cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transitions in the Prophylaxis, Treatment and Care of Patients with Venous Thromboembolism.

Introduction Patients experience numerous transitions, including changes in clinical status, pharmacologic treatment and prophylaxis, and progression through the physical locations of their healthcare setting as they advance through a venous thromboembolism (VTE) clinical experience. This review provides an overview of these transitions and highlights how they can impact clinical care.
Benefit of adjunctive tacrolimus in connective tissue disease-interstitial lung disease☆

We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of adjunctive tacrolimus therapy with conventional immunosuppression in patients with severe connective tissue disease-related interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD). We included patients from our interstitial lung disease (ILD) registry with CTD-ILD, in whom tacrolimus was added to corticosteroids and an additional immunosuppressive agent. Demographic data, clinical features, lung function, radiographic images, and pathologic findings were reviewed. Effectiveness was assessed by comparing pulmonary function tests (PFTs) closest to tacrolimus initiation to PFTs approximately 6-12 months later. Corticosteroid dose at these time points was also evaluated. We report adverse events attributed to tacrolimus. Seventeen patients with CTD-ILD were included in adverse event analysis; twelve were included in efficacy analysis. Length of tacrolimus therapy ranged from 6 to 110 months (mean 38.8 months ± 31.4). The mean improvement in percent predicted total lung capacity was 7.5% ± 11.7 (p = 0.02). Forced vital capacity mean improvement was 7.4% ± 12.5 (p = 0.06). The average decrease in corticosteroid dose at follow-up was 20.3 mg ± 25.2 (p = 0.02) with complete discontinuation in six patients. No patients experienced a life-threatening adverse event attributed to tacrolimus. Tacrolimus can be effective and is well tolerated as an adjunctive therapy and allows tapering of corticosteroids.
Sources of Our Increasing Food Supply

MERICAN agriculture has performed magnificently in providing a A sufficient quantity of food for our increasing consuming population and in improving the quality of food as well. Total output of farm products has been vastly expanded. A relevant question is whether the nation's farms and ranches will set as good a record in years to come. Several recent studies have examined the potential capacity of agriculture to continue to feed the constantly mounting population foreseen for ten or twenty or more years.' The adequacy of future food supplies is a proper topic at any time. Nevertheless, its prominence lately is to be attributed partly to the persistently high birth rate of the last decade and a half. During the 1930's when the rate of population growth seemed to be slowing, needs for the future received little consideration. But the population gain has doubled in speed, with projections inclining steadily upward to forecasts for 1975 ranging from 199 to 221 million persons, and there is apprehension as to the long run outlook.2 Concern for the future food supply may also have been stimulated by the especially strong demand for food the last few years. During the war and the 1946-48 and 1950-52 inflations when requirements for food were heavy and prices high, emphasis on meeting current needs brought to mind the problem of meeting the greater needs of the future.
Slavery, Antislavery, and the Coming of the Civil War

This essay argues that law worked on two levels during the antebellum era: below the radar, law facilitated the routine functioning of the slave system and mediated the tensions among slaves, slaveholders and non-slaveholders. Above the surface, law was the object of contest between Southern pro-slavery and Northern anti-slavery forces over the future of slavery in the Union. Through a succession of constitutional "crises" involving slaves who fled to Free states and migrants who brought slaves to new territories, competing views of the legality and constitutionality of slavery increasingly came into direct conflict in legal as well as political arenas. As slaves who resisted their masters or ran away pushed difficult issues of human agency into the courtroom, they also pushed the anomalous constitutional status of slavery into the forefront of political debate, adding to growing Northern fears of an ascendant "Slave Power" conquering not only political institutions but the Constitution itself. Increasingly central on both of these levels of legal activity was the ideology of race.
How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein

How It Feels to Be Free is a vital work of civil rights movement history and black performance scholarship. In lucid prose, Ruth Feldstein examines a ‘loosely connected cohort’ of musicians and act...
Residues from 1-Bromochlordene Against European Corn Borer on Corn

The insecticide 1-bromochlordene (1-bromo-4,5,6,7,8,8-hexachloro-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-methanoindene) showed some promise in field screening tests against European corn borer, Pyrausta nubilalis (Hubner). In developing residue data, a study was undertaken to show the rate of loss from treated corn plants in field plots. Since 1-bromochlordene is closely related to heptachlor which forms an epoxide, the presence of a similar metabolite was considered possible and therefore investigated. Because no method had previously appeared in the chemical literature for the quantitative detection of this compound or its epoxide (l-bromo-4,5,6,7,8,8-hexachloro-2,3-epoxy-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-methanoindan), methods of analysis had to be established.
CCSU Moonbuggy Vehicle Design, Building and Competition

In Spring 2008 Central Connecticut State University Department of Engineering offered a new project, named “Lunar Rover Vehicle”, as a senior capstone design project. Main goals of the project were to attract engineering students to aerospace related applications and implement existing NASA educational programs in a senior capstone real-world design challenge. In Spring 2008 engineering technology student team developed conceptual schematics of Moonbuggy vehicle, calculated and optimized several parameters of the frame, suspension system, and transmission mechanism. Many components of Moonbuggy frame, suspension and transmission were designed. In fall 2008, the new mechanical engineering major student team continued working on the existing vehicle. The initial findings were presented at the 47 AIAA Aerospace Science Meeting (Orlando, FL, January 5-8, 2009). In spring 2009 Mechanical Engineering students completed the design and fabrication of Moonbuggy vehicle and participated in 16 NASA Great Moonbuggy Races. Three semesters of experience with the project demonstrated that it is very suitable for offering engineering students unique opportunities to improve their analytical abilities, develop design, organizational and project management skills, gain experience in working in multidisciplinary teams, solve cutting-edge engineering problems, and familiarize themselves with aerospace challenges which will positively impact and enhance their chances of success as practicing engineers.
Matthew Arnold and Science

The central axiom of Mathew Arnold's cultural arithmetic is well known; less familiar is this curiously precise elaboration: And, as the discipline of conduct is three-fourths of life, for our aesthetic and intellectual disciplines, real as these are, there is but one-fourth of life left; and if we let art and science divide this one-fourth fairly between them, they will have just one-eighth of life each.
Suppression of an Isolated Population of the Tobacco Hornworm , , with Blacklight Traps Unbaited or Baited with Virgin Female Moths

Populations of Manduca sexta (L.) were reduced by 86% on St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands, when blacklight traps at a density of 3/mile2 were operated for 43 months; during the last 22 months, most traps were baited with virgin female tobacco hornworm moths. The collections indicated that hornworms were present throughout the year and that 2 periods of high population occurred each year, both associated with rainy seasons. When the collections of females from 9 traps operated for a year before the mass trapping began were used as a base for comparison, the yearly reductions in the mean collections for 12 months ending in December were: 60% from 1966 to 1967; 51% from 1967 to 1968; and 24% from 1968 to 1969. Annual operation of blacklight traps during the periods of maximum activity of the tobacco hornworm moth would reduce populations of the insect in similar situations and probably also in continental land masses.
The Impact of Advertising and Media on the Arab Culture: The Case of the Arab Spring, Public Spheres, and Social Media

The Arab world has experienced some unprecedented social movements, labeled by the media as the Arab Spring. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of public policy, advertising, media, and public spheres on the Arab Spring. The media and economic policies enacted in the Arab world in the 1990s played a significant role in changing consumer culture in the Arab region, resulting in significant changes in public policy. Two studies were conducted to test how the change in consumer culture along with new public polices in the region contributed to the uprisings.
Insight into the Scientific Research Accomplishment in a University Though Statistical Study of their Key-journal Essays:A Case Study Based on NCCMU

By using the digital journal whole essay database from Wanfang Data Co.Ltd,totally 1679 essays from China key journals during 1997～2008 were retrieved.The authors of these essays are all from North China Coal Medical University(NCCMU).Statistical analysis was carried out concerning their literature increase tendency,general description of the authors,and their disciplinary distribution,as well as the citation of the essays.Results of the analysis show that an annual increase tendency of the number of the essays published in the national key journals has been revealed,and that the authors are mostly from departments that are closely related with teaching,and that the content of the literature is mainly associated with the major disciplines such as clinical medicine,basic medicine and preventive medicine.
Evaluation of surgical procedures. Changing patterns of patient selection and costs in heart transplantation.

During the past 4 years we have observed a marked increase in costs of heart transplantation in our center. This trend coincides with a shift in our recipient population toward the more severely ill patients. The percentage of patients bound for the intensive care unit has doubled. In analyzing the components of cost, we find that the length of stay, both in special care and regular nursing units, accounts for most of the cost increase. In our study of outcomes we find no significant difference in survival, at 1 month and 1 year, between recipients operated on from the intensive care unit and those not in intensive care. We find that at 1 year after transplantation, approximately 80 % of patients are rehabilitated, which we define as the ability to work or to go to school. Only 20% of patients are off disability rolls, however, primarily because of problems related to insurance and the cost of continuing care, including drugs. We conclude that the comprehensive evaluation of surgical procedures requires an approach that balances costs with results on a continuing and long-term basis. (J T horac C ardiovasc S urg 1992;104:1308-13)
Effective Time Management Strategies for Conducting Laboratory Research

Success in academic surgery as a surgeon-scientist requires excellence in clinical care, excellence in research, excellence in teaching, excellence in administration, and work-life balance. Junior faculty members are faced with the challenge of, for the first time in their professional development, being fully responsible for how they prioritize and divide their time and effort. This chapter discusses the concept of context switching and presents techniques to minimize its effects on clinical and research productivity. Additionally, we provide techniques for time management as they pertain to the daily and weekly schedule of the budding surgeon-scientist. We present a set of research goals and a timeline for accomplishing these goals over the first year of faculty appointment. Finally, the importance of maintaining work-life balance and techniques to achieve this goal are presented.
Generating an image that affords slant perception from stereo, without pictorial cues

This paper describes an algorithm for generating a planar image that when tilted provides stereo cues to slant, without contamination from pictorial gradients. As the stimuli derived from this image are ultimately intended for use in studies of slant perception under magnification, a further requirement is that the generated image be suitable for high-definition printing or display on a monitor. A first stage generates an image consisting of overlapping edges with sufficient density that when zoomed, edges that nearly span the original scale are replaced with newly emergent content that leaves the visible edge statistics unchanged. A second stage reduces intensity clumping while preserving edges by enforcing a broad dynamic range across the image. Spectral analyses demonstrate that the low-frequency content of the resulting image, which would correspond to the pictorial cue of texture gradient changes under slant, (a) has a power fall-off deviating from 1/f noise (to which the visual system is particularly sensitive), and (b) does not offer systematic cues under changes in scale or slant. Two behavioral experiments tested whether the algorithm generates stimuli that offer cues to slant under stereo viewing only, and not when disparities are eliminated. With a particular adjustment of dynamic range (and nearly so with the other version that was tested), participants viewing without stereo cues were essentially unable to discriminate slanted from flat (frontal) stimuli, and when slant was reported, they failed to discriminate its direction. In contrast, non-stereo viewing of a control stimulus with pictorial cues, as well as stereoscopic observation, consistently allowed participants to perceive slant correctly. Experiment 2 further showed that these results generalized across a population of different stimuli from the same generation process and demonstrated that the process did not substitute biased slant cues.
Unplanned Readmission After Lung Resection: Complete Follow-Up in a 1-Year Cohort With Identification of Associated Risk Factors.

Background Unplanned readmissions are adverse clinical events that negatively impact patients and affect the use of health care resources. Identifying risk factors that can predict readmissions might permit individualized patient management. We compiled a complete account of readmissions after all lung resections over a year to identify potentially modifiable risk factors. Methods All patients undergoing elective lung resection between August 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014 were contacted directly to determine whether they had been readmitted to any institution within 30 days of discharge from our service. Demographic data were supplemented from our prospectively maintained database. Follow-up was complete in 100% of patients. Results Over the 12-month study period, 582 lung resections were performed. Five hundred fifty-four resections in 532 patients were performed with the thoracic surgical service as the primary service. Of these patients, 505 undergoing 521 resections consented for their data to be included in the study, and they all survived to 30 days. Mean age was 62.3 years (standard deviation [SD], 13.8 years). The male to female ratio was 265:240. Fifteen pneumonectomies, 222 lesser anatomic resections in 215 patients, and 270 nonanatomic (wedge) resections in 261 patients were performed; 14 other miscellaneous resections were performed in 14 patients. Thirty-day mortality was 1% (5 of 510 patients). There were 4 in-hospital deaths and 1 additional mortality within 30 days. Unplanned readmissions occurred in 42 patients (42 of 505 patients [8.3%])—28 (67%) at our institution and 14 (33%) at other institutions. The median interval to readmission was 14 days. Readmissions occurred in 7.3% of patients discharged home, whereas 19.4% of patients discharged to a nursing home or other facility required readmission ( p = 0.041). The most common reason for readmission was respiratory complications (47%). Significant factors ( p 1 ), longer operative time, perioperative furosemide administration, pain score of 6 or greater between 12 and 24 hours after the operation, prolonged air leakage (>5 days), blood transfusion, and discharge to a nursing home. Length of stay after lung resection was not a risk factor for unplanned readmission. Conclusions The unplanned readmission rate after lung resection for our cohort was 8.3%, with half resulting from respiratory issues. Risk factors in the preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative setting were identified that may provide opportunities for mitigating these adverse events.
"Martin Luther King Stopped Discrimination": Multi-Generational Latino Elementary Students' Perceptions of Social Issues.

This study explored how multi-generational, middle-class, fifth-graders from Latino families responded to classroom discussions of social issues—particularly discrimination—and draws upon sociocultural views of culture, educational theory, and sociological perspectives of immigration to provide insight into the learning experiences of one group of children of the Mexican diaspora. Findings include students: 1) perceived discrimination as historical; 2) maintained a distance from personal experiences; 3) understood social conflict through popular culture; and 4) promulgated American values of equity, fairness, and justice. Children‘s perceptions reveal complexities in negotiating their ways of knowing gleaned from varied in-school and out-of-school experiences.
Iodine Gas Adsorption in Nanoporous Materials: A Combined Experiment–Modeling Study

Here, we present a combined experimental and Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) modeling study on the adsorption of iodine in three classes of nanoporous materials: activated charcoals, zeolites, and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Iodine adsorption profiles were measured for the first time in situ, with a uniquely designed sorption apparatus. It was determined that pore size and pore environment are responsible for a dynamic adsorption profile, correlated with distinct pressure ranges. At pressures below 0.3 atm, iodine adsorption is governed by a combination of small pores and extra-framework components (e.g., Ag+ ions in the zeolite mordenite). At regimes above 0.3 atm, the amount of iodine gas stored relates with an increase in pore size and specific surface area. GCMC results validate the trends noted experimentally and in addition provide a measure of the strength of the adsorbate–adsorbent interactions in these materials.
Universal Quickest Spectrum Sensing

In modern cognitive ratio systems, the spectrum is becoming increasingly crowded and expensive; thus spectrum sensing becomes more important than ever before. Traditional spectrum sensing assumes Gaussian noise (or of other given distributions) in general. However when secondary users (SUs) have no prior information about the measurement distributions, the spectrum sensing schemes assuming given distribution forms (even if the parameters are assumed to be unknown) no longer apply. In this paper we propose a universal quickest change detection scheme based on density ratio estimation for spectrum sensing by detecting the sudden change of spectrum (e.g., the emergence of primary user), where neither the pre- change nor post-change distribution (even the distribution forms) is known to SUs, thus achieving robustness to complex spectrum environment.
Review: Adding anticholinergics to β2-agonists for asthma exacerbations reduces hospitalizations

Source Citation Kirkland SW, Vandenberghe C, Voaklander B, et al. Combined inhaled beta-agonist and anticholinergic agents for emergency management in adults with asthma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev...
Domestic wastewater treatment by soil biotechnology

Soil biotechnology (SBT) is a modern technology to treat the wastewater effectively, less costly, eco-friendly which uses the granular media like soil, gravels and sand, biological media like earthworms, bacteria and plants. This technology is useful where there is no sewer transportation is available. In this project I used alluvial soil, E-fetida earthworms and aloe vera plant to treat domestic wastewater of Shertha village, Gandhinagar. Analysis of the domestic wastewater and treated water is being done by IS: 3025 methods and the parameters are pH, TDS, TSS, BOD, COD and Ammonical Nitrogen. Experiments done on different intervals with HRT of 6, 8, 10 hours. As per results the range of percentage removal efficiency of TDS, TSS, BOD, COD and Ammonical Nitrogen are 65-75%, 64-74%, 75-90%, 75-92%, 55-65% respectively. Domestic wastewater is collected from open drainage of Shertha village near kalol, Gandhinagar. Treated water by SBT plant meets the discharge norms of pollution control board. There are no moving parts except the pump so, noise pollution is eliminated.
Nonadiabatic photodissociation dynamics of the hydroxymethyl radical via the 22A(3s) Rydberg state: A four-dimensional quantum study.

The quantum mechanical nonadiabatic photodissociation dynamics of the hydroxymethyl (CH2OH) radical in its lowest absorption band is investigated for the first time on a set of coupled diabatic potential energy surfaces determined by accurately fitting a large set of ab initio data. In this two-state approximation, only the ground and first excited states of CH2OH, which are coupled by conical intersections, are included. The reduced-dimensional dynamical model includes the CO stretch, the COH bend, the HCOH torsion, and the O–H dissociation coordinate. The experimentally measured hydrogen atom kinetic energy distribution is satisfactorily reproduced. The calculated product state distribution of the H2CO(X) fragment indicates strong vibrational excitation in the CO stretching mode, resulting from the relatively large difference in the C–O bond length between the ground and excited electronic states of CH2OH due to the photo-induced promotion of an electron from the half-occupied π*CO antibonding orbital t...
Timely, Reliable, and Cost-Effective Internet Transport Service Using Dissemination Graphs

Emerging applications such as remote manipulation and remote robotic surgery require communication that is both timely and reliable, but the Internet natively supports only communication that is either completely reliable with no timeliness guarantees (e.g. TCP) or timely with best-effort reliability (e.g. UDP). We present an overlay transport service that can provide highly reliable communication while meeting stringent timeliness guarantees (e.g. 130ms round-trip latency across the US) over the Internet. To enable routing schemes that can support the necessary timeliness and reliability, we introduce dissemination graphs, providing a unified framework for specifying routing schemes ranging from a single path, to multiple disjoint paths, to arbitrary graphs. We conduct an extensive analysis of real-world network data, finding that a routing approach using two disjoint paths performs well in most cases, and that cases where two disjoint paths do not perform well typically involve problems around a source or destination. Based on this analysis, we develop a timely dissemination-graph-based routing method that can add targeted redundancy in problematic areas of the network. This approach can cover over 99% of the performance gap between a traditional single-path approach and an optimal (but prohibitively expensive) scheme, while two dynamic disjoint paths cover about 70% of this gap, and two static disjoint paths cover about 45%. This performance improvement is obtained at a cost increase of about 2% over two disjoint paths.
Human Factors in Pharmacy

Medication errors in the ambulatory setting are common and contribute to significant morbidity and mortality. Given the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation of adopting a systems-based approach t...
Habitat selection differs across hierarchical behaviors: selection of patches and intensity of patch use

When animals select habitats, they integrate a suite of behaviors that are influenced by multiple competing resource requirements. Resources that influence decisions about habitat use are likely to differ across spatial scales and hierarchical behaviors. At coarser scales, animals are expected to select resources that are critical to fitness, and at finer scales, to intensively use resources that enhance fitness. Our goal was to contrast habitat selection at two hierarchical behavioral levels (patch selection and intensity of patch use) to test hypotheses about how resources shape habitat use. We applied a two-stage hurdle model to quantify both initial selection and intensity of use of resource patches by a burrowing herbivore, the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). We expected security from predation to influence initial selection of patches, and forage availability to influence intensity of use of selected patches. We monitored locations of adults fitted with radio-collars during winter and summer. We measured vegetation, burrow characteristics, and concealment cover within patches that were used and unused by rabbits, and we quantified burrow densities surrounding patches in a GIS. Selection of used patches from available patches was largely influenced by security resources (presence and proximity of burrows, shrub height, and woody ground cover) during both seasons. Intensity of patch use was also influenced by forage availability and, consequently, differed between seasons. During winter, sagebrush is the primary forage, and greater sagebrush canopy within a patch was associated with increased intensity of use. During summer, rabbits more intensively used patches with greater availability of herbaceous forage. Elucidating how animals make choices about habitats across a diversity of spatial and temporal scales will continue to increase our understanding of the factors that govern distribution of populations and movements of individuals. By extending these concepts to hierarchical behaviors, we can enhance insights into the processes that shape the patterns of habitat use we observe.
Pore Architecture and ion Sites of Acid Sensing ion Channels and P2X Receptors

Acid-sensing ion channels are proton-activated, sodium-selective channels composed of three subunits, and members of the degenerin/epithelial sodium channel (DEG/ENaC) superfamily. These eukaryotic channels have essential roles in sodium homeostasis, taste, and pain. Despite their roles in biology, there is little knowledge of the structural and chemical principles underlying their ion channel architecture and ion-binding sites. Here we present the crystal structure of a functional acid-sensing ion channel in a desensitized state at 3 angstrom resolution, the location of the desensitization gate, and the trigonal antiprism coordination of cesium ions bound in the extracellular vestibule. Comparison of the acid-sensing ion channel structure with the P2X receptor reveals unanticipated similarities and mechanical principles in different ligand-gated ion channels.
Treating pediatric post-tonsillectomy pain and nausea with complementary and alternative medicine.

Objectives Although tonsillectomy is a common and largely safe procedure, pain management in children remains a controversial topic. In addition to the challenge of choosing appropriate analgesia, there is often low parent and child adherence. This article presents a review, and evaluates the potential role, of a range of complementary and alternative therapies that may be sought out by parents. Methods A literature review of complementary and alternative interventions performed using PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE, supplemented by searches from Google and hand searches of cross-references of selected articles, yielded 32 studies for qualitative analysis. Results The studies included for analysis investigated a wide variety of alternative treatment modalities: acupuncture and related therapies, aromatherapy, homeopathy, honey, intravenous fluid, speech therapy, hyaluronic acid, behavioral therapies, ice/cold, hydrogen peroxide rinse, and chewing gum. Conclusion At this time, stronger conclusions cannot be made about the therapies investigated because there are many methodology limitations of the studies analyzed. However, our results suggest merit for these treatments as adjuvant therapies that can enhance analgesia and decrease requirements of controversial medications. Honey and acupuncture have the greatest amount of evidence for postoperative pain and nausea; however, all interventions examined were cost-effective and safe. We recommend against hydrogen peroxide rinses and chewing gum. Laryngoscope, 2625-2634, 2018.
Secure communications based train control (cbtc) operations

Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) provides positive train separation, over speed protection, and protection for roadway workers. Current system designs do not include trust management systems to provide support for security, rendering CBTC communications vulnerable to malactors. Traditional train control methods and the architecture of CBTC systems are studied to determine specific vulnerabilities of CBTC systems and the associated system security requirements. The security requirement are then used to derive an appropriate trust management system. Existing work on safe cross domain dispatch operations has not considered the impact of these trust management systems on allowable traffic delays and system velocity or related them to train dynamics. A relationship between train dynamics and trust management delay is presented to allow engineering estimates of the practicality of potential trust management systems to support rail operations while preventing collisions. An algorithm for the safe and secure scheduling of trains through the interchange point between is provided. The algorithm supports positive train separation under a worst-case traffic scenario, allowing for safe and secure scheduling while reducing traffic delays. The approach presented is illustrated by an example, and is independent of the specific security management, CBTC, and dispatch systems.
Association of Early vs Delayed Cholecystectomy for Mild Gallstone Pancreatitis With Perioperative Outcomes.

This study uses 2011-2014 ACS NSQIP data to compare perioperative outcomes for early vs delayed cholecystectomy treatment among 1937 adult patients with mild gallstone pancreatitis.
Near-term forecasts of influenza-like illness: An evaluation of autoregressive time series approaches

Seasonal influenza in the United States is estimated to cause 9-35 million illnesses annually, with resultant economic burden amounting to $47-$150 billion. Reliable real-time forecasts of influenza can help public health agencies better manage these outbreaks. Here, we investigate the feasibility of three autoregressive methods for near-term forecasts: an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model with time-varying order; an ARIMA model fit to seasonally adjusted incidence rates (ARIMA-STL); and a feed-forward autoregressive artificial neural network with a single hidden layer (AR-NN). We generated retrospective forecasts for influenza incidence one to four weeks in the future at US National and 10 regions in the US during 5 influenza seasons. We compared the relative accuracy of the point and probabilistic forecasts of the three models with respect to each other and in relation to two large external validation sets that each comprise at least 20 other models. Both the probabilistic and point forecasts of AR-NN were found to be more accurate than those of the other two models overall. An additional sub-analysis found that the three models benefitted considerably from the use of search trends based 'nowcast' as a proxy for surveillance data, and these three models with use of nowcasts were found to be the highest ranked models in both validation datasets. When the nowcasts were withheld, the three models remained competitive relative to models in the validation sets. The difference in accuracy among the three models, and relative to models of the validation sets, was found to be largely statistically significant. Our results suggest that autoregressive models even when not equipped to capture transmission dynamics can provide reasonably accurate near-term forecasts for influenza. Existing support in open-source libraries make them suitable non-naive baselines for model comparison studies and for operational forecasts in resource constrained settings where more sophisticated methods may not be feasible.
Between Science and Engineering: Reflections on the APSA Presidential Task Force on Political Science, Electoral Rules, and Democratic Governance: Electoral Rules and Political Inclusion

Political scientists have contributed to the world of electoral systems as scientists and as engineers. Taking stock of recent scientific research, we show that context modifies the effects of electoral rules on political outcomes in specific and systematic ways. We explore how electoral rules shape the inclusion of women and minorities, the depth and nature of political competition, and patterns of redistribution and regulation, and we consider institutional innovations that could promote political equality. Finally, we describe the diverse ways that political scientists produce an impact on the world by sharing and applying their knowledge of the consequences of electoral rules and global trends in reform.
Modulation of redox metabolism negates cancer-associated fibroblasts-induced treatment resistance in a heterotypic 3D culture platform of pancreatic cancer

The complex interplay between cancer cells and their microenvironment remains a major challenge in the design and optimization of treatment strategies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recent investigations have demonstrated that mechanistically distinct combination therapies hold promise for treatment of PDAC, but effective clinical translation requires more accurate models that account for the abundant tumor-stroma and its influence on cancer growth, metabolism and treatment insensitivity. In this study, a modular 3D culture model that comprised PDAC cells and patient-derived cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) was developed to assess the effects of PDAC-CAF interactions on treatment efficacies. Using newly-developed high-throughput imaging and image analysis tools, it was found that CAFs imparted a notable and statistically significant resistance to oxaliplatin chemotherapy and benzoporphyrin derivative-mediated photodynamic therapy, which associated with increased levels of basal oxidative metabolism. Increased treatment resistance and redox states were similarly observed in an orthotopic xenograft model of PDAC in which cancer cells and CAFs were co-implanted in mice. Combination therapies of oxaliplatin and PDT with the mitochondrial complex I inhibitor metformin overcame CAF-induced treatment resistance. The findings underscore that heterotypic microtumor culture models recapitulate metabolic alterations stemming from tumor-stroma interactions. The presented infrastructure can be adapted with disease-specific cell types and is compatible with patient-derived tissues to enable personalized screening and optimization of new metabolism-targeted treatment regimens for pancreatic cancer.
ESRA19-0430 Latex DYE confirmation of local anesthetic spread in pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block

Background and aims Ultrasound-guided pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block was recently described in the literature as a novel approach to provide regional anesthesia to the hip. Traditional blocks such as femoral and fascia iliaca frequently provide incomplete analgesia due to inconsistent coverage of proximal articular branches of the femoral (FN) and obturator nerves (ON). The articular branches from the FN to the hip joint enter the iliacus muscle at the L4-L5 level and course deep to the psoas muscle and tendon before innervating the hip capsule. The obturator nerve courses deep to the medial aspect of psoas muscle around the L5 level. The PENG block relies on cephalad spread of local anesthetic along the psoas muscle to cover these nerves more completely. We sought to confirm this with injection and direct visualization of dye in a cadaver. Methods 20cc of blue latex dye was injected via an 18 g-10 cm needle into a male cadaver hip under ultrasound guidance using an in-plane method. The region was then dissected via an incision along the inguinal crease and exploring cephalad along the psoas muscle. Results Dye was visualized along the fascial plane of the psoas interfacing with the articular branches of the FN and ON as seen below. Conclusions Visualization of dye serves as proof-of-concept for this novel nerve block and provides an anatomical basis for its analgesic effects as described in recent literature.
Pleiotropic actions of allopregnanolone underlie therapeutic benefits in stress-related disease.

Abstract For several years, research from around the world has suggested that the neuroactive steroid (3α,5α)-3-hydroxypregnan-20-one (allopregnanolone) may have therapeutic potential for treatment of various stress-related diseases including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol use disorders (AUDs), as well as neurological and psychiatric conditions that are worsened in the presence of stress, such as multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and seizure disorders. In this review, we make the argument that the pleiotropic actions of allopregnanolone account for its ability to promote recovery in such a wide variety of illnesses. Likewise, the allopregnanolone precursors, pregnenolone and progesterone, share many actions of allopregnanolone. Of course, pregnenolone and progesterone lack direct effects on GABAA receptors, but these compounds are converted to allopregnanolone in vivo. This review presents a theoretical framework for understanding how endogenous neurosteroids that regulate 1) γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptors, 2) corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and 3) pro-inflammatory signaling in the innate immune system and brain could play a key role in both the prevention and treatment of stress-related disease. We further discuss cautions and limitations of allopregnanolone or precursor therapy as well as the need for more clinical studies.
Prediction model development of women's daily asthma control using fitness tracker sleep disruption.

Abstract Background Night-time wakening with asthma symptoms is an important indicator of disease control and severity, with no gold-standard objective measurement. Objective The study objective was to use fitness tracker sleep data to develop predictive models of daily disease control-related asthma-specific wakening and FEV1 in working-aged women with poorly controlled asthma. Methods A repeated measures panel design included data from 43 women with poorly controlled asthma. Two components of asthma control were the primary outcomes, measured daily as (1) self-reported asthma-specific wakening and (2) self-administered spirometry to measure FEV1. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. Results Our models demonstrated predictive value (AUC=0.77) for asthma-specific night-time wakening and good predictive value (AUC=0.83) for daily FEV1. Conclusions Fitness tracker sleep efficiency and wake counts demonstrate clinical utility as predictive of asthma-specific night-time wakening and daily FEV1. Fitness tracker sleep data demonstrated predictive capability for daily asthma outcomes.
Pre-stroke sleep duration and post-stroke depression.

Abstract Objective Sleep disturbance and depression are common in stroke patients, however, little is known about the role of sleep in post-stroke depression. This study examined the association between pre-stroke sleep duration and depression at 90 days post-stroke in a population-based bi-ethnic sample. Methods The study included 1369 stroke patients from the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi project who survived 90 days post-stroke. Depression at 90 days post-stroke was assessed by the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and pre-stroke sleep duration was self-reported shortly after stroke in reference to the pre-stroke state. Multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting were used to deal with missing data and attrition. Weighted logistic regression models were fit to examine the association between pre-stroke sleep duration and post-stroke depression. Results The mean age was 68.2 years, and 63.6% were Mexican American. The prevalence of post-stroke depression was highest among participants reporting less than 6 hours of sleep before stroke (52.4%, 95% confidence interval = 45.7%–59.0%). Compared with participants reporting 7–8 hours of sleep before stroke, those with short sleep duration had significantly increased odds for post-stroke depression (odds ratio = 1.96; 95% confidence interval = 1.38–2.79), after adjustment for sociodemographic, stroke and pre-stroke characteristics including pre-stroke depression. Conclusions Pre-stroke short sleep duration may be an independent risk factor for post-stroke depression.
Seeing and Hearing: Charcot, Freud and the Objectivity of Hysteria

This paper takes its origin from a problem raised by the complex and much investigated relation between the French neurologist and alienist Jean-Martin Charcot, and the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Charcot and Freud write in the same years about the same psychopathological phenomenon, hysteria. This paper explores two questions: why do they give such a great importance to, respectively, seeing, or eye observation, and hearing, that is, listening to the patient’s account; and how is it possible that Charcot’s texts, lectures and therapeutic practices abound with images and photographs, while Freud’s texts completely lack them. This paper analyzes the writings of Charcot and Freud on hysteria taking into account different forms and practices of scientific objectivity, arguing that as the techniques of the observer changed, new objects for the sciences of the self emerged.
An Enhanced Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Scheme Against SSDF Attack Based on Dempster-Shafer Evidence Theory for Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks

Due to the potential applicability of spectrum sensing, cognitive wireless sensor networks have attracted plenty of interest in the research community to improve the bandwidth utilization for practical applications. To alleviate the effect of multi-path fading and resolve the problem of hidden terminal, collaborative spectrum sensing (CSS) is regarded as effective technology to obtain better sensing accuracy. However, CSS is usually vulnerable to the attack behaviors originated from malicious sensor nodes. In this paper, an enhanced cooperative spectrum sensing scheme against SSDF attack based on Dempster-Shafer evidence theory for cognitive wireless sensor networks is introduced. First, the holistic credibility of sensor nodes can be evaluated according to the real-time difference between them and the statistical sensing behaviors. Furthermore, the basic probability assignment function can be defined based on evidence theory, and the credibility of sensor nodes can be estimated. Finally, by using the weighted probability assignment for each cognitive sensor node, the fusion center can reduce the influence of malicious sensor nodes on the final decision and ensure the reliability of reports from cooperative sensor nodes. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can resist SSDF attacks significantly and outperform the traditional secure schemes in aspect of sensing accuracy.
Attribution IQ: Scalable Game Theoretic Attribution in Web Analytics

Attribution in digital marketing is the task of assigning the credit due to each marketing interaction toward a marketing outcome. Such information helps the brand decide on marketing strategies for the future. In web analytics, attribution goes beyond marketing channels, and can be performed across a broad range of dimensions (e.g. images displayed on a website). This requires attribution algorithms to operate on dimensions with a large number of dimensional elements (hundreds of thousands in the extreme). Additionally, given the many possible metrics a marketer may be interested in, it is infeasible to perform ahead of time computation for all combinations. In this work, we propose a game theoretic attribution model that can be computed at query-time. Our demo of Attribution IQ runs in the Adobe Analytics production system. Our system is highly scalable (it operates on millions of customer journeys), interactive (the user can change the parameters and get updated results instantaneously) and requires no pre-computation (all computation being performed at query time). We demonstrate the effectiveness of Attribution IQ on real-world e-commerce web analytics datasets.
Low temperature growth of epitaxial ferroelectric BaTiO3

BaTiO3 exhibits several functional properties, such as high dielectric constant, large Pockels coefficient, and strong ferroelectricity/piezoelectricity. These properties can be used for a variety of applications, such as ferroelectric tunnel junctions in non-volatile memory devices. To achieve large-scale integration of BaTiO3, however, one requires the synthesis of high-quality BaTiO3 films at low temperatures in order to be compatible with the thermal budget of electronic processes in use today. Here, we describe the synthesis of BaTiO3 thin films by molecular beam epitaxy and find that coherently strained and ferroelectric BaTiO3 can be grown at temperatures as low as 310 °C. Using reflection high energy diffraction, we demonstrate a surface mobility of BaO and TiO2 adatoms that is high enough to promote ferroelectric crystal growth at low temperatures. A clear ferroelectric polarization switching is observed using piezoresponse force microscopy. Our results pave the way toward large-scale integration of ferroelectric BaTiO3 with mainstream electronics platforms.
Racial Family Configurations and Inequalities in Private School Enrollment Among Adopted Children

This study uses data from the American Community Survey to examine the relationship between race, family configurations, and inequalities in private school enrollment among adoptees. We find that p...
The rhodopsin content of human eyes.

PURPOSE. To measure the total amount of rhodopsin in human eyes across the life span and to test the hypothesis that the rhodopsin content of infants' and the elderly's eyes is lower than at other ages. METHODS. Rhodopsin was extracted from retinal and pigment epithelial fractions of 196 eyes of 102 donors, ages 27 weeks' gestation through 94 years, using quantitative procedures. To recover photopigment bleached by unavoidable light exposure, the fractions from 78 eyes were incubated with 9-cis retinal. The total photopigment (retinal plus pigment epithelial fractions) per eye was examined for significant changes with age, using the higher value from pairs of eyes. RESULTS. The median rhodopsin content of the higher eye of adults is 6.45 nmoles (range, 3.33-10.84 nmoles) with 8 nmoles or more recovered from 28% of all adult eyes. The rhodopsin content of infants' eyes (<12 months postterm) is significantly lower than that of older individuals and increases with age. After infancy, no change with age is found. For both infants and adults, 9-cis retinal significantly increases the amount of photopigment recovered without reducing the variance in the amount of photopigment recovered. The rhodopsin content is estimated to be 50% of the median adult amount early in infancy, approximately 5 weeks postterm (95% confidence interval, 0-10 weeks postterm). CONCLUSIONS. A developmental increase in rhodopsin content occurs during infancy. Thereafter rhodopsin content remains constant. The amount of rhodopsin recovered from human eyes is quite variable. Bleaching alone cannot explain the variability.