cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relation of Atrial Fibrillation in Acute Myocardial Infarction to In-Hospital Complications and Early Hospital Readmission.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and contributes to high rates of in-hospital adverse events. However, there are few contemporary studies examining rates of AF in the contemporary era of AMI or the impact of new-onset AF on key in-hospital and postdischarge outcomes. We examined trends in AF in 6,384 residents of Worcester, Massachusetts, who were hospitalized with confirmed AMI during 7 biennial periods between 1999 and 2011. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between occurrence of AF and various in-hospital and postdischarge complications. The overall incidence of AF complicating AMI was 10.8%. Rates of new-onset AF increased from 1999 to 2003 (9.8% to 13.2%), and decreased thereafter. In multivariable adjusted models, patients developing new-onset AF after AMI were at a higher risk for in-hospital stroke (odds ratio [OR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6 to 4.1), heart failure (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.7 to 2.4), cardiogenic shock (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.8 to 4.9), and death (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.9 to 3.0) than patients without AF. Development of AF during hospitalization for AMI was associated with higher rates of readmission within 30 days after discharge (21.7% vs 16.0%), but no significant difference was noted in early postdischarge 30-day all-cause mortality rates (8.3% vs 5.1%). In conclusion, new-onset AF after AMI is strongly related to in-hospital complications of AMI and higher short-term readmission rates.
Top-Flight Safety Model for Nuclear Industry—Response

Skoyles is on target both in identifying the aviation industry as a source of safety best practices and in highlighting the crucial role of transparent and independent regulation. Nuclear organizations and other organizations managing high-consequence technologies around the world must ensure that
Optoelectronic switching for SCM networks

Subcarrier-multiplexed (SCM) optical links combine high-speed digital and analog signals onto an optical carrier.1 Figure 1 shows how multiple antenna feeds could be distributed over a wavelength-division-multiplex (WDM) based system. At each port an optoelectronic (OE) switch selects the particular feed. Multiple users receive the full spectrum of signals simultaneously and can by way of the OE selector switch monitor a single desired feed.
Controlling Dielectric and Relaxor-Ferroelectric Properties for Energy Storage by Tuning Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 Film Thickness

The energy storage properties of Pb0.92La0.08Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PLZT) films grown via pulsed laser deposition were evaluated at variable film thickness of 125, 250, 500, and 1000 nm. These films show high dielectric permittivity up to ∼1200. Cyclic I–V measurements were used to evaluate the dielectric properties of these thin films, which not only provide the total electric displacement, but also separate contributions from each of the relevant components including electric conductivity (D1), dielectric capacitance (D2), and relaxor-ferroelectric domain switching polarization (P). The results show that, as the film thickness increases, the material transits from a linear dielectric to nonlinear relaxor-ferroelectric. While the energy storage per volume increases with the film thickness, the energy storage efficiency drops from ∼80% to ∼30%. The PLZT films can be optimized for different energy storage applications by tuning the film thickness to optimize between the linear and nonlinear dielectric properties ...
Perceived heaviness in the context of Newton’s Second Law: Combined effects of muscle activity and lifting kinematics.

Researchers generally agree that perceived heaviness is based on the actions associated with unsupported holding. Psychophysical research has supported this idea, as has psychophysiological research connecting muscle activity to the perceptions of heaviness and effort. However, the role of muscle activity in the context of the resulting motions has not been investigated. In the present study, perceptions of heaviness were recorded along with the electromyogram (EMG) of the lifting muscle and peak acceleration of the lift. Consistent with predictions derived from Newton's Second Law of motion (Force=Mass × Acceleration), normal and illusory perceptions of heaviness were a function of the ratio of muscle activity to lifting acceleration. These results identify a psychophysiological mechanism for heaviness perception based on the forces and motions associated with unsupported holding.
Free energy calculation of permeant-membrane interactions using molecular dynamics simulations

Nanotoxicology, the science concerned with the safe use of nanotechnology and nanostructure design for biological applications, is a field of research that has recently received great attention, as a result of the rapid growth in nanotechnology. Many nanostructures are of a scale and chemical composition similar to many biomolecular environments, and recent papers have reported evident toxicity of selected nanoparticles. Molecular simulations can help develop a mechanistic understanding of how structural properties affect bioactivity. In this chapter, we describe how to compute the free energy of interactions between cellular membranes and benzene, the main constituent of some toxic carbonaceous particles, with well-tempered metadynamics. This algorithm reconstructs the free energy surface and accelerates rare events in a coarse-grained representation of the system.
Transnational Ghosts: Regimes of Friendship, Neoliberal Abandonment, and Discourses of Mourning

On November 20th 2008, as reported by George Washington University’s (GWU’s) student newspaper, the Hatchet, a Latino worker who was installing windows in a residence hall was killed after a fall from the seventh floor. The worker, Mr. Rosaulino Montano, worked for Engineered Construction Products, a window subcontractor for primary contractor Clark Construction (Hatchet). The accident was featured in one article in the Hatchet that also reported that the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) was investigating the incident. The coverage of Mr. Montano’s life and relationship to the university was brief. The Hatchet reported that Mr. Montano lived in Virginia and had several children. The working conditions, the events of the accident, and the relationship of the university to Clark Construction and to Engineered Construction Products were not examined, although the article did note that was subcontracted to work at GWU.
Image is Everything? The Significance of the Imago Dei in the Development of African American Youth

The 1960s and 1970s ushered in an era of increased visual representations of the divine, including Albert Cleage’s unveiling of the black Madonna and Child in Detroit, Michigan, in 1967 and the development of religious publishing houses that created educational curriculum featuring Black images of the divine in the 1970s. Both events point toward a trend to make an explicit connection between black bodies and the divine; however, the impact and relevance of this work require further consideration. This chapter explores the ways in which the marginalization of the black Messiah represents a potential preoccupation with respectability and neglect of engagement with historical and contemporary expressions of Black identity and cultures.
Adolescent neural response to reward is related to participant sex and task motivation

Risky decision making is prominent during adolescence, perhaps contributed to by heightened sensation seeking and ongoing maturation of reward and dopamine systems in the brain, which are, in part, modulated by sex hormones. In this study, we examined sex differences in the neural substrates of reward sensitivity during a risky decision-making task and hypothesized that compared with girls, boys would show heightened brain activation in reward-relevant regions, particularly the nucleus accumbens, during reward receipt. Further, we hypothesized that testosterone and estradiol levels would mediate this sex difference. Moreover, we predicted boys would make more risky choices on the task. While boys showed increased nucleus accumbens blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response relative to girls, sex hormones did not mediate this effect. As predicted, boys made a higher percentage of risky decisions during the task. Interestingly, boys also self-reported more motivation to perform well and earn money on the task, while girls self-reported higher state anxiety prior to the scan session. Motivation to earn money partially mediated the effect of sex on nucleus accumbens activity during reward. Previous research shows that increased motivation and salience of reinforcers is linked with more robust striatal BOLD response, therefore psychosocial factors, in addition to sex, may play an important role in reward sensitivity. Elucidating neurobiological mechanisms that support adolescent sex differences in risky decision making has important implications for understanding individual differences that lead to advantageous and adverse behaviors that affect health outcomes.
A minimization principle for transition paths of maximum flux for collective variables

Considered is the construction of transition paths of conformational changes for proteins and other macromolecules, using methods that do not require the generation of dynamics trajectories. Special attention is given to the use of a reduced set of collective variables for describing such paths. A favored way to define transition paths is to seek channels through the transition state having cross sections with a high reactive flux (density of last hitting points of reactive trajectories). Given here is a formula for reactive flux that is independent of the parameterization of “collective variable space.” This formula is needed for the principal curve of the reactive flux (as in the revised finite temperature string method) and for the maximum flux transition (MaxFlux) path. Additionally, a resistance functional is derived for narrow tubes, which when minimized yields a MaxFlux path. A strategy for minimization is outlined in the spirit of the string method. Finally, alternative approaches based on determining trajectories of high probability are considered, and it is observed that they yield paths that depend on the parameterization of collective variable space, except in the case of zero temperature, where such a path coincides with a MaxFlux path.
Prediction and model comparison for areal unit data

Abstract Areal unit or discrete spatial data is customarily modeled with the goal of spatial smoothing, typically using Markov random field models. Examples include image restoration and disease mapping. Here, we focus on a different issue for such data; we consider the set of areal units as only partially observed. One application is to learn about the smoothing behavior of various Markov random field models. That is, if two different smoothing priors are used, how can we quantify the relative smoothing that each imposes? We propose to fit models of interest to a portion of the data and hold out the rest for model comparison. A second application concerns the setting where, in fact, only a portion of the areal units have been observed, and we seek prediction of the remainder. Our motivating context investigates the performance of semiconductor chips, created as dies (the areal units) within wafers within lots, yielding nested modeling structure. Multiple tests are administered to each die involving both binary and continuous measurements. In practice, only a small subset of the dies are sampled, resulting in prediction of performance for the remaining unsampled dies. Furthermore, dies in the same locations are tested on each wafer, and the manufacturing process encourages within wafer, between wafer and between lot dependence. Other missing data applications include damaged images and small area estimation with missing observations for some units. We demonstrate prediction first with an image that is observed at several rates of missingness. Then, a well-studied Ohio lung cancer dataset is used for model comparison with regard to smoothing. Finally, examination of the nested modeling for semiconductor chip data is offered.
Using a hydrogen gas torch to seal edges of vacuum glazing panels and analysis of the related characteristic strength according to the sealed edge shapes

Abstract The edges of vacuum glazing panels sealed using a hydrogen-mixed gas torch are of various shapes, which affect the strength of vacuum glass. The characteristic strengths were analyzed according to the edge shapes. Specimens with different edge shapes were manufactured to study the characteristic strengths according to the edge shapes. Three shape parameters (thickness, radius, and deflection) were selected to numerically represent the edge shapes, and the cross-sections were measured accordingly. The four-point bending test was employed on the prepared specimens. Furthermore, the Weibull distribution, which is a statistical analysis method commonly used to study product failure and malfunctioning, was employed to analyze the experimental results. The strength and fracture distribution of the sealing shape were confirmed using the shape parameter and scale parameter of the Weibull distribution. In addition, the cross-sectional shape with the maximum strength was determined by taking into account the characteristic strength and safety factors proposed by major countries. Therefore, it can be applied to the production of vacuum glass by sealing the edge of the glass using the hydrogen-mixed gas torch in the cross-sectional shape satisfying the strength performance of the sealing parts.
Vulnerability of the neuronal cytoskeleton in aging and Alzheimer disease: widespread involvement of all three major filament systems.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the commonest cause of dementia in the elderly (for recent reviews, see Chiu, 1989; Henderson & Finch, 1989; Katzman et al., 1988). As a consequence of the increasing number of people living beyond the seventh decade, AD has become the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Despite the recognition of AD and the brain pathology associated with it more than 80 years ago (Alzheimer, 1907), the pathogenesis and etiology of AD remain enigmatic. Several reasons account for this such as (1) the complexity and limited understanding of the central nervous system (CNS); (2) an incomplete definition of AD and variants thereof; (3) the lack of animal models for hypothesis testing; (4) overlap between early AD and normal aging as well as between AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. For example, patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease (PD) frequently develop cognitive impairments, AD patients often exhibit extrapyramidal signs, and diminished olfaction is observed in AD and PD subjects (Chiu, 1989; Doty et al., 1987, 1989).
Tear lipocalin: structure, function and molecular mechanisms of action.

Human tear lipocalin (TL), or von Ebner’s gland protein, accounts for about 15–33% of the protein in tears.1–4 TL has been identified in lacrimal gland, von Ebner’s gland, prostate, nasal and tracheal mucosa and skin.5–12 TL was recognized as a member of the lipocalin family when its primary sequence was determined.7,13,14 Lipocalins form a functionally diverse group of proteins with extremely varied amino acid sequences, yet some similar structural properties (Fig. 1). Eight strands (A-H) are arranged in a β-barrel and are joined by loops between the β-strands.15–19 Many of the lipocalins, including TL, are believed to function as dimers.20,21 There are highly conserved regions that are important to ligand affinity and lipocalin stability. Most lipocalins have 1–3 disulfides bonds and one in particular is conserved and may play a role in modulating ligand binding.15,22 A completely conserved tryptophan on the A strand is implicated in ligand binding and prevention of oxidation of retinol, as well as protein stability of various lipocalins.23,24
Comparative Study on Subjective Experience of Elder Abuse Between Older Korean Immigrants in the United States and Older Koreans in Korea.

This study examines the prevalence of elder abuse and the relationship between sociodemographic factors and elder abuse among older Koreans in the United States and Korea. Survey data from older Ko...
The Relationship between Costs and Quality in Veterans Health Administration Community Living Centers: An Analysis Using Longitudinal Data.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between cost and quality in Veterans Health Administration (VA) nursing homes (called Community Living Centers, CLCs) using longitudinal data. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING One hundred and thirty CLCs over 13 quarters (from FY2009 to FY2012) were studied. Costs, resident days, and resident severity (RUGs score) were obtained from the VA Managerial Cost Accounting System. Clinical quality measures were obtained from the Minimum Data Set, and resident-centered care (RCC) was measured using the Artifacts of Culture Change Tool. STUDY DESIGN We used a generalized estimating equation model with facilities included as fixed effects to examine the relationship between total cost and quality after controlling for resident days and severity. The model included linear and squared terms for all independent variables and interactions with resident days. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS With the exception of RCC, all other variables had a statistically significant relationship with total costs. For most poorer performing smaller facilities (lower size quartile), improvements in quality were associated with higher costs. For most larger facilities, improvements in quality were associated with lower costs. CONCLUSIONS The relationship between cost and quality depends on facility size and current level of performance.
Effects of Long-Term Combination LT4 and LT3 Therapy for Improving Hypothyroidism and Overall Quality of Life.

Objectives Hypothyroidism results in decreased mood and neurocognition, weight gain, fatigue, and many other undesirable symptoms. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Thyroid Association (ATA), and The Endocrine Society recommend levothyroxine (LT4) monotherapy as the treatment for hypothyroidism; however, after years of monotherapy, some patients continue to experience impaired quality of life. Combination LT4 and synthetic liothyronine (LT3) therapy or the use of desiccated thyroid extract (DTE), has not been suggested for this indication based on short-duration studies with no significant benefits. Our first observational study examined the role of combination therapy for 6 years in improving quality of life in a subset of a hypothyroid population without adverse effects and cardiac mortality. Methods An observational retrospective study examining patients prescribed thyroid replacements with serum triiodothyronine (FT3), LT4 with LT3 (synthetic therapy) or DTE (natural therapy), compared with LT4 alone in the United States from 2010 to 2016. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), serum thyroxine (FT4), and FT3 levels were documented for each patient in addition to any admissions of myxedema coma, thyrotoxicosis, or cardiovascular complications, such as arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, and mortality. At the conclusion of the study, a cross-sectional interview assessed quality of life for each combination therapy through the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-20 questionnaire. Results Compared with patients taking only LT4, 89.47% using synthetic therapy had therapeutic TSH (P 92% answered feeling "excellent, very good, or good" when questioned about their health while undergoing thyroid replacement compared with levothyroxine alone. Conclusions This is the only retrospective study reported to use long-term (mean 27 months) thyroid replacements with combination therapy and to compare between the two forms of therapy: synthetic and natural. For patients undergoing either therapy, we did not identify additional risks of atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular disease, or mortality in patients of all ages with hypothyroidism.
Field Observations of Social Behavior of Lemur fulvus fulvus E. Geoffroy 1812

Lemur fulvus is a widely ranging prosimian found in nearly all of the remaining forested areas of Madagascar except the dry forest of the extreme South. As stated in Sussman (Chapter 13), the taxonomy of the L. fulvus-macaco group is in an uncertain condition and may need revision as more information on the morphology, distribution, behavior, cytogenetics, and biochemistry of these animals becomes available.
Who Influences College Students’ Career Choices? An Empirical Study of Hospitality Management Students

Career development theory explains that although graduates can make their own career decisions, such decisions can also be determined by a variety of influences, such as family, school, community, ...
Bilateral Pulmonary Artery Banding in Ebstein's Anomaly With Circular Shunting

We present a case of critical Ebstein's anomaly with circular shunting, diagnosed in utero. The fetal cardiothoracic area ratio was elevated; tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary regurgitation worsened with fetal hydrops. At 35 weeks 6 days of gestation, elective caesarean section delivery was performed. Planned bilateral pulmonary artery banding and pulmonary trunk ligation were performed as a palliative operation 4 hours after birth, with the infant in a stable condition. At age 5 days, we performed the Starnes operation. The postoperative course was uneventful and a bidirectional Glenn operation was performed at age 4 months.
Miliary Metastases in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Miliary Metastases in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer A 56-year-old woman with no history of smoking presented with shortness of breath that had progressively worsened over 8 months. CT revealed diffuse pulmonary nodules. Non–small-cell lung cancer with an EGFR mutation was diagnosed.
Characteristics of younger women Veterans with service connected disabilities.

Abstract Objectives There has been an increase in the number of women Veterans with service connected disabilities, which are illnesses or injuries incurred or aggravated during military service. We compared military service and disability characteristics in women and men ≤50 years of age. Methods This study included 4,029,672 living Veterans who had at least 1 service connected condition and an active award status as of October 1, 2016. The date of last award as well as demographic, military service, and disability characteristics were obtained from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) VETSNET file. Results Among 388,947 women Veterans with service connected conditions, almost 60% (n = 231,364) were ≤50 years of age. Roughly 55% of both women and men ≤50 years had a ≥50% combined rating, although there were differences with respect to individual service connected conditions. Women less often had service connected post traumatic stress disorder (23% vs 32%), but more often had major depression (15% vs 7%). While traumatic brain disease was more common in men, migraine headache was much more common in women (32% vs 18%). Less than half had a VA outpatient visit in the previous year. Conclusions The findings of significant numbers of younger women with service connected PTSD, depression, or migraine headache should be considered within the context of post deployment health. These findings raise questions regarding outreach to women Veterans who have these conditions, but do not use VA health care.
Refiguring Nature: Tropes of Estrangement in Contemporary American Poetry

At a recent poetry reading held at Southern Illinois University, Czleslaw Milosz suggested that all true poetry is essentially daemonic and confessed that he was “forced into a corner” to respond poetically as a witness to the brutal social realities depicted in his well-known poems on the Nazi period. For Milosz true poetry is an inspiriting of the soul rather than a committed response to a historical occasion. In primitive and archaic cultures the daemonic and the historical converged in myth and ritual. The thrust of the Romantic Period was to reorient man to that convergence by taking classical Greek culture as its model. The word “daemonic” is derived from the Greek and may be defined as a god, the spirit of a place, or a man’s attendant deity. The Greek lyric poet was thus inspired by the Muse Erato, goddess of lyric poetry. He also responded to the spirits inhabiting nature as does Sappho in her poem on daybreak, which she perceives as the sandalled Eos, goddess of dawn. William Blake tried to create his own mythopoeic world by inventing gods that presided over individuals, cities, social revolutions, and nature with an overlay of Christian humanism. But the Industrial Revolution, which inaugurates the modern period of dislocated sensibility,undermines the poetic attempts begun during the Renaissance to reclaim the classical daemonic world.
Outcomes of Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Compared With Chemotherapy Consolidation Alone for Non–High-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia in First Complete Remission in a Minority-Rich Inner-City Cohort With Limited Access to Allografts

Abstract Introduction In the United States, autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (autoHCT) has fallen out of favor over chemotherapy consolidation for non–high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) is unfeasible, which is common in racial minorities because of donor registry under-representation and socioeconomic challenges. We compared autoHCT consolidation outcomes with chemotherapy alone in a minority-rich cohort in the Bronx. Patients and Methods We identified adults with favorable or intermediate cytogenetic risk AML in first complete remission after induction at Montefiore Medical Center from 1999 to 2015, and analyzed 81 patients who received consolidation with ≥2 cycles of chemotherapy, of whom 28 received autoHCT. Results The cohort predominantly consisted of ethnic/racial minorities (69%). Age, sex, race, presenting white cell count, and cytogenetic risk were similar between groups. The autoHCT group had longer relapse-free (RFS; 43 vs. 11 months; P = .003) and overall (OS) survival (not reached vs. 36 months; P = .043). Adjusted multivariable analysis showed significant benefit of autoHCT over chemotherapy alone for RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37-0.75; P Conclusion In this inner-city non–high-risk AML cohort, autoHCT provided OS and RFS benefit compared with chemotherapy alone. AutoHCT might constitute a valuable option for ethnic/racial minorities affected by significant barriers to alloHCT, whereas integration of measurable residual disease can help select patients more likely to benefit.
Multiple Drug-Resistant CLABSI from an Extremely Rare Bacterium, Chryseobacterium gleum

Chryseobacterium gleum is a lactose nonfermenting Gram-negative bacillus (NFGNB) found in soil, plants, and some water sources but rarely implicated as a human pathogen. Its scarcity in the medical literature and resistance to numerous broad-spectrum antibiotics such as carbapenems, cephalosporins, and beta-lactam/lactamase inhibitors pose a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We present the first reported case, to the best of our knowledge, of sepsis from central line-associated blood stream infection from Chryseobacterium gleum in the United States.
Cytokine signature of inflammation mediated by autoreactive Th-cells, in calf muscle of claudicating patients with Fontaine stage II peripheral artery disease

Peripheral artery disease (PAD), a severe atherosclerotic condition primarily of the elderly, afflicts 200 million individuals, worldwide, and is associated with lower extremity myopathy. Circulating markers of inflammation have been linked to risk and severity of PAD but the contribution of local inflammation to myopathy remains unknown. We evaluated, by ELISA, calf muscle of PAD patients (N = 23) and control subjects (N = 18) for local expression of inflammatory cytokines including Granulocyte/Monocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF), Interleukin 17A (IL-17A), Interferon ϒ (IFN-ϒ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and Interleukin 6 (IL-6). One or more of these cytokines were expressed in nineteen patients and 2 controls and coordinated expression of GM-CSF, IL-17A, IFN-ϒ, and TNF-α, a signature of activated, MHC Class II dependent autoreactive Th-cells, was unique to 11 patients. GM-CSF is the central driver of tissue-damaging myeloid macrophages. Patients with this cytokine signature had a shorter (P= 0.017) Claudication Onset Distance (17 m) compared with patients lacking the signature (102 m). Transforming Growth Factor β1 (TGFβ1) and Chemokine Ligand 5 (CCL5) were expressed coordinately in all PAD and control muscles, independently of GM-CSF, IL-17A, IFN-ϒ, TNF-α, or IL-6. TGFβ1 and CCL5 and their gene transcripts were increased in PAD muscle, consistent with increased age-associated inflammation in these patients. Serum cytokines were not informative of muscle cytokine expression. We have identified a cytokine profile of autoimmune inflammation in calf muscles of a significant proportion of claudicating PAD patients, in association with decreased limb function, and a second independent profile consistent with increased “inflammaging” in all PAD patients.
3× multiplexed detection of antibiotic resistant plasmids with single molecule sensitivity

Bacterial pathogens resistant to antibiotics have become a serious health threat. Those species which have developed resistance against multiple drugs such as the carbapenems, are more lethal as these are last line therapy antibiotics. Current diagnostic tests for these resistance traits are based on singleplex target amplification techniques which can be time consuming and prone to errors. Here, we demonstrate a chip based optofluidic system with single molecule sensitivity for amplification-free, multiplexed detection of plasmids with genes corresponding to antibiotic resistance, within one hour. Rotating disks and microfluidic chips with functionalized polymer monoliths provided the upstream sample preparation steps to selectively extract these plasmids from blood spiked with E. coli DH5α cells. Waveguide-based spatial multiplexing using a multi-mode interference waveguide on an optofluidic chip was used for parallel detection of three different carbapenem resistance genes. These results point the way towards rapid, amplification-free, multiplex analysis of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Data-driven Detection and Early Prediction of Thermoacoustic Instability in a Multi-nozzle Combustor

Thermoacoustic instability (TAI) is a critical issue in modern lean-burn gas-turbine combustors, which is induced by a strong coupling between the resonant combustor acoustics and fluctuations in t...
Clinical Outcomes in High-Risk Pregnancies Due to Advanced Maternal Age

Although the influence of advanced maternal age (AMA) and delayed childbearing on adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes has been studied extensively, no universal consensus on the definition of AMA exists. This terminology currently refers to the later years of a woman's reproductive life span and generally applies to women age ≥35 years. AMA increases the risk of pregnancy complications, including ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, fetal chromosomal abnormalities, congenital anomalies, placenta previa and abruption, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and cesarean delivery. Such complications could be the cause of preterm birth and increase the risk of perinatal mortality. For women who have a chronic illness, pregnancy may lead to additional risk that demands increased monitoring or surveillance. The management of pregnant women of AMA requires understanding the relationship between age and preexisting comorbidities. The outcomes from pregnancy in AMA may have a negative impact on women's health as they age because of both the changes from the pregnancy itself and the increased risk of pregnancy-related complications. Postpartum depression affects women of AMA at higher rates. Links between preeclampsia and the risk of future development of cardiovascular disease require follow-up surveillance. The association between hypertensive pregnancy disorders and cognitive and brain functions needs further investigation of sex-specific risk factors across the life span. Educating providers and women of AMA is crucial to facilitate clinical decision making and such education should consider cultural influences, risk perception, and women's health literacy, as well as providers' biases and system issues.
Lower-Gait Tracking Mobile Application: A Case Study of Lower body Motion Capture Comparison Between Vicon T40 System and Apple Augmented Reality

Tracking the motions and positions in three-dimensional space is an exciting human gait analysis approach for healthcare and clinical examination. The high-end motion capture systems, such as Vicon cameras, could automate the gait analysis process, but the system is too costly for a clinical setting. We developed a cost-effective motion capture and gait analysis system using an existing commercial camera found on a mobile device. We take advantage of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technique in mobile devices for human pose estimation and detection to keep track of body motion in the environment. This paper presents our mobile application case study to measure three-dimensional kinematics of lower-body gait of the hip, knee, and ankle during walking tasks using the Apple Augmented reality toolkit. We evaluated our application by comparing it with the measurements observed by a Vicon T40s motion-tracking system. The results showed that the gait movement can be measured in real-time. The lower-gait angles of hip and knee agreed with those from the Vicon system, whereas the motions of small joint sections were not captured as accurately. The proposed application is a cost-effective, easy-to-use, and mobile gait analysis system that can be used to construct three-dimensional gait scores to improve the examination of gait and decision making in various clinical populations.
Use of Serratus Anterior Plane and Transversus Thoracis Plane Blocks for Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (S-ICD) Implantation Decreases Intraoperative Opioid Requirements.

Objectives The present study investigated whether regional anesthetic techniques, especially truncal blocks, can provide adjunct anesthesia without the additional risk of general anesthesia and neuraxial techniques for subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) implantation. Design Single-center, prospective, randomized study. Setting Holding area and operating room at a single-center tertiary care hospital. Participants The study comprised 22 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status 3 or 4 patients with severe cardiac disease undergoing S-ICD implantation. Interventions Patients received either a combination of serratus anterior plane block and transversus thoracis plane block or surgical infiltration of local anesthetics. Measurements and Main Results Perioperative analgesic medication in the fascial plane block group versus the surgical wound infiltration group, visual analog pain scale score (0-10), intraoperative vital signs, total procedure time, and length of stay in the intensive care unit were measured. Total intraoperative fentanyl requirements (µg) were significantly less in the truncal block group versus the surgical infiltration group (45 [25-50] v 90 [50-100]; p = 0.026), and no patients had any adverse sequelae related to the study. Median intraoperative propofol use in the surgical infiltration group was 66.48 (47.30-73.73) µg/kg/min, and 65.95 (51.86-104.86) µg/kg/min for the truncal block group. This difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.293). Conclusions The performance of both the serratus anterior plane block and transversus thoracis plane blocks for S-ICD implantation are appropriate and may have the benefit of decreasing intraoperative opioid requirements.
Sample size considerations for matched-pair cluster randomization design with incomplete observations of binary outcomes.

Multiple public health and medical research studies have applied matched-pair cluster randomization design to the evaluation of the intervention and/or prevention effects. One of the most common and severe problems faced by researchers when conducting cluster randomized trials (CRTs) is incomplete observations, which are associated with various reasons causing the individuals to discontinue participating in the trials. Although statistical methods to remedy the problems of missing data have already been proposed, there are still methodological gaps in research concerning the determination of sample size in matched-pair CRTs with incomplete binary outcomes. One conventional method for adjusting for missing data in the sample size determination is to divide the sample size under complete data by the expected follow-up rate. However, such crude adjustment ignores the impact of the structure and strength of correlations regarding both outcome data and missing data mechanism. This article provides a closed-form sample size formula for matched-pair CRTs with incomplete binary outcomes, which appropriately accounts for different missing patterns and magnitudes as well as the effects of matching and clustering on the outcome and missing data. The generalized estimating equation (GEE) approach treats incomplete observations as missing data in a marginal logistic regression model, which flexibly accommodates various types of intraclass correlation, missing patterns, and missing proportions. In the presence of missing data, the proposed GEE sample size method provides higher accuracy as compared with the conventional method. The performance of the proposed method is assessed by simulation studies. This article also illustrates how the proposed method can be used to design a real-world matched-pair CRT to examine the effect of a team-based approach on controlling blood pressure (BP).
Quantitative super-resolution microscopy reveals promoting mitochondrial interconnectivity protects against AKI

Background: The root of many kidney diseases in humans can be traced to alterations or damage to subcellular organelles. Mitochondrial fragmentation, ER stress and lysosomal inhibition, among others, ultimately contribute to kidney injury and are the target of therapeutics in development. While recent technological advancements allow for the understanding of disease states at the cellular level, investigating changes in subcellular organelles from kidney tissue remains challenging. Methods: Using structured illumination microscopy, we imaged mitochondria and other organelles from paraffin sections of mouse tissue and human kidney biopsies. The resulting images were 3D rendered to quantify mitochondrial size, content, and morphology. Results were compared to transmission electron microscopy and segmentation. Results: Super-resolution imaging reveals kidney tubular epithelial cell mitochondria in rodent and human kidney tissue form large, interconnected networks under basal conditions, which are fragmented with injury. This approach can be expanded to other organelles and cellular structures including autophagosomes, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), brush border and cell morphology. We find that during unilateral ischemia, mitochondrial fragmentation occurs in most tubule cells and remain fragmented for over 96 hours. Promoting mitochondrial fusion with the fusion promotor M1 preserves mitochondrial morphology and interconnectivity and protects against cisplatin-induced kidney injury. Conclusions: We provide for the first time a non-biased, semi-automated approach for quantification of the 3D morphology of mitochondria in kidney tissue. Maintaining mitochondrial interconnectivity and morphology protects against kidney injury. Super-resolution imaging has the potential to both drive discovery of novel pathobiological mechanisms in kidney tissue and broaden the diagnoses that can be made on human biopsies.
Particle-Based Mobility

The analytical model of the particle-based mobility model is derived using Newton’s Gravitational law . The maximum coverage of the mobile ad hoc network is analyzed without making the mobile ad hoc network partitioned while the nodes are moving autonomously. The node guiding principles are developed for allowing the nodes to move to the places of interests. The particle-based mobility using quantum mechanics is also addressed briefly.
Men Walk on Moon: A Powdery Surface Is Closely Explored

REGARDING MY FATHER, Ernest Hopf, Sr., I would like to clearly state that this imperfect man was drawn by the light of reason. He had only one problem: He walked on the moon. I'm not suggesting, of course, that he was an astronaut, although it might have been simpler if he were. It is never simple to become something other than what you were meant to be, and he was meant for a different planet, where dispassionate eyes confirmed the truth of all they beheld, and communications passed calmly through an airless void in terms such as "roger" and "we read you," and?perhaps ?there were no children. Or, if there were, they did not have sex in the family room with their seventeen year-old girlfriends. My father was intelligent and adaptable, he could deal with many things, but the naked vision of Mimi and me in consummate sublunary embrace was not one of them. Victoria says this was the primal scene in reverse. She says no man can begin to accept the fact that his own son is exactly the same as himself, an animal. She says that a woman is always a mother but a man is a child until his child is born, and then he becomes something close to an abstraction, and an empty one at that ?the law he never loved ?and all his efforts on the child's behalf, all his spank ings and his teachings and his hopes and expectations for the future, boil down to one rule: that the child shall never know the man at all.
Domain functionals and exit times for Brownian motion

Two domain functionals describing the averaged expectation of exit times and averaged variance of exit times of Brownian motion from a domain, respectively, are studied. We establish the variational formulas for maximizing the functionals over C k domains with a volume constraint, and characterize the stationary points and maximizers.
Job matching in pharmacy labor markets: a study in four states.

Purpose. Reports from various pharmacy labor market sectors suggest that the United States may be experiencing a shortage of pharmacists. To guide policy making and planning with respect to this shortage, it is necessary to develop a better understanding of the process by which pharmacists choose jobs. Using the economic theory of job matching, this study sought to understand how (a) attributes of the practice setting, (b) characteristics of pharmacists, and (c) regional and urbanization variables are associated with pharmacy practice setting choices.
Habitat fragmentation and genetic diversity of an endangered, migratory songbird, the golden‐cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia)

Landscape genetic approaches offer the promise of increasing our understanding of the influence of habitat features on genetic structure. We assessed the genetic diversity of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) across their breeding range in central Texas and evaluated the role of habitat loss and fragmentation in shaping the population structure of the species. We determined genotypes across nine microsatellite loci of 109 individuals from seven sites representing the major breeding concentrations of the species. No evidence of a recent population bottleneck was found. Differences in allele frequencies were highly significant among sites. The sampled sites do not appear to represent isolated lineages requiring protection as separate management units, although the amount of current gene flow is insufficient to prevent genetic differentiation. Measures of genetic differentiation were negatively associated with habitat connectivity and the percentage of forest cover between sites, and positively associated with geographic distance and the percentage of agricultural land between sites. The northernmost site was the most genetically differentiated and was isolated from other sites by agricultural lands. Fragmentation of breeding habitat may represent barriers to dispersal of birds which would pose no barrier to movement during other activities such as migration.
Production, Characterization, and Measurement of H(D) Beams on the ORNL Merged-Beams Experiment

Total cross section measurements of electron capture processes are being studied for low‐energy, Aq++H(D) collisions using the Ion‐Atom Merged‐Beams apparatus at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility (MIRF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). On this apparatus, a modified Faraday cup detector is used to measure the intensity of the neutral beam. The conversion of the measured electrical current to the true neutral particle beam current is necessary to accurately determine the true cross section values. Inherent in this conversion process is the number of secondary electrons (γ) emitted from the surface of the detector upon impact of an atom. The method employed to determine γ and its role in the absolute electron capture measurements at ORNL‐MIRF are presented. With a recent upgrade to the apparatus, the neutral beam H(D) production technique has been improved and is discussed in detail in this paper.
Effect of mesuprine hydrochloride upon nonpregnant uterine contractility and the cardiovascular system.

Abstract The effect of mesuprine hydrochloride, a β-adrenergic-receptor mimetic agent, upon nonpregnant uterine contractility and the cardiovascular system was evaluated in 9 patients of reproductive age. The responses were variable depending upon the hormonal status of the subjects. The proliferative phase contractility is depressed. In early secretory phase, the A waves were depressed and the B waves were stimulated. The contractility was diminished in mid-secretory phase as well as during menstruation, but in both groups there was a rebound after discontinuation. A patient on norethindrone-mestranol responded with depressed A waves, increased B waves, and rebound. In all patients there was marked tachycardia. Patients in the proliferative and early secretory phases experienced only moderate hypotension, but they had significant subjective side effects. Late secretory-phase, menstruating patients and those taking norethindrone-mestranol experienced marked hypotension but no subjective symptoms. There was constant fluctuation of the blood pressure tracing and disappearance of the dicrotic wave. It is postulated that sex steroid hormonal changes influence the receptivity of α- and/or, β-adrenergic receptors of the genital tract and cardiovascular system.