cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Numerical study of charge transfer in H+ + He+ and He2+ + Li2+ collisions

The lattice time-dependent Schrodinger equation (LTDSE) and atomic orbital close coupling (AOCC) methods are applied to calculate the charge transfer cross sections for H+ + He+ and He2+ + Li2+ collisions in the velocity range of 0.5–4.0 atomic units. The comparison of the results is made with those of other theoretical methods and with measurements. This analysis is used to provide a test of the accuracy of LTDSE and AOCC, and to help establish a consensus of theoretical results in comparison with the measurements for these ion–ion collisions.
Distributed intelligence using gallium nitride based active devices

This research seeks to develop a novel branch of materials systems called Distributed Intelligent Materials Systems (DIMS) which incorporate actuation, sensing, electronics and intelligence as inherent parts of the material structure. A microcantilever optical switch is fabricated as a concept demonstrator with Gallium nitride (GaN) as host material. GaN has several material characteristics which enable it to outperform other semiconductor materials for electronic applications. It also displays exceptional chemical inertness, has a relatively high piezoelectric coefficient, good mechanical strength and toughness and is transparent to wavelengths in the visible spectrum. In this paper we develop and fabricate a GaN-based, piezoelectrically actuated microcantilever optical switch/waveguide. While the GaN-material offers the benefits mentioned above, the piezoelectric actuation and the cantilever design provide benefits of lighter weight, compactness, speed of actuation, reduced structural complexity enabling easier fabrication and low wear and tear due to minimal moving parts. The proposed design has a conventional unimorph configuration with GaN actuated in d31 mode. In this configuration, a laminar metal electrode and a doped n-type GaN layer are used to apply an electric field in the top layer to actuate the unimorph. The unimorph is fabricated as a micro-cantilever by using surface micromachining methods on epitaxial GaN grown on a GaN substrate. The cantilever is then etched partially using conventional semiconductor processing techniques and using a recent microfabrication technique known as photoelectrochemical (PEC) etch. PEC etching enables the fabrication of MOEMS structures that are rather difficult to create using conventional methods. Novel modifications and improvements to the current state-of-the art in PEC for GaN are presented and discussed.
Analytical and Experimental Study of Determining the Optimal Number of Wedge Shape Cutting Teeth in Coring Bits Used in Percussive Drilling

In this paper we study the design of the coring bits with wedge-shape cutting teeth of vibratory drills that percussively penetrate into brittle material. The overall coring bit specific energy is analytically derived as a function of the cutting teeth spacing and teeth number. It is found that given the coring bit dimensions and rock material properties, there exist an optimal spacing/depth ratio and an optimal tooth number that minimize the coring bit specific energy and hence maximize the coring bit’s drilling rate. Experimental drilling tests were performed to corroborate the analytical results. It was shown that the laboratory drilling tests follow the trend predicted by the theoretical analysis.
The Rules of Implicit Evaluation by Race, Religion, and Age

The social world is stratified. Social hierarchies are known but often disavowed as anachronisms or unjust. Nonetheless, hierarchies may persist in social memory. In three studies (total N > 200,000), we found evidence of social hierarchies in implicit evaluation by race, religion, and age. Participants implicitly evaluated their own racial group most positively and the remaining racial groups in accordance with the following hierarchy: Whites > Asians > Blacks > Hispanics. Similarly, participants implicitly evaluated their own religion most positively and the remaining religions in accordance with the following hierarchy: Christianity > Judaism > Hinduism or Buddhism > Islam. In a final study, participants of all ages implicitly evaluated age groups following this rule: children > young adults > middle-age adults > older adults. These results suggest that the rules of social evaluation are pervasively embedded in culture and mind.
Can Physicians Identify Inappropriate Nuclear Stress Tests? An Examination of Inter-Rater Reliability for the 2009 Appropriate Use Criteria for Radionuclide Imaging

Background—We sought to determine inter-rater reliability of the 2009 Appropriate Use Criteria for radionuclide imaging and whether physicians at various levels of training can effectively identify nuclear stress tests with inappropriate indications. Methods and Results—Four hundred patients were randomly selected from a consecutive cohort of patients undergoing nuclear stress testing at an academic medical center. Raters with different levels of training (including cardiology attending physicians, cardiology fellows, internal medicine hospitalists, and internal medicine interns) classified individual nuclear stress tests using the 2009 Appropriate Use Criteria. Consensus classification by 2 cardiologists was considered the operational gold standard, and sensitivity and specificity of individual raters for identifying inappropriate tests were calculated. Inter-rater reliability of the Appropriate Use Criteria was assessed using Cohen κ statistics for pairs of different raters. The mean age of patients was...
Atmospheric Predictability: Why Butterflies Are Not of Practical Importance

The spectral turbulence model of Lorenz, as modified for surface quasigeostrophic dynamics by Rotunno and Snyder, is further modified to more smoothly approach nonlinear saturation. This model is used to investigate error growth starting from different distributions of the initial error. Consistent with an often overlooked finding by Lorenz, the loss of predictability generated by initial errors of small but fixed absolute magnitude is essentially independent of their spatial scale when the background saturation kinetic energy spectrum is proportional to the 2 5 /3 power of the wavenumber. Thus, because the background kinetic energy increases with scale, very small relative errors at long wavelengths have similar impacts on perturbation error growth as large relative errors at short wavelengths. To the extent that this model applies to practical meteorological forecasts, the influence of initial perturbations generated by butterflies would be swamped by unavoidable tiny relative errors in the large scales. The rough applicability of the authors’ modified spectral turbulence model to the atmosphere over scales ranging between 10 and 1000km is supported by the good estimate that it provides for the ensemble error growth in state-of-the-art ensemble mesoscale model simulations of two winter storms. The initial-error spectrum for the ensemble perturbations in these cases has maximum power at the longest wavelengths. The dominance of large-scale errors in the ensemble suggests that mesoscale weather forecasts may often be limited by errors arising from the large scales instead of being produced solely through an upscale cascade from the smallest scales.
Inference with Minimal Communication: a Decision-Theoretic Variational Approach

Given a directed graphical model with binary-valued hidden nodes and real-valued noisy observations, consider deciding upon the maximum a-posteriori (MAP) or the maximum posterior-marginal (MPM) assignment under the restriction that each node broadcasts only to its children exactly one single-bit message. We present a variational formulation, viewing the processing rules local to all nodes as degrees-of-freedom, that minimizes the loss in expected (MAP or MPM) performance subject to such online communication constraints. The approach leads to a novel message-passing algorithm to be executed offline, or before observations are realized, which mitigates the performance loss by iteratively coupling all rules in a manner implicitly driven by global statistics. We also provide (i) illustrative examples, (ii) assumptions that guarantee convergence and efficiency and (iii) connections to active research areas.
Guided region prefetching: a cooperative hardware/software approach

Despite large caches, main-memory access latencies still cause significant performance losses in many applications. Numerous hardware and software prefetching schemes have been proposed to tolerate these latencies. Software prefetching typically provides better prefetch accuracy than hardware, but is limited by prefetch instruction overheads and the compiler's limited ability to schedule prefetches sufficiently far in advance to cover level-two cache miss latencies. Hardware prefetching can be effective at hiding these large latencies, but generates many useless prefetches and consumes considerable memory bandwidth. In this paper, we propose a cooperative hardware-software prefetching scheme called Guided Region Prefetching (GRP), which uses compiler-generated hints encoded in load instructions to regulate an aggressive hardware prefetching engine. We compare GRP against a sophisticated pure hardware stride prefetcher and a scheduled region prefetching (SRP) engine. SRP and GRP show the best performance, with respective 22% and 21% gains over no prefetching, but SRP incurs 180% extra memory traffic---nearly tripling bandwidth requirements. GRP achieves performance close to SRP, but with a mere eighth of the extra prefetching traffic, a 23% increase over no prefetching. The GRP hardware-software collaboration thus combines the accuracy of compilerbased program analysis with the performance potential of aggressive hardware prefetching, bringing the performance gap versus a perfect L2 cache under 20%.
An Analysis of the Usability of Inpatient Insulin Ordering in Three Computerized Provider Order Entry Systems

Background: Insulin is a highly scrutinized drug in hospitals since it is both frequently used and high risk. As the insulin ordering process makes a transition from pen and paper to computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems, the effective design of these systems becomes critical. There are fundamental usability principles in the field of human–computer interaction design, which help make interfaces that are effective, efficient, and satisfying. To our knowledge, there has not been a study that specifically looks at how these principles have been applied in the design of insulin orders in a CPOE system. Method: We analyzed the usability of inpatient insulin ordering in three widely deployed CPOE systems—two commercially marketed systems and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VistA Computerized Patient Record System. We performed a usability analysis using aspects of three different methods. Our first goal was to note each instance where a usability principle was either upheld or not upheld. Our second goal was to discover ways in which CPOE designers could exploit usability principles to make insulin ordering safer and more intuitive in the future. Results: Commonly encountered usability principles included constraints, obviousness/self-evidence, natural mapping, feedback, and affordance. The three systems varied in their adherence to these principles, and each system had varying strengths and weaknesses. Conclusion: Adherence to usability principles is important when building a CPOE system, yet designers observe them to varying degrees. A well-designed CPOE interface allows a clinician to focus more of his or her mental energy on clinical decisions rather than on deciphering the system itself. In the future, intelligent design of CPOE insulin orders can be used to help optimize and modernize management of hyperglycemia in the hospital.
Lessons learned: teaching real-time signal processing [DSP Education]

This article will explore some of the key lessons learned in teaching realtime signal processing to students. These lessons are based on Texas Instruments (TI) observations over the last 25 years working intimately with universities to teach signal processing to students around the world in over 2,000 labs.
Active cavity-backed slot antenna using MESFETs

An active cavity-backed slot antenna for quasi-optical arrays is described. A packaged GaAs MESFET with a coplanar matching network was used for the oscillator circuit. This configuration yields the expected slot antenna radiation pattern with a compact layout, low cross-polarization, and increased directivity due to the cavity backing. The measured patterns with cavity backing show a significant improvement compared with the same oscillator without cavity backing. >
Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and Extracellular Matrix-Associated Fibronectin Expression in Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis

Study objectives: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disorder of unknown etiology, affecting almost exclusively women of childbearing age, that is associated with the proliferation of spindle cells and cystic changes in the affected lung. The underlying processes that contribute to this disease are poorly understood. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-1 is a potent cytokine that promotes mesenchymal cell proliferation and regulates the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, particularly fibronectins. Herein, we evaluate the expression of TGF1 and matrix-associated fibronectin in lung specimens demonstrating LAM. Design: Lung biopsy specimens that were confirmed to contain pathologic LAM cells were obtained from 13 patients. The specimens were submitted to immunohistochemical evaluation for TGF1 and fibronectin, as well as the typical markers of LAM cells. Healthy lung parenchyma surrounding resected neoplasms was studied in a parallel fashion as control tissues. Measurements and results: In all 13 LAM cases and in healthy lung parenchyma, we demonstrated that TGF1 localized consistently to airway epithelial cells. However, in LAM tissues, matrix-associated TGF1 was also consistently found in regions containing pathologic LAM cells. Notably, more abundant TGF1 was observed in highly cellular areas compared to the walls of chronic cystic regions in LAM tissues. Fibronectin, a matrix component that is strongly expressed in response to active TGF1 was found to consistently colocalize with this protein in these highly cellular regions, supporting TGF1 activity in these regions. The markers of proliferating LAM cells, including proliferating cell nuclear antigen, were also markedly present in these highly cellular LAM regions. Conclusion: These studies suggest that the proliferation of aberrant LAM cells may be associated with altered regional expression of TGF1 and related ECM proteins. (CHEST 2004; 125:1063–1070)
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention: Diagnostic Hearing Assessment Practices

Purpose To gain an understanding of practice patterns for infant diagnostic hearing services at pediatric audiology facilities. Method The authors used a cross-sectional survey design. From August ...
The cerebral cortex malformation in thanatophoric dysplasia: neuropathology and pathogenesis

Thanatophoric dysplasia (TD) is a relatively common, fatal form of chondrodysplastic dwarfism in which the cerebral cortex displays a unique and complex malformation. The malformation is characterized by a combination of abnormalities, which affect the temporal lobe most severely. Salient features include temporal lobe enlargement, deep transverse sulci across the inferomedial temporal surface, and hippocampal dysplasia. TD is caused by mutations of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor 3 gene (FGFR3), which result in constitutive activation of the FGFR3 tyrosine kinase. However, the link between constitutive FGFR3 activation and malformation of the cortex has been difficult to elucidate. In this review, I describe the neuropathological features of human TD, especially the cortical malformation, ascertained by examination of 45 published cases and 5 new cases, spanning gestational ages from 18 to 42 weeks. The cortical malformation is interpreted with regard to developmental mechanisms, and observations from a mouse model of TD. The evidence suggests that FGFR3 activation perturbs three key processes in cortical development: areal patterning, progenitor proliferation, and apoptosis. Defective patterning accounts for hippocampal dysplasia, while increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis account for temporal lobe hyperplasia and premature development of aberrant sulci. Disturbances in these processes may also contribute to other cortical malformations.
Assessment of the performance of laser-based lateral-crystallization technology via analysis and modeling of polysilicon thin-film-transistor mobility

In this work, we present a comprehensive set of mobility data for poly-Si thin-film-transistors (TFTs), laser-crystallized by sequential-lateral-solidification. We studied the effect of film thickness and device orientation and employed mobility measurements over a wide temperature range to evaluate how the crystal quality of laterally-crystallized (LC) poly-Si films is affected by various process-related factors. Based on this evaluation, we proposed a simple mobility model introducing crystal-defect scattering as an additional scattering mechanism affecting the TFT mobility. The sub-boundary spacing was used as a measure of the crystal quality of the LC poly-Si material and as the main variable for the purposes of modeling crystal-defect scattering. The model was found to account correctly for the experimentally observed mobility variation and yield a reasonable agreement with a wide variety of independent data. Observed inconsistencies between model predictions and some literature data were discussed in terms of an additional factor that was assumed to be laser-process specific. This factor was speculated to relate to the heating/cooling rate of the film, which drives the material propensity for defect generation. In that sense, excimer-laser-based lateral crystallization appears to enable more control over the poly-Si material crystal quality, hence, seems most effective in producing the highest performance LP poly-Si TFTs, with the most uniform characteristics.
Direction based beamspace MIMO channel prediction with ray cancelling

Multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems where channel state information (CSI) is known at a transmitter can provide a high spectral efficiency. However, time lag between a channel estimation time and an actual transmission time causes performance degradation under time-varying fading conditions. In this paper, we propose direction based transform matrices and a linear prediction method with ray cancelling for a beamspace MIMO channel prediction method. Computer simulation results show that our method can achieve more accurate prediction for a longer time period and therefore better BER performance that is almost the same as when there is no time lag.
Asymptomatic cardiac disease following mediastinal irradiation

Abstract Objectives This study was designed to evaluate the potential benefit of screening previously irradiated patients with echocardiography. Background Mediastinal irradiation is known to cause cardiac disease. However, the prevalence of asymptomatic cardiac disease and the potential for intervention before symptom development are unknown. Methods We recruited 294 asymptomatic patients (mean age 42 ± 9 years, 49% men, mean mantle irradiation dose 43 ± 0.3 Gy) treated with at least 35 Gy to the mediastinum for Hodgkin9s disease. After providing written consent, each patient underwent electrocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography. Results Valvular disease was common and increased with time following irradiation. Patients who had received irradiation more than 20 years before evaluation had significantly more mild or greater aortic regurgitation (60% vs. 4%, p Conclusions There is a high prevalence of asymptomatic heart disease in general, and aortic valvular disease in particular, following mediastinal irradiation. Screening echocardiography should be considered for patients with a history of mediastinal irradiation.
Large Stokes‐Shift Fluorescent Silica Nanoparticles with Enhanced Emission Over Free Dye for Single Excitation Multiplexing

We describe a polycondensation reaction of silica precursors in a modified Stober-type basic ethanol solution to produce graded Stokes-shift core-shell silica nanoparticles providing bright and spectrally multiplexed sets of fluorescent tags that are excitable using a single excitation source. Dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy demonstrate particle sizes in the sub-10 nm regime. Absorption matched emission comparisons between encapsulated and free dyes in aqueous solution reveal about an order of magnitude per-dye brightness enhancements that are apparent by simply looking at the solutions under laser illumination conditions.
Serotonin transporter and GABA(A) alpha 6 receptor variants are associated with neuroticism

Abstract Background A tendency to experience negative affect, as measured by the neuroticism component of the Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), is a trait marker for major depression. Epidemiologic studies indicate a strong genetic component, but to date few specific genetic variants have been definitively implicated. A serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) has been extensively studied in neuroticism and several psychiatric disorders, with inconclusive results. A GABA(A) receptor α6 subunit variant (Pro385Ser) has been associated with alcohol-related traits but has not been studied in neuroticism or depression. Methods A total of 384 subjects who completed the NEO-PI were genotyped at 5-HTTLPR and Pro385Ser. Associations between polymorphisms and both alcohol use and personality domains were tested. Results The 5-HTTLPR short allele (p = .008) and Pro385Ser Pro allele (p = .003) are associated with higher neuroticism scores. The 5-HTTLPR long allele (p = .006), but not Pro385Ser, is also associated with an increased presence of alcohol use. In addition, there is a nonsignificant suggestion of an interaction: the effect of 5-HTTLPR on neuroticism might be dependent on the Pro385Ser genotype. Conclusions These findings support a role for the serotonin transporter and GABA(A) α6 subunit in depression-related traits.
Platinum−Gold Nanoparticles: A Highly Active Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Lithium−Air Batteries

PtAu nanoparticles (NPs) were shown to strongly enhance the kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in rechargeable Li−O2 cells. Li−O2 cells with PtAu/C were found to exhibit the highest round-trip efficiency reported to date. During ORR via xLi+ + O2 + xe− → LixO2, the discharge voltage with PtAu/C was considerably higher than that of pure carbon and comparable to that of Au/C. During OER via LixO2 → xLi+ + O2 + xe−, the charge voltages with PtAu/C fell in the range from 3.4 to 3.8 VLi, which is slightly lower than obtained with Pt. It is hypothesized that PtAu NPs exhibit bifunctional catalytic activity, having surface Au and Pt atoms primarily responsible for ORR and OER kinetics in Li−O2 cells, respectively.
A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for honeybee venom-specific immunoglobulin G.

Abstract A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for honeybee venom-specific IgG is reported. This ELISA surmounts the problem of poor reproducibility due to nonparallelism of dilution curves in previously reported ELISAs. The assay is performed in polyvinyl "U" microtiter plates in which HBV is physically adsorbed to the wells. The antigen is sequentially overlaid with human serum albumin, unknown serum deluted in 10% normal goat serum (NGS), and peroxidase-labeled anti-human IgG in NGS. o -Phenylenediamine is used as substrate. The addition of a stabilizing protein (NGS) is shown to be crucial in producing parallel dilution curves in this heterogeneous antigen-antibody system. Sensitivity is at or below 1 ng/ml. Coefficient of variation (using a midrange serum) is 12.1% for triplicate wells, 15.5% for sequential dilution, and 15.0% for six entirely separate assays. The assay correlates well with other methods, notably with the Staphylococcus aureus protein A solid-phase radioimmunoassay (r = 0.976).
Non-null Effects of the Null Range in Biogeographic Models: Exploring Parameter Estimation in the DEC Model

Historical biogeography seeks to understand the distribution of biodiversity in space and time. The dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis (DEC) model, a likelihood-based model of geographic range evolution, is widely used in assessing the biogeography of clades. Robust inference of dispersal and local extinction parameters is crucial for biogeographic inference, and yet a major caveat to its use is that the DEC model severely underestimates local extinction. We suggest that this is mainly due to the way in which the model is constructed to allow observed species to transition into being present in no areas (i.e., null range). By prohibiting transitions into the null range in the transition rate matrix, we were able to better infer local extinction and support this with simulations. This modified model, DEC*, has higher model fit and model adequacy than DEC, suggesting this modification should be considered for DEC and other models of geographic range evolution.
The McCain v. Obama Simulation: A Fair Tribunal for Disputed Presidential Elections

In October 2008, Election Law @ Moritz (together with other co-sponsoring institutions) conducted an experiment to test the idea whether a specially designed court could achieve a greater appearance of impartiality in deciding a disputed presidential election than the kind of general-jurisdiction supreme courts, both state and federal, that adjudicated Bush v. Gore. This essay describes the genesis of this experiment and its results. The basis for the experiment was a hypothetical case raising equivalent issues to Bush v. Gore, involving both Equal Protection and the power of state legislatures to appoint presidential electors under Article Two of the Constitution, with these issues set in the context of a dispute over provisional ballots cast in Colorado on the assumption that this state (rather than Florida) determined the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. To test the hypothesis of the experiment, a specially designed tribunal was created to adjudicate this hypothetical dispute: two highly-regarded retired jurists from opposite political background (one Democrat and one Republican) were chosen and asked to select a third, neutral judge. These three judges then received briefs and heard oral arguments from two leading Supreme Court practitioners. The judges issued their decision, which turned out to be unanimous. The essay describes the reasoning of their opinion and discusses whether its unanimity can be regarded as successful outcome of the experiment, having a greater appearance of impartiality that the sharply divided supreme court decisions (both state and federal) in Bush v. Gore.
Geographic Variation in the Rate and Timing of Cataract Surgery Among US Communities.

Importance Previous studies using data from the 1980s found relatively little geographic variation in cataract surgery rates across the United States. We do not know whether similar patterns hold true today, nor do we know the patient- and community-level factors that might explain any recent geographic variations in the rate and timing of cataract surgery. Objective To assess the extent of geographic variation in patient age at initial cataract surgery and the age-standardized cataract surgery rate in a large group of insured US patients with cataracts. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective cross-sectional study of 1 050 815 beneficiaries older than 40 years of age with cataracts who were enrolled in a nationwide managed-care network during the period from 2001 to 2011. The data analysis was started in 2014 and refined in 2015. Main Outcomes and Measures Median age at initial cataract extraction, age-standardized cataract surgery rate, and time from initial diagnosis to first surgery for patients with cataracts were compared among 306 US communities. Multivariable regression modeling generated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs identifying factors associated with patients’ likelihood of undergoing cataract surgery. Results A total of 243 104 patients with cataracts (23.1%) underwent 1 or more surgical procedures (55.1% were female patients). Communities with the youngest and oldest patients at initial surgery differed in age by nearly 20 years (59.9-60.1 years in Lansing, Michigan, and Aurora, Illinois, vs 77.0-79.6 years in Marquette, Michigan; Rochester, New York; and Binghamton, New York). The highest age-standardized cataract surgery rate (37.3% in Lake Charles, Louisiana) was 5-fold higher than the lowest (7.5% in Honolulu, Hawaii). The median time from initial cataract diagnosis to date of first surgery ranged from 17 days (Victoria, Texas) to 367 days (Yakima, Washington). Compared with white patients, black patients had a 15% decreased hazard of surgery (HR, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.83-0.87]), while Latino patients (HR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.05-1.10]) and Asian patients (HR, 1.09 [95% CI, 1.05-1.12]) had an increased hazard. For every 1° higher latitude, the hazard of surgery decreased by 1% (HR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.98-0.99]). For every additional optometrist per 100 000 enrollees in a community, the hazard of surgery increased 0.1% (HR, 1.001 [95% CI, 1.001-1.001]). Conclusions and Relevance In recent years, patient age at first cataract surgery and the age-standardized surgery rate have varied considerably among some US communities. Future research should explore the extent to which such variations may affect patient outcomes.
Cytokines, Immunity and Sleep

Sleep is a fundamental process necessary for physical and mental health. Although the functions of sleep remain to be fully elucidated, data obtaining during the last 30 years demonstrate important bi-directional links between sleep and the immune system. Sleep–wake behavior is altered by the activation of the immune system during infections and, conversely, sleep loss is often concomitant with pathologies associated with an increase of inflammatory mediators. Increasing our knowledge of the molecular and cellular pathways by which sleep and immune system interact should provide a better understanding of the benefits of sleep and new insights into factors that result in a healthy immune system.
Inbuilt obsolescence in conventionally piloted advanced fighter aircraft.

If pilot and fighter plane capability to sustain accelerations in the 10 to 15 G range for many seconds or minutes provides an important tactical advantage, as some fighter pilots believe, currently used anti-G procedures, including the Combat Edge Technology (29), will provide only partial, questionably safe protection. Therefore, relative to preservation of maximal pilot effectiveness, current and future advanced fighters, if flown in seated positions, are physiologically outdated in respect to blackout and G-LOC prevention. Consequently, future victories in the air may come to the adversary first to discard conventional upright or partially supinated seats in favor of a biomedically advanced fighter, developed for flight in the fully horizontal, preferably prone, position. Language: en
Plasma Lipidomic Profiling in a Military Population of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Apolipoprotein E ɛ4-Dependent Effect.

Abstract In the military population, there is high comorbidity between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the inherent risk of psychological trauma associated with combat. These disorders present with long-term neurological dysfunction and remain difficult to diagnose due to their comorbidity and overlapping clinical presentation. Therefore, we performed cross-sectional analysis of blood samples from demographically matched soldiers (total, n = 120) with mTBI, PTSD, and mTBI+PTSD and those who were considered cognitively and psychologically normal. Soldiers were genotyped for apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4, and phospholipids (PL) were examined using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. We observed significantly lower levels of several major PL classes in TBI, PTSD, and TBI+PTSD, compared with controls. PTSD severity analysis revealed that significant PL decreases were primarily restricted to the moderate-to-severe PTSD group. An examination of the ...
Toward an Understanding of Causality Between Advertising and Sales: New Evidence from a Multivariate Cointegrated System

This article explores the nature of causality between advertising and sales for two mature brands in different industries (carbonated soft drinks and smokeless tobacco) using more than three decades of time series data. The empirical results suggest that advertising and sales for both brands move in tandem over the long term, but only when controlling for economic climate. The results further imply that for Brand CSD (carbonated soft drinks), advertising and sales appear causally unrelated in the short run, while significant one-way causality exists from sales to advertising in the long run. This suggests that advertising investments over the long term are dependent on sales revenues, opposite to what is commonly perceived. A similar advertising policy may be in place over the short term for Brand T (tobacco). The analysis extends prior research by revisiting the “advertising or sales” assessment using current data from mature industries. We contend that advertising expenditures are subject to change base...
Pharmacists' role in procedural sedation and analgesia in the emergency department.

Although emergency department (ED) pharmacy services have existed for decades in a few hospitals in the United States, only recently has there been a great increase in the number of pharmacists practicing in this setting.[1][1],[2][2] This trend has led to an opportunity for pharmacists to get
The Opportunity Count Model: A Flexible Approach to Modeling Student Performance

Detailed performance data can be exploited to achieve stronger student models when predicting next problem correctness (NPC) within intelligent tutoring systems. However, the availability and importance of these details may differ significantly when considering opportunity count (OC), or the compounded sequence of problems a student experiences within a skill. Inspired by this intuition, the present study introduces the Opportunity Count Model (OCM), a unique approach to student modeling in which separate models are built for differing OCs rather than creating a blanket model that encompasses all OCs. We use Random Forest (RF), which can be used to indicate feature importance, to construct the OCM by considering detailed performance data within tutor log files. Results suggest that OC is significant when modeling student performance and that detailed performance data varies across OCs.
Patients' Understanding of Selected Pharmacy Terms

Summary Patients of four pharmacies were interviewed to determine their understanding of common pharmacy terms. Fourteen frequently used pharmacy terms were defined by pharmacists. Patients (n = 145) were then asked to define the words, and their responses were graded as correct, vague or ambiguous, incorrect, or unknown. On average, subjects correctly defined only 53% of the terms. Correct responses varied significantly by sex and race. Correct responses also increased with level of education and decreased somewhat with age. "Over the counter" was defined correctly by 95% of those interviewed, while "third party" was the least understood term, answered correctly by only 11 respondents (8%).Awareness of patients' lack of understanding or misunderstanding of common pharmacy terms is necessary for effective communication.
A noncannulating coronary perfusion cannula

A noncannulating cannula was devised to avoid trauma to the coronary ostia and secondary ostial stenosis. The cannula achieves a seal with the aortic wall through the use of a bulbous silicone gel-filled tip. The same cannula has effectively perfused the right and left ostia and previously placed aorta-coronary bypass grafts with one exception, in which calcification of the aortic wall prevented a satisfactory seal.
Clinical manufacturing of CAR T cells: foundation of a promising therapy

The treatment of cancer patients with autologous T cells expressing a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is one of the most promising adoptive cellular therapy approaches. Reproducible manufacturing of high-quality, clinical-grade CAR-T cell products is a prerequisite for the wide application of this technology. Product quality needs to be built-in within every step of the manufacturing process. We summarize herein the requirements and logistics to be considered, as well as the state of the art manufacturing platforms available. CAR-T cell therapy may be on the verge of becoming standard of care for a few clinical indications. Yet, many challenges pertaining to manufacturing standardization and product characterization remain to be overcome in order to achieve broad usage and eventual commercialization of this therapeutic modality.
Myeloablative conditioning with total body irradiation for AML: Balancing survival and pulmonary toxicity

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare leukemia-free survival (LFS) and other clinical outcomes in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia who underwent a myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplant with and without total body irradiation (TBI). Methods and materials Adult patients with acute myelogenous leukemia undergoing myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplant at Duke University Medical Center between 1995 and 2012 were included. The primary endpoint was LFS. Secondary outcomes included overall survival (OS), nonrelapse mortality, and the risk of pulmonary toxicity. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and Cox proportional hazards multivariate analyses were performed. Results A total of 206 patients were evaluated: 90 received TBI-based conditioning regimens and 116 received chemotherapy alone. Median follow-up was 36 months. For all patients, 2-year LFS and OS were 36% (95% confidence interval [CI], 29-43) and 39% (95% CI, 32-46), respectively. After adjusting for known prognostic factors using a multivariate analysis, TBI was associated with improved LFS (hazard ratio: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.44-0.91) and OS (hazard ratio: 0.63; 95% CI, 0.43-0.91). There was no difference in nonrelapse mortality between cohorts, but pulmonary toxicity was significantly more common with TBI (2-year incidence 42% vs 12%, P Conclusions TBI-based regimens were associated with superior LFS and OS but at the cost of increased pulmonary toxicity.
Ethnicity, Class and Trusteeship at African-American and Mainstream Museums:

While Pierre Bourdieu argues that cultural capital is grounded in distinct aesthetic knowledge and tastes among elites, Francie Ostrower emphasizes that cultural capital grows out of the social org...
Managing Costs at Investment Management Firms

The investment management industry is facing tremendous obstacles. After a long period of excellent financial performance, the industry is now challenged by volatile markets, changing revenue models, and substantial client faith and trust issues. As a result of the 2007–2009 financial crisis, many investment management firms are facing significant pressures including revenue declines, issues with product performance, cost pressures, and the need to adjust business strategies to changing conditions. Managing these pressures, retaining clients and restoring acceptable levels of financial performance are substantial issues.
Comparison of Modular PEG Incorporation Strategies for Stabilization of Peptide-siRNA Nanocomplexes.

Nanoparticulate systems have shown great promise in overcoming the considerable trafficking barriers associated with systemic nucleic acid delivery, which must be addressed to unlock the full potential of technologies such as RNAi and gene editing in vivo. In addition to mediating the cytoplasmic delivery of nucleic cargo and shielding it from nuclease degradation and immunostimulation, nucleic-acid-containing nanomaterials delivered intravenously must also be stable in the bloodstream after administration to avoid toxicity and off-target delivery. To this end, the hydrophilic molecule polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been deployed in many different nanoparticle systems to prevent aggregation and recognition by the reticuloendothelial system. However, the optimal strategy for incorporating PEG into self-assembled nucleic acid delivery systems to obtain nanoparticle stability while retaining important functions such as receptor targeting and cargo activity remains unclear. In this work, we develop substantial...
A study of the midpoint dose to CTDIvol ratio: Implications for CT dose evaluation.

Purpose In multidetector CT, the volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) is reported for each scan series and dose conversion factors are used for the size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) and scanner-independent organ dose evaluation. This study aimed at examining the dependencies of conversion factors on scan length, tube voltage, and subject size. The results may be insightful for evaluating the dose from CT examinations with large variations in patient size and scan length. Methods A previously developed Monte Carlo simulation program was used to simulate single rotation axial scans of two standard CTDI phantoms [material polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), diameters 16 and 32 cm] and multiple water cylinders at five tube voltages (70, 80, 100, 120, and 140 kV). The resultant longitudinal dose profiles were used to calculate CTDIL(water)/CTDIw (PMMA), where L was dose integration length. The ratio was equal to the midpoint dose DL(0) (water) to CTDIvol ratio in a CT scan series with a scan length equal to L. Results For water phantom diameters from 11 to 50 cm and scan lengths from 15 to 30 cm, the changes of DL(0)/CTDIvol from that of 120 kV and 20-cm scan length were between −18.4% and 11.7%. This was consistent with the CTDIvol to SSDE conversion factors of AAPM Report No. 204. For scan lengths less than 15 cm, DL(0)/CTDIvol decreased considerably as L decreased. DL(0)/CTDIvol was shown to be 17.3%–31.4% lower for L = 5 cm than for L = 15 cm, when the tube voltage was 120 kV and phantom diameter ranged from 11 to 50 cm. As tube voltage increased from 80 to 140 kV, DL(0)/CTDIvol decreased at small diameters while it increased at large diameters. The change was 9.4% with a diameter of 18 cm and a scan length of 20 cm and 17.6% with a diameter of 40 cm and a scan length of 30 cm. Conclusions The midpoint dose to CTDIvol ratio varies widely across the clinical scan lengths from a few millimeters to about 1 m and varies moderately across tube voltages from 70 to 140 kV. The comprehensive data provided in the Appendix can be used for assessing the dose from short-length scans and improving the dose evaluation in CT.
A Handbook for Building an Approximate Query Engine.

There has been much research on various aspects of Approximate Query Processing (AQP), such as different sampling strategies, error estimation mechanisms, and various types of data synopses. However, many subtle challenges arise when building an actual AQP engine that can be deployed and used by real world applications. These subtleties are often ignored (or at least not elaborated) by the theoretical literature and academic prototypes alike. For the first time to the best of our knowledge, in this article, we focus on these subtle challenges that one must address when designing an AQP system. Our intention for this article is to serve as a handbook listing critical design choices that database practitioners must be aware of when building or using an AQP system, not to prescribe a specific solution to each challenge.
Plasmonic superlens image reconstruction using intensity data and equivalence to structured light illumination for compensation of losses

Imaging with a silver superlens under incoherent illumination is simulated using the finite-difference time-domain method. Conceding the use of incoherent light allows for illumination with a compact light source such as a light-emitting diode and enables both linear and nonlinear deconvolution of the resulting image with only intensity data that remains robust in the presence of Gaussian additive noise. The result is a super-resolved image of double-slit metallic mask objects with reconstructions exhibiting increased contrast and reduced full-width half-maximum. Resolution better than one-eighteenth of the free-space wavelength recovered from a previously unresolved double-slit is achieved with both deconvolution algorithms. The linear deconvolution procedure is unified with structured light illumination, directly analogous to recently proposed physical and computational loss compensation schemes, which employed coherent light. The results provide a path toward design of an ultracompact super-resolution imaging system that only requires intensity information for image reconstruction.
A Preliminary Psychometric Analysis of a Measure of Information Technology Literacy Skills

Information technology (IT) literacy skills are increasingly important for all adolescents to learn, as the majority of post-school pursuits will require at least some amount of computer skills. Fo...
The Spatial Dimension of the Woodland Period

State archaeological site files are a critical component of cultural resource management and information management toolkits. Yet, engagement with these datasets for research purposes can be diffic...
Unraveling the Kinetic Mechanism of the 70-kDa Molecular Chaperones Using Fluorescence Spectroscopic Methods

This article reviews the recent progress in unraveling the kinetic mechanism of the 70-kDa molecular chaperones by the use of fluorescence spectroscopic methods. Dissecting the kinetics of the individual steps in the 70-kDa chaperone reaction cycle in vitro—ATP binding, peptide binding, interdomain coupling, and chaperone-catalyzed ATP hydrolysis—provides a foundation which can be used to develop a clear understanding of the molecular basis for chaperone activity in vivo.