cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Focusing properties of high charge number vortex laser beams.

We investigate experimentally and numerically the propagation characteristics of laser beams formed by imparting an azimuthal phase lΦ to a Gaussian beam, where l is an integer. We find that when high- l beams of a finite extent are focused through a lens, the beams achieve peak intensity and are most sharply defined before and after the focal plane. Additionally, in these regions of highest intensity the effect of aberrations on the beam quality is greatly reduced, which we also demonstrate experimentally and numerically. We present a simple geometrical picture that provides excellent estimates of the beam radius and propagation distance to the plane of peak intensity.
Novel robotic catheter remote control system: feasibility and safety of transseptal puncture and endocardial catheter navigation

Robotic Catheter Manipulation. Objectives: The aims of this study were to demonstrate the safety and the feasibility of the robotic catheter remote control system (CCS) in endocardial navigation in all cardiac chambers, as well as facilitation of the transseptal puncture. Background: CCS has been developed to facilitate control and precise positioning of catheters within the cardiovascular system. Methods: CCS consists of a remote catheter manipulator, a set up joint, a physician workstation, and a steerable guide catheter (SGC) and sheath. A conventional 4-mm tip catheter was inserted through the SGC to perform mapping of five predefined targets in each cardiac chamber. Seven mongrel dogs were used in this study. Intracardiac echocardiography and three-dimensional (3-D) electroanatomical mapping were integrated with CCS to facilitate catheter manipulation and to guide transseptal puncture. The time to complete the transseptal puncture and the time to complete access to the predefined targets in each cardiac chamber were measured. Gross and microscopic examinations of the accessed and ablation sites were performed to evaluate safety. Results: Transseptal puncture was performed successfully in all animals with a mean time of 7 ± 3 minutes. Procedure times to access the five targets in the right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium, and left ventricle were 5.6 ± 1.7, 4.6 ± 1.5, 13.5 ± 11.0, 7.0 ± 2.9 minutes, respectively. There were no intracardiac damages associated with catheter manipulation noted in the excised hearts. Conclusions: Endocardial catheter navigation and mapping using the robotic catheter remote control is safe and feasible. Moreover, the CCS could be used to perform transseptal puncture and left atrial instrumentation.
Quality Testing of Diamond-Abrasive, Metal-Bond Grinding Tool Materials

Metal-bond tool materials, with a variety of bonds and diamond compositions, have been characterized mechanically and examined microscopically. The results illustrate the potential use of such testing to track quality, consistency, and predictability related concerns.
Extending the RX anomaly detection algorithm to continuous spectral and spatial domains

The RX anomaly detection algorithm is a statistical method for detecting pixels in hyperspectral imagery that are significantly different from the other pixels in their locale. The RX algorithm is based upon the assumption of an existing uniform discrete sampling in both space and spectrum. In this report, we give consideration to extending the RX algorithm to continuous spatial and spectral domains so that future optical devices may be optimally constructed for anomaly detection. This report gives a heuristic outline for the extension of the RX algorithm to continuous spatial and spectral domains, explores new concepts in functional statistics necessary to make the algorithm rigorous, and suggests directions for the continuation of this research in the future.
Holding Distribution Channel Relationships Together: The Role of Transaction-Specific Assets and Length of Prior Relationship

The authors investigate the effect of managers' perceptions of two types of transaction-specific investments on their intention to terminate a current interorganizational relationship: 1 the specific knowledge necessary for a manufacturer's representative rep to carry out the selling function for a given manufacturer and 2 the specific knowledge reps acquire about their own customer accounts. The extent to which the length of prior relationship strengthens or weakens the hypothesized linkages is also examined. The authors test the hypotheses within the context of distribution channels i.e., between a manufacturer and its selling agent, which are characteristic of many vertical organizational relationships. The results replicate in an additional setting some prior findings on the influence of transaction-specific investments between two parties directly involved in a relationship. The authors also find that specialized investments by a downstream partner i.e., a manufacturer's rep in relationships that are even farther downstream i.e., customer accounts can influence a manufacturer's intention to terminate the manufacturer-rep relationship. Moreover, the length of prior relationship between a manufacturer and its rep is shown to moderate this effect.
Liver transplantation today

Clinical liver transplantation has been performed for more than 25 years. In the 1980s the survival has markedly improved as a result of better patient selection, improved operative techniques, and better understanding of rejection and immunosuppression. This review examines the improvements in liver transplantation that have led to one-year patient survival rates of better than 80%.
Validity of coupling impedance bench measurements

In this paper the validity of coupling impedance bench measurements is theoretically demonstrated for the standard model of a uniformly distributed wall impedance. Integral equations expressing the magnetic field at the wall are found for the two cases where the device is excited either by a beam or a central wire. The integral equations are solved by a perturbation method with the coupling impedance as the expansion parameter, leading to expressions for the coupling impedance of the beam and the forward scattering coefficient in the bench measurement. Conditions for the validity of bench measurements are indicated, and the interpretation of wire measurements via the scattering coefficient by the conventional formulas is discussed.
The Kinetics of Thermal Decomposition of Polymers

Abstract The rate equations for the thermal decomposition of a polymer by a random scission reaction followed by evaporation of low molecular weight species are solved using a different approach to that used by previous workers. The results obtained are in agreement with their conclusions.
Utilization-Controlled Task Consolidation for Power Optimization in Multi-core Real-Time Systems

Since multi-core processors have become a primary trend in processor development, new scheduling algorithms are needed to minimize power consumption while achieving the desired timeliness guarantees for multi-core (and many-core) real-time embedded systems. Although various power/energy-efficient scheduling algorithms have recently been proposed, existing studies may have degraded run-time performance in terms of power/energy efficiency and real-time guarantees when applied to real-time embedded systems with uncertain execution times. In this paper, we propose a novel online solution that integrates core-level feedback control with processor-level optimization to minimize both the dynamic and leakage power consumption of a multi-core real-time embedded system. Our solution monitors the utilization of each CPU core in the system and dynamically responds to unpredictable execution time variations by conducting per-core voltage and frequency scaling. We then perform task consolidation on a longer timescale and shut down unused cores for maximized power savings. Both empirical results on a hardware multi-core test bed with well-known benchmarks and simulation results in many-core systems show that our solution provides the desired real-time guarantees while achieving more power savings than three state-of-the-art algorithms.
Modulation instability in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

The onset of modulation instability in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) is studied through a stability analysis of the underlying nonlinear Schrodinger equation. The existence of gain in EDFAs lowers the threshold for modulation instability considerably compared with the case of undoped fibers. Modulation instability generates multiple pulses when a single pulse is amplified. It can also create multiple subpulses in mode-locked fiber lasers, a feature observed experimentally. Numerical simulations show that EDFAs can convert a continuous-wave optical signal into a train of high-repetition rate femtosecond pulses. >
A 64 Channel Programmable Closed-Loop Neurostimulator With 8 Channel Neural Amplifier and Logarithmic ADC

This paper describes a neurostimulation IC for use in advanced closed-loop neurostimulation applications, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment and research of neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease. This system senses and filters neural activity with eight pre-amplifiers, a 200 kS/s 8-bit log ADC and digital filters and incorporates 64 programmable current-stimulation channels. The entire device, implemented in 0.18 μm CMOS, occupies 2.7 mm2 and consumes 89 μW in normal operation mode and 271 μW in configuration mode from a 1.8 V supply.
Family planning clinic services in the United States: patterns and trends in the late 1990s.

Context Publicly funded family planning clinics are a vital source of contraceptive and reproductive health care for millions of U.S. women. It is important periodically to assess the number and type of clinics and the number of contraceptive clients they serve. Methods Service data were requested for agencies and clinics providing publicly funded family planning services in the United States in 1997. The numbers of agencies, clinics and female contraceptive clients were tabulated according to various characteristics and were compared with similar data for 1994. Finally, county data were tabulated according to the presence of family planning clinics and private physicians likely to provide family planning care and according to the number of female contraceptive clients served compared with the number of women needing publicly funded care. Results In 1997, 3,117 agencies offered publicly funded contraceptive services at 7,206 clinic sites. Forty percent of clinics were run by health departments, 21% by community health centers, 13% by Planned Parenthood affiliates and 26% by hospitals or other agencies. Overall, 59% of clinics received Title X funding. Agencies operated an average of 2.3 clinics, and clinics served an average of 910 contraceptive clients per year. Altogether, clinics provided contraceptive services to 6.6 million women-approximately two of every five women estimated to need publicly funded contraceptive care. The total number of providers and the total number of women served remained stable between 1994 and 1997; at the local level, however, clinic turnover was high. Some 85% of all US counties had one or more publicly funded family planning clinics; 36% had one or more clinics, but no private obstetrician-gynecologist. Conclusions Publicly funded family planning clinics are distributed widely throughout the United States and continue to provide contraceptive care to millions of US women. Clinics are sometimes the only source of specialized family planning care available to women in rural counties. However, the high rate of clinic tumover and the lack of significant growth in clinic numbers suggest that limited funding and rising costs have hindered the further expansion and outreach of the clinic network to new geographic areas and hard-to-reach populations.
Oxidation of Lactic Acid by Dog Erythrocytes.

The blood of certain species converts glucose to lactic acid but lacks the power of oxidizing either, and of oxygen consumption. The observation by Furth and Lieben1 of lactic acid destruction by horse erythrocytes was not confirmed by Warkany;2 while Koechig3 in this laboratory using the method described by Ray4 failed to detect loss of lactate or formation of acetaldehyde. It appears that such “activation” of glucose as occurs in glycolysis does not alone suffice to accomplish the oxidation either of glucose or lactic acid—or an intermediate—by molecular oxygen. The same inference can be drawn from the similar behavior of cancer tissue or muscle extracts, the glycolyzing power of which is little affected by oxygen (Warburg and Meyerhof).Recently Barron and Harrop have shown that the addition of methylene blue to blood undergoing glycolysis causes a marked change in its behavior. There results an increase of O2 consumption and of CO2 production,5 and a large part of the sugar which disappears fails to ap...
Chemistry of the Cephalic and Dufour's Gland Secretions of Melissodes Bees

The cephalic secretions of both sexes of the anthophorid bees, Melissodes desponsa Smith and female M. denticulata Smith contain n-C20 to n-C27 hydrocarbons, n-hexadecanoic acid, and n-octadecanoic acid; male M. denticulata heads yielded 6 saturated and unsaturated butyrate esters from n-dodecyl butyrate to n-octadecyl butyrate. The Dufour's gland of M. desponsa contains n-tetradecyl acetate, dihydrofarnesyl acetate, and farnesyl acetate. Cephalic secretions may be used in aggregation, mating and defense; the acetates may serve to identify subterranean cells. The utilization of pheromones for wild bee pollination management is proposed.
Design of retired battery box based on Flotherm software

The effects of the laying styles of single cells, spacing between cells, air duct structure on the heat dissipation of retired battery box were investigated based on thermal model of battery by the Flotherm and Solid Works software. The research subject includes sub-module of retired battery, module of retired battery and retired battery energy storage system(retired battery box). The simulation results show that the structure of retired battery box with horizontal arrangement of single cells, 6 mm spacing between cells, parallel route of air duct structure is the structure of more reasonable, which makes the maximum working temperature of the space between all single cells in the retired battery box is less than 45 ℃, the temperature difference is less than 5 ℃, the requirements of practical engineering use is met.
Genital Ulcer Disease

There are five major sexually transmitted diseases producing genital ulcerations. Their prevalence varies among geographic regions. Whereas genital herpes is the most frequent cause of genital ulcer in western Europe and North America, the most common cause of genital ulcer disease in developing countries appears to be chancroid. Owing to frequently atypical presentation and mixed infections, an accurate clinical diagnosis is very difficult. Successful management of genital ulcer disease depends on accurate diagnosis corroborated by performance of appropriate laboratory tests when possible.
Perspectives: Hidden Debt: From Enron’s Commodity Prepays to Lehman’s Repo 105s

Enron Corporation’s commodity prepays and Lehman Brothers’ Repo 105s are recent examples of hidden debt intended to improve the appearance of a company’s financial condition. Enron used derivatives to “transform” cash flow from financing to cash flow from operations; Lehman used sale-repurchase (repo) agreements to remove debt from its balance sheet for dates surrounding quarterly reporting periods. Both tactics relied on external auditors’ narrowly focusing on internal procedures and accounting rules.
The dorsal lumbotomy incision in pediatric urological surgery.

AbstractBetween January 1, 1983 and September 30, 1985, 42 upper urinary tract operations were performed using the dorsal lumbotomy incision, representing 28 per cent of all upper tract procedures performed. Operations included pyeloplasty, partial and total nephroureterectomy, pyelolithotomy, ureterolithotomy and renal exploration with cyst marsupialization. The major contraindications to lumbotomy were malignancy and malrotated or malpositioned kidneys. Patient age ranged from 1 month to 20 years.A modification of the Gil-Vernet vertical lumbotomy incision was used in all cases. This approach involves successive incisions through the layers of the lumbodorsal fascia to gain access to the kidney and ureter, and emphasizes a muscle-retracting technique. Incision of the costovertebral ligament allows 12th rib elevation and improves the exposure obtained. There were no postoperative complications related to the lumbotomy incision itself.Decreased surgical morbidity is suggested by our results. By 3 days pos...
ASC-ATDM Performance Portability Requirements for 2015-2019

This report outlines the research, development, and support requirements for the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC ) Advanced Technology, Development, and Mitigation (ATDM) Performance Portability (a.k.a., Kokkos) project for 2015 - 2019 . The research and development (R&D) goal for Kokkos (v2) has been to create and demonstrate a thread - parallel programming model a nd standard C++ library - based implementation that enables performance portability across diverse manycore architectures such as multicore CPU, Intel Xeon Phi, and NVIDIA Kepler GPU. This R&D goal has been achieved for algorithms that use data parallel pat terns including parallel - for, parallel - reduce, and parallel - scan. Current R&D is focusing on hierarchical parallel patterns such as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) of asynchronous tasks where each task contain s nested data parallel algorithms. This five y ear plan includes R&D required to f ully and performance portably exploit thread parallelism across current and anticipated next generation platforms (NGP). The Kokkos library is being evaluated by many projects exploring algorithm s and code design for NGP. Some production libraries and applications such as Trilinos and LAMMPS have already committed to Kokkos as their foundation for manycore parallelism an d performance portability.more » These five year requirements includes support required for current and antic ipated ASC projects to be effective and productive in their use of Kokkos on NGP. The greatest risk to the success of Kokkos and ASC projects relying upon Kokkos is a lack of staffing resources to support Kokkos to the degree needed by these ASC projects. This support includes up - to - date tutorials, documentation, multi - platform (hardware and software stack) testing, minor feature enhancements, thread - scalable algorithm consulting, and managing collaborative R&D.« less
DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCONDUCTING BENDING MAGNETS FOR THE SR RING

The superconducting bending magnets with a bending radius of 0.5m and magnetic field of 4.0T have been developed. The bending angle is 90 degrees so that four magnets are installed in the synchrotron radiation ring whose size is 3m × 5m. The main coils of the bending magnets are the iron-free curvature dipole coils and the conductors are 3-divided keystone type. The shim coils are epoxy-molded quadrupole coils installed on the beam duct directly. The design of these coils was accomplished using computer simulation. The designed electron beam energy is 615 MeV and the radiation power from the beam to the magnet is lkW so that the absorber cooled by liquid nitrogen is set in the beam duct. Test results validated the design.
Implementation: Search through Closing: Phases 3 through 10

This chapter focuses on Phases 3 through 10 of the acquisition process, including search, screening, first contact, negotiation, integration planning, closing, integration implementation, and evaluation. This chapter starts with the presumption that a firm has developed a viable business plan that requires an acquisition to realize the firm's strategic direction. The chapter proceeds with discussing different phases of the acquisition process. The third phase consists of the search for appropriate acquisition candidates.
Design and Hardware Implementation of FL-MPPT Control of PV Systems Based on GA and Small-Signal Analysis

This paper presents a cost effective control algorithm for standalone batteryless photovoltaic (PV) systems. The control is driven by a fuzzy-based maximum power point tracker which has the capabilities to maintain high-energy conversion efficiency under different weather and load conditions. General design considerations are presented based on the linearization of the dynamic model of the entire system which consists of PV panel, Cuk converter, and motor load. For our particular fuzzy-MPPT controller, these design considerations are combined with an artificial intelligent technique to achieve the optimum control design. Furthermore, the developed control algorithm has voltage regulation capability to protect the load from overvoltage during light load conditions and a fast digital overload protection. The transient and steady-state performance of the entire system was modeled by a nonlinear state-space representation. The proposed control is simulated in MATLAB and experimentally tested under the fast variation of climatic conditions for verification purposes A very good agreement has been shown between theoretical, simulations, and experimental results
Identifying the elusive link between amino acid sequence and charge selectivity in pentameric ligand-gated ion channels

Among neurotransmitter-gated ion channels, the superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) is unique in that its members display opposite permeant-ion charge selectivities despite sharing the same structural fold. Although much effort has been devoted to the identification of the mechanism underlying the cation-versus-anion selectivity of these channels, a careful analysis of past work reveals that discrepancies exist, that different explanations for the same phenomenon have often been put forth, and that no consensus view has yet been reached. To elucidate the molecular basis of charge selectivity for the superfamily as a whole, we performed extensive mutagenesis and electrophysiological recordings on six different cation-selective and anion-selective homologs from vertebrate, invertebrate, and bacterial origin. We present compelling evidence for the critical involvement of ionized side chains-whether pore-facing or buried-rather than backbone atoms and propose a mechanism whereby not only their charge sign but also their conformation determines charge selectivity. Insertions, deletions, and residue-to-residue mutations involving nonionizable residues in the intracellular end of the pore seem to affect charge selectivity by changing the rotamer preferences of the ionized side chains in the first turn of the M2 α-helices. We also found that, upon neutralization of the charged residues in the first turn of M2, the control of charge selectivity is handed over to the many other ionized side chains that decorate the pore. This explains the long-standing puzzle as to why the neutralization of the intracellular-mouth glutamates affects charge selectivity to markedly different extents in different cation-selective pLGICs.
An enhanced probabilistic contingency analysis for development of risk-informed transmission planning

The electric power industry heavily relies on software tools for planning and operation. Some of these tools are widely adopted by utilities. It is foreseen that the industry will continue to use these tools until the next generation of grid analytical tools becomes available and mature. These tools, however, were usually designed to perform deterministic studies or limited probabilistic analyses. Regulators and other industry stakeholders recognize the need of having tools to better account for the increasing uncertainties and provide probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) based decision-making procedures. To address these issues, this study offers a short-term solution by enhancing the PRA capabilities of these popular tools by developing interfaces for the existing tools. These interfaces will handle the statistical distributions of the different input parameters and extract the risk measures and metrics for decision-makers. A widely used transmission planning tool, PSS/E, is selected for demonstration of this solution.
Empirical Analysis of the Alcoholism Services Delivery System

The health of individuals and the relatively harmonious functioning of our society are interrupted or affected by a number of complex biosocial events. Such events are considered by some to be expressions of moral turpitude and by the more sophisticated to be expressions of disease. These phenomena usually are first described in general and impressionistic terms. Eventually efforts are made to identify their elements and define them in precise and quantitative terms. This has been the case with the heterogeneous group of problems associated with the excessive or seemingly injudicious use of alcoholic beverages. The public inebriate, a human and cosmetic problem of our cities, becomes a community concern when these individuals, usually members of low socioeconomic groups, cluster in unattractive areas of town (Blumberg et al., 1966). The excessive use of alcohol is often observed among persons who engage in physical violence, attempt suicide, or exhibit other socially disruptive behavior (Thum et al., 1973; Beck et al., 1976). The use of alcohol is often blamed for family difficulties and the disruption of marriages (Gil, 1970). Employers have become increasingly aware of the role of alcohol in instances of deficient or unreliable occupational performance (Schlenger, 1975). Inebriates are admitted to hospitals or jails, becoming in this way statistics which signal the presence of an enduring problem (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation—Crime in the U.S., 1975).
The War of the Romantics: An Alternate Hypothesis Using nPVI for the Quantitative Anthropology of Music

This response offers an alternate interpretation for the data described in Joseph Daniele's 2016 article "A tool for the quantitative anthropology of music: Use of the nPVI equation to analyze rhythmic variability within long-term historical patterns in music." I examine Daniele's argument that there is an overall rising trend in rhythmic variability in German composition from 1600-1950, and offer an alternate, historically informed explanation based on the re-examination of the data. The rising trend does not appear to be consistent throughout time, and rather than being the result of the waning influence of Italian music on German music, I suggest an alternative hypothesis concerning documented differences between late 19 th century German composers and their compositional styles.
Review: Different bisphosphonates are equally effective and safe for preventing fragility fractures.

Source Citation Davis S, Martyn-St James M, Sanderson J, et al. A systematic review and economic evaluation of bisphosphonates for the prevention of fragility fractures. Health Technol Assess. 2016...
Growth of two dimensional silica and aluminosilicate bilayers on Pd(111): from incommensurate to commensurate crystalline.

Two-dimensional (2D) silica (SiO2) and aluminosilicate (AlSi3O8) bilayers grown on Pd(111) were fabricated and systematically studied using ultrahigh vacuum surface analysis in combination with theoretical methods, including Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional theory. Based on LEED results, both SiO2 and AlSi3O8 bilayers start ordering above 850 K in 2 × 10−6 Torr oxygen. Both bilayers show hexagonal LEED patterns with a periodicity approximately twice that of the Pd(111) surface. Importantly, the SiO2 bilayer forms an incommensurate crystalline structure whereas the AlSi3O8 bilayer crystallizes in a commensurate structure. The incommensurate crystalline SiO2 structure on Pd(111) resulted in a moire pattern observed with LEED and STM. Theoretical results show that straining the pure SiO2 bilayer to match Pd(111) would cost 0.492 eV per unit cell; this strain energy is reduced to just 0.126 eV per unit cell by replacing 25% of the Si with Al which softens the material and expands the unstrained lattice. Furthermore, the missing electron created by substituting Al3+ for Si4+ is supplied by Pd creating a chemical bond to the AlSi3O8 bilayer, whereas van der Waals interactions predominate for the SiO2 bilayer. The results reveal how the interplay between strain, doping, and charge transfer determine the structure of metal-supported 2D silicate bilayers and how these variables may potentially be exploited to manipulate 2D materials structures.
“A thousand several tongues”: The Drama of Conscience and the Complaint of the Other in Shakespeare’s Richard III

AbstractThis essay explores the ethical dimensions of Shakespeare’s Richard III by examining the relationship between the play’s ghost scene and early modern discourses of conscience. While the gho...
Improving the evidence for the management of childhood nephrotic syndrome

Management of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in children is based on a series of clinical trials. The trial by Sinha and colleagues in this issue is 1 of many needed to improve the evidence base for induction and maintenance therapies in this population. While key questions remain about identifying the appropriate therapy for each patient, clinical trials provide an opportunity to extend evidence-based practice that minimizes toxicity and optimizes patient health.
Lipidomics of equine amniotic fluid: Identification of amphiphilic (O-acyl)-ω-hydroxy-fatty acids.

Amniotic fluid is essential for the growth and maturation of the fetus prior to parturition. While our knowledge of human amniotic fluid is extensive, current data for equine amniotic fluid is limited. We therefore undertook a detailed lipidomics analysis of equine amniotic fluid. Using a non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometric lipidomics analysis of equine amniotic fluid, we were able to characterize a diverse array of individual lipids. This non-biased analytical approach detected, for the first time, the presence of (O-acyl)-ω-hydroxy-fatty acids (OAHFA) with up to 52 carbon chain lengths in amniotic fluid. The identities of these lipid amphiphiles were validated both by high-resolution mass spectrometry and by tandem mass spectrometry (<2 ppm mass error) which identified the fatty acid and hydroxy-fatty acid components of individual OAHFAs. The only previous identification of OAHFAs has been in sperm and meibomian glands, and their sebaceous secretions, suggesting that these lipids may have unique functional roles in highly specialized compartments. The amphiphilic and surfactant properties of these unique lipids could provide an interface between amniotic lipids and fetal skin and/or lungs. The potential roles of OAHFAs as well as their source in amniotic fluid remain to be explored based upon these novel lipidomics findings but our study of the developmental time course of amniotic OAHFAs suggest that they may act as lubricants in delivery and/or a role in the development of fetal lung function around parturition.
Shifting Contexts and Shifting Identities: Campus Race-Related Experiences, Racial Identity, and Academic Motivation Among Black Students During the Transition to College

This study examined Black college students’ (N = 309, 70% women) racial identity beliefs over their freshman year. Using latent class cluster analysis, we identified clusters reflecting patterns of change and stability in students’ racial centrality (importance of race to overall self-concept), private regard (group pride), and public regard (perceptions of others’ views of Blacks). Racial identity change clusters were distinguished by campus experiences (racial discrimination, interracial friendships, and campus racial climate). Racial identity change clusters predicted end-of-year academic motivation (competence, affect, interest/curiosity, and persistence). Findings suggest the importance of examining critical transitions in identity development and highlight the deleterious effects of stigmatizing campus experiences on identity. Findings also highlight ways students’ racial identity beliefs may help promote academic motivation.
Children Who Were Raped

(1973). Children Who Were Raped. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child: Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 208-224.
The Incidence of the Cremasteric Reflex in Normal Boys

The presence or absence of the cremasteric reflex was documented in 225 normal male subjects ranging in age from birth to 12 years. The reflex was initiated by stroking the skin of the inner aspect of the thigh. The cremasteric reflex was present in 48 of 100 newborns (48%), 32 of 71 subjects (45%) between 1 and 30 months old, and all 54 boys older than 30 months. The presence of the cremasteric reflex may be clinically significant in boys with suspected cryptorchidism or acute scrotal inflammation.
Remote Activation of a Nanopore for High-Performance Genetic Detection Using a pH Taxis-Mimicking Mechanism

Aerolysin protein pore has been widely used for sensing peptides and proteins. However, only a few groups explored this nanopore for nucleic acids detection. The challenge is the extremely low capture efficiency for nucleic acids (>10 bases), which severely lowers the sensitivity of an aerolysin-based genetic biosensor. Here we reported a simple and easy-to-operate approach to noncovalently transform aerolysin into a highly nucleic acids-sensitive nanopore. Through a remote pH-modulation mechanism, we simply lower the pH on one side of the pore, then aerolysin is immediately "activated" and enabled to capture target DNA/RNA efficiently from the opposite side of the pore. This mechanism also decelerates DNA translocation, a desired property for sequencing and gene detection, allowing temporal separation of DNAs in different lengths. This method provides insight into the nanopore engineering for biosensing, making aerolysin applicable in genetic and epigenetic detections of long nucleic acids.
Salvage skull base reconstruction in the endoscopic era: Vastus lateralis free tissue transfer.

BACKGROUND When locoregional flaps fail to reconstruct the skull base, the microvascular surgeon faces several reconstructive challenges. We present our technique and results of salvage anterior skull base reconstruction utilizing the vastus lateralis free tissue transfer (VLFTT). METHODS Four patients with anterior skull base defects after previous locoregional flap failure underwent free tissue transfer reconstruction with VLFTT. RESULTS The success rate of free tissue transfer was 100%. Complete separation of the intracranial and sinonasal cavities was achieved in all patients; thus, resolving the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage in all patients. The VLFTT was inset through a minimally invasive approach utilizing an anterior maxillotomy via a gingivobuccal incision, an endoscopic medial maxillectomy, and endoscopic inset in all patients. No vein grafts were needed. CONCLUSION This technique permits endoscopic endonasal inset and placement of reliable, well vascularized free tissue that may be utilized for complex, secondary reconstruction of the skull base.
Regulated Open Access and Regulated Restricted Access Fisheries

Methods of fisheries regulation have evolved considerably over the past century, particularly since the Law of the Sea negotiations enclosed a substantial portion of the world's most valuable fisheries. The enclosure that occurred as coastal nations extended their jurisdictions to 200 miles gave coastal nations the potential, not always immediately realized, to move beyond open access resource exploitation by creating well-defined property rights in capture fisheries. Open access conditions have repeatedly led to biological overexploitation and dissipation of economic rents. The first step away from these conditions has generally been toward regulated open access (ROA), under which biologically motivated regulations are imposed on fishermen, who are otherwise allowed to enter and exit at will. ROA has been demonstrated to be effective in managing biological productivity, but at the cost of increased distortions, such as extremely short seasons typically seen in so-called ‘derby fisheries.’ The response to these distortions has been the adoption of regulated restricted access (RRA), whereby regulators restrict various dimensions of effort in addition to season and area restrictions. RRA regimes have further constrained effort growth, to the extent that fishermen cannot easily substitute unrestricted for restricted inputs. With flexible fishing technologies, many regulators have been forced to chase effort expansion across unrestricted dimensions as fishermen sequentially respond to regulatory restrictions. In response, fisheries have begun to adopt institutions that create well-defined property rights. These rights-based fisheries tackle the cause of inefficiencies associated by perverse and distorted input expansion by granting fishermen secure harvesting rights to a portion of the sustainable harvest. These kinds of regulations give fishermen incentives to maximize the value of their rights, rather than competing wastefully over insecure access to the resource. This article discusses the broad patterns of evolution of fisheries institutions, with particular attention to the mechanisms and consequences of ROA and RRA conditions.
Stand-Alone Messages

We are concerned with the design of programming languages that support the paradigm of component-oriented programming. Languages based on the accepted idea of combining modular and object-oriented concepts fail to provide adequate support. We argue that messages should be separated from methods to address this shortcoming. We introduce the concept of stand-alone messages, give examples for its utility, and compare it to related approaches and language constructs. Besides leading to interesting insights on the interaction of modular and object-oriented concepts, we believe that stand-alone messages also provide a useful basis for further research on component-oriented programming languages.
An Online Application for Retinoblastoma Surveillance.

Background Retinoblastoma (RB) is a potentially heritable childhood cancer that is vision- and life-threatening. Assessing the risk of inheriting RB is important for structuring ophthalmic and genetic screening of family members. Purpose To create a free online application that integrates phenotypic, genetic, and familial relationships with clinical best practice surveillance guidelines for families with RB. Methods The risk of germline RB1 gene mutation was assessed for first- and second-degree relatives of a proband under variable clinical scenarios, integrating age, phenotype, relationship data, and genotype (germline RB1 mutation status: detected, undetected, not tested). Based on the assessed risk of a germline RB1 mutation, recommendations regarding further genetic testing as well as ophthalmic surveillance were derived from consensus guidelines. Results The recommendations depend on the RB1 germline mutation status (detected, undetected, not tested), which were further subcategorized by the results of tumor phenotype, relationship to proband, age of the relative, and family structure. The online application is available at https://nakul-singh.shinyapps.io/RB_Screening_rec/. Conclusions The assessed risk of germline RB1 mutation determines ophthalmic surveillance recommendations. The tool may have most value in regions where access to specialized care is limited.
Post-Operative Infection Prediction and Risk Factor Analysis in Colorectal Surgery Using Data Mining Techniques: A Pilot Study

Background: Post-operative infections have many negative consequences for patients' health and the healthcare system. Among other things, they increase the recovery time and the risk of re-admissio...
PCA-based Antenna Impedance Estimation in Rayleigh Fading Channels

Impedance matching between receive antenna and front-end significantly impacts channel capacity in wireless channels. To implement capacity-optimal matching, the receiver must know the antenna impedance. But oftentimes this impedance varies with loading conditions in the antenna near-field. To mitigate this variation, several authors have proposed antenna impedance estimation techniques. However, the optimality of these techniques remains unclear. In this paper, we consider antenna impedance estimation at MISO receivers over correlated Rayleigh fading channels. We derive in closed-form the optimal ML estimator under i.i.d. fading and then show it can be found via a scalar optimization in generally correlated fading channels. Numerical results suggest a computationally efficient, principal-components approach that estimates antenna impedance in real-time for all Rayleigh fading channels. Furthermore, ergodic capacity can be significantly boosted at originally poorly matched receivers with adaptive matching using our proposed approach.
When Will They Listen? Public Comment and Highly Salient Regulations

In this paper, I examine whether federal regulatory agencies are more likely to respond to comments on highly salient regulations. Literature looking at less-salient regulations has found mixed and limited responsiveness to public comments. I find that agencies make changes in response to comments on highly salient rules (as defined by the regulation's economic impact) on 42 percent of the issues raised by commenters. However, there are some revealing patterns in the type of comments that agencies respond to. Comments merely requesting clarifications in language, without requesting policy changes, lead to agency changes more than half the time, whereas substantive comments lead to changes at a significantly lower rate. Moreover, while agencies produce much more detailed responses to comments on the legal foundation for the rule than to other comments, agencies rarely make policy changes in response to these comments.
Maxwell’s Demon: Controlling Entropy via Discrete Ricci Flow over Networks

In this work, we propose to utilize discrete graph Ricci flow to alter network entropy through feedback control. Given such feedback input can “reverse” entropic changes, we adapt the moniker of Maxwell’s Demon to motivate our approach. In particular, it has been recently shown that Ricci curvature from geometry is intrinsically connected to Boltzmann entropy as well as functional robustness of networks or the ability to maintain functionality in the presence of random fluctuations. From this, the discrete Ricci flow provides a natural avenue to “rewire” a particular network’s underlying geometry to improve throughout and resilience. Due to the real-world setting for which one may be interested in imposing nonlinear constraints amongst particular agents to understand the network dynamic evolution, controlling discrete Ricci flow may be necessary (e.g., we may seek to understand the entropic dynamics and curvature “flow” between two networks as opposed to solely curvature shrinkage). In turn, this can be formulated as a natural control problem for which we employ feedback control towards discrete Ricci-based flow and show that under certain discretization, namely Ollivier-Ricci curvature, one can show stability via Lyapunov analysis. We conclude with preliminary results with remarks on potential applications that will be a subject of future work.
Fabrication of Paclitaxel and 17AAG-loaded Poly-ε-Caprolactone Nanoparticles for Breast Cancer Treatment.

Objective: The aim of this study is to design, fabricate and determine the cytotoxic effects of dual loaded paclitaxel and 17-AAG in stealth polymeric nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were fabricated by dispersion polymerization. Methods: Two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and SKBR-3) were cultured and treated with media only, blank nanoparticles, paclitaxel (as a free drug), 17-AAG (free drug), paclitaxel + 17- AAG combination (as free drugs), and paclitaxel + 17-AAG combination loaded in poly-ɛ-caprolactone stealth nanoparticles. Each drug in the combination was half the concentration of the single free drug. Results: The cytotoxic effects of the paclitaxel treatment and that of the combination (free drug) were found to be similar in both SKBR3 and MCF7 cell lines. Similar cytotoxic effects were observed for the drug combination both in the drug loaded nanoparticles formulation and in free drug form for both cell lines. Conclusion: Both paclitaxel and 17-AAG were effectively loaded and released from the polymeric nanoparticles. Paclitaxel (free drug), paclitaxel-17AAG combination (free drug), and dual drug-loaded nanoparticles had similar cytotoxic effects on both cell lines. Paclitaxel and 17-AAG combination resulted in synergistic effect: paclitaxel in the combination with 17-AAG was half its original concentration and yielded similar cytotoxic effect. The dose of paclitaxel was reduced without lowering its therapeutic efficacy
Changing the rules: Interest groups and federal environmental rulemaking

The focus of this paper is to present an innovative way to use frame analysis to evaluate interest group influence during the pre-proposal stage of the rulemaking process across five case studies: 1) the USFWS critical habitat designation for Nebraska’s Salt Creek Tiger Beetle; 2) the USFWS critical habitat designation for Utah/Arizona Shivwits and Holmgren Milk Vetches; 3) the USFWS delisting of the Northern Rocky Wolf population from the endangered species list; 4) the EPA regulations for locomotive and marine engine emissions; and 5) the EPA standards for renewable fuels. In analyzing these five cases, this paper finds strong evidence to support that the particular frames stakeholders used during the pre-proposal stage shaped the language of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
CHAPTER 2 – Lipid modifications of proteins

Publisher Summary Lipid modifications of proteins are widespread and functionally important in eukaryotic cells. This chapter discusses the structure of posttranslational lipid modifications, describes their biosynthesis, and provides a survey of their functional significance. Although the functional diversity of lipid-modified proteins makes it difficult to arrive at generalizations about the evolutionary impetus for lipid anchoring compared to the use of conventional protein transmembrane domains, the observation that many lipid-modified proteins are associated with cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich membrane domains is suggestive. Analyses of the biophysical characteristics of the membrane association of lipid-modified proteins, the role of raft-associated proteins in cell signaling, and the regulation of protein function by lipid modification are likely to remain fruitful areas of investigation. Despite the identification of numerous genes and gene products associated with the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthetic pathway, the enzymology of GPI biosynthesis, including analyses of enzyme structure, basis for enzyme localization to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and ER domains, and transbilayer distribution of the pathway remains open to new investigation.
Parallel Selection of Informative Genes for Classification

In this paper, we argue that existing gene selection methods are not effective for selecting important genes when the number of samples and the data dimensions grow sufficiently large. As a solution, we propose two approaches for parallel gene selections, both are based on the well known ReliefF feature selection method. In the first design, denoted by PReliefF p , the input data are split into non-overlapping subsets assigned to cluster nodes. Each node carries out gene selection by using the ReliefF method on its own subset, without interaction with other clusters. The final ranking of the genes is generated by gathering the weight vectors from all nodes. In the second design, namely PReliefF g , each node dynamically updates the global weight vectors so the gene selection results in one node can be used to boost the selection of the other nodes. Experimental results from real-world microarray expression data show that PReliefF p and PReliefF g achieve a speedup factor nearly equal to the number of nodes. When combined with several popular classification methods, the classifiers built from the genes selected from both methods have the same or even better accuracy than the genes selected from the original ReliefF method.