cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Latex Agglutination Tests for Detection of Candida Antigens in Sera of Patients with Invasive Candidiasis

The utility of two latex agglutination tests in detecting antigenemia in patients with invasive candidiasis was studied. To perform one test, we treated sera with protease and heat to free mannan from antibodies to mannan. Latex beads coated with antibodies to mannan detected mannan in supernatants. In the second test, untreated sera were tested for capacity to agglutinate a commercially available preparation of latex beadscoated with antibody to Candida. Two panels of sera were analyzed with the tests. One comprised 355 sera sequentially collected from 75 leukemic patients who underwent 97 episodes of chemotherapy resulting in neutropenia. The other panel comprised 364 sera collected only at the time candidiasis was suspected from 150 patients with a variety of underlying diseases. Of 23 episodes of invasive candidiasis in leukemic patients, antigenemia was detected in 18 (78%) by the mannan latex agglutination test and in 11 (48%) by the commerical test. For the second serum panel the respective tests detected antigenemia in only 22% and 19% of patients with invasive candidiasis. While latex agglutination tests for circulating Candida antigens may be useful for diagnosing invasive candidiasis, the transient nature of antigenemia requires frequent testing of patients' sera and limits the usefulness of the tests in diagnosing invasive candidiasis.
Bivalved arthropods from the Middle Ordovician Winneshiek Lagerstätte, Iowa, USA

The Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) Winneshiek Lagerstatte of northeast Iowa is preserved in a meteorite crater. Besides conodonts, the fossils are dominated by arthropods, particularly eurypterids and phyllocarids. Here we describe the bivalved forms, which include at least seven different taxa. The small phyllocarid Ceratiocaris winneshiekensis, new species, is the most abundant; it is the oldest representative of the Ceratiocarididae. A single incomplete abdomen and telson bearing furcal rami is reminiscent of notostracan branchiopods but its affinities are unknown. Decoracaris hildebrandi, new genus and species, is a rare form with a shield that extends anteriorly into a swollen horn and reaches lengths of 9 cm: it may represent a thylacocephalan crustacean but this cannot be confirmed without soft parts. Iosuperstes collisionis, new genus and species, is represented by suboval valves 10–25 mm long: its affinities are unknown. A probable leperditicopid, which ranges in length from 8 to 18 mm, is commonly preserved in a ‘butterflied’ configuration. It does not preserve the scars and sinuses characteristic of three-dimensionally preserved leperditicopids from elsewhere. Finally the fauna includes at least three ostracods, including a palaeocope with a granular surface and relief similar to Lomatopisthia, and a smooth ?podocope. The Winneshiek fauna differs from those of other Ordovician Lagerstatten from restricted settings such as Airport Cove and William Lake in Manitoba (Katian) where, apart from ostracods, bivalved arthropods are absent, and Silurian examples such as Brandon Bridge (Telychian), which lacks eurypterids, and the Williamsville Member of the Bertie Formation (Pridoli) where conodont assemblages are absent.
Value of suggestive provocative test combined with Video-EEG recordings of hysteria diagnosis in children

Objective: To differentiate the hysteria seizures from epileptic seizures in children. Methods: Video-EEG with suggestive provocative test was performed in 52 patients aged 7-14 with hysteria. They were divided into four groups: Group 1 (18 patients) who had a definite diagnosis of hysteria; Group 2 (14 patients) who had seizures with unknown causes; Group 3 (8 patients) who had a definite diagnosis of hysteria combined with epilepsy; Group 4(12 patients) who had a definite diagnosis of epilepsy. Result: The positiveness rate of suggestive provocative test was 94% , 62% , 38% , 0 in Groupl -4 respectively. The positiveness rate in the hysteria group was obviously higher than in the hysteria-epilepsy group(X2=9.49,P0.01) . 1、6、7、11 cases were captured the patients with interictal epileptiform discharge in Group 1-4 respectively. Conclusion: The suggestive provocative test combined with Video-EEG would be an effective means to distinguish hysteria from epilepsy in children.
Identifying Cost Centers and Environmental Impacts Needs Assessment for Fracking Life Cycle in the United States

Abstract Energy have been always on the forefront of every nation's priority list, more importantly, affordable energy is one of the main objectives for every country. Hence, the fracking process have dominated the last decade because of its contribution to a more affordable energy. In the meantime the fracking process proved to have several negative impacts on the environmental sustainability. Therefore, the net cost of fracking have to be identified and its benefits have to be weighed against its negative sustainability impacts as well. This paper presents an identification of the major cost centers and the impacts needs assessment for the fracking process across the phases of its Life Cycle from the exploration and acquisition to the well completion. The paper is also serving as a step forward to estimate the real value and worth of the fracking process as a whole.
Participatory journalism in the Chinese context: Understanding journalism as process in China’s participatory culture:

Compared to its Western counterpart, China’s media culture has its uniqueness. The relationship between Chinese media and media users presents ‘Chinese style’ characteristics, especially with the r...
Pharmacy System Planning and Organizational Growth

In the early seventies the St. Radboudhospital saw many modifications to the then existing drug distribution methods. Introduction of computer assisted inventory and turnover management, a hospital-wide formulary, unit-dose packaging, standard procedures for the recording of drug administrations and assistant-pharmacists for ward-services were accompanied by improved procedures in the pharmacy and expansion of pharmaceutical and pharmacological research.
Neurotrophin regulation of gene expression.

The neurotrophins comprise a family of secreted proteins that elicit profound responses in cells of the developing and mature vertebrate nervous system including the regulation of neuronal survival and differentiation. The molecular mechanisms by which the neurotrophins exert their effects have been the subject of intense investigation. The neurotrophins elicit responses in neurons via members of the Trk family of receptors and the p75 neurotrophin receptor. Once activated, neurotrophin receptors trigger a large number of biochemical events that propagate the neurotrophin signal from the plasma membrane to the interior of the cell. An important target of the neurotrophin-induced signaling pathways is the nucleus, where neurotrophin-induced signals are coupled to alterations in gene expression. These neurotrophin-induced changes in gene expression are critical for many of. the phenotypic effects of neurotrophins including the regulation of neuronal survival and differentiation.
Carceral and Intersectional Feminism in Congress: The Violence Against Women Act, Discourse, and Policy

This paper uses a materialist feminist discourse analysis to examine how women’s movement organizations, liberal Democrats, and conservative Republican legislators shaped the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the consequences for intersectional and carceral feminism. Drawing on qualitative analysis of Congressional hearings, published feminist and conservative discussion of VAWA, and accounts of feminist mobilization around VAWA, I first show how a multi-issue coalition led by feminists shaped VAWA. Second, I show how discourses of crime intermixed with feminism into a polysemic gendered crime frame that facilitated cross-ideological support. Third, I show how, in contrast, intersectional issues that activists understood as central to violence against women were discursively and structurally separated from gendered crime in Congress. Although a multi-issue movement coalition advocated for expansions in VAWA dealing with immigrants, unmarried partners, same-sex partners, transgender people, and Native ...
Regenerative Medicine Therapies Using Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

Abstract Human adipose tissue is a plentiful source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that is obtained during routine cosmetic procedures. Among adipocytes, the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) contains adipose stem/progenitor cells (ASCs), mature and immature vascular endothelial cells, pericytes, fibroblasts, and hematopoietic-lineage cells. The SVF can be isolated manually or using automated devices. Key steps in manual isolation and standard release criteria are described. The SVF may be cultured and expanded to concentrate the ASCs. Similar to other MSCs, ASCs are highly proliferative and can differentiate into adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and myocytes. ASCs also possess immunomodulatory properties, which expand the therapeutic potential of ASCs from a strictly autologous therapy into an allogeneic cell product. After isolation from adipose tissue, SVF can be admixed into lipoaspirate for cell-enhanced fat grafting to promote angiogenesis, graft viability, and volume retention. This cell-assisted lipotransfer is used clinically for breast surgery and correction of craniofacial asymmetry or soft-tissue defects. SVF can also be locally injected into zones of injury or introduced intravenously. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has two general categories into which adipose derived cell therapy could fall. One category is designated for human cells and tissue products and is regulated under the same rules pertaining to grafted tissue materials. The second FDA category designates the cell product as a “biologic drug.” Currently, there are numerous ongoing clinical trials globally that incorporate ASCs in the treatment of various diseases or injuries.
Abstract 100: Effects of time to Physical Therapy Order on Length of Stay and Discharge NIH Stroke Scale Scores in an Acute Stroke Unit

Introduction: Early physical therapy (PT) consults and subsequent rehabilitation services have been shown to improve functional and mobility outcomes post stroke. Shortage of PT staff may impact how soon patients can be seen after a physician’s order (PO) and rehabilitation outcomes. The current preliminary study purposed to assess the effects of time elapsed between PO for PT services and the first PT consult ≤ or >48 hours (time to PT order = TPO), on patient’s length of stay (LOS) and scores on the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at discharge, in a busy acute stroke unit of a regional health care facility. It was hypothesized that TPO of ≤48 hours after initial PO for PT services will show better LOS and NIHSS scores (at discharge) outcomes compared to TPO >48 hours. Methods: A total of 291 stroke patients who presented at an acute hospital were retrospectively placed in either a TPO ≤ 48 hours group, G1 (n=147), or a TPO >48 hours group, G2 (n=144) based on the time of their first PT consult after a PO. The LOS and NIHSS data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: There were no significant differences in LOS (G1=5.5 ± 4.61 vs. G2= 5.9 ± 5.62 days; p=0.6542 ) and discharge NIHSS scores ( p=0.6728 ) of either groups. A post hoc regression analysis to examine impact of factors such as demographics (age, gender, weight, etc), number of PT visits (PTV) and discharge destination (DD) revealed that TPO ( p<0.0001 ), PTV (p<0.0001) and DD (p<0.0001) were significant contributors to observations in group G1; while PTV ( p<0.0001 ) and DD ( p<0.0001 ) were the only significant contributors to observations in the G2 group, TPO was not significant ( p=0.0646 ). Conclusions: Ideally, stroke patients should be evaluated for physical therapy services within 24 hours of a PO. Shortage of PT staff in a busy health care facility may impact how soon patients can be seen. Although the current pilot study did not reveal significant changes in LOS, and NIHSS scores of stroke patients at discharge irrespective of whether patients were seen by physical therapists ≤ or >48 hours after a PO, severity of the stroke, previous history of stroke or TIAs, and other co-morbidities that could have confounded the results were not examined. Future study design will take into account these potential confounding variables and other outcome measures.
Endotracheal Intubation after Acute Drug Overdoses: Incidence, Complications, and Risk Factors.

Abstract Background Drug overdose is the leading cause of injury-related fatality in the United States, and respiratory failure remains a major source of morbidity and mortality. Objectives We aimed to identify the incidence and risk factors for endotracheal intubation after acute drug overdose. Methods This secondary data analysis was performed on a 5-year prospective cohort at two urban tertiary-care hospitals. The present study analyzed adult patients with suspected acute drug overdose to derive independent clinical predictors of endotracheal intubation. Results We analyzed 2497 patients with acute drug overdose, of whom 87 (3.5%) underwent endotracheal intubation. Independent clinical risk factors for endotracheal intubation were: younger age (odds ratio [OR] 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96–0.98), and history of obstructive lung disease (OR 6.6, 95% CI 3.5–12.3); however, heart failure had no association. Patients with obstructive lung disease had significantly more hypercapnia (mean difference 6.8 mm Hg, 95% CI 2.3–11.3) and a higher degree of acidemia (mean pH difference 0.04, 95% CI 0.01–0.07) than patients without obstructive lung disease. Lack of rapid sequence sedative/paralytic was associated with in-hospital fatality. Early complications of endotracheal intubation itself included desaturation (3.4%) and bradycardia (1%). Conclusions Endotracheal intubation was infrequently performed on patients with acute drug overdose, and complications were rare when performed. Risk factors associated with endotracheal intubation included younger age and prior obstructive lung disease.
Use of acetaminophen in relation to the occurrence of cancer: a review of epidemiologic studies

Acetaminophen has several pharmacologic properties that suggest it could be carcinogenic in human beings. A number of epidemiologic studies have been conducted to examine whether use of acetaminophen actually predisposes to the occurrence of one or more forms of cancer. There are inherent limitations to many of these studies, including the inaccurate identification of users and nonusers of acetaminophen, relatively short follow-up for cancer incidence, and the potential for confounding by indication. The present manuscript reviews the results of epidemiologic studies of acetaminophen use in relation to cancer incidence published through the end of 2015. The limitations of the underlying studies notwithstanding, some interim conclusions can be reached. For all but several forms of cancer, there is no suggestion that persons who have taken acetaminophen are at altered risk, even persons who have consumed a large quantity of the drug or those who have taken it for an extended duration. While in some studies the incidence of renal cell carcinoma has been observed to be increased among acetaminophen users, several other studies have failed to observe any such association; the reason for the discrepant findings is unclear. Some of the small number of studies that have presented data on the incidence of lymphoma, leukemia, and plasma cell disorders have found the risk to be modestly higher in users than nonusers of acetaminophen, but the results of other studies of these malignancies will be needed to gauge the possible role of publication bias as the basis for the positive results.
Facebook Interruptions in the Workplace from a Media Uses Perspective: A Longitudinal Analysis

The development and uses of new communication technology in organizational settings has always been a challenge to communication within an organization (Fulk, Schmitz, & Steinfield, 1990; Rogers, 1988). This challenge is exacerbated when new communication technologies “become embedded, pervasive, and interconnected; they ARE wherever we are” (Rice, 2009, p. 718). Advances in information technology have increased the number of ways that people or groups can interrupt one another, which might impede or delay organizational members’ progress on tasks (Jett & George, 2003). Among all the types of new communication technology, social network sites (SNSs), which publicly display users’ social networks online, have generated worldwide concern over their potential effects on the workplace (e.g., Rooksby et al., 2009). One major concern is that the use of SNSs interrupts work—the technical characteristics of SNSs, which support instant messaging (IM), are interruptive by nature (Cameron & Webster, 2005; Renneker & Godwin, 2003).
Neural Correlates of Emotion Reactivity and Regulation in Young Children with ADHD Symptoms

Emotion reactivity and regulation are frequently impaired in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet few studies have examined these factors in young children with ADHD, and none have explored the neural correlates of emotion reactivity and regulation in this group through event-related potentials (ERPs). Children aged 4 to 7 with (n = 25; 18 boys) and without (n = 29; 20 boys) ADHD symptoms completed an attention task composed of four blocks: baseline, frustration, suppression, and recovery. In the frustration and suppression blocks, negative affect was induced by false negative feedback. During the suppression block, children were asked to suppress emotional expressions. Neural reactivity, assessed via the N2 and P3 components, suggests that children with ADHD symptoms processed the emotional induction differently than typically developing (TD) children. TD children demonstrated decreased N2 and increased P3 amplitudes at frontal and frontocentral regions across task conditions whereas children with ADHD symptoms showed relatively stable N2 and P3 amplitudes. This pattern suggests that young children with ADHD symptoms are not as effective as their TD peers in modulating attention allocation and cognitive control in emotionally laden situations. The present study underscores that emotional contexts may exacerbate attentional control deficits in young children with ADHD symptoms.
TGF-β Family Signaling in Early Vertebrate Development

TGF-β family ligands function in inducing and patterning many tissues of the early vertebrate embryonic body plan. Nodal signaling is essential for the specification of mesendodermal tissues and the concurrent cellular movements of gastrulation. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling patterns tissues along the dorsal-ventral axis and simultaneously directs the cell movements of convergence and extension. After gastrulation, a second wave of Nodal signaling breaks the symmetry between the left and right sides of the embryo. During these processes, elaborate regulatory feedback between TGF-β ligands and their antagonists direct the proper specification and patterning of embryonic tissues. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the function and regulation of TGF-β family signaling in these processes. Although we cover principles that are involved in the development of all vertebrate embryos, we focus specifically on three popular model organisms: the mouse Mus musculus, the African clawed frog of the genus Xenopus, and the zebrafish Danio rerio, highlighting the similarities and differences between these species.
Technology and Inequality Case Study: Social Media

Using our four-part framework of mediation, model, mobilization, and wealth effects, this chapter analyzes social media as a case study of technology and inequality. The digital mediation of social relationships has evolved from personal profiles and networks of friends and followers to an information feed that keeps users updated about new content in their social network. The attractiveness of social media as an online activity is unprecedented. Like the search industry, social media has found a lucrative advertising-based business model that requires careful decisions about how commercial messages are injected into people’s social news streams. Social media information feeds are now controlled by proprietary algorithms that try to highlight enticing and commercially relevant content, making the resulting social media industry highly concentrated (though not as concentrated as search) and highly profitable.
Mao Tse-Tung on Educational Revolution: Announcement by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Regarding the earnest Study and Resolute Implementation of "Chairman Mao on Educational Revolution" (1) (December 7, 1967)

To the Revolutionary Committees (Preparatory Groups) of Each Province, Municipality, and Autonomous Region, Military Supervisory Committees, Each Military District, and the Elementary, Middle, and Higher Education Schools of Each Area: The exceedingly important document "Chairman Mao on Educational Revolution" has now been distributed to you. This is the great outline with which you will carry out a proletarian educational revolution; this is the incomparably sharp weapon with which we shall judge the counterrevolutionary revisionist educational line (2) of Liu Shao-ch'i, Teng Hsiao-p'ing, P'eng Chen, Lu Ting-i (3), and others. This is the basic guide for returning to classes to carry on the revolution. It is an immensely useful guide and revelation not only for educational revolution in elementary, middle, and high schools, but also for struggle-criticism-transformation on all fronts.
Fair Play at Chisholm University

Chisholm University's new athletics director must reallocate the athletics budget in its entirety, balancing legal obligations with broader educational and financial goals. A committee appointed to work on this issue had failed to reach consensus due to disagreements about how to comply with Title IX, the law mandating gender parity in all educational offerings, including athletics. The athletics director has the facts organized into an optimization problem so she can systematically balance the tradeoffs and manage system demands or constraints. Excerpt UVA-QA-0789 Aug. 23, 2012 FAIR PLAY AT CHISHOLM UNIVERSITY In October 2011, a few weeks into her tenure as Chisholm University's new athletic director (AD), Juliet Burke received an e-mail from Charles Widmore, the university president. Burke was to determine a new direction for the department and to reallocate the athletics budget in its entirety. Widmore presented Burke with one clear objective: in optimizing the budget, to balance legal obligations with broader educational and financial goals. Each program came with its own mix of revenue-generating opportunities and associated costs. The potential for discord was heightened, however, by the issue of gender parity—commonly referred to by the relevant passage of the Equal Opportunity in Education Act of 1972: Title IX. Since her own days as a student-athlete 20 years prior, Burke had been well aware of the conflicting opinions on gender issues in athletics, but she was surprised that the issue remained controversial, as Widmore's e-mail made clear. Because of conflicting views about compliance requirements, a committee appointed to work on this issue had failed to reach consensus on whether funding changes were indicated. Some members argued that, given current economic conditions, income provided by men's athletic events—football in particular—was the top priority, that at best Title IX was an unfortunate constraint and at worst an unfunded mandate for marginal women's programs. Other members urged that the cart must not come before the horse, that educational goals and the school's long-standing spirit of gender equity should drive decisions more than lucrative programs or wealthy alumni. . . .
Memristor-Based Clock Design and Optimization with In-Situ Tunability

Process variation is the dominating factor for performance degradation in modern IC chips. The conventional guard-band design methodology leads to significant performance penalty. This paper utilizes an emerging non-volatile resistive device, memristor, with timing violation detectors to dynamically achieve local recovery from timing violation during the runtime, eliminating the necessity of testing phase. It develops a systematic self-tuning mechanism that globally adjusts the clock skew scheduling to compensate the timing violation, and determines the tunability of the memristor-based self-tunable circuits. It also proposes an algorithmic memristor placement across the clock tree to balance the tradeoff between hardware cost and system tunability. Experimental results show that our approach can improve the yield from 90% to 98% with only 4% overhead in average.
Recipe Hunt : Engaging with Cultural Food Knowledge Using Multiple Embodied Conversational Agents

The popularity in recent years of food media, particularly in the domain of documentary films, has brought the communicative potential of food to the fore. Recipe Hunt is an interactive documentary that simulates the cultural experience of connecting over food by sharing recipes. Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are used to engage users with cultural food heritage from the U.S.-Mexico border. Recipe Hunt aims to use a distributed and participatory model of cross-cultural learning for users to engage with the culinary heritage from this region of the United States.
Public service in popular culture: the administrative discretion of commissioner gordon and harvey dent

To examine how public servants are depicted in film, I discuss the changes over time of Batmanʼs Commissioner Gordon, particularly his character arc in the contemporary The Dark Knight trilogy. An important aspect of Gordonʼs evolution is in contrast to the filmsʼ other prominent public servant, District Attorney Harvey Dent. The Gordon-Dent contrast illustrates aspects of the Friedrich-Finer debate over administrative discretion, a classic debate in public administration. The trilogyʼs verdict on public service is mixed: the flawed, rule-bending, expedient public servant survives while the fabricated hero is a sham. Commissioner Gordon is far more interesting than he had been for decades, but is he just an expedient bureaucrat ultimately pursuing self preservation? In contrast, the (pre-villain) Harvey Dent, who refuses to compromise his principles, is ultimately undone by his absolutism. For the complexity of his character and its centrality to the plot, I judge the depiction of Commissioner Gordon-warts and all-to be better than simplistic caricatures of bureaucrats and promising for future public servants in film.
Abstract 14076: Mortality Risk Spectrum and Time-Varying Prognostication After Acute Type A Aortic Dissection Repair

Introduction: Traditional mortality risk-assessments after acute type A dissection(AAAD) repair assume that predictors have a constant risk during the postoperative period. Such analysis can over/u...
Kinetic modeling of streamer penetration into de-ionized water

Interest in plasma-liquid interaction phenomena has grown in recent years due to applications in plasma medicine, water purification, and plasma-hydrocarbon reforming. The plasma in contact with liquid is generated, for example, using the plasma jets or streamer discharges. The interaction between the streamer and water can cause both physical and chemical modifications of the liquid. In this paper, the interaction between an anode-directed streamer and the de-ionized water is studied using one-dimensional particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collisions model. In this model, plasma species in both gas and liquid phase are considered as the macro-particles. We find that the penetration of the streamer head into the liquid causes ionization of water molecules by electron impact, a process which is usually ignored in the fluid models. The main charge carriers in the liquid phase are negative water ions which agree with earlier experimental and computational modeling studies. Additionally, we observe an ion-rich shea...
Postischemic generation of superoxide anion by newborn pig brain

Cerebral superoxide anion generation during reperfusion after total cerebral ischemia was measured in newborn pigs. Superoxide dismutase (SOD)-inhibitable nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction was determined using two closed cranial windows inserted over the parietal cortices. Twenty minutes of total cerebral ischemia was produced by increasing intracranial pressure, and SOD-inhibitable NBT reduction was determined during 20 min of reperfusion. SOD-inhibitable NBT reduction (8.7 +/- 1.5 pmol.mm-2.20 min-1) was greater in piglets subjected to cerebral ischemia followed by reperfusion than in control piglets not exposed to ischemia (1.6 +/- 1.3 pmol.mm-2.20 min-1). Pretreatment with indomethacin (5 mg/kg iv) markedly reduced postischemia SOD-inhibitable NBT reduction (2.8 +/- 1.1 pmol.mm-2.20 min-1). We conclude that superoxide anion radical is produced by newborn pig brain during postischemic reperfusion. Furthermore, cyclooxygenase metabolism of arachidonic acid appears to be a major source of this activated oxygen during reperfusion of ischemic piglet brain.
PALEOCEANOGRAPHY, BIOLOGICAL PROXIES | Temperature Proxies, Census Counts

Statistical analysis of census counts of microfossil abundance data in marine sediments provided the first quantitative method of estimating paleotemperatures in marine sediments of Quaternary and older age. This methodology contributed significantly to our understanding of the thermal evolution of the ocean, indicating, for example, the regional pattern of ocean cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum. Today, a variety of advanced multivariate approaches enable estimation of microfossil-based paleotemperatures with precision of better than 1°C in most cases.
Electron Cyclotron Heating in Weakly Relativistic Finite-Beta Tandem Mirror Plasmas

Electron cyclotron resonance frequency wave and absorption theory and ray tracing are reviewed and a numerical model for the study of electron heating in tandem mirror plugs and barriers is presented. It is found that substantial shifts in the spatial energy deposition profile occur from the cold plasma electron cyclotron resonance at elevated temperatures and that surface absorption can be substantial. The O-mode exhibits a ray trajectory that more easily penetrates to the plasma core and has an adequate single-pass absorption at temperatures >10 keV.
Soil carbon pools and fluxes vary across a burn severity gradient three years after wildfire in Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

Abstract Carbon (C) storage in soils contributes to the strength and stability of total ecosystem C sinks, but both aboveground and belowground C is vulnerable to loss during fire. The distribution of soil C and nitrogen (N) among various defined pools – e.g., active, slow and resistant C, and ammonium and nitrate as forms of inorganic N – determines the C storage capacity of forests and the nutrient availability for plant communities recovering from wildfires. Projections of increased wildfire severity due to a warming climate and frequent droughts raise concerns about parallel increases in fire's impacts on the sizes and mineralization kinetics of soil C and N pools, with potentially long-lasting effects on the strength of the forest C sink and on the ability of forests to recover from disturbance. Therefore, we sought to determine how the sizes and mineralization rates of soil C and N pools vary across a gradient of fire severity three years after the Chips Fire burned 30,500 ha of Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest. We measured total C and N in forest floor and mineral soil (0–5 cm), the pool sizes and mean residence times of the active, slow, and resistant C in mineral soil, and the pool sizes and mineralization rates of inorganic N in mineral soil. Forest floor total C was lower in areas that experienced high severity fire than in unburned reference areas, an effect likely attributable to greater combustion of forest floor material in high severity areas. Mineral soil C content did not vary with fire severity. Over a 300-day lab incubation, mineral soil CO2-C efflux rates were consistently lower in soils from areas that experienced high severity fire relative to unburned reference areas and were associated with longer mean residence times of the slow C pool. Forest floor N content was lower in high severity areas than unburned areas, whereas mineral soil total N did not vary with fire severity. Mineral soil ammonium and total inorganic N concentrations increased significantly with fire severity in field-fresh soils, but this trend was no longer apparent after a 300-day lab incubation, indicating that site-specific factors control N availability among fire severity levels. Our results indicate that future increases in wildfire severity in mixed-conifer forest may alter the strength of the forest C sink by impacting the amount C stored in forest floor, the stability of mineral soil C, and the availability of N to recovering plant communities.
Arterial Switch Operation in a Patient With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type IV.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome vascular type IV is characterized by translucent skin, easy bruising, and fragility of arteries. A full-term female infant presented at four weeks of age with a diagnosis of ...
Asphaltenes aggregation during petroleum reservoir air and nitrogen flooding

Abstract Aggregation onsets of seven different asphaltenes dissolved in model oils, due to the effects of misciblized compressed air or nitrogen injections, were studied through molecular dynamics simulation. Natures of aggregations, cumulative coordination numbers, and interaction energies were investigated. Onset of aggregation processes were highly affected by injected gas concentration. In more cases little differences were observed between using air and pure nitrogen. However, asphaltene aggregation onset was highly affected by its molecular architecture. Asphaltenes with long aliphatic chains and archipelago structure showed low aggregation affinities.
PocketATM: understanding and improving ATM accessibility in India

Visually impaired people (VIPs) face significant usability and privacy challenges using digital finance technologies. In this paper, we focus on investigating these challenges in the context of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in India. To find out the accessibility status of ATMs across India, we first reach out to public banks, and then conduct in-person field surveys and an online crowd sourcing survey of 107 ATM machines across 4 cities in India. We find that less than 18% of surveyed machines are accessible, and follow up with 22 interviews with VIPs regarding challenges using ATMs. Based on insights, we design PocketATM: a system that enables VIPs to use ATMs using their own smartphones - a user can pre-authorize a cash withdrawal using a phone application, then go to any nearby ATM to receive the pre-authorized amount. Our usability evaluation with 19 VIPs demonstrates that PocketATM is usable, practical, and could be embraced by VIPs in India.
Class Percentage of Students With Reading Difficulties on Content Knowledge and Comprehension

We examined the efficacy of a content acquisition and reading comprehension intervention implemented in eighth-grade social studies classrooms. Using a within-teacher randomized control design, 18 ...
THE USE OF TRACERS TO STUDY SEDIMENT SOURCES IN THREE STREAMS IN NORTHEASTERN OREGON

This pilot study used sediment tracers to identify general source areas of channel bottom sediment within three tributaries of the Umatilla and upper Grande Ronde basins in northeastern Oregon. Land use in each stream was dominated by agriculture, logging, or grazing. The nuclear bomb-derived radionuclide 137Cs, carbon, and nitrogen were used as tracers to fingerprint sediment sources. Sediment was collected from the stream bottom inside the active channels and compared to samples from the surface horizon and channel banks. Samples were processed to separate the <63 μm fraction and characterized on the basis of tracer concentrations. A simple mixing model was used to estimate the relative portion of channel bottom sediment derived from the surface horizon and channel banks. Calculations from the 137Cs tracer indicated that channel banks accounted for 56%, 74%, and 93% of the bottom sediment in the three study drainages, although these figures have a high margin of error. 137Cs proved unexpectedly useful i...
State-Imposed Punishment

The Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. Judicial interpretation of this vague language reins in state power in many respects. It is far from completely satisfactory, however. The Court has held capital punishment to be constitutionally acceptable, for instance. It has also declined to impose a minimal proportionality standard on noncapital sentencing. And it has not established a comprehensive standard for regulating the state’s carceral responsibility for prisoners. This chapter proposes remedies for each of these justice deficits. It doesn’t set aside the general principle prohibiting cruel and unusual punishments, in other words. Instead, it proposes concrete measures that will make it more meaningful.
Subzero water distribution in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Effects of preconditioning method

Abstract Automotive subzero cold-starts are challenging for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and depend on material structure and initial water content ( λ i n i t i a l ). PEMFC cold-start capabilities are commonly investigated with isothermal water fill tests (WFTs) after partially dehydrating the cell at operational temperatures, then freezing, followed by applying low loads under 100 mA cm−2 to quantify the subzero water storage capacity. Herein, isothermal WFTs were performed using two preconditioning methods to evaluate the ionomer proton conductivity and water redistributions at −20 °C (at 10 mA cm−2): (i) Equilibrium purged to a specific relative humidity (44% or 75%, λ i n i t i a l = 3.2 a n d 5.3 ) and (ii) Load terminated with inlet relative humidities of 17% or 44% sealed immediately after polarization curves at 80 °C (calculated λ i n i t i a l = 4.0 a n d 4.7 ). The load terminated preconditioning method more closely emulates an on-board stack cold-start. For the two preconditioned tests with identical preconditioning inlet relative humidities (44%), the load terminated case showed a 2.3x reduction in protonic resistance and a 20% increase in electrochemical surface. Additionally, during the WFT the initial on load voltage of the load terminated preconditioning was 30–60 mV higher; however the time on load prior to freeze-out was 23 min compared to the 31 min for equilibrium purged.
The Future of Acute Care Surgery: From Divergence to Emergence and Convergence

General surgery continues to evolve from a time where a single surgeon did everything from brain surgery to orthopedics to an era of super specialization. We are now seeing those trends circle back with the rise of the acute care surgeons who provide the frontline care and are now called upon to do far more than trauma. This will force collisions between groups that have not always work together to find common ground as the definition of a general surgeon continues to evolve.
Optimum aerodynamic shape design under uncertainty by utility theory and metamodeling

Abstract In this work, utility theory is introduced to optimum aerodynamic shape design under uncertainty (also called robust aerodynamic design). Specifically, utility theory is used to formulate the objective function of the optimization problem. The advantage of the proposed approach over the commonly used weighted sum method is that it does not require the use of weighting factors or the addition of constraints on the statistical moments. The polynomial chaos expansion metamodel with the least-angle regression and the hyperbolic truncation scheme are used to accelerate the uncertainty propagation and the optimization process. The proposed approach is demonstrated on the optimum airfoil shape design under uncertainty at steady transonic conditions. Two design cases are considered. In both cases the drag coefficient is to be minimized subject to constraints on the lift coefficient and the airfoil thickness at two chordwise locations. The first case treats the Mach number as uncertainty parameter and the second case treats the Mach number and the lift coefficient at target as uncertain. The proposed method is compared with deterministic single-point optimization and multi-point optimization, and the standard robust design formulations. Results show that the proposed approach is capable of obtaining airfoil design of the lowest mean drag coefficient with the smallest standard deviation as compared to the other approaches. In the first case, the proposed approach yields a design with a mean drag coefficient comparable to the standard robust design (around 97.6 drag counts, cts), but with a significantly lower variance (0.6 cts versus 2.5 cts). In the second case, the proposed approach yielded a design with a higher mean drag coefficient than the standard approach (98.4 cts versus 97.6 cts), but with a lower standard deviation (4.1 cts versus 4.8 cts). In both cases, the deterministic approaches yield designs with comparable or lower drag coefficients but with significantly larger standard deviations.
Spectrophotometric determination of plasma pyridones in man following nicotinamide administration: With a general note on the quantitative treatment of interfering substances in analytical methods☆

Abstract A spectrophotometric method is presented for the determination of N′-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide and N′-methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide together in human plasma. Recovery was 86% for the former compound, 94% for the latter. The coefficient of variation was 5.6%, and the sensitivity of the method 43 μg%. In order to provide a quantitative assessment of the effect of interfering substances, the terms interference coefficient (I), maximum permissible interference (Imax) and maximum permissible contamination (MPC) were introduced. The use of these terms in analyzing the interference of other nicotinamide metabolites, and of theophylline and caffeine, is illustrated. Using this method pyridones were not detected in significant amounts in the fasting state. Following the oral administration of 400 mg nicotinamide to 12 normal subjects the mean pyridone concentration rose to a maximum of 510 μg% at 4 h, and was still elevated at 8 h.
Efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in progressive pediatric low-grade glioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis of outcome rates.

Background Successful management of pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG) can be complicated by eloquent anatomical location, as well as specific pathologic and molecular features. Some authors have proposed using the VEGF inhibitor bevacizumab to improve disease control, but its safety and efficacy are poorly defined. Correspondingly, our aim was to pool systematically identified clinical data in the literature to assess the clinical utility of bevacizumab for pLGG at progression. Methods A systematic search of 7 electronic databases from inception to June 2019 was conducted following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Articles were screened against prespecified criteria. Outcomes were then pooled by random-effects meta-analyses of proportions. Results Seven pertinent studies described the outcomes of 110 progressive pLGG patients managed with bevacizumab in largely multiagent regimens. While on treatment, the rate of clinical response was 58% (95% CI, 43%-72%), and the rate of response on imaging was 80% (95% CI, 58%-96%). The rate of grade 3 or higher toxicity was 8% (95% CI, 2%-17%), with proteinuria the most commonly described. In the off-treatment period up to median 1 year, the rate of progression was estimated to be 51% (95% CI, 28%-74%). Conclusions Bevacizumab has the potential to control clinical and radiographic disease with relatively low grade 3 or higher toxicity risk in progressive pLGG patients. However, the long-term off-treatment benefits of this therapy are not yet well defined. Heterogeneity in the literature precludes any formal recommendations regarding its use until larger, more standardized investigations can be performed.
Young and Restless: Expansion of Donor-Origin Mutant HSCs after Transplantation

Summary In a study of young adults chosen as unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donors for patients with hematological malignancies, leukemia-associated mutations were detectable in cells from 44% of donors. Donor-origin mutant clones engrafted in recipients and expanded during the first 100 days after transplant, but donor-derived leukemia was not observed.
Preoperative ozone vaginal douching and postoperative health guidance on artificial abortion after the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease

Objective To explore how to reduce artificial abortion postoperative pelvic inflammatory disease incidence.Methods 1495 patients in our hospital from April 2012 to April 2013 for abortion were randomly divided into experimental group with 1000 cases and control group with 495 cases,before artificial abortion the experimental group was given ozone liquid vagina rinse for 3 minutes,even when the operation was given routine iodophor solution vaginal disinfection,postoperative according to each patient's age,occupation,pregnancy history,family situation,the guidance of attention in patients after operation,improving the compliance behavior of patients; the control group was only given routine iodophor solution for disinfection of vaginal after operation,postoperative note according to the conventional account.Results There was 1 case of pelvic inflammation in experimental group,the incidence rate was 0.1％,the control group had 4 cases of pelvic inflammatory disease,the incidence rate was 0.8％,with statistical significance(x2=4.980,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The preoperative administration of ozone liquid vaginal douching can increase vaginal cleanliness,the principle of aseptic manipulation strictly in the operation,from a technical point of reducing artificial abortion occurrence after infection,after the implementation of targeted health education,improving the compliance behavior of patients,so as to effectively reduce the incidence of abortion after pelvic inflammatory disease. Key words: Ozone; Vaginal irrigation; Health guidance; Artificial abortion; Pelvic inflammatory disease
3D printed supercapacitor using porous carbon derived from packaging waste

Abstract There is considerable interest in developing sustainable fabrication technologies such as additive manufacturing or 3D printing for solid-state supercapacitors. The 3D printing of supercapacitors offers advantages such as rapid prototyping of 3D electrode structures that can improve device performance. Most of the efforts on 3D printing of such devices till date have faced some challenges including low capacitance shown by printed devices, significant post-processing on printed electrodes, and the use of non-additive fabrication methods to make the solid electrolyte. To better derive the benefits of 3D printing, it is important to address these challenges. In this paper, we demonstrate a solid-state supercapacitor made by extrusion-based 3D printing without post-processing, using a commercial 3D printer. Both the electrodes and electrolyte were 3D printed. The electrode material is activated carbon synthesized from packaging waste. The device shows a capacitance of 328.95 m F/cm2 at 2.5 mA, the highest among all solid-state supercapacitors made by extrusion-based 3D printing till date. This capacity is attributed to the porous carbon used as active material, and the high loading of this carbon in the electrodes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a 3D printed solid-state supercapacitor using activated carbon derived from waste material. In the context of sustainable development of supercapacitors, the work described here represents a significant technological advance.