cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oxygen Electroreduction on Nanoscale Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] and Pt/[Ta2O5/VC] in Alkaline Electrolyte

Oxide- and phosphate-supported catalysts have been shown to promote the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acid [see references in 1 ], and our question herein is whether similar enhancement of the ORR occurs in alkaline condition. We previously reported a high mass- and area-specific ORR activity for an electrocatalyst with 18% loading of 2.4 nm Pt nanoparticles supported on a 3 wt% tantalumoxyphosphate-treated VC (Pt/[TaOPO4/VC]). The electrocatalyst was heat treated at 660 ◦ C in a reducing atmosphere and characterized using thin-film RDE in an acidic electrolyte. 2,3 A two-fold increase in ORR activity was observed for the Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] compared with a commercial Pt/VC electrocatalyst based on RDE results: at 0.90 V vs. RHE, 1600 rpm, and a potential sweep rate of 20 mV s −1 ,am ass and area-specific ORR activity of 0.46 A mgPt −1 and 625 μ Ac mPt −2 , respectively,weremeasuredfortheheattreatedPt/[TaOPO4/VC]electrocatalyst, compared to mass and area-specific ORR activities of 0.24AmgPt −1 and 333 μ Ac mPt −2 , respectively, for a standard Pt/VC electrocatalyst. The Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] electrocatalyst also proved highly durable to extensive voltage cycling in the acid electrolyte. Meanwhile, cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] and Pt/VC showed no difference in onset potentials for oxygen-species adsorption on the Pt, suggesting there was a lack of an electronic effect to change the oxygen coverage of the Pt via a change in bond strength. Further investigation of the Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] electrocatalyst using an in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) difference technique, � μ, showed differences in the surface species adsorbed on the active Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] electrocatalyst compared to Pt/VC. 3 This combination of characterization results led to the conclusion that the higher ORR activity of the 660 ◦ C-heated Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] electrocatalyst was due to the presence of phosphate groups on the surfaces of the Pt nanoparticles, creating a higher proton concentration or acidity at the electrocatalyst surface. Encouraged by the high activity and durability results previously reported, the work presented here examines the ORR performance of Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] and Pt/[Ta2O5/VC] electrocatalysts, heat treated at 660 ◦ C in an Ar atmosphere, in an alkaline electrolyte. The catalyst particle dispersion, size distribution, and structural information were obtained using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The two supported materials, Pt/[TaOPO4/VC] and Pt/[Ta2O5/VC], and Pt/VC standards were evaluatedinanalkalineelectrolytebyCVandRDEevaluationoftheORR activity.
Stylizing, Commodifying, and Disciplining Real Bodies: An Examination of WWE Wrestling

Stylizing, Commodifying, and Disciplining Real Bodies: An Examination of WWE wrestling by Isamu Horiuchi Claremont Graduate University: 2012 This dissertation examines professional wrestling in the U.S., in particular, live and television shows produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Through the examination, it addresses complex issues of authenticity, audience, commodification, and discipline in contemporary popular culture and media. I use three approaches in this study. First, I apply the theory of culture industry, developed by Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, to understand WWE wrestling. I examine how the WWE thoroughly stylizes its products to attract fans and condition them to repeat the same calculable reactions. However, contemporary fans often refuse to react as the WWE wants them to. By analyzing the complex interplay between the WWE and fans, I update and re-contextualize Adorno and Horkheimer’s idea that the culture industry exerts total control
Surface Conductance and Electrokinetic Properties of Kaolinite Beds

A technique was developed for forming clay beds of uniform porosity between 48 and 62 per cent. The surface conductance and streaming potential of sodium kaolinite were determined over a range of values. Zeta potential as calculated from the classical formula was about - 30 mV at neutral pH and changed sign at pH 4. The surface conductivity of the sodium clay at various pH values was directly proportional to the zeta potential and from 12 to more than 30 times as large as the calculated electrokinetic surface conductivity. Similar measurements were made on kaolinite in the acid (hydrogen-aluminum) and calcium forms. The acid clay fitted the experimental correlation found for the sodium series, but the calcium clay, with less than one-tenth of the zeta potential of the sodium clay at neutral pH, had half its surface conductance. The results are interpreted as showing that exchangeable ions on kaolinite are mostly in a condensed layer on the surface where the mobility determines surface conductance. The surface mobilities for Na, Ca and H-A1 are 20, 8 and 0 per cent of normal, respectively. Apparently hydrogen ion from the solution is very effective in replacing sodium, which exhibits its electrokinetic and conductive properties in proportion to its concentration on the surface.
The Effects of Argument Explicitness on Responses to Advice in Supportive Interactions

This study assessed whether explicit articulations of a proposal's efficacy, feasibility, absence of limitations, and use of facework are effective strategies of advice giving in supportive interactions. Two hundred forty-eight college students read and responded to a hypothetical scenario in which they received advice from a friend. The findings of this study demonstrated that advice was more effective (resulting in higher perceptions of advice quality and facilitation of coping, as well as stronger intention to implement the advice) when advice givers outlined the efficacy of the advised action, explained the feasibility of undertaking the advised action, addressed the potential limitations of the advised action, and employed politeness strategies when giving advice. The study further found that perceptual counterparts of the manipulated message features largely mediated the effects of the message variations on the dependent variables.
A real‐time eco‐evolutionary dead‐end strategy is mediated by the traits of lineage progenitors and interactions with colony invaders

Evolutionary dead-end strategies are characterized by short-term productivity benefits and long-term evolutionary costs. Here, I detail a real-time dead-end strategy associated with the behavioural traits of lineage progenitors in the social spider Anelosimus studiosus. Specifically, colony lineages founded by docile spiders were eight times more likely to suffer extinction, despite their superior reproductive output. However, when inquilines were experimentally removed from progenitor colonies, differences in extinction probability among lineages vanished. Similarly, among lineages founded by purely docile or aggressive individuals, the descendants of lineages with the highest reproductive output suffered the lowest survivorship, whereas lineages founded by a mixture of docile/aggressive lacked such a trade-off. Finally, lineages with shorter progenitor-descendant distances gained more inquilines and their descendants had lower survivorship, relative to more diffuse lineages. Overall, this study demonstrates how the traits of lineage progenitors and species interactions can unite to determine the fates of entire lineages.
The intergenerational transmission of externalizing behaviors in adult participants: the mediating role of childhood abuse

Childhood abuse was investigated as a potential mediator of the intergenerational transmission of externalizing behaviors (EXT) in adulthood among a large general population sample drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey. Community participants (N = 5,424) underwent diagnostic and psychosocial interviews and reported on their own adult symptoms of antisocial behavior and substance dependence, parental symptoms, and childhood abuse history. Multiple group structural equation modeling revealed that (a) EXT in parents was associated with childhood abuse in offspring, particularly among mother- daughter dyads, (b) abuse had a unique influence on adult EXT in offspring above parental EXT, and (c) abuse accounted for the relationship between parental EXT and offspring EXT in female but not male participants. This article emphasizes the importance of examining different environmental processes which may explain familial transmission of destructive behaviors in men and women and highlights the importance of family interventions that target parental symptoms to ameliorate risk to offspring. Language: en
Endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ depletion activates XBP1 and controls terminal differentiation in keratinocytes and epidermis.

Background Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ depletion, previously shown to signal pathologic stress responses, has more recently been found also to trigger homeostatic physiologic processes such as differentiation. In keratinocytes and epidermis, terminal differentiation and barrier repair require physiologic apoptosis and differentiation, as evidenced by protein synthesis, caspase 14 expression, lipid secretion, and stratum corneum (SC) formation.
The Growth and Welfare Effects of Deficit-Financed Dividend Tax Cuts

THE DIVIDEND TAX CUT enacted in 2003 with the Job Growth and Taxpayer Relief Reconciliation Act (JGTRRA) has generated a heated public debate and prompted a new wave of research in public and corporate finance. Supporters argue that the Act has reduced the corporate cost of capital and thus raised investment, growth, and employment. Critics focus on its distributional implications and on the budget deficits that it has generated, given the government’s failure to reduce public spending. As a large-scale experiment in fiscal policy, the Act provides a unique research opportunity for modern growth economics since one of the central ideas—perhaps the central idea—driving the field is precisely that policy matters. The theory of endogenous innovation, in particular, has produced novel analytical insights that appear well suited to make a significant contribution to a debate spurred by a drastic change in the taxation of corporate-source income, and heavily loaded on both sides
Simultaneous placement of DG and capacitor in distribution network

Abstract In this study, the planning problem concerned with simultaneous placement of distribution generation (DG) and capacitor bank in the distribution network is investigated from a local distribution company's (DISCO's) viewpoint based on minimum total cost over the planning period and applying genetic algorithm (GA). The cost terms of the objective function include risk cost of load not supplied of the customers, cost of energy loss of the system, investment costs for purchasing the DGs and capacitor banks, and maintenance costs of the installed DGs and capacitor banks. Herein, the customers’ load types including residential, commercial, and industrial are modeled in the planning problem and load model-based power flow is applied instead of the conventional power flow. In addition, the failure rate of the distribution feeder is modeled respect with magnitude of the current flowing through the feeder applying several mathematical functions such as linear, power, exponential, and logarithmic. Moreover, in order to achieve realistic results, economic factors such as inflation and interest rates and technical factors including yearly load growth, hourly variations of the load, and daily variations of the load are taken into consideration in the planning problem.
Non-invasive, near infrared monitoring of cellular oxygen sufficiency in vivo.

Since soft tissues, skin and bone are relatively translucent to near infrared (NIR) light and since cytochrome c oxidase possesses a redox dependent absorption band in that region, it appeared important to exploit these two co-incident properties in the development of a non-invasive technique to monitor sufficiency of O2 delivery to tissues in a variety of experimental and clinical situations. Aside from the enzyme and hemoglobin, in both the oxygenated (HbO2) and the deoxygenated (Hb) form, very few if any other tissue components possess absorption properties in the NIR and we found none that exhibited O2-dependent absorption changes. In order to correct the cyt a,a 3 signals for interference by changing perfusion, O2 saturation and O2 utilization conditions, means had to be found to strip out the contributions of HbO2 and Hb to the overall absorbance properties of the tissue or organ being monitored. Towards this purpose we designed and constructed a multiwavelength differential spectrophotometer for the monitoring of intact, normally circulated tissues, such as brain and muscle, through skin and bone. An outline of the biological and design principles, proof of method and a brief consideration of the data format and significance is given in this first preliminary report.
Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase: Partitioning of an Alternate Substrate

Ribulose 1-phosphorothioate, 5-phosphate (RuBP(S)) can substitute for ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) as a substrate for RuBP carboxylase. Upon reaction of RuBP(S) with CO2, glycerate 3-phosphate and glycerate 3-phosphorothioate are formed. The alternate substrate exhibits a V/K that is about 18% of that measured using RuBP. RuBP(S) also supports the oxygenase reaction, which results in formation of the phosphoro-thioate of glycolate as well as glycerate 3-phosphate. Partition of substrate between carboxylase and oxygenase reactions has been measured with RuBP and RuBP(S), using both spinach and R.rubrum enzymes. In both cases, the phosphorothioate analog exhibits enhanced partitioning into the oxygenase reaction in comparison with RuBP. Steric factors afford one possible explanation for these observations. This possibility prompted examination of the stability of binding of transition state analogs that contain a carboxyl group and either a phosphoryl group on C1 (i.e. carboxyarabinitol bisphosphate, CABP) or a phosphorothioate on C1 (i.e. carboxyarabinitol 1-phosphorothioate, 5- phosphate, CABP(S)). When R.rubrum enzyme is used to form a quaternary enzyme-activator CO -cation-transition state analog complex, the CABP(S) containing complex is observed to decay much more rapidly (t½ =2.5 hr) than the CABP containing complex (t½ — 75 hr). Steric hindrance, i.e. unfavorable interaction between the carboxyl moiety and the bulky phosphorothioate group, may explain this effect; such an explanation is compatible with the enhanced partitioning of RuBP(S) into the oxygenase pathway.
Nuclear-Polyhedrosis Viruses in Control of Corn Ear worm and Fall Army worm in Sweet Corn

A nuclear-polyhedrosis virus of the corn ear worm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), and one of the fall army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), and DDT were applied to sweet corn in field tests in 1963 and 1964. At concentrations of 100 to 250 larval equivalents per acre, ear worm control with the Heliothis virus was comparable to that of 2 pounds of DDT per acre. Combinations of the Heliothis and the Spodoptera viruses were as effective as DDT.
The influence of rat age on crypt cell kinetics after partial resection of the small intestine.

Any investigator assumes a priori that data derived from studies utilizing different ages of animals cannot be rigorously compared. Several papers dealing with the compensatory response to intestinal resection have utilized animals of quite different age and weight and rarely has the stock been the same (see Table I). This study was designed to test the premise that the number of crypts per small intestine varies with animal weight and that indigenous crypt number will influence some features of the compensatory response of the crypt and villus cell population normally seen after intestinal resection (1-3).A reduction in the total villus and crypt cell population by surgical removal of a portion of the intestine is soon followed by compensatory responses, the most prominent being alteration in values for several parameters of mucosal cell kinetics (2, 3).The compensatory response to partial resection was assessed by the determination of (a) proliferative activity per crypt, (b) proliferative activity per ...
Breeding of Multi-spike Type CMS Line Zhong 89 A in Indica Rice

Zhong 89 A,derived from the testcross between Zhong 9 A and the selected plants of(Zhong 8B/IR69628B) F3 and followed by successive selection and backcrosses,is a new indica CMS line with abundant panicles in rice developed by China National Rice Research Institute.It was technically certified by Zhejiang Provincial Crop Variety Release Committee in 2009.It has a complete and stable male sterility with 100% of sterile plants,good flowering habits and a high stigma exsertion rate,high outcrossing rate and good combining ability.
Characterizing Mechanisms of Simultaneous Biological Nutrient Removal During Wastewater Treatment

Simultaneous biological nutrient removal (SBNR) is the removal of nitrogen and/or phosphorus in excess of that required for biomass synthesis in biological wastewater treatment systems where there are no defined anaerobic and/or anoxic zones. The hypothesis is that one or more of three mechanisms is responsible within individual systems: variations in the bioreactor macroenvironment created by the mixing pattern, gradients within the floc microenvironment, and/or novel microorganism activity. Understanding of the mechanisms of SBNR can be expected to lead to improved efficiency and reliability in its application. Preliminary work documented SBNR in 7 full-scale OrbalTM closed loop bioreactors. A batch assay demonstrated that novel microorganism activity was of little importance in SBNR at the three plants tested. While the floc microenvironment likely plays an important role in nitrogen removal in such plants, it cannot explain phosphorus removal. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to elucidate the role of the bioreactor macroenvironment in SBNR. This is the first reported application of CFD to activated sludge biological wastewater treatment. Although the software and computational requirements limited model complexity, it still simulated the creation of dissolved oxygen gradients within the system, demonstrating that the anaerobic zones required for SBNR could occur. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series ISBN: 9781780404233 (eBook) ISBN: 9781843397052 (Print)
Murine peritoneal injury and de novo adhesion formation caused by oxidized-regenerated cellulose (Interceed [TC7]) but not expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (Gore-Tex Surgical Membrane).

Study Objective To evaluate the impact of the materials contained in the available adhesion prevention barriers on the peritoneum. Study Design, Setting, Patients A murine paradigm was used, placing oxidized-regenerated cellulose (Interceed [TC7]) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE; Gore-Tex Surgical Membrane) in the peritoneal cavity for intervals up to 14 days. Interventions and Main Outcome Measures The appearance of the peritoneum on scanning and transmission electron microscopy and the presence of de novo adhesions were the end-points used. Results Oxidized-regenerated cellulose caused localized sloughing of the mesothelial cell layer and leukocyte infiltration of the deeper tissue leading to the formation of adhesions to the bowel and liver in 58% of the animals. The surface of the oxidized-regenerated cellulose-injured peritoneum healed in 5 to 7 days. Neither peritoneal injury nor adhesions were noted in sham-operated animals or animals with PTFE. Conclusions Oxidized-regenerated cellulose but not PTFE has a localized injurious effect on the peritoneum of the mouse, resulting in de novo adhesions. The impact of the barrier material itself on normal peritoneum may be an important consideration in designing surgical barriers for the prevention of postoperative adhesions.
Inhibition of GSK3β Modulates Cell Death in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and the fifth most frequent cause of cancer death in women, affecting over 22,000 women annually. Nearly 15,500 affected women die from this disease annually, and chemoresistance from the commonly prescribed platinum-based drug, carboplatin, is a major contributor to this mortality rate. Previous studies have identified genes with CpG islands that are methylated and transcriptionally silenced in resistant epithelial ovarian cancer patients. One of these genes is GSK3β, an important regulator of apoptosis and cell growth in the Wnt pathway. Thus, understanding the role of GSK3β suppression in chemoresistance of epithelial ovarian cancer can help contribute to more effective treatments for this disease. By performing assays of cell growth, viability, and apoptosis, our study examined the functional role that GSK3β plays in carboplatin mediated apoptosis. Our results suggest that cells with suppressed GSK3β had increased proliferation and reduced apoptosis. We conclude that silenced GSK3β expression might therefore contribute to carboplatin resistance seen in tumors and our in vitro analysis suggests that GSK3β expression is vital to carboplatin chemosensitivity. Future research is required to further investigate the role of GSK3β methylation to facilitate the design of potential genome-guided treatments for patients with chemoresistant epithelial ovarian cancer.
Childhood Brain Tumors: Current Status of Clinical Trials in Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent Disease

Primary childhood brain tumors are the second most common form of childhood cancer. Though progress in this area has been slow, the field has evolved considerably over the past 10 years. This article focuses on new information that will influence our treatment of the more common pediatric brain tumors.
Personalized nutrition diagnostics at the point-of-need

Micronutrient deficiency is widespread and negatively impacts morbidity, mortality, and quality of life globally. On-going advancements in nutritional biomarker discovery are enabling objective and accurate assessment of an individual's micronutrient and broader nutritional status. The vast majority of such assessment however still needs to be conducted in traditional centralized laboratory facilities which are not readily accessible in terms of cost and time in both the developed and developing countries. Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies are enabling an increasing number of biochemical reactions at the point-of-need (PON) settings, and can significantly improve the current predicament in nutrition diagnostics by allowing rapid evaluation of one's nutritional status and providing an easy feedback mechanism for tracking changes in diet or supplementation. We believe that nutrition diagnostics represents a particularly appealing opportunity over other PON applications for two reasons: (1) healthy ranges for many micronutrients are well defined which allows for an unbiased diagnosis, and (2) many deficiencies can be reversed through changes in diet or supplementation before they become severe. In this paper, we provide background on nutritional biomarkers used in nutrition diagnostics and review the emerging technologies that exploit them at the point-of-need.
Twenty-four-hour monitoring of esophagopharyngeal pH in outpatients. Use of four-channel pH probe and computerized system.

A 24 hour computerized four-channel esophagopharyngeal pH system is described. Using a 1.5 mm diameter esophageal probe containing four separate antimony-tipped electrodes and a small patient-worn digital recording computer, inpatient and outpatient studies are performed in the physiologic environment of the patient’s workplace or home. Stored pH data in the computer are teletransmitted from satellite esophageal pH laboratories to a central esophageal pH laboratory for analysis, scoring, printout, and storage. Satellite laboratories located in hospitals, clinics, and physicians’ offices use a minimum of equipment and obtain a quality computer-based printout. This preserves patient-physician relationships in the home environment and is cost-effective. Four case reports are presented identifying the advantages derived from the four-channel system localizing and quantifying the extent of cephalad transport of refluxed upper gastrointestinal content. The system has unique clinical and research potential in all age groups in such disparate problems as sleep apnea, laryngitis, bradycardia and cardiac irregularities, and aspiration pneumonia and pulmonary abscess.
Coarsening of MBE Structures in 2+1 Dimensions

We have investigated the coarsening process in homoepitaxial systems using Monte-Carlo simulations and continuum equations. From the geometric aspects of coarsening, the scenario for merging two mounds is the following: after initial competition between the mounds, the saddle point between them annihilates with the maximum of the smaller mound, then the one big mound rearranges itself to be symmetric.
First Things First on Convex Sets

A. Convex Sets. We begin here with some basic definitions and elementary facts. Throughout this book we will work in an n-dimensional real vector space \(\mathcal{X}\). The choice of a basis in \(\mathcal{X}\) amounts to a linear isomorphism \(\mathcal{X}\mathop{\cong}\mathbb{R}^{n}\), but we will make this identification only in examples and some explicit computations.
The Patterning of /ai/

/u/ and /Ʊ/, discussed in Chapter 6, do not seem to be as socially salient as /ai/ in varieties of American English (see uection 2.1.4). In this chapter I analyze speakers’ productions of /ai/ and /α/, both between groups and on a speaker-by-speaker basis. The first goal is to quantify diphthongization by comparing F1 and F2 movement in /ai/, which exhibits varying degrees of diphthongization, with F1 and F2 movement in /α/, which is used as a reference because it is expected to be relatively monophthongal (Anderson 2003; forthcoming). The second goal is to determine to what extent, if any, the African American (AA) and Appalachian White (AP) speakers have similar patterns of diphthongization and glide-weakening for /ai/, and to determine the nature of the patterning in terms of voicing context. Ʊection 7.1 presents a group comparison that excludes the older speakers of each ethnicity. uection 7.2 investigates the patterns for all speakers individually, including a comparison with a Midwestern White speaker, and uection 7.3 summarizes the patterning of /ai/ for the AA participants in this study.
The Transatlantic Home Network: Discovering Sir Walter Scott in American Authors’ Houses

Westover’s chapter recalls the symbolic potency of Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford House, the first modern author’s home designed as a destination for tourists. As nineteenth-century Americans set out to create and celebrate their own literary landmarks, especially in the form of authors’ homes, Abbotsford exercised an influence both architectural and decorative. Above all, perhaps, Abbotsford shaped American authors’ efforts to display their connections with other writers. The result was a self-referential ‘network’ of literary homes. Scott’s cultural saturation of the USA is evident in many American authors’ homes, including Irving’s, Cooper’s, Emerson’s, and Longfellow’s, even if today, due to Scott’s dramatic twentieth-century decline in popularity, many visitors cannot recognize it. This chapter aims to make this neglected evidence more legible while shedding light on the highly social and materialist construction of a fully domesticated, yet transnational Anglophone canon.
Realizing Real-Time Deep Learning-Based Super-Resolution Applications on Integrated GPUs

With recent advances in deep convolutional neural networks (CNN), deep learning has brought significant quality improvement and flexibility on single image super resolution (SR). In this paper, we describe how CNN based SR can be accelerated on integrated GPUs. To this end, we employ a CNN model from an existing single image SR approach, and develop the model within a well-known deep learning framework with OpenCL support. We also introduce a multi-tile approach in which we divide a large input into smaller tiles to generate SR for better utilization of memory bandwidth and to overcome size constraints posed by certain frameworks and devices thereby improving performance. This contributes to extending single image SR to video SR as well where video frames are considered as a group of multiple tiles. We prove that our approach is useful to resolve memory issues in generating ultrahigh SR and to speed-up CNN based SR up to 44fps to generate various sizes of SR without quality impact.
Correlation of Subjective Hospital Compare Metrics With Objective Outcomes of Cranial Neurosurgical Procedures in New York State.

Background Public reporting is at the forefront of health care reform. Objective To investigate whether patient satisfaction as expressed in a public reporting platform correlates with objective outcomes for cranial neurosurgery patients. Methods We performed a cohort study involving patients undergoing cranial neurosurgery from 2009 to 2013 who were registered in the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database. This cohort was merged with the corresponding data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare website. The association of patient satisfaction metrics with outcomes was examined with the use of a propensity-adjusted regression model. Results Overall, 19 591 patients underwent cranial neurosurgery during the study. Using a propensity-adjusted multivariable regression analysis, we demonstrated that hospitals with a greater percentage of patient-assigned "high" scores had decreased mortality (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.53-0.67), rate of discharge to rehabilitation (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.98), length of stay (adjusted difference, -1.29; 95% CI, -1.46 to -1.13), and hospitalization charges (adjusted difference, -23%; 95% CI, -36% to -9%) after cranial neurosurgery. Similar associations were identified for hospitals with a higher percentage of patients, who would recommend these institutions to others. Conclusion In a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare-Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System merged dataset, we observed an association of higher performance in patient satisfaction measures with decreased mortality, rate of discharge to rehabilitation, hospitalization charges, and length of stay.
Accelerated Testing: Understanding Experimental Design and Error Propagation

One of the most challenging tasks for the designer of a durable product is developing an understanding of the long-term performance of the product in the context of normal aging and degradation. Typically, the intended lifetime of the product is years to decades, making empirical determinations of performance degradation over that time span impractical. The ability to make reliable estimations of product performance over long periods of time based on measurements made over a relatively short time period becomes an important need for the designer.
Extreme Population III Starbursts and Direct Collapse Black Holes Stimulated by High Redshift Quasars

High redshift quasars emit copious X-ray photons which heat the intergalactic medium to temperatures up to $\sim$ 10$^6$ K. At such high temperatures the primordial gas will not form stars until it is assembled into dark matter haloes with masses of $\sim$ 10$^{11}$ M$_{\odot}$, at which point the hot gas collapses and cools under the influence of gravity. Once this occurs, there is a massive reservoir of primordial gas from which stars can form, potentially setting the stage for the brightest Population (Pop) III starbursts in the early Universe. Supporting this scenario, recent observations of quasars at z $\sim$ 6 have revealed a lack of accompanying Lyman $\alpha$ emitting galaxies, consistent with suppression of primordial star formation in haloes with masses below $\sim$ 10$^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$. Here we model the chemical and thermal evolution of the primordial gas as it collapses into such a massive halo irradiated by a nearby quasar in the run-up to a massive Pop III starburst. We show that at distances of $\sim$ 1 Mpc from a typical quasar the conditions are prime for HD cooling to play a role in the evolution of the gas, possibly resulting in a shift to a lower characteristic stellar mass. Within $\sim$ 100 kpc of the highest redshift quasars discovered to date the Lyman-Werner flux produced by the stars in the quasar host galaxy may be high enough to stimulate the formation of a direct collapse black hole (DCBH). Given that metal-enriched outflows are expected to extend out to only $\simeq$ 50 kpc from high-z quasars, this suggests that there is ample unpolluted primordial gas for the formation of DCBHs and Pop III starbursts. How frequently these objects form can be constrained with the James Webb Space Telescope in the coming years.
Geodesics and Distance

We are now ready to move on to the local and global geometry of Riemannian manifolds. The main tool for this will be the important concept of geodesics. These curves will help us define and understand Riemannian manifolds as metric spaces. One is led quickly to two types of “completeness”. The first is of standard metric completeness, and the other is what we call geodesic completeness, namely, when all geodesics exist for all time. We shall prove the Hopf-Rinow Theorem, which asserts that these types of completeness for a Riemannian manifold are equivalent. Using the metric structure makes it possible to define metric distance functions. We shall study when these distance functions are smooth and show the existence of the smooth distance functions introduced in chapter 3 We also classify complete simply connected manifolds of constant curvature; showing that they are the ones we have already constructed in chapters 1 and 4
Ballistic Trajectories: Scientific Visualization

A baseball batted from home plate, a golf ball struck from the first tee, and cannonball fired from a pirate ship all follow ballistic trajectories as they fly through the air. In each case, a projectile is given an initial velocity and is thereafter affected only by the downward force of gravity and by the retarding force of air resistance.
Protein Quantum Dynamics? (R. H. Austin 1 )

The puzzling and possibly profound effect we want to examine in this chapter is one model for how chemical free energy may get trapped in a protein rather than flowing ergodically into the thermodynamic limit of equal occupation of all the degrees of freedom.
Perivascular Adventitial Fibroblast Specialization Accompanies T Cell Retention in the Inflamed Human Dermis

Perivascular accumulation of lymphocytes can be a prominent histopathologic feature of various human inflammatory skin diseases. Select examples include systemic sclerosis, spongiotic dermatitis, and cutaneous lupus. Although a large body of work has described various aspects of the endothelial and vascular smooth muscle layers in these diseases, the outer adventitial compartment is poorly explored. The goal of the current study was to characterize perivascular adventitial fibroblast states in inflammatory human skin diseases and relate these states to perivascular lymphocyte accumulation. In normal skin, adventitial fibroblasts are distinguished by CD90 expression, and dense perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates are uncommon. In systemic sclerosis, this compartment expands, but lymphocyte infiltrates remain sparse. In contrast, perivascular adventitial fibroblast expression of VCAM1 is upregulated in spongiotic dermatitis and lupus and is associated with a dense perivascular T cell infiltrate. VCAM1 expression marks transitioned fibroblasts that show some resemblance to the reticular stromal cells in secondary lymphoid organs. Expanded adventitial compartments with perivascular infiltrates similar to the human settings were not seen in the inflamed murine dermis. This species difference may hinder the dissection of aspects of perivascular adventitial pathology. The altered perivascular adventitial compartment and its associated reticular network form a niche for lymphocytes and appear to be fundamental in the development of an inflammatory pattern.
Design of spiral-wound electrodialysis modules

Abstract Spiral-wound electrodialysis (ED) modules are of interest because, in a parallel flow configuration where both the diluate and concentrate streams flow from the inner electrode to the outer electrode along a spiral path, the applied current density decreases as the concentration in the diluate stream and associated limiting current density (LCD) decrease. By matching the applied current density as closely as possible to the LCD at any given location in a stack, the required amount of membrane area is minimized, reducing capital cost. This work presents an analytical model for a spiral-wound ED module and experimental validation of that model using a prototype stack with two cell pairs and four revolutions. A constant voltage was applied and the total current and stream conductivities at mid-stack and the output were recorded. Experimental results agreed with the model for all parameters to within 15%. The model was used to explore the most cost-effective spiral stack designs for desalting brackish groundwater, examining both a standard Archimedean spiral (as is common for spiral-wound RO modules), and a novel ideal spiral. The ideal spiral shape was found to reduce total cost by 21% and capital cost by 39% with respect to an Archimedean spiral.
202) Estimates of New Chronic Opioid Use following Burn Injury

Nearly 500,000 burn injuries occur annually in the US, and ∼40,000 individuals experience major thermal burn injury (MThBI) requiring hospitalization. Burn injury is capable of causing ongoing, severe pain, however the incidence of persistent opioid use to treat chronic post-burn injury pain has not been assessed. We estimated the incidence of new chronic opioid use among burn survivors using two methods. First, we performed a retrospective study using the Truven MarketScan® claims 1% database from 2001-2016 and calculated persistent opioid use (receipt of ≥1 prescription 90-180 days following MThBI) among individuals who were opioid naive prior to MThBI. Second, we performed a prospective, observational cohort study of hospitalized MThBI survivors whose burn was severe enough to warrant tissue autografting and calculated the proportion of individuals who self-reported use of opioid analgesics 6 months following injury. Among opioid naive individuals in the retrospective claims dataset, 39% (21/54) required new chronic opioid use following an admission for burn injury. In the prospective study, 21% (20/96) required chronic pain management with opioid analgesics 6 months following burn injury. Together these data indicate that chronic opioid use is common among opioid-naive MThBI survivors. New treatments to reduce chronic pain and persistent opioid use in this population are urgently needed.
Should 3D be part of a routine obgyn ultrasound exam

Ultrasound (US) is, arguably, the most commonly used diagnostic technology in obstetrics and gynecology. Several applications are commonly employed in daily practice, such as M-mode, color and spectral Doppler. A more recent development is three-dimensional (3D) US. This is considered a very good (but complementary) tool to evaluate the face, brain, palate, spine, skeleton and heart, among others. Artificial intelligence software may allow automatic extraction of various parameters, including, for instance, semi-automated detection of specific facial features in syndromes associated with dysmorphism. All of the above, however, is relevant in the hands of the ultrasound specialist, performing advanced studies (so-called “level II”) and not in the routine obstetric practice The situation is slightly different in gynecology. While advanced practitioners may create mapping of the pelvic floor or myoma localization, or verify location of masses with 3D US, a routine pelvic ultrasound is not complete, nowadays, without a coronal view of the uterus. This view is rarely, if ever, possible with 2D ultrasound, but is easily obtainable with a quick sweep and 3D reconstruction. It allows for clearly depiction of the endometrial cavity, in cases of suspected Mullerian anomalies or “lost” string to verify the position of the IUD.
Cytosine Methylation Studies in Patients with Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Kidney disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. Poor glycemic control shows the strongest correlation with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) development. A period of poor glycemia increases kidney disease risk even after an extended period of improved glucose control—a phenomenon called metabolic memory. Changes in the epigenome have been proposed to mediate the metabolic memory effect, as epigenome editing enzymes are regulated by substrates of intermediate metabolism and changes in the epigenome can be maintained after cell division. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have reported differentially methylated cytosines in blood and kidney samples of DKD subjects when compared with controls. Differentially methylated cytosines were enriched on regulatory regions and some correlated with gene expression. Methylation changes predicted the speed of kidney function decline. Site-specific methylome editing tools now can be used to interrogate the functional role of differentially methylated regions. Methylome changes can be detected in blood and kidneys of patients with DKD. Methylation changes can predict future kidney function changes. Future studies shall determine their role in disease development.
TLR4 (Toll-Like Receptor 4) Mediates the Development of Intracranial Aneurysm Rupture

Inflammation is emerging as a critical factor in the pathophysiology of intracranial aneurysm. TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4) contributes not only to the innate immune responses but also to the inflammatory processes associated with vascular disease. Therefore, we examined the contribution of the TLR4 pathway to the development of the rupture of intracranial aneurysm. We used a mouse model of intracranial aneurysm. TLR4 inhibition significantly reduced the development of aneurysmal rupture. In addition, the rupture rate and levels of proinflammatory cytokines were lower in TLR4 knockout mice than the control littermates. Macrophage/monocyte-specific TLR4 knockout mice had a lower rupture rate than the control littermate mice. Moreover, the deficiency of MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary-response protein 88), a key mediator of TLR4, reduced the rupture rate. These findings suggest that the TLR4 pathway promotes the development of intracranial aneurysmal rupture by accelerating inflammation in aneurysmal walls. Inhibition of the TLR4 pathway in inflammatory cells may be a promising approach for the prevention of aneurysmal rupture and subsequent subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Flow and Thermal Transport Through Unit Cell Topologies of Cubic and Octahedron Families

Abstract Advancements in Additive Manufacturing (AM) routes have opened several opportunities for manufacturing complex porous structures which could not have been manufactured by the conventional foaming process that essentially results in unit cells represented as Tetrakaidecahedron (TKD) shape. The regular open-cell lattices belonging to the cubic and octahedron family of structures provide wide spectrum of porosity, pore-density, permeability and surface area-to-volume ratios. These complex cell topologies can potentially be manufactured additively, making the realization of above-mentioned properties possible. For efficient heat exchanger designs, the reticulated structures made from these unit cells are expected to have higher permeability, porosity, effective thermal conductivity and interstitial heat transfer coefficient. A detailed understanding of local flow and heat transport characteristics is necessary to design unit cells with such properties. To this end, four different metal foam unit cell topologies have been investigated in the present study, viz. Tetrakaidecahedron (TKD), Cube, FD-Cube and Octet. The Cube and FD-Cube unit cell topologies investigated in the present study belong to the cubic family, where the fibers are present only along the edges and face of the unit cell volume. The TKD and Octet configurations belong to the octahedron class of lattices, where complex connectivity exists within the unit cell volume. To allow for direct comparison between these three unit cells, circular fibers are chosen, which is different from the general TKD cells (tricuspid cross-sections). The porosity was fixed 0.986 which dictated the fiber dimensions of respective unit cells, with Octet fibers being thinnest. Direct simulations have been carried out with periodic boundary conditions on unit cell faces which were parallel to the flow. Such configurations when reticulated in three dimensions are representative of porous structures which are single-cell thick in the streamwise direction. These foam shapes have been proven to be very efficient as they do not allow the thermal boundary layer development. Flow and heat transfer results obtained for above boundary conditions have also been compared with the periodic boundary condition on all the faces. The direct simulation results include pressure drop per unit length and volumetric Nusselt number (corresponding to constant heat flux and constant wall temperature boundary conditions on fibers). Flow stagnation on fibers was the main contributor for both, pressure drop increase, and interstitial heat transfer enhancement. TKD unit cell had higher flow losses and thermal performance than FD-Cube. Octet (octahedron family) configuration had the highest flow losses as well as Nusselt number compared to all other unit cell topologies, because of the large surface area offered for flow stagnation.
Abstract P095: Aerobic Exercise Training Reduces Endothelin-1-mediated Vasoconstriction In Postmenopausal Women

Endothelin-1 (ET-1)-mediated vasoconstrictor tone is elevated in postmenopausal women (PMW), contributing to their increased cardiovascular risk. Although aerobic exercise is beneficial in reducing...
Guest Editors’ Introduction: The Resurgence of Open- Source EDA Technology

In the 1980s , the academic community produced several very high-quality electronic design automation (EDA) tools that spawned the EDA industry. Tools such as Spice [1] , Espresso [2] , and SIS [3] became the foundation of EDA companies. Open-source tools enable rapid innovation and create an ecosystem for scientific development. In recent years, the cost and difficulty involved in the design of integrated circuits (ICs) in advanced nodes have stifled hardware design innovation and have raised unprecedented barriers to bring new design ideas to the marketplace. Unlike the thriving software community, which enjoys a large number of open-source operating systems, compilers, libraries, and applications, the hardware community lacks such a modern ecosystem. With the advent of open silicon IP ecosystems, such as RISCV, Chips Alliance, and Free Silicon Foundation, the time has come to reinvigorate the open-source movement in EDA tools. Recent programs from governmental agencies aim to jump-start the development of open-source EDA tools to reduce the cost and turnaround time of hardware design.
Attitudes towards and impact of letters of recommendation for anesthesiology residency applicants.

Background: This survey aims to identify the relative value and the critical components of anesthesiology letters of recommendation(LORs) from the perspective of Program Directors (PDs) and Associa...