cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The pulsed laser damage sensitivity of optical thin films, thermal conductivity

Pulsed laser induced damage of optical thin films is, in general, initiated by the absorption of laser radiation by imperfections in the films or at interfaces between film layers and/or the substrate. A heat flow analysis of this process stresses the importance that the thermal conductivity of both the thin film host and that of the substrate play in establishing the laser-induced damage threshold. Unfortunately, recent work, which will be reviewed in this presentation, indicates that the thermal conductivity of thin films can be several orders of magnitude lower than that of the corresponding material in bulk form. This situation arises as a consequence of the film structure resulting principally from the deposition process. The importance of thermal conductivity will be compared to parameters such as absorption mechanisms, film materials, composition, and other variables. Its implication for the ultimate optical strength of materials and the direction in which thin film research and processing should proceed will be highlighted.
Rheo‐optical studies of the effect of shear flow on the structure of elastomer blends

The effect of shear flow on the structure of a phase-separated, near-critical blend of 50/50 (w/w) poly(styrene-ran-butadiene) and polybutadiene was studied with two different custom-built rheo-optical instruments that combined polymer melt flow and small-angle light scattering (SALS). The deformation of the phase domains during shear flow was nonaffine, and the SALS patterns evolved from a spinodal ring (SR) pattern to a squashed SR with two high-intensity lobes, to an H-pattern, to a butterfly pattern with a dark streak along the equator, and finally to a steady-state, elliptical pattern. The SALS patterns were explained in terms of a network model, in which the strands of the network first orient in the flow direction, then extend in this direction, and finally break up into droplets aligned in the flow direction. According to this picture, the strands in the vorticity direction do not deform until relatively high strains, after which the periodicity of the network begins to disappear. Supporting this model was the observation that the transitions between the different SALS patterns corresponded to inflections and/or maxima in the shear stress or first normal stress difference. Increasing the shear rate changed the kinetics of the structure evolution and reduced the size of the phase-separated droplets in the steady state. No evidence was obtained for flow-induced miscibility. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1725–1738, 2004
Learning from Failure: China's Overseas Oil Investments

Thirsty for oil and other raw materials needed to fuel its breakneck development, China is funnelling money and manpower into an expanding number of countries in order to secure access to natural resources. This effort has successfully increased Chinese oil assets overseas but it has also exposed Beijing and Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) to significant risks. The present paper focuses on one type of risk – political risk – and how it has affected China’s global quest for oil since 1993. It starts with a brief overview of political risk. It then looks at political risk management as applied to the oil industry in general. The paper continues with a discussion of the political risk management of Chinese national oil companies over time. This includes a concise exam-ination of several instances in which the interests of Chinese NOCs have been undermined due to political risk and the shortcomings in the approaches of Chinese NOCs to political risk. Recent developments suggest that Chinese NOCs are learning from these mistakes and adjusting their strategies accordingly. Although progress toward these readjust-ments has been made, China’s own socio-political context is still hampering the ability of Chinese NOCs to deal with on-the-ground realities that are clearly much more unstable than China’s own.
Membrane Packaging System to Permit Safe Hydration of Freeze‐Dried Contents with Impure Water

We tested the feasibility of using polymer membranes for a self-hydrating packaging system to reconstitute freeze-dried foods using nonpurified water. Several commercial membranes were screened according to (1) hydration rate, (2) water permeability, (3) passage of microorganisms, (4) salt rejection, and (5) strength. The most promising membranes were used for developing and testing prototype packaging systems. A feasible self-contained rehydration system was a nylon-6 polyamide membrane that rehydrated the freeze-dried food within 30 min while passage of microorganisms was prevented. The temperature was 37°C, and the food contained 0.5g/5g of a low molecular weight solute (salt). Such self-contained membrane rehydration systems must be designed to accommodate expected environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, and nature of the product.
DEONTOLOGICAL MORAL OBLIGATIONS AND NON-WELFARIST AGENT-RELATIVE VALUES

Many claim that a plausible moral theory would have to include a principle of beneficence, a principle telling us to produce goods that are both welfarist and agent-neutral. But when we think carefully about the necessary connection between moral obligations and reasons for action, we see that agents have two reasons for action, and two moral obligations: they must not interfere with any agent’s exercise of his rational capacities and they must do what they can to make sure that agents have rational capacities to exercise. According to this distinctively deontological view of morality, though we are obliged to produce goods, the goods in question are non-welfarist and agent-relative. The value of welfare thus turns out to be, at best, instrumental.
Carcinoid heart disease: A case report and literature review

We report a patient who presented for elective exploratory laparotomy, and resection of a pelvic mass, which was thought to be ovarian carcinoma. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated right-sided valvular heart lesions, which suggested the diagnosis of carcinoid syndrome before a pathologic confirmation was obtained. This article discusses the classical presentation and anesthetic management of patients with carcinoid syndrome and emphasizes the importance of proper preoperative diagnosis and careful planning if the incidence and severity of the symptoms that this condition can provoke are to be reduced.
Nitrogen excretion by embryos of an altricial bird, the redwing blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Small quantities of urea and soluble urates are present in eggs of redwing blackbirds at oviposition, but no ammonia can be detected in eggs before the ninth day of a 12-day incubation. Urea-nitrogen accumulates relatively slowly in eggs during development, whereas urate-nitrogen accumulates more rapidly. At hatching, 71% of the waste-nitrogen accumulated in eggs is in the form of urates, 26% in urea, and 3% in ammonia. Thus, the general pattern of nitrogen excretion described for embryos of precocial birds applies also to those of an altricial species.
Climate change effects on Neotropical manakin diversity based on ecological niche modeling

Abstract ABSTRACT Assessing the nature and magnitude of potentialeffects of climate change on populations isimportant to anticipating effects on speciesdiversity for conservation planning. We usedecological niche modeling to predict present andfuture distributions of 49 species of manakins(Pipridae) and allies. Predictions forpresent-day distributions were highly coincidentwith independent test data, suggesting goodpredictive ability. Assuming no dispersal,projections of potential distributions underfour scenarios of climate change predicted that20% of manakin species would likely goextinct from their current ranges, and thatdistributions would in general be reduced andfragmented, regardless of the area ofpresent-day potential distribution or rarity.Predicted changes in potential distributions,spatial configuration of suitable habitats, andgeographic position of species ranges were moredramatic for species inhabiting flatlands thanfor montane species. These results are anexample of how ecological niche mo...
Autonomic arousal and experimentally induced pain: a critical review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Autonomic arousal frequently is assumed to be a component of the pain response, perhaps because physiological mechanisms connecting pain and autonomic reactivity can be easily conceptualized. The evidence clarifying autonomic responses specific to painful stimulation, however, has been rather sporadic and lacks coherence; thus, a summary and critical review is needed in this area.
Built-In Self-Test for TSVs

Pre-bond testing of individual dies prior to stacking is crucial for yield assurance in 3D-SICs [42, 43]. A complete known-good-die (KGD) test requires testing of die logic, power and clock networks, and the TSVs that will interconnect dies after bonding in the stack.
Framing the debate on race : global historiography and local flavour in Berni Searle's Colour Me series

Critiques of racial ideas, and their production and dissemination, often perpetuate a comparativist model, thereby re-inscribing the category of the nation; histories of various racial identities become entangled almost exclusively with narratives of national spaces. As part of a larger project that attempts to shift this nationalist focus in race studies towards a more 'outer-national' (Gilroy 1993:16, 17; Nuttall 2009:24) perspective, in this article, I focus on a series of installation works by South African artist Berni Searle. Searle's Colour Me series, when read through this paradigm of the 'outer-national', productively interrogates the categorical boundaries of the nation in the historical production and subsequent life of racial identity. In my discussion, I read Searle's work as an example of how race might be approached, not only as an identitarian category, but also as a global phenomenon. To do so, I suggest that Searle's use of spice powders places her work within the historical trajectories of the spice trade, and that this placement locates her work within a larger nexus that frames her performance of South African racial identities. I consider spices as compounded signifiers, simultaneously indexing the quotidian and the extraordinary, the local and the global, and the ritualistic and the historiographic. Furthermore, by reading the metaphorical relationship between race and spices in these works, I argue that the aim of Searle's critique of race is to reveal how race as a concept can be used to deconstruct the very categorical and binary thinking that produces it in the first place. This allows for a discussion of the liminality of race and its existence at the boundaries of categories and spaces. Lastly, this territorial "in-betweenness" has certain historiographical implications. Searle's spices construct an archive that simultaneously complicates the specifically South African inflections of coloured racial identity and de-privileges apartheid historiographical models in the post-apartheid interrogation of such categories. In other words, by not projecting a post-apartheid present into the past, Searle renders visible a multiplicity of archives through which to interrogate contemporary racial identities in South Africa. I propose that Searle's historiographical and methodological shifts toward the 'outer-national' offer new ways to read local inflections and global trajectories of race.
Three Essays in Criminal Justice

How could the New York Times call the grand jury’s decision to no bill the indictment against officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a “verdict”? How could federal appellate judges call it a “procedural shortcut” when a state judge, in a death penalty case, signs the state attorney general’s proposed judicial opinion without even striking the word “proposed” or reviewing the full opinion? What do these incidents tell us about contemporary criminal justice? These essays explore these puzzles. The first, “Verdict and Illusion,” begins to sketch the role of illusions in justice. The second, “A Singe Voice of Justice,” interprets these procedural shortcuts through the lens of Homeric, agonistic combat. The third, “Reading Penal Theories and Institutions,” offers a first reading of the newly published Foucault lectures on punishment practices, theories and institutions, delivered at the College de France in 1971-1972. (A French version of the latter essay is included as well).
Spatial organization of acute myocardial ischemia.

Abstract Introduction Myocardial ischemia is a pathological condition initiated by supply and demand imbalance of the blood to the heart. Previous studies suggest that ischemia originates in the subendocardium, i.e., that nontransmural ischemia is limited to the subendocardium. By contrast, we hypothesized that acute myocardial ischemia is not limited to the subendocardium and sought to document its spatial distribution in an animal preparation. The goal of these experiments was to investigate the spatial organization of ischemia and its relationship to the resulting shifts in ST segment potentials during short episodes of acute ischemia. Methods We conducted acute ischemia studies in open-chest canines (N = 19) and swines (N = 10), which entailed creating carefully controlled ischemia using demand, supply or complete occlusion ischemia protocols and recording intramyocardial and epicardial potentials. Elevation of the potentials at 40% of the ST segment between the J-point and the peak of the T-wave (ST40%) provided the metric for local ischemia. The threshold for ischemic ST segment elevations was defined as two standard deviations away from the baseline values. Results The relative frequency of occurrence of acute ischemia was higher in the subendocardium (78% for canines and 94% for swines) and the mid-wall (87% for canines and 97% for swines) in comparison with the subepicardium (30% for canines and 22% for swines). In addition, acute ischemia was seen arising throughout the myocardium (distributed pattern) in 87% of the canine and 94% of the swine episodes. Alternately, acute ischemia was seen originating only in the subendocardium (subendocardial pattern) in 13% of the canine episodes and 6% of the swine episodes (p Conclusions Our findings suggest that the spatial distribution of acute ischemia is a complex phenomenon arising throughout the myocardial wall and is not limited to the subendocardium.
Acculturation and Health of Korean American Adults

Increasing cultural diversity in the United States and significant health disparities among immigrant populations make acculturation an important concept to measure in health research. The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to examine acculturation and health of Korean American adults. A convenience sample of 517 Korean American adults in a Midwestern city completed a survey in either English or Korean. All four groups of Berry's acculturation model were identified using cluster analysis with Lee's Acculturation Scale. Assimilation, integration, and separation were found in the English survey sample, whereas integration, separation, and marginalization were found in the Korean survey sample. Moreover, the findings revealed that acculturation is a bidimensional process, and the unique nature of samples may determine acculturation groups. Physical health and mental health were significantly related to acculturation in the English survey sample. However, there was not a significant relationship between health and acculturation in the Korean survey sample.
Single Wavelength Square Semiconductor Laser with Quad Grating-Coupled Surface-Emitting Outputs

We present a square broad area semiconductor surface emitting laser lasing in orthogonal directions with feedback provided by four dual grating reflectors. The outputs of the device, having two orthogonal polarizations, overlap above the laser.
Imaging and modeling of collagen architecture in living tissue with polarized light transfer(Conference Presentation)

The extra-cellular space in connective tissue of animals and humans alike is comprised in large part of collagen. Monitoring of collagen arrangement and cross-linking has been utilized to diagnose a variety of medical conditions and guide surgical intervention. For example, collagen monitoring is useful in the assessment and treatment of cervical cancer, skin cancer, myocardial infarction, and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. We have developed a suite of tools and models based on polarized light transfer for the assessment of collagen presence, cross-linking, and orientation in living tissue. Here we will present some example of such approach applied to the human cervix. We will illustrate a novel Mueller Matrix (MM) imaging system for the study of cervical tissue; furthermore we will show how our model of polarized light transfer through cervical tissue compares to the experimental findings. Finally we will show validation of the methodology through histological results and Second Harmonic imaging microscopy.
CROI 2015: Highlights of Viral Hepatitis Therapy

High cure rates with all-oral regimens for patients with HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection were a highlight of the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Twelve weeks of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir led to sustained virologic response (SVR) rates of 96% in treatment-naive and 98% in treatment-experienced HCV genotype 1-infected patients. Twelve weeks of sofosbuvir plus ledipasvir had similar results, with SVR rates of 95% in treatment-naive and 96% in treatment-experienced patients. Patients with cirrhosis were included in both trials and attained SVR rates of 92% to 94%. Real-world performance of sofosbuvir and simeprevir resulted in SVR rates similar to those attained in clinical trials. Identifying HCV infection, linking patients to care, reducing barriers to drug access, and ensuring adherence will be key to realizing the enormous potential of high cure rates with interferon alfa-free therapies. Preventing reinfection after cure will be of particular importance in the HIV-infected population, which was highly impacted by reinfection rates of more than 20% during 5 years of follow-up in a meta-analysis.
BRICS| Branding Brazil Through Cultural Policy: Rio de Janeiro as a Creative, Audiovisual City

This article examines trends in Brazilian cultural policies from 2003 to 2014, programs specific to the audiovisual sector, and efforts to make Rio de Janeiro a creative, audiovisual city. I argue that cultural polices have functioned as a way to brand Brazil for domestic and international audiences. First, I outline how cultural policies were informed by premises of the creative economy, and I consider how these ideas impacted the audiovisual sector, emphasizing the film industry. Then I focus specifically on the film industry in Rio de Janeiro. Cultural policies specific to the audiovisual sector have sought to make Rio de Janeiro a key site for the new creative economy and a site for global consumption.
Spectral correlation and interference in non-degenerate photon pairs at telecom wavelengths.

We characterize an entangled-photon-pair source that produces signal and idler photons at 1533 nm and 1567 nm using fiber-assisted signal-photon spectroscopy. By erasing the polarization distinguishability, we observe interference between the two down-conversion paths. The observed interference signature is closely related to the spectral correlations between photons in a Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometer. These measurements suggest good indistinguishability between the two down-conversion paths, which is required for high entanglement visibility.
Regional variation in Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections by age cohort and sex: effects of market integration among the indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection peaks during childhood and varies by sex. The impact of market integration (MI) (increasing production for and consumption from a market-based economy) on these infection patterns, however, is unclear. In this study, STH infection is examined by sex and age among indigenous Shuar inhabiting two regions of Amazonian Ecuador: (1) the modestly market-integrated Upano Valley (UV) and (2) the more traditional Cross-Cutucu (CC) region. Kato-Katz fecal smears were examined for parasite presence and infection intensity. Factorial ANOVAs and post hoc simple effects analyses were performed by sex to compare infection intensity between regions and age categories (infant/child, juvenile/adolescent, adult). Significant age and regional differences in Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infection were detected. Overall, infants/children and juveniles/adolescents displayed higher parasite loads than adults. CC females exhibited higher A. lumbricoides loads than UV females, while the opposite pattern was observed for T. trichiura infection in males. Regional infection patterns varied by sex and parasite species, perhaps due to MI-linked environmental and lifestyle changes. These results have public health implications for the identification of individuals at risk for infection and contribute to ongoing efforts to track changes and alleviate STH infection in indigenous populations undergoing MI.
Childhood Hypertension: An Underappreciated Epidemic?

* Abbreviations: BP — : blood pressure EHR — : electronic health record It is no secret that the United States and much of the developed world are in the midst of a pediatric obesity epidemic. Perhaps less recognized is that childhood hypertension is now one of the most common health concerns in children. Recent data from NHANES demonstrate prehypertension or hypertension in 19.2% of adolescent-age boys and 12.6% of girls, an estimated 38% increase compared with NHANES III data collected from 1988 to 1994.1 In their analysis in this issue of Pediatrics , Kaelber and colleagues2 used data from the Comparative Effectiveness Research from the Collaborative Electronic Reporting Consortium, a network of over 2000 pediatric primary care clinicians coordinated by the American Academy of Pediatrics, to evaluate the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric hypertension. Their study population included just under 400 000 children (ages 3–18 years) evaluated in primary care settings between 1999 and 2014. They document a 3.3% prevalence of hypertension, consistent with multiple previous analyses where the prevalence has ranged from ∼2% to 5%.1,3–6 Most notably, they report low rates of diagnosis and treatment. Of 12 138 children and adolescents with charted … Address correspondence to Kevin D. Hill, MD, MSCI, Duke Clinical Research Institute and Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, P.O. Box 17969, Durham, NC 27715. E-mail: kevin.hill{at}duke.edu
A 24-GHz Patch Array with a Power Amplifier/Low-Noise Amplifier MMIC

This paper presents an active patch array designed at 24 GHz. It can be used as a front-end component for a phased array. A series resonant array structure is chosen which is compact and easy excite. With 5 elements, the array proved a 12-dB antenna gain. A power amplifier and a low noise amplifier are designed on a single GaAs chip (PALNA). Bias switch is used in the PALNA, which greatly reduces the switch loss in a transceiver and increases the efficiency. 20-dB small signal gain is achieved in both power amplifier and low noise amplifier. The active patch array is built by the combination of the patch array and PALNA. The measured active gain of this antenna is 35-dB for the PA mode and 31-dB for the LNA mode. This active patch array can obtain an EIRP of 34 dBm with a total radiated power of 22dBm and a maximum PAE of 32%. To check the noise performance, we applied sources at both normal temperature and 77K (liquid nitrogen) and extracted the noise figure (3.5 dB) of the active antenna by the Y factor method. The results proved that the active antenna is working efficiently as both a transmitting and receiving antenna.
Case 80: A Maxillofacial Operation

Today you are to anesthetize an 8-year-old girl (88 lbs and 4′7″) for dental work under general anesthesia in an outpatient surgical center. The patient has developmental delay, but otherwise her past history and physical exam are unremarkable. You meet the surgeon for the first time. He is an elderly gentleman and requests that the patient gets a nasal intubation. He managed with the help of the mother to put vasoconstrictors into the right nostril, after having deemed the right to be the best opening.
Sector Differences in Student Learning: Differences in Achievement Gains Across School Years and During the Summer

Public and private schools have been the focus of considerable research, comparing student achievement, attendance, dropout rates, graduation rates, disciplinary incidents, and a variety of educational and prosocial outcomes across sectors. Comparative studies of student achievement have tended to concentrate on the high school years and without any effort to measure gains or losses during specific years. This study concludes that sector differences in learning vary across grade levels and that summer learning rates vary by school sector. More study of sector differences in learning is recommended, especially longitudinal studies that examine seasonal gains across school sector over the entire span of a student’s academic career.
Integrated Logistics Models

The vehicle routing models discussed in Part II assume that the frequency, timing and sizes of customer deliveries are predetermined. There are however many distribution problems in which the vehicle schedules and the timing and size of the customer deliveries are (or should be) simultaneously determined. This is clearly the case in internal distribution systems in which the depot and the customers represent (part of) consecutive layers in the distribution network of a single company (see, e.g., Chapter 12).
Search for the Reaction μ + + e − → γ + γ

One of few reactions in which the direct interaction of twe light fermions can be studied is the annihilation process f UO/sub 2/ /sup +/ + e/ sup -/ sintered BeO gamma + gamma . This reaction can be compared directly with the more familar positron annihilation process. A beam of ith Cr deposite /sup +/ mesons was brought to rest in a 1/4-in.-thick disk of copper. A schematic diagram of the experimental setup and a block diagram of the electronic circuits are given. (W.D.M.)
Chemical and mineralogical characteristics of tourmaline in pegmatites from Vavdos, Chalkidiki peninsula, N Greece

Pegmatite veins crosscutting dunites and serpentinites of the ophiolitic complex of the Vavdos (Gioldaki and Loukoviti), northern Greece contain tourmalines with a wide variation in size and composition. Pegmatite veins mainly consist of quartz crystals, microcline, albite, perthitised-feldspars. The accessory minerals include mostly coarse to medium grained zoned tourmaline, and lesser amounts of sericite (only occasionally biotite). There are also trace amounts of some rare earth element minerals, such as morazite, xenotime and minerals of the bastnaesite group (epigenetic products of monazite). The pegmative veins host also fine-grained tourmalile, which shows an orientation parallel to the schistosity of the rock. They are composed of quartz, low-T albite and K-feldspars. Hydroxy apatite, chlorite, Nb-bearing REE minerals (koragoite), garnet, zircon and talc are also present in lesser amounts.
Comments on “Family Labor Market Incentives: Men and Women Working for Pay”

Polachek and Siebert have divided their analysis of labor market outcomes into two distinct parts: Section 5.2 of their paper reviews models of labor market outcomes, for women with market jobs, and advocates a human capital explanation of occupational and earnings differences. This section generally takes patterns and trends in labor force participation by gender and marital status to be exogenous. Section 5.3 then attempts to explain the LFPR patterns and trends themselves. Past human capital analyses of women’s occupation and earnings have been criticized for failing to allow for the endogeneity of male-female labor force participation differences (e.g. Cain 1986), and the authors are to be commended for including an exploration of the forces affecting participation in this review. A reading of Section 5.3, however, in which the multiplicity of possible relationships between economic and demographic variables is acknowledged, makes Section 5.2 seem unduly argumentative and unbalanced.
Advances in Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains to be a devastating disease with high mortality and morbidity. Two major areas are becoming the focus of the research interest of SAH: these are cerebral vasospasm (CVS) and early brain injury (EBI). This mini review will provide a broad summary of the major advances in experimental SAH during the last 3 years. Treatments interfering with nitric oxide (NO)- or endothelin-pathways continue to show antispasmotic effects in experimental SAH. HIF 1 may play both a detrimental and beneficial role in the setting of SAH, depending on its activation stage. Inflammation and oxidative stress contribute to the pathophysiology of both CVS and EBI. Apoptosis, a major component of EBI after SAH, also underlie the etiology of CVS. Since we recognize now that CVS and EBI are the two major contributors to the significant mortality and morbidity associated with SAH, ongoing research will continue to elucidate the underlying pathophysiological pathways and treatment strategies targeting both CVS and EBI may be more successful and improve outcome of patients with SAH.
Prescription Opioid Use Before and After Hip Arthroscopy: A Caution to Prescribers.

Purpose To determine pre- and postoperative opioid utilization while identifying risk factors for prolonged postoperative opioid use following hip arthroscopy. Methods All patients undergoing hip arthroscopy between 2007 and the second quarter of 2016 were identified within the Humana Inc. administrative claims database. Chronic preoperative opioid utilization was defined as filling of any opioid prescription 1 to 3 months before surgery, whereas acute preoperative opioid utilization was defined as filling any opioid prescription within 1 month of surgery. Rates of pre- and postoperative opioid utilization were calculated, and patient demographic characteristics and medical conditions associated with pre- and postoperative opioid utilization were identified. Results Of the 1,208 patients undergoing hip arthroscopy, chronic and acute preoperative opioid utilization was observed in 24.9% and 17.3% of patients, respectively. Chronic preoperative opioid utilization was more frequently observed in obese (P Conclusions Chronic preoperative opioid utilization before hip arthroscopy is common at 24.9%. The high rate of chronic preoperative opioid utilization is particularly important considering that chronic preoperative opioid utilization is the strongest predictor of continued postoperative opioid prescription filling out to 12 months postoperatively. Level of Evidence Level IV, retrospective case series.
Treatment of severe pediatric atopic dermatitis with methotrexate: A retrospective review.

Background/objectives Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) may require systemic immunomodulatory agents to control symptoms. A lack of evidence and guidelines for systemic AD therapy in children has led to variability in agents selected and uncertainty in their comparative efficacy and safety. Evaluation of the efficacy of methotrexate in children with severe AD was performed. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of 55 pediatric patients seen at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that measured improvement using the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA), a scale that rates AD symptoms from 0 to 5. Results About 76% of patients showed improvement with methotrexate. Mean baseline IGA of all patients was 4.18. After 6-9 months of treatment, this improved to 2.94. There was additional improvement to a mean IGA score of 2.39 after 12-15 months of treatment. At the final visit before each patient stopped methotrexate, the mean IGA score was 2.71. Approximately 50% of patients experienced minor side effects with gastrointestinal side effects the most common. Conclusions In a diverse patient population, safety and efficacy of methotrexate was demonstrated. Significant improvement in IGA was noted for the majority after 6-9 months of therapy with further improvement when continuing treatment to 12-15 months. Methotrexate remains an important option for long-term symptom control with a favorable side effect profile and low cost.
Incentive equilibrium strategies of transboundary industrial pollution control under emission permit trading

In this paper, we investigate the incentive equilibrium strategies of two neighboring regions facing transboundary industrial pollution under abatement investment and emission permits trading in a ...
Assessment of PD-1 expression in human resting and activated natural killer cells and murine tumor models.

36Background: Blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1/2 axis has revolutionized cancer therapy. Although reinvigorated PD-1+ T cells are the main effectors in the response to checkpoint blockade, the contributi...
Mercury Concentrations in the Two-Toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) and the Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia): Validating Non-lethal Sampling Methods in Southeastern Aquatic Salamanders.

The global decline of amphibians is a major conservation issue. Many stressors are recognized for this decline including exposure to environmental contaminants. Mercury (Hg) is an environmental contaminant that bioaccumulates in wildlife and can cause a variety of negative impacts across taxa, including amphibians. Amphiuma and Siren spp. can comprise a large portion of biomass within their respective ecosystems, and thus, likely serve as important predators or prey in wetland communities. However, due to their cryptic nature, little is known about their ecology, diet, and accumulation potential. We sought to validate a nonlethal sampling method to quantify total mercury (THg) in two enigmatic species of aquatic salamanders: the two-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma means) and the lesser siren (Siren intermedia). We examined relationships between THg content in lethal (whole-body) and nonlethal (tail clip) samples. Tail clips were statistically significant predictors of whole-body THg (all p < 0.001), explaining 84–89% of variation in whole-body THg. Average whole-body THg (mg/kg) did not significantly differ between the two species (p = 0.97), and overall, they had similar whole-body THg content (S. intermedia = 0.330 ± 0.04, n = 18; A. means = 0.333 ± 0.07, n = 11). To our knowledge, these data represent the first reported Hg burdens in A. means and S. intermedia.
Against colonial grounds: Geography on Indigenous lands:

In this response to Natalie Oswin’s provocation, ‘An other geography’, we consider how we might work against settler narratives and structures from our situated positions in the discipline and in a...
Corporate Resilience and Response During COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic caused a sharp market decline while raising heterogeneous responses across companies related to their employees, supply chain, and repurposing of operations to provide needed products and services. We study whether during the 2020 COVID-19 induced market crash, investors differentiated across companies based on their human capital, supply chain, and products and service response. Using data derived from natural language processing applied to news coverage of corporate responses to the coronavirus crisis for 3,023 companies around the world, we find that more positive sentiment around a company’s response is associated with less negative returns. This is especially true for companies with more salient responses and in industries that those responses are more likely to represent a credible commitment to their stakeholders.
The staphylococcal biofilm protein Aap forms a tetrameric species as a necessary intermediate before amyloidogenesis

The accumulation-associated protein (Aap) from Staphylococcus epidermidis is a biofilm-related protein that was found to be a critical factor for infection using a rat catheter model. The B-repeat superdomain of Aap, composed of 5–17 B-repeats, each containing a Zn2+-binding G5 and a spacer subdomain, is responsible for Zn2+-dependent assembly leading to accumulation of bacteria during biofilm formation. We previously demonstrated that a minimal B-repeat construct (Brpt1.5) forms an antiparallel dimer in the presence of 2–3 Zn2+ ions. More recently, we have reported the presence of functional amyloid-like fibrils composed of Aap within S. epidermidis biofilms and demonstrated that a biologically relevant construct containing five and a half B-repeats (Brpt5.5) forms amyloid-like fibrils similar to those observed in the biofilm. In this study, we analyze the initial assembly events of the Brpt5.5 construct. Analytical ultracentrifugation was utilized to determine hydrodynamic parameters of reversibly associating species and to perform linked equilibrium studies. Linkage studies indicated a mechanism of Zn2+-induced dimerization similar to smaller constructs; however, Brpt5.5 dimers could then undergo further Zn2+-induced assembly into a previously uncharacterized tetramer. This led us to search for potential Zn2+-binding sites outside of the dimer interface. We developed a Brpt5.5 mutant that was unable to form the tetramer and was concordantly incapable of amyloidogenesis. CD and dynamic light scattering indicate that a conformational transition in the tetramer species is a critical step preceding amyloidogenesis. This mechanistic model for B-repeat assembly and amyloidogenesis provides new avenues for potential therapeutic targeting of staphylococcal biofilms.
Analytic and numerical results of a disc cam bending with a roller follower

The bending deflection of a disc cam with a roller follower was analyzed by using constant angular velocity of the cam. The objective of this paper was to study the effect of the contact load on the bending deflection of the cam profile. Numerical simulations were carried out using SolidWorks and ANSYS Ver. 19.2 package based on finite element analysis. SolidWorks was used to determine the dynamic response of the follower, while the bending deflection of the cam profile has been investigated using ANSYS package. The modal and harmonic analyses were used to find the natural frequency and the dynamic response of the bending deflection. The theory of circular plate was applied to derive the analytic solution for the bending deflection. The experiment data has been collected with an infrared camera system. The dynamic response of the follower, at the point of contact, was verified analytically and experimentally. The reduction rate for bending deflection is (73.425%) for path no. (1), (85.925%) for path no. (2), and (61.467%) for path no. (3). The harmonic amplitude peak of the point (18) on the nose (2) is bigger than the peak of the point (4) on the nose (1) because of large values for the radius of curvature of the nose (2).
Flipped Classrooms for Advanced Science Courses.

This article explains how issues regarding dual credit and Advanced Placement high school science courses could be mitigated via a flipped classroom instructional model. The need for advanced high school courses will be examined initially, followed by an analysis of advanced science courses and the reform they are experiencing. Finally, it will conclude with an explanation of flipped classes as well as how they may be a solution to the reform challenges teachers are experiencing as they seek to incorporate more inquiry-based activities.
Immunopathogenesis of Craniotomy Infection and Niche-Specific Immune Responses to Biofilm

Bacterial infections in the central nervous system (CNS) can be life threatening and often impair neurological function. Biofilm infection is a complication following craniotomy, a neurosurgical procedure that involves the removal and replacement of a skull fragment (bone flap) to access the brain for surgical intervention. The incidence of infection following craniotomy ranges from 1% to 3% with approximately half caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). These infections present a significant therapeutic challenge due to the antibiotic tolerance of biofilm and unique immune properties of the CNS. Previous studies have revealed a critical role for innate immune responses during S. aureus craniotomy infection. Experiments using knockout mouse models have highlighted the importance of the pattern recognition receptor Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and its adaptor protein MyD88 for preventing S. aureus outgrowth during craniotomy biofilm infection. However, neither molecule affected bacterial burden in a mouse model of S. aureus brain abscess highlighting the distinctions between immune regulation of biofilm vs. planktonic infection in the CNS. Furthermore, the immune responses elicited during S. aureus craniotomy infection are distinct from biofilm infection in the periphery, emphasizing the critical role for niche-specific factors in dictating S. aureus biofilm-leukocyte crosstalk. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge concerning innate immunity to S. aureus craniotomy biofilm infection, compare this to S. aureus biofilm infection in the periphery, and discuss the importance of anatomical location in dictating how biofilm influences inflammatory responses and its impact on bacterial clearance.
Enrichment of Intact Glycopeptides Using Strong Anion Exchange and Electrostatic Repulsion Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography

Glycosylation is a biologically important and complex protein posttranslational modification. The emergence of glycoproteomic technologies to identify and characterize glycans on proteins has the potential to enable a better understanding the role of glycosylation in biology, disease states, and other areas of interest. In particular, the analysis of intact glycopeptides by mass spectrometry allows information about glycan location and composition to be ascertained. However, such analysis is often complicated by extensive glycan diversity and the low abundance of glycopeptides in a complex mixture relative to nonglycosylated peptides. Enrichment of glycopeptides from a protein enzymatic digest is an effective approach to overcome such challenges. In this chapter, we described a glycopeptide enrichment method combining strong anion exchange, electrostatic repulsion, and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (SAX-ERLIC). Following enzymatic digestion of proteins into peptides, SAX-ERLIC is performed by solid phase extraction to enrich glycopeptides from biological samples with subsequent LC-MS/MS analysis. Glycopeptide data generated using the SAX-ERLIC enrichment yields a high number of total and unique glycopeptide identifications which can be mapped back to proteins. The enrichment strategy is robust, easy to perform, and does not require cleavage of glycans prior to LC-MS/MS analysis.
Evaluation and management of elbow injuries in the adolescent overhead athlete

With an increased interest in youth sports, the burden of overhead throwing elbow injuries accompanying early single-sport focus has steadily risen. During the overhead throwing motion, valgus torq...
Mobile phone sensors can discern medication-related gait quality changes in Parkinson's patients in the home environment

Abstract Patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) experience daytime symptom fluctuations, which result in small amplitude, slow and unstable walking during times when medication attenuates. The ability to identify dysfunctional gait patterns throughout the day from raw mobile phone acceleration and gyroscope signals would allow the development of applications to provide real-time interventions to facilitate walking performance by, for example, providing external rhythmic cues. Patients (n = 20, mean Hoehn and Yahr: 2.25) had their ambulatory data recorded and were directly observed twice during one day: once after medication abstention, (OFF) and once approximately 30 min after intake of their medication (ON). Regularized generalized linear models (RGLM), neural networks (NN), and random forest (RF) classification models were individually trained for each participant. Across all subjects, our best performing classifier on average achieved an accuracy of 92.5%. This study demonstrated that smartphone accelerometers and gyroscopes can be used to distinguish between ON versus OFF times, potentially making smartphones useful intervention tools.
Short Term Results of Infants with Prenatally Diagnosed Multiple Left Heart Obstructive Lesions

Background: Choosing the surgical pathway in neonates with ≥ two left heart obstructive lesions is a complex process. Predictors of successful biventricular (2V) repair in these patients is poorly defined. The goal of our study was to identify patients who underwent 2V repair and assess anatomic and echocardiographic predictors of success. Methods: Infants born between 07/2015 – 08/2017 with ≥ 2 left heart obstructive lesions …
Dose Finding by the Continual Reassessment Method

Fundamentals Introduction Dose Finding in Clinical Trials The Maximum Tolerated Dose An Overview of Methodology Bibliographic Notes Exercises and Further Results The Continual Reassessment Method Introduction One-Stage Bayesian CRM Two-Stage CRM Simulating CRM Trials Practical Modifications Bibliographic Notes Exercises and Further Results One-Parameter Dose-ToxicityModels Introduction -Equivalent Models Model Assumptions+ Proof of Theorem 4.1+ Exercises and Further Results Theoretical Properties Introduction Coherence Large-Sample Properties Proofs+ Exercises and Further Results Empirical Properties Introduction Operating Characteristics A Nonparametric Optimal Benchmark Exercises and Further Results Design Calibration Specifications of a CRM Design Introduction Specifying the Clinical Parameters A Roadmap for Choosing the Statistical Component The Trial-and-Error Approach: Two Case Studies Initial Guesses of Toxicity Probabilities Introduction Half-width ( ) of Indifferent Interval Calibration of 77 Case Study: The Bortezomib Trial Exercises and Further Results Least Informative Normal Prior Introduction Least Informative Prior Calibration of 93 Optimal Least Informative Model Revisiting the Bortezomib Trial Initial Design Introduction Ordering of Dose Sequences Building Reference Initial Designs Practical Issues Case Study: NeuSTART Exercises and Further Results CRM and Beyond The Time-to-Event CRM Introduction The Basic Approach Numerical Illustration Enrollment Scheduling Theoretical Properties+ Two-Stage Design BibliographicNotes Exercises and Further Results CRM withMultiparameter Models Introduction Curve-Free Methods Rigidity Two-Parameter CRM+ BibliographicNotes Exercise and Further Results When the CRM Fails Introduction Trade-Off Perspective of MTD Bivariate Dose Finding Stochastic Approximation Introduction The Past Literature The Present Relevance The Future Challenge Assumptions on M(x) and Y (x)+ Exercises and Further Results References Index
A radioligand assay for plasma unconjugated estriol in normal and abnormal pregnancies.

Abstract A radioligand assay procedure with the use of rabbit uterine cytosol as specific binder and activated charcoal as nonspecific absorbent has been developed for the measurement of unconjugated estriol (E 3 ) in less than 1 ml. of pregnancy plasma. Chromatography of plasma extract on a celite column separated E 3 from other estrogens. The E 3 blank was always below the sensitivity of the method which was 0.1 ng. per milliliter and the coefficient of variation was 3 concentration from 1.4 ng. per milliliter at 16 weeks to 13 ng. per milliliter at term, with most of the increase taking place in the last trimester. Therapeutic abortion with hypertonic saline at 14 to 20 weeks of gestation resulted in a prompt drop in E 3 concentration. Subnormal E 3 values were found in 6 patients prior to fetal death and in 6 patients admitted with dead fetuses. In 5 severely Rh-isoimmunized patients, in whom intrauterine fetal transfusion was necessary, plasma E 3 remained normal until fetal death was clinically apparent.