cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cost analysis and effectiveness comparing the routine use of intraoperative fluorescent cholangiography with fluoroscopic cholangiogram in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Background Despite the standardization of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), the rate of bile duct injury (BDI) has risen from 0.2 to 0.5 %. Routine use of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) has not been widely accepted because of its cost and a lack of evidence concerning its use in preventing BDI. Fluorescent cholangiography (FC), which has recently been advocated as an alternative to IOC, is a novel intraoperative procedure involving infrared visualization of the biliary structures. This study evaluated costs and effectiveness of routinely implemented FC and IOC during LC.
Connecting the dots: reinventing optics for nanoscale dimensions.

While optics is one of our oldest scientific tools, enabling some of the earliest advances in astronomy and biology, it is also currently one of the most dynamic and exciting areas of applied science. Developments of the past two decades in nanoscale device fabrication, nanomaterials synthesis and patterning, and advanced computational modeling capabilities have converged to fuel a revolution in optical science, leading to an entirely new tool set for optics at nanometer length scales. The work described in a recent issue of PNAS (1) illustrates the innovative use of nanoparticles as sensitive optical tools that provide a new way to measure the properties of light at nanometer-scale dimensions.
Determination of the Cryolite-Alumina Phase Diagram by Quenching Methods

The phase diagram of the system cryolite-alumina, from 0 to 18.5% alumina, was determined by quenching techniques. No compounds appeared and no solid solubility was detected on either side of the eutectic. The eutectic point was established at 10.5 weight % alumina at 961°C.
Novel Agents in the Treatment of Intestinal Failure: Humoral Factors

Modalities to care for patients who suffer from intestinal failure comprise 2 basic approaches: supportive care and interventions that promote the normal adaptive process of the gastrointestinal tract. During this adaptation, the gastrointestinal tract and other organs release a number of humoral factors, which are critical to promote increased intestinal growth and function. The 3 lectures, summarized below, discuss 3 of the more well-known factors: human growth hormone, epidermal growth factor, and glucagon-like peptide-2. Details regarding these factors will be discussed in the remainder of this section. In addition, a variety of other factors possess similar trophic activity and may have great functional relevance in the adaptive process. This summary will briefly discuss factors involved in the process of short bowel syndrome (SBS) adaptation and where future directions will go in taking these factors toward clinical usage.
Mobile measurements of climate forcing agents: Application to methane emissions from landfill and natural gas compression.

Measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) source emissions provides data for validation of GHG inventories, which provide the foundation for climate change mitigation. Two Toyota RAV4 electric vehicles were outfitted with high-precision instrumentation to determine spatial and temporal resolution of GHGs (e.g., nitrous oxide, methane [CH4], and carbon dioxide [CO2]), and other gaseous species and particulate metrics found near emission sources. Mobile measurement platform (MMP) analytical performance was determined over relevant measurement time scales. Pollutant residence times through the sampling configuration were measured, ranging from 3 to 11 sec, enabling proper time alignment for spatial measurement of each respective analyte. Linear response range for GHG analytes was assessed across expected mixing ratio ranges, showing minimal regression and standard error differences between 5, 10, 30, and 60 sec sampling intervals and negligible differences between the two MMPs. GHG instrument drift shows deviation of l...
Dreaming the Dark Side of the Body: Pain as Transformation in Three Ethnographic Cases

The body in-pain has regularly been relegated to "the dark side"of Western biomedicine, academic research, and even everyday life. Following Starhawk's aptly titled resuscitation of "the dark"as a fertile source of spiritual transformation (Dreaming the Dark, 1982), this essay examines the ways in which intractable pain can open up the body to "a new body in the making" —one that engages with pain kinesthetically as well as discursively. This essay explores three ethnographic cases emerging from three different American fieldvvork sites. An Internet mailing list called WITSENDO constitutes the first case; through often daily participation in this electronic mailing list, women suffering from endometriosis co-create a virtual community that strikingly mitigates their experiences of chronicand intense pain. The shift in how long-term clients of acupuncture care regard needling is the locus of the second case. Acupuncture treatments in American clinical settings often negotiate an American cultural assumption that needles are painful; this second case documents what happens to patients' "fear" of needles and experiences of pain after regular acupuncture treatments. The third case focuses on adepth interview with an American doula who provides labor support for women primarily in hospital settings, this interview explores the conditions under which American women in labor experience pain and how alternative birth professionals define and conceive of pain during childbirth. These three ethnographic cases highlight the cultural construction of pain by delving into the ways that pain sufferers and health care practitioners engage with the body-in-pain. Such engagements occur in the realm of language - both discursive and kinesthetic language.
Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Auctions

This paper proposes a flexible architecture for the creation of Internet auctions. It allows the custom definition of the auction parameters, and provides a decentralized control of the auction process. Auction policies are defined as laws in the Law Governed Interaction (LGI) paradigm. Each of these laws specifies not only the auction algorithm itself (e.g., open-cry, Dutch, etc.) but also how to handle the other parameters usually involved in the online auctions, such as certification, auditioning, and treatment of complaints. LGI is used to enforce the rules established in the auction policy within the agents involved in the process. After the agents find out about the actions, they interact in a peer-to-peer communication protocol, reducing the role of the centralized auction room to an advertising registry, and taking profit of the distributed nature of the Internet to conduct the auction. The paper presents an example of an auction law, illustrating the use of the proposed architecture.
Amino acid sequence of the alanyl peptide from cyanogen bromide cleavage of bovine plasma albumin.

Abstract The amino acid sequence of the alanyl peptide from cyanogen bromide cleavage of bovine plasma albumin has been determined. This peptide has 96 residues and extends the known sequence that begins at the N terminus from 87 to 183 residues.
Managing the centrosome numbers game: from chaos to stability in cancer cell division

Aneuploid tumor cells can arise through multipolar mitosis caused by supernumerary centrosomes. Multipolar spindles, however, are antagonistic to cell viability. Thus, most cells derived from such an aberrant mitosis would be eliminated by apoptosis. A rare daughter cell, through chance acquisition of an appropriate chromosome complement and/or gene dosage, could survive and contribute to a clone of aneuploid tumor cells. Survival and perpetuation of the clone, however, requires an additional step - the resumption of mitotic stability through the assembly of a bipolar, not multipolar, spindle. Either selective inactivation of the extra centrosomes or their coalescence into two functional spindle poles corrects the problem of centrosome excess. Current data support coalescence as a mechanism for regulating the number of functional centrosomes in tumor cells.
Channel switching control policy for wireless mesh networks

Dynamic channel assignment algorithms allow wireless nodes to switch channels when their traffic loads exceed certain thresholds. These thresholds represent estimations of their throughput capacities. Unfortunately, the threshold estimation may not be accurate due to co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent-channel interference (ACI), especially with high traffic loads in dense networks. When the link capacity is over-estimated, these channel assignment algorithms are not effective. This is because the channel switch is not triggered even with overloaded data traffic and the link quality decreases significantly as the channel is overloaded. When the link capacity is under-estimated, the link is under-utilized. Moreover, when link traffic load increases from time to time, channel switch occurs frequently. Such frequent channel switches increase latency and degrade throughput, and can even cause network wide channel oscillations. In this paper, we propose a novel threshold-based control system, called balanced control system (BCS). The proposed threshold-based control policy consists of deciding, according to the real time traffic load and interference, whether to switch to another channel, which channel should be switched to and how to perform the switch. Our control model is based on a fuzzy logic control. The threshold which assists to make the channel switch decisions, could be deduced dynamically according to the real-time traffic of each node. We also design a novel dynamic channel assignment scheme, which is used for the selection of the new channel. The channel switch scheduler is provided to perform channel-switch processing for sender and receiver over enhanced routing protocols. We implement our system in NS2, and the simulation results show that with our proposed system, the performance improves by 12.3%-72.8% in throughput and reduces 23.2%-52.3% in latency.
Distribution, Seasonality, and Hosts of the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick in the United States

Abstract Anaplasma marginale Theiler is a tick-borne pathogen that causes anaplasmosis in cattle. There are ≈20 tick species worldwide that are implicated as vectors of this pathogen. In the United States, Dermacentor andersoni Stiles and Dermacentor variabilis (Say) are the principal vectors. The risk of transmission of anaplasmosis to cattle has been largely based on the distribution of D. andersoni in the United States. We developed a centralized geographic database that incorporates collection records for D. andersoni from two large national databases. We reviewed the geographic records in each database and postings from MEDLINE and AGRICOLA to produce a national county-level distribution map based on a total of 5,898 records. The records spanned the period from 1903 through 2001 with the majority between 1921 to 1940. Populations of D. andersoni were recorded from 267 counties in 14 states and were distinguished as either established or reported. We found 180 counties with established populations of ...
Preanesthetic Medications in Ruminants and Swine

The use of preanesthetic agents alone or in various combinations in food animls is complex. In addition to considering the pharmacokinetics and dynamics of the medications, one must give additional consideration to the animals's temperament, its physical condition, and its environment. Also, the potential of residues from meat and milk products of animals treated with preanesthetic agents must be considered.
Arginase and catalase activity in livers of patients having benign and malignant gastric lesions.

ConclusionsThe catalase and arginase activities of liver biopsies from 16 patients bearing gastric cancer did not differ significantly from those of 11 patients having benign gastric lesions. These results are in contrast to those found in animal experiments, and are in contrast to those obtained with certain other liver function tests which appear to be impaired in patients with gastric cancer.
Effects of Forage Availability on Home Range and Population Density of Microtus pennsylvanicus

The hypothesis that territoriality of female meadow voles ( Microtus pennsylvanicus ) regulates population size was tested during four breeding seasons by using radiotelemetry to determine home range, dispersion, and use of vegetative cover in crownvetch ( Coronilla varia ) fields. The percentage of transient voles in the population was related directly to density. The percentage of transient females increased as nearest-neighbor distances between females decreased. Territory size for females was related inversely to available forage, supporting the hypothesis that territory size is a function of availability of food. I conclude that the quantity of forage is a factor in controlling population density.
Effect of Magnesia Addition on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Soda Alumina

The effect of magnesia addition on the microstructural development and the mechanical properties of commercial low-soda alumina was investigated in the context of sintered bodies highly toughened by plate-like abnormal grains. Magnesia addition did not affect sinterability and final density. The alumina bodies, with and without magnesia, sintered at just below the temperature for which fully dense materials are obtained with high bending strength (i.e., exceeding 600MPa). Very large plate-like grains were formed at higher sintering temperature in the sample without magnesia. These large plate-like grains are the reason of both a lowered bending strength and an extremely high increase in fracture toughness. Fracture toughness of more than 7MPa·m1/2 and bending strength of 200MPa were achieved in a sample sintered at 1800°C without magnesia addition. The small amount of magnesia effectively inhibited abnormal grain growth in low soda alumina and even the sample sintered at 1800°C showed a bending strength higher than 300MPa and 5MPa·m1/2 fracture toughness. The high fracture toughness obtained in these samples is attributed to crack bridging mechanism.
POPTUBE TECHNOLOGY - TRANSFORMING NANOREINFORCEMENT OF STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES

This study presents a novel technique to grown CNTs on microfibers/fabrics, PopTube approach. In this technique, only a single chemical is used to provide both the carbon source and catalyst. Microwave is used to heat a conducting polymer to provide fast and energy-efficient heating source for CNTs’ growth. It takes only 15-30 seconds to grow CNTs under the the microwave irradiation at room temperature in the air, with no need of any inert gas protection, and additional feed stock gases, typically required in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the fastest CNT growth, and probably the only approach that can be done in ambient condition. The PopTube approach requires very simple equipment, can be easily scaled up for large-scale manufacture, and is highly energy-efficient and cost-effective. CHALLENGES IN APPLICATION OF CARBON NANOTUBE IN STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with extraordinary mechanical properties and excellent thermal and electrical properties provide a solution to develop these innovative materials. Compared with other conventional structural materials, CNTs have much higher strength (tensile strength > 100 GPa), stiffness (Young’s modulus of ~ 1.5 TPa), and flexibility (20%-30% at failure) (Yu et al 2000). All these features make CNTs the ideal candidate to reinforce and toughen materials. CNT reinforcements have the potential to produce much stronger and tougher materials than traditional reinforcing materials. The excellent thermal and electrical properties of CNTs can provide materials with functional advantages such as self-sensing abilities, flame retardancy, wear resistance, electrical and thermal conductivity, electromagnetic interference shielding, and improved thermal stability. However, the application of CNTs in reinforcing materials is hampered by three major challenges (Sanchez and Sovolev 2010): “proper dispersion of the nanoscale additives, scale-up of laboratory results and implementation on larger scale, and a lowering of the cost benefit ratio.” The PopTube Technology method proposed in this study has the potential to solve these three major challenges as the method provides an in-line, fast, inexpensive, and scalable technique to directly grow CNTs on the reinforcing fibers of structural composites. By using the Poptube tehcnology, tailored, multifunctional, and hierarchical materials can be developed. These new materials will
Effect of graft shape in lateral column lengthening on tarsal bone position and subtalar and talonavicular contact pressure in a cadaveric flatfoot model.

Background:Lateral column lengthening (LCL) has been used for correction of flatfoot deformity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of LCL graft shape on tarsal bone position and talonavicular and subtalar joint pressure.Methods:A flatfoot model was created in 6 cadaveric specimens. Corrective LCL was performed using a rectangular graft or a trapezoidal graft with the broad surface oriented dorsally, laterally, or plantarly. Bony surface markers were digitized to calculate angular parameters used in the evaluation of flatfoot deformity. Contact pressure and area in the subtalar and talonavicular joints were also recorded. All measurements were carried out under multiple axial loads in the intact and flatfoot conditions, and following LCL with each graft shape.Results:Flatfoot creation resulted in significant changes in arch collapse and forefoot abduction. LCL with a rectangular graft best corrected these parameters, while a laterally oriented trapezoidal graft provided some correction. ...
The case for using DUOLINGO as part of the language classroom experience

This article explores the idea of using an already existing language learning app, Duolingo, to complement traditional university level courses of Spanish as second language. These types of apps use adaptive learning technologies, which are able to tailor the tasks to the level of each student. In the case of this study, Duolingo was used as part of the program of studies in two Spanish university courses, one a beginner’s Spanish course (level A1) and the other one an advanced intermediate course (B2). The students used the app online, either in its mobile version or in their web browser. The functionality of Duolingo, the kind of activities that can be undertaken, and how learning is achieved are described. Preliminary results suggest that Duolingo is an easy-to-use app, which is useful, and has learning potential, although its main modules are not based on communicative competence. It is usually enjoyed by students because of several features, such as its ease of access on a mobile device, its gamified aspect, and the variety of tasks available. Possible ways to incorporate Duolingo into foreign language courses are discussed, always considering it as a complement to the curriculum, but also considering its value to reinforce vocabulary and grammar acquisition through spaced repetition, interleaving of different skills and a variety of activities.
Tiling Polyhedra with Tetrahedra.

When solving an algorithmic problem involving a polyhedron in R, it is common to start by partitioning the given polyhedron into simplier ones. The most common process is called triangulation and it refers to partitioning a polyhedron into tetrahedra in a face-to-face manner. In this paper instead of triangulations we will consider tilings by tetrahedra. In a tiling the tetrahedra are not required to be attached to each other along common faces. We will construct several polyhedra which can not be triangulated but can be tiled by tetrahedra. We will also revisit a nontriangulatable polyhedron of Rambau and a give a new proof for his theorem. Finally we will identify new families of non-tilable, and thus non-triangulable polyhedra.
Direct brain infusion can be enhanced with focused ultrasound and microbubbles.

The delivery of most therapeutic agents is rendered ineffective for the treatment of brain diseases due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of pre-infusion focused ultrasound (FUS) and microbubbles on the distribution of direct brain infusion in vivo. A single-element FUS transducer was used in all sonications, which were carried out immediately prior to direct infusion procedures. Mice received direct infusion of either Gadolinium-labeled albumin (Gd-albumin, 74 kDa) or adeno-associated virus (AAV, ∼4 MDa). The volumes of Gd-albumin at 30 min were deemed comparable ( P = 0.334) between the direct infusion (DI)-only group and the FUS + DI group. At 120 min, the FUS + DI group showed significantly higher contrast-enhanced volume (9.76 ± 0.74 mm3) than the DI-only group (7.14 ± 0.34 mm3). For mice infused with AAV, the total volume of transduction was estimated as GFP-positive regions and FUS + DI group demonstrated significantly higher ( P = 0.017) transduction efficiency in vivo. In conclusion, enhanced bio-distribution of directly infused agents was observed when the targeted region was pre-conditioned with FUS and microbubbles. Focused ultrasound has the potential, as an adjuvant technique, to significantly enhance direct brain infusion and achieve the desired therapeutic outcomes.
Reading your own mind: dynamic visualization of real-time neural signals

Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) systems which allow humans to control external devices directly from brain activity, are becoming increasingly popular due to dramatic advances in the ability to both capture and interpret brain signals. Further advancing BCI systems is a compelling goal both because of the neurophysiology insights gained from deriving a control signal from brain activity and because of the potential for direct brain control of external devices in applications such as brain injury recovery, human prosthetics, and robotics. The dynamic and adaptive nature of the brain makes it difficult to create classifiers or control systems that will remain effective over time. However it is precisely these qualities that offer the potential to use feedback to build on simple features and create complex control features that are robust over time. This dissertation presents work that addresses these opportunities for the specific case of Electrocorticography (ECoG) recordings from clinical epilepsy patients. First, queued patient tasks were used to explore the predictive nature of both local and global features of the ECoG signal. Second, an algorithm was developed and tested for estimating the most informative features from naive observations of ECoG signal. Third, a software system was built and tested that facilitates real-time visualizations of ECoG signal patients and allows ECoG epilepsy patients to engage in an interactive BCI control feature screening process.
DNP and ESR at 5 T Fields

Room temperature dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) measurements on the ID organic conductor fluoranthenyl radical cation salt (FA) are reported. Magic angle spinning (MAS) and 1h/13c cross polarization (CP) were employed to detect the enhanced 13c signals from powder samples. A enhancement factor of 8 was achieved by pulsed microwave excitation of the electronic spin system. A theoretical description of this pulsed technique has been developed and a comparison to CW method is made. ESR spectra of the P700+-donor radical of photosystem I (PS I) at room temperature demonstrate the benefits of high fields: the increased spectral resolution and measurement of small g-anisotropies.
An Insulin Model

This chapter discusses a model of diabetes detection developed by using linear approximation ideas to build an approximate model of insulin and glucose interaction. This model is fitted to data to give a tool to better predict if a patient has mild diabetes. MatLab tools for gradient descent using line search are used to fit the model.
High-Current Electron-Beam Transport in Linear Induction Accelerators

In recent years a number of advanced linear induction accelerators (LIAs) have been developed which have the capability for accelerating very high electron beam currents, provided that satisfactory answers are obtained to a number of beam transport and stability issues. Examples of this new technology include the advanced technology accelerator (Prono, 1985), the RADLAC accelerators, (Miller, et al., 1985) and the LIU accelerators of the Soviet Union (Pavlovskii, et al., 1975). In this review we analyze several important beam stability issues pertaining to the propagation of very high current electron beams in and through the accelerating structures. In particular, we develop criteria for various equilibrium configurations, injector designs for producing the equilibria, general beam stability criteria, zero-order analyses of accelerating gap designs and considerations of various multiple-gap instabilities, including transverse beam break-up and image displacement. We then show how these analyses can be practically applied by illustrating the design of the beam transport line of the RADLAC-II accelerator. Finally, we briefly describe the new transport technique of ion channel guiding.
Relationship Between the Two-Point Correlation of Elastic Constants and Backscattered Ultrasonic Noise in Two-Phase Titanium Alloys

Demands for advanced materials which can endure hostile environments (high temperature, high stress) constantly increase. In such hostile environment, even small defects may result in component failure. For instance, a small, hard alpha defect in a titanium alloy rotating component of a jet engine could initiate a crack resulting in engine failure. Therefore, it is important to detect small defects in advanced materials such as titanium alloys. Ultrasound is often used for these purposes.
Intense group selection selects for ideal group compositions, but selection within groups maintains them

A group's composition is important for its success. Colonies of the spider Anelosimus studiosus appear to have responded to this pressure by evolving the ability to maintain mixtures of docile versus aggressive individuals that help colonies avoid extinction. Here we demonstrate that colony extinction events unite the optimal group composition of all colony constituents, regardless of phenotype, with that of the colony as a whole. This is because colony extinction events explain the majority of individual mortality events in A. studiosus. Through within- and across-habitat colony manipulations, we further determined that reduction in reproductive output by individuals bearing overabundant phenotypes underlies the ability of colonies to adaptively regulate their compositions. When we experimentally created colonies with an overabundance of the docile or aggressive phenotype, individuals bearing the overabundant phenotype exhibited reduced reproductive output, which helped to move colony compositions back towards their site-specific optima. Colonies displaced from their native sites continued to recreate the patterns of reproductive output that characterized their site of origin, suggesting a genetic component to this trait. Individuals thus appear to adaptively cull their reproductive output depending on their phenotype and the composition of their colony. There is also considerable parent–offspring colony resemblance in the extent to which colonies can or do track their ideal compositions. This conveys a kind of collective heritability to this trait. Together, while group selection appears to be the principal driver of ongoing selection on group composition in A. studiosus, patterns of selection among individuals within groups appear to promote colonies' ability to track their ideal mixtures.
Dissection of BET Protein Function in a Hematopoietic Differentiation Model

Abstract The mammalian Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal motif (BET) proteins associate with acetylated histones and transcription factors including the master erythroid regulator GATA1. Pharmacologic inhibitors that broadly target BET family proteins are being evaluated in clinical trials for hematologic malignancies. Additionally, a rapidly growing number of studies in model organisms and in vitro systems suggests BET modulation is a therapeutic avenue in diverse disorders. However the mechanisms through which BET proteins act as well as the contributions of individual BET family members to biological processes remain mostly uncharacterized. Previously we showed that BET family members Brd3 and Brd4 can bind to GATA1 in an acetylation-dependent manner and that pharmacologic BET inhibition impairs erythroid maturation (Lamonica et al PNAS 2011). Using a combination of genome-wide occupancy analysis, pharmacologic inhibition, genome editing and knockdown we characterized the mechanism and function of BET proteins in the context of GATA1-driven erythroid differentiation. BET inhibitors prevented GATA1-mediated transcriptional activation, but not repression, genome-wide. Mechanistically, GATA1 required BETs both for initial chromatin association and for transcriptional activation following the establishment of GATA1 occupancy. As BET proteins associate with chromatin during mitosis when transcription is globally disrupted, they have been implicated as mitotic “bookmarks”. BET inhibition specifically during mitosis failed to elicit a measurable impact on post-mitotic gene activation, calling into question a role of BET proteins as mitotic bookmarks in this system. To determine the BET protein(s) most relevant to GATA1-activated transcription, we genomically disrupted BET family members Brd2, Brd3 and Brd4 using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. Despite being present at nearly all GATA1-occupied sites genome-wide, Brd3 disruption had little impact on GATA1-dependent transcription. In contrast, both Brd2 and Brd4 were individually required for efficient gene activation by GATA1. A Brd3 requirement was only revealed in the setting of Brd2 deficiency, indicating functional compensation among select BET proteins. These results provide a comprehensive definition of the functions of BET proteins in a model of cellular differentiation. They further suggest that pharmacologic BET inhibition should be viewed in the context of distinct steps in transcriptional activation and overlapping functions among BET family members. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Additive manufacturing of hydrogel-based materials for next-generation implantable medical devices

Implantable microdevices often have static components rather than moving parts, and exhibit limited biocompatibility. This paper demonstrates a fast manufacturing method which can produce features in biocompatible materials down to tens of microns in scale, with intricate and composite patterns in each layer. By exploiting unique mechanical properties of hydrogels, we developed a "locking mechanism" for precise actuation and movement of freely moving parts, which can provide functions such as valves, manifolds, rotors, pumps, and delivery of payloads. Hydrogel components could be tuned within a wide range of mechanical and diffusive properties, and can be controlled after implantation without a sustained power supply. In a mouse model of osteosarcoma, triggering of release of doxorubicin from the device over ten days showed high treatment efficacy and low toxicity, at one-tenth of a standard systemic chemotherapy dose. Overall, this platform, called "iMEMS", enables development of biocompatible implantable microdevices with a wide range of intricate moving components that can be wirelessly controlled on demand, in a manner that solves issues of device powering and biocompatibility.
Electrochemical Deposition of Corrosion-Resistant Coatings from Tin–Nickel Alloys

We propose the optimal composition of a polyligand ammonium-chloride-fluoride electrolyte and a mode of electrolysis for the deposition of functional coatings formed by tin–nickel alloys. The tin–nickel alloy with a tin content of 65 wt.% and a nickel content of 35 wt.% proves to be the most promising for microelectronics in the case of its application instead of gold coatings. It is shown that the obtained coatings are suitable for soldering with the use of low-temperature solders and acid-free fluxes and for the ultrasonic spot welding. The electrolytic deposits of tin–nickel alloys are investigated as the anodes of lithium–ion batteries by the potentiodynamic and galvanostatic cycling methods. It is shown that the deposits obtained from an alkaline tartrate-trilonate electrolyte are characterized in the first cycles by a high specific capacity of up to 700 mA ∙ h/g. In the course of cycling, this parameter decreases to 500 mA ∙ h/g. The obtained tin–nickel alloys guarantee high densities of charge-discharge currents without mechanical fracture.
Glossary of Key Information Security Terms

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has received numerous requests to provide a summary glossary for our publications and other relevant sources, and to make the glossary available to practitioners. As a result of these requests, this glossary of common security terms has been extracted from NIST Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), the Special Publication (SP) 800 series, NIST Interagency Reports (NISTIRs), and from the Committee for National Security Systems Instruction 4009 (CNSSI-4009). This glossary includes most of the terms in the NIST publications. It also contains nearly all of the terms and definitions from CNSSI-4009. This glossary provides a central resource of terms and definitions most commonly used in NIST information security publications and in CNSS information assurance publications. For a given term, we do not include all definitions in NIST documents – especially not from the older NIST publications. Since draft documents are not stable, we do not refer to terms/definitions in them. Each entry in the glossary points to one or more source NIST publications, and/or CNSSI-4009, and/or supplemental sources where appropriate. The NIST publications referenced are the most recent versions of those publications (as of the date of this document).
Breath, tremoring, and performance anxiety: How can Fitzmaurice Voicework’s Destructuring address performance anxiety in undergraduate acting training?

AbstractThis study explores the relationship between the student experience of performance anxiety and Fitzmaurice Voicework’s Destructuring in undergraduate actor training. While current voice texts primarily focus on reducing habitual tension through various exercises, the acute and detrimental experience of performance anxiety is not fully addressed. However, the problem does not solely exist in the lack of literature for voice pedagogy, but is threefold: 1) Systemic: there are no clear coping strategies for performance anxiety embedded in theatre or voice training; 2) Practical: voice teachers are not qualified to provide therapeutic support to students dealing with performance anxiety; and 3) Research: performance anxiety has a debilitating effect on vocal performance. Utilizing Grounded Theory as a methodology, four phases of data collection were triangulated. Three core themes emerged from the data: increased body awareness, parasympathetic activation, and self-care. From these themes, a theory was...
Discovery and in Vitro Optimization of 3-Sulfamoylbenzamides as ROMK Inhibitors

Inhibitors of the renal outer medullary potassium channel (ROMK) show promise as novel mechanism diuretics, with potentially lower risk of diuretic-induced hypokalemia relative to current thiazide and loop diuretics. Here, we report the identification of a novel series of 3-sulfamoylbenzamide ROMK inhibitors. Starting from HTS hit 4, this series was optimized to provide ROMK inhibitors with good in vitro potencies and well-balanced ADME profiles. In contrast to previously reported small-molecule ROMK inhibitors, members of this series were demonstrated to be highly selective for inhibition of human over rat ROMK and to be insensitive to the N171D pore mutation that abolishes inhibitory activity of previously reported ROMK inhibitors.
Fluorescent nanoparticle sensors with tailor-made recognition units and proximate fluorescent reporter groups

The molecular recognition unit of a fluorescent sensor is its most cumbersome part to design and synthesize, but is key to the specificity of the sensor. Molecular imprinting within cross-linked micelles using easily synthesized modular templates allowed us to create analyte-specific binding sites with a nearby fluorescent probe. This strategy makes it straightforward to vary the recognition unit independent of the reporting unit, making the sensor potentially applicable to a wide range of molecular analytes.
Periodic Orbits of Self-Similar Flows

In this chapter, we apply our explicit formulas to obtain an asymptotic expansion for the prime orbit counting function of suspended flows. The resulting formula involves a sum of oscillatory terms associated with the dynamical complex dimensions of the flow.
INCREASED FLEXIBILITY IN GENETIC ALGORITHMS: THE USE OF VARIABLE BOLTZMANN SELECTIVE PRESSURE TO CONTROL PROPAGATION

ABSTRACT Modifiable Boltzmann selective pressure is investigated as a tool to control variability in optimizations using genetic algorithms. An implementation of variable selective pressure, modeled after the use of temperature as a parameter in simulated annealing approaches, is described. The convergence behavior of optimization runs is illustrated as a function of selective pressure, the method is compared to a genetic algorithm lacking this control feature and is shown to exhibit superior convergence properties on a small set of test problems. An analysis is presented that compares the selective pressure of this algorithm to a standard selection procedure.
Allopregnanolone and Pregnenolone Alterations Following Pharmacological Agents in Rodents and Clinic Populations

Recent research has revealed potential roles for neuroactive steroids in the pathophysiology and treatment of a number of psychiatric and neurological disorders. A wide array of preclinical investigations also reports neuroactive steroid actions in areas relevant to neuropsychiatric conditions, including neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and neurogenesis. Levels of several neuroactive steroids are altered following the administration of various pharmacological agents, and it has been hypothesized that neuroactive steroid induction may contribute to the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), atypical antipsychotics (also known as second-generation antipsychotics), and mood stabilizers. In addition, neuroactive steroids may have potential as agents for pharmacological intervention. The following chapter will focus primarily on changes in the neuroactive steroids allopregnanolone and pregnenolone in response to the administration of several classes of commonly prescribed psychiatric medications, although alterations in other neuroactive steroids will also be included. In some instances when appropriate, evidence of alterations in baseline neuroactive steroid levels in psychiatric disorders will be discussed for a more complete picture of clinically relevant findings. Given the multifaceted actions of neuroactive steroids in rodent models, including neuroprotective effects against a number of stressors, modulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, enhancement of neurogenesis and myelination, and anti-inflammatory effects, it is perhaps not surprising that neuroactive steroids have been linked to clinically disparate psychiatric and neurological disorders that may be impacted by these diverse effects. The modulatory actions of neuroactive steroids at GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitter systems, which constitute the major inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter systems in the mammalian brain, respectively, are also consistent with the relevance of neuroactive steroids to multiple neuropsychiatric conditions.
Provision of guideline-based care for drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa: Level of concordance between prescribing practices and guidelines

Title Provision of guideline-based care for drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa: Level of concordance between prescribing practices and guidelines. Objective We examined the influence of individual and site characteristics on the concordance between prescribed treatment regimens and recommended standardized regimen according to national guidelines for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in South Africa. Methods Participants were 337 youth and adults treated for DR-TB between November 2014 and August 2016 at ten DR-TB treatment sites in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces, South Africa. Logistic regression was used to determine individual and system characteristics related to concordance at treatment initiation between the prescribed treatment regimens in terms of medication composition, dosage, and frequency and guideline-based standardized regimen that included four oral and one injectable medications. Results The sample was 19% (n = 64) youth (15–24 years), 53% (n = 179) male, 73% (n = 243) HIV coinfected, and 51% (n = 169) with prior history of TB treatment. Guideline medications were correctly prescribed for 88% (n = 295) of patients, but only 33% (n = 103) received the correct medications and doses. Complete guideline adherence to medications, doses, and frequency was achieved for 30% (n = 95) of patients. Younger age, HIV coinfection, and rural treatment setting were associated with the prescription of correct medications. Conclusion Most individuals are prescribed the correct DR-TB medications, yet few individuals receive correct medications, dosages, and frequencies. Further study is needed to examine the root causes for treatment guideline deviations and opportunities for improvement.
Treatment of canola-oil refinery effluent using electrochemical methods: A comparison between combined electrocoagulation + electrooxidation and electrochemical peroxidation methods

Abstract A comparative study of combined electrocoagulation (EC) + electrooxidation (EO) and electrochemical peroxidation (ECP) treatment processes were carried out to treat canola oil refinery (COR) wastewaters. The effect of applied current density and operation time in the removal of organic pollutants were investigated and discussed. Total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD), soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD), total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total suspended solids (TSS) were measured. Using only EC process was found to be significantly successful in removing suspended and colloidal pollutants and could remove more than 90% TCOD and 80% of TOC at current densities between 0.91 and 13.66 mA cm−2. From the statistical model, the optimized conditions for TCOD at a current density of 7.61 mA cm−2 and TOC at 7.99 mA cm−2 under 40 min operation, validated to remove 93.45% and 94.5% respectively. However, the maximum removal of dissolved organic pollutants was relatively low in EC process and reported to be 75% for sCOD and 74% for DOC. Therefore, EC + EO process were run to increase the removal of sCOD and DOC to 99 and 95%, respectively. On the other hand, treatment using ECP process achieved a removal of sCOD and DOC between 77 and 86%. TSS were removed completely in both EC + EO and ECP processes. A statistical model was applied to compare the performance of two methods and found that the combined EC + EO process provided lightly better treatment compared to ECP method.
Administering prevention or administering atrocities? Public affairs education in dark times:

Despite repeated calls to temper the bureaucratic ethos and its associated process-oriented pathologies with more of a democratic ethos grounded in normative values and the public interest, the pra...
Estimating Multiscale Direct Causality Graphs in Neural Spike-Field Networks

Neural representations span various spatiotemporal scales of brain activity, from the spiking activity of single neurons to field activity measuring large-scale networks. The simultaneous analyses of spikes and fields to uncover causal interactions in multiscale networks could help understand neural mechanisms. However, assessing causality within spike-field networks is challenging as spikes are binary-valued with a fast time-scale while fields are continuous-valued with slower time-scales. Current causality measures are largely not applicable to mixed discrete-continuous network activity. Here, in this paper, we develop a novel multiscale causality estimation algorithm for spike-field networks. We construct a likelihood function comprised of point process models for spikes and linear Gaussian models for fields. For spikes, firing rates are modeled as a function of the history of both field signals and binary spike events within the network. For fields, to make their linear models consistent with biophysical findings, we use the history of field signals and the history of the latent log-firing rates of neurons as predictors. To resolve the challenge of estimating the network model parameters in the presence of latent firing rates, we develop a sequential maximum-likelihood parameter estimation procedure that extends to large networks. Once models are estimated, we compute directed information as our measure of multiscale causality and devise two statistical tests to assess its significance. Using extensive simulations, we show that the algorithm can accurately reconstruct the true causality graphs of random spike-field networks. Moreover, the algorithm is robust to the number of connections, connection strengths, or exact topology of the network. This multiscale causality estimation algorithm has important implications for studying neural mechanisms and for future neurotechnology design.
The role of psychotherapy in the treatment of Post-partum depression in Nigeria

Statement of the problem: After childbirth, the levels of hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) in a woman’s body quickly drop. This leads to chemical changes in her brain that may trigger mood swings. In addition, many mothers are unable to get the rest they need to fully recover from giving birth. The new mother cannot explain why she is not happy yet tries to smile and giggle when people are with her. She perhaps feels unhappy but cannot decipher why she feels this way.Postpartum depression does not have a single cause, but likely results from a combination of physical and emotional factors. The relationship between both mother and child is for the first three weeks awkward as she struggles with the feeling of lowliness that cannot be explained.Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A total of 20 women were interviewed. Ten within two weeks post-delivery were engaged in a conversation to find out how they felt about their new state of life. Another ten in about two months post-delivery also bore their minds. These women reside in Lagos, South-West Nigeria and their experiences are similar to what is seen in other parts of the country.Of all living subjects investigated, of the ten within the first two weeks of child birth explained to have sought the help of a therapist when they couldn’t no longer bear it. It was liberating and they claimed to have a deeper and greater level of affection for their babies respectively.Conclusion: Post-partum depression in Nigeria is between 15%-57% of the entire maternal cycle which means it is very common amongst nursing mothers. Psychotherapy or any form of therapy as whole is not so embraced in the Nigeria just as mental illness is still been seen as a religious battle thereby having a low number of them refusing to seek medical help. It is believed that the first step to getting treatment is by speaking out and this in itself is a technique in psychotherapy