cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inverse problem of scanning force microscope force measurements

The Hooke’s Law model, traditionally used to determine forces from the deflection of scanning force microscope (SFM) cantilevers, restricts the bandwidth to well below the cantilever resonant frequency. The limitation imposed on measurements by Hooke’s Law can be overcome by modeling the multimodal and dynamical response of the cantilever (i.e., accounting for the viscous and inertial response) using a beam model. However, when calculating the forces on the cantilever from deflection measurements, this “inverse problem” is ill posed (i.e., it amplifies noise in the measurement, so that simple inversion produces useless solutions). Regularization techniques provide mathematical solutions to this ill-posed problem but introduce nontrivial mechanisms by which inputs to the system are propagated to outputs. In this article, we investigate the propagation of errors in the inverse problem of SFM force measurements. We first develop a noise model and validate it using experimental measurements. This is then applied to simulate a force–distance experiment with a relevant amount of noise. This provides a cantilever deflection signal based on known forces with which to evaluate the accuracy and precision of a force reconstruction algorithm. We show that Tikhonov regularized solutions obtained with an L-curve analysis reconstruct forces with an accuracy of better than 90% on average but with poor precision, yielding a signal-to-noise ratio of ∼2 for a 0.02 N/m cantilever. Ensemble averaging is recommended to improve the precision. This allows both accurate and precise force curves to be reconstructed with a high bandwidth.
Applying statistical methods to machine translation

The goal of our project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of statistical techniques in machine translation by improving the state of the art in large-vocabulary French-to-English translation.
Surface description of complex objects from multiple range images

Addresses the problem of constructing a complete surface model of an object using a set of registered range images. Our approach is based on a dynamic balloon model represented by using a triangulated mesh. The vertices in the mesh are linked to their neighboring vertices by springs to simulate the surface tension and to keep the shell smooth. Unlike other dynamic models proposed by previous researchers, our balloon model is driven purely by an applied inflation force towards the object surface from inside the object, until the mesh elements reach the object surface. The system includes an adaptive local triangle mesh subdivision scheme that results in an evenly distributed mesh. Since our approach is not based on global minimization, it can handle complex, non-star-shaped objects without relying on a carefully selected initial state or encountering a local minimum problem. It also allows us to adapt the mesh surface to changes in local surface shapes and to handle any holes that are present in the input data by adjusting certain system parameters adaptively and locally. We present results on some complex, non-star-shaped objects from real range images. >
Diagnostic Approach to Narrow Complex Tachycardia with VA Block

Narrow complex tachycardia with VA block is rare. The differential diagnosis usually consists of (1) junctional tachycardia (JT) with retrograde block; (2) AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) with proximal common pathway block; and finally (3) nodofascicular tachycardia using the His-Purkinje system for antegrade conduction and a nodofascicular pathway for retrograde conduction. Analysis of tachycardia onset and termination, the effect of bundle branch block on tachycardia cycle length, and the response to atrial and ventricular premature depolarization must be carefully done. Making the correct diagnosis is crucial as the success rate in eliminating the tachycardia will depend on tachycardia mechanism.
Application of admissions criteria to applicants with practice versus non-practice career goals in North American schools /colleges of veterinary medicine.

Purpose – The study was intended to determine whether North American veterinary schools/colleges apply admissions criteria differently to applicants with practice versus non-practice career goals. Methodology – A written questionnaire with seven queries on admissions criteria was sent to the associate deans for academic affairs at each of the 31 North American veterinary schools/colleges. Results – Questionnaires were completed and returned by 25 of the 31 institutions. The responses were summarized and individual comments were compiled. For veterinary and animal experience, similar amounts but different types of experiences were acceptable to most institutions for applicants with practice versus non-practice career goals. The required pre-veterinary course work was not different for the two groups of applicants. The backgrounds of mentors providing written evaluations were often allowed to be different for the two groups of applicants. The responses expected in applicant interviews were different for the two groups for queries related to veterinary and career experiences and knowledge of specific career areas but were similar for various basic qualities and skills expected of all applicants. Conclusion – Although institutions vary, North American veterinary schools/colleges tend to apply admissions criteria differently to applicants with practice versus non-practice goals, except for pre-veterinary course requirements.
DISCOVER: a feature-based discriminative method for motif search in complex genomes.

Motivation: Identifying transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) encoding complex regulatory signals in metazoan genomes remains a challenging problem in computational genomics. Due to degeneracy of nucleotide content among binding site instances or motifs, and intricate ‘grammatical organization’ of motifs within cis-regulatory modules (CRMs), extant pattern matching-based in silico motif search methods often suffer from impractically high false positive rates, especially in the context of analyzing large genomic datasets, and noisy position weight matrices which characterize binding sites. Here, we try to address this problem by using a framework to maximally utilize the information content of the genomic DNA in the region of query, taking cues from values of various biologically meaningful genetic and epigenetic factors in the query region such as clade-specific evolutionary parameters, presence/absence of nearby coding regions, etc. We present a new method for TFBS prediction in metazoan genomes that utilizes both the CRM architecture of sequences and a variety of features of individual motifs. Our proposed approach is based on a discriminative probabilistic model known as conditional random fields that explicitly optimizes the predictive probability of motif presence in large sequences, based on the joint effect of all such features. Results: This model overcomes weaknesses in earlier methods based on less effective statistical formalisms that are sensitive to spurious signals in the data. We evaluate our method on both simulated CRMs and real Drosophila sequences in comparison with a wide spectrum of existing models, and outperform the state of the art by 22% in F1 score. Availability and Implementation: The code is publicly available at http://www.sailing.cs.cmu.edu/discover.html. Contact: ude.umc.sc@gnixpe Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Determination of regional cerebral function with FDG-PET imaging in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Functional brain imaging using 18 F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET) has greatly enhanced our understanding of brain function both in normal conditions as well as in a wide variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. We review the uses of FDG PET in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders. This article will also explore what FDG-PET imaging has revealed in these neuropsychiatric disorders and how these findings relate to both research and clinical applications.
Low-leakage and High-Flow Regenerators for Gas Turbine Engines

The preliminary analysis and development of two new forms of regenerative heat exchanger that seem to promise greatly improved performance characteristics is described. To reduce drastically the usually high leakage and high seal wear rates suffered by present rotary regenerators, discontinuous rotation of the matrix has been studied, with seals that clamp the matrix during the stationary periods. To enable the regenerative gas turbine cycle to be used at high powers, regenerators consisting of movable ceramic modules are being investigated. The potential applications of the discontinuous-rotation type are particularly to small lightweight gas turbine engines such as those for automotive applications and to helicopters and light turboprop aircraft. The modular regenerator is being studied in application to burning coal and biomass of gas turbine engines and to larger marine and stationary base-power engines with power outputs of up to (and possibly beyond) 100 MW.
Concepts of Project Planning and Control

Both improved methods and better application of existing principles are needed in the planning and control of engineering and construction projects. Using an analogy and a model, this paper explains the basic concepts in the information feedback-control process used on well-managed projects. The objective is to provide a broad perspective against which to reference specific subsystems such as planning and scheduling, cost engineering, materials procurement and tracking, quality control, and so forth. The paper then amplifies several key components of the feedback-control mode, including means for measuring and controlling progress; methods for information processing; requirements for effective reporting; and guidelines for taking corrective action.
The History of an Unnatural Act: Infanticide and Adam Bede

On march 30, 1859, according to a Times court report, a young woman named Mary Jones was tried for the crime of willful murder of her illegitimate child: for infanticide. She had concealed her pregnancy and the labor, and a suspicious neighbor found the child's corpse with its throat cut and the bloody knife lying next to it. Jones pled guilty to the charge. The court reporter writes that she “sobbed out a few incoherent words” to the effect that she was in too much agony after the birth to know what she was doing. Jones could only be found guilty if the baby was proved to be born alive, and to this end a surgeon testified that it was and that the cut throat was the cause of death. The jury accordingly found her guilty but recommended mercy. The judge, Mr. Baron Martin, is quoted as saying, “he hoped that her unfortunate example would be a warning to other young women.” He sentenced her to death, apparently thinking the jury's verdict required him to do so. Afterwards, however, as the Times reported on April 8, Jones's execution was respited, through the intervention of the Home Secretary which was invited by the judge.
Water-Escape Sea Floor Depressions

Water-escape sea floor depressions occur on glaciated shelves in: (1) ice proximal areas where glacial ice becomes buried by sediment and later melts; (2) areas of rapidly loaded sediments; and (3) fjords where ground water driven by large hydrostatic pressure from surrounding mountains enters from beneath the glacimarine sediments (Sadler and Serson, 1980). Seismic imagery was collected in 1982 in McBeth Fiord, Baffin Island, over a 535 m deep sea floor using an air gun (Fig. 1) and Huntec (DTS®) Boomer (Fig. 2). Survey lines were run at speeds of 4–5 kmhr-1, positioned by radar (Figs. 3 and 4).
Calculation of Lyapunov exponents through nonlinear adaptive filters

The authors present a novel approach, using nonlinear adaptive filter, to model, filter, and predict chaotic time series. Lyapunov exponents can be estimated from the prediction error growth rate of such filters. The technique is very effective for detecting and quantifying low-dimensional chaos. The technique performs accurately even under noisy environments. Measurement noise and catastrophic noise are both handled equally well in this technique and do not hinder the estimate of the Lyapunov exponent since they are adequately filtered. The authors have demonstrated their technique with Henon and logistic maps. They have also presented a more reliable and accurate algorithm for estimation of Lyapunov exponents from finite and noisy time series data for applications in econometrics and other fields where large numbers of data points are not available. >
REVIEW OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 1968–1995 (3RD ED.), EDITED BY IWATA ET AL.

The Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior has published the third edition of Behavior Analysis in Developmental Disabilities, edited by Brian A. Iwata, Jon S. Bailey, Nancy A. Neef, David P. Wacker, Alan C. Repp, and Gerald L. Shook. Although the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) publishes articles on the application of principles of learning with a variety of populations and in various settings, approximately half the articles pertain to persons with developmental disabilities. The total number of articles published on this population since the inception of the journal in 1968 to 1995 was 568. This edition reprints 70 of those experimental reports and review articles. All 568 references, listed alphabetically within the book’s 13 topical categories, have been included at the end of the volume. The categorized bibliography allows the interested reader to seek additional references, beyond the five complete articles typically included for each topic. A service provider who is faced with the task of developing a behaviorally based leisure and recreation program for a facility has 16 immediate references that would aid in that endeavor. The comprehensive bibliography also serves as a useful tool when preparing the reference list for a manuscript. Although an author may
Postdivorce living arrangements, parent conflict, and long-term physical health correlates for children of divorce

The authors tested a biopsychosocial model in which young adults' long-term relationships with fathers and ongoing distress surrounding their parents' divorces mediated the relationship between disrupted parenting (i.e., exposure to parent conflict before the divorce and up to 5 years after, and amount of time with father postdivorce) and indicators of their physical health. University students whose parents divorced before they were 16 (n = 266) participated. Findings supported the model. The more time children lived with their fathers after divorce, the better their current relationships were with their fathers, independent of parent conflict. The more parent conflict they experienced, the worse their relationships were with their fathers and the more distress they currently felt about their parents' divorce, independent of time with father. Poor father-child relationships and more distress in turn predicted poorer health status. There was no interaction between exposure to parent conflict and time with father; thus, more time with father was beneficial in both high- and low-conflict families, and more exposure to parent conflict was detrimental at both high and low levels of time with father.
Measuring Firm-Level Inefficiencies in the Ghanaian Manufacturing Sector

AbstractThis paper measures firm-level inefficiencies in input use among manufacturing firms in Ghana by explicitly estimating their production function. I find that the fraction of undercapitalize...
Minimizing Patient Safety Events Through a Multidisciplinary Approach to Human Milk Management

Optimization of nutrition is key in infant development and it is well documented that human milk is the ideal form of nutrition for infants during the first year of life. However, unaltered materna...
Maternal Behavior and Infant Weight

When Charney et al. [1] posed the question, “Do chubby infants become obese adults?” in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1976, few would have anticipated the obesity epidemic we currently face, or the urgent need to examine all possible factors that may be contributing to this serious health problem. With the sobering realization that our youngest are not immune to this epidemic, as alarming rates of overweight and obesity are even apparent in early childhood [2] scientists across a wide array of disciplines are desperately seeking answers and are increasingly looking at the earliest correlates of obesity with an eye toward prediction and prevention. To this end, increasing attention is being paid to weight and weight gain in infancy. While numerous explanations have emerged which serve to identify the risk factors that promote early excess infant weight gain, for example, low birth weight, maternal overweight, or not breastfeeding [3], an intriguing line of recent research has focused on the role of the caregiver (hereafter, mother) from a behavioral perspective. That is, do the behaviors that a mother exhibits in the context of feeding have any bearing on how much her infant ingests, and ultimately, on her infant’s weight trajectory?
Cædmon and the gift of song in Black Mountain poetry

Robert Duncan’s and Denise Levertov’s poetic interpretations of Bede’s account of Caedmon depict him as the origin of poetic subjectivity, a gift from others and for others. In Duncan’s account the visiting figure becomes Friend Song, and the external command to sing is transformed into an envoy for Duncan’s own works. Levertov’s poem cultivates an alliterative line that draws on the wellspring of Anglo-Saxon verse while playing with the shape of the line. Caedmon retreats among his cattle, ‘dumb among body sounds,’ and finds there a command to join the dance. In both accounts poetic inspiration constitutes a fusion of body and song, and this embodiment resonates with the songs of voices, calling Caedmon and the poets who join with him into a realm of endless giving, ‘into the world that’s all of song/commingling,’ in Duncan’s words, connecting medieval and modern verse.
Hunting the Whale: More Evidence on State Leviathans

Caplan holds that governments are Leviathans, seeking to extend their power by increasing government expenditures beyond the level preferred by voters. We extend Caplan’s model by examining the real (percentage) growth rates of government. We also examine whether government size increases at an increasing rate as the minority party weakens. We find evidence that supports and fails to support the original Leviathan hypothesis. We also fail to support our extensions of Caplan’s hypothesis. Furthermore, our significant and contrary results have intuitively appealing interpretations. From these results, we conclude that the impact of political party power on government spending is ambiguous.
A Framework for the Evaluation and Redesign of Human Work Based on Societal Factors

A framework is presented that models the relationships among a company, its workforce, and society. This framework utilizes a set of work dimensions that link characteristics of work tasks to the well-being of workers. A methodology, Company-Society Compatibility, is derived from this framework comparing two cultures - that of the company and that of an indigenous society. The comparison is performed by characterizing the work offered by the company and work that is compatible with the society. This information would be useful to decision makers who have responsibility for designing, planning and managing work.
The impact of treatment condition and the lagged effects of PTSD symptom severity and alcohol use on changes in alcohol craving

Given the high rates of comorbidity between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD), we investigated an integrated treatment for these disorders. Individuals with comorbid PTSD and alcohol dependence were randomized to receive naltrexone or placebo, with or without prolonged exposure (PE). All participants also received BRENDA (supportive counseling). The naltrexone plus PE group showed a greater decline in alcohol craving symptoms than those in the placebo with no PE group. The PE plus placebo and the naltrexone without PE groups did not differ significantly from the placebo with no PE group in terms of alcohol craving. No treatment group differences were found for percentage of drinking days. Alcohol craving was moderated by PTSD severity, with those with higher PTSD symptoms showing faster decreases in alcohol craving. Both PTSD and alcohol use had a lagged effect on alcohol craving, with changes in PTSD symptoms and percentage of days drinking being associated with subsequent changes in craving. These results support the relationship between greater PTSD symptoms leading to greater alcohol craving and suggest that reducing PTSD symptoms may be beneficial to reducing craving in those with co-occurring PTSD/SUD.
Interrupted Helical Structure of Grafted Polypeptides in Brush-Like Macromolecules

Brush-like polymers are a type of graft polymers with densely and regularly spaced side chains. Their unique topologies and large sizes afforded a number of potential applications in nanotechnology. Incorporating helical polypeptides as grafted chains in brush polymers may allow for the construction of large macromolecules with structurally well-defined, rod-like domains. However, due to a congested local environment in brush polymers, the conformational structure of grafted polypeptides can deviate from the “rigid-rod” α-helical structure observed in homopolypeptides. Because of synthetic challenges, the effect of macromolecular environments on the conformational structures of grafted polypeptides has not been systematically studied in brush polymers. Here we synthesized a small library of polynorbornene-g-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) (PN-g-PBLG) with variable PN, PBLG lengths and grafting densities, and we studied solvent induced helix–coil transition of grafted PBLGs in these brush polymers to explore th...
Counterion dynamics in polyurethane-carboxylate ionomers with ionic liquid counterions

Polyurethane carboxylate ionomers based on poly(ethylene glycol) (Mn = 600) with sodium and various ammonium, phosphonium and imidazolium cations are synthesized for systematic comparison of different cationic counterions. Generally, larger cations act as plasticizers, lowering Tg because of weaker Coulombic force for ion associations (acting as physical cross-links). Tg can be reduced from 47 °C to −6 °C when replacing Na+ with large ether-oxygen containing ammonium without changing polymer composition and the lower Tg can enhance ionic conductivity by 5 orders of magnitude. Ionic conductivity has a stronger correlation with segmental relaxation than Tg, suggesting that counterion motion is coupled to the poly(ethylene oxide) local motions. An electrode polarization model is used to quantify the conducting ion concentration and mobility. All cation mobility follows VFT behavior, whereas conducting ion concentration has an Arrhenius temperature dependence, with slope providing activation energy and interc...
Triidothyronine uptake by erythrocytes in mongolism.

SummaryThe chromosomal anomaly of mongolism suggests the likelihood of enzymatic anomalies. In a series of enzymatic studies in mongolism a tendency to high oxygen uptake and low phosphorylation rate in the red blood cells was encountered. In the present study a high triiodothyronine uptake of rbc was found, which throws light on both the high respiratory rate and the uncoupling of phosphorylation. The range of high thyroid hormone uptake values was almost completely outside the range of normal controls, though a few adult psychiatric cases were found with slightly elevated values.
Assessing the effects of individual intervention on patients with chronic diseases and high-risk individuals in Wuxi's communities

Objective To investigate the effects of individual intervention on patients with chronic diseases and high-risk individuals in community of Wuxi city,and to provide the references for establishing Wuxi model of chronic diseases management.Methods In present investigation 130 cases with hypertension,96 cases with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 14 individuals with high risk of chronic diseases were managed by individual intervention.Before and after intervention,the questionnaire physical and biochemical examinations were performed.Results After intervention,the physical activities of 222 cases were obviously improved,the proportion of cases with sitting for 4 h declined(form 56.2% to 46.9%),the rate of taking exercise elevated from 71.8% to 93.3%,the proportion of cases taking exercise for 3 ～4 times increased from 22.7% to 37.1%,the proportion of cases taking exercise for 20 min each time enhanced from 85.3% to 94.7%(P0.01).BMI and WC decreased from(25.08±3.67)kg/m 2 and(87.40±10.08)cm to(24.74±3.56)kg/m 2 and(86.14±9.02)cm(P0.01 or P0.05),the proportion of cases with obesity declined from 56.8% to 52.2%(P0.05).The proportions of cases with normal blood presure,normal fasting blood glucose(FPG) level,normal total cholesterol(TC) level and normal triglyceride(TG) level increased from 53.6%,72.5%,43.7% and 51.8% to 80.2%,77.9%,60.8% and 60.8%,respectively(P0.05 or P0.01).Conclusion Individual intervention is effective for patients with chronic diseases and high-risk individuals,the mode should be developed in communities in Wuxi.
Knots in the Discourse of Innovation: Investigating Multiple Tensions in a Reacquired Spin-off:

We examine the case of a corporate spin-off, in which its reacquisition by the parent firm radically changed its structure and culture. Employing a discourse lens, we study paradoxical tensions of innovation as key members “talk into being” the paradoxical circumstances of their environment. From our analysis, we develop the concept of tensional “knots,” discursive formulations in which members construct tensions, not only as co-occurring, but as Gordian (inseparable) entanglements of interdependence. Knotted tensions can be amplifying (exacerbating) or attenuating (improving) in their effects on one another, but with very different consequences to innovative action. Specifically, knotted tensions and the way in which members manage them set up counter-intuitive logics that serve to justify courses of innovative action or inaction. We propose a process model advancing understanding of interlinked tensions in more complex ways than current paradox theory allows. We conclude with a discussion of our contrib...
Fat lure: adipocytes attract cancer cells out of the prostate.

Although the majority of prostate cancer (PCa) cases are now detected and treated at early stages, PCa remains the second leading cause of cancer death in American men (1). In the case of more advanced tumors, androgen deprivation can prevent cancer progression temporarily, but this inevitably leads to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
Concentration-Dependent Association between Weakly Attractive Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solutions

Interactions between nanoparticles in solutions may impact many applications including delivery of nanomedicine, energy transfer between nanoparticles, and transport of nanomaterials. Recently, 100 nm diameter calcium phosphate enclosed liposomes (CaPELs) were used to probe nanoscale energy deposition in CaPELs in the form of X-ray induced energy transfer by 100 nm PEGylated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) under X-ray irradiation. A jump was observed in the transfer efficiency as AuNP concentration rose above a threshold. The jump was proposed to be caused by each CaPEL associating with at least one AuNP at high enough AuNP concentrations. Brownian dynamics is used here to model the interaction between the weakly attractive nanomaterials of AuNPs and CaPELs. For a 6 kcal/mol binding energy between the two, the results indeed show that AuNPs and CaPELs form short-lived associations at room temperature in aqueous solutions, and the percentage of CaPELs in these associations jumps sharply to nearly 100% as AuNP c...
Beyond Race/Ethnicity: Skin Color and Cardiometabolic Health Among Blacks and Hispanics in the United States

We investigated whether darker interviewer-ascribed skin color is associated with worse cardiometabolic health among young adult Blacks and Hispanics in the United States. Our sample was comprised of 2,128 non-Hispanic Blacks and 1603 Hispanics aged 24-32, who were in high school in the United States in 1994. We used logistic and OLS regression to predict obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiometabolic risk. We tested the interaction between Hispanic immigrant generation and ascribed skin color. Darker ascribed skin color predicted worse cardiometabolic health among both young adult Blacks and Hispanics. Among Hispanics, the associations were strongest among third and higher generation respondents. Our findings suggest that among US Blacks and Hispanics how individuals are perceived by others via their skin color is significantly associated with their health and well-being. Gradients in cardiometabolic health in young adulthood will likely contribute to gradients in cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality later in life.
Health Shocks and Social Drift: Examining the Relationship Between Acute Illness and Family Wealth

This paper analyzes the extent to which health shocks play a role in black-white wealth inequality. Deploying data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we implement a first-differences identification strategy in estimating the effects of acute health events on changes in wealth for couples across waves of data from 1999 to 2011. We find that although such shocks affect both white and black families, they make black families more vulnerable financially as family heads near retirement. In comparison with their white counterparts, black families that experience an acute health shock are more likely to rely on social safety nets, such as food stamps and Social Security Disability Insurance. Findings hold implications across multiple policy arenas, including health-care and labor law.
Using Community-Based Programming to Increase Family Social Support for Healthy Eating among African American Adolescents

Little is known about emotional and instrumental social support for nutrition behaviors among African-American adolescents. In this paper, we specifically examine intervention effects on emotional, instrumental and total (composite) social support for fruit/vegetable and low-fat dairy intake. Data from a larger intervention, based on Social Cognitive Theory, which was implemented with 38 African-American adolescents and their families to increase fruit/vegetable intake, low-fat dairy intake and physical activity behaviors are presented. One-way ANOVA analyses revealed that intervention participants had positive and significant increases in emotional social support for low-fat dairy intake (P=0.01), total social support for fruit/vegetable intake (P=0.05), and total social support for low-fat dairy intake (P=0.02). Specific recommendations addressing family social support for healthy eating through youth development programming are discussed.
The prognostic value of extranodal extension in human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Extranodal (or extracapsular) extension (ENE) is an adverse prognostic factor in patients with head and neck cancers who undergo primary surgery. However, the significance of ENE in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is not well established, and single-institution studies have not established that ENE predicts inferior outcome. The authors investigated the prognostic value of ENE in HPV-positive patients who underwent primary surgery and whether adjuvant chemoradiation improved overall survival (OS) compared with radiation alone in ENE-positive patients. METHODS Patients who underwent primary surgery for pathologic T1 (pT1) through pT4 tumors, pathologic N1 (pN1) through pN3 lymph node status, HPV-positive OPSCC were identified in the National Cancer Data Base from 2010 through 2012. Features associated with ENE were analyzed. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses identified predictors of OS. The effect of adjuvant treatment on OS in ENE-positive cohort was also evaluated. RESULTS In total, 1043 patients met inclusion criteria, among whom 43.5% were ENE-positive. Of the ENE-positive patients who had treatment details available, 72% received concurrent chemoradiotherapy, 16% received radiotherapy, and 12% received no adjuvant treatment. After a median follow-up of 28.4 months, ENE was associated with worse 3-year OS (89.3% vs 93.6%; P = .01). On multivariable analysis that included involved lymph nodes, only ENE, lymphovascular invasion, pT3/pT4 tumors, and Charlson-Deyo score were associated with worse OS. Among ENE-positive patients, there was no difference in 3-year OS between those who received adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone (89.6% vs 89.3%, respectively; P = .55). Propensity score-matched comparison revealed similar results. CONCLUSIONS ENE is associated with inferior OS in patients with HPV-positive OPSCC. However, OS was not better with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy compared with radiotherapy alone in ENE-positive patients. The current findings support the need for prospective studies of adjuvant chemoradiation in HPV-positive patients with ENE. Cancer 2017;123:2762-72. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Management of Incidental Adrenal Masses: A White Paper of the ACR Incidental Findings Committee

The ACR Incidental Findings Committee presents recommendations for managing adrenal masses that are incidentally detected on CT or MRI. These recommendations represent an update to the adrenal component of the JACR 2010 white paper on managing incidental findings in the adrenal glands, kidneys, liver, and pancreas. The Adrenal Subcommittee, constituted by abdominal radiologists and an endocrine surgeon, developed this algorithm. The algorithm draws from published evidence coupled with expert subspecialist opinion and was finalized by a process of iterative consensus. Algorithm branches categorize incidental adrenal masses on the basis of patient characteristics and imaging features. For each specified combination, the algorithm concludes with characterization of benignity or indolence (sufficient to discontinue follow-up) and/or a subsequent management recommendation. The algorithm addresses many, but not all, possible pathologies and clinical scenarios. Our goal is to improve the quality of patient care by providing guidance on how to manage incidentally detected adrenal masses.
Perioperative Gabapentin Does Not Reduce Postoperative Delirium in Older Surgical Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background:Postoperative pain and opioid use are associated with postoperative delirium. We designed a single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm, double-blinded trial to determine whether perioperative administration of gabapentin reduced postoperative delirium after noncardiac sur
Mechanical and thermal conductivity properties of hemp fiber reinforced polyurethane composites

Abstract The aim of the present work is to introduce natural hemp fiber as reinforcement in the preparation of partially biodegradable green composites. Composite of rigid polyurethane (PU) and hemp fiber (H.F) ​​were prepared at different loading rates in (H.F) ​​(5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%). Water absorption, thermal conductivity, and mechanical properties of composite were investigated as a function of fiber content. The results show that, the thermal conductivity of composites increases linearly with density. The mechanical properties of composites with 15% wt fibers loading provided a 40% increase in strength. Measured properties showed that polyurethane- hemp fibers composite present good insulating properties compared to the traditional insulation materials (glass wool, mineral wool etc.). Therefore, (PU-HF) insulation may provide a promising solution for building insulation.
Neonatal Airway Management

Expertise in neonatal airway management requires an understanding of early human anatomical development as well as a set of clinical skills to provide safe mask ventilation and tracheal intubation in this extremely small-sized population of patients. Since neonatal airway experiences are not a daily occurrence in most anesthesiology training programs, this skill set is acquired only after repeated patient encounters over a prolonged period of time that may span years or decades. In this chapter, we review the foundations upon which management of the neonatal airway is based. The reader should note that these foundations are largely based on our collective experience, which is complemented by case reports and case series that reflect the experience of others as there is a dearth of prospective studies on airway management in the neonate. The chapter is divided into three sections: (1) anatomy and physiology of the neonatal upper airway, (2) techniques for standard neonatal airway management, and (3) techniques for managing the anatomically abnormal neonatal airway.
Subcortical Neuromodulation of Feedforward and Feedback Inhibitory Microcircuits by the Reticular Activating System

GABAergic inhibition originates from distinct subclasses of interneuron subtypes. These interneuron subtypes are highly specialized, exhibiting distinct pre- and postsynaptic properties. The convergence of these specializations enables each interneuron subtype to make a unique but complementary contribution to the function of cortical microcircuits. The existence of morphologically and physiologically distinct interneuron classes raises the possibility of their being controlled independently of one another. Indeed, based on mounting evidence from Somogyi and colleagues for distinct interneuron classes, Nicoll presented a hypothesis that different neuromodulatory systems might exert precise control over principal cell excitability by engaging different interneuron subtypes. Although our knowledge of the manner in which defined interneuron subtypes undergo neuromodulation remains incomplete, there is accumulating evidence that neuromodulatory receptors are differentially expressed on specific GABAergic interneuron subtypes. Therefore, the efficacy of specific GABAergic feedforward and feedback inhibitory circuits will be dynamically regulated by fluctuations in the concentrations of monoamines occurring across the sleep/wake cycle. During periods of wakefulness, alertness, and attention, I propose that the activation of the reticular activating system will engage specific interneuron subtypes in a cell-type specific manner, collectively optimizing sensory processing and information storage in neural microcircuits.
Organization, Supervision and Resolution of Cross-border Banking

Cross-border banking can take place in subsidiaries or branches. In common terminology, a subsidiary is a host country legal entity with its own capital as a buffer against losses and is subject to host country regulation, supervision, and legislation. A host country branch, by the same terminology, is an integrated part of the home country bank, subject to home country supervision, legislation, and control. The branch does not have its own capital and it is subject to host country legislation and regulation only with respect to its conduct in the host country. The EU has pushed these ‘national’ jurisdictional principles the farthest in the Banking Directive, allowing banks to operate across borders in branches under a ‘Single License’ within the EU, subject to home country control and supervision.
Examples with a Single Complex Parameter

In Chapter 2 I introduced a method for easily expressing in integral form the second moment of phase and log-amplitude related quantities for infinite colli-mated and focused waves propagating through turbulence. It was shown how these integrals could be evaluated using Mellin transform techniques. I extend these methods here to solve for the propagation of beam waves with Gaussian shape. Earlier results are a special case of this more general case. To express results as integrals, the approach in Chap. 2 is followed to the point where the propagation parameter γ was assumed to be real. Here γ must be complex to handle beams of finite extent. I derive the filter function for two counterpropa-gating or copropagating waves.
Assessing Driver Performance of Lane-Merge Tasks Using Video Capture Method

1- Video capture methods are useful for identifying information about a driver's visual behavior and their intent to perform a driving maneuver. They can capture data on where drivers are looking during primary and secondary driving tasks, which can be important for identifying driver intentions and roadway distractions. In this study the eye-glance and head movement of a driver performing a lane-merge task in a driving simulator is observed. Drivers were given a multitask driving scenario while performing lane-change and highway merging maneuvers. Multiple raters were used to assess the reliability of using eye-glance and head motion data for analyzing driver performance. The inter-rater reliability method was used to obtain a driver profile. The purpose of this study is to provide an analytical framework for assessing an elderly (65+) driver's performance during lane-change and highway merging multitask maneuvers using the video capture method. This work contributes to the discovery of knowledge and deeper insight about how a driver's behavior and physical state may directly influence their driving performance and profile.
Wayside Energy Storage System for Peak Demand Reduction in Electric Rail Systems

In this paper, three different types of wayside energy storage systems (WFSSs) have been investigated for obtaining peak demand reduction at substations that support DC rail transportation systems. The three types of FSSs comprise a battery, supercapacitor, and flywheel. The performance of these FSSs is compared on the basis of parameters such as, size, cost and energy saving.
Atrial myxoma presenting as acute ischaemic stroke and chronic right lower leg claudication.

A 48-year-old man presented with acute onset of left facial numbness, ataxic gait and double vision. He also complained of chronic right lower leg pain with acute onset a year prior to presentation. His vital signs were within normal limits. Physical exam was notable for right-sided intranuclear opthalmoplegia, decreased sensation to light touch on the left side of his body, left-sided dysmetria and ataxic gait. Neuroimaging showed evidence of acute stroke in the cerebellum and brainstem, for which he was treated with thrombolytics. An echocardiogram revealed a 5×3 cm left atrial myxoma, which was surgically resected. Subsequent imaging of his lower extremity revealed a chronic common iliac artery occlusion for which he underwent angioplasty. His claudication symptoms resolved, and he was without any neurological deficits at a 2-year follow-up visit.
Unexpected plasticity at autonomic junctions. Environmental regulation of neurotransmitter phenotype and receptor expression.

Des etudes recentes portant sur la neurotransmission au niveau de cultures de neurones sympathiques, ont mis a jour deux decouvertes inexpliquees. D'une part, les neurones postnataux et postmitotiques pourraient changer leur fonction neurotransmettrice non seulement de maniere quantitative mais aussi qualitative. D'autre part, l'environnement pourrait jouer un role dans la determination du phenotype final du neurone
IdPrism: Rapid Analysis of Forensic DNA Samples Using MPS SNP Profiles

Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) of large single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels enables identification, analysis of complex DNA mixture samples, and extended kinship predictions. Computational challenges related to SNP allele calling, probability of random man not excluded calculations, and both reference and complex mixture sample comparisons to tens of millions of reference profiles were encountered and resolved when scaling up from thousands to tens of thousands of SNP loci. A MPS SNP analysis pipeline is described for rapid analysis of forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples for thousands to tens of thousands of SNP loci against tens of millions of reference profiles. This pipeline is part of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MITLL) IdPrism advanced DNA forensic system.
Dual-Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Composite with Ultrawide Tunable Stiffness Range Triggered by Water and Temperature

Variable stiffness materials are an important class of materials that are useful in soft robotics, reconfigurable devices, deployable vehicles, and artificial muscles. Most variable stiffness polym...
Exploring the Attitude of Patients with HIV About Using Telehealth for HIV Care.

Telehealth could address many of the factors identified as barriers for retention in HIV care. In this study, we explore people with HIV (PWH)'s attitudes about using telemedicine for HIV care inst...
Abatement of circumneutral mine drainage by Co-treatment with secondary municipal wastewater.

Abstract Acid mine drainage is a persistent and problematic source of water pollution. Co-treatment with municipal wastewater at existing wastewater treatment plants has several advantages; however, potential impacts on plant physicochemical and biological processes have not been well explored. The primary purpose of this bench-scale study was to examine the impact of co-treatment by combining a mild acid mine drainage at various ratios with municipal wastewater, followed by sludge settling and supernatant comparative analysis using a variety of effluent water quality parameters. These measurements were combined with carbonate system and adsorption isotherm modeling to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the experimental results. Acid mine drainage addition decreased municipal wastewater effluent PO43− concentrations below 0.2 mg/L with greater than 97% removal, demonstrating co-treatment as an alternative solution for municipal wastewater nutrient removal. Biochemical oxygen demand remained similar to controls with 6.0. Carbonate system modeling adequately explains pH effects, and can also be applied to varying acid mine drainage matrices. The impact of acid mine drainage addition on the municipal wastewater microbial community was also investigated which provided evidence of microbial adaptation. This study demonstrates post-aeration co-treatment enables mitigation of mild acid mine drainage without adversely affecting wastewater treatment plant processes. Reported results also frame required future studies to address extant questions prior to full-scale adaptation.
A learning agenda to build the evidence base for strengthening global health information systems.

Background:Evidence-based interventions are necessary for planning and investing in health information systems (HIS) and for strengthening those systems to collect, manage, sort and analyse health ...
Meshless modeling for joining process simulation

Adhesive bonding is a joining process where the assembly is held together by the surface attachment of adhesives without changing or modifying the properties of the surface. The adhesive-bonding process provides a good alternative to more classical joining processes such as welding. The process is promising for joining dissimilar material and getting in popularity for structural bounding of functional parts. Our current research seeks to develop an understanding of adhesive bonding processes from the spreading of the adhesive, to the solidification and curing and finally the testing. The current modeling of the liquid phase of the adhesive, based on the interoperability of several particle models, include viscous fluid, wetability, surface energy, and colloidal fluid and the current modeling of the solid phase of the adhesive includes solid modeling for non-linear materials, fracture and the simulation of the performance of the joint.