cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perioperative outcomes after lower extremity bypass and peripheral vascular interventions in patients with morbid obesity and superobesity.

Abstract Objective Although the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the treatment of infrainguinal peripheral artery disease has been reported, outcomes of patients on the upper end of the obesity spectrum, including morbid obesity (MO) and superobesity (SO), are unclear. Our goal was to analyze perioperative outcomes after lower extremity bypass (LEB) and peripheral vascular interventions (PVIs) in this population of patients. Methods The Vascular Quality Initiative was reviewed for all infrainguinal peripheral artery disease interventions from 2010 to 2017. All patients were categorized into four groups: nonobese (BMI 18.5-29.9 kg/m2), obese (BMI 30-39.9 kg/m2), morbidly obese (BMI 40-49.9 kg/m2), and superobese (BMI ≥50 kg/m2). Patient and case details were recorded. Multivariable analysis was used to analyze outcomes. For statistical analysis, MO and SO groups were combined. Results We identified 29,138 LEB cases (68.5% nonobese, 28.3% obese, 2.9% morbidly obese, 0.3% superobese) and 81,405 PVI cases (66.6% nonobese, 29.2% obese, 3.6% morbidly obese, 0.5% superobese). For both LEB and PVI, patients with MO and SO were more likely to be younger, female, nonsmokers, and ambulatory (P Conclusions MO and SO were significantly associated with increased incidence of wound infections and respiratory complications after LEB but were not significantly associated with increased incidence after PVI. Overall, patients with MO and SO have more comorbidities and more advanced presentation of vascular disease at the time of intervention, but MO and SO alone should not deter necessary and appropriate revascularization.
Study protocol: a randomised non-inferiority trial using interactive virtual presence to remotely assist parents with child restraint installations

Background Motor vehicle crashes are the third-leading cause of death to American children aged 1–5 years. When installed correctly, child restraints (car seats) reduce risk of serious injury and death. However, most restraints are installed incorrectly. The current gold standard for correct installation is systematic car seat checks, where certified technicians help parents, but car seat checks are highly underused due to barriers in access, scheduling and resources. Methods The present study protocol describes plans to evaluate use of interactive virtual presence technology (interactive merged reality)—joint, simultaneous remote verbal and visual interaction and exposure to the same 3D stimuli—to assist remotely located parents installing child restraints. If effective, this technology could supplement or replace in-person checks and revolutionise how government, industry and non-profits help parents install child restraints properly. Building from preliminary studies, we propose a randomised non-inferiority trial to evaluate whether parents who install child restraints while communicating with remote expert technicians via interactive virtual presence on their smartphones achieve installations and learning not inferior in safety to parents who install restraints with on-site technicians. We will randomly assign 1476 caregivers at 7 US sites to install child restraints either via interactive virtual presence or live technicians. Correctness of installation will be assessed using objective checklists, both following installation and again 4 months later. Conclusion We aim to demonstrate that child restraint installation is accurate (>90% correct) when conducted remotely, that such installations are not inferior to installation accuracy with live experts and that parents learn and retain information about child restraint installation.
Online Power Profile Based Universal Battery Degradation Methodology Suitable for Various Battery Types

Battery energy storage systems have been widely used especially with renewable energy resources. This will lead to irregular cycling operations of the battery. Thus, it is very important in planning and operations of energy storage to model battery degradation and the cost associated with it. In this paper, a simple degradation model of the battery is developed considering cycle aging. An aging factor which is dependent on Depth of Discharge (DoD) is derived for a Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) battery using accelerated aging test data. The model developed is validated using measured degradation data. Further models for other types of lithium-ion battery chemistries are illustrated. Main objective is to provide a universal degradation model that can be used to evaluate the battery aging and required size based on a known power profile.
Association Between Initiation of Pulmonary Rehabilitation After Hospitalization for COPD and 1-Year Survival Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

Importance Meta-analyses have suggested that initiating pulmonary rehabilitation after an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with improved survival, although the number of patients studied was small and heterogeneity was high. Current guidelines recommend that patients enroll in pulmonary rehabilitation after hospital discharge. Objective To determine the association between the initiation of pulmonary rehabilitation within 90 days of hospital discharge and 1-year survival. Design, Setting, and Patients This retrospective, inception cohort study used claims data from fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for COPD in 2014, at 4446 acute care hospitals in the US. The final date of follow-up was December 31, 2015. Exposures Initiation of pulmonary rehabilitation within 90 days of hospital discharge. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 1 year. Time from discharge to death was modeled using Cox regression with time-varying exposure to pulmonary rehabilitation, adjusting for mortality and for unbalanced characteristics and propensity to initiate pulmonary rehabilitation. Additional analyses evaluated the association between timing of pulmonary rehabilitation and mortality and between number of sessions completed and mortality. Results Of 197 376 patients (mean age, 76.9 years; 115 690 [58.6%] women), 2721 (1.5%) initiated pulmonary rehabilitation within 90 days of discharge. A total of 38 302 (19.4%) died within 1 year of discharge, including 7.3% of patients who initiated pulmonary rehabilitation within 90 days and 19.6% of patients who initiated pulmonary rehabilitation after 90 days or not at all. Initiation within 90 days was significantly associated with lower risk of death over 1 year (absolute risk difference [ARD], –6.7% [95% CI, –7.9% to –5.6%]; hazard ratio [HR], 0.63 [95% CI, 0.57 to 0.69];P Conclusions and Relevance Among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for COPD, initiation of pulmonary rehabilitation within 3 months of discharge was significantly associated with lower risk of mortality at 1 year. These findings support current guideline recommendations for pulmonary rehabilitation after hospitalization for COPD, although the potential for residual confounding exists and further research is needed.
The Patterns and Outcomes of Inter-Hospital Transfer Among Medicare Patients with Ischemic Stroke.

Abstract Background and Purpose Inter-hospital transfer for ischemic stroke is an essential part of stroke system of care. This study aimed to understand the national patterns and outcomes of ischemic stroke transfer. Methods and Results This retrospective study examined Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years undergoing inter-hospital transfer for ischemic stroke in 2012. Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare 30-day and one-year mortality between transferred patients and direct admissions from the emergency department (ED admissions). Among 312,367 ischemic stroke admissions, 5.7% underwent inter-hospital transfer. Using this value as cut-off, the hospitals were classified into receiving (n = 411), sending (n = 559), and low-transfer (n = 1863) hospitals. Receiving hospitals were larger than low-transfer and sending hospitals as demonstrated by the median bed number (371, 189, and 88, respectively, p Conclusions Hospitals in the US, based on their transfer patterns, could be classified into 3 groups that shared distinct characteristics including hospital size, rural vs urban location, and stroke certification. Transferred patients at sending and low-transfer hospitals had worse outcomes than their ED admission counterpart.
The Measurement of Sexual Attraction and Gender Expression: Cognitive Interviews with Queer Women

Previous research on the survey measurement of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) often focuses on the measurement of gender identity and sexual identity. Comparably little research exists that is focused on gender expression and sexual attraction, which are also each key features gender and sexuality.
Downstream Effects of Upstream Causes

The United States Environmental Protection Agency considers nutrient pollution in stream ecosystems one of the United States’ most pressing environmental challenges. But limited independent replica...
On the Privacy and Integrity Risks of Contact-Tracing Applications

Smartphone-based contact-tracing applications are at the epicenter of the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. While governments and healthcare agencies are eager to mandate the deployment of such applications en-masse, they face increasing scrutiny from the popular press, security companies, and human rights watch agencies that fear the exploitation of these technologies as surveillance tools. Finding the optimal balance between community safety and privacy has been a challenge, and strategies to address these concerns have varied among countries. This paper describes two important attacks that affect a broad swath of contact-tracing applications. The first, referred to as contact-isolation attack, is a user-privacy attack that can be used to identify potentially infected patients in your neighborhood. The second is a contact-pollution attack that affects the integrity of contact tracing applications by causing them to produce a high volume of false-positive alerts. We developed prototype implementations and evaluated both attacks in the context of the DP-3T application framework, but these vulnerabilities affect a much broader class of applications. We found that both attacks are feasible and realizable with a minimal attacker work factor. We further conducted an impact assessment of these attacks by using a simulation study and measurements from the SafeGraph database. Our results indicate that attacks launched from a modest number (on the order of 10,000) of monitoring points can effectively decloak between 5-40\% of infected users in a major metropolis, such as Houston.
Does State Rate Regulation Matter? An Assessment of the Effects of More Stringent Regulation on Insurers' Performance in Homeowners Insurance

In this paper, we examine the effects of state rate regulatory stringency on insurers' loss ratios at the firm level in homeowners insurance. We use several different measures of regulation per se and regulatory stringency. In one model, we use the type of state rating law as our measure of regulation with different specifications in terms of how we group states based on their rating laws. In our second model, we utilize measures of regulatory stringency with respect to overall rate adequacy and how long it takes insurers to get rate changes approved. For this model, our measures of regulatory stringency come from two different data sources. In one specification, we construct regulatory stringency measures from a survey we conducted in which we queried companies on how they would characterize each state's rating environment with respect to rate adequacy and the time it takes to get rate changes approved. In an alternative specification of this model, we utilize information extracted from a database on insurers' rate filings from which we have developed several metrics related to regulatory stringency. In a third model, we interact our regulatory variables with a variable that indicates whether there was a catastrophic event in the prior year. Generally, we find that when the occurrence of catastrophes are not considered, prior approval regulation and more stringent regulation are associated with lower loss ratios. When we interact regulation with the occurrence of a catastrophe, we find that certain stringency measures are associated with higher loss ratios. We surmise that, under "normal circumstances," insurers find ways to work around or ameliorate the effects of tight constraints on their rates and/or long delays in getting them approved but this does not appear to be the case after a catastrophe. In future research, we will expand and refine our measures of regulatory stringency, further explore how insurers adjust or respond to stringent regulation, and estimate the effects of regulation on additional market outcomes.
Optimal Operations Management of Mobility-on-Demand Systems

The emergence of the sharing economy in urban transportation networks has enabled new fast, convenient and accessible mobility services referred to as Mobilty-on-Demand systems (e.g., Uber, Lyft, DiDi). These platforms have flourished in the last decade around the globe and face many operational challenges in order to be competitive and provide good quality of service. A crucial step in the effective operation of these systems is to reduce customers' waiting time while properly selecting the optimal fleet size and pricing policy. In this paper, we jointly tackle three operational decisions: (i) fleet size, (ii) pricing, and (iii) rebalancing, in order to maximize the platform's profit or its customers' welfare. To accomplish this, we first devise an optimization framework which gives rise to a static policy. Then, we elaborate and propose dynamic policies that are more responsive to perturbations such as unexpected increases in demand. We test this framework in a simulation environment using three case studies and leveraging traffic flow and taxi data from Eastern Massachusetts, New York City, and Chicago. Our results show that solving the problem jointly could increase profits between 1% and up to 50%, depending on the benchmark. Moreover, we observe that the proposed fleet size yield utilization of the vehicles in the fleet is around 75% compared to private vehicle utilization of 5%.
The Multileveled Rhythmic Structure of Ragtime

Syncopation in ragtime music has been defined in multiple ways. In this study we propose a method using the Hadamard transform. We extract four-measure phrases from a corpus of ragtime pieces by Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb, and convert them to 32-element binary onset vectors. The Hadamard transform converts this to another 32-element vector that can be interpreted as representing syncopation at various metrical levels. This method is closely related to a similar application of the discrete Fourier transform. Using the Hadamard representation, we show that syncopation is strongest at the quarter-note level, and that tresillo-like rhythms are especially characteristic of the genre. We identify a number of significant differences based on the position of a phrase in a sixteen-measure strain, the position of the strain in the rag, and the composer. The Hadamard representation also facilitates discovery of relationship between different levels of rhythmic organization.
High Temperature High Strength Austenitic Steel Fabricated by Laser Powder-Bed Fusion

Extremely fast cooling rates during laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) can result in materials with unique microstructures. For LPBF 316L stainless steel, the formation of sub-grain cellular structures with high dislocation density has been linked to superior tensile properties at room temperature. This cellular structure offers also a new route for the development of high temperature LPBF steels with the nucleation of nano-size strengthening carbides in the cell walls. HK30Nb steel (Fe-25Cr-20Ni-Nb-C) was, therefore, fabricated by LPBF to evaluate its potential for high temperature applications. Optimization of the fabrication parameters yielded material with density greater than 99.7%, with nano Nb-rich precipitates in the cell walls. Annealing at 800 °C for 5h resulted in the nucleation and growth of additional precipitates mainly in the cell wall and at grain boundaries. The high dislocation density led to yield strength at 20-900 C two to three times higher than yield strength for cast HK30Nb and the nano carbides in the cell walls significantly improved the cellular structure stability at 800 °C.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of tumor molecular classification in high-risk early-stage endometrial cancer.

Abstract Purpose Tumor molecular analyses in endometrial cancer (EC) includes 4 distinct subtypes: (1) POLE-mutated, (2) mismatch repair protein (MMR) deficient, (3) p53 mutant, and (4) no specific molecular profile. Recently, a sub-analysis of PORTEC-3 demonstrated notable differences in treatment response between molecular classification (MC) groups. Cost of testing is one barrier to widespread adoption of MC. Therefore, we sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of MC in patients with stage I and II high-risk EC. Methods A Markov decision model was developed to compare tumor molecular classification (TMC) vs. no testing (NT). A healthcare payor's perspective and 5-year time horizon were used. Base case data were abstracted from PORTEC-3 and the molecular sub-analysis. Cost and utility data were derived from public databases, peer-reviewed literature, and expert input. Strategies were compared using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) with effectiveness in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and evaluated with a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000 per QALY gained. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test model robustness. Results When compared to NT, TMC was cost effective with an ICER of $25,578 per QALY gained; incremental cost was $1780 and incremental effectiveness was 0.070 QALYs. In one-way sensitivity analyses, results were most sensitive to the cost of POLE testing, but TMC remained cost-effective over all parameter ranges. Conclusions TMC in early-stage high-risk EC is cost-effective, and the model results were robust over a range of parameters. Given that MC can be used to guide adjuvant treatment decisions, these findings support adoption of TMC into routine practice.
Moral Knowledge Without Knowledge of Moral Knowledge

Most people believe some moral propositions are true. Most people would say that they know that rape is wrong, torturing people is wrong, and so on. But despite decades of intense epistemological study, philosophers cannot even provide a rudimentary sketch of moral knowledge. In my view, the fact that we have very strong epistemic confidence in some fundamental moral propositions and the fact that it is extremely difficult for us to provide even the basics of an account of moral knowledge gives us an important clue. Both of these facts stem from the very nature of moral knowledge. In this paper I provide an intuitionist account of moral knowledge. I try to remove misunderstanding and add to our understanding of the contemporary account of self-evident moral propositions. For a theory of moral knowledge to be acceptable it must explain both the moral knowledge we have and why it is so very difficult for us to explain. My theory meets both requirements.
The Role of Stock Markets in Current Account Dynamics: Some Empirical Evidence

This paper tests a model of the role of stock markets in current dynamics, which is developed in a companion paper. With US data, the model performs better than the same model without stock markets. An insight given by the model is that the current account might help predict future stock market performance. This property receives some preliminary empirical confirmation. These results suggest that stock markets matter to the current account dynamics.
A theorem on the affine transformation group of a Riemannian manifold

Every Riemannian manifold has a unique affine connection without torsion, which is necessarily invariant by any isometrical transformation of the manifold. However, an affine transformation (i.e., transformation leaving invariant the affine connection) is not necessarily an isometrical transformation. (Consider, for example, the ordinary Euclidean space).
Invariants and classification of gauge fields

A classification of gauge fields in terms of spinors and the rank of a matrix of Lorentz invariants is proposed. A peeling theorem for the Yang-Mills field in the asymptotic limit is shown to follow from an earlier work of Roskies. An analogous theorem is proved for all gauge fields in the geometric optics limit.
Amino acid sequence of human plasma apolipoprotein C‐III from normalipidemic subjects

The complete amino acid sequence of human plasma apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III) isolated from normal subjects is described. ApoC-III is a linear polypeptide chain of 79 amino acids. Tryptic digestion of intact apoC-III produced 5 major peptides, while tryptic digestion of the citraconylated protein yielded two peptides. The complete amino acid sequence of apoC-III was determined by the automated Edman degradation of the intact protein as well as the various tryptic peptides. Phenylthiohydantoin amino acids were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and chemical ionization mass spectrometry. The amino acid sequence of apoC-III isolated from normalipidemic subjects is identical to the apoC-III sequence derived from the cDNA sequence and differs at 4 positions from the previously reported sequence of apoC-III derived from a patient with type V hyperlipoproteinemia.
Methane Emissions of Beef Cattle on Forages

Fermentation in the rumen of cattle produces methane (CH4). Methane may play a role in global warming scenarios. The linking of grazing management strategies to more efficient beef production while reducing the CH4 emitted by beef cattle is important. The sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique was used to determine the effects of best management practices (BMP) grazing compared with continuous grazing on CH4 production in several Louisiana forages during 1996-1998. Cows and heifers (Bos taurus) grazed common bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge), and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) pastures and were wintered on bahiagrass hay with supplements of protein molasses blocks (PMB), cottonseed meal and corn (CSMC), urea and corn (URC), or limited ryegrass grazing (LRG). Daily CH4 emissions were between 89 and 180 g d(-1) for young growing heifers and 165 to 294 g d(-1) for mature Simbrah cows. Heifers on "ad lib" ryegrass in March and April produced only one-tenth the CH4 per kg of gain as heifers on LRG of 1 h. Using BMP significantly reduced the emission of CH4 per unit of animal weight gain. Management-intensive grazing (MIG) is a BMP that offers the potential for more efficient utilization of grazed forage crops via controlled rotational grazing and more efficient conversion of forage into meat and milk. Projected CH4 annual emissions in cows reflect a 22% reduction from BMP when compared with continuous grazing in this study. With the BMP application of MIG, less methane was produced per kilogram of beef gain.
3-D High Resolution Radon Transforms Applied to Ground Roll Suppression In Orthogonal Seismic Surveys

Summary Backscattered ground roll that leaks through the shot and group arrays has long been a problem in land seismic acquisition. Since ground roll is usually aliased, linear filtering techniques applied to common midpoint, common shot, or common receiver gathers based on f-k or linear taup filtering often fail. Motivated by a desire to extend concepts of 3-D beam migration to 3-D land surveys, we have developed f-x-y domain least squares Radon transform and a new time domain 3-D high resolution Radon transform that uses a coherence measure to determine whether or not a given plane wave component is aliased. While the time domain nonlinear tau-p-q is expensive, the added cost allows us to implement it in a more efficient and more robust migration algorithm.
What is social-scientific criticism?

This book gives a clearly written, authoritative introduction to social-scientific criticism of the New Testament, including the rise of this method, its practitioners and the focal points of their work, how the method is applied to the interpretation of the biblical text, and the presuppositions and procedures of the method. Four appendices; glossary; two bibliographies.
Thermal, electrochemical, and photochemical conversion of CO2 to fuels and value-added products

Abstract This review compares various alternate fuels and value-added products from conversion of carbon dioxide such as simple molecules to higher hydrocarbon fuels and polymers. Different methods of activation are summarized that lead to different products. We summarize the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of conversion of carbon dioxide. An overall summary is given at the end of the review that discusses future approaches and promising approaches.
The Way of the Modal Realist: Dialetheism and Buddhist Philosophy

in some passages in some Buddhist texts, contradictions appear to be asserted unambiguously as true in the straightforward literal sense. yasuo deguchi, Jay l. Garfield, and Graham Priest (dGP) persuasively argue that the appearance is not illusory. 1 This essay is a modest attempt to help make some sense of such passages. 2 i assume, without my own argument, that dGP are right and that some passages in Buddhist texts, including the ones they identify, do indeed contain unambiguous assertions of contradictions in the straightforward literal sense. dGP point out that the logic of contradictions is perfectly intelligible and claim that it is rational to accept some contradictions as true. i agree with them on the logical intelligibility of contradictions. i also agree that it is rational to accept dialetheism, the thesis that some contradictions are true, with an important qualification. i shall explain what the important qualification is. i believe that my importantly qualified version of dialetheism is rationally acceptable to many who may be inclined to reject the unqualified version. i also believe that my importantly qualified version offers a new outlook on the Buddhist assertions. 3
The ATF Data Management System

The Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) Data Management System (DMG) is a VAX-based software system that provides unified data access for ATF data acquisition and analysis. The system was designed with user accessibility, software maintainability, and extensibility as primary goals. This paper describes the layered architecture of the system design, the system implementation, use, and the data file structure.
High-density diffuse optical tomography of term infant visual cortex in the nursery

Advancements in antenatal and neonatal medicine over the last few decades have led to significant improvement in the survival rates of sick newborn infants. However, this improvement in survival has not been matched by a reduction in neurodevelopmental morbidities with increasing recognition of the diverse cognitive and behavioral challenges that preterm infants face in childhood. Conventional neuroimaging modalities, such as cranial ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, provide an important definition of neuroanatomy with recognition of brain injury. However, they fail to define the functional integrity of the immature brain, particularly during this critical developmental period. Diffuse optical tomography methods have established success in imaging adult brain function; however, few studies exist to demonstrate their feasibility in the neonatal population. We demonstrate the feasibility of using recently developed high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT) to map functional activation of the visual cortex in healthy term-born infants. The functional images show high contrast-to-noise ratio obtained in seven neonates. These results illustrate the potential for HD-DOT and provide a foundation for investigations of brain function in more vulnerable newborns, such as preterm infants.
Health Is Power: an Ecological Theory-based Health Intervention for Women of Color

Objective Physical inactivity and poor dietary habits plague Americans as health challenges, with women of color most vulnerable to their detrimental effects. Individually focused interventions have not demonstrated lasting success, possibly due to the lack of focus on sustainable social and physical environment factors. This manuscript describes the rationale, design and methodology of Health Is Power (HIP), a transcultural, community based, randomized controlled trial that investigated the effectiveness of a group cohesion intervention to increase physical activity and improve dietary habits in African American and Hispanic or Latina women in Houston and Austin, Texas. Methods The intervention development was guided by group dynamics principles anchored within an ecologic model. Results Women participated in three health assessments and a six month face to face intervention that included evidence-based behavioral methods – integrated into strategies to promote group cohesion – framed to account for environmental factors contributing to health disparities. Women participated in team building activities, environmental mapping exercises, and supervised walks or taste tests. Conclusions Neighborhood contextual and environmental measures are described to test ecologic factors that may contribute to behavioral maintenance. Theoretically guided interventions that account for multiple levels of influence in behavior initiation and maintenance stand to improve health outcomes in vulnerable populations.
They're back: the public plan, the reincarnation of Harry and Louise, and the limits of Obamacare.

Many advocates of universal health care put competition and consumer choice at the center of the latest major push for health reform. Dozens of major organizations close to the Democratic Party, including the AFL- CIO, Moveon.org, and the Children’s Defense Fund, fought on behalf of a remarkably modest solution: creation of a public health plan — essentially a nonprofit insurance company — to compete with the commercial health insurers. They largely abandoned the movement for a single- payer health system, which had been gaining ground since the demise of the Health Security Act during Bill Clinton’s administration, fifteen years ago. This faith in market- led solutions for health care remained largely unshaken, despite the recent financial collapse. The final version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) did not include a provision for a robust public plan — or even a weak one. But the controversy over this issue has left a lasting mark on the course of health care reform.
A group B coxsackievirus/poliovirus 5' nontranslated region chimera can act as an attenuated vaccine strain in mice.

The linear, single-stranded enterovirus RNA genome is flanked at either end with a nontranslated region (NTR). By replacing the entire 5′ NTR of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) with that from type 1 poliovirus, a progeny virus was obtained following transfection of HeLa cells. The chimeric virus, CPV/49, replicates like the parental CVB3 strain in HeLa cells but is attenuated for replication and yield in primary human coronary artery endothelial cell cultures, in a human pancreas tumor cell line, and in primary murine heart fibroblast cultures. Western blotting analyses of CPV/49 replication in murine heart fibroblast cultures demonstrate that synthesis of CPV/49 proteins is significantly slower than that of the parental CVB3 strain. CPV/49 replicates in murine hearts and pancreata, causing no disease in hearts and a minor pancreatic inflammation in some mice that resolves by 28 days postinoculation. A single inoculation with CPV/49 induces protective anti-CVB3 neutralizing antibody titers that completely protect mice from both heart and pancreatic disease when mice are challenged 28 days p.i. with genetically diverse virulent strains of CVB3. That a chimeric CVB3 strain, created from sequences of two virulent viruses, is sufficiently attenuated to act as an avirulent, protective vaccine strain in mice suggests that chimeric genome technology merits further evaluation for the development of new nonpoliovirus enteroviral vectors.
An energy-aware multiple-input power supply with charge recovery for energy harvesting applications

Energy harvesting systems such as self-powered wireless sensor nodes rely on a diverse set of energy sources in their continuously changing environment for power. A highly flexible power supply with multiple sources is needed to deal with large variation in environmental conditions. This paper describes an integrated power management system for use with multiple energy harvesters, which employs energy awareness and charge recycling. Previous multiple-input power management systems only allow energy to be harvested from a single source at a time [1] (typically the source with the largest voltage) thereby wasting the energy from the other energy harvesters. In order to increase the total energy available, the work presented here allows the system to gather and add together voltages from multiple sources at the same time.
The Effect of Similarity between Line Segments on the Correspondence Strength in Apparent Motion

The correspondence between line segments in apparent motion is shown to be affected by the similarity between them. Increase in orientation difference or in length ratio between lines in a competing motion configuration decreases the probability of perceived apparent motion between them. The results suggest the existence of a built-in preference metric that may reflect a measure of matching likelihood between elements in three-dimensional space.
Post-translational modifications of tubulin: pathways to functional diversity of microtubules

Tubulin and microtubules are subject to a remarkable number of post-translational modifications. Understanding the roles these modifications play in determining the functions and properties of microtubules has presented a major challenge that is only now being met. Many of these modifications are found concurrently, leading to considerable diversity in cellular microtubules, which varies with development, differentiation, cell compartment, and cell cycle. We now know that post-translational modifications of tubulin affect, not only the dynamics of the microtubules, but also their organization and interaction with other cellular components. Many early suggestions of how post-translational modifications affect microtubules have been replaced with new ideas and even new modifications as our understanding of cellular microtubule diversity comes into focus.
GFP-centrin as a marker for centriole dynamics in living cells.

A long-standing puzzle in cell biology is the question of how cells generate one and only one new centrosome in each cell cycle and what is the role of the centriole pair in this process. In this study, the introduction of GFP-centrin into cultured cells allows direct visualization of centriole behavior in living cells and in real time. Using this method, centriole dynamics can be observed throughout the cell cycle and following a variety of experimental treatments. Our studies demonstrate that the biogenesis of new centrioles from individual members of a preexisting centriole pair is asynchronous: the older centriole initiates assembly of a new daughter centriole before the younger centriole initiates assembly of its daughter.
The rhinoneurosurgical method for treating skull fractures involving paranasal sinuses.

A combined rhino-neurosurgical method of operative treatment in cases of skull fractures involving paranasal sinuses with lacerations of the dura is described. The method consists of the close co-operation of rhinologists and neurosurgeons in diagnosis and operation. The operative procedure, which is discussed in detail, is performed in two steps, one immediately following the other: (1) rhinosurgical, by a transantral procedure, and (2) neurosurgical, by a craniotomy. The aim of this method is the repair of all dural lacerations and the removal of potential inflammatory foci in the damaged sinuses threatening intracranial infections. The method was performed in 90 patients, 42 cases with recent injuries and 48 with intracranial infections after previous head trauma. The mortality rate was less than 5%.
Cancer stem cells: A guide for skeptics

Cancer stem cells (CSC) were postulated to exist many years ago as cells within a tumor that regenerate the tumor following treatment. A stochastic clonal evolution model was used to explain observed tumor heterogeneity. Recently, xenotransplantation studies have demonstrated that prospectively identifiable subpopulations from human cancers can initiate tumors in immune deficient mice, and these results along with recent advances in stem cell biology have generated much excitement in the cancer field. The modern CSC theory posits a hierarchy of cells analogous to normal stem cell development. Some controversy remains, however, as to whether these tumor initiating cells truly represent CSC, and whether the modern CSC field can live up to the promise of providing improved cancer treatments based on a novel model of cancer biology. Recent data from CSC investigators are discussed critically.
The possible existence of phonemic reading in the presence of Broca's aphasia: A case report

Abstract This case study examined phonemic reading and reading comprehension in the presence of Broca's aphasia. The patient, T.B., a 16 yr old male, suffered an occlusion of the middle celebral artery. Spontaneous speech was limited, naming difficulties were apparent, and comprehension was mildly impaired. Though the patient could read only a small number of words aloud, he was able to read silently for comprehension on a standardized instrument. Moreover, T.B. was able to match orally-presented pseudowords to their written analogs, a finding which suggests that phonemic processing for nonlexical material was to some degree intact. The results were contrasted to the reading patterns usually reported to be present in “frontal” alexia and deep dyslexia. The possible existence of a dissociation between phonemic processing in reading and speech behavior as well as its mechanism was discussed.
A Rhetorician's Guide to Love: Online Dating Profiles as Remediated Commonplace Books

Abstract This project considers ways online daters “write themselves” into the role of dater and offers grounding of this rhetorical work with direct comparisons to historic commonplace books. Despite the promise of interactive, dynamic online spaces to provide full and malleable online dating ads, Match.com profiles offer relatively little agency for identity creation and performance and are actually remarkably close to “old media” practices for writing identity. Paying particular attention to template design and linguistic and visual commonplaces that inform genre expectations for gendered identity performances in this space, this rhetorical analysis focuses on the author's online dating profile. The piece first situates commonplace books as textual identity production and then posits Match.com as a remediation of the gendered commonplace book practice wherein modern daters negotiate tensions between master narratives concerning gender performances and the desire to transcend limiting normative heterosexual gender roles. Specifically, when comparing these remediated dating commonplace books to their Victorian era predecessors, I consider dependence on limited, normative views of gender, the use of scripts and visual and linguistic commonplaces, the public nature of a privately crafted identity performance, and the focus on future, desired roles and identities rather than present identities. The piece offers an insider look at the Match.com community and focuses specifically on the power of Match.com design templates and site conventions to shape and limit daters’ identity representations via the use of pull-down menus and linguistic and visual cues reinforcing normative heterosexual gender roles for dating.
Innovative ways of integrating public health into the medical school curriculum.

This is one of six short papers that describe additional innovations to help integrate public health into medical education; these were featured in the “Patients and Populations: Public Health in Medical Education” conference. They represent relatively new endeavors or curricular components that had not been explored in prior publications. Although evaluation data are lacking, it was felt that sharing a description of the methods use by Morehouse School of Medicine to integrate public health in the curriculum would be of value to medical educators.
Studying the Effects of Cysteine Residues on Protein Interactions with Silver Nanoparticles

Studies of protein and organothiol interactions with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are important for understanding AgNP nanotoxicity, antimicrobial activity, and material fabrications. Reported herein is a systematic investigation of the effects of both reduced and oxidized protein cysteine residues on protein interactions with AgNPs. The model proteins included wild-type and mutated protein GB3 variants that contain 0, 1, or 2 reduced cysteine residues, respectively. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) that contains a total of 34 oxidized (disulfide-linked) cysteine residues and one reduced cysteine residue was also included. Protein cysteine content has no detectable effect on the kinetics of protein/AgNP binding. However, only proteins that contain reduced cysteine residues induce significant AgNP dissolution. Proteins can slow down, but do not prevent the AgNP dissolution induced by subsequently added organothiols. The insights provided in this work are important to the mechanistic understanding of AgNP stability in biofluids that are rich in proteins and amino acid thiols.
Acute choline supplementation in vivo enhances acetylcholine synthesis in vitro when neurotransmitter release is increased by potassium.

: The main objective of these studies was to determine whether the acute administration of choline to rats provides supplemental precursor that can be used to support acetylcholine synthesis when the demand for choline is increased by increasing neurotransmitter release. For these experiments, hippocampal and striatal slices were prepared from rats that had received saline or an acute injection of choline. Slices were incubated in a choline-free buffer containing 4.74–35 mM KC, and acetylcholine synthesis and release and choline production were measured. The initial tissue contents of acetylcholine and choline did not differ between experimental groups for either brain region. When hippocampal slices from the controls were incubated for 10 min with depolarizing concentrations of KCl, acetylcholine release increased and the tissue content decreased in a concentration-dependent fashion; no net synthesis of acetylcholine occurred. In contrast, hippocampal slices from the choline-injected animals maintained their tissue content in the presence of high concentrations of KCl, despite an increase in acetylcholine release that was similar in magnitude to that of the controls; positive net synthesis of acetylcholine resulted. Although the molar concentration of choline achieved in the incubation media at the end of the 10-min period did not differ between groups, the mobilization of free choline from bound stores was significantly greater in hippocampal slices from the choline-injected group than the controls. In addition, the synthesis of acetylcholine by hippocampal slices from the cholineinjected group was prevented by the presence of hemicholinium-3 (1 μM) in the media. Acetylcholine synthesis and choline mobilization by striatal slices did not differ between groups. Results demonstrate that acute supplementation with choline provides precursor to support acetylcholine synthesis when the release of neurotransmitter is increased.
Electron states on the relaxed Cu(1 1 0) surface

Abstract The scattering-theoretical method has been used to search the (1 1 0) surface of copper for electron states. The relaxation of the surface was included by assuming Harrison scaling for the tight-binding parameters used in the bulk energy-band calculation. The inclusion of surface relaxation was found to improve agreement with experiment.
Sporadic unilateral vestibular schwannoma in the pediatric population: Clinical article

Object Vestibular schwannomas (VSs) are rare in the pediatric population. Most often, these lesions manifest as a bilateral disease process in the setting of neurofibromatosis Type 2. Even in the absence of additional clinical diagnostic criteria, the presentation of a unilateral VS in a young patient may be a harbinger of future penetrance for this hereditary tumor syndrome. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts of a cohort of 7 patients who presented with apparently sporadic, unilateral VSs. These patients had previously undergone surgery via translabyrinthine, retrosigmoid, or combined approaches. Clinical outcomes were reviewed with emphasis on facial nerve function and follow-up for signs and symptoms of a heritable disorder. Results All patients underwent microsurgical resection in a multidisciplinary effort by the senior authors. The average tumor size was 4.57 cm, with an average duration of symptoms prior to definitive diagnosis of 31.2 months. The tumor size at the time of pres...
A new model of interaction: digital music and 3D animation

How do we get students to think less about the mechanics of multimedia software and more about the medium's creative potential for telling a story? One way is through collaboration with students in different but synergistic disciplines. This paper presents a new model for interdisciplinary collaborative teaching which provides a more flexible alternative to the traditional team-teaching approach. The model is applied to 3D computer animation and digital music.
Brachytherapy provides comparable outcomes and improved cost-effectiveness in the treatment of low/intermediate prostate cancer

PURPOSE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness and outcomes of low-dose-rate (LDR) and high- dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy compared with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients with low/intermediate risk of prostate cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: One thousand three hundred twenty-eight patients with low or intermediate risk of prostate cancer were treated with LDR (n 5207), HDR with four fractions (n 5 252), or IMRT (n 5869) between January 1992 and December 2008. LDR patients were treated with palladium seeds to a median dose of 120 Gy, whereas HDR patients were treated to a median dose 38.0 Gy (four fractions). IMRT patients received 42e44 fractions with a median dose of 75.6 Gy. Clinical outcomes were compared, including biochemical failure, cause-specific survival, and overall survival. RESULTS: Overall, no differences in 5-year biochemical control (BC) or cause-specific survival were noted among treatment modalities. The calculated reimbursement for LDR brachytherapy, HDR brachytherapy with four fractions, and IMRTwas $9,938; $17,514; and $29,356, respectively. HDR and LDR brachytherapy were statistically less costly to Medicare and the institution than IMRT (p!0.001), and LDR brachytherapy was less costly than HDR brachytherapy (p5 0.01 and p!0.001). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for cost to Medicare for BC with IMRT were $4045 and $2754 per percent of BC for LDR and HDR brachytherapy, respectively. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio using institutional cost comparing IMRTwith LDR and HDR brachytherapy was $4962 and $4824 per 1% improvement in BC. CONCLUSIONS: In this study of patients with low and intermediate risk of prostate cancer, comparable outcomes at 5 years were noted between modalities with increased costs associated with IMRT. 2012 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.