cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus-Inoculated Chimpanzees Reveals Unexpected Clinical Profiles

The clinical course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in a chimpanzee cohort was examined to better characterize the outcome of this valuable animal model. Results of a cross-sectional study revealed that a low percentage (39%) of HCV-inoculated chimpanzees were viremic based on reverse transcription (RT-PCR) analysis. A correlation was observed between viremia and the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. The pattern of antibodies was dissimilar among viremic chimpanzees and chimpanzees that cleared the virus. Viremic chimpanzees had a higher prevalence of antibody reactivity to NS3, NS4, and NS5. Since an unexpectedly low percentage of chimpanzees were persistently infected with HCV, a longitudinal analysis of the virological profile of a small panel of HCV-infected chimpanzees was performed to determine the kinetics of viral clearance and loss of antibody. This study also revealed that a low percentage (33%) of HCV-inoculated chimpanzees were persistently viremic. Analysis of serial bleeds from six HCV-infected animals revealed four different clinical profiles. Viral clearance with either gradual or rapid loss of anti-HCV antibody was observed in four animals within 5 months postinoculation. A chronic-carrier profile characterized by persistent HCV RNA and anti-HCV antibody was observed in two animals. One of these chimpanzees was RT-PCR positive, antibody negative for 5 years and thus represented a silent carrier. If extrapolated to the human population, these data would imply that a significant percentage of unrecognized HCV infections may occur and that silent carriers may represent potentially infectious blood donors.
On Fermion Number Violation at High Energies

By considering the back reaction of the scattered particles on instantons, the explicit high energy behavior of fermion number violating amplitudes in the standard electroweak model is obtained to the leading order in the coupling constant. The amplitudes decay faster than what is expected from naive dimensional analysis due to the renormalization group flow of the coupling constant and this is consistent with unitarity. Also, it is shown that the constrained instanton approach is valid at low energies, while the high energy behavior is governed by the back reaction of the external particles.
CRIS: a test cultivation program for sequential VLSI circuits

This paper discusses a novel approach to cultivating a test for combinational and sequential VLSI circuits described hierarchically at the transistor, gate, and higher levels. The approach is based on continuous mutation of a given input sequence and on analyzing the mutated vectors for selecting the test set. The approach uses hierarchical simulation technique in the analysis to drastically reduce the memory requirement, thus allowing the test generation for large VLSI circuits. The algorithms are at the switch level so that general MOS digital designs can be handed, and both stuck-at and transistor faults are handle accurately. The approach has been implemented in a hierarchical test generation system, CRIS, that runs under UNM on SPARC workstations. CRIS has been used successfully to generate tests with high fault coverage for large combinational and sequential circuits.
Recommendations for a Mixed Methods Approach to Evaluating the Patient-Centered Medical Home

PURPOSE There is a strong push in the United States to evaluate whether the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model produces desired results. The explanatory and contextually based questions of how and why PCMH succeeds in different practice settings are often neglected. We report the development of a comprehensive, mixed qualitative-quantitative evaluation set for researchers, policy makers, and clinician groups. METHODS To develop an evaluation set, the Brown Primary Care Transforma- tion Initiative convened a multidisciplinary group of PCMH experts, reviewed the PCMH literature and evaluation strategies, developed key domains for evalua- tion, and selected or created methods and measures for inclusion. RESULTS The measures and methods in the evaluation set (survey instruments, PCMH meta-measures, patient outcomes, quality measures, qualitative interviews, participant observation, and process evaluation) are meant to be used together. PCMH evaluation must be sufficiently comprehensive to assess and explain both the context of transformation in different primary care practices and the experi- ences of diverse stakeholders. In addition to commonly assessed patient outcomes, quality, and cost, it is critical to include PCMH components integral to practice culture transformation: patient and family centeredness, authentic patient activa- tion, mutual trust among practice employees and patients, and transparency, joy, and collaboration in delivering and receiving care in a changing environment. CONCLUSIONS This evaluation set offers a comprehensive methodology to enable understanding of how PCMH transformation occurs in different practice settings. This approach can foster insights about how transformation affects critical out- comes to achieve meaningful, patient-centered, high-quality, and cost-effective sustainable change among diverse primary care practices.
Investigation of Hydrodynamic Loads and Flow Patterns Near an Escort Tug in Oblique Flows

The present research investigates the hydrodynamic forces and moments and the flow pattern near the hull of an escort tug at steady oblique flow conditions. An escort tug is modelled and numerical simulations have been carried out using a commercial RANS solver. In the simulations, the viscous flow field is calculated by the finite volume method, adapting the k-e turbulence model. Free surface is modeled using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach for calm water condition. The hull is assumed fixed in space with an even keel. Grid dependency studies are conducted to obtain insight into the reliability and accuracy of the results. Flow velocities around the escort tug as well as integral variables are computed at different Froude numbers and compared to the corresponding measurement data available in the public domain. The measurements was completed using a Planar Motion Mechanism (PMM) apparatus to measure the resistance, side force and yaw moment of the tug hull. Additionally, the velocity distributions on the upstream and downstream sides of the tug were measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV).The measurements and simulations have been completed at one draft, and at 15°, 30° and 45° inflow conditions. A reasonable agreement has been obtained between the predicted axial and lateral forces and the corresponding measurements. The flow pattern and the velocity distribution at different drift angle are comparable with the measurements. The variation of the pattern of flow separation at the suction side of the hull at different yaw angle is also analyzed and presented.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Relevancy of an In-Service Examination for Core Knowledge Training in a Surgical Subspecialty

Objective To facilitate knowledge acquisition during plastic surgery residency, we analyzed the breast curriculum on the Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exam (PSITE). Design Breast-related questions on 6 consecutive PSITEs were analyzed (2008-2013). Topics were categorized by the content outline for the American Board of Plastic Surgery written board examination. Question vignettes were classified by taxonomy and clinical setting. References for correct answer choices were categorized by source and publication lag. Results A total of 136 breast-related questions were analyzed (136/1174, 12%). Questions tended to appear more in the Breast and Cosmetic (75%) section than the Comprehensive (25%) section (p 0.05). Only 6% of questions required photographic evaluation. Breast-related topics focused on esthetic problems (35%), traumatic deformities (22%), and tumors (21%). Answer references comprised 293 citations to 63 unique journals published a median of 6 years before PSITE administration. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (57%) was the most cited journal (p Surgery of the Breast: Principles and Art by Spear was the most referenced textbook (22%). Conclusions The PSITE affords a curriculum that reflects breast-related topics on the American Board of Plastic Surgery written board examination. These data may optimize knowledge acquisition in esthetic and reconstructive breast surgery.
Supercritical Injection and Mixing Characteristics of Liquid Oxygen/Kerosene Bi-Swirl Injectors

A numerical study is carried out to investigate the mixing and atomization characteristics of liquid oxygen/kerosene swirl coaxial injectors at supercritical conditions. The numerical scheme is based on fullconservation laws and accommodates real-fluid thermodynamics and transport theories over the entire range of fluid states. Turbulence closure is achieved using large eddy simulation. A grid independence study was first conducted to ensure accurate numerical resolution and underlying flow physics. The mixing characteristics and flow dynamics were discussed in depth. Various geometric parameters, including recess region, post thickness, and kerosene annulus width, are examined to explore their influence on mixing efficiency and flow dynamics. The recess region enhances the interaction of liquid oxygen and kerosene and improves the mixing efficiency. A larger post thickness or larger annulus width imposes a higher spreading angle of the liquidoxygen film and intercepts the kerosene film in a broader area, thereby facilitating mixing in the recess region. But the flow structures in the recess region become more complicated and the mixture ratio in the vicinity of the injector post is close to stoichiometric, which leads to the potential overheating in case of combustion. An appropriate selection of the post thickness, recess length, and annulus width must be carefully made for the optimum injector performance. The present study provides important information for injector design and underlying flow physics.
Calories, Water, Lipid and Yolk in Avian Eggs

-The contents of fresh eggs of altricial, semi-altricial, semi-precocial, and precocial birds were compared with values for yolk content gathered from the literature. The continuum of developmental maturity at hatching from altricial to precocial eggs is correlated with an increase in yolk, solids, and caloric contents (per gram wet mass) and a decrease in water content. The proportion of lipid in dry matter and caloric content per gram dry mass does not vary significantly among the four developmental groups. The progressively higher caloric content on a wet mass basis with increasing precocity is a result of a larger solid content and lower water content, rather than variation in caloric value of the dry matter itself. Comparison of values within the same developmental group discloses no significant correlation between relative yolk content and egg mass. The total amount of calories in eggs is more importantly determined by egg mass than by yolk content. A freshly laid avian egg contains the necessary nutrients and raw materials that will eventually produce a hatchling. Although it has been recognized since the study of Tarchanoff (1884) that the initial proportions of yolk and albumen differ considerably in the eggs of altricial and precocial birds, the relations between the energetic and chemical contents of eggs and developmental mode are not completely understood (see Ricklefs 1974, Kendeigh et al. 1977, for review). We report here new values for lipid, water, and caloric contents of eggs of precocial, semiprecocial, semi-altricial, and altricial species. These results are combined with previously published caloric and yolk contents to provide an overview of the variation among these values as a function of embryonic maturity at hatching.
Mother-Infant Interactions in Captive Thick-Tailed Galagos (Galago garnetti)

Three Galago garnetti mother-infant dyads, maintained alone in a seminatural laboratory setting, were observed by means of a low-light television camera from birth of the infants until they were 14 weeks old. Mothers left infants alone for substantial periods at a time when infants were helpless and unable to follow them, they did not try to prevent infants from leaving them, and they did not bring infants back to a fixed location. When infants began to move on their own, they tried to stay near the mother rather than to move away. Offspring quickly (by 8 weeks) assumed responsibility for maintenance of closeness and initiation of active social interactions with the mother. There was no sharp severance of the mother-infant bond. Maternal rejection was largely passive and consisted mainly of avoidance.
208 DOES A GERIATRIC MEDICINE WORKSHOP USING STANDARDIZED PATIENTS INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND IMPROVE SKILLS

Background Geriatric patients account for about 40% of internists9 office visits and there is an expected 115% increase for geriatric services by 2030. Older patients tend to have multiple condidtions, polypharmacy, and altered physiology. Therefore, geriatric medicine (GM) should be emphasized in the medical student curriculum. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a GM workshop (WS) using standardized patients (SP) on knowledge and clinical skills of third-year medical students. Methods A 4-hour GM WS was developed as part of a new curriculum for a required third-year 4-week primary care internal medicine clerkship. The GM WS and three other novel WS were randomized for delivery to half of the rotational groups. The GM WS incorporates four SP cases representing different clinical challenges (dementia, depression, incontinence, and syncope). A faculty preceptor facilitates group discussion of sensitive approaches to the problems. Participating students are also provided with a 11-page GM reference. All students in every rotation group are assigned GM readings. At the end of the 4 weeks, all students take a 100-item written exam (seven GM questions) and nine-station SP exam (one GM station) including a post-SP encounter open-ended written exercise. Scores on the written exam GM items, GM SP checklist, and GM open-ended written exercise of workshop participants and nonparticipants were analyzed with simple means, standard deviations, and multiple regression approaches controlling for USMLE Step 1 scores and preventive care SP station checklist scores. Results The GM WS was delivered to 6 of the 12 rotation groups during the 2004-2005 academic year. Forty-eight students participated in the workshop and 49 did not. Workshop participants performed significantly better than nonparticipants on the GM SP checklist (86.5 6 8.7% vs 79.7 6 10.0%, F = 13, p = .001) and showed positive trends for the post-encounter written exercise (78.9 6 6.9% vs 75.5 6 12.9%, F = 2.6, p = .112) and the seven written exam GM items (5.31 6 0.74 vs 4.98 6 0.98, F = 3.54, p = .063). Conclusions Students participating in a 4-hour SP workshop display superior GM clinical skills as assessed by a SP clinical exam and there is a trend toward knowledge gain on a written examination. These findings lend additonal support to the theory that there are unique aspects to caring for older patients, which might be better taught using an interactive pedagogy.
Polyethylenimine Interfacial Layers in Inverted Organic Photovoltaic Devices: Effects of Ethoxylation and Molecular Weight on Efficiency and Temporal Stability

We report a comparative study of polyethylenimine (PEI) and ethoxylated-polyethylenimine (PEIE) cathode buffer layers in high performance inverted organic photovoltaic devices. The work function of the indium–tin oxide (ITO)/zinc oxide (ZnO) cathode was reduced substantially (Δφ = 0.73–1.09 eV) as the molecular weight of PEI was varied from 800 g mol–1 to 750 000 g mol–1 compared with the observed much smaller reduction when using a PEIE thin film (Δφ = 0.56 eV). The reference inverted polymer solar cells based on the small band gap polymer PBDTT-FTTE (ITO/ZnO/PBDTT-FTTE:PC70BM/MoO3/Ag), without a cathode buffer layer, had an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.06 ± 0.22%. Incorporation of a PEIE cathode buffer layer in the same PBDTT-FTTE:PC70BM blend devices gave an enhanced performance with a PCE of 7.37 ± 0.53%. In contrast, an even greater photovoltaic efficiency with a PCE of 8.22 ± 0.10% was obtained in similar PBDTT-FTTE:PC70BM blend solar cells containing a PEI cathode buffer layer. Th...
Asteroid bombardment and the core of Theia as possible sources for the Earth's late veneer component

The silicate Earth contains Pt-group elements in roughly chondritic relative ratios, but with absolute concentrations <1% chondrite. This veneer implies addition of chondrite-like material with 0.3–0.7% mass of the Earth's mantle or an equivalent planet-wide thickness of 5–20 km. The veneer thickness, 200–300 m, within the lunar crust and mantle is much less. One hypothesis is that the terrestrial veneer arrived after the moon-forming impact within a few large asteroids that happened to miss the smaller Moon. Alternatively, most of terrestrial veneer came from the core of the moon-forming impactor, Theia. The Moon then likely contains iron from Theia's core. Mass balances lend plausibility. The lunar core mass is ∼1.6 × 1021 kg and the excess FeO component in the lunar mantle is 1.3–3.5 × 1021 kg as Fe, totaling 3–5 × 1021 kg or a few percent of Theia's core. This mass is comparable to the excess Fe of 2.3–10 × 1021 kg in the Earth's mantle inferred from the veneer component. Chemically in this hypothesis, Fe metal from Theia's core entered the Moon-forming disk. H2O and Fe2O3 in the disk oxidized part of the Fe, leaving the lunar mantle near a Fe-FeO buffer. The remaining iron metal condensed, gathered Pt-group elements eventually into the lunar core. The silicate Moon is strongly depleted in Pt-group elements. In contrast, the Earth's mantle contained excess oxidants, H2O and Fe2O3, which quantitatively oxidized the admixed Fe from Theia's core, retaining Pt-group elements. In this hypothesis, asteroid impacts were relatively benign with ∼1 terrestrial event that left only thermophile survivors.
An Analytic Framework for Open Government Policy Design Processes

This paper lays out an analytical framework for OG policy design processes. It uses a systematic review of (1) scholarly literature, and (2) real OG policies to corroborate existing definitions of OG and its sub-categories. The sub-categories are then used for an in-depth literature review of policy design research that is developed into a conceptual model of OG design processes. The model establishes the design considerations needed by policymakers and administrators of OG policies, and can be used as a framework for evaluating OG policy processes. The paper also clarifies design concepts and best practices in a growing e-government domain, and outlines a research agenda for studying OG within organizational theory in public administration.
Computing Transitional Cycles for a Deterministic Time-to-Build Growth Model

Capital investment requires a gestation lag for being productive. This time-to-build feature can lead to an autonomous system of mixed-type functional differential equations (FDEs), causing aggregate fluctuations for a deterministic economy. We present a continuation method to solve a system of mixed FDEs by solving a sequence of boundary value problems for systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Unlike other iteration techniques, this method can avoid the need to predetermine both forward-looking and backward-looking difference terms. The strategy is to form a homotopy that can deform a simpler ODE system into a target FDE system, while treating the deformation process as a sequence of ODEs. We can thereby compute oscillatory cycles for a time-to-build economy while it is in transition to the steady state.
A Pimp's Game: A Rational Choice Approach to Understanding the Decisions of Sex Traffickers

We employ a rational choice framework to understand the conditions under which sex traffickers allow their victims access to telecommunications devices while under their control. We posit that sex traffickers are rational actors who make calculated decisions regarding whether to allow their victims access to the Internet and cell phones. We hypothesize that sex traffickers allow younger victims and those they did not defraud in the recruitment process greater access to telecommunications devices because these decisions maximize their payoffs with minimal risk. However, we hypothesize that younger victims’ access to telecommunications devices is conditional on whether they have been defrauded in recruitment. In order to test these hypotheses, we deployed a survey to 115 victims of sex trafficking in the United States to learn about how they were recruited by their sex trafficker and the level of access they had to technology while under their sex trafficker's control. We find support for all of our hypothe...
Anatomical Region Segmentation for Objective Surgical Skill Assessment with Operating Room Motion Data.

Background Most existing objective surgical motion analysis schemes are limited to structured surgical tasks or recognition of motion patterns for certain categories of surgeries. Analyzing instrument motion data with respect to anatomical structures can break the limit, and an anatomical region segmentation algorithm is required for the analysis. Methods An atlas was generated by manually segmenting the skull base into nine regions, including left/right anterior/posterior ethmoid sinuses, frontal sinus, left and right maxillary sinuses, nasal airway, and sphenoid sinus. These regions were selected based on anatomical and surgical significance in skull base and sinus surgery. Six features, including left and right eye center, nasofrontal beak, anterior tip of nasal spine, posterior edge of hard palate at midline, and clival body at foramen magnum, were used for alignment. The B-spline deformable registration was adapted to fine tune the registration, and bony boundaries were automatically extracted for final precision improvement. The resultant deformation field was applied to the atlas, and the motion data were clustered according to the deformed atlas. Results Eight maxillofacial computed tomography scans were used in experiments. One was manually segmented as the atlas. The others were segmented by the proposed method. Motion data were clustered into nine groups for every dataset and outliers were filtered. Conclusions The proposed algorithm improved the efficiency of motion data clustering and requires limited human interaction in the process. The anatomical region segmentations effectively filtered out the portion of motion data that are out of surgery sites and grouped them according to anatomical similarities.
Scene Registration In Aerial Image Analysis

In this paper we discuss the importance of scene registration for several tasks in the automated interpretation of aerial imagery. These tasks are structure matching, stereo matching, and stereo visualization. While the process of registration and matching has traditionally been treated as separate problems, particularily in the case of stereo matching, we describe techniques that may unify these processes.
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE): Detection of Ice Mass Loss, Terrestrial Mass Changes, and Ocean Mass Gains

The gravity field of the Earth, caused by the distribution of masses inside and on the surface of the Earth, changes in time due to the redistribution of mass. Such mass fluxes can be due both to natural processes (such as the seasonal water cycle, ocean dynamics, or atmospheric variations), as well as due to human actions, such as the systematic withdrawal of groundwater for human consumption. The ability to measure such changes globally is of great significance for understanding the environmental dimension of sustainability.
Effects of gestation pens versus stalls and wet versus dry feed on air contaminants in swine production

Objective: Evolving production practices in the swine industry may alter the working environment. This research characterized the influence of stall versus pen gestation housing and wet versus dry ...
Impacts of varying durations of passive oxygen exposure on freshwater denitrifier community structure and function

Fertilizer use has dramatically increased the availability of nitrate (NO3 −) in aquatic systems. Microbe-mediated denitrification is one of the predominant means of NO3 − removal from freshwaters, yet oxygenation (O2)-induced disruptions—e.g., extreme precipitation events—can occur, resulting in a disproportional increase in nitrous oxide (N2O) production and efflux as facultative anaerobic bacterial populations use of O2 as a terminal electron acceptor increases. We examined the effects of 12- and 24-h passive O2 exposure on previously anaerobic bacterial communities focusing on denitrification enzyme activity (DEA), N2O production, and bacterial community 16S rRNA and nitrous oxide reductase gene (nosZ) profiles after 12, 24, and 48 h of anaerobic recovery. Treatments experiencing 24-h O2 exposure had significantly higher DEA 12 h into anaerobic recovery than treatments undergoing 12-h O2 exposure. Initial N2O emissions were significantly lower in the 24-h O2 exposure treatments although by 24 h a dramatic spike (tenfold relative to the 12-h O2 exposure treatments) in N2O concentrations was observed. However, within 6 h (30-h anaerobic recovery) these differences were gone. Community nosZ profiles experiencing 24-h O2 exposure exhibited reduced diversity after 24-h recovery, which corresponded with an increase in N2O emissions. However, after 48 h of anaerobic recovery, nosZ diversity had recovered. These observations highlight the effects of short-term aerobic disruption on denitrification, as well as the effects on the denitrifier community profile. Together, these data suggest that recovery to ambient N cycling is exacerbated by disturbance length due to increased lag time and subsequent loss of denitrifier community diversity.
Reduced pin command and address bus for LPDDR4x using equalization technique

As the number of memory channels keeps increasing for Mobile system, IO pin count is becoming a limiting factor for silicon/package cost scaling and compact platform enabling. The pin count tension is mainly because each channel requires a unique set Command/Address (C/A) pins at DRAM side. In this paper, we discuss the approaches to reduce number of C/A pins for SOC. T topology on motherboard is implemented to group different DRAMs. C/A transmitter equalization is implemented for the first time to enable the double loaded configuration. This solution saves 24 C/A pins on SOC silicon and package while still maintaining the same operation frequency.
Developmentally Disabled Women who were Molested as Children

The problems involved in treatment of developmentally disabled women who were sexually abused as children are discussed. Treatment issues and parental relationships of these women are examined. The...
Extended Kalman Filter-Based Active Alignment Control for LED Optical Communication

Light-emitting diode (LED)-based optical communication is emerging as a low-power, low-cost, and high-data rate alternative to acoustic communication for mobile applications underwater. However, it requires a close-to- line-of-sight (LOS) link between the transmitter and the receiver. Alignment for maintaining LOS is challenging due to the constant movement of underlying mobile platforms caused by propulsion and unwanted disturbances. In this paper, we present a novel, compact LED-based communication system with active alignment control, in a two-dimensional setting, that maintains the LOS despite the underlying platform movement. An extended Kalman filter-based algorithm is proposed to estimate the angle between the receiver orientation and the receiver–transmitter line, which is used subsequently to adjust the receiver orientation. The algorithm uses only the measured light intensity from a single photodiode, where successive measurements are obtained via a scanning technique. A simple proportional controller is designed for alignment that also ensures the observability of the system. The effectiveness of the proposed active alignment algorithm is verified in simulation and experiments. In particular, its robustness in the presence of measurement noise is demonstrated via comparison with two alternative algorithms that are based on hill-climbing and three-point-averaging.
Molecular Adaptation of Microtubules and Microtubule Motors from Antarctic Fish

Temperature, through its effects on the equilibria and kinetics of weak, noncovalent molecular interactions, plays an important role in governing enzyme activity and controlling macromolecular assembly reactions.
SYNTHETIC DESIGN OF LIQUID CRYSTALS FOR DIRECTIONAL ELECTRON TRANSPORT

The construction of a solid state photovoltaic device composed of a thin film of organic semiconductor sandwiched between indium tin oxide electrodes is described. Macroscopic order is achieved in the photoactive thin film by exploiting the inherent tendency of liquid crystals to self-organize: columnar discotic phases with some crystalline dislocations constitute a possible photoinitiated conduction pathway between the illuminated and dark electrodes. A scientific rationale for the unusual photovoltaic effect observed in this symmetrical cell is offered, with particular emphasis on the molecular features necessary for efficient current generation. The efficiency of cells constructed from the zinc and palladium octakis(β-octoxyethyl) porphyrins is compared, and the possibility of analogously employing hexakis(alkoxy)triphenylenes and tetrakis(alkoxymethyl)tetrathiafulvalenes is considered.
Management of hyperlipidemia: goals for the prevention of atherosclerosis.

The goals of treatment for patients with hyperlipoproteinemia are to reduce plasma concentrations of known atherogenic lipoproteins, thereby exerting a favorable effect upon lipid deposition in the arterial wall and, less commonly, to prevent the adverse sequelae of hyperchylomicronemia in patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Diet is the cornerstone of the therapy after the exclusion of secondary factors; the decision to begin drug therapy should be made only after an adequate trial of diet has failed to achieve satisfactory concentrations of plasma lipids and lipoproteins. For patients without evidence of atherosclerosis the goals is to reduce the plasma concentrations of low density lipoproteins to below 160 mg/dl (4.2 mM/L); for those individuals with atherosclerosis or the concurrent presence of two risk factors, a lower level of LDL is desirable (less than 130 mg/dl; 3.4 mM/L). For regression to occur the LDL level may need to be below 100 mg/dl (2.6 mM/L). The bile acid sequestrants (cholestyramine and colestipol), nicotinic acid, fenofibrate, and inhibitors of HMG CoA reductase (e.g., lovastatin or simvastatin) are the most effective drugs for use in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and these agents reduce plasma concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol by 15-45%. For those patients with concurrent hypertriglyceridemia, nicotinic acid, lovastatin or simvastatin, or fenofibrate are the preferred drugs for initial use. Fibric acid derivatives (e.g., clofibrate, gemfibrozil, bezafibrate, or fenofibrate) are all effective in the therapy of patients with type III hyperlipoproteinemia, as is nicotinic acid or lovastatin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Tyrosine-PEG-derived poly(ether carbonate)s as new biomaterials. Part II: study of inverse temperature transitions.

Tyrosine-poly(alkylene oxide)-derived poly(ether carbonate)s represent a new group of degradable biomaterials that exhibit inverse temperature transitions. Poly(DTE co 70%PEG,1000 carbonate) was chosen as an example to study this special phase transition behavior of the polymers. The observed transition temperature varied slightly depending on the technique used, e.g. CD always gave a lower temperature than UV/Vis. CD and UV/Vis studies indicated that the transition temperature was both heating rate and concentration dependent. Thermodynamic parameters of the transition (enthalpy, entropy, and free energy) were determined by DSC. The molecularity of the transition was 2.6, as calculated from UV and DSC data. The transition temperature could be varied from 18 to 58 degrees C by changing the polymer structure. The new poly(ether carbonate)s may be used in medical applications such as injectable drug delivery formulations and bioresorbable barriers for the prevention of surgical adhesions.
Grounding traffic: The cocaine commodity chain and land grabbing in eastern Honduras

Abstract This paper uses a global commodity chain (GCC) framework to explore the nexus of illicit economic activities and rural change. We unpack the micro-level economic processes by which a de facto land grab in eastern Honduras' Moskitia region was catalyzed and accelerated by the region's ascendance as a global hub of cocaine transit (ca. 2008–2012). We show how 'narco-brokers' mobilized a long-standing economic infrastructure to harness land and labor in the service of moving drugs, and how these 'mid-stream' activities captured millions of dollars from the cocaine commodity chain. We detail the processes by which those dollars ultimately concentrated land among in situ and ex situ elites by profoundly distorting social relations around land governance, labor, food production, and—ultimately—land ownership. The result was widespread dispossession, land and resource privatization, increased food insecurity, community conflict, and increased social stratification. Lands transferred from resident smallholders to elites helped to (a) integrate the region horizontally into Honduras' rentier-based cattle economy, and (b) improve the vertical integration of the pan-hemispheric cocaine trade through the speculation and profit- laundering services that the region's enclosure provided. This case highlights how economic coercions work synergistically with the more well-studied role of overt physical violence in frontier land grabs. We urge greater attention to the role of illicit capital in agrarian transformation globally. The study also points to the potential for transit spaces to shed much light on the workings of (illicit) global commodity chains and illicit economic geographies more broadly.
Price Markups for Small and Large Firms Over the Business Cycle

In this essay, I measure markup behaviors at the firm level (as opposed to the aggregate level usually measured in the literature). I use firm-level data in manufacturing sectors of France from the Bureau van Dijk (BvD) Amadeus dataset. I focus on the manufacturing sector because it suits the estimation of production functions.
Rhinovirus-associated severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) managed with airway pressure release ventilation (APRV).

A 60-year-old woman presented for elective percutaneous nephrolithotomy for a right-sided staghorn calculus. Her medical history was significant for pre-diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, morbid obesity (body mass index (BMI)=42), obstructive sleep apnea and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. On the day after her procedure, she was febrile (39.2°C), tachycardic (120–140 s beats per minute) and developed leukocytosis (17.6 x 10∧9/L). She was started empirically on vancomycin and piperacillin/tazobactam, and ultimately meropenem, for presumed urosepsis. Within 24 hours, she developed respiratory distress with hypoxemia refractory to non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (figure 1). Her respiratory status further deteriorated, requiring endotracheal intubation with lung protective ventilation (LPV). Postoperative day 2 (POD2) chest X-ray and CT angiogram revealed bilateral pulmonary ground glass opacities concerning for infectious process, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or pulmonary edema without evidence of pulmonary embolism (figure 2). Transthoracic echocardiogram revealed normal ejection fraction and ventricular size. Figure 1 Chest X-ray from postoperative day 1 (POD1). Plain chest X-ray showing bilateral pulmonary opacities. Figure 2 Chest X-ray from postoperative day 2 (POD2). Plain chest X-ray showing worsening bilateral pulmonary opacities. Early paralysis for ventilator desynchrony and refractory hypoxemia was performed for …
5 – CONDITIONAL DECISIVENESS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses two new important conditions, that is, neutrality and anonymity. They are both permutation conditions; neutrality involving permutations on alternatives, while anonymity involves permutations on individuals. It is suggested that the conditional decisiveness aspect shows how neutrality is antithetical to the combination of nondictatorship and liberalism conditions. Suppose f satisfies neutrality and {i} is globally decisive for x against y, then i is a dictator. The chapter describes a theorem showing a conflict between a weakened liberalism requirement and a strengthened no-weak-dictator constraint, no Pareto condition is employed.
Structured Equilibria for Dynamic Games with Asymmetric Information and Dependent Types.

We consider a dynamic game with asymmetric information where each player observes privately a noisy version of a (hidden) state of the world V, resulting in dependent private observations. We study structured perfect Bayesian equilibria that use private beliefs in their strategies as sufficient statistics for summarizing their observation history. The main difficulty in finding the appropriate sufficient statistic (state) for the structured strategies arises from the fact that players need to construct (private) beliefs on other players' private beliefs on V, which in turn would imply that an infinite hierarchy of beliefs on beliefs needs to be constructed, rendering the problem unsolvable. We show that this is not the case: each player's belief on other players' beliefs on V can be characterized by her own belief on V and some appropriately defined public belief. We then specialize this setting to the case of a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) non-zero-sum game and we characterize linear structured PBE that can be found through a backward/forward algorithm akin to dynamic programming for the standard LQG control problem. Unlike the standard LQG problem, however, some of the required quantities for the Kalman filter are observation-dependent and thus cannot be evaluated off-line through a forward recursion.
The Level of Blame and Disclosure Propensity

We hypothesize that firms are less likely to disclose information regarding a material negative economic event for which the firm is likely to be blamed than for a negative economic event for which the firm is likely to be perceived as blameless. We identify 383 material negative economic events (casualty accidents, oil spills, catastrophes, investor class action lawsuits) and find thatfirms are approximately four times less likely to disclose information following a negative blamed event than for a negative blameless event. Consistent with the assertion underlying our hypothesisthat disclosure of a blamed event increases the firm’s reputation and litigation risks, we find that firms that disclose after a blamed event, but not a blameless event, experience greater reputation and litigation costs than firms that do not disclose. We also find that blame attribution provides incremental information over manager career concerns in the disclosure decision. These findings suggest that an event-specific factor—blame attribution—affects firms’ propensity to provide disclosures about material negative economic events.
Homology of braid groups, the Burau representation, and points on superelliptic curves over finite fields

The (reduced) Burau representation V n of the braid group B n is obtained from the action of B n on the homology of an infinite cyclic cover of the disc with n punctures. In this paper, we calculate H *(B n ; V n ). Our topological calculation has the following arithmetic interpretation (which also has different algebraic proofs): the expected number of points on a random superelliptic curve of a fixed genus over F q is q.
Pervasive subduction zone devolatilization recycles CO2 into the forearc.

The fate of subducted CO2 remains the subject of widespread disagreement, with different models predicting either wholesale (up to 99%) decarbonation of the subducting slab or extremely limited carbon loss and, consequently, massive deep subduction of CO2. The fluid history of subducted rocks lies at the heart of this debate: rocks that experience significant infiltration by a water-bearing fluid may release orders of magnitude more CO2 than rocks that are metamorphosed in a closed chemical system. Numerical models make a wide range of predictions regarding water mobility, and further progress has been limited by a lack of direct observations. Here we present a comprehensive field-based study of decarbonation efficiency in a subducting slab (Cyclades, Greece), and show that ~40% to ~65% of the CO2 in subducting crust is released via metamorphic decarbonation reactions at forearc depths. This result precludes extensive deep subduction of most CO2 and suggests that the mantle has become more depleted in carbon over geologic time. The fate of subducted CO2 remains debated, with estimates mainly from numerical predictions varying from wholesale decarbonation of the shallow subducting slab to massive deep subduction of CO2. Here, the authors present field-based data and show that ~40% to ~65% of the CO2 in subducting crust is released via metamorphic decarbonation reactions at forearc depths.
Nanoporous Dielectric Resistive Memories Using Sequential Infiltration Synthesis.

Resistance switching in metal–insulator–metal structures has been extensively studied in recent years for use as synaptic elements for neuromorphic computing and as nonvolatile memory elements. How...
Finite State Machine with Datapath

In this chapter, we introduce an important building block for efficient custom hardware design: the Finite State Machine with Datapath (FSMD). An FSMD combines a controller, modeled as a finite state machine (FSM) and a datapath. The datapath receives commands from the controller and performs operations as a result of executing those commands. The controller uses the results of datapath operations to make decisions and to steer control flow. The FSMD model will be used throughout the remainder of the book as the reference model for the ‘hardware’ part of hardware/software codesign. We will introduce a syntax for FSMD by means of the GEZEL language. The cosimulation tools used in conjunction with this book rely on the GEZEL language. We will discuss several alternate language mappings for the FSMD language in GEZEL, including VHDL, Verilog, and SystemC. Thus, GEZEL is used as a generic shorthand modeling mechanism for FSMD. Finally, we will also describe a few formal properties of the FSMD model, and we define a proper FSMD as one which leads to a race-free and deterministic hardware implementation.
Intelligent gateway for SCADA system security: A multi-layer attack prevention approach

This paper proposes an intelligent gateway system for SCADA networks to avoid DOS attacks. The proposed approach provides details about an SIG system architecture which establishes the connection between Master SIGs and Perimeter SIGs, the traffic flow, major alerts, and minor alerts. Simulation experiments are an indispensable phase to analyze and assess the security of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems. Although numerous experiments have taken place, limitations are still not been shrunk. The SCADA Intelligence Gateway concept proposed in this paper is experimentally proved and showed its ability to secure the SCADA system from attacks. The intelligence learning mechanism established the ability to identify malicious traffic through bot production and simulation environments.
Cardiac Sarcolemmal ATP‐Sensitive Potassium Channel Antagonists: Novel Ischemia‐Selective Antiarrhythmic Agents

The activation of cardiac cell membrane ATP-sensitive potassium channels during myocardial ischemia promotes potassium efflux, reductions in action potential duration, and inhomogeneities in repolarization, thereby creating a substrate for reentrant arrhythmias. Antiarrhythmic drugs inhibit ATP-sensitive potassium channels at therapeutic concentrations. This article discusses the relationship between ischemically induced alterations in extracellular potassium and arrhythmia formation and evaluates the antiarrhythmic potential of ATP-sensitive potassium channel antagonists, drugs that may act selectively on the ischemic myocardium. Keywords: potassium channels; antiarrhythmic drugs; ischemic myocardium; arrhythmia; extracellular potassium formation
Cisterna chyli in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Purpose After observing prominent cisterna chyli in several patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), we investigated the potential association of cistern chyli enlargement with ADPKD. Materials and Methods Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of abdominal and pelvic MRI at 1.5 Tesla (T) in 70 ADPKD patients (male 44.3%, 20–83 years, median = 53 years) were compared with 70 age and gender matched control subjects without ADPKD, cirrhosis, or cholestasis. Cisterna chyli diameter was measured on axial single shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) images at the level of T12–L2 and evaluated by multivariable regression models with covariates including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), total kidney volume (TKV), renal cyst fraction (cyst volume/kidney volume), and liver volume. Results Subjects with ADPKD had larger median cisterna chyli diameter compared with those without ADPKD (6.1 mm versus 3.4 mm, P < 0.0001). The prevalence of cisterna chyli enlargement more than the median (3.4 mm), was greater in ADPKD than in controls (99% versus 51%, P < 0.0001). On univariate analysis, cisterna chyli diameter was inversely correlated with eGFR (r = −0.41; P < 0.0001) and directly correlated with TKV (r = 0.57; P < 0.0001), total renal cyst fraction (r = 0.61; P < 0.001), and liver volume (r = 0.17; P = 0.040). Multivariable linear regression modeling found a significant association of cisterna chyli diameter with ADPKD diagnosis (B = 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05–4.23; P = 0.04). Logistic regression analysis confirmed the association of ADPKD with an enlarged cisterna chyli diameter (odds ratio = 68.4; 95%CI: 8.9–524, P < 0.0001). Conclusion Enlarged cisterna chyli is highly prevalent in ADPKD patients but not in age and gender-matched controls. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;41:142–148. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Separation of Church and State: An American-Catholic Perspective

Catholicism has flourished in America because of the First Amendment’s respect for all religious traditions. The article presents a history of the American Catholic experience and argues that it shows how a “high wall of separation” may benefit all faiths.
Micro‐Crystallization of Proteins

Originally published in: Protein Crystallography in Drug Discovery. Edited by Robert E. Babine and Sherin S. Abdel-Meguid. Copyright © 2004 Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA Weinheim. Print ISBN: 3-527-30678-7 The sections in this article are Introduction Microfluidics - Method and Design Utility of Microfluidics for Crystallization Keywords: micro-crystallization; microfluidics
Effect of Additional Variables in Principal Component Analysis, Discriminant Analysis and Canonical Correlation Analysis

In a number of situations, it is of interest to find out whether the addition of a new set of variables gives additional information for inference. For example, in the area of principal component analysis, it is of interest to find out whether the new variables contribute to explanation of the variation among experimental units. In the area of multi-group discriminant analysis, it is important to find out whether the addition of new variables contributes to the discrimination between the groups. Similarly, in the area of canonical correlation analysis, it is of interest to find out as to whether the addition of variables to one or both sets of variables contributes to the degree of association between the two sets of variables.