cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Propofol decreases waste anesthetic gas exposure during pediatric bronchoscopy.

Objective: This study compared the anesthetic gas exposure and operating conditions during insufflation anesthesia with halothane-alone versus halothane-propofol in children undergoing direct laryngobronchoscopy. Study Design: Forty-six children were enrolled in this randomized prospective study, with institutional review board approval and informed consent. Methods: All children were anesthetized by halothane mask induction and anesthesia was maintained using spontaneous ventilation with insufflation. No muscle relaxants or opioids were used. In the halothane group, halothane was titrated as needed. In the propofol group, halothane was decreased to 1% inspired concentration and the propofol was titrated as needed to maintain spontaneous ventilation and a still patient. Trace anesthetic gases, hemodynamic stability, and operating conditions were measured. Results: The groups were similar in age, weight, and bronchoscopy time. There was significantly less gas exposure in the propofol group (25 ± 33 parts per million) versus the halothane group (66 ± 97 ppm; P <.02). There was a trend toward earlier emergence in the halothane group (33 ± 13 minutes) versus the propofol group (41 ± 17 minutes). Postoperative stridor was common, occurring in 30% of children. Conclusions: Insufflation anesthesia with spontaneous respiration provides excellent surgical conditions for laryngobronchoscopy. The addition of propofol resulted in fewer airway complications (P = .047). Although the addition of propofol significantly decreased anesthetic gas exposure in the operating room, both techniques resulted in operating room pollution that exceeded the maximum levels of 2 ppm per hour recommended by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Investigation of the effect of finite grating size on the performance of guided-mode resonance filters

We evaluate the effect of finite aperture gratings on the spectral and efficiency characteristics of guided-mode resonance filters. A simple analytical model based on the attenuation properties of the waveguide and a fixed length of the grating aperture is developed. The results from this model are in good agreement with experimental filters formed with subwavelength period photoresist gratings and solgel waveguides.
Angiogenesis and Macrophage Activation in Endometriosis

Recent studies suggest that the symptoms associated with endometriosis are the result of local peritoneal inflammation. Increased concentrations of activated pelvic macrophages and lymphocytes and the elevated levels of specific cytokines and growth factors reviewed above support this hypothesis. The precise roles of these soluble factors are currently unknown, but we propose that a complex network of endometrial cytokines are normally regulated by hormones produced during the ovulatory cycle. Ectopic endometrial implants also are subject to these same endocrine cues. The secretion of these proinflammatory proteins by endometriosis lesions into the peritoneal microenvironment appears to cause a recruitment of capillaries and activated inflammatory cells to the implant. Future therapeutic strategies directed to ameliorate the inflammatory reaction associated with endometriosis should not ignore the likely physiological actions of many of the same bioactive molecules in normal eutopic endometrial function.
The electronic structure of impurities and other point defects in semiconductors

A review is presented of the various theoretical methods that have thus far been developed for the study of states introduced by impurities and other point defects in semiconductors. The main body of the paper is prefaced with brief sections on the role of impurities and defects in semiconductors and on the general aspects of experimental techniques, as an appropriate setting for the theoretical discourse. Theoretical methods, including those of the effective-mass type, and a wide range of methods appropriate to deep levels are then presented. Applications of these methods are discussed critically. Finally, the relative merits of the various approaches are compared and the prospects for future work are assessed.
Markov chains and polynomial time algorithms

This paper outlines the use of rapidly mixing Markov Chains in randomized polynomial time algorithms to solve approximately certain counting problems. They fall into two classes: combinatorial problems like counting the number of perfect matchings in certain graphs and geometric ones like computing the volumes of convex sets. >
SIMULTANEOUS CONTROL OF AN ANKLE-FOOT PROSTHESIS MODEL USING A VIRTUAL CONSTRAINT.

Amputee locomotion can benefit from recent advances in robotic prostheses, but their control systems design poses challenges. Prosthesis control typically discretizes the nonlinear gait cycle into phases, with each phase controlled by different linear controllers. Unfortunately, real-time identification of gait phases and tuning of controller parameters limit implementation. Recently, biped robots have used phase variables and virtual constraints to characterize the gait cycle as a whole. Although phase variables and virtual constraints could solve issues with discretizing the gait cycle, the virtual constraints method from robotics does not readily translate to prosthetics because of hard-to-measure quantities, like the interaction forces between the user and prosthesis socket, and prosthesis parameters which are often altered by a clinician even for a known patient. We use the simultaneous stabilization approach to design a low-order, linear time-invariant controller for ankle prostheses independent of such quantities to enforce a virtual constraint. We show in simulation that this controller produces suitable walking gaits for a simplified amputee model.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Distinct functions of S. pombe Rec12 (Spo11) protein and Rec12-dependent crossover recombination (chiasmata) in meiosis I; and a requirement for Rec12 in meiosis II

In most organisms proper reductional chromosome segregation during meiosis I is strongly correlated with the presence of crossover recombination structures (chiasmata); recombination deficient mutants lack crossovers and suffer meiosis I nondisjunction. We report that these functions are separable in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Intron mapping and expression studies confirmed that Rec12 is a member of the Spo11/Top6A topoisomerase family required for the formation of meiotic dsDNA breaks and recombination. rec12-117, rec12-D15 (null), and rec12-Y98F (active site) mutants lacked most crossover recombination and chromosomes segregated abnormally to generate aneuploid meiotic products. Since S. pombe contains only three chromosome pairs, many of those aneuploid products were viable. The types of aberrant chromosome segregation were inferred from the inheritance patterns of centromere linked markers in diploid meiotic products. The rec12-117 and rec12-D15 mutants manifest segregation errors during both meiosis I and meiosis II. Remarkably, the rec12-Y98F (active site) mutant exhibited essentially normal meiosis I segregation patterns, but still exhibited meiosis II segregation errors. Rec12 is a 345 amino acid protein required for most crossover recombination and for chiasmatic segregation of chromosomes during meiosis I. Rec12 also participates in a backup distributive (achiasmatic) system of chromosome segregation during meiosis I. In addition, catalytically-active Rec12 mediates some signal that is required for faithful equational segregation of chromosomes during meiosis II.
Cholangiocyte senescence by way of N-Ras activation is a characteristic of primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an incurable cholangiopathy of unknown etiopathogenesis. Here we tested the hypothesis that cholangiocyte senescence is a pathophysiologically important phenotype in PSC. We assessed markers of cellular senescence and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in livers of patients with PSC, primary biliary cirrhosis, hepatitis C, and in normals by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM). We tested whether endogenous and exogenous biliary constituents affect senescence and SASP in cultured human cholangiocytes. We determined in coculture whether senescent cholangiocytes induce senescence in bystander cholangiocytes. Finally, we explored signaling mechanisms involved in cholangiocyte senescence and SASP. In vivo, PSC cholangiocytes expressed significantly more senescence-associated p16INK4a and γH2A.x compared to the other three conditions; expression of profibroinflammatory SASP components (i.e., IL-6, IL-8, CCL2, PAI-1) was also highest in PSC cholangiocytes. In vitro, several biologically relevant endogenous (e.g., cholestane 3,5,6 oxysterol) and exogenous (e.g., lipopolysaccharide) molecules normally present in bile induced cholangiocyte senescence and SASP. Furthermore, experimentally induced senescent human cholangiocytes caused senescence in bystander cholangiocytes. N-Ras, a known inducer of senescence, was increased in PSC cholangiocytes and in experimentally induced senescent cultured cholangiocytes; inhibition of Ras abrogated experimentally induced senescence and SASP. Conclusion: Cholangiocyte senescence induced by biliary constituents by way of N-Ras activation is an important pathogenic mechanism in PSC. Pharmacologic inhibition of N-Ras with a resultant reduction in cholangiocyte senescence and SASP is a new therapeutic approach for PSC. (Hepatology 2014;59:2263–2275)
A curious case of the phantom professor: mindless teaching evaluations by medical students

Context Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) inform faculty promotion decisions and course improvement, a process that is predicated on the assumption that students complete the evaluations with diligence. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this may not be so. Objectives We sought to determine the degree to which medical students complete SETs deliberately in a classroom-style, multi-instructor course. Methods We inserted one fictitious lecturer into each of two pre-clinical courses. Students were required to submit their anonymous ratings of all lecturers, including the fictitious one, within 2 weeks after the course using a 5-point Likert scale, but could choose not to evaluate a lecturer. The following year, we repeated this but included a portrait of the fictitious lecturer. The number of actual lecturers in each course ranged from 23 to 52. Results Response rates were 99% and 94%, respectively, in the 2 years of the study. Without a portrait, 66% (183 of 277) of students evaluated the fictitious lecturer, but fewer students (49%, 140 of 285) did so with a portrait (chi-squared test, p < 0.0001). Conclusions These findings suggest that many medical students complete SETs mindlessly, even when a photograph is included, without careful consideration of whom they are evaluating and much less of how that faculty member performed. This hampers programme quality improvement and may harm the academic advancement of faculty members. We present a framework that suggests a fundamentally different approach to SET that involves students prospectively and proactively.
Monodisperse microspheres of copolymers of glycidyl methacrylate and its derivatives as materials for biomedical application

Monodisperse microspheres of copolymers of glycidyl methacrylate were prepared by dispersion polymerization in organic media. The microsphere diameter could be adjusted in the range from 0.5 μm to 5 μm by changing the monomer concentration, the type of dispersion medium and the content of the comonomers. Terpolymers of glycidyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate were analysed by thermal decomposition gas chromatography and the compositions of the polymers agreed well with those of the monomer mixtures. The epoxide of the polymer microspheres was hydrolyzed to α,β-diol
Unit level predicted yield: a method of identifying high defect density die at wafer sort

Previous studies have demonstrated both theoretically and empirically that defect density at wafer sort is an effective predictor of burn-in failures on packaged semiconductor devices. Therefore, efficient methods of measuring sort defect density are of great interest. This paper explores optimal methods for measuring sort defect density at the die level, as opposed to the lot or wafer level, and using this measure to screen reliability defects. The authors developed a simple measure called unit level predicted yield, based on the yield of other die in the same fab lot, and demonstrated its strong correlation to burn-in failures on packaged units. The method makes physical sense, and has been validated on more than 80 million units on three fab processes, including Intel's 0.8 /spl mu/m, 6 layer metal CMOS logic process. It is applicable to known good die programs, or anywhere that die level reliability differentiation is desirable. It is shown to be approximately twice as efficient as wafer level methods at highlighting die with high latent defect density.
Software CODEC algorithms for desktop videoconferencing

The computational power of desktop computers (e.g. Intel 486 PC) has reached the stage where software solutions for desktop videoconferencing (DVC) are worth considering. Here, coder/decoder (CODEC) refers to video compression/decompression. In this paper, the requirements and selection criteria of software CODEC algorithms in DVC are presented. An overview of CODEC algorithms for DVC, such as Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM), Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Wavelet, Vector Quantization, Fractal, Block Truncation Coding and Hybrid coding will give us insight into their feasibility in DVC, particularly when implemented in software. Some of the driving factors in the proliferation of DVC are: cost, platform, interoperability, communications bandwidth, availability and integrity, performance and quality, and last but not the least, collaborative applications. Most of these factors, especially interoperability, are important in choosing a software CODEC algorithm and so the standard H.261 is worth paying attention to. A quantitative analysis of some CODEC techniques is presented in a matrix.
Citrate Synthase Mutants of Agrobacterium Are Attenuated in Virulence and Display Reduced vir Gene Induction

A citrate synthase (CS) deletion mutant of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 is highly attenuated in virulence. The identity of the mutant was initially determined from its amino acid sequence, which is 68% identical to Escherichia coli and 77% identical to Brucella melitensis. The mutant lost all CS enzymatic activity, and a cloned CS gene complemented a CS mutation in Sinorhizobium. The CS mutation resulted in a 10-fold reduction in vir gene expression, which likely accounts for the attenuated virulence. When a plasmid containing a constitutive virG [virG(Con)] locus was introduced into this mutant, the level of vir gene induction was restored to nearly wild-type level. Further, the virG(Con)-complemented CS mutant strain induced tumors that were similar in size and number to those induced by the parental strain. The CS mutation resulted in only a minor reduction in growth rate in a glucose-salts medium. Both the CS mutant and the virG(Con)-complemented CS strain displayed similar growth deficiencies in a glucose-salts medium, indicating that the reduced growth rate of the CS mutant could not be responsible for the attenuated virulence. A search of the genome of A. tumefaciens C58 revealed four proteins, encoded on different replicons, with conserved CS motifs. However, only the locus that when mutated resulted in an attenuated phenotype has CS activity. Mutations in the other three loci did not result in attenuated virulence and any loss of CS activity, and none were able to complement the CS mutation in Sinorhizobium. The function of these loci remains unknown.
Epidemiology and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Rochester, New York.

Summary Objective: To characterize out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and factors that affect survival in a medium sized city that uses system status management for dispatch. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of all adult OHCA patients treated by EMS between 1998 and 2001 was conducted using Utstein definitions. The primary endpoint was 1-year survival. Results: Of the 1177 patients who experienced OHCA during the study period, 539 (46%) met inclusion criteria. Age ranged from 18 to 98 years (median 67). The median call-response interval was 5 min (range 0—21), and 93% were 9 min or less. There was no significant difference in the median call-response intervals between call location zip (Post) codes (p = 0.07). Twenty percent of experienced ROSC (95% CI 17—23), 7% survived more than 30 days (95% CI 5—9%), and 5% survived to 1 year (95% CI 3—7%). In bivariate analysis, first rhythm and bystander CPR affected survival to 1 year. There was no significant difference in survival between male (4%) and female (7%), black (4%) and white (6%), or witnessed (7%) and unwitnessed arrest (4%). Logistic regression identified younger age, CPR initiated by bystander (19%) or first responder (41%), and presenting rhythm of VF/VT (32%) as factors associated with survival to 1 year.
A device to apply user-specified strains to biomaterials in culture

An apparatus was developed to apply user-specified displacements to biomaterial samples in culture. The device allowed cyclic waveforms of bandwidth 0 Hz to 20 Hz to be applied under physiologic thermal (37.5/spl deg/C) and [CO/sub 2/] (5%) conditions. For a 0 Hz to 20 Hz bandwidth signal similar in shape to a ventricular pressure waveform, the mean displacement error was 0.26% of the full-scale output. The maximum overshoot was 0.700%. Environmental system evaluation tests demonstrated a specimen cartridge temperature of 37.20/spl plusmn/0.15/spl deg/C during cyclic loading and 37.23/spl plusmn/0.21/spl deg/C during static conditions, [CO/sub 2/] was 5.29/spl plusmn/0.54% during cyclic loading and 5.25/spl plusmn/0.61% during static conditions. Laminar flow applied at the loading rod entrances to the specimen cartridge ensured the sample remained sterile during testing. As a preliminary evaluation, polyurethane samples were seeded with fetal foreskin fibroblasts and subject to intermittent cyclic displacements. Results demonstrated enhanced cell proliferation and increased [PGE/sub 2/] for samples subjected to 10% strain compared with unstrained controls. A next step will be to evaluate cell response sensitivity to strain magnitude, duration, direction, and frequency. The long-term intent is to establish mechanical loading configurations that induce acceptable or adaptation-inducing responses for use in implant design and tissue engineering applications.
Mass‐to‐light Ratio of Lyα Emitters: Implications of Lyα Surveys at Redshifts z = 5.7,6.5, 7, and 8.8

We present a simple, relatively model‐independent method to interpret the galaxy number count data at z>6. The only free parameter is a mass‐to‐“observed light” ratio, Mh/Lband, where Mh refers to the total mass of the host halo, and Lband refers to the observed luminosity of the source. For narrow‐band surveys, Lband is simply related to the intrinsic Lyα luminosity with a survival fraction of Lyα photons, αesc. The mass‐to‐“bolometric light”, Mh/Lbol, can also be found, once the metallicity and initial mass function of stellar populations are given. We find constraints on the mass‐to‐light ratio of Ly‐alpha emitters from 5.7<z<8.8 of (Mh/Lbol) (αesce1/γ)−1 = 21–38, 14–26, and 9–17 for Z = 0, 1/50, and 1Z⊙, respectively, where e is the duty cycle and γ∼2 is the local shape of the cumulative luminosity function. Therefore, Lyα emitters are consistent with either starburst galaxies (Mh/Lbol∼0.1–1) for reasonable values of the Lyα survival fraction, αesce1/γ∼0.01–0.05, or normal populations (Mh/Lbol∼10) if ...
Flipping persuasively in constant time

A persuasive coin is a sufficiently unbiased source of randomness visible to sufficiently many processors in a distributed system. An algorithm is described for achieving a persuasive coin in the presence of an extremely powerful adversary where the number of rounds of message exchange among the processors is constant, independent of the number n of processors in the system as well as the number of faults, provided the total number of faulty processors does not exceed a certain constant multiple of $n/\log n$. As a corollary an $\Omega (n/\log n)$-resilient probabilistic protocol for Byzantine agreement running in constant expected time is obtained. Combining this with a generalization of a technique of Bracha, a probabilistic Byzantine agreement protocol tolerant of almost ${n / 4}$ failures with $O(\log \log n)$ expected running time is obtained.
Characterization of Granular Damper Using Hilbert Transform and Free Vibration Response

(Abstract) In this study, we developed and implemented a Hilbert transform based procedure for nonlinear parameter identification of granular damper from experimentally obtained free response data. The fundamentals of the Hilbert transform based identification technique are described first. Then we consider an example of cantilever beam with a granular damper attached to the tip of the free end. The response data were collected by exciting the system with an initial tip displacement. While the beam has an infinite number of degrees-of-freedom, it is convenient to investigate the effect of granular damping on each mode of interest separately. In addition, experimental data inevitably contain noise. To remove the noise and the undesirable modal responses, the wavelet transform technique is applied to the experimental data. Then Hilbert transform based identification is applied to de-noise the modal response. With this method, the vibration amplitude dependent characteristics of granular damper, such as the equivalent damping and frequency, can be successfully identified, which provides new insight to granular damping mechanisms.
Effect of surface modification on the reactivity of MCF-supported IndaBOX

MCF-immobilized indaBOX–copper complexes, which show high enantioselectivities in asymmetric Diels–Alder and cyclopropanation reactions and have reactivities strongly affected by their environment, were prepared using various linker groups and silanol capping agents.
Films for Exotic Foreign Language Instruction

other foreign languages in this country are not always so fortunate primarily because of the lack of this type of media. There are, however, available on the market a good number of films of the less popular foreign languages with narration in the foreign tongue and generally with English subtitles. This presentation is an attempt to bring to the attention of those interested in these more exotic foreign languages the titles of nearly 100 films. The many films in Japanese narration are especially noticeable among this class of films. Only films with narration in the foreign language are noted. All possess English subtitles, unless otherwise indicated. The only Bengali film listed has been placed after the Hindi films, since both are Indic languages. It should also be noted that most of these films are distributed by a very small number of dealers. Their names and addresses are found at the end.
Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer in the 21st Century

Radiotherapy has undergone significant technological advances during the last 20 years, although their use in breast cancer was relatively limited until recently. The major recent changes in the use of radiotherapy for breast cancer have been the following: the establishment of partial breast irradiation (PBI) as an option for therapy in early stage disease; the revival of hypofractionated therapies for breast only therapy; the clearer definition of the role of post-mastectomy irradiation; and the continuing investigation as to which patients having conservative surgery do not need radiation therapy. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy is still not widely accepted to be medically necessary in breast cancer, but ongoing studies may demonstrate that it will prove to be useful in treating node-positive breast cancer when wide-field nodal targets need to be included in the treatment volume. Image-guided radiotherapy will prove to be necessary for PBI by external beam to keep the irradiated treatment volumes within long-term tolerance. The optimum dose and delivery schedule for PBI is yet to be finalized. Overall, the local control rates for all breast cancer treatment scenarios are generally good, and therefore, the emphasis is now on maintaining local control while reducing toxicities from treatment. The long-term risks of breast cancer radiotherapy on subsequent cancer induction are subject to ongoing studies. Biological enhancement of the effect of radiotherapy could allow dose reduction, with presumed reductions in the toxicity of treatment. In conclusion, breast cancer radiotherapy has much to understand and optimize in the 21st Century.
A fast algorithm and system for the inverse kinematics of general serial manipulators

We present fast and robust algorithms for the inverse kinematics of serial manipulators consisting of six or fewer joints. When stated mathematically, the problem of inverse kinematics reduces to simultaneously solving a system of algebraic equations. In this paper, we use a series of algebraic and numeric transformations to reduce the problem to computing the eigenstructure of a matrix pencil. To efficiently compute the eigenstructure, we make use of the symbolic formulation of the matrix and use a number of techniques from linear algebra and matrix computations. The resulting algorithm computes all the solution of a serial manipulator with six or fewer joints in the order of tens of milliseconds on the current workstations. It has been implemented as part of a generic package, KINEM, for the inverse kinematics of serial manipulators. >
Percutaneous Ethanol and Acetic Acid Ablation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary hepatic tumor. Globally, HCC is one of the most common malignant visceral tumors (1,2), with more than 350,000 cases reported every year (1). Annual incidence rate in North and South America for HCC is 2–4 cases per 100,000 persons (1). The worldwide distribution of HCC is closely linked to the prevalence of hepatitis B infection. There is a 200-fold increased risk of HCC in adults who become hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers during infancy as a result of vertical transmission from the infected mother (3). HCC in this population frequently occurs without coincident cirrhosis (in approx 50% cases) and at a younger age—often between 20 and 40 years (1). In contrast, cirrhosis is present in 85–90% cases of HCC in the Western population (low-incidence region), where HBV is not prevalent. The most common associations with HCC in this region are alcohol and chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) (1); rarely does it occur before age 60 years (1). Males outnumber females in the distribution of HCC in both the high- and low-incidence regions; the male/female ratio is 8:1 in the high-incidence population and 2:1 to 3:1 in the low-incidence population (1,2).
Machines Reasoning About Machines: 2015

Computer hardware and software can be modeled precisely in mathematical logic. If expressed appropriately, these models can be executable, i.e., run on concrete data. This allows them to be used as simulation engines or rapid prototypes. But because they are formal they can be manipulated by symbolic means: theorems can be proved about them, directly, with mechanical theorem provers. But how practical is this vision of machines reasoning about machines? In this highly personal talk, I will describe the 45 year history of the “Boyer-Moore theorem prover,” starting with its use in Edinburgh, Scotland, to prove simple list processing theorems by mathematical induction (e.g., the reverse of the reverse of x is x) to its routine commercial use in the microprocessor industry (e.g., the floating point operations of the Via Nano 64-bit X86 microprocessor are compliant with the IEEE standard). Along the way we will see applications in program verification, models of instruction set architectures including the JVM, and security and information flow. I then list some reasons this project has been successful. The paper also serves as an annotated bibliography of the key stepping stones in the applications of the prover.
A Workflow for Multi-Scale Modeling and Simulation of Transport Phenomena in Woodford Shale Rock Matrix

One of the most significant challenges facing the development of shale oil and gas resources worldwide is an inadequate understanding of complex flow and transport processes within shale reservoirs. For that reason, a proper understanding of the multi-scale transport phenomena within these highly heterogeneous formations is crucial from both scientific and economic perspective. Because anisotropy of shale rock exists across multiple scales, determining changes in pores distribution has proven to be difficult. Recent studies have indicated that shale rock pores significantly vary in number, size (from nano-, through microand meso-, to macro-pores), and kind (organic and inorganic). Thus far, the role of pore network and, more specifically, what pores contribute the most to the hydrocarbons storage or the production process, is not well understood and remains largely unknown. Hence, it is vital to address the need for understanding of how well different pores are connected and how they create possible flow pathways for the hydrocarbons migration. Here we present a comprehensive modeling and simulation framework for Woodford shale rock that links and correlates two most important parameters for characterizing flow in shale rock reservoirs: porosity and permeability. First, multi-scale 3D models are reconstructed from FIB-SEM, nanoand micro-XRM images of the Woodford shale rock specimen. Through this process, the mineralogy, porosity, and pore size distribution of the sample are obtained. Second, newly created 3D representations of the shale rock matrix are used as an input to the direct and indirect CFD solvers to simulate fluid flow and determine the shale rock permeability. Visualization of the resulting models revealed the full detail of the shale rock geometry and mineralogical composition. This work provides a guidance for reconstruction of realistic geometries, as well as a template for many different simulation studies relevant to unconventional reservoir characterization.
The Story Behind the Case that Launched a Legal Revolution: A Review of William Aceves's the Anatomy of Torture - A Documentary History of Filartiga v. Pena-irala

This book review considers Professor William Aceves's engaging new volume 'The Anatomy of Torture: A Documentary History of Filýrtiga v. Peýa-Irala' (Martinus Nijhoof Publishers 2007). This volume is more than a stereoscopic treatment of a single case and its impact. The text also includes a fascinating and exhaustive documentary history compiled from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources within the United States and Paraguay. The mix of legal and political artifacts - complete with pleadings and opinions, embassy cable traffic, and transcripts of key hearings - enables a more complete understanding of the transnational public law litigation process from pre-filing investigation to final judgment and all the hurdles in between. Indeed, Prof. Aceves was able to uncover intriguing information about the case that is not at all part of the official record. Prof. Aceves's book offers a compelling read for anyone interested in international human rights and their enforcement. The review also discusses the legislative and jurisprudential legacy of this landmark case as well as looming threats to human rights litigation under the ATS. The review also situates the Filýrtiga case within the current historical moment in which the inviolability of the anti-torture norm is under attack and the legality and efficacy of torture is suddenly up for debate.
Money, Trains, and Guillotines: Art and Revolution in 1960s Japan, by William Marotti

The ‘money, trains, and guillotines’ of the title figured prominently in the activities of a small group of avant-garde artists in early 1960s Japan. Marotti explores the origins, meaning, and cons...
Anxiety sensitivity class membership moderates the effects of pre-quit reduction in anxiety sensitivity on quit-day tobacco craving.

Abstract Background Although anxiety sensitivity has been primarily conceptualized as a dimensional latent construct, empirical evidence suggests that it also maintains a latent class structure, reflecting low-, moderate-, and high-risk underlying classes. The present study sought to explore whether these anxiety sensitivity classes moderated the relations between the degree of pre-quit reductions in anxiety sensitivity and the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms and craving experienced on quit-day. Methods Participants included 195 adult smokers (47% female; Mage = 39.4) participating in a larger “anxiety sensitivity reduction-smoking cessation” intervention trial. Results Anxiety sensitivity class significantly moderated relations between pre-quit reduction in anxiety sensitivity and quit-day craving. Specifically, smokers within the anxiety sensitivity high-risk class, who also demonstrated lesser pre-quit reductions in anxiety sensitivity, experienced the highest levels of craving on quit-day. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of ‘high-risk' classes of anxiety sensitivity to better understand the experience of craving on quit day.
Integrating Feminist Therapy and Expressive Arts With Adolescent Clients

ABSTRACTUtilizing expressive arts interventions within a feminist theoretical orientation may prove impactful for adolescent clients. Tenets of feminist therapy and support for integrating expressive arts interventions into counseling practice are presented. Assumptions and objectives for utilizing expressive arts interventions with adolescents in feminist therapy are offered. Two feminist theory ecological models of identity development are described, with corresponding expressive arts interventions to address adolescent identity development.
London force correction disparity in the modeling of crystalline asparagine and glutamine.

Solid-state density functional theory is a powerful computational method used to provide insight into the low-frequency vibrations of crystalline solids. A known limitation of this method is its general underestimation of weak intermolecular forces. Semiempirical London force corrections have been developed to augment density functional theory calculations with the ultimate goal being corrections that are applicable to a range of compounds. In this study, two structurally similar amino acids, asparagine and glutamine, were chosen to gauge the proximity of the widely used DFT-D2 approach to this goal. Despite their chemical similarities, it was determined that the two molecular solids required considerably different semiempirical correction magnitudes, with asparagine requiring a 42% greater London force correction factor when compared to glutamine. To validate these findings, terahertz spectroscopy was used to investigate the intermolecular vibrations of both amino acids in the low-frequency, sub-100 cm–1...
Sea quark contributions to the electric polarizability of hadrons

We present a lattice QCD calculation of the polarizability of the neutron and other neutral hadrons that includes the effects of the background field on the sea quarks. This is done by perturbatively reweighting the charges of the sea quarks to couple them to the background field. The main challenge in such a calculation is stochastic estimation of the weight factors, and we discuss the difficulties in this estimation. Here we use an extremely aggressive dilution scheme to reduce the stochastic noise to a manageable level. The pion mass in our calculation is 300 MeV and the lattice size is 3 fm. For the neutron, we find that ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{E}=2.70(55)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1{0}^{\ensuremath{-}4}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fm}}^{3}$, which is the most precise lattice QCD determination of the polarizability to date that includes sea effects.
Severe hyperkalemia in a case of chronic renal insufficiency.

Severe hyperkalemia in the presence of chronic renal insufficiency may cause fatal cardiac arrest unless diagnosed early and treated promptly.Hyperkalemia may be diagnosed immediately through study of serial electrocardiographic tracings. The first electrocardiographic changes observed seem related to a disturbance in depolarization, excitation or conduction processes.Medical treatment of hyperkalemia includes reduction of potassium intake and protein catabolism, correction of renal acidosis, and maintenance of an adequate urinary output.
Analysis of epidemic features of brucellosis in Heilongjiang province,2004-2013

Objective To understand the incidence and trend of brucellosis in Heilongjiang province and to provide scientific basis for its prevention and control. Methods The data of brucellosis epidemic in 2004-2013 in Heilongjiang province and related monitoring data were collected, including age, gender, occupation, time and place, and epidemiological statistical analysis was carried out. Results A total of 45 527 cases of brucellosis were reported in 2004-2013 in Heilongjiang province. There were two epidemic peaks in 2005 with incidence rate of 10.77/100 000 and in 2012 with incidence rate of 19.43/100 000 respectively. Conclusion The incidence of brucellosis increase in wave mode. It is necessary to carry out education and intervention measures in high incidence area and among high risk population in Heilongjiang province.
Bringing Body Worlds to Phoenix: Community Relations and a Science Center

AbstractBody Worlds exhibitions include human skeletons and tissues preserved through a method of plastination, displayed through striking poses that have both intrigued and incensed visitors. Controversies around these exhibitions have included ethical concerns about the procurement of human remains, legal questions about the ownership and transport of human organs and skeletons, and cultural and religious concerns about the respect afforded to humans after death. Body Worlds exhibitions have toured North America since 2005. Because of their controversial nature, the initial introduction to the U.S. included a thorough ethical review by the inaugural host site, the California Science Center. This article describes the community review process carried out in Phoenix before the exhibition first appeared at the Arizona Science Center in 2006. It raises the question of how science centers can follow a mission of educating and informing the public with controversial exhibits while still respecting the cultura...
SU-C-209-01: Validation of the Simulated Detectability Metric (G-ROD) Using the Experimental Generalized Measured Relative Object Detectability Metric (GM-ROD)

Purpose: The Generalized Relative Object Detectability (G-ROD) family of ideal observer metrics are a well-characterized set of task-based metrics used for quantitatively comparing imaging systems that include the detector, focal spot geometry and scatter characteristics on the basis of system abilities in imaging a given simulated object. The G-ROD metric takes the integral over spatial frequencies of the Fourier transform of a simulated object function weighted with the detector generalized DQE (GDQE), divided by the comparable integral for another detector. When a measured image of an actual object is used, the generalized measured-ROD (GM-ROD) metric can compare detector systems without explicitly determining detector MTF. In this work, the results of simulated and measured ROD calculations for the same object are compared for the first time. Methods: G-ROD calculations were performed to compare a high resolution microangiographic fluoroscopic (MAF) detector to a flat panel detector (FPD) using 5mm segments of simulated copper wires of varying diameter (d=0.05–0.6mm) as the object function for three different focal spot sizes at two magnifications. A GM-ROD experiment with similar parameters was performed to compare the same detector system using three actual 5mm copper wires (d=0.113mm,0.238mm,0.558mm) imaged under identical but simulated conditions used in G-ROD calculations to determine the agreement between simulated and experimentally obtained results. Results: The G-ROD and GM-ROD calculations examined relative detector system imaging performance. The GM-ROD results for all three different sized wires imaged with low magnification and a small focal spot size were 2.1, 1.38, and 1.1, respectively, and the G-ROD results for the same calculation was 1.81, 1.3, and 1.07, corresponding to percent deviations of 13%, 5.8%, and 2.7%. Conclusion: These results indicate experimental validation of the simulated metric results. Partial support from NIH grant R01EB002873 and an equipment grant from Toshiba Medical Systems Corp.
Temporarily Fine-Grained Sleep Technique for Near- and Subthreshold Parallel Architectures

This paper presents a design approach for improving energy-efficiency and throughput of parallel architectures in near- and subthreshold voltage circuits. The focus is to suppress leakage energy dissipation of the idle portions of circuits during active modes, which can allow us to wholly transform the throughput improvement from parallel architectures into energy savings via deep voltage scaling. We begin by investigating the efficacy of parallel and pipeline architectures in the near- and subthreshold circuits. The investigation reveals that active energy dissipation largely undermines the ability of deep voltage scaling to transform excessive throughput into energy savings. Techniques, such as power-gating switches (PGSs), can mitigate active-leakage power dissipation; however, the overhead for entering and exiting sleep modes can offset the energy savings provided by sleep mode, particularly if sleep time is fine grained for suppressing active leakage. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a PGS design technique, inspired by the so-called zigzag supercutoff CMOS, in order to optimize the overheads of mode transitions of PGS in near- and subthreshold circuits. The proposed technique enables to have circuits in sleep mode for as short as a single clock cycle with a negligible amount of energy and delay overheads. We apply our proposed design to parallel multiplier-based test circuits operating at near- and subthreshold voltages. Simulations show a significant improvement in energy-efficiency over baselines at the same throughput.
Online Reevaluations of Attribute Information in Sequential Consumer Choice

Much of the literature that has looked at reevaluations of attribute information has assumed that they occur postdecisionally. For example, Svenson and Benthorn (1992) showed that individuals reevaluated attribute information postdescisionally in order to "protect" the chosen alternative (i.e., to increase its attractiveness). The current work investigates such reevaluations as they occur during a decision (i.e., online) as opposed to post-decisionally. Specifically, three issues are addressed: 1) when do online modifications occur (e.g., close to the end of the search process; when alternatives are poorly differentiated?), 2) does the pattern of reevaluations suggest the occurrence of a motivational bias, namely that most reevaluations favor the currently leading alternative? 3) which attributes are chosen for reevaluation, e.g., the most important attributes vs. those that are most undifferentiated between the competing alternatives?
Ejaculatory dysfunction in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms

The link between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and sexual dysfunction is well established. Sexual dysfunction can encompass both ejaculatory dysfunction (EjD) and erectile dysfunction (ED). Ejaculatory dysfunction can consist of premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation, retrograde ejaculation, anejaculation, decreased force of ejaculation and pain upon ejaculation. The impact of different medical and surgical therapies on ejaculatory function will be reviewed. We reviewed the various categories of LUTS treatment including the canonical epidemiology and pathophysiology as well as the surgical and medical treatments for LUTS/BPH. We note that most surgeries and several medical treatments have a certain but ill-defined negative impact on ejaculatory function. Several MISTs and selected medical therapies appear to have little impact on EjD. Both EjD and BPH are very common disorders in men under the care of an urologist. It is well documented that there is a clinical association between these two entities. Unfortunately many of the medical treatments and almost all surgical treatment impact the ejaculatory function of the patient. The surgical treatment of BPH often leads to retrograde ejaculation while medical treatment leads to anejaculation.
Kant’s Transcendental Idealism and his Transcendental Deduction

I argue for a novel, non-subjectivist interpretation of Kant’s transcendental idealism. Kant’s idealism is often interpreted as specifying how we must experience objects or how objects must appear to us. I argue to the contrary by appealing to Kant’s Transcendental Deduction. Kant’s Deduction is the proof that the categories are not merely subjectively necessary conditions we need for our cognition, but objectively valid conditions necessary for objects to be appearances. My interpretation centres on two claims. First, Kant’s method of self-knowledge consists in his determining what makes our cognitive faculty finite in contrast to God’s infinite cognitive faculty. Second, Kant’s limitation of our knowledge to appearances consists in his developing an account according to which appearances and our finite cognitive faculty are conceived of in terms of each other and in contrast to noumena in the positive sense and God’s infinite cognitive faculty.
Differential Equations: Determining Partial Integrability of Wave Theory

Let’s put ourselves on a boat and watch waves travel behind it. The same concept can apply to air flow when traveling on an air plane. Previously and currently, mathematicians believe the wave mechanics and air flow is explained through a thorough understanding of existing solutions to Navier-Stokes equations. Since the nineteenth century, the understanding of these equations are unsubstantial. The goal is to create substantial qualitative input towards generating a mathematical theory unlocking implicit information within the Navier-Stokes equations. The literature will contain mathematical physical methods for locating closed general solutions applied to various fields.
Decision Support System for Tourism Development: System Dynamics Approach

A natural resource-based tourism decision support system (NRBTDSS) has been developed to simulate visitor dynamics in response to different environmental changes and investment policy scenarios. NR...
Expansion planning of data centers in energy and cyber networks

This paper proposed a coordinated expansion planning for data centers and cyber routes in the cyber and electricity networks. The objective is to determine the location and capacity of the data center as well as the required cyber routes to serve the demand in the cyber networks considering the imposed constraints of the electricity and cyber networks. The installation cost of the data centers and cyber routes as well as the operation cost of the electricity network are minimized. The expansion planning of the data centers and cyber routes ensures an acceptable rate of service for the requests from the user groups considering the power supply limitations and cost. The problem is formed as a mixed integer programming problem and Bender decomposition is used to solve this problem. The presented case study shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach.