cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Arteriovenous Fistula and Graft Construction in Patients with Implantable Cardiac Devices: Does Side Matter?

Background Limited reports have documented the effect cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) have on arteriovenous (AV) access patency. Current recommendations suggest placing the access on the contralateral side of the CIEDs, as there is concern for increased central venous stenosis and access failure. The goal of this study is to review our single-center AV access patency rates for dialysis patients with an ipsilateral or contralateral side CIED. Methods A retrospective review was performed from 2008 to 2016 at a single institution identifying all patients who have received a CIED and the diagnosis of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Medical records were queried to identify each patient's dialysis access and whether it was ipsilateral or contralateral to the CIED. Primary outcomes of study were primary and secondary patency rates. Results A total of 44 patients were identified to have ESRD and CIED. Of these patients, 28 patients with fistulas or grafts (13 ipsilateral and 15 contralateral) had follow-up with regards to their AV access. There were 3 primary failures in both groups. For patients who had the CIED placed after already starting the dialysis, patency was based on when the cardiac device was implanted. Primary patency for ipsilateral and contralateral access was 20.2 and 22.2 months, respectively. With secondary interventions, ipsilateral and contralateral mean patency was 39 and 48.8 months, respectively. Six-month and 1-year primary patency for arteriovenous fistula or arteriovenous graft on patients with ipsilateral access was 69.2% and 53.8%, respectively. Ipsilateral 1-year cumulative patency was 39 months. Conclusions CIED may lead to stenosis or occlusion to one's AV access; however, primary assisted and secondary patency rates are still acceptable at 6 months and 1 year compared to Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines. Despite a CIED, a surgeon's algorithm should not lead to the abandonment of an ipsilateral access if the central venous system is patent.
Systematic review of the physical home environment and the relationship to psychological well-being among community-dwelling older adults.

Older adults with functional impairments are at risk of being excluded from participation in day-to-day life. This exclusion can have detrimental effects on psychological well-being. The physical h...
A better way to pay CEOs

Managerial incentives can no longer be understood without a solid understanding of stock options. Stock option grants have increased dramatically in the past 15 years or so. For example, the average CEO stock option grant (valued at Black-Scholes and in inflation adjusted 1994 dollars) increased from $155 thousand to $1.2 million between 1980 and 1994, representing an almost 700% increase. Moreover, for the largest publicly traded companies, stock option grants are now larger on average than salary and bonus combined, and more than 90% of all CEOs now hold stock options (Hall and Liebman, 1998).
TREE SURFACES AS FORAGING SUBSTRATES FOR INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS

Patterns of variability in tree surfaces are discussed and these patterns are related to the suitability of the surfaces as habitats for arthropods and foraging sites for insectivorous birds. Tree species and age diversity and the extent of forest environments are seen as important factors influencing the population dynamics of forest arthropods and insectivorous forest birds. Problems with forest insect pests often stem from human perturbations of the forest ecosystem that result in decreased forest diversity. Maintenance of this diversity contributes to forest health by providing more varied habitats and food resources for insectivorous forest birds.
Federico Garlanda’s The Philosophy of Words (1886) and The Fortunes of Language (1887): models in their class

Federico Garlanda (1857–1913) contributed towards the popularisation of linguistics in nineteenth-century Europe and the United States. Garlanda’s popular books on the science of language, The Phil...
Social Work With Migrants and Refugees: Challenges, Best Practices, and Future Directions

This special issue of Advances in Social Work focuses on current challenges and best practices with migrants and refugees, in an increasingly difficult global context. Over the past decade, forced migration and displacement reached record numbers, while complex geopolitical, economic, and environmental factors contributed to escalating current challenges. International human rights and migration laws provide a framework too narrow and too limited for these recent developments. Political pressure and a growing identity crisis add to the xenophobia and climate of fear, in which security has in some cases become the primary rationale underpinning rapidly changing migration policies. Social work as a profession – in education and practice – has an important (if largely unfulfilled) role to play in advancing the human rights of migrants and refugees. In this commentary, we outline the macro contexts that shape social work practice with migrants and refugees, highlighting the great potential for social work to do much more to advance the rights and interests of those fleeing conflict, economic or natural disasters, or other upheavals.
The lives of asexual individuals outside of sexual and romantic relationships: education, occupation, religion and community

Twenty-seven U.S. and Canadian participants who answered a call for interviews about asexual identity were asked about non-sexual aspects of their lives, including education, occupation, community ...
Electrogenerated chemiluminescence in mechanistic investigations of electroorganic reactions

Abstract In the simultaneous cathodic reduction of bis-(2,4,5-triphenylimidazolyl)1,2′ L 2 and some aromatic hydrocarbons A in dimethylformamide the emission of A is observed. This electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) originates from the electron transfer between A −. and the imidazolyl radicals L . , which are formed by a cleavage of L 2 −. into L . and the imidazolyl anion L . − By detecting L 2 −. and L . as intermediates, this ECL study provides evidence for an ECE mechanism of the cathodic cleavage of L 2 .
Least Squares Monte Carlo and Approximate Linear Programming: Error Bounds and Energy Real Option Application

Least squares Monte Carlo (LSM) is an approximate dynamic programming (ADP) technique commonly used for the valuation of high dimensional financial and real options, but has broader applicability. It is known that the regress-later version of this method is an approximate linear programming (ALP) relaxation that implicitly provides a potential solution to a familiar ALP deficiency. Focusing on a generic finite horizon Markov decision process, we provide both theoretical and numerical backing for the usefulness of this solution, respectively using a worst-case error bound analysis and a numerical study dealing with merchant ethanol production, an energy real option application, based on an ALP heuristic that we propose. When both methodologies are applicable, our research supports the use of regress-later LSM rather than this ALP technique to approximately solve intractable Markov decision processes. Our numerical findings motivate additional research to obtain even better methods than the regress-later version of LSM.
Staphylococcus aureus TarP: A Brick in the Wall or Rosetta Stone?

Staphylococcus aureus infection elicits antibodies against wall teichoic acid (WTA). Several glycosyltransferases modify WTA to generate anomeric heterogeneity. In recent work, Gerlach et al. (2018) show that modification by prophage-encoded TarP diminishes WTA immunogenicity, allowing staphylococci to evade host adaptive immune responses, and propose to exploit these insights for vaccines.
What will you do next? A sequence analysis on the student transitions between online platforms in blended courses.

Students' interactions with online tools can provide us with insights into their study and work habits. Prior research has shown that these habits, even as simple as the number of actions or the time spent on online platforms can distinguish between the higher performing students and low-performers. These habits are also often used to predict students' performance in classes. One key feature of these actions that is often overlooked is how and when the students transition between different online platforms. In this work, we study sequences of student transitions between online tools in blended courses and identify which habits make the most difference between the higher and lower performing groups. While our results showed that most of the time students focus on a single tool, we were able to find patterns in their transitions to differentiate high and low performing groups. These findings can help instructors to provide procedural guidance to the students, as well as to identify harmful habits and make timely interventions.
Impedance Estimation Using Power Monitoring Feature for Tuning AFE Gains

Active Front End voltage source converters are widely used in industrial applications. Control loop gain setting is extremely important to maintain reliable operation of these converters to avoid resonance or bus over voltage issues. This paper presents a novel technique to estimate source impedance during drive pre-charge and transient operational mode. The technique can be extended to different drive power architecture which includes SCR/contactor based pre-charge. Transient method is implemented under a single and multiple drive at point of common coupling. Experimental results are used to validate these techniques. It is recommended to use a PQ meter to estimate and communicate grid information to multiple drives at the same time keeping system cost and accuracy of data into account.
Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power

This book is a worthy addition to the Studies in Naval History and Sea Power series sponsored by the Naval Institute and edited by Christopher M. Bell and James C. Bradford. William Trimble is a lo...
Computational Geometry Column 69

We revisit the following problem called Maximum Empty Box: Given a set S of n points inside an axis-parallel box U in Rd, nd a maximum-volume axis-parallel box that is contained in U but contains no points of S in its interior.
Modeling analysis for the growth of a Li sphere and Li whisker in a solid-state lithium metal battery

One of the challenges when using lithium metal as the anode in rechargeable lithium batteries is the formation and growth of lithium dendrites. The recent observation by He et al. (Nat. Nanotechnol., 2019, 14, 1042-1047) and Zhang et al. (Nat. Nanotechnol., 2020, 15, 94-98) confirm the presence of the root-growth mode for the growth of lithium dendrites (whiskers, spheres and hillocks). In this work, we introduced a non-Newtonian flow model to describe the flow of lithium in lithium metal and incorporate the contributions of viscous dissipation, surface energy, kinetic energy and strain energy in the analysis of the stress relaxation and the growth of a Li-sphere and a Li-whisker. Nonlinear second-order differential equations are derived for the growth of the Li-sphere and the Li-whisker. Closed-form solutions for the temporal evolution of the Li-sphere and the Li-whisker are obtained under the conditions such that the contributions of the surface energy, kinetic energy and strain energy stored in the cantilever beam to the stress relaxation in the lithium metal are negligible. Using the Lippmann relation in specific surface energy, we demonstrated that increasing the electric potential reduces the resistance to the flow of lithium into the Li-sphere and the Li-whisker. The results reveal the need to suppress the cycling-induced strain energy (misfit strain and biaxial modulus) in order to mitigate the growth of Li dendrites (whiskers, spheres and hillocks).
COVID-19: THE ‘INVISIBLE ENEMY’ AND CONTINGENT RACISM: Reflections of an Italian anthropologist conducting fieldwork in Greece

In this article, the author provides a narrative of her experience as an Italian undertaking fieldwork in Greece while the epidemic was in full swing. She reflects on representations of 'the invisible enemy': an empty category, she claims, which has been contingently filled and morally loaded, resting on pre-existing categories, such as stereotypical representations of nations. The invisibility of 'the enemy' has in fact been rendered visible through what she refers to as contingent racism; this includes the ubiquitous and hence powerful use of irony and satire at the expense of China and Italy, but also expands to the use of banal and convenient tropes of accusation and derision among European Union member states, bringing back to the fore the North-South divide and its power imbalances. The author suggests that the Covid-19 crisis has ultimately provoked a veritable epidemic of contingent racism on multiple levels by stirring stereotypes and cultural prejudices which are rooted in time and rapidly renewed; its effect is all but contingent, and likely to accompany us far beyond the Covid-19 crisis itself.
Using existing interim complete dentures as an aid for an interocclusal record to align edentulous intraoral scans for implant-retained overdentures.

Abstract This technique describes a workflow to align the maxillary and mandibular edentulous intraoral scans in the computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) software program for the fabrication of CAD-CAM implant-retained overdentures. Using the patient’s existing and clinically satisfactory interim complete dentures as an aid for the interocclusal record, this technique provides a convenient option for aligning edentulous intraoral scans without the need for an additional clinical appointment, record base, or maxillomandibular tracing device.
Nationalism and Its Effects on Attitudes About Trade, Cooperation, and Immigration

With the rise of populist leaders over the last 20 years, this paper examines whether we have seen a corresponding increase in the distribution of nationalist sentiments in a country, a strengthening of the effect of those sentiments on attitudes toward free trade, cooperation, and immigration, and nationalism conditioning the effect of education on those three attitudes. Using data from the ISSP, we show that while the distribution of nationalist attitudes in countries has not changed much and the effect of nationalism on those three attitudes has not changed, nationalism conditions the effect of education on trade and immigration and that effect is increasing over time.
Momentum-Space Topological Effects of Nonreciprocity

The connection between topology and nonreciprocity in photonic systems is reviewed. Topological properties such as Chern number, and momentum-space properties such as Berry phase and Berry connection, are used to explain backscattering immune edge states and their topological protection. We consider several examples to illustrate the role of momentum-space topology on wave propagation, and discuss recent magnet-less approaches.
Another silver lining?: Anthropological perspectives on the promise and practice of relaxed restrictions for telemedicine and medication-assisted treatment in the context of COVID-19

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has temporarily relaxed restrictions to serve people who are opioid dependent during social distancing mandates. Changes include allowing patients to take home more doses of methadone and buprenorphine rather than coming to the clinic every day (for methadone) or weekly (for buprenorphine) and relaxed restrictions on telehealth delivery. Telemedicine Program representatives have described the relaxing of federal regulations as a "silver lining" to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from medical anthropology approaches to epidemic surveillance and understandings of risk, we critically evaluate media representations of recent changes to telemedicine, prescribing, and opioid treatment delivery. Ethnographic research with providers and stakeholders in Arizona from 2017 to the present add insight to our analysis of media reports on these topics. Our findings demonstrate that media portrayal of access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) as the key to preventing both COVID-19 and overdose among people who are opioid dependent misses important risks and potential inequities. Applied social science questions raised by the new guidelines include: who receives take-home doses of methadone and buprenorphine and why; and how media representations of risk and benefit rationales shape real-world policy and practice.
Smoking-Induced Sex Differences in Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Mechanical Thrombectomy for Stroke.

Objective Ischemic stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Smoking accelerates the onset of stroke by 10 years. The effects of smoking status on percent change in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, infarct volume, and edema volume were examined following mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Subjects (N = 90; >18 years old) were divided into 3 groups based on smoking status: current smokers, previous smokers (defined as having quit >6 months before the ischemic event), and nonsmokers. Percent change in NIHSS score was defined as score at admission minus score at discharge divided by score at admission and was used as a predictor of functional outcome. Linear regression analysis was performed based on infarct or edema volume versus percent change in NIHSS score and separated by sex. Results Consistent with previous findings, smokers experienced a stroke 10 years earlier than nonsmokers (P = 0.004). Statistically significant linear regressions existed between infarct volume or edema volume in relation to worsening change in NIHSS score with female smokers only. Stroke-induced tissue damage, as measured by magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, was predictive of functional recovery only in female smokers. Conclusions These findings are valuable for patient counseling, particularly for women, for smoking cessation.
A positive-negative switching LC-MS/MS method for quantification of fenoldopam and its phase II metabolites: Applications to a pharmacokinetic study in rats.

Abstract Fenoldopam is an approved drug used to treat hypotension. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an LC-MS method to quantify fenoldopam and its major metabolites fenoldopam-glucuronide and fenoldopam-sulfate in plasma and apply the method to a pharmacokinetic study in rats. A Waters C18 column was used with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water as the mobile phases to elute the analytes. A positive–negative switching method was performed in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode. A one-step protein precipitation using methanol and ethyl acetate was successfully applied for plasma sample preparation. The method was validated following the FDA guidance. The results show that the LLOQ of fenoldopam, fenoldopam-glucuronide and fenoldopam-sulfate is 0.98, 9.75 and 0.98 nM, respectively. The intraday and interday variance is less than 8.4% and the accuracy is between 82.5 and 116.0 %. The extraction recovery for these three analytes ranged from 81.3 ± 4.1% to 113.9 ± 13.2%. There was no significant matrix effect and no significant degradation under the experimental conditions. PK studies showed that fenoldopam was rapidly eliminated (t1/2 = 0.63 ± 0.24 h) from the plasma and glucuronide is the major metabolite. This method was suitably selective and sensitive for pharmacokinetic and phase II metabolism studies.
Industrial Noise Control and Acoustics

Introduction Basics of Acoustics Acoustic Measurements Transmission of Sound Noise Sources Acoustic Criteria Room Acoustics Silencer Design Vibration Isolation for Noise Control Case Studies in Noise Control Appendix A Preferred Prefixes in SI Appendix B Properties of Gases, Liquids, and Solids Appendix C Plate Properties of Solids Appendix D Surface Absorption Coefficients Appendix E Nomenclature Index
A Sialic Acid-free β1-Glycoprotein of Normal Human Plasma

Abstract A hitherto unknown β1-glycoprotein was isolated from a subfraction of Cohn Fraction VI of pooled normal human plasma. For the isolation and purification of this very soluble globulin, precipitation with zinc ions at pH 5.8 in the presence of ethanol, chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose at pH 5.0, and gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 were employed. The resulting preparation appeared monodisperse on ultracentrifugation and paper, starch gel, and disc electrophoresis at pH 8.6. The major physichemical and chemical properties of this β1-glycoprotein were determined. The molecular weight was 31,000. The isoelectric and isoionic points of this globulin were found to be at pH 4.4 and 4.9, respectively. The conformations which this protein assumed in pH 5.8 sodium acetate buffer, 50% aqueous 2-chloroethanol, and 7 m urea are completely reversible as judged by optical rotatory dispersion measurements. This β1-glycoprotein contains 30% carbohydrate, consisting of galactose, mannose, fucose, and glucosamine. Most striking is the lack of sialic acid. Its carboxyl-terminal amino acid proved to be asparagine, while the amino-terminal amino acid did not react with Sanger's reagent. Although monodisperse by a series of criteria, this plasma protein resolves into three components on starch gel electrophoresis near its isoelectric point, an observation that was interpreted as being indicative of variants. The apparent content of this glycoprotein in pooled plasma is approximately 2 mg per liter.
EFFECTS OF CHRONIC PARTIAL URETERAL OBSTRUCTION (CPUO) AND UNINEPHRECTOMY (MX) ON RENAL AND SOMATIC GROWTH IN THE NEWBORN GUINEA PIG

Although CPUO is one of the major causes of renal insufficiency in infancy, the relationship between renal impairment and growth remains poorly understood. Within the first 48 h of life, 63 guinea pigs were subjected to left (L) CPUO, 31 of which also underwent right (R) NX. 16 sham-operated and 15 NX animals were controls. At 23±2 days of age, body weight (BW), dry kidney weight (DKW), ureteral diameter (UD) and BUN were measured. Resulting UD was variable, and each group was divided into Mild (UD <3 mm) and Severe obstruction (UD≥3 mm). Control UD = 1 mm. Results were as follows (mean ± SE, *p< 0.05 vs Control): We conclude that during Mild CPUO, compensatory renal growth due to NX is impaired, but normal renal growth is not. Severe CPUO with intact R kidney results in decreased growth of the affected kidney and compensatory hypertrophy of the other, while Severe CPUO and NX results in azotemia despite compensatory hypertrophy of the obstructed kidney. Somatic growth during CPUO is limited by unidentified factors in addition to functional renal mass.
Real Logic is Nonmonotonic

Charles Morgan has argued that nonmonotonic logic is ``impossible''. We show here that those arguments are mistaken, and that Morgan's preferred alternative, the representation of nonmonotonic reasoning by ``presuppositions'' fails to provide a framework in which nonmonotonic reasoning can be constructively criticised. We argue that an inductive logic, based on probabilistic acceptance, offers more than Morgan's approach through presuppositions.
Halomethyl—metal compounds : LXXIX. The generation of isopropylidene carbene by the organomercury route

Abstract Bis(1-bromo-2-methylpropenyl)mercury, prepared via Me 2 CC(Br)Li, was treated with mercuric bromide to give Me 2 CC(Br)HgBr. The latter transferred Me 2 CC: to olefins, giving isopropylidenecyclopropanes, in sealed tube reactions carried out at 150°C in the presence of an equimolar quantity of diphenylmercury. The Me 2 CC(Br)HgBr/Ph 2 Hg reagent also reacted with triethylsilane at 150°C to give Et 3 SiCHCMe 2 in nearly quantitative yield.
African American Folktales

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2009 Pages: 184 Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN: 978-0-313-36295-8 (hard cover). Prices: $49.95 USD(hard cover).
On Measuring Uncertainty and Uncertainty-Based Information: Recent Developments

It is shown in this paper how the emergence of fuzzy set theory and the theory of monotone measures considerably expanded the framework for formalizing uncertainty and suggested many new types of uncertainty theories. The paper focuses on issues regarding the measurement of the amount of relevant uncertainty (predictive, prescriptive, diagnostic, etc.) in nondeterministic systems formalized in terms of the various uncertainty theories. It is explained how information produced by an action can be measured by the reduction of uncertainty produced by the action. Results regarding measures of uncertainty (and uncertainty-based information) in possibility theory, Dempster–Shafer theory, and the various theories of imprecise probabilities are surveyed. The significance of these results in developing sound methodological principles of uncertainty and uncertainty-based information is discussed.
Using Small Cracked Round Bars to Measure the Fracture Toughness of a Pressure Vessel Steel Weldment: A Feasibility Study

The research objectives were to demonstrate the feasibility of using small fatigue pre-cracked round bars to measure the initiation fracture toughness of ductile nuclear pressure vessel steels and weldments and to refine and validate experiment and analysis procedures. Initiation fracture toughness values were measured for a duplicate of HSSI Weld 72W, unirradiated, in the temperature range -150° to 50°C, using small cracked round bar (CRB) specimens. The results were compared with the values obtained with 1T-CT specimens. The good agreement between the toughness values measured with CRB and 1T-CT specimens indicates that using small CRB specimens (possibly cut from Charpy bars) to measure fracture toughness is feasible. A relationship between J and the displacement due to the crack δ c r , where δ c r is obtained from extensometer measurements, was established experimentally. Fracture initiation in CRBs of the size investigated here occurred at or near maximum load, with the crack growth prior to maximum load being less than 200 μm. This observation, together with the unique relationship between J and δ c r , open the possibility of greatly simplified testing and data reduction procedures for fracture experiments with CRB.
A probabilistic approach to semantic face retrieval system

A probabilistic system that retrieves face images based on verbal descriptions given by users is proposed. This interactive system prompts the user at each stage of query to provide a description about a facial feature that will help it to retrieve the required face image. It is a soft biometric system that groups people by the description of their faces. The method proposed automates the process of extracting general verbal descriptions of faces like 'long nosed' or 'blonde haired' and performs queries on them. The proposed method uses Bayesian learning for the query process and hence is more immune to errors in both the extraction of semantic descriptions and user given information. It was found that the required face image appeared 77.6% of the time within the top 5 and 90.4% of the time within the top 10 retrieved face images.
Tradeoffs in the utility of learned knowledge

Planning systems which make use of domain theories can produce more accurate plans and achieve more goals as the quality of their domain knowledge improves. MTR, a multi-strategy learning system, was designed to learn from system failures and improve domain knowledge used in planning. However, augmented domain knowledge can decrease planning efficiency. We describe how improved knowledge that becomes expensive to use can be approximated to yield calculated tradeoffs in accuracy and efficiency.
Abstraction in algorithm animation

Abstraction of information into visual form plays a key role in the development of algorithm animations. The authors present a classification for abstraction as applied to algorithm animation. The classification emphasizes the expressive power of the abstraction ranging from simple direct presentation of the program's state to complex animations intended to explain the behavior of the program. They illustrate their classification by presenting several visualizations of a shortest path algorithm. >
Undergraduate Quality Management Project: Motorcycle Manufacturer Vendor Rating System

A major motorcycle vendor, based in the U.S. Midwest, is the world’s largest custom V-Twin motorcycle manufacturer and domestically the second largest motorcycle manufacturer behind Harley-Davidson. This project describes the process used used by a K-State undergraduate distance learning student to design and develop the initial version of a vendor rating system. Ideas for the project were derived in part from existing commercial systems and in part from interviews with different individuals in the organization. The project used concepts taught and discussed in a distance education version of a quality management course offered through Kansas State University but exceeded class expectations. The project was developed with Microsoft SQL, TSQL, C# and Crystal Reports coding using Microsoft Visual Studio. The initial version of the program is now in use.
A Comparison of Research Productivity Across Plastic Surgery Fellowship Directors.

Background Objective measures of research productivity depend on how frequently a publication is cited. Metrics such as the Hirsch index ( h -index; total number of publications h that have at least h citations) allow for an objective measurement of the scientific impact of an author's publications. Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the h -index among aesthetic plastic surgery fellowship directors to that of fellowship directors in craniofacial surgery and microsurgery. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of all fellowship directors in aesthetic surgery, craniofacial surgery, and microsurgery in the United States and Canada. The gathered data were categorized as bibliometric ( h -index, i10-index, total number of publications, total number of citations, maximum citations for a single work, and number of self-citations) and demographic (gender, training background). Descriptive statistics were computed. Results The sample was composed of 30 aesthetic surgeons (93% male), 33 craniofacial surgeons (97% male), and 32 microsurgeons (94% male). The mean h -index was 13.7 for aesthetics, 16.9 for craniofacial, and 12.4 for microsurgery. There were no significant differences for any of the bibliometric measures between the three subspecialties, despite the fact that academic rank and years in practice were significantly different. Conclusions As measured by the h -index, there is a high level of academic productivity among fellowship directors, regardless of subspecialty area. Unlike other plastic surgery subspecialties however, the h- index of aesthetic plastic surgeons is not correlated to academic rank, revealing a discrepancy between perceptions of aesthetic plastic surgery and its actual academic impact.
Davies, eternity and the cosmological argument

What I wish to establish in this essay is that the objection to a timeless God raised specifically by R.G. Swinburne is not answerable in the way Davies proposes. The reason is that there are some serious problems with Davies' version of the Cosmological Argument, which constitutes both the basis for his rejoinder to Swinburne and his 'positive reason for saying that God is timeless.' In the course of exposing these problems, I will sketch a distinct Causal or Cosmological Argument2 which I think does provide a reasonable answer to licit queries about the 'contingency' of the natural universe, yet it does not establish that the First Cause or Ultimate Explanans is timeless. In effect, it is also a main purpose of this paper to develop an argument for the existence of God within the context of the issue of divine temporality vs. timelessness, which is posed so sharply by Davies' discussion of the doctrine of divine eternity. The discussion will be organized as follows. In Section I, I will present concisely Davies' critique of Swinburne on divine timelessness. In Section II, I will present a resume of Davies' version of the Causal or Cosmological Argument, while presenting an outline and defense of my preferred 'temporalistic* version which is integral to the proceeding critique. In Section III, I will present my main reason for thinking that Davies' Causal Argument fails to establish the timelessness of deity.
Hydrogen diffusion in palladium by galvanostatic charging

Abstract The diffusion of hydrogen in α-palladium at ambient temperature has been studied by a galvanostatic technique. Single transient and multiple transient hydrogen charging experiments were conducted on specimens over a range of charging currents and specimen thicknesses. The mathematical description of multiple transient charging is developed for the galvanostatic technique from the general solution for diffusion. The diffusion coefficient at 23°C for hydrogen in α-palladium was determined to be (3.4 ± 0.2) × 10 −7 cm 2 / s in excellent agreement with results from Gorsky-effect measurements. The results demonstrate that bulk hydrogen diffusion is the rate controlling process, and the hydrogen flux boundary conditions assumed in the mathematical analyses were satisfied by the galvanostatic technique.
Digenean Trematode Infections of Native Freshwater Snails and Invasive Potamopyrgus antipodarum in the Grand Teton National Park/John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway Area

Abstract Outside its native range, the invasive New Zealand mud snail (NZMS), Potamopyrgus antipodarum, is rarely reported to harbor parasites. To test this observation, 7 sites along the Snake River and Polecat Creek in the Grand Teton National Park/John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway area (Wyoming) were surveyed for native aquatic snails, NZMS, and associated digenean trematodes, in July 2005. At 6 sites, native snails harbored patent digenean infections; within 2 hr, ≤10% of lymnaeid snails shed furcocercariae or xiphidiocercariae, and ≤42% of physid snails released furcocercariae or echinostome cercariae. Partial 18S rDNA sequences were recovered from several furcocercariae. Potamopyrgus antipodarum was present at, and collected from, 5 sites. Polymerase chain reaction assays targeting digenean rDNA sequences in DNA extracted from pools of 150 NZMS snails did not detect parasites. The examination of 960 NZMS by overnight shedding yielded 1 occurrence of (surface-encysted) metacercariae of an unclassif...
Edge Detection In Cytology Using Local Statistical Properties.

Accurate edge detection is a fundamental problem in the areas of image processing and pattern recognition/classification. The lack of effective edge detection methods has slowed the application of image processing to many areas, in particular diagnostic cytology, and is a major factor in lack of acceptance of image processing in service oriented pathology. In this paper, we present a two step procedure which detects edges. Since most images are corrupted by noise and often contain artifacts, the first step is to cleanup the image. Our approach is to use a median filter to reduce noise and background artifacts. The second operation is to locate image pixels which are "information rich" by using local statistics. This, step locates the regions of the image most likely to contain edges. The application of a threshold can then pinpoint those pixels forming the edge of structures of interest. The procedure has been tested on routine cytologic specimens.
Direct fluorescence analysis of genetic polymorphisms by hybridization with oligonucleotide arrays on glass supports

A simple and rapid method for the analysis of genetic polymorphisms has been developed using allele-specific oligonucleotide arrays bound to glass supports. Allele-specific oligonucleotides are covalently immobilized on glass slides in arrays of 3 mm spots. Genomic DNA is amplified by PCR using one fluorescently tagged primer oligonucleotide and one biotinylated primer oligonucleotide. The two complementary DNA strands are separated, the fluorescently tagged strand is hybridized to the support-bound oligonucleotide array, and the hybridization pattern is detected by fluorescence scanning. Multiple polymorphisms present in the PCR product may be detected in parallel. The effect of spacer length, surface density and hybridization conditions were evaluated, as was the relative efficacy of hybridization with single or double-stranded PCR products. The utility of the method was demonstrated in the parallel analysis of 5 point mutations from exon 4 of the human tyrosinase gene.
Proteins of herpesvirus type 2: I. Virion, nonvirion, and antigenic polypeptides in infected cells.

Abstract Purified herpesvirus type 2 (HSV-2 (G)) virions were prepared by two cycles of centrifugation on dextran T-10 gradients from cytoplasmic extracts of infected human epidermoid carcinoma (HEp-2) cells. The purity of the preparation was assessed by electron microscopy and by an analysis of the ratio of infectivity to trichloroacetic acid-precipitable counts. The extent of purification by the latter criterion was at least 240-fold with respect to host proteins. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the proteins from these virion preparations revealed the existence of a minimum of 24 proteins. Forty-seven viral proteins were identified in HSV-2 (G) infected HEp-2 cells by using one or more of the following criteria: (i) an increased rate of synthesis following infection; (ii) precipitation by antisera specific for viral antigens; and (iii) variations in their electrophoretic mobilities or rates of synthesis following infection with different strains of HSV-2. Twenty-four of these viral proteins have electrophoretic mobilities similar to those of the proteins prepared from purified virions. The remaining 23 viral proteins were classified as nonstructural proteins. The 47 viral proteins could be subclassified into four groups on the basis of their kinetics of synthesis, indicating regulation of the amounts of viral protein synthesized. The data are discussed in terms of their relevance to the molecular aspects of productive HSV-2 infection and to the identification of the viral antigens responsible for stimulating the production of neutralizing and complement-fixing antibodies.
Comparison of N-butyl cyanoacrylate and onyx for the embolization of intracranial arteriovenous malformations: analysis of fluoroscopy and procedure times.

OBJECTIVE Intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVM) may be managed through staged preoperative embolization and resection. Two commonly used liquid embolics are N-butyl cyanoacrylate (nBCA; Cordis Microvascular, Inc., New Brunswick, NJ) and Onyx (ev3, Inc., Irvine, CA). We sought to compare the utility of these agents in terms of fluoroscopy and procedure times. METHODS All intracranial AVMs embolized from 2002 to 2006 at the University of Florida were included in this study. Patients were stratified into three treatment groups: nBCA, Onyx, and patients who received both nBCA and Onyx during separate embolizations. Cohorts were compared by sex, age, Spetzler-Martin grade, AVM volume, fluoroscopy time, procedure time, surgical blood loss, and complications. RESULTS A total of 182 embolizations were performed on 88 patients (nBCA, 60 patients and 106 procedures; Onyx, 20 patients and 43 procedures; and nBCA/Onyx, eight patients and 16 nBCA and 17 Onyx procedures). There were no significant differences in patient demographics, AVM volumes, and Spetzler-Martin grades. Mean fluoroscopy and procedure times were increased for Onyx (57 min; 2.6 h) compared with nBCA (37 min; 2.1 h) embolizations (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.001, respectively). Cumulative mean fluoroscopy time was increased for Onyx (135 min) and nBCA/Onyx (180 min) cohorts relative to nBCA (64 min; P < 0.0001). Cumulative mean procedure time was increased in the nBCA/Onyx group (10.4 h) compared with nBCA (3.7 h) and Onyx (5.4 h; P < 0.0001). Seventy patients (80%) underwent AVM resection. No significant differences in surgical blood loss or complication rates were observed among the cohorts. CONCLUSION Onyx AVM embolization requires increased fluoroscopy and procedure times compared with nBCA. Further investigation is necessary to justify increased radiation exposure and procedure time associated with Onyx.
RESEARCH NOTE: Some Corrections and Suggestions for Working with the National Faculty Survey Databases

Our ability to understand the faculty work environment has been greatly enhanced by the availability of largescale national surveys of the professoriate since the 1950s. This technical note identifies ways to improve data comparability among the national faculty surveys. It begins by identifying the national surveys and some of their attributes. The study then estimates faculty sizes and calculates weights for faculty in selected disciplines and institution types. The weights are designed specifically for four surveys conducted in 1969, 1975, 1980, and 1988.
EXPANSION OF PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS INTO TIDAL WETLANDS OF NORTH AMERICA

Phragmitesexpansion into tidal wetlands of North America is most extensive along the northern and middle Atlantic coasts, but over 80% of the US coastal wetland area occurs along the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic coasts and may be susceptible to ongoing expansion. Rapid spread of Phragmiteshas been documented in freshwater (<0.5 ppt), oligohaline (0.5‐5 ppt) and mesohaline (5‐18 ppt) tidal wetlands. The advance of Phragmites into tidal wetlands of North America may have been facilitated by widespread coastal changes since European settlement, including disturbance of hydrologic cycles and nutrient regimes; the presence of Phragmiteshas become a signature of tidal wetland alteration. Although ploidy levels from 2n = 36 to 72 have been documented for Phragmites throughout the continent, no genetics research to date has tested whether recent introduction of aggressive clones could account for Phragmites expansion. A fundamental concern regarding Phragmitesexpansion, particularly into tidal freshwater wetlands, is the observed reduction in biodiversity as many native species of plants are replaced by a more cosmopolitan species. Commensurate with a shift in habitat type is a reduction in insect, avian and other animal assemblages. Ecosystem services, including support of higher trophic levels, enhancement of water quality and sediment stabilization, however, are not diminished when a tidal wetland becomes dominated by Phragmites, provided that tidal flooding is retained. ©1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Acquired cyclic neutropenia: Successful treatment with prednisone

A previously healthy woman developed severe, periodic neutropenia after ingestion of phenylbutazone. Oscillations in the monocyte count and hemoglobin concentrations also occurred. The neutropenic episodes were associated with severe bacterial infections requiring hospitalization. Lithium induced a transient interruption in the neutropenia, but continued use was ineffective. Prednisone in a dosage of 100 mg daily successfully interrupted the neutrophil cycling and prevented infection. The patient has remained in remission on 10 mg of prednisone on alternate days.
The Production of Distinctions: Class, Gender, and Taste Work in the Lifestyle Management Industry

Drawing on participant observation and interviews, this paper analyzes the paid labor of lifestyle production. In particular, I look at jobs in the lifestyle management industry that involve making consumption-related aesthetic choices with and for clients. This is taste work, and workers are taste brokers, who mediate between clients and markets, between clients and other people, and between clients and their own desires. Taste brokers shape not only clients’ consumption decisions but also their class performances and dispositions. I argue that taste brokers also reproduce legitimate social differences in three ways: by fostering distinctions between “good” and “bad” taste; by reinforcing the association between particular tastes and particular class positions; and by casting women as both better at and responsible for making aesthetic decisions.
Ideas versus labor: what do children value in artistic creation?

As scientists, we primarily award authorship, as well as legal patents, to those who generate ideas, often without formally crediting others who executed the actual experiments. However, little is known about how and when people come to value ideas. Here, we investigate whether young children also value ideas over labor. In Study 1, we found that 4 and 6 year olds preferred pictures containing their ideas to those containing their labor. In Study 2 we rule out an alternative explanation—that children simply favor pictures containing their idiosyncratic preferences—by discovering that 6 year olds, but not 4 year olds chose a picture they mistakenly believed contained their idea, over a picture that contained their idiosyncratic preferences. Consistent with these results, using a third-party design in Study 3, we found that 6 year olds, but not 4 year olds favored a person who only contributed an idea over another who only contributed labor in awarding ownership. Across three studies, these results suggest that by 6 years old, children value ideas over labor.
Quantum mechanics of measurements distributed in time. A path-integral formulation.

Consider measurements that provide information about the position of a nonrelativistic, one-dimensional, quantum-mechanical system. An outstanding question in quantum mechanics asks how to analyze measurements distributed in time---i.e., measurements that provide information about the position at more than one time. I develop a formulation in terms of a path integral and show that it applies to a large class of measurements distributed in time. For measurements in this class, the path-integral formulation provides the joint statistics of a sequence of measurements. Specialized to the case of instantaneous position measurements, the path-integral formulation breaks down into the conventional machinery of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics: a system quantum state evolving in time according to two rules---between measurements, unitary evolution, and at each measurement, ``collapse of the wave function'' (``reduction of the state vector''). For measurements distributed in time, the path-integral formulation has no similar decomposition; the notion of a system quantum state evolving in time has no place.
Electrical conductivity of a metal powder struck by a spark

Abstract Equivalent resistance of a polydisperse powder layer struck by an electric spark is evaluated. Particles were computationally created and mixed using discrete element method; the mixing protocol homogenized particle size distribution within the sample. The conductivity was determined from the equivalent resistance network for the simulated powder bed. A plasma streamer attached to a particle on top of the sample. For each particle contact, an electrical breakdown was assumed; each individual contact resistance was calculated considering its geometry and plasma resistivity. Results of calculations compare well with the available experimental data.
The CLIPR remote laboratory microprocessor system: Development and applications

The introduction of microprocessor technology into the centralized experiment automation facilities of CLIPR separates data processing functions and real-time functions. Three examples of real-time intelligent terminals are described. The implementation process, principles, and examples for using microprocessor technology in this way is described in some detail.
Intracranial pressure monitoring and inpatient mortality in severe traumatic brain injury: A propensity score-matched analysis.

BACKGROUNDAlthough intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is recommended by the Brain Trauma Foundation, the benefits remain controversial. We sought to determine the impact of ICP monitor placement on inpatient mortality within a regional trauma system after c