cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Partially adaptive estimation of nonlinear models via a normal mixture

This paper extends the partially adaptive method Phillips (1994) provided for linear models to nonlinear models. Asymptotic results are established under conditions general enough they cover both cross-sectional and time series applications. The sampling efficiency of the new estimator is illustrated in a small Monte Carlo study in which the parameters of an autoregressive moving average are estimated. The study indicates that, for non-normal distributions, the new estimator improves on the nonlinear least squares estimator in terms of efficiency.
Preventive angioplasty in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

To the EditorWereadwithgreatinterest,arecentrandomizedtrialinBritishpop-ulation by Wald et al. [1] titled “Randomized Trial of Preventive Angio-plasty in Myocardial Infarction (PRAMI trial)” published on September19, 2013 in “New England Journal of Medicine”.PatientswithST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were randomly assigned toeither “preventive percutaneous coronary intervention” (PCI) or “nopreventive PCI” arm soon after they underwent infarct-artery PCI. Wehave the following comments on their randomized study. PreventivePCI was performed on lesions with stenosis ≥50%. However, theAmerican College of Cardiology and the American Heart Associationconsider lesions with stenosis ≥70% as signiﬁcant [2]. Furthermore,Fractional Flow Reserve Versus Angiography in Multivessel Evaluation(FAME) study [3] showed that only a third of lesions with 50–70% ste-nosis are functionally signiﬁcant, in comparison to over 80% of lesionswith stenosis N70%.Hence,wehypothesizethatreducedriskofadverseoutcomes in thepreventive-PCI arm wasprimarily dueto PCI of lesionswith stenosis ≥70%. Authors should have assessed for the risk of ad-verse outcomes after categorizing the preventive-PCI arm according totheseverityoflesions(50–70%vs. ≥70%stenosis),toseeifthefavorableoutcomeswerepredominantly in participants with ≥70% stenosis.Thiscan potentially help in curtailing healthcare costs by avoiding unneces-sary PCI for coronary lesions with 50–70% stenosis.Participantsin “NoPreventive-PCI”armdidnotgetPCIuntiltheypre-sented with refractory angina, even if they had severe stenosis at thetime of randomization. However, ideally patients with noninfarct arterylesionsshouldundergostagedPCIiffoundtohaveintermediate-orhigh-riskfeatures onnon-invasive testing [4], and not wait until one becomessymptomatic.This bringstothefore the denialof standard of care inthispatient subgroup.Furthermore, although baseline characteristics of the “Preventive-PCI” and “No Preventive-PCI” arm look fairly similar, authors haveexcluded the vital information regarding the infarct-artery door-to-balloon times. Prolonged door-to-balloon-times are associated withhigher long-term mortality [5]. If the mean door-balloon-time was sig-niﬁcantlydifferentbetweenthetwoarms,itcouldhaveeasilyin ﬂuencedmortality data, thereby either overestimating or underestimating themortality beneﬁt in the preventive-PCI group.References
PERFORMANCE OF NEW HYBRID SOLAR LIGHTING LUMINAIRE DESIGN

We report on the performance of a new hybrid luminaire designed to blend light from a fiber optic solar source with electric fluorescent lamps. The luminaire design studied involves a commercially-available fluorescent luminaire that had been modified to include optical elements for efficiently dispersing a fiber optic solar light source. Quantitative measurements of the hybrid luminaire’s optical efficiency and spatial intensity distribution/deviations are discussed. The effects of static differences and dynamic fluctuations in spatial intensity distribution are qualitatively discussed and potential design improvements examined.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
A Bayesian analysis of a proportion under non-ignorable non-response

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is one of the surveys used to assess one aspect of the health status of the U.S. population. One indicator of the nation's health is the total number of doctor visits made by the household members in the past year. We study the binary variable of at least one doctor visit versus no doctor visit by all household members to each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The proportion of households with at least one doctor visit is an indicator of the status of health of the U.S. population. There is a substantial number of non-respondents among the sampled households. The main issue we address here is that the non-response mechanism should not be ignored because respondents and non-respondents differ. The purpose of this work is to estimate the proportion of households with at least one doctor visit, and to investigate what adjustment needs to be made for non-ignorable non-response. We consider a non-ignorable non-response model that expresses uncertainty about ignorability through the ratio of odds of a household doctor visit among respondents to the odds of doctor visit among all households, and this ratio varies from state to state. We use a hierarchical Bayesian selection model to accommodate this non-response mechanism. Because of the weak identifiability of the parameters, it is necessary to 'borrow strength' across states as in small area estimation. We also perform a simulation study to compare the expansion model with an alternative expansion model, an ignorable model and a non-ignorable model. Inference for the probability of a doctor visit is generally similar across the models. Our main result is that for some of the states the non-response mechanism can be considered non-ignorable, and that 95 per cent credible intervals of the probability for a household doctor visit and the probability that a household responds shed important light on the NHIS data.
The Study of Language in Institutional Contexts

Studies relating language and institutions have emerged independently in several disciplines, including social psychology, social anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and others, as researchers have questioned conventional boundaries of concern. Language and law is examined as an indicative case for language-institu tion studies. The field shows vitality in research relating language to education, medicine, commerce, etc., but very little agreement upon priorities in topic, method, or theory. Rather, research tends to be informed by questions and approaches that reflect disciplinary concerns. It is suggested that researchers investigating language-institution relations do share many issues arising out of the hybrid origins and the non-conventionality of issues considered. The particular experiences of the author are discussed to show how his own interests in language in institutional contexts developed and to provide a specific opportunity to analyse the general issues facing researchers in language-inst...
The contraceptive use of depo-provera in U.S. adolescents

Little is known about the use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-Provera, DMPA) in U.S. adolescents before the FDA approved its usage for contraception in 1992 Purpose: To determine the experience with DMPA use in adolescents for contraception in the United States. Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to U.S. physicians identified as adolescent health care providers. Result: DMPA had been prescribed by 41% of surveyed physicians who prescribe contraception for adolescents. Eighty-five percent of patients continued use beyond nine months and 40% continued beyond 21 months. Sixty-seven percent of physician/respondents reported using DMPA in mentally retarded patients. Conclusions: Many providers used DMPA for contraception in adolescents prior to its FDA approval for contraception. DMPA has a high rate of continuation of use as a contraception in adolescents.
A new design technique for linear multivariable feedback control systems

A new technique for design of multivariable feed-back control systems, based on singular value analysis is presented. Using matrix fraction description (MFD) representations, a Diophantine equation based approach to singular value shaping is developed. The approach combines use of known frequency domain properties of linear quadratic optimal regulator/filters with minimization of quadratic norm of weighted sensitivity function.
Concomitant sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman Disease) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a case report.

Introduction Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy, also known as Rosai-Dorfman Disease, is a rare and benign source of lymphadenopathy first described in 1969, which mimics neoplastic processes. This disease commonly presents in children and young adults with supra-diaphragmatic lymphadenopathy or extranodal lesions consisting of tissue infiltrates composed of a polyclonal population of histiocytes. Since its description greater than 400 cases have been described, sometimes in patients with a variety of treated and untreated neoplastic diseases. However, the literature contains reports of only 19 cases of Rosai-Dorfman Disease in association with lymphomas, Hodgkin's or non-Hodgkin's. The majority of these cases have the two diagnoses, malignant lymphoma and Rosai-Dorfman Disease, separated in time. Interestingly, infradiaphragmatic lymphadenopathy was a feature in the majority of previously reported cases of Rosai-Dorfman Disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Combining extended retiming and unfolding for rate-optimal graph transformation

Many computation-intensive iterative or recursive applications commonly found in digital signal processing and image processing applications can be represented by data-flow graphs (DFGs). The execution of all tasks of a DFG is called an iteration, with the average computation time of an iteration the iteration period. A great deal of research has been done attempting to optimize such applications by applying various graph transformation techniques to the DFG in order to minimize this iteration period. Two of the most popular are retiming and unfolding, which can be performed in tandem to achieve an optimal iteration period. However, the result is a transformed graph which is much larger than the original DFG. To the authors' knowledge, there is no technique which can be combined with minimal unfolding to transform a DFG into one whose iteration period matches that of the optimal schedule under a pipelined design. This paper proposes a new technique, extended retiming, which does just this. We construct the appropriate retiming functions and design an efficient retiming algorithm which may be applied directly to a DFG instead of the larger unfolded graph. Finally, we show through experiments the effectiveness of our algorithms.
Latchkey children and susceptibility to peer pressure: An ecological analysis.

Chez 865 adolescents des grades 5 a 9 sont examinees les experiences extra-scolaires et la sensibilite a la pression des pairs apres l'ecole
Effect of Anticoccidials and Antibiotics on the Control of Blackhead Disease in Broiler Breeder Pullets

SUMMARY Broiler chicks inoculated with both Histomonas and cecal coccidia developed moderately severe blackhead disease. Antibiotics tested at normal feed or water additive levels had little effect on Histomonas lesions or weight gains. Bacitracin at 100, 200, or 300 g/ton reduced liver lesion scores (P < 0.05) but had no other positive effects. Apramycin at 300 ppm in water reduced liver lesion scores (P < 0.05), but did not improve cecal lesions or weight gains. Penicillin (100 ppm), chlortetracycline (100 ppm), tylosin (110 ppm), and sarafloxacin (40 ppm) in water did not improve liver or cecal blackhead lesions. Weight gains were improved relative to infected controls by treating with penicillin, tylosin, or sarafloxacin (P < 0.05). Five anticoccidials (salinomycin, diclazuril, nicarbazin, roxarsone, and lasalocid) were tested at common use levels in two trials. Results were similar in both trials; liver lesion scores in the nicarbazin treatment were reduced (P < 0.05) compared with controls and other medicated groups, and the number of birds positive for liver lesions was lower (P < 0.05). Otherwise, anticoccidials had noeffectonliverorcecallesionscoresorweightgains.Controlofcoccidiosisbytheanticoccidials(as shown by oocyst counts) varied among products but was not correlated with severity of blackhead lesions. These results suggest that the effect of cecal coccidia on susceptibility of chickens to Histomonas meleagridis is not a simple function of mechanical damage to the cecal mucosa.
EQUILIBRIA EXISTENCE AND CHARACTERIZATION IN AUCTIONS: ACHIEVEMENTS AND OPEN QUESTIONS

Establishing existence and characterizing equilibria is a fundamental step in the study of auctions. Theoretical characterizations and empirical predictions are well accepted only to the extent that they are based on equilibria. However, despite the fact that auctions have been extensively studied, there are still many problems regarding equilibrium existence and characterization waiting for resolution. In this survey, we review the landmark results and highlight open questions. In addition, we review the standard assumptions underlying these results, and discuss the suitability of the Nash equilibrium solution concept. We focus our review on single-object auctions, but also review results in multi-unit, divisible, combinatorial, and double auctions.
MicroPET imaging with non-conventional isotopes

The utilization of new positron emitting isotopes for position emission tomography (PET) imaging raises several questions about their ability to provide images of good quality and to perform accurate quantification. This issue is even more pertinent when using high-resolution scanners designed for the imaging of small animals. At Washington University, we are currently producing a whole array of positron emitters; some of them, like Ga-66 and Br-76, emit high-energy positrons and prompt gamma rays that affect spatial resolution and increase the random coincidence contribution. We have now started to evaluate these isotopes in terms of their ability to perform high-quality imaging. Spatial resolution measurements were evaluated using the Concorde MicroSystem Inc. microPET-R4 camera. Electron transport calculations have been performed and compared with experimental data. They revealed that for this camera, the detector size is still the limiting factor on resolution for isotopes emitting low-energy positrons like F-18 and Cu-64. The transaxial resolution was measured to be around 2 mm at the center of the field of view (FOV) for these isotopes. The dominant factor becomes the positron range for other isotopes like Cu-60 and Tc-94 m, with transaxial resolution of 3.5 and 4.3 mm, respectively. Due to the long tail of the positron range distribution; a strong contrast reduction is observed. In this paper, experimental data on spatial resolution will be presented for a number of nonconventional PET isotopes, and consequences on image quality will be discussed.
Postprandial chylomicrons: potent vehicles for transporting cholesterol from endogenous LDL+HDL and cell membranes to the liver via LCAT and CETP

We examined whether postprandial (PP) chylomicrons (CMs) can serve as vehicles for transporting cholesterol from endogenous cholesterol-rich lipoprotein (LDL+HDL) fractions and cell membranes to the liver via lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activities. During incubation of fresh fasting and PP plasma containing [3H]cholesteryl ester (CE)-labeled LDL+HDL, both CMs and VLDL served as acceptors of [3H]CE or cholesterol from LDL+HDL. The presence of CMs in PP plasma suppressed the ability of VLDL to accept [3H]CE from LDL+HDL. In reconstituted plasma containing an equivalent amount of triglycerides from isolated VLDL or CMs, a CM particle was about 40 times more potent than a VLDL particle in accepting [3H]CE or cholesterol from LDL+HDLs. When incubated with red blood cells (RBCs) as a source for cell membrane cholesterol, the cholesterol content of CMs, VLDL, LDL, and HDL in PP plasma increased by 485%, 74%, 13%, and 30%, respectively, via LCAT and CETP activities. The presence of CMs in plasma suppressed the ability of endogenous lipoproteins to accept cholesterol from RBCs. Our data suggest that PP CMs may play an important role in promoting reverse cholesterol transport in vivo by serving as the preferred ultimate vehicle for transporting cholesterol released from cell membranes to the liver via LCAT and CETP.
Monotone Likelihood Ratio of a “Faulty-Inspection” Distribution

Abstract Let X denote the number of items declared defective in a sample of size n selected without replacement from a batch of N items containing θ defectives, where testing is fallible. In this note it is shown that the density of X, p(x, θ), has a monotone likelihood ratio (MLR) in x, and the relevance of this fact to inference is discussed in detail. In addition, an interesting connection is made between the MLR property and the suitability of X as a proxy for the “true” number of defectives in regression modeling.
Censoring Sensors: Asymptotics and the Value of Cooperation

We consider decentralized binary detection in a sensor network. The tradeoff between detection reliability and resource utilization plays an important role in such a network, due to the limited availability of resources such as energy. Censoring, whereby the network chooses some sensors to make observations and puts others to `sleep?, is one approach for managing this tradeoff. We allow general censoring strategies, based on side information available at each sensor, and assume that all side information is shared throughout the network, thus allowing cooperation in making censoring decisions. We obtain the rather surprising result that such cooperation is unnecessary in the asymptotic regime of a large network and a small Type I error. We also provide a censoring strategy that achieves asymptotically optimal performance.
The role of time preference and credit card usage in compulsive buying behaviour

College students represent a lucrative market for businesses selling a wide array of goods and services, including credit. One area of concern regarding credit debt is its association with compulsive buying behaviour. This study analysed compulsive buying behaviour within an economic framework using a college student sample. Data were collected from 7342 students enrolled in a major Midwestern university. Regression analysis revealed that income, rate of time preference, money attitudes, credit card usage and gender were significantly related to compulsive buying. This study provides useful information for developing, or revising, university policies regarding financial education and counselling, as well as curriculum considerations.
Gaussian averages, Bernoulli averages, and Gibbs' measures

We prove a new comparison principle between the expected value of the supremum of a family of r.v. of the type Σi ≤ N giai, where (gi) are i.i.d. standard gaussian, and the expected value of the supremum of the same family when the r.v. gi are replaced by Bernoulli r.v. ηi, P(ηi = ± 1) = 1/2. The main idea is to approximate the supremum by a weighted average, an idea well known in the theory of spin glasses.
Improved Perioperative Outcomes From Carotid Endarterectomy Yet Another Statin Side Effect

A cardiologist colleague at our hospital jokes that he prefers to prescribe medicines when they are first marketed because they have fewer side effects. As a rule, much remains unknown about the unintended effects of pharmaceutical agents at the time of an initial drug launch, and with some regularity, these side consequences yield black box warnings, product recalls, and even congressional hearings.1 The rule of unintended effects applies also to statins; with each passing month, it seems the literature has several new reports about the unexpected effects of these agents. However, with paradoxical and almost miraculous consistency, the side consequences of statins are health promoting and life prolonging. Through a variety of biochemical pathways, statins exert pleiotropic physiological effects,2,3 in addition to their lipid-lowering effects, which include improving endothelial dysfunction, enhancing atherosclerotic plaque stability, increasing NO bioavailability, decreasing oxidative stress, blunting the inflammatory response, increasing bone mineral density, and inhibiting thrombogenesis. These physiological effects are believed to have potential benefit for a wide variety of disorders, including (but not limited to) preventing Alzheimer disease, slowing progression of chronic kidney disease, treating osteoporosis and rheumatic diseases, preventing type 2 diabetes, preventing prostate and colon cancer, and even reducing mortality in pneumonia and sepsis.4,5 These putative effects are so varied and salubrious that readers (of a certain generation) may think of statins as the pharmaceutical equivalent of “Shimmer,” the versatile if fictitious household product from the spoof …
Strategic Tool For Students With Disabilities: Creating And Implementing Virtual Learning Environments Without Barriers

While some organizations have made strides in employing workers with disabilities as an act of social responsibility, other entities have started to realize the need and value of this untapped human resource (Thakker, 1997). Research has shown that employees with disabilities have low turnover rates, low absenteeism, and high motivation to prove themselves (Fersh & Thomas, 1993). Executives will need to rethink their employment practices in order to compete for employees from the current, shrinking workforce. Further, many employers are looking towards academic institutions for well-qualified employees. The key question here is whether or not our academic institutions and educators are truly prepared to enable, education, and motivate all learners for the changes in the workforce. Specifically, are we able to equip all learners with the necessary technological skills and education to best prepare them for this new workforce outlook? Currently, 54 million Americans with disabilities use information technology (IT) at colleges and universities, which accounts for 20 percent of the population (Oblinger & Ruby, 2004). Unfortunately, statistical data for persons with disabilities is done with a separate survey, which is a part from the U.S. Survey and conducted only every 10 years.
Absence of aquaporin-4 water channels from kidneys of the desert rodent Dipodomys merriami merriami.

Recently, we found that aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is expressed in the S3 segment of renal proximal tubules of mice but not in rat proximal tubules. Because mice have relatively larger papillae than rats, ...
Trending Time-Varying Coefficient Models With Serially Correlated Errors

In this paper we study time-varying coefficient models with time trend function and serially correlated errors to characterize nonlinear, nonstationary and trending phenomenon in time series. Compared with the Nadaraya-Watson method, the local linear approach is developed to estimate the time trend and coefficient functions. The consistency of the proposed estimators is obtained without any specification of the error distribution and the asymptotic normality of the proposed estimators is established under the alpha-mixing conditions. The explicit expressions of the asymptotic bias and variance are given for both estimators. The asymptotic bias is just in a regular nonparametric form but the asymptotic variance is shared by parametric estimators. Also, the asymptotic behaviors at both interior and boundary points are studied for both estimators and it shows that two estimators share the exact same asymptotic properties at the interior points but not at the boundaries. Moreover, proposed are a new bandwidth selector based on the nonparametric version of the Akaike information criterion, a consistent estimator of the asymptotic variance, and a simple nonparametric version of bootstrap (i.e. wild bootstrap) test for testing the misspecification and stationarity. Finally, we conduct some Monte Carlo experiments to examine the finite sample performances of the proposed modeling procedures and test.
A business and market assessment of waste treatment technologies

This paper addresses the remediation of hazardous wastes, primarily from a business and market opportunities perspective. It also examines the treatment of hazardous waste at fixed facilities. Subjects covered include the regulatory impetus for remediation, existing regulations affecting the field, technologies used for remediation, trends in technology, market size and timing, and prospects for the future.
Comment on "A Comparison of Dropouts and Nondropouts on Participation in School Activities".

Caution in accepting conclusions from an ex post facto research (Bell, 1967) on dropouts is recommended prior to testing alternative hypotheses.
Penile Reconstruction with Gracilis Pedicle Grafts

Penile loss results from various external and self-inflicted catastrophic events. Many types of reconstructive efforts have been used successfully. Recently, bilateral pedicle grafts of the gracilis muscle have been successful and have provided serviceable results in our hands. Technique, complications and indications are discussed and illustrative cases are reported.
Historic Conjectures: More Sequence Mysteries

Among notable recent achievements in mathematics are the resolutions of some celebrated long-standing conjectures: the proof by Deligne of the Weil conjectures; by de Branges of the Bieberbach conjecture; and by Faltings of the Mordell conjecture. On the other hand, the Fermat problem,* the Riemann hypothesis, and the socalled Poincare conjecture remain unresolved, though for brief periods it was claimed that they too had been settled. In any case, it seems timely to present some scattered facts about the origins of some of these problems. For most of what follows in this section, aside from the next paragraph, I am indebted to Professor M. R. Choudhury of the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
How Einstein Did Not Discover

What powered Einstein’s discoveries? Was it asking naive questions, stubbornly? Was it a mischievous urge to break rules? Was it the destructive power of operational thinking? It was none of these. Rather, Einstein made his discoveries through lengthy, mundane investigations, pursued with tenacity and discipline. We have been led to think otherwise in part through Einstein’s brilliance at recounting in beguilingly simple terms a few brief moments of transcendent insight, and in part through our need to find a simple trick underlying his achievements. These ideas are illustrated with the examples of Einstein’s 1905 discoveries of special relativity and the light quantum.
Control of Recombination and Evolution of Genetic Systems

Why, we must ask, has there been an evolution toward diploidy and away from haploidy? For one reason, because complementation is enhanced by diploidy. When Bateson, Punnett, and Saunders crossed two white-flowered sweet peas and produced a purple-flowered one, they showed that two different genomes, both incapable of carrying a reaction to completion, might do so when brought together in the same cytoplasm. We saw this phenomenon again in the experiment by the Marchals, where the diploid moss gametophyte was bisexual whereas the haploid was unisexual. Still another case is from Esser and Straub’s study of the Ascomycete Sordaria: selfsterile mutants of a normally self-fertile strain would form normal fruiting structures and spores when nuclei from different self-sterile mutants were brought together in the same cell by plasmogamy. This sort of complementation is known as heterokaryotic vigor. A homokaryon is an ascomycetous or basidiomycetous mycelium with just one kind of haploid nucleus in it. Mycelia of different homokaryons may fuse and their two kinds of nuclei intermingle. They may migrate and multiply at different rates throughout old and new vegetative hyphae (especially in Ascomycetes). But that doesn’t matter; there are still two kinds of nuclei present. The mycelium is called a heterokaryon.
Adaptive clocking with dynamic power gating for mitigating energy efficiency & performance impacts of fast voltage droop in a 22nm graphics execution core

Combining adaptive clocking with dynamic power gating in an optimal manner mitigates energy efficiency and performance impacts of fast supply voltage droop in a 22nm graphics execution core more effectively than adaptive clocking alone. Measurements show that there is an optimal V MIN where the combination provides the best improvement — 14% lower energy at 890MHz vs. 4% with adaptive clocking.
Spatial Memory in Food-Hoarding Animals

Abstract Many scatter-hoarding animals use spatial memory to relocate their stored food. In many cases, this spatial memory is of large capacity, with long duration and high resistance to interference. Relocating scatter-hoarded food depends on the use of landmarks and other cues within the environment. The information appears to be encoded in a flexible manner that is experience dependent. Comparative studies show that characteristics of this spatial memory are correlated with differences in natural history related to dependence on stored food. Furthermore, these differences are found in abstract tests of spatial memory, including operant tasks and radial maze analogs, and are not restricted to tests that rely on cache recovery. Studies of the neural basis of this memory indicate a crucial role for the hippocampus and suggest that differences in natural history and spatial memory performance are related to differences in characteristics of the hippocampus.
Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake: Increase for American Indian Adolescents, 2013–2015

Introduction Although Indian Health Service, tribally-operated, and urban Indian (I/T/U) healthcare facilities have higher human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series initiation and completion rates among adolescent patients aged 13–17 years than the general U.S. population, challenges remain. I/T/U facilities have lower coverage for HPV vaccine first dose compared with coverage for other adolescent vaccines, and HPV vaccine series completion rates are lower than initiation rates. Researchers aimed to assist I/T/U facilities in identifying interventions to increase HPV vaccination series initiation and completion rates. Study design Best practice and intervention I/T/U healthcare facilities were identified based on baseline adolescent HPV vaccine coverage data. Healthcare professionals were interviewed about barriers and facilitators to HPV vaccination. Researchers used responses and evidence-based practices to identify and assist facilities in implementing interventions to increase adolescent HPV vaccine series initiation and completion. Coverage and interview data were collected from June 2013 to June 2015; data were analyzed in 2015. Setting/participants I/T/U healthcare facilities located within five Indian Health Service regions. Intervention Interventions included analyzing and providing feedback on facility vaccine coverage data, educating providers about HPV vaccine, expanding access to HPV vaccine, and establishing or expanding reminder recall and education efforts. Main outcome measures Impact of evidence-based strategies and best practices to support HPV vaccination. Results Mean baseline first dose coverage with HPV vaccine at best practice facilities was 78% compared with 46% at intervention facilities. Mean third dose coverage was 48% at best practice facilities versus 19% at intervention facilities. Intervention facilities implemented multiple low-cost, evidence-based strategies and best practices to increase vaccine coverage. At baseline, most facilities used electronic provider reminders, had standing orders in place for administering HPV vaccine, and administered tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis and HPV vaccines during the same visit. At intervention sites, mean coverage for HPV initiation and completion increased by 24% and 22%, respectively. Conclusions A tailored multifaceted approach addressing vaccine delivery processes and patient and provider education may increase HPV vaccine coverage.
Addressing first derivative discontinuities in orbital-optimised opposite-spin scaled second-order perturbation theory with regularisation

ABSTRACTOrbital-optimised opposite-spin scaled second-order perturbation theory (O2) generates a single-reference wave function composed of approximate Brueckner orbitals with fourth-order computational scaling. While O2 provides significantly improved treatment of radicals by reducing spin contamination, it has been shown to suffer from first derivative discontinuities for bond stretching near the unrestriction point. That qualitative failure is resolved in this work by the implementation of regularised O2, which includes a regularisation parameter in the denominator of its second-order term. The value of the regularisation parameter is semi-empirically chosen to qualitatively describe bond stretching energetics of hydrogen, ethane and ethene, while also considering the effect of the regularisation parameter on thermochemical errors for the well-known Gaussian-2 (G2) test set. The generality of the empirical scaling and semi-empirical regularisation parameter is studied by application to the 3dMLBE20, DB...
Abstract P203: Nuclear PKA Compartmentation Manages Hypertrophic Responses to β-Adrenergic Signaling

Protein kinase A (PKA) directly mediates several cardiac behaviors in response to β-adrenergic stimulation. However, it remains unclear how PKA makes context-dependent decisions to select between contractile and hypertrophic β-adrenergic signaling responses. We have previously shown PKA activation by isoproterenol is spatially heterogeneous in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, indicating subcellular β-adrenergic signaling compartmentation. We hypothesize hypertrophic β-adrenergic signaling responses are specifically regulated by nuclear compartmentation of PKA activity. We expressed spatially targeted FRET reporters for PKA activity and found PKA responses to isoproterenol to be slower and less sensitive in the nucleus than in the cytosol. To investigate mechanisms underlying these differences, we constructed a biochemically mechanistic computational model of cytosolic and nuclear PKA activity in rat cardiac myocytes. Using this model, we found that nuclear PKA dynamics are limited by diffusional transport barriers, whereas nuclear PKA sensitivity to isoproterenol is limited by protein kinase inhibitor (PKI) inhibition. Moreover, our model predicts these differences in compartmented PKA activity may help PKA select between different substrates, sensitive to the temporal characteristics of β-adrenergic stimulation. In the model, short, transient isoproterenol treatment fully phosphorylates phospholamban while CREB is only partially phosphorylated. In contrast, long, sustained isoproterenol treatment fully phosphorylates both phospholamban and CREB. To test the model prediction that compartmented PKA can regulate different cardiac behaviors, we over-expressed PKA targeted to the cytosol and nucleus. Myocytes over-expressing PKA in the nucleus were 24.8% larger than control (n = 908 cells, p = 0.0002), while myocytes over-expressing PKA in the cytosol were the same size as control cells (n = 987 cells, p = 0.9971). Together, these results highlight an important role for nuclear PKA compartmentation in selecting hypertrophic responses to β-adrenergic stimulation.
Peer Effects and Operating Efficiency: Evidence Using Self-Benchmarking at the Subunit Level

Using a distinct subunit level dataset, this paper studies the circumstances under which inter-firm peers and intra-firm peers influence operating efficiency. Specifically, we examine how alternati...
Results of the HEMO Study suggest that p-cresol sulfate and indoxyl sulfate are not associated with cardiovascular outcomes

Cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality in hemodialysis patients, is not fully explained by traditional risk factors. To help define non-traditional risk factors, we determined the association of predialysis total p-cresol sulfate, indoxyl sulfate, phenylacetylglutamine, and hippurate with cardiac death, sudden cardiac death, and first cardiovascular event in the 1,273 participants of the HEMO Study. The results were adjusted for potential demographic, clinical, and laboratory confounders. The mean age of the patients was 58 years, 63% were Black and 42% were male. Overall, there was no association between the solutes and outcomes. However, in sub-group analyses, among patients with lower serum albumin (under 3.6 g/dl), a twofold higher p-cresol sulfate was significantly associated with a 12% higher risk of cardiac death (hazard ratio 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.27) and 22% higher risk of sudden cardiac death (1.22, 1.06-1.41). Similar trends were also noted with indoxyl sulfate. Trial interventions did not modify the association between these solutes and outcomes. Routine clinical and lab data explained less than 22% of the variability in solute levels. Thus, in prevalent hemodialysis patients participating in a large U.S. hemodialysis trial, uremic solutes p-cresol sulfate, indoxyl sulfate, hippurate, and phenylacetylglutamine were not associated with cardiovascular outcomes. However, there were trends of toxicity among patients with lower serum albumin.
The emerging roles of GPRC5A in diseases

The ‘Retinoic Acid-Inducible G-protein-coupled receptors’ or RAIG are a group comprising the four orphan receptors GPRC5A, GPRC5B, GPRC5C and GPRC5D. As the name implies, their expression is induced by retinoic acid but beyond that very little is known about their function. In recent years, one member, GPRC5A, has been receiving increasing attention as it was shown to play important roles in human cancers. As a matter of fact, dysregulation of GPRC5A has been associated with several cancers including lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Here we review the current state of knowledge about the heterogeneity and evolution of GPRC5A, its regulation, its molecular functions, and its involvement in human disease.
Efficacy of smoking-cessation interventions for young adults: a meta-analysis

Context Approximately 22% of U.S. young adults (aged 18–24 years) are smokers. Young adults typically display an interest in quitting, but it is unknown whether the evidence-based cessation programs designed for adults will be equally effective for young adults. This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of smoking-cessation programs for this population. Evidence acquisition In 2009–2011, studies published between 2004 and 2008 that investigated smoking cessation were first found through the DHHS Clinical Practice Guidelines for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence as well as a PubMed search (2009–2010) and were then subjected to a rigorous inclusion process. Authors were contacted to glean raw data for young adults. Fourteen studies provided data that were coded for descriptive information and aggregated using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis, version 2.0. Evidence synthesis Among young adults, any type of intervention was more effective in producing successful smoking cessation than the control. This was the case for intent-to-treat analyses as well as complete cases. When interventions were effective for the larger adult sample, they were also effective for the younger adult sample. Conclusions Although young adults tend to underutilize evidence-based cessation treatments, the current meta-analysis showed that these treatments should be as effective for young adults as they are for the general adult population. Thus, it may be useful to focus on motivating young adults to seek cessation treatment to increase utilization.
The Identity Element in Inverse Semigroup Algebras

W. D. Munn and R. Penrose (1957) obtained an explicit formula for the identity element 1A of the semigroup algebra A of an arbitrary finite inverse semigroup S. An alternative (inductive) characterization of 1A is presented, giving new information about how the form of 1A depends on the Vagner-Preston order in S.
Special Considerations for the Neuropsychological Interview with Older Adults

The clinical interview is an essential part of a neuropsychological evaluation for any age, but particularly among older adults because of the myriad of physical, cognitive, psychological and social changes associated with the normative aging process. This essential data can be used to guide the testing process, assist in formulating a differential diagnosis, and informing recommendations. This chapter provides guidelines for developing an interview designed to provide a level of insight and understanding of a patient’s presentation that cannot be obtained from psychometric testing, and is specific to the presenting concerns of older adults.
Geriatric Issues in Ovarian Cancer

Older age is an independent prognostic indicator in ovarian cancer. Population data and case series over recent decades show poorer survival of older women regardless of stage. In Western countries, older women are less likely to receive the optimal surgery and standard chemotherapy established in clinical trials. However, in some series older women do well, and in some they do not tolerate standard of care if it is given. This chapter presents geriatric measures that may help in selecting which older women will be fit for standard surgical and medical therapy, geriatric management principles which modulate risk factors for adverse treatment effects, and direct supportive measures for older women with advanced disease.
Relevance of Multiple Soybean Trypsin Inhibitor Forms to Nutritional Quality

Trypsin inhibitors contribute to the antinutritional component of raw soybean meal by inhibiting vertebrate pancreatic serine proteinases in the small intestine, resulting in a range of deleterious physiological effects in the animal. The variation in the nutritional quality of soybean cultivars stems partly from wide-ranging levels of trypsin inhibitor, and from varying proportions of trypsin inhibitors of two classes — the Kunitz and the Bowman-Birk inhibitor classes. The latter class is better able to survive heat processing and digestion in the stomach. Some variation in cultivars also arises from the array of. isoinhibitors present in the seed. The three Kunitz isoinhibitors, Tia, Tib and Tic differ by as much as 1000-fold in their interaction with bovine trypsin. The Bowman-Birk isoinhibitors differ not only in their extent of interaction with trypsin, but in their spectrum of inhibition of the other pancreatic enzymes, chymotrypsin and elastase. In this chapter, we look at twenty-two Bowman-Birk inhibitors from ten soybean cultivars and find at least twelve which are different enough in amino acid composition and/or inhibitor activity to be distinct protein species. Of these, three pairs are related by proteolytic digestion. Quite ironically, the Bowman-Birk inhibitors, and to some extent the Kunitz inhibitors, contribute to the nutritional quality of soybeans by virtue of their high cystine content which supplements the low or negligible amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids in the storage proteins that comprise the bulk of the protein reserve in the seed.
Prophylaxis Against Radiation Exposure from Radioiodine

The major cause of accidental exposure to radioactive iodine that would endanger a sizable population is its release from the core of a functioning nuclear power-generating facility. Because the half-lives of the iodine radionuclides of interest are 8 d or less, an accident at a reactor that has been inactive for a relatively brief period would not create a risk. For similar reasons, it is unlikely that a terrorist act involving a “dirty bomb,” or reactor waste products, would require prophylactic measures to protect the thyroid gland. This discussion applies primarily to large populations exposed to volatile radioiodines, rather than individuals who might be exposed in the setting of a scientific laboratory.
Multilocus Systems in Evolution

Population studies of genetic variation and microevolution are classically discussed in terms of changes in gene frequencies and the maintenance of polymorphic loci that can be identified by Mendelian analyses. In recent years, however, a great deal of attention has been given to the evolutionary dynamics and polymorphisms of interacting and linked loci (e.g., Clegg et al., 1972; Lewontin, 1974; Karlin, 1976). The special properties of multilocus systems, namely, gene interaction and linkage, were first briefly considered in theory by Fisher (1930) and Wright (1932). Fisher discussed in particular the role of modifiers in the evolution of dominance and clearly recognized the importance of linkage in the evolution of interacting polymorphisms. Wright proposed an intermediate optimum model in which natural selection favors intermediate phenotypes over the extremes for a continuous metric trait and emphasized the role of linkage in the makeup of gametic arrays.
Longitudinal Visual Analytics for Unpacking the Cancer Journey

Retrospective cancer research requires identification of patients matching both categorical and temporal inclusion criteria, often based on factors exclusively available in clinical notes. Although natural language processing approaches for inferring higher-level concepts have shown promise for bringing structure to clinical texts, interpreting results is often challenging, involving the need to move between abstracted representations and constituent text elements. We discuss qualitative inquiry into user tasks and goals, data elements and models resulting in an innovative natural language processing pipeline and a visual analytics tool designed to facilitate interpretation of patient summaries and identification of cohorts for retrospective research.
Physical function computer adaptive test outcomes in diabetic lumbar spine surgical patients.

Abstract BACKGROUND CONTEXT Diabetes is a highly prevalent comorbid condition among patients undergoing spine surgery. Several studies have used legacy patient-reported outcome measures to implicate diabetes as a predictor of increased disability, pain, and decreased physical function and quality of life following spine surgery. The effect of diabetes on postoperative physical function has not yet been studied using the PROMIS Physical Function Computer Adaptive Test (PF CAT). PURPOSE To understand the effect of diabetes on physical function outcomes among patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery, as reported by the PF CAT. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING A retrospective cohort study was performed at a single university-based spine clinic. PATIENT SAMPLE Patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery between October 1, 2013 and April 26, 2018 with both PF CAT and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores available for review. OUTCOME MEASURES PROMIS PF CAT. Secondary measures of disability included the ODI. METHODS PF CAT and ODI questionnaires were administered to patients via electronic tablets. Data from these questionnaires were collected prospectively, and retrieved from a university database. Wilcox tests, Exact Wilcox tests, linear regression models, and descriptive analytics were applied. RESULTS Patients meeting inclusion criteria included 233 nondiabetic patients and 65 diabetic patients. Mean PF CAT scores among diabetics were lower than those of nondiabetics at all time-points from preoperative through 12 months postoperative, with significance found at both 6 months (p=.035) and 12 months (p=.039) postoperative. Mean ODI scores among diabetics were significantly higher than those of nondiabetics at 3 months (p=.018) and 12 months (p=.027) postoperative. By 12 months postoperative, a smaller proportion of diabetics reached PF CAT and ODI minimum clinically important difference thresholds when compared to nondiabetics. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes is associated with lower PF CAT scores up to one year following lumbar spine surgery. However, many of these patients achieve meaningful improvement in physical function during this time. The PF CAT is consistent with legacy outcome measures in assessing outcomes in diabetic patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery, with an added benefit of decreased patient burden.