cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 3802: Retinal Vasoreactivity as a Marker of Impaired Cerebral Function in Diabetes

The eye and the brain share embryological, anatomic and physiological similarities, which suggest that the retinal microvasculature may be an ideal surrogate marker of cerebrovascular function. This is intriguing, as the cerebral vasculature cannot be directly measured in a non-invasive manner. In epidemiological studies abnormal retinal Arteriovenous Ratios (AVR) are associated with an increased risk of stroke and cerebrovascular disease. However, the association between retinal vasoreactivity measurements and cerebral blood vessel function remains unknown. An attenuated retinal vasoreactivity may indicate endothelial dysfunction in the eye and brain and may prove to be useful as a marker of cerebrovascular disease in high risk populations such as in diabetics. STUDY GOALS: To examine 1) the impact of diabetes at different disease stages on measures of cerebrovascular function and 2) the relationship between retinal blood vessel reactivity, retinal AVRs and measures of cerebral small vessel function. METHODS: This cohort study included 29 type 2 diabetics, 14 pre-diabetics, and 14 healthy controls (ages: 37 to 75 years). Retinal vasoreactivity was measured with the Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (Imedos, Jena, Germany) following high frequency flicker light stimulation. Cerebrovascular blood flow velocity of the Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) was assessed by Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound (TCD) (Siemens, USA). RESULTS: Progression of diabetes was found to be significantly associated with attenuation of light flicker stimulus response (P=0.0009 artery, P=0.0001 vein, CI 95%), AVR (P=0.0070, CI 95%), PI (P=0.0202, CI 95%), RI (P=0.0033, CI 95%) and hyperventilation-breath hold (P≤0.0001, CI 95%). Across all groups, attenuated retinal arterial and venous diameter responses to the light flicker stimulus were associated with an increase in MCA RI (P=0.02, r=-0.30 artery, P=0.06, r=-0.24 vein, CI 95%). An attenuated venous diameter response was associated with an increase in PI (P=0.02, r=-0.29 vein, CI 95%). In addition, attenuated retinal diameter responses were also associated with a decrease in MCA mean flow velocities following hyperventilation-breath hold (P=0.05, r=0.26 artery, P=0.01, r=0.34 vein, CI 95%). Attenuated retinal responses were also correlated with a reduction in AVR (P=0.05, r=0.26 artery, P=0.15, r=0.19 vein, CI 95%). CONCLUSION: Impairment of retinal vasoreactivity is associated with cerebrovascular dysfunction across the continuum of diabetes, possibly indicating that the eye reflects changes in cerebral blood vessel function and stroke risk.
Role of periaqueductal gray in the pressor response produced by central injections of angiotensin II

The present studies were undertaken to determine the role of rostral periaqueductal gray (PAG) in mediating the pressor effect produced by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of angiotensin II (ANG II, 200 ng). Two functionally and anatomically distinct sites were identified in rostral PAG: a dorsomedial site involved in the hemodynamic responses produced by electrical stimulation of the anteroventral third ventricle (AV3V) region and a ventromedial site required for the pressor response elicited by icv administration of ANG II. In Saffan-anesthetized rats, injection of lidocaine (LIDO, 4%) in dorsomedial PAG, but not in ventromedial PAG, significantly attenuated the decrease in hindquarter resistance (HQR) produced by electrical stimulation of the AV3V region, and the poststimulatory increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and HQR. The injection of LIDO in ventromedial PAG had no effect on the hemodynamic responses produced by electrical stimulation of the AV3V region in anesthetized rats but significantly attenuated the pressor response produced by icv administration of ANG II in conscious rats. The hypothesis that these two sites receive separate projections was addressed by microinjecting two retrogradely transported fluorescent dyes, Fluoro-Gold and Fast Blue. The anatomic findings suggest that separation of the pathways activated by electrical and chemical stimulation of the AV3V region occurs at the level of rostral PAG.
Entropy and rotation sets: A toy model approach

Given a continuous dynamical system f on a compact metric space X and a continuous potential Φ : X → ℝm, the generalized rotation set is the subset of ℝm consisting of all integrals of Φ with respect to all invariant probability measures. The localized entropy at a point in the rotation set is defined as the supremum of the measure-theoretic entropies over all invariant measures whose integrals produce that point. In this paper, we provide an introduction to the theory of rotation sets and localized entropies. Moreover, we consider a shift map and construct a Lipschitz continuous potential, for which we are able to explicitly compute the geometric shape of the rotation set and its boundary measures. We show that at a particular exposed point on the boundary there are exactly two ergodic localized measures of maximal entropy.
The Elusive Expansive Property

(1979). The Elusive Expansive Property. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 86, No. 6, pp. 483-484.
Self-diffusion in Silicate Melts: Theory, Observations and Applications to Magmatic Systems

The rates of mass transfer and ultimately the attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium in magmatic systems fundamentally depend on the intrinsic mobility and activity—composition relations for a magma’s constituents. The time scales on which chemical potential and isotopic differences are eliminated can be accounted for using various expressions/forms of the diffusion coefficients that are governed by the identity of the constituents and the nature of the gradients driving mass transfer. In broadest terms we can distinguish between two categories of diffusion— chemical diffusion and self-diffusion . Chemical diffusion is the local and directional transfer of mass in response to spatial differences in chemical potential, whether arising from differences in the concentration of the constituent itself and/or in other components of the system. [Chemical diffusion may, and usually does, involve diffusion of other components required locally to conserve mass, volume, moles, charge balance, or density depending on one’s choice of reference frame (see Brady 1975 for discussion of reference frames).] Non-ideal mixing exerts direct control on chemical diffusion behavior that can lead to diffusion towards higher, rather than lower, concentration. “Uphill diffusion” can also occur in ideal solutions with more than two components due to diffusive coupling effects. Self-diffusion , the chief subject of this chapter, sensu stricto is a measure of the random walk of constituents in the absence of chemical gradients. In principle this applies to any random motion of constituents leading to permanent displacement of individual ions or molecular species. The path of random walk for a given species cannot be measured directly. Rather, in practice one tracks the net displacement of species by monitoring changes in the distribution of “tagged” constituents, often one or more isotopes for the element of interest, within an otherwise homogeneous substance. We often approach this task in the laboratory in one of two …
Research of the Regional Businessmen and the Social Changes The Businessmen of Gui-de Prefecture of Henan Province in Ming Dynasty from Several Epitaphs

The identity of Gui-de’s businessmen in late Ming dynasty was mostly the immigrants from early Ming dynasty. These immigrants turned to business or part-time business due to the hopelessness of the imperial examination. The production mode with agriculture and ecological environment of Yellow River flood limited the independence and development of Gui-de’s businessmen,which resulted in the most of them turning to the imperial examination again,laying an economic foundation for the prosperity of the imperial examination and the official families of Gui-de prefecture in late Ming dynasty.
BLOOD FACTOR IN ACUTE DISSEMINATED LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS: II. Induction of Specific Antibodies against L. E. Factor

Abstract The gamma globulin fractionated by the Tiselius electrophoretic technic from the plasma of patients with acute disseminated lupus erythematosus was used as an antigen to induce antibodies in rabbits. Similarly, antibodies were induced in control rabbits with normal human serum and with normal human gamma globulin. The antisera developed in these three groups of rabbits were added to the L. E. gamma globulin solution and, after precipitation, the supernatant fluid was added to bone marrow preparations. The L. E. phenomenon was not demonstrable after the L. E. gamma globulin was precipitated by anti-L. E. gamma globulin rabbit serum. However, after precipitation of the L. E. gamma globulin by anti-normal human serum rabbit serum, or by anti-normal human gamma globulin rabbit serum, the L. E. phenomenon was still apparent. These studies suggest that the L. E. factor is an immunologically distinct component of L. E. gamma globulin.
A national study of psychiatrists' professional activities

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD A mail survey was conducted in 1988-1989 to study the professional activities of U.S. psychiatrists. Data from the 19,431 active respondents are reported. RESULTS Nineteen percent of the psychiatrists were women, an increase from the 17% reported in 1982. The median age of the respondents was 50 years. Nearly one-third of the respondents expressed interest in each of the following areas of subspecialization: adolescent psychiatry, substance abuse, geriatrics, and consultation-liaison psychiatry. More than one-fifth reported formal fellowship training in child/adolescent psychiatry. The psychiatrists worked an average of 48 hours per week--two-thirds in direct patient care--in an average of 2.3 different settings. The proportion of psychiatrists reporting private practice as their primary work setting showed a marked decline from 53% in 1982 to 45% in 1988. There was an increase from 4% in 1982 to 11% in 1988 in those whose primary work setting was a private psychiatric hospital. The typical caseload was over 60 patients, with roughly half that number seen each week. For inpatients treated, the two most common diagnoses were affective disorders and schizophrenic disorders. In a typical week psychiatrists treated about one-half of their outpatients with individual psychotherapy; three-fifths of these were also treated with medications. The average net income for psychiatrists working 35 hours or more per week was $99,850 for men and $73,174 for women. CONCLUSIONS Major trends evident from this study are subspecialization, medicalization, privatization, feminization, and organizational diversification.
Unsupervised detection of cancer driver mutations with parsimony-guided learning

Runjun Kumar, S. Joshua Swamidass and Ron Bose present an unsupervised parsimony-guided method, ParsSNP, for prioritizing candidate cancer driver mutations. They apply ParsSNP to a gastric cancer data set and predict potential driver mutations not detected by other methods, including truncations in known tumor-suppressor genes and previously confirmed drivers.
In vivo functioning of the Na+, K+-activated ATPase.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the in vivo functioning of the Na + , K + -activated adenosine-triphosphatase (ATPase). Movement of Na + and K + across the plasmalemmal membrane is largely carried out by active energy-dependent mechanisms. Maintaining the Na + gradient is particularly important in view of the central role commonly played by this ion in fueling the uptake of sugars and amino acids, in control of voltage-dependent permeability, and in exchange for Ca 2+ . Regulation of Na + , in conjunction with K + , is central to control of cell volume, cell proliferation, and transcellular ion movement, to the maintenance of transmembrane electrical potential, and to the controlled release of neurotransmitters. In nervous tissue, this regulation is of singular importance because: (1) of the frequent partial dissipation of basal transmembrane concentration gradients by postsynaptic and action potentials and, (2) the accompanying ion shifts occurring within the relatively restricted extracellular volume may lead to significant concentration changes.
InP/ZnS core-shell quantum dots sensitized ZnO nanowires for photovoltaic devices

With the increasing worldwide need for energy, fossil fuels will not be able to keep up with demand in the coming decades. Solar energy is one of the best solutions to this problem with the advantages of being clean and sustainable. Among the various designs of solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells provide relatively high efficiency with large scale for a low cost [1]. Conventional dye-sensitized solar cells operate with light harvesting organic dye molecules adsorbed at the interface between TiO 2 nanoparticles and a hole-conducting liquid electrolyte [2]. However, new combinations of materials potentially present an opportunity to further improve the performance and lower the cost of solar cells. One such promising approach is to use quantum dots (QDs) instead of the organic materials as the main photosensitive constituent. Several types of semiconductor QDs, including CdSe [3], CdS [4] and InP [5], have been investigated to realize quantum dot sensitized solar cells by taking advantage of the tunable absorption spectrum of the QDs through changes in their size. Complementarily to this approach, it is desirable to use a semiconductor material with a high structural uniformity and surface area as the framework on which to attach these QDs and achieve efficient electron transport, such as well-aligned ZnO nanowires [6].
Directory Synchronization and Virtualization

Oracle Internet Directory (OID), Oracle Virtual Directory (OVD), and the Directory Integration Platform (DIP) provide Oracle Directory Services with the ability to consolidate user management and integrate with other applications.
Flow of Knowledge

Thermodynamics offers a conceptual entry into the domain of knowledge. The behavior of biological and life-form knowledge centric objects or KCOs tend to be probabilistic because their decision-making becomes individualistic, time, and situation dependent. Such variations are accommodated in the equations for kenergy and kentropy by suitable constants that traditionally relate energy and entropy in thermodynamics. These constants are initially “borrowed” from thermodynamics and then the equations are “modeled” after the classic equations in electrical engineering, yet again modified to fit into the science of knowledge. As it is seen in this chapter, the traditional physical sciences start to buckle under stress and psyche and emotions of humanist KCOs and the so-called constants start to become coefficients. These constants are not constants at all in the knowledge domain, but time- and nature-dependent (psychological and emotional) coefficients and attributes of humanist type KCOs. The equations that served as models start to show uncertainties generally associated with quantum mechanics. The methodologies in knowledge sciences converge into a discipline in its own right.
Strategies for Value Creation Through Sustainable Manufacturing

Abstract Making the business case and establishing strategic directions for sustainable manufacturing requires a collaborative effort. Strategic capabilities that can help create sustainable value for all stakeholders must be identified. Technologies and methodologies to provide these capabilities for implementation must then be developed, through public-private partnerships. This paper presents major business imperatives and strategic capabilities necessary to enable value creation through sustainable manufacturing identified based on extensive engagement with business leaders and industry professionals as well as academic experts and government agency representatives. The paper also presents a future vision for sustainable products, processes and systems that can be derived from such capabilities.
Extracellular MicroRNAs Induce Potent Innate Immune Responses via TLR7/MyD88-Dependent Mechanisms

Tissue ischemia, such as transient myocardial ischemia, leads to release of cellular RNA including microRNA(miRNA) into the circulation and extracellular (ex-) space, but the biological function of the ex-RNA is poorly understood. We recently reported that cardiac RNA of both human and rodent origins induced cytokine production and immune cell activation. However, the identity of the ex-RNA responsible for the proinflammatory effect remains unclear. In the current study, using an miRNA array, we profiled the plasma miRNAs 4 h after transient myocardial ischemia (45 min) or sham procedure. Among 38 plasma miRNAs that were elevated following ischemia, eight were tested for their ability to induce cytokine response in macrophages and cardiomyocytes. We found that six miRNA mimics (miR-34a, -122, -133a, -142, -146a, and -208a) induced cytokine production in a dose-dependent manner. The effects of miRNAs (miR-133a, -146a, and -208a) were diminished by uridine→adenosine mutation and by RNase pretreatment. The miRNA-induced cytokine (MIP-2, TNF-α, and IL-6) production was abolished in cells deficient of TLR7 or MyD88, or by a TLR7 antagonist, but remained the same in TLR3- or Trif-deficient cells. In vivo, mice i.p. injected with miR-133a or miR-146a had marked peritoneal neutrophil and monocyte migration, which was significantly attenuated in TLR7-/- mice. Moreover, locked nucleic acid anti-miRNA inhibitors of these six miRNAs markedly reduced cardiac RNA-induced cytokine production. Taken together, these data demonstrate that ex-miRNA mimics (miR-34a, -122, -133a, -142, -146a, and -208a) are potent innate immune activators and that the miRNAs most likely induce cytokine production and leukocyte migration through TLR7 signaling.
hESC-derived photoreceptors survive and integrate better in immunodeficient retina.

Retinal degenerative diseases resulting in photoreceptor death, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) lead to incurable vision loss in millions of patients worldwide. When photoreceptors are lost, the resulting visual deficit is permanent. Currently, there are no effective therapies for these diseases except to delay degeneration in early disease stages. A potential approach in regaining vision for more advanced disease is to replace the degenerated photoreceptors. Particularly, this is a viable strategy for AMD as it has been shown that ganglion cells can survive in a degenerate retina even when there is severe underlying photoreceptor loss (1). Finding a suitable source of transplantable cells to replace the dying host tissue is the main challenge.
The Diversity of Small Apes and the Importance of Population-Level Studies

Most primatologists, biologists, and laypeople agree that gibbons, with their incredible acrobatic displays and haunting duets, are absolutely marvelous animals. For all of their beauty and grace, however, they have received relatively little attention from the scientific community and the public alike. This volume is an attempt to begin addressing this problem by summarizing the progress of gibbon studies to date, identifying the key areas for future research, and cautioning against the belief that we already know everything worth knowing about gibbons. Over two decades have passed since the publication of the seminal volume The Lesser Apes: Evolutionary and Behavioural Biology (Preuschoft et al. 1984). That book was based on a conference, the first of its kind focusing on gibbons, held in 1980 inUlm,Germany.The Lesser Apes comprises a thorough summary of progress in gibbon studies up to that time, focusing on conservation, functional morphology, ecology, social behavior, and evolutionary biology. The contributors identified several areas that required additional study, including calls and songs; the basic behavioral biology of little understood species (Hoolock spp., Nomascus spp.); molecular phylogenetic studies, particularly of Hoolock and Hylobates klossii; and the fossil record. In the decades since the publication of The Lesser Apes, progress toward many of these goals has been made. Twenty years later, gibbonologists gathered again, at two International Primatological Society symposia: ‘‘Gibbon Diversity and Conservation’’ in Beijing in 2002 and ‘‘Wild Gibbons as Members of Populations’’ in Torino in 2004. This book is the product of those two symposia and has been assembled in recognition of the fact that a great deal of progress has been made in the field since 1984, allowing new perspectives on gibbon socioecology.
Discrepancies in measuring bladder volumes with bedside ultrasound and bladder scanning in the intensive care unit: A pilot study.

ObjectiveIntensive care unit patients are at risk for catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Earlier removal of catheters may be possible with accurate measurement of bladder volume. The purp...
Auto tuning of the time horizon

Abstract The paper discusses a direct adaptive control strategy applicable to open loop stable systems and systems that have been stabilized via constant output feedback. The algorithm uses a least squares estimator and an extended horizon control policy based on step input predictions. The algorithm does not require that the time horizon is fixed a priori. It is tuned on-line to satisfy a stability condition which can be related to the closed loop pole locations. Asymptotic stability of the algorithm is established. The analysis applies to systems that have unknown delays, non minimum phase behaviour and bounded output disturbances. Thus, a certain amount of model mismatch can be tolerated. Simulation examples demonstrate the performance of the proposed adaptive strategy.
Real-world clinical outcomes and treatment patterns among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients with germline BRCA mutation (gBRCAmut).

e13075Background: MBC with gBRCAmutremains a heterogeneous disease, with variations in clinical management and survival outcomes. gBRCA mut are most likely to manifest among patients (pts) with tri...
BMP9 stimulates joint regeneration at digit amputation wounds in mice.

A major goal of regenerative medicine is to stimulate tissue regeneration after traumatic injury. We previously discovered that treating digit amputation wounds with BMP2 in neonatal mice stimulates endochondral ossification to regenerate the stump bone. Here we show that treating the amputation wound with BMP9 stimulates regeneration of a synovial joint that forms an articulation with the stump bone. Regenerated structures include a skeletal element lined with articular cartilage and a synovial cavity, and we demonstrate that this response requires the Prg4 gene. Combining BMP2 and BMP9 treatments in sequence stimulates the regeneration of bone and joint. These studies provide evidence that treatment of growth factors can be used to engineer a regeneration response from a non-regenerating amputation wound. Mammalian joints have poor regenerative capacity following amputation. Here, the authors show that in mice, stimulation of the amputation wound with BMP2 and BMP9 stimulates regeneration of a synovial joint that includes bone, cartilage and a synovial cavity.
Regarding sources of irreducible variation in transformed up-down staircase experiments

A modicum of variation in the result is always expected when a psychoacoustic experiment is run multiple times on a single subject. Historically, this variation was attributed to human shortcomings: lapses in attention, inexperience, and the effects of memory, learning, and fatigue. It is demonstrated that the use of any psychophysical method that requires a binary response (i.e., a correct or incorrect response) will generate irreducible variation in the result—even for a "perfect" subject. At NASA, a recent battery of low-frequency simultaneous masking experiments was undertaken (see NASA-TM-2018-220120). This effort was preceded by a lengthy test design phase—also documented therein—during which it was determined that the test should consist of a large number of subjects, each to be tested minimally. For this, transformed up-down staircases were simulated in order to produce a prediction of the irreducible variance as a function of the staircases’ parameters (e.g., length in the number of trials). The results from repeated test conditions taken during the experiment indicate that at least half of the variation observed within subjects may be coming from this irreducible source, though the propensity to produce inconsistent results may be a feature of some subjects more than others.
Bridging Hepatocellular Carcinoma to Transplant: Transarterial Chemoembolization Response, Tumor Biology, and Recurrence after Transplantation in a 12-Year Transplant Cohort

PURPOSE To evaluate tumor response to transarterial chemoembolization as well as biologic characteristics of the tumor as predictors of recurrence after transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were bridged or down-staged to liver transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS An institutional review board-approved, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant, single-institution retrospective analysis was performed on all patients with HCC who were treated with the use of conventional transarterial chemoembolization or transarterial chemoembolization with drug-eluting embolics (DEE) over a 12-year period and who subsequently underwent liver transplantation (n = 142). Treatment response was based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) imaging criteria and then correlated with tumor characteristics and recurrence. Of the 142 patients followed after transplantation, 127 had imaging after transarterial chemoembolization but before transplantation. Imaging response and post-transplantation recurrence were correlated with patient demographics, liver function, and tumor morphology. HCC recurred in 9 patients (mean time from transplantation, 526 days). Recurrence was analyzed with the use of univariate and multivariate statistics. Kaplan-Meier recurrence-free survival curves were calculated based on immediate imaging response before transplantation with the use of the log-rank test. RESULTS Before transplantation, 57% of patients (72/127) demonstrated complete response (CR) and 24% (31/127) showed partial response (PR). Complete pathologic necrosis occurred in 54% (39/72) of CR patients and 20% (6/31) of PR patients. Poor treatment response, defined as stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD), occurred in 18% of patients (24/127) before transplantation and was present in 67% of cases of recurrence (6/9; P < .001). Post-transplantation recurrence was present in 1.4% of patients (1/71) with CR and in 6.5% of patients (2/31) with PR. In patients with SD after transarterial chemoembolization, HCC recurred in 18.8% of transplant patients (3/16) and in 43% of patients (3/7) with PD. Larger pretreatment tumor size (P = .05), higher Child-Pugh score (P = .002), higher tumor grade at explantation (P = .04), and lymphovascular invasion at explantation (P = .008) also were associated with increased incidence of post-transplantation recurrence. CONCLUSIONS Poor tumor response to transarterial chemoembolization before transplantation identifies patients at increased risk for post-transplantation recurrence.
Assessing financial capability among people with disabilities

SummaryPeople with disabilities are five times more likely to experience poverty than the general population, yet very little is known about how financial capability can help increase their financi...
ENDORPHINS IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF HEMORRHAGIC SHOCK

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on endorphins in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. Beta-endorphin is an endogenous morphine-like substance that binds to opiate receptors. Adrenocorticotropin is found in the same pituitary cell population, arises from a common molecular precursor, and increases in the blood following stress. In a study described in the chapter, 50 healthy adult mongrel dogs weighing 20 ± 2 kg were anesthetized with pentobarbitol 30 mg/kg i.v., were ventilated through an endotracheal tube with room air, and were kept at 37 ± 1°C with a heating pad. A catheter was placed in the right femoral artery for monitoring of mean arterial pressure. The animals were heparinized after a baseline period. They were then bled over 30 min into heparinized reservoir bags to achieve a mean arterial pressure of 45 mmHg. These results demonstrate the salubrious effects of opiate receptor blockade in canine hemorrhagic shock. Because naloxone has little or no effect on these cardiovascular parameters in non-shocked animals, these results suggest the involvement of endorphins in the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic shock. The site of such action is unknown but may involve multiple levels of interaction. The deleterious effects of naltrexone at higher doses may be secondary to its opiate agonist activity.
A Recommended Paradigm Shift in the Approach to Risks to Large Water Infrastructure in the Coming Decades

We propose the adoption of a bottom-up, resource-based vulnerability approach in evaluating the effect of climate and other environmental and societal threats to large water management infrastructure. To effectively reduce risk and increase resiliency requires as a prerequisite the determination of the major threats to local and regional water supplies and quality from weather including those from extreme flood and drought events, but also from other social and environmental issues. After these threats are identified, the relative risks can be compared in order to adopt optimal preferred mitigation/adaptation strategies. This is a more inclusive way of assessing risks, including from climate variability and human and natural climate change, than using the outcome vulnerability approach adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This “contextual vulnerability” assessment using the bottom-up, resource-based framework is a more inclusive approach for policymakers dealing with water management infrastructure to adopt effective mitigation and adaptation methodologies to deal with the complexity of the spectrum of social and environmental events that will occur in the coming decades.
Spiral Nematode, Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus (Steiner, 1941) Golden, 1956 (Nematoda: Tylenchida: Hoplolaimidae)

Spiral nematodes of the genus Helicotylenchus are among the most ubiquitous plant-parasitic nematodes worldwide. Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus is a species common in Florida and the southeastern United States and is frequently found associated with turfgrasses and other grass hosts in the region. On most plants, it is not considered particularly damaging, but recent research has shown that this species suppresses growth of certain turfgrass hosts. Seashore paspalum, a turfgrass used in tropical and subtropical regions, is particularly susceptible to infestation. This 4-page fact sheet was written by William T. Crow and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, January 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in973
Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation in Burn Reconstruction: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Vascularized composite allotransplantation has been successfully employed for burn reconstruction since 2003. However, its safety in this population has been questioned due to high levels of alloimmunization from burn care related tissue exposures. To investigate this, a systematic review of vascularized composite allotransplantations employed for burn reconstruction was conducted, evaluating literature from January 2000 to September 2019. Articles containing vascularized composite allotransplantation, composite tissue allotransplantation, and burn reconstructive surgery were included; articles without published outcomes were excluded. Observational meta-analysis of pooled mortality and acute rejection episodes relative to allograft type (face versus extremity) and reconstruction type (burn versus non-burn) was performed. Twenty-four of the 63 identified articles met criteria for inclusion, with 5 more articles added after secondary review. To date, 152 allotransplantations have been performed in 117 patients: 45 face transplants and 107 extremity transplants. Of these, 34 (22%) were performed for burn reconstruction in 25 patients (21%) with an overall higher 1-year mortality rate (12.0% versus 1.1%, P = 0.030). Of these deaths, 75% received 3 or more simultaneous allografts. Additionally, more episodes of acute rejection occurred compared to non-burn patients (4.4 versus 2.4, P = 0.035). Vascularized composite allotransplantation performed for burn reconstruction was found to be associated with a greater risk of 1-year mortality and nearly twice the number of episodes of acute rejection. Future studies should seek to identify unique risk factors of burn patients undergoing this operation and evaluate the relationship between antigenic burden and surgical outcomes.
Engineering role identity fosters grit differently for women first- And continuing-generation college students

This study examined two distinct groups of women in engineering (i.e., first-generation and continuing-generation college students)to understand how the engineering role identity constructs of interest, recognition, and performance/competence fostered grit–perseverance of effort and grit–consistency of interest. A survey was administered to first-year engineering students at fourinstitutions across the United States. The sample of women wasn= 675, from whichn= 144 were identified as first-generationcollege students andn= 531 were identified as continuing-generation college students. Using existing instruments, two structuralequation models were created to test the relationships between engineering role identity constructs and grit. The model of first-generation college students had high interest in engineering, which, in turn, was predictive of their grit–consistency of interest, whiletheir beliefs about performing well and understanding engineering content was predictive of their grit–perseverance of effort. In themodel of continuing-generation college students, being recognized as someone that can do engineering was predictive of grit–perseverance of effort while seeing oneself as an engineer was predictive of their grit–consistency of interest. The results of thiswork highlight different aspects of identity that may foster grit for women in engineering depending upon their parents’ level ofeducation.
A Case Study of Porting HPGMG from CUDA to OpenMP Target Offload

The HPGMG benchmark is a non-trivial Multigrid benchmark used to evaluate system performance. We ported this benchmark from CUDA to OpenMP target offload and added the capability to use explicit data management rather than managed memory. Our optimized OpenMP target offload implementation obtains a performance of 0.73x and 2.04x versus the baseline CUDA version on two different node architectures with NVIDIA Volta GPUs. We explain how we successfully used OpenMP target offload, including the code refactoring required, and how we improved upon our initial performance with LLVM/Clang by 97x.
Preparing Graduate Students to Teach Statistics: A Review of Research and Ten Practical Recommendations

Many statistics departments in institutions throughout the world hire graduate students to teach and assist with the teaching of undergraduate and graduate-level statistics courses. As many of thes...
Emergency department characteristics and associations with intensive care admission among patients with coronavirus disease 2019.

Objective There have been few descriptions in the literature to date specifically examining initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patient presentation to the emergency department (ED) and the trajectory of patients who develop critical illness. Here we describe the ED presentation and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 presenting during our initial local surge. Methods This is a multicenter, retrospective cohort study using data extracted from the electronic health records at 3 hospitals within a single health system from March 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020. Patients were included in the study if they presented to an ED and had laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during the study period. Data elements were extracted from the electronic health record electronically and by trained data abstractors and entered into a secure database. We used multivariable regression analysis to examine ED factors associated with the development of critical illness and mortality, with a primary outcome of ICU admission. Results A total of 330 patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were admitted during the study period. Of these, 112 (34%) were admitted to the ICU. Among these patients, 20% were female, 50% were White, the median age was 61 (interquartile range [IQR], 52-72), and the median body mass index (BMI) was 28.1 (IQR, 24.3-35.1). On univariable analysis, a doubling of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (odds ratio [OR], 3.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.40-6.27) or high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP; OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.11-1.57) above the reference range or elevated troponin (OR, 12.1; 95% CI, 1.20-121.8) were associated with ICU admission. After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, LDH was the best predictor of ICU admission (OR, 3.54; 95% CI, 2.12-5.90). Of the patients, 15% required invasive mechanical ventilation during their hospital course, and in-hospital mortality was 19%. Conclusions Nearly one-third of ED patients who required hospitalization for COVID-19 were admitted to the ICU, 15% received invasive mechanical ventilation, and 19% died. Most patients who were admitted from the ED were tachypneic with elevated inflammatory markers, and the following factors were associated with ICU admission: elevated hsCRP, LDH, and troponin as well as lower oxygen saturation and increased respiratory rate.
Piezoelectric property degradation and cracking impacts on the lifetime performance of energy harvesters

Abstract The development of cantilever-based piezoelectric vibrational energy harvesters (VEHs) is reaching a critical transition into commercial applications but is being held back because of the lack of understanding regarding the fatigue of these systems. Identifying possible fatigue phenomena for piezoelectric VEH gives a good basis of knowledge for the creation of numerical fatigue models. The development of an electromechanical model is carried out to capture the property variations that can impact a damaged cantilever VEH. The influence of damage from crack and decreased piezoelectric performance that can occur during the lifetime of VEH is investigated. The importance of the operating frequency range and optimum load resistance is described for a wide range of stiffness reduction due to cracking and piezoelectric property degradation. Cracks are the most general form of fatigue and impact the natural frequency of the system the most. Piezoelectric property degradation affects the electrical properties and performance of the patch. Combinations of cracking and piezoelectric property degradation cause a wide variety of shift in the system. It is found that these energy harvesters are very sensitive to changes in load resistance as they degrade which can influence the coupled frequency response. The identification of how these systems degrade gives future researchers the knowledge they need to pursue further understanding of fatigue and push this technology forward.
Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress in Youths After Natural Disasters.

Importance Disaster exposure is associated with the development of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in youths. However, little is known about how to predict which youths will develop chronic PTS symptoms after disaster exposure. Objective To evaluate PTS symptom trajectories among youths after 4 major US hurricanes and assess factors associated with those trajectories. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used integrative data analysis to combine data from 4 studies of youths’ responses to natural disasters (hurricanes Andrew [1992], Charley [2004], Ike [2005], and Katrina [2008]) at time points ranging from 3 to 26 months after the disasters. Those studies recruited and surveyed youths aged 6 to 16 years at schools via convenience sampling of schools near the path of destruction for each hurricane. This study was conducted from August 2017 to August 2020, and pooled data were analyzed from February 2019 to October 2020. Exposure Experience of a natural disaster during the ages of 6 to 16 years. Main Outcomes and Measures Posttraumatic stress symptoms were assessed using the University of California, Los Angeles, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (UCLA PTSD-RI) and the UCLA PTSD-RI-Revised. Latent class growth analyses were used to evaluate the youths’ PTS symptom trajectories and associated factors. Results Among 1707 youths included in the study, the mean (SD) age was 9.61 (1.60) years, 922 (54%) were female, and 785 (46%) self-identified as White non-Hispanic. Four PTS symptom trajectories were identified: chronic (171 participants [10%]), recovery (393 [23%]), moderate-stable (563 [33%]), and low-decreasing (580 [34%]). Older youths were less likely to be in the chronic group; compared with the chronic group, each 1-year increase in age was associated with increased odds of being in the other groups (recovery: odds ratio [OR], 1.78 [95% CI, 1.29-2.48]; moderate-stable: OR, 1.94 [95% CI, 1.43-2.62]; and low-decreasing: OR, 2.71 [95% CI, 1.99-3.71]). Compared with males, females had higher odds of being in the chronic group than in any other group (recovery group: OR, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.26-0.91]; moderate-stable group: OR, 0.37 [95% CI, 0.21-0.64]; and low-decreasing group: OR, 0.25 [95% CI, 0.14-0.44]). Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study, few youths reported chronic distress, and trajectories among most youths reflected recovery or low-decreasing PTS symptoms. Older age and identification as male were factors associated with decreased odds of a chronic trajectory. Youths with chronic or moderate-stable trajectories may benefit from intervention.
Dynamics of Macroeconomic Forecasting Variation and Correlation Structure in the Business Cycle

Using a structural model, I analyze how changes in the distribution of signals about unknown economic conditions affect real aggregate macrovariables in the business cycle. I focus on two quantifiable properties of the distribution of signals, the signal accuracy and the correlation structure across signals, and analyze how time variation in these two properties affect an agent's decisions through his posterior beliefs. Since the exact signals agents use are difficult to observe empirically, I define two key concepts, uncertainty and disagreement, that capture dynamics in the distribution of signals and can be linked to data. Uncertainty is defined as the dispersion within each agent's forecasts about economic conditions. Disagreement is defined as the dispersion across agents in their mean forecasts about economic conditions. I show that uncertainty and disagreement affect an agent's controls through his first and higher order beliefs about economic conditions. Calibrating to US macrodata and the Survey of Professional Forecasters, I show empirically that the distribution of signals matters for aggregate dynamics and that my model mechanism can parsimoniously match the magnitude and sign of these effects. However, I find movements in the distribution of signals represent only a small fraction of the total variation in aggregate variables.
Institutional Resilience: The Foundation for Individual Resilience, Especially During COVID-19

In the protracted healthcare crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has become, healthcare professional wellness and resilience are a national concern. Physicians, nurses and medical staff have been profoundly negatively affected due to the inability of institutions to prepare for this pandemic. Institutional fixed point standards such as Eudaemonics, Inherent Value, and Amplifying Assumptions are essential to make it possible to steer an organizational course during a crisis. Fixed point standards must be embedded in hospitals and systems so they are positioned to do the most good. Employees must feel safe, valued and cared for always, so they can be resilient when crises strike. The best way to do that is by viewing the healthcare professionals through the lens of empathy. Institutional values of safety, access to accurate and caring information, human connection, and emphasis on mental health, are hallmarks of resilient organizations and will result in resilient individuals.
Do Students in Gifted Programs Perform Better? Linking Gifted Program Participation to Achievement and Nonachievement Outcomes:

Growing concerns about inequitable access have made public investment in gifted programs controversial in many school districts, yet advocates maintain that gifted services provide necessary enrich...
Reverse Privatization and New Government Reforms: A Review of Theory and Evidence

Privatization has been an important aspect of government reform for several years. The last decades of the 20th century witnessed a profound experiment to increase the role of markets into the government service delivery. But, this experiment has failed to deliver adequately on efficiency, and then led to a setback and reversal of a government policy. However, reverse privatization process is not a return to the direct public monopoly delivery model of the past. Instead it heralds the emergence of a new balance position which combines use of markets to reach efficient decisions. This paper describes both theory and evidence of the reverse privatization in selected countries.
Otolaryngologists Trail Other Specialties in Industry Payments From Dermal Filler Companies.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Dermal filler (DF) is a widely used nonsurgical option for facial rejuvenation with a rapidly expanding market. Physician payments by DF industry leaders have yet to be characterized. We sought to investigate trends in physician-industry payments by DF companies over 6 years. Differences in payments based on physician specialty and time were characterized. STUDY DESIGN Database review. METHODS The Open Payments Database was queried from 2013 to 2018. Payments made by the three largest DF companies by market share to otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists were analyzed. Total dollars paid, number of payments made, type of payments made, and total number of specialists paid were recorded. One-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists received average annual payments of $0.36 million, $6.3 million, and $6.6 million respectively (P < .001). An average of 330 otolaryngologists, 2,128 plastic surgeons, and 5,980 dermatologists were paid annually (P < .001). Accredited speaking arrangements, consulting fees, and royalty/licensing fees comprised the majority of dollars paid to physicians. CONCLUSIONS Average physician payment by DF companies exceeds $12 million annually, with otolaryngologists receiving significantly less compared to plastic surgeons and dermatologists. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Not applicable Laryngoscope, 2021.