cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Korea's Thyroid-Cancer “Epidemic” — Screening and Overdiagnosis

In 2011, the rate of thyroid-cancer diagnoses in the Republic of Korea was 15 times that observed in 1993, yet thyroid-cancer mortality remains stable — a combination that suggests that the problem is overdiagnosis attributable to widespread thyroid-cancer screening.
Pulsed Electron Beam Spectroscopy of N 2 + for Temperature and Density Measurement *

A pulsed electron beam system is currently being developed at the Arnold Engineering Development Center for use in relatively high-pressure hypersonic shock and wind tunnels. The high-current, short-duration pulse of electrons produced by a pulsed e-beam gun allows the resulting N2 fluorescence to be linearly related to N2 density for densities up to 1018 molecules/cm3, an upper limit that is two orders of magnitude higher than that for continuous ebeam spectroscopy. The operational pressure of a pulsed e-beam gun (approximately 70 mtorr) is also higher than that for a continuous e-beam gun. However, the pulsed e-beam gun still requires a pressure barrier between it and the relatively high-pressure hypersonic flow. A fast-acting rotary valve assembly, and/or a differential pressure pump unit, will be used to provide a short-duration (180-microsecond) opening through which the pulsed e-beam can pass while not significantly increasing gun pressure. The spectral shape of the N2 fluorescence is used to measure both rotational and vibrational temperature, and the wavelengthintegrated fluorescence intensity provides the N2 density measurement.
Combining and optimizing NIRS and EEG to study interictal epileptic discharges

We describe our ongoing application of NIRS-EEG to the study of inter-ictal discharges in adult epilepsy. We discuss optimizing NIRS-EEG data acquisition and analysis and we present preliminary NIRS-EEG results for an epileptic patient.
Pedagogical and Technological Augmentation of Mobile Learning for Young Children Interactive Learning Environments.

ABSTRACTThe ubiquity and educational potential of mobile applications are well acknowledged. This paper proposes six theory-based, pedagogical strategies to guide interaction design of mobile apps for young children. Also, to augment the capabilities of mobile devices, we used a humanoid robot integrated with a smartphone and developed an English-learning app that applied the design strategies to this environment. Our observations of children's one-on-one use support the promise of the strategies and the combined use of robots and mobile devices to be a viable option to help optimize mobile learning.
Fractures of the calcaneus: open reduction and internal fixation from the medial side a 21-year prospective study.

Since 1974, 61 displaced fractures of the calcaneus have been treated by open reduction and internal fixation by a modified medial approach technique. Surgery was performed through a 5-cm incision ...
Management Information Systems: Why Are They Underutilized in the Social Services?

Social service organizations are commonly asked to account for services, and increasingly, to measure the outcomes of the work with vulnerable populations. Since the advent of the personal computer, software and hardware to assist professionals in collecting both process and outcomes data have improved exponentially. Yet, in many cases, organizations implement computerized management information systems which are underutilized or poorly utilized. The reasons that social service organizations do not use MISs are not well understood. Using a case example of the development of a computerized management information system, this paper suggests that understanding MIS utilization involves examining specific aspects of leadership, technical capacity and systems readiness in the real-world settings of social service organizations.
Metapopulation dominance and genomic-island acquisition of Bradyrhizobium with superior catabolic capabilities

Root nodule-forming rhizobia exhibit a bipartite lifestyle, replicating in soil and also within plant cells where they fix nitrogen for legume hosts. Host control models posit that legume hosts act as a predominant selective force on rhizobia, but few studies have examined rhizobial fitness in natural populations. Here, we genotyped and phenotyped Bradyrhizobium isolates across more than 800 km of the native Acmispon strigosus host range. We sequenced chromosomal genes expressed under free-living conditions and accessory symbiosis loci expressed in planta and encoded on an integrated 'symbiosis island' (SI). We uncovered a massive clonal expansion restricted to the Bradyrhizobium chromosome, with a single chromosomal haplotype dominating populations, ranging more than 700 km, and acquiring 42 divergent SI haplotypes, none of which were spatially widespread. For focal genotypes, we quantified utilization of 190 sole-carbon sources relevant to soil fitness. Chromosomal haplotypes that were both widespread and dominant exhibited superior growth on diverse carbon sources, whereas these patterns were not mirrored among SI haplotypes. Abundance, spatial range and catabolic superiority of chromosomal, but not symbiosis genotypes suggests that fitness in the soil environment, rather than symbiosis with hosts, might be the key driver of Bradyrhizobium dominance.
The Imperative of Postgraduate Enrollment Institution Reform for China

With the increasingly extending of the postgraduate enrollment scale in China and continuously advancing of the market economic reform,Chinese postgraduate enrollment institution will necessarily be pushed into market,connecting with the world and entering the great international circulation.Meanwhile,given the escalating tendency of attending the graduate entrance exam,and the increasing enrollment population and scale,now many problems that prohibit the development of postgraduate education appear in all enrollment units.For example,understaffed,overburdened with work,inefficient,etc.It is especially important to reform the current enrollment institution,and search for economic,sensible and efficient enrollment pattern.This paper explores the imperative and tendency of postgraduate enrollment system reform according to the reality we are facing with.
Excess of mutational jackpot events in growing populations due to gene surfing

One of the hallmarks of spontaneous mutations in growing populations is the emergence of mutational jackpot events - large mutant clones arising from mutations that by chance occur early in the development of a cellular population so that their progenitors benefit from prolonged growth. Due to their sheer size, these jackpot events, first discovered by Luria and Delbrueck, are thought to have momentous roles in short-term evolutionary processes, including the adaptation from standing variation, evolutionary rescue, drug resistance evolution, and the somatic evolution of genetic diseases. However, because the emergence of jackpot events has been understood only in uniformly growing populations, it is currently impossible to predict their impact on the evolution of many naturally structured populations. To study jackpot events in spatially structured populations, we tracked mutant clones in microbial populations using fluorescent microscopy and population sequencing. High-frequency mutations were massively enriched in microbial colonies compared to well-shaken liquid cultures, as a result of late-occurring mutations surfing at the edge of range expansions. We provide a mathematical theory that explains the observed excess of jackpot events and predicts their role in promoting rare evolutionary outcomes. In particular, we show that resistant clones generated by surfing can become unleashed under high selection pressures, and thus represent a drug resistance hazard for high-dose drug treatments. An excess of mutational jackpot events is shown to be a general consequence of non-uniform growth and, therefore, could be relevant to the mutational load of developing biofilm communities, solid tumors and multi-cellular organisms.
Rapid reversible substrate regulation of fructose transporter expression in rat small intestine and kidney

To understand the regulation of fructose transport in the small intestine and kidney, we provided rats with "control" diets (46% glucose as starch) and with diets enriched in fructose, glucose, or sucrose (60% each of simple carbohydrate) and measured the concentration of facilitative glucose transporter isoform (GLUT5) protein and mRNA in these tissues. The fructose-enriched diet resulted in a five- and eightfold increase in GLUT5 protein at 1 and 7 days, respectively, in the small intestine, which declined rapidly with reversion to control diet. No change in GLUT5 protein levels was seen after glucose- or sucrose-enriched diets. Glucose, and to a lesser extent fructose, feeding resulted in an increase in the basolateral GLUT2 protein. Feeding glucose to the rats caused a rise in sodium-dependent glucose transporter isoform (SGLT1) protein levels compared with the control diet. There was a transient increase in the small intestine GLUT5 mRNA 1 day after fructose feeding, which returned to normal by 7 days. In the kidney, both fructose and sucrose increased GLUT5 protein levels three- to fourfold, whereas glucose had no effect. Fructose-enriched diet did not increase the levels of GLUT5 protein or mRNA in a segment of small intestine that was isolated from the rest of the small intestine but continued to have mesenteric blood supply. The results suggest that the levels of GLUT5 protein are regulated by fructose, its in vivo substrate, in both the small intestine and kidney, and the regulation requires fructose to interact with the brush border of the small intestine, possibly stabilizing the protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Interoperable informatics for health enterprise transformation

ABSTRACTThe U.S. healthcare system is arguably undergoing its most significant transformation since the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s. As then, covering more citizens is a motivation, but the larger effort now is toward creating a high-quality, safe, precise, and cost-effective system. There is broad agreement that accomplishing these objectives requires widely adopted, interoperable digital health records and related clinical tools, including those used by patients. In parallel, sophisticated analysis of the data from these systems and tools is required to gain deeper understanding of care processes and optimal care delivery. Current electronic health record systems and tools are in need of innovative approaches to increase their usability and impact on care. Health Level Seven's (R) rapidly emerging Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standard may provide a practical solution to interoperability and for innovation to feedback new knowledge gained from past care to support bet...
Precipitation collector bias and its effects on temporal trends and spatial variability in National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network data ☆

Abstract Precipitation samples have been collected by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program's (NADP) National Trends Network (NTN) using the Aerochem Metrics Model 301 (ACM) collector since 1978. Approximately one-third of the NTN ACM collectors have been replaced with N-CON Systems, Inc. Model ADS 00-120 (NCON) collectors. Concurrent data were collected over 6 years at 12 NTN sites using colocated ACM and NCON collectors in various precipitation regimes. Linear regression models of the colocated data were used to adjust for relative bias between the collectors. Replacement of ACM collectors with NCON collectors resulted in shifts in 10-year seasonal precipitation-weighted mean concentration (PWMC) trend slopes for: cations (−0.001 to −0.007 mgL−1yr−1), anions (−0.009 to −0.028 mgL−1yr−1), and hydrogen ion (+0.689 meqL-1yr−1). Larger shifts in NO3− and SO4−2 seasonal PWMC trend slopes were observed in the Midwest and Northeast US, where concentrations are generally higher than in other regions. Geospatial analysis of interpolated concentration rasters indicated regions of accentuated variability introduced by incorporation of NCON collectors into the NTN.
The Role of Consumer Innovativeness on Brand Extension Evaluation

This study empirically examines the role of Consumer innovativeness in deciding Consumer Acceptability of Brand Extension (CAOBE). The conceptual model of use innovative behavior is tested for the ‘Kist’ brand in Sri Lanka. The data was collected from a convenience sample of 200 ‘Kist’ brand consumers through a closed-ended questionnaire and was analyzed using univariate and bivariate techniques.
Demonstration of GaN Current Aperture Vertical Electron Transistors With Aperture Region Formed by Ion Implantation

In this paper, we report the successful demonstration of current aperture vertical electron transistors (CAVETs) obtained by using a novel implantation-based compensation method to achieve a conductive aperture. This innovation leads to the first demonstration of “regrowth-free” CAVETs. Two gallium nitride (GaN) CAVETs were fabricated using the ion-implantation-compensated aperture regions, both with Mg-doped p-GaN as current-blocking layers (CBLs). The aperture regions were formed by implanting Si into the p-GaN CBL. In one of the CAVET samples, the Si-implantation-based aperture was formed prior to the regrowth of AlGaN/GaN layers on top. The other CAVET sample was subjected to aperture formation via Si implantation after all the device layers were grown. An ion-implantation scheme using multiple-energy levels was designed to realize a 250-nm Si box profile with a total dose of $\textsf {4.2} \times \textsf {10}^{\textsf {15}}$ cm−2, converting a 250-nm p-GaN (Mg: $8\times 10^{\textsf {19}}$ cm−2) to conductive (n-type) GaN successfully. This novel fabrication method enables the use of Mg-doped CBLs without conventional etch and regrowth steps. Moreover, the proposed scheme can ultimately lead to regrowth-free CAVETs.
Clash of Harmonics in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring

This paper describes a fascinating connection between the physics of music and the famous chord in the dissonant rhythmic section of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (1913). The analysis of Stravinsky’s chord will draw from the physics of harmonics, musical intervals, mathematics, and cognitive psychology. This highly interdisciplinary approach will especially appeal to students typically found in a physics course for non-majors. A video accompanies this paper so that readers and students can hear the construction of Stravinsky’s dissonant chord as well as an orchestra performing an excerpt of The Rite of Spring.
MRI findings associated with medial patellofemoral capsuloligamentous plication.

To review the MRI appearance of medial patellofemoral capsuloligamentous plication (also known as reefing or imbrication) for proximal patellar realignment in patients with patellofemoral instability. Retrospective analysis of our surgical and PACS databases identified cases of medial plication performed between June 2011 and July 2016. Pre- and postoperative MRI characteristics were reviewed. Correlation was made with operative reports and clinical records to define postoperative appearances on MRI. Forty-one patients underwent medial plication during the study period; 29 were excluded owing to a lack of postoperative imaging. Ultimately, 12 knees were included in 11 patients who had postoperative MRI studies available (8 women and 3 men, mean age 27.3 ± 10.2 years). Ten (83%) of the surgeries were performed open and 2 (17%) arthroscopically. There were differences in the post-surgical MRI appearance of medial plications carried out after surgery using the open and arthroscopic techniques. The open technique produces a “heaped up” distal vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) with centralized patellar insertion (100%), which was absent in the case of arthroscopic plication, where subtle medial retinaculum thickening was demonstrated without alteration of its patellar insertion. The mean postoperative lateral patellar and patellofemoral congruence angles measured 2.5° ± 5.6° and 12.4° ± 19.9° respectively. A significant association was found regarding change in patellofemoral alignment (p = 0.018 and p = 0.004 respectively). The MRI appearance of medial plication is not well described in the radiology literature; radiologists should be familiar with anticipated post-plication findings to avoid potential confusion for pathology and allow more accurate interpretation of postoperative imaging findings from this common surgery.
Intracranial Calcifications Discovered During Prolonged New Seizure.

An eight-month-old infant presented to the emergency department with a prolonged episode of left upper and lower extremity shaking and eye deviation.
Simulating Semiconductor Liquids with Ab Initio Pseudopotentials and Quantum Forces

One of the most difficult problems in materials science is simulating the microscopic liquid state. Often interatomic forces crafted from classical potentials are employed in such simulations. These potentials are fit to experimental data and may not replicate the true forces in the melt. Here we illustrate how quantum forces can be used to simulate liquids. These forces are determined within the pseudopotential-density functional method. This method is highly accurate and well tested for semiconductor in the solid state, but has only recently been applied to liquids. We will illustrate this approach for Si, GaAs and ZnTe liquids. For these liquids, we will present results for the microstructure, the diffusion constants and the electronic properties
Genetic Screens Reveal FEN1 and APEX2 as BRCA2 Synthetic Lethal Targets

BRCA1 or BRCA2 inactivation drives breast and ovarian cancer but also creates vulnerability to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. To search for additional targets whose inhibition is synthetically lethal in BRCA2-deficient backgrounds, we screened two pairs of BRCA2 isogenic cell lines with DNA-repair-focused small hairpin RNA (shRNA) and CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-based libraries. We found that BRCA2-deficient cells are selectively dependent on multiple pathways including base excision repair, ATR signaling, and splicing. We identified APEX2 and FEN1 as synthetic lethal genes with both BRCA1 and BRCA2 loss of function. BRCA2-deficient cells require the apurinic endonuclease activity and the PCNA-binding domain of Ape2 (APEX2), but not Ape1 (APEX1). Furthermore, BRCA2-deficient cells require the 5' flap endonuclease but not the 5'-3' exonuclease activity of Fen1, and chemically inhibiting Fen1 selectively targets BRCA-deficient cells. Finally, we developed a microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) reporter and showed that Fen1 participates in MMEJ, underscoring the importance of MMEJ as a collateral repair pathway in the context of homologous recombination (HR) deficiency.
A Generalized Best-Response Smart Media Pricing Economic Model for Wireless Multimedia Communications

How to jointly provide Quality of Experience (QoE) to mobile multimedia users and simultaneously address the profit maximization issue of Content Provider (CP) - Wireless Carrier (WC) is a new economic challenge in wireless multimedia communications. In this paper, we consider leveraging the Smart Media Pricing (SMP) concept and develop a generalized best-response game theoretical model to determine the consumed data traffic from users and the media price charged by CPWC alliance. Based on the SMP utility models of user and CPWC alliance, a generalized game theoretical best-response game model is proposed to solve the non-cooperative selfish competition between the two players, which does not require concavity of the utility function at all. In the proposed Best Response Nash Equilibrium (BRNE) algorithm, both pure strategy and mixed-strategy schemes are developed for attaining the equilibrium solutions of the CP-WC’s data price and user’s amount of data consumption. Simulation study demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed BRNE algorithm that both user and CP-WC alliance get better utility when the system takes the Nash Equilibrium solutions.
Caste-based Oppression, Trauma and Collective Victimhood in Erstwhile South India: The Collective Therapeutic Potential of Theyyam:

The decades of collective victimhood and trauma that the oppressed lower caste members in the southern state of India (Kerala) suffered in silence were less known to the world until the socio-relig...
Weight loss and weight gain among participants in a community-based weight loss Challenge

To describe the characteristics of participants who registered for multiple annual offerings of a community-based weight loss program called The Challenge, and to determine participant characteristics associated with weight change over multiple offerings of The Challenge occurring during the years 2010–2016. Multivariable linear mixed effects analyses were conducted to describe percent weight change within and between offerings of The Challenge by participant characteristics. There were 669 and 575 participants included in the within and between analyses, respectively, for offerings of The Challenge. Among the 434 participants who lost weight in their first attempt at The Challenge and completed the initial weigh-in for a subsequent offering of The Challenge, 22.4% maintained their weight loss or had greater weight loss by the next Challenge, 40.3% gained back some weight, and 37.3% gained back all or more of the weight they lost during their first Challenge. Men had a significantly greater percent weight loss compared to women in their first and second Challenge and men were more likely to gain weight between Challenges. Participants who returned to more Challenges had a greater accumulated percent weight loss compared to those who returned to fewer Challenges. The current weight loss Challenge appears to contribute to helping a percentage of participants lose weight and maintain some or all of the weight loss.
Implementing Low-Stress Bicycle Routing in National Accessibility Evaluation:

The growth of bicycling and bicycle network facilities in the United States warrants assessment of whether bicycle networks give populations safe access to valuable destinations, that is, a bicycle...
Advanced age protects resistance arteries of mouse skeletal muscle from oxidative stress through attenuating apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide.

Key points Vascular oxidative stress increases with advancing age. We hypothesized that resistance vessels develop resilience to oxidative stress to protect functional integrity and tested this hypothesis by exposing isolated pressurized superior epigastric arteries (SEAs) of old and young mice to H2 O2 . H2 O2 -induced death was greater in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) than endothelial cells (ECs) and lower in SEAs from old vs. young mice; the rise in vessel wall [Ca2+ ]i induced by H2 O2 was attenuated with ageing, as was the decline in noradrenergic vasoconstriction; genetic deletion of IL-10 mimicked the effects of advanced age on cell survival. Inhibiting NO synthase or scavenging peroxynitrite reduced SMC death; endothelial denudation or inhibiting gap junctions increased SMC death; delocalization of cytochrome C activated caspases 9 and 3 to induce apoptosis. Vascular cells develop resilience to H2 O2 during ageing by preventing Ca2+ overload and endothelial integrity promotes SMC survival. Abstract Advanced age is associated with elevated oxidative stress and can protect the endothelium from cell death induced by H2 O2 . Whether such protection occurs for intact vessels or differs between smooth muscle cell (SMC) and endothelial cell (EC) layers is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that ageing protects SMCs and ECs during acute exposure to H2 O2 (200 µm, 50 min). Mouse superior epigastric arteries (SEAs; diameter, ∼150 µm) were isolated and pressurized to 100 cmH2 O at 37˚C. For SEAs from young (4 months) mice, H2 O2 killed 57% of SMCs and 11% of ECs in males vs. 8% and 2%, respectively, in females. Therefore, SEAs from males were studied to resolve the effect of ageing and experimental interventions. For old (24 months) mice, SMC death was reduced to 10% with diminished accumulation of [Ca2+ ]i in the vessel wall during H2 O2 exposure. In young mice, genetic deletion of IL-10 mimicked the protective effect of ageing on cell death and [Ca2+ ]i accumulation. Whereas endothelial denudation or gap junction inhibition (carbenoxolone; 100 µm) increased SMC death, inhibiting NO synthase (l-NAME, 100 µm) or scavenging peroxynitrite (FeTPPS, 5 µm) reduced SMC death along with [Ca2+ ]i . Despite NO toxicity via peroxynitrite formation, endothelial integrity protects SMCs. Caspase inhibition (Z-VAD-FMK, 50 µm) attenuated cell death with immunostaining for annexin V, cytochrome C, and caspases 3 and 9 pointing to induction of intrinsic apoptosis during H2 O2 exposure. We conclude that advanced age reduces Ca2+ influx that triggers apoptosis, thereby promoting resilience of the vascular wall during oxidative stress.
Effects of Healthcare-Associated Infections on Length of PICU Stay and Mortality.

Objectives To identify the effects of healthcare-associated infections on length of PICU stay and mortality. Design Retrospective, single-center, observational study. Setting PICU of a tertiary children's hospital. Patients Consecutive patients who stayed greater than 48 hours in the PICU between January 2013 and December 2017. Interventions None. Measurements and main results Data were retrospectively collected from medical records. We identified occurrences of common healthcare-associated infections, including bloodstream infection, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection, defined according to the 2008 definitions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Healthcare Safety Network. We assessed the effects of each healthcare-associated infection on length of PICU stay and PICU mortality using multivariable analysis. Among 1,622 admissions with a PICU stay greater than 48 hours, the median age was 299 days and male patients comprised 51% of admissions. The primary diagnostic categories were cardiovascular (58% of admissions), respiratory (21%), gastrointestinal (8%), and neurologic/muscular (6%). The median length of PICU stay was 6 days, and the PICU mortality rate was 2.5%. A total of 167 healthcare-associated infections were identified, including 67 bloodstream infections (40%), 43 pneumonias (26%), and 57 urinary tract infections (34%). There were 152 admissions with at least one healthcare-associated infection (9.4% of admissions with a stay > 48 hr). On multivariable analysis, although each healthcare-associated infection was not significantly associated with mortality, bloodstream infection was associated with an extra length of PICU stay of 10.2 days (95% CI, 7.9-12.6 d), pneumonia 14.2 days (11.3-17.2 d), and urinary tract infection 6.5 days (4.0-9.0 d). Accordingly, 9.7% of patient-days were due to these three healthcare-associated infections among patients with a stay greater than 48 hours. Conclusions Although healthcare-associated infections were not associated with PICU mortality, they were associated with extra length of PICU stay. As 9.7% of patient-days were due to healthcare-associated infections, robust prevention efforts are warranted.
Evolution of Kiting Behavior in a Two Player Combat Problem

We examine the use of an evolutionary algorithm to design a feedback controller for a two player combat problem. This problem consists of two players on a one-dimensional line. One player is referred to as the Defender and is held at the origin (unable to move). The other player is referred to as the Attacker and is free to move back and forth with a constant speed. The goal of the Attacker is to inflict as much damage as it can on the Defender while suffering as little damage as possible. The greater the difference between damage inflicted vs damage taken, the more successful the attack. The Attacker’s controller is represented by a parameterized control vector. An evolutionary algorithm is then used to evolve populations of these control vectors in an attempt to obtain a near optimal feedback controller.
Strengthening Couples from a Single-Parent Household Using Relational Cultural Therapy

Individuals initially learn about intimate relationships from observing others, such as their parents or caregivers’ relationship, which may positively or negatively affect their own romantic relat...
Gammaherpesviruses and B Cells: A Relationship That Lasts a Lifetime.

Gammaherpesviruses are highly prevalent pathogens that establish life-long infection and are associated with diverse malignancies, including lymphoproliferative diseases and B cell lymphomas. Unlik...
Madame executive: baseball the Manley way.

Effa Manley, arguably the most demanding matriarch in baseball history, was a pioneer in many respects. As the first female owner of an American professional baseball team, she helped hone the skil...
Parameters Estimation Directly from Sinograms with Neural Networks

Artificial Neural networks (ANNs) have been known to be suitable for various mathematical transformations. With the advent of GPU-based implementations of NNs, they are making a significant impact on the application of artificial intelligence in medicine. In this project, we investigate the NNs usefulness in relation to the reconstruction of Radon projection data. Medical image reconstruction is a type of estimation problem. For example, estimate emission counts or absorption coefficients from noisy Radon projections of an image, also known as a sinogram. We investigate with a simple simulation of how different parameters of an image can be recovered directly from sinograms with NN models. We have estimated object locations in 2D, radii for circular objects, constant attenuation coefficients, and shapes of complex 2D objects when they are used in creating sinograms. We investigated different NN architectures, including a convolutional neural network.
Characteristics of end-of-life (EOL) chemotherapy (CTx) received by patients with advanced cancers and association with EOL emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) care.

e19222Background: Use of EOL CTx is an established quality metric in patients with advanced malignancies but less is known about which types of CTx are most commonly used and association with ED an...
Strengthening the interpretability of clinical trial results by assessing the effect of informative censoring on the primary estimand in PRECISION

Background:The ICH E9(R1) addendum states that the strategy to account for intercurrent events should be included when defining an estimand, the treatment effect to be estimated based on the study ...
Evaluation of emergency department utilization for dermatologic conditions in the pediatric population within the United States from 2009-2015.

Background Dermatologic conditions comprise a significant number of emergency department visits in the pediatric population in the United States. Understanding key predictors of emergency department utilization for dermatologic conditions is important to reduce inappropriate use. Methods A total of 44 554 sampled patient emergency department visits, consisting of patients less than 18 years of age, were collected from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey between 2009 to 2015. ICD-9 codes were used to define dermatologic conditions versus non-dermatologic conditions with univariate and multivariate analyses used to identify factors significantly correlated with dermatologic emergency department utilization. Results A total of 13 681 691 pediatric dermatologic emergency department visits (weighted) were evaluated over the seven-year period, representing 6.4% of total pediatric emergency department visits. The most common dermatologic diagnosis was cellulitis (25.6% of visits). The majority of patients were five years old or younger (54.4%). Patients with primary dermatologic conditions were more likely to be triaged as non-urgent (16.7%) or semi-urgent (45.8%) than patients without dermatologic conditions. Only 2.1% of patients with dermatologic conditions required further observation or admission. On further regression modeling, age ≤ 5, semi-urgent or non-urgent acuity, Medicaid insurance, and residence in the Northeastern or Midwestern United States were significantly associated with presentation to the emergency department with a dermatologic condition when compared to non-dermatologic condition. Conclusions Dermatologic conditions continue to comprise a significant number of ED visits in the pediatric population. Increased ED utilization by vulnerable pediatric populations highlights the need to better direct or provide access to outpatient dermatologic care.
Increased HIV testing in people who use drugs hospitalized in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

People who use drugs (PWUD) often experience barriers to preventative health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, due to lapses in harm reduction services, several public health experts forecasted subsequent increases in diagnosis of HIV in PWUD. As many inpatient hospitals reworked patient flow during the COVID-19 surge, we hypothesized that HIV testing in PWUD would decrease. To answer this question, we compiled a deidentified list of hospitalized patients with electronic medical record indicators of substance use-a positive urine toxicology screen, prescribed medications to treat opioid use disorder, a positive CIWA score, or a positive CAGE score-admitted between January, 2020 and August, 2020. The outcome of interest was HIV test completion during inpatient hospitalization. The study used logistic regression to examine associations between type of substance use and receipt of HIV test. The study grouped substance use type into four groups (1) opioids (oxycodone, fentanyl, or other opiates) or opioid use disorder treatments (methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone); (2) stimulant use (cocaine or amphetamines); (3) alcohol use (presence of a positive CAGE or CIWA score or alcohol present on toxicology screen); and (4) benzodiazepine use (benzodiazepines present on toxicology screen). The proportion of PWUD who were tested for HIV increased from 10.4% in January, 2020 to 28.2% in April, 2020 and back down to 12% in August. Notably, there was an inverse trend over time for number of people hospitalized with drug use, from 259 in January to a nadir of 85 in April, and then up to 217 in August, 2020. Contrary to our hypothesis, HIV testing increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we discuss explanations for this finding. The decrease in HIV testing post-pandemic peak is a reminder that we must work to develop interventions that lead to sustained high rates of HIV testing for all people, and especially for PWUD.
An Austrian in Hollywood: Self-Plagiarism and the “Love Theme” in Max Steiner’s Music for Now, Voyager and Mildred Pierce

When interviewed about film music, John Williams is often quick to credit Max Steiner as the originator of the leitmotif technique in film music. Steiner brought with him to the U.S. the compositional techniques he learned as a child prodigy in Europe, including the leitmotif technique. This paper will discuss Steiner’s use of leitmotifs in his Academy Award winning score to the 1942 Warner Bros. film Now, Voyager. Film musicologists disagree on the relevance of themes being heard in different keys throughout a film score and their possible effect on the audience. I intend to demonstrate that, although the significance of these key relationships may only exist on a subconscious level, they do contribute in a meaningful way to the viewing/listening experience. To demonstrate this, I will use examples of “Charlotte’s Theme,” also known as the “Love Theme,” which appears in various keys throughout the film. The key relationships are clearly intentional and well thought out by Steiner. This theme, which is almost always in triple meter, was recorded in 1943 by Allen Miller and his Orchestra as a pop tune, in quadruple meter, with the title “It Can’t Be Wrong.” Steiner plagiarizes himself when this instrumental version is heard as source music in the 1945 Warner Bros. film Mildred Pierce. Vocal versions, including one recorded by Frank Sinatra, include lyrics by Kim Gannon. This version was also sung in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “The Killing Game, Part 1.”
Validation of modified youth experience survey for sport (MYES-S) using multidimensional Rasch model

Youth sports provides the foundation for successful dynamics and organization within a sports ecosystem. Thus, it is necessary to explore the experiences of youth who either drop out of or persist ...
Let Telemedicine Enhance Your Medical Home

* Abbreviation: CMC — : children with medical complexity In spring 2020, we all were thrust into the world of social distancing, personal protective equipment, and reaching out to our patients through every potential mechanism at our disposal. Telemedicine quickly became a safe alternative for patients to access health care, although providers struggled with implementation and continue to navigate its scope and sustainability moving forward.1 Families of children with medical complexity (CMC) faced even greater hardships during this coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, balancing the need for close medical follow-up for their child with the risk of virus exposure on entering a medical setting. In this month’s Pediatrics , Mosquera et al2 provide us with pre–coronavirus disease 2019 data to reassure us that adding telemedicine access to an existing complex care medical home can be effective in improving both clinical and financial outcomes. This population of children all had ≥2 … Address correspondence to Neil E. Herendeen, MD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 632, Rochester, NY. E-mail: neil_herendeen{at}urmc.rochester.edu
A Bridge for postpartum women to Standard Days Method®: I. Developing the Bridge.

Abstract Background A new fertility-awareness-based Bridge was developed for postpartum women starting with their first postpartum menses and until they are eligible to use the Standard Days Method®. This article describes the development of the Bridge and theoretical efficacy. Study Design Analysis of a preexisting data set collected in 1986–1990 was performed. Seventy-three breastfeeding women in Australia, Britain and Canada were followed starting 42 days postpartum until they had at least two potentially fertile cycles. We used these data to calculate the theoretical probability of pregnancy from intercourse on different days of the cycle relative to ovulation for postpartum women following the instructions of the Bridge. Results The fertility-awareness-based family-planning Bridge is theoretically effective for postpartum women until they reestablish cycle regularity and can start using the Standard Days Method. Conclusion The Bridge can potentially be effective for postpartum women until they are eligible to use the Standard Days Method. Results from an efficacy study of the Bridge are described in a companion article.
First-Principle and Experimental Study of a Gadolinium-Praseodymium-Cobalt Pseudobinary Intermetallic Compound

First-principles methods were used to determine the magnetic state of a simulated cobalt-based binary alloy (Gd,Pr)Co17 along with its corresponding lattice parameters and density. The resulting composition was fabricated using two methods arc-melting and induction-melting and compared with the calculated values. The induction-melted samples showed greater homogeneity and successfully produced the R2Co17 structure. Calculated values qualitatively predict ferromagnetic behavior and lattice parameters to be within a low percent. The development of magnetic alloys with the assistance of computational methods promises faster development of new functional materials.
Type assignment for intersections and unions in call-by-value languages

We develop a system of type assignment with intersection types, union types, indexed types, and universal and existential dependent types that is sound in a call-by-value functional language. The combination of logical and computational principles underlying our formulation naturally leads to the central idea of type-checking subterms in evaluation order. We thereby provide a uniform generalization and explanation of several earlier isolated systems. The proof of progress and type preservation, usually formulated for closed terms only, relies on a notion of definite substitution.
Low-power multiplier design using delayed evaluation

A circuit design technique for very low power parallel multipliers is presented. The design uses dynamic CMOS circuits together with a self-timed evaluate signal in such a way that each carry-save or carry-propagate adder within the array evaluates only after all of its inputs have stablized. This technique avoids the spurious switching of internal nodes so that the average power dissipation is minimized. Circuit simulation results are presented which illustrate the power dissipation characteristics of the multiplier.
Delta-sigma modulator topologies with high immunity to pattern noise

This paper addresses the problem of pattern noise encountered in single-stage delta-sigma modulators in the presence of a DC input signal. By utilizing state-space matrices, we explain the cause of these undesired cyclic patterns and show how a modulator's susceptibility to tonal behavior can be determined by inspection of the system matrix A. By example of two frequently used single-stage architectures, a 2nd and a 3rd order system, we demonstrate that simple topological modifications can render a given system immune to cyclic sequences. The two examples prove that this immunity can be achieved without visibly degrading the modulator's noise shaping capability. In fact, the modification applied to the 2nd order system even improves the quantization noise suppression.
Meditation to Deal with Heterogeneous Data Sources

The objective of interoperation is to increase the value of information when information from multiple sources is accessed, related, and combined. However, care is required to realize this benefit. One problem to be addressed in this context is that a simple integration over the ever-expanding number of resources available on-line leads to what customers perceive as information overload. In actuality, the customers experience data overload, making it nearly impossible for them to extract relevant points of information out of a huge haystack of data.
What Four Million Mappings Can Tell You about Two Hundred Ontologies

The field of biomedicine has embraced the Semantic Web probably more than any other field. As a result, there is a large number of biomedical ontologies covering overlapping areas of the field. We have developed BioPortal--an open community-based repository of biomedical ontologies. We analyzed ontologies and terminologies in BioPortal and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), creating more than 4 million mappings between concepts in these ontologies and terminologies based on the lexical similarity of concept names and synonyms. We then analyzed the mappings and what they tell us about the ontologies themselves, the structure of the ontology repository, and the ways in which the mappings can help in the process of ontology design and evaluation. For example, we can use the mappings to guide users who are new to a field to the most pertinent ontologies in that field, to identify areas of the domain that are not covered sufficiently by the ontologies in the repository, and to identify which ontologies will serve well as background knowledge in domain-specific tools. While we used a specific (but large) ontology repository for the study, we believe that the lessons we learned about the value of a large-scale set of mappings to ontology users and developers are general and apply in many other domains.
Book review: Knowledge-Based Process Planning For Construction and Manufacturing by Carlos Zozaya-Gorostiza, Chris Hendrickson, and Daniel R. Rehak (Academic Press)

Planning software has been mainly confined to single applications and academic studies. Fortunately, the authors of this volume are in a positions to overcome these strictures and make major contributions from the practical viewpoint as well as the academic by virtue of their positions within the Carnegie-Mellon AI Community and its various industrial connections.
Abrogation of the G2 checkpoint results in differential radiosensitization of G1 checkpoint-deficient and G1 checkpoint-competent cells

We have examined the effect of abrogation of the G2 checkpoint on the radiosensitivity of G1 checkpoint-proficient and G1 checkpoint-deficient cells. A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were transduced with the E6 oncogene of the human papillomavirus type 16 to eliminate their radiation-induced G1 arrest. These E6+ cells exhibited a dose-dependent increase in radiation resistance compared to control A549 cells transduced with the vector alone. Treatment (96 h) with 2 mM caffeine resulted in an abrogation of the cellular G2 checkpoint in both E6+ and control cells and a differential radiosensitizing effect on the two cell lines such that the E6+ clones and the vector controls became equally radiosensitive. These data show that human tumors which are radioresistant due to the loss of the p53-mediated G1 checkpoint can be made radiosensitive by abrogation of the G2 checkpoint. The implications of these results for cancer therapy are discussed.
A species-level phylogeny of the Cretaceous Hesperornithiformes (Aves: Ornithuromorpha): implications for body size evolution amongst the earliest diving birds

Despite extensive discoveries across the globe over the past two centuries, little phylogenetic work has been done on the Hesperornithiformes. Spanning the late Early to Late Cretaceous, hesperornithiforms are one of the most diverse groups of Mesozoic birds in terms of both their geographical distribution and the wide differences in body size and diving specializations. This study presents the first phylogenetic analysis of the Hesperornithiformes that includes a majority of the described taxa, enabling the first detailed look at evolutionary relationships within the clade. The results of this study support the monophyly of the Hesperornithiformes, which is recovered as the sister clade to the avian crown group, Neornithes. Within the Hesperornithiformes, the Brodavidae and Hesperornithidae are monophyletic while the Baptornithidae are polyphyletic. Little evidence of species-level taxonomic differentiation is found within Hesperornis, with many species indistinguishable from Hesperornis regalis. Evoluti...
The impact of ambiguity on managerial investment and cash holdings

Standard finance theory suggests that managers invest in projects that, in expectation, produce returns that justify the use of capital. An underlying assumption is that managers have the information necessary to understand the distributional properties of the pay-offs underlying the decision. This paper examines firm investment behavior when managers are likely to find it more challenging to develop expectations of pay-offs, namely during periods of increased macroeconomic ambiguity. In particular, we examine how macroeconomic ambiguity � proxied by the variance premium (Drechsler, 2010) and the dispersion in forecasts of corporate profits from the Survey of Professional Forecasters (Anderson et al., 2009) � impacts managerial capital investment and cash holdings. Consistent with ambiguity theory, we find that macroeconomic ambiguity is negatively associated with capital investment and positively associated with cash holdings. These results are robust to alternative explanations related to risk, investor sentiment and economic conditions. Moreover, consistent with recent theoretical real options literature, we find that ambiguity reduces the value of investment opportunities, while risk increases the value of such opportunities. Overall, these findings provide initial empirical evidence on the economic distinction between ambiguity and risk with respect to managerial investment and cash holdings.