cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Who to Vax: A free online tool to identify adults for pneumococcal vaccination.

We live in an exciting but sometimes overwhelming time to be practicing medicine. The evidence base for population-based decision making is rapidly advancing and continually changing. At the same time, individual patient details and their clinical relevance may fall through the cracks in our complex integrated medical system, requiring vigilance on our part for capturing those details and for improving systems of care.1 Integrating a personal, patient-centered history and examination with evidence-based guidelines is the new art of medicine. Deciding which version of pneumococcal vaccine to give an adult patient epitomizes the complexity of this integration of personalized care and guidelines. It is now recommended that healthy adults without medical comorbidities receive any form of pneumococcal vaccination until the age of 65 years. At the same time, vaccination against disease-causing serotypes of pneumococcus is known to be an important intervention for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in a variety of preexisting comorbid conditions and age groups,2,3 and for these groups, there are both age- and disease-specific recommendations on which version of the vaccine to give. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a group of medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States, recommends pneumococcal vaccination as beneficial for patients with immunosuppressed states, cigarette smokers, patients with asthma, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other patients who cross our doors routinely.4 For example, patients with asthma are in a higher risk category for invasive pulmonary disease caused by pneumococcus,5–8 and remembering to vaccinate them may yield higher prevention dividends per vaccine than other groups.9
Youth Held at the Border: Immigration, Education and the Politics of Inclusion, by Lisa (Leigh) Patel

“Why they got it so good? They only speak one language and only know one place, right? We all [immigrant youths] have to know three or four. Or five. Can you explain that to me?” (p. 8). Lisa Patel...
Regulation of GABAA receptor function and gene expression in the central nervous system.

Publisher Summary This chapter demonstrates that molecular biology of GABAA receptors in the central nervous system (CNS) has demonstrated remarkable heterogeneity in the expression of unique GABA isoreceptors. Detailed studies on the distribution of GABAA receptor subunits throughout the brain elucidate the subunit composition of isoreceptors present in various cell populations. Studies on the effects of various neuropharmacological agents on the expression of these subunits may elucidate how each of the subunits is regulated and how alterations in the expression of various subunits affect the function of various GABAA isoreceptors. The complexity of GABAA isoreceptors in the mammalian CNS explains the diverse effects of chronic benzodiazepine, barbiturate, and ethanol administration on GABAA receptor binding sites. Identification of the actual binding sites for GABAA/benzodiazepine ligands will help identify the GABAA isoreceptors/ subunits that are labeled by each of the available radioligands. Anxiety, epilepsy, depression, and other mood disorders may be ameliorated by interventions in the structure, function, and regulation of GABAA receptors.
A Processing Architecture for Survivable Command, Control, and Communications

Internetwork operating systems and distributed database-management systems hold promise for solving many of the critical requirements associated with "survivable" Command, Control, and Communications (C3). These requirements include automated resource and process management, name and location transparency, processing-resource heterogeneity accommodation, availability, reliability, and consistency of distributed and replicated databases. This paper presents work in progress on distributed-systems technologies needed for survivable C3 systems. A processing architecture developed by SRI International that results in C3 systems considered to be "survivable" is described. The design and implementation of a prototype distributed system based on this architecture at SRI International for the joint ArmyIDARPA Distributed Communications/Processing Experiment (ADDCOMPE) program is described. Finally, the implications of this prototype for future research are discussed.
Integrating knowledge-based system and neural network techniques for robotic skill acquisition

This paper describes an approach to robotic control that is patterned after models of human skill acquisition. The intent is to develop robots capable of learning how to accomplish complex tasks using designer-supplied instructions and self induced practice. A simulation is presented in which a rule-based system supervises the training of a neural network and controls the operation of the system during the learning process. Simulation results show the interaction between rule-based and network-based system components during various phases of training and supervision.
DPPC/cholesterol Revisited: Interaction Models to Explain the Excess Heat Capacity in Unilamellar Vesicles

The binary lipid system DPPC/cholesterol has been studied since the 1970s. Strangely enough, the nature of the interaction between the phospholipid and cholesterol remains unclear. Also strangely enough, for decades, the thermodynamics of these binary mixture have been investigated mainly in multilamellar vesicles (MLVs). More recently, giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) have been used, which are excellent to study lipid phase separation, especially by fluorescence confocal microscopy, but do not easily lend themselves to calorimetry. However, the heat capacity of DPPC across the main phase transition is similar in GUVs and in large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) but quite different from that in MLVs. Much of the attention in the thermodynamics of the phase transition in DPPC/cholesterol has been concerned with understanding the heat capacity in MLVs. Here we turn our attention to the DPPC/cholesterol binary system in LUVs, which we think is a much more relevant type of vesicle to understand the molecular interactions between DPPC and cholesterol. We compare the experimental heat capacity (melting) curves in LUVs with the results of Monte Carlo calculations using various models of the interaction between these lipids, including complex formation and simple pairwise interactions.This work has been supported by NSF grant CHE-1464769.
Contesting TINA: Community Planning Alternatives for Disaster Reconstruction in Chile:

Talca, Chile, has been negatively impacted by both a major 2010 earthquake and the ensuing reconstruction process. Talca’s poor have been forced out from their neighborhoods and relocated to remote...
Dinutuximab for maintenance therapy in pediatric neuroblastoma

Purpose The pharmacology, clinical efficacy, safety, dosage and administration, and role in therapy of dinutuximab for the treatment of high-risk pediatric neuroblastoma are reviewed. Summary Dinutuximab (Unituxin, United Therapeutics) is a novel monoclonal antibody recently approved for use in combination with granulocyte– macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-2, and isotretinoin for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Its approval has led to the first major change in standard recommended first-line maintenance therapy for high-risk pediatric neuroblastoma in over a decade. Dinutuximab causes antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity by binding to GD2, a tumor-associated antigen. The recommended dosage of dinutuximab is 17.5 mg/m 2 /day for 4 consecutive days of each 24- or 32-day cycle, for a maximum of 5 cycles. In a Phase III trial, patients who received dinutuximab as part of combination immunotherapy in addition to standard maintenance therapy had significantly improved 2-year event-free survival relative to those who received standard maintenance therapy alone (66% versus 46%, p Conclusion Dinutuximab is a novel monoclonal antibody that is efficacious as part of combination immunotherapy in pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.
The Challenges of Online Meal Ordering Platforms: Website Design and Credibility, Customers’ Trust, and Food Safety

In modern societies using online meal ordering platforms becomes an emerging culture for Chinese citizens. The majority of the ordering platforms are based on smart phone applications. However, little research has been done on the credibility of online meal ordering applications and how to improve the design of these applications in China. Moreover, users of these applications begin to question about the credibility of these applications and trust issues appear. We investigate the challenges that these online meal ordering platforms face, for example, customers’ trust and its application credibility. We send out online surveys to explore the reasons why these customers use these applications. We conduct interviews to investigate the reviews of these application users and the users’ design suggestions for these applications. Observation has been conducted in order to better design the applications for these companies. The data show that the reasons why customers choose a meal ordering application are that 43.23% of the customers pay attention to various kinds of restaurants offered by the applications and 34.84% of them prefer low deliver fees. Well-designed application interfaces also attract 12.9% of the participants to use these applications. It also show that the participants concern about the information organization of the application design. Better navigation and information organization are expected for the platforms. We investigate the challenges that the online meal ordering platforms face, for example, website design, customers’ trust, and application credibility. This paper aims to provide design guidelines for these ordering platform companies to improve their application credibility and gain trust from their customers.
Dynamic problem of coupled thermoelasticity for a thin composite structure

A dynamic problem of coupled thermoelasticity for a composite body is analyzed. The body is modeled as a composite beam in response to elastic deformation. It consists of two parts of different den...
Prediction of Future Daily Behaviors: An Empirical Measure of Leisure

The study measures the degree to which people are able to predict their future daily behaviors. Using a time-budget methodology a sample of 49 males who were both married and currently employed wer...
Exercise Early and Often: Effects of Physical Activity and Exercise on Women’s Bone Health

In 2011 over 1.7 million people were hospitalized because of a fragility fracture, and direct costs associated with osteoporosis treatment exceeded 70 billion dollars in the United States. Failure to reach and maintain optimal peak bone mass during adulthood is a critical factor in determining fragility fracture risk later in life. Physical activity is a widely accessible, low cost, and highly modifiable contributor to bone health. Exercise is especially effective during adolescence, a time period when nearly 50% of peak adult bone mass is gained. Here, we review the evidence linking exercise and physical activity to bone health in women. Bone structure and quality will be discussed, especially in the context of clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis. We review the mechanisms governing bone metabolism in the context of physical activity and exercise. Questions such as, when during life is exercise most effective, and what specific types of exercises improve bone health, are addressed. Finally, we discuss some emerging areas of research on this topic, and summarize areas of need and opportunity.
Single-frequency 3D synthetic aperture imaging with dynamic metasurface antennas

Through aperture synthesis, an electrically small antenna can be used to form a high-resolution imaging system capable of reconstructing three-dimensional (3D) scenes. However, the large spectral bandwidth typically required in synthetic aperture radar systems to resolve objects in range often requires costly and complex RF components. We present here an alternative approach based on a hybrid imaging system that combines a dynamically reconfigurable aperture with synthetic aperture techniques, demonstrating the capability to resolve objects in three dimensions (3D), with measurements taken at a single frequency. At the core of our imaging system are two metasurface apertures, both of which consist of a linear array of metamaterial irises that couple to a common waveguide feed. Each metamaterial iris has integrated within it a diode that can be biased so as to switch the element on (radiating) or off (non-radiating), such that the metasurface antenna can produce distinct radiation profiles corresponding to different on/off patterns of the metamaterial element array. The electrically large size of the metasurface apertures enables resolution in range and one cross-range dimension, while aperture synthesis provides resolution in the other cross-range dimension. The demonstrated imaging capabilities of this system represent a step forward in the development of low-cost, high-performance 3D microwave imaging systems.
Relativistic time-dependent density functional theories

The foundations, formalisms, technicalities, and practicalities of relativistic time-dependent density functional theories (R-TD-DFT) for spinor excited states of molecular systems containing heavy elements are critically reviewed. These include the four-component (4C) and exact two-component (X2C) variants (4C/X2C-TD-DFT) that treat both scalar relativistic effects and spin-orbit couplings (SOC) to infinite order, and a composite two-component variant (sf-X2C-S-TD-DFT-SOC) that treats scalar relativistic effects to infinite order via the spin-free part of the X2C Hamiltonian (sf-X2C) but SOC to first order via the Douglas-Kroll-Hess type of spin-orbit operator resulting also from the spin separation of the X2C Hamiltonian. Except for the common adiabatic approximation, the most essential ingredient for all the three variants of R-TD-DFT is the noncollinear exchange-correlation kernel that is invariant with respect to rotations in spin space. It is unfortunate that 4C- and X2C-TD-DFT cannot be made fully symmetry adapted for open-shell systems except for some special cases. Yet, this is possible for closed-shell systems by working with both double point group and time reversal adapted molecular spinors. In particular, the spinor Hessian can be made real-valued in this case, such that the 4C/X2C-TD-DFT eigenvalue problems can be solved in the same manner as nonrelativistic TD-DFT, a point that is discovered here for the first time. By contrast, sf-X2C-S-TD-DFT-SOC can access spinor excited states of both closed- and open-shell systems because spin symmetry is fully accounted for in the spin-adapted TD-DFT (S-TD-DFT). Possible further developments of R-TD-DFT are also highlighted.
Scaling up explanation generation: large-scale knowledge bases and empirical studies

To explain complex phenomena, an explanation system must be able to select information from a formal representation of domain knowledge, organize the selected information into multisentential discourse plans, and realize the discourse plans in text. Although recellit years have witnessed significant progress in the development of sophisticated computational mechanisms for explanation, empirical results have been limited. This paper reports on a seven year effort to empirically study explanation generation from semantically rich, large-scale knowledge bases. We first describe Knight, a robust explanation system that constructs multi-sentential and multi-paragraph explanations from the Biology Knowledge Base, a large-scale knowledge base in the domain of botanical anatomy, physiology, and development. We then introduce the Two Panel evaluation methodology and describe how Knight's performance was assessed with this methodology in the most extensive empirical evaluation conducted on an explanation system. In this evaluation, Knight scored within "half a grade" of domain experts, and its performance exceeded that of one of the domain experts.
The Controversy That Will Not Go Away: Vaccines and Autism

It is generally accepted that the number of new autism diagnoses is increasing. It is unclear whether this is due to a true increase in cases, increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), or differences in the methods used to diagnose these conditions and assess their prevalence. The burden of ASDs for families and communities is considerable both monetarily and emotionally. In the first few decades after autism was described, it was thought to be a consequence of bad parenting, particularly by the mother. Despite decades of research, a specific scientific cause or definitive treatment for ASDs remains elusive in most cases. This lack of evidence has led to much speculation about the etiology of ASDs. Early reports of associations between the MMR vaccine and autism have been shown to be based on flawed and perhaps fraudulent studies. Similarly, reports linking the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal with autism have been refuted by several rigorously conducted scientific studies. The third theory that vaccines either “weaken” or “overwhelm” the immature immune system in young children and lead to autism is also not supported by credible scientific data. Emerging research indicates the genetic underpinnings of ASDs, but a small, vocal minority of parent groups and even a few physicians and scientists continue to support the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism. Unsubstantiated media reports and litigation sponsored by some parent advocacy groups continue to keep the controversy alive. Vaccines have been phenomenally successful in eliminating diseases such as smallpox, measles, and polio. Fear of these deadly scourges has been replaced with concerns about vaccine safety among some members of the public. Declining vaccination rates have caused a reemergence of some of these diseases. In order to reestablish the public’s trust in vaccination, it is imperative that rigorously researched scientific information on the issue of vaccines and autism is accurately collected and appropriately disseminated.
Applying the B-Method to Avionics Software: An Initial Report on the MIST Project

Measurable Improvement in Specification Techniques (MIST) is ESSI application experiment 10228. MIST is a 16 month project involving three companies: GEC-Marconi Avionics, who are the prime user; Praxis, who are the main subcontractor, acting as an independent reviewer; and B-Core (UK),who provide the tools used and consultancy. The main aims of MIST are to develop procedures for using formal methods with current methods on safety critical avionics software and to collect metrics to enable reasonable estimates for the use of these procedures.
Middle Range Themes in Organizational Theorizing

The common cold continues to defy understanding. Attempts to theorize about it falter in much the same way that theorizing about organizations falters. It is instructive to examine an exhibit of theorizing about the common cold to learn something about theorizing about the common organization.
The Use of Artificial Neural Networks for the Diagnosis and Estimation of Prognosis in Cancer Patients

Abstract Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are computational models that attempt to emulate the architecture of the human brain. Data is processed in discrete “elements” or “neurons” and transferred amongst these elements through “connections” that simulate neural synapses. Artificial neurons are usually organized in the following layers: input, hidden and output. The neurons in the input layer compute the data provided by the investigators; the elements in the single or multiple hidden layers allow for the development of multiple variations of the data; while the output layer calculates the “answer” estimated by the model. Various mathematical functions are applied to the data, resulting in several ANN models, such as backpropagation, probabilistic and others. ANNs offer the advantage of being able to work with “uncertain” data and to benefit from the availability of numerous elements of information that may not appear on an intuitive basis to influence the solution of a particular problem. They are suitable models for the solution of classification and forecasting problems, as they calculate a value for individual members of a population. ANNs have been applied in our laboratory and elsewhere to estimate the prognosis of cancer patients. For example, in a study of patients with non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung, probabilistic ANN models were able to accurately forecast, based on several clinico-pathologic features, whether individuals with the disease would be dead or alive at 5 years after diagnosis and initial treatment. In a recent study, ANNs could classify cell lines with small cell carcinoma and non-small-cell carcinoma of the lung, based on DNA hypermethylation data collected with molecular methods. ANNs and other multivariate classificatory and forecasting models can be influenced by data “overfit”, resulting in estimations that are mostly due to chance. The results of various ANN models need to be validated with jackknife analysis and other methods. Potential applications of ANNs for the diagnosis and estimation of prognosis in cancer patients are discussed, and the difficult problem of model accuracy validation is reviewed.
Culture and Religiosity: Contributors to Asian American Graduate Students’ Belonging

This study examined the contribution of culture and religiosity to sense of belonging for 203 Asian American graduate university students. Religious commitment, religious struggle, and cultural congruity predicted 29% of the variance in students’ sense of belonging. Supporting the hypothesis, students who felt more ethnically affirmed at their graduate institution—held firmer religious beliefs and experienced less religious questioning—reported a greater sense of belonging to their graduate institution. Implications for practice are discussed.
Building the Systematic Review Core in an academic health sciences library.

Background: The authors present efforts to build capacity at our institution for conducting systematic reviews and other forms of evidence synthesis through partnerships and a recharge model. This report describes how we successfully created and launched a for-fee systematic review core at our library. Case Presentation: Throughout 2014 and 2015, library leadership proposed different models for getting institutional and financial support for librarians and staff to better support university researchers conducting systematic reviews. Though well received, initial requests for financial support were not funded. The executive director of the Health Sciences Library released two years’ worth of salary and benefits to fund an evidence synthesis and retrieval librarian position. With this new position, the team formed a charge-back core facility in partnership with our university’s Clinical Translation and Science Award hub. A series of procedural decisions and operational changes helped the group achieve success. Within eighteen months after launching the Systematic Review Core, we reached maximum capacity with more than twenty ongoing reviews. Discussion: Assigning a dollar value to our expertise put us on par with other subject matter experts on campus and actually drove demand. We could act as paid consultants in research projects and shifted the perception of librarians from service providers to research partners. Affiliating with our partners was key to our success and boosted our ability to strengthen our campus’ research infrastructure.
SIRT2 contributes to the regulation of intestinal cell proliferation and differentiation

Abstract Background And Aims Intestinal mucosa undergoes a continual process of proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Disruption of this homeostasis is associated with disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We investigated the role of Sirtuin 2 (SIRT2), a NAD-dependent protein deacetylase, in intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) proliferation and differentiation and the mechanism by which SIRT2 contributes to maintenance of intestinal cell homeostasis Methods IECs were collected from SIRT2-deficient mice and patients with IBD. Expression of SIRT2, differentiation markers (mucin2, intestinal alkaline phosphatase, villin, Na,K-ATPase, and lysozyme) and Wnt target genes (EPHB2, AXIN2, and cyclin D1) was determined by western blot, real time RT-PCR, or immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. IECs were treated with TNF or transfected with siRNA targeting SIRT2. Proliferation was determined by villus height and crypt depth, and Ki67 and cyclin D1 IHC staining. For studies using organoids, intestinal crypts were isolated Results Increased SIRT2 expression was localized to the more differentiated region of the intestine. In contrast, SIRT2 deficiency impaired proliferation and differentiation and altered stemness in the small intestinal epithelium ex vivo and in vivo. SIRT2-deficient mice showed decreased intestinal enterocyte and goblet cell differentiation but increased the Paneth cell lineage and increased proliferation of IECs. Moreover, we found that SIRT2 inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which critically regulates IEC proliferation and differentiation. Consistent with a distinct role for SIRT2 in maintenance of gut homeostasis, intestinal mucosa from IBD patients exhibited decreased SIRT2 expression Conclusion We demonstrate that SIRT2, which is decreased in intestinal tissues from IBD patients, regulates Wnt-β-catenin signaling and is important for maintenance of IEC proliferation and differentiation.
Two-dimensional mechanical metamaterials with adjustable stiffness and damping

In mechanical metamaterials, geometry and material properties dictate the structural response to mechanical loads. These materials are comprised of a tessellated array of repeat unit cells, which form a lattice that populates the domain of the structure. While the mechanical behavior of 2D lattices is well understood, recent advances in polymer based Additive Manufacturing (AM) usher in a new era of metamaterials research. However, previous work in this area has failed to address the effects of time and temperature on the transient response of polymerbased mechanical metamaterials. We seek to investigate the effects of thermal loads on the mechanical properties of mechanical metamaterials, in particular, the stiffness and damping properties of lattice structures comprised of bowtie and honeycomb representative unit cells. Towards this goal, in the present paper, an experimental approach is used to investigate the mechanical behaviour of 2D lattice structures. Experimental samples are prepared using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) AM. These samples are subject to quasi-static mechanical tests at room temperature. Additionally, we investigate the effects of mismatched unit cells (defects) on the mechanical behavior of the lattice. Mechanical metamaterials with adjustable stiffness and damping properties have applications in the aerospace and automotive industries, including sandwich composites, damping and impact protection.
Developing a Professional Philosophy for Applied Exercise Psychology: Integrating Theory and Practice

Professional philosophy has become a topic of great interest within the sport psychology literature. However, professional philosophy for applied exercise psychology has not yet been clearly establ...
298 – Endopeptidase GPR

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the structural chemistry and the biological aspects of endopeptidase germination proteinase (GPR). The discovery that 10%–20% of the protein of dormant spores of Bacillus species is rapidly degraded during spore germination led to the identification of GPR as the endopeptidase that initiates this proteolysis. GPR cleaves internal bonds in proteins. Major substrates in vivo are the Small Acid-Soluble Proteins (SASPs) degraded during spore germination. Following cleavage of SASPs by GPR in vivo, the resulting oligopeptides are degraded to amino acids by other peptidases, generating a large supply of amino acids for the germinating spore. The GPR zymogen also autoprocesses to the active enzyme. SASPs and the GPR zymogen are also cleaved in vitro. The chapter elaborates that GPR is a homotetramer of 40 kDa subunits and is active only as a tetramer. The zymogen is also a homotetramer of approximately 43 kDa subunits as measured on SDS-PAGE. The protein shows no major sequence similarity to any protein in current databases. The enzyme has been purified to homogeneity (about 2,000-fold) from germinated spores of B. megaterium.
Regulating the Regulators: Mechanisms of Substrate Selection of the O-GlcNAc Cycling Enzymes OGT and OGA.

Thousands of nuclear and cytosolic proteins are modified with a single β-N-Acetylglucosamine on serine and threonine residues in mammals, a modification termed O-GlcNAc. This modification is essential for normal development and plays important roles in virtually all intracellular processes. Additionally, O-GlcNAc is involved in many disease states, including cancer, diabetes, and X-Linked Intellectual Disability. Given the myriad of functions of the O-GlcNAc modification, it is therefore somewhat surprising that O-GlcNAc cycling is mediated by only two enzymes: the O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT), which adds O-GlcNAc, and the O-GlcNAcase (OGA), which removes it. A significant outstanding question in the O-GlcNAc field is how do only two enzymes mediate such an abundant and dynamic modification. In this review, we explore the current understanding of mechanisms for substrate selection for the O-GlcNAc cycling enzymes. These mechanisms include direct substrate interaction with specific domains of OGT or OGA, selection of interactors via partner proteins, post-translational modification of OGT or OGA, nutrient sensing, and localization alteration. Altogether, current research paints a picture of an exquisitely regulated and complex system by which OGT and OGA select substrates. We also make recommendations for future work, toward the goal of identifying interaction mechanisms for specific substrates which may be able to be exploited for various research and medical treatment goals.
EntityBERT: Entity-centric Masking Strategy for Model Pretraining for the Clinical Domain.

Transformer-based neural language models have led to breakthroughs for a variety of natural language processing (NLP) tasks. However, most models are pretrained on general domain data. We propose a methodology to produce a model focused on the clinical domain: continued pretraining of a model with a broad representation of biomedical terminology (PubMedBERT) on a clinical corpus along with a novel entity-centric masking strategy to infuse domain knowledge in the learning process. We show that such a model achieves superior results on clinical extraction tasks by comparing our entity-centric masking strategy with classic random masking on three clinical NLP tasks: cross-domain negation detection, document time relation (DocTimeRel) classification, and temporal relation extraction. We also evaluate our models on the PubMedQA dataset to measure the models’ performance on a non-entity-centric task in the biomedical domain. The language addressed in this work is English.
Differentiation of symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid intraplaque hemorrhage using 3D high-resolution diffusion-weighted stack of stars imaging.

Ischemic events related to carotid disease are far more strongly associated with plaque instability than stenosis. 3D high-resolution diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging can provide quantitative diffusion measurements on carotid atherosclerosis and may improve detection of vulnerable intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH). The 3D DW-stack of stars (SOS) sequence was implemented with 3D SOS acquisition combined with DW preparation. After simulation of signals created from 3D DW-SOS, phantom studies were performed. Three healthy subjects and 20 patients with carotid disease were recruited. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were statistically analyzed on three subgroups by using a two-group comparison Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test with p values less than 0.05: symptomatic versus asymptomatic; IPH-positive versus IPH-negative; and IPH-positive symptomatic versus asymptomatic plaques to determine the relationship with plaque vulnerability. ADC values calculated by 3D DW-SOS provided values similar to those calculated from other techniques. Mean ADC of symptomatic plaque was significantly lower than asymptomatic plaque (0.68 ± 0.18 vs. 0.98 ± 0.16 x 10-3 mm2 /s, p < 0.001). ADC was also significantly lower in IPH-positive versus IPH-negative plaque (0.68 ± 0.13 vs. 1.04 ± 0.11 x 10-3 mm2 /s, p < 0.001). Additionally, ADC was significantly lower in symptomatic versus asymptomatic IPH-positive plaque (0.57 ± 0.09 vs. 0.75 ± 0.11 x 10-3 mm2 /s, p < 0.001). Our results provide strong evidence that ADC measurements from 3D DW-SOS correlate with the symptomatic status of extracranial internal carotid artery plaque. Further, ADC improved discrimination of symptomatic plaque in IPH. These data suggest that diffusion characteristics may improve detection of destabilized plaque leading to elevated stroke risk.
Improving Follow-up of Iron Deficiency Anemia

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutrition deficiency among children under 5 years of age and has been linked to neurocognitive adverse effects. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends routine screening in early childhood, the rate of follow up after a positive screen is low. OBJECTIVE: To increase the proportion of patients across 12 pediatric primary care practices with a positive screen …
Crosslinked Matrimid®-like polyimide membranes with unimodal network structure for enhanced stability and gas separation performance

Abstract Gas separation membranes have attracted academic and industrial attention, and crosslinking has been identified to be one of the most effective ways to enhance membrane stability. In this paper, a series of crosslinked Matrimid®-like films with unimodal network structures are prepared via thermally end-linking phenylethnyl-terminated BTDA-DAPI oligomers with well-controlled molecular weight (i.e., 3000–15,000 g/mol), wherein the crosslink density (the inter-crosslink chain length) of resulting unimodal networks is systematically varied by using oligomers with various molecular weight. Comprehensive characterizations of chemical structure, thermal properties, microstructures are performed. Pure-gas permeation measurements are performed focusing on H2/CH4 and CO2/CH4 separations as a function of crosslink density. In sharp contrast to the commonly observed permeability reduction in randomly crosslinked networks, all the crosslinked unimodal films, even when densely crosslinked, present markedly enhanced permeability and well-maintained ideal selectivity relative to the uncrosslinked linear counterpart, leading to almost horizontal movements towards upper bounds along with expectedly enhanced membrane stability. It is concluded that introducing bulky groups at the crosslink sites provide a practical means to counteract the densification effect induced by crosslinking and the construction of unimodal networks exemplifies a fundamentally new strategy to regulate the microstructure and property of crosslinked membranes for gas separations.
Improved inference for doubly robust estimators of heterogeneous treatment effects.

We propose a doubly robust approach to characterizing treatment effect heterogeneity in observational studies. We utilize posterior distributions for both the propensity score and outcome regression models to provide valid inference on the conditional average treatment effect even when high-dimensional or nonparametric models are used. We show that our approach leads to conservative inference in finite samples or under model misspecification, and provides a consistent variance estimator when both models are correctly specified. In simulations, we illustrate the utility of these results in difficult settings such as high-dimensional covariate spaces or highly flexible models for the propensity score and outcome regression. Lastly, we analyze environmental exposure data from NHANES to identify how the effects of these exposures vary by subject-level characteristics.
Modified Soil Strain Gage

While it appears that the greatest effort regarding in-situ monitoring of soils has been directed as stress measurements, strain monitoring is of equal importance. The reason for the past emphasis on stress measurement is obviously due to inherent difficulties associated with strain measurements in a discrete particulate mass such as soil. Recently, however, a new technique for soil strain measurement has appeared and has resulted in a commercially available system marketed by Bison Instruments, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn. The procedure utilizes a pair of sensors that are disk-shaped coils placed free floating in the soil in parallel and coaxial alignment. The separation distance between the coils is sensed by their mutual inductance. An inductance bride produces a voltage that varies as a function of strain, since a change in spacing of the coils from the initial value produces a bridge unbalance. An external instrument package contains the necessary driving, amplification, balancing, readout, calibration controls, and a self-contained power supply.
Civil Conflict, Sex Ratio and Intimate Partner Violence in Rwanda

This paper examines the long-term impact of civil conflict on intimate partner violence and women’s decision-making power using post-genocide data from Rwanda. Household survey data collected 11 years after the genocide indicate that women who became married after the genocide experienced significantly increased intimate partner violence and decreased decision-making power relative to women who became married before. The effect was greater for women in localities with high genocide intensity. I find that variation in the marriage market sex ratio across localities and over time explains part of the effect of the genocide on intimate partner violence.
Insurance, Risk and Resource Allocation

Insurance is an item of considerable importance in the economies of advanced nations, yet it is fair to say that economic theorists have had little to say about it, and insurance theory has developed with virtually no reference to the basic economic concepts of utility and productivity. Insurance is not a material good; although it is usually classified as a service, its value to the buyer is clearly different in kind from the satisfaction of consumers’ desires for medical treatment or transportation. Indeed, unlike goods and services, transactions involving insurance are an exchange of money for money, not money for something which directly meets needs. The closest analog in ordinary economic theory to an insurance policy is a bond or note, an exchange of money now for money later. But an insurance is a more subtle kind of contract; it is an exchange of money now for money payable contingent on the occurrence of certain events.
Variations in the photon-counting performance of InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes

Summary form only given. In this paper we present new data on the photon-counting performance of a number of commercial APDs, designed for linear operation in data communications applications at 2.5 Gb/sec. These data include dark count rate, quantum efficiency, and jitter, as well as the variation of these parameters with temperature and bias voltage. We show that current InGaAs/InP APDs of the appropriate design are well suited to many practical applications of single-photon counting in the 1.0 to 1.6 /spl mu/m wavelength band.
Rip Currents and Their Causes

"The outworn dogmas of science seem to be particularly concentrated in the discussions of the ocean in geology books". Beginning with this controversial statement, F. P. Shepard in 1936 tried to lay to rest the concept of the undertow, which had been debated in the pages of Science for over a decade. At the same time, he introduced the term, rip current, to describe the rapidly seaward-flowing currents, which were well-known to lifeguards at that time, as these currents were responsible for carrying swimmers offshore at frightening speeds. Subsequent studies by Shepard and his colleagues (Shepard, Emery and LaFond, 1941; Shepard and Inman, 1950a, 1950b) showed that rip currents (1) are caused by longshore variations in incident wave height, (2) are often periodic in both time and in the longshore direction and (3) increase in velocity with increasing wave height. The major reason put forth to explain the variation in wave height was the convergence or divergence of wave rays over offshore bottom topography (such as submarine canyons) or the forced wave height variability caused by coastal structures, such as jetties. McKenzie (1958) and Cooke (1970) in their studies corroborated the findings of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers and also pointed out the persistence of rip currents (once high energy waves in a storm had caused rip channels to be cut into the bottom) after the storm had abated. In fact it appears that on coastlines which are affected by major storms which build offshore bars, that the nearshore circulation may be dominated by the storm-1-induced bottom topography for long afterwards. The researchers up to the late 1960's who attempted to theoretically model rip currents knew the importance of longshore wave height variability and the wave-induced set-up in the formation of rip currents, but it was not until Longuet-Higgins and Stewart (e.g., 1964) codified the wave momentum flux tensor that great strides were made in providing models for rip currents. This paper is intended to categorize and review the more recent theories for rip current generation and to discuss a simple model for rip currents on barred coastlines.
Conspiracy of Silence

A staff crisis with near-tragic consequences on a locked adolescent psychiatry unit is engendered by silence and resolved through effective communication. The catalyst is a uniquely disturbing, even shocking, case. The Director of the program discusses the near-disintegration of a competent staff and its reconstruction through administrative intervention. Using innovative supervisory techniques, group dynamics are utilized to move from disorganization to professionalism.
Application of a post-processing algorithm for improved human face recognition

This paper presents a shifting algorithm which can be used in a pattern recognition system to improve the system's performance in the presence of shifted input patterns. The algorithm is outlined and simulation results are presented for some human face recognition experiments. It is shown that the shifting algorithm improves recognition performance for several different face recognition algorithms.
Drug-nutrient interactions in infancy and childhood.

Medical care is becoming increasingly complex, especially for the pediatric population in part because children with certain chronic diseases are living longer as a result of new medical treatments. Nutrition is exceedingly important in infants, children, and adolescents. Inadequate nutrition will directly affect growth, development, and puberty. Chronic medication use can result in depletion of certain nutrients, which in the growing infant, child, and adolescent can have long-term consequences. Drug-nutrient interactions (DNIs) occur between medications (prescription and nonprescription) and certain foods, fluids, and nutrient supplements. Many of these interactions are not significant, but some are serious. Health care professionals need to be aware of these interactions and must prevent their occurrence by educating themselves and their patients. It is through knowledge of these DNIs that one can help optimize therapeutic effects, prevent therapeutic failures, and minimize adverse drug events and DNIs (1).
Bigamy: A Male Crime in Medieval Europe?

Crime is often gendered. This article argues that the crime of bigamy was a male crime in the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Catholic world. Courts prosecuted male bigamists far more often and more harshly than female offenders. However, drawing in particular on records from the fifteenth-century bishop's court of Troyes, I argue that women also committed bigamy. Judicial and social gender biases identified only male bigamy as fully criminal behaviour. The reasons for this gender difference lie in the different roles of spouses as prescribed in Christian law, theology and culture. For a man to commit bigamy fundamentally violated his responsibilities as a husband. Female bigamy, by contrast, was to an extent tolerated as a lesser evil. Better a woman have two living husbands, one present and one absent, than no husband at all.
If At First You Don't Succeed: The Fate of Manuscripts Rejected by Academic Emergency Medicine.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to characterize the publication fate of a recent 2-year sample of manuscripts declined by Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), the journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of manuscripts submitted to AEM in 2010 and 2011 that were declined by the AEM editorial review process. An online search was conducted for each declined paper, to determine whether or not it was published in another clinical/scientific journal after being declined by AEM. The investigators used Scopus and Google Scholar, using the submitting author's name, the verbatim title, and key words and phrases from the title, to search for subsequent publication of each paper. Results Of 1,542 manuscript submissions to the journal in 2010 and 2011, 1,052 papers were declined. Of these, 693 (65.9%) were subsequently published elsewhere, in a total of 229 journals: 362 papers in 22 different EM journals, 81 in 14 EM subspecialty journals, 237 in 185 non-EM journals, and 13 in eight nursing journals. Papers were published a median of 16.7 months (interquartile range [IQR] = 11.8 to 22.0 months) after being declined at AEM. Of the 229 journals, 19 do not have h-indices. The median h-index of the remaining 210 journals is 36 (IQR = 17 to 64; maximum = 229; AEM's h-index is 78). Thirty of these 210 journals, publishing 43 papers, have higher h-indices than AEM; the other 650 papers were published in journals either with lower h-indices than AEM's (n = 180 journals) or in journals without h-indices (n = 19 journals). U.S. and non-U.S. authors had similar rates of subsequent publication (65.3% vs 66.6%, p = 0.69) for papers initially declined by AEM. Papers in the educational advances category were less likely to be subsequently published than those in the original contributions (p < 0.0001) and brief reports (p = 0.0137) categories. Conclusions Nearly two-thirds of manuscripts declined by SAEM's journal are eventually published elsewhere, in a large number and wide variety of both EM and non-EM journals, in a median of 16.7 months. Authors of manuscripts declined by AEM should consider submission elsewhere, as subsequent publication of these manuscripts in another journal is probable.