cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct Selection for Mutators in Escherichia coli

We have constructed strains that allow a direct selection for mutators of Escherichia coli on a single plate medium. The plate selection is based on using two different markers whose reversion is enhanced by a given mutator. Plates containing limiting amounts of each respective nutrient allow the growth of ghost colonies or microcolonies that give rise to full-size colonies only if a reversion event occurs. Because two successive mutational events are required, mutator cells are favored to generate full-size colonies. Reversion of a third marker allows direct visualization of the mutator phenotype by the large number of blue papillae in the full-size colonies. We also describe plate selections involving three successive nutrient markers followed by a fourth papillation step. Different frameshift or base substitution mutations are used to select for mismatch-repair-defective strains (mutHLS and uvrD). We can detect and monitor mutator cells arising spontaneously, at frequencies lower than 10−5 in the population. Also, we can measure a mutator cascade, in which one type of mutator (mutT) generates a second mutator (mutHLS) that then allows stepwise frameshift mutations. We discuss the relevance of mutators arising on a single medium as a result of cells overcoming successive growth barriers to the development and progression of cancerous tumors, some of which are mutator cell lines.
VIVO - a Video Indexing and Visualization Organizer

Traditional video libraries only catalog and index videos at the piece level. Digital videos need to be catalogued and indexed both on multiple levels (e.g. video, segment and frame) and through multiple modalities (e.g., textual description and visual surrogate). VIVO (Video Indexing and Visualization Organizer) is such a prototype tool we developed to help digital video librarians to input, edit and manage video metadata elements on different levels.
The Death of Big Law

Large law firms face unprecedented stress. Many have dissolved, gone bankrupt or significantly downsized in recent years. These events reflect more than just a shrinking economy: the basic business model of the large U.S. law firm is failing and needs fundamental restructuring. There are at least three prerequisites to establishing the viable large legal services firm of the future. First, the firm must own a core of durable, firm-specific property. Second, the firm must be able to secure non-lawyer financing in a variety of forms. Third, coherent legal structures must evolve that are suitable for large law firms. Big Law’s ability to meet these conditions is contingent on significant changes in the regulation of law practice. The article discusses the current stresses on Big Law, potential business models for legal services, and the forces that may usher in the introduction of these models.
Idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a primary glomerular disease that essentially represents a form of chronic, progressive renal fibrosis for which there is no discernible cause. Often presenting with or eventually manifesting the nephrotic syndrome, this disease is increasing in incidence in both children and adults. Therapy continues to be a challenge, although some patients clearly respond to corticosteroids or cyclosporine with a decrease in, or remission of, proteinuria. A favorable response is associated with a decreased likelihood of progression to kidney failure. Given our clinical experience and recent advances in understanding the genetics of FSGS, a stochastic model of disease pathogenesis can be proposed.
Dyon spin and statistics: A fiber-bundle theory of interacting magnetic and electric charges

The quantum mechanics of a system of nonrelativistic electrically and magnetically charged particles is formulated by introducing as the classical configuration space a certain U(1) bundle over the set of physical particle configurations. In this way one obtains a well-defined and single-valued classical action; and in the corresponding quantum theory, the origin of half-integral spin and of asymptotic Fermi-Dirac statistics in the description of composite systems of bosons finds its expression in terms of the bundle's structure.
What does a positive intradermal skin test result really mean

Credit for the first skin testing device goes to Charles H. Blackley, a homeopathic physician from Manchester, England, who had allergic rhinitis. In 1865 he abraded a quarterinch area of his skin with a lancet, applied grass pollen grains that had been placed on a piece of wet lint, and covered the scarified area with an occlusive bandage. 1 This resulted in intense itching and a large cutaneous response. Even today in the allergist’s office, allergy skin testing (AST) remains the central test to confirm an allergic response to validated allergen extracts. This is not surprising because it is minimally invasive and, when performed correctly, has good reproducibility. Unfortunately, AST is not a perfect test because both false-positive and false-negative results may be seen. In theory, one could apply allergen directly to a mucous membrane, such as the eyes, nose, or bronchi, but this is much more time-consuming and has greater inherent risk to the patient. Significant variations occur in AST methods in the US allergist’s office. One of the more significant issues involves the practice of performing intradermal skin tests (IDSTs) in skin prick test (SPT)–negative patients despite the lack of data demonstrating utility of IDSTs 2– 8 in confirming allergic sensitivity in these patients. In a recent survey of US allergists, Oppenheimer and Nelson 9 found that approximately 85% of allergists relied on the use of IDSTs in patients with negative SPT results. This finding is despite several prospective studies that have demonstrated that IDSTs add little to diagnostic accuracy in SPT-negative patients. 2– 8 Calabria and Hagan 10 have provided an excellent review in their recent Annals publication examining the data regarding this issue. They review 7 studies that relied on challenge as the gold standard of allergy diagnosis in which patients demonstrated negative SPT results with positive IDST results and found that these results “correlate with history and provocation testing in only a few instances.” Allergists have been searching for a perfect tool to confirm allergic sensitivity. In most allergists’ offices, the patient’s history guides the choice of specific AST. Most allergists begin by performing SPTs, and if a negative result is produced, they next perform IDSTs with clinically suspicious allergens. 9 Their rationale for this protocol is the belief that added sensitivity is seen with the IDST method. This seems reasonable because studies demonstrate that the IDST is at least 1,000 times more sensitive than the SPT. 11 The question
Child Maltreatment Among Asian and Pacific Islander Refugees and Immigrants The San Diego Case

The literature that focuses on cultural aspects of child maltreatment among Asian and Pacific Islander (API) immigrant groups is sparse. The literature on child maltreatment among API refugees is virtually nonexistent. This article attempts to address this void and reports the findings of a study on 158 cases of child maltreatment that were reported to and handled by the Union of Pan Asian Communities in San Diego, California. A utilization of both quantitative and qualitative strategies identified five possible parameters that may explain the patterns of reported child maltreatment in an Asian and Pacific Islander population: (a) home country traumas, especially notable among refugees; (b) differences in child-rearing practices; (c) the relative visibility to welfare professionals and other publicly employed professionals; (d) the relative continuity of social support systems brought from country of origin; and (e) the relative ability to cope with cultural conflicts brought on by being newcomers.
Integrated scheduling with garbage collection for real-time embedded applications in CLI

We present a schedulable garbage collection for realtime applications in virtual machine environments. The design objective is to make the pause time caused by garbage collection operations controllable, and the invocation of garbage collection predictable. Thus, real-time applications can be schedulable along with garbage collection. We develop a prototype for a schedulable garbage collection in MONO CLI execution environment. A cost model of garbage collection is established based on measured WCET to predict the execution time and overhead of garbage collection operations. A scheduling algorithm of garbage collection and application tasks is presented to illustrate how the time and memory constraints of real-time systems can be met. The experiment result of the scheduling algorithm for a periodic task set on the prototype is included in the paper.
Sex and Gender

L'auteur fait le point sur les recherches concernant les comparaisons sexuelles (aptitudes cognitives, personnalite, comportements sociaux) et les systemes d'attitudes a l'egard du genre. Les facteurs de contexte socio-culturel sont examines
Computer-aided detection performance in mammographic examination of masses: assessment.

PURPOSE: To compare performance of two computer-aided detection (CAD) systems and an in-house scheme applied to five groups of sequentially acquired screening mammograms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred nineteen film-based mammographic examinations, classified into five groups, were included in this study. Group 1 included 58 examinations in which verified malignant masses were detected during screening; group 2, 39 in which all available latest examinations were performed prior to diagnosis of these malignant masses (subset of 39 women from group 1); group 3, 22 in which findings were interpreted as negative but were verified as cancer within 1 year from the negative interpretation (missed cancers); group 4, 50 in which findings were negative and patients were not recalled for additional procedures; and group 5, 50 in which patients were recalled for additional procedures and findings were negative for cancer. In all examinations, images were processed with two Food and Drug Administration–approved co...
Directed cell migration via chemoattractants released from degradable microspheres

Abstract Chemotaxis, cell migration directed by spatial concentration gradients of chemoattractant molecules, is critical for proper function of the immune system. Materials capable of generating defined chemoattractant gradients via controlled release may be useful for the design of improved vaccines and immunotherapies that draw specific cells to an immunization site. To this end, we encapsulated formyl-Nle-Leu-Phe-Nle-Tyr-Lys (fN’LFN’YK) peptides or macrophage inflammatory protein-3α (MIP-3α or CCL20) in degradable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres that provided sustained release for more than 2 weeks in vitro. fN’LFN’YK and MIP-3α chemoattract dendritic cells (DCs), the key antigen-presenting cells involved in generation of primary immune responses, and their precursors, monocytes. Using an in vitro videomicroscopy migration assay, we detected strong chemotaxis of human monocytes and monocyte-derived DCs through 3D collagen gels toward microspheres releasing fN’LFN’YK. Similarly, microparticles releasing MIP-3α were able to attract mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. Strikingly, prolonged attraction of DCs from distances up to 500 μm from the source to the point of contact with individual microspheres was observed. Such microspheres could be of general interest for the design of vaccines that promote adaptive immunity and as a platform for studying the biology of chemotaxis in vitro and in vivo.
From Storytelling to Writing: Transforming Literacy Practices among Sudanese Refugees

This paper presents an analysis of the ways in which a community of orphaned Southern Sudanese refugee youth—the “Lost Boys of Sudan”—transformed traditional practices of storytelling as they adjusted to life in the U.S. The result of their experiences as orphaned refugees, this transformation discloses larger issues related to literacy, identity and community for these youth. Theoretical perspectives regarding literacy and storytelling as social practices, reflecting participants’ social, cultural, and political contexts, framed this research. Focal participants were 3 orphaned young men, all refugees from Southern Sudan. Ethnographic methods including participant observation,semi-structured interviews, and artifact collection contributed to data collection. Data analysis consisted of coding field notes and interview transcripts for emerging themes and conducting discourse analyses on interview transcripts. Results indicated that participants acted as storytellers and also talked explicitly about storytelling’s cultural importance. Participants transformed the act of storytelling by altering the purposes,audiences,and media for storytelling that they had encountered or told before. Transformed storytelling revealed the importance of both becoming educated in the U.S. and also of maintaining a sense of Sudanese identity and community among these refugee youth. Their stories also reflected an important tension between orphan identity and maintaining a sense of Sudanese community, as well as a focus on educating non-Sudanese about refugees’ experiences.
Numbers of iron‐oxidizing bacteria and oxidation potential of sulfur and iron components in coal refuse amended with limestone and sewage sludge

Abstract Counts of acidophilic iron‐oxidizing bacteria, ratios of S2O3=—S/SO4=—S and Fe+3/Fe+2, and S2O3=—S oxidation potentials were examined over a two‐year period in coal refuse (acid gob) treated with limestone and/or sewage sludge. A non‐amended treatment was used as a control. No significant difference in population counts of acidophilic iron‐oxidizing bacteria were observed between treatments in either year of the study. S2O3=—S/SO4=—S and Fe+3/Fe+2 ratios indicated active sulfur and iron oxidation suggesting that limestone and/or sewage sludge may be ineffective in suppressing pyrite oxidation. Under optimal conditions, S2O3=—S oxidation potentials (in vitro) showed a logarithmic increase in SO4=—S formation for all four treatments over time. The final pH of the treatments following twenty days of perfusion ranged from 3.06 to 3.59.
How to reduce the number of patients needed for randomized trials: a basic introduction

Complementary therapies are often used to treat patients with persisting conditions. In a typical randomized trial, patients are assessed for symptom severity at baseline, randomized to treatment or control and then reassessed after a suitable follow-up period. It can be shown that the number of patients required for such trials can be reduced by the use of two methods: repeat measurement and analysis of co-variance (ANCOVA). An example is given of a trial of acupuncture for back pain. Administering the pain questionnaire twice at baseline and four times at follow-up reduces the number of patients by approximately 20% compared to single questionnaire administration. Use of ANCOVA decreases the number of patients by approximately a further 10%. There are considerable economic and ethical advantages to reducing sample size by a third; however, ANCOVA is statistically complex and expert statistical help is required.
Version management and historical queries in digital libraries

Historical information can be effectively preserved using XML and searched through powerful historical queries written in XQuery. Indeed, by storing the successive versions of a document in an incremental fashion, XML repositories and data warehouses can achieve (i) the efficient preservation of critical information, (ii) its representation using a temporally grouped data model and (iii) the ability of supporting historical queries on the evolution of documents and their contents using XQuery. The proposed approach can be applied uniformly to (a) XML document archives and (b) transaction time databases published in XML and queried in XQuery. Our case studies include the UCLA course catalog, W3C Xlink standards, and the CIA WorldFact Book, besides relational databases. The experience described here and in the work of Wang et al. (2005 and 2003) suggests that current standards provide reasonable support for temporal applications at the logical level, whereas many challenges remain at the physical level.
Public Roles for the Medical Profession in the United States: Beyond Theories of Decline and Fall

The future role of national medical organizations as a moral voice in health policymaking in the United States deserves attention from both scholarly and strategic perspectives. Arguments for strengthening the public roles of organized professionalism include its long (if neglected) history of public service. Scholarship of the past 40 years has emphasized the decline of a profession imbued with self-interest, together with associated hteories of organizational conflict. Through new concepts and language, a different version of organized medicine from that of the past might be invented for the future—one that draws on multiple medical organizations, encourages more effective cooperation with other health care groups, and builds on traditional professional agendas through adaptation and extension.
On the description of access control policies in networked industrial systems

The specification and verification of access control policies are fundamental steps in the process of securing industrial control systems and critical infrastructures. The focus of this paper is on bridging the semantic gap between high-level access control policies specified in the Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) framework and the low-level security mechanisms actually implemented in the physical system. Our approach is based on a novel kind of model, which includes two distinct views of the system, namely an RBAC-based specification and a low-level system description. The descriptive capabilities of the model are presented through an example derived from a real prototype plant for printed circuit boards re-manufacturing/de-manufacturing.
A practical message-wise unequal error protection coding scheme

We propose a practical message-wise unequal error protection (UEP) scheme using low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, where one or more special messages are more protected than other ordinary messages, which performs codeword flipping to separate the codewords of special and ordinary messages. To better distinguish the original and flipped codewords, the LDPC codes with all-odd degree check nodes are employed. The decoder performs message type detection and codeword flipping detection by tracking the number of unsatisfied check nodes in iterative decoding. We provide both finite-length and asymptotic performance analysis for the proposed coding scheme. Simulation results are provided to show that the proposed practical message-wise UEP schemes offer capacity-approaching protections to both types of messages as if only one type of message is transmitted.
Intellectuals and policy studies

Eva Etzioni‐Halevy, The Knowledge Elite and the Failure of Prophecy, London, Allen & Unwin, 1985, pp.136. $16.95 (paper)
Federal Safety Regulations

This chapter provides a summary of the federal safety regulations. The interested reader is also directed to appendix A which provides more detail. To facilitate the discussion, the regulations are divided into five general categories: those supportive of other policy responses to safety regulation, those that deal with minimizing externalities, those that are necessary to deal with civil liberties issues, those that contain specifications for equipment design or operating practices, and those that deal with monitoring and enforcement. A matrix showing a division of the current regulations into the five categories is shown in table 18.1. In parentheses after the name of each area of regulation is its relevant part number within Title 49 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Mechanics of Pelvic Floor Prosthetic Devices

The application of mechanics to study pelvic floor prosthetic devices (ie, pessaries, biologic grafts, and synthetic meshes) is becoming more appreciated in the urogynecology field. Mechanics, within the context of prosthetic devices, refers to the ex vivo and in vivo mechanical behaviors of these devices, their structural properties, and how these factors collectively, in combination with their textile properties, impact the overall physical performance of prosthetic devices. This information is crucial as mechanics directly impacts biocompatibility and therefore, affects patient outcomes. This chapter will provide an overview of the mechanical function of prosthetic devices and introduce various tests (and their relevance) that have been used to examine the mechanics of these devices. Additionally, results from these tests and the clinical implications of them will be discussed. The mechanics of synthetic meshes used in pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence will be the main focus of this text.
A modified seroflocculation reaction in relationship to invasive neoplasms.

SummaryA method is described for an improved laboratory aid in mass screening for invasive neoplasms. The modification of the described seroflocculation test consisted essentially in heating sera at 64°C for 30 minutes.
Single nucleotide polymorphism in wheat chromosome region harboring Fhb1 for Fusarium head blight resistance

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a destructive disease that reduces wheat grain yield and quality. To date, the quantitative trait locus on 3BS (Fhb1) from Sumai 3 has shown the largest effect on FHB resistance. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is the most common form of genetic variation and is suitable for high-throughput marker-assisted selection (MAS). We analyzed SNPs derived from 23 wheat expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that previously mapped near Fhb1 on chromosome 3BS. Using 71 Ning 7840/Clark BC7F7 recombinant inbred lines and the single-base extension method, we mapped seven SNP markers between Xgwm533 and Xgwm493, flanking markers for Fhb1. Five of the SNPs explained 45–54% of the phenotypic variation for FHB resistance. Haplotype analysis of 63 wheat accessions from eight countries based on SNPs in EST sequences, simple sequence repeats, and sequence tagged sites in the Fhb1 region identified four major groups: (1) US-Clark, (2) Asian, (3) US-Ernie, and (4) Chinese Spring. The Asian group consisted of Chinese and Japanese accessions that carry Fhb1 and could be differentiated from other groups by marker Xsnp3BS-11. All Sumai 3-related accessions formed a subgroup within the Asian group and could be sorted out by Xsnp3BS-8. The SNP markers identified in this study should be useful for MAS of Fhb1 and fine mapping to facilitate cloning of the Fhb1 resistance gene.
WE-H-202-04: Advanced Medical Image Registration Techniques

Deformable image registration has now been commercially available for several years, with solid performance in a number of sites and for several applications including contour and dose mapping. However, more complex applications have arisen, such as assessing response to radiation therapy over time, registering images pre- and post-surgery, and auto-segmentation from atlases. These applications require innovative registration algorithms to achieve accurate alignment. The goal of this session is to highlight emerging registration technology and these new applications. The state of the art in image registration will be presented from an engineering perspective. Translational clinical applications will also be discussed to tie these new registration approaches together with imaging and radiation therapy applications in specific diseases such as cervical and lung cancers. Learning Objectives: 1.To understand developing techniques and algorithms in deformable image registration that are likely to translate into clinical tools in the near future. 2.To understand emerging imaging and radiation therapy clinical applications that require such new registration algorithms. Research supported in part by the National Institutes of Health under award numbers P01CA059827, R01CA166119, and R01CA166703. Disclosures: Phillips Medical systems (Hugo), Roger Koch (Christensen) support, Varian Medical Systems (Brock), licensing agreements from Raysearch (Brock) and Varian (Hugo).; K. Brock, Licensing Agreement - RaySearch Laboratories. Research Funding - Varian Medical Systems; G. Hugo, Research grant from National Institutes of Health, award number R01CA166119.; G. Christensen, Research support from NIH grants CA166119 and CA166703 and a gift from Roger Koch. There are no conflicts of interest.
Exercises for a Book on Random Potentials

We first review known results on the spectral properties of one dimensional random Schrodinger operators and of their perturbations by deterministric potentials. We then give some new results in the form of exercises and we then apply them to the case of multidimensional spherically symmetric random potentials.
International service learning and interprofessional education in Ecuador: Findings from a phenomenology study with students from four professions

Combined international service learning (ISL) and interprofessional education (IPE) experiences can move health professional student learning beyond the traditional confines of the classroom and outside uniprofessional ethos. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the shared experience of health professional students participating in an ISL trip to a small community in Ecuador. The study focused on the learning and collaboration that occurred among students from multiple health professions during the trip and the cross-cultural exchange between the students and the patients in Ecuador. Participants included 15 students from 4 health professional programmes (pharmacy, medicine, physical therapy, and nursing). Data included interviews, focus groups, observation, and written documents. The essential meaning that emerged from this study was that the ISL/IPE learning opportunity created a practical opportunity for demystifying other healthcare professions in the context of a resource-limited international patient care setting, while supporting students' personal and professional development. Four structural themes emerged to describe the student experiences. Students had to negotiate the language barrier, limited resources, and unexpected diagnoses, while simultaneously learning about the roles and scope of other professions on the team and how to communicate effectively. Student's perseverance when facing the challenges resulted in their personal growth. The interprofessional component strengthened the students' knowledge of interprofessional collaboration and communication through real-world application.
Controlled supercontinua via spatial beam shaping

AbstractRecently, optimization techniques have had a significant impact in a variety of fields, leading to a higher signal-to-noise and more streamlined techniques. We consider the possibility for using programmable phase-only spatial optimization of the pump beam to influence the supercontinuum generation process. Preliminary results show that significant broadening and rough control of the supercontinuum spectrum in the visible region are possible without loss of input energy. This serves as a proof-of-concept demonstration that spatial effects can controllably influence the supercontinuum spectrum, leading to possibilities for utilizing supercontinuum power more efficiently and achieving excellent spectral control.
A method for extracting and characterizing RNA from urine: For downstream PCR and RNAseq analysis

Readily accessible samples such as urine or blood are seemingly ideal for differentiating and stratifying patients; however, it has proven a daunting task to identify reliable biomarkers in such samples. Noncoding RNA holds great promise as a source of biomarkers distinguishing physiologic wellbeing or illness. Current methods to isolate and characterize RNA molecules in urine are limited. In this proof of concept study, we present a method to extract and identify small noncoding RNAs in urine. Initially, quantitative reverse transcription PCR was applied to confirm the presence of microRNAs in total RNA extracted from urine. Once the presence of micro RNA in urine was confirmed, we developed a method to scale up RNA extraction to provide adequate amounts of RNA for next generation sequence analysis. The method described in this study is applicable to detecting a broad range of small noncoding RNAs in urine; thus, they have wide applicability for health and disease analyses.
An autism spectrum disorder-related de novo mutation hotspot discovered in the GEF1 domain of Trio

The Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (RhoGEF) Trio promotes actin polymerization by directly activating the small GTPase Rac1. Recent studies suggest that autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related behavioral phenotypes in animal models of ASD can be produced by dysregulation of Rac1’s control of actin polymerization at glutamatergic synapses. Here, in humans, we discover a large cluster of ASD-related de novo mutations in Trio’s Rac1 activating domain, GEF1. Our study reveals that these mutations produce either hypofunctional or hyperfunctional forms of Trio in rodent neurons in vitro. In accordance with pathological increases or decreases in glutamatergic neurotransmission observed in animal models of ASD, we find that these mutations result in either reduced synaptic AMPA receptor expression or enhanced glutamatergic synaptogenesis. Together, our findings implicate both excessive and reduced Trio activity and the resulting synaptic dysfunction in ASD-related pathogenesis, and point to the Trio-Rac1 pathway at glutamatergic synapses as a possible key point of convergence of many ASD-related genes. Trio is a RhoGEF protein that promotes actin polymerization and is implicated in the regulation of glutamatergic synapses in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here the authors identify a large cluster of de novo mutations in the GEF1 domain of Trio in whole-exome sequencing data from individuals with ASD, and confirm that some of these mutations lead to glutamatergic dysregulation in vitro.
It's not my consensus: Motivated reasoning and the sources of scientific illiteracy

Individuals who provide incorrect answers to scientific knowledge questions have long been considered scientifically illiterate. Yet, increasing evidence suggests that motivated reasoning, rather than ignorance, may explain many of these incorrect answers. This article uses novel survey measures to assess two processes by which motivated reasoning might lead to incorrect personal beliefs: motivated individuals may fail to identify the presence of a scientific consensus on some issue or they may recognize a consensus while questioning its veracity. Simultaneously looking at perceptions of what most scientists say and personal beliefs, this study reveals that religiosity and partisanship moderate the extent to which Americans identify scientific consensuses and assert beliefs that contradict their perceptions of consensus. Although these pathways predict the scope of disagreement with science for each of 11 issues, the relative prevalence of each process depends on both the scientific issue and motivational pathway under examination.
Integration of a dual-mode catheter for ultrasound image guidance and HIFU ablation using a 2-D CMUT array

Image-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is widely used not only for non-invasive therapy but also for a precise approach for tissue ablation. Most HIFU systems use piezoelectric transducers, which are typically bulky due to active cooling, and separate imaging and HIFU transducers, and are therefore impractical for catheter-based applications. Taking advantage of a single 2-D capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) array, we developed a dual-mode catheter that can switch between ultrasound imaging mode and HIFU ablation mode. The catheter is equipped with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and a 32 × 32-element 2-D CMUT array. Both ASIC and CMUT are flip-chip bonded to a custom-designed flexible printed circuit board (flex PCB) via 100-μm and 80-μm solder balls. Then, the flex legs are folded and terminated with pads for a micro zero insertion force (μZIF) connector, allowing easy assembly replacement without the extra cost of coaxial cable assembly. Next, the micro-coaxial cables are assembled at the end of the μZIF connectors. After integration with a 3-D printed tip and encapsulating with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the catheter is finalized in a 22-mm diameter shaft. We successfully validated the functionality of both modes of the dual-mode catheter in oil. We are currently preparing the test for an animal study.
A model-based signal processing method for fault diagnosis in PMSM machine

In this paper, a model based signal processing method is proposed to diagnose two faults under different load condition for permanent magnet synchronous machines. This method captures the spectrum of stator current in a compact representation. Then, its dimensionality is reduced using the discriminant analysis. Finally a support vector machine automatically classifies the health state of the system. For testing the method, a customized test rig is built and data from different loads and faults are collected. An average accuracy of 93% in a 10-fold cross validation is obtained.
Using Federal Funds To Buy Obamacare For Native Americans

In Alaska and other states, tribes are experimenting with programs that provide private health insurance to members for free.
The Performance of Bootstrap Control Charts

The bootstrap is a statistical technique that substitutes computing-power for traditional parametric assumptions. Recently, several authors have considered the application of the bootstrap to statistical quality control charts. Simulation studies have b..
Two adult galactosaemia females with normal ovarian function and identical GALT mutations (Q188R/R333G).

Summary: We report two unrelated cases of adult galactosaemia females with normal ovarian function and Q188R/R333G mutations. Clinical history has been followed for 40 years. Biochemical finding in one patient are consistent with the presence of small amounts of galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GALT) activity, which differs from classical galactosaemia.
The impact of treatment confidence on pain and related disability among patients with low-back pain: results from the University of California, Los Angeles, low-back pain study.

Abstract Background context: Although many researchers and practitioners believe that patients' positive expectations of their treatment favorably influence clinical outcomes, there is little scientific evidence to support this belief. Purpose: To describe the level of patients' initial confidence in the success of their assigned treatment, by treatment group and other factors; and to estimate the effects of treatment confidence on subsequent changes in low-back pain and related disability. Study design and patient sample: Randomized clinical trial involving 681 patients treated for low-back pain in a managed-care facility in Southern California. Outcome measures: Treatment confidence; and changes in three clinical measures of low-back pain: average pain, most severe pain and back-pain–related disability. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: medical care with and without physical therapy, and chiropractic care with and without physical modalities. Information was collected by questionnaires at baseline, 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 6 months. Treatment confidence was measured just after randomization on a scale of 0 to10. Results: Treatment confidence was lowest, on average, for patients assigned to medical care only and highest for patients assigned to medical care plus physical therapy. Other predictors of high treatment confidence were having acute pain and being older, female and nonwhite. Although treatment confidence was only weakly associated with subsequent changes in low-back pain or disability in the total sample, high treatment confidence was associated with greater improvement among patients assigned to medical care plus physical therapy. Conclusions: Initial confidence in treatment for low-back pain varies by type of care and other factors. Higher confidence may have some beneficial effect on the course of low-back pain in certain patients, but this effect may depend on the type of interaction between client and provider.
Practices and Perceptions Among Surgical Oncologists in the Perioperative Care of Obese Cancer Patients

Obesity and cancer are two common diseases in the United States. Although there is an interaction of obesity and cancer, little is known about surgeon perceptions and practices in the care of obese cancer patients. We sought to characterize perceptions and practices of surgical oncologists regarding the perioperative care of obese patients being treated for cancer. A cross-sectional survey was designed, pilot tested, and utilized to assess perceptions and practices of surgeons treating cancer patients. Surgical oncologists were identified using a commercially available database, and Qualtrics® was used to distribute and manage the survey. Statistical analyses were completed by using SPSS. Of the 1731 electronic invitations, 172 recipients initiated the survey, and 157 submitted responses (91.2%). Many surgeons (65.7%) believed that obese patients are more likely to present with more advanced cancers and were more likely than system factors to explain this delayed treatment [t(87) = 4.84; p < 0.001]. Nearly two-thirds of providers (64.5%) reported that obesity had no impact on the timing of surgery; however, one-third of respondents (34.2%) were more likely to recommend preoperative nonsurgical therapy rather than upfront surgery among obese patients. For operations of the chest/abdomen and breast/soft tissue, surgeons perceived obesity to be more related to risk of postoperative than intraoperative complications (chest/abdomen mean 4.13 vs. 3.26; breast/soft tissue 4.11 vs. 2.60; p < 0.001). One in three surgeons reported that patient obesity would change the timing/sequence of when resection would be offered. Many surgeons perceived that obesity was related to a wide array of intra- and postoperative adverse outcomes.
High Pressure Ratio Cryocooler with Integral Expander and Heat Exchanger

A new 1 W, 4.2 K cryocooler is under development. that is intended to miniaturize helium temperature refrigeration systems using a high-pressure-ratio Collins-type cycle. The configuration resulted from optimization studies of a saturated vapor compression (SVC) cycle1, 2 that. employs miniature parallel-plate heat exchangers. The basic configuration is a long displacer in a close-fitting, thin-walled cylinder. The displacer-to-cylinder gap is the high-pressure passage of the heat. exchanger, and the low-pressure passage is formed by a thin tube over the OD of the cylinder. A solenoid-operated inlet valve admits 40 atm helium to the displacer-to-cylinder gap at room temperature, while the solenoid-operated exhaust valve operates at. 4 atm. The single-stage cryocooler produces 1 W of refrigeration at 40 K without precooling and at 20 K with liquid nitrogen precooling.
“Jehan de Saintré”: The Liberation of Knighthood

When a lady of the highest nobility, called “des Belles Cousines” by the royal entourage of John II of France, inspires a promising page, Jehan de Saintre, to become the greatest knight of his time, through the powerful stimulant of Love, you have the standard framework for a romance of chivalry. But when this tender association is suddenly dissolved after sixteen years, for an apparently trivial reason, and the lady forsakes her hero to wallow in a lecherous affair with a ribald abbot, you have a serious problem of interpretation. The first modern critics to wrestle with it, for instance Sainte-Beuve,1 Gaston Paris,2 and Aubertin,3 were very much disconcerted by the apparent disunity of Antoine de La Sale’s famous work, and mystified by the glaring contrast between the idealistic portion and the cynical denouement. Even after a century of exegetical efforts, serious doubts linger concerning the author’s intent. “L’âme de l’ceuvre reste toujours enigmatique,” remarked Bronarski.4
Role of the AT2 Receptor in Cardiovascular Function: A Brief Synopsis

In this brief review, we have cited incontrovertible evidence that the AT2 receptor mediates dilation in resistance microvessels. This vasodilator action is mediated by a BK-NO-cGMP autacoid cascade. In addition, we show that, similar to the AT1 receptor, the AT2 receptor mediates inhibition of tenin biosynthesis and release. The mechanism of this action is uncertain, but may be via cGMP, which has been shown as a direct inhibitor of renin secretion. We call attention to the lack of information about the potential action of the AT2 receptor on sodium excretion. Finally, we report on functional magnetic resonance studies suggesting that cardiac AT2 receptor over-expression in protective against LV remodelling post-MI. During the past several years, the AT2 receptor has been characterized as a functional component of the RAS, mediating important actions in the cardiovascular system.
Lineage Specifiers in Lung Cancer Are Ahead of Their TIME.

The factors that shape the distinctive tumor-immune landscapes of various types and subtypes of cancer remain poorly understood. In this issue of Immunity, Mollaoglu et al. (2018) reveal a mechanistic link between the function of lineage specifiers SOX2 and NKX2-1 and the presence of neutrophils in the tumor-immune microenvironment of lung cancer.
Unified Strategy for 1,5,9- and 1,5,7-Triols via Configuration-Encoded 1,5-Polyol Synthesis: Enantioselective Preparation of γ-Sulfonyl-α-silyloxyaldehydes and Iterative Julia–Kocienski Coupling

Diverse classes of natural products contain chiral 1,5-polyols, within which may be stereochemical triads of 1,5,9- and 1,5,7-triols. Biological activities associated with compounds containing these motifs warrant targeted synthetic strategies to access all stereoisomers of a 1,5-polyol family from cheap and easily accessible reagents while avoiding the need to determine configurations at each alcohol stereocenter. Here, we address these problems via design and implementation of an iterative configuration-encoded strategy to access 1,5-polyols with unambiguous stereocontrol; the coupling event exploits Julia–Kocienski reactions of enantiopure α-silyloxy-γ-sulfononitriles. These building blocks, bearing sulfone at one terminus and α-silyloxyaldehyde (in latent form) at the other, were prepared via asymmetric catalysis. An efficient scalable route to these building blocks was developed, leading to enantiopure samples in multigram quantities. Preliminary studies of acetals as the latent aldehyde functionalit...
Computed tomography texture features can discriminate benign from malignant lymphadenopathy in pediatric patients: a preliminary study.

Differentiation of benign from malignant lymphadenopathy remains challenging in pediatric radiology. Textural analysis (TA) quantitates heterogeneity of tissue signal intensities and has been applied to analysis of CT images. The purpose of this study was to establish whether CT textural analysis of enlarged lymph nodes visualized on pediatric CT can distinguish benign from malignant lymphadenopathy. We retrospectively identified enlarged lymph nodes measuring 10–20 mm on contrast-enhanced CTs of patients age 18 years and younger that had been categorized as benign or malignant based on the known diagnoses. We placed regions of interest (ROIs) over lymph nodes of interest and performed textural analysis with and without feature size filtration. We then calculated test performance characteristics for TA features, along with multivariate logistic regression modeling using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) minimization, to determine the optimal thresholds for distinguishing benign from malignant lymphadenopathy. We identified 34 enlarged malignant nodes and 29 benign nodes from 63 patients within the 10- to 20-mm size range. Filtered image TA exhibited 82.4% sensitivity, 86.2% specificity and 84.1% accuracy for detecting malignant lymph nodes using mean and entropy parameters, whereas unfiltered TA exhibited 88.2% sensitivity, 72.4% specificity and 81.0% accuracy using mean and mean value of positive pixels parameters. This preliminary study demonstrates that the use of TA features improves the utility of pediatric CT to distinguish benign from malignant lymphadenopathy. The addition of TA to pediatric CT protocols has great potential to aid the characterization of indeterminate lymph nodes. If definitive differentiation between benign and malignant lymphadenopathy is possible by TA, it has the potential to reduce the need for follow-up imaging and tissue sampling, with reduced associated radiation exposure. However future studies are needed to confirm the clinical applicability of TA in distinguishing benign from malignant lymphadenopathy.
Optimized Fused Floating-Point Many-Term Dot-Product Hardware for Machine Learning Accelerators

This paper describes optimizations for the critical maximum exponent and alignment operations, with scalability for many-term fused floating-point dot-product units. The impact of these optimizations is quantified for up to 32-term BFloat16 weight/activation inputs with single-precision dot-product output, targeted for machine learning accelerators. Area and energy efficiency results are compared across performance targets, design parameters, and data statistics.
A Business Model to Implement Closed-loop Material Flow in IoT-enabled Environments

Abstract Traditional business models are generally sell-oriented, and Product Service Systems (PSS) often focus only on one lifecycle, limiting the prospects for enhancing triple bottom line benefits (TBL). Technological advances enabled through the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm can facilitate enhancing sustainability by implementing novel business models. In this research we propose a ‘Lease-First, Then-Sell’ (LFTS) business model adopting the multiple lifecycle approach to design, manufacture and use products. Simulation is used to study the logistics network configuration when implementing this model for different scenarios to identify TBL benefits as well as opportunities and challenges to implement the IoT-enabled LFTS model.
Chapter 5 – Spacetime Momentum

The natural substitute for the Newtonian universal time in kinematics is identified as the proper time. Chapter 5 generalizes the ordinary concept of velocity in a plane (the derivative of two-dimensional displacement with respect to the universal time) to the velocity in a spacetime plane as the derivative of the spacetime displacement with respect to proper time . Lorentz transformation properties of the spacetime velocity are explored and it is shown that spacetime velocity has invariant spacetime “length.” The relativistic law of addition of velocities is derived as a direct consequence of the Lorentz transformation of the spacetime velocity. Spacetime momentum is the immediate consequence of spacetime velocity, and relativistic momentum and energy are identified as the components of spacetime momentum, which transform naturally under a Lorentz transformation. It is shown that no massive object can be accelerated to the speed of light and that all massive objects have a rest energy given by the most famous equation in physics: E=mc2E=mc2. A consequence of the invariance of the spacetime length of spacetime velocity is the relativistic relation between energy, momentum, and mass. Conservation of momentum leads to the conservation of mass in classical physics and to the conservation of energy in relativistic physics.