cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Litter complexity and composition are determinants of the diversity and species composition of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in litterbags

Abstract To investigate the relationship between litter complexity and composition and the diversity and composition of the oribatid mite fauna inhabiting it, an experiment was carried out at a single forested site in the mountains of North Carolina, USA. Natural litterfall was excluded from a series of 1 m 2 plots and replaced with treatment litters that varied in composition and complexity. Plots of pure birch, maple and oak litter comprised the simple litter treatments. Two complex litters were made of a mixture of these three litter species and a mixture of seven litter species. Treatment litters were applied to the plots in the autumn of 1993 and again in 1994. The oribatid mites extracted from litterbags of the treatment litters from both years are reported on here. Mixed litters had a significantly greater variety of microhabitats, as defined by substrate type and fungal growth form, than did the simple litters. Likewise, the oribatid mite species richness in litterbags of mixed litter was significantly higher than that in the simple litters. The fauna within replicates of each litter-type were more similar to each other than to those of other treatments. A third of the mite species tested showed a differential response among the simple litter-types. These results indicate a link between heterogeneity and diversity of mites active in a particular horizon of litter and some influence of litter-type upon species composition. Such patterns in habitat use by adult mites are strong, though not conclusive evidence of the ultimate role of heterogeneity in maintaining the diversity of oribatid mites.
Highly durable fuel cell electrodes based on ionomers dispersed in glycerol

A major, unprecedented improvement in the durability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells is obtained by tuning the properties of the interface between the catalyst and the ionomer by choosing the appropriate dispersing medium. While a fuel cell cathode prepared from aqueous dispersion showed 90 mV loss at 0.8 A cm−2 after 30000 potential cycles (0.6–1.0 V), a fuel cell cathode prepared from glycerol dispersion exhibited only 20 mV loss after 70000 cycles. This minimum performance loss occurs even though there was an over 80% reduction of electrochemical surface area of the Pt catalyst. These findings indicate that a proper understanding and control of the catalyst–water–ionomer (three-phase) interfaces is even more important for maintaining fuel cell durability in typical electrodes than catalyst agglomeration, and this opens up a novel path for tailoring the functional properties of electrified interfaces.
Ketorolac (Toradol ®) Induced Lithium Toxicity

A case of lithium neurotoxicity in a patient with cluster headache, resulting from coadministration of ketorolac is reported. While lithium interaction with many other NSAIDs is well-known, ketorolac has not been incriminated.
The Power Card Strategy: Strength-Based Intervention to Increase Direction Following of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The Power Card strategy is a strength-based intervention to promote social skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by capitalizing on their special interests. Although preliminary s...
Sensorless Motion Planning for Medical Needle Insertion in Deformable Tissues

Minimally invasive medical procedures such as biopsies, anesthesia drug injections, and brachytherapy cancer treatments require inserting a needle to a specific target inside soft tissues. This is difficult because needle insertion displaces and deforms the surrounding soft tissues causing the target to move during the procedure. To facilitate physician training and preoperative planning for these procedures, we develop a needle insertion motion planning system based on an interactive simulation of needle insertion in deformable tissues and numerical optimization to reduce placement error. We describe a 2-D physically based, dynamic simulation of needle insertion that uses a finite-element model of deformable soft tissues and models needle cutting and frictional forces along the needle shaft. The simulation offers guarantees on simulation stability for mesh modifications and achieves interactive, real-time performance on a standard PC. Using texture mapping, the simulation provides visualization comparable to ultrasound images that the physician would see during the procedure. We use the simulation as a component of a sensorless planning algorithm that uses numerical optimization to compute needle insertion offsets that compensate for tissue deformations. We apply the method to radioactive seed implantation during permanent seed prostate brachytherapy to minimize seed placement error.
The Utilization of Paraprofessionals in Programs for Students with Autism

Paraprofessionals have assisted teachers with the physical care and management of students with autism for nearly two centuries. The passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94--142) dramatically changed the responsibilities of paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals now collect and organize data, facilitate integration into less restrictive environments, and teach functional skills in natural settings.
EXISTENCE OF ONE-COMPONENT RAYLEIGH WAVES, STONELEY WAVES, LOVE WAVES, SLIP WAVES AND ONE-COMPONENT WAVES IN A PLATE OR LAYERED PLATE

It is known that one-component surface (Rayleigh) waves exist in an anisotropic elastic half-space. Since the solution shows that the displacement normal to the free surface vanishes everywhere, a onecomponent surface wave is also a one-component slip wave in the half-space if the boundary of the half-space is a slippery surface. We show that no other one-component slip waves exist for the halfspace. As to steady waves in a bimaterial that consists of two dissimilar anisotropic elastic materials, one-component slip waves can be constructed from two one-component surface waves. There are no other one-component slip waves for a bimaterial. By imposing the continuity of the displacement at the interface on the one-component slip wave, a one-component Stoneley wave is obtained. Although one-component waves for the half-space can also propagate in a homogeneous plate, we present new one-component waves in a plate for which the Stroh eigenvalue p is real. By superposition of the onecomponent waves in the layer and in the half-space, one-component Love waves can be constructed. Finally, we show that one-component waves can propagate in a layered plate.
Keeping Online Asynchronous Discussions on Topic

The purpose of this research was to identify various techniques recommended and used by online instructors for keeping online learners on topic during asynchronous discussion and to identify what factors affected selection. A thirty-seven item online questionnaire was developed and completed by 135 online instructors subscribing to an international distance education listserv. Thirteen techniques for keeping online asynchronous learners on topic were rated using a sixpoint Likert scale. The results of the study showed that online instructors rated the following as the top four techniques for keeping asynchronous online discussion on topic: 1) Carefully design questions that specifically elicit on-topic discussion, 2) provide guidelines to help online learners prepare on-topic responses, 3) reword the original question when responses are going in the wrong direction and 4) provide discussion summary on a regular basis. Experience, training and differences between what respondents recommended and used to keep online asynchronous discussion on topic produced statistically significant results at the 0.05 level.
The Control, Discouragement, and Cessation of Smoking in a Hospital Setting

Smoking interventions in a hospital setting are reviewed. Research on smoking control indicates that smoking can be easily controlled in a hospital setting with little or no resistance from patients and/or em ployees. Smoking discouragement efforts have also been found to de crease smoking rate, and to change attitudes in regard to smoking as a health hazard and decrease sales of tobacco products in a hospital setting. Smoking cessation efforts have also been found to be effective in a hospital setting. An argument is made for the use of a comprehensive program utilizing all three components: smoking control, discouragement, and cessation.
TNFRSF10C copy number variation is associated with metastatic colorectal cancer

Background: Genetic markers for distant metastatic disease in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) are not well defined. Identification of genetic alterations associated with metastatic CRC could help to guide systemic and local treatment strategies. We evaluated the association of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 10C ( TNFRSF10C ) copy number variation (CNV) with distant metastatic disease in patients with CRC using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Methods: Genetic sequencing data and clinical characteristics were obtained from TCGA for all available patients with CRC. There were 515 CRC patient samples with CNV and clinical outcome data, including a subset of 144 rectal adenocarcinoma patient samples. Using the TCGA CRC dataset, CNV of TNFRSF10C was evaluated for association with distant metastatic disease (M1 vs. M0). Multivariate logistic regression analysis with odds ratio (OR) using a 95% confidence interval (CI) was performed adjusting for age, T stage, N stage, adjuvant chemotherapy, gender, microsatellite instability (MSI), location, and surgical margin status. Results: TNFRSF10C CNV in patients with CRC was associated with distant metastatic disease [OR 4.81 (95% CI, 2.13–10.85) P TNFRSF10C CNV remained significantly associated with distant metastatic disease (OR P=0.018). Subset analysis revealed that TNFRSF10C CNV was also significantly associated with distant metastatic disease in patients with rectal adenocarcinoma (OR P=0.016). Conclusions: TNFRSF10C CNV in patients with CRC is associated with distant metastatic disease. With further validation, such genetic profiles could be used clinically to support optimal systemic treatment strategies versus more aggressive local therapies in patients with CRC, including radiation therapy for rectal adenocarcinoma.
Network dimensioning with carrier aggregation

A recent policy ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set aside a fixed amount of cleared spectrum for smaller network providers. Thanks to this ruling, smaller providers can improve their quality of service using carrier aggregation. In this paper, we determine the optimal (minimum) level of carrier aggregation that a smaller provider needs in order to bring its service in line with a larger provider in the same market. Toward this end, we provide an asymptotically exact formula for the loss (blocking) probability of flows under a quality-driven (QD) regime. Using this formula, we establish an efficient way of numerically calculating the optimal level of carrier aggregation and derive scaling laws. Specifically, we show that the optimal level of carrier aggregation scales sub-linearly with respect to the scaling factor, i.e., the ratio between the network capacities of the two providers, and decreases with the initial traffic load of the providers. We derive a closed-form linear upper bound on the optimal level of carrier aggregation and prove that it is the tightest possible. We provide numerical results, showing the accuracy of our methods and illustrating their use. We also discuss the extension of our results to delay-related metrics as well as their application to profitable pricing in secondary spectrum markets.
Theory of the Structural Transition in NbSn and V 3 Si

A dynamic theory, based on the electron-phonon interaction, of the cubic-to-tetragonal transformation in the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-tungsten structure is presented. The theory explains why ${\mathrm{Nb}}_{3}$Sn behaves differently from ${\mathrm{V}}_{3}$Si and shows that the lattice softening does not influence the superconducting transition.
CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT, AND BISON POPULATIONS ON THE LATE PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HISTORIC CENTRAL PLAINS

A close and persistent association between bison and Central Plains Native Americans is a firmly entrenched image in archaeological and historical thought However, this model is overly generalized. To test the model, unmodified bison bone density (identified specimens/excavated m ) and sample diversity were measured for a series of semisedentary villages occupied between AD 1 and 1850. The results suggest: (1) Woodland tradition (AD 1-1000) bison use increased from east to west; (2) Central Plains tradition populations (AD 1000-1400) grew crops and practiced a diverse hunting-gathering economy supplemented only occasionally with bison hunting; and (3) after AD 1600, protohistoric and historic villagers engaged in intensive bison hunting with an apparent reduction in maize agriculture and broad spectrum hunting-gathering. Village and group size, the archaeological record, climate change, and intertribal relationships are explored to explain these data. The study concludes that climate change and related resource depletion were the most significant factors in bison procurement variability.
Science Signaling Podcast for 23 February 2016: G proteins in neutrophil migration

Abstract This Podcast features an interview with Alan Smrcka, author of a Research Article that appears in the 23 February 2016 issue of Science Signaling , about how different G protein subunits contribute to neutrophil migration. Neutrophils migrate to sites of inflammation by following chemical cues that activate transmembrane G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). Activation of these receptors causes dissociation of intracellular heterotrimeric G proteins, thus releasing Gα i and Gβγ. Both Gα and Gβγ have signaling activities. Whereas the functions of Gβγ have been described, it has been unclear whether or how Gα i contributes to chemotaxis. Surve et al . used a small molecule that activates Gβγ signaling, but does not activates Gα i signaling, to investigate how Gα i contributes to neutrophil migration. Gα i was required for cells to polarize in a chemotactic gradient and for balancing the adhesive signaling induced by Gβγ. Listen to Podcast
Polynomials in multiview geometry

We study multiview geometry and some of its applications through the use of polynomials. A three-dimensional world point gives rise to n ≥ 2 two-dimensional projections in n given cameras. The object of focus in this thesis is the multiview variety, the space of all possible n-tuples of such projections. By applying tools and techniques from algebraic geometry, representation theory, optimization, and others, we are able to provide a more complete picture of the multiview variety than has existed before. We apply this understanding to solving triangulation, the problem of reconstructing a world point from noisy projections.
“Careful what you wish for”: Reply to commentaries

The author replies to three discussions of his case, with a focus on the central question of whether or not he needs to “love” John, his patient, in order to effect change. After discussing the challenge of defining psychoanalytic love, the author concludes that a specific kind of love he might offer John would be helpful in the treatment.
Ultrafast time-dependent absorption in a macroscopic three-level helium gas

We present a theoretical study of the transient absorption of an ultrafast, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse in the presence of an infrared (IR) control pulse in a macroscopic three-level helium gas. We concentrate on cases in which the IR pulse is shorter than the XUV pulse and induces transient transparency and amplification of the XUV light via coherent control. We give a time-dependent picture of the absorption process through the time dependence of the populations and relative coherences of the three states. We show that the XUV absorption can be dynamically changed into emission via phase control of the XUV-resonant $2p$ state through IR-induced coupling between the $2p$ and the $2s$ states. This can lead to compression and amplification of the XUV pulse when propagating through a laser-dressed macroscopic medium. We discuss the influence of atomic decoherence times on the XUV reshaping and show that fast decoherence means that the laser dressing acts more like a passive transmission window and less like a dynamical redistribution of energy.
Implementation and effect of the system of electing elite contract nurses as formal nurses in our hospital

Objective To explore the method and effect of the management of contract nurses.Methods Our hospital established a audit team and developed the standards of elite nurses.Following the procedure and process,the elite contract nurses were chosen to attend the examination and the qualified nurses were transferred to formal nurses.Results The turnover rate of contract nurses declined,and the satisfaction of patients was increased annually.The evaluation of other colleagues to nurses were improved.Conclusion The implementation of electing elite contract nurses as formal nurses is helpful to stabilize the team of contract nurses and improve the overall quality of contract nurses to ensure the safety of nursing care and meet the diverse needs of patients.
DNA Viruses: Molecular Biology

There is no longer any doubt that viruses are associated with a number of malignant states both under natural conditions in animal populations and after certain defined experimental manipulations in the laboratory. However, there still remains some question as to whether viruses play the principal role in the etiology of the majority of malignant conditions, especially those of human origin. At the present time, work continues in many laboratories in the attempt to find the definitive answer to this question.
Accurate Model for Application Failure Due to Transient Faults in Caches

To select an appropriate level of error protection in caches, the impact of various protection schemes on the cache Failure In Time (FIT) rate must be evaluated for a target benchmark suite. However, while many simulation tools exist to evaluate area, power and performance for a set of benchmark programs, there is a dearth of such tools for reliability. This paper introduces a new cache reliability model called PARMA+ that has unique features which distinguish it from previous models. PARMA+ estimates a cache's FIT rate in the presence of spatial multi-bit faults, single-bit faults, temporal multi-bit faults and different error protection schemes including parity, ECC, early write-back and bit-interleaving. We first develop the model formally, then we demonstrate its accuracy. We have run reliability simulations for many distributions of large and small fault patterns and have compared them with accelerated fault injection simulations. PARMA+ has high accuracy and low computational complexity.
Nonfatal Gun Use in Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Guns figure prominently in the homicide of women by an intimate partner. Less is known, however, about their nonfatal use against an intimate partner. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched eight electronic databases and identified 10 original research articles that reported the prevalence of the nonfatal use of firearms against an intimate partner. Results indicate that (1) there is relatively little research on the subject of intimate partners' nonfatal gun use against women. (2) The number of U.S. women alive today who have had an intimate partner use a gun against them is substantial: About 4.5 million have had an intimate partner threaten them with a gun and nearly 1 million have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner. Whether nonfatal gun use is limited to the extreme form of abuse (battering) or whether it occurs in the context of situational violence remains to be seen. Regardless, when it comes to the likely psychological impact, it may be a distinction without a difference; because guns can be lethal quickly and with relatively little effort, displaying or threatening with a gun can create a context known as coercive control, which facilitates chronic and escalating abuse. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed, all of which include expanding an implicit focus on homicide to include an intimate partner's nonfatal use of a gun.
Performance evaluation of fractional Fourier transform(FrFT) for time-frequency analysis of ultrasonic signals in NDE applications

Recently, there has been a growing attention on fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) for time-frequency analysis. In this investigation, an FrFT-based signal decomposition algorithm is utilized to decompose ultrasonic signals into a linear combination of signal components. As a transformation tool, FrFT is employed to estimate an optimal transform order, which leads to the maximum amplitude response, or the highest kurtosis value in the fractional transform domain. Furthermore, a signal component is obtained by applying a window in the fractional domain and inverse FrFT. In an iterative manner, ultrasonic signals are decomposed into the signal components until a predefined stop criterion is satisfied. Analytical and simulation results show that FrFT is an alternative method to perform high-resolution analysis of nonstationary ultrasonic signals.
Description of Upper-Level Features Associated with the Snowstorms

Upper-level features associated with the 20 snowstorms are examined in this chapter. The analyses are derived from 850-, 700-, 500-, 300-, and 200-mb NMC charts. They are designed to provide an overview of the geopotential height, wind, and temperature fields that are indicative of the upper-level dynamical and thermodynamical processes associated with the storms.
Maladaptive schemas mediate poor parental attachment and suicidality in college students.

ABSTRACTIn college-aged adults (n = 766), the transition to adulthood may aggravate risk factors for suicidal behavior such as poor parental attachment and maladaptive self-schemas. Because poor parental attachment may facilitate developing maladaptive self-related schemas, this study was designed to determine whether specific maladaptive schemas mediate the relation between poor parental attachment and college students’ suicide proneness and ideation. Findings supported this hypothesis. Defectiveness and emotional deprivation schemas, which are consistent with “perceived burdensomeness” and “thwarted belonging,” may be important intervention targets for suicide prevention programs. The ongoing role of parental attachment during early adult development is highlighted.
Thermal activation of dislocations in large scale obstacle bypass

Dislocation dynamics simulations have been used extensively to predict hardening caused by dislocation-obstacle interactions, including irradiation defect hardening in the athermal case. Incorporating the role of thermal energy on these interactions is possible with a framework provided by harmonic transition state theory (HTST) enabling direct access to thermally activated reaction rates using the Arrhenius equation, including rates of dislocation-obstacle bypass processes. Moving beyond unit dislocation-defect reactions to a representative environment containing a large number of defects requires coarse-graining the activation energy barriers of a population of obstacles into an effective energy barrier that accurately represents the large scale collective process. The work presented here investigates the relationship between unit dislocation-defect bypass processes and the distribution of activation energy barriers calculated for ensemble bypass processes. A significant difference between these cases is observed, which is attributed to the inherent cooperative nature of dislocation bypass processes. In addition to the dislocation-defect interaction, the morphology of the dislocation segments pinned to the defects play an important role on the activation energies for bypass. A phenomenological model for activation energy stress dependence is shown to describe well the effect of a distribution of activation energies, and a probabilistic activation energy model incorporating the stress distribution in a material is presented.
From Development to Empowerment: The Self-Employed Women's Association in India

Since the 1970s, development experts have increasingly focused on how development policies and strategies affect women in developing countries. In recent years, the emphasis has included empowerment, which increases women's decision-making capability and well-being. This essay is an account of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India, a trade union for self-employed women since 1972. It analyzes the strategies that SEWA has used to mobilize and empower self-employed women in India, using materials and data collected on a field visit in 1998.
Text retrieval-based tagging of software engineering video tutorials

Video tutorials are an emerging form of documentation in software engineering and can efficiently provide developers with useful information needed for their daily tasks. However, to get the information they need, developers have to find the right tutorial for their task at hand. Currently, there is little information available to quickly judge whether a tutorial is relevant to a topic or helpful to the task at hand, which can lead to missing the best tutorials and wasting time watching irrelevant ones. We present the first efforts towards new tagging approaches using text retrieval that describe the contents of software engineering video tutorials, making it easier and faster to understand their purpose and contents. We also present the results of a preliminary evaluation of thirteen such approaches, revealing the potential of some and limitations of others.
Wind speed forecasting using an echo state network with nonlinear output functions

Wind turbines are among the most popular sources of renewable energy. The energy available from the wind varies widely because it is strongly related to wind speed and direction, which are constantly changing. Wind farms have difficulties with system scheduling and energy dispatching because the availability of wind power is not known in advance. Humidity, air temperature, average gust speed and direction, dew point, and wind speed and direction provided by the Nevada Department of Transportation roadway weather stations in the Reno, NV area are used as the inputs to the network for the case study. Nonlinear states in an echo state network are introduced to improve prediction accuracy over published methods. Simulation results of the nonlinear echo state network (N-ESN) show fewer computations, and improved prediction performance as compared to ESNs with fixed sizes and topologies.
Memory Changes during Normal Aging: Neurobiological Correlates

Publisher Summary An approach to the study of learning and memory has as its focus the attempt to understand memory's “normal” operations in enough detail to allow abnormal conditions to be identified and properly diagnosed. This chapter discusses that a major difficulty in distinguishing normal from pathological mnemonic function arises from the fact that learning and memory processes are continually changing throughout the course of development. It also underlines that the interest in memory and old age can be traced at least as far back as the first Greek and Roman memory theorists. Aging is a natural process that must be studied intensively, for it remains one of the most agonizing problems in all biology. Landfield and his colleagues demonstrate that the anatomical appearance of brains of animals that were adrenalectomized at 12 months of age and examined at 24 months resembled younger brains when compared with old animals that had intact adrenal glands. One of the major aims of gerontology is to provide society and individuals with advice on the formulation of societal and individual choices.
Activity of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner Against Different Ages and Stages of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Cotton

This study was done to compare the mortality of Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) eggs and larvae of different ages on cotton treated with Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki. Mortality of H. zea neonates hatching from eggs collected from B. thuringiensis-treated cotton plots was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) higher for eggs 0 than 2 d in age at the highest (1.12kg/ha) rate, but did not differ at lower rates. However, across all rates the median lethal concentration (LC50) was 3.2-fold lower for larvae hatching from eggs that were 2 d in age than those from eggs 0 d in age. Mortality for larvae 1 d in age placed on B. thuringiensis-treated cotton terminals was significantly higher than for larvae 3 and 5 d in age at 4.48 and 8.96 kg/ha rates of B. thuringiensis. The LC50 for larvae 1 d in age (2.1 kg/ha) was 3 and 5.7-fold lower than for larvae 3 and 5 d in age, respectively (based on 95% confidence intervals). These data indicate that in cotton pest management systems, B. thuringiensis applications need to b...
Research and Researchers: The Enduring Value of Conferences to Logistics and Supply Chain Scholars

Academic conferences serve the critical purposes of bringing together scholars to not only advance the state of the art in research, teaching, and practice, but also to socialize with established and prospective members of the academic society. In this way, conferences help to instill and reinforce the values of the academic society. Logistics and supply chain scholars are increasingly targeted to join in the dialogue of different academic networks and attend conferences in tangential disciplines. This editorial speaks to the growing affinity for logistics and supply chain scholars in different disciplinary settings, yet underscores the CSCMP Annual Global Conference (AGC) and its Academic Research Symposium (ARS) as the premier forums for advancing the state of the art in supply chain scholarship and reinforcing the discipline’s traditions and values.
CELL CULTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses cell culture and physiology. If tissue cultures are to be useful tools for studying animal physiology, they should exhibit growth responses to trophic hormones as do the parental tissues in vivo. Cells, whose proliferation is driven by hormones, require them at concentrations greater than those normally found in 100% serum. In addition, there are many specialized areas of the body where certain hormone concentrations are much higher than that found in the general circulation. For these reasons, dilute serum cannot be expected to provide the ideal, specialized environment required by many kinds of cells and this probably explains why such cells have never been established in culture using serum-based medium. The use of hormone-based media would make it possible to establish cells in culture that have not been cultured before.
Similarities in Hepatitis C Patient Profiles Over a Decade in an Urban GI Clinic

INTRODUCTION: There is considerable uncertainty with respect to predicting the liver disease status of African American (AA) patients with Hepatitis C seen in the current era of highly effective direct acting anti-virals (DAA). This uncertainty is due to the complex interplay between the identification of patients early in their disease progression by screening, the fact that many AA patients failed earlier interferon based therapy, duration of the HCV viremia in AA patients, the possible variation In disease course in AA as compared to other races, and potential early mortality of AA patients due to liver disease. Understanding the evolution of HCV infection as defined by comparing previous and current patient populations provides information relevant to both therapeutic and health costs decisions. METHODS: We selected patients from a 24 month period between 2002 and 2003 (Epoch 1; n = 414) to compare with patients seen in the same GI clinic between 2012 and 2013 (Epoch 2; n=405). Epoch 1 was the beginning of the peg-interferon and ribavirin treatment era and Epoch 2 reflects the patient population seen when DAA therapy was first available. RESULTS: Epoch 2 patients were older (59.7 vs 50.3 years) with a similar gender distribution (55% vs 59% male). Consistent with the change in clinic demographics, more AA patients were seen in Epoch 2 (89%) as compared to Epoch 1 (77%). There was no significant difference between hepatic fibrosis as assessed by APRI (1.1 vs 0.9) or FIB-4 (2.4 vs 2.6) but there was an increase in intermediate degree of fibrosis as defined by liver biopsy. The majority of Epoch 2 patients were still naive to treatment (96% Epoch 1 vs 61% Epoch 2) and a similar proportion had cirrhosis (15% Epoch 1 vs 17% Epoch 2) at the time of first visit in the different time periods. CONCLUSIONS: The patients in Epoch 2 from this urban GI referral clinic are older and the majority of them had not been treated or had not responded to treatment. This age demographic continues to reflect patients who were likely infected during the 1960’s-1980’s which is when HCV infection became widespread. Epoch 2 patients also do not have more advanced liver disease as defined either by significant fibrosis or cirrhosis as compared to Epoch 1. Possible explanations include that Epoch 2 patients’ disease was detected earlier by surveillance, progressed very slowly to advanced liver disease, or had a high mortality that resulted in a decline in patients with advanced disease. The role of access to therapy in patients not treated remains to be determined and the increased effectiveness of DAA are predicted to increase the number of AA patients seeking and accepting treatment.
Latent class analysis of children with math difficulties and/or math learning disabilities: Are there cognitive differences?

This study investigated whether a latent class of children with math difficulties (MD) or math learning disabilities (MLD) emerged within a heterogeneous sample of learners. A latent class analysis was computed on children (N = 447) in Grade 3 who were administered a battery of math, reading, and cognitive measures. The analysis yielded four important findings. First, a discrete latent class of children with MD (15% of the sample) or MLD (10% of the sample) emerged when setting cut-off scores at or below the 25th and 11th percentile, respectively. Second, model testing yielded a high probability of finding children with MD or MLD with reading problems as well as a latent class of low problem solvers with average reading and calculation scores. Third, knowledge of problem solving component processes, estimation and the executive component of WM were significant and unique correlates of latent classes at both cut-off points. Finally, children defined as MD at 25th percentile cut-off but not 11th percentile cut-off yielded high effect sizes on measures of reading, but not on cognitive measures, when compared with children identified at risk at both cut-off points. The results suggest that a statistically distinct latent class of children at risk for MD or MLD can be separated from a heterogeneous sample of children who vary in math, reading and fluid intelligence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)
The effect of tonsillectomy on obstructive sleep apnea: an overview of systematic reviews

Objective Tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy is a combination surgery that has been used to treat pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For adults, tonsillectomy has also been reported as a primary treatment modality when the tissue is hypertrophied. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses of tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy as used in the treatment of OSA in children and adults. Data sources Nine databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE. Review methods Databases were searched from their inception through July 9, 2017. The PRISMA statement was followed. Results More than 20 recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses were identified regarding tonsillectomy as a treatment modality for OSA. There were four articles that addressed tonsillectomy's overall success, efficacy, and complications in otherwise healthy pediatric patients. Three studies evaluated tonsillectomy in obese children, and two specifically examined children with Down syndrome. Only one systematic review and meta-analysis discussed tonsillectomy as a treatment for OSA in the adult population. Conclusion Tonsillectomy as an isolated treatment modality is rarely performed in pediatric patients with OSA; however, tonsillectomy is commonly performed in combination with adenoidectomy and the combination has demonstrated efficacy as the primary treatment option for most children. In the limited adult data, tonsillectomy alone for OSA has a surprising success rate; yet, more research is required to determine long-term improvement and need for further treatment.
Temporal Artery Biopsy

The superficial temporal artery biopsy remains the “gold standard” for the diagnosis of temporal arteritis. Herein a method is described that makes identifying the artery safe and easy.
High Temperature Thermal Characterization of Ge2Sb2Te5 for Phase Change Memory

We propose a novel design of Joule heating thermometry to measure thermal properties of Ge2 Sb2 Te5 (GST) films at temperatures relevant for the switching of phase change memory devices. Vertically stacked micro-fabricated heaters control temperature and measure thermal conductivity of thin films using the 3ω method. The thermal time constant of the experimental structure enables studies of short time scale crystallization and cycling effects for phase change materials. This work reports the thermal conductivity of GST films from the room temperature to above 400 Celsius in amorphous, face-centered cubic, and hexagonal close-packed phases.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
The Role of Phospholipids in Hormone Activation of Adenylate Cyclase

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of phospholipids in hormone activation of adenylate cyclase. It describes the characteristics of the solubilized enzyme, the role of phospholipids in the hormonal responsiveness of adenylate cyclase, and the relationship of hormone binding to activation of the enzyme. Adenylate cyclase is a membrane-bound enzyme that occupies a central role in mediating the effects of a number of hormones on their target tissues. It has been found that phospholipids play critical roles in hormonal activation of adenylate cyclase systems. The membrane-bound adenylate cyclase is activated by the catecholamines, glucagon, histamine, and thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Solubilization abolished hormone responsiveness. However, fluoride activation, which is thought to result from a direct interaction with the catalytic site, is unimpaired. The addition of pure phosphatidylserine restores the activation of adenylate cyclase by glucagon and histamine but not norepinephrine. In the presence of phosphatidylserine, glucagon and histamine activate the enzyme over a concentration range that is identical to that observed with the membrane-bound enzyme.
SOI CMOS for High-Temperature Applications

Several markets such as oil and gas drilling, automotive and aerospace have an increasingly large demand for electronic circuits capable of operating at high temperatures (Table 1).
A Ka-Band Beamformer for Wireless Power Transfer to Body Area Networks

A 4-channel Ka-band beamforming RFIC (BFIC) for millimeter wave (mmW) wireless power transfer to body area networks (BAN) is implemented in a 65nm CMOS process. The BFIC incorporates a traveling wave distribution network (TWDN) to reduce silicon area and lower cost. Measurements show ~18 dB of gain per channel, P 1dB of 4.5 dBm, 320 mW (80 mW/channel) consumption, in 2.25 mm2 of silicon area.
Perpetual Motion Machines: ESOPS Don’t Pay for Themselves

In this article, Stumpff addresses policy issues regarding employee stock ownership plans and demonstrates how some claims in support of ESOPS aren’t supported by the math.
Prognostic factors of malignant paraganglioma and pheochromocytoma: A SEER database review.

e23538Background: Paraganglioma (PGL) and pheochromocytoma (PCC) are rare malignancy while pathogenesis is strongly influenced by genetics. The prognostic factors of these patient remain poorly def...
Structural Equation Modeling with Path Analysis: Antecedents of Corporate Commitment to Sustainable Tourism

The chapter demonstrates an application of structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analysis (PA) in tourism research, and the associated statistics are described. First, we discuss the basic concepts of SEM, followed by an explanation of the key statistics and terms associated with this procedure. Then we describe the procedure for conducting SEM, including second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Finally, we describe the related technique of path analysis. In doing so, this chapter provides an example of structural equation modeling with a path model, of which path analysis assumes that all variables are measured without error so that it has a more restrictive set of assumptions than general structural equation models. The study examines antecedents of corporate commitment to sustainable tourism and corporate environmental responsibility in a country in Asia. The study employs factor analysis (i.e., exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and internal consistency reliability tests) and structural equation modeling analysis and path analysis (i.e., the analysis of moment structures and regression analysis) using 386 samples collected from tourism employees in South Korea.
On transnational analogy: Thinking race and caste with W. E. B. Du Bois and Rabindranath Tagore

This essay takes up W. E. B. Du Bois’s theorization of internationalism, focusing on his representation of India as racial kin and anti-colonial herald, especially his suggestion of an analogy betw...
From walking out to walking in: Activist goals, neoliberal constraints, and the discourse of Latino entrepreneurship

First known as an organizer of the 1968 East LA walkouts, Moctesuma Esparza has spent a fifty-year career in the film industry engaging in various types of activism to change the representations and treatment of Latina/os. This article traces his life before and during the Chicano movement (1950s–1970s), the development of Chicano and Latino cinema (1980s–1990s), and the increasing visibility of Latina/o entrepreneurs (1990s–2000s). In addition to offering a historical account of Esparza’s political involvement, this essay contributes to the emerging scholarship on Latina/o entrepreneurs by focusing on Esparza as an entrepreneur in the cultural sector, one whose trajectory offers us a window into wider cultural and economic phenomena. Esparza’s endeavors illuminate the mainstreaming of Chicano politics, and his experiences also offer us an entryway into understanding the discourse of Latino entrepreneurship as a political and cultural tactic and in relation to neoliberalism.
New York Film Festival 2001

The New York Film Festival 2001 took place against a background of the horror and beauty, fear and hope, anger and love released into the air along with noxious columns of smoking dust and ash by the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11 by a group of terrorists. It was an inauspicious time to ask people to travel anywhere by air, and certainly to New York City. But, oddly, the festival was not marked by a sense of absence, but rather a consolidated presence. Many who were stranded at the Toronto Film Festival, in progress while the attack took place, did not let that experience stop them from attending the screenings in New York. The same was true of a large number of the directors represented. The organizers of the festival told us that, contrary to expectations, the directors asserted their absolute determination to attend *because* of the attack. They were moreover unusually eloquent and forthcoming in their responses to questions about their films at their Press Conferences. Sentimental it is not to assert that the onslaught of the preceding weeks brought out a counter response, a need to assert in the face of a horrible chasm of human remains, wrecked steel, and sharded glass the integrity of the human bond. In the words addressed to the terrorists by of one of the survivors of the agonizing flight down tens of flights of stairs in the World Trade Center: if you want to kill us, leave us alone; we will do that for ourselves. But if you want to make us stronger, attack us and we will band together.
Preoperative Irradiation, Lymphadenectomy and 125Iodine Implant for Patients with Localized Prostatic Carcinoma: a Correlation of Implant Dosimetry with Clinical Results

AbstractThe 30 patients with clinically and surgically localized prostatic carcinoma who were selected for treatment by a short course of preoperative irradiation (1,050 rad), pelvic lymphadenectomy and 125iodine implant have been followed for 1 to 4 years. Perioperative morbidity (10 per cent), postimplant impotence (11 per cent), lymphedema (17 per cent), tumor recurrence (4 per cent) and distant metastasis (4 per cent) have been minimal to date. However, urinary irritative symptoms, which usually subsided in 6 to 9 months, occurred in half of the patients and correlated with implant volume. Total dose and total dose per unit of implanted activity were calculated. Of the various implant parameters evaluated implant dose homogeneity has correlated with the rate of tumor regression.
Chabazite Zeolite SAPO-34 Membranes for He/CH4 Separation

Natural gas reservoirs are the most abundant source of helium, despite helium being present only in trace amounts. Membrane technology represents an appealing and potentially cost-effective approac...
Acoustic Tweezers with Electrical Controllability on Rotation of Trapped Particle

This paper describes an electrically controllable acoustic tweezers capable of holding and rotating mm-sized particles through varying the frequency of the electrical voltage applied to the tweezers. The tweezers is composed of a pair of vertically placed acoustic tweezers, in parallel and center aligned, so that the trapping zone of each of the tweezers set overlaps with each other’s. Each single transducer is built on a 2.03 mm thick lead zirconate titanate (PZT) substrate with 18 symmetric beamforming sectors (pie shaped when viewed from top) arranged for 3 focal lengths (17.0, 18.5 and 20.0 mm) defined by air-cavity acoustic lens. Acoustic waves generated from the pair of the two tweezers produce Bessel beam zone with acoustic energy well, where a particle gets trapped and held. Once a particle is captured, rotational manipulation is achieved by fine tuning the tweezers’ driving frequency, which impacts the trapping zone quite slightly, enabling gravity to provide an asymmetric force that rotates the trapped particle. Our experiments show that a trapping of mm-sized particle is achieved at 1.17 MHz driving frequency for both transducers, and tuning of the frequency by about 100 Hz generates rotation of the trapped particle. The on-demand rotational manipulation is shown to be effective in rotating mm-size polyethylene particles and 24 - 36 hours-post-fertilization zebrafish embryos that are 1.3 - 1.5 mg in weight.