cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Binge eating and weight loss in a self-help behavior modification program.

DELINSKY, SHERRIE SELWYN, JANET D. LATNER, AND G. TERENCE WILSON. Binge eating and weight loss in a self-help behavior modification program. Obesity. 2006;14:1244–1249. Objective: To examine the occurrence of binge eating and its impact on weight loss outcomes among obese participants in the Trevose Behavior Modification Program, a lay-administered, lay-directed self-help weight loss program offering continuing care. Research Methods and Procedures: Participants completed questionnaires, and weight loss data were recorded prospectively. Results: Although objective bulimic episodes were reported by 41% of the sample, objective bulimic episodes were not associated with worse weight loss outcomes. Mean weight loss after 12 months was 18.2 kg (18.8% of initial body weight) for the treatment completers and 10.3 kg (10.5% of initial body weight) for the full sample (using intent-to-treat analyses, with baseline scores carried forward). Discussion: Substantial long-term weight loss, resulting from a continuing care treatment program, occurred in individuals both with and without frequent binge eating.
Circular Dichroism, Linear Dichroism, and Dual-Beam Absorption Measurements with a Commercial Spectropolarimeter in the Vacuum UV Spectral Region

Spectropolarimeters are single-beam spectrometers equipped with a polarization modulation optical device for measuring the differential absorption of circularly and linearly polarized light (circular dichroism and linear dichroism, respectively). Circular dichroism (CD) is useful for studying the conformation of molecules in an isotropic solution, and linear dichroism (LD) gives information about the relative orientations of the chromophores in an oriented sample.
Take a Look at Me Now

The somber holiday weekend ended with an early-morning ambulance ride down sleepy city streets toward an imposing concrete building. As the vehicle jostled my body to and fro, I tried to summon the energy to curse the psychiatrist whose signature ultimately sealed my fate—a hospital admission to protect me from myself—but was exhausted from the mixed episode in which I had been drowning for the last three days. I had been speaking much too rapidly (even for my normally quick tongue) and sleeping far too little to explain my body’s unrelenting state of hyperarousal. I was so agitated and irritable that even my parents avoided me lest I snap at them for no good reason. As my mood shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving me numb and questioning life, I begrudgingly accepted that I needed help. For ten days of intense cognitive behavioral group therapy, I avoided the dilemma posed by simultaneously being a young health care professional and a person with bipolar disorder by pretending to be someone else entirely. However, upon my release, I could no longer hide—returning to my everyday world would mean constantly being judged as two diametrically opposed forces.
Sequence similarity scores and the inference of structure—function relationships

Improved methods are described for the interpretation of two or more aligned protein or nucleic acid sequences. These methods can be used to interpret the possible biological importance of regions within a known three-dimensional structure, or, even without a structure, to correlate sequence similarity with the known function of particular amino acids and to associate sequence similarity with properties predicted from the sequences. Improvements include the calculation of a position-dependent, gap-penalized similarity score; computer-assisted graphical association of sequence similarity with structural, functional or chemical properties of the sequences; and statistical comparisons of the sequence conservation or variability of different groups of residues. An application is described to analyze the sequences of piconarviral capsid proteins.
Wavelength beam combining of ytterbium fiber lasers in a MOPA configuration

Summary form only given. There is an increasing interest in combining large numbers of relatively low-power lasers to produce much more powerful, high-brightness laser beams. Coherent combining and wavelength (spectral) combining are the two main approaches being studied. We have been concentrating on wavelength beam combining with fiber lasers and have previously demonstrated this concept at low power. Here we discuss recent work to extend this idea to a master-oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) configuration by adding a power amplification stage to each oscillator fiber and demonstrating recombination at higher powers.
Ag/AgCl microelectrodes with improved stability for microfluidics

A method for fabricating Ag/AgCl planar microelectrodes for microfluidic applications is presented. Micro-reference electrodes enable accurate potentiometric measurements with miniaturized chemical sensors, but such electrodes often exhibit very limited lifetimes. Our goal is to construct Ag/AgCl microelectrodes reliably with improved potential stability that are compatible with surface mounted microfluidic channels. Electrodes with geometric surface areas greater than or equal to 100 m 2 were fabricated individually and in an array format by electroplating silver, greater than 1 m thickness, onto photolithographically patterned thin-film metal electrodes. The surface of the electroplated silver was chemically oxidized to silver chloride to form Ag/AgCl micro-reference electrodes. Characterization results showed that Ag/AgCl microelectrodes produced by this fabrication method exhibit increased stability compared with many devices previously reported. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy allowed device specific parameters to be extracted from an equivalent circuit model, and these parameters were used to describe the performance of the microelectrodes in a microfluidic channel. Thus, stable Ag/AgCl microelectrodes, fabricated with a combination of photolithographic techniques and electroplating, were demonstrated to have utility for electrochemical analysis within microfluidic systems. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Simple anatomical measurements do not correlate significantly to individual peripheral nerve stimulation thresholds as measured in MRI gradient coils.

Purpose To examine peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) thresholds for normal human subjects in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gradient coils, and determine if observed thresholds could be predicted based on gross physiologic measurements. Materials and Methods PNS thresholds for 21 healthy normal subjects were measured using a whole-body gradient coil. Subjects were exposed to a trapezoidal echo-planar imaging (EPI) gradient waveform and the total change in gradient strength (ΔG) required to cause PNS as a function of the duration of the gradient switching time (τ) were measured. Correlation coefficients and corresponding P values were calculated for the PNS threshold measurements against simple physiologic measurements taken of the subjects, including weight, height, girth, and average body fat percentage, in order to determine if there were any easily observable dependencies. Results No convincing correlations between threshold parameters and gross physiologic measurements were observed. Conclusion These results suggest it is unlikely that a simple physiologic measurement of subject anatomy can be used to guide the operation of MRI scanners in a subject-specific manner in order to increase gradient system performance while avoiding PNS. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;17:716–721. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Episodic carbonate precipitation in the CM chondrite ALH 84049: An ion microprobe analysis of O and C isotopes

We have determined the O and C isotope compositions of dolomite grains and the C isotope compositions of calcite grains in the highly altered CM1 chondrite, ALH 84049, using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). Chemically-zoned dolomite constitutes 0.8 volume percent (vol%) of the sample and calcite 0.9 vol%. Thirteen separate dolomite grains have δ13C values that range from 37 to 60 (±2) ‰, δ^(18)O values from 25 to 32 (±3) ‰, and δ^(17)O values from 10 to 16 (±3) ‰ (VSMOW). Intragrain δ^(13)C values in dolomite vary up to 10‰. The δ^(13)C values of three calcite grains are distinct from those of dolomite and range from 10 to 13 (±2) ‰ (PDB). Calcite and dolomite appear to record different precipitation episodes. Carbon isotope values of both dolomite and calcite in this single sample encompass much of the reported range for CM chondrites; our results imply that bulk carbonate C and O isotope analyses may oversimplify the history of carbonate precipitation. Multiple generations of carbonates with variable isotope compositions exist in ALH 84049 and, perhaps, in many CM chondrites. This work shows that one should exercise caution when using a clumped isotope approach to determine the original temperature and the isotopic compositions of water for CM chondrite carbonates. Less altered CM meteorites with more-homogeneous C isotope compositions, however, may be suitable for bulk-carbonate analyses, but detailed carbonate petrologic and isotopic characterization of individual samples is advised.
The Impact of Medical Student Participation in Emergency Medicine Patient Care on Departmental Press Ganey Scores

Introduction: Press Ganey (PG) scores are used by public entities to gauge the quality of patient care from medical facilities in the United States. Academic health centers (AHCs) are charged with educating the new generation of doctors, but rely heavily on PG scores for their business operation. AHCs need to know what impact medical student involvement has on patient care and their PG scores. Purpose: We sought to identify the impact students have on emergency department (ED) PG scores related to overall visit and the treating physician’s performance. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational cohort study of discharged ED patients who completed PG satisfaction surveys at one academic, and one community-based ED. Outcomes were responses to questions about the overall visit assessment and doctor’s care, measured on a five-point scale. We compared the distribution of responses for each question through proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) stratified by medical student participation. For each question, we constructed a multivariable ordinal logistic regression model including medical student involvement and other independent variables known to affect PG scores. Results: We analyzed 2,753 encounters, of which 259 (9.4%) had medical student involvement. For all questions, there were no appreciable differences in patient responses when stratifying by medical student involvement. In regression models, medical student involvement was not associated with PG score for any outcome, including overall rating of care (odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% CI [0.90-1.34]) or likelihood of recommending our EDs (OR 1.07, 95% CI [0.86-1.32]). Findings were similar when each ED was analyzed individually. Conclusion: We found that medical student involvement in patient care did not adversely impact ED PG scores in discharged patients. Neither overall scores nor physician-specific scores were impacted. Results were similar at both the academic medical center and the community teaching hospital at our institution.
Jump-landing biomechanics following a 4-week real-time feedback intervention and retention.

Abstract Background Poor neuromuscular control can increase the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Landing with decreased knee and hip flexion may increase the risk of lower extremity injury. Feedback interventions have demonstrated changes in jump–landing biomechanics. Traditional feedback (TF), provided after task completion, includes critical factors to focus on during jump–landing. Real-time feedback (RTF), provided while completing the task, may be superior for improving jump–landing biomechanics. This investigation evaluated the effect of RTF + TF compared to TF and a control group in changing lower extremity jump–landing biomechanics following a 4-week feedback intervention and a 1-week no feedback retention. Methods Participants completed 12 feedback sessions over 4 weeks. At each session, participants performed 6 sets of 6 jumps off a 30 cm box. Participants were provided TF or RTF + TF following each set of jumps. Participants were tested at baseline, immediately following the 4-week intervention and following a 1-week retention. The control group was tested at two time points 4 weeks apart. Findings Acquisition analysis: RTF + TF and TF groups demonstrated greater change in peak hip flexion angles and peak knee flexion angles compared to the control group following the intervention. TF and RTF + TF groups demonstrated a greater decrease in peak vertical ground reaction force compared to the control group. No significant differences were observed between groups in the retention analysis. Interpretation This study provides evidence of acquisition of biomechanical changes following a 4-week feedback intervention. Future research should further investigate the retention of biomechanical changes, the optimal length of feedback interventions and transfer of learned biomechanics to similar athletic tasks.
Fiber connector inspection system

This work proposes some effective methods to compensate the unevenly distributed illumination problem so that standard image processing methods can efficiently be used to detect the defects of the fiber connectors.
A Nephrology Fellows’ Communication Skills Course: An Educational Quality Improvement Report

Background Nephrology fellows need expertise navigating challenging conversations with patients throughout the course of advanced kidney disease. However, evidence shows that nephrologists receive inadequate training in this area. This study assessed the effectiveness of an educational quality improvement intervention designed to enhance fellows' communication with patients who have advanced kidney disease. Study Design Quality improvement project. Setting & Participants Full-day annual workshops (2013-2014) using didactics, discussion, and practice with simulated patients. Content focused on delivering bad news, acknowledging emotion, discussing care goals in dialysis decision making when prognosis is uncertain, and addressing dialysis therapy withdrawal and end of life. Participants were first-year nephrology fellows from 2 Harvard-affiliated training programs (N=26). Quality Improvement Plan Study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention designed to enhance fellows' communication skills. Outcomes Primary outcomes were changes in self-reported patient communication skills, attitudes, and behaviors related to discussing disease progression, prognostic uncertainty, dialysis therapy withdrawal, treatments not indicated, and end of life; responding to emotion; eliciting patient goals and values; and incorporating patient goals into recommendations. Measurements Surveys measured prior training, pre- and postcourse perceived changes in skills and values, and reported longer term (3-month) changes in communication behaviors, using both closed- and open-ended items. Results Response rates were 100% (pre- and postsurveys) and 68% (follow-up). Participants reported improvement in all domains, with an overall mean increase of 1.1 (summed average scores: precourse, 2.8; postcourse, 3.9 [1-5 scale; 5 = "extremely well prepared"]; P Limitations Self-reported data may overestimate actual changes; small sample size and the programs' affiliation with a single medical school may limit generalizability. Conclusions A day-long course addressing nephrology fellows' communication competencies across the full course of patients' illness experience can enhance fellows' self-reported skills and practices.
The Tragedy of Blood-Based Membership: Secrecy and the Politics of Immigration in Euripides’s Ion

Classical Athens assimilated and disenfranchised a large, free immigrant population of “metics” on the basis of blood, generation after generation. Yet immigration politics remain a curiously displ...
Diagnosis of Coliform Infection in Acutely Dysuric Women

We reevaluated conventional criteria for diagnosing coliform infection of the lower urinary tract in symptomatic women by obtaining cultures of the urethra, vagina, midstream urine, and bladder urine. The traditional diagnostic criterion, greater than or equal to 10(5) bacteria per milliliter of midstream urine, identified only 51 per cent of women whose bladder urine contained coliformis. We found the best diagnostic criterion to be greater than or equal to 10(2) bacteria per milliliter (sensitivity, 0.95; specificity, 0.85). Although isolation of less than 10(5) coliforms per milliliter of midstream urine has had a low predictive value of previous studies of asymptomatic women, the predictive value of the criterion of greater than or equal to 10(2) per milliliter was high (0.88) among symptomatic women the prevalence of coliform infection exceeded 50 per cent. In view of these findings, clinicians and microbiologists should alter their approach to the diagnosis and treatment of women with acute symptomatic coliform infection of the lower urinary tract.
A Brownian Dynamics Model of Worm-Like-Biomolecule Separation Using Periodic Nanofilter Arrays

We present a Brownian Dynamics model of dsDNA-molecule separation using periodic nanofilter arrays. Particular attention is paid to the model’s ability to capture relevant experimental results. The effect of various device parameters on molecule selectivity is investigated. Moreover, our model is used for validating the theoretical prediction of Li et al. [Anal. Bioanal. Chem., 394 , 427–435, 2009] who proposed a separation process featuring an asymmetric device and an electric field of alternating polarity. Good agreement is found between our simulation results and the predictions of the theoretical model of Li et al.© 2009 ASME
Thermal Mechanical Design and Validation of Memory Heat Spreaders

The design and validation of heat spreaders for server platform memory modules incorporates many challenges that are not present in typical CPU thermal solutions. While the total design power of the CPU has been relatively constant over the last few server generations, the power requirements for memory modules has continued to increase to the point where custom thermal solutions are now required. This paper will describe some of the design and validation challenges that were developed to ensure that memory modules would be sufficiently cooled in order to meet their performance targets.© 2009 ASME
Study on genotyping of 344 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE To investigate the genotyping and distribution pattern of the variable number tandem repeats(VNTR) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates in Henan province with Multi-locus VNTR analysis preliminarily.METHODS M.tuberculosis clinical isolates selected from Henan province randomly were cultured with Lowenstein-Jensen medium.The genome DNA of the bacteria was extracted.The polymorphism of VNTR locus was tested in the DNA samples with PCR respectively.The clustering of genotype was analyzed with BioNumerics(Version5.0).Chi-Square test was used for statistical analysis.RESULTS 86.9%of the strains belongs to Beijing genotype,Beijing genotype was not significantly associated with the resistance to all of the four first line drugs,but was significantly associated with the MDR.12 MIRUs loci of 344 M.tuberculosis clinical isolates were analyzed respectively.The results showed that there were obvious polymorphisms of VNTRs.The clustering of genotype showed that these strains could be categorized into gene clusters(Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ)and 292 genotypes.5.1% were cluster Ⅰ including 15genotypes,67.8% were clusterⅡincluding 198 genotypes,21.9 % were cluster Ⅲ including 64 genotypes,1.4% were cluster Ⅳ including 4 genotypes,2.8% were cluster Ⅴ including 11 genotypes.CONCLUSION The result shows that there are obvious polymorphisms of MIRUs of M.tuberculosis clinical strains preliminarily.There are at least 5 clusters of MIRU genotype and cluster Ⅱ is the predominant prevalent strain in Henan province.There is no correlation exists between the drug resistant and beijing family Genotypes.
A multi-agent system to support evidence based medicine and clinical decision making via data sharing and data privacy

Evidence based medicine is the modern standard for clinical decision making where the use of medical evidence combined with clinical expertise and research is leveraged for clinical decisions. Supporting evidence based medicine (EBM) and clinical decision making (CDM) requires access to accurate predictive models and a multi-dimensional patient view that is aggregated from multiple sources in a multitude of configurations. Data sharing in healthcare remains a challenge due to widespread privacy concerns. Despite abundant research in privacy preserving data mining, healthcare organizations are unwilling to release their medical data on account of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires protecting the confidentiality and security of healthcare data. Further, sensitive data spanning multiple organizations result in not only the data syntax and semantic heterogeneity but also diverse privacy requirements, posing additional challenges to data sharing and integration. In overcoming these challenges, a multi-agent approach is a viable alternative. Despite its potential for addressing the aforementioned issues, little research has been conducted in integrating a multi-agent architecture with privacy preserving data mining in big healthcare data spanning multiple organizations. This research proposes a multi-agent architecture coupled with privacy preserving techniques to facilitate data sharing while preserving privacy. Results indicate that our design artifact is capable of overcoming the aforementioned challenges, thereby facilitating data sharing for knowledge discovery in healthcare and supporting evidence based medicine and clinical decision making via improving predictive models. The paper presents a design artifact, MAPP4MD, to facilitate data integration and sharing while preserving privacy in healthcare.MAPP4MD is a multi-agent system for healthcare data integration and privacy protection.Data integration is ontology, lexical, and instance basedPrivacy method selection is based on ontology and semantic web rule languageEvaluation is based on the k-Anonymity standard
Initial management of coma and altered consciousness in the pediatric patient.

Case Presentation A 2-year-old boy is brought to the emergency room by ambulance after being found "unresponsive" by his parents. He has been in good general health, has had no fever or other symptoms of infectious processes, has been taking no medications, and was "his normal self" until immediately prior to being found. Patients who are unresponsive and unarousable are in coma. The term altered consciousness represents the spectrum of abnormalities that exists between the immediate capability for normal wakefulness and true coma. For the purposes of this review, the two terms will be used interchangeably because their causes are similar and usually differ only in severity. Pathophysiology Two areas of the brain are responsible for consciousness: the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) and the cerebral cortex. The ARAS is located in the brain stem from the level of the medulla to the level of the midbrain and sends multiple afferent neurons to the cortex. Disruption of this system can lead to disorders of consciousness. The cerebral cortex is the much more common site where dysfunction can cause coma. Any injury or illness that affects the cerebral cortex globally can cause coma or altered consciousness. Differential Diagnosis Altered consciousness in children can be caused by injuries or illnesses that affect the central nervous system directly or can be a manifestation of other systemic disease (Table 1).
Infiltration of myeloid cells in the pregnant uterus is affected by heme oxygenase-1

Infiltrating myeloid cells in pregnant uteri play critical roles in the establishment of the placenta and maintenance of normal pregnancies. Their recruitment and proliferation are primarily mediated by the interactions of cytokines and chemokines secreted locally with their corresponding receptors. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has various physiologic properties that contribute to placental vascular development, with deficiencies in HO-1 associated with pregnancy disorders. Here, we investigated the effect of HO-1 on myeloid cell infiltration into pregnant uteri using a partial HO-1-deficient (Het, HO-1+/-) mouse model. With the use of flow cytometry, HO-1 was found predominantly expressed in circulating and uterine myeloid cells, specifically neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages. In pregnant Het uteri, the numbers of neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages were significantly reduced compared with pregnant wild-type (WT; HO-1+/+) uteri. With the use of BrdU in vivo assays, HO-1 deficiency did not affect cell proliferation or blood cell populations. With the use of PCR arrays, gene expression of cytokines (Csf1, Csf3), chemokines (Ccl1, Ccl2, Ccl6, Ccl8, Ccl11, Ccl12, Cxcl4, Cxcl9, Cxcl12), and their receptors (Ccr1, Ccr2, Ccr3, Ccr5) were also reduced significantly in Het compared with pregnant WT uteri. Moreover, with the use of flow cytometry, myeloid CSF1R and CCR2 expression in blood and uteri from both pregnant and nonpregnant mice was characterized, and a deficiency in HO-1 significantly reduced CCR2 expression in infiltrating uterine monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs). These data reveal that HO-1 regulates not only cytokine/chemokine production in pregnant uteri but also myeloid cell receptor numbers, suggesting a role of HO-1 in the recruitment and maintenance of myeloid cells in pregnant uteri and subsequent effects on placental vascular formation.
Applications of Radon Progeny in Atmospheric Studies

The distribution of 222Rn and its progeny (mainly 210Pb, 210Bi and 210Po) have provided a wealth of information over the past five decades as tracers to quantify several atmospheric processes that include: i) source tracking and transport time scales of air masses; ii) the stability and vertical movement of air masses iii) removal rate constants and residence times of aerosols; iv) chemical behavior of analog species; and v) washout ratios and deposition velocities of aerosols. Most of these applications require that the sources and sink terms of these nuclides are well characterized.
Selective Reagents for Analysis of Redox Effects in Biological Systems

Redox proteomics workflows are applied widely in discovery and targeted studies of the oxidative mechanisms underlying physiological and pathological processes. These workflows involve direct labeling of oxidized species with selective chemical probes or tag-switch methods, blocking of reduced thiol species (-SH) with the goal of preventing undesired reactions at the time of lysis or during the proteomics sample processing procedures, enrichment of labeled proteins, and mass spectrometry analysis. We will present recent advancements on in vitro labeling of protein sulfenylation (-SOH), new reagents for selective blocking of reduced -SH species, imaging using -SOH probes, and the application of these to address critical questions in biology and medicine related to environmental exposure to stressors.
Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Models (Molecular-Mesoscale) of a Copper Oxide-Epoxy Interface to Obtain Stress–Strain Failure Predictions Which Include Interfacial Roughness, Water and Filler Effects

In order to scale mechanical properties from molecular structures using coarse-grained methods, strategies must be developed to help the investigator that allows prediction not only of the initial modulus (operating in the pure elastic region of response) but also of the entire mechanical response; i.e., prediction in how the material fails with composition. The current chapter investigates methods to obtain the full stress–strain curve to failure for a copper oxide-epoxy interface which includes both smooth and rough interfaces, moisture, and the effect of filler, using coarse-grained methods. Of interest, is the ability to use coarse-graining to jump length scales by using bead units larger than functional groups; the ability of these models to discern changes in composition (such as crosslink density, moisture and filler), and the interesting trend of adhesion with interfacial roughness (which has been likened to a Hall–Petch effect). The use of coarse-grained models will be very useful to bridge scales, but will depend upon the ability to derive and apply the correct parameterization of the beads.
A calculator for mortality following emergency general surgery based on the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database

BACKGROUND The complex nature of current morbidity and mortality predictor models do not lend themselves to clinical application at the bedside of patients undergoing emergency general surgery (EGS). Our aim was to develop a simplified risk calculator for prediction of early postoperative mortality after EGS. METHODS EGS cases other than appendectomy and cholecystectomy were identified within the American College of Surgeons National Surgery Quality Improvement Program database from 2005 to 2014. Seventy-five percent of the cases were selected at random for model development, whereas 25% of the cases were used for model testing. Stepwise logistic regression was performed for creation of a 30-day mortality risk calculator. Model accuracy and reproducibility was investigated using the concordance index (c statistic) and Pearson correlations. RESULTS A total of 79,835 patients met inclusion criteria. Overall, 30-day mortality was 12.6%. A simplified risk model formula was derived from five readily available preoperative variables as follows: 0.034*age + 0.8*nonindependent status + 0.88*sepsis + 1.1 (if bun ≥ 29) or 0.57 (if bun ≥18 and < 29) + 1.16 (if albumin < 2.7), or 0.61 (if albumin ≥ 2.7 and < 3.4). The risk of 30-day mortality was stratified into deciles. The risk of 30-day mortality ranged from 2% for patients in the lowest risk level to 31% for patients in the highest risk level. The c statistic was 0.83 in both the derivation and testing samples. CONCLUSION Five readily available preoperative variables can be used to predict the 30-day mortality risk for patients undergoing EGS. Further studies are needed to validate this risk calculator and to determine its bedside applicability. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic/epidemiological study, level III.
NEWS NARRATIVES ABOUT THE HPV VACCINE FOR ADOLESCENT MALES

The goal of this research was to examine portrayals of gender roles and expectations related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for men and boys in U.S. newspapers within the theoretical framework of feminist theory, feminist media theory, hegemonic masculinity, and heteronormativity. Since the HPV vaccine was approved for girls in women in 2006, research has been conducted examining media portrayals of the HPV vaccine for girls and women, but little has been written about how the news has treated the subject for men and boys. This research examined print newspaper articles between 2011, when the U.S. Advisory Council on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) first recommended the HPV vaccine for routine vaccination in boys and men ages 9 to 21 in addition to women and girls 9 to 26, through to June 2016, after the ACIP expanded its recommendation to also include men ages 21 to 26, to examine how the news on the vaccine portrayed gender roles and expectations. During this thematic textual analysis of 124 articles, several important themes were uncovered. Overall, boys and men are still treated as an afterthought to the discussion on HPV and the HPV vaccine, with much of the discussion still focused on cervical cancer. Other themes include an increased focus on oral cancer (12.9 percent of articles), acceptance of riskier sexual behavior for men (4 percent), vaccine mandate focused on civil liberties (4 percent), overlooking side effects of the HPV vaccine on men and boys (25.8 percent), and the idea that men should receive the HPV vaccine as a way to protect their female partners (3.2 percent). There also remains a heteronormative emphasis in the newspaper portrayals with only 4.8 percent of articles mentioning that men who have sex with men (MSM) are at significantly higher risk of developing some HPV-related cancers.
Negative spaces: Terrorist attempts to erase cultural history and the critical media coverage

The recent annihilation of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud by ISIS represents a disturbing trend in how some terrorist groups are trying to erase historical sites for the cultures they communicate. This study explores how one of these devastated spaces is still expressed in the media years after its destruction by examining another act of iconoclasm that occurred in 2001 when the Taliban annihilated the 1,500-year-old Buddhas of Bamiyan statues. The research explores the conception of negative spaces in communication and the means by which they are created through warfare and terrorism. A frame and critical analysis of popular magazines then assesses how the Bamiyan Buddhas’ identity has been transformed over time, and some of the journalistic practices that have enabled these renderings. The results reveal how the Buddhas have gradually become journalism’s touchstone for modern cultural terrorism, while in 70 percent of the coverage the site’s actual history has been replaced by the narrative of its ...
Student and Faculty Perceptions about Mandatory Influenza Vaccinations on a Health Sciences Campus.

ABSTRACTObjective: To examine the perceptions among faculty and health professional students regarding mandatory vaccination policies on a health sciences campus. Participants: A total of 296 faculty and 244 students completed surveys during Fall 2015. Methods: The online survey administered to individuals who received the influenza vaccine during the fall 2015 influenza vaccination clinic season included five items evaluating perceptions of employer mandatory vaccination requirements. Results: Chi-square analysis indicated that although faculty and students agree mandatory vaccinations in a health care environment are appropriate, faculty are more likely than students to get vaccinated in the absence of a mandate. Additionally, a small fraction of faculty would consider employment elsewhere when facing this mandate. Conclusions: Overall, faculty and students had favorable perceptions about mandatory influenza vaccine policies. Since students were less likely to be vaccinated in the absence of a mandate, ...
IDENTIFICATION, QUANTIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF STIGMASTEROL FROM ALPINIA CALCARATA USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE THIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY METHOD

Objective: The present study is designed to develop a new simple, precise, rapid and selective high‐performance thin‐layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for the determination of stigmasterol in methanolic rhizomes extract of Alpinia calcarata. Methods: As per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines we have applied different concentrations of stigmasterol as standard on HPTLC plates for the quantification of stigmasterol from the Alpinia calcarata rhizomes. The concentration of standard stigmasterol is 1 mg/ml. Results: The retention factor of stigmasterol was 0.58. Linearity was obtained in the range of 50 ng‐250 ng for stigmasterol. The developed and validated HPTLC method was employed for stigmasterol in methanolic rhizomes extract of Alpinia calcarata for standardization of the content of the marker. The linear regression data for the calibration plots showed a good linear relationship with r=0.99977 for stigmasterol, respectively Satisfactory recoveries of 99.77 % were obtained for stigmasterol. Conclusion: The results obtained in validation assays indicate the accuracy and reliability of the developed HPTLC method for the quantification of stigmasterol in methanolic rhizomes extract of Alpinia calcarata
The clinical and genetic Spectrum of Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis VI) in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS VI) or Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by deficiency of the enzyme N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase or arylsulfatase B. It is involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans and characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical and genetic heterogeneity. So far, more than 150 mutations have been reported in the ARSB gene. Most of these mutations are either novel, private, or compound heterozygous making phenotype-genotype correlation as well as population screening difficult. The aim of our study is to determine the genotypes and phenotypes of MPS VI among the Saudi population at the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The clinical data of all the patients seen and diagnosed with MPS VI (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome) at the main hospital from January 1, 1983, to December 31, 2016, were reviewed. A total of 18 patients from 6 unrelated consanguineous families (first-cousin parents) were diagnosed with MPS VI during the defined 33 years. All of the affected patients displayed the severe phenotype of MPS VI. Only one genotype (c.753C > Gp.Y251X) was identified among five of the studied families. All of those families were inhabitants of Al-Hofuf area, but they descended from different clans. A second genotype (c270_274del5bp pc.91Afs*34) was detected in a single family who had originated from Abha area (the southern-west region of the country). This report demonstrated the homogeneity for both phenotype and genotype of our studied patients with MPS VI. This may eventually make selective asymptomatic carrier test and newborn screening highly feasible in this region of country.
ADEM Mimic with Thiamine Transporter Deficiency

Thiamine transporter-2 (ThTR2) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder with childhood onset that results from mutations in the SLC19A3 gene. We present a case of a 16-month-old girl with ThTR2 deficiency who presented with encephalopathy and recurrent episodes of developmental regression triggered by acute illness. The clinical features and diagnostic work-up of ThTR2 deficiency are discussed with emphasis on distinguishing this disorder from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and other mimics including mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-associated Leigh syndrome. The chapter highlights the importance of early treatment with high-dose thiamine and biotin to reverse symptoms and prevent the progression of disease and the consideration of empiric treatment in any patient presenting with acute encephalopathy, bilateral basal ganglia lesions, and elevated lactate levels in the brain or blood.
Planting Empire, Cultivating Subjects: British Malaya, 1786–1941

Planting Empire, Cultivating Subjects examines the stories of ordinary people to explore the internal workings of colonial rule. Chinese, Indians, and Malays learned about being British through the plantations, towns, schools, and newspapers of a modernizing colony. Yet they got mixed messages from the harsh, racial hierarchies of sugar and rubber estates, and cosmopolitan urban societies. Empire meant mobility, fluidity, and hybridity, as well as the enactment of racial privilege and rigid ethnic differences. Using sources ranging from administrative files, court transcripts and oral interviews to periodicals and material culture, Professor Lees explores the nature and development of colonial governance, and the ways in which Malayan residents experienced British rule in towns and plantations. This is an innovative study demonstrating how empire brought with it both oppression and economic opportunity, shedding new light on the shifting nature of colonial subjecthood and identity, as well as the memory and afterlife of empire.
Understanding the Impact of Fine-Grained Data Sharing and Thread Communication on Heterogeneous Workload Development

The conventional OpenCL 1.x style CPU-GPU heterogeneous computing paradigm treats the CPU and GPU processors as loosely connected separate entities. At best each executes independent tasks, but, more commonly, the CPU idles while waiting for results from the GPU. No data-sharing and communications are allowed during kernel execution. This model limits the number of applications that can harness the tremendous computing power of two processors. OpenCL 2.x and compliant hardware introduce a new memory model that enables a new computing paradigm where the task-parallel CPU and data-parallel GPU are tightly coupled and can closely cooperate on shared data in a lock-based or non-blocking fashion. This new model maximizes hardware utilization and performance, and opens more applications to GPU acceleration. The most significant new OpenCL 2.x features are fine-grained data sharing and thread communication through shared virtual memory, CPU-GPU cache coherence support, and system-level atomics. However, few applications that can exploit the benefits of tightly coupled CPU-GPU heterogeneous processors have emerged. Programming and debugging in this new environment have proven challenging. The resulting lack of benchmark workloads have also left hardware architects uninformed. To facilitate truly heterogeneous workload development and hardware architecture research, this paper focuses on understanding the impact of fine-grained data sharing between the CPU and GPU for future heterogeneous workload development. To that goal, we identify three CPU-GPU cooperation paradigms, demonstrate their performance benefits on real hardware using both in-house and publicly available benchmarks, and profile their detailed behavior and characteristics using an architectural simulator. Our experiments demonstrate that truly heterogeneous implementations of our studied benchmarks outperform their corresponding conventional CPU or GPU versions by up to 59.5% and 36.6% respectively. We analyze thread contention problems, latency of synchronization operations and inter-cluster memory traffic in each cooperation paradigm using a timing architectural simulator.
A Private Practitioner's Point of View

The position of hearing officer is like a vortex in that it draws about itself controversial aspects of administrative government. Such is inherent in the function of the position. The California Administrative Procedure Act sought to allay controversy by providing for professional competence and official impartiality in hearing officers sitting in contested licensing matters.' Unfortunately, because of compromises imbedded in section 11502 of the Government Code, and their consequences in internal governmental operation, the act falls short of achieving this objective. Two principal controversies in administrative government are over construction of the statute administered by the agency and over the procedure to be followed by the agency. These might be loosely described as administrative interpretation versus judicial interpretation and administrative procedure versus judicial procedure. Administrative agencies cannot be courts; and administrators cannot be expected to behave like judges, or even juries. The hearing officer is legislated into the administrative process to help supply the amount of judicial detachment and lawyer-like competence which a majority of the legislators believed advisable in applying the Administrative Procedure Act. In intention the hearing officer is a trained and experienced lawyer.2
Direct Identification of Elastic Properties of Composite Structures — A Wave-controlled Impact Approach

The determination of the four elastic constants for an orthotropic layer of composite materials usually requires that specimens be prepared and several tests be performed. This can be costly and time consuming and a number of investigators have sought to infer those properties from the free vibration characteristics of a single specimen. While this approach is successful tests are still performed on a specimen that must be assumed to be representative of the properties of the actual structure.
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF PRESSURE WAVE EFFECTS AT VOIDS IN A MODEL CONDENSED-PHASE MATERIAL

We have carried out a series of molecular dynamics simulations on a model system to study the effects of voids on hot-spot formation during pressure-wave propagation in condensed-phase systems. Three-dimensional molecular-dynamics methods were used for a model system of identical particles arranged as diatomic molecules aligned with the center of mass of each molecule at fcc lattice sites, using a {111} layering for the two-dimensional boundary conditions. The diatoms were internally coupled via a harmonic potential; all other interactions were modeled with Lennard-Jones potentials between all particles other than the immediate diatomic partner. Using this model, we have investigated the effect of a cylindrical void at right angles to the direction of layering (and impact) and compared these results with those obtained for a pristine (i.e., no void) material. The transient formation (for periods of several hundreds of femtoseconds) of a “hot spot” is noted at the void location both in terms of the local effective temperature and the vibrational energies of the diatoms.
Occupational physical activity in brewery and office workers

Active lifestyles are beneficial to health and well-being but our workplaces may not be inherently supportive of physical activity at work. With the increasing use of technology in the workplace, many jobs are becoming more sedentary. The purpose of this study was to characterize levels of occupational physical activity (OPA) among active and sedentary workers. Two types of activity trackers (Fitbit Charge HR and Hexoskin) were used to assess activity measures (steps, heart rate, and energy expenditure) among workers during one full work shift. The first objective of the study was to assess the agreement between two types of accelerometer-based activity trackers as measures of occupational physical activity. The second objective of this study was to assess differences in measures of OPA among workers in generally physically active (brewery) and sedentary (office) work environments. Occupational physical activity data were collected from 50 workers in beer-brewing tasks and 51 workers in office work tasks. The 101 subjects were from the brewing service sector, a call center, and an engineering office within a manufacturing facility. A two-factor repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the two activity tracking devices while two-sample t-tests were used to compare the two worker groups. There were statistically significant differences in total steps and mean heart rate between the two devices. When comparing the two groups of workers there were statistically significant differences in measures of steps, mean heart rate, and energy expenditure. The results of the present study provide quantitative evidence that levels of OPA should be identified for different work groups.
May Grace Abound: Making God’s Grace Cognitively Salient May Increase Reparative Action:

A study was done with Christian college students to determine the relationship between grace salience, remorse, and reparative action in the context of a past transgression. Grace salience involves...
Melanoma Characteristics in Patients with a History of UV Tanning Bed Usage.

Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of tanning bed use on the behavior of subsequent melanomas.Methods:Cases of invasive cutaneous melanoma who completed a baseline quest...
Medical Liability in Sinus Surgery: A Westlaw Database Analysis From 2000 to 2017:

BackgroundMedical malpractice occurs when a hospital or health-care provider through negligent act or omission results in an injury to a patient. More than 50% of otolaryngologists have faced at le...