cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Better Governance for Development in the Middle East and North Africa

Improving public sector performance and governance is a key pillar in the World Bank's engagement strategy for the MNA region. Public governance is one of the mechanisms through which the values of development are secured for the people. These values include equality of treatment, freedom to choose, and opportunities to participate in the process. Good governance recognizes the integrity, rights, and needs of everyone within the state. Good governance - in which public institutions function responsively, transparently, and with accountability - is also essential to reducing poverty and stimulating growth. Weak governance translates into poor public services and limited participation by citizens in shaping their future. It has also contributed to weak growth in the MNA region and has shackled the business environment and investment climate. The region needs a sound, attractive business environment for investment and production. To help in the difficult process of improving governance, Better Governance for Development in the Middle East and North Africa proposes two universal criteria that might be used in defining a program to enhance governance: inclusiveness and accountability. While recognizing that improving governance is no simple matter, this book challenges the region to formulate and implement national programs that would enhance governance by strengthening inclusiveness and accountability mechanisms. Such programs could build on the progress increasingly evident across the region and lead to a strategy for better governance that can simultaneously encourage growth and development, as well as meet the needs and aspirations of the region's people in the decades ahead. Recognizing that the elements of each country's program and the mechanisms for implementing them are matters for individual societies to decide, the book declines to offer answers to the complex challenge of improving governance. Rather, it seeks to enhance the dialogue in the MNA region on governance and marshal evidence showing that good governance matters for development.
Turbine Cascade Flow Control Using a “Wake Filling” Pulsed Plasma Actuator

Separation bubbles in high-camber blades under part-load conditions have been addressed via continuous and pulsed jets, and also via plasma actuators. Numerous passive techniques have been employed as well. In this type of blades, the laminar boundary layer cannot overcome the adverse pressure gradient arising along the suction side, resulting on a separation bubble. When separation is abated, a common explanation is that kinetic energy added to the laminar boundary layer speeds up its transition to turbulent. In the present study, a plasma actuator installed in the trailing edge (i.e. “wake filling configuration”) of a cascade blade is used to excite the flow in pulsed and continuous ways. The pulsed excitation can be directed to the frequencies of the large coherent structures (LCS) of the flow, as obtained via a hot-film anemometer, or to much higher frequencies present in the suction-side boundary layer, as given in the literature. It is found that pulsed frequencies much higher than that of LCS reduce losses and improve turning angles further than frequencies close to those of LCS. With the plasma actuator 50% on time, good loss abatement is obtained. Larger “on time” values yield improvements, but with decreasing returns. Continuous high-frequency activation results in the largest loss reduction, at increased power cost. The effectiveness of high frequencies may be due to separation abatement via boundary layer excitation into transition, or may simply be due to the creation of a favorable pressure gradient that averts separation as the actuator ejects fluid downstream. Both possibilities are discussed in light of the experimental evidence.© 2005 ASME
DIFFERENTIATION OF A MULTIGENE FAMILY BETWEEN POPULATIONS.

Differentiation of a multigene family between populations is investigated under the forces of intrachromosomal unbiased gene conversion, neutral mutation, recombination, and random drift. The infinite-site model without recombination within the gene is employed, and the average numbers of the different sites between pairs of genes at the same locus and at different loci from two populations that divided some time ago are calculated as functions of time. Since differentiation is a relative concept in which differences between populations are expressed in comparison with those within a population and since there is most likely a reduction in population size after the division of populations, the time-dependent behavior of the corresponding quantities within a population is also investigated using approximate and numerical methods. It is found that intrachromosomal unbiased gene conversion promotes differentiation at the same locus but promotes or retards that between different loci, depending on the parameters in a recently divided population.
Cytotoxic effect of nephrotoxic serum on rat tissue culture.

SummaryRabbit antisera to both rat kidney saline homogenate and the tryptic digest of rat kidney adsorbed on streptococci caused cytotoxic effects upon rat kidney cells in tissue culture as well as renal pathology in vivo following intravenous injection of rats. The titers of the cytotoxic effect in tissue culture paralleled the nephrotoxic effect in vivo and the anti-kidney hemagglutinin titers in vitro. The kidney cells grown in tissue culture tubes were effective in absorbing the potent nephrotoxic factor from serum. The cytotoxic effect of the nephrotoxic serum appears to be markedly species specific.
Socioeconomic System of the Oil Boom and Rural Community Development in Western North Dakota

An oil boom is a complex social and economic phenomenon. The socioeconomic system presented in this article represents a novel effort to explicate boom impacts and changes, within a systems framework, at the community level to enhance community planning and development efforts. Most boomtown studies focus on longitudinal changes of a boom-bust-recovery cycle or social-disruption-based approaches. This article is an effort to demonstrate that longitudinal changes or social disruptions of a boom manifest through the interactions and interrelationships between social entities and stakeholders acting within the boom conditions and surrounding conditions. The socioeconomic system approach in this article analyzes the boom as a system, which provides a useful lens for many other rural communities currently experiencing unconventional oil and gas development in the United States. The socioeconomic system highlights five main challenges or factors that need to be addressed through community development strategies: develop affordable housing, invest in community infrastructure, expand public services, attract new businesses to the area, and develop better community integration strategies to build trust and unity within the community. This article is qualitative and exploratory in nature. As a result, it explicates the functions, structure, and relationships between system entities to provide a broader understanding of coherence, conflicts, and synergies within a system.
Research on Performance and Microstructure of P91 Steel

The relation between performance and microstructure of P91 steel was studied by means of mechanical property analysis,OM analysis and TEM analysis.The results show that,because of the difference of mechanical properties of P91 steel,its microstructure images,sub-structure and carbides are different correspondingly.
ACE inhibitors vs. ARBs for patients with diabetic kidney disease.

Studies comparing ACE inhibitors or ARBs with placebo found no mortality benefit in patients with diabetic kidney disease. A subgroup analysis of five studies (2,034 total patients) found that, when given at full or maximally tolerated doses, ACE inhibitors reduce all-cause mortality (relative risk = 0.78, 95% confidence interval, 0.61 to 0.98). Both classes of drugs are similarly effective at preventing the progression of diabetic kidney disease. However, there were too few trials comparing ACE inhibitors with ARBs to draw clear conclusions.
What Are the Odds of That

The surprising ways of chance intrude in strange ways when discussing social and biological phenomena. In this chapter I examine the probabilistic background of coincidences and near-coincidences by looking at questions arising in sports, finance, lotteries , and random mutations . The Poisson distribution plays an important role here, as does the mathematical analysis of runs and clumps . The chi-squared distribution is introduced as an aid to interpreting fire-alarm data, the success runs of fund managers , and Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak.
Investigation of metal contacts on high-resistivity large-area amorphous selenium alloy films

Amorphous selenium (a-Se) alloy materials doped with lithium (Li), boron (B), arsenic (As), and chlorine (Cl), were synthesized for room temperature radiation detection applications using an optimized alloy composition for enhanced charge transport properties. A two-step synthesis process has been implemented to first synthesize the a-Se (As) and a-Se (Cl) master alloys from zone-refined Se (∼7N), and then synthesize the final mixed optimized alloys. The alloy material was used for thin-film deposition on oxidized aluminum (Al) and indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. Material purity, morphology, and compositional analysis of the a-Se alloy materials were investigated by glow discharge mass spectroscopy (GDMS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Different metals of various work functions (Ni, W, Au, Pd, In, Cu, Sn, Cu, Ag, Al, Cr, Zn and Mo) were selected for Schottky barrier detector performance studies. Current-voltage (I-V), capacitance voltage (C-V), and current transient measurements were performed at different temperatures to investigate the metal contacts and contact stability characteristics. Single and multi-element detectors with and without various blocking contacts (electron and holes) have been fabricated and tested and the results show promising characteristics for x-ray and high energy nuclear radiations with its high dark resistivity (∼1012 Ω-cm) and large-area scalability.
Assessment of circulation and inter-basin transport in the Salish Sea including Johnstone Strait and Discovery Islands pathways

Abstract The Salish Sea consisting of Puget Sound and Georgia Basin in U.S and Canadian waters has been the subject of several independent data collection and modeling studies. However, these interconnected basins and their hydrodynamic interactions have not received attention as a contiguous unit. The Strait of Juan de Fuca is the primary pathway through which Pacific Ocean water enters the Salish Sea but the role played by Johnstone Strait and the complex channels northeast of Vancouver Island, connecting the Salish Sea and the Pacific Ocean, on overall Salish Sea circulation has not been characterized. In this paper we present a modeling-based assessment of the two-layer circulation and transport through the multiple interconnected sub-basins within the Salish Sea including the effect of exchange via Johnstone Strait and Discovery Islands. The Salish Sea Model previously developed using the finite volume community ocean model (FVCOM) was expanded over the continental shelf for this assessment encircling Vancouver Island, including Discovery Islands, Johnstone Strait, Broughton Archipelago and the associated waterways. A computational technique was developed to allow summation of volume fluxes across arbitrary transects through unstructured finite volume cells. Tidally averaged volume fluxes were computed at multiple transects. The results were used to validate the classic model of Circulation in Embracing Sills for Puget Sound and to provide quantitative estimates of the lateral distribution of tidally averaged transport through the system. Sensitivity tests with and without exchanges through Johnstone Strait demonstrate that it is a pathway for Georgia Basin runoff and Fraser River water to exit the Salish Sea and for Pacific Ocean inflow. However the relative impact of this exchange on circulation and flushing in Puget Sound Basin is small.
Impact of nonnative feral pig removal on soil structure and nutrient availability in Hawaiian tropical montane wet forests

Conservation and restoration of ecosystems impacted by nonnative ungulates increasingly involves their removal and exclusion. While the influence of nonnative ungulate removal on plant communities is commonly monitored, impacts on underlying ecological processes are seldom quantified. Here we examined how nonnative feral pig (Sus scrofa) removal from Hawaiian tropical montane wet forests affects soil physical and chemical properties. Unique to this study, measurements were taken in paired sites inside and outside of five feral pig removal units representing a ~20 year, highly constrained chronosequence where other potentially confounding variables are held constant. Additional targeted measurements were taken inside and outside of a single exclosure in areas characterized by ‘low’ versus ‘high’ feral pig activity. Overall, nonnative feral pig removal increased stable soil aggregates and porosity, and decreased bulk density, water-filled pore space, and soil moisture content. Further, feral pig removal increased soil nutrient regeneration as evidenced by increased extractable cations, increased resin available NO3 − and total inorganic N, and enriched foliar δ15N. Increasing time since feral pig removal was positively related to net nitrification and total net inorganic N mineralization, and negatively related to pH and net ammonification. Results from both the chronosequence and targeted sampling were consistent in direction and support a central role of feral pig removal in modifying soil physical and chemical properties. Changes in soil properties following ungulate removal coincided with large increases in understory vegetation cover, highlighting the need to better understand aboveground-belowground linkages following nonnative ungulate removal.
Pancreas Divisum and Pancreatitis: Implications and Rationale for Treatment

The pancreas develops during the 8th week of gestation when the dorsal pancreatic anlage emerges from the medial wall of the duodenum and the ventral pancreatic anlage emerges from the liver bud on the lateral side of the duodenum. As it enlarges, the dorsal pancreas extends medially across the mid-line anterior to the mesenteric vessels. Eventually, it gives rise to the tail, body, and cephalad portion of the head of the pancreas. The ventral pancreatic anlage extends from the bile duct and, as the stomach and duodenum enlarge, the bile duct and ventral pancreas rotate behind the duodenum to eventually lie along the medial wall of the duodenum. As a result of this rotation, the terminal bile duct is situated behind or within the dorsal pancreas and the ventral pancreas lies behind the mesenteric vessels. Eventually, the ventral pancreas develops into the uncinate process and caudal portion of the head of the pancreas. The ventral pancreas is drained by the duct of Wirsung which, along with the bile duct, enters the duodenum at the papilla of Vater. The dorsal pancreas, on the other hand, is drained by the duct of Santorini which enters the duodenum at the lesser papilla. When the dorsal and ventral pancreata fuse, the ductal systems usually communicate and, in most instances, drainage predominantly occurs via the papilla of Vater.
Leveraging Deep Reinforcement Learning for Reaching Robotic Tasks

This work leverages Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) to make robotic control immune to changes in the robot manipulator or the environment and to perform reaching, collision avoidance and grasping without explicit, prior and fine knowledge of the human arm structure and kinematics, without careful hand-eye calibration, solely based on visual/retinal input, and in ways that are robust to environmental changes. We learn a manipulation policy which we show takes the first steps toward generalizing to changes in the environment and can scale and adapt to new manipulators. Experiments are aimed at a) comparing different DCNN network architectures b) assessing the reward prediction for two radically different manipulators and c) performing a sensitivity analysis comparing a classical visual servoing formulation of the reaching task with the proposed DRL method.
Erosive Vitreoretinopathy: A New Clinical Entity

Purpose: Vitreoretinopathies are disorders characterized by an abnormal vitreous gel structure and associated retinal changes. The authors report a pedigree with vitreous changes characteristic of the vitreoretinopathies, but with retinal pigment epithelial changes, electroretinographic abnormalities, and a clinical course distinct from previously described entities. Methods: Twenty-six family members were examined. Complete ophthalmologic examinations, electroretinography, and perimetry were performed on patients who were at genetic risk for the disease. Particular attention was given to vitreous morphology and examination of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Results: Fifteen individuals affected with an autosomal dominant vitreoretinal degeneration were identified. The disease is characterized by nyctalopia, progressive visual field loss, marked vitreous syneresis, progressive RPE atrophy, and combined tractionrhegmatogenous retinal detachments (11 patients). Thinning or "erosion" of the RPE in younger patients permits increased visualization of the choroidal vessels. In advanced conditions, equatorial areas are seen that appear clinically devoid of RPE, with extensive posterior atrophy in older patients. Diffuse rod-cone dysfunction is demonstrated by electroretinography. High myopia, epiphyseal dysplasia, orofacial anomalies, and systemic manifestations characteristic of other vitreoretinopathies are not present. Conclusion: The authors describe an entity clinically distinct from other vitreoretinopathies. The disease is characterized by pronounced vitreous abnormalities, complicated retinal detachments, and a progressive pigmentary retinopathy. The most unusual and constant feature is the progressive change in RPE with concurrent visual field constriction and electroretinographic abnormalities. Because the RPE initially seems normal and progressively thins or "erodes" in the equatorial periphery, the descriptive name "erosive" vitreoretinopathy is proposed.
Ovarian and Adrenal Androgen Biosynthesis and Metabolism

The pathways of adrenal and ovarian steroid biosynthesis use the same enzymes for the initial steps of steroidogenesis but express different enzymes that convert steroid precursors to the final active products. Both the adrenal and ovary produce dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), the principal precursor of androgens and estrogens. The key enzyme in DHEA production is P450c17, which catalyzes both 17α-hydroxylation and 17,20-lyase activities. The 17,20-lyase activity of human P450c17 strongly favors 17-hydroxypregnenolone rather than 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) as a substrate, producing abundant DHEA, so that most human androgens and estrogens derive from DHEA. Understanding the biochemistry of P450c17 is central to understanding the hyperandrogenism of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Rare genetic disorders of steroidogenesis provide human genetic knockout experiments of nature, yielding important information about the biosynthesis and physiological roles of steroids.
Greater lifetime expectations.

Life expectancy at birth is increasing in most of the industrialized nations. But a new analysis shows that the rate of ‘mortality decline’ in the G7 countries is faster than predicted by national governments, with implications for planning future health care and pensions.
Modeling consumer sensitivity for product design and perceived usability

The primary objective of this research paper is to investigate the relationship between the perceived qualities of home appliances with respect to various design features. Consumers may define their fondness of the particular system or model over other model(s) by using different sensibility words such as robust, sleek, luxurious, reliable, sturdy, comfortable etc. It is the objective of this study to determine the principal sensibility word(s) consumers use to define their perceived feelings about the particular model and investigate if these words are related to the design elements of the system and if such relationship exits, then the objective is to determine the optimal design criteria(s) so as to attain the maximum possible perceived quality of the system for which the consumer may have upon interacting with other comparable systems. This research is based on statistical regression and correlation analysis with multiple linear objective programming (MLOP) for thirteen selected sensibility words and twelve product models with respect to forty nine design elements (37 unique design elements broken down to 49 independent variables). Results provided significance using statistical modeling arrived at fuzzy set logic and MLOP.
Editorial Commentary: Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Tunnel Mismatch: The Long and Short of It.

Abstract Anterior cruciate ligament graft size is an important consideration when planning the length of the tibial tunnel. In general, longer grafts require longer tunnels to accommodate the graft. Ideally, the tibial bone plug should be flush with the tibial cortex after graft passage and femoral fixation. Alternatively, allograft bone-patellar tendon-bone grafts can be selected based on their lengths to assure an ideal fit in the tibial tunnel. However, there are increased risks of allograft failure in young patients that anterior cruciate ligament surgeons should recognize.
Abstract 123: Diagnostic Yield of TEE in Patients With Cryptogenic Stroke and TIA With Normal TTE: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: The diagnostic utility of Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in cryptogenic stroke or TIA remains controversial. Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to estim...
Association between child psychiatric emergency room outcomes and dimensions of psychopathology.

Abstract Objective To determine the degree to which dimensional psychopathology predicts length of stay in an emergency department (ED) and need for hospital admission among children with psychiatric complaints. Method Electronic health records of children age 4–17 years who presented to the ED of a large academic medical center were analyzed using a natural language processing tool to estimate Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) symptom scores. These scores' association with length of stay and probability of admission versus discharge to home were evaluated. Results We identified 3061 children and adolescents who presented to the ED and were evaluated by the psychiatry service between November 2008 and March 2015. Median length of stay was 7.8 h (interquartile range 5.2–14.3 h) and 1696 (55.4%) were admitted to the hospital. Higher estimated RDoC arousal, cognitive, positive, and social domain scores were associated with increased length of stay in multiple regression models, adjusted for age, sex, race, private insurance, voluntary admission, and diagnostic categories. In similarly adjusted models, odds of hospital admission were increased by higher RDoC arousal and cognitive domain scores and decreased by higher negative domain scores. Conclusions A natural language processing tool to characterize dimensional psychopathology identified features associated with differential outcomes in children in the psychiatric ED, most notably symptoms reflecting arousal and cognitive function. Methodologically, this in silico approach to risk stratification should facilitate precision psychiatry in children within the emergency setting.
Managing Risk in Pharmaceutical R&D

Risk is a powerful force in innovative organizations for the obvious reason that it means the future outcomes of decisions are uncertain and, less obviously, because it can foster decision biases l...
Thalamocortical network connectivity controls spatiotemporal dynamics of cortical and thalamic traveling waves

Abstract Propagation of neural activity in spatially structured neuronal networks has been observed in awake, anesthetized and sleeping brains. However, it remains unclear how traveling waves are coordinated temporally across recurrently connected brain structures, and how network connectivity affects spatiotemporal neural activity. Here we develop a computational model of a two-dimensional thalamocortical network that enables us to investigate traveling wave characteristics in space-time. We show that thalamocortical and intracortical network connectivity, excitation/inhibition balance, thalamocortical/corticothalamic delay can independently or jointly change the spatiotemporal patterns (radial, planar and rotating waves) and characteristics (speed, direction and frequency) of cortical and thalamic traveling waves. Simulations of our model further predict that increased thalamic inhibition induces slower cortical wave frequency, and enhanced cortical excitation increases cortical wave speed and oscillation frequencies. Overall, the model study provides not only theoretical insight into the basis for spatiotemporal wave patterns, but also experimental predictions that potentially control these dynamics. Author Summary Cognition or sensorimotor control requires the coordination of neural activity across widespread brain circuits. Propagating waves of oscillatory neural activities have been observed at both macroscopic and mesoscopic levels, with various frequencies, spatial coverage, and modalities. However, a complete understanding how thalamocortical traveling waves are originated and temporally coordinated in the thalamus and cortex are still unclear. Furthermore, it remains unknown how the network connectivity, excitation/inhibition balance, thalamocortical or corticothalamic delay determine the spatiotemporal wave patterns and characteristics of cortical and thalamic traveling waves. Here we develop a computational model of a two-dimensional thalamocortical network to investigate the thalamic and neocortical traveling wave characteristics in space-time, which allows us to quantitatively assess the impact of thalamocortical network properties on the formation and maintenance of complex traveling wave patterns. Our computational model provides strong theoretical insight into the basis of spatiotemporal wave propagation, as well as experimental predictions that control these wave dynamics.
It's not a Sprint, it's a Marathon: Stretching Multi-resource Burstable Performance in Public Clouds (industry track)

During the past few years, all leading cloud providers introduced burstable instances that can sprint their performance for a limited period to address sudden workload variations. Despite the availability of burstable instances, there is no clear understanding of how to minimize the waste of resources by regulating their burst capacity to the workload requirements. This is especially true when it comes to non-CPU-intensive applications. In this paper, we investigate how to limit network and I/O usage to optimize the efficiency of the bursting process. We also study which resource shall be controlled to benefit both cloud providers and end-users. We design MRburst (Multi-Resource burstable performance scheduler) to automatically limit multiple resources (i.e., network, I/O, and CPU) and make the application comply with a user-defined service level objective (SLO) while minimizing wasted resources. MRburst is evaluated on Amazon EC2 using two multi-resource applications: an FTP server and a Ceph system. Experimental results show that MRburst outperforms state-of-the-art approaches by allowing instances to speed up their performance for up to 2.4 times longer period while meeting SLO.
The gender gap in education and late-life cognition: Evidence from multiple countries and birth cohorts

Abstract We document side-by-side trends in the gender gap of educational achievement and late-life cognition across countries. By and large, we find that, within the cohorts born between 1920 and 1959, women have had significantly lower educational attainment than men, with the gap narrowing over time. Correspondingly, we estimate a pronounced tendency of women's cognition to improve over time relative to men. We investigate whether these co-movements are likely due to the narrowing gender gap in education inducing a relative improvement in women’s cognition. The data offer little support for such a causal relation. We discuss possible third factors that may underlie the observed parallel trends in education and cognition gender gaps.
Mitochondrial behaviour, morphology, and animal performance

We have a limited understanding of the proximate mechanisms that are responsible for the development of variation in animal performance and life-history strategies. Provided that components of an organism's successful life history - for example, mate competition, gestation, lactation, etc. - are energetically demanding, increased energy production within mitochondria is likely the foundation from which organisms are able to perform these tasks. Mitochondrial behaviour (positioning within the cell and communication between mitochondria) and morphology affect variation in energy production at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. Therefore, adaptations in mitochondrial behaviour and morphology that favour efficient energy production likely influence variation in animal performance. Previous work has linked greater proportions of inter-mitochondrial junctions and density of the inner mitochondrial membrane, among other traits, with increased energetic demand. Future research should focus on how inter-mitochondrial junctions and morphology of the inner mitochondrial membrane, in particular, influence animal performance in accordance with mitochondrial density, fission, and fusion.
On Mitigating the Cruelty of Natural Selection Through Humane Genome Editing

Natural selection cares nothing for animal suffering. However, it is artificial selection that governs the genetics of billions of domesticated animals and consequently their predisposition to well-being. Even without directed research, future insights into the genetics of mood will almost certainly enable us to substantially improve the lives of trillions of animals, posing a profound neuroethical challenge (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Live animals. FAOSTAT statistical database, 2018). The sheer magnitude of the potential change in animal well-being demands great caution in evaluating whether, when, and how to develop and apply such technologies. A single mistake, whether rhetorically or technologically, could result in a great deal of animal suffering that might otherwise be avoided. Here we outline the moral responsibilities of those who choose to engage with the problem and those who decline. We discuss possible approaches for evaluating the efficacy of genetic methods and the concern that over-optimizing for indirect measures of well-being may reduce the extent to which we can be confident that those phenotypes are still meaningful indicators of what we are trying to measure. Lastly, we consider the extent to which we can expect animals used in agriculture to have been subject to selective pressures that result in their improved well-being in factory environments and the implications for the question of whether we should deliberately employ genetic methods to improve animal well-being.
Impact of blood alcohol concentration on hematologic and serum chemistry parameters in trauma patients: Analysis of data from a high-volume level 1 trauma center.

Background: Alcohol (EtOH) intoxication is common among trauma patients. While providers are familiar with the clinical aspects of acute EtOH intoxication, few studies have investigated the effects that EtOH levels may have on common laboratory markers. The aim of this study was to identify hematologic and serum chemistry parameters that may be affected by the blood alcohol concentration (BAC), hypothesizing that BAC influences both comprehensive blood count (CBC) and comprehensive serum chemistry (CSC) components. Methods: We performed an IRB-exempt institutional registry review of all trauma patients who had serum EtOH levels measured between January 2009 and June 2015. Data for each patient included: patient demographics, BAC determinations (g/dL), injury mechanism/severity information (ISS), hematologic parameters included in a CBC (hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cell [WBC] count, and platelet count), and CSC panel components (sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, blood urea nitrogen [BUN], creatinine, glucose, and hepatic function tests). Laboratory markers were contrasted across predefined categories of BAC: 20%. Statistical comparisons were performed using SPSS 18 Software, employing analysis-of-covariance with adjustments performed for the patient demographics and injury characteristics. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.005. Results: A total of 2167 patient records were analyzed. After adjusting for patient age, gender, and ISS, increasing BAC correlated with 4.8% increase in hemoglobin and 32.5% higher hematocrit (both P 0.20%) BAC groups across multiple CSC parameters, with largest impact on BUN (32.2% decrease); creatinine (31.5% decrease); and glucose (13.6% decrease) values. Elevated BAC (>0.20 g/dL) was also associated with 81.8% increase in total bilirubin, and hepatic transaminases were elevated among patients with BAC >0.10. Conclusion: Due to the paucity of literature relating to the effects of BAC on serum hematologic and biochemical markers in acute trauma, this study provides a foundation for further exploration of these relationships and their clinical impact. More specifically, we found that BAC levels significantly influenced key laboratory markers, suggesting that acute EtOH intoxication may lead to hematologic and CSC changes that are potentially important in acute trauma management by frontline clinical staff.
A pilot intervention combining assessment and feedback with communication training and behavioral nudges to increase HPV vaccine uptake.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes >40,000 cancer diagnoses each year, yet vaccination rates remain low because widespread implementation of strategies to increase vaccinations has not occurred. Behavioral nudges have demonstrated efficacy in improving uptake of desired behaviors in health care settings but have not been tested for increasing HPV vaccinations. We assessed the impact of an intervention combining behavioral nudges with other proven strategies (i.e., assessment and feedback, provider communication training) on HPV vaccination rates and parental satisfaction in four Midwestern pediatric, outpatient practices. Practices were randomly assigned to receive either assessment and feedback or assessment and feedback combined with vaccine communication training and behavioral nudges in the form of vaccine commitment posters. Providers (n = 16) completed surveys regarding vaccine policies and parents (n = 215) reported on their child's vaccine history and satisfaction with the consultation. Three practices increased HPV vaccination rates (1-10%); however, there was no statistically significant difference by study arm. Most parents (M age 41.3; SD 8.1; 85% female, 68% White) indicated their child had previously initiated the HPV vaccine series (61%) and 72% indicated receipt of an HPV vaccine during the study visit. Concerns among HPV vaccine-hesitant parents (28%) included vaccine safety and believing the vaccine is unnecessary (40%). Most parents were satisfied with their consultation. Practices in both intervention groups increased vaccination rates. While some parents continue to harbor concerns about vaccine safety and necessity, parents welcomed discussions about HPV and were satisfied with their provider's communication regardless of their vaccine decisions.
A quasipolynomial (2 + ε)-approximation for planar sparsest cut

The (non-uniform) sparsest cut problem is the following graph-partitioning problem: given a “supply” graph, and demands on pairs of vertices, delete some subset of supply edges to minimize the ratio of the supply edges cut to the total demand of the pairs separated by this deletion. Despite much effort, there are only a handful of nontrivial classes of supply graphs for which constant-factor approximations are known. We consider the problem for planar graphs, and give a (2+)-approximation algorithm that runs in quasipolynomial time. Our approach defines a new structural decomposition of an optimal solution using a “patching” primitive. We combine this decomposition with a Sherali-Adams-style linear programming relaxation of the problem, which we then round. This should be compared with the polynomial-time approximation algorithm of Rao (1999), which uses the metric linear programming relaxation and l1-embeddings, and achieves an O(√logn)-approximation in polynomial time.
A Veterinarian's Approach to SPA:

Cow/calf practitioners routinely make recommendations regarding management issues, culling and ration balancing without knowledge of the producer's cost of production. Lack of this information significantly reduces the practitioner's ability to make appropriate recommendations. Just as treating a cow without diagnostic tests, i.e., physical exam and serum chemistries, can lead to inappropriate treatment, management recommendations made without production and financial records can be inappropriate. Diagnostic tests cannot be interpreted without standard methodology for conducting the tests. The same is true for financial and production records. Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) guidelines for beef cowherd records were developed in the early 1990s to address these concerns. Many states have implemented these guidelines into their cow-calf record systems, developed benchmarking databases, and have assisted producers with decision-making processes from these comparisons. Reports from various states suggest major herd economic improvements from this type of outreach activity. Even with this success, adoption of these recordkeeping systems has been slow. For example, the number of herds in the annual Iowa database for 1999 is 27, compared to 16 herds at its initiation in 1994 and 45 herd at its peak in 1997. With budget concerns, it is increasingly difficult to provide this kind of individualized service through extension.
Branch Runahead: An Alternative to Branch Prediction for Impossible to Predict Branches

High performance microprocessors require high levels of instruction supply. Branch prediction has been the most important driver of this for nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, modern predictors are increasingly bottlenecked by hard-to-predict data-dependent branches that fundamentally cannot be predicted via a history based approach. Pre-computation of branch instructions has been suggested as a solution, but such schemes require a careful trade-off between timeliness and complexity. This paper introduces Branch Runahead: a low-cost, hardware-only solution that achieves high accuracy while only performing lightweight pre-computation. The result: a reduction in branch MPKI of 47.5% and an average improvement in IPC of 16.9%.
Lesions of the thalamic reticular nucleus or the basal forebrain impair Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning and attenuate learning-related multiple-unit activity in the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus

Rabbits received ibotenic acid lesions of the thalamic reticular nucleus or the basal forebrain, or sham lesions, and had multiple-unit recording electrodes implanted in the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (MD). Animals were compared on four sessions of simple Pavlovian conditioning using a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) and periorbital electric shock unconditioned stimulus (US). Eyeblink (EB) and heart rate (HR) responses were recorded, as well as multiple-unit activity (MUA) from MD. MD MUA in sham-lesioned animals showed small but consistent increases in response to the CS. Lesions of either the basal forebrain or the thalamic reticular nucleus decreased the magnitude of the MUA changes recorded from MD and impaired acquisition of the EB conditioned response (CR). Reticular nucleus, but not basal forebrain, lesions slightly enhanced the magnitude of the HR CR. Since MD’s efferent projections are to the prefrontal cortex, these results support the idea that MD, possibly due to its forebrain-reticular afferent connections, may participate in a “response selection” function of the prefrontal cortex.
Evaluation of Cu-64 and Ga-68 Radiolabeled Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists as PET Tracers for Pancreatic β cell Imaging

Purpose Copper-64 (Cu-64) and Galium-68 (Ga-68) radiolabeled DO3A and NODA conjugates of exendin-4 were used for preclinical imaging of pancreatic β cells via targeting of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R).
Impact of College Recreation Centers on Enrollment

College recreation facilities have served a role of providing students an outlet for recreation and wellness activities. New facilities provide campuses state-of-the-art, modern equipment and venue...
Accurate identification of MCI patients via enriched white-matter connectivity network

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD), is frequently considered to be a good target for early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions of AD. Recent emergence of reliable network characterization techniques have made understanding neurological disorders at a whole brain connectivity level possible. Accordingly, we propose a network-based multivariate classification algorithm, using a collection of measures derived from white-matter (WM) connectivity networks, to accurately identify MCI patients from normal controls. An enriched description of WM connections, utilizing six physiological parameters, i.e., fiber penetration count, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and principal diffusivities (λ1, λ2, λ3), results in six connectivity networks for each subject to account for the connection topology and the biophysical properties of the connections. Upon parcellating the brain into 90 regions-of-interest (ROIs), the average statistics of each ROI in relation to the remaining ROIs are extracted as features for classification. These features are then sieved to select the most discriminant subset of features for building an MCI classifier via support vector machines (SVMs). Cross-validation results indicate better diagnostic power of the proposed enriched WM connection description than simple description with any single physiological parameter.
Does Heller Protect a Right to Carry Guns Outside the Home

In summarizing his opinion for the Court in District of Columbia v. Heller,' Justice Scalia wrote: "we hold that the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense." Yet, the challenged District of Columbia law did not merely forbid handgun possession in the home; it banned possession of unlicensed handguns anywhere in the District, and because the District prohibited the registration of handguns, the effect of the handgun ban, coupled with restrictions on the storage of licensed long guns, was to forbid most law-abiding private citizens from carrying firearms of any sort anywhere in public.After Heller, can the District enforce its firearms prohibition in public? The question is of more than theoretical interest because tough enforcement of New York City's ban on public possession of firearms may have contributed substantially to the dramatic decline in the City's violent crime rate since the early 1990s. If the right recognized in Heller cannot be limited to the home, then some of the progress New York City has made in fighting crime could be in jeopardy, and more broadly, police departments around the country could lose an important tool-assuming (as I shall for present purposes) that the Court eventually holds that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment against the states and their subdivisions.
Time to take the gloves off: the use of radiation reduction gloves can greatly increase patient dose

Sterile radiation reduction gloves have been widely used over the past several decades in an effort to reduce hand doses during fluoroscopically guided proce- dures. While multiple studies have quantified the potential dose reduction to the fluoroscope operator from the use of such gloves, possible effects on the patient have not yet been quantified. The aim of this study was to examine the impact on patient dose when radiation reduction gloves are used. The impact on patient dose when using radiation reduction gloves in the field of view (FOV) was evalu- ated by measuring patient entrance surface dose rates (ESDR) using three C-arm fluoroscopes for a range of patient sizes and different operating and magnification modes. Multiple measuring fields were used in combination with both peripheral and central glove placement. ESDR were measured with no glove in the FOV, with one radiation reduction glove, and with double gloves in the FOV, to replicate the actions of some fluoroscope operators. Compared to an ungloved hand, the use of a single radiation reduction glove in the measuring field resulted in up to a 2.8-fold increase in ESDR. The use of double radiation reduction gloves resulted in up to a 4.9-fold increase in ESDR. In both cases, the increase in ESDR was dependent on the size of the patient and on the operating and magnification modes used, and ranged from no increase up to the aforementioned maximum. When used in the FOV, and particularly within the measuring field, radiation reduction gloves can substantially increase ESDR. This increase in dose, when considered against the relatively small published reduction in dose to the operator's hands, may mean that the increased risks from the use of radiation reduction gloves outweigh the benefits. In any case, hands should not be placed in the FOV if not required by the goals of the procedure.
OSCILLATIONS IN HARBORS WITH CONNECTED BASINS

A theory is presented to analyze the response to periodic incident waves of an abritrary-shape harbor containing several inter-connected basins. The domain of interest is divided into an open-sea region and several inner basins depending on the harbor geometry. The solution in each region is formulated in terms of the unknown normal velocity at the entrance, or at the common boundary between basins, or both; the velocity is then determined by matching solutions for various regions. It has been found that the theoretical results agree well with experiments both for an irregular shape harbor and a harbor composed of two connected circular basins. Various aspects of the response of harbors composed of connected circular basins as well as circular harbors with rectangular entrance channels and side channel resonators are discussed. To a first approximation it appears that the response curve of a harbor composed of coupled basins can be synthesized from the response curves of the individual basins.
Liquid Crystalline Block Copolymers

Liquid crystalline block copolymers (LCBCPs) are fascinating soft materials, which show unique hierarchical assemblies due to liquid crystalline mesophase formation as well as microphase-segregated domains obtained from the incompatible block architecture. This review is focused on methods to synthesize and characterize the thermal and morphological features of LCBCPs as well as structure–property analysis. Applications of these materials in various fields including lithography, scaffolds for renewable energy applications, responsive materials, and low energy surfaces are discussed. Future trends in the design of new architectures of LCBCPs, their hybrid derivatives, and their structure–property correlations are elucidated. Keywords: liquid crystal; block copolymers; hierarchical structures; self-assembly; structure-property relationships