cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Injury surveillance and the emergency physician

Abstract Injury surveillance systems are used to describe the burden of injuries, to document specific patterns of injuries, to identify emerging hazards, and to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention strategies. Pediatric emergency medicine practitioners use and participate in injury surveillance systems. The purpose of this article is to review the principles of injury surveillance as applied to pediatric emergency medicine, to highlight the roles and responsibilities of practitioners in injury surveillance, and to provide opportunities for readers to explore current data and injury surveillance systems using online resources and examples from the literature.
Using threads in interactive systems: a case study

We describe the results of examining two large research and commercial systems for the ways that they use threads. We used three methods: analysis of macroscopic thread statistics, analysis the microsecond spacing between thread events, and reading the implementation code. We identify ten different paradigms of thread usage: defer work, general pumps, slack processes, sleepers, one-shots, deadlock avoidance, rejuvenation, serializers, encapsulated fork and exploiting parallelism. While some, like defer work, are well known, others have not been previously described. Most of the paradigms cause few problems for programmers and help keep the resulting system implementation understandable. The slack process paradigm is both particularly effective in improving system performance and particularly difficult to make work well. We observe that thread priorities are difficult to use and may interfere in unanticipated ways with other thread primitives and paradigms. Finally, we glean from the practices in this code several possible future research topics in the area of thread abstractions.
SEASONAL ACTIVITY AREAS OF COYOTES IN THE BEAR RIVER MOUNTAINS OF UTAH AND IDAHO

Abstract We studied the seasonal movement patterns and dispersal of coyotes (Canis latrans) in the Bear River Mountains of northern Utah and southern Idaho to determine whether coyotes in this montane region exhibit an altitudinal migration on a seasonal basis. We used 3 locational parameters to assess whether a seasonal altitudinal migration was evident, including overlap in seasonal activity areas, distance between harmonic mean centers of activity, and seasonal differences in mean elevations of locations. Winter and summer activity areas of every mature coyote overlapped, with mean distances between harmonic centers of seasonal activity of 1.5 km (range = 0.4–3.3 km). Conversely, there was no overlap between summer and winter activity areas of any subadult coyotes, with mean distances between their harmonic seasonal centers of activity of 35.8 km (range = 16.7–68.4 km). Significant changes in elevation of seasonal locations were not evident for any sex or age group. We conclude that the movement of sub...
Therapeutic cancer targeting peptides.

Antitumor monoclonal antibodies have shown clinical promise as cancer cell surface targeting agents. More tumor targeting antibodies are likely to be approved by the FDA in the next few years. However, there are two major limitations in antibody-targeted therapy: large size and nonspecific uptake of the antibody molecules by the liver and the reticuloendothelial system. These result in poor tumor penetration of antibody pharmaceuticals and dose-limiting toxicity to the liver and bone marrow. Peptides are excellent alternative targeting agents for human cancers, and they may alleviate some of the problems with antibody targeting. In the last decade, several investigators have successfully used combinatorial library methods to discover cell surface binding peptides that may be useful for cancer targeting. The phage-display library technique and the "one-bead one-compound" combinatorial library method are the two approaches that have been used. Cancer cell surface receptors or endothelial cell surface receptors of the neovasculature are the two popular therapeutic targets for cancer. Results from preclinical studies with some peptides are encouraging in their targeting potential.
Simulation of Supersonic MHD Channel Flows

[Abstract] A compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model composed of MHD Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations and magnetic induction equations is proposed in the present study for analyzing the magnetohydrodynamic characteristics in MHD generator and MHD accelerator channels of Magneto -Plasma-Chemical propulsion system [10,11,12] . BaldwinLomax turbulence model is utilized. A s plitting algorithm based on an alternative iteration is also developed for solving the two sets of equations [9] . As a test case, a supersonic MHD flow in a square duct was simulated. The numerical results are compared with the results computed by solving the classical N-S equations for the perfect gas flow, together with the results computed utilizing the degenerate MHD N-S equations for the same channel flow with constant applied magnetic field. The thermo-electro-magnetic performances of the test cases with constant and variable applied fields are then discussed Nomenclature B � = Magnetic field strength vector ( z y x B B B , , ) ( 2 / W bm , Tesla) x B = X component of magnetic field strength ( 2 / W bm , Tesla) y
Effects of the invasive plant garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) on bacterial communities in a northern hardwood forest soil

We compared the effects of the invasive plant Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) and 2 native plants on soil bacterial communities in a mature mesophytic forest. Soil samples were collected from p...
Influence of bandwidth and phase shaping on laser induced breakdown spectroscopy with ultrashort laser pulses

We report on the influence of pulse duration, bandwidth, and phase shaping on femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and micromachining of metallic samples. Shorter pulses gave a lower threshold. Different phase functions were tested, and sample-dependent differences were found. Phase dependence was greater near threshold. When 30 fs pulses were stretched to 10 ps by linear chirp, little or no effect was measured on the LIBS signal, seemingly contradicting the advantages reported for femtosecond pulses. We determine that the bandwidth of the laser pulses is inversely proportional to the LIBS threshold.
Reduced Wafer-Scale Frequency Variation in Adiabatic Microring Resonators

We experimentally demonstrate that adiabatic microring resonators not only achieve high quality factors in the presence of electrical contacts but, importantly, exhibit reduced susceptibility to wafer-scale fabrication induced resonant frequency variations compared to standard microrings.
Running for Elected Office: A Ten-Week Political Campaign Simulation for Upper-Division Courses

Elections are a central feature of the U.S. system of government. Therefore, it is important that undergraduates, especially political science majors, acquire a substantive understanding of the electoral process. To help students gain this understanding, we have developed a simulation through which undergraduates gain firsthand knowledge of the campaign process. In this simulation, students assume the roles of candidates, staffers, or journalists and undertake a ten-week campaign that ends with a public debate and election. The simulation is designed to be an intensive, multidisciplinary exercise that is flexible in duration
Recanalization following vasectomy.

Abstract Most authors have not differentiated between early and late recanalization following bilateral vasectomy for sterilization. Their reported recanalization rates probably reflect only early recanalization. Long-term follow-up semen examinations are required to document late recanalization. This regimen may be unacceptable to some patients and physicians. No symptomatic postvasectomy complication preceded the recanalization.
Rheological phenomena during the polymerization of styrene in a stirred tank

An experimental study of the bulk polymerization of styrene has been carried out. The rate of polymerization, molecular weight, and flow patterns around agitators as a function of conversion have been observed. The rate data are interpreted in terms of free-radical polymerization kinetics. Duerksen and Hamielec's modified termination rate constant and initiator efficiency relations are generally consistent with our data. The flow patterns were interpreted in terms of the mechanics of viscoelastic liquids and observations for nonreacting systems. Specifically, at low conversions for spheres and similar agitators, the flow patterns are dominated by centrifugal forces with fluid drawn in at the poles and expelled at the equator for spherical agitators. At higher conversions, normal stresses interact with the centrifugal forces causing segregated secondary flow regions adjacent to the sphere. At very high concentrations, normal stresses dominate, yielding Weissenberg effects.
Some Clifford Algebra History

In this tribute dedicated to the memory of the French mathematician Albert Crumeyrolle for his contribution to Clifford algebras and spinors, we offer a glimpse of the history of the subject, as we have found it. Albert Crumeyrolle’s treatment of spinor structures remains today a rich source of inspiration for both mathematicians and Physicists. We are deeply indebted to him for his illuminations. We found the historical development interesting as well as inspiring and hope the reader does also.
A note on the inefficiency of bidding over the price of a share

We study the problem of dissolving a partnership when agents have unequal endowments. Agents bid on the price of the entire partnership. The highest bidder is awarded the partnership and buys out her partners' shares at a per-unit price that is a function of the two highest bids. We show that there exists no price-setting mechanism satisfying certain mild regularity properties that is ex-post efficient, for any common prior of valuations. This result sharply contrasts the equal-endowment case in which efficient dissolution of the sort we are examining is possible through a simple k-double auction, as suggested by Cramton, Gibbons, and Klemperer (Econometrica, 1987).
Activation of Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-κB Ligand and Matrix Metalloproteinase Production in Periodontal Fibroblasts by Endothelin Signaling.

Background: Periodontitis is a group of inflammatory diseases affecting the tissues supporting the teeth that will progressively cause the loss of alveolar bone and periodontal ligaments and eventually the dentition. Activation of osteoclast activity by receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) and released enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are among the factors involved in the breakdown of the periodontium. However, the mechanisms regulating their production in periodontitis are poorly understood. Endothelin signaling via the activation of the endothelin-A receptor (EDNRA) by endothelin-1 may play a role in the disease because the expression of the receptor and ligand is elevated in the periodontal tissues of patients with periodontitis.Methods: Cultured primary human periodontal fibroblasts were treated with 20 and 100 nM endothelin-1 for 6 and 24 hours and then collected to assess MMP and RANKL production by immunoblotting. Inhibitors were used to identify the molecular path...
Role of Aspergillus fumigatus in Triggering Protease-Activated Receptor-2 in Airway Epithelial Cells and Skewing the Cells toward a T-helper 2 Bias.

Aspergillus fumigatus (AF) infection and sensitization are common and promote Th2 disease in individuals with asthma. Innate immune responses of bronchial epithelial cells are now known to play a key role in determination of T cell responses upon encounter with inhaled pathogens. We have recently shown that extracts of AF suppress JAK-STAT signaling in epithelial cells and thus may promote Th2 bias. To elucidate the impact of AF on human bronchial epithelial cells, we tested the hypothesis that AF can modulate the response of airway epithelial cells to favor a Th2 response and explored the molecular mechanism of the effect. Primary normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells were treated with AF extract or fractionated AF extract before stimulation with poly I:C or infection with human rhinovirus serotype 16 (HRV16). Expression of CXCL10 mRNA (real-time RT-PCR) and protein (ELISA) were measured as markers of IFN-mediated epithelial Th1–biased responses. Western blot was performed to evaluate expression...
A Tolerance Adjustment Process for Dimensional Validation of Stamping Parts and Welded Assemblies

Product design dimensional specifications provide estimates of what the next process will require to ultimately produce desired finished vehicle specifications . During stamping and body assembly manufacturing validation activities, manufacturers typically reassess these original specifications and make adjustments as needed for monitoring product quality during regular production. These tolerance adjustment practices vary considerably between manufacturers, and often even within an organization. In some cases, different teams working in the same launch program may use different approaches. This paper describes the application of a methodology that was developed and has been adopted by a North American OEM as a standard practice for dimensional evaluation and revision of sheet metal components. The methodology was validated during a recent vehicle program launch by calculating tolerance recommendations for several stamping parts. The results showed that the methodology was able to predict over 90% of the actual variation levels and subsequent process monitoring demands observed later in production.
Global growth of “big box” stores and the potential impact on human health and nutrition

Despite a large body of literature on the food environment, little is known about the role of supercenters in human nutrition and health. The objectives of this review are to examine what is currently known about the association between supercenters, nutrition, and obesity, to identify how supercenters may affect disparities in food access and nutritional quality of food purchases, and to document the rapid rise of supercenters as a source of food purchases in the United States. A case study of Wal-Mart, the largest food retailer in the United States, is presented that demonstrates the major and increasing role of supercenters as a source of packaged food purchases in the United States, particularly among low-income households, as well as the role of supercenters in supplying key nutrients. Taken together, this review and case study highlight the dominant role of supercenters in the US diet and the need to better understand how supercenters can be leveraged to improve the nutritional quality of what consumers buy and eat.
Factors in the Preservation of the Distemper Virus

Received for publication, April 10, 1942. ing experiments. As the virus was virulent for ferrets, killing them in 10 to 13 days, the ferrets used to test the viability of the virus were bred and raised in pens isolated from any possible source of contamination with distemper. The pens were located one mile from the main highway in a cleared area surrounded by woods. A double fence around the area prevented other animals and men from entering the premises. A caretaker was provided who fed and tended these ferrets only. Before being used in viability tests, the animals were removed from the breeding pens and placed in quarantine for 2 weeks in order to make certain that distemper was not contracted during their transfer.
Filtered Mass Density Function for Use in Discontinuous Spectral Element Method

In this work, the filtered mass density function (FMDF) methodology is implemented in the discontinuous spectral element method (DSEM) for simulation of reacting flows in complex geometries. DSEM solves the compressible Navier-Stokes equations on an unstructured grid with high orders of accuracy. The FMDF is a probability density function method that has been developed for large eddy simulation (LES) of variable-density chemically reacting turbulent flows. The solution to the modeled FMDF transport equation is obtained by solving an equivalent set of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) which yield statistically equivalent results. The set of SDEs is solved by means of a Lagrangian Monte Carlo scheme. The validity of the scalar FMDF is appraised by determining the consistency against DSEM in a temporally developing shear layer. Additional results are shown for the DSEM-LES/FMDF simulation of a hydrogen-air reaction in a temporally-developing shear layer.
Supervenience: Perspectives v. Possible Worlds

Given (L), "[s]upervenience becomes, for the realist, an opaque, isolated, logical fact, for which no explanation can be proffered".2 McFetridge holds that we should reject (L) and that, indeed, "the rejection of (L) ... is implicit in ordinary moral thought".3 Our ordinary moral practices can then be turned to an explanation of supervenience: since supervenience asserts the necessity of a connection between the natural and the moral, this necessity can be explained by appeal to our practices. This account of necessity is an anti-realist one, but it is one that a moral realist is free to employ. If the moral realist eschews an explanation of this sort, then supervenience appears to be a brute, metaphysical fact. But this is a consequence only of moral realism combined with modal realism.4 Thus the apparent implausibility of moral realism gets sloughed off onto an unnecessary and unrecognized attachment to modal realism.
Structure and properties of Mg-Cu-Y amorphous film deposited on AZ31 alloy

Mg-Cu-Y films were deposited on AZ31 alloy by unbalanced magnetron sputtering.The targets made of pure copper and Mg_65Cu_25Y_10 alloy were adopted.The depositions were carried out by two different modes,that is,deposition by using Mg_65Cu_25Y_10 alloy target alone and co-deposition with Mg_65Cu_25Y_10 alloy target and copper target.The phases of the deposited films were analyzed by glancing incidence X-Ray diffraction(GXRD).The morphology of the films and the wear traces were observed by atom force microscope(AFM) and scanning electronic microscopy(SEM),respectively.The hardness of the films was measured by nano-indentation tests.The friction tests were conducted on a ball-disk friction tester.The results show that the structure of the film deposited by Mg_65Cu_25Y_10 is amorphous and no crystalline phase is found.For the films deposited by co-depositition,crystalline copper is detected.The film deposited by Mg_65Cu_25Y_10 exhibits the maximum hardness of 12GPa.The film containing crystalline copper phase deposited by co-depositition shows the better wear resistance.
The Rastelli operation for transposition of the great arteries: Early and late results

Fifty-nine patients had corrective operation of the Rastelli type for transposition of the great arteries between 1968 and 1975. In 121 patients (35 per cent), the ventricular septal defect was enlarged by excising a portion of the septum. During the first 30 days after the operation, II patients (19 per cent) died. The risk of repair in infancy was greatly increased. There were 5 late deaths, and reoperation was required in 11 patients. Sixty-eight per cent of the survivors are in New York Heart Association Class I and 29 per cent are in Class II. Some late complications related to deteriorations of the earlier aortic homograft conduit may be avoided by use of a Dacron conduit with a porcine valve, as suggested by short-term favorable results in 25 recent cases. The current operative mortality rate of 8 per cent (last 25 operations) and the observation that all but one of the late survivors in this series are either asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic tend to verify the Rastelli operation as the procedure of choice for repair of transposition of of the great arteries when associated with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis.
Human-robot symbiosis framework on exoskeleton devices

In the near future, human-robot coexistence and symbiosis will be a common scenario in our society. Especially with the increasing number of patients with stroke or other neurological disorders and the gradually aging population, people may need wearable exoskeletons that actively assist human's movements. In designing these robots, physical humanrobot interaction (pHRI) plays an important role. How to let human and robot cooperatively perform motor tasks and help each other is a grand challenge. Our research establishes a human-robot physical symbiosis framework that biomimics human's behavior when performing interactive motor skills. The human and robot are modeled as two adaptive controllers in parallel with the plant (system under control). As a result, we will have two feedback controllers working together, constantly adapting to each other's behavior and optimally stabilizing the plant to achieve a common goal. In addition, we propose an inverse optimal control method to estimate human control strategy. This information can enable the robot to predict future consensus interactive behaviors in order to cooperate with the human effectively. Experimental verifications have been carried out using double inverted pendulum to simulate a human-robot cooperative balance task in MATLAB environment.
Activation of factor XI in plasma is dependent on factor XII [see comments]

The activation of factor XI initiates the intrinsic coagulation pathway. Until recently it was believed that the main activator of factor XI is factor XIIa in conjunction with the cofactor high molecular weight kininogen on a negatively charged surface. Two recent reports have presented evidence that in a purified system factor XI is activatable by thrombin together with the soluble polyanion dextran sulfate. To assess the physiological relevance of these findings we studied the activation of factor XI in normal and factor XII-deficient plasma. We used either kaolin/cephalin or dextran sulfate as a surface for the intrinsic coagulation pathway, tissue factor to generate thrombin via the extrinsic pathway, or the addition of alpha-thrombin directly. 125I-factor XI, added to factor XI-deficient plasma at physiologic concentrations (35 nmol/L), is rapidly cleaved on incubation with kaolin. The kinetics appear to be exponential with half the maximum cleavage at 5 minutes. Similar kinetics of factor XI cleavage are seen when 40 nmol/L factor XIIa (equal to 10% of factor XII activation) is added to factor XII-deficient plasma if an activating surface is provided. Tissue factor (1:500) added to plasma did not induce cleavage of factor XI during a 90-minute incubation, although fibrin formation within 30 seconds indicated that thrombin was generated via the extrinsic pathway. Adding 1 mumol/L alpha-thrombin (equivalent to 50% prothrombin activation) directly to factor XII deficient or normal plasma (with or without kaolin/cephalin/Ca2+ or dextran sulfate) led to instantaneous fibrinogen cleavage, but again no cleavage of factor XI was observable. We conclude that in plasma surroundings factor XI is not activated by thrombin, and that proposals of thrombin initiation of the intrinsic coagulation cascade are not supportable.
Screening for Gynecologic Cancer

Screening principles, methods, and terminology are discussed for cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Incidence and mortality, risk factors, adjuncts to screening, and historic perspectives are also covered.
Working Longer in National Contexts: Comparing Japan and the United States

This chapter aims to contribute to our understanding of age-diversity management by clarifying the importance of identifying older workers within their national contexts. While receiving relatively little attention outside cross-national comparative literature, national contexts are powerful determinants of individuals’ labour market behaviours over the course of their working lives (Freeman 2007). Particularly for older workers, national contexts powerfully shape opportunities and decisions at the workplace and in the labour market, including those related to retirement and continued employment beyond conventional retirement ages (Walker 2005).
Exploiting semantic commutativity in hardware speculation

Hardware speculative execution schemes such as hardware transactional memory (HTM) enjoy low run-time overheads but suffer from limited concurrency because they rely on reads and writes to detect conflicts. By contrast, software speculation schemes can exploit semantic knowledge of concurrent operations to reduce conflicts. In particular, they often exploit that many operations on shared data, like insertions into sets, are semantically commutative: they produce semantically equivalent results when reordered. However, software techniques often incur unacceptable run-time overheads. To solve this dichotomy, we present COMMTM, an HTM that exploits semantic commutativity. CommTM extends the coherence protocol and conflict detection scheme to support user-defined commutative operations. Multiple cores can perform commutative operations to the same data concurrently and without conflicts. CommTM preserves transactional guarantees and can be applied to arbitrary HTMs. CommTM scales on many operations that serialize in conventional HTMs, like set insertions, reference counting, and top-K insertions, and retains the low overhead of HTMs. As a result, at 128 cores, CommTM outperforms a conventional eager-lazy HTM by up to 3.4 χ and reduces or eliminates aborts.
Reproducibility and experience dependence of echocardiographic indices of left ventricular function: Side-by-side comparison of global longitudinal strain and ejection fraction.

Background Although left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) are recommended by the current echocardiographic chamber quantification guidelines, these measurements are not performed routinely. Because EF measurements rely on manual tracing of LV boundaries, and are subject to inter-reader variability and experience dependence, we hypothesized that semiautomated GLS measurements using speckle tracking would be more reproducible and less experience-dependent. Methods Images from 30 patients were analyzed to obtain biplane EF using manual tracing. GLS was measured in three long-axis views using EchoInsight software (Epsilon Imaging) that automatically detects LV endocardial boundary, which is edited manually as necessary and is then automatically tracked throughout the cardiac cycle. All measurements were performed by an expert echocardiographer and three first-year cardiology fellows. Results Semiautomated GLS analysis showed excellent correlation (r=.98) and small bias (-1.0±13% of measured value) between the experienced and less experienced readers, superior to EF (r=.91, bias 7.3±16%). Also, in repeated measurements, GLS showed higher intra-class correlation (ICC=.98) than EF (ICC=.89). Additionally, GLS analysis required ~1 minute per patient, while biplane EF measurements took twice as long. Conclusions Semiautomated GLS measurements are fast, less experience-dependent, and more reproducible than conventional EF measurements. This is probably because, irrespective of experience, the readers' choice of boundary position varies less when asked to refine the automated detection than to draw borders without initial clues. This technique may facilitate the workflow of a busy laboratory and make a step forward toward incorporating quantitative analysis into everyday echocardiography practice.
Relationship Between Generations of Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Traits

Quantitative descriptive study investigated the relationship between 3 different generations of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship traits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial traits and generations of U.S. entrepreneurs in Southwest, Northeast, Central, and Southeast Texas, to see whether generational differences are associated with entrepreneurial traits. 3 different generations of entrepreneurs were investigated in the study. The research aimed to contribute beneficial insights to their understanding in enterprising potential and differentiate themselves in entrepreneurial traits. GET2 test was used to collect the data to analyze the differences and similarities between generations of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial traits.
Design and performance of a wireless pressure sensing stent

This paper reports the first time wireless performance of the previously reported pressure sensing stent [1–2]. Previously we reported only optical and electrically-tethered measurement [1]. This paper reports the first time wireless measurement data with improved fabrication control. Specifically, this paper reports (1) the accurate control of evaporation to define the filling distance (54μm) of a hydraulic liquid (glycerol) in a microchannel (Fig.2b) and (2) wireless measurement of fluid flow pressure in a tube by utilizing the fabricated pressure-sensing stent (Fig.4). The liquid amount, which was encapsulated to enable the hydraulic amplification ratio, was controlled with accuracy of ±10.51% by the newly modified method. The new method resulted in liquid-filling efficiency as low as 10.88μm/min via controlled evaporation at 900C, 0.32Torr. The fabricated wireless pressure sensing stent demonstrated successful sensing of surrounding fluid pressure between 0 and 260mmHg, in a resolution of 5.42fF/mmHg over a distance of 2cm and at power consumption of 165μW/cm2, in connection to an external capacitor of 30fF. The center frequency was measured as 79.668MHz.
An End-to-End Deep Framework for Answer Triggering with a Novel Group-Level Objective

Given a question and a set of answer candidates, answer triggering determines whether the candidate set contains any correct answers. If yes, it then outputs a correct one. In contrast to existing pipeline methods which first consider individual candidate answers separately and then make a prediction based on a threshold, we propose an end-to-end deep neural network framework, which is trained by a novel group-level objective function that directly optimizes the answer triggering performance. Our objective function penalizes three potential types of error and allows training the framework in an end-to-end manner. Experimental results on the WikiQA benchmark show that our framework outperforms the state of the arts by a 6.6% absolute gain under F1 measure.
The Emperor’s New Clothes: Maximilian von Habsburg and the Visual Culture of Dress During Mexico’s Second Empire

In self-representational strategies, Maxmilian von Habsurg (1832–1867) enlisted the carte-de-visite during his reign as Emperor of Mexico (1864–1867). A primary image, bearing the scripted title of...
The tax reform agenda

High tax rates that distort incentives and create large deadweight losses have been reduced, but there is still much more to be done to improve the tax system. It is useful to distinguish between tax rules that represent tax expenditures relative to a pure income tax from rules that represent tax expenditures relative to a consumption tax. I think it is important to focus on tax expenditures relative to a consumption tax base. It is possible that if there were no estate tax, the present value of the taxes paid by future heirs would exceed the revenue lost by abolishing the estate tax. On the corporate side, a shift to a territorial system of taxation would have very substantial favorable effects, while pass-through entities have a very weak case for a significantly lower tax rate. The net effect of such tax changes would be an increase in the budget deficit, though that increase is likely to be only temporary due to legislative rules. I am optimistic that there will be tax reforms enacted in the next twelve months holding great promise for improving our tax system and our economy.
Defying Empire: The Third National Indigenous Art Triennial: National Gallery of Australia, May 26 – September 10, 2017

Exhibition Review Exhibition catalog: Tina Baum, Defying Empire: 3 rd National Indigenous Art Triennial . Canberra: National Gallery of Art, 2017. 160 pp. $39.95 (9780642334688) Exhibition schedule: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, May 26, 2017 – September 10, 2017
The effect of aluminum and platinum additives on hydrogen adsorption on mesoporous silicates

Recent theoretical predictions indicate that functional groups and additives could have a favorable impact on the hydrogen adsorption characteristics of sorbents; however, no definite evidence has been obtained to date and little is known about the impact of such modifications on the thermodynamics of hydrogen uptake and overall capacity. In this work, we investigate the effect of two types of additives on the cryoadsorption of hydrogen to mesoporous silica. First, Lewis and Bronsted acid sites were evaluated by grafting aluminum to the surface of mesoporous silica (MCF-17) and characterizing the resulting silicate materials’ surface area and the concentration of Bronsted and Lewis acid sites created. Heat of adsorption measurements found little influence of surface acidity on the enthalpy of hydrogen cryoadsorption. Secondly, platinum nanoparticles of 1.5 nm and 7.1 nm in diameter were loaded into MCF-17, and characterized by TEM. Hydrogen absorption measurements revealed that the addition of small amounts of metallic platinum nanoparticles increases by up to two-fold the amount of hydrogen adsorbed at liquid nitrogen temperature. Moreover, we found a direct correlation between the size of platinum particles and the amount of hydrogen stored, in favor of smaller particles.
Pilot feasibility study to detect mesenchymal stem cell biomarkers of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in the tracheal aspirate fluid of preterm infants.

Author(s): LaGrandeur, RG; Singhal, M; Bany-Mohammed, F; Uy, C; Koeppel, R; Zaldivar, F; Haddad, F; Nalbandian, A; Donovan, P; Cooper, DM; Aslam, M | Abstract: ObjectiveThis study aimed to detect novel mesenchymal stem cell peptides/biomarkers of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in the tracheal aspirate fluid (TAF) of preterm infants.Study designParticipants included infants less than 32 weeks' gestational age or birth weight under 1500 grams who required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation within first 24 hours of life. TAF sample collection was performed at the time of the first clinically indicated routine suctioning. Standardization curves for human levels of osteopontin (Opn), macrophage colony stimulating factor 1 (Csf1), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) were generated for 15 enrolled participants.ResultsWe demonstrated that stem cell biomarkers are secreted into the TAF of preterm infants and their concentrations can be easily measured during the first week of life.ConclusionsFurther studies are warranted to determine a causal relationship between these biomarkers and BPD development and severity.
Gut Bacteria Seize Control of the Brain to Prevent Epilepsy.

Why ketogenic diet (KD) effectively controls seizures in some people with epilepsy is unclear. In a recent issue of Cell, Olson et al. (2018) showed that KD prevents seizures by upregulating key bacterial species (Akkermansia muciniphila and Parabacteroides merdae). These bacteria synergize to decrease gammaglutamylation of amino acids, increase hippocampal GABA/Glutamate ratios, and, ultimately, prevent seizures.
Retroviral-Mediated Gene Transfer for Engineering Tumor-Reactive T-Cells

Immunotherapy for cancer has taken several approaches including vaccinating patients to elicit T-cell responses to tumor antigens and adoptive transfer of tumor-reactive T-cells to patients. Vaccination has historically been ineffective in generating objective clinical responses. Whereas adoptive cell transfer therapy has shown some promise, the difficulties in obtaining the large number of requisite tumor-reactive T-cells warrant investigation into alternate models of immunotherapy. A novel approach is the retroviral-mediated transfer of genes encoding recognition of tumor antigens into peripheral blood T-cells. By cloning genes for T-cell receptors that mediate antitumor reactivity and introducing them into a patient’s own T-cells, we can rapidly generate the large number of T-cells necessary for adoptive transfer therapy for any patient, regardless of the patient’s immune status.
DD6: Heuschrecken (Juli 2005)

Der muntige Burger kennt sich neuerdings mit Heuschrecken aus! Die kommen sonst nur als Plage in Bibelverfilmungen vor, wo sie den Pharao niederzwingen, der ungefahr wie Yul Brunner aussieht. Was aber hat es mit den Heuschrecken an den Kapitalmarkten auf sich? Gar nichts, es ist ein Problem breitester Dummheit.
Long-Term Experience with High Dose Ketoconazole Therapy in Patients with Stage D2 Prostatic Carcinoma

AbstractThe antifungal drug ketoconazole has been shown to block testosterone synthesis. High dose ketoconazole therapy was given to 17 patients with previously untreated stage D2 prostatic cancer. Rapid relief of pain occurred in 15 patients with significant pain. Prostatic acid phosphatase levels normalized or decreased in all patients. Bone scan scores were stable or improved.Two patients remain on therapy for more than 30 months. The remainder have ceased treatment owing to subsequent progressive disease (5 patients), side effects (6) or noncompliance. Eleven patients who had relapse after previous endocrine ablative therapy were treated with ketoconazole. Subjective responses were frequent but long-term objective responses were rare. There was a high incidence of side effects, particularly nausea.Ketoconazole may have limited usefulness as initial therapy in patients with endocrine responsive advanced prostatic cancer. The drug can be palliative in some patients who have failed previous therapeutic m...
Electromagnetic Instabilities in Free-Electron Lasers

Hitherto, the electron equations of motion have been considered as a one-dimensional problem in which the electron motion is reduced to the pendulum equation in the ponderomotive potential well formed by the wiggler and electromagnetic (EM) pulse fields.
Dynamic Laser Scattering Study of Sperm Migration Through Cervical Mucus

Migration of spermatozoa through the cervix is of great interest in human reproductive biology, and is important in fertility studies. The penetration of spermatozoa into cervical mucus depends on sperm motility and also on the molecular structure of cervical mucus. We have used the technique of dynamic laser scattering to measure sperm motility and to study the structure of cervical mucus by analyzing the molecular dynamics of the mucus. The correlation of the two is evaluated by a modified Kremer test. The clinical significance of the test is quantitatively expressed by the penetration factor and the sperm-mucus interaction coefficient, which are derived from theory of transport phenomena.
Heavy Flavour Spectroscopy

During the first week of this institute many people expressed some wonder that four lectures had been allotted to discuss the spectroscopy of hadrons with heavy flavour. Surely there are simply not enough such hadrons to warrant a full four hours! A glance at figures 1 and 2, however, should reassure any doubters. Figure 1a) shows the measured mass spectrum of all of the known charmed mesons, while part b) shows the same for of all of the known charmed baryons and figure 2 shows the same for all known bottom mesons. The quark content of the various states named in these figures is summarized in Tables 1 and 2. At this time the only established bottom baryon is the Λb, so there is no corresponding figure for the bottom baryons.1 Because most of the known states are charmed hadrons, this review will mostly cover charm spectroscopy, with a few references to bottom spectroscopy. Finally, whenever these lectures discuss a particular state or reaction, the charge conjugate state or reaction is usually implied. The exceptions will occur when discussing charm production from ∑- beams or \(\bar v\) beams.
Assessment of small-scale anisotropy in stably stratified turbulent flows using direct numerical simulations

In this study, the validity of the widely used Kolmogorov hypothesis of local isotropy of dissipative scales in stably stratified turbulent flows is investigated using high-resolution direct numerical simulations. Departure from isotropy is investigated for the first time in terms of the turbulent Froude number defined as Fr = ϵ/(NEk), where N is the buoyancy frequency, Ek is the turbulent kinetic energy, and ϵ is the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy. It is shown that for both ϵ and the rate of scalar (density) dissipation, ϵρ, the small-scale statistics are nearly isotropic in the weakly stratified turbulent regime (Fr > 1). For strongly stable flows (Fr<O(1)), the vertical gradients of the fluctuating velocity field as well as the scalar fluctuations overestimate, while horizontal gradients underestimate the true rates of dissipation computed directly using the three-dimensional fluctuating velocity and scalar fields. However, in practice, microstructure instruments are typically limited ...
Microbes, Transmission and Protection

This chapter is a short survey—in table form—concerning clinical types of infections, the most important microbes in medicine, recommended methods to isolate patients with infections and recommended use of personal protective equipment.
The impact of skeletal muscle contraction on CD146+Lin- pericytes.

Unaccustomed resistance exercise can initiate skeletal muscle remodeling and adaptive mechanisms that can confer protection from damage and enhanced strength with subsequent stimulation. The myofib...
Control Lyapunov-Barrier function-based predictive control of nonlinear processes using machine learning modeling

Abstract Control Lyapunov-Barrier functions (CLBF) have been adopted to design model predictive controllers (MPC) for input-constrained nonlinear systems to ensure closed-loop stability and process operational safety simultaneously. In this work, a CLBF-MPC using an ensemble of recurrent neural network (RNN) models is proposed with guaranteed closed-loop stability and process operational safety for two types of unsafe regions, i.e., bounded and unbounded sets, for nonlinear processes. The application of the proposed RNN-based CLBF-MPC method is demonstrated through a chemical process example.
Micromechanobiology: Focusing on the Cardiac Cell–Substrate Interface

Engineered, in vitro cardiac cell and tissue systems provide test beds for the study of cardiac development, cellular disease processes, and drug responses in a dish. Much effort has focused on improving the structure and function of engineered cardiomyocytes and heart tissues. However, these parameters depend critically on signaling through the cellular microenvironment in terms of ligand composition, matrix stiffness, and substrate mechanical properties-that is, matrix micromechanobiology. To facilitate improvements to in vitro microenvironment design, we review how cardiomyocytes and their microenvironment change during development and disease in terms of integrin expression and extracellular matrix (ECM) composition. We also discuss strategies used to bind proteins to common mechanobiology platforms and describe important differences in binding strength to the substrate. Finally, we review example biomaterial approaches designed to support and probe cell-ECM interactions of cardiomyocytes in vitro, as well as open questions and challenges.
Perceived Discrimination as a Mediator of ACEs and Psychological Distress

The authors investigated the role of perceived discrimination in the association between adverse childhood experiences and psychological distress in adulthood in a sample of individuals (n = 125) a...
Monopolar Radiofrequency Energy Delivered by a Conductive Endovascular Basket or Guidewire Leads to Thermal Occlusion in a Swine Model.

Abstract Purpose To assess the feasibility of inducing vascular occlusion by application of radiofrequency (RF) energy via conductive endovascular wires or baskets. Materials and Methods A retrievable nitinol basket and stainless steel guidewire with a platinum tip were evaluated as conductors for endovascular application of RF energy. Tissue-mimicking thermochromic gel phantoms that change color with heating were cast with 2-, 5-, and 7-mm-diameter lumens and filled with 37 oC saline. After ablation, the phantoms were sectioned, and the thermal footprints were evaluated. Six castrated male domestic swine underwent endovascular ablation using the basket in iliac arteries and guidewires in renal arteries. Post-procedural angiography was performed, and postmortem arterial segments were resected for histopathologic analysis. Results In the phantom, the depth of thermal change in the 5- and 7-mm lumens averaged 6.3 and 6.0 mm along the basket, respectively, and in the 2- and 5-mm lumens, the depth of thermal change averaged 1.9 and 0.5 mm along the wire, respectively. In the swine, RF energy delivery led to angiographic occlusion at 12 of 13 sites. Thermal injury and occlusion were similar at the proximal, middle, and distal basket treatment zone, whereas injury and occlusion decreased from the proximal to the distal end of the 5-cm wire treatment zone. Conclusions Endovascular delivery of RF energy via a conductive basket in medium-sized arteries or a guidewire in small arteries led to acute angiographic and histologic occlusion. The potential to induce stasis might be useful in settings where rapid occlusion is desirable.
Surgical ovarian suppression for adjuvant treatment in hormone receptor positive breast cancer in premenopausal patients.

Objective Ovarian suppression is recommended to complement endocrine therapy in premenopausal women with breast cancer and high-risk features. It can be achieved by either medical ovarian suppression or therapeutic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Our objective was to evaluate characteristics of patients with stage I–III hormone receptor positive primary breast cancer who underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at our institution. Materials and methods Premenopausal women with stage I–III hormone receptor positive primary breast cancer diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2014 were identified from a database. Patients with confirmed BRCA1/2 mutations were excluded. Distribution of characteristics between treatment groups was assessed using χ2 test and univariate logistic regression. A multivariate model was based on factors significant on univariate analysis. Results Of 2740 women identified, 2018 (74%) received endocrine treatment without ovarian ablation, 516 (19%) received endocrine treatment plus ovarian ablation, and 206 (7.5%) did not receive endocrine treatment. Among patients undergoing ovarian ablation 282/516 (55%) received medical ovarian suppression, while 234 (45%) underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. By univariate logistic analyses, predictors for ovarian ablation were younger age (OR 0.97), histology (other vs ductal: OR 0.23), lymph node involvement (OR 1.89), higher International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (stage II vs I: OR 1.48; stage III vs I: OR 2.86), higher grade (grade 3 vs 1: OR 3.41; grade 2 vs 1: OR 2.99), chemotherapy (OR 1.52), and more recent year of diagnosis (2014 vs 2010; OR 1.713). Only year of diagnosis, stage, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) treatment remained significant in the multivariate model. Within the cohort undergoing ovarian ablation, older age (OR 1.05) was associated with therapeutic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Of 234 undergoing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, 12 (5%) mild to moderate adverse surgical events were recorded. Conclusions Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy is used frequently as an endocrine ablation strategy. Older age was associated with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Perioperative morbidity was acceptable. Evaluation of long-term effects and quality of life associated with endocrine ablation will help guide patient/provider decision-making.