide deposit at LS with sparse vegetation and limited root reinforcement, soil structures, and macropores. Our characterization of the sites also found matrix porosity and hydraulic conductivity are both lower at LS. Continuous monitoring during 2015–2016 revealed reduced effective precipitation at VH (due to canopy interception), an earlier seasonal transition to near-saturated conditions at LS, and longer persistence of positive pore pressures and slower drainage at LS (both seasonally and between major storm events). These differences, along with episodic, complex slope failures at LS support the hypothesis that, despite a reduced average slope, other disturbances introduced by landsliding may promote the hydrologic conditions leading to slope instability, thus contributing to the persistence of landslide hazards.
Inflammatory memory sensitizes skin epithelial stem cells to tissue damage

The skin barrier is the body's first line of defence against environmental assaults, and is maintained by epithelial stem cells (EpSCs). Despite the vulnerability of EpSCs to inflammatory pressures, neither the primary response to inflammation nor its enduring consequences are well understood. Here we report a prolonged memory to acute inflammation that enables mouse EpSCs to hasten barrier restoration after subsequent tissue damage. This functional adaptation does not require skin-resident macrophages or T cells. Instead, EpSCs maintain chromosomal accessibility at key stress response genes that are activated by the primary stimulus. Upon a secondary challenge, genes governed by these domains are transcribed rapidly. Fuelling this memory is Aim2, which encodes an activator of the inflammasome. The absence of AIM2 or its downstream effectors, caspase-1 and interleukin-1β, erases the ability of EpSCs to recollect inflammation. Although EpSCs benefit from inflammatory tuning by heightening their responsiveness to subsequent stressors, this enhanced sensitivity probably increases their susceptibility to autoimmune and hyperproliferative disorders, including cancer.
Determining the size of a complete disturbance landscape: multi-scale, continental analysis of forest change

The scale of investigation for disturbance-influenced processes plays a critical role in theoretical assumptions about stability, variance, and equilibrium, as well as conservation reserve and long-term monitoring program design. Critical consideration of scale is required for robust planning designs, especially when anticipating future disturbances whose exact locations are unknown. This research quantified disturbance proportion and pattern (as contagion) at multiple scales across North America. This pattern of scale-associated variability can guide selection of study and management extents, for example, to minimize variance (measured as standard deviation) between any landscapes within an ecoregion. We identified the proportion and pattern of forest disturbance (30 m grain size) across multiple landscape extents up to 180 km2. We explored the variance in proportion of disturbed area and the pattern of that disturbance between landscapes (within an ecoregion) as a function of the landscape extent. In many ecoregions, variance between landscapes within an ecoregion was minimal at broad landscape extents (low standard deviation). Gap-dominated regions showed the least variance, while fire-dominated showed the largest. Intensively managed ecoregions displayed unique patterns. A majority of the ecoregions showed low variance between landscapes at some scale, indicating an appropriate extent for incorporating natural regimes and unknown future disturbances was identified. The quantification of the scales of disturbance at the ecoregion level provides guidance for individuals interested in anticipating future disturbances which will occur in unknown spatial locations. Information on the extents required to incorporate disturbance patterns into planning is crucial for that process.
Ultralarge Modulation of Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Fluorescence Mediated by Neuromodulators Adsorbed on Arrays of Oligonucleotide Rings

Non-covalent interactions between single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) oligonucleotides and single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have provided a unique class of tunable chemistries for a variety of applications. However, mechanistic insight into both the photophysical and intermolecular phenomena underlying their utility is lacking, resulting in obligate heuristic approaches for producing ssDNA-SWNT based technologies. In this work, we present an ultrasensitive turn-on nanosensor for neuromodulators dopamine and norepinephrine with strong ΔF/F0 of up to 3500%, a signal appropriate for in vivo imaging, and uncover the photophysical principles and intermolecular interactions that govern the molecular recognition and fluorescence modulation of this nanosensor synthesized from the non-covalent conjugation of (GT)6 ssDNA strands on SWNTs. The fluorescence modulation of the ssDNA-SWNT conjugate is shown to exhibit remarkable sensitivity to the ssDNA sequence chemistry, length, and surface density, providing a wealth of parameters with which to tune nanosensor dynamic range and strength of fluorescence turn-on. We employ classical and quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulations to rationalize our experimental findings. Calculations show that (GT)6 ssDNA form ordered loops around SWNT, inducing periodic surface potentials that modulate exciton recombination lifetimes. Further evidence is presented to elucidate how analyte binding modulates SWNT fluorescence. We discuss the implications of our findings for SWNT-based molecular sensing applications.
Law and the middle class

This paper draws upon ethnographic evidence from a suburb of New York City to address the relationship between social class and the use of law. In the community studied, middle-class people are less likely than working-class people to complain to legal officials about the conduct of their personal associates such as relatives and neighbors. It appears that the greater transiency and atomization of middle-class people militate against their use of law by reducing the amount of negative information antagonists have about one another and by making avoidance a more attractive means of conflict management. Beyond this, the higher social status of middle-class people itself seems to result in a greater reluctance to use law in personal matters: Because they are generally equal or superior to legal officials in social standing, middle-class people are less willing than lower-status people to submit to their judgment. In light of this, it may be necessary to qualify the prevailing view that higher-status people have a greater propensity to use law as a means of conflict management. Where personal matters among themselves are concerned, the opposite may be the truth.
Wave energy conversion using fluidic flexible matrix composite power take-off pumps

Abstract Fluidic flexible matrix composites (F2MCs) are composite tubes that consist of multiple layers of oriented, high performance fibers, such as carbon, precisely placed in a flexible matrix resin to form high-mechanical advantage actuators and variable stiffness materials. Unique to the F2MC tube is its ability to generate high pressures and volume change with a small external load as a result of the stiff reinforcement fiber orientation in the wall of the tube and the soft supporting elastomer. When a load is applied to the tubes, the volume of the F2MC tube is reduced and fluid is forced out of the tube by the reinforcing fibers. This is the first reported research on the design, fabrication, and characterization of F2MC tubes as power take-off (PTO) mechanisms for ocean wave energy conversion where the heaving motion of a floating body in waves provides the axial load that drives fluid through the pumps. An analytical model is developed to predict the performance of F2MC pumps in a variety of test conditions, and 1/50th scale F2MCs pumps are tested in a water basin. The scaled pumps are mechanically cycled between 0 Hz and 2 Hz at up to 17 percent strain replicating ocean waves of varying period and amplitude. Instantaneous input mechanical power and output fluid power values are calculated from force, velocity, pressure, and flow rate measurements, and the actuator efficiency is subsequently determined and compared with the prediction of the analytical model. At 1/50th scale, a maximum power conversion efficiency of 40 percent is obtained for a single pump and a peak output power of 0.21 W is recorded. At full scale, the predicted peak output power is 180 kW, suggesting that F2MC pumps are a promising class of fluid power take-off (PTO) mechanisms for ocean wave energy conversion, representing a substantial improvement over hydraulic cylinders.
A small satellite mission for solar coronagraphy

We present on a concept study of the Goddard Miniature Coronagraph (GMC) mission for measuring the plasma flow in the solar corona in the form of solar wind and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These mass flows can dramatically alter the near-Earth space environment to hazardous conditions posing danger to human technology in space. The primary science objective of the mission is to measure the properties of CMEs, coronal structures, and the solar wind near the Sun. The miniaturization of the coronagraph involves using a single-stage optics and a polarization camera, both of which reduce the size of the coronagraph. GMC will be accommodated in a small satellite that can be built with CubeSat material to minimize cost. The development of the Dellingr mission at NASA/GSFC has provided expertise and a clear pathway to build the GMC mission. The hardware and software used for the Dellingr (a name derived from the god of the dawn in Norse mythology) Mission are technically sound, so the GMC mission can be fully defined. Software, pointing, control and communications systems developed for GSFC CubeSats can be readily adapted to cut costs. We present orbit options such as an ISS (International Space Station) orbit or a Sun-synchronous dawn-dusk polar orbit with the aim of maximizing solar observations.
Psychological Hesitancy Is Not an Ethical Standard.

Ursin’s extended essay (Ursin 2019) examining the difference between withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment is not about the consensus within the ethical and legal communit...
Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on health-care workers.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first appearing in Wuhan, China, is now causing a pandemic placing unprecedented strains on the global health-care system and health-ca...
Assessing Attentional Bias Toward Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Cues in Young Adults with Histories of Engaging in Self-Harm

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a prevalent behavior among young people maintained by complex transdiagnostic processes. This study sought to investigate whether NSSI attentional bias—the preferential allocation of attentional resources to environmental NSSI cues—is one such transdiagnostic process experienced by young adults with histories of NSSI. Participants were 39 young adults who completed a dot probe task designed to measure attentional bias to NSSI cues and negatively-valenced cues. Participants also provided NSSI urge and affect ratings during the task. Paired samples t-tests were conducted to determine if participants exhibited a significant attentional bias to NSSI cues and negatively-valenced cues compared to neutral cues, and to test whether NSSI urge ratings following the dot probe task increased from baseline levels. Participants exhibited a significant attentional bias to NSSI cues presented for 200 ms and a significant attentional bias to negative cues presented for 200 ms. The urge to engage in NSSI was elicited by NSSI cues, but not by negative cues. These findings indicate exposure to NSSI cues elicits both attentional bias and NSSI urge, a unique process that differs from a mere generalized attentional bias to negative affective stimuli known to be exhibited by individuals with other forms of psychopathology, such as anxiety or depressive disorders. These results provide preliminary evidence for possible avenues of intervention as it relates to the role of exposure to NSSI cues in the maintenance of NSSI, including managing cue-elicited urge and tolerating changes in affective states.
Breast cancer recurrence risk after hormonal contraceptive use in survivors of reproductive age

Abstract Objective To assess the risk of recurrence with hormonal contraceptive use in breast cancer survivors of reproductive age. Study design In this retrospective study, women ages 18–51 years who were diagnosed with primary stage 0–3 breast cancer between 2006–2016 and subsequently entered remission were included. Patients with missing information within the cancer registry or electronic medical record and those with a history of hysterectomy and/or sterilization procedure prior to diagnosis were excluded. Hormonal contraception use was defined as being prescribed an oral contraceptive pill (OCP), patch, vaginal ring, medroxyprogesterone injection, etonogestrel implant, or levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (IUD). Women were separated into two groups, hormonal contraceptive users and non-users. Basic descriptive and inferential statistics were used to compare groups as appropriate. The primary outcome reviewed was local or distant breast cancer recurrence. Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality and pregnancy. Results Following exclusions, 1370 women remained in the cohort. Ninety-seven women (7.08 %) received a prescription for a form of hormonal contraception. When comparing groups, hormonal contraceptive users were more likely to be between 18−40 years of age (46.39 % vs. 17.99 % non-users;P Conclusion The study shows no increased risk of recurrence associated with hormonal contraceptive use after breast cancer diagnosis and remission.
Treatment of Post-traumatic Tibial Diaphyseal Bone Defects: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective To describe evidenced-based treatment options for patients who sustained trauma and/or post-traumatic osteomyelitis of the tibia resulting in diaphyseal bone defects and compare outcomes between patients treated with non-vascularized bone grafts (NBG), bone transport (BT), or vascularized bone grafts (VBG). Data source PRISMA-IPD and Cochrane guidelines were followed. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL were searched June 2020. Study selection Eligible patients were >=18 years of age, sustained trauma to the tibia resulting in fracture and/or osteomyelitis with measurable diaphyseal bone defects, treated by interventions NBG, BT, or VBG. Excluded studies were non-English, reviews, non-reviewed literature, cadavers, animals, unavailable full-texts, non-diaphyseal defects, atrophic nonunions, malignancy, and replantations. Data extraction One hundred and eight studies included 826 patients. Two reviewers systematically/independently screened titles/abstracts, followed by full-texts to ensure quality, accuracy and consensus amongst authors for inclusion/exclusion of studies. A third reviewer addressed disagreements if investigators were unable to reach a consensus. Studies were quality assessed with "Methodological Quality and Synthesis of Case Series and Case Reports System." Data synthesis Analyses were performed with IBM SPSS Version 25.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York) and G*Power3.1.9.2. Conclusions NBG may be considered first-line for trauma defect sizes =5cm. Level of evidence Therapeutic Level IV.
Commentary by Randal Joy Thompson

In his thought-provoking article, Dilmus James sketches an institutionalist perspective on the importation and local generation of technology by LDCs, derived from the centrality of technological progress to development. James applies a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to the transfer of technology, arguing that, rather than study production functions, the effect of technology on capital accumulation, or other neoclassical scenarios, one must look at the complexity of socioeconomic systems that impinge on the transfer process. One must look at the underlying dynamics, consider the technological potential and “the full range of culturally relative behavior and interest at play,” and then intervene in order to “steer the course of events toward a better outcome.” As James states, intervention is a key aspect of the institutionalist perspective, for instrumental valuation, which “seeks to make some reasonable, weighted evaluation among often conflicting social values,”is the basis not only of action but also of knowledge.