cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Consensus Versus Majoritarian Democracy: Political Institutions and their Impact on Macroeconomic Performance and Industrial Disputes

This article argues that consensual political institutions as operationalized by Lijphart and Crepaz (1991) have significantly favorable effects on unemployment, inflation, and the number of working days lost, whereas economic growth remains unaffected. Although this finding is consistent with Olson's theoretical concept of “encompassing organizations,” this study shows that Olson's empirical operationalization is flawed. “Strong,” two-party “Westminster” systems, based on single-member district electoral rules, and single-party, bare majority cabinets do not perform as well as “weak,” multiparty coalition governments with proportional representation as an electoral rule. An empirical measure of “encompassing organizations” is introduced, termed popular cabinet support. A cross-sectional/time-series panel study of 162 elections (18 countries and 9 elections per country, N = 162) provides strong evidence that governments with consensual, inclusive, and accommodative constitutional structures and wider popu...
Women's autonomy and its impact on fertility

Abstract This paper seeks to assess empirically the impact of female autonomy on fertility. It argues that by attending to fundamental freedoms for impoverished women, by enhancing women's access to and control over critical resources — their capability to achieve well-being — we not only meet welfare goals but also promote a reduction in fertility. The findings of this paper affirm the post-Cairo discourse emphasizing health and women's education. The findings also suggest the need to broaden the focus to include other initiatives that foster women's autonomy and to engage the full range of empowerment possibilities.
Older Persons 'Medical Encounters and their Outcomes

This article reviews research on older patients and their doctors, with particular attention to the medical encounter between an elderly patient and his or her physician. Major categories of variables affecting the medical encounter include provider and patient characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, education, values) and the context or setting of the encounter (site, presence of a patient's companion, and whether the visit is an initial one for the physician-patient pair). The process and content of medical encounters are affected by participant characteristics and context variables, and these in turn affect outcome variables such as participant satisfaction, adherence to treatment regimens, and medical outcome. Process issues include transfer of information, medical decision making, and interpersonal relations. Methodological issues are discussed, including problems with theory generation, lack of standardized methodology, gaps in research knowledge, and prior emphasis on descriptive studies as oppose...
Iterative majority logic decoding of a class of Euclidean Geometry codes

Hard decision decoding of low density parity check (LDPC) codes has potential applications in practical settings like data storage. For this purpose, it is important for the code to have an assured minimum distance and, hence, guaranteed error correction capability. In this paper, we show that with very high probability the guaranteed error correction capability of Euclidean geometry (EG) codes using threshold-optimized, iterative majority logic (ML) decoding is much greater than the usual single iteration ML decoding, making these codes much more attractive for hard decision decoding. For instance, the (262143, 242461, t/spl ges/256) EG code (a (512, 512)-regular LDPC code) can correct t=580 bit errors with probability better than 1-1/spl times/10/sup -58/.
Photoperiod and Temperature Interact to Affect Immune Parameters in Adult Male Deer Mice (Peromyscus manicuiatus)

Nontropical rodents often experience large seasonal fluctuations in both food availability and energy demands. The energy required for thermoregulation is highest during the winter when food availability may be at an annual minimum. Failure to cope with winter probably accounts, in part, for the increased prevalence of disease and death relative to that in summer. Winter conditions may elevate circulating glucocorticosteroid levels, which can compromise immune function. To increase the odds of surviving the energetic demands of winter, individuals of some rodent species appear to enhance immune function before conditions deteriorate. Previous laboratory studies suggest that immune enhancement can be induced by short days. These findings contrast with the results of several field studies reporting suppressed immune function during the winter. To resolve this conflict, the authors hypothesized that winter stressors present in field studies counteracted the short-day enhancement of immune function reported i...
Object detection and localization by dynamic template warping

A simple method is presented for detecting, localizing and recognizing classes of objects, that accommodates wide variation in an object's pose. The method utilizes a small two-dimensional template that is warped into an image, and converts localization to a one-dimensional sub-problem, with the search for a match between image and template executed by dynamic programming. The method recovers three of the six degrees of freedom of motion (2 translation, 1 rotation), and accommodates two more DOF in the search process (1 rotation, 1 translation), and is extensible to the final DOF. Experiments demonstrate that the method provides an efficient search strategy that outperforms normalized correlation. This is demonstrated in the example domain of face detection and localization, and is extended to more general detection tasks. An additional technique recovers a rough object pose from the match results, and is used in a two stage recognition experiment using maximization of mutual information.
Effect of limited trypsin digestion on the biochemical kinetics of skeletal myosin subfragment-1.

We have investigated the effect of limited trypsin digestion of chymotryptic myosin Subfragment-1 (S-1) on its kinetic properties. We find that Vmax (i.e., the extrapolated maximal ATPase activity at infinite actin) remains approximately constant, independent of the period of digestion. We also find that the apparent actin activation constant, KATPase, and the apparent dissociation constant, Kbinding, are both significantly weakened by trypsin digestion of S-1, and that these kinetic parameters change in concert. In addition, we investigated the effect of limited trypsin digestion on the initial phosphate burst. We find that trypsin digestion has no effect on the rate of the tryptophan fluorescence enhancement that occurs after ATP binds to digested S-1, but that the magnitude of the fluorescence enhancement falls approximately 40% with digestion. Digested S-1 also showed anomalous behavior in that the fluorescence magnitude increased and the fluorescence rate dropped in the presence of actin. Trypsin digestion also decreased the magnitude of the chemically measured Pi burst approximately 35%, but this magnitude was essentially unaffected by actin. A possible explanation for this behavior is discussed.
We're at as Much Risk as We Are Led to Believe: Effects of Message Cues on Judgments of Health Risk

One of the greatest challenges in advertising health-related information is overcoming the target audiences' self-positivity bias (i.e., the tendency for people to believe that they are invulnerable to disease). In this article, we show that the self-positivity bias hinders message processing, and we demonstrate that message cues can reduce this bias and engage people in more precautionary thinking and behavior. We identify the process by which risk-behavior cues provided in the message affect people's estimates of their vulnerability (self-risk estimates), depth of message processing, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. We test and find support for our theory in three studies that specify the types of risk behaviors that make the contraction of a disease seem easy versus difficult (study 1), that examine their interactive effects with the number of risk behaviors that are enumerated (study 2), and that delineate the underlying process by which these effects manifest (study 3). We demonstrate that the self-positivity bias acts as an a priori hypothesis on the basis of which people process and test incoming risk-behavior information, as would be predicted by confirmatory hypothesis testing theory. Our findings affect the theoretical understanding of how memory- and message-based factors work in opposing ways and suggest a more comprehensive framework for understanding memory- versus message-based judgments. Our results also have implications for media strategy and public health policy by differentiating between commonly used risk-behavior messages that are beneficial to the communicator's goals (e.g., increase compliance) and those that are detrimental to the communicator's goals (e.g., decrease compliance).
Generating New Stories of Commitment in Couple Relationships by Utilizing the Sliding Versus Deciding Framework

An ongoing conundrum faced by psychotherapists is how to help foster greater commitment in couple relationships because researchers (e.g., Surra & Hughes, 1997) have consistently identified commitm...
New Urbanism and the Challenges of Designing for Diversity

New Urbanism is increasingly applied to revitalize diverse urban neighborhoods. New Urbanism relies on an ideal of “community” that makes its suitability for these contexts questionable. This artic...
Power of Maps: (Counter) Mapping for Conservation

This paper considers what is at stake in defining and mapping protected areas for conservation. We link issues of power in cartography to themes from political ecology, social natures, and conservation biology literatures to extend our understanding of maps as reflective of, and productive of, power. Reviewing insights from these literatures to consider power asymmetries common to conservation practice, we highlight ways that mapping practices and products reinforce and contribute to such dynamics. Doing so enriches consideration of the power geometries of conservation cartographies by inviting fuller consideration of diverse species and landscapes, as well as enabling discussion of other representational and productive effects of conservation mappings. Once determined, how might conservation maps serve to naturalize certain spaces or boundaries as fixed, or contribute to certain socio-psychological understandings of conservation possibilities or outcomes? In the closing sections, we invoke the idea of ‘counter-mapping’ to explore strategies that might redress these concerns. Possibilities range from efforts to adapt the form of protected areas to more critical approaches that question the appropriateness of territorial focus and mapping practices for conservation goals. In conclusion, we argue that theorizing power in human, other-than-human, and inter-species contexts is essential to understanding the power geometries of conservation mapping.
Prostatic histology in secondary transurethral resection of the prostate.

AbstractHuman benign prostatic hyperplasia consists of 3 major components, stromal and glandular tissue, and glandular lumen. To our knowledge morphometric analysis of prostatic tissue from patients who have undergone a secondary transurethral resection of the prostate has never been reported. Quantification of these histological components might aid inselecting treatment for patients with recurrent urinary symptoms following transurethral resection of the prostate.Transurethral resection specimens from 13 consecutive patients who had undergone prostatectomy twice were stained by the Masson trichrome method. Quantitative morphometric analysis was performed using computer image analyzing software. The mean total area was 15.9 percent, 15.4 percent and 68.7 percent for glandular lumen, and glandular and stromal areas, respectively, in the initial transurethral resection specimens and 13.3 percent, 14.1 percent and 72.6 percent, respectively, for secondary transurethral resection of the prostate. There was n...
An analysis of the TABARI coding system

Textual Analysis by Augmented Replacement Instructions (TABARI) provides an automated method for coding large amounts of text. Using TABARI to code lead sentences of news stories, the KEDS/Penn Sta...
Efficient mapping of mathematical expressions to FPGAs: Exploring different design methodologies

Computationally intensive problems can be represented with data-flow graphs and automatically transformed to locally controlled floating-point units via partitioning. In theory the lack of global control signals enables high performance implementation however placing and routing of the partitioned circuits are not trivial. In practice to create a high performance implementation the clusters should be placed efficiently on the surface of an FPGA using the physical constraining feature of CAD tools. In the paper a new partitioning strategy is presented which not only minimizes the number of cut nets but produce partition which can be mapped without long interconnections between the clusters. The new strategy is demonstrated during the automatic circuit generation from a complex mathematical expression. The proposed partitioning method produces more cut nets than common strategies however the resulting partition can be easily mapped and operate on significantly higher frequency.
High-risk carotid endarterectomy: fact or fiction.

Abstract Objective: It has been proposed that patients whose conditions do not meet North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial inclusion criteria or have anatomic risk factors constitute a "high-risk" group for carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and might be candidates for primary carotid angioplasty stenting. Our objective was to review a consecutive series of isolated CEAs, identify the number of such patients at high risk, and determine whether their operations were associated with increased complication rate. Methods: Consecutive isolated CEAs performed between June 1996 and June 2001 were reviewed. High-risk comorbidities included: age 80 years or more (n = 80), New York Heart Association class III/IV angina (n = 16), Canadian class III/IV heart failure (n = 4), myocardial infarct 6 months or less (n = 11), steroid-dependent or oxygen-dependent pulmonary disease (n = 4), and creatinine level of 3 or more (n = 13). Anatomic high risk was defined by: contralateral occlusion (n = 66), lesion above C 2 or requirement of digastric division (n = 53), reoperation (n = 29), and neck radiation (n = 3). Statistical analysis was with χ 2 analysis. Results: Of 788 patients reviewed, 228 (29%) were classified as high risk by one or more of the previous criteria (63% comorbidity, 28% anatomy, 9% both). Presence of preoperative neurologic symptoms and postoperative results were similar across all patient groups. The total stroke and death rate was 1.1% for all the patients. Six patients had postoperative strokes (0.8%), and three patients died of myocardial infarcts (0.4%). The stroke and death rate was 1.3% in the high-risk group as compared with 1.1% in the normal-risk group ( P =.51). Conclusion: The concept of the high-risk CEA must be critically reexamined. Although 29% of patients for CEA were high risk as defined by others, we found no evidence that this influenced the results after CEA. Patients with significant medical comorbidities, contralateral carotid occlusion, and high carotid lesions can undergo operation without increased complications. If a high-risk group exists, it is small and restricted to reoperation or radiated neck (4% in this series). With this possible exception, carotid angioplasty stenting should be restricted to randomized clinical trials. (J Vasc Surg 2003;37:40-6.)
Preoperative pulmonary function tests predict mortality after surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Abstract Objectives To determine the role of preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) evaluated for aortic valve replacement (AVR), and to evaluate the association between lung disease and mortality in specific subgroups. Methods Between 2008 and 2013, 535 patients with preoperative PFTs underwent AVR (transcatheter AVR [TAVR], n = 246; surgical AVR [SAVR], n = 289). The severity of lung disease determined by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) definition was evaluated in those with and without a clinical suspicion for lung disease (smoking, inhaled steroids/bronchodilators, or home oxygen). The association between lung disease and 1-year mortality was evaluated. Results Of the 186 patients (35%) without suspected lung disease, 39 (21%) had moderate/severe lung disease by PFT analysis. Among all patients, 1-year mortality was 12% in those with no lung disease, 17% in those with no mild lung disease, 22% in those with moderate lung disease, and 31% in those with severe lung disease ( P P = .002); this association was not altered by smoking history, suspicion of lung disease, New York Heart Association class, or AVR type (interaction P value nonsignificant for all). Conclusions In patients with AS evaluated for AVR, the STS risk score is significantly influenced by the severity of lung disease, which is determined predominantly by PFT results. Even when lung disease is not suspected, PFTs are abnormal in many patients undergoing AVR. Moderate/severe lung disease, diagnosed predominantly by PFTs, is an independent predictor of mortality after SAVR or TAVR. Collectively, these findings suggest that PFTs should be a routine part of the risk stratification of patients considered for AVR.
Arginine vasopressin responses to hypoxia and hypercapnia in late-gestation fetal sheep

The purpose of this study was to determine the interaction of hypoxia and hypercapnia in the control of arginine vasopressin (AVP) secretion in fetal sheep and to determine the role of the peripheral arterial chemoreceptors in that response. We measured the plasma AVP response to hypercapnia and/or hypoxia in catheterized intact or sinoaortic-denervated fetal sheep between 123 and 144 days of gestation. Ewes were exposed to the following inspired gases: two successive 30-min periods of normocapnic normoxia, 30 min of normocapnic normoxia followed by 30 min of normocapnic hypoxia, two successive 30-min periods of hypercapnic normoxia, or 30 min of hypercapnic normoxia followed by 30 min of hypercapnic hypoxia (i.e., asphyxia). Hypercapnia per se had no significant effect on fetal plasma AVP. Normocapnic hypoxia per se resulted in a significant increase in fetal plasma AVP. Although hypercapnia resulted in a significant acidemia, the decrease in arterial pH was more marked under hypoxic conditions. Hypercapnia/acidemia augmented the AVP response to hypoxia. Fetal sinoaortic denervation did not significantly attenuate any of the AVP responses. We conclude that hypercapnia augments the fetal AVP response to hypoxia and that the AVP response to neither normocapnic nor hypercapnic hypoxia is dependent on afferent information carried in the carotid sinus or aortic nerves.
(No) Harm in Asking: Class, Acquired Cultural Capital, and Academic Engagement at an Elite University

How do undergraduates engage authority figures in college? Existing explanations predict class-based engagement strategies. Using in-depth interviews with 89 undergraduates at an elite university, ...
Alcohol abuse and smoking alter inflammatory mediator production by pulmonary and systemic immune cells

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and tobacco smoking are associated with an increased predisposition for community-acquired pneumonia and the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Mechanisms are incompl...
Calcium channel blocker use is associated with lower fasting serum glucose among adults with diabetes from the REGARDS study

Abstract Background Ca 2+ channel blockers (CCB) and verapamil in particular prevented β-cell apoptosis and enhanced endogenous insulin levels in recent studies of mouse models of diabetes. Verapamil's effect on serum glucose levels in humans with diabetes is not described. Methods We used data from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS), a national cohort study of community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults, enrolled between 2003 and 2007 from the continental United States. We examined associations of CCB and verapamil use with fasting serum glucose among 4978 adults with diabetes, controlling for covariates in generalized linear models (GLM). Findings The sample included 1484 (29.6%) CCB users, of which 174 (3.4%) were verapamil users. In fully adjusted GLMs, CCB users had 5mg/dL lower serum glucose compared to non-users. Verapamil users had on average 10mg/dL lower serum glucose compared to CCB non-users with substantially greater differences among insulin users: 24mg/dL lower serum glucose among users of insulin in combination with oral agents and 37mg/dL lower among users of insulin alone. Interpretation CCB and in particular verapamil use was associated with lower fasting blood glucose levels among REGARDS participants with diabetes. Funding UO1NS041588 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH; K24HL111154 and R01HL080477 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Fish Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease in the Physicians' Health Study: A Prospective Study

The authors examined the association between dietary intake of fish and omega 3 fatty acids from seafood and the risk of cardiovascular disease in a prospective cohort study of 21,185 US male physicians who are participants in the Physicians' Health Study. In 4 years of follow-up, there were 281 incident cases of total (fatal and nonfatal) myocardial infarction, 173 cases of stroke, and 121 cardiovascular deaths. There was no evidence for association between dietary intake of fish and any cardiovascular endpoint, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death. The relative risks of total myocardial infarction, adjusted for age and randomized treatment assignment, for categories of fish intake were: 1.0 for or = 5 fish meals/week; chi 2 for trend = 0.9, p = 0.34. The relative risks were similar for omega 3 fatty acid intake and for specific types of fish, and did not change after adjustment for history of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, or angina pectoris, parental history of myocardial infarction before age 60 years, obesity, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, saturated fat intake, and vitamin supplement use. These data do not support the hypothesis that moderate fish consumption lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Silica-supported cobalt catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis: Effects of calcination temperature and support structure

The effects of calcination temperature and silica support structure on silica-supported cobalt FTS catalysts were studied. The catalysts were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation of the cobalt precursor using various surface area silica supports. The catalysts had different drying and calcination temperatures. Deionized water was used as preparation medium. Lower surface area and calcination temperature catalysts exhibited higher activity due to lower support-cobalt phase interaction. Co/silica catalysts calcined at 573 K showed the highest CO conversion and the lowest CH4 selectivity. Catalysts with lower surface area exhibited higher C5+ selectivity due to higher reducibility and dispersion. The properties of various catalysts were characterized by FTIR, XRD, BET and XPS techniques.
Design and Implementation of Power Marketing Information Integration Platform

In order to eliminate "information island" in Heilongjiang electric power company,the power marketing information integration platform is developed,the platform's information comes from different business system.Servers are distributed in different cities of Heilongjiang province.The network situations are each not same.Platform analyses and processes the complicated condition in detail,and realizes the information integration efficiently and accurately in three branches which are from administration of power supply,electric power bureau to provincial bureau,providing the comprehensive and accurate data to assist the analysis and decision.
2-K pump down studies at SNS

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) linear accelerator (LINAC) consists of 81 superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities cooled to 2.1 K by a cryogenic refrigeration system. The 2-K cold box consists of four stages of cold compressors with liquid nitrogen cooled variable speed motors. Transitioning from 4.5-K operation to 2.1-K operation in the cryomodules involves pumping the cryomodules down from approximately 1 bar to 0.040 bar. This effort is conducted through the use of several sequences developed as a collaborative effort between Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) and SNS personnel during the original commissioning of the SNS cryogenic system. Over the last ten years, multiple lessons have been learned about VFD behavior, thermal stability, procedural development and refining the sequences. From 2012 to 2014, there were multiple pump down iterations that were not successful. Studies have been conducted to determine the cause of these unsuccessful iterations. The results of these studies including components replaced and aspects that have not yet been solved are presented in this paper. Future plans to refine the sequence and determine the cause of unsuccessful pump downs will also be presented.
Clinicians’ strategies for managing their emotions during difficult healthcare conversations

Abstract Objectives To examine strategies employed by clinicians from different disciplines to manage their emotions during difficult healthcare conversations. Methods Self-report questionnaires were collected prior to simulation-based Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills (PERCS) workshops for professionals representing a range of experience and specialties at a tertiary pediatric hospital. In response to an open-ended prompt, clinicians qualitatively described their own strategies for managing their emotions during difficult healthcare conversations. Results 126 respondents reported emotion management strategies. Respondents included physicians (42%), nurses (29%), medical interpreters (16%), psychosocial professionals (9%), and other (4%). Respondents identified 1–4 strategies. Five strategy categories were identified: Self-Care (51%), Preparatory and Relational Skills, (29%), Empathic Presence (28%), Team Approach (26%), and Professional Identity (20%). Conclusions Across disciplines and experience levels, clinicians have developed strategies to manage their emotions when holding difficult healthcare conversations. These strategies support clinicians before, during and after difficult conversations. Practice implications Understanding what strategies clinicians already employ to manage their emotions when holding difficult conversations has implications for educational planning and implementation. This study has potential to inform the development of education to support clinicians’ awareness of their emotions and to enhance the range and effectiveness of emotion management during difficult healthcare conversations.
Photoinduced DNA cleavage by benzenediradical equivalents: 1,3- and 1,4-Bis(dicarbonylcyclopentadienyliron)benzene

Abstract Upon photolysis, diiron complexes 1,4- and 1,3-Fp 2 C 6 H 4 ( 1 and 2 ) linearize plasmid DNA at ratios as low as 1.5 and 3.0 molecules/bp DNA, respectively. Additionally, single-strand cleavage was observed at ratios higher than 0.05 and 0.19 molecules/bp DNA for 1 and 2 , respectively. Radical scavenging studies and metal radical control experiments implicate carbon-centered radicals as participants in the cleavage pathway.
On the role of the termolecular reactions 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2 and 2O2 + H2 → H + HO2 + O2 in formation of the first radicals in hydrogen combustion: ab initio predictions of energy barriers

We have investigated the role of termolecular reactions in the early chemistry of hydrogen combustion. We performed molecular chemical dynamics simulations using ReaxFF in LAMMPS to identify potential initial reactions for a 1 : 4 mixture of H2 : O2 in the NVT ensemble at density 276.3 kg m−3 and ∼3000 K (∼4000 atm) and ∼4000 K (∼5000 atm), and then characterized the saddle points for those reactions using ab initio methods: CCSD(T) = FC/cc-pVTZ//MP2/6-31G, CCSD(T) = FULL/aug-cc-pVTZ//CCSD = FC/cc-pVTZ and CASSCF MP2/6-31G//MP2/6-31G. The main initial reaction is H2 + O2 → H + HO2, frequently occurring in the presence of a second O2 as a third body; that is, 2O2 + H2 → H + HO2 + O2. The second most frequent reaction is 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2. We found three saddle points on the triplet PES of these termolecular reactions: one for 2O2 + H2 → H + HO2 + O2 and two for 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2. In the latter case, one has a symmetric structure consistent with simultaneous formation of two HO2 and the other corresponds to a bimolecular reaction between O2 and H2 that is “interrupted” by a second O2 before going to completion. The classical barrier height of the symmetric saddle point for 2O2 + H2 → 2HO2 is 49.8 kcal mol−1. The barrier to H2 + O2 → H + HO2 is 58.9 kcal mol−1. The termolecular reaction will be competitive with H2 + O2 → H + HO2 only at sufficiently high pressures.
Sensor-Less Current Sharing Over Wide Operating Range for Extended-Duty-Ratio Boost Converter

An extended-duty-ratio (EDR) boost converter is studied extensively in this paper for high voltage gain applications with a wide input (and/or output) voltage range. The EDR is a unique combination of an interleaved, multiphase boost converter and switched capacitor configuration that achieves high voltage gain with significantly lower switch voltage stress and switching losses compared to conventional high-gain solutions. Most of the switches in the multiphase EDR experience only a fixed fraction of the output voltage ( $1/M, 2/M$ , etc., where $M$ is the number of phases). Through extensive analysis over a wide operating range, it is shown here that the EDR boost converter has inherent current sharing among the phases only in a limited range of duty ratio— $(M-1)/M \leq D \leq 1$ . As the duty ratio reduces beyond this range as required in wide input voltage applications, inherent current sharing property is lost. In this paper, techniques to ensure current sharing under all operating zones without requiring current sensors are presented. Instead of having equal duty ratio for each phase, it is adjusted for each phase according to the operating region of the converter. Extensive analysis is presented to derive the required duty ratio changes for the different phases. The proposed concept is validated with experimental results from a 250 W, 3-phase EDR boost, and GaN-based hardware prototype.
Potent Immune Stimulation from Nanoparticle Carriers Relies on the Interplay of Adjuvant Surface Density and Adjuvant Mass Distribution

Development of novel adjuvant delivery approaches which provide safe and effective immune stimulation are critical for prophylactic and therapeutic advances in a wide range of diseases. Toll-like receptor agonists (TLRas) have been identified as potent stimulators of antigen presenting cells (APCs) and are capable of inducing proinflammatory immune responses desirable for vaccine and immunostimulatory applications. Although TLRas have been successfully incorporated into nanoparticle platforms, minimal work has been done to evaluate the direct role of the adjuvant incorporation in these formulations in directing the immune response. Here, we developed a series of nanoparticle carriers with controlled surface densities of two TLRas, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), corresponding to TLR-4, and CpG oligodeoxynucleotide, corresponding to TLR-9. The proinflammatory cytokine production and expression of costimulatory molecules on APCs were evaluated following a 24 h particle incubation period in vitro using bone marrow...
Development and Validation of the Detection Method for Wheat and Barley Glutens Using Mass Spectrometry in Processed Foods

Currently, the only effective treatment for coeliac disease is a gluten-free (GF) diet to avoid gluten-containing food intake. However, the current enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for detecting gluten lacks the ability to precisely detect and quantify gluten in fermented and hydrolyzed foods. The purpose of this study was to use liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to develop a robust and stable method for gliadin and hordein detection when assessing food safety. This study successfully extracted hordein from barley flour to use as a reference standard. Liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (LC/Q-TOF/MS) performed an analysis to identify unique marker peptides from gliadin and hordein. For determining the limit of detection of gluten in GF products, gliadin and hordein were spiked into GF products at concentrations of 1–100 mg/kg with isotope-labeled peptides as internal standards (IS). The developed method enabled the detection of 2.5 mg/kg of wheat and barley gluten in GF products. Finally, compared with the immunochemical method, the ability for the MS-based method to detect and quantify gluten content from fermented and hydrolyzed foods was unaffected and demonstrated the potential to analyze suspected gluten-contaminated foods to assess product safety.
IoTOne: Integrated platform for heterogeneous IoT devices

Internet of Things (IoT) refer to a group of smart devices connected over a common network which can improve the quality of our lives either via automation of various home chores e.g. switching on lights at certain pre-programmed hours or allowing remote control of home appliances. While IoT offers a promising future for automation, convenience and analytics, it currently faces many issues that prevent private industry or residential home owners from deploying them. Two major issues include security concerns and device incompatibilities among different IoT platforms. A recent research paper has exposed the insecurity of the SmartThings framework which allows over privileged access of third party apps to all capabilities of a SmartThings device. This combined with unsafe dynamic method invocation exposes home owners to dangerous manipulations of deployed IoT devices e.g. unlock a home. To overcome this vulnerability, users may choose an open source platform e.g. openHab. However, openHab suffers from limited device compatibility issue since it does not support most of the SmartThings devices. Thus, we propose our IoTOne solution which supports heterogeneous IoT devices and avoids both the security vulnerabilities and the limited device compatibilities issues. Our IoTOne solution also checks for security vulnerabilities before publishing IoTOne App.
Central glutamate and substance-P in the hypoxic ventilatory response.

In acute sustained hypoxia there is a rise in ventilation during the first few minutes, then the ventilation declines, but remains above prehypoxic levels (Vizek, et al., 1987) A diverse group of factors are involved in this biphasic response, among them are neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in the brain that are released during hypoxia (Dempsey et al., 1986) which affect ventilation. Two excitatory neurochemicals of significance are the amino acid neurotransmitter glutamate (Kazemi & Hoop, 1991; Ang et al.,1992) and the neuropeptide substance-P (SP) (Kawanno & Chiba, 1984). Glutamate and SP may be co-localized and co-released in the CNS (Kangra & Randic, 1990) and one exerts a modulatory influence on the other. The hypothesis of the present study was that the hyperventilatory response to hypoxia is mediated by glutamate release centrally and further modulated by substance-P and that the ventral medullary surface (VMS) is structurally important in this response.
Dynamical recovery of SU(2) symmetry in the mass-quenched Hubbard model

We use non-equilibrium dynamical mean-field theory with iterative perturbation theory as an impurity solver to study the recovery of $SU(2)$ symmetry in real-time following a hopping integral parameter quench from a mass-imbalanced to a mass-balanced single-band Hubbard model at half-filling. A dynamical order parameter $\gamma(t)$ is defined to characterize the evolution of the system towards $SU(2)$ symmetry. By comparing the momentum dependent occupation from an equilibrium calculation (with the $SU(2)$ symmetric Hamiltonian after the quench at an effective temperature) with the data from our non-equilibrium calculation, we conclude that the $SU(2)$ symmetry recovered state is a thermalized state. Further evidence from the evolution of the density of states supports this conclusion. At the same time, we find the order parameter in the weak Coulomb interaction regime undergoes an approximate exponential decay. We numerically investigate the interplay of the relevant parameters (initial temperature, Coulomb interaction strength, initial mass-imbalance ratio) and their combined effect on the thermalization behavior. Finally, we study evolution of the order parameter as the hopping parameter is changed with either a linear ramp or a pulse. Our results can be useful in strategies to engineer the relaxation behavior of interacting, quantum many-particle systems.
Adjuvant systemic therapy after resection of node positive gallbladder cancer: Time for a well-designed trial? (Results of a US-national retrospective cohort study).

Abstract Background Ideal oncologic management of gallbladder carcinoma (GBCA) after complete surgical resection is unclear. We sought to define benefit of post-resection adjuvant systemic chemotherapy alone in T2 or greater gallbladder carcinoma utilising a large national dataset. Study Design The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) 2004–2012 cohort was retrospectively reviewed for patients with GBCA (T2+) undergoing curative-intent resection and surviving at least 6 weeks. Univariate group comparisons, unadjusted Kaplan-Meier and adjusted Cox proportional hazards analyzed overall survival. Results 4373 patients were included (N = 2479 T2, N = 1894 T3/4). Overall, 22.1% of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Use of multi-agent chemotherapy increased during the study period. Patients receiving adjuvant therapy were younger, had fewer comorbidities, more often node-positive and more likely R1-margins than those receiving surgery alone. Unadjusted overall survival was improved in all patients with node-positive disease as well as for those with inadequate nodal staging. The benefit of chemotherapy persisted after adjustment for patient and tumor factors. Conclusion Adjuvant systemic chemotherapy is associated with survival benefit in patients with T2 or greater GBCA with node positive disease. We recommend a multidisciplinary approach in these patients as less than 1-in-4 of them currently receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Future clinical trials should address adjuvant chemotherapy in node positive GBCA.
Heterogeneity in Nitrogen Sources Enhances Productivity and Nutrient Use Efficiency in Algal Polycultures

Algae hold much promise as a potential feedstock for biofuels and other products, but scaling up biomass production remains challenging. We hypothesized that multispecies assemblages, or polycultures, could improve crop yield when grown in media with mixed nitrogen sources, as found in wastewater. We grew mono- and poly- cultures of algae in four distinct growth media that differed in the form (i.e., nitrate, ammonium, urea, plus a mixture of all three) but not the concentration of nitrogen. We found that mean biomass productivity was positively correlated with algal species richness, and that this relationship was strongest in mixed nitrogen media (on average 88% greater biomass production in 5-species polycultures than in monocultures in mixed nitrogen treatment). We also found that the relationship between nutrient use efficiency and species richness was positive across nitrogen treatments, but greatest in mixed nitrogen media. While polycultures outperformed the most productive monoculture only 0–14% ...
Video Versus Direct Laryngoscopy for Initial Trauma Airway Management: Is There a Winner?

Intubation of patients suffering acute traumatic injuries is associated with higher airway-related morbidity and mortality than when the same procedure occurs under elective conditions. Indirect video-enabled laryngoscopes (VL) offer the potential advantage of improved glottic visualization as an integral step in the process of endotracheal intubation when compared to traditional direct laryngoscopy (DL). However, despite robust evidence that VL consistently achieves a superior view of the vocal cords in critically ill and injured adults, a consistent improvement in first-attempt intubation success has not yet been demonstrated. A review of recent literature suggests that the primary limitations of VL in urgent airway management include steps subsequent to sighting, such as tube delivery and cannulation of the trachea; these are distinct, non-intuitive motor skills that require extensive, device-specific training to master. This has been demonstrated across acute care settings, including the prehospital environment, the emergency department, and the intensive care unit. Given the spectrum of health care personnel who may be responsible for urgent airway management in trauma care, training programs should focus on high-volume opportunities to practice device-specific motor skills to improve the successful use of VL in acute care settings. Innovative stylet and/or tube technology may further optimize tube delivery and tracheal cannulation.
Hepatic lipidosis: Clinical review drawn from collective effort.

Practical relevance:Hepatic lipidosis (HL) is the most common form of liver dysfunction in cats. If recognized early and treated appropriately, the prognosis is good; if not, the prognosis is grave.Clinical challenges:Distinguishing HL as idiopathic or secondary is critical since the presence of a concurrent disease affects the therapeutic plan and the prognosis.Audience:Despite the unique and severe nature of a cat’s response to anorexia and the complexity of the metabolic changes underlying this condition, the clinical acumen and technical ability to effectively diagnose and treat HL are readily available to all small animal practitioners.Patient group:Although many species develop a ‘fatty liver’, the cat is one of relatively few species that suffer from HL. The classic presentation is that of an overweight cat that stops eating for days to weeks, losing weight in the process.Equipment:Abdominal ultrasound is frequently employed in the diagnostic work-up of an anorectic cat; ultrasonographic findings o...
Empowerment, Fairness, Integration: South African Answers to the Question of Constitutional Environmental Rights

There are numerous and specific reasons why South Africa is distinctively positioned to advance and influence the use of constitutional rights to protect the environment. As a result of its unique history and constitutional structure, the South African Constitutional Court possesses special capacities to address domestic environmental concerns and impact comparative law discourse regarding constitutional environmental rights. The judiciary has already demonstrated successful, albeit modest, domestic adjudication through its early environmental jurisprudence and it exhibits the potential for even more significant outcomes in the future. Moreover, the Court holds a highly influential position in the field of comparative constitutional law because of its expansive rights protections, permissive jurisdictional rules, hard-wired consideration of foreign and international law, and its unrivaled reputation among academics and jurists. Altogether, this highly influential court is structurally and politically capable of supporting a significant evolution in the field of constitutional environmental rights.
Towards a Science of Creativity: Homage to Lotfi Zadeh

It was in 1997 that we first discovered fuzzy logic and met Lotfi Zadeh. Our interest in the implication of fuzzy logic for medicine led us to pursue an academic interest in Zadeh’s contribution to science in its general implication. The most obvious point of relevance was that all of the so called “evidence based” clinical practice in medicine and experimentation level were intricately rooted in Aristotelian logic, probabilities and had in a significant organized fashion removed itself from fundamental discovery. Moreover, why had physician scientists accepted a method which allowed for the possibility of “chance” when someone’s life or all the future of therapeutic ventures were at stake? The underlying philosophy to contend with was that which said that no physician or scientist could ever completely master the truth of how or why the clinical state was as it presented before or after therapeutic intervention. This knowledge had to be founded in a gamble. All this was far removed from mastering the principles of physiology, chemistry and biologic systems.
Transmitting Arbitrary Sources with Finite Error Over a Broadcast Channel with Confidential Communications

In this paper we classify what arbitrary sources can be transmitted over a discrete memoryless broadcast channel with confidential communications (DM-BCC). Despite allowing completely arbitrary sources and finite error, we show that necessary and sufficient conditions can be expressed in terms of traditional channel capacity regions. As a by-product we also determine the $(\epsilon, \delta)$ -capacity region, and show that even in this more general setting source-channel separation is optimal for the DM-BCC as originally defined.
Circadian Rhythms in Plants

The circadian oscillator is a complex network of interconnected feedback loops that regulates a wide range of physiological processes. Indeed, variation in clock genes has been implicated in an array of plant environmental adaptations, including growth regulation, photoperiodic control of flowering, and responses to abiotic and biotic stress. Although the clock is buffered against the environment, maintaining roughly 24-h rhythms across a wide range of conditions, it can also be reset by environmental cues such as acute changes in light or temperature. These competing demands may help explain the complexity of the links between the circadian clock network and environmental response pathways. Here, we discuss our current understanding of the clock and its interactions with light and temperature-signaling pathways. We also describe different clock gene alleles that have been implicated in the domestication of important staple crops.
Evaluating and Differentiating Ankle Instability

Given the prevalence of lateral ankle sprains during physical activity and the high rate of reinjury and chronic ankle instability, clinicians should be cognizant of the need to expand the evaluation of ankle instability beyond the acute time point. Physical assessments of the injured ankle should be similar, regardless of whether this is the initial lateral ankle sprain or the patient has experienced multiple sprains. To this point, a thorough injury history of the affected ankle provides important information during the clinical examination. The physical examination should assess the talocrural and subtalar joints, and clinicians should be aware of efficacious diagnostic tools that provide information about the status of injured structures. As patients progress into the subacute and return-to-activity phases after injury, comprehensive assessments of lateral ankle-complex instability will identify any disease and patient-oriented outcome deficits that resemble chronic ankle instability, which should be addressed with appropriate interventions to minimize the risk of developing long-term, recurrent ankle instability.