cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cidade de Deus: entre o testemunho e a ficção

The following article discusses the problematic epistemological separation between Paulo Lins's novel and the author's identity as a construct that redirects the text's message in very specific ways. This construct phenomenon affects the novel's fictional status on the account of its truth-value. In this sense, this study also analyses the reception of Lin's text under what has been epistemologically termed in Latin American subaltern studies as testimonio. The analysis of Lins's novel under the testimonial rubric allows for a meditation on questions related to any fictional text whose content stands too close to factually recognizable events, which takes the literary work and its possible classifications to an ontological crisis whose repercussions problematize literature as a vehicle of social denunciation, and the author as the mediator of such a process.
Serotonin increases synaptic activity in olfactory bulb glomeruli

Serotoninergic fibers densely innervate olfactory bulb glomeruli, the first sites of synaptic integration in the olfactory system. Acting through 5HT2A receptors, serotonin (5HT) directly excites external tufted cells (ETCs), key excitatory glomerular neurons, and depolarizes some mitral cells (MCs), the olfactory bulb's main output neurons. We further investigated 5HT action on MCs and determined its effects on the two major classes of glomerular interneurons: GABAergic/dopaminergic short axon cells (SACs) and GABAergic periglomerular cells (PGCs). In SACs, 5HT evoked a depolarizing current mediated by 5HT2C receptors but did not significantly impact spike rate. 5HT had no measurable direct effect in PGCs. Serotonin increased spontaneous excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs and sIPSCs) in PGCs and SACs. Increased sEPSCs were mediated by 5HT2A receptors, suggesting that they are primarily due to enhanced excitatory drive from ETCs. Increased sIPSCs resulted from elevated excitatory drive onto GABAergic interneurons and augmented GABA release from SACs. Serotonin-mediated GABA release from SACs was action potential independent and significantly increased miniature IPSC frequency in glomerular neurons. When focally applied to a glomerulus, 5HT increased MC spontaneous firing greater than twofold but did not increase olfactory nerve-evoked responses. Taken together, 5HT modulates glomerular network activity in several ways: 1) it increases ETC-mediated feed-forward excitation onto MCs, SACs, and PGCs; 2) it increases inhibition of glomerular interneurons; 3) it directly triggers action potential-independent GABA release from SACs; and 4) these network actions increase spontaneous MC firing without enhancing responses to suprathreshold sensory input. This may enhance MC sensitivity while maintaining dynamic range.
Response to Mutafova-Yambolieva and Sanders.

to the editor: My research team and I appreciate the thoughts of Dr. Violetta Mutafova-Yambolieva and Prof. Kenton M. Sanders (VMY-KMS; Ref. 14a) to enhance awareness for our recent paper on β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (β-NAD) ([17][1]). We agree fully with VMY-KMS that roles for
Behavioral Responses of the Gypsy Moth Egg Parasitoid Ooencyrtus kuwanai to Abiotic Environmental Factors

The behavioral responses of females of Ooencyrtus kuwanai (Howard), an encyrtid egg parasitoid of the gypsy moth, Porthetria dispar (L.), to humidity, temperature, gravity, and light were investigated. The parasitoid oriented to the drier of 2 humidity choices at moderate temperatures, but toward higher relative humidities at high temperatures. Its behavior in a temperature gradient indicated that a preferendum between 20–30°C exists, but the broadness of the responses observed and the parasitoid's tendency to accumulate at the cold end made more detailed inferences impossible. Females exhibited negative geotaxis both in the dark and in the light (though to a greater degree in the former) and at different temperatures. They were also positively phototactic under different lighting conditions, temperatures, humidities, and physiological states. Only when exposed to host egg masses before tests were run was a definite neutral photoresponse observed, and at no time was negative phototaxis exhibited. The results are discussed as they relate to the microhabitat distribution of the parasitoid in nature.
Evaluation of Angelchik antireflux prosthesis. Long-term results.

Fifteen patients with intractable reflux or its complications were sequentially studied after the placement of the Angelchik antireflux prosthesis. In all, 16 devices were inserted. Parameters were measured before and 3, 12, 24, and 36 months after prosthesis placement and included symptom scoring, esophageal manometry with Tuttle test, endoscopy, suction biopsy, barium swallow, and gastroesophageal scintigraphy. In addition, a subset of patients underwent stimulation/inhibition of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) with pentagastrin, metoclopramide, edrophonium, and atropine. At a mean time of 16 months postsurgery, 10 of 16 (63%) patients were reflux-free and there was significant improvement in endoscopic, biopsy, and symptom scoring. Postinsertion, there were statistically significant increments in LES pressure with intravenous boluses of pentagastrin, metoclopramide, and edrophonium, and a significant decrease with atropine. Two patients who developed prosthesis herniation into the chest required removal because of ongoing reflux and dysphagia. An additional patient had prosthesis disruption and migration, which also required removal. Four patients with previously failed antireflux procedures had five prostheses placed. All continued to reflux postoperatively. No patient who was initially reflux-free subsequently developed reflux, despite a tendency for LES pressure to decline with time. Although this procedure proved effective for up to 36 months in patients who had had no previous antireflux procedure, the displacement rate (3/16=19%), reoperation rate (3/16=19%), and the progressive decline in LES pressure over time should make one cautious about its routine use in the surgical treatment of reflux esophagitis.
HPLC-Mass Spectrometry

Trace analysis of active ingredients such as pesticides becomes difficult if these compounds cannot be properly determined by gas chromatography because of thermolability or by HPLC because of a lack of chromophors within their molecules for specific detection by conventional HPLC detectors. In these cases, and if dervatization of the analyte is to be avoided, a coupling of a liquid chromatographic separation system with a mass spectrometer would be the solution to the problem.
Investigation of pes planus in children between 6 and 12 years and sustainable devices for its correction

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of pes planus in children between 6 and 12 years which orthotic device are wearing limited period of time, and to investigate the sustainable materials for orthotic devices production. the study revealed that 13% of children have pronounced low-arched or flat foot problems. To prevent further injury the orthoses and shoe inserts could be prescribed, where natural fiber reinforced biocomposites could be valiable alternative to non-degradable synthetic fiber reinforced composites.
Analysis on effect of physalis combined with infrared light irradiation in the treatment of severe chronic cervicitis

Objective To explore the effect of physalis combined with infrared light irradiation in the treatment of severe chronic cervicitis. Methods Data of 180 patients with moderate to severe chronic cervicitis admitted in Guilin Women and Children's Hospital from Jan 2013 to Jan 2014 were selected,all cases were divided into observation group and control group with 90 cases in each group.Patients in observation group were given physalis combined with infrared light irradiation,patients in control group were given infrared light irradiation only. The effect of treatment of two groups were compared. Results The total effective rate of observation group( 92. 22%) was higher than that of control group( 74. 44%). The ratio of patients didn't use sanitary napkin after treatment in observation group( 94. 44%) was higher than that in control group( 81. 11%). The duration of fluid volume of observation group( 4. 14 ± 1. 22) d was less than that of control group( 6. 98 ± 1. 57) d,all the differences were statistically significant( P 0. 05).Conclusion The physalis combined with infrared light irradiation is effective in the treatment of severe chronic cervicitis.
Nocturnal Wakefulness Is Associated With Next-Day Suicidal Ideation in Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Self-reported sleep disturbances may confer elevated risk for suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and death. However, limited research has evaluated polysomnographically determined sleep disturbance as an acute physiologic risk factor for suicidal thoughts. This study sought to investigate the relationship between nocturnal wakefulness in association with next-day suicidal ideation using overnight polysomnography assessment from data collected between 2006 and 2013. METHODS: Sixty-five participants with DSM-IV-diagnosed major depressive disorder or bipolar depression underwent overnight polysomnography monitoring in a sleep laboratory. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) was administered the morning after polysomnography recording to assess next-day suicidal ideation, severity of depressive symptoms, and subjective sleep disturbances. RESULTS: Using a generalized linear mixed model, a significant time-by-ideation interaction was found indicating greater nocturnal wakefulness at 4:00 am among participants with suicidal ideation (F4,136 = 3.65, P =.007). Increased time awake during the 4:00 am hour (4:00 to 4:59) was significantly associated with elevated suicidal thoughts the next day (standardized β = 0.31, P =.008). This relationship persisted after controlling for age, gender, diagnosis, and severity of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Greater nocturnal wakefulness, particularly in the early morning hours, was significantly associated with next-day suicidal thoughts. Polysomnographically documented sleep disruption at specific times of night may represent an acute risk factor of suicidal ideation that warrants additional research. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00024635.© Copyright 2016 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc. Language: en
Focusing of Phonon-Polaritons and Direct Visualization of the Gouy Phase

Over 100 years ago Gouy [1] discovered that a converging spherical wave obstructed by a circular aperture experiences an anomalous phase shift as it passes through the focal region. The phase shift is nowadays referred to as the Gouy phase shift or phase anomaly and is best known for an obstructed paraxial Gaussian beam. An intuitive interpretation of the Gouy phase has been given in terms of a geometrical quantum effect
Learning, Animals and Psychological Experiments

The questions you raise about psychology are difficult, and I should have liked to think about them for some time before saying anything. But I have not been able to think — not even in a dull way. And what I say here will be off the cuff, and a frayed cuff too.
By Way of Conclusion

This volume is much-needed. Not only does it pinpoint why the discipline of International Relations (IR) suffers from a ‘persistent dualism’—for example, Self versus Other, Knowledge versus Traditions, Westphalia versus tianxia/umma/ubuntu and so on—that accounts for the hegemony of the West vis-a-vis the rest of the world, but the volume also identifies some alternative approaches to disintegrating this binary and thereby decolonizing the field. I make these concluding remarks in line with this spirit.
Laryngeal Movement Disorders and Their Management

This review describes the current information related to laryngeal neuropathic disorders and the possible management options available. Voice changes may range from severe hoarseness due to choking...
Integrative taxonomy improves understanding of native beneficial fauna: revision of the Nearctic Peristenus pallipes complex (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and implications for release of exotic biocontrol agents

The Nearctic Peristenus pallipes complex (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) consists of two species groups that are further divided into nine species, separated largely using ecological rather than morphological differences. The species are re-examined with an integrative approach using morphometric multivariate ratios, molecular (COI and CytB), and ecological data to test the validity of the nine species. The data support only three valid species [P. dayi Goulet, P. mellipes (Cresson) and P. howardi Shaw] rather than nine. New synonymies include: P. braunae Goulet under P. dayi Goulet 2006 syn.n.; P. carcamoi Goulet, P. otaniae Goulet and P. pseudopallipes (Loan) under P. mellipes (Cresson) syn.n., and finally P. broadbenti Goulet 2006 and P. gillespiei Goulet 2006 under P. howardi Shaw 1999 syn.n. In light of these taxonomic revisions, the biology and distributions of the Nearctic P. pallipes complex are updated, resulting in three morphologically variable, widespread, multivoltine species rather than nine largely univoltine species with patchy distributions. The integrative taxonomic approach used here allowed for a more accurate delineation of native fauna and their potential to be competitively displaced by foreign biocontrol agents.
Power-driven global routing for multisupply voltage domains

This work presents a method for global routing (GR) to minimize power associated with global nets. We consider routing in designs with multiple supply voltages. Level converters are added to nets that connect driver cells to sink cells of higher supply voltage and are modeled as additional terminals of the nets during GR. Given an initial GR solution obtained with the objective of minimizing wirelength, we propose a GR method to detour nets to further save the power of global nets. When detouring routes via this procedure, overflow is not increased, and the increase in wirelength is bounded. The power saving opportunities include (1) reducing the area capacitance of the routes by detouring fromthe highermetal layers to the lower ones, (2) reducing the coupling capacitance between adjacent routes by distributing the congestion, and (3) considering different power weights for each segment of a routed net with level converters (to capture its corresponding supply voltage and activity factor). We present a mathematical formulation to capture these power saving opportunities and solve it using integer programming techniques. In our simulations, we show considerable saving in a power metric for GR, without any wirelength degradation.
Fact of the matter: Rawls, political ideals, and worldview consensus

AbstractIn this article, I argue that the fact of reasonable pluralism (FRP) – a famous Rawlsian assumption about the intellectual demographics of liberal democracies – is not as self-evident as is...
Urea and Thiourea H-Bond Donating Catalysts for Ring-Opening Polymerization: Mechanistic Insights via (Non)linear Free Energy Relationships

Hammett-style free energy studies of (thio)urea/MTBD mediated ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of δ-valerolactone reveal the complicated interplay of reagents that give rise to catalysis through one of two mechanisms. The operative mechanism depends most greatly on the solvent, where polar solvents favor a (thio)imidate mechanism and nonpolar solvents favor a classic H-bond mediated ROP. Data suggest that the transition state is only adequately modeled with ground state thiourea–monomer interactions in the H-bonding pathway, and elusive urea/reagent ground state binding interactions may be irrelevant and, hence, not worth pursuing. However, neither relationship is robust enough to be predictive in the absence of other data. Isotope effects suggest that the base/alcohol binding event is directly observable in the ROP kinetics. New opportunities for catalysis emerge, and a reason for the observed mechanism change is proposed.
A meta-analysis of trends in the application of Sanger and next-generation sequencing data in lichenology

DNA sequencing techniques and molecular and phylogenetic analyses have developed rapidly over a short time, finding application in fields across biology and medicine. The field of lichenology is no exception, with hundreds of studies utilizing DNA sequences to reconstruct phylogenies and uncover the evolutionary histories of populations and species. Given the dramatic advancements of sequencing technologies, analytical techniques and computational capabilities, an assessment of trends in molecular lichen research is timely. We present a literature meta-analysis that reviews the existing published molecular and phylogenetic research using traditional (e.g., Sanger) and next-generation (e.g., Illumina) sequencing technologies. Specifically we (i) determine how molecular data have been applied to lichens thus far, (ii) document and discuss trends in sequence data application, (iii) examine taxonomic representation and biases at the family level, and (iv) outline avenues of future research as well as highlight areas where targeted study is urgently needed.
Human Action Recognition: Contour-Based and Silhouette-Based Approaches

Human action recognition in videos is a desired field in computer vision applications since it can be applied in human computer interaction, surveillance monitors, robot vision, etc. Two approaches of features are investigated in this chapter. First approach is a contour-based type. Four features are investigated in this approach such as Cartesian Coordinate Features (CCF), Fourier Descriptors Features (FDF), Centroid-Distance Features (CDF), and Chord-Length Features (CLF). The second approach is a silhouette-based type. Three features are investigated in this approach such as Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), Histogram of Oriented Optical Flow (HOOF), and Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM) features. All these features are simple to compute, efficient to classify, and fast to calculate. Therefore, these features demonstrate a promising field for human action recognition. Moreover, the classification is achieved using two classifiers: K-Nearest-Neighbor (KNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The experimental results demonstrated that these features have a promising potential and useful for the human action recognition in videos.
History and Tradition, Archaeology and Authenticity

This chapter explores what an archaeology of history and tradition is by locating these cultural traits within social discourse and practice. To illustrate the ideas I introduce the chapter with two examples of contemporary archaeology that demonstrate its problematic relationship with the past. The first, an extract from Michael Crichton’s recent book Timeline (1999), is about a story of time travel made possible through the application of sophisticated theoretical quantum physics. The destination is the medieval French countryside during the era of knights and nobility. Crichton employs archaeology and archaeologists to enliven the plot as they study the remains of the castle and monastery at the principle site, Castelgard. The real issue in the plot is not what they are finding as much as why they are doing the work. The group is funded exclusively by a high-tech company, International Technology Corporation, who seem to be good-hearted about their love of archaeology and their faith that the archaeologists are doing a good job. In other words, the company pays little attention to what the archaeologists are actually finding. As the plot thickens, a reporter makes it known that the company has recently and without much fanfare bought up the property surrounding the site. Only then do we learn that the company’s primary interest is time travel and that they have been experimenting with a new technology that can send people (time tourists) back to Medieval Castelgard. As you might imagine in a book like this (Crichton is best known as the author of Jurassic Park), things go very wrong and the archaeologists, as experts, are sent back in time to rescue stranded travelers.
Reflections on Heckman and Pinto's Causal Analysis After Haavelmo

Working paper. TECHNICAL REPORT R-420 November 2013 Reflections on Heckman and Pinto’s “Causal Analysis After Haavelmo” Judea Pearl University of California, Los Angeles Computer Science Department Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1596, USA judea@cs.ucla.edu Abstract This paper reflects on a recent article by Heckman and Pinto (2013) in which they discuss a formal system, called do-calculus, that operationalizes Haavelmo’s conception of policy intervention. They replace the do-operator with an equivalent operator called “fix,” highlight the capabilities of “fix,” discover limitations in “do,” and inform readers that those limitations disappear in “the Haavelmo approach.” I examine the logic of HP’s paper, its factual basis, and its impact on econometric research and education. Introduction A forthcoming special issue of Econometric Theory, dedicated to Haavelmo’s centen- nial, will contain two papers on causation. The first is “Trygve Haavelmo and the emergence of Causal Calculus” (Pearl, 2013) and the second is “Causal Analysis After Haavelmo” by Heckman and Pinto (HP) . The HP paper is devoted almost entirely to the causal inference framework that I have summarized in (Pearl, 2013) and, in particular, to causal models that can be represented by Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) or Bayesian Networks (Pearl, 1985; Verma and Pearl, 1988) and to the do-operator that acts on, and helps draw causal and counterfactual inferences from such models (Pearl, 1993, 1994, 2009; Spirtes et al., 1993; Strotz and Wold, 1960). This note reflects on the way HP present the do- operator, and highlights key features of the do-calculus that are not described in HP’s paper.
Biologists' Consensus on 'When Life Begins'

Many Americans disagree on ‘When does a human’s life begin?’ because the question is subject to interpretive ambiguity arising from Hume’s is-ought problem. There are two distinct interpretations of the question: descriptive (i.e., ‘When is a fetus classified as a human?’) and normative (i.e., ‘When ought a fetus be worthy of ethical and legal consideration?’). To determine if one view is more prevalent today, 2,899 American adults were surveyed and asked to select the group most qualified to answer the question of when a human’s life begins. The majority selected biologists (81%), which suggested Americans primarily hold a descriptive view. Indeed, the majority justified their selection by describing biologists as objective scientists that can use their biological expertise to determine when a human's life begins. Academic biologists were recruited to participate in a study on their descriptive view of when life begins. A sample of 5,502 biologists from 1,058 academic institutions assessed statements representing the biological view ‘a human’s life begins at fertilization’. This view was used because previous polls and surveys suggest many Americans and medical experts hold this view. Each of the three statements representing that view was affirmed by a consensus of biologists (75-91%). The participants were separated into 60 groups and each statement was affirmed by a consensus of each group, including biologists that identified as very pro-choice (69-90%), very pro-life (92-97%), very liberal (70-91%), very conservative (94-96%), strong Democrats (74-91%), and strong Republicans (89-94%). Overall, 95% of all biologists affirmed the biological view that a human's life begins at fertilization (5212 out of 5502). Historically, the descriptive view on when life begins has dictated the normative view that drives America's abortion laws: (1) abortion was illegal at ‘quickening’ under 18th century common law, (2) abortion was illegal at ‘conception’ in state laws from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s, and (3) abortion is currently legal before ‘viability’ due to 20th century U.S. Supreme Court cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. While this article’s findings suggest a fetus is biologically classified as a human at fertilization, this descriptive view does not entail the normative view that fetuses deserve legal consideration throughout pregnancy. Contemporary ethical and legal concepts that motivate reproductive rights might cause Americans to disregard the descriptive view or disentangle it from the normative view. However, these findings can help Americans move past the factual dispute on when life begins and focus on the operative question of when a fetus deserves legal consideration.
Sex differences in the association of psychosocial resources with prevalent type 2 diabetes among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study.

Abstract Aim To examine the association of psychosocial resources with prevalent type 2 diabetes (T2D) in 5104 African American men and women. Methods Using data from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), we evaluated the cross-sectional associations of four psychosocial resources (social support, optimism, religiosity, and social networks) with T2D [fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL, or HbA1c ≥ 6.5%, or use of diabetic medication]. Multivariable Poisson regression estimated prevalence ratios (PR, 95% confidence interval-CI) of T2D by each psychosocial measure, adjusting for demographics, SES, waist circumference, health behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Results Women reported greater religiosity and had more social networks than men (p Conclusion Social support and networks should be considered in efforts to prevent T2D among a high-risk group such as African Americans.
Food Allergies, Food Intolerances, and Carbohydrate Malabsorption

Up to 20% of the general population and more than half of the patients with irritable bowel syndrome report recurrent adverse reactions to specific food(s) or food group(s). Most of these reactions are not driven by the immune system and they are known as food intolerances. These nonimmunological adverse food reactions can result from a variety of disorders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), metabolic diseases, toxin-mediated reactions, gastrointestinal infections, deficiency of digestive enzymes, and disorders resulting from many anatomic and neurologic abnormalities. In contrast, food allergy is an abnormal immunological reaction to food. It is broadly categorized into immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated, non-IgE-mediated, and mixed IgE/non-IgE-mediated. In this chapter, a case study of wheat-related disorders is presented in order to demonstrate the key differences between food allergy and intolerance and to discuss the approach to their diagnosis and treatment.
Characteristics of respirable dust in eight appalachian coal mines: A dataset including particle size and mineralogy distributions, and metal and trace element mass concentrations

Abstract Respirable dust samples were collected in several key locations of eight underground coal mines in central and northern Appalachia. In total, there were 76 unique sampling events (i.e., specific location in a specific mine). Here, we present data from each event describing particle size and mineralogy class distributions across the ∼100–10,000nm size range, which were determined using SEM-EDX; and estimated mass concentrations of potentially bioaccessible and total acid-soluble metals and trace elements, which were determined using sequential digestions with digestate analysis by ICP-MS. Discussion of this dataset is included in a companion research article “Beyond conventional metrics: Comprehensive characterization of respirable coal mine dust” Sarver et al., 2019.
Phase II trial of ponatinib in patients with bevacizumab-refractory glioblastoma.

Background Responses to bevacizumab in glioblastoma (GBM) are not durable. Plasma levels of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) increase at the time of tumor progression. By targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor, Src, and FGF receptor pathways, ponatinib may potentially help to overcome some of the putative mechanisms of adaptive resistance. Methods We performed a phase II trial of ponatinib in patients with bevacizumab-refractory GBM and variants. Adult patients with Karnofsky performance score (KPS) ≥60, measurable disease, and normal organ and marrow function received 45 mg ponatinib daily. No limit on the number of prior therapies but only one prior bevacizumab-containing regimen was allowed. Primary endpoint was 3-month progression-free survival. Plasma biomarkers of angiogenesis and inflammation were evaluated before and after treatment. Results The study closed after the first stage. Fifteen patients enrolled: median age 61 [27-74]; median KPS 80 [70-90]; median number of prior relapses 2 [2-4]. Three-month progression-free survival rate was 0, median overall survival was 98 days [95% CI 56, 257], and median PFS was 28 days [95% CI 27, 30]. No responses were seen. The most common grade ≥3 adverse events included fatigue (n = 3), hypertension (2), and lipase elevation (2). Ponatinib treatment significantly increased plasma VEGF, soluble (s)VEGFR1, sVEGFR2, sTIE2, interferon gamma (IFNγ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-10 and decreased sVEGFR2. Conclusions Ponatinib was associated with minimal activity in bevacizumab-refractory GBM patients. Circulating biomarker data confirmed pharmacodynamic changes and suggested that resistance to ponatinib may be related to an increase in inflammatory cytokines.
Monolithic resonator single crystal fiber laser

We report the first monolithic resonator crystal fiber optical device, a liquid nitrogen-cooled ruby fiber laser. The laser resonator structure is simply formed by the fiber waveguide and the polished fiber endfaces. The fiber oscillator was 15 mm long with a mean diameter of 60 μm. The lowest-order optical mode for such a fiber has a beam waist approximately one-third the fiber diameter or 20 μm, implying a Rayleigh length in ruby of 3.2 mm. The 15-mm long fiber laser is thus approximately five Rayleigh lengths long and may be considered a guided wave device. In these fibers the waveguiding interface is the ruby liquid nitrogen boundary at the fiber periphery. The large refractive-index difference between these materials coupled with fiber diameter variations of ~2 % leads to substantial waveguide losses.
Children’s constructive climate change engagement: Empowering awareness, agency, and action

This mixed-methods study examined how ten- to twelve-year-old children experienced and made sense of their growing climate change awareness through an after-school program that used participatory m...
COOPERATIVE FREE VOLUME RATE MODEL APPLIED TO THE PRESSURE-DEPENDENT SEGMENTAL DYNAMICS OF NATURAL RUBBER AND POLYUREA

ABSTRACT We apply the cooperative free volume (CFV) rate model for pressure-dependent dynamics of glass-forming liquids and polymer melts, focusing on two new applications of the model, to natural ...
Techniques for aesthetic enhancement of porcelain laminate veneer restorations: a case report

The article is a clinical report of various techniques to enhance the aesthetic outcome of porcelain veneer restorations. Color and contour evaluation, increase in shade value, bleaching, and the use of temporary veneer restorations are presented and discussed. A case is used to illustrate the procedures. The learning objective of this article is to expand and update the knowledge of variations in current porcelain veneer restoration techniques.
Can we improve the appropriateness of PCI

Chronic angina substantially worsens patients’ quality of life1 2 and increases healthcare costs.3 Particularly now, in the post-ISCHEMIA era,4 relief of ischaemic symptoms should be a primary goal of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for stable coronary artery disease (CAD). As such, the appropriateness of PCI most often hinges on the degree of symptom improvement achieved. In their Heart article, Yang et al compared the symptomatic benefit (using the 7-item Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ-7) and Rose Dyspnea Score (RDS)) of patients with stable CAD who were treated with PCI that was judged as appropriate versus maybe appropriate.5 The authors found similar improvement in angina-related health status regardless of the appropriateness status of the PCI and concluded that the current Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) do not discriminate well between the patients who will versus will not benefit from PCI. They argue that patient-reported outcome measures could be used to improve the current AUC by potentially identifying those patients more likely to benefit from PCI. I note three key conclusions from this paper. The authors found that patients who underwent an appropriate PCI had statistically similar symptom benefit compared with those who underwent a maybe appropriate PCI. In contrast, symptoms prior to PCI were the strongest …
Security and Complexity Analysis of LUT-based Obfuscation: From Blueprint to Reality

Recent obfuscation schemes have leveraged reconfigurable logics to alleviate various hardware security threats. However, existing reconfigurable logic-based obfuscation schemes focus on specific design factors such as gate replacement strategy or an optimization metric such as SAT-hardness. Despite meeting the focused metrics such as security, the obfuscation also incurs overheads, which are not well analyzed in the existing works. In this work, we provide a comprehensive analysis on reconfigurable logic obfuscation schemes i.e., LUT-based obfuscation by investigating 3-key design factors such as (1) LUT size, (2) number of LUTs, and (3) replacement strategy as they have a considerable impact on design criteria, i.e., Power-Performance-Area (PPA) and Security (PPA/S). Our results show that among the studied parameters the size of LUT has the most prominent impact on improving the resiliency of LUT-based obfuscation against the SAT and removal attacks. However, using large size LUTs incur significant PPA overheads, making such solutions unfeasible and unpractical. To address this challenge, this work proposes a pragmatic solution based on a customized LUT, where the security provided by each LUT is superior to that of traditional LUT-based obfuscation. The proposed solution primarily benefits from LUT-based obfuscation reinforced with additional logic/routing obfuscation that is implemented using small 2-input LUTs. We evaluate the hardware security and overhead of the proposed customized LUT-based obfuscation on various benchmarks to prove that the customized LUT-based obfuscation breaks the PPA tradeoffs while exhibiting robustness against the SAT and removal attacks. The customized LUT-based obfuscation comes with 8× reduced area and 2× reduced power on an average compared to state-of-the-art LUT-based obfuscation without compromising security.
Deceive, Profit, Repeat: Public Deception Schemes to Conceal Product Dangers

Companies in numerous industries have misled the public by hiding the dangers posed by their products. Sugar manufacturers hid the dangers of high fructose corn syrup and misdirected the public’s attention to fat, causing an epidemic of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Opioid manufacturers hid the dangers and addictiveness of opioid painkillers, leading to the opioid crisis. Fossil fuel companies misled the public about the causes, certainty, and effects of global warming, resulting in massive unregulated CO2 emissions and causing one of the greatest threats to humankind. This Article identifies all such schemes as belonging to a category of wrongs called “Public Deception Schemes to Conceal Product Dangers,” or “PDCPD Schemes.” PDCPD Schemes do not fit into any existing tort framework. Accordingly, those harmed by such schemes are often left with no way to seek redress against the wrongdoer. This Article proposes that this gap in the tort law be closed by legislation similar to how the state “blue sky” laws and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 closed the loophole in fraud law that allowed those committing securities fraud to evade liability. Closing this gap would further numerous tort policy goals, including shifting the loss to those responsible for causing it and expanding the scope of liability for those who commit intentional, wrongful conduct.
The Effect of Manual Therapy on Lower Extremity Joint Kinematics during Running: A single-subject case study.

Abstract Background While there is scarcity of current literature to support the effectiveness of muscle energy techniques (MET) with musculoskeletal injuries, the overall impact on gait kinematics necessitates investigation. This case study involved a 48-year-old male runner and aimed to determine the effect of manual therapy, including joint mobilization and MET, on lower extremity (LE) kinematics. The subject had a medical history that included: Achilles tendonitis, low back pain, and iliotibial band syndrome. Methods A clinical exam and Xsens motion capture were performed on the subject prior to treatment and at the conclusion of the 6 weeks of treatment. Motion capture was used to examine bilateral foot contact time, hip transverse plane motion and ankle sagittal plane motion. Pre-treatment and post-treatment ipsilateral and bilateral differences between groups were analyzed. Results Changes were noted between ipsilateral and bilateral pre- and post-treatment contact times; right foot sagittal plane joint angle at foot off; left hip transverse plane joint angle at foot contact and foot off, all bilateral pre- and post-treatment hip angles at foot contact and foot off, all bilateral pre- and post-treatment ankle angles at foot contact and foot off. Conclusions Clinical exams paralleled the change in hip external rotation bringing the hips to a more neutral position. In addition, the final clinical exam noted a decrease in subtalar eversion bilaterally, which may relate to the improved pelvic symmetry and biomechanical compensation pattern. Clinically, these findings may coincide with improving proximal lumbopelvic symmetry assisting with normalizing distal mobility by using manual therapy.
Hamlet : écrire ou ne pas avoir écrit pour le fil de fer

Cet essai revient sur le processus de creation d’une forme courte sise entre le theâtre, le cirque contemporain et l’installation sonore, Hamlet sur le fil. L’adaptation de la piece-monument du repertoire occidental en contexte circassien a revele a son auteur a quel point le brouillage des roles et des ecritures allait reposer sur les tensions entre texte, textualites et textures. Ce flou ontologique aura permis la creation d’une oeuvre hybride reposant a la fois sur le geste assume du desequilibre acrobatique et sur un soliloque canonique compose d’acrobaties intellectuelles face a la recherche d’un equilibre. Il aura egalement permis d’envisager la figure d’Hamlet en funambule et en chercheur-createur. L’essai offre un regard intime sur les processus de traduction, d’adaptation et de transposition d’une figure, d’un geste impossible et d’une parole canonique ayant pour caracteristique de mettre en scene le doute et la valse-hesitation devant la prise de risque redemptrice.
Back Transfer of Infants with Tracheostomies: A Regional Center Experience

We describe our center's experience with the back transfer of infants following tracheostomies. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of infants transferred to pediatric critical care units of our regional center with conditions originating in the neonatal period who underwent tracheostomy during the hospitalization within their first year of life between 2006 and 2017. Recovering patients are discharged home or transferred back to the referring hospitals. We evaluated patient characteristics, destination of discharge and type of pulmonary support at discharge, and mechanical ventilation (MV) or tracheotomy masks (TM). Of the 139 included patients, 72% were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, 21% to the pediatric cardiothoracic unit, and 7% to the pediatric intensive care unit. Their median gestational age was 35 weeks. They were admitted at a median 22 days of life and lived at a median distance of 56 miles from our center. Furthermore, 34 infants (24%) were back transferred closer to their homes (23 with MV and 11 with TM), and 84 (60%) were discharged home (53 on MV and 31 on TM). Twenty-one patients (15%) died in the hospital (before discharge or transfer). Back transferred patients on MV had a significantly shorter duration between tracheostomy and transfer compared with those discharged home from our center: MV (median = 22 vs. 103 days, p
A novel role of snail in regulating tuberin/AMPK pathways to promote renal fibrosis in the new mouse model of type II diabetes

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in tissue fibrosis following chronic exposure to hyperglycemia. This study investigates the role of chronic diabetes in regulating tuberin/snail/AMPK to enhance EMT and increase renal fibrosis. A new mouse model of db/db/TSC2 +/- was generated by backcrossing db/db mice and TSC2 +/- mice. Wild type (WT), db/db, TSC2 +/- and dbdb/TSC2 +/- mice were sacrificed at ages 6 and 8 months old. Tuberin protein level was significantly decreased in kidneys from diabetic compared to WT mice at both ages. In addition, tuberin and E-cadherin protein levels were significantly decreased in dbdb/TSC2 +/- compared to TSC2 +/- and db/db mice. In contrast, p-PS6K, NFkB, snail, vimentin, fibronectin, and α-SMA protein levels were significantly increased in dbdb/TSC2 +/- compared to db/db and TSC2 +/- mice at ages 6 and 8 months. Both downregulation of AMPK by DN-AMPK and downregulation of tuberin by siRNA resulted in increased NFkB, snail, and fibronectin protein expression and decreased E-cadherin protein expression in mouse primary renal proximal tubular cells. Interestingly, downregulation of snail by siRNA increased tuberin expression via feedback through activation of AMPK and reversed the expression of epithelial proteins such as E-cadherin as well as mesenchymal proteins such as fibronectin, NF-KB, vimentin, and α-SMA in mouse primary renal proximal tubular cells isolated from kidneys of four mice genotypes. The data show that chronic diabetes significantly decreases tuberin expression and that provides strong evidence that tuberin is a major key protein involved in regulating EMT. These data also demonstrated a novel role for snail in regulating of AMPK/tuberin to enhance EMT and renal cell fibrosis in diabetes.
Personalized Hospital Admission Control: A Contextual Learning Approach

Hospitals are typically uncertain about the readmission impact of a care unit placement decision for a patient. The placement decision is challenging due to the wide variety of patient characteristics, uncertain needs of patients, and the limited number of beds in critical and intermediate care units. We develop an optimization-learning algorithm, called the Personalized Admission Control (PAC) algorithm, under the presence of limited reusable hospital beds and delayed bandit feedback. The algorithm is designed to adaptively learn the readmission risk of patients and choose the best care unit placement for a patient based on the observed contextual information. The objective is to minimize patient readmissions while capturing the trade-off between the benefit of better health outcomes versus the opportunity cost of reserving high-demand beds for potentially more complex patients arriving in the future. We prove that our proposed online optimization-learning algorithm admits a sub-linear Bayesian regret bound. We also investigate and assess the effectiveness of our methodology using hospital system data. Our empirical results suggest that implementing our approach provides promising results compared to different benchmark policies and improves the current policy of our partner hospital.
Roles of key residues and lipid dynamics reveal pHLIP-membrane interactions at intermediate pH.

Abstract The pH-low insertion peptide (pHLIP) and its analogs sense the microenvironmental pH variations in tumorous cells and serve as useful anticancer drug deliveries. The pHLIP binds peripherally to membranes and adopts random coil conformation at the physiological pH. The peptide switches from random coil to α-helical conformation and inserts unidirectionally into membrane bilayers when pH drops below a critical transition value that has been routinely determined by the Trp fluorescence spectroscopy. Recent high-resolution studies using solid-state NMR spectroscopy revealed the presence of thermodynamically stable intermediate states of membrane-associated pHLIP around the fluorescence-based transition pH-value. However, the molecular structural features and their mechanistic roles of these intermediate states in the pH-driven membrane insertion process of pHLIP remain largely unknown. This work utilizes solid-state NMR spectroscopy to explore 1) the mechanistic roles of key proline and arginine residues within the pHLIP sequence at intermediate pH-values, and 2) the changes in lipid dynamics at intermediate pH-values in multiple types of model bilayers with anionic phospholipid and/or cholesterol. Our results demonstrate several molecular structural and dynamics changes at around the transition pH-values, including the isomerization of proline-threonine backbone configuration, breaking of arginine-aspartic acid salt bridge and the formation of arginine-lipid interactions, and a universal decreasing of dynamics in lipid headgroups and alkyl chains. Overall, the outcomes provide important insights on the molecular interactions between pHLIP and membrane bilayers at intermediate pH-values and, therefore, prompt the understanding of pH-driven membrane insertion process of this anticancer drug-delivering peptide.
Reinforced structural holes

Abstract Holes in social structure are variably reinforced by the social organization around the hole. The more reinforced the hole, the greater the difficulty in bridging it, but the more likely a successful bridge will carry information novel, and so potentially valuable, to people on the other side. To study how reinforcement varies with access to structural holes, and the achievement associated with access, I propose a measure of access to reinforced structural holes (RSH), and present results predicting achievement in an integrated banker organization and a balkanized supply-chain organization. In both study populations, the people who have access to structural holes also have access to reinforced structural holes, and all measures of access have a statistically significant association with achievement. However, there is no consistent prediction advantage from incorporating reinforcement in measures of access to structural holes. The reinforced-holes measure predicts compensation better or as well as network constraint and betweenness, but is weaker or no better than a count of nonredundant contacts. I do not infer from the results a rank-order of alternative measures so much as substitutability. I expect achievement to be associated with access to structural holes, but I expect the association to vary across alternative measures depending on how achievement is achieved in a specific population.