cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Constructing an optimal server set in structured peer-to-peer networks

To achieve high performance and resilience to failures, a client can make connections with multiple servers simultaneously and receive different portions of the data from each server in parallel. However, selecting the best set of servers from the set of all nodes that have the desired data is not a straightforward task, and the obtained performance can dramatically vary depending on the constructed server set. In this paper, we present two server selection schemes that generate optimal server sets with respect to the degree of interference(DOI) criterion and the worst link stress(WLS) criterion in a structured peer-to-peer network. After examining the correctness of the algorithms, we present simulation results demonstrating the benefits of the optimal server selection schemes. Through the simulation results, we conclude that the optimal selection schemes perform better than the random server-selection scheme in the following aspects: (1) load-balancing in the network and the worst-case link stress, (2) network resource used by the connections, including the number of links and total bandwidth, (3) response time, and (4) throughput of TCP connections.
REDUCED-ORDER MODELS FOR MICROELECTROMECHANICAL RECTANGULAR AND CIRCULAR PLATES INCORPORATING THE CASIMIR FORCE

We consider the von Karman nonlinearity and the Casimir force to develop reduced-order models for prestressed clamped rectangular and circular electrostatically actuated microplates. Reduced-order models are derived by taking flexural vibration mode shapes as basis functions for the transverse displacement. The in-plane displacement vector is decomposed as the sum of displacements for irrotational and isochoric waves in a two-dimensional medium. Each of these two displacement vector fields satisfies an eigenvalue problem analogous to that of transverse vibrations of a linear elastic membrane. Basis functions for the transverse and the in-plane displacements are related by using the nonlinear equation governing the plate in-plane motion. The reduced-order model is derived from the equation yielding the transverse deflection of a point. For static deformations of a plate, the pull-in parameters are found by using the displacement iteration pull-in extraction method. Reduced-order models are also used to study linear vibrations about a predeformed configuration. It is found that 9 basis functions for a rectangular plate give a converged solution, while 3 basis functions give pull-in parameters with an error of at most 4%. For a circular plate, 3 basis functions give a converged solution while the pull-in parameters computed with 2 basis functions have an error of at most 3%. The value of the Casimir force at the onset of pull-in instability is used to compute device size that can be safely fabricated.
Acute Coronary Syndromes: Pathology, Diagnosis, Genetics, Prevention, and Treatment

An acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is the most ominous manifestation of coronary artery disease (CAD). The burden of ACS and its impact are striking. Cardiovascular disease is now the most common cause of mortality worldwide, and among cardiovascular deaths, the majority are attributable to CAD.1 As a result, although CAD in general is a major global public health concern, ACS is particularly worrisome because it is both prevalent but at the same time portends a poor prognosis. Although advanced therapies may alleviate ACS-related morbidity and mortality in well-served communities located in affluent countries, many persons in less-fortunate situations living in low- and middle-income countries remain exposed to the ravages of this disease. Despite this outlook, rapid progress is being made in understanding the pathology, in prevention, and in treatment of ACS. As readers will find even by perusing the headings of the articles in this ACS Compendium, there is much to be optimistic about. As Editors of this ACS Compendium, we are privileged to have played a small role in helping to provide the framework for the esteemed authorship groups to leverage their collective expertise and provide for us a definitive overall review of ACS. In working with these world-renown scientists and clinicians on this collection of ACS articles, which also included a cadre of expert reviewers (to who we are especially thankful), we found ourselves in the enviable position of being privy to a deeply insightful, cutting-edge, and forward-looking appraisal of the current state-of-the-science for ACS. Although this fund of knowledge is clearly set out in the articles that follow, several unexpected points arose from these interactions. The most obvious, somewhat surprisingly, was the question of what exactly is an ACS? The term ACS appeared relatively recently in the medical lexicon. A simple search in PubMed reveals that …
Uncoupled multi-core fiber enhancing signal-to-noise ratio.

We designed and fabricated a low-crosstalk seven-core fiber with transmission losses of 0.17 dB/km or lower, effective areas larger than 120 μm2, and a total mean crosstalk to the center core of –53 dB after 6.99-km propagation (equivalent to −42.5 dB after 80 km), at 1550 nm. We also investigated the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) achievable in uncoupled multi-core transmission systems by regarding the crosstalk as a virtual additive white Gaussian noise. The SNR under existence of crosstalk in the fabricated multi-core fiber (MCF) was estimated to be 2.4 dB higher than that in a standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) in the case of 80-km span, and 2.9 dB higher in the case of 100-km span; which are the best values among MCFs ever reported, to the best of our knowledge. The SNR penalties from crosstalk in this MCF were calculated to be 0.4 dB for 80-km span and 0.2 dB for 100-km span. We also investigated SNR penalty from crosstalk in the more ordinary case of an MCF with SSMF cores, and found that the total mean crosstalk to the worst core after one 80-km span should be less than about −47 dB for 0.1-dB penalty, about −40 dB for 0.5-dB penalty, and about −36 dB for 1-dB penalty.
Molecular and serologic characterization of a group A bovine rotavirus with a short genome pattern

Rotaviruses are members of the family Reoviridae and are a widespread cause of diarrhea in the young of many mammalian species, including humans. The rotavirus particles are nonenveloped and possess an icosahedral symmetry. The genome consists of 11 discrete segments of linear doublestranded RNA (dsRNA) and is enclosed within a doublelayered capsid. The dsRNA fragments are numbered 1 to 11 on the basis of their order of migration during polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Rotaviruses are classified into serotypes based on the specificity of the outer capsid proteins VP7 (G types) and VP4 (P types) The more common method of serotyping is on the basis of G types (13), and currently 14 G types have been identified among group A rotaviruses. Among group A bovine rotaviruses (BRVs), at least 4 G types (G1, G6, G8, G10) have been reported based on the results of enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), virus neutralization assays, nucleic acid hybridization assays, or sequence analysis. Rotaviruses are also typed using similar procedures on the basis of VP4 specificity, and currently there are at least 4 P types of BRV (P1, P5, P11, and P12). Upon analysis by PAGE, the 11 dsRNA segments of rotaviruses produce characteristic patterns referred to as genome electropherotypes. 35 Such electrophoretic analysis of BRV isolates is useful for obtaining epidemiologic information regarding the origin of the isolates, because each isolate produces a unique pattern. There have been numerous reports of short genome electropherotypes among human rotaviruses. Most of these short electropherotypes are restricted to subgroup I and share serotype G2 specificity. All BRV isolates tested so far, regardless of genome electropherotype, belong to subgroup I, and most possess long electropherotypes.38 Recently, there have been reports of short electropherotypes among BRV isolates, all restricted to serotype G6 1,22,37 Because there have been no reports of non-G6 BRV with a short genome pattern, we wanted to investigate the possibility that BRV short pattern isolates are restricted to serotype G6, similar to the situation observed for human G2 rotaviruses. In addition, we wanted to correlate the hybridization data with serology and cross-protection studies. In this report, we describe the serologic and molecular characterization (G and P specificity) of a bovine rotavirus strain, 2292B, with a short genome pattern. The reference viruses were grown in rhesus monkey kidney (MA104) cells in roller bottles and titrated by a plaque assay as previously described. The sources and serotypes (P and
The meaning and measurement of implementation climate

Background: Climate has a long history in organizational studies, but few theoretical models integrate the complex effects of climate during innovation implementation. In 1996, a theoretical model was proposed that organizations could develop a positive climate for implementation by making use of various policies and practices that promote organizational members’ means, motives, and opportunities for innovation use. The model proposes that implementation climate–or the extent to which organizational members perceive that innovation use is expected, supported, and rewarded–is positively associated with implementation effectiveness. The implementation climate construct holds significant promise for advancing scientific knowledge about the organizational determinants of innovation implementation. However, the construct has not received sufficient scholarly attention, despite numerous citations in the scientific literature. In this article, we clarify the meaning of implementation climate, discuss several measurement issues, and propose guidelines for empirical study. Discussion: Implementation climate differs from constructs such as organizational climate, culture, or context in two important respects: first, it has a strategic focus (implementation), and second, it is innovation-specific. Measuring implementation climate is challenging because the construct operates at the organizational level, but requires the collection of multi-dimensional perceptual data from many expected innovation users within an organization. In order to avoid problems with construct validity, assessments of within-group agreement of implementation climate measures must be carefully considered. Implementation climate implies a high degree of within-group agreement in climate perceptions. However, researchers might find it useful to distinguish implementation climate level (the average of implementation climate perceptions) from implementation climate strength (the variability of implementation climate perceptions). It is important to recognize that the implementation climate construct applies most readily to innovations that require collective, coordinated behavior change by many organizational members both for successful implementation and for realization of anticipated benefits. For innovations that do not possess these attributes, individual-level theories of behavior change could be more useful in explaining implementation effectiveness. Summary: This construct has considerable value in implementation science, however, further debate and development is necessary to refine and distinguish the construct for empirical use.
Chemoprevention by N-acetylcysteine of low-dose CT-induced murine lung tumorigenesis

Data from the National Lung Screening Trial suggested that annual computed tomography (CT) screening of at-risk patients decreases lung cancer mortality by 20%. We assessed the effects of low-dose CT radiation in mice exposed to 4-(methylnitrosoamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) to mimic the effects of annual CT screening in heavy smokers and ex-smokers. A/J mice were treated at 8 weeks with NNK followed 1 week later by 4 weekly doses of 0, 10, 30 or 50 mGy of whole-body CT and euthanized 8 months later. Irradiated mice exhibited significant 1.8- to 2-fold increases in tumor multiplicity in males (16.1±0.8 versus 9.1±1.5 tumors per mouse; P < 0.0001) and females (21.6±0.8 versus 10.5±1.4 tumors per mouse; P < 0.0001), respectively, compared with unirradiated mice with no dose effect observed; female mice exhibited higher sensitivity to radiation exposure than did males (P < 0.0001). Similar results were obtained when tumor area was determined. To assess if the deleterious effects of radiation could be prevented by antioxidants, female mice were fed a diet containing 0.7% N-acetylcysteine (NAC) starting 3 days prior to the first CT exposure and continuing for a total of 5 weeks. NAC prevented CT induced increases in tumor multiplicity (10.5±1.2 versus 20.7±1.5 tumors per mouse; P < 0.0001) back to levels seen in NNK/unirradiated mice (10.5±1.2). Our data suggest that exposure of sensitive populations to CT radiation increases the risk of tumorigenesis, and that antioxidants may prevent the long-term carcinogenic effects of low-dose radiation exposure. This would allow annual screening with CT while preventing the potential long-term toxicity of radiation exposure.
Reactive power compensator with harmonic blocking feature

Properties of a reactive power compensator with a harmonic blocking feature that enables the author to reduce the waveform distortion caused by harmonic generating loads are discussed in this paper. The discussed compensator is built of a series filter tuned to the fundamental frequency and a shunt capacitor. Due to voltage resonance, the series filter does not increase the line impedance for the fundamental, but increases this impedance for higher harmonics. Because of this property, such a compensator is termed as a 'harmonic blocking compensator' (HBC) in the paper. The shunt capacitor provides the needed susceptance for reactive power compensation and a low impedance shunt path for current harmonics generated in the load. This paper discusses the design procedure and presents simulation results of the HBC.
Rapid, pervasive genetic differentiation of urban white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations in New York City

We investigated genetic diversity and structure of urban white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, populations in New York City (NYC) using variation at 18 microsatellite loci. White-footed mice are ‘urban adapters’ that occur at higher population densities as habitat fragments are reduced in area but have a limited ability to disperse through urbanized areas. We hypothesized that this combination of traits has produced substantial genetic structure but minimal loss of genetic variation over the last century in NYC. Allelic diversity and heterozygosity in 14 NYC populations were high, and nearly all of our NYC study sites contained genetically distinct populations of white-footed mice as measured by pairwise FST, assignment tests, and Bayesian clustering analyses performed by Structure and BAPS. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that genetic differences between populations separated by a few kilometres are more significant than differences between prehistorically isolated landmasses (i.e. Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan). Allele size permutation tests and lack of isolation by distance indicated that mutation and migration are less important than drift as explanations for structure in urban, fragmented P. leucopus populations. Peromyscus often exhibit little genetic structure over even regional scales, prompting us to conclude that urbanization is a particularly potent driver of genetic differentiation compared to natural fragmentation.
Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Transport through Large Scale, Partially Aligned Arrays of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Thin Film Type Transistors

Gate-modulated transport through partially aligned films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in thin film type transistor structures are studied experimentally and theoretically. Measurements are reported on SWNTs grown by chemical vapor deposition with systematically varying degrees of alignment and coverage in transistors with a range of channel lengths and orientations perpendicular and parallel to the direction of alignment. A first principles stick-percolation-based transport model provides a simple, yet quantitative framework to interpret the sometimes counterintuitive transport parameters measured in these devices. The results highlight, for example, the dramatic influence of small degrees of SWNT misalignment on transistor performance and imply that coverage and alignment are correlated phenomena and therefore should be simultaneously optimized. The transport characteristics reflect heterogeneity in the underlying anisotropic metal-semiconductor stick-percolating network and cannot be reproduced by classical transport models.
Very-low-birthweight infants and income incongruity among African American and white parents in Chicago.

OBJECTIVES: Illinois vital records for 1982/1983 and US census income data for 1980 were analyzed to ascertain the relationship of income incongruity, race, and very low birthweight. METHODS: Positive income incongruity was considered present when study infants resided in wealthier neighborhoods than non-Latino Whites at the same level of parental education attainment and marital status. RESULTS: The odds ratios of very low birthweight for African Americans (n = 44,266) and Whites (n = 27,139) who experienced positive income incongruity were 0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5, 0.9) and 0.6 (95% CI = 0.5, 0.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Positive income incongruity is associated with lower race-specific rates of very low birthweight.
Habitat- and bay-scale connectivity of sympatric fishes in an estuarine nursery

Abstract Acoustic telemetry was used to examine habitat- and bay-scale connectivity for co-occurring juvenile fishes, southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) and red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), at two spatial scales in a model estuarine seascape. An acoustic positioning system was deployed to examine habitat-scale (ca. 1 m–1 km) movement, while a larger gridded array was deployed to examine bay-scale movement (ca. 1–20 km). Both species exhibited greater use of edge habitat and seagrass beds at the habitat scale; however, rates of movement within habitats varied between species. Southern flounder movement (mean = 4.0 m min−1) increased with decreasing habitat complexity (seagrass to bare sand) and increasing temperature, while red drum rate of movement (mean = 8.4 m min−1) was not significantly affected by environmental factors at the habitat scale, indicating the use of different foraging strategies (i.e. ambush vs. active). Bay-scale distribution was influenced by physicochemical conditions and seascape composition, with both species found most frequently in areas with high seagrass coverage and relative close proximity to tidal creeks and connective channels. Response to environmental variables often differed between species and the probability of bay-scale movement (>1 km) for southern flounder was greatest on days with narrow tidal ranges ( 17 °C), while the probability of bay-scale movement for red drum increased in response to decreasing salinity and lower temperatures (
Addressing electric vehicle (EV) sales and range anxiety through parking layout, policy and regulation

Electric Vehicles (EV) are highly beneficial due to their reliance on electricity and Climate Change response yet EV sales are lower than would be expected due to range anxiety. If a potential buyer cannot be assured of having constantly-available and compatible charging stations, they will not purchase an EV. To increase the sales of EVs through improved charger availability, this paper examines parking configurations, charger design, convenient “EV only” parking, free charging, etiquette in unplugging another’s vehicle, and legislation. Data were derived from academic publications, trade market press, conversations, personal observations, and laws. The results show that chargers are often in a lot’s corner and thus accessible only to one vehicle, EV owners leave their charged car in the space, drivers use EV spaces for parking, etiquette cards are not understood, and legislation makes it illegal to unplug another’s EV. Improvements include less convenient charger spots, an octopus charger in the middle of the parking lot, modest charging fees to foster turnover, chargers that indicate an EV is charged, education and legislation about etiquette cards, and legislation that allows an individual to unplug another’s charged EV. Improvements to charging should be implemented simultaneously to lessen range anxiety and realize the environmental benefits from reductions in gasoline consumption and mobile source air pollution.
Flux Growth of [NaK6F][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2] and [KK6Cl][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2]: The Effect of Surface Area to Volume Ratios on Reaction Products

Single crystals of two new salt-inclusion uranium(VI) silicates, [NaK6F][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2] and [KK6Cl][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2], were grown from mixed alkali halide salt fluxes. Both compounds crystallize in the [NaRb6F][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2] structure type in the orthorhombic space group Pnnm with lattice parameters a = 11.0819(5) A, b = 13.1149(6) A, and c = 7.8418(4) A ([NaK6F]) and a = 11.0830(7) A, b = 13.5850(4) A, and c = 7.8693(5) A ([KK6Cl]). The surface area to volume (sa/vol) ratio of the reaction, controlled by the reaction vessel dimensions, has a strong influence on the reaction products with small sa/vol ratios favoring the growth of the salt-inclusion phases. Both compounds exhibit the typical luminescence of the uranyl group with the luminescence of [KK6Cl][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2] being less intense than [NaK6F][(UO2)3(Si2O7)2], likely due to quenching by the Cl– ions.
'Solidarity or Moral Crusade? Pepfar and the Anti-Prostitution Pledge'

In 2003 the Bush government announced the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" (PEPFAR), promising $15 billion for programs combating the international AIDS epidemic over five years - a program which was renewed in 2008 for another five years. Despite the apparent magnanimity of this gesture, there is a caveat involved, and one heavily criticized even amongst those who praise PEPFAR: the "anti-prostitution pledge." Linking prostitution and trafficking to the spread of HIV/AIDS, the pledge requires that grantees explicitly condemn sex work and sex trafficking. The same political forces behind the anti-prostitution pledge, namely the Christian right, have entered into alliances with a minority of American feminists in the creation of similar policies, such as the "Trafficking Victims Protection Act" (TVPA). This paper explores the impact that PEPFAR has had on NGO work with respect to HIV/AIDS, the theoretical assumptions that allow certain feminists to enter into alliances over such initiatives with what would otherwise be political rivals, and how religious social teaching motivates political behavior. The answers to these questions provide at least a partial answer to how it is that the policy goal of eradicating a disease has turned into a regime of U.S. global sexual regulation.
Der senso-motorische Aspekt des anomalen Binokularsehens: Die anomalen Fusionsbewegungen

Es ist gezeigt worden, das Strabismus concomitans mit kleinem Schielwinkel nicht nur zu sensorischen Veranderungen fuhrt (namlich Suppression, anomale Netzhautkorrespondenz und Amblyopie), sondern auch zu senso-motorischen Folgeerscheinungen. Diese senso-motorischen Aspekte konnen besonders gut mit Hilfe von Prismen untersucht werden. Die senso-motorischen Erscheinungen werden von den Autoren als anomale Fusionsbewegungen gedeutet. Anomale Fusionsbewegungen weisen sowohl Gemeinsamkeiten als Unterschiede beim Vergleich mit normalen Fusionsbewegungen auf. Ihr Zweck besteht in der Aufrechterhaltung eines anomalen Binokularsehens bei anomaler retinaler Korrespondenz. Insgesamt handelt es sich hierbei um eine grobe binokulare Zusammenarbeit, die therapeutisch besonders schwer zu durchbrechen ist. Immerhin kann diese anomale binokulare Zusammenarbeit aber im taglichen Leben genutzt werden, besonders dann, wenn der Schielwinkel sehr klein ist. Es wird uber 30 Patienten berichtet, an denen die anomalen Fusionsbewegungen beobachtet wurden.
Paraganglioma of the Middle Ear

Figure 1. A 40-year-old woman presented with pulsatile tinnitus in her right ear. In this photograph, a red glomus tumor (T), or paraganglioma, is apparent in the right tympanic membrane. The malleus (M) and annulus tympanicus (A) are labeled. The tumor was removed through the external auditory canal, and the patient has been free of symptoms and of the tumor for more than five years.
Adsorption and Tribochemical Reactions

A model for chemisorption based on the Lewis theory is proposed and developed. The model reproduces the observed relationship between aqueous solubility and band gap for covalent oxides. A relationship is shown between the calculated free-energy of the surface reactions and the observed effect of water on the wear of these materials. This relationship is explained in terms of surface reaction rate and equilibrium. Similar calculations for the adsorption of -CH 3 functional groups are presented. The results are compared to water adsorption calculations and related to experimental wear test results for model fluids on covalent oxides. The effect of water on lubricant adsorption is discussed.
Atomic scale structure of InAs(001)-(2×4) steady-state surfaces determined by scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory

Abstract The structure of InAs(0 0 1)-(2×4) surfaces equilibrated under typical MBE conditions is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Depending on the magnitude of the As flux, typical surfaces are found to contain a mixture of α2(2×4) and β2(2×4) reconstructions. The relative populations of the α2 and β2 reconstructions are found to depend on substrate temperature and the magnitude of the As flux. The atomic-scale details of the reconstructed units on these mixed-phase surfaces are definitively determined by comparing atomic-resolution dual-bias STM images to first-principles calculations. The imaging mechanism for revealing atomic-scale details, particularly the trench dimer, is found to be qualitatively similar to that for GaAs, although the effect is less pronounced. Additionally, a significant population of ad-atom related structures are observed on quenched surfaces, apparently unrelated to any equilibrium ad-atom population.
Surgical Management of Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Is Decreasing But Is Associated With Improved Survival

Background For patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), chemotherapy and chemoradiation are the principal treatment modalities, and the role of surgical resection remains unclear. Our objective was to evaluate current trends and oncologic outcomes for advanced stage NSCLC. We hypothesized that surgery is associated with increased survival and may be an underutilized treatment modality. Methods The California Cancer Registry was queried from 2004 to 2012 for cases of stage IIIA, IIIB, and IV NSCLC, and we identified 34,016 cases. Patients were categorized by treatment group, and linear regression was used to calculate trends in treatment and predictors of treatment group. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression modeling were used to determine the influence of treatment group on overall survival. Results Twenty-seven percent of patients (9,223 of 34,016) received no treatment. For the entire cohort, treatment with chemotherapy alone increased (p Conclusions For patients with advanced stage NSCLC, the use of multimodality regimens that include surgery are decreasing despite longer overall survival. Future studies are needed to identify the demographics and clinical characteristics of patients with advanced stage NSCLC who may benefit from surgery.
Assessing mediation of behavioral and stress pathways in the association between neighborhood environments and obesity outcomes.

Although many studies have reported associations between characteristics of the neighborhood environment and obesity, little is understood about the pathways or mechanisms through which these associations operate. The purpose of this study was to examine possible behavioral and stress pathways hypothesized to mediate the association between neighborhood environments and obesity and whether pathways contribute to different obesity outcomes. Cross-sectional data were used from the 2012–2014 Women and Their Children's Health Study (WaTCH) in Louisiana (N = 909). Participants' neighborhoods, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were objectively measured. The causal inference approach to mediation analysis was used to obtain indirect estimates for self-reported measures of physical activity, low access to food, and depression. The mean BMI was 32.0 kg/m2 and the mean WC was 98.6 cm. The (adverse) neighborhood environment was significantly associated BMI (β = 0.17 kg/m2; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.03, 0.31) and WC (β = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.95, after adjusting for covariates. Neither depression, physical activity, nor low food access mediated those associations. Further research that investigates and uses better measures of the behavioral and stress pathways through which the neighborhood environment influences obesity is warranted.
Graph Summarization for Geo-correlated Trends Detection in Social Networks

Trends detection in social networks is possible via a multitude of models with different characteristics. These models are pre-defined and rigid which creates the need to expose the social network graph to data scientists to introduce the human-element in trends detection. However, inspecting large social network graphs visually is tiresome. We tackle this problem by providing effective graph summarizations aimed at the application of geo-correlated trends detection in social networks.
Evaluating Surgical Residents Quickly and Easily Against the Milestones Using Electronic Formative Feedback.

Objective This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a newly implemented electronic web-based review system created at our institution for evaluating resident performance relative to established milestones. Design Retrospective review of data collected from a survey of general surgery faculty and residents. Setting Tertiary care teaching hospital system and independent academic medical center. Participants A total of 12 general surgery faculty and 17 general surgery residents participated in this study. The survey queried the level of satisfaction before and after the adoption of QuickNotes using several statements scored on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the lowest rating as "not satisfied," and 5 being the highest rating as "completely satisfied." Results The weighted average improvements from pre- to post-QuickNotes implementation for the faculty responding to the survey ranged from 10% to 40%; weighted average improvements for the residents responding to the survey ranged from 5% to 73%. For the survey of faculty, both sets of weighted averages tended to be higher than the weighted average for the resident's survey responses. The highest rated topic was the faculty's level of satisfaction with the "frequency to provide feedback" with a post-QuickNotes implementation weighted average of 4.25, closely followed by the residents' level of satisfaction with the "evaluation includes positive feedback" with a post-QuickNotes implementation weighted average of 4.24. The most notable increases in weighted averages from preimplementation to postimplementation were noted for "overall satisfaction" (20% increase for faculty, 37% for residents), "reflects actual criteria that matter" (36% increase for faculty, 73% for residents), faculty "opportunity for follow-up" (increase of 40%), resident "reflects overall trends" (increase of 37%), and resident "provides new information about my performance" (increase of 37%). Conclusions Our institutional adoption of QuickNotes into the resident evaluation process has been associated with an overall increased level of satisfaction in the evaluation process by both faculty and residents. The design of QuickNotes facilitates its integration into the resident training environment, as it is web based, easy to use, and has no additional cost over the standard New Innovations subscription. Although it is designed to capture snapshots of trainee behavior and performance, monthly reports through QuickNotes can be used effectively in conjunction with the more traditional end-of-rotation evaluations to show trends, identify areas of strength that should be reinforced, demonstrate areas needing improvement, allow for a more tailored individual education plan to be developed, and permit a more accurate determination of milestone progression.
Nuclear fuels and materials at Texas A and M, or Aggies - fissile, fertile, and futile

The Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A and M University is involved in a number of research activities in the area of materials science and technology. The research specifically relates to the performance of various types of nuclear fuels. A series of studies that has taken place over a number of years focused on the modeling and characterization of sphere pac nuclear fuels for both light water reactors (LWRs) and liquid-metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs). In the area of advanced fast reactor fuels, a project is under way with LANL to utilize irradiation data to develop empirically based models for the performance of mixed-carbide pellet fuel pins. Regarding LWR technology, a project is being conducted with the Electric Power Research Institute involving the FREY transient fuel behavior code, which has been used to study a variety of transients that might occur in a power reactor fuel pin. In a project with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a study is under way to examine the behavior of extended burnup fuel pins. In a final area, models are being developed for SP-100 UO/sub 2/ and UN fuel pins for space reactors.
Helping Students Select Appropriately Challenging Text: Application to a Test of Second Language Reading Ability

A model-based approach for matching language learners to texts of appropriate difficulty is described. Results are communicated to test takers via a targeted reading range expressed on the reporting scale of an automated text complexity measurement tool (ATCMT). Test takers can use this feedback to select reading materials that are well matched to their abilities, that is, materials that are expected to be challenging, yet not so challenging as to cause frustration or reduce motivation. An application to the problem of helping students prepare to take the TOEFL iBT® test is presented.
Core curriculum illustration: abdominal wood impalement injury from motor vehicle collision

This is the 42nd installment of a series that will highlight one case per publication issue from the bank of cases available online as part of the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) educational resources. Our goal is to generate more interest in and use of our online materials. To view more cases online, please visit the ASER Core Curriculum and Recommendations for Study online at http://www.erad.org/page/CCIP_TOC.
Supply Chain Coordination and Contracts

This note addresses the dynamics of supply chains as they affect profits--how profits may be both maximized overall and equitably distributed across the supply chain. Influences of pricing and stocking are discussed, as are the benefits and shortcomings of coordination by the most common types of contract. Excerpt UVA-OM-1442 Rev. Oct. 26, 2011 Supply Chain Coordination AND COntracts Introduction In this note, we discuss the importance of coordination in a supply chain. When different parties in the supply chain operate in their own best interest, without considering the rest of the supply chain, the overall supply chain profits may be much worse than if supply chain decisions were coordinated. This is due to the fact that the decisions that maximize one party's profit do not necessarily maximize the overall supply chain profit. This phenomenon is known as double marginalization. In a supply chain, an upstream company sells goods to a downstream company, which then sells them to customers. When either company can influence the level of customer demand through its actions, this will have an impact on the quantity sold by both companies and hence on the profits of both. We will show that when acting independently, companies will usually adopt a policy of higher prices and lower volumes in the supply chain than would be optimal for the supply chain as a whole. . . .
Review: Jewish Messiahs in a Christian Empire: A History of the Book of Zerubbabel, by Martha Himmelfarb

Martha Himmelfarb, Jewish Messiahs in a Christian Empire: A History of the Book of Zerubbabel . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017. 232 pp. ISBN 9780674057623. $39.95. In Martha Himmelfarb's most capable hands, the late antique text Sefer Zerubbabel (hereafter SZ ) may finally escape obscurity and receive the attention it deserves. Himmelfarb and others have published about SZ before, but this is the first full monograph to treat and contextualize SZ , an early seventh-century work that recounts a vivid and powerful vision of the end times. The text, translated and annotated by Himmelfarb in an appendix, opens with Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, praying to God to grant him a vision of the future. God transports him to the capitol of the Roman Empire, where he meets a despised and severely wounded man who introduces himself as the Lord's anointed one. The angel Michael/Metatron then alights on the scene and affirms that this lowly-looking man is the messiah son of David, Menahem ben Ammiel, who has been hidden in exile until the end time. The angel explains further that the eschaton will begin with the arrival of Hephzibah, the mother of the messiah, “armed with a miraculous staff” (2). Only after her successes in battles will another messianic figure come out of hiding, Nehemiah ben Hushiel, a descendant of Joseph who will gather all of Israel in Jerusalem to resume the sacrificial cult. After forty years, Nehemiah will be killed by the Jews’ archenemy Armilos, the spawn of Satan and the statue of a virgin. At this point, the messiah Menahem will himself come out of hiding with Elijah the prophet, and together they will resurrect Nehemiah. After witnessing this miracle, all of Israel will believe in Menahem's messianic status, Hephzibah will hand over her staff to her son, and unity will prevail as Menahem, Nehemiah, and Elijah preside over the general resurrection. Finally, Menhaem will slay Armilos, God himself will participate in battle alongside the other …
Maxillary sinus marrow hyperplasia in sickle cell anemia.

Marrow hyperplasia is a sequela of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and may be seen in the skull in children after 5 years of age [1]. The facial bones, except for the mandible and orbits, are usually not involved [1–3]. We report an unusual case of a 28-month-old black boy with SCA who presented with extensive marrow hyperplasia of the maxillary sinuses in addition to severe cal-varial and mandibular changes. The imaging characteristics on CT (similar to other sites of marrow hyperplasia) and MR (low signal on both T1 and T2 sequences) should aid in making the correct diagnosis.
A Parametric Study of Retinal Light Damage in Albino and Pigmented Rats

Although light serves as the adequate stimulus for vision, it can, under certain conditions, have a deleterious effect on the retina. Using rats as experimental animals, Noell et al. (1) were the first to demonstrate that morphological and functional damage to the retina can result from constant light exposures of only a few hours. The manifestations of damage to the retina included the deterioration and death of the photoreceptors with concurrent losses in the amplitude of the electroretinogram (ERG). Moderate light intensity (1,200 to 2,500 lux), several log-units lower than the levels found necessary to produce threshold retinal burns, was used to produce damage. The action spectrum of the damage corresponded to the absorption spectrum of rhodopsin, the rat’s visual pigment, indicating that damage is initiated by the same primary photochemical event as is vision.
Whiteness as Property in Science Teacher Education

Background/ContextThe disparity between the race and ethnicity of teachers and students is expected to increase as our nation and classrooms continue to become more racially, ethnically, linguistic...
MOLECULAR TUNNELING IN HEME PROTEINS

Small ligands, such as carbon monoxide, migrate and bind in heme proteins even at very low temperatures. Below about 20K, binding proceeds by intramolecular quantum-mechanical tunneling. Features that are necessary for understanding the tunneling process in heme proteins are described. The experimental approach is outlined and data are presented. The evaluation of the tunneling process is treated and some results are discussed.
Evaluation of free radical status in CSF in childhood meningitis.

The study was undertaken to investigate the possible role of free radicals and antioxidants in childhood meningitis. Sixty children suffering from acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) or tuberculous meningitis (TBM) according to their clinical and laboratory findings were enrolled in the study. The production of superoxide anions (O/2) hydrogen peroxide (H/2O/2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of xanthine oxidase (XO) superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were monitored in the study groups and findings compared with those in 20 age-matched controls. Children with ABM and TBM who died registered significant increases in the production of O/2 and MDA and in the activities of SOD and CPK compared with survivors. The rate of production of oxidants and MDA and the activities of XO SOD and CPK were of a much higher magnitude in deceased ABM and in ABM survivors than in fatal TBM and survivors respectively. The abnormalities in most of the biochemical parameters investigated were more marked in the children with ABM than in TBM and controls (p < 0.001). Increased MDA production and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity of different magnitudes in the two study groups suggest varying degrees of tissue damage. The alterations observed in 20 children who died (14 from ABM 6 from TBM) revealed elevated levels of oxidants antioxidants and toxicity markers particularly in ABM patients which suggests the possibility that natural or synthetic antioxidants might prevent disease progression and tissue damage in childhood meningitis. (authors)
Thermodynamic State of Cytosolic Adenylates in Guinea Pig Myocardium. Energy-Linked Adaptive Changes in Free Adenylates and Purine Nucleoside Release

The phosphorylation state of cytosolic ATP ([ATP]/([ADP][Pi)) can be calculated from the measured reactants of creatine kinase, including H+. Measured total tissue ATP/(ADP x Pi) ratio underestimates [ATP]/([ADP][Pi]) by up to two orders of magnitude, mainly because total tissue ADP grossly overestimates the thermodynamic concentration of ADP ([ADP]) in the soluble cytoplasm (cytosol). Both ADP concentration estimates using the creatine kinase equilibrium and published estimates of cytoplasmic binding sites for ADP indicate that, in muscle and heart in particular, ADP is compartmented between cytosol and mitochondria and that most of cytoplasmic ADP is bound to actin. Current data on [ADP] place its concentration between 16 to 60 μM as a function of cardiac energy output which determines oxygen usage (MVO2). Similarly, employing the myokinase equilibrium to estimate the thermodynamic concentration of AMP ([AMP]), the calculated free cytosolic AMP concentrations exhibited highly significant square dependencies on MVO2, [ADP], and the [ADP]/[ATP] ratio, respectively. Calculated [AMP] ranged from approximately 100 to 800 nM as a function of the [ADP]/[ATP] ratio in normal and ischemic hearts. Considering that measured total AMP was in the submillimolar range, the data suggested that most of cardiac AMP was not in catalytic contact with myokinase, i. e., probably located in the mitochondrial compartment. Net release of adenosine plus inosine (V(AR+INO)) was directly related to [AMP] and cellular lactate/pyruvate ratio, respectively. These results suggested that the availability of free AMP may be a determinant of 5′-nucleotidase plus adenylate deaminase activities and that V(AR+INO) was reciprocally linked to moycardial energy state as quantitated by the [ATP]/([ADP][Pi]) ratio. Such energy-linked V(AR+INO) allows for adenosine formation in normoxic heart without assuming a microhypoxia stimulus. According to this model the key trigger for net ATP degradation and V(AR+INO) during both normoxia and ischemia is the actually incurred myocardial energy deficit or the cytosolic ATP potential, not a change in the oxygen supply-demand ratio per se.
NF1 Gene: Promoter, 5′ UTR, and 3′ UTR

The NF1 gene has a TATA-less promoter with a classic CpG island and a 454-bp 5′ untranslated region (UTR). The CpG island is normally unmethylated, with the gene actively transcribed in all tissues examined to date. Although there are no known NF1-causative mutations within the promoter or 5′ UTR, there are reported polymorphisms and rare variants. Some functional analyses and bioinformatic predictions of the promoter and 5′ UTR have been performed, but these regions are not yet extensively characterized. These regulatory sequences are very highly conserved in rodent orthologs, although the upstream gene sequences diverge from the human locus. Very recently, a microRNA locus (miR-4733) was identified 500-bp upstream of the NF1 transcription start site, encoded on the opposite strand. This raises the specter of co-regulation, but that remains to be investigated. The NF1 3′ untranslated region is quite large (3.5 kb) with two polyadenylation sites. The functional significance of (and utility of) these alternative 3′ ends is not known. As with the promoter, there are no known disease-causing mutations in the 3′ UTR. This region has not yet been functionally characterized to identify regulatory sequences, although one microRNA (miR-10b) was found to regulate the NF1 transcript via the 3′ UTR.