cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gaze and viewing patterns in microsurgery: Task analysis in the operating room

Gaze disruptions in surgery have been associated with suboptimal surgical workflow, and human factor tools have been developed to quantify these events in cardiovascular and laparoscopic surgeries. Disruptions to workflow may be a particular concern in microsurgery because looking away from the microscope can cause the surgeon to lose view of delicate and precise tasks occurring at the surgical site. However, these viewing patterns in microsurgery have not been investigated. The purpose of this study is to quantify the gaze and viewing patterns during the microsurgery procedure. Event-based task analysis was performed for 14 surgeons performing microsurgery. Results found that average length of procedure was 70±33 minutes. Surgeons were observed to primarily interact with microscope 83±9% during microsurgery. Surgeons were observed to look away from the microscope in order to examine the tool area, patient site, and rest. Frequency of gaze away from the microscope was observed to be 11 disruptions per 10 minutes. Observed gaze demands of microsurgery and the limited opportunity for rests may impact surgeon performance and their risk for musculoskeletal fatigue.
Factors Influencing Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) and Diacetone Diperoxide (DADP) Formation: Part I

Conditions, which result in the formation of tria- cetone triperoxide (TATP) or diacetone diperoxide (DADP) from acetone and hydrogen peroxide (HP) were studied for the purposes of inhibiting the reaction. Reaction of HP with acetone precipitates either DADP or TATP, but the overall yield and amount of each was found to depend on (1) reac- tion temperature, (2) the molar ratio of acid to HP/acetone, (3) initial concentrations of reactants, and (4) length of reac- tion. Controlling molar ratios and concentrations of starting materials was complicated because both sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide were aqueous solutions. Temperature exercised great control over the reaction outcome. Holding all molar concentrations constant and raising the tempera- ture from 5 to 258C showed an increase of DADP over TATP formation and a decrease in overall yield. At 258C a good yield of TATP was obtained if the HP to acetone ratio was kept between 0.5-to-1 and 2-to-1. At constant temperature and HP-to-acetone held at one-to-one ratio, acid-to-HP molar ratios between 0.10 : 1 and 1.2 : 1 pro- duced good yield of TATP. Plotting the molality of HP vs. that of sulfuric acid revealed regions, in which relatively pure DADP or pure TATP could be obtained. In addition to varying reaction conditions, adulterants placed into ace- tone were tested to inhibit the formation of TATP. Because there is much speculation of the relative stability, sensitivity, including solvent wetting of crystals, and performance of DADP and TATP, standard tests (i.e. DSC, drop weight impact, and SSED) were performed.
Is Pile Seeding Wyoming Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) an Effective Alternative to Broadcast Seeding

Sagebrush plays an important role in the ecological functions of sagebrush steppe plant communities and is a necessary component of habitat for a variety of wildlife including greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). At lower elevations, increased fire frequency associated with exotic annual grass invasion has heightened the need for effective sagebrush restoration strategies, but existing techniques have been largely ineffective. Our objective was to evaluate ‘‘pile seeding’’ (placing mature seed heads on the ground) of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) as an alternative to broadcast seeding. We used a randomized block design (n¼5) replicated in 2 yr at two contrasting ecological sites in southeastern Oregon.
Unevenness (Length Variance) of a Worsted Yarn by Cutting-and- Weighing and the Use of the Pacific Tester

A comparison of yarn irregularity is made between the Pacific Evenness Tester and the cut-and-weigh technique through use of length-variance analysis. It is shown that the Pacific Tester adequately measures short-term unevenness in a worsted yarn. Results for medium-term unevenness are only moderately different from those of the cut-and-weigh method. Long-term unevenness is best measured by the simple cut-and-weigh method used in normal practice.
Justicia correctiva vs. justicia social en casos de conflicto armado

How do we justify the practice of corrective justice for losses suffered during armed conflicts? This article seeks to show the force and relevance of this question, and to argue that, in cases of massively destructive wars, social justice should gain priority over corrective justice. Starting from a liberal Rawlsian conception of the relationship between corrective and social justice, it is argued that, paradoxically, the more destructive a war is, the less normative force corrective rights have and the higher priority policies of social justice, which guarantee basic rights to all citizens, should have.
Least mean square phase-only adaptive algorithms

This paper defines a phase-only, gradient based adaptive algorithm analogous to the least mean square (LMS) algorithm. A phase-only perturbation algorithm is also defined. The author minimizes the mean square output power of a partially adaptive array by adjusting the phases of the phase shifter. A computer simulation of a linear array was used to verify the nulling capability of the least mean square phase-only (LMSP) and noncoherent phase perturbation (NPP) algorithms.
Bone cell biology: the regulation of development structure, and function in the skeleton

Bone cells compose a population of cells of heterogeneous origin but restricted function with respect to matrix formation, mineralization, and resorption. The local, mesenchymal origin of the cells which form the skeleton contrasts with their extraskeletal, hemopoietic relatives under which bone resorption takes place. However, the functions of these two diverse populations are remarkably related and interdependent. Bone cell regulation, presently in its infancy, is a complicated cascade involving a plethora of local and systemic factors, including some components of the skeletal matrices and other organ systems. Thus, any understanding of bone cell regulation is a key ingredient in understanding not only the development, maintenance, and repair of the skeleton but also the prevention and treatment of skeletal disorders.
Gramicidin A Blocks Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis through Inhibition of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Ionophores are hydrophobic organic molecules that disrupt cellular transmembrane potential by permeabilizing membranes to specific ions. Gramicidin A is a channel-forming ionophore that forms a hydrophilic membrane pore that permits the rapid passage of monovalent cations. Previously, we found that gramicidin A induces cellular energy stress and cell death in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. RCC is a therapy-resistant cancer that is characterized by constitutive activation of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). Here, we demonstrate that gramicidin A inhibits HIF in RCC cells. We found that gramicidin A destabilized HIF-1α and HIF-2α proteins in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, which in turn diminished HIF transcriptional activity and the expression of various hypoxia-response genes. Mechanistic examination revealed that gramicidin A accelerates O(2)-dependent downregulation of HIF by upregulating the expression of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor protein, which targets hydroxylated HIF for proteasomal degradation. Furthermore, gramicidin A reduced the growth of human RCC xenograft tumors without causing significant toxicity in mice. Gramicidin A-treated tumors also displayed physiologic and molecular features consistent with the inhibition of HIF-dependent angiogenesis. Taken together, these results demonstrate a new role for gramicidin A as a potent inhibitor of HIF that reduces tumor growth and angiogenesis in VHL-expressing RCC.
Early-season fertilization reduces fertilizer use without reducing plant growth

Abstract Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of season-long continuous fertigation (constant application of water soluble fertilizer during irrigation events) or various period...
Geometrically motivated inverse kinematics for an arm with 7 degrees of freedom

The need for robust teleoperated robotic arms is increasing with respect to particular dangerous maritime missions. These missions might include deactivation of underwater mines, underwater salvage, or pipeline repair. In the past, robotic arms with low degrees of freedom were not always feasible for such operations, as the lack of free motion prevented their uses in locations with small space for maneuverability. With higher degrees of freedom, the arms are able to maneuver in tighter spaces and avoid obstacles as well. The increase in the number of degrees of freedom incurs an increase in the computational complexity for determining arm poses. With respect to the 7 degrees of freedom (DOF) Schunk arm, we make observations that allow for the derivation of systems of equations to solve the inverse kinematics problem. Furthermore, we show how to solve the systems such that closed form solutions can be obtained. This approach allows us to give and prove a characterization of the number of solutions with respect to certain conditions. As a surrogate test platform for maritime missions, we have developed a simulation that uses the Robot Operating System (ROS) and ROS visualization (rviz) to simulate the moving of the arm.
OMO: Optimize MapReduce overlap with a good start (reduce) and a good finish (map)

MapReduce has become a popular data processing framework in the past few years. Scheduling algorithm is crucial to the performance of a MapReduce cluster, especially when the cluster is concurrently executing a batch of MapReduce jobs. However, the scheduling problem in MapReduce is different from the traditional job scheduling problem as the reduce phase usually starts before the map phase is finished to “shuffle” the intermediate data. This paper develops a new strategy, named OMO, which particularly aims to optimize the overlap between the map and reduce phases. Our solution includes two new techniques, lazy start of reduce tasks and batch finish of map tasks, which catch the characteristics of the overlap in a MapReduce process and achieve a good alignment of the two phases. We have implemented OMO on Hadoop system and evaluated the performance with extensive experiments. The results show that OMO's performance is superior in terms of total completion length (i.e., makespan) of a batch of jobs.
Plasma calcium, magnesium and protein of viviparous colubrid snakes during estrous cycle.

SummaryA marked increase in concentrations of calcium, magnesium and total protein occurs in plasma of female specimens of viviparous snakes during estrus. The magnitude of these estrous changes greatly exceeds any such data reported for other vertebrates. Following ovulation these plasma values rapidly fall to concentrations characteristic of nonestrous animals.
Legionella pneumophila and Legionella-like Organisms Associated With Human Disease

The 1976 American Legion Convention was held in Philadelphia at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, during which an outbreak of pneumonia occurred among individuals attending the convention that attracted worldwide attention and precipitated an intense search for the etiologic agent. The following year McDade and co-workers at the Center for Disease Control isolated a “new” fastidious gram-negative bacterium from the lung of a fatal case of the illness now called Legionnaires'disease. The organism appeared to be related to no other and was designated Legionella pneumophila. This finding stimulated new interest in the study of several previously described infections of obscure origin. It is now known that etiologic agents from these illnesses, originally designated TATLOCK, WIGA, OLDA and HEBA and thought to be rickettsia, are gramnegative bacteria related to L. pneumophila . In addition, several etiologic agents isolated after L. pneumophila and designated the Pittsburgh pneumonia agent, GA-PH and Tex-KL appear to be related. There are several ways in which the laboratory can aid the physician caring for a patient with pneumonia suspected to be Legionnaires' disease. A direct immunofluorescent procedure is available for detection of L. pneumophila in clinical specimens. The organism can be cultured from appropriate material. Finally, an indirect immunofluorescent procedure is available for antibody detection. In this article we briefly review the events beginning at Fort Bragg in 1942 that have led to our present understanding of legionellosis.
Contested Ownership of Disease and Ambulatory-Sensitive Emergency Department Visits for Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract Background Approximately 21 million persons have diabetes and account for 11.9% of all emergency department (ED) visits for a total cost of $14.1 billion. Nonemergent visits for ambulatory-sensitive conditions that could be managed by the primary care provider make up almost one-third of the ED visits. African Americans comprise approximately 30% of South Carolina׳s population but make up approximately 50% of the ED visits for diabetes. The purpose of the research was to explore the experiences of 20 African-American adults with diabetes with ambulatory-sensitive ED use. Research Design and Methods The research design for this study is grounded theory with dimensional analysis methods. Following ethics approval and informed consent, interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed verbatim, and themes were analyzed to form the explanatory framework or matrix for ED use. The framework of context, conditions, processes and consequences provides a key for understanding the themes of the story embedded in the descriptive narratives. Results The contested ownership of diabetes was the overarching perspective—“doing what I got to do,” “it׳s always on mind… wishing not to be a diabetic” and “it׳s a constant burden.” And handling diabetes involved taking decisions “into your hands.” The context of perceived urgency of symptoms included all the reasons that precipitated ED visit—personal experience, primary care access and services and social network support for decisions-influenced ownership of these decisions.
An estimate of strike-slip fault friction stress and fault depth from surface displacement data

Abstract The integral equation relating displacement gradient along the free surface of an elastic half-space containing a vertical strike-slip fault to the stress on the fault faces is developed. An estimate of fault friction stress and fault depth is obtained by approximating the fault stress as a smooth polynomial with unknown coefficients. Values of these coefficients are then obtained by matching the theoretically predicted surface displacements with measured data and by requiring the stresses ahead of the fault to be nonsingular. The choice of a quadratic polynomial (two unknown coefficients) is sufficient to produce good matching of predicted and measured surface displacements and to predict reasonable fault stress variation and fault depth. The calculations indicate that meaningful results may be obtained without demanding high precision in the measured surface displacement data.
Simulation on Three-phase PWM Inverter under One-cycle Control

A three-phase PWM inverter connected to power grid under one-cycle control is explored,then a new control method is proposed.Only two fully-controlled power electronic switch devices need to be applied for PWM control at the same instant so as to reduce switching loss.In addition,implementation of sine pulse-width modulation(SPWM) with one -cycle control achieves simpler electric circuit and good dynamic performance.The modeling and simulation for three-phase PWM inverter under one-cycle control is completed with Matlab/ Simulink software.The simulation results show that power factor near 1 and output sinusoidal currents are obtained,moreover,it verifies that principle of the method is feasible and further experimental confirmation should be made.
A Plugin-Based Approach to Exploit RDMA Benefits for Apache and Enterprise HDFS

Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) has been popularly utilized by many Big Data processing frameworks as their underlying storage engine, such as Hadoop MapReduce, HBase, Hive, and Spark. This makes the performance of HDFS a primary concern in the Big Data community. Recent studies have shown that HDFS cannot completely exploit the performance benefits of RDMA-enabled high performance interconnects like InfiniBand. To solve these performance issues, RDMA-enabled HDFS designs have been proposed in the literature that show better performance with RDMA-enabled networks. But these designs are tightly integrated with the specific versions of the Apache Hadoop distribution, and cannot be used with other Hadoop distributions easily. In this paper, we propose an efficient RDMA-based plugin for HDFS, which can be easily integrated with various Hadoop distributions and versions like Apache Hadoop 2.5 and 2.6, Hortonworks HDP, and Cloudera CDH. Performance evaluations show that our plugin ensures the expected performance of up to 3.7x improvement in TestDFSIO write, associated with the hybrid RDMA-enhanced design, to all these distributions. We also demonstrate that our RDMA-based plugin can achieve up to 4.6x improvement over Mellanox R4H (RDMA for HDFS) plugin.
One-group analytical solution to two-region reactor kinetic model

Abstract The accurate modeling of nuclear reactor physics is an evolving topic of research that advances as improved methods and models are developed. Contemporary efforts to model nuclear reactors involve computer codes that utilize Monte Carlo and deterministic methods; however, analytical solutions may be just as valid depending on the application. In fact, a set of differential equations, known as the point reactor kinetics equations (PRKEs), can be analytically solved to predict reactor power based on kinetics parameters and applied to instances of rapid reactivity transients by assuming a one effective delayed neutron group point reactor kinetics solution, traditionally termed the prompt jump (PJ) approximation. Recently, analyses performed with a two-region model of the PRKEs investigated the influence of a reactor’s reflector as compared to the one-region PRKEs. Reflectors provide improved neutron economy by decreasing neutron leakage, and are especially important in reactors with small core geometries, such as research reactors. However, the response to a rapid transient in the two-region PRKE model has yet to be investigated despite its potential application, since research reactors often perform rapid transients as part of normal operations and the inclusion of the reflector may significantly alter the modeled response during a rapid reactivity transient. The derivation of a new, one-group solution to the two-region PRKEs is presented and compared with the traditional PJ approximation along with an analytic uncertainty analysis and a discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of each respective model.
Toxicopueraria peduncularis ( Fabaceae), a new genus and species record for Thailand

Toxicopueraria peduncularis (Graham ex Benth.) A.N.Egan & B.Pan bis is reported for the first time in Thailand and should be placed on the national watch list for threatened and endangered species. Genus and species descriptions are provided, along with nomenclature, vernacular names, distributional data and specimens examined. This Thailand population is shown to be a distant outlier from the known range for T. peduncularis and its closely related sister species, T. yunnanensis in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, China.
Abstract LB-182: Improved survival among lung cancer patients taking antidepressants

In recent years, the anti-cancer properties of several commonly used drugs have been explored, with drugs such as aspirin and beta-blockers associated with improved cancer outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that the antidepressant family of drugs may target key pathways in cancer cells, raising the possibility that such drugs could be re-purposed for cancer treatment. Here, using the NCI-MD lung cancer study, we assessed antidepressant use in 1,098 lung cancer patients. Strikingly, antidepressant use was associated with a significant extension of lung cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.78, 95% C.I. = 0.63 - 0.97, P = 0.027) (model adjusted for age, gender, race, smoking status, pack-years of smoking, tumor stage and histology). When assessing distinct classes of antidepressants, we observed that NDRIs (norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors) and TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants) were specifically associated with extended survival: TCA HR = 0.40, 95% C.I. = 0.18 - 0.91, P = 0.028 and NDRI HR = 0.61, 95% C.I. = 0.39 - 0.95, P = 0.027). In contrast, SRIs (serotonin reuptake inhibitors) were linked with worse survival (HR 1.94 95% C.I. 1.10 - 2.42, P = 0.023). Importantly, the extended survival time associated with antidepressants was not associated with the typical indications for these drugs, suggestive of a direct effect on lung cancer cells. In addition, as we assessed lung cancer-specific survival we conducted a competing risks analysis, the results of which showed that both NDRIs and TCAs were associated with lung cancer survival (fully adjusted model NDRI, HR: 0.63, 95% C.I. 0.40 - 1.00, P = 0.05) (fully adjusted model TCA, HR: 0.36, 95% C.I. 0.17 - 0.76, P = 0.007). We provide strong evidence that lung cancer patients taking antidepressants, particularly NDRIs and TCAs, have a significantly prolonged survival. Considering the manageable and largely tolerable side effects of antidepressants, and the low cost of these drugs, these results indicate that repositioning antidepressants as adjunct therapeutics with chemotherapy may have a rapid and significant translational impact for lung cancer patients. Citation Format: Adriana Zingone, Derek Brown, Elise Bowman, Oscar Vidal, Joel Neal, Julien Sage, Brid M. Ryan. Improved survival among lung cancer patients taking antidepressants. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-182. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-182
Arginine Metabolite Profiling in Sickle Cell Disease: Abnormal Levels and Correlations with Pulmonary Hypertension, Desaturation, Hemolysis and Organ Dysfunction.

Abstract Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) is linked to intravascular hemolysis, renal dysfunction, systolic hypertension, cholestasis, and early mortality. Although the pathophysiology of PAH in SCD is multifactorial, one important and fundamental factor is impaired nitric oxide bioavailability. Severe intravascular hemolysis releases hemoglobin and arginase into blood plasma, leading to consumption of nitric oxide and its plasma precursor L-arginine, the obligate substrate for the nitric oxide synthases (NOS). In order to explore other potential alterations in the arginine pathway that might affect arginine bioavailability and nitric oxide production, we used high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to determine the plasma concentrations for several key metabolites that may affect NOS activity or arginine transport: asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), N-monomethyl-L-arginine (MMA), and N-ω-hydroxy-L-arginine (NOHA). Plasma levels of ADMA, SDMA and MMA are significantly higher in all forms of SCD than in healthy African American control subjects (Table 1). NOHA, the intermediate species in nitric oxide synthesis from L-arginine, is significantly lower in sickle-β-thalassemia (Sβ-thal) patients and homozygous SCD (SS). L-arginine levels are significantly lower in all forms of SCD, as previously reported. PAH as assessed by echocardiography screening was correlated to SDMA (r=0.30, p In summary, levels of the endogenous NOS inhibitor ADMA are highly elevated in SCD and linked to hemolysis, and may contribute to hemolysis-associated endothelial dysfunction. The levels of SDMA, a competitive inhibitor of arginine transport and intracellular bioavailability, are also elevated and linked to PAH, desaturation, renal dysfunction and early mortality risk. The low levels of arginine and NOHA in SCD are consistent with low substrate availability for NOS, and may also limit NO production. The role of arginine metabolites in dysregulation of the arginine-nitric oxide axis and pulmonary hypertension in SCD merits further investigation. Table 1 . Arginine Metabolites in Sickle Cell Disease compared to controls. Metabolite Control (n=29) SC (n=34) Sβ-thal (n=11) SS (n=130) ADMA 0.31 0.82*** 0.92* 0.99*** SDMA 0.83 0.92* 1.03** 1.03*** MMA 0.13 0.15* 0.20** 0.18*** NOHA 2.50 2.23 2.15* 1.80** L-Arginine 78.3 51.5*** 41.6*** 45.5*** Values indicate median values in μM. *p
Mechanisms and consequences of Jak–STAT signaling in the immune system

Kinases of the Jak ('Janus kinase') family and transcription factors (TFs) of the STAT ('signal transducer and activator of transcription') family constitute a rapid membrane-to-nucleus signaling module that affects every aspect of the mammalian immune system. Research on this paradigmatic pathway has experienced breakneck growth in the quarter century since its discovery and has yielded a stream of basic and clinical insights that have profoundly influenced modern understanding of human health and disease, exemplified by the bench-to-bedside success of Jak inhibitors ('jakinibs') and pathway-targeting drugs. Here we review recent advances in Jak-STAT biology, focusing on immune cell function, disease etiology and therapeutic intervention, as well as broader principles of gene regulation and signal-dependent TFs.
Label-free pathology by spectrally sliced femtosecond stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy

Optical "virtual biopsy" is an attractive way to improve disease diagnosis and surgical guidance. Many optical microscopy techniques have been developed to provide diagnostic information without the need for tissue sectioning or staining. Among these techniques, label-free chemical imaging is the most desirable. Recently, it has been shown that narrowband, picosecond stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) can achieve comparable morphological contrast to hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E staining), the 'gold standard' of pathology. However, to translate the technique from the bench to the bedside, optimal laser sources and parameters have yet to be identified. Here we describe an improvement to the narrowband SRS microscopy techniques for label-free tissue imaging. Through spectral slicing of broadband, femtosecond pulses, we are able to maintain the same protein/lipid contrast as narrowband SRS while achieving a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Our method draws upon the benefits of femtosecond pulses (e.g. higher peak power) while preserving those of picosecond pulses (e.g. adequate spectral resolution). We demonstrate this achievement through protein/lipid signal and contrast quantification of mouse brain tissue as a function of bandwidth, and comparison with numerical simulations. Further method validation is provided through imaging of additional mouse tissues: liver, kidney, and skin.
Evaluation of Sensing and Processing Parameters for Human Action Recognition

Accurate recognition of human actions is essential to many health-care, entertainment, and human-computer interface applications. However, the achievable accuracy depends on a variety of parameters for the various stages of recognition, including sensing, feature extraction, and classification. In this paper, we quantitatively evaluate the classification accuracy for varying sensing rates, sensor data filtering techniques, segmentation approaches, and classification algorithms for several different types of action. The results of these evaluations provide guidelines and strategies for the design of future action recognition systems.
Speaking Truth to Power: Black Educators’ Perspectives on Challenging Racial Injustice Through the Lens of Systemic Racism Theory

The author utilizes Joe R. Feagin’s ideologies pertaining to systemic racism to understand and explain the various experiences and consequences of black educators, in public and higher education, who defy and/or attempt to rectify policies, procedures, and systems deemed racially unjust. The author draws not only on theory, but also on testimony from a diverse pool of black male and black female faculty, and on his own academic experiences. Findings highlight the professional and psychological effects on blacks of pursuing racialized social justice within an historic oppressive institution.
Sexual offences: law and context, by Samantha Pegg and Anne Davies, London and New York, Routledge, 2016, 1st edition, 218 pp., £110 (hardback), £38.99 (paperback), £35.09 (e-book), ISBN 9781138806061

The law relating to sexual offences has always had a high profile, but events of the past few years have resulted in a level of public interest which is unprecedented. Consider the impact on the pu...
Present Status of Field-Reversed Configurations

A Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) is an elongated toroidal plasma having no material object linking the hole in the torus (i.e., an elongated compact toroid) and having ideally no toroidal field(1). The plasma is confined within a separatrix by poloidal magnetic field. This field is generated by plasma diamagnetic currents that flow exclusively in the toroidal direction. Externally imposed vacuum magnetic flux insulates the FRC from the chamber walls.
The current State of the acute care surgery workforce: A boots on the ground perspective.

Abstract Background Acute care surgery (ACS) was proposed to address a general surgery workforce crisis; however, the ACS workforce composition is unknown. A national survey was conducted to determine the differences in the emergency general surgery (EGS) workforce between ACS and non-ACS hospitals. Methods The American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey of Hospitals database was queried to identify acute care general hospitals. A hybrid mail/electronic survey was sent to 2811 acute care hospitals that met the inclusion criteria of hospitals that care for adult patients (≥18 years old) with an emergency room (ER), ≥ 1 operating room (OR), and 24-h ER access. Hospitals were queried on whether they utilized an ACS model. The workforce composition among ACS and non-ACS hospitals was evaluated using X2 tests, t tests, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results Survey response was 60% (N = 1690). ACS hospitals had a higher proportion of emergency surgeons who were female (20% vs. 14%, p Conclusions ACS and non-ACS hospitals differ in their surgical workforce. It is clear that ACS hospitals have more human capital, which suggests that ACS hospitals may require more dedicated resources compared to non-ACS hospitals.
Research Challenges for Design and Implementation of Wide-Area Control

The 2003 Northeast blackout uncovered the vulnerability of the US power system, and manifested the urgent need for real-time state monitoring and control of the grid leading to the development of the wide-area measurement systems (WAMS) technology.
Sustainability of Infant Cardiac Surgery Early Extubation Practices After Implementation and Study

Background The Pediatric Heart Network Collaborative Learning Study (PHN CLS) successfully changed practice at four hospitals to increase the rate of early extubation within 6 hours after infant heart surgery. It is unknown whether this practice continued after study completion. Methods We linked the PHN CLS dataset to the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium registry to compare outcomes at four active hospitals between the study period (post-clinical practice guideline [CPG]) and the first year after study completion (follow-up) after a 3-month washout. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were the same across eras. Primary outcome was early extubation rate after tetralogy of Fallot or aortic coarctation repair. Secondary outcomes included time to first extubation and intensive care and hospital lengths of stay. Results There were 121 patients in the post-CPG era and 139 patients in the follow-up era with no difference in patient characteristics or operation subtypes. Post-CPG early extubation rate declined from 67% to 30% in follow-up (p 0.05 for both). Findings were consistent across operation subtypes. Conclusions Extubation practice in the first year of follow-up after the PHN CLS reverted toward prestudy levels. One of four hospitals maintained its early extubation strategy, suggesting that specific implementation and maintenance approaches may effectively sustain impact from quality initiatives.
Lipschitz Games

The Lipschitz constant of a finite normal-form game is the maximal change in some player's payoff when a single opponent changes his strategy. We prove that games with small Lipschitz constant admit pure e-equilibria, and pinpoint the maximal Lipschitz constant that is sufficient to imply existence of a pure e-equilibrium as a function of the number of players in the game and the number of strategies of each player. Our proofs use the probabilistic method.
Rate of Instrumentation Changes on Postoperative and Follow-Up Radiographs After Primary Complex Spinal Fusion (Five or More Levels) for Adult Deformity Correction

OBJECTIVEIn the United States, healthcare expenditures have been soaring at a concerning rate. There has been an excessive use of postoperative radiographs after spine surgery and this has been a target for hospitals to reduce unnecessary costs. However, there are only limited data identifying the rate of instrumentation changes on radiographs after complex spine surgery involving ≥ 5-level fusions.METHODSThe medical records of 136 adult (≥ 18 years old) patients with spine deformity undergoing elective, primary complex spinal fusion (≥ 5 levels) for deformity correction at a major academic institution between 2010 and 2015 were reviewed. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and intra- and postoperative complication rates were collected for each patient. The authors reviewed the first 5 subsequent postoperative and follow-up radiographs, and determined whether revision of surgery was performed within 5 years postoperatively. The primary outcome investigated in this study was the rate of hardware changes on follow-up radiographs.RESULTSThe majority of patients were female, with a mean age of 53.8 ± 20.0 years and a body mass index of 27.3 ± 6.2 kg/m2 (parametric data are expressed as the mean ± SD). The median number of fusion levels was 9 (interquartile range 7-13), with a mean length of surgery of 327.8 ± 124.7 minutes and an estimated blood loss of 1312.1 ± 1269.2 ml. The mean length of hospital stay was 6.6 ± 3.9 days, with a 30-day readmission rate of 14.0%. Postoperative and follow-up change in stability on radiographs (days from operation) included: image 1 (4.6 ± 9.3 days) 0.0%; image 2 (51.7 ± 49.9 days) 3.0%; image 3 (142.1 ± 179.8 days) 5.6%; image 4 (277.3 ± 272.5 days) 11.3%; and image 5 (463.1 ± 525.9 days) 15.7%. The 3rd year after surgery had the highest rate of hardware revision (5.55%), followed by the 2nd year (4.68%), and the 1st year (4.54%).CONCLUSIONSThis study suggests that the rate of instrumentation changes on radiographs increases over time, with no changes occurring at the first postoperative image. In an era of cost-conscious healthcare, fewer orders for early radiographs after complex spinal fusions (≥ 5 levels) may not impact patient care and can reduce the overall use of healthcare resources.
The influence of steel microstructure and inclusion characteristics on the formation of premature bearing failures with microstructural alterations

Abstract The formation of premature cracking damage associated with local microstructural alterations, commonly referred to as “white etching cracks” (WECs) has led to unpredictable bearing failures in numerous industrial applications. WECs are known to occur in the field independent of material characteristics such as heat treatment, predominant microstructure and surface coatings, as well as lubricant characteristics such as additive packages and viscosity. However, WECs have proven difficult to recreate at a benchtop scale; to date, no benchtop test has been reported to recreate WECs using commercially available field lubricants. The present work intends to identify key differences between the microstructure of field bearings and the microstructure of benchtop samples, focusing on the characteristics of the inclusions contained in both steels. Synchrotron scale X-ray tomography revealed that AISI 52100 steel used in industrial scale field bearings contained a drastically different inclusion microstructure then the AISI 52100 steels used in standard benchtop test specimens. Additionally, the authors were able to form WECs in test samples manufactured out of the steel of a field bearing using fully formulated field lubricants; a finding which has not yet been reported in open literature.
Disruption of erythrocyte membrane asymmetry by triclosan is preceded by calcium dysregulation and p38 MAPK and RIP1 stimulation

Abstract Triclosan (TCS) is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial used in personal care products, household items, and medical devices. Owing to its apoptotic potential against tumor cells, TCS has been proposed for the treatment of malignancy. A major complication of chemotherapy is anemia, which may result from direct erythrocyte hemolysis or premature cell death known as eryptosis. Similar to nucleated cells, eryptotic cells lose membrane asymmetry and Ca2+ regulation, and undergo oxidative stress, shrinkage, and activation of a host of kinases. In this report, we sought to examine the hemolytic and eryptotic potential of TCS and dissect the underlying mechanistic scenarios involved there in. Hemolysis was spectrophotometrically evaluated by the degree of hemoglobin release into the medium. Flow cytometry was utilized to detect phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure by annexin-V binding, intracellular Ca2+ by Fluo-3/AM fluorescence, and oxidative stress by 2-,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate (DCFH2-DA). Incubation of cells with 10–100 μM TCS for 1–4 h induced time- and dose-dependent hemolysis. Moreover, TCS significantly increased the percentage of eryptotic cells as evident by PS exposure (significantly enhanced annexin-V binding). Interestingly, TCS-induced eryptosis was preceded by elevated intracellular Ca2+ levels but was not associated with oxidative stress. Cotreatment of erythrocytes with 50 μM TCS and 50 μM SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor), or 300 μM necrostatin-1 (receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1) inhibitor) significantly ameliorated TCS-induced PS externalization. We conclude that TCS is cytotoxic to erythrocytes by inducing hemolysis and stimulating premature death at least in part through Ca2+ mobilization, and p38 MAPK and RIP1 activation.
Rodrigo García y Santiago Sierra o el espectáculo de lo intolerable

En este articulo pretendo analizar algunas de las obras de Rodrigo Garcia y Santiago Sierra que trabajan con la deshumanizacion y desvaloracion selectiva de las vidas. Ambos autores llevan a cabo distintos tipos de acciones violentas contra el cuerpo que promoveran, en los espectadores, una experiencia a partir de lo sensorial y la materia afectiva de la forma. En el articulo pretendo preguntarme por la eficacia de sus trabajos, por este caracter provocador que busca cuestionar los limites de lo eticamente representable. ?Que es lo que hace a las obras de Garcia y Sierra elementos tan polemicos, tan intolerables?, ?de que manera afectan a sus espectadores?, ?en que sentido son o no son politicas? Propondre una suerte de reorientacion de la violencia a partir de esta intensidad afectiva de la imagen como estrategia con la que Garcia y Sierra intervienen en la mirada de su publico para generar conciencia.
Tonsillar p16-Positive Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma Mimicking HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review of Reported Cases

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) is a rare entity which can share morphologic features with non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. Recent reports suggest that up to half of FDCSs show immunohistochemical positivity for p16 (Zhang et al., in Hum Pathol 66:40-47, 2017), a stain that is conventionally used in the risk stratification of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Herein, we report a case of p16-positive FDCS with clinical and histomorphologic overlap with human papilloma virus (HPV)-related OPSCC.
Voice-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis:

Objective:Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) has long been associated with vocal dysfunction. However, studies quantifying the presence of voice dysfunction in CRS patients or the effects of functional e...
Kernel-based prediction of non-Markovian time series

Abstract A nonparametric method to predict non-Markovian time series of partially observed dynamics is developed. The prediction problem we consider is a supervised learning task of finding a regression function that takes a delay-embedded observable to the observable at a future time. When delay-embedding theory is applicable, the proposed regression function is a consistent estimator of the flow map induced by the delay-embedding. Furthermore, the corresponding Mori–Zwanzig equation governing the evolution of the observable simplifies to only a Markovian term, represented by the regression function. We realize this supervised learning task with a class of kernel-based linear estimators, the kernel analog forecast (KAF), which are consistent in the limit of large data. In a scenario with a high-dimensional covariate space, we employ a Markovian kernel smoothing method which is computationally cheaper than the Nystrom projection method for realizing KAF. In addition to the guaranteed theoretical convergence, we numerically demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach on higher-dimensional problems where the relevant kernel features are difficult to capture with the Nystrom method. Given noisy training data, we propose a nonparametric smoother as a de-noising method. Numerically, we show that the proposed smoother is more accurate than EnKF and 4Dvar in de-noising signals corrupted by independent (but not necessarily identically distributed) noise, even if the smoother is constructed using a data set corrupted by white noise. We show skillful prediction using the KAF constructed from the denoised data.
Thin-Film Deposition of Hybrid Materials

The overall goal of my research is to help lead the transition from traditional to emerging semiconductor materials by investigating a novel thin-film deposition technique to control structure and properties in heterogeneous systems, primarily for optoelectronic devices. Specifically, I am interested in hybrid materials that comprise organic and inorganic components to create new materials with synergistic properties. To accomplish this, my research focuses on resonant infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) for the thin-film deposition of hybrid materials. Fundamentally, the primary challenge my work addresses is to control the co-deposition of two or more materials with different natures such that a new material is synthesized with pre-determined properties and functionality. My research resides at the nexus of materials science, physics, and electrical engineering, and my emphasis on thin-film deposition began in graduate school. While I knew early on that I wanted to be a professor, it took time for me to find my research passion. With a desire to conduct research that would have application to everyday life and guided by the influence of numerous educators throughout my life, I eventually determined that the interaction of light with matter was a natural link between my interests in physics and my desire to have a practical impact. Over the past 15 years, my research has helped to establish RIR-MAPLE as a deposition technique with unique versatility for a variety of hybrid material systems, ranging from hybrid nanocomposites to hybrid organic-inorganic crystalline semiconductors. My experiences conducting multidisciplinary and collaborative research, as well as educating the next generations of scientists and engineers, are extremely gratifying, and I could not imagine another career for which I am better suited.
The Role of RNA Editing in the Immune Response

The innate immune receptors in higher organisms have evolved to detect molecular signatures associated with pathogenic infection and trigger appropriate immune response. One common class of molecules utilized by the innate immune system for self vs. nonself discrimination is RNA, which is ironically present in all forms of life. To avoid self-RNA recognition, the innate immune sensors have evolved sophisticated discriminatory mechanisms that involve cellular RNA metabolic machineries. Posttranscriptional RNA modification and editing represent one such mechanism that allows cells to chemically tag the host RNAs as "self" and thus tolerate the abundant self-RNA molecules. In this chapter, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the role of RNA editing/modification in the modulation of immune signaling pathways, and application of RNA editing/modification in RNA-based therapeutics and cancer immunotherapies.
Translational research in the MPICH project

Abstract The MPICH project is an example of translational research in computer science before that term was well known or even coined. The project began in 1992 as an effort to develop a portable, high-performance implementation of the emerging Message-Passing Interface (MPI) Standard. It has enabled the widespread adoption of MPI as a way to write scalable parallel applications on systems of all sizes including upcoming exascale supercomputers. In this paper, we describe how the translational research process was used in MPICH, how that led to its success, the challenges encountered and lessons learned, and how the process could be applied to other similar projects.
BalNode2Vec: Balanced Random Walk based Versatile Feature Learning for Networks

Research on social networks and understanding the interactions of the users can be modeled as a task of graph mining, such as predicting nodes and edges in networks. The challenges of building the graph representation include engineering features used by learning algorithms. Recent research in representation learning can automate the prediction by learning the features themselves. Many types of research have performed graph sampling using random walks or it’s derivatives. However, the random walk sometimes can not represent the features of the graph accurately enough. In this research, we propose BalNode2Vec – a new sampling algorithm for learning feature representations for nodes in networks by using balanced random walks. We define a notion of a nodes network neighborhood and design a balanced random walk procedure, which adapts to the graph topology. We show that through exploring the graph through a balanced random walk can generate richer representations. Efficacy of BalNode2vec over existing state-of-the-art techniques on link prediction is demonstrated by using several real-world networks from different domains.