cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 66: Increased Circulating Inflammatory Endothelial Cells (IEC) in African-American vs. Caucasians with Essential Hypertension

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality attributable to hypertension are higher in African American (AAEH) compared to Caucasian essential hypertensive (EH) patients, possibly related to a differential effect on vascular injury and repair. While circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) preserve endothelial integrity IEC detach from sites of injury and represent markers of vascular damage. We hypothesized that plasma levels of IEC and inflammatory markers would be higher in AAEH compared to EH patients. METHODS: Inferior vena cava levels of CD34+/KDR+ (EPC) and VAP-1+ (IEC) cells were measured by FACS in EH and AAEH under fixed sodium intake (150 mEq/d) and blockade of the renin-angiotensin-system, and compared to systemic levels in normotensive control subjects (n=19 each). Systemic levels of inflammatory cytokines and EPC homing factors were measured by Luminex. Results: Blood pressure, serum creatinine, lipids, antihypertensive medications, and EPC levels did not differ between EH and AAEH patients. Circulating IEC were higher in AAEH, and inversely correlated with EPC levels (Figure). Systemic levels of inflammatory cytokines and EPC homing factors were higher in AAEH compared to EH patients (Table), and correlated directly with IEC. Conclusion: Despite preserved kidney function and controlled BP, circulating inflammatory markers were elevated in AAEH and correlated with increased IEC and decreased EPC levels. Increased release of cytokines and IEC in AAEH may impair EPC reparative capacity and predispose to hypertensive vascular injury. This process may aggravate vascular damage and accelerate hypertension-related morbidity/mortality rates in AAEH.
Unity of Reasons

There are at least two basic normative notions: rationality and reasons. The dominant normative account of reasons nowadays, which I call primitive pluralism about reasons, holds that some reasons are normatively basic and there is no underlying normative explanation of them in terms of other normative notions. Kantian constructivism about reasons, understood as a normative rather than a metaethical view, holds that rationality is the primitive normative notion that picks out which non-normative facts are reasons for what and explains why those normative relations hold. By supposing that there is a plurality of primitive reasons, I argue that primitive pluralism about reasons lacks sufficient normative unity and structure. But Kantian constructivism about reasons faces a dilemma of its own: Either a conception of rationality is thick enough to capture the reasons of commonsense, in which case it cannot play the explanatory role assigned to it, or a conception of rationality is genuinely explanatory, in which case it is too thin to generate the reasons we recognize in commonsense. The aim of this paper is to suggest that if Kantian constructivism about reasons were built on a substantive, rather than merely formal, conception of rationality then it would stand a better chance at unifying the particular reasons we would endorse on due reflection. The groundwork I lay in this paper, I explain, is an essential first step in the larger project of developing a version of Kantian constructivism about reasons that might eventually explain all reasons in terms of rationality.
Update on the role of anticholinergic drug therapy in the management of overactive bladder.

OBJECTIVE To review the published literature and describe the pathophysiology and management of overactive bladder (OAB), with emphasis on the comparative efficacy and adverse event profiles of anticholinergic agents approved for the management of OAB symptoms and evaluation of their place in therapy. DATA SOURCES A MEDLINE search of English language literature that addresses the pathophysiology and management of OAB symptoms. The references in identified articles were evaluated for additional relevant articles. Drug Topics' Red Book was referenced for cost comparisons, and package inserts were used for specific drug and dosing information. STUDY SELECTION Human studies that presented efficacy and safety data with respect to anticholinergic medications in the treatment of OAB were selected. DATA EXTRACTION Studies were abstracted to identify key characteristics with respect to efficacy and safety in OAB, in particular anticholinergic side effects, with the greatest weight given to studies that compared two or more anticholinergic medications. DATA SYNTHESIS Epidemiologic studies have shown that the unpredictable and bothersome symptoms associated with OAB occur in approximately 16% of the worldwide adult population. Conservative management of OAB should include a combination of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions that have been found to improve outcomes when used in appropriately selected patients. Although long recognized as the most effective pharmacotherapy for OAB, anticholinergic agents have been associated with poor tolerability attributable to anticholinergic adverse events. New medications, formulations, and drug delivery systems have been developed with the goal of achieving effective treatment with improved tolerability. CONCLUSIONS Among these agents, extended-release and transdermal formulations have improved tolerability while retaining at least comparable efficacy. More research is needed regarding other routes of administration and new drug entities that specifically target the pathologic mechanisms involved in OAB.
Inelastic light and electron scattering in parabolic quantum dots in magnetic field: Implications of generalized Kohn's theorem

We investigate a one-component, quasi–zero-dimensional, quantum plasma exposed to a parabolic potential and an applied magnetic field in the symmetric gauge. If the size of such a system as can be realized in the semiconducting quantum dots is on the order of the de Broglie wavelength, the electronic and optical properties become highly tunable. Then the quantum size effects challenge the observation of many-particle phenomena such as the magneto-optical absorption, Raman intensity, and electron energy loss spectrum. An exact analytical solution of the problem leads us to infer that these many-particle phenomena are, in fact, dictated by the generalized Kohn's theorem in the long-wavelength limit. Maneuvering the confinement and/or the magnetic field furnishes the resonance energy capable of being explored with the FIR, Raman, or electron energy loss spectroscopy. This implies that either of these probes should be competent in observing the localized magnetoplasmons in the system. A deeper insight into the physics of quantum dots is paving the way for their implementation in diverse fields such as quantum computing and medical imaging.
Exploratory Causal Analysis with Time Series Data

Many scientific disciplines rely on observational data of systems for which it is difficult (or impossible) to implement controlled experiments. Data analysis techniques are required for identifying causal information and relationships directly from such observational data. This need has led to the development of many different time series causality approaches and tools including transfer entropy, convergent cross-mapping (CCM), and Granger causality statistics. A practicing analyst can explore the literature to find many proposals for identifying drivers and causal connections in time series data sets. Exploratory causal analysis (ECA) provides a framework for exploring potential causal structures in time series data sets and is characterized by a myopic goal to determine which data series from a given set of series might be seen as the primary driver. In this work, ECA is used on several synthetic and empirical data sets, and it is found that all of the tested time series causality tools agree with each other (and intuitive notions of causality) for many simple systems but can provide conflicting causal inferences for more complicated systems. It is proposed that such disagreements between different time series causality tools during ECA might provide deeper insight into the data than could be found otherwise.
Redox Pioneer: Professor Vadim N. Gladyshev

Abstract Professor Vadim N. Gladyshev is recognized here as a Redox Pioneer, because he has published an article on antioxidant/redox biology that has been cited more than 1000 times and 29 articles that have been cited more than 100 times. Gladyshev is world renowned for his characterization of the human selenoproteome encoded by 25 genes, identification of the majority of known selenoprotein genes in the three domains of life, and discoveries related to thiol oxidoreductases and mechanisms of redox control. Gladyshev's first faculty position was in the Department of Biochemistry, the University of Nebraska. There, he was a Charles Bessey Professor and Director of the Redox Biology Center. He then moved to the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Redox Medicine. His discoveries in redox biology relate to selenoenzymes, such as methionine sulfoxide reductases and thioredoxin reductases, and various ...
The effect of female antisperm antibodies on in vitro fertilization, early embryonic development, and pregnancy outcome

Study Objective To evaluate the extent to which human in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) alleviates immunological infertility. Design Retrospective. Setting In vitro fertilization program. Patients Thirty-three patients with positive antisperm antibodies undergoing 50 cycles of IVF-ET in which maternal serum was replaced by 5 mg/mL of bovine serum albumin (BSA) comprised the study group. Seventy-one patients with tubal infertility served as controls. In 50 of these, medium was supplemented with 7.5% maternal serum, and 21 were assigned to BSA substitution. Results Percentage of fertilization in the study group was significantly lower (41 ± 31; mean ± SD) than that of controls with maternal serum (77 ± 15) and BSA (76 ± 22). Early embryonic quality, as assessed by percentage of cleavage and morphological grading, was found to be inferior in patients with antisperm antibodies. The percentage of advanced embryos (≥4 blastomeres) at the time of transfer was 42 ± 39 in the study group, compared with 65 ± 23 and 75 ± 35 for maternal serum and BSA controls, respectively. Percentage of morphologically favorable embryos (grades 1 and 2 in a 1 to 5 grading system) was 49±31 in the study group, compared with 78 ± 35 and 74 ± 23 for the controls. Percentage of clinical pregnancy was somewhat lower in the study group (12.5%) than in controls with either maternal serum (18%) or BSA (19%). Conclusions Antisperm antibodies may have an adverse effect on fertilization and early embryonic development. Female immunological infertility may not be completely alleviated by IVF-ET.
The effect of halothane on electron transport, oxidative phosphorylation, and swelling in rat liver mitochondria.

There appear to be four distinct concentration-dependent effects of halothane (2-bromo-2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane) upon mitochondria. First, at low concentration (0.5-2.0% in the gas phase) there is a rapidly appearing, rapidly reversible effect on electron transport in the region of NADH dehydrogenase. Oxidation with succinate does not appear to be altered in this concentration range. Second, a small but distinct increase in respiration and a significant inhibition of the rate of phosphate-induced swelling with succinate as substrate suggest a limited uncoupling by 0.5-2.0% levels of halothane. The degree of uncoupling appears to be greater at 3-4% halothane. Third, at higher than clinical anesthetic concentrations (3-4%) there is partial inhibition of succinate oxidation. Most of this effect is probably direct, since oxidation is not restored to normal by the addition of 2,4-dinitrophenol and other uncoupling agents. Fourth, halothane in concentrations between 5 and 10% alters the membrane permeability and causes energy-independent swelling of mitochondria, but does not appear to cause complete disintegration of the membrane.
Cell Biology: ERADicating Survival with BOK

Mechanistic insights into the function of the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family member BOK have remained elusive. A recent study shows that healthy cells constitutively degrade BOK via the ER-associated degradation and ubiquitin-proteasome pathways; following proteasome inhibition, BOK is stabilized to initiate a unique pro-apoptotic death program.
Laparoscopy for colon cancer.

Laparoscopic-assisted surgery for colon cancer has been in place since the late 1980s. Most of the studies have been retrospective or case controlled. They have indicated that from a technical point of view, the surgery is certainly feasible with acceptable morbidity and mortality. There are many reports indicating earlier return to gastrointestinal function, but most series report a higher cost associated with the technique. Long-term survival, local recurrence, and port site metastases are critical issues that are being addressed by several randomized clinical trials that are currently underway
Vote-Mobilizing Potential, Opposition Party Strategies, and Coalition-Building in Senegal

Why is it so difficult for opposition coalitions to retain consistent political party membership over time? Studies of African party-building theorize why oppositions coalesce to induce presidential turnover, yet none explore the reasons for stability of opposition coalitions over time. With original data from Senegal—where turnover has occurred but the size and strength of opposition coalitions has varied significantly—I explore how party-specific and party-system characteristics shape the likelihood of party leaders to become long-term members of stable coalitions. The degree of party proliferation, for example, partially explains parties’ short-term electoral coalition choices and the timing of parties’ first support of the ruling coalition. More important, however, is party leaders’ vote-mobilizing potential, which explains parties’ aggregate patterns of coalition choice. In particular, private resources and party institutionalization determine the timing of a party’s first ruling coalition support. Party proliferation also significantly shapes parties’ short-term coalition choices. In contrast, the president’s read of a party leader’s vote-mobilizing potential, alongside opposition party strategies for achieving or avoiding co-optation, shape long-term coalition-building. This paper is the first to explicitly consider political consequences of party proliferation in hybrid regimes. It shows the need to disaggregate short- and long-term patterns of electoral coalition-building.
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD): An RDoC perspective

In recent years, there has been much debate regarding the most appropriate diagnostic classification of children exhibiting emotion dysregulation in the form of irritability and severe temper outbursts. Most recently, this has resulted in the addition of a new diagnosis, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) in the DSM 5. The impetus for including this new disorder was to reduce the number of diagnoses that these children would typically receive; however, there is concern that it has only complicated matters rather than simplifying them. For example, a recent epidemiologic study shows that DMDD cannot be differentiated from oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) based on symptoms alone. Thus, these children are an ideal population in which to apply RDoC constructs in order to obtain greater clarity in terms of underlying processes and ultimately, inform nosology and appropriate interventions. The aim of this article is to provide a foundation for future research by examining extant theoretical and empirical evidence for the role of four key RDoC constructs in DMDD.
Retinal changes in the Tg-SwDI mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a debilitating neurodegenerative illness, is characterized by neuronal cell loss, mental deficits, and abnormalities in several neurotransmitter and protein systems. AD is also associated with visual disturbances, but their causes remain unidentified. We hypothesize that the visual disturbances stem from retinal changes, particularly changes in the retinal cholinergic system, and that the etiology in the retina parallels the etiology in the rest of the brain. To test our hypothesis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were employed to assess changes in acetylcholine receptor (AChR) gene expression, number of retinal cells, and astrocytic gliosis in the Transgenic Swedish, Dutch and Iowa (Tg-SwDI) mouse model as compared to age-matched wild-type (WT). We observed that Tg-SwDI mice showed an initial upregulation of AChR gene expression early on (young adults and middle-aged adults), but a downregulation later on (old adults). Furthermore, transgenic animals displayed significant cell loss in the photoreceptor layer and inner retina of the young adult animals, as well as specific cholinergic cell loss, and increased astrocytic gliosis in the middle-aged adult and old adult groups. Our results suggest that the changes observed in AD cerebrum are also present in the retina and may be, at least in part, responsible for the visual deficits associated with the disease.
Optical detection of transverse spin-Seebeck effect in permalloy film using Sagnac interferometer microscopy

Here, the authors investigate the possibility of building up nonequilibrium spin accumulation in a ferromagnetic thin film composed of a metallic alloy of nickel and iron, commonly known as permalloy. Analogously to thermoelectric generators, a temperature gradient in a ferromagnet is known to generate a distribution of accumulated electron spins over macroscopic distances, which may be used as an efficient source of spin-polarized electrons in future spintronic devices. To enable the detection and quantitative determination of this imbalance of electron spins, the authors have developed an entirely optical technique, based on the magneto-optical Kerr effect, using a Sagnac interferometer microscope with a spatial resolution of one micrometer and an absolute polarization angle resolution of ten nanoradians. This new technique is not only robust against electrical artifacts, but allows the user to measure previously inaccessible experimental geometries where the magnetization is not restricted to lying in the plane of the film.
Principles for Interdisciplinary Conservation

Abstract In this chapter, I reflect on the core principles that guide my engagement in interdisciplinary conservation science and practice. These include attention and openness when defining the coupled natural and human systems of interest; commitment to doing useful, solutions-oriented scholarship; mindful engagement with collaborators; and humility. In 20 years, I anticipate that we will be hard pressed to find many examples of robust conservation science that are not interdisciplinary. There will still be a variety of ways that conservation scientists contribute to policy and management, just as there will always be a need to push the bounds of fundamental knowledge as well as to link knowledge to action. I anticipate that the field of conservation science will continue to develop rapidly and productively, enabling meaningful scientific contributions that help sustain both nature and people.
A Double-End Sourced Wire-Bonded Multichip SiC MOSFET Power Module With Improved Dynamic Current Sharing

This paper proposes a double-end sourced layout for multichip SiC MOSFET power module adopting conventional wire-bonded packaging technology. The unique design provides each MOSFET with two parallel commutation loops by incorporating a symmetrical pair of dc-bus terminals into the power module. This new layout provides symmetrical equivalent power loops to each paralleled MOSFET and thus enables consistent switching performances and equal dynamic current sharing for the paralleled MOSFETs. Compared to the conventional design, the proposed design reduces the equivalent power-loop stray inductance by more than 50% and achieves improved dynamic current sharing among devices. By mitigating the imbalance of the switching current, the new module design demonstrated reduced temperature differences among devices and decreased near-field radiation noise level compared to the conventional layout. These features can further help to improve the power module density by shrinking the heat sink and integrating the gate driver board with the power modules. In this paper, an analytic model has been proposed for fast prediction of the near-field radiation from the power module. Detailed design procedures and experimental validations are also included in this paper.
Untersuchung einzelner Systeme

Die Unversehrtheit der schutzenden Barriere, wie sie die Haut des Fuses darstellt, ist wesentlich, um ihre tragende Funktion aufrechtzuerhalten. Die Kallusbildung in den Bereichen, die hohen vertikalen und Scherkraften ausgesetzt sind, schutzt gegen Blasen und Ulzera. Dieser Prozes kann jedoch auch selbst Symptome hervorrufen, indem er z. B. Patienten mit peripheren Neuropathien fur tiefe Infektionen anfallig macht. Auch viral verursachte Verrucae plantares bilden Kalluse, die teilweise nur schwierig von durch Reibung verursachten Kallusen zu unterscheiden sind (s. Tabelle 1). Weiterhin mussen alle Bereiche von Unregelmasigkeiten der Epidermis, seien sie Symptome einer Systemerkrankung wie Psoriasis oder Lokalprobleme wie Fuspilz, beschrieben werden. Anschwellungen, Erytheme und erhohte Hauttemperatur konnen Anzeichen von Zellgewebeentzundungen, Arthritis oder, im Zusammenhang mit Diabetes mellitus, einem neuropathisehen Gelenk sein. Trophische Hautveranderungen werden durch eine signifikante Beeintrachtigung des peripheren Gefassystems oder durch eine systemische Dystrophie verursacht. Pigmentierungen unter den Malleoli treten haufig bei Storungen des venosen Systems auf, wahrend dunne haarlose Haut mit lagebedingtem Rubor auf schlechten Zuflus von sauerstoffreichem Blut schliesen last.
“The History and Science of Feeling”: Wordsworth’s Affective Poetics, Then and Now

This chapter revisits the “Preface” to Lyrical Ballads and related materials in order to (re)assess Wordsworth’s affective poetics in terms both of its own literary-historical moment and of our cognitive-neuroscientific one. Drawing upon research in psychology, narratology, and empirical aesthetics, the discussion elaborates the history and science behind a set of related hypotheses, recently proposed by Keith Oatley et al., concerning “the communication of emotion in art”: (1) “emotions often are unclear”; (2) “emotions inspire creative expression”; (3) “artistic expression should often take on the form of emotion [or] have the dynamic and thematic properties of an emotion”; and (4) “readers or spectators of art should readily perceive the emotion communicated.”
Astrocytes decrease adult neurogenesis during virus-induced memory dysfunction via IL-1.

Memory impairment following West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease (WNND) is associated with loss of hippocampal synapses with lack of recovery. Adult neurogenesis and synaptogenesis are fundamental features of hippocampal repair, which suggests that viruses affect these processes. Here, in an established model of WNND-induced cognitive dysfunction, transcriptional profiling revealed alterations in the expression of genes encoding molecules that limit adult neurogenesis, including interleukin 1 (IL-1). Mice that had recovered from WNND exhibited fewer neuroblasts and increased astrogenesis without recovery of hippocampal neurogenesis at 30 d. Analysis of cytokine production in microglia and astrocytes isolated ex vivo revealed that the latter were the predominant source of IL-1. Mice deficient in the IL-1 receptor IL-1R1 and that had recovered from WNND exhibited normal neurogenesis, recovery of presynaptic termini and resistance to spatial learning defects, the last of which likewise occurred after treatment with an IL-1R1 antagonist. Thus, ‘preferential’ generation of proinflammatory astrocytes impaired the homeostasis of neuronal progenitor cells via expression of IL-1; this might underlie the long-term cognitive consequences of WNND but also provides a therapeutic target. Klein and colleagues show, in a mouse model of West Nile virus–induced cognitive dysfunction, that neurogenesis is impaired by production of IL-1 from pro-inflammatory astrocytes.
What Motivates the Authors of Video Game Walkthroughs and FAQs? A Study of Six GameFAQs Contributors

Walkthroughs, also known as FAQs or strategy guides, are player-authored documents that provide step-by-step instructions on how to play and what to do in order to finish a given video game. Exegetical in their length and detail, walkthroughs require hours of exacting labor to complete. Yet authors are rarely compensated for work that markedly differs from other kinds of fan creativity. To understand their motivations, I interviewed six veteran GameFAQs authors, then inductively analyzed the transcripts. Open coding surfaced five themes attributable to each participant. Together, these themes constitute a shifting mix of motivations, including altruism, community belonging, self-expression, and recognition — primarily in the form of feedback and appreciation but also from compensation. These findings increase our understanding of the motivations that drive fan labor, even as they complicate assumptions about its exploitation.
We’re All In This Together

To the Editor: I would like to thank Fjortoft for her commentary in the May 2017 issue of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education entitled, “The Selfie Generation and Pharmacy Education.”[1][1] As a millennial myself and a recent graduate, I strongly agree with the idea that the
Discourse of Learning and the Learning of Discourse

Citizens in the 21st century must be able to engage in reading to learn from multiple sources in academic, professional, and personal life. Doing so requires specialized reading, critical thinking,...
High-Performance PbTe Thermoelectric Films by Scalable and Low-Cost Printing

Thermoelectric (TE) technology has a significant impact on low-grade waste heat recovery, increasing the efficiency of energy usage and reducing carbon emissions. Two of the big obstacles for wide application of this technology, however, are the high fabrication cost and low efficiency of thermoelectric modules. By employing Pb0.98Na0.02Te-4 mol % SrTe powder, which is one group of superior thermoelectric materials, this work explores the possibility of making PbTe–SrTe-based thermoelectric films via a scalable, low-cost screen printing method and investigates ways of further enhancing their performance. Addition of tellurium powder can significantly increase the thermoelectric performance of the printed PbTe–SrTe films through doping and enhancement of interparticle connection. The conservative estimate of thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, is above 1.0 at 350 °C for PbTe–SrTe 2 wt % Te sample, which is among the highest for printed thermoelectric films. This opens up a new, low-cost direction for manuf...
Poetics of contingency

ABSTRACTHow can a poem be read for its contingency? Can contingency be figured in or by a poem? (Which poem? When? Read how, and by whom?). This essay describes a US ‘contingency poetics’ of the 1990s, and weighs its claims against a sampling of twentieth-century poems preoccupied with contingency, some written under the sign of this poetics, some not. It does so to explore the critical conundrums that attend thinking about poetry’s possible relations to ‘contingency’ – including poetry’s reputation for generic resistance to it – in part to articulate a knot of interpretive challenges central to the history of criticism of the 1990s, from the status of ‘narrative’ in poetry to the persistence of lyric reading in avant-garde criticism. There are challenges herein described still relevant for this historicist reader of poems, and that have bearing on how, as critics, we imagine our narrative labours on behalf of poems.
Nonlinear Spectroscopic Techniques and their Applications to Analytical Chemistry

Coherent nonlinear methods can be understood by examining the relationship between the polarization induced in a molecule and the applied electric field associated with a propagating electromagnetic wave (1–9). At low electric fields, there is a linear relationship with the susceptibility, χ(1), defining the proportionality constant. High fields can be created by focusing lasers to small areas where the fields become comparable to the binding forces within the atoms or molecules. At some point dielectric breakdown occurs. The induced polarization can no longer follow the electric field linearly and a Taylors series expansion is usually used to approximate the functionality. If one examines the shape of the oscillating polarization at high field intensities, one sees distortions from the sinusoidally varying shape at low fields. These distortions can be described by a Fourier series containing all the harmonics of the fundamental frequency. If one has three lasers at different frequencies, all possible combination frequencies of the three lasers must be considered in describing the distorted polarization. An oscillatory polarization will launch new electromagnetic waves so that in the nonlinear regime, a series of waves will be generated at new frequencies.
Rectus Syndrome: Another Cause of Upper Abdominal Pain

Background and Objectives. Rectus syndrome is somatic pain originating from the rectus abdominis musculature of the abdomen. However, pain with its associated somatovisceral symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and anorexia, is called pseudovisceral pain syndrome. It commonly mimics abdominal visceral pain and misleads medical practitioners into establishing a wrong diagnosis and giving inadequate pain management. Owing to its primary somatic origin, a regional rectus nerve block is an efficacious modality for use in differentiating the diagnosis and providing longlasting optimal pain relief. Methods. Two cases, a 48-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman, were referred for the management of chronic upper abdominal pain consistent with chronic pancreatitis. They underwent rectus block, first to differentiate the diagnosis and then to relieve intractable pain problems with multidisciplinary pain management. Results. Rectus block was performed successfully, and a diagnosis of rectus syndrome was established. These two patients responded to the rectus block immediately and received long-lasting pain relief after repeated rectus blocks in conjunction with pharmacologic and psychological treatment and physiotherapy. Conclusion. Rectus syndrome could be another potential cause of chronic intractable upper abdominal pain problem; rectus block provides a simple diagnostic and therapeutic technique to differentiate the diagnosis and treat it adequately.
Gravitation and Closed Orbits

The solar system appears to be stable: Calculations into the future using Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation show that the Sun and the planets will behave in the future much as they have done in the past. The Earth will move in its yearly, very nearly elliptical, Keplerian orbit around the Sun, as will the other planets in their years. No planet will suddenly take off for deep space or fall into the Sun, nor will two of the (major) planets collide.
Use of images in public health campaigns.

Illustrations that have commented on medicine and society have evolved over the last 150 years from being judgmental and harsh towards racial and ethnic minorities to now emphasizing the positive aspects of diversity. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Virtual Reality for Nondestructive Evaluation Applications

Gas transmission pipelines are often inspected and monitored using the magnetic flux leakage method [1]. An inspection vehicle known as a “pig” is launched into the pipeline and conveyed along the pipe by the pressure of natural gas. The pig contains a magnetizer, an array of sensors and a microprocessor-based data acquisition system for logging data. The data is subsequently retrieved and analyzed offline. The pipeline inspection results in the generation of a vast amount of data — in excess of 4 GB, even in compressed form. It is important that these data are presented in a suitable manner for evaluation by trained operator. Virtual reality (VR) display techniques represent an attractive mechanism for presenting this huge amount of data effectively. The application of VR techniques enables the operator to explore the virtual environment generated by the computer. This technique can serve as an important bridge between human operator and the computer. In this paper, we present some preliminary efforts in achieving this interface.
A High Speed Test Rig Capable of Running at 190,000rpm to Characterize Gas Foil Thrust Bearings

This paper details the design and performance of a high-speed (up to 190,000rpm) gas foil thrust bearing (GFTB) test rig to measure bearing load capacity. Several GFTB test rigs were reported in the literature for operating speed up to 90krpm. A few recently presented works show successful runs at 135krpm for testing gas thrust bearing with viscoelastic support and 130krpm tilting pad thrust bearing with compliant structure. However, a GFTB test rig for speed range over 100krpm has not been reported. At high speed operation, the gas film thickness of the GFTB is around a few microns which makes it difficult to achieve in testing. In many cases, the measured thrust load from experiments is well below the predicted data due to difficulty in testing and instrumentation. Difficulty in validating the actual load capacity of the bearings leads to increasing the thrust bearing size to ensure sufficient load capacity in actual applications, which results in higher power consumption. This work presents detail feature of a novel GFTB test rig and test results of 38mm GFTB. The developed test rig runs up to 190krpm and measures bearing load capacity, frictional torque and temperature across bearing ID and OD. The test rig is suitable for testing GFTB with OD from 30 mm to 40 mm. The test facility successfully tests a 38 mm GFTB to its predicted load capacity of 75N (110kPa).Copyright © 2018 by ASME
Keeping us all whole: Acknowledging the agency of African American breast cancer survivors and their systems of social support

While all cancer patients face a bewildering array of treatments, side effects, and emotions, several researchers have shown that African American women with breast cancer experience greater stress and burdens because of unmet supportive needs associated with psychological distress, financial distress, and lower physical/functional well-being. Social support has been shown to improve health outcomes for African American breast cancer patients. The purpose of this paper is to understand the meaning of social support among African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. A total of 47 African American women with breast cancer participated in the in-depth qualitative interviews. Key findings indicate that social support was received in the context of the stability of the extended family network. Moreover, social support was received in the context of distributing the social support received among many members in their personal networks and that social support was only received on patient's own terms. The findings of this paper provide an understanding to the inter-relational and cultural meanings of receiving support by diverse cancer patients. In addition, the findings of this paper have implications for health care professionals working with African American breast cancer patients in understanding how social support can be received.
A Redesigned Geoscience Content Course's Impact on Science Teaching Self-efficacy Beliefs

Many future elementary science teachers have never been exposed to constructivist-based science instruction as recommended by national and state science standards. A constructivist-based course format asserts that the construction of knowledge arises from interactions among students, activities that link prior conceptions to new experiences, and hands-on and investigative learning activities. This study indicates that a science content course for preservice teachers can be designed and implemented with constructivist teaching practices. When education majors have experiences with inquiry-based instructional methods in a content-based course, their preparation as future teachers of science is benefited. The constructivist framework of the course appeared to have an impact on the future teachers' beliefs about their ability to teach science effectively. The key findings of the study indicate that the modeling of effective instruction, exposure to science standards, overviews of the nature of science, and pr...
Beyond Silos: An Interprofessional, Campus-Wide Ethics Education Program

Background:Ethics education is essential to the education of all healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an interprofessional approach to ethics education to all student...
Serum lactate poorly predicts central venous oxygen saturation in critically ill patients: a retrospective cohort study

Serum lactate and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) are commonly used and commonly recommended as markers of tissue oxygenation in shock states. Medical literature has both explicitly stated and implied that the two biomarkers are interchangeable in the management of patients with shock. However, there have been relatively few direct comparisons of these tests in clinical circumstances, and the relationship between them is uncertain. The objective of our study was to evaluate whether simultaneous or near-simultaneous measurements of lactate and ScvO2 reveal a consistent relationship between these two biomarkers. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in an urban, academic US hospital. All adults in ICUs between March 2007 and March 2017 who had a lactate measurement and ScvO2 or mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) measurement made +/− 1 h from the lactate were included. Linear and non-linear correlations of ScvO2 and lactate were assessed in a variety of shock states. Two thousand sixty-two patients were included. Lactate and ScvO2 correlated poorly (r2 = 0.0041, p = 0.0019). This was true for patients with ScvO2 ≤ 65% (r2 = 0.0431, p < 0.001), patients with normal kidney and liver function (r2 = 0.0517, p < 0.001), and septic shock patients (r2 = 0.0037, p = 0.17). For patients with an O2 extraction ratio ≥ 50%, lactate and ScvO2 were strongly correlated (r2 = 0.93, p = 0.0019), but these patients represented only 2.8% of patients in whom the ratio could be calculated. Lactate can predict ScvO2 when patients are at or below the critical oxygen delivery threshold, but relatively few shock patients meet this criterion. In the overall population of critically ill patients, serum lactate predicts ScvO2 poorly, even after controlling for factors that may affect lactate production. Lactate and ScvO2 should not be assumed to be interchangeable markers of tissue oxygenation/perfusion.
Exploring the equity performance of bike-sharing systems with disaggregated data: A story of southern Tampa

Abstract The rising adoption of bike-sharing systems brings significant benefits to individuals and society as a whole. However, whether these benefits are distributed throughout society in a fair manner is still an open question. This study presents a methodological framework for assessing the equity performance of bike-sharing systems, with Coast Bike Share system in southern Tampa as a case study. The framework integrates three different datasets: bike-sharing infrastructure, individual travel itineraries and individual sociodemographic attribute data. With these datasets, we model individual accessibility to activity locations using bike-sharing as the mode of transportation by analyzing the “walking-cycling-walking” process of a bike-sharing trip and the trip-chaining behavior in individuals’ travel itineraries. Further, a series of equity measures are used to analyze equity performance from the perspective of both horizontal and vertical equity. To assess horizontal equity, we apply the Lorenz curve, Gini index and mapped geographic differences. For vertical equity, we compare descriptive statistics by group, perform analysis of variance, and calculate the subgroup inequality index using disaggregated data. Results reveal that accessibility to bike-sharing is not evenly distributed among individuals in the population, within the geographic space, and among different sociodemographic groups of southern Tampa. Further, our results also highlight the need to incorporate high-resolution disaggregated data and tour-based analysis to address the equity performance of bike-sharing systems.
On Learning Rates and Schrödinger Operators

The learning rate is perhaps the single most important parameter in the training of neural networks and, more broadly, in stochastic (nonconvex) optimization. Accordingly, there are numerous effective, but poorly understood, techniques for tuning the learning rate, including learning rate decay, which starts with a large initial learning rate that is gradually decreased. In this paper, we present a general theoretical analysis of the effect of the learning rate in stochastic gradient descent (SGD). Our analysis is based on the use of a learning-rate-dependent stochastic differential equation (lr-dependent SDE) that serves as a surrogate for SGD. For a broad class of objective functions, we establish a linear rate of convergence for this continuous-time formulation of SGD, highlighting the fundamental importance of the learning rate in SGD, and contrasting to gradient descent and stochastic gradient Langevin dynamics. Moreover, we obtain an explicit expression for the optimal linear rate by analyzing the spectrum of the Witten-Laplacian, a special case of the Schrodinger operator associated with the lr-dependent SDE. Strikingly, this expression clearly reveals the dependence of the linear convergence rate on the learning rate -- the linear rate decreases rapidly to zero as the learning rate tends to zero for a broad class of nonconvex functions, whereas it stays constant for strongly convex functions. Based on this sharp distinction between nonconvex and convex problems, we provide a mathematical interpretation of the benefits of using learning rate decay for nonconvex optimization.
ACDC-Tracing: Towards Anonymous Citizen-Driven Contact Tracing.

As we enter the control phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, many efforts have been dedicated to developing smartphone-based contact tracing apps in order to automatically identify people that a person with COVID-19 might have infected. These applications while potentially useful, present significant adoption, societal, technical and privacy challenges. We propose ACDC-Tracing, a simpler, anonymous, voucher-based contact tracing solution that relies on peoples' knowledge of their own close contacts. People who test positive are given an anonymous voucher which they can share with a limited number of people whom they think they might be infected. The recipients can use this voucher to book a COVID-19 test and can receive their test results without ever revealing their identity. People receiving positive result are given vouchers to further backtrack the path of infection. This is a fully anonymous solution which does not require any sharing of location data, Bluetooth, or having an app installed on people's mobile device. Moreover, ACDC-Tracing can be tested for effectiveness at a small scale without requiring adoption by the entire population, which would enable acquiring fast evidence about its efficacy and scalability. Finally, it is compatible with and complementary to alternative approaches to contact tracing.
Asymmetric Synthesis of a Bacteriochlorophyll Model Compound Containing trans-Dialkyl Substituents in Ring D.

Challenges to the de novo synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a), the chief pigment for anoxygenic bacterial photosynthesis, include creating the macrocycle along with the trans-dialkyl substituents in both pyrroline rings (B and D). A known route to a model bacteriochlorophyll with a gem-dimethyl group in each pyrroline ring has been probed for utility in the synthesis of BChl a by preparation of a hybrid macrocycle (BC-1), which contains a trans-dialkyl group in ring D and a gem-dimethyl group in ring B. Stereochemical definition began with the synthesis of (2S,3S)-2-ethyl-3-methylpent-4-ynoic acid, a precursor to the trans-dialkyl-substituted AD dihydrodipyrrin. Knoevenagel condensation of the latter and a gem-dimethyl, β-ketoester-substituted BC dihydrodipyrrin afforded the enone (E, 70%; Z, 3%); subsequent double-ring cyclization of the E-enone (via Nazarov, electrophilic aromatic substitution, and elimination reactions) gave BC-1 (53% yield) along with a trace of chlorin byproduct (1.4% relative to BC-1 upon fluorescence assay). BC-1 exhibited the desired trans-dialkyl stereochemistry in ring D and was obtained as a 7:1 mixture of (expected) epimers owing to the configuration of the 132-carbomethoxy substituent. The strategy wherein trans-dialkyl substituents are installed very early and carried through to completion, as validated herein, potentially opens a synthetic path to native photosynthetic pigments.
Surge Energy Robustness of GaN Gate Injection Transistors

An essential robustness of power devices is the capability to safely withstand surge energy, which is typically characterized in an unclamped inductive switching (UIS) condition. Si and SiC power MOSFETs can dissipate surge energy through avalanching. However, GaN high-electron-mobility-transistors (HEMTs) have no or minimal avalanche capability. Prior works reported controversial interpretations of the behaviors of GaN HEMTs in UIS tests. This work, for the first time, clarifies the surge-energy withstand process of a mainstream enhancement-mode GaN HEMT, the GaN gate injection transistor (GIT). Different from Si and SiC MOSFETs, GaN GITs are shown to withstand the surge energy through a resonant energy transfer from device output capacitance back into the load inductor, followed by the device reverse conduction and inductor discharging. Almost no energy is dissipated in the device during this resonant withstand process. The failure mechanism of GaN GITs has also been identified. It was found that the surge-energy robustness of GaN GITs is almost solely determined by their transient overvoltage capability. Failure analysis and mixed-mode TCAD simulation confirm that the device failure location is consistent with the peak electric field location at the peak overvoltage transient. These results suggest the avalanche energy, a widely used JEDEC standard for the robustness of Si and SiC power MOSFETs which represents the device capability to resistively dissipate energy without thermal runaway, may not be a parameter that can directly represent the surge energy robustness of GaN HEMTs. In addition, benefited from the sub-50 ns overvoltage pulse created by the UIS test, the electrical breakdown location of hybrid-drain GIT was experimentally verified for the firs time.