cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficacy Methods to Evaluate Health Communication and Marketing Campaigns

Communication and marketing are growing areas of health research, but relatively few rigorous efficacy studies have been conducted in these fields. In this article, we review recent health communication and marketing efficacy research, present two case studies that illustrate some of the considerations in making efficacy design choices, and advocate for greater emphasis on rigorous health communication and marketing efficacy research and the development of a research agenda. Much of the outcomes research in health communication and marketing, especially mass media, utilizes effectiveness designs conducted in real time, in the media markets or communities in which messages are delivered. Such evaluations may be impractical or impossible, however, imiting opportunities to advance the state of health communication and marketing research and the knowledge base on effective campaign strategies, messages, and channels. Efficacy and effectiveness studies use similar measures of behavior change. Efficacy studies, however, offer greater opportunities for experimental control, message exposure, and testing of health communication and marketing theory. By examining the literature and two in-depth case studies, we identify advantages and limitations to efficacy studies. We also identify considerations for when to adopt efficacy and effectiveness methods, alone or in combination. Finally, we outline a research agenda to investigate issues of internal and external validity, mode of message presentation, differences between marketing and message strategies, and behavioral outcomes.
Signature Biochemical Properties of Broadly Cross-Reactive HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibodies in Human Plasma

The common properties of broadly cross-reactive HIV-1 neutralization antibodies found in certain HIV-1-infected individuals holds significant value for understanding natural and vaccine-mediated anti-HIV immunity. Recent efforts have addressed this question by deriving neutralizing monoclonal anti-envelope antibodies from memory B cell pools of selected subjects. However, it has been more difficult to identify whether broadly neutralizing antibodies circulating in plasma possess shared characteristics among individuals. To address this question, we used affinity chromatography and isoelectric focusing to fractionate plasma immunoglobulin from 10 HIV-1-infected subjects (5 subjects with broad HIV-1 neutralizing activity and 5 controls). We find that plasma neutralizing activity typically partitions into at least two subsets of antibodies. Antibodies with restricted neutralization breadth have relatively neutral isoelectric points and preferentially bind to envelope monomers and trimers versus core antigens from which variable loops and other domains have been deleted. In comparison, broadly neutralizing antibodies account for a minor fraction of the total anti-envelope response. They are consistently distinguished by more basic isoelectric points and specificity for epitopes shared by monomeric gp120, gp120 core, or CD4-induced structures. Such biochemical properties might be exploited to reliably predict or produce broad anti-HIV immunity.
Elementary Analysis of Line Shapes and Energy Resolution in Semiconductor Radiation Detectors

The authors have used an elementary statistical technique to derive a closed-form expression for the hole-tailing line shape produced by photoelectric absorption of monoenergetic radiation in a semiconductor X-ray/{gamma}-ray detector. In the case of compound semiconductors, where the drift length for electrons is much greater than that for holes, the line shape is given by a type of power law, except for a small region very near the photopeak. This analytical result agrees well with Monte Carlo simulations and is used to extract approximate {mu}{tau} products from a {sup 57}Co pulse height spectrum. They also present an expression for the maximum obtainable energy resolution of a semiconductor detector in the presence of leakage current noise and intrinsic statistical fluctuations as a function of material parameters, along with a chart of the optimal band gap as a function of temperature and photon energy. Based on these considerations, the optimal band gap for room-temperature operation is approximately 2.0 eV.
Using bacterial growth on insects to assess nutrient impacts in streams.

A combination field and laboratorystudy was conducted to evaluate the ability of arecently developed bioindicator to detect detrimentalnutrient conditions in streams. The method utilizesbacterial growth on aquatic insects to determinenutrient impacts. Field investigations indicated thatelevated concentrations of nitrate and phosphate wereassociated with growth of filamentous bacteria oninsect body surfaces, and that there was a significantreduction in the density of major insect taxa in thenutrient-enriched stream reaches. Laboratoryinvestigations confirmed a strong linkage betweenbacterial growth and reduced survival of insects. Survival was examined for insects with bacterialinfestation ranging from 0% to greater than 50%coverage of the body surface. A threshold forcatastrophic mortality occurred at about 25% bodycoverage; there were few survivors above that amount. Based on these findings, the diagnostic endpoint forthe bioindicator is 25% body coverage by bacterialgrowth, a level that signifies major impacts and isalso easy to detect visually. This study providesadditional evidence that the insect-bacteriabioindicator is a reliable tool for assessing nutrientimpacts on stream macroinvertebrate communities. Thebioindicator should prove useful for identifyingnutrient-impacted sites as well as monitoring thesuccess of management actions to improve water quality.
Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Infections

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases are enzymes produced by certain Gram-negative bacteria that confer significant resistance to conventional beta-lactam antibiotics. These enzymes are increasingly found worldwide in pathogenic bacteria. The following chapter will describe the enzymes and their clinical relevance with a brief discussion of current treatment options.
Optimal choice for number of strands in a litz-wire transformer winding

The number and diameter of strands to minimize loss in a litz-wire transformer winding is determined. With fine stranding, the AC resistance factor can be decreased, but DC resistance increases as a result of the space occupied by insulation. A power law to model insulation thickness is combined with standard analysis of proximity-effect losses to find the optimal stranding. Suboptimal choices under other constraints are also determined.
Sediment-Water Nitrogen Exchange along the Potomac River Estuarine Salinity Gradient

ABSTRACT Cornwell, J.C.; Owens, M.S.; Boynton, W.R., and Harris, L.A., 2016. Sediment-water nitrogen exchange along the Potomac River estuarine salinity gradient. Observations of N2 efflux in estuarine sediments across the salinity gradient of the tidal Potomac River, a eutrophic subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay, were used to evaluate environmental controls of microbial denitrification. Rates of denitrification were measured using N2:Ar ratios in core incubations and were similar to other nitrogen-enriched estuaries, with summer and spring N2-N efflux rates averaging 54 ± 47 and 153 ± 97 μmol m−2 h−1, respectively. The paradigm of higher denitrification rates at lower salinities was not supported by observations during summer and spring conditions along this estuarine salinity gradient. Low bottom water oxygen concentrations in the lower, more saline part of the estuary resulted in low rates of coupled nitrification/denitrification. The most favorable region for denitrification in the tidal Potomac River ...
Regulation of translation factors during hindlimb unloading and denervation of skeletal muscle in rats

In the rat, denervation and hindlimb unloading are two commonly employed models used to study skeletal muscle atrophy. In these models, muscle atrophy is generally produced by a decrease in protein synthesis and an increase in protein degradation. The decrease in protein synthesis has been suggested to occur by an inhibition at the level of protein translation. To better characterize the regulation of protein translation, we investigated the changes that occur in various translation initiation and elongation factors. We demonstrated that both hindlimb unloading and denervation produce alterations in the phosphorylation and/or total amount of the 70-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase, eukaryotic initiation factor 2 α-subunit, and eukaryotic elongation factor 2. Our findings indicate that the regulation of these protein translation factors differs between the models of atrophy studied and between the muscles evaluated (e.g., soleus vs. extensor digitorum longus).
Field, ward, and laboratory: where the infectious disease physician worked.

I am greatly honored to join the ranks of those fortunate enough to receive the award named for Maxwell Finland, an outstanding clinical investigator and teacher who started many of us on our careers in infectious disease research. I shall refer later in more detail to his achievements. Because clinical investigation was so close to Max's heart and because he pursued it at the Boston City Hospital for his entire professional life, I have chosen as the theme of this lecture the relation of the hospital to the clinical investigation of infectious diseases; also I will raise a few questions about the future of this relation. Clinical research occupies a unique position: it lies between research in basic sciences and clinical medicine. T. Hale Ham compared the place in which it is carried out to the tidal estuary, where the currents of the river meet the tides of the ocean, and the water is neither fresh nor salt but a mixture of the two. This special blend sustains characteristic forms of life-some of them novel, some of them extraordinary all together contributing significantly and uniquely to the nurture and survival of many varied species both near and far. The analogy is apt. The resemblance between the environment of the tidal estuary and the workplace of the clinical investigator is striking. In each case the peculiar conditions of the environment are crucial to the outcome [1]. Clinical investigation as an organized discipline is relatively young. In the United States at the end of the 19th century it was just beginning. The first clinical laboratory to be placed in a hospital in the United States was installed in 1887 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and a few small laboratories for research were established in hospitals and clinical departments of universities around the turn of the century. The American Society for Clinical Investigation was founded in 1908; the Journal of Clinical Investigation did not begin publication until 1924.
Interaction of chloral hydrate and ethanol in man: I. Metabolism

The interaction of chloral hydrate and ethanol metabolism was studied in 5 normal male volunteers. Compared to chloral hydrate alone, ingestion of ethanol30 minutes after chloral hydrate results in significantly higher and more prolonged concentrations of plasma trichloroethanol and in lower plasma trichloroacetic acid levels and urinary trichloroethanol glucuronide. Chloral hydrate ingestion in turn affects ethanol metabolism and causes peak blood ethanol concentrations to be reached earlier and to be higher than after ethanol alone. Accompanying the higher blood ethttnollevels are lower blood acetaldehyde concentrations. Blood ethanol concentration one-half hour after ethanol ingestion is linearly related to the plasma trichloroethanollevel at the time of ethanol ingestion. In vitro studies on the mechanism of these metabolic interactions showed that the elevated blood ethanol concentrations are due to competitive inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase by trichloroethanol (Ki = 8. 7 × 10−5M). Ethanol stimulates NADH production and thereby increases the rate of chloral hydrate reduction to trichloroethanol by liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Human red blood cells also reduce chloral hydrate to trichloroethanol (Km 4.0 × 1D−4M, Vmax, = 3.6 p,m per minute per cubic centimeter RBC).
Nanomaterials for Diagnostic Imaging of the Brain

Various brain diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and cancer are major causes of death worldwide. Due to the notion that early diagnosis significantly increases success in treatments, several non-invasive bioimaging modalities such as MRI, CT, and PET are increasingly used to locate pathologic sites in the brain. To further enhance the quality of diagnostic imaging, efforts are incrementally made to couple imaging contrasts of interests to macromolecules or nanoparticles designed to cross over the brain-blood barrier and to bind to pathologic tissue. This chapter will therefore review such important emerging technologies for diagnostic imaging of brain and some preclinical and clinical success, so we can ultimately assist efforts to take diagnosis quality to the next level.
Strict Implementation of Reserve Regulation and Norms Approach to Reserve System of Silkworm Eggs

The silkworm egg is a special crop seed and is also the basis of silk industry, which has the characters of advanced production, single-minded purpose, the social impact and so on. Silkworm rearing is an main access to the most important way to return for sericulturists, thus, the establishment of silkworm egg reserve system, enabling suppliers to ensure the silkworm eggs. The establishment of silkworm reserve system is not only to promote the steady development of sericulture needs, but also the legal obligation of government regulations. Through the efforts of 2007, 3 class of provinces, cities and counties (cities, districts) reserve 80000 cases of the hybrids eggs and 5000 cases of the parent race eggs. The paper focuses on the requirements of operation norms for silkworm egg reserves.
Disadapting to the environmental crisis

This paper offers a psychoanalytically informed reflection on how the environmental crisis has been framed and debated. The author draws attention to the ways in which apparently radical responses to the environmental crisis may often only reinforce established sociopolitical positions. By examining various responses to the environmental situation, it is argued that solutions-focused thinking runs counter both to the underlying assumptions of much environmentalist literature, and to basic psychoanalytic insights concerning the nature of change. Emphasis on action and the theme of adaptation is portrayed as being fundamentally opposed to a more substantive shift in consciousness.
Keeping Up With the Clock: Circadian Disruption and Obesity Risk.

Estimates of obesity prevalence based on the 2013 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey average almost 40%, corresponding to a 7% increase from the 1999 to 2000 cycle.1 Similar alarming trajectories are reported worldwide,2 along with increasing concerns for related health risks. The traditional concept that obesity results from a mere imbalance between energy intake and energy consumption has evolved to incorporate novel modulating factors that may be targeted to develop preventative strategies. One such example is the potential role of disruption of circadian rhythms. In this brief review, the physiology of circadian control of body weight and metabolism and the implications of altered circadian rhythms for obesity risk in humans will be discussed, together with potential countermeasures that may mitigate such consequences. The focus is on evidence accumulated from human studies. For a comprehensive review on the molecular mechanisms underlying the clock in metabolism and obesity, we direct the interested readers to Eckel-Mahan and Sassone-Corsi.3 Circadian systems have evolved as biological mechanisms to facilitate adaptation to the daily change from day to night, with related changes in activity and other behaviors. The intrinsic oscillatory system enables organisms to optimally synchronize their physiological and behavioral rhythms to the 24-hour solar day. Although humankind has been aware of the existence of periodicity in natural phenomena, the origins of chronobiology as a science are relatively recent and can be traced back to the seventeenth century, with the landmark studies of Jean-Jacques de Mairan, a French astronomer. De Mairan noted that the daily leaf movements of the Mimosa plant, synchronous with the day–night cycle, persisted even in the absence of light exposure. Based on these observations, he hypothesized an endogenous botanical rhythm driving the plant movements. Confirmation of this was provided by the Swiss botanist Augustus Pyramus de …
Lack of Lipid Raft Domain Reorganization Following Ligation of CD20 Is Associated with Resistance to Rituximab-Induced Complement-Dependent Cytotoxicity.

The chimeric monoclonal antibody (mAb) rituximab has previously been shown to induce cell death upon binding surface CD20 of normal and malignant B-cells by three distinct and complementary mechanisms: complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), and direct apoptosis. The contribution of each of these mechanisms to the clinical efficacy of rituximab observed in lymphoma patients has yet to be fully elucidated. While laboratory and clinical data supports a role for CDC, ADCC, and/or direct signaling in rituximab activity, a better understanding of individual mechanisms and their interaction is necessary to develop strategies to improve rituximab’s biological activity or overcome resistance. Several previous studies have demonstrated that rituximab has the ability to induce lipid raft domain (LRD) polarization and stabilization of CD20 in LRDs. The contribution of LRD re-organization to complement activation following rituximab binding to surface CD20 was studied in rituximab-resistant B-cell NHL cells and MOLT-4 T-cell lymphoma cells transfected with wild-type and truncated forms of CD20. Rituximab-resistant cell lines (RRCL) were generated from well characterized B-cell lymphoma cell lines (Raji, RL, SU-DHL-4) by exposing them to increasing concentrations of rituximab or rituximab plus human serum as a source of complement. Individual clones were then isolated by limiting dilution from RRCL and the parental cell lines from which they were derived. Standard 51Cr-release assays were used to measure CDC-associated cell lysis following exposure of cells to rituximab in the presence of human serum. Following repeated exposure to increasing concentrations of rituximab (alone or in the presence of human serum) most clones were found to be significantly more resistant to rituximab-induced CDC than parental cells from which they were derived. Rituximab-sensitive cells were found to rapidly polarize CD20-containing lipid raft domains following rituximab binding whereas resistant cells demonstrated significant impairment of this process. Upon chemical disruption of lipid rafts in sensitive cells, the ability of rituximab to induce CDC was significantly reduced. Additionally, MOLT-4 T-cells transfected with truncated forms of CD20 were shown to have a reduced ability to polarize into lipid rafts following anti-CD20 binding and to have a significant loss of rituximab-induced CDC. Taken together these data suggest that lipid raft polarization following rituximab binding to wild-type CD20 is a required event in the induction of CDC and that impairment of lipid raft polarization is a potential mechanism contributing to rituximab resistance.
Mindfulness as an end-state: construction of a trait measure of mindfulness

Abstract Mindfulness has been studied extensively in both basic and clinical settings; however, discussions still persist. The current research approached this issue by creating a new measure of trait mindfulness. The construct defined within is end-state mindfulness and is a tendency to see things as they are moment by moment without any judgment. The newly created scale was validated in three studies. End-state mindfulness was negatively correlated with rumination, suppression, neuroticism, and better-than-average effect, but was not correlated with both positive and negative trait-affectivity; it also moderated negative emotional reactions in the context of mortality salience. End-state mindfulness was differentiated from the past measure of mindfulness in many aspects.
Student Achievement in Undergraduate Statistics: The Value of Encouraging Failure

This article details what resulted when I re-designed my undergraduate statistics course to allow failure as a learning strategy and focused on achievement rather than performance. A variety of within and between class t-tests are utilized to determine the impact of unlimited test and quiz opportunities on student learning on both quizzes and subsequent assignments in two undergraduate statistics courses (one a 15-week hybrid and one a 6-week online course). The results show that the previous DFW rate was reduced, and no significant difference in outcomes was found between the two different course modalities. Furthermore, students achieved significantly higher on their last quiz and test attempts on every instrument in both semesters, with large effect sizes. Corresponding assignments showed students achieved significantly higher than the mean first attempt, but significantly lower than final mean quiz attempt scores, showing that some knowledge was not carried over to application. The article concludes by evaluating the results of unlimited testing with minimum standards and the limitations of the study and the pedagogical model.
Unrecognized Odd Lot Liquidity Supply: A Hidden Trading Cost for High Priced Stocks

Current National Market System rules do not recognize odd lots in the protected intermarket quote. Thus, liquidity demanders can receive worse prices than they would receive if odd lots were protected. The effect of ignoring odd lots is magnified because off-exchange trades (over one-third of total volume) benchmark executions against the protected quote. The authors identify time intervals with an unprotected odd lot limit order at a price better than the protected quote and examine trades during those intervals for 10 high-priced stocks during one week in 2015. They find over 406,000 intervals, representing 37% of sample stock trading time, in which an odd lot order betters the protected quote. Examining trades within these intervals, they find nearly 55,000 cases in which the trade price is worse than the odd lot price. In total, the price disimprovement in their 10 stocks is $554,675 for the week examined. This previously undocumented trading cost is associated with the corporate decision not to split a stock’s price in a market in which odd lot orders are excluded from the protected quote.
Cardiomyopathy Mutations in the Converter Domain of Human Beta-Cardiac Myosin Impairs Mechanochemistry in the Presence and Absence of Load

Missense mutations in human β-cardiac myosin are associated with inherited cardiomyopathies, a leading cause of heart failure worldwide. The mechanisms for how mutations alter myosin's motor performance are still unclear. We expressed and purified human beta-cardiac myosin subfragment 1 (M2β-S1) containing point mutations that are associated with hypertrophic (R723G) or dilated (F764L) cardiomyopathy. We demonstrate that both the R723G and F764L mutations slow down the maximum actin-activated ATPase activity (20-30%). Direct measurements of the ADP release rate constant in the presence of actin using mant labeled ADP demonstrate R723G has a 35% faster ADP release while F764L has a 20% slower ADP release compared to wild-type. Since the actin-activated ATPase is reduced in both mutants, it suggests a slower actin-activated phosphate release rate constant or slower transition between actomyosin.ADP states. The in vitro motility assay demonstrates relatively small differences compared to wild-type, with a 5-10% higher actin sliding velocity for R723G and 5-10% slower velocity for F764L. We also examined the sliding velocity as a function of ADP concentration, which provides information about the strain sensitivity of the mutants. We found that both mutants were less sensitive to ADP inhibition of in vitro actin sliding velocity suggesting reduced strain sensitivity. Therefore, we propose that both the hypertrophic R723G mutation and dilated F764L mutation have slower ATPase kinetics in the absence of load, while the mechanochemistry in the presence of load indicates a reduced ability to adapt to higher loads.
De jure versus de facto institutions: trust, information, and collective efforts to manage the invasive mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha)

Differences in governance relationships and community efforts to remove an exotic, rapidly spreading invasive plant, the-mile-a-minute weed ( Mikania micrantha ), are explored in five case study community forests in the subtropical region of Chitwan, Nepal. An institutional analysis informs an examination of the de jure (formal) versus de facto (on the ground) institutions and actor relationships relevant to Mikania removal efforts. Contrary to the expectations set by the de jure situation, we find heterogeneous governance relationships and norms related to Mikania management across community forests. Content analysis of interview data illuminates reoccurring themes and their implications for social and ecological outcomes in the communities. Complex governance relationships and regular discussion of distrust of government and non-government officials help explain collective action efforts and management decisions. The content analysis suggests that Mikania is impacting people’s daily lives but the degree of severity and the response to the disruption varies substantially and is heavily affected by other problems experienced by community forest members. Our results indicate that understanding how the de facto, or on the ground situation, differs from the de jure institutions may be vital in structuring successful efforts to manage invasive species and understanding collective action problems related to other social-ecological threats. We present data-informed propositions about common pool resource management and invasive species. This study contributes to a better scientific understanding of how institutions mediate social-ecological challenges influencing common pool resources more broadly.
Androgen receptor (AR) expression in primary breast cancer (BC): Correlations with clinical characteristics and outcomes.

1072Background: AR is expressed in BC and may be a discrete subtype of triple negative (TN) BC. Recent trials showed modest efficacy of AR antagonists in AR+ TNBC. We investigated associations betw...
Persistent hypothyroid symptoms in a patient with a normal thyroid stimulating hormone level.

Purpose of reviewA subset of patients being treated for hypothyroidism do not feel well while taking levothyroxine (LT4) replacement therapy, despite having a normal serum thyroid stimulating hormone level. Pursuing a relative triiodothyronine deficiency as a potential explanation for patient dissat
Targeting AXL and mTOR pathway overcomes primary and acquired resistance to WEE1 inhibition in small-cell lung cancer

Purpose: Drugs targeting DNA repair and cell-cycle checkpoints have emerged as promising therapies for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Among these, the WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 has shown clinical activity in a subset of SCLC patients, but resistance is common. Understanding primary and acquired resistance mechanisms will be critical for developing effective WEE1 inhibitor combinations.Experimental Design: AZD1775 sensitivity in SCLC cell lines was correlated with baseline expression level of 200 total or phosphorylated proteins measured by reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) to identify predictive markers of primary resistance. We further established AZD1775 acquired resistance models to identify mechanism of acquired resistance. Combination regimens were tested to overcome primary and acquired resistance to AZD1775 in in vitro and in vivo SCLC models.Results: High-throughput proteomic profiling demonstrate that SCLC models with primary resistance to AZD1775 express high levels of AXL and phosphorylated S6 and that WEE1/AXL or WEE1/mTOR inhibitor combinations overcome resistance in vitro and in vivo Furthermore, AXL, independently and via mTOR, activates the ERK pathway, leading to recruitment and activation of another G2-checkpoint protein, CHK1. AZD1775 acquired resistance models demonstrated upregulation of AXL, pS6, and MET, and resistance was overcome with the addition of AXL (TP0903), dual-AXL/MET (cabozantinib), or mTOR (RAD001) inhibitors.Conclusions: AXL promotes resistance to WEE1 inhibition via downstream mTOR signaling and resulting activation of a parallel DNA damage repair pathway, CHK1. These findings suggest rational combinations to enhance the clinical efficacy of AZD1775, which is currently in clinical trials for SCLC and other malignancies. Clin Cancer Res; 23(20); 6239-53. ©2017 AACR.
Performance competitiveness of a statically compiled language for server-side Web applications

Web developers generally prefer coding in dynamically compiled or scripting languages, such as Java and JavaScript, because those languages allow them to deploy applications quickly to deliver new features and bug fixes in a timely manner. In this paper, we compared the Go language, a popular statically compiled language, with two dynamically compiled languages, JavaScript and Java. We evaluated the Acme Air benchmark for three implementations — one in each language. Our experimental results have shown that the Go implementation achieved a 3.8x and 2.4x higher throughput than the JavaScript and Java implementations respectively, after a simple tuning in the server configuration. Our detailed analysis indicated that this is primarily because Go suffers less from polymorphism due to static typing than JavaScript, and because the Web framework for Go causes less overhead to process RESTful Web service requests than that for Java. We argue that statically compiled languages will play more significant roles for Web applications because of their performance advantages and also because of emerging continuous integration and deployment methodologies which eliminate some of the shortcomings in statically compiled languages over dynamically compiled and scripting languages.
Double-side exposure UV-LED CNC lithography for fine 3D microfabrication

This paper presents a double-side-exposure scheme based on computer-numerical-controlled (CNC) UVLED lithography for fine 3-D microfabrication. The CNC UV-LED lithography manipulates the exposure angle of the UV light where the system comprises a switchable, movable UV-LED array as a light source, a motorized tilt-rotational sample holder, and a computer-control unit. The double-sided exposure scheme utilizes an additional photomask on top of the photoresist-bearing photomask/substrate. The CNC UV-LED apparatus programmably introduces tilt-rotational UV light through the two photomasks via sequential exposure of each side by use of a synchronized switchable UV light source. This creates user-definable 3-D light traces, which are transferred into the photosensitive resist. This approach enables the fabrication of new 3-D structures that have previously been impossible to implement using single-side exposure lithography. Sample fabricated 3D microstructures include a micro spear, a micro golf club, a micro folder, and a micro bird. Arrays of micro ‘y’ and micro mushroom structures are demonstrated as batch fabrications.
Hormone Therapy Adjuvant to Radiotherapy in Non-Metastatic Prostate Cancer Settings

Background:Hormone therapy is commonly used with radiotherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer. Aim:To provide a single-institution analysis of the benefits of hormone therapy with radiotherapy in different non-metastatic prostate cancer scenarios. Methods:The records of 527 patients receiving radiotherapy for locally advanced, localized, and post-prostatectomy disease were reviewed. For the 422 patients with localized disease, biochemical failure-free survival curves were generated for patients receiving or not receiving hormone therapy (with biochemical failure defined as three successive rises after prostate-specific antigen nadir). The survival curves were compared using the log-rank test and a multivariate analysis of all major patient, disease, and treatment factors was performed. Additionally, failure rates were compared using the chi-square test to determine the benefit of hormone therapy across each of the locally advanced, localized, and post-prostatectomy settings. Results:An advantage for the use of hormone therapy compared with radiotherapy alone was observed in the population with localized disease (3-year biochemical failure-free survival 78% vs 75%; p = 0.029). Of the patient, disease, and treatment factors analyzed, only clinical T-stage (p = 0.002), radiation dose (p = 0.006), and hormone therapy (p = 0.016) reached statistical significance on multivariate analysis. Furthermore, lower failure rates occured (with at least a trend observed [p < 0.10]) in patients receiving hormone therapy in each clinical scenario, with the exception of the localized low-risk subgroup. Conclusion:In a single-institution analysis, the addition of hormone therapy to radiotherapy was advantageous in all settings of non-metastatic prostate cancer except that of the very earliest disease presentation.
Information Technology Investment and the Timeliness of Financial Reports

ABSTRACT Information technology (IT) can be harnessed to improve the efficiency of the production of financial reports and the efficiency of the audits of these reports. Using firm-level IT data of...
The “Magic” Positive-to-Negative Interaction Ratio: Benefits, Applications, Cautions, and Recommendations:

In an article published in 2000, Flora indicated that 5:1 is the “magic” ratio of positive-to-negative interactions. Flora’s position is characteristic of the pervasive idea that there is a “magic”...
VAX COBOL On-Line: Interactive Programming Concepts and Examples

Introduction to Interactive Processing Comparing VAX and IBM/CICS On-Line Processing Menu-Based Interactive Systems Designing Computer Terminal Screens VAX File Commands and the EDT Text Editor Compiling, Linkage Editing, and Running on the VAX ACCEPT and DISPLAY in VAX COBOL CALC1: Your First Conversational Program CALC2 and CALC3: More Effective Screen Handling Creating and Using Indexed Files VAXDEMO: A Complete Menu-Based On-Line System Interactive Inquiry: Program CINQU1 Interactive Add/Change: Program CUPD1 Interactive Delete: Program CDEL1 Interactive Alternate Key Browse: Program CBROW1 Advanced Features: Direct Transfer and Record Locking Appendices.
AC Electric Dynamometer System for End-of-Line Engine Hot Test

An AC electric motor drive system has been evaluated as a means of engine loading for production engine hot testing. It has been demonstrated that an 80% reduction in test cycle stabilization time is possible when compared with the water brake dynamometer that is commonly used in production engine testing. Hot testing is normally a bottleneck in engine assembly, and the number of test stands is a direct function of the length of the test cycle. The steady state cycle that is used for engine testing may be reduced by quickly stabilizing the speed/load settings. The cycle may be further reduced by shortening the duration of the steady state sampling condition when the speed/load setting is held more accurately (fewer samples are required). The AC drive demonstrated a set point stabilization time of 4 seconds or less and speed control accuracy of 0.25%. The drive system evaluated is an AC adjustable speed drive with adjustable frequency static conversion. The drive will absorb power from the engine and deliver it to the AC power line through automatic regeneration as well as motor the engine as required. The transition from motoring to absorption is automatically controlled. Speed is regulated with the ACmore » motor and torque is regulated with the engine via the throttle.« less
Scalar fields on λ-deformed cosets

Abstract We study dynamics of scalar fields on a large class of geometries described by integrable sigma models. Although equations of motion are not separable due to absence of isometries and Killing tensors, we completely determine the spectra using algebraic and group-theoretic methods.
Extremely low levels of low-density lipoprotein potentially suggestive of familial hypobetalipoproteinemia: A separate phenotype of NAFLD?

Background Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels below 50 mg/dL may suggest familial hypobetalipoproteinemia, particularly in patients with hepatic steatosis. The prevalence of hypobetalipoproteinemia in cohorts with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not known, and it is not clear whether the severity of liver disease of these patients is different. The objective of this study was to address these questions in a large pediatric NAFLD cohort. Methods Retrospective study of children followed at the Steatohepatitis Center of a tertiary care center from August 2010 to October 2017. Patients with secondary causes of hepatic steatosis and those on statins were excluded. Results Of the 740 patients included, 58 (8%) had hypobetalipoproteinemia. These patients were younger (P = .04), had a lower body mass index (P Conclusion Hypobetalipoproteinemia is common among patients with NAFLD and is associated with similar liver disease severity in spite of a leaner phenotype and a more favorable metabolic profile.
Convolutional Neural Network Approach for Robust Structural Damage Detection and Localization

AbstractDamage diagnosis has been a challenging inverse problem in structural health monitoring. The main difficulty is characterizing the unknown relation between the measurements and damage patte...
Measuring sleep in young children and their mothers: Identifying actigraphic sleep composites:

The present study considered multiple aspects of sleep in a community sample of young children (at ages 30, 36, and 42 months) and their mothers, using both diaries and actigraphy. Through principal components analysis, 17 of 20 commonly used actigraphy variables were reduced to four main components whose variables formed composites of: Activity, night-to-night Variability, Timing, and Duration. Sleep latency and daytime sleep variables remained separate from the composites. The same components were identified at each age, and for both children and mothers. Furthermore, the sleep composites derived from the components showed greater cross-age stability than individual actigraphy variables. Finally, child and mother sleep composites were related concurrently and longitudinally. These findings demonstrate a systematic and efficient way of summarizing child and mother sleep with actigraphy variables.
Managerial Careers and Organization-Wide Transformations

Organizations grow and perpetuate themselves not only because of their products, but also because of their people. Large organizations generally create career patterns through which people move, become committed to the organization, and become capable of managing larger parts of the business. Indeed, career patterns often reflect an organization’s human resource solutions to critical business problems -- a reflection of business strategy and organizational culture as well as a resource for creating new strategy.
Surgery: When to Operate and When to Resuscitate and What Kind of Operation?

Despite significant advances in endoscopic and interventional radiologic therapeutic technologies and resuscitation techniques, non-variceal upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage remains a challenge for providers, and the mortality from it remains substantial. Because of the advent of proton-pump inhibitors, the treatment of Helicobacter pylori, and the aforementioned advancement of endoscopic and interventional angiographic techniques, surgery for peptic ulcers is a relative rarity. Furthermore, the generation of surgeons that had mastery of the surgical techniques used to manage difficult peptic ulcer-related surgical complications is retiring or nearing retirement. Multidisciplinary approaches to upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage are therefore common and beneficial to patients but can provide a challenge in terms of leadership, coordination, and decision-making. It is incumbent on providers caring for these patients to have a broad understanding of the diagnostic and therapeutic techniques available to them to provide rapid and coordinated care.
In News We Trust?: Examining Credibility and Sharing Behaviors of Fake News

New communication technologies afford individuals the ability to not only consume media, but also create and share content with others. The purpose of this study is to investigate various factors that influence perceptions of credibility and sharing behaviors. Unfortunately, information disseminated via the Internet does not always contain factual, unbiased information. This study randomly assigned 207 participants to one of six conditions where they were exposed to news articles containing factual or false information and one of three political frames (balanced, right-leaning, left-leaning) to identify the environmental (distraction levels and screen size) and individual factors (political interest and religiosity) that influence perceptions of credibility and sharing behavior. Results suggests that credibility positively influenced sharing behavior, regardless of condition. Additionally, political interest was found as a positive predictor of sharing behavior and religiosity was found as a positive predictor of credibility. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications.
Pen to the tiller: Land reform and social mobility across the 1979 Iranian revolution

Author(s): Harris, K; Kalb, Z | Abstract: Giovanni Arrighi joined together questions of agrarian political economy with questions concerning the livelihoods of rural migrants and the fate of peasant communities as they dissipated. In this article, we apply Arrighi's concerns to the case of Iran to examine how processes of agrarian transformation link with trends in social stratification and upward mobility. First, we argue that land reform implemented during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi contributed to a heterogenous social differentiation of the Iranian peasantry. Second, we claim that the widening of access to credentials fostered by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's Islamic Republic laid the tracks by which peasants and rural households could convert landholding assets into newly accessible forms of cultural capital. The benefits of these transformational processes, however, fell disproportionately to the rural middle strata created under the Pahlavi monarchy. Through the use of a new survey dataset, we show how pre-1979 land reform in Iran favoured segments of the peasantry, not for those who remained in rural agricultural production, but instead for those who utilized landholdings as a means to transfer status and opportunities to their children after the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Oncology and Spine Pain

Cancer pain is a significant problem that can severely impact the quality of life of patients and result in increased healthcare utilization. Bone pain is the most common cancer pain syndrome and often arises in the context of spinal metastases. A diagnostic approach to pain arising in the spine can simultaneously rule out potential oncologic emergencies and yield an effective therapeutic plan. The therapeutic approach to managing spine pain in the oncologic population should involve a multimodal, multidisciplinary approach. This chapter will explore a wide array of pharmacologic options, including the role of NSAIDs, corticosteroids, bisphosphonates, RANK-ligand inhibitors, and opioid therapies to manage spine pain. Non-pharmacologic interventions such as radiation, vertebral augmentation, radionuclide therapy, and neuraxial drug delivery will also be discussed. Indications and considerations for spine surgery will also be examined.
Recognizing subsurface target responses in ground penetrating radar data using convolutional neural networks

Improved performance in the discrimination of buried threats using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data has recently been achieved using features developed for applications in computer vision. These features, designed to characterize local shape information in images, have been utilized to recognize patches that contain a target signature in two-dimensional slices of GPR data. While these adapted features perform very well in this GPR application, they were not designed to specifically differentiate between target responses and background GPR data. One option for developing a feature specifically designed for target differentiation is to manually design a feature extractor based on the physics of GPR image formation. However, as seen in the historical progression of computer vision features, this is not a trivial task. Instead, this research evaluates the use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) applied to two-dimensional GPR data. The benefit of using a CNN is that features extracted from the data are a learned parameter of the system. This has allowed CNN implementations to achieve state of the art performance across a variety of data types, including visual images, without the need for expert designed features. However, the implementation of a CNN must be done carefully for each application as network parameters can cause performance to vary widely. This paper presents results from using CNNs for object detection in GPR data and discusses proper parameter settings and other considerations.
G87 It’s a ‘druggle’: reducing drug errors and disseminating learning

Aims Our aim was to improve team awareness of medication errors on the general paediatric ward by June 2019. We hoped that this would: Improve safe prescribing; Reduce medication errors. Methods An audit revealed frequent and serious administration and prescribing errors on the general paediatric ward. Over a half were administration errors and a third were prescribing errors. Other trusts have implemented discussions around drug errors known as a ‘Druggle’. We have replicated the idea but adapted it to make it relevant to our trust. A multipronged, multidisciplinary intervention was planned using a PDSA approach which included: implementing a weekly Druggle, to be attended by the multidisciplinary team (MDT). The purpose of our Druggle is to review all the drug errors and near misses from the previous week with discussion and action points on how to reduce the likelihood of the errors recurring; dissemination of learning points from the Druggle; restructuring the paediatric prescribing induction. Outcome measures: weekly attendance at the druggle; dissemination of learning; restructure of the paediatric prescribing induction; total number of drug errors (as recorded on Datix). Results Our run chart demonstrates that a steady increase in attendance at the Druggle, now maintained at 100% for a number of months. There was a temporary fall in attendance when there was a change in the staff leading the project, which resolved with new leadership. Learning is disseminated at nursing huddles and highlights in the monthly governance letter. The paediatric prescribing induction has been restructured to test basic paediatric prescribing skills and prescriptions to be successfully completed on the electronic prescribing system. There has been a sustained reduction in drug errors over time with an overall 24% reduction in administration and prescribing drug errors comparing the 8 weeks pre and post-intervention. Conclusions Drug errors are trending downwards with nearly a quarter reduction in errors. This project is particularly valuable as the education is ongoing and weekly action taken. There were several challenges and areas for learning: finding a convenient location and time; MDT involvement in planning and implementation; encouraging pharmacy to take ownership and the need for a project lead to ensure sustainability.