cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Advocacy unit probation officers reporting risk factors for young offenders with intellectual or developmental disabilities

ABSTRACTYoung people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are over-represented in the juvenile justice system. Unlike young people without disabilities, young offenders with intellectual or developmental disabilities may have assigned probation officers (i.e., advocacy unit probation officers) who understand the contextual risk factors among these young offenders. For this study, we conducted interviews with eight advocacy unit probation officers about the risk factors for young offenders with intellectual or developmental disabilities as well as ways to reduce court involvement. Risk factors for being involved with the juvenile justice system included peer victimisation, inability of the court to explain its procedures, inappropriate school discipline, experiences of living in poverty, and neighbourhood violence. Suggested strategies to reduce the risk for offending included: improving family–school partnerships, increasing special education knowledge among juvenile justice officials, and havi...
Designing for Safety: the Importance of the Physical Space

Surgical adverse events have been linked to flow interruptions in the normal progression of the surgical procedure. Human factors engineering principles have been used to study the effects of the operating room environment on the performance of surgical team members. Flow disruptions can be caused by factors related to operating design, size, and layout, i.e., cluttered workspaces and inefficient personnel movements. Other causes of flow disruptions include distractions caused by traffic in the operating room and equipment failure. Continued research is needed to develop processes and procedures to minimize adverse events related to flow disruption.
Partnerships Form the Basis for Implementing a National Space Weather Plan

The 2017 Space Weather Enterprise Forum, held June 27, focused on the vital role of partnerships in order to establish an effective and successful national space weather program. Experts and users from the many government agencies, industry, academia, and policy makers gathered to discuss space weather impacts and mitigation strategies, the relevant services and supporting infrastructure, and the vital role cross-cutting partnerships must play for successful implementation of the National Space Weather Action Plan.
Anticoagulation for Proximal Deep Vein Thrombosis

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), encompassing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (PE), affects 1–2 of 1000 individuals per year and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. VTE events may be provoked, if occurring in the presence of a risk factor that transiently and reversibly increases thrombotic risk, or unprovoked. Provoked VTE is associated with a low-recurrence risk; such patients are generally treated with 3 months of anticoagulation. Unprovoked VTE has a much higher risk of recurrence, and decisions about duration of anticoagulation necessitate careful consideration of risks and benefits of extended anticoagulation. D-dimer, gender, and risk prediction models may assist in individualizing estimates of recurrence. The roles of surveillance ultrasonography and thrombophilia testing in such decisions are unclear.
Efficient algorithm to find makespan in manufacturing systems under multiple scheduling perturbations

Manufacturing scheduling improvement heuristics iterate over trial schedules to determine a satisfactory schedule. During each iteration, a performance measure (e.g. makespan) is calculated. The paper presents an efficient algorithm, Structural Perturbation Algorithm (SPA), that accelerates the calculation of the makespan. This means all scheduling improvement heuristics using SPA to calculate makespan for each trial schedule will run faster. To achieve this goal, the manufacturing system is modelled by a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). Schedule trials can be described as a perturbed DAG where multiple edges are added and deleted. The major contribution of this research is that SPA can handle multiple edge deletions/additions with a single pass which makes it more efficient in terms of time complexity than current approaches. SPA accomplishes this by partitioning the nodes into three regions based on the locations of the added and deleted edges. Then, SPA updates the length of the affected nodes in each reg...
Binary Detection and Rectangular Hysteresis Operators

This chapter investigates a binary detector with hysteresis-type nonlinearity and derives closed-form expressions in the Laplace transform domain for probability density functions that are necessary to compute bit error rates and probability of error. Naturally, in a typical communication system there are several other important issues related to system performance, such as jitter and clock recovery. In this discussion the system is considered to have perfect synchronization between the detector and the noisy input data. Therefore, it is assumed that there is no performance degradation in the receiver because of errors in the timing of bit intervals. The machinery of the “exit problem” and the associated techniques presented in the chapter may be very useful in determining jitter error, hence, overall system performance. Hysteresis is present in many engineering and scientific problems. Therefore, it is expected that the mathematical framework presented in this work may form the basis for several future directions of research and not simply be limited to the application of bit-rate transparent detection in optical-network links.
A Semi-automatic System for Efficient Recovery of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets from Hard Disk Drives

Abstract Rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) are essential components in many electrical and electronic products, including clean energy applications. Currently over 90% of the world's rare earth elements (REEs) are produced in China, leading many other countries to classify REES as critical materials. Recycling is one of the approaches to address the supply risks. Unfortunately, to date, the recycling rate of REPMs has been very low and no industrial scale recovery of REPMs from end of life products exists. As a result, REEs end up either in the landfill or in the smelting slag while other more “common” metals are recycled. One explanation for why REPMs have not been retrieved from used products is that it can be time consuming and expensive if the labor cost is high. This paper reports the development of a semi-automatic system for profitably recovering REPMs from hard disk drives to maximize REEs resource efficiency.
Alcohol intake and periodontitis in adults aged ≥30 years: NHANES 2009-2012.

BACKGROUND Whether an association between alcohol consumption and periodontitis exists is still unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between alcohol consumption and periodontitis. METHODS 7062 adults 30 years or older who participated in 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included. Alcohol consumption measurement included self-reported average number of alcoholic drinks per week over the previous 12 months and was categorized into four groups (0, < 1, 1- < 8, and ≥8 drinks per week). Participants were categorized using surveillance case definitions for periodontitis that included both clinical attachment level (CAL) and periodontal probing depth (PD) measurements. The association between alcohol consumption and chronic periodontitis was evaluated by multivariable regression analyses adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education level, income-to-poverty ratio, smoking, self-rated overall oral health, and HbA1c . RESULTS The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of having severe periodontitis was 1.9 (1.2-3) among participants who reported alcohol consumption of ≥8 drinks compared to participants consuming some alcohol but < 1 drink per week on average. Participants who consumed 1- < 8, and ≥8 drinks per week, on average, also had higher mean PD, percentage of sites with PD ≥4 mm, mean CAL, and percentage of sites with CAL ≥3 mm compared to participants reporting consumption of < 1 drink per week. Meanwhile, the odds of having periodontitis, mean PD, extent PD ≥4 mm, mean CAL, and extent CAL ≥3 mm were not significantly different for nondrinkers than for participants who consumed some alcohol but < 1 drink per week on average. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol consumption was associated with an increase in the likelihood of having periodontitis, particularly severe periodontitis. Consumption of some alcohol, < 1 drink per week on average, was associated with similar odds of having periodontitis compared to consumption of no alcohol.
Vibrio cholerae , Vibrio parahaemolyticus , and Vibrio vulnificus

Although cholera is considered an old-world disease, it continues to be a serious problem in developing and economically impoverished countries. The infections caused by other vibrios are also increasing worldwide especially in developed countries and are increasingly being recognized as emerging diseases. Vibrio cholerae is known for its epidemic and pandemic outbreaks, especially in countries throughout Asia, Africa, and South and Central America, where the fecal–oral transmission mode spreads the disease, often through the consumption of contaminated drinking water. Upon entry into the intestine, the bacterium produces several adhesion factors including toxin-coregulated pili (TCP), flagella, neuraminidase, and accessory colonization factor (ACF) for colonization. The bacterium produces cholera toxin (CT) and zona occludin toxin (ZOT), which affect the ion transport pumps for Na+, Cl−, HCO3−, and K+ and junctional integrity and results in extensive fluid and ion losses. Diarrhea appears within 6 h–5 days and lasts for 2–12 days. Oral vaccination with killed bacteria together with a purified B subunit of cholera toxin is widely used and is recommended by the WHO. Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus infections are associated with seafood harvested from estuarine or freshwaters. They produce several heat-stable (TDH) and heat-labile TDH-related hemolysins (TRH) and phospholipases, which are responsible for membrane pore formation, apoptosis, and fluid loss resulting in diarrhea. Additionally, V. vulnificus causes septicemia and wound infections, which could be fatal. Vibrio vulnificus is the most invasive of all vibrios in immunocompromised high-risk population. In addition to hemolysin, it produces collagenase, metalloprotease, lipase, and phospholipases, which promote rapid tissue destruction resulting in death within 24 h. The mortality rate of septicemic infection is about 50%, and wound infection is 22%.
Evaluating the Effect of Solar Radiations on the Performance of Asphalt Concrete Pavements

In recent years, severe weather events have impacted the performance of transportation infrastructures. The increase in temperature and heatwaves, lead to the early deterioration of pavement structures. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of solar radiations on the behavior of flexible pavements. A project was implemented in Flagstaff, Arizona, to evaluate the impact of solar radiations on asphalt concrete pavements. The analysis was performed using similar road sections with shaded and unshaded areas. A three-dimensional model of the study area was built using MicroStation, to generate solar analysis study using specified time periods. To validate the numerical analysis, field visits were conducted to measure pavement surface temperatures, and evaluate distress types along pavement surfaces for areas with solar exposure and areas without sun exposure. Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR) tests were performed to determine the stiffness of the asphalt mixtures. ANSYS, a finite element analysis software, was used to analyze the critical tensile and compressive strains exerted on the pavement. According to the results, pavement sections exposed to solar radiations, experience a significantly higher level of critical tensile and compressive strains compared to shaded pavement areas. Based on test findings and analysis results, the paper concluded that solar radiations lead to the early deterioration of asphalt pavements by increasing fatigue distress and rutting.
Machine-generated music with themes

Abstract Kohonen has demonstrated a method for using a temporal associative memory structure to capture some of the musical sequence information for existing pieces of music. He then uses this associative memory structure to generate entirely new music of remarkably high quality that, over short time intervals (10 seconds or so), appears to have a style similar to that of the existing pieces used to train the system. Unfortunately, this new music, when considered over longer periods of time, lacks direction and is themeless. In this paper we discuss an improved music generation approach that yields high-quality music with a long-term theme. This method has been used to develop good music in the Jazz genre. A tape illustrating the results will be played at the conference.
Funds Transfer Pricing and Risk Adjusted Performance Measurement

Funds transfer pricing has been used by banks for many decades. Today, it is a central component in banks for: • Achieving centralization of risks – i.e., clear branch risks (such as interest rate risk) that are most efficiently managed centrally. • Measuring ex-ante performance of traditional banking book items, such as loans, mortgages and deposits. A loan or deposit clearing of interest rate risk is achieved through the funds transfer price, defined as the matched maturity funding rate plus a mark-up for business costs. In effect, this is an interest rate swap agreement between the loan branch and the clearing center, and the price of the swap is usually null. For ex-ante performance evaluation of branches, the assigned funds transfer rate is used to measure a net interest margin vs. the transfer rate. The difference between the transfer rate and the actual funding is managed on residual terms by Treasury. This assignment of a matching funding asset or liability to a corresponding branch liability or asset also achieves balanced balance sheets for branches; therefore, each branch becomes a consistent performance measurement unit. In practice, risks other than interest rate risk, such as credit and operational risks, are also part of the transfer pricing. For example, clearing branch credit risk that is the size of the risk spread added to the funds transfer price should be related to the cost of clearing the risk. While such risk spreads may be available for traded assets, the risk spread for nontraded, traditional balance sheet items has to be defined internally. The clearing of credit risk from branches and centralization to Treasury may seem a natural step as the efficient hedging of credit risk requires a portfolio perspective. However, there are also drawbacks to clearing branches’ credit risks. Most notably, the clearing of the credit risk Essentially removes the branch incentive to actually manage the credit issued locally by the branch. Another complex issue in funds transfer pricing is how to measure funds transfer prices when future cash flows are uncertain. This is the case for most deposits where consumers can withdraw their funds at any point in time, and hence the branch has in effect issued a withdrawal option on the account. Other examples include loans with prepayment and associated caps and floors. Since the funds transfer rate should represent the actual cost of matched maturity funds, a bank cannot ignore incorporating the additional cost for embedded options in branch products. If they do, then incentives to issue embedded products that raise the interest rate paid by consumers, such as floors and embedded call options, increase.
Fatty Infiltration of Cervical Spine Extensor Musculature: Is there a Relationship With Cervical Sagittal Balance?

Study design This is a retrospective review of a single surgeon cervical deformity (CD) database. Objective Quantitatively describe the cervical extensor musculature in a CD population, and delineate associations between posterior musculature atrophy and progressive sagittal deformity. Summary of background data While fatty infiltration (FI; ie, posterior musculature atrophy) of lumbar extensor musculature has been associated with pain and deformity, little is known of the relationship between FI, CD, cervical sagittal alignment, and functionality. Methods CD patients [TS-CL>20 degrees, C2-C7 Cobb>10 degrees, CL>10 degrees, cervical sagittal vertical axis (cSVA)>4 cm, or chin-brow vertical angle>25 degrees] 18 years old and above, undergoing spinal fusion, with baseline T2-weighted magnetic resonance images were included. FI was assessed using dedicated imaging software at each intervertebral level from C2-C7. FI was gauged as a ratio of fat-free muscle cross-sectional area over total muscle cross-sectional area, with lower values indicating increasing FI. Influence of BL C2-C7 FI on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and alignment was investigated. Multiple linear regression analysis (covariates: age, sex, body mass index, C2-C7 FI ratio) determined predictors of postoperative sagittal alignment and PROMs. Results Thirty-eight patients were included (age: 56.6, sex: 73.7% female, body mass index: 30.1, Charlson Comorbidity Index 0.61). BL deformity presentation: TS-CL 27.4 degrees, CL 2.1 degrees, cSVA: 27.2 mm. Mean baseline C2-C7 FI ratio was 0.65±0.11. Worsening FI was associated with malaligned baseline cSVA (rs=0.389, P=0.019), T1SS (rs=0.340, P=0.062), and impaired gait (rs=0.358, P=0.078). FI was not associated with BL PROMs (P>0.05). Following surgical intervention, regression models determined BL C2-C7 FI ratio as the strongest predictor of 1-year postoperative cSVA (β=-0.482, P=0.007, R=0.317). No associations between BL FI and postoperative PROMS or alignment parameters were observed (P>0.05). Conclusions Patients with significant CD demonstrate alterations in the posterior extensor musculature of the cervical spine. Atrophic changes with FI of these muscle groups is associated with worsening CD and is an important predictor of postoperative sagittal alignment. Level of evidence Level III.
Analysis of Cost and 30-Day Outcomes in Single-Level Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion and Less Invasive, Stand-Alone Lateral Transpsoas Interbody Fusion.

Background A comparative evaluation of operative costs between single-level transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF) and stand-alone lateral transpsoas interbody fusion (LIF) has not yet been done. We analyzed the costs, operative parameters, and early outcomes of single-level stand-alone LIF versus single-level TLIF. Methods Ten patients who underwent single-level TLIF and 10 patients who underwent single-level stand-alone LIF were included in the analysis. Total, variable, and fixed costs from perioperative data were available from a single institution. In addition, patient demographics, length of hospital stay, and 30-day outcomes and readmission rates were reviewed. Results Total cost, variable cost, and fixed costs were significantly lower in the LIF group, and there was no difference in outcomes. Conclusions Single-level stand-alone LIF may prove to be more cost-effective and provide cost savings with analogous 30-day outcomes compared with single-level TLIF procedures.
The young Descartes: nobility, rumor, and war

In The Young Descartes: Nobility, Rumor, and War, Harold J. Cook provides a detailed biography of the first thirty-five years of Descartes’ life. Cook upsets the view of Descartes as a lonely medit...
A Policy Outcomes Comparison: Does SIB Market Discipline Narrow Social Rights?

This article argues that the outcomes-based management schemes in social impact bonds (SIBs) simplify social impact and often ignore the complex ecosystem of more powerful actors that contribute to...
In Vitro Activity of Levonadifloxacin (WCK 771) against Chlamydia pneumoniae

Levonadifloxacin (WCK 771) is a novel, broad-spectrum agent belonging to the benzoquinolizine subclass of fluoroquinolones. In addition to activity against Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus, levonadifloxacin is active against pathogens involved in community-acquired
FLUORESCENCE STUDIES OF CYCLODEXTRIN COMPLEXES

Cyclodextrins (CDs) have received attention over the past several years because of their unique chemical properties [1,2]. The ability of a CD to include appropriately sized molecules in its hydrophobic interior makes it well suited as an organizing medium. This molecular organizing property has been shown to have a marked effect on the photophysical properties of an included guest molecule [3,4].
Silicon Photonic Chips Using Remote Interrogation for Secondary and Working Standards in Thermometry

We present the design and experimental results for a silicon photonic thermometer module for secondary and working thermometry standards. The chip is mechanically robust and insensitive to contamination. Using surface coupling gratings the chip temperature can be monitored remotely using free space beams, thereby eliminating temperature hysteresis effects arising from conventional optical assembly methods and materials.
Treatment programs delivered by technology enhance the management of post-stroke anomia, but generalization to untrained words and everyday communication is still lacking1

Q For management of post-stroke anomia, what are the effects of specific intervention programs delivered by technology (i.e. computer and smart tablet) on naming abilities and generalization to unt...
Benchmarking the task scheduling algorithms for performance, energy, and temperature optimization

Abstract The task-to-core scheduling problem for allocating tasks graphs using Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) for achieving three objectives of performance, energy, and temperature (PET), poses algorithmic challenges as it involves conflicting goals and trade-offs. A myriad of static algorithms have been proposed for solving the problem. These algorithms can be roughly categorized into three groups: techniques that generate optimal solutions (for smaller sizes problems) for one objective, techinques that generate Pareto-optimal solutions, and fast heuristics. All of these techniques generate multi-dimensional results that are hardly intelligible. The assessment of these results requires new comparison methods and concise evaluation measures. This paper proposes a framework, evaluation procedures, and a set of benchmarks for methodical comparisons of various algorithms for solving the PET-aware task-to-core scheduling problem. The proposed performance measures assist in judiciously comparing these different algorithms and analyzing their results on a unified basis. The goal is also to seek answers as to how good the Pareto-optimal algorithms are compared to fast heuristics in tackling the same problem with the same assumptions. At the same time, we are interested in knowing how good Pareto-optimal and heuristics are when compared to the absolute optimal (at least for small sets of problems). The algorithms are multi-objective in nature and the problem and system parameters are numerous, which makes the comparison hard. Thus, the proposed framework in evaluating trade-offs and determining which application and target parameters affect the results (performance, energy consumed and temperature achieved) of these algorithms is highly useful. Extensive experimentation facilitates a comprehensive comparison of different kinds of algorithms among themselves as well as with optimal solutions obtained through Integer Linear Programming as a reference.
Improving responses to immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Although many forms of T cell and natural killer cell-based immunotherapies are under clinical investigation, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) targeting the programmed death (PD) pathway represent a widely available and easy to use FDA-approved immunotherapy available for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Patients that benefit from ICI demonstrate durable responses, but overall response rates are low. Rational, mechanism-based combination treatments aimed at enhancing response rates to ICI may improve survival in patients with advanced or recurrent head and neck cancer. A thorough understanding of how anti-tumor immunity should develop, why it may be ineffective, how ICIs work and how altering the immune microenvironment may enhance T cell immunity are needed to design rational combinations to study pre-clinically and in trials. Here, we review these concepts and summarize current studies aimed at enhancing response rates to ICI in patients with advanced or relapsed head and neck cancer.
Examining the Effectiveness of a Variable Momentary Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior Procedure on Reduction and Maintenance of Problem Behavior

To evaluate the effectiveness of variable-momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior (VM DRO) schedules in the reduction and maintenance of problem behavior. Specifically, will VM DRO be effective in reducing severe problem behavior for two children diagnosed with developmental disorders (DD)? Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing severe problem behavior for decades. However, recent manipulations to the schedule of delivery have led to advancements in DRO. Indicatively, VM DRO has been an effective intervention for automatically reinforced as well as social-positive maintained behavior for individuals with developmental disabilities. There is a dearth of research on variable- and fixed-momentary DRO schedules for individuals with DD; therefore, more examinations may be necessary. Two case studies of individuals who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities were reviewed. Functional analyses were conducted and indicated that problem behavior for both participants was maintained by social-positive reinforcement. VM DRO was effective at reducing one participant’s problem behavior. Fixed interval differential reinforcement of other behavior (FI DRO) was effective at reducing the other participant’s problem behavior. Findings suggest that VM DRO may not be effective at reducing problem behavior for all individuals and that outcomes may be idiosyncratic.
Advanced Mycosis Fungoides.

Advanced Mycosis Fungoides A 53-year-old man presented with rapidly progressing lesions on his face and body. A skin biopsy was performed, and a diagnosis of mycosis fungoides with large-cell trans...
Chapter 14 – Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, and Bismuth

Elemental phosphorus exists as P4 molecules, and when the oxides P4O6 and P4O10 are formed, the phosphorus atoms retain their tetrahedral arrangement. The elements P, As, Sb, and Bi form very toxic hydrides that are weaker bases than ammonia. The elements form trihalides but pentahalides are restricted to phosphorus, and none forms a pentaiodide. All of the halides of the Group VA elements are Lewis acids and some will add a halide ion to produce species such as EFn−EFn−. Many compounds containing rings having alternating P and N atoms (the most common ring size is six or eight atoms) have been studied. These are the phosphazines or phosphonitrilic compounds. Of the acids of the elements in Group VA, phosphoric acid is by far the most important. “Phosphoric acid” exists as a complex mixture of HPO3, H3PO4, H4P2O7, and others species that depends on the ratio of water to P2O5. Phosphoric acid has many uses that include production of food and fertilizers.
Goal congruity theory: Navigating the social structure to fulfill goals

Abstract The premise of the goal congruity perspective is that individuals seek to enter and engage in roles that fulfill their valued goals. Two steps are fundamental: First, the social structure shapes a group's internalized psychology and externalized opportunities, and second, individuals navigate the social structure through their actions. Put simply, individuals seek to enter available roles that they anticipate will serve their goals. Opportunities to pursue goals, or affordances, thus structure individuals' initial decisions to enter or avoid the role, as well as the way in which they engage with the role. We review accumulating evidence that affordances influence role decisions—whether these affordances vary in terms of naturalistic variation, experimental manipulation, or intervention efforts. We examine sources and cues to affordances, as well as moderation by gender and other group differences. Finally, we articulate new research questions emerging from considering actual and perceived affordances of social roles.
Deep immune profiling of COVID-19 patients reveals distinct immunotypes with therapeutic implications

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently a global pandemic, but human immune responses to the virus remain poorly understood. We used high-dimensional cytometry to analyze 125 COVID-19 patients and compare them with recovered and healthy individuals. Integrated analysis of ~200 immune and ~50 clinical features revealed activation of T cell and B cell subsets in a proportion of patients. A subgroup of patients had T cell activation characteristic of acute viral infection and plasmablast responses reaching >30% of circulating B cells. However, another subgroup had lymphocyte activation comparable with that in uninfected individuals. Stable versus dynamic immunological signatures were identified and linked to trajectories of disease severity change. Our analyses identified three immunotypes associated with poor clinical trajectories versus improving health. These immunotypes may have implications for the design of therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19.
Missing Data in Experiments: Challenges and Solutions

Missing data is a common feature of experimental datasets. Standard methods used by psychology researchers to handle missingness rely on unrealistic assumptions, invalidate random assignment procedures, and bias estimates of effect sizes. We describe different classes of missing data typically encountered in experimental datasets, and we discuss how each of them impacts researchers' causal inferences. In this tutorial, we provide concrete guidelines for handling each class of missingness, focusing on 2 methods that make realistic assumptions: (a) inverse probability weighting (IPW) for mild instances of missingness, and (b) double sampling and bounds for severe instances of missingness. After reviewing the reasons why these methods increase the accuracy of researchers' estimates of effect sizes, we provide lines of R code that researchers may use in their own analyses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Air pollution and cardiovascular mortality in Nanjing, China: Evidence highlighting the roles of cumulative exposure and mortality displacement.

Abstract Background Few studies have investigated cumulative effects and mortality displacement of short-term air pollution exposure on deaths; therefore, uncertainty remains regarding its public health significance. Methods We obtained air pollution and daily cause-specific mortality data of Nanjing from January 2004 to December 2019, covering a period of 16 years. We performed a time-series analysis with single-day, 2-day moving average, and distributed lag models, respectively, to estimate the effects of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and SO2 exposure on total cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease (IHD), and cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) mortality. Distributed lag models were used to assess the roles of cumulative exposure and mortality displacement. Results Cumulative effect estimates for 0–7 lag days were more considerable than estimates for single-day lags and 2-day moving average lag. The cumulative effect estimates for PM10, NO2 and SO2 on total cardiovascular and CBVD mortality became essentially zero within 30 days, which suggested the existence of mortality displacement. But the cumulative effect estimates for PM2.5 and SO2 on IHD mortality remained elevated and statistically significant within 27 (2.11%; 95% CI: 0.12, 4.27%) and 22 (2.63%; 95% CI: 0.39, 4.91%) days, respectively, which suggested the absence of mortality displacement. Conclusions Our results indicated that risk assessment based on single-day or 2-day moving average exposure rather than cumulative exposure likely underestimate the adverse effects of air pollution. The cumulative PM2.5 and SO2 exposure for nearly a month may have adverse effects on IHD mortality.
Comparing Laparotomy versus Robotic-Assisted Interval Debulking Surgery for Patients with Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

ABSTRACT Study Objective Compare survival of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) undergoing interval debulking surgery (IDS) with either robot-assisted (R-IDS) or open (O-IDS) approach. Second, we assessed the impact of adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) cycles as independent variables associated with survival in this patient population. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Single tertiary care center. Patients Total of 93 patients diagnosed with advanced EOC who underwent NACT before primary debulking surgery after consultation with a gynecologic oncologist. Interventions All patients underwent IDS after completion of NACT with either R-IDS or O-IDS between 2011 and 2018 at a single tertiary care center. Exclusion criteria included receiving fewer than 3 or more than 6 cycles of NACT or having concurrent diagnoses of other malignancies during the treatment period. Measurements and Main Results A total of 93 patients were identified (n = 43 R-IDS; n = 50 O-IDS). Median age (63.0 vs 66.2 years) did not differ between the 2 groups (p = .1). Of the total patients, 91% were optimally cytoreduced (57% R0 and 34% R1), and R0 rate was not influenced by surgical modality (52% O-IDS vs 63% R-IDS, p = .4). Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) did not differ between patients undergoing O-IDS and those undergoing R-IDS (PFS 15.4 vs 16.7 months, p = .7; OS 38.2 vs 35.6 months, p = .7). Cytoreduction to R0 improved both PFS and OS independent of surgical approach. Subgroup analysis showed that, specifically in patients undergoing R-IDS, receiving >6 total cycles of chemotherapy was independently associated with both decreased PFS (hazard ratio 3.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.52–9.73) and OS (hazard ratio 3.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–14.59). When analyzed separately, neither NACT nor adjuvant cycle numbers had any effect on survival. Conclusion In this retrospective study of patients with advanced EOC undergoing IDS after NACT, the use of robot-assisted surgery did not affect debulking success or oncologic survival indices. Receiving >6 total cycles of chemotherapy before IDS was associated with a decrease in both PFS and OS in patients undergoing R-IDS in this cohort and warrants further investigation.
Primary acquired melanosis/melanoma: utility of conjunctival map biopsy.

Aim To assess the role of map biopsy in patients with conjunctival primary acquired melanosis (PAM)/melanoma. Methods Retrospective case series of 400 conjunctival biopsy samples of 51 unique patients in a tertiary referral centre. Results Each patient underwent one diagnostic biopsy and several additional map biopsies (range 2–7) providing a total of 400 samples for the analysis (55 diagnostic biopsies, 345 map biopsies). The median age was 63 years old (range 20–88) with women representing 67% of the cases. Histopathological findings were graded as negative for melanosis/normal (grade 0), melanosis without atypia (grade 1), melanosis with mild atypia (grade 2), melanosis with severe atypia (grade 3) or invasive melanoma (grade 4). Clinicopathologic concordance was observed in the majority of the map biopsies (313, 91%) (positive: clinical+/path+ (57,17%), negative: clinical−/path− (256, 74%)). Three discordant samples (clinical−/path+) represented PAM sine pigmento. The histopathological spectrum of atypia was absent (40, 73%) or limited (11, 20%) in the majority of cases with tendency to cluster as low-grade or high-grade atypia. Map biopsy led to the identification of six patients (11%) with severe atypia, requiring topical mitomycin (MMC). Similarly, in 29 cases, periodic observation without topical MMC was recommended. One case of invasive melanoma transformation occurred in the MMC-treated group. Conclusions Map biopsy enhances overall assessment of the anatomic and pathologic extent, impacting use of adjuvant topical chemotherapy. In absence of map biopsy, it would be impossible to diagnose PAM sine pigmento. Additional corroborative work is needed to validate our observations.
Bayesian Pseudo Posterior Mechanism under Asymptotic Differential Privacy

We propose a Bayesian pseudo posterior mechanism to generate record-level synthetic databases equipped with an $(\epsilon,\delta)-$ probabilistic differential privacy (pDP) guarantee, where $\delta$ denotes the probability that any observed database exceeds $\epsilon$. The pseudo posterior mechanism employs a data record-indexed, risk-based weight vector with weight values $\in [0, 1]$ that surgically downweight the likelihood contributions for high-risk records for model estimation and the generation of record-level synthetic data for public release. The pseudo posterior synthesizer constructs a weight for each data record using the Lipschitz bound for that record under a log-pseudo likelihood utility function that generalizes the exponential mechanism (EM) used to construct a formally private data generating mechanism. By selecting weights to remove likelihood contributions with non-finite log-likelihood values, we guarantee a finite local privacy guarantee for our pseudo posterior mechanism at every sample size. Our results may be applied to \emph{any} synthesizing model envisioned by the data disseminator in a computationally tractable way that only involves estimation of a pseudo posterior distribution for parameters, $\theta$, unlike recent approaches that use naturally-bounded utility functions implemented through the EM. We specify mild conditions that guarantee the asymptotic contraction of $\delta$ to $0$ over the space of databases. We illustrate our pseudo posterior mechanism on the sensitive family income variable from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys database published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We show that utility is better preserved in the synthetic data for our pseudo posterior mechanism as compared to the EM, both estimated using the same non-private synthesizer, due to our use of targeted downweighting.
Adaptive Safety with Multiple Barrier Functions Using Integral Concurrent Learning

This paper presents an approach to guarantee safety for control systems with uncertain nonlinear dynamics. Constraints on the control input induced by multiple barrier function candidates are developed to ensure forward pre-invariance of a safe set of states despite the uncertainty. Using the adaptive control technique of integral concurrent learning, conservativeness in the input constraints is reduced over time as estimates of the uncertain parameters exponentially converge. The constraints are implemented in a quadratic program that modifies a nominal controller for guaranteed safety. An example is presented showing that the operating region of the system is expanded significantly from the initial size due to the converging estimation error.
Photonics in Extreme Environments: High Energy Radiation-Induced Optical Response in Silicon Waveguides

The radiation-induced optical response of a silicon waveguide is investigated and important implications for experimental testing techniques are reported. A computationally efficient approach to accurately estimate the radiation-induced response using perturbation theory is also reported.
Perioperative sleep disturbance following mastectomy: A longitudinal investigation of the relationship to pain, opioid use, treatment, and psychosocial symptoms.

192Background: Sleep disturbance negatively impacts quality of life and recovery. Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between individual patient factors (demographic, surgical, pain, opi...
Improving the FreeBSD SMP Implementation

UNIX-derived operating systems have traditionally have a simplistic approach to process synchronization which is unsuited to multiprocessor application. Initial FreeBSD SMP support kept this approach by allowing only one process to run in kernel mode at any time, and also blocked interrupts across multiple processors, causing seriously suboptimal performance of I/O bound systems. This paper describes work done to remove this bottleneck, replacing it with fine-grained locking. It derives from work done on BSD/OS and has many similarities with the approach taken in SunOS 5. Synchronization is performed primarily by a locking construct intermediate between a spin lock and a binary semaphore, termed mutexes. In general, mutexes attempt to block rather than to spin in cases where the likely wait time is long enough to warrant a process switch. The issue of blocking interrupt handlers is addressed by attaching a process context to the interrupt handlers. Despite this process context, an interrupt handler normally runs in the context of the interrupted process and is scheduled only when blocking is required.
N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) mediates pomegranate juice protection from apoptosis in hypoxic BeWo cells but not in primary human trophoblasts

Abstract Introduction N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) expression is increased in placentas of human pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction and in hypoxic cultured primary trophoblasts. We previously showed that elevated NDRG1 decreases trophoblast apoptosis induced by hypoxia. Separately, we found that pomegranate juice (PJ) decreases cell death induced by hypoxia in trophoblasts. Here, we test the hypothesis that PJ protects trophoblasts from hypoxia-induced apoptosis by modulating NDRG1 expression. Methods Quantitative rtPCR was used to investigate the effects of PJ treatment on mRNA levels of 22 candidate genes involved in apoptosis, oxidative stress, and differentiation in trophoblasts. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to analyze NDRG1 protein levels. siRNA-mediated NDRG1 knockdown was used to investigate the role of NDRG1 in response to PJ in hypoxic BeWo choriocarcinoma cells and hypoxic cultured primary human trophoblasts. Results The mRNA levels of eight genes were altered, with NDRG1 showing the largest response to PJ and thus, we pursued the role of NDRG1 here. PJ significantly increased NDRG1 protein expression in primary trophoblasts and in BeWo cells. Knockdown of NDRG1 in hypoxic BeWo cells in the presence of PJ yielded increased apoptosis. In contrast, knockdown of NDRG1 in hypoxic primary trophoblasts in the presence of PJ did not increase apoptosis. Discussion We conclude that the PJ-mediated decrease in cell death in hypoxia is partially mediated by NDRG1 in BeWo cells but not in primary trophoblasts. The disparate effects of NDRG1 between BeWo cells and primary trophoblasts indicate caution is required when extrapolating from results obtained with cell lines to primary trophoblasts.
Agricultural Biotechnology, Ethics, Food Safety, Risk, and Individual Consent

Introduction Biotechnology and Food Food: Safe, Pure, and Wholesome Risk, Safety, and Deliberative Rational Choice Approaches to Food Safety Assessing Risk Risk, Purity, and Consent Risk and Purity Risk and Consent Food Labels Keywords: agricultural biotechnology
Prediction of standard-dose brain PET image by using MRI and low-dose brain [18F]FDG PET images

Purpose: Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medical imaging technology that produces 3D images reflecting tissue metabolic activity in human body. PET has been widely used in various clinical applications, such as in diagnosis of brain disorders. High-quality PET images play an essential role in diagnosing brain diseases/disorders. In practice, in order to obtain high-quality PET images, a standard-dose radionuclide (tracer) needs to be used and injected into a living body. As a result, it will inevitably increase the patient’s exposure to radiation. One solution to solve this problem is predicting standard-dose PET images using low-dose PET images. As yet, no previous studies with this approach have been reported. Accordingly, in this paper, the authors propose a regression forest based framework for predicting a standard-dose brain [18F]FDG PET image by using a low-dose brain [18F]FDG PET image and its corresponding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image. Methods: The authors employ a regression forest for predicting the standard-dose brain [18F]FDG PET image by low-dose brain [18F]FDG PET and MRI images. Specifically, the proposed method consists of two main steps. First, based on the segmented brain tissues (i.e., cerebrospinal fluid, gray matter, and white matter) in the MRI image, the authors extract features for each patch in the brain image from both low-dose PET and MRI images to build tissue-specific models that can be used to initially predict standard-dose brain [18F]FDG PET images. Second, an iterative refinement strategy, via estimating the predicted image difference, is used to further improve the prediction accuracy. Results: The authors evaluated their algorithm on a brain dataset, consisting of 11 subjects with MRI, low-dose PET, and standard-dose PET images, using leave-one-out cross-validations. The proposed algorithm gives promising results with well-estimated standard-dose brain [18F]FDG PET image and substantially enhanced image quality of low-dose brain [18F]FDG PET image. Conclusions: In this paper, the authors propose a framework to generate standard-dose brain [18F]FDG PET image using low-dose brain [18F]FDG PET and MRI images. Both the visual and quantitative results indicate that the standard-dose brain [18F]FDG PET can be well-predicted using MRI and low-dose brain [18F]FDG PET.
All that is gold does not glitter? Age, taxonomy, and ancient plant DNA quality

More than 600 herbarium samples from four distantly related groups of flowering plants were used for DNA extraction and subsequent measurements of DNA purity and concentration. We did not find any significant relation between DNA purity and the age of the sample. However, DNA yields were different between plant groups studied. We believe that there there should be no reservations about "old" samples if the goal is to extract more DNA of better purity. We argue that the older herbarium samples are the mine for the future DNA studies, and have the value not less than the "fresh" specimens.
Tensor Controlled Local Structure Enhancement of CT Images for Bone Segmentation

This paper addresses the problem of segmenting bone from Computed Tomography (CT) data. In clinical practice, identification of bone is done by thresholding, a method which is simple and fast. Unfortunately, thresholding alone has significant limitations. In particular, segmentation of thin bone structures and of joint spaces is problematic. This problem is particularly severe for thin bones such as in the skull (the paranasal sinus and around the orbit). Another area where current techniques often fail is automatic, reliable and robust identification of individual bones, which requires precise separation of the joint spaces. This paper presents a novel solution to these problems based on three-dimensional filtering techniques. Improvement of the segmentation results in more accurate 3D models for the purpose of surgical planning and intraoperative navigation.