cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recent trends in utilization rates of abdominal imaging: the relative roles of radiologists and nonradiologist physicians.

Purpose To study recent trends in the utilization of abdominal imaging in the Medicare population. Materials and Methods The Medicare Part B databases for 1996 through 2005 were reviewed, and all Current Procedural Terminology ® , 4th ed, codes pertaining to noninvasive imaging of the abdomen and pelvis were identified. The codes were grouped into 6 categories: (1) computed tomography (CT) and CT angiography, (2) magnetic resonance (MR) and MR angiography, (3) ultrasound, (4) radionuclide imaging, (5) plain radiography, and (6) gastrointestinal fluoroscopy. Global and professional-component claims from all places of service were tabulated for the 6 categories. Utilization rates per 1,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries were calculated. Medicare physician specialty codes were used to identify examinations by radiologists and nonradiologist physicians. Overall utilization trends were studied, as were those among radiologists and nonradiologists. Results In 1996, an overall total of 451.8 abdominal imaging examinations were performed per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries, increasing to 564.5 in 2005 (+25%). The greatest growth was seen in computed tomography and computed tomographic angiography, which rose from 99.4 examinations in 1996 to 239.3 in 2005 (+141%). Ultrasound increased from 126.6 examinations in 1996 to 142.2 in 2005 (+12%). Plain abdominal radiographic examinations decreased from 144.1 to 125.4 (−13%), and gastrointestinal fluoroscopic examinations decreased from 67.3 to 34.8 (−48%). The utilization of MR and MR angiography and radionuclide imaging was far lower. Radiologists' market share of abdominal imaging was 88% in 1996 and 90% in 2005. Between 1996 and 2005, the utilization rate among radiologists increased by 29%, compared with 11% among nonradiologist physicians. Conclusions In recent years, the increase in the utilization rate of abdominal imaging among the Medicare population was relatively moderate (25% over 9 years). There was a substantial increase in the use of computed tomography and computed tomographic angiography and a smaller increase in the use of ultrasound. The use of plain radiography and gastrointestinal fluoroscopy declined. Radiologists strongly predominate in abdominal imaging, and this may be one reason why growth has been modest.
Depression and Osteoarthritis: Impact on Disability

Osteoarthritis, a highly prevalent progressively disabling chronic health condition associated with aging, is frequently addressed from a physical standpoint, rather than a more holistic standpoint, even though psychological correlates are often prevalent co morbid determinants of this condition. This review briefly summarizes the literature on osteoarthritis and depression published over the last 30 years. From this review, it is concluded that depression is a frequent correlate of osteoarthritis disability, and where present heightens the prevailing disabling painful experience consistently and significantly. Since depression is amenable to treatment, it is recommended more attention to routinely screening for depression among osteoarthritis sufferers, rather than doing this sporadically, is strongly indicated for promoting optimal outcomes among this burgeoning population.
Reliability imposed design aspects of submicrometer polysilicon-emitter bipolar transistors

The device reliability of narrow poly-emitter bipolar transistors with very shallow junctions is studied experimentally. The excess base current due to nonuniform poly doping, which is typically seen in such devices, is found not to accelerate device degradation. The lower doping at the emitter edge due to known perimeter depletion and emitter plug effects (PPEs) leads to a reduced increase in base current per perimeter length with stress. The results show that bipolar device scaling can probably be pursued to a point where PPEs start to appear, and that lateral emitter grading is effective in improving the device reliability. >
Pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.

The epidemiology pathogenesis clinical manifestations diagnosis and treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are reviewed. PID the most morbid and difficult to diagnose of the sexually transmitted diseases in women refers to infection of any site(s) in the upper genital tract. It leads to infertility ectopic pregnancy chronic pelvic pain and recurrent infection. It affects a disproportionate number of young nulliparas because of biological and social factors as well as IUD users. Most PID arises from N. gonorrhea and/or C. trachomatis primary infections. 15% of primary cases follow transuterine procedures. 1% come from an endogenous focus such as appendicitis. Usually those of STD origin start as a cervical infection later the infection ascends into the endometrium tubes and peritoneum accompanied by bacterial vaginitis organisms. Chlamydial infections typically have a slow onset and mild symptoms but are much more likely to cause infertility and ectopic pregnancy than gonococcal disease. Women with bilateral uterine or adnexal tenderness and abnormal vaginal discharge should be evaluated with a vaginal wet mount an endocervical gram stain endocervical culture and endocervical specimen. Treatment should include at least 2 antibiotics doxycycline and cefoxitin or clindamycin and gentamicin for the older woman whose infection is dominated by anaerobes. Hospitalization is recommended when fertility is important or compliance is doubtful. All partners in the last 30 days should be traced examined and treated.
Analytical Determination of the Baffle Factor for Disinfection Contact Systems Based on Hydraulic Analysis, Disinfection Kinetics, and Ct Tables

AbstractThe Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) specifies the Ct (disinfectant concentration×time) calculation as the means by which disinfection efficacy, and therefore compliance, is determined. Baffle factors are used to scale the theoretical residence time of the water in a vessel to obtain the amount of time used for the Ct calculation. The baffle factor formulation has been left to guidance and has been a topic of discussion. In this work, an extended baffle factor formulation is developed using disinfection contact system performance models that incorporate the methods imposed by and built into the SWTR. The performance models are based on chemical reactor analyses that have been validated extensively in the literature. A comparison made between the extended baffle factor formulation and methods that use hydraulic considerations alone shows that failing to account for the entire residence time distribution and disinfection kinetics can lead to significant errors. The result of this work is a baffle...
Safe Practices for Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition

Therapeutic interventions take place within a system that requires policies, procedures, and practices that keep patient safety at the forefront. This is particularly important in the critical care setting and no different when the intervention is enteral nutrition (EN) or parenteral nutrition (PN) therapy. Each institution requires an oversight structure to assure consistency of policies, procedures, and practices across all departments and at each step in the nutrition support process. Safety issues arise at each step in the process with risk reduction strategies including the involvement of nutrition support specialists, improved communication, and standardization codified in policies and procedures for each step based on available guidelines and best practice recommendations.
Mathematical biophysics of the galvanic skin response

Beginning with Rashevsky's equation for the development of the excitatory state in a nerve fiber, an equation for the change in skin resistance upon the presentation of an instantaneous stimulus is derived. The mechanism assumed is in conformity with the existing evidence of neuro-physiology. Certain deductions from the equations are made and experimental problems suggested for testing the theory.
A Refutation of the Article, Institutional Influences in the Graduate Training of Productive Mathematicians

(1969). A Refutation of the Article, Institutional Influences in the Graduate Training of Productive Mathematicians. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 76, No. 9, pp. 1060-1062.
Assessing evidentiary value in fire debris analysis by chemometric and likelihood ratio approaches

Results are presented from support vector machine (SVM), linear and quadratic discriminant analysis (LDA and QDA) and k-nearest neighbors (kNN) methods of binary classification of fire debris samples as positive or negative for ignitable liquid residue. Training samples were prepared by computationally mixing data from ignitable liquid and substrate pyrolysis databases. Validation was performed on an unseen set of computationally mixed (in silico) data and on fire debris from large-scale research burns. The probabilities of class membership were calculated using an uninformative (equal) prior and a likelihood ratio was calculated from the resulting class membership probabilities. The SVM method demonstrated a high discrimination, low error rate and good calibration for the in silico validation data; however, the performance decreased significantly for the fire debris validation data, as indicated by a significant increase in the error rate and decrease in the calibration. The QDA and kNN methods showed similar performance trends. The LDA method gave poorer discrimination, higher error rates and slightly poorer calibration for the in silico validation data; however the performance did not deteriorate for the fire debris validation data.
Abstract 318: Identification of Novel Cardiac Fibroblast Enriched Genes

The leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease. While current therapies have reduced mortality, patients surviving the initial stages of cardiac injury are left with long-term disruption of heart function including fibrosis. Pathological fibrosis in the heart is caused by excess proliferation and deposition of extracellular matrix primarily by cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). One factor required for cardiac fibroblast formation is the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, TCF21 (epicardin/Pod1/capsulin). Previous studies from our lab have shown that Tcf21 null embryos lack CFs. Our current work focuses on identifying genes downstream of TCF21. Deep-sequencing identified over one hundred differentially expressed genes when comparing embryonic hearts from Tcf21 nulls to wild types. We have verified a subset of these differentially expressed genes by qPCR and have demonstrated that these genes are also expressed in cultured primary cardiac fibroblasts. Future work will focus on determining the function of these genes during fibroblast activation and determine which of these genes are directly regulated by TCF21. The elucidation of cardiac fibroblast specific genes and their function will provide much needed information for identification of therapeutic targets aimed at cardiac fibroblast activation.
PROSPECT OF APPLYING MICELLAR SYSTEM FOR DETECTION IN POWER PLANT CHEMISTRY AND EVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The micelle is a kind of nano-scale surfactant aggregated body, the reaction space formed by them provides with micro-environments from polar to non-polar ones, strengthening the signal intensity of detected system, enhancing sensitivity of the detection method. For detection in power plant chemistry and environmental protection, the micellar system will have good prospect to detect trace poisonous and harmful metallic ions as well as organic matters in water or in atmosphere.
About Ostrowski Inequalities for Cosine and Sine Operator Functions

Here we present Ostrowski type inequalities on Cosine and Sine Operator Functions for various norms.
Receiving the Unwanted Gift: Infection Transmission through Organ Transplantation.

Abstract Background: Infections are common in the general U.S. population, so it is inevitable that some persons with a potentially transmissible disease will become organ donors. There are numerous reports of viral, parasitic, fungal, and bacterial transmission through transplantation. At the same time, immunosuppression increases the risk of infection in organ recipients, so attribution of infectious diseases to the transplanted organ is often difficult. Method: Review of the English-language literature. Results: The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network states that all potential deceased organ donors must be assessed for conditions that may influence donor acceptance. The infections most often transmitted knowingly to organ recipients are cytomegalovirus and hepatitis C virus. There was a 43% increase in the number of potential donor-derived transmission events between 2012 and 2013, but this affected only 3% of transplants; and the patterns of unexpected infection transmissions have remained f...
Human Subsistence and the Archaeofaunal Record of Late Paleolithic Southwest Europe

This chapter examines changes in human hunting in Upper Paleolithic Southwest Europe and the correspondence of those changes to the environmental regions discussed in Chap. 3. The archaeofaunal data suggest significant regional differences between southern France and the Iberian Peninsula during the Upper Paleolithic. Within the Iberian Peninsula, the modern-day bioclimatic division between the Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean climatic regions is apparent throughout the Upper Paleolithic and into the Epipaleolithic. Southern France, by contrast, shows significantly more variability in archaeofaunal composition in the Upper Paleolithic, suggesting a patchy, non-analogous mosaic. In the Epipaleolithic, archaeofaunas from southern France begin to show a more modern character, with those from Mediterranean France grouping with Mediterranean Iberian faunas.
Does Religion Influence Views Toward Homosexuality: An Empirical Study of 16 Countries

Homosexuality is generally viewed negatively. That is certainly the case in the Jewish and Christian holy books as well as the Quran, although opinions differ as to interpretation. The practice has been condemned by these religions. An Imam in Orlando, Florida, the site of the mass murder of homosexuals in June, 2016, has gone so far as to say that killing homosexuals would be the compassionate thing to do.It is not the purpose of this paper to review the history of homosexuality, or the pros and cons or moral standing of the practice. Readers can obtain that information by reading the items listed in the reference section of this paper. The goal of this study is more limited, to report the results of a study that compares views on the acceptability of homosexuality in a few select countries that are religiously diverse. Data for this study were gathered as part of the most recent World Values Survey.The present study is part of a series on homosexuality. Other studies in the series rank countries based on their acceptance of homosexuality and examine specific demographic variables such as gender, age, social class, level of education, and region to see whether these variables are significant. Another study is longitudinal, measuring the change in views toward homosexuality that has taken place over the past few decades. Citations to some of those studies (with links) are listed in the reference section of the present paper.
Practices and Emerging Identities of Beginning Science Teachers in Online and Offline Communities of Practice

The inception of this chapter was actually quite personal, as its birth was a direct result of my own long, convoluted, and sometimes painful scholastic journey. Not infrequently, I would find myself pondering, “Of what does the actual evidence of one’s authentic self, one’s “identity,” consist? How can I best perceive and understand this identity? And, what do my conclusions mean, what do they tell me about how a person grows and learns to navigate the world?” Evolving through the intellectual and investigational processes these questions sparked, I came to be introduced to, and fascinated by, the various academic concepts used to describe the inevitable relationships that form between one’s practices and one’s identity—particularly the concepts of Cameron (2001), Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain (2001), and Wenger (2008).
The Delaware Social-Emotional Competency Scale (DSECS-S): Evidence of Validity and Reliability

The Delaware Social-Emotional Competency Scale (DSECS-S) was developed to provide schools with a brief, inexpensive, and psychometrically sound self-report scale to assess students’ social-emotional competencies. Confirmatory factor analyses, conducted on a sample of 32,414 students from 126 public elementary, middle, and high schools in Delaware, showed that a second-order model consisting of four specific factors and one general factor (social-emotional competence) best represented the data. Those four factors are represented in the four subscales of the DSECS-S: Responsible Decision Making, Relationship Skills, Self-Management, and Social Awareness. The scale’s factor structure was shown to be consistent across grade levels (i.e., elementary, middle, and high school), racial–ethnic groups (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and Multi-racial), and gender. As evidence of the scale’s criterion-related validity, the total social-emotional competency score correlated significantly and positively with students’ self-reported cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and total engagement. At the school level, social-emotional competence correlated positively with school-level academic achievement and negatively with suspensions/expulsions.
An Unusual Presentation of Acute Fibrinous and Organizing Pneumonia

BACKGROUND Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) is a newly evolving rare non-infectious lung pathology, characterized by intra-alveolar fibrin balls on histology. It is often difficult to diagnose and is usually mistaken for other lung pathologies. We present an interesting case of AFOP with unusual radiologic findings and disease course. CASE REPORT A 56-year-old woman presented with a 1-day history of high-grade fever, chills, and profuse sweating. She was febrile to 101.2 degree Fahrenheit on presentation. On physical examination, she had decreased air entry in the left upper lobe of the lung. Laboratory testing showed a white cell count of 27,000 cells per microliter of blood with left shift. A chest radiograph showed a left upper lobe consolidation. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest without intravenous contrast showed advanced centrilobular emphysema and left upper lobe consolidation measuring 6.2×5.9 cm. The patient was started on antibiotics. She clinically improved and was discharged on oral antibiotics. After discharge, a trans-bronchial lung biopsy showed acute inflammatory cell infiltrate with intra-alveolar fibrin balls but no hyaline membrane formation or significant eosinophils. These findings were consistent with acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia. However, she was subsequently lost to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Our case adds to the literature a new and unusual finding of upper lobe infiltrates, in contrast to most cases presenting as bilateral lower lobe infiltrates. In our case, symptomatic improvement after antibiotic treatment suggests a possible role of antibiotics in management of this entity.
Environmental Psychology and Biosphere 2

This chapter deals with two categories of research in environmental psychology, the ecological psychology of the Biosphere 2 environment and the selection process related to that environment.
The neural representation of social status in the extended face-processing network

Social status is a salient cue that shapes our perceptions of other people and ultimately guides our social interactions. Despite the pervasive influence of status on social behavior, how information about the status of others is represented in the brain remains unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that social status information is embedded in our neural representations of other individuals. Participants learned to associate faces with names, job titles that varied in associated status, and explicit markers of reputational status (star ratings). Trained stimuli were presented in an functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment where participants performed a target detection task orthogonal to the variable of interest. A network of face-selective brain regions extending from the occipital lobe to the orbitofrontal cortex was localized and served as regions of interest. Using multivoxel pattern analysis, we found that face-selective voxels in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex – a region involved in social and nonsocial valuation, could decode faces based on their status. Similar effects were observed with two different status manipulations – one based on stored semantic knowledge (e.g., different careers) and one based on learned reputation (e.g., star ranking). These data suggest that a face-selective region of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex may contribute to the perception of social status, potentially underlying the preferential attention and favorable biases humans display toward high-status individuals.
Comparison of two trunk electromagnetic sensor placement methods during shoulder motion analysis

Abstract For kinematic studies of the shoulder, electromagnetic sensors are commonly placed on the humerus, scapula, and trunk. The trunk sensor is used to describe humeral and scapular kinematics with respect to the trunk. There are two common trunk sensor placements, the sternum or third thoracic vertebrae (T3). It is currently unclear if placement of the trunk sensor affects kinematics, making it difficult to compare data across studies. The purpose of this study was to compare two trunk sensor placements (T3 and sternum) on trunk and scapular kinematics during arm elevation. An electromagnetic tracking system was used to collect kinematic data during five consecutive repetitions of ascending and descending arm elevation in the sagittal plane. The results indicate that trunk sensor placement had no significant effect on trunk kinematics or scapular upward/downward rotation and internal/external rotation. Scapular anterior/posterior tilt was significantly greater when the trunk sensor was on the sternum compared to the T3 vertebrae during ascending 30°–120°: mean difference = −3.51° (95%CI: −5.61, −1.40), and descending 120°–30°: mean difference = −3.27° (95%CI: −6.07, −0.48). However, the difference in anterior/posterior tilt did not exceed the error (minimal detectable change), and thus is likely not a meaningful difference. These results indicate the trunk sensors can be affixed on T3 or the sternum, depending on the needs of the study.
A Solar Power-Assisted Battery Balancing System for Electric Vehicles

This paper proposes a solar power-assisted electric vehicle battery balancing system. There are three operation modes of the system: solar-balancing, storage-balancing, and charge balancing. The solar-balancing mode charges the battery module with the lowest state of charge (SOC) using the solar power during vehicle driving; the charge-balancing mode is operated when the vehicle is parked and being charged by the conventional charger. Under this mode, the balancing circuit discharges the battery module with the highest SOC by transferring the energy to an additional storage cell while the solar panel also charges the storage cell independently at the same time if solar power is available. When the solar power is low, the storage-balancing mode will be selected to charge the battery module with the lowest SOC using energy stored in the storage cell. This system eliminates the energy loss that would otherwise happen in conventional active and passive balancing schemes by equalizing the battery using solar/stored energy in the storage cell. A 48-V battery pack with four 12-V battery modules system is simulated and tested. A prototype system is developed to prove the concept. The simulation and experimental results verify that the proposed system not only achieves the same balancing performance as conventional balancing circuits, but also effectively increases the overall usable battery energy by 2.1%–3.3% every 13.2 km.
Functional Communication Training and Demand Fading Using Concurrent Schedules of Reinforcement.

Demand fading, a schedule thinning procedure for escape-maintained behaviors, typically includes an escape extinction component. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of demand fading with alternative reinforcement utilizing concurrent reinforcement schedules without extinction. During demand fading, aggression and requests emitted prior to meeting the task completion criterion were reinforced with short, low-quality breaks, but requests emitted following the task completion criterion were reinforced with long, high-quality breaks. Results suggest that concurrent schedules of reinforcement may be an effective alternative to extinction as a component of demand fading.
Ocular anatomy of the black pacu (Colossoma macropomum): gross, histologic, and diagnostic imaging.

Objective To describe the ocular anatomy of the black pacu (Colossoma macropomum), a freshwater teleost fish of the Amazon River basin, including an unusual choroid laden with adipose tissue. Procedures Three adult black pacu were anesthetized and examined clinically and with ocular ultrasonography, then euthanized. Three fish were euthanized and their heads imaged immediately postmortem using computed tomography. One fish was euthanized and its exenterated eyes imaged by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. The exenterated eyes of all seven fish were fixed in formalin; eyes from three fish were examined grossly and histologically. Additionally, archived histologic sections from two smaller black pacu specimens were examined. Results Findings were consistent among the ocular imaging modalities used. Intrinsic to the sclera were circumferential ossicles and scleral cartilage. The lens was spherical and protruded through the ovoid pupil with an aphakic space inferiorly when the accommodative mechanism was relaxed under anesthesia. Both a small falciform process and epiretinal vasculature were present in the posterior segment. The retina was cone-rich, and processes of the retinal pigment epithelium enveloped the photoreceptor outer segments. Remarkably, the choroid occupied one-third of the anteroposterior length of the globe; histology confirmed that the bulk of the choroid was composed of adipose tissue. Conclusions The eye of the pacu overall is typical of teleosts but has the notable and consistent finding of a substantive store of choroidal fat of unknown function.
Tear film evaluation by scanning laser ophthalmoscopy during retinal imaging.

PURPOSE: Herein, we describe a novel finding which appears as a reticular pattern on multicolor confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy image during routine imaging of retina and we aim to show whether there is an association between this pattern and dry eye findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 162 eyes of 81 patients that were scheduled for a routine retinal imaging by scanning laser ophthalmoscopy at a vitreoretinal practice underwent dry eye evaluation including corneal and conjunctival lissamine green staining, fluorescein staining, tear break-up time, and tear meniscus height measurement before acquiring any images. Then, multicolor images were taken and graded for the severity of reticular pattern. RESULTS: Among 150 eyes of 81 patients with gradable multicolor imaging, 45 eyes (30%) had some reticular pattern on multicolor image. Severity of reticular pattern on multicolor imaging was significantly correlated with total lissamine score (rho = 0.378, p = 0.007) and tear meniscus height (rho = -0.408, p = 0.011). Furthermore, they were found to be the best set of predictors for the severity pattern on multicolor imaging (odds ratio = 1.30, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.37, p = 0.027 and odds ratio = 0.25, 95% confidence interval = 0.128-0.342, p < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Reticular pattern seen on multicolor image while acquiring retinal images using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy may be related to tear film instability. Further modulations of the scanning laser ophthalmoscopy instrument will likely improve this indicator of dry eye syndrome.
The Predictive Ability of ACT Scores for Student Success at an Engineering School

For many years, college administrators involved in the admission process have relied heavily on standardized test scores when determining student admissability. Because of the record numbers of stu...
Correction to: Effects of Small-Scale Armoring and Residential Development on the Salt Marsh-Upland Ecotone

The article Effects of Small-Scale Armoring and Residential Development on the Salt Marsh-Upland Ecotone.
What Should we Believe About Free Will

Given the available evidence, I argue that we face considerable uncertainty about free will. In particular, I argue that the available philosophical evidence does not support being highly confident in our theories about the nature of free will, though this does not necessarily mean that we should suspend judgment about either incompatibilism or compatibilism. For those who accept incompatibilism, however, I argue that there is enough uncertainty about libertarian free will that they should suspend judgment about whether we are ever free, if not reject free will entirely. While I do not claim that compatibilists should be similarly agnostic about the existence of free will, I argue that most compatibilist theories are subject to considerable uncertainty as well, so that most compatibilists should be agnostic about how often we act freely. I conclude with a brief discussion of how we might address these issues going forward.
Practice patterns of reflux medication prescriptions in otolaryngology compared to other specialties

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To describe the trends in proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescription rates and durations and compare them to those of H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) between 2013 and 2016 in otolaryngology, gastroenterology, and family practice, following the increasing publications on PPI adverse effects and inappropriate prescribing. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective review of publicly available Medicare Part D prescribing data. METHODS PPI and H2RA prescription and beneficiary data were obtained through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website. For prescription rates, 30-day fill counts were analyzed nationally and regionally per 10,000 Medicare members. Days supply per beneficiary was examined to show average prescription durations. Results were compared between otolaryngology, gastroenterology, and family practice. Medication-related economic burden per year was calculated based on reported drug cost. RESULTS From 2013 to 2016, PPI 30-day fill counts remained stable, whereas H2RA prescription rates increased by up to 62% per 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries. The South consistently prescribed two to three times as much antireflux medication as the lowest prescribing region over time and across all three specialties. The days supply per beneficiary remained stable and ranged from an average of 128 to 203 days depending on the specialty. Antireflux medication-related healthcare cost decreased steadily. CONCLUSIONS Despite numerous publications describing a multitude of adverse events and inappropriate prescribing patterns of PPIs in the past decade, prescription rates and durations per beneficiary have remained stable in the fields of otolaryngology, gastroenterology, and family practice. Additionally, H2RA prescriptions have increased from 2013 to 2016. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 130:321-327, 2020.
Culture: Opening Paths, Creating Detours

Culture influences the navigation process during emerging and young adulthood, including its duration. Not a monolithic or static entity, global, and local cultural developments affect emerging and young adults differently, as they interact with individual characteristics and societal and family norms. Mandated religious obligations, in some cultures, immerse emerging or young adults to its precepts, in a time when others are in search of their own spiritual and relational values. In some cultures, military service encourages the development of culturally sanctioned qualities as it limits the expression of others, while the dictates of filial piety are accepted by many emerging and young adults as an expression of their traditional cultural ties, even as they baffle their friends in the host culture. The influence of class was identified as primary, especially by the less affluent cohort. It was identified as an influence on career direction. Economic constraints were seen to limit experimental approaches to career and tended to result in more conservative life-path choices in the less affluent cohort.
Loosely Coupled Wireless Charging of Footwear-based Sensor System

This paper presents a wireless charging system that can power up footwear-based sensors. Loosely coupled magnetic resonant technique was applied to achieve a 20 mm-long charging distance relative to the conventional Qi charging, which requires close proximity and precise alignment. Transmitting and receiving resonators are modeled and simulated with a full-wave solver, ANSYS HFSS. Simulation results match measured results with respect to coupling coefficient (k). The resonator coupling efficiency (RCE) for the loosely coupled wireless charging system over a 20 mm gap is 65%, which seems feasible for a small battery-operated sensor system.
The Past, the Present, and the Future of Shared Governance

This article explores the past, present, and future of shared governance at colleges and universities. It starts with a description of the seminal 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Unive...
EARLY-ONSET GONADOBLASTOMA IN A 13-MONTH-OLD INFANT WITH 46,XY COMPLETE GONADAL DYSGENESIS IDENTIFIED WITH PRENATAL TESTING: A CASE OF CHROMOSOME 9p DELETION.

ABSTRACT Objective: Individuals with 46,XY complete gonadal dysgenesis (CGD) are at high risk of developing gonadal neoplasms. Chromosome 9p monosomy with deletion of the DMRT1 gene, a key transcri...
Millimeter-Wave Thickness-Deviation Measurement System

We measure dielectric slab thickness deviations on the order of tens of microns using a free-space radiating pulse generation and detection system comprised of X-band driven nonlinear transmission line integrated circuits coupled to bow-tie antennas. This is achieved by locking the receiver sampling aperture to the midpoint of a pulse transmitted through the reference material, and then replacing with the material under test to observe a deviation in thickness from the reference. A change in thickness causes the sampling aperture to move along the pulse slope, giving a corresponding change in DC voltage. This technique is applicable to manufacturing process control.
Do commercial vehicles cruise for parking? Empirical evidence from Seattle

Abstract Parking cruising is a well-known phenomenon in passenger transportation, and a significant source of congestion and pollution in urban areas. While urban commercial vehicles are known to travel longer distances and to stop more frequently than passenger vehicles, little is known about their parking cruising behavior, nor how parking infrastructure affect such behavior. In this study we propose a simple method to quantitively explore the parking cruising behavior of commercial vehicle drivers in urban areas using widely available GPS data, and how urban transport infrastructure impacts parking cruising times. We apply the method to a sample of 2900 trips performed by a fleet of commercial vehicles, delivering and picking up parcels in Seattle downtown. We obtain an average estimated parking cruising time of 2.3 min per trip, contributing on average for 28 percent of total trip time. We also found that cruising for parking decreased as more curb-space was allocated to commercial vehicles load zones and paid parking and as more off-street parking areas were available at trip destinations, whereas it increased as more curb space was allocated to bus zone.
Contemporary outcomes of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in patients deemed unfit for open surgical repair.

Abstract Objective Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) has been preferred to open surgical repair (OSR) for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) in high-risk patients. We compared the perioperative and long-term outcomes of EVAR for patients designated as unfit for OSR using a large national dataset. Methods The Vascular Quality Initiative database was queried for patients who had undergone elective EVAR for AAAs >5 cm from 2013 to 2019. The patients were stratified into two cohorts according to their suitability for OSR (fit vs unfit). The primary outcomes included perioperative (in-hospital) major adverse events, perioperative mortality, and mortality at 1 and 5 years. Patient demographics and postoperative outcomes were analyzed to identify the predictors of perioperative and long-term mortality. Results Of 16,183 EVARs, 1782 patients had been deemed unfit for OSR. The unfit cohort was more likely to be older and female, with a greater proportion of hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and larger aneurysm diameters. Postoperatively, the unfit cohort was more likely to have experienced cardiopulmonary complications (6.5% vs 3%; P Conclusions Despite low perioperative mortality, the long-term mortality of those designated by operating surgeons as unfit for OSR was rather high for patients undergoing elective EVAR, likely owing to the competing risk of death from medical frailty. An unfit designation because of a hostile abdomen did not confer any additional risks after EVAR. Judicious estimation of the patient's life expectancy is essential when considering the treatment options for this subset of patients deemed unfit for OSR.
Gastrointestinal toxicity of high-dose melphalan in autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: identification of risk factors and a benchmark for experimental therapies

Gastrointestinal side effects are the dose-limiting toxicity of high-dose melphalan (HDM) in autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, but there are limited contemporary data on the incidence and severity of gastrointestinal toxicity associated with this regimen. We retrospectively studied 100 consecutive patients who received HDM alone or in combination with other conditioning agents. Patients had a median age of 56 (range 20-73); underlying diseases were myeloma (42%), lymphoma (42%), or amyloidosis (16%) and melphalan dosages were 200 (40%), 140 (59%), or 100 mg/m2 (1%). Ninety-seven percent of patients experienced diarrhea with a range of 1-18 bowel movements per day, 88% developed nausea, and 60% experienced vomiting. Abdominal CT scans rarely altered patient management, but stool studies were useful in identifying a treatable infectious source. Grade ≥ 2 diarrhea was associated with longer duration of diarrhea, longer length of stay, worse hypoalbuminemia, higher use of antibiotics, abdominal imaging, electrolyte repletions, and anti-diarrheal agents. Risk factors for severe diarrhea were female sex, melphalan dose, age > 50, creatinine clearance < 60 ml/min, and having a plasma cell neoplasm as opposed to lymphoma. Female sex was also associated with more severe nausea and vomiting. In summary, diarrhea remains an important toxicity of HDM and novel therapies for chemotherapy-induced diarrhea for patients undergoing stem-cell transplantation are needed. Grade 2 or higher diarrhea is associated with significant clinical consequences and should be used as the primary endpoint in prospective clinical trials.
Nonparametric causal structure learning in high dimensions

The PC and FCI algorithms are popular constraint-based methods for learning the structure of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) in the absence and presence of latent and selection variables, respectively. These algorithms (and their order-independent variants, PC-stable and FCI-stable) have been shown to be consistent for learning sparse high-dimensional DAGs based on partial correlations. However, inferring conditional independences from partial correlations is valid if the data are jointly Gaussian or generated from a linear structural equation model -- an assumption that may be violated in many applications. To broaden the scope of high-dimensional causal structure learning, we propose nonparametric variants of the PC-stable and FCI-stable algorithms that employ the conditional distance covariance (CdCov) to test for conditional independence relationships. As the key theoretical contribution, we prove that the high-dimensional consistency of the PC-stable and FCI-stable algorithms carry over to general distributions over DAGs when we implement CdCov-based nonparametric tests for conditional independence. Numerical studies demonstrate that our proposed algorithms perform nearly as good as the PC-stable and FCI-stable for Gaussian distributions, and offer advantages in non-Gaussian graphical models.
Abstract SY42-02: Stem cell clonality and the niche

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation involves the homing of stem cells to the marrow, an active process of engraftment, and the self-renewal of the blood stem cells. We have been using the zebrafish as a model to study the molecular biology of this process. Blood stem cells are born in the dorsal aorta of the developing embryo. By imaging RUNX1 GFP+ cells arriving in the next site of hematopoiesis (the caudal hematopoietic territory), engraftment can be visualized. The endothelial cells of the niche cuddle the hematopoietic stem cells, and the stem cells divide in the niche. We have used RNA tomography to find transcripts that are restricted in expression to the niche endothelial cells. After sorting these endothelial cells, we used ATAC seq to reveal regions of chromatin that are open. The regions function in enhancer assays to drive expression of GFP in the niche. By computing the binding sites in these regions, and examining RNA seq, we found transcription factors that may participate in niche endothelial development. Overexpression of three of these transcription factors is sufficient to reprogram embryonic cells to express the markers of the niche. New niches form in ectopic locations and HSPCs arrive in the new niche, akin to extramedullary hematopoiesis, are cuddled by endothelial cells and divide. Using a brainbow color barcoding system, we previously demonstrated that zebrafish produce 20-30 HSCs from the developing aorta. HSCs traffic to the embryonic niche where they exit circulation and divide. To evaluate a possible role of macrophages in attenuating HSC clone number, we depleted macrophages in our brainbow barcoding system. Unique color barcodes were induced in individual HSCs at 24 hpf, just prior to stem cell emergence, and clodronate loaded liposomes injected into circulation. On average, animals injected with clodronate liposomes had only 14 HSC color clones, compared to 24.6 HSC clones in sibling controls (p = 0.0002). Our studies show that there is a transcriptional code for niche endothelial cells and that macrophages are required for establishing clonality. Citation Format: Leonard I. Zon. Stem cell clonality and the niche [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr SY42-02.
Consumer perception of dried dairy ingredients: Healthy, natural, and sustainable?

ABSTRACT Conscious consumerism is growing, along with consumer demand for socially conscious dairy products or dairy alternatives. To successfully position dairy products (especially conventional dairy) in this changing marketplace, dairy producers and processors must understand how to strategically use both on- and off-package messaging aligned with consumer perceptions. However, consumer perception of attributes such as sustainable, natural, and healthy is complex, and varies between product categories as well as among products within a category. The objective of this study was to characterize consumer definitions of the terms sustainable, natural, and healthy as they pertain to dried dairy ingredients. To meet this objective, we conducted an online survey with 3 maximum difference scaling exercises to determine the importance of 63 label claims to consumer definitions of the terms sustainable, natural, and healthy. The role of priming with dried ingredient processing information on consumer perception of these terms was also explored. Within the dried dairy ingredients category, there is extensive cognitive overlap between the terms sustainable, natural, and healthy. Priming did not affect consumer definitions of any of these terms. Certification-related claims were considered among the least important claims for consumer definitions of sustainable, natural, and healthy, whereas claims that were simple to read and visualize were considered among the most important. Claims related to animal welfare and happiness or simple, minimal ingredients and processing were considered by consumers to be important for all 3 terms. For each of these terms, there was a cluster of consumers who defined the term primarily by simple ingredients and minimal processing, and another cluster who defined the term primarily by happy cows and conscious farming practices. The terms sustainable and healthy each had a third, unique consumer cluster. This third definition cluster defined sustainability primarily by environmental effects, whereas this cluster defined healthy primarily in fitness and nutrition terms. Age and to a lesser extent, gender, affected importance placed on these 3 terms and also affected definition of the term. Understanding these consumer definitions provides insight on how to formulate marketing and educational messaging to speak to each consumer segment.
Chip-Scale Beta-Barium Borate Platform for Near-Infrared to Deep-Ultraviolet Nonlinear Integrated Photonics

There is growing interest in exploiting the versatility of integrated photonic circuits for a variety of applications from spectroscopy and imaging to quantum information processing, requiring spectral windows that extend into the deep-ultraviolet (deep-UV) wavelength range, combined with low optical losses including multi-photon absorption. Moreover, nonlinear optical processes are essential for the implementation of functionalities such as amplitude and phase control of light as well as frequency conversion. Currently developed platforms including lithium niobate, however, fall short of satisfying the aforementioned requirements.
Blame mitigation: A less tidy take and its philosophical implications

Why do we find agents less blameworthy when they face mitigating circumstances, and what does this show about philosophical theories of moral responsibility? We present novel evidence that the tend...
Enzymatic reactions in organic media

Introduction. Modes of using enzymes in organic media. Fundamentals of nonaqueous enzymology. New enzymatic properties in organic media. Enzymatic resolutions of alcohols, amines, thiols and ethers. Enzymatic modification and synthesis of sugars. Other hydrolase-catalyzed transformation of synthetic interest. Peptide synthesis. Enzymatic polymerizations. Oxidoreductases and other non-hydrolases. Large scale and industrial nonaqueous enzymatic conversions.
Detection of single scatterers in multilook SAR Tomography

Many recent interferometric and tomographic SAR algorithms aimed at enhancing the monitoring performances on distributed areas affected by decorrelation phenomena have been proposed in the last years. These algorithms are based on the exploitation of the data covariance matrix, estimated on real data through the coherent averaging of statistically similar pixels, to improve signal-to-noise ratio and extract a decorrelation-filtered interferometric signal. Estimation of the covariance matrix on real data is, however, a challenging task since multilooking typically implies biased estimations as well as resolution losses which have to be properly handled. In this paper we discuss about the state-of-the-art and open issues for accurate estimation of covariance matrices on real data, for the applications in scatterer detection in SAR Tomography.