cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On energy optimized averaging in wireless sensor networks

This paper studies the energy costs of running a distributed averaging/consensus algorithm in a wireless sensor network. It has recently been shown that running such an algorithm over a bidirectional spanning tree is preferable in terms of convergence time. We formulate the combinatorial optimization problem of selecting a minimal energy bidirectional spanning tree as a mixed integer linear programming problem. This problem has been shown to be NP-complete and can only be solved for small instances. We devise a semi-definite relaxation and establish bounds on the optimal cost. We also develop a series of graph-based algorithms that yield energy efficient bidirectional spanning trees and establish associated bounds on the optimal cost. Some of our algorithms can be run in a distributed manner and numerical results establish that they produce near-optimal solutions.
VLSI procurement and qualification: NASA/GSFC experience, issues and concerns

Describes the VLSI parts quality and reliability issued for NASA space flight use, particularly from a NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) perspective. A case history of four chip set gate arrays planned for use on a high speed flight data recorder, qualification effort based on MIL-M-38510 requirements, is discussed. >
Increased bone marrow iron stores is an independent risk factor for invasive aspergillosis in patients with high‐risk hematologic malignancies and recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

BACKGROUND. Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a leading cause of death in patients with leukemia and those who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that iron is essential for Aspergillus growth and virulence. METHODS. In the current study, the authors retrospectively evaluated the bone marrow iron stores (BMIS) in patients with leukemia as well as recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with IA (n 5 33) and those without fungal infections (n 5 33). The first available bone marrow biopsy specimens prior to the IA diagnosis or date of hospitalization (control group) were assessed in a blinded fashion using a standardized scoring system (0–4). Both groups were comparable with regard to clinical characteristics and classic risk factors for IA. RESULTS. The majority of patients with IA (70%) were found to have increased BMIS (score � 3) compared with the control patients (16%) (P < .0001). Increased BMIS was found to be an independent risk factor for IA on multivariate analysis (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS. The prospective validation of BMIS for risk stratification in patients with leukemia or those who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is needed. Cancer 2007;110:1303–6. � 2007 American Cancer Society.
Fractional balanced reduction: model reduction via fractional representation

A method for the model reduction of finite-dimensional, linear, time-invariant (FDLTI) plants is proposed which uses normalized fractional representations is proposed. The method, dubbed fractional balanced reduction, applies balance and truncate to a special representation of the graph operator of the plant. This operation yields the graph operator of a reduced order plant. The method has such properties as existence of an a priori error bound in the graph metric and preservation of sector containment. Coupling fractional representations with principal component analysis gives a model reduction method that is capable of producing, in a numerically stable way, a good reduced order model using the whole full order model. Sector properties are also preserved-these are useful for deciding stability when nonlinearities are in the loop. >
SMM: Scalable Analysis of Power Delivery Networks by Stochastic Moment Matching

This paper proposes a novel method for analyzing large on-chip power delivery networks via a stochastic moment matching (SMM) method. The proposed method extends the existing direct stochastic random walk method that can be only applied to DC analysis in purely resistive networks or transient analysis of RC networks with low efficiency. The new method can analyze general structure RLC networks by combining the stochastic process with frequency domain moment matching technique. As a result, we achieve better scalability than traditional frequency domain P/G analysis approaches, and better efficiency than the existing random walk transient analysis techniques. Our experimental results show that SMM can easily trade efficiency for accuracy or vise versa. SMM can easily deliver 10/spl times/-100/spl times/ speedup over a LU-based direct solver and about 10/spl times/ speedup over the pure random walk method with reasonable accuracy on large industry P/G networks.
Protection from Clostridium difficile Infection in CD4 T Cell- and Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor-Deficient Mice

ABSTRACT Clostridium difficile rivals methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as the primary hospital-acquired infection. C. difficile infection (CDI) caused by toxins A and/or B can manifest as mild diarrhea to life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis. Although most patients recover fully from CDI, ∼20% undergo recurrent disease. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between anti-toxin antibody (Ab) and decreased recurrence; however, the contributions of the systemic and mucosal Ab responses remain unclear. Our goal was to use the CDI mouse model to characterize the protective immune response to C. difficile. C57BL/6 mice infected with epidemic C. difficile strain BI17 developed protective immunity against CDI and did not develop CDI upon rechallenge; they generated systemic IgG and IgA as well as mucosal IgA Ab to toxin. To determine if protective immunity to C. difficile could be generated in immunodeficient individuals, we infected CD4 −/− mice and found that they generated both mucosal and serum IgA anti-toxin Abs and were protected from CDI upon rechallenge, with protection dependent on major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) expression; no IgG anti-toxin Ab was found. We found that protection was likely due to neutralizing mucosal IgA Ab. In contrast, pIgR −/− mice, which lack the receptor to transcytose polymeric Ab across the epithelium, were also protected from CDI, suggesting that although mucosal anti-toxin Ab may contribute to protection, it is not required. We conclude that protection from CDI can occur by several mechanisms and that the mechanism of protection is determined by the state of immunocompetence of the host.
Host Plant-Induced Changes in Detoxification Enzymes and Susceptibility to Pesticides in the Twospotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Adult female twospotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch, reared on lima bean plants were moved to cucumber, maize, or new lima bean plants (the latter being a control) and evaluated after 24 h or 7 d for changes in susceptibility to three pesticides and in levels of related detoxification enzymes. The largest and most consistent changes were observed in mites feeding on cucumber. Susceptibility of mites on cucumber to the synthetic pyrethroids bifenthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin was greater than that of mites reared on lima bean and maize after only 24 h on the plants, and remained higher after 7 d. Mites on cucumber also were more susceptible to the organophosphate dimethoate than were mites on lima bean, but only after 7 d on the host. Susceptibility was inversely related to activities of both general esterase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in mites on cucumber; general esterase and GST activities were 60 and 25% lower, respectively, than activities of twospotted spider mite on lima bean after 7 d of feeding. Mites on maize were slightly but significantly more susceptible than those on lima bean to bifenthrin, but not to lambda-cyhalothrin, after 7 d and to dimethoate after 24 h but not after 7 d. General esterase and GST activities in twospotted spider mite fed on maize for 24 h were 20 and 16% higher, respectively, than activities in twospotted spider mite on lima bean, but general esterase activity was 30% lower than lima bean-fed mites and GST was not different after 7 d. Thus, plant-induced changes in general esterase activity, perhaps in combination with GST activity, in twospotted spider mite appear to be inversely related to, and possibly responsible for, changes in susceptibility of twospotted spider mite to several pesticides, particularly the synthetic pyrethroids. General esterases appear to play less of a role in the detoxification of the organophosphate insecticide dimethoate.
Using lidar remote sensing and support vector machines to classify fire disturbance legacies in a Florida oak scrub landscape

Ecologists have long emphasized the reciprocal interactions between spatial pattern and ecological processes in the creation of landscape mosaics. While an enormous amount of recent research has focused on the quantification of spatial patterns, efforts to infer process from pattern have been hindered by the presence of multi-scale, often confounding, drivers of pattern in many landscapes. At the mesoscale, Holling’s extended keystone hypothesis posits that spatially contagious disturbances such as fire are the dominant pattern-generating processes. To test this hypothesis, we used fire history data and discrete, small-footprint lidar remote sensing acquired over a 22 sq. km landscape of oak scrub in the Kennedy Space Center/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge area on the east-central coast of Florida. We binned the lidar return data into 1 m vertical height intervals for each 5 m x 5 m horizontal cell. Since community structure tends to recover by 7 years post-fire, we tested for significant differences between recently-burned (< 7 years) and unburned (≥ 7 years) patches with multivariate analysis of variance. To predict the burn status of each cell, we then used distribution-free, nonlinear support vector machine (SVM) classifiers, which have proven to be highly accurate for complex pattern recognition problems. We detected statistically significant differences in vegetation structure between burned and unburned patches for all of the dominant land cover types (upland non-forested, upland forested, wetland hardwood forest, and non-forested wetlands) in the study area. Initially, we obtained a predicted error rate of approximately 34% from the SVM classifier; by averaging the binned lidar data over a moving window of increasing size, however, we achieved substantial reductions in the predicted error rate for the SVM classifier. The optimal window size of 100 m x 100 m yielded a predicted misclassification rate of approximately 3%, an order of magnitude lower than the error rate obtained on the same data using a logistic regression classifier. These results suggest that, as predicted by the extended keystone hypothesis, fire disturbance is a dominant pattern-generating process at the patch scale in this oak scrub landscape. Furthermore, these results indicate that it is possible to use vertical vegetation structure, as represented by the binned lidar data, to predict burn status with a high level of accuracy. While our study employed a simple binary classification scheme, future research will focus on using SVM regression techniques to predict burn status with finer-grained classes of time since fire.
Low-power radio-frequency ICs and system architectures for portable communications

This chapter reviews the contributions of ICs for the RF front-end of wireless receivers and transmitters operating in broadcast and personal communication bands. Various design styles, architectures and levels of integration in different technologies are compared, combining process, device, and design knowledge for increased manufacturability.
The Consequences of Partner Selection in Service Delivery Collaborations

Although the potential benefits of collaboration have received considerable attention, determinants of its effectiveness remain poorly understood. This paper explores the role of partner selection on the perceived effectiveness of service delivery collaborations. Using data on children and family services in Los Angeles County, we consider the impact of different motivations for partner selection (programmatic needs, enhanced organizational legitimacy, reduced transaction costs) on collaborative outcomes for clients, inter-organizational relationships, and organizational development. We find that client goal achievement is enhanced when partners are selected to meet specific programmatic needs. Interorganizational relationships are impacted by all 3 motivations. Transaction costs have a significant role in organizational and inter-organizational outcomes. The policy implications of these different impacts are developed. The results provide considerable support for the role of partner selection in the effectiveness of collaborations, and specificity about the nature of that role.
Local Structure of Closed Symmetric 2-Differentials

In this article we provide a description of the local structure of closed symmetric 2-differentials on a complex surface. The main technical result of the article is that a sum of two local singular analytic functions which both are constant along two different smooth holomorphic foliations can be locally holomorphic only if both functions have at most meromorphic singularities. As a corollary we proof that locally a product of two singular closed differentials on a surface is holomorphic only if the singularities of the differentials are at most exponents of local meromorphic functions.
Elucidating the Fundamental Mechanisms of Cell Death Triggered by Photothermal Therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) utilizes nanoparticles embedded within tumors as exogenous energy absorbers to convert laser light energy into heat to ablate cancer cells. While PTT is a promising alternative to conventional cancer therapy, under certain irradiation conditions, it can produce cellular necrosis, and this necrosis may lead to pro-inflammatory responses that are detrimental to treatment success. Recent studies have shown that PTT can be modulated to induce apoptosis rather than necrosis, which is appealing since apoptosis discourages an inflammatory response. In this issue of ACS Nano, del Pino, Pardo, de la Fuente, and colleagues reveal the intracellular signaling cascades involved in the apoptotic response to PTT using cells harboring photothermal transducing nanoprisms. In this Perspective, we present an overview of nanoparticle-mediated PTT and discuss photothermally induced apoptosis as a potential therapeutic pathway.
Proptosis from a Baerveldt tube shunt implant.

ABSTRACTPurposeThe purpose of this case report is to describe a patient presenting with unilateral proptosis associated with a Baerveldt tube shunt implant that had been previously implanted for treatment of elevated intraocular pressure not sufficiently responsive to pressure-lowering medications.
Taking a New Perspective to Latino Racial Attitudes: : Examining the Impact of Skin Tone on Latino Perceptions of Commonality with Whites and Blacks

Recent research has taken note of the steadfast growth of the Latino population in the United States by examining Latino attitudes toward those commonly identified as nonimmigrants, Whites and Blac...
Observed Signatures of the Barotropic and Baroclinic Annular Modes in Cloud Vertical Structure and Cloud Radiative Effects

AbstractThe signatures of large-scale annular variability on the vertical structure of clouds and cloud radiative effects are examined in vertically resolved CloudSat and other satellite and reanalysis data products. The northern and southern “barotropic” annular modes (the NAM and SAM) have a complex vertical structure. Both are associated with a meridional dipole in clouds between subpolar and middle latitudes, but the sign of the anomalies changes between upper, middle, and lower tropospheric levels. In contrast, the northern and southern baroclinic annular modes have a much simpler vertical structure. Both are linked to same-signed anomalies in clouds extending throughout the troposphere at middle to high latitudes. The changes in cloud incidence associated with both the barotropic and baroclinic annular modes are consistent with dynamical forcing by the attendant changes in static stability and/or vertical motion. The results also provide the first observational estimates of the vertically resolved a...
The Effect of a Cross Current due to a Worker's Lateral Passage on Local Exhaust Hood Performance

局所排気装置におけるフード,とりわけ外付け式フー ドの吸引能力は,その周辺に乱れ気流(フードの吸引気 流方向とは異なる向きに流れる別の気流)が存在した場 合,容易に低下する.このようなフードの能力低下は, 本来吸引・捕集されるべき有害物質を環気中に拡散させ るため,作業環境の悪化と作業者への不測のばく露を引 き起こす原因となる.主な乱れ気流には,開放した窓や 戸口からの外気の流入,高熱体等による対流,作業者や 物体の移動に伴う気流などがあり,これらが現場に存在 する際には規定の制御風速に一定の上乗せ風速が必要と なる.さて,流入外気や熱対流は個々の状況により千差 万別なので予測される風速範囲も大きいのに対し,作業 者等の移動によって生じる乱れ気流は,移動速度を約 2m/sと想定して,おおむね0.5m/sと見積るのが局排 設計時の通例となっている .しかし,作業場内で 2m/sもの歩行というのはいささか不自然な仮定と思わ れ,また乱れ気流を0.5m/sとする点についても,これ までのところ,その可否を検証した例は無いようである. しかし近年では,作業者の歩行移動がばく露濃度に及ぼ す影響を調べた研究が報告され,あるいは,ヒューム フードの性能試験項目(欧州規格EN 14175)に,開口 部傍を通過する人間の影響評価が加えられるなど,作業 者の歩行に伴う気流を勘考した例も出現している.そこ で当研究では,形状的に乱れ気流の影響を受け易い外付 け式フードを対象に,その吸引能力に対して,近傍を通 過する歩行者の起こす気流が及ぼす影響を検証した.
The Tooth Intensity Analysis Application of Gear Pump Used for Vehicle

The thesis analyzes the relationship how to distribute th e total pressure difference(△P)between initiative tooth outline and driven toot h outline firstly,then educes the different result that the total input torqu e is constant under no machine energy waste from history theory,and then makes the CAE model of gear tooth,finally us-ing the UGS3D software strikes up the system of CAD/CAE for gear pump used for vehicle.
Reduction in work hours during a period of reduced patient census

Implementation of and experience with a temporary reduction in hours worked at a large teaching hospital in California are described. During a period of reduced patient census, the hospital administration ordered a 20% reduction in the number of hours worked by employees in all departments for three months. Employees were required to take one extra day off per week as paid vacation or holiday time or as leave without pay. During this period, pharmacy staff members averaged seven extra days off. Pharmacy personnel were unable to complete some routine responsibilities, and their involvement in interdisciplinary patient rounds and inservice education decreased. The temporary cutback in work hours allowed the work force to be preserved. Departmental managers should keep staff members informed about potential changes in staffing patterns that may be required for cost containment.
Assessing VIIRS cloud base height products with data collected at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement sites

A system-level analysis has been completed to assess the accuracy of cloud base height CBH products of lower-altitude water clouds created from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite VIIRS data collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership S-NPP and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System JPSS. While the analysis focused on the CBH products, it necessarily included an assessment of other key, upstream VIIRS cloud products, including VIIRS cloud top height CTH, VIIRS cloud optical thickness COT, and VIIRS cloud effective particle size EPS. The COT and EPS products are used to derive a geometric cloud thickness, which is then subtracted from the CTH product to generate the CBH product. Thus, a system-level analysis is critical to establishing the detailed algorithm error budget needed to identify the major sources of errors in the CBH product and help focus future research efforts to improve this important cloud product. As a consequence, ground-based data collected at the US Department of Energy DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement ARM sites became most useful for conducting this system-level analysis. Therefore, match-up data sets were created between VIIRS cloud products and DOE ARM site data sets from June 2013 to October 2015, and while the primary focus was on the highest-quality data at the Lamont, OK ARM site, data were analysed from a total of four ARM sites. The initial results showed the errors in the VIIRS CBH products, compared to the ARM site data sets, to be large and highly variable; however, errors in VIIRS COT and the derived VIIRS cloud geometric thickness were much smaller. Consequently, the VIIRS CTH products were replaced with the ARM CTH products, which substantially reduced the variability and errors in the VIIRS CBH products. It is concluded that the performance of the VIIRS CBH products is most strongly correlated with errors in the VIIRS CTH products, while errors in COT and geometric cloud thicknesses are acceptable. Thus, future research is needed to reduce the errors in the VIIRS CTH products in order to ensure the VIIRS CBH products are suitable for civilian and military aerodrome operations.
Synthesis and characterization of single crystalline SnO2 nanorods by high-pressure pulsed laser deposition

Tin oxide (SnO2) nanorods were grown by high-pressure pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The nanorods were grown without the use of a catalyst but required high background pressure growth in order to realize small grain columnar growth and nanorod formation, with nanorod formation most favored on non-epitaxial substrates. The structures and morphology were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). X-ray diffraction and HRTEM analysis indicate that the as-grown SnO2 nanorods are single crystals with a rutile structure. The nanorods are approximately 50–90 nm in diameters and 1.5 μm in length. This method provides an approach for large area synthesis of one dimensional SnO2 nanostructure materials.
Enabling Privacy-Preserving Incentives for Mobile Crowd Sensing Systems

Recent years have witnessed the proliferation of mobile crowd sensing (MCS) systems that leverage the public crowd equipped with various mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, smartglasses, smartwatches) for large scale sensing tasks. Because of the importance of incentivizing worker participation in such MCS systems, several auction-based incentive mechanisms have been proposed in past literature. However, these mechanisms fail to consider the preservation of workers' bid privacy. Therefore, different from prior work, we propose a differentially private incentive mechanism that preserves the privacy of each worker's bid against the other honest-but-curious workers. The motivation of this design comes from the concern that a worker's bid usually contains her private information that should not be disclosed. We design our incentive mechanism based on the single-minded reverse combinatorial auction. Specifically, we design a differentially private, approximately truthful, individual rational, and computationally efficient mechanism that approximately minimizes the platform's total payment with a guaranteed approximation ratio. The advantageous properties of the proposed mechanism are justified through not only rigorous theoretical analysis but also extensive simulations.
Nano- sensing and catalysis technologies for managing food-water-energy (FEW) resources in farming

Abstract As the world population grows and new environmental, sustainability, and security challenges emerge, it becomes critical to consider and propose solutions for problems at the nexus of Food, Water, and Energy (FEW). These three are key resources critical for the human health and welfare. Managing effectively the FEW resources in the context of farming, while focusing on lactation cattle, is the theme of this work. The solutions presented here are based on nano-sensing and catalysis. Novel gas sensing technologies are described that can monitor the health of the livestock, monitor the feed conversion efficiency in their feed, and help reduce the water footprint related to the production of animal products (such as milk). Water quality control and water clean-up technologies along with energy harvesting tools based on nanofibrous mats are also presented; these help reduce the carbon footprint of the farming processes. Implementing these integrated systems in any agricultural facility will promote the sustainable production of meat and meat products.
Scond may better discriminate severe therapy resistant asthma (STRA) from mild-moderate asthma than lung clearance index (LCI)

Introduction Multiple breath washout test (MBW) allows ventilation inhomogeneity (VI) to be assessed, including LCI and Scond. Scond is derived from phase III analysis, focusing on the VI in the conducting airways and differences between large units. LCI may be raised in asthma but is normal in many asthmatics making it of doubtful clinical relevance. Recent work has shown focal ventilation defects on helium MRI in asthma. Given this, we hypothesised that Scond will better reflect VI than LCI and be more abnormal in STRA than mild-moderate asthma. Methods 33 children with physician-diagnosed STRA, and 25 with mild-moderate asthma (EurRespirJ2014;43:343-73) were recruited. They were stable at the time of testing with no change to medication. LCI and Scond were calculated from MBW. Results Scond and LCI were both higher in STRA than mild to moderate asthma, but Scond more statistically significantly (p=0.0006 vs p=0.01), and there was less overlap between the two groups. Scond classified STRA as abnormal more often than LCI (90% versus 67%, p=0.025), but there were equal numbers in the normal range (53% versus 47% p=NS). Conclusions Scond better reflects VI seen in STRA than LCI; this supports the hypothesis that focal abnormalities may be important in STRA. Abnormal Scond distinguishes STRA from mild-moderate asthma better than abnormal LCI however many individuals with STRA have normal Scond.
Herbicide Exposure, Vietnam Service, and Hypertension Risk in Army Chemical Corps Veterans

Objective:We examined hypertension risk in Army Chemical Corps (ACC) veterans who sprayed defoliant in Vietnam.Methods:We analyzed data from the 2013 health survey of 3086 ACC veterans and investigated the association between self-reported physician-diagnosed-hypertension (SRH) and herbicide-spray-h
"Coaching the Camp Coach: Leadership Development for Small Organizations" Resource Review

Coaching is an important component of successful professional growth for leaders within any organization. However, organizations with limited resources may have challenges providing such coaching opportunities. This can be especially true for small business, non profit organizations and summer camps. “Coaching the Camp Coach; Leadership Development for Small Organizations” by Shelton, M. (2003) provides a framework, both in theory and practice, for camp leaders to improve interpersonal and intrapersonal skills through self evaluation. Accompanying the book is a CD-ROM that has multiple worksheets to be used in conjunction with the text.
Microgrid interoperability: First steps from policy to implementation

There have been no shortage of discussions, policies, executive orders, special committees, conferences and natural disasters to enumerate the benefits of microgrids. However, as we pass the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the 2 year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy the proliferation of microgrids is still seemingly trapped in a wave of dialogue and a limited number of projects which resemble the Department of Energy's definition of a localized resiliency solution - WHY? Ultimately, the widespread implementation of microgrids will be driven by a clear and logical approach to addressing baseline attributes of these systems; self-healing, dynamic participation and asset optimization are but a few. This paper will examine an approach for one of the first essential attributes to be confronted in the planning and design of microgrids, which is to understand the parameters for seamless transition between grid-tied and island modes of operation.
Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Pain Management Used by Nurses at the Mezam Polyclinic Bamenda, Cameroon

Pain is the most frequent reason for seeking health care and it can significantly interfere with the patient’s physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Pain management is a very important aspect of nursing care and it has been documented that nurses use non – pharmacological interventions which have unique advantages in relieving pain that medications do not have such as giving the patients a more active role in managing their pain. This cross – sectional study therefore was aimed at evaluating the non – pharmacological interventions for pain management used by nurses at the Mezam polyclinic Bamenda, Cameroon. 30 male and female nurses were randomly selected to take part in this study. Data was collected using a self – administered questionnaire composed of both open and closed ended questions and was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. The results showed that most of the nurses were females (70.0%) in the age range of 20 – 29 years (53.0%) who had mostly obtained a diploma in nursing (43.3%). Majority of the nurses had been trained on non – pharmacological pain management (87%). Most of the nurses reported using combined non – pharmacological pain management interventions such as counselling, distraction and massage (56.0%) with heat/cold compress (20.0%) being the most common single non – pharmacological therapy used followed by distraction (13.0%). The main health care system barriers to the use of non – pharmacological intervention was nurses’ work load (40.0%) while the main patient related barrier was patient’s strong believe in analgesics (50.0%). In conclusion, majority of the nurses at the Mezam polyclinic have been trained on non – pharmacological pain management (87%) with most of them using combined non – pharmacological pain management interventions such as counselling, distraction and massage (56.0%). The main barriers to the use of non – pharmacological interventions were nurses’ work load (40.0%) and patient’s strong believe in analgesics (50.0%).
The Librarian's Information War

For better or worse, 2016 was an exceptional year with respect to information literacy. There were monumental elections and referendums, global financial and refugee crises, and quite a few politic...
Cardiac quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) for heart chamber oxygenation.

PURPOSE To demonstrate the feasibility of in vivo quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) in cardiac MRI and to show that mixed-venous oxygen saturation (SvO2 ) can be measured non-invasively using QSM. METHODS Electrocardiographic-gated multi-echo 2D gradient echo data were collected at 1.5 T from 14 healthy volunteers during successive breath-holds. Phase wraps and fat chemical shift were removed using a graph-cut-based phase analysis and IDEAL in an iterative approach. The large susceptibility range from air in the lungs to blood in the heart was addressed by using the preconditioning approach in the dipole field inversion. SvO2 was calculated based on the difference in blood susceptibility between the right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV). Cardiac QSM quality was assessed by two independent readers. RESULTS Nine out of fourteen volunteers (64%) yielded interpretable cardiac QSM. QSM maps showed strong differential contrast between RV and LV blood with RV blood having higher susceptibility values (291.5 ± 32.4 ppb), which correspond to 78.3 ± 2.3% SvO2 . CONCLUSION In vivo cardiac QSM is feasible and can be used to measure SvO2 , but improvements in data acquisition are needed. Magn Reson Med 79:1545-1552, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
What is the (particulate) matter with biomass fuel use? Indoor air toxicants and central haemodynamic burden

Much of the world’s population relies on use of inefficient biomass and coal stoves for cooking, heating and lighting needs, with a high prevalence of biomass fuel use occurring in low/middle-income countries. The burning of wood, animal/crop residue and charcoal produces high concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide. That some 3 billion people are habitually exposed to such toxicants is alarming as there is a causal link between air pollution (both outdoor and indoor) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).1 Morbidity and mortality related to hypertension and subsequent CVD is very high in China and expected to rise. In their Heart paper, Baumgartner and colleagues examined exposure–response associations between personal exposure to air pollution stemming from biomass stoves and novel measures of CVD risk in women living in rural China.2 Members of the research team visited 205 women in their homes throughout 12 villages in Sichuan Province, China. Personal exposure to PM2.5 and black carbon were measured for 48 hours using waist-worn air pollution monitors. Researchers then measured both conventional brachial blood pressure (BP) and novel measures of central haemodynamic burden including central/aortic stiffness (assessed using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity considered the gold standard approach), aortic BP, augmentation index (AIx) and pulse pressure (PP) amplification. Results revealed that in older women in the cohort (>50 years of age), levels of PM2.5 and black carbon were associated with higher BP (brachial and aortic), higher AIx and lower PP amplification. The authors concluded that personal exposure to household air pollution was associated with a higher central haemodynamic burden in older Chinese women. This study provides important empirical data confirming a relation between household air pollution and novel risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Baumgartner et al chose to assess parameters of central haemodynamic burden that have been recognised as important …
Found a good match: Should I keep searching? — Accuracy and performance in iris matching using 1-to-First search

Abstract Iris recognition is used in many applications around the world, with enrollment sizes as large as over one billion persons in India's Aadhaar program. Large enrollment sizes can require special optimizations in order to achieve fast database searches. One such optimization that has been used in some operational scenarios is 1:First search. In this approach, instead of scanning the entire database, the search is terminated when the first sufficiently good match is found. This saves time, but ignores potentially better matches that may exist in the unexamined portion of the enrollments. At least one prominent and successful border-crossing program used this approach for nearly a decade, in order to allow users a fast “token-free” search. Our work investigates the search accuracy of 1:First and compares it to the traditional 1:N search. Several different scenarios are considered trying to emulate real environments as best as possible: a range of enrollment sizes, closed- and open-set configurations, two iris matchers, and different permutations of the galleries. Results confirm the expected accuracy degradation using 1:First search, and also allow us to identify acceptable working parameters where significant search time reduction is achieved, while maintaining accuracy similar to 1:N search.
Nitrite modulates mitochondrial function through the activation of PKA in normoxia

Nitrite has emerged as a signaling molecule which mediates cytoprotection after ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Mitochondria have been described as the major target for nitrite's effects. Interestingly, nitrite can still prevent I/R injury when administered 24–72 hours prior to an ischemic episode. This effect is independent of nitrite reduction and involves PKA activation. Thus, we evaluated the mechanism by which nitrite activates PKA and regulates mitochondrial dynamics. We show that nitrite increases cAMP levels to activate PKA by inhibiting mitochondrially localized phosphodiesterase activity. Increases in PKA enhance mitochondrial complex IV activity and the phosphorylation of COXIV at serine 58, resulting in increased respiration. Further, nitrite upregulates the A-kinase anchoring protein, the AKAP121 which localizes PKA to the mitochondrial membrane. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that nitrite can be a versatile signaling molecule, not only by inducing protein nitration and nitrosylation but also through modulating protein expression and phosphorylation. These data contribute to the understanding of the mechanism by which nitrite regulates mitochondrial function and expands the therapeutic potential of nitrite in cardiovascular disease.
Comparing mortality estimates based on different administrative records

This study investigates how age and race are reported in interviews and on death certificates and how these demographic assignments affect life expectancy estimates for the total population, for males and females, and for blacks and whites. Differential reporting of demographic characteristics can produce different estimated life expectancies and thus differential assessments of the sex and race gaps in life expectancy. This difference underscores the need to define demographic characteristics carefully and to examine multivariate models and projections cautiously.
Quantifying the Value of Orally Delivered Biologic Therapies: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Oral Semaglutide

Oral semaglutide, which has undergone multiple phase 3 clinical trials, represents the first oral biologic medication for type 2 diabetes in the form of a daily capsule. It provides similar efficacy compared with its weekly injection counterpart, but it demands a dose on the order of 100 times as high and requires more frequent administration. We perform a cost effectiveness analysis using a first and second order Monte Carlo simulation to estimate quality-adjusted life expectancies associated with an oral daily capsule, oral weekly capsule, daily injection, and weekly injection of semaglutide. We conclude that the additional costs incurred to produce extra semaglutide for the oral formulation are cost effective, given the greater quality of life experienced when taking a capsule over a weekly injection. We also demonstrate that the potency of semaglutide allows the formulation to be cost effective, and less potent drugs will require increased oral bioavailability to make a cost effective oral formulation.
The Social Question in the Middle East: Past and Present

What longer-run dynamics underlie present realities in the Middle East? To chart the historical terrain, this chapter tracks the making and unmaking of social compacts and state formations in the Middle East and North Africa, amid changing political-economic conditions, across five broad chronological periods: the tail end of the Ottoman and Persian empires, the colonial interlude, the era of political independence, the infitah years of economic opening, and the current upheaval of unrest and militarization. Any future stability in the Middle East might come in the region only when states build political and social compacts that not only incorporate wider segments of the population but also significantly reshape their life chances. It is unlikely, though, that emulating the developmental models of the present will create a solid compact for the region’s states. Processes of urbanization and depeasantization that were corollaries of Middle East state formation meant that rural reserves of semi-proletarian labor of the sort that fueled rapid growth in East Asian markets and lured in Western capital are today nowhere to be found.
On Loops Intersecting at Most Once

We prove that on a closed, orientable surface of genus g, the maximum cardinality of a set of simple loops with the property that no two are homotopic or intersect in more than k points grows as a function of g like $$g^{k+1}$$, up to a factor of $$\log g$$. The proof of the upper bound uses arguments from probabilistic combinatorics and a theorem of Scott related to the fact that surface groups are LERF.
Nanoscale delivery systems in treatment of posterior ocular neovascularization: strategies and potential applications

Pathologic posterior neovascularization of eye is a major cause of irreversible vision loss and limitations of therapeutics to be successfully delivered to back of the eye has been a main obstacle ...
A Generalized Approach to Determine the Switching Lifetime of a GaN FET

The determination of switching lifetime for GaN products is a very timely and important topic, both for the assurance of reliable operation in application, and for the development of standardized industry approaches. The challenges faced are the complexity of the switching transition, the dependence of the stress on the application circuit, and the lack of a broad modeling approach. These have prevented the realization of a "develop once, use broadly" methodology. We show, for the first time, an approach that addresses these issues and results in a generalized methodology to determine switching stress and calculate lifetime. The model created directly uses the fundamental stressors of voltage, current and time from the switching waveform. Using this approach, TI GaN product is shown to be highly reliable under applicationuse conditions.
Complications of surgical and percutaneous tracheostomies, and factors leading to decannulation success in a unique Middle Eastern population.

Introduction Surgical and percutaneous tracheostomy remains a commonly performed procedure in the intensive care unit (ICU). Given the unique patient population in the Middle East we decided to perform a review of the procedures performed in our hospital over a two-year period. Methods Single centre, retrospective observational study. All tracheostomies performed between January 2016 and January 2018 were included in the study. The primary outcome was the rate of tracheostomy complications. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent factors associated with complications and decannulations. Results One hundred sixty-four patients were included in the study. Percutaneous tracheostomy was performed in 99 patients (60.4%). Complications occurred in thirty-eight patients (23%). Higher Left ventricular ejection fraction (OR = 0.94, 95%CI: [0.898–0.985]) and percutaneous tracheostomy (OR = 0.107, 95%CI: [0.029–0.401]) were associated with lower complications. Good Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (OR = 4.1, 95%CI: [1.3–13.3]) and downsized tracheostomy tube (OR = 6.5, 95%CI: [2.0–21.0]) were associated with successful decannulations. Successful decannulation was associated with lower hospital mortality when compated to those who could not be decannulated (3.2% vs 33.3% p < 0.0001). Conclusion In our older population with high comorbidities, percutaneous tracheostomies were associated with less complications than surgical tracheostomies. Patients with poor premorbid functional status and those who could not have their tracheostomy tube sucessfuly downsized were less likely to be decannulated, and had a higher mortality. This data enables physicians to inform the families of the added risks involved with tracheostomy in this patient group.
Heavy Ball Momentum Induced Sampling Kaczmarz Motzkin Methods for Linear Feasibility Problems

The recently proposed Sampling Kaczmarz Motzkin (SKM) algorithm performs well in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods in solving large-scale Linear Feasibility (LF) problems. To explore the concept of momentum in the context of solving LF problems, in this work, we propose a momentum induced algorithm called Momentum Sampling Kaczmarz Motzkin (MSKM). The MSKM algorithm is developed by integrating the heavy ball momentum to the SKM algorithm. We provide a rigorous convergence analysis of the proposed MSKM algorithm from which we obtain convergence results of several Kaczmarz type methods for solving LF problems. Moreover, under somewhat weaker conditions, we establish a sub-linear convergence rate for the so-called \textit{Cesaro} average of the sequence generated by the MSKM algorithm. We then back up the theoretical results via thorough numerical experiments on artificial and real datasets. For a fair comparison, we test our proposed method in comparison with the SKM method on a wide variety of test instances: 1) randomly generated instances, 2) Netlib LPs and 3) linear classification test instances. We also compare the proposed method with the traditional Interior Point Method (IPM) and Active Set Method (ASM) on Netlib LPs. The proposed momentum induced algorithm significantly outperforms the basic SKM method (with no momentum) on all of the considered test instances. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm also performs well in comparison with IPM and ASM algorithms. Finally, we propose a stochastic version of the MSKM algorithm called Stochastic-Momentum Sampling Kaczmarz Motzkin (SSKM) to better handle large-scale real-world data. We conclude our work with a rigorous theoretical convergence analysis of the proposed SSKM algorithm.
Diagnoses, treatment, and oncologic outcomes in patients with calcaneal malignances: Case series, systematic literature review, and pooled cohort analysis.

Background and objectives Malignant tumors of the calcaneus are rare but pose a treatment challenge. Aims (1) describe the demographics of calcaneal malignancies in a large cohort; (2) describe survival after amputation versus limb-salvage surgery for high-grade tumors. Methods Study group: a "pooled" cohort of patients with primary calcaneal malignancies treated at two cancer centers (1984-2015) and systematic literature review. Kaplan-Meier analyses described survival across treatment and diagnostic groups; proportional hazards modeling assessed mortality after amputation versus limb salvage. Results A total of 131 patients (11 treated at our centers and 120 patients from 53 published studies) with a median 36-month follow-up were included. Diagnoses included Ewing sarcoma (41%), osteosarcoma (30%), and chondrosarcoma (17%); 5-year survival rates were 43%, 73% (70%, high grade only), and 84% (60%, high grade only), respectively. Treatment involved amputation in 52%, limb salvage in 27%, and no surgery in 21%. There was no difference in mortality following limb salvage surgery (vs. amputation) for high-grade tumors (HR 0.38; 95% CI 0.14-1.05), after adjusting for Ewing sarcoma diagnosis (HR 5.15; 95% CI 1.55-17.14), metastatic disease at diagnosis (HR 3.88; 95% CI 1.29-11.64), and age (per-year HR 1.04; 95% CI 1.02-1.07). Conclusions Limb salvage is oncologically-feasible for calcaneal malignancies.
An S/T motif controls reversible oligomerization of the Hsp40 chaperone DNAJB6b through subtle reorganization of a β sheet backbone.

Chaperone oligomerization is often a key aspect of their function. Irrespective of whether chaperone oligomers act as reservoirs for active monomers or exhibit a chaperoning function themselves, understanding the mechanism of oligomerization will further our understanding of how chaperones maintain the proteome. Here, we focus on the class-II Hsp40, human DNAJB6b, a highly efficient inhibitor of protein self-assembly in vivo and in vitro that forms functional oligomers. Using single-quantum methyl-based relaxation dispersion NMR methods we identify critical residues for DNAJB6b oligomerization in its C-terminal domain (CTD). Detailed solution NMR studies on the structure of the CTD showed that a serine/threonine-rich stretch causes a backbone twist in the N-terminal β strand, stabilizing the monomeric form. Quantitative analysis of an array of NMR relaxation-based experiments (including Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill relaxation dispersion, off-resonance R1ρ profiles, lifetime line broadening, and exchange-induced shifts) on the CTD of both wild type and a point mutant (T142A) within the S/T region of the first β strand delineates the kinetics of the interconversion between the major twisted-monomeric conformation and a more regular β strand configuration in an excited-state dimer, as well as exchange of both monomer and dimer species with high-molecular-weight oligomers. These data provide insights into the molecular origins of DNAJB6b oligomerization. Further, the results reported here have implications for the design of β sheet proteins with tunable self-assembling properties and pave the way to an atomic-level understanding of amyloid inhibition.