cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Giant cell reparative granuloma of the nasal cavity

We report an unusual case of giant cell reparative granuloma (GCRG) arising in the nasal cavity of a 7-year-old girl. GCRG is an uncommon benign lesion that is most commonly found in the mandible and maxilla. The MR imaging and CT findings of this lesion, as well as GCRGs in other craniofacial bones and extragnathic sites, will be reviewed. Although rare, the imaging characteristics of GCRGs should be recognized, and this entity should be suggested when the clinical information, CT, and MR features suggest a fibrous-osseous lesion in the nasal cavity.
Analysis of laser pulse chirping in mode-locked vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers

Mode-locked vertical cavity lasers have a large cross-sectional area and consequently a large saturation energy and large peak powers. The authors analyze excess optical bandwidth generation in these lasers and find that self-phase modulation due to optical pumping and gain saturation is the dominant factor in inducing laser pulse chirping. The large magnitude of the chirp makes intracavity prism-pair compensation difficult. Adjustment of the cavity length has a major impact on the pulse chirping, as observed experimentally. Proper adjustment can result in a large linear frequency chirp which can be compensated using external pulse compression techniques. >
Non-photorealistic rendering using watercolor inspired textures and illumination

The authors present a watercolor inspired method for the rendering of surfaces. Our approach mimics the watercolor process by building up an illuminated scene through the compositing of several layers of semitransparent paint. The key steps consist of creating textures for each layer using LIC (Line Integral Convolution) of Perlin Noise (K. Perlin, 1985), and then calculating the layer thickness distribution using an inverted subtractive lighting model. The resulting watercolor-style images have color coherence that results from the mixing of a limited palette of paints. The new lighting model helps to better convey large shape changes, while texture orientations give hints of less dominant features. The rendered images therefore possess perceptual clues to more effectively communicate shape and texture information.
Database Selection for Longer Queries

Given the enormous amount of information now available on the Web, search engines have become the indispensable tools for people to find desired information from the Web. These search engines can be classified into two broad categories by the extent of their coverage. In the first category, we have the general-purpose search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, which have been attempting to index the whole Web and provide a search capability for all Web documents. Unfortunately, these centralized search engines suffer from several serious limitations such as the poor scalability and the difficulty in maintaining the freshness of their contents (Hawking and Thistlewaite, 1999).
Child poisonings are more common in households experiencing psychosocial stressors

Commentary on Tyrrell EG, Orton E, Tata LJ, et al. Children at risk of medicinal and non-medicinal poisoning: a population-based case-control study in general practice. Br J Gen Pract 2012;62:e827–33.[OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] For more than 50 years, clinicians have understood that there is often more to a childhood poisoning event than can be summed up as a random ‘accident’ or an unavoidable ‘act of God’. Indeed many studies have pointed to a disproportionate number of such incidents occurring in single-parent families or those under the stress of recent moves or financial hardships.1–3 Poisoned children, sometimes, have parents who are socially isolated or have issues of mental or physical illness.1 ,2 Poisonings involving toddlers most often occur in their homes, when hazardous products or potent medicines … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DBritish%2BJournal%2Bof%2BGeneral%2BPractise%26rft.stitle%253Dbjgp%26rft.issn%253D0960-1643%26rft.aulast%253DTyrrell%26rft.auinit1%253DE.%2BG.%26rft.volume%253D62%26rft.issue%253D605%26rft.spage%253De827%26rft.epage%253De833%26rft.atitle%253DChildren%2Bat%2Brisk%2Bof%2Bmedicinal%2Band%2Bnon-medicinal%2Bpoisoning%253A%2Ba%2Bpopulation-based%2Bcase-control%2Bstudy%2Bin%2Bgeneral%2Bpractice%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.3399%252Fbjgp12X659303%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23211263%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/ijlink?linkType=ABST&journalCode=bjgp&resid=62/605/e827&atom=%2Febmed%2F18%2F5%2Fe49.atom
Acute appendicitis in children is associated with an abundance of bacteria from the phylum Fusobacteria

Abstract Background Although luminal obstruction has traditionally been viewed as the underlying cause of appendicitis, recent evidence has suggested that the disease may result directly from invasion by specific pathogens, e.g. Fusobacterium nucleatum . The purpose of this study was to survey microbial communities within pediatric appendectomy specimens using a culture-independent approach. Methods We performed 16S ribosomal gene sequence analysis to profile the microbiota present within luminal fluid obtained from 22 pediatric appendectomy specimens. These included 10 simple appendicitis cases, 5 perforated appendicitis cases, 2 interval appendectomies, and 5 incidental appendectomies. Results Samples could be divided into 2 distinct clusters based upon the composition of the appendiceal bacterial communities. Appendicitis samples contained an increased abundance of Fusobacterium spp . and a reduced abundance of Bacteroides spp . relative to non-appendicitis cases. Appendicitis samples also contained variable amounts of other oral taxa such as Porphyromonas , Parvimonas , and Gemella , whereas these taxa were generally absent from non-appendicitis samples. Conclusions Acute appendicitis is associated with an abundance of Fusobacterium spp . and other pathogens commonly found in the oral cavity. Further research is needed to determine whether these organisms directly cause appendicitis or rather proliferate in the appendix as a secondary consequence of inflammation.
Alterations in airway ion transport in NKCC1-deficient mice.

Airways of Na+-K+-2Cl−(NKCC1)-deficient mice (−/−) were studied in Ussing chambers to determine the role of the basolateral NKCC1 in transepithelial anion secretion. The basal short-circuit current...
PNEUMONIA | Overview and Epidemiology

Pneumonia is the infection of the distal lower respiratory tract, principally the alveolar space, including the small bronchi and bronchioles. Pneumonia results from the proliferation of microorganisms at these sites in combination with the host response to the presence of microorganisms. A variety of pneumonia syndromes can be defined based on microbial etiology, underlying host defenses, clinical presentation, and site of acquisition. Because of the non-specific nature of the signs and symptoms, the diagnosis of pneumonia rests disproportionately on the presence of an infiltrate on chest radiograph. The frequent lack of a microbiologic diagnosis and the non-specificity of signs, symptoms, and radiographic infiltrates leads to frequent consideration of pneumonia in the differential diagnosis of many other pulmonary diseases. The etiologic spectrum of all types of pneumonia always includes the common community-acquired pathogens, with the spectrum broadening in response to either increasing immunocompromise or greater exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics. While new or previously unrecognized pathogens can play a role in management decisions, the major issue in pneumonia is the appearance of antibiotic resistant strains of known common bacterial pathogens. Lack of even minimally effective agents is more the issue for nonbacterial pneumonias. Immunomodulation, in the form of less immunosuppressive cancer and transplant chemotherapy, immunization, or specific immunomodulatory drugs holds some hope for improving pneumonia outcome in the future.
Comparative Electrobiology of Mammalian Central Neurons

In assessing the impact of the in vitro analysis of CNS function, especially in mammals, one issue has become clear; mammalian neurons are endowed with a large and intricate set of ionic conductances. The intricacy of these conductances relates not only to their ionic specificity, their voltage dependence, and their modulation by neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, but also to their location on the soma-dendritic regions of the neurons. This realization has forced all of us to reexamine the levels at which the rather involved interactions between neurons actually occur. For many years, most of the complexity demonstrable electrophysiologically in different regions of the nervous system was assumed to be produced by the synaptic interactions, i.e., the neuronal network. However, it is evident, following the development of the in vitro preparations, that much of the electrophysiology encountered in mammalian neurons does not derive necessarily from the attributes of networks but, rather, from the intrinsic electrical properties of the cells themselves.
An Empirical Bond Portfolio Study: Evidence from the Asian Emerging Bond Market

Most of the research on the benefits of diversification into emerging markets (EMs) has focused on equity markets. In this research, the focus is on investments in fixed income instruments. Specifically, the research explores the performance benefits of developed markets (DMs) combined with the Asian emerging market (AEM). This research indentifies the linkage and leverage of government bond portfolios between DMs and the AEM. It first identifies the potential diversification and describes the financial integration for incorporating AEM government bonds into DMs government bond portfolios. In the second phase, it constructs the dynamic linear regression models and conducts the mean-variance tests to demonstrate the incremental benefit of the strategy. In the last phase, a robust test examines the strength of bond portfolio performance between DMs with the AEM and the government bond index.
Mitochondria, NO and neurodegeneration.

A role for mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease is gaining increasing support. Mitochondrial dysfunction may be linked to neurodegenerative diseases through a variety of different pathways, including free-radical generation, impaired calcium buffering and the mitochondrial permeability transition. This can lead to both apoptotic and necrotic cell death. Recent evidence has shown that there is a mitochondrial defect in Friedreich9s ataxia, which leads to increased mitochondrial iron content, that appears to be linked to increased free-radical generation. There is evidence that the point mutations in superoxide dismutase which are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction. There is also evidence for bioenergetic defects in Huntington9s disease. Studies of cybrid cell lines have implicated mitochondrial defects in both Parkinson9s disease and Alzheimer9s disease. If mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in neurodegenerative diseases then therapeutic strategies such as coenzyme Q 10 and creatine may be useful in attempting to slow the disease process.
A Hollow Cultural Core? An Inquiry into New Institutional Approaches to Incentive Based Regulation

The trans-disciplinary New Institutional framework identifies the importance of incentive structures in preventing opportunism in market making. In recent decades this theoretical tradition has increasingly shifted its attention from formal institutions to identify the significance of cultural processes in countering uncertainty, bounded rationality, and information asymmetries. More specifically the New Institutional perspective tends to focus on the formal mechanisms producing and reproducing culture, as opposed to an examination of specific cultural content. This attention to formal mechanisms means that value-rational action and commitments in market making receive insufficient attention. In order to examine the problems entailed in this trend, the case study of a financial market in which market making was constituted by the values of loyalty, duty, and honor of traders is used.
The Undersea Network

If you have ever wondered why infrastructure has suddenly become a buzzword in cultural anthropology and science and technology studies, then follow the signal. That is precisely what The Undersea ...
Clinical study of lowering high blood pressure drugs combined with venlafaxine on treating the anxiety depression in patients with senile primary hypertension

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of lowering high blood pressure drugs combined with anti-anxiety depression drug venlafaxine on treating the anxiety depression (AD) in patients with senile primary hypertension (SPH).Methods:100 patients of AD with SPH were randomly divided into the intervention group and control group. All cases were given lowering high blood pressure drugs treatment,while the intervention group was given treatment of venlafaxine. After 12 weeks of treatment,the clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:The total effective rate of antihypertensive efficacy of the intervention group was 94.0%,it was significantly higher than that of the control group (80.0%)(P0.05); The OBP results showed that the SBP and DBP of the two groups compared with those before treatment were significantly improved (P0.05),and the intervention group' SBP and DBP improved significantly than that of the control group (P0.05). The total effective rate of anti-anxiety depression efficacy of the intervention group was 96.0%,it was significantly higher than that of the control group (58.0%) (P0.05); The two groups had no significant adverse reactions.Conclusion:The lowering high blood pressure drugs combined with anti-anxiety depression drug venlafaxine on treating the AD in patients with SPH has curative effect,it was safe,reliable and worthy of clinical application.
The Unique Associations of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence with PTSD Symptom Clusters in a Traumatized Substance-Abusing Sample

OBJECTIVE: There is a high occurrence of sexual assault (SA) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among people with substance use disorders and an established association between substance use and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but no research has examined associations between combinations of these traumas and PTSD symptom profiles among people who abuse substances. Thus, this study aimed to examine how combinations of SA and IPV histories contribute to the severity of symptoms within PTSD symptom clusters above and beyond the impact of exposure to other traumas in a substance abusing population. METHOD: Participants were men and women (N = 219) with trauma histories seeking treatment in a substance abuse facility. Multivariate analyses of covariance examined differences on Clinician Administrated PTSD Scale cluster scores in people with experiences of SA and/or IPV in comparison to people with other types of trauma, controlling for number of PTSD criterion A events. RESULTS: SA was associated with increased symptom severity across all 3 PTSD symptom clusters, whereas IPV was not associated with differences in cluster scores. In addition, survivors of IPV had consistent levels of avoidance symptoms regardless of whether they had also experienced SA, but people who had not experienced IPV only evidenced increased avoidance symptoms when they had experienced SA. Follow-up analyses testing gender differences indicated that these findings were largely similar for men and women. CONCLUSIONS: SA should be assessed in people in substance use treatment settings to conceptualize their unique presentations of PTSD symptoms and inform treatment planning. (PsycINFO Database Record(c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en
Enabling technologies for adaptive resource allocation in elastic optical path network (SLICE)

We discuss the technologies necessary to implement dynamic adaptation in optical layer by example of the spectrum-sliced elastic optical path network (SLICE). We explain the shift of networking functionality from electrical to the optical domain discussing the challenges and the opportunities for networks employing channel capacities beyond 100 Gb/s.
Distinct Neural Substrates for Maintaining Locations and Spatial Relations in Working Memory

Previous work has demonstrated a distinction between maintenance of two types of spatial information in working memory (WM): spatial locations and spatial relations. While a body of work has investigated the neural mechanisms of sensory-based information like spatial locations, little is known about how spatial relations are maintained in WM. In two experiments, we used fMRI to investigate the involvement of early visual cortex in the maintenance of spatial relations in WM. In both experiments, we found less quadrant-specific BOLD activity in visual cortex when a single spatial relation, compared to a single spatial location, was held in WM. Also across both experiments, we found a consistent set of brain regions that were differentially activated during maintenance of locations versus relations. Maintaining a location, compared to a relation, was associated with greater activity in typical spatial WM regions like posterior parietal cortex and prefrontal regions. Whereas maintaining a relation, compared to a location, was associated with greater activity in the parahippocampal gyrus and precuneus/retrosplenial cortex. Further, in Experiment 2 we manipulated WM load and included trials where participants had to maintain three spatial locations or relations. Under this high load condition, the regions sensitive to locations versus relations were somewhat different than under low load. We also identified regions that were sensitive to load specifically for location or relation maintenance, as well as overlapping regions sensitive to load more generally. These results suggest that the neural substrates underlying WM maintenance of spatial locations and relations are distinct from one another and that the neural representations of these distinct types of spatial information change with load.
An efficient method to determine double Gaussian fluence parameters in the eclipse™ proton pencil beam model.

Purpose: To find an efficient method to configure the proton fluence for a commercial proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) treatment planning system (TPS). Methods: An in-water dose kernel was developed to mimic the dose kernel of the pencil beam convolution superposition algorithm, which is part of the commercial proton beam therapy planning software, eclipse™ (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA). The field size factor (FSF) was calculated based on the spot profile reconstructed by the in-house dose kernel. The workflow of using FSFs to find the desirable proton fluence is presented. The in-house derived spot profile and FSF were validated by a direct comparison with those calculated by the eclipse TPS. The validation included 420 comparisons of the FSFs from 14 proton energies, various field sizes from 2 to 20 cm and various depths from 20% to 80% of proton range. Results: The relative in-water lateral profiles between the in-house calculation and the eclipse TPS agree very well even at the level of 10−4. The FSFs between the in-house calculation and the eclipse TPS also agree well. The maximum deviation is within 0.5%, and the standard deviation is less than 0.1%. Conclusions: The authors’ method significantly reduced the time to find the desirable proton fluences of the clinical energies. The method is extensively validated and can be applied to any proton centers using PBS and the eclipse TPS.
A dirty cause of vancomycin-mediated Henoch-Schonlein purpura: oxygen tubing is not a foley.

A 59-year-old male presented with methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus bacteraemia from a prostatic abscess and was treated with vancomycin. Two weeks into his treatment course, he developed severe joint pains, abdominal pain with bloody, mucinous stools and a diffuse palpable purpuric rash on his extremities. Biopsy of the rash showed IgA immune-complex deposition consistent with Henoch-SchA¶nlein purpura. After treatment with glucocorticoids, his symptoms resolved completely. Vancomycin is an extremely commonly used antibiotic with certain well-known adverse effects. Henoch-SchA¶nlein purpura, a vasculitis involving abdominal pain, arthralgias and palpable purpura, is a much less common side effect, as seen in this patient. Given that vancomycin is widely used internationally, clinicians should be aware of the risks entailed by its use.
A Revolutionary Promise of Justice: Diane Arbus’ Self-Portrait, Pregnant, 1945, NYC

My critical musings on this little-known maternal self-portrait are meant to reconceive its meaning as an uncanny predecessor to contemporary feminist embodied knowledge. This knowledge holds the potential for articulating new strategies of respect for the maternal and for the real mother, in other words for thinking m(o)therwise. This portent photograph not only presented a non-normative concept of pregnancy during its cultural moment; it continues to challenge the deep patriarchal “embarrassment” that pregnancy carries. Arbus’ performance of the maternal was crafted within her creative practice and deeply embedded within a new maternal structure of projected work and self. Picturing herself as artist/photographer, other, lover and projected mother, she embodies a creative interplay between the passion of theory and the thinking body. This photograph can be viewed at https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/photographs-diane-arbus/self-portrait-pregnant-n-y-c-1945-1/222.
Encouraging Mindfulness in Medical House Staff via Smartphone App: A Pilot Study

Stress and burnout are increasingly recognized as urgent issues among resident physicians, especially given the concerning implications of burnout on physician well-being and patient care outcomes. The authors assessed how a mindfulness and meditation practice among residents, supported via a self-guided, smartphone-based mindfulness app, affects wellness as measured by prevalidated surveys. Residents in the departments of general surgery, anesthesia, and obstetrics and gynecology were recruited for participation in this survey-based, four-week, single-arm study. All participants used the app (Headspace) on a self-guided basis, and took surveys at enrollment, at 2 weeks, and at 4 weeks. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) assessed mood, and the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) measured mindfulness. Forty-three residents enrolled in this study from April 2015 to August 2016; 30 residents (90% female) completed two or more surveys, and so were included for further analysis. In a comparison of baseline scores to week four scores, there was a significant increase in FMI at week four (36.88 ± 7.00; Cohen's d = 0.77, p = 0.005), a trend toward increase in the positive affect score (PAS) (31.73 ± 6.07; Cohen's d = 0.38, p = 0.08), and no change in negative affect score (NAS) (21.62 ± 7.85; Cohen's d = -0.15, p = NS). In mixed-effect multivariate modeling, both the PAS and the FMI scores showed significant positive change with increasing use of the smartphone app (PAS, 0.31 (95% CI 0.03–0.57); FMI, 0.38 (95% CI 0.11–0.66)), while the NAS did not show significant change. Study limitations include self-guided app usage, a homogenous study subject population, insufficient study subjects to perform stratified analysis of the impact of specialty on the findings, lack of control group, and possible influence from the Hawthorne effect. This study suggests the feasibility and efficacy of a short mindfulness intervention delivered by a smartphone app to improve mindfulness and associated resident physician wellness parameters.
C-Reactive Protein and Cardiovascular Disease in Psoriasis:

Psoriasis is often associated with an overproduction of C-reactive protein (CRP). Patients at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) also frequently have elevated CRP levels. This article ...
Predictors of survival after intramedullary nail fixation of completed or impending pathologic femur fractures from metastatic disease.

Abstract Background Surgical decision-making can be challenging when treating patients with osseous metastases. Numerous factors, including expected duration of survival, must be considered to ensure optimal operative stabilization of the affected bone. However, life expectancy of patients with metastatic carcinoma is often difficult to estimate. The goal of our study was to assess the associations of various clinical and demographic factors with survival time after intramedullary nail fixation of impending or completed pathologic femur fractures. Methods One hundred thirty-eight consecutive patients treated with intramedullary nail fixation for impending or completed pathologic femur fractures between 2005 and 2017 were included in this study. Factors related to patient survival were assessed with Cox multivariate survival analysis. For all analyses, p Results The median overall postoperative survival time was 8.4 months. Lower hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.001), lower albumin concentration (p = 0.002), and having a group 2 primary cancer (p = 0.001) were associated with shorter survival on multivariate analysis. When considering the subgroup of 88 prophylactically stabilized patients, lower hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.005), lower albumin concentration (p = 0.015), and having a group 2 primary cancer (p = 0.037) were predictive of shorter survival. Conclusion Several factors are associated with shorter survival after intramedullary nail fixation of pathologic femur fractures. These factors should be considered by orthopedic surgeons when educating patients and determining appropriate treatment.
Performance evaluation of OpenMP benchmarks on intel's quad core processors

Multi-core processors are widely used in desktop and server applications and are now appearing in real-time embedded applications. We are investigating optimal configurations of some of the available multicore processors suitable for developing real-time software for a multithreaded application used for pavement performance measurements. For the application discussed in this paper we are considering the use of either the Intel core 2 quad or the core i7 (a quad core processor with hyper threading (HT) technology.) Processor performance is a major requirement in this set of real-time, computational intensive embedded applications. The performance of both processors is measured and evaluated using single and multithreaded workloads supplied by different OpenMP benchmark suites. As for the core i7 processor we also provide an evaluation for the HT technology implemented in each core of this processor.
Environment-Independent VR Development

Vrui (Virtual Reality User Interface) is a C++ development toolkit for highly interactive and high-performance VR applications, aimed at producing completely environment-independent software. Vrui not only hides differences between display systems and multi-pipe rendering approaches, but also separates applications from the input devices available at any environment. Instead of directly referencing input devices, e. g., by name, Vrui applications work with an intermediate tool layer that expresses interaction with input devices at a higher semantic level. This allows environment integrators to provide tools to map the available input devices to semantic events such as selection, location, dragging, navigation, menu selection, etc., in the most efficient and intuitive way possible. As a result, Vrui applications run effectively on widely different VR environments, ranging from desktop systems with only keyboard and mouse to fully-immersive multi-screen systems with multiple 6-DOF input devices. Vrui applications on a desktop are not run in a "simulator" mode mostly useful for debugging, but are fully usable and look and feel similar to native desktop applications.
Courtroom Context and Sentencing

This study provides an evaluation of the major policy shift in sentencing practices over the past half-century – namely the shift from indeterminate to determinant sentencing policies and the use of sentencing guidelines. The theoretical literature on courtroom organization and focal concerns informs this evaluation of determinate sentencing practices in Florida. Drawing from prior theoretical and empirical research, hierarchical linear and generalized linear models are estimated to assess courtroom effects on individual level sentencing outcomes. The findings document that location matters when sentenced in Florida. Specifically, the likelihood of being sentenced to prison and the length of sentence varies across counties, even after controlling for individual case and offender characteristics and a variety of contextual characteristics. Additionally, the influence of legal and extra-legal factors on prison in/out and sentence length decisions varies significantly across counties. Several court characteristics, including court size, caseload pressure and trial rate assert direct influence on a county’s likelihood of prison in/out and mean sentence length decisions.
Psychological Dimensions of Climatic Change

The prospect of CO2-induced climate change poses a series of interlocking decisions to be made by individuals and groups, national and international bodies. At each level, people must decide whether the problem is worth attending to and if so, should efforts be made to prevent the build-up from happening (e.g., by drastically restricting the consumption of fossil fuels), to implement curative schemes (e.g., massive reforestation programs), to adapt to the new world we are creating (e.g., by developing new crops or moving large populations) or to promote the build-up (for those who hope to benefit from the change). Each decision requires an assessment of what is happening, what the possible effects are and how well one likes them. The quality of these assessments at one level constrains the wisdom of the decisions made at others. Failure of the U.S. to adopt a coherent policy is likely to thwart any international effort. Absence of international cooperation may lead U.S. consumers to ask “why should we drive less when the Brazilians provide tax incentives for logging out the Amazon?” We are all in trouble if the climatologists seriously understate or overstate how much they know. How such assessments are made, by consumers, legislators, diplomats or scientists, would seem to be eminently psychological questions.
Fish Utilization of Created vs. Natural Oyster Reefs (Crassostrea virginica)

Once viewed as an inexhaustible fishery resource, eastern oyster reefs (Crassostrea virginica) have been dramatically depleted. In North Carolina alone, eastern oyster harvests have declined by 90% since the early 1900s. However, eastern oyster restoration and management efforts have substantially increased since the 1970s. Oyster reefs provide habitat and refuge for organisms, improve water quality, and decrease erosion. Oyster restoration projects aim to construct reefs that function similarly to their natural counterparts. Therefore, post-creation monitoring of these reefs is crucial in determining restoration success. However, monitoring is often lacking or focused only on oyster density and size rather than ecosystem functions such as nekton utilization. This study examines nekton utilization among created reefs compared to natural reefs in an estuary in Wilmington, North Carolina. The objective was to determine whether the created reefs function similarly to the natural reefs in abundance, species richness, and fish size. Using seine nets and Breder traps, reefs were sampled over a 5-month period. No significant difference was detected among reefs for nekton abundance, species richness, and standard length. This is a promising result for future management, indicating that created and natural reefs can support similar communities of fishes and shrimp.
Agri-food firms, universities, and corporate social responsibility: what's in the public interest?

The complexities of the global agri-food system and the singular importance of food as a primary good elevate the need to explore what corporate social responsibility (CSR) might mean for agri-food firms. Although CSR refers to voluntary actions on the part of capitalist firms to exceed legal and regulatory requirements, those requirements are important because they set the institutional foundation for what a firm must do to earn the CSR label. In the case of CSR for agri-food firms, the institutional context includes the regulatory state as well as the publicly supported agricultural and food research and development that tends to be done at universities. The purpose of this paper is to provide greater conceptual clarity to the blur between the state, agri-food firms, and universities and their respective responsibilities to the public. Since the globalization of the agri-food system and the emergence of private forms of governance signal the decline of the state's legal and regulatory influence on corporate firms, we pay particularly close attention to the ethical challenges that have surrounded university–agribusiness collaborations—initiatives, which conjoin the moral concerns associated with each respective institution while also raising new questions in their own right. Although the university would ideally play a critical participatory role in this process by virtue of its public commitments, as we explain, the historical relationship between the university and agri-food firms has complicated the university's potential standing as an independent arbiter. Upon examining each of these issues in greater detail, we conclude the paper with a blueprint for how universities can enhance their ethical leadership when engaging with agri-food firms.
Development of a GUI-Based Mathematical Model of n Alkaline Water Electrolyzer: for Optimizing Hydrogen Renewable Energy Systems

In this study we developed a GUI-based mathematical model of an alkaline water electrolyzer for optimizing hydrogen renewable energy systems. The model is based on the measurement data that is collected using a multi-cell alkaline electrolyzer. The experimental data is collected for varying: cell voltage gradients and its electrolyte concentrations. The data is normalized for the number of cells and its cell areas so that the developed model can be used with any number of cells or with any cell-areas. The GUI-model development is implemented in four phases: collection of extensive measurement data; mathematical modeling using least square regression for generating empirical equations; GUI-development to embed the empirical equations; and finally estimating or prediction of dry cell-performance. Using the model we are able to predict the hydrogen-dry-cell output performance parameters for varying input conditions including: cell voltage gradients, cell electrolyte concentrations, number of cells, and cell areas. The predicted hydrogen-dry-cell output performance parameters include: production rate parameters -- hydrogen generated per minute C lpm in liters/min and milliliters of hydrogen generated per minute per milli-watt C mmw in milliliters/ min/watt; energy consumption parameter -- energy consumed in watt-hours to generate a liter of hydrogen C wh in watt-hours/liter; and finally overall energy conversion efficiency, from electrical to chemical, C eff in percentage. The mathematical model here is a set of empirical equations corresponding to a sets of measurement-data. We have used the least square regression method with third-degree polynomial to curve-fit the data. Predicted values of the mathematical model matched with the measurement data validating the model. The GUI-model is useful for designing new dry-cells or to manage and control the existing dry-cells for optimal hydrogen production.
Empirical Analysis of Capital Structure Determinants in Infrastructure Projects under Public–Private Partnerships

AbstractPublic–private partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a promising alternative to financing infrastructure projects in order to address the infrastructure restoration and rehabilitation challen...
A novel vehicle dynamics and human behavior car-following model: model development and preliminary testing

Abstract The research presented in this paper proposes and develops a new car-following model, which we term the Fadhloun-Rakha (FR) model. The FR model incorporates the key components of the Rakha-Pasumarthy-Adjerid (RPA) model in that it uses the same steady state formulation, respects vehicle dynamics, and uses very similar collision-avoidance strategies to ensure safe following distances between vehicles. The main contributions of the FR model over the RPA model are the following: (1) it models the driver throttle and brake pedal input; (2) it captures driver variability; (3) it allows for shorter than steady-state following distances when following faster leading vehicles; (4) it offers a much smoother acceleration profile while converging to steady states; and (5) it explicitly captures driver perception and control inaccuracies and errors. Besides describing the methodology and the role of each of the model parameters, this study evaluates the performance of the new model using a naturalistic driving dataset. A brief comparative analysis was performed to validate the model with regard to replicating empirical driver and vehicle behavior. Through a quantitative and qualitative evaluation, the proposed FR model demonstrates a significant decrease in the modeling error when compared to the original RPA model and generates trajectories that are highly consistent with empirically observed car-following behavior.
Measuring Moral Reasoning using Moral Dilemmas: Evaluating Reliability, Validity, and Differential Item Functioning of the Behavioral Defining Issues Test (bDIT)

ABSTRACTWe evaluated the reliability, validity, and differential item functioning (DIF) of a shorter version of the Defining Issues Test-1 (DIT-1), the behavioural DIT (bDIT), measuring the develop...
Hyperactivity and reduced activation of anterior hippocampus in early psychosis

Objective:In schizophrenia, the anterior hippocampus is hyperactive and shows reduced task-related recruitment, but the relationship between these two findings is unclear. The authors tested the hy...
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Inhibition Ameliorates Cardiac Dysfunction and Exacerbates Hypotension Caused by Alcohol in Female Rats.

Background Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) protects against alcohol-evoked cardiac dysfunction in male rodents, but its role in the estrogen (E2 )-dependent hypersensitivity of female rats to alcohol-evoked myocardial oxidative stress and dysfunction is not known. Methods We addressed this question by studying the effect of cyanamide (ALDH2 inhibitor) on cardiac function, blood pressure, alcohol-metabolizing enzyme (alcohol dehydrogenase, cytochrome P450 2E1, catalase, and ALDH2) activities, and cardiac redox status (reactive oxygen species, ROS; malondialdehyde, MDA) in the absence or presence of ethanol (EtOH) in female sham-operated (SO) and ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Results Cyanamide attenuated the EtOH-evoked myocardial dysfunction (reduced dP/dtmax and LVDP) in SO rats. EtOH, cyanamide, or their combination did not alter dP/dtmax or LVDP in OVX rats. Cyanamide induced cardiac oxidative stress and abrogated the subsequent alcohol-evoked increases in ROS and MDA levels in SO rats. Neither EtOH nor cyanamide influenced ROS or MDA levels in OVX rats. Importantly, cyanamide exaggerated EtOH-evoked hypotension in SO and uncovered this hypotensive response in OVX rats, which implicates ALDH2 in the vasodilating effect of EtOH. Conclusions Contrary to our hypothesis, cyanamide attenuated the E2 -dependent cardiac dysfunction caused by alcohol, likely by preconditioning the heart to oxidative stress, while exacerbating the vasodilating effect of alcohol. The latter might predispose to syncope when cyanamide and alcohol are combined in females.
Advert: An Asynchronous Runtime for Fine-Grained Network Systems

The Data Vortex Network is a novel high-radix, congestion free interconnect able to cope with the fine-grained, unpredictable communication patterns of irregular applications. This paper presents ADVERT, an asynchronous runtime system that provides performance and productivity for the Data Vortex Network. ADVERT integrates a lightweight memory manager (DVMem) for the user accessible SRAM integrated in the network interface, and a communication library (DVComm) that implements active messaging primitives (get, put, and remote execution). ADVERT hides the complexity of controlling all the network hardware features through the low-level Data Vortex programming interface, while providing comparable performance. We discuss ADVERT's design and present microbenchmarks to examine different runtime features. ADVERT provides the functionalities for building higher level asynchronous many tasking runtimes and partitioned global address space (PGAS) libraries on top of the Data Vortex Network.
The role of 3D printing in pediatric airway obstruction: A systematic review.

Abstract Background Tracheomalacia and tracheal stenosis are complicated, patient-specific diseases that require a multidisciplinary approach to diagnose and treat. Surgical interventions such as aortopexy, slide tracheoplasty, and stents potentially have high rates of morbidity. Given the emergence of three-dimensional (3D) printing as a versatile adjunct in managing complex pathology, there is a growing body of evidence that there is a strong role for 3D printing in both surgical planning and implant creation for pediatric airway obstruction. Methods A structured PubMed.gov literature search was utilized, and a two-researcher systematic review was performed following the PRISMA criteria. The following search query was utilized: (((((3D printing) OR three-dimensional printing) OR 3D printed) OR three-dimensional printed) AND trachea) OR airway. Results Over 23,000 publications were screened. Eight literature reviews and thirty-seven original papers met inclusion criteria. Of the thirty-seven original papers, eleven discussed 3D printing for surgical planning and twenty-six discussed 3D printing implants for interventions. Conclusion The reported application of 3D printing for management of pediatric airway obstruction is emerging with positive and broad applications. 3D printing for surgical planning not only improves pre-operative assessment of surgical approach and stent customization, but also helps facilitate patient/family education. 3D printing for custom implantable interventions is focused on bioresorbable external airway splints and biological grafts, with both animal studies and human case reports showing good results in improving symptoms.
On-Wafer Measurement of Gigahertz Integrated Circuits

Publisher Summary On-wafer probes using hybrid MIC technology structures have demonstrated a new, significantly improved level of accuracy for on-wafer integrated circuit (IC) component measurements above 1 GHz. These probes perform as 50-ohm adapters between the IC component bond pads and standard coaxial connectors. As their reproducibility is comparable with other kinds of high-quality adapters commonly used in microwave-device measurements, these probes can be used with well-known coaxial component measurement error correction techniques. The use of these techniques with standard microwave network analysis equipment results in on-wafer lumped component reflection coefficient measurement accuracy to 0.03 with resolution to 0.01 at frequencies up to 18 GHz. Parasitics are small to such an extent that the maximum frequency of useful operation is still limited by currently available network analyzers and their coaxial connectors, not the probes themselves. Thus, accurate on-wafer measurements to 25 or 30 GHz are seen as possible as the state of the art in microwave analysis instruments continues to mature.
Estimating neonatal herpes simplex virus incidence and mortality using capture-recapture, Florida

BACKGROUND Neonatal herpes simplex virus infection (nHSV) leads to severe morbidity and mortality, but national incidence is uncertain. Florida regulations require that healthcare providers report cases, and clinical laboratories report test results when herpes simplex virus (HSV) is detected. We estimated nHSV incidence using laboratory-confirmed provider-reported cases and electronic laboratory reports (ELR) stored separately from provider-reported cases. Mortality was estimated using provider-reported cases, ELR, and vital statistics death records. METHODS For 2011-2017, we reviewed: provider-reported cases (infants ≤ 60 days of age with HSV infection confirmed by culture or polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), ELR of HSV-positive culture or PCR results in the same age group, and death certificates containing International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision, codes for herpes infection: P35.2, B00.0-B00.9, and A60.0-A60.9. Provider-reported cases were matched against ELR reports. Death certificates were matched with provider and ELR reports. Chapman's capture-recapture method was used to estimate nHSV incidence and mortality. Mortality from all 3 sources was estimated using log-linear modeling. RESULTS Providers reported 114 nHSV cases, and ELR identified 197 nHSV cases. Forty-six cases were common to both datasets, leaving 265 unique nHSV reports. Chapman's estimate suggests 483 (95% confidence interval [CI], 383-634) nHSV cases occurred (31.5 infections per 100 000 live births). The nHSV deaths were reported by providers (n = 9), ELR (n = 18), and vital statistics (n = 31), totaling 34 unique reports. Log-linear modeling estimates 35.8 fatal cases occurred (95% CI, 34-40). CONCLUSIONS Chapman's estimates using data collected over 7 years in Florida conclude nHSV infections occurred at a rate of 1 per 3000 live births.
Enhancing the toughness of composites via dynamic thiol–thioester exchange (TTE) at the resin–filler interface

Due to a mismatch in mechanical moduli, the interface between constituent materials in a composite is the primary locus for crack nucleation due to stress concentration. Relaxation of interfacial stresses, without modifying the properties of constituent materials, is a potent means of improving composite performance with broad appeal. Herein, we develop a new type of adaptive interface that utilizes thiol–thioester exchange (TTE) at the filler–polymer interface. Specifically, dynamic covalent bonds sequestered at material interfaces are reversibly exchanged in the presence of thioester moieties, excess thiol and a base/nucleophile catalyst. Employing this active interface effectively mitigates deleterious growth of interfacial stresses, thereby enhancing the composite's mechanical performance in terms of reductions in polymerization shrinkage stress and improvement in toughness. Activating interfacial TTE in an otherwise static matrix resulted in 45% reduction in the polymerization stress, more significant post-polymerization stress relaxation and drastically increased toughness relative to control composites incapable of TTE bond exchange but otherwise identical. In particular, the higher fracture toughness in TTE-activated composites is attributed to the alleviation of crack tip strain concentration, as revealed by digital image correlation.
Effect of Aggregate Gradation on Asphalt Mixture Compaction Parameters

AbstractIn this study, the effect of aggregate gradation on asphalt mixture compactability was investigated. Based on different combinations of coarse and fine aggregates, four gradation zones were...