cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Best practice statement on cryosurgery for the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Introduction The protracted natural history of clinically localized prostate cancer has confounded the development of a national consensus regarding the optimal treatment for this disease. In the AUA 2007 Guideline for the Management of Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer: 2007 Update, multiple treatment modalities are considered as options. This conundrum is further complicated by stage migration and lead time bias, both associated with PSA-based early detection strategies and the resultant increase in the detection of small volume clinically localized cancers. Since the majority of men currently diagnosed with prostate cancer are likely to have the disease eradicated by one of several treatment modalities, the clinical focus on HRQL associated with treatment has intensified. There are no published long-term data on the efficacy of cryosurgery on metastasis-free, prostate cancerspecific, or overall survival as there are with other more established forms of therapy; however, several large, single institution experiences, a pooled analysis, and several prospective evaluation studies report the efficacy and morbidity of cryosurgery of the prostate. Additionally, prostate cryosurgery has been found to result in acceptable HRQLbased outcomes with a reduced cost when compared to other local therapeutic options. Short-term PSA relapse-free survival outcomes following cryoablation of the entire prostate comparable to radiation therapy in men with intermediateand high-risk disease have been reported. Bio-
Narrowing of the superior vena cava–right atrium junction during radiofrequency catheter ablation for inappropriate sinus tachycardia: analysis with intracardiac echocardiography

Abstract OBJECTIVES The study explored the potential for tissue swelling and venous occlusion during radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation procedures using intracardiac echocardiography (ICE). BACKGROUND Transient superior vena cava occlusion has been reported following catheter ablation procedures for inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST). Presumably, venous occlusion could occur owing to thrombus formation or tissue swelling with resultant narrowing of the superior vena cava–right atrial (SVC-RA) junction. METHODS Intracardiac echocardiography (9 MHz) was used to guide ablation catheter position and for continuous monitoring during RF application in 13 ablation procedures in 10 patients with IST. The SVC-RA junction was measured prior to and following ablation. Successful ablation was marked by abrupt reduction in the sinus rate and a change to a superiorly directed p-wave axis. RESULTS Eleven of 13 procedures were successful, requiring 29 ± 20 RF lesions. Prior to the delivery of RF lesions, the SVC-RA junction measured 16.4 ± 2.9 mm. With RF delivery, local and circumferential swelling was observed, causing progressive reduction in the diameter of the SVC-RA junction to 12.6 ± 3.3 mm (24% reduction, p = 0.0001). A reduction in SVC-RA orifice diameter of ≥30% compared to baseline was observed in five patients. CONCLUSIONS The delivery of multiple RF ablation lesions, often necessary for cure of IST, can cause considerable atrial swelling and resultant narrowing of the SVC-RA junction. Smaller venous structures, such as the coronary sinus and the pulmonary veins, would also be expected to be vulnerable to this complication. Thus, ICE imaging may be helpful in preventing excessive tissue swelling leading to venous occlusion during catheter ablation procedures.
Adult Children of Gay and Lesbian Parents Religion and the Parent-Child Relationship

Previous scholars have explored various challenges facing children of gay and lesbian individuals, and some have explored the impact of a parent's sexual orientation on the parent-child relationship. However, the impact of religion on the parent-child relationships of adult children with a gay or lesbian parent has been overlooked. In this study, 10 adult children with both a gay or lesbian parent and a heterosexual parent were interviewed and asked to retrospectively explore how religion impacted their parent-child relationships. The following themes emerged from phenomenological analysis of the interviews: (a) family break-up more difficult than the parents' coming out; (b) discovery that parent was gay or lesbian; (c) initial shame over having gay or lesbian parent; (d) positive aspects of having a gay or lesbian parent; (e) redefined relationship with religion; and (f) impact of culture on how gay and lesbian individuals are viewed.
Hydraulic architecture and tracheid allometry in mature Pinus palustris and Pinus elliottii trees.

Summary Pinus palustris Mill. (longleaf pine, LL) and Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii (slash pine, SL) frequently co-occur in lower coastal plain flatwoods of the USA, with LL typically inhabiting slightly higher and better-drained microsites than SL. The hydraulic architecture and tracheid dimensions of roots, trunk and branches of mature LL and SL trees were compared to understand their role in species microsite occupation. Root xylem had higher sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity (ks) and was less resistant to cavitation compared with branches and trunk sapwood. Root ks of LL was significantly higher than SL, whereas branch and trunk ks did not differ between species. No differences in vulnerability to cavitation were observed in any of the organs between species. Across all organs, there was a significant but weak trade-off between water conduction efficiency and safety. Tracheid hydraulic diameter (Dh) was strongly correlated with ks across all organs, explaining >73% of the variation in ks. In contrast, tracheid length (Lt) explained only 2.4% of the variability. Nevertheless, for trunk xylem, ks was 39.5% higher at 20 m compared with 1.8 m; this increase in ks was uncorrelated with Dh and cell-wall thickness but was strongly correlated with the difference in Lt. Tracheid allometry markedly changed between sapwood of roots, trunks and branches, possibly reflecting different mechanical constraints. Even though vulnerability to cavitation was not different for sapwood of roots, branches or the trunks of LL and SL, higher sapwood to leaf area ratio and higher maximum sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity in roots of LL are functional traits that may provide LL with a competitive advantage on drier soil microsites.
Options for Returning the Value of CO 2 Emissions Allowances to Households

This paper examines alternative ways that the value of CO2 emissions allowances created under cap-and-trade policy could be returned to households. One approach (based on principles of economic efficiency) is effectively a "tax shift" that would use revenues from an auction of CO2 emissions allowances to reduce preexisting distortionary taxes. A second approach (based on principles of property rights for common-pool resources), known as cap-and-dividend, would refund allowance value as equal lump-sum cash transfers to households. Economic theory suggests (with some caveats) that a tax shift would be considerably less costly to the overall economy. In contrast, cap-and-dividend provides ample compensation for low-income households, though it appears to be more costly than other approaches, including perhaps well-designed regulatory policies. A dividend approach might be combined with other policies to provide incentives for households to invest in energy-efficient technologies and thereby lower the costs of the carbon policy.
Somatic mutations of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and non-small cell lung cancer

Frequent overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) makes EGFR a new therapeutic target. Two specific EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, gefitinib (ZD1839, Iressa) and erlotinib (OSI-774, Tarceva), have been developed and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for second-line and third-line treatment of advanced NSCLC. Clinical trials have shown considerable variability in the response rate between different patients with NSCLC, which led to the discovery of somatic EGFR-activating mutations. This brief review summarises the discovery and functional consequences of the mutations, their clinicopathological features and significant implications in the treatment and prognosis of NSCLC.
Elevated serum interleukin-1β levels and interleukin-1β-to-interleukin-1 receptor antagonist ratio 1 week after embryo transfer are associated with ectopic pregnancy.

Objective To investigate whether interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) serum levels in the early luteal phase differ in IVF cycles that result in an ectopic pregnancy (EP) when compared with other outcomes. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) A total of 307 women whose serum samples were available, with the following IVF outcomes: 103 live births, 80 negative pregnancy tests, 52 biochemical pregnancies, 47 EPs, and 25 miscarriages. Intervention(s) Serum samples were obtained on cycle days 24 and 28 (cycle day 14=day of egg retrieval). Levels of IL-1β and IL-1RA were determined by quantitative ELISA performed by blinded personnel. Main Outcome Measure(s) IL-1β and IL-1RA levels, IL-1β-to-IL-1RA ratio versus cycle outcome. Result(s) The IL-1β levels were predictive of an EP. At cycle days 24 and 28 the mean IL-1β levels were higher in patients with an EP (127.1 pg/mL and 166.9 pg/mL, respectively) than in women with any other IVF outcome (15.8–55.3 pg/mL and 14.8–75.5 pg/mL, respectively). At cycle day 24 the IL-1β-to-IL-1RA ratio was 0.18 in the ectopic group versus 0.01–0.09 in the other groups. Conclusion(s) Elevated IL-1β levels and IL-1β-to-IL-1RA ratio as early as 4 days before the first pregnancy test are associated with an EP. If confirmed by prospective studies, clinical application of these findings could potentially improve EP detection.
Caveolin-1 Expression Is Essential for Proper Nonshivering Thermogenesis in Brown Adipose Tissue

Recently, we have shown that loss of caveolin-1 leads to marked alterations in insulin signaling and lipolysis in white adipose tissue. However, little is known about the role of caveolin-1 in brown adipose tissue (BAT), a tissue responsible for nonshivering thermogenesis. Here, we show that caveolin-1 null mice have a mildly, yet significantly, decreased resting core body temperature. To investigate this in detail, we next subjected the mice to fasting (for 24 h) or cold treatment (4°C for 24 h), individually or in combination. Interestingly, caveolin-1 null mice showed markedly decreased body temperatures in response to fasting or fasting/cold treatment; however, cold treatment alone had no effect. In addition, under these conditions caveolin-1 null mice failed to show the normal increase in serum nonesterified fatty acids induced by fasting or fasting/cold treatment, suggesting that these mice are unable to liberate triglyceride stores for heat production. In accordance with these results, the triglyceride content of BAT was reduced nearly 10-fold in wild-type mice after fasting/cold treatment, but it was reduced only 3-fold in caveolin-1 null mice. Finally, electron microscopy of adipose tissue revealed dramatic perturbations in the mitochondria of caveolin-1 null interscapular brown adipocytes. Taken together, our data provide the first molecular genetic evidence that caveolin-1 plays a critical functional and structural role in the modulation of thermogenesis via an effect on lipid mobilization.
Analysis of cell-cycle gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using microarrays and multiple synchronization methods.

Microarray analysis of gene expression during the yeast division cycle has led to the proposal that a significant number of genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are expressed in a cell-cycle-specific manner. Four different methods of synchronization were used for cell-cycle analysis. Randomized data exhibit periodic patterns of lesser strength than the experimental data. Thus the cyclicities in the expression measurements in the four experiments presented do not arise from chance fluctuations or noise in the data. However, when the degree of cyclicity for genes in different experiments are compared, a large degree of non-reproducibility is found. Re-examining the phase timing of peak expression, we find that three of the experiments (those using α-factor, CDC28 and CDC15 synchronization) show consistent patterns of phasing, but the elutriation synchrony results demonstrate a different pattern from the other arrest-release synchronization methods. Specific genes can show a wide range of cyclical behavior between different experiments; a gene with high cyclicity in one experiment can show essentially no cyclicity in another experiment. The elutriation experiment, possibly being the least perturbing of the four synchronization methods, may give the most accurate characterization of the state of gene expression during the normal, unperturbed cell cycle. Under this alternative explanation, the observed cyclicities in the other three experiments are a stress response to synchronization, and may not reproduce in unperturbed cells.
Yoga therapy and the group effect: bridging individual and group-level research.

While reviewing the growing body of research regarding the therapeutic outcomes of yoga interventions, I am struck by an interesting disconnect. The studies generated in our field typically examine the effects of a yoga treatment at the individual level and ignore potential group influences. Whether by choice or for reasons of economy, the majority of yoga classes take place in a group setting. It is time to build a bridge between individual and group-level yoga therapy research.
Exact and approximate cone-beam reconstruction algorithms for C-arm based cone-beam CT using a two-concentric-arc source trajectory

In this paper, we present shift-invariant filtered backprojection (FBP) cone-beam image reconstruction algorithms for a cone-beam CT system based on a clinical C-arm gantry. The source trajectory consists of two concentric arcs which is complete in the sense that the Tuy data sufficiency condition is satisfied. This scanning geometry is referred to here as a CC geometry (each arc is shaped like the letter "C"). The challenge for image reconstruction for the CC geometry is that the image volume is not well populated by the familiar doubly measured (DM) lines. Thus, the well-known DM-line based image reconstruction schemes are not appropriate for the CC geometry. Our starting point is a general reconstruction formula developed by Pack and Noo which is not dependent on the existence of DM-lines. For a specific scanning geometry, the filtering lines must be carefully selected to satisfy the Pack-Noo condition for mathematically exact reconstruction. The new points in this paper are summarized here. (1) A mathematically exact cone-beam reconstruction algorithm was formulated for the CC geometry by utilizing the Pack-Noo image reconstruction scheme. One drawback of the developed exact algorithm is that it does not solve the long-object problem. (2) We developed an approximate image reconstruction algorithm by deforming the filtering lines so that the long object problem is solved while the reconstruction accuracy is maintained. (3) In addition to numerical phantom experiments to validate the developed image reconstruction algorithms, we also validate our algorithms using physical phantom experiments on a clinical C-arm system.
Metallurgy for SiC Die Attach for Operation at 500°C

Metallurgy for high temperature SiC die attach involves the substrate metallization, die metallization, and die attach material. This paper examines off-eutectic Au-Sn as the die attach alloy with a PtAu thick film metallization on AlN substrates. A pure Au thick film layer was printed over the PtAu thick film layer. The SiC backside metallizations evaluated were Ti/TaSi/Pt/Au and Cr/NiCr/Au. Die shear tests were performed after aging at 500°C and after thermal cycling. The shear test results and failure surface analysis are discussed. Nanoparticle Ag and liquid transient phase bonding with Ag based metallurgies have been proposed for high temperature die attach. Data on the migration of sintered nano-particle Ag and thin film Ag dc bias during storage in air at 300°C and 375°C are presented. Migration of Ag is a potential failure mechanism for Ag based high temperature metallurgies.
Kangaroo rat locomotion: design for elastic energy storage or acceleration?

Mechanical stresses (force/cross-sectional area) acting in muscles, tendons and bones of the hindlimbs of kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) were calculated during steady-speed hops and vertical jumps. Stresses were determined from both high-speed cine films (light and X-ray) and force plate recordings, as well as from in vivo tendon force recordings. Stresses in each hindlimb support element during hopping (1.6-3.1 m s-1) were generally only 33% of those acting during jumping (greater than or equal to 40 cm height): ankle extensor muscles, 80 +/− 12 (S.D.) versus 297 +/− 42 kPa; ankle extensor tendons, 7.9 +/− 1.5 versus 32.7 +/− 4.8 MPa; tibia, −29 +/− 5 versus −110 +/− 25 MPa (all values are for hopping versus jumping). The magnitude of stress in each structure during these locomotor activities was similarly matched to the strength of each element, so that a consistent safety factor to failure is achieved for the hindlimb as a whole (1.5-2.0). The large stresses during jumping were correlated with a three-fold increase in ground reaction forces exerted on the ground compared with the fastest steady hopping speeds. We conclude that, for its size, the kangaroo rat has disproportionately large hindlimb muscles, tendons and bones to withstand the large forces associated with rapid acceleration to avoid predation, which limits their ability to store and recover elastic strain energy. Middle ear morphology and behavioural observations of kangaroo rats jumping vertically to avoid predation by owls and rattlesnakes support this view.
Future costs of service contracts for consumer durable goods

Abstract A service contract is an agreement between the manufacturer of a durable good and its buyer by which the manufacturer undertakes to repair and maintain the product over a certain stated period of time for a fee payment by the customer. The manufacturer offering such a service contract is faced with several design and planning decisions much as with any other product. Models of product and part failures and of future costs of repair and replacement are basic to the formulation of these decision problems. A mixed exponential distribution is suggested as a possible time-to-failure model for part failure. It is mathematically tractable and has a decreasing failure rate which is a desirable property. Simple renewal theoretic models of sequences of failures and their costs are developed and applied to the mixture model. Expressions are obtained for the expectation and variance of future costs.
Two ATP phosphoribosyltransferase isozymes of Geobacter sulfurreducens contribute to growth in the presence or absence of histidine and under nitrogen fixation conditions.

Bacteria of the Geobacter clade possess two distinct ATP phosphoribosyltransferases encoded by hisGL and hisGS+hisZ to catalyze the first reaction of histidine biosynthesis. This very unusual redun...
Electric Propulsion Modeling for Conceptual Aircraft Design

Electric motors have achieved very high efficiency and reliability; and in some cases, very high power density. As the energy storage capabilities of batteries and fuel cells advance, these technologies are increasingly being considered for aircraft primary propulsion. In order to design electric aircraft, aircraft designers must be able to understand and model the performance characteristics of electric motors, propellers, and ducted fans – as well as the coupling between the motor and propulsors.
Aqueous Polyester Plasticizer Dedicated for Sizing and Binding Agents

The author reviews the functions of aqueous polyester plasticizer in sizing and binding agents and its developments at home and abroad,describes the raw materials,synthesizing process,testing and assessing methods,and gives such details as the molecular weight of polyethylene glycol,the mole ratio of alcohol acid and the effects of temperature on the water solubility of polyester and the plasticizing efficiency.
Disease Recurrence After Liver Transplantation: Quality of Life and Cost of Retransplantation

An estimated 6000 liver transplants are conducted in the United States annually. The number of patients living post-transplant is thought to be around 65,000 patients. With better techniques and better patient follow-up, survival rates post-transplant continue to be on the rise and it is no longer uncommon for patients to survive over 10–20 years post-transplant. There is a shift in determining morbidity in patients post-transplant with such high survival rates from mere survival to measuring health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Multiple instruments exist for HRQOL, but no standard exists on what instrument is best to assess HRQOL. Nevertheless, data show a strong HRQOL benefit for patients who undergo transplantation when compared to patients on the transplant waiting list. The evidence is less clear whether the HRQOL is similar to healthy controls.
Causal Connections Between Mathematical Language and Mathematical Knowledge: A Dialogic Reading Intervention

ABSTRACTThe acquisition of early mathematical knowledge is critical for successful long-term academic development. Mathematical language is one of the strongest predictors of children's early mathematical success. Findings from previous studies have provided correlational evidence supporting the importance of mathematical language to the development of children's mathematics skills, but there is limited causal evidence supporting this link. To address this research gap, 47 Head Start children were randomly assigned to a mathematical language intervention group or a business-as-usual group. Over the course of eight weeks, interventionists implemented a dialogic reading intervention focused on quantitative and spatial mathematical language. At posttest, students in the intervention group significantly outperformed the students in the comparison group not only on a mathematical language assessment, but on a mathematical knowledge assessment as well. These findings indicate that increasing children's exposure...
High-Responsivity GaN/InGaN Heterojunction Phototransistors

We report high-responsivity GaN/InGaN heterojunction phototransistors (HPTs) grown on sapphire substrates. Under the ultraviolet (UV) photon illumination from the front side of the wafer, an HPT shows broad photoresponse spectrum with the short-wavelength cutoff wavelength well beyond $\lambda = 280$ nm, and the UV-to-visible-band rejection ratio is $> 8 \times 10^{3}$ . The responsivity ( $R_{\lambda }$ ) of HPT is greater than 8 A/W at $\lambda = 373$ nm, and is greater than 3 A/W at $\lambda = 280$ nm as the device is biased at $V_{\mathrm{ CE}}=10$ V. As the HPT is biased at the near breakdown voltage ( $V_{\mathrm{ CE}}> 35$ V), the responsivity performance was enhanced due to the carrier multiplication, resulting in $R_{\lambda }> 100$ A/W at $V_{\mathrm{ CE}}= 40$ V for $P_{\mathrm{ opt}}=1.73~\mu \text{W}$ /cm2 at $\lambda = 373$ nm. These results demonstrate that GaN/InGaN HPTs can achieve low light detection with a broadband photon response in the near-UV-to-deep-UV spectral ranges.
Study on Protein (IgG) Adsorption in Terms of Surface Modification of Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC) for Protein Biochip

This paper presents the study of protein, immunoglobulin G (IgG), adsorption on the COC surfaces. The absorption of IgG on plasma-modified surfaces having different contact angle was shown to be distinctive, which may be advantageous in protein patterning. The comparison of normalized intensities of the adsorbed protein from front side with those from rear side is described to check functionality of COC as protein chip substrate in optical detection.
Imaging of the Pediatric Brain

Neurologic imaging is central in clinical practice for evaluating neurologic symptoms, assisting in making accurate diagnoses, and developing appropriate clinical plans. To get the most out of imaging, understanding its strengths and limitations is critical. In addition, being able to understand the radiologic interpretations is essential for taking the next step in caring for each patient. After giving an overview of the mainstays of imaging, their indications and contraindications, and other helpful tips, we briefly outline some neurological disorders described in imaging reports, key facts about them, and classic imaging features.
Tweeple's microblogs on illegal immigration in USA

Opinion mining has become the center of attention for many researchers and scientists. That's because people share their thoughts and opinions as texts precisely in microblogs such as on Facebook and Twitter. This research presents a process for opinion mining of Tweeps, the people who tweet on Twitter. The immigration topic was chosen specifically in comparison with other important topics of politics because it has remained as an unsolved problem for decades. The data for this research was collected after the US Republican Presidential election debate on October 28, 2015 at University of Colorado in Boulder for a period of approximately 10 days. The three major categories of opinion identified are ‘reform or give citizenship to illegal immigrants’, ‘deport all illegal immigrants’, or ‘deport only the criminal illegal immigrants’. In a manual walkthrough of the data, the majority of the opinions were found to be biased towards the second category, which is ‘deporting all illegal immigrants’. Binary classification for first two opinions (for and against) and multinomial classification for all three opinions are done. Random Forest, Multinomial Naive Bayes, Linear Support Vector Machine, and Logistic Regression classifiers were used for this purpose. The results obtained using all four classifiers for both the pathways were strongly and dramatically convincing. Linear Support Vector Machine and Ensemble approach using Random Forest classifiers showed better accuracy for each class, and lower percentage error.
Abstract 3055: Regulation of mitochondria-nuclear crosstalk in triple negative breast cancer

Driver pathways of triple negative breast cancer (TN BCa) is still poorly understood. Thus, it is important to identify the underlying mechanisms of TN BCa progression. Importantly, African American and Hispanic patients are more likely to be diagnosed of BCa at a younger age, have a higher probability of developing TN BCa. They also diagnosed with a more advanced stage of the disease compared to Caucasian women. Src oncognenic pathway is one of the major tumor driving mechanisms in TN BCa. Src pathway is frequently over-expressed in TN BCa and Src inhibitors are one of their current treatments of choices. However, recent single drug therapy Phase-II trials with Src inhibitors failed to control unselected metastatic TN BCa. This raises some important questions on the underlying mechanism in the regulation of Src in TN BCa especially in aggressive metastatic BCa. Mitochondria, a semiautonomous organelle in cells, play an important role in cellular energy metabolism, free radical generation, and apoptosis. Mitochondria-nuclear crosstalk is a bidirectional pathway of communication between mitochondria and nucleus that influences many cellular and organismal activities. This crosstalk can regulate several oncogenic pathways involved in tumorigenesis. Using transmitochondrial cybrid (cybrid) technology, we generated different cybrid models under common nuclear background of TN BCa. Mitochondria from cells of different cancer potential including benign breast epithelium, moderately and highly metastatic breast cancer cell lines were used to understand cancer mitochondria regulated tumor pathways. Extensive analysis of cybrid models as well as confirmation in parental cell lines and other tumor models suggested that autophosphorylation of c-Src is regulated by mitochondrial tumor characteristics. Ongoing studies using knock-down and over expression approaches focus on the role of specific mitochondrial proteins that are responsible for mitochondria-nuclear crosstalk and the regulation oncopathways in TN BCa. Citation Format: Jun H. Park, Sajna A. Vithayathil, Nagireddy Putluri, Efrosini Tsouko, Taraka R. Donti, Daniel E. Frigo, Chad J. Creighton, Michael T. Lewis, Arun Sreekumar, Lee-Jun Wong, Benny A. Kaipparettu. Regulation of mitochondria-nuclear crosstalk in triple negative breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3055. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3055
Pathloss Calculation Using the Transmission Line Matrix and Finite Difference Time Domain Methods With Coarse Grids

Numerical simulations of the wave equation that are intended to provide accurate time domain solutions require a computational mesh with grid points separated by a distance less than the wavelength of the source term and initial data. However, calculations of radio signal pathloss generally do not require accurate time domain solutions. This paper describes an approach for calculating pathloss by using the finite difference time domain and transmission line matrix models of wave propagation on a grid with points separated by distances much greater than the signal wavelength. The calculated pathloss can be kept close to the true value for freespace propagation with an appropriate selection of initial conditions. This method can also simulate diffraction with an error governed by the ratio of the signal wavelength to the grid spacing.
Shape Deformations and Analytic Continuation in Free Boundary Problems

In this paper we present a general approach to the analysis of stability and bifurcation of steady states and travelling waves for a class of free-boundary problems. The approach is based on the explicit consideration of series solutions in a parameter measuring the variations of the domains (e.g. an initial configuration or a specific steady state) from separable geometries (e.g. planes, spheres, etc). The method relies on the derivation of formulae for the recursive evaluation of (Taylor) approximations of arbitrary order in the variation parameters, and on the iterative estimation of the growth, in appropriately defined spaces, of the resulting functional coefficients. We describe a variety of instances where this procedure leads to general results on analyticity of solutions, on existence of complex steady-state and travelling-wave solutions and on nonlinear stability of equilibria. We further show that the relevance of these results goes beyond the theoretical. Actually, it also leads to an understanding of the mechanisms behind the observed performance of a class of numerical algorithms, based on shape-perturbation theory, which have been extensively used in simulations of free-boundary (and boundary value) models. Indeed, our research shows that the standard implementations of these schemes can suffer from severe ill-conditioning as a result of pronounced cancellations in the underlying recursions. Moreover, our work further suggests alternative implementations with greatly improved properties of numerical stability and convergence, enhanced by methods of analytic continuation. As we demonstrate, these modifications can have a dramatic effect on the accuracy and applicability of perturbative numerical approaches.
Vaginoplasty for the Transgender Woman

The purpose of this review was to describe the most common male-to-female vaginoplasty surgical techniques, and to review important perioperative considerations, outcomes, and complications associated with these surgeries. Vaginoplasty for the transgender woman may be performed using a variety of techniques. Most commonly, the penile inversion vaginoplasty technique is used, but in some cases, the intestinal segment vaginoplasty is indicated. Intraoperative complications of vaginoplasty surgery include bleeding and injury to the bladder, urethra, and/or rectum. Immediate postoperative complications include hematoma or seroma formation, infection or abscess, wound dehiscence, flap necrosis, and venous thromboembolism. Delayed postoperative complications include neovaginal stenosis or shortening of the neovagina, rectovaginal or genitourinary fistula formation, urethral meatal stenosis or abnormal urine stream, neuropathy, and sexual dysfunction including dyspareunia and anorgasmia. Most patients are satisfied with the functional and esthetic outcomes of vaginoplasty, but sexual dysfunction may be common. The risk of regret following vaginoplasty seems to be low, and certain risk factors for this unfavorable outcome have been identified. Outcomes appear to be satisfactory following vaginoplasty surgery for transgender women, but robust prospective, long-term data are lacking.
Trimodal rescue of hind limb ischemia with growth factors, cells, and nanocarriers: fundamentals to clinical trials.

Peripheral artery disease is a severe medical condition commonly characterized by critical or acute limb ischemia. Gradual accumulation of thrombotic plaques in peripheral arteries of the lower lim...
The Death Penalty and Narrative Strategies in Porte aperte by Leonardo Sciascia

This paper analyzes narrative strategies used by Leonardo Sciascia in Porte aperte to create, among readers, sympathy for and identification with his (nameless) protagonist, a judge and an opponent of capital punishment. The judge has been called on to preside over a murder trial in 1937, a decade after Fascism had re-instated the death penalty, considered by the Regime a deterrent that would allow Italians to sleep with “open doors.” To that end, I consider the historical context in which the novel was written—given that Italian Constitution, in force since 1 January 1948, had abolished the death penalty—and the impact Sciascia sought to have on his readers. That is, Sciascia’s long-time opposition to the death penalty is to some extent pretext for ‘re-litigating’ in 1987, a decade after the fact, two polemics of the late 1970s. The first public controversy had been sparked by his declaration (issued during the trial of colonna torinese of the Red Brigades) of personal neutrality in the struggle of the I...
Using a Mixed Methods Approach to Examine the (Re)Imaging of Higher Education Institutions in the Western Balkans

This chapter’s research captured a onetime (Summer 2014) collection of data from ever-evolving, continuously updated website homepages from the Western Balkans public and private universities. Using a sequential mixed methods design, data revealed many factors about how each institution wished to publically position itself within the constraints of all the immediate stakeholders. The Western Balkans regional definition in this, as in other studies, includes the countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Data indicated a competitive, online marketplace where each institution sought new stakeholders though graphics, logos, special identity icons, and use of social media for advertising in local languages. Document analysis revealed exotericism and quality messages as well as the use of English, however not in all HEIs.
Tumor Immuno-Environment in Cancer Progression and Therapy.

The approvals of Provenge (Sipuleucel-T), Ipilimumab (Yervoy/anti-CTLA-4) and blockers of the PD-1 - PD-L1/PD-L2 pathway, such as nivolumab (Opdivo), pembrolizumab (Keytruda), or atezolizumab (Tecentriq), have established immunotherapy as a key component of comprehensive cancer care. Further, murine mechanistic studies and studies in immunocompromised patients have documented the critical role of immunity in effectiveness of radio- and chemotherapy. However, in addition to the ability of the immune system to control cancer progression, it can also promote tumor growth, via regulatory T cells (Tregs), myeloid-derived dendritic cells (MDSCs) and tumor associated macrophages (TAM), which can enhance survival of cancer cells directly or via the regulation of the tumor stroma.
Thermodynamic analysis of hybrid cycles based on a regenerative steam Rankine cycle for cogeneration and trigeneration

Abstract In this study, different feasible integrated configurations were proposed and thermodynamically evaluated for cogeneration of power and fresh water/cooling, and trigeneration of power, cooling and fresh water. A steam regenerative Rankine cycle with condensation and steam extractions, driven by a concentrated solar tower, was designed to supply the thermal heat requirements of absorption cooling and multi effect distillation, or thermal vapor compression-multi effect distillation. The results showed the configurations that utilize steam extraction with a lower temperature and pressure were more efficient. For power and fresh water cogeneration, utilizing the condensation steam to integrate multi effect distillation with a power cycle was thermodynamically more efficient than the integration of thermal vapor compression-multi effect distillation using extraction steams. Integrated Rankine cycle-multi effect distillation configuration was found to be very competitive with the direct supply of electricity to reverse osmosis systems, particularly at higher fresh water productions. However, further examinations are required considering geographical, environmental and economic factors. For power and cooling cogeneration, all proposed absorption cooling configurations were more efficient than supplying electricity directly to vapor compression cooling. Moreover, despite significantly lower steam requirements of double and triple effects absorption cooling, integration of a single effect absorption cooling to the power cycle was more efficient. The most efficient trigeneration configuration was identified when multi effect distillation and single effect absorption cooling were integrated to a Rankine cycle. The results and conclusions of this study can be generalized to other coal and natural gas power plants that employ similar Rankine cycle configurations.
Use of epidural clonidine for the management of analgesia in the opioid addicted parturient on buprenorphine maintenance therapy: an observational study.

Abstract Objectives Management of labor analgesia and post-cesarean delivery pain is challenging in the patient taking buprenorphine as opioid addiction maintenance therapy. We observed whether substituting clonidine for fentanyl in an epidural solution would provide adequate analgesia for labor and after cesarean delivery. Methods We substituted our standard 2 µg/mL fentanyl in 0.0625% bupivacaine epidural solution with 2 µg/mL clonidine in 0.0625% bupivacaine, or 1.2 µg/mL clonidine in 0.1% bupivacaine, for labor and post-cesarean analgesia in parturients on buprenorphine therapy. All cesarean deliveries were performed with a combined spinal-epidural technique and the catheters maintained for immediate postoperative analgesia using an epidural infusion. Catheters were discontinued the next day and patients were then managed with other analgesics based on obstetric preference. We recorded pain scores during labor and in the immediate post-surgical period; and supplemental medications given after epidural catheter removal. Results Fourteen patients were included in the study, of whom seven presented in spontaneous labor and seven had elective cesarean delivery. All laboring patients achieved good analgesia, and five of seven avoided supplemental opioid use in the postpartum phase. Of the postsurgical patients, six of seven had pain scores less than 5/10 at epidural catheter removal and three of seven avoided supplemental opioids postoperatively. Conclusions The combination of clonidine and bupivacaine appears effective in parturients on buprenorphine therapy for opioid addiction maintenance. As study numbers were small and several factors were not examined, further confirmatory research is needed, including to determine the ideal dose of epidural clonidine in this setting.
U.S. Return Migration and the Decline in Southern Black Disadvantage, 1970-2000

Objective This study investigates how the Return Migration altered racial inequality in poverty in the American South. Methods I disaggregate southern poverty into its separate constituents using household data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) for 1970 through 2000. Results The prevalence of poverty declined most dramatically for black southern households and the racial gap in poverty narrowed to the extent that previous substantial regional differences disappeared. A central focus is the contrast between higher poverty and inequality among migrants who returned to their birth state relative to other southern-born migrants who returned to the South. Conclusions The migration experience is diverse and has conflicting consequences for racial inequality; for some, migration maintained economic vulnerability. Given the complex force of migration, I conclude that a nuanced theoretical approach to migration that gives weight to economic and noneconomic motivations is critical to understand the racial dimensions of migration and the associated changes in racial inequality.
Regenerative medicine therapy for single ventricle congenital heart disease

One of the most complex forms of congenital heart disease (CHD) involving single ventricle physiology is hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), characterized by underdevelopment of the left ventricle (LV), mitral and aortic valves, and narrowing of the ascending aorta. The underdeveloped LV is incapable of providing long-term systemic flow, and if left untreated, the condition is fatal. Current treatment for this condition consists of three consecutive staged palliative operations: the first is conducted within the first few weeks of birth, the second between 4 to 6 months, and the third and final surgery within the first 4 years. At the conclusion of the third surgery, systemic perfusion is provided by the right ventricle (RV), and deoxygenated blood flows passively to the pulmonary vasculature. Despite these palliative interventions, the RV, which is ill suited to provide long-term systemic perfusion, is prone to eventual failure. In the absence of satisfying curative treatments, stem cell therapy may represent one innovative approach to the management of RV dysfunction in HLHS patients. Several stem cell populations from different tissues (cardiac and non-cardiac), different age groups (adult- vs. neonate-derived), and different donors (autologous vs. allogeneic), are under active investigation. Preclinical trials in small and large animal models have elucidated several mechanisms by which these stem cells affect the injured myocardium, and are driving the shift from a paradigm based upon cellular engraftment and differentiation to one based primarily on paracrine effects. Recent studies have comprehensively evaluated the individual components of the stem cells' secretomes, shedding new light on the intracellular and extracellular pathways at the center of their therapeutic effects. This research has laid the groundwork for clinical application, and there are now several trials of stem cell therapies in pediatric populations that will provide important insights into the value of this therapeutic strategy in the management of HLHS and other forms of CHD. This article reviews the many stem cell types applied to CHD, their preclinical investigation and the mechanisms by which they might affect RV dysfunction in HLHS patients, and finally, the completed and ongoing clinical trials of stem cell therapy in patients with CHD.
Does the Standardization of Ceramic Pastes Really Mean Specialization

In the literature dealing with the development of ceramic specialization, paste uniformity has been suggested as a surrogate index of product standardization and the result of a more intensive level of specialization. More recently, the amount of paste variability has been seen as an indicator of different types of production organization. Ethnoarchaeological data from Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala suggest that a variety of environmental, technological, and social factors influence paste variability. These factors are important in all production contexts and complicate inferences drawn about production organization in antiquity. As a consequence, social and economic inferences derived from ancient ceramic pastes need to be understood in relation to numerous other factors such as natural variability of the ceramic raw materials, their procurement, and their use in paste preparation. Furthermore, changes in resource use and paste preparation over time can obscure intracommunity and other fine-scale patterns. As a consequence, it is argued that little, if anything, can be learned about the organization of production below the level of the local production community. Rather, the primary usefulness of paste compositional analyses lies in the identification, in geographic and geological spaces (“community signature units”), of source communities that exploit raw materials within a limited range of probably no more than 3 to 4 km. Paste analyses thus provide important information about the organization of ceramic distribution, revealing the emergence and demise of source communities and the movement of their ceramic products.
Glucose and lactate metabolism after severe human head injury: influence of excitatory neurotransmitters and injury type.

The survival of traumatized brain tissue depends on energy substrate delivery and consumption. Excitatory amino acids produce a disturbance of ion homeostasis and thus, increase energy demand. In head-injured patients, massive release of glutamate has been reported, especially in patients with focal contusions. Therefore, we studied the interrelationship between glutamate, glucose and lactate in relation to the type of injury. We investigated 37 severely headinjured patients in which a microdialysis probe was placed next to a focal contusion (n = 14) or together with a ventricular catheter in diffusely injured tissue (n = 23). Within-subject Spearman-rank correlation revealed an overall strong relationship between glutamate and lactate (p < 0.001) and glutamate and glucose (p < 0.01 ), but not between glucose and lactate (n.s.). The interrelationship was more pronounced in diffusely injured brain (normal CT appearance) compared to the contused tissue.
Exploratory Process Development of Lorlatinib

The original synthesis of lorlatinib (1) was applied and improved in the first GMP campaign. In this approach, a slow addition of the boronate ester was critical in suppressing the formation of a h...
Examining the Reciprocal Nature of Service-Learning for Underserved Students and Preservice Teachers.

Background: Although service-learning scholarship in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs has shown positive results, little is known about the reciprocal benefits of PETE service-learning programs on underserved students and physical education preservice teachers. Purpose: This study examined the impacts on students and teachers of integrating two physical education curricula within a service-learning program using a mixed-methods approach. Methods: A pretest–posttest design investigated changes in cardiorespiratory endurance training among students (n = 50). Reflective journals, interviews, and field notes assessed program impact on preservice teachers (n = 16). Results: Findings revealed a significant improvement in cardiorespiratory endurance among students, while qualitative data provide evidence of increases in general pedagogical content, knowledge of curriculum, and knowledge of educational contexts among teachers. Discussion/Conclusion: This study adds important reciprocity findin...
Surgical Decision Making for Acetabular Labral Tears: An International Perspective.

Background:Studies comparing acetabular labral repair with debridement have generally demonstrated better clinical outcomes with repair. However, it is not clear whether hip arthroscopic surgeons a...