cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Increasing Caloric Contribution From Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and 100% Fruit Juices Among US Children and Adolescents, 1988–2004

The study analyzed 24-hour dietary recalls from children and adolescents (aged 2ﾖ19) in 2 nationally representative population surveys: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (1988ﾖ1994, N 9882) and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999ﾖ2004 (N 10 962). Trends in caloric contribution, type, and location of sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juice consumed were estimated. Per-capita daily caloric contribution from sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juice increased from 242 kcal/day in 1988ﾖ1994 to 270 kcal/day in 1999ﾖ2004; sugar-sweetened beverage intake increased from 204 to 224 kcal/day and 100% fruit juice increased from 38 to 48 kcal/day.The largest increases occurred among children aged 6 to 11 years. There was no change in per-capita consumption among white adolescents but significant increases among black and Mexican American youths. Soda contributed 67% of all sugar-sweetened beverage calories among the adolescents, whereas fruit drinks provided more than half of the sugar-sweetened beverage calories consumed by preschool-aged children. Fruit juice drinkers consumed, on average, 148 (ages 2ﾖ5), 136 (ages 6ﾖ11), and 184 (ages 12ﾖ19) kcal/day. On a typical weekday, 55% to 70% of all sugar-sweetened beverage calories were consumed in the home environment, and 7% to 15% occurred in schools. The study concluded that children and adolescents today derive 10% to 15% of total calories from sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juice.
Effects of Depression and Antidepressant Use on Goal Setting and Barrier Identification Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes self-care plays a vital role in achieving better diabetes outcomes. To enhance diabetes self-care, the strategies of goal setting and barrier identification are widely used to assist people in making behavior change. Depression is a common co-morbidity and a barrier to self-care in people with diabetes. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of depression and antidepressant use on goal setting and barrier identification in patients with type 2 diabetes.In patients with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) Outcomes System as part of their routine diabetes education, 778 patients were included into this analysis. Self-report depression, 7 self-identified behavior change goals, and 13 barriers to diabetes self-care were collected from the Diabetes Self-management Assessment Report Tool (D-SMART®); antidepressant use was determined from the Diabetes Educator Tool (D-ET®). Multiple linear regression was used for the number of goals and the number of barriers with controls for relevant covariates.Patients with and without depression had a similar number of self-identified behavior change goals (P = 0.47), whereas patients with depression had 1.01 barriers to diabetes self-care greater than those without depression (P = 0.0001). In the depressed subgroup, there was no significant difference between those with and without antidepressant use in the number of goals (model 3A, P = 0.18; model 3B, P = 0.35) and in the number of barriers (P = 0.99). Since depression was related to a greater number of barriers to self-care, depression screening is important in patients with diabetes. Although antidepressant use had no association with the number of goals or the number of barriers, antidepressants are still useful in treating depression in patients with diabetes. In addition, collaborative treatment should be integrated to provide maximal benefit to improve both diabetes and depression. These conclusions are of public health significance and can be used to develop behavior change strategies to improve diabetes self-care.
Compliments and Criticisms in Book Reviews About Business Communication

Research suggests that book reviews in academic journals tend to be positive but that readers prefer book reviews that include negative and positive evaluation. In this study, the author examines 48 books reviews from three business communication journals to determine whether these reviews are mainly positive. She counts compliments and criticisms, analyzing their location and topics. She also analyzes the force of the criticisms and strategies that reviewers use to mitigate criticism.
Guest editorial: Special issue on Parallel Matrix Algorithms and Applications (PMAA'10)

This special issue of Parallel Computing contains nine articles, selected after peer reviewing, from invited and contributed presentations made at the 8th International Workshop on Parallel Matrix Algorithms and Applications (PMAA'16), that took place at the Universite of Bordeaux, France, from July 6-8, 2016. The workshop attracted around 120 participants from all continents, 25% were PhD students and around 10% from industry. The workshop was co-chaired by Emmanuel Agullo, Peter Arbenz, Luc Gi-raud, and Olaf Schenk. The members of the program committee were : P. D'Am-bra, H A total of twelve high quality submissions were received. In this special issue nine eventually accepted papers appear. The nine papers address diverse aspects of linear algebra and high performance computing 1. Jack Dongarra, Mark Gates, Stanimire Tomov address accelerating the SVD two stage reduction and divide-and-conquer using GPUs. The increasing gap between memory bandwidth and computation speed motivates the choice of algorithms to take full advantage of today's high performance computers. For dense matrices, the classic algorithm for the SVD uses a one-stage reduction to bidiagonal form, which is limited in performance by the memory bandwidth. To overcome this limitation, a two-stage reduction to bidiagonal has been gaining popularity. As accelerators , such as GPUs and co-processors, are becoming increasingly widespread in high-performance computing, the authors present an accelerated SVD employing a two-stage reduction to bidiagonal as well as a parallelized and accelerated divide-and-conquer algorithm to solve the subsequent bidiagonal SVD. The new implementation provides a significant speedup compared to existing multi-core and GPU-based SVD implementations.
Relationship Between Parental Diabetes and Presentation of Metabolic and Glycemic Function in Youth With Type 2 Diabetes: Baseline Findings From the TODAY Trial

OBJECTIVE Children whose parents have diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. This report assessed relationships between parental diabetes status and baseline demographics, anthropometrics, metabolic measurements, insulin sensitivity, and β-cell function in children recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The sample included 632 youth (aged 10–17 years) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for RESULTS Youth exposed to maternal diabetes during pregnancy (whether the mother was diagnosed with diabetes prior to pregnancy or had gestational diabetes mellitus) were diagnosed at younger ages (by 0.6 years on average), had greater dysglycemia at baseline (HbA 1c increased by 0.3% [3.4 mmol/mol]), and had reduced β-cell function compared with those not exposed (C-peptide index 0.063 vs. 0.092).The effect of maternal diabetes on β-cell function was observed in non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics but not whites. Relationships with paternal diabetes status were minimal. CONCLUSIONS Maternal diabetes prior to or during pregnancy was associated with poorer glycemic control and β-cell function overall but particularly in non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic youth, supporting the hypothesis that fetal exposure to aberrant metabolism may have long-term effects. More targeted research is needed to understand whether the impact of maternal diabetes is modified by racial/ethnic factors or whether the pathway to youth-onset type 2 diabetes differs by race/ethnicity.
Two-state charge-transfer calculation in H + - H 2 collisions

A molecular two-state model, including translation factors, is used within the "quasidiatomic" approximation to calculate the differential charge-transfer probabilities in ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ -${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ collisions at 3\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} laboratory scattering angle. The essential features of experiment are reproduced.
The Papal Conception of Empire

Only in recent years have scholars become aware of the importance of the medieval canon lawyers in the development of the concept of empire.3 In a number of areas of what can be broadly construed as political thought, the canonists made important contributions. While philosophers in the Middle Ages tended to be restricted in their analysis of politics by the Greek, Roman and patristic traditions of political thought, the canonists were not. The canonists who emerged in the late twelfth century following the publication of Gratian’s Decretum were legal practitioners who came to play a major role in the ecclesiastical bureaucracies, on occasion rising to the papal office itself.4 In carrying out these roles, the canonists faced problems that did not exist in classical political thought. As they did so, they shaped the legal tradition, causing what Harold Berman has termed the ‘legal revolution’ of the twelfth century that in turn created modern European legal systems.5
Roentgenography in Diagnosis of Genitourinary Diseases

Details of various procedures for roentgenographic study of the urinary tract are presented, including the K.U.B. survey, excretory and retrograde urography, cystography and double-contrast cystogr...
Analysis of long-term EEG monitoring and CT in 320 patients with epilepsy

Objeetive:To explore the role of long-term EEG monitoring,including ambulatory EEG (AEEG)and video-EEG(VEEG),and CT in the diagnosis and etiology of epilepsy.Methods:The re- suits of 24h EEG monitoring and CT in 320 patients with epilepsy were analyzed.Results:Of 320 pa- tients,EEG were normal in 123 cases(38.4%),abnormal in 197 eases(61.6%),clinical attack 48 cases (15.%)taking up 24.4% of the total abnormal EEG eases.The epileptiform discharge was found in 114 cases taking up 57.9% of the total abnormal EEG cases,slow waves abnormal in 83 cases 42.1%. CT was normal in 229 eases(71.6%),abnormal in 91 cases(28.4%).The abnormality rate significantly differencent between CT and EEG(x~2=10.88＜.P＜0.001).Conclsions:The long-term EEG monitoring can greatly promote the effective examination of abnormality rate of EEG in the patients with epilepsy.It is practical especially for suspicious patients without obvious clinical attacking and aura.The application of CT helps to find the cause of epilepsy.CT combined with EEG plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy.
Cardiovascular biomarkers and surrogate endpoints in drug clinical trials

Recent years,the possibility of biomarkers as a surrogate endpoint in clinical trials of the drug development is discussed in many different therapeutic areas.Since 2003,an international panel at the "Cardiovascular Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints Symposia" held in Betheada,Md,to discuss the use of biomarkers in the development of improved cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics.One purpose of the meeting is hoped to create efficiencies toward improved patient healthcare,accelerate drug development.The information presented in this article summarizes the perspective of different country' s regulatory agencies in the cardiovascular biomarker and surrogate endpoints,hoping to give some reference for the domestic drug R and D and evaluator.
General Equilibrium Analysis: Its Meaning, Purposes and Limitations

The need for scientific analysis springs from a fundamental bias of our natural and social environment against sameness and constancy. Physical objects that are similar in specified attributes will vary among themselves in the exact degree to which they possess such attributes. Static variation of this type is compounded with dynamic variation — or change — in the same object’s attributes over time. The ubiquity of variation, manifest in the very triviality of its assertion, forces upon man, individually and collectively, a concern for its patterns. Upon his ability to accept and shape them to his ends in a nonintuitive fashion is based his sanity and his survival.
Nocebo Effects: The Dilemma of Disclosing Adverse Events

Any randomised clinical trial (RCT) is characterised by the emergence of adverse events. Some adverse events are related to the action of the active drug, but a substantial proportion is due to patients being alerted to potential adverse events as part of the informed consent process. Presenting patients with side effects of treatments and interventions can induce so-called “nocebo effects”, which refers to adverse events related to negative expectations and anticipations. Neurobiological and pre-clinical studies have shown that nocebo effects result from negative expectations, previous experiences, and clinical encounters. Disclosures and the manner in which information is delivered can contribute to producing adverse effects. This phenomenon poses an ethical conundrum as the patient has the right to be informed about potential risks and side effects of a treatment, yet a detailed disclosure may produce undesirable harm. We discuss state-of-the art nocebo research and associated clinical and ethical implications.
Treating Smokers in Substance Treatment With Contingent Vouchers, Nicotine Replacement and Brief Advice Adapted for Sobriety Settings.

Abstract Treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) provides an opportunity to use voucher-based treatment for smoking. Nicotine replacement (NRT) could improve outcomes previously observed with vouchers without NRT. Methods A randomized controlled trial compared contingent vouchers (CV) for smoking abstinence to noncontingent vouchers (NV), when all received counseling and NRT. Smokers who had not sought smoking treatment ( n =340) in residential SUD treatment were provided 14days of vouchers for complete smoking abstinence per exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) after a 5-day smoking reduction period, or vouchers only for breath samples, plus brief advice (four sessions) and 8weeks of NRT. Results Within treatment, 20% had complete abstinence with CV, 5% with NV ( p p p p Conclusions Within-treatment effects on abstinence are stronger than in a prior study of the same CV with BA but without NRT, but NRT does not improve abstinence after vouchers end. Implications for voucher-based treatment include investigating effects when combined with stronger smoking medications and using motivational interviewing. Smoking treatment does not harm SUD recovery.
What's in Your Portfolio? How Parents Rank Traditional Public, Private, and Charter Schools in Post-Katrina New Orleans’ Citywide System of School Choice

Abstract We examine the characteristics of schools preferred by parents in New Orleans, Louisiana, where a “portfolio” of school choices is available. This tests the conditions under which school choice induces healthy competition between public and private schools through the threat of student exit. Using unique data from parent applications to as many as eight different schools (including traditional public, charter, and private schools), we find that many parents include a mix of public and private schools among their preferences, often ranking public schools alongside or even above private schools on a unified application. Parents who list both public and private schools show a preference for the private sector, all else equal, and are willing to accept lower school performance scores for private schools than otherwise equivalent public options. Public schools are more likely to be ranked with private schools and to be ranked higher as their academic performance scores increase. These parents reveal a...
Building an Ensemble of Probabilistic Classifiers for Lung Nodule Interpretation

When examining Computed Tomography (CT) scans of lungs for potential abnormalities, radiologists make use of lung nodule's semantic characteristics during the analysis. Computer-Aided Diagnostic Characterization (CADc) systems can act as an aid - predicting ratings of these semantic characteristics to aid radiologists in evaluating the nodule and potentially improve the quality and consistency of diagnosis. In our work, we propose a system for predicting the distribution of radiologists' opinions using a probabilistic multi-class classification approach based on combination of belief decision trees and ADABoost ensemble learning approach. To train and test our system we use the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) dataset, which includes semantic annotations by up to four radiologists for each one of the 914 nodules. Furthermore, we evaluate our probabilistic multi-class classifications using a novel distance-threshold curve technique intended for assessing the performance of uncertain classification systems. We conclude that for the majority of semantic characteristics there exists a set of parameters that significantly improves the performance of the ensemble over the single classifier.
A new method of genotyping MDX4CV mice by PCR-RFLP analysis.

Introduction: The mdx4cv mouse is a common model to study Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The most utilized methodology to identify the genotype of these mice is Sanger DNA sequencing. Methods: Here, we provide a simple, cost-effective alternative approach to identify the wildtype, heterozygous, or homozygous/hemizygous genotypes of these mice, using commonly available laboratory equipment and reagents. Results: Our technique exploits a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) that is generated by the point mutation found in exon 53 of mdx4cv mice. Discussion: This technique can benefit laboratories that require complex breeding strategies involving mdx4cv mice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Refined procedure for gain measurement in Fabry-Perot semiconductor lasers

A refined procedure is proposed to extract the optical gain in Fabry-Perot semiconductor lasers. The gain-reflectivity product is extracted with a straightforward technique without requiring ultrahigh-resolution measurements. It further reduces systematic error due to the finite resolution of the instrument, compared to previous methods.
The association between insurance status and survival in patients with stage III colon cancer.

535Background: Colon cancer is the third most frequent cancer diagnosis, and primary payer status has been shown to be associated with treatment modalities and survival in cancer patients. The goal...
Oxidation of KCNB1 potassium channels triggers apoptotic integrin signaling in the brain.

Oxidative modification of the voltage-gated potassium (K+) channel KCNB1 promotes apoptosis in the neurons of cortex and hippocampus through a signaling pathway mediated by Src tyrosine kinases. How oxidation of the channel is transduced into Src recruitment and activation, however, was not known. Here we show that the apoptotic signal originates from integrins, which form macromolecular complexes with KCNB1 channels. The initial stimulus is transduced to Fyn and possibly other Src family members by focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Thus KCNB1 and integrin alpha chain V (integrin-α5) coimmunoprecipitated in the mouse brain and these interactions were retained upon channel’s oxidation. Pharmacological inhibition of integrin signaling or FAK suppressed apoptosis induced by oxidation of KCNB1, as well as FAK and Src/Fyn activation. Most importantly, the activation of the integrin–FAK–Src/Fyn cascade was negligible in the presence of non-oxidizable C73A KCNB1 mutant channels, even though they normally interacted with integrin-α5. This leads us to conclude that the transition between the non-oxidized and oxidized state of KCNB1 activates integrin signaling. KCNB1 oxidation may favor integrin clustering, thereby facilitating the recruitment and activation of FAK and Src/Fyn kinases.
The influence of traumatic brain injury on treatment outcomes of Concurrent Treatment for PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE) in veterans.

Abstract Background The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders (SUD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in veterans of Operations Enduring/Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn has received much attention in the literature. Although hypotheses have been presented and disseminated that TBI history will negatively influence treatment response, little data exist to support these claims. The present study investigates the influence of TBI history on response to COPE (Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and SUD Using Prolonged Exposure), a 12-session, integrated psychotherapy designed to address co-occurring PTSD and SUD. Method Participants were 51 veterans with current PTSD and SUD enrolled in a clinical trial examining COPE. Assessments of PTSD symptoms, substance use, and depression were collected at baseline and each treatment session. A TBI measure was used to dichotomize veterans into groups with and without a history of TBI ( n s = 30 and 21, respectively). Results Participants with and without TBI history demonstrated significant improvements in PTSD and depression symptoms during the course of treatment. However, participants with TBI history experienced less improvement relative to participants without TBI history. Conclusions The present findings suggest that, although patients with a TBI history respond to treatment, their response to treatment was less so than that observed in patients without a TBI history. As such, identification, symptom monitoring, and treatment practices may require alteration and further special consideration in individuals with PTSD, SUD and TBI.
Direct visualization of interaction between calmodulin and connexin45.

Calmodulin (CaM) is an intracellular Ca 2+ transducer involved in numerous activities in a broad Ca 2+ signaling network. Previous studies have suggested that the Ca 2+ /CaM complex may participate in gap junction regulation via interaction with putative CaM-binding motifs in connexins; however, evidence of direct interactions between CaM and connexins has remained elusive to date due to challenges related to the study of membrane proteins. Here, we report the first direct interaction of CaM with Cx45 (connexin45) of γ-family in living cells under physiological conditions by monitoring bioluminescence resonance energy transfer. The interaction between CaM and Cx45 in cells is strongly dependent on intracellular Ca 2+ concentration and can be blocked by the CaM inhibitor, N -(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide hydrochloride (W7). We further reveal a CaM-binding site at the cytosolic loop (residues 164–186) of Cx45 using a peptide model. The strong binding ( K d ∼ 5 nM) observed between CaM and Cx45 peptide, monitored by fluorescence-labeled CaM, is found to be Ca 2+ -dependent. Furthermore, high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals that CaM and Cx45 peptide binding leads to global chemical shift changes of 15 N-labeled CaM, but does not alter the size of the structure. Observations involving both N- and C-domains of CaM to interact with the Cx45 peptide differ from the embraced interaction with Cx50 from another connexin family. Such interaction further increases Ca 2+ sensitivity of CaM, especially at the N-terminal domain. Results of the present study suggest that both helicity and the interaction mode of the cytosolic loop are likely to contribute to CaM9s modulation of connexins.
Eosinophilic Fasciitis: an Updated Review on Diagnosis and Treatment

First recognized in 1974, eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) is a fibrosing disorder of the fascia with characteristic cutaneous and hematologic manifestations. This review discusses recent trends in the diagnosis and treatment of EF. Although fascial biopsy has classically been considered the gold standard for making a diagnosis of EF, radiologic imaging, particularly magnetic resonance imaging, has been increasingly used for both diagnosis and monitoring of treatment response. Systemic corticosteroids remain the first-line treatment for EF; however, their often prolonged use in the treatment of EF has prompted a search for adjunctive therapies. Methotrexate has emerged as the leading corticosteroid-sparing agent for EF. Since EF was initially described over 40 years ago, important diagnostic and therapeutic progress has been made. Future efforts should be directed at the pursuit of prospective studies including clinical trials and evidence-based guidelines.
Landsat-8 operational land imager on-orbit radiometric calibration

The Operational Land Imager (OLI), the VIS/NIR/SWIR sensor on the Landsat-8 has been successfully acquiring Earth Imagery for more than four years. The OLI incorporates two on-board radiometric calibration systems, one diffuser based and one lamp based, each with multiple sources. For each system one source is treated as primary and used frequently and the other source(s) are used less frequently to assist in tracking any degradation in the primary sources. In addition, via a spacecraft maneuver, the OLI instrument views the moon once a lunar cycle (∼29 days). The integrated lunar irradiances from these acquisitions are compared to the output of a lunar irradiance model. The results from all these techniques, combined with cross calibrations with other sensors and ground based vicarious measurements are used to monitor the OLI's stability and correct for any changes observed. To date, the various techniques have other detected significant changes in the shortest wavelength OLI band centered at 443 nm and these are currently being adjusted in the operational processing.
Ultimate intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio of MRI surface coils for a lossy dielectric elliptical cylinder model

The theoretical framework in MRI applications of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) calculation is formulated for 1) SNR within a lossy elliptical cylinder excited by arbitary surface coils using dyadic Green functions and, 2) ideal current distribution corresponding to Ultimate Intrinsic SNR. The scattering problem of the infinite cylinder is solved by eigenfunction expansions.
Cholinergic and Non-Cholinergic Aspects of the Discriminative Stimulus Properties of Nicotine

Nicotine is one of the most interesting drugs used by man. Millions of humans (approximately 60 million in the USA) use and have used this drug via tobacco, but its mechanism of reinforcement has yet to be elucidated. Although nicotine, unlike morphine and cocaine, does not reinforce behavior in sub-human species, it does appear to be quite reinforcing in man. Behavioral effects associated with the use of nicotine have not been clearly documented in humans. In animals, however, the drug produces a variety of effects dependent upon baseline behaviors prior to drug administration. Thus, if baseline behaviors are low, nicotine increases these rates whereas a decrease is observed if the baseline behavior rate is initially high. None of these actions of nicotine have been reported in humans, however, and there is still little evidence indicating how the drug is affecting human behavior.
Early Vascular Control for Renal Trauma: A Critical Review

AbstractTo determine the incidence of, indications for and sequelae of temporary vascular occlusion in the management of renal trauma the records of 90 patients with 92 renal injuries were reviewed. Patients who required temporary vascular occlusion were compared to patients with similar injuries who also required renal surgery but not vascular occlusion. Only 11 of 92 renal injuries (12 per cent) required temporary vascular occlusion for reconstruction and control of renal bleeding. Neither the type nor the extent of renal and associated injury was a significant predictor of the need for occlusion. Renal injuries associated with large or expanding retroperitoneal hematomas were more likely to require temporary vascular occlusion than injuries without such associated hematomas.Temporary vascular occlusion was not associated with an increase in postoperative azotemia or mortality. The procedure is safe and effective, and allows for confident inspection and reconstruction of the kidney in patients who other...
Chapter 19 – Forecasting Binary Outcomes

Abstract Binary events are involved in many economic decision problems. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in diverse disciplines in developing models for forecasting binary outcomes. We distinguish between two types of forecasts for binary events that are generally obtained as the output of regression models: probability forecasts and point forecasts. We summarize specification, estimation, and evaluation of binary response models for the purpose of forecasting in a unified framework that is characterized by the joint distribution of forecasts and actuals, and a general loss function. Analysis of both the skill and the value of probability and point forecasts can be carried out within this framework. Parametric, semi-parametric, non-parametric, and Bayesian approaches are covered. The emphasis is on the basic intuitions underlying each methodology, abstracting away from the mathematical details.
Algorithmic Developments for Difficult Robust Discrete Optimization Problems

In Chapter 4, several polynomially solvable cases of robust discrete optimization problems are discussed in detail. However, by results presented in Chapter 3 we also know that most robust discrete optimization problems belong to the NP-hard class. In this chapter, we present our approach for solving these difficult robust discrete optimization problems. We are in this chapter restricting our attention to robust discrete optimization problems with equivalent single scenario problems that can be efficiently solved with a polynomial or pseudo-polynomial procedure. The solution procedures are based on branch-and-bound with both upper and lower bounds generated by surrogate relaxation. To be exact, the upper bound (for a maximization problem) is obtained from surrogate relaxation and the lower bound is obtained as a by-product via a heuristic based on the surrogate relaxation result. In the case when input data satisfies bounded percentage deviation condition (to be defined in Section 5.2), the heuristic is shown to provide a constant approximation. Computational results in Section 5.3 demonstrate the effectiveness of the bounds and the solution procedure.
Noncontrast T1 values do not correlate to clinically relevant variables in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic heart disease characterized by diffuse histopathologic abnormalities involving the entire LV myocardium, including an expanded extracellular matrix due to replacement and interstitial fibrosis and myocyte disarray. T1 mapping is a novel CMR imaging sequence which characterizes abnormal myocardial tissue composition in cardiomyopathies such as HCM. Therefore, we sought to examine the relationship between T1 values and a variety of relevant demographic, clinical and imaging variables in a cohort of HCM patients.
Multicenter trial of transscleral diode laser retinopexy in retinal detachment surgery.

Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transscleral diode laser for retinopexy in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery in a multicenter trial. DESIGN: 67 patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment underwent scleral buckling surgery, using transscleral diode laser for retinopexy, at five study centers. STUDY PARTICIPANTS: 72 patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments were enrolled. No patient with chronic detachment, a retinal break greater than 90 degrees, history of uveitis or infectious retinopathy, or proliferative vitreoretinopathy was enrolled. Five eyes were excluded because they required additional nonprotocol treatment at the time of surgery (vitrectomy or supplementary cryotherapy due to probe malfunction). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Retinal reattachment at six months after one operation. Secondary measures: visual acuity and complications, including choroidal, retinal, and vitreous hemorrhage, inflammation, and scleral damage. RESULTS: Six months or greater follow-up information was available on 65 eyes. Retinas were attached at 6 months with a single operation in 58 (89%) of these eyes. Complications included apparent pinpoint breaks in Bruch is membrane in 15 eyes, scleral thermal effect in 14 eyes, and limited hemorrhage, which was intraretinal in 10 eyes, and extended into the vitreous in 3 eyes. In one case, hemorrhage was judged to have contributed possibly to initial surgical failure. The other complications had no known adverse effects. Complications were significantly associated with the physicians experience with transscleral laser retinopexy. CONCLUSION: In this multicenter series, transscleral diode laser retinopexy served as a safe and effective means of creating chorioretinal adhesion during retinal reattachment surgery. Minor complications were minimized by increasing experience with the technique.
Effects of elastic supports and flexural cracking on low and high order modal properties of a reinforced concrete girder

Abstract A number of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods are available to detect cracks and damage in reinforced concrete structures. Methods such as ultrasonic, impact echo, or X-ray testing have high resolution but are time consuming to perform and therefore only used locally. Since the early 1970s, researchers have also studied the modal properties of structures for damage detection and identification. In this paper, we discuss the effects of elastic supports and flexural cracking on the dynamic response of a large-scale laboratory reinforced concrete girder. For this purpose, an instrumented hammer used for impulse response testing was employed to initiate vibrations and to subsequently estimate the natural frequencies and modes of a large-scale laboratory concrete girder. Natural frequencies up to the 13th mode were successfully extracted from the frequency response function (FRF). In addition, the mode shapes were extracted up to the 6th mode due to the limitation of the linearity of the FRF response. These modal properties were determined from the measured accelerations of two points on the girder using a roving hammer. The test procedure was performed on the uncracked beam and repeated after the beam had been cracked. The experimental measurements were verified with a finite element (FE) model consisting of one-dimensional beam elements that consider both flexural and shear deformations. Support flexibility was modeled as linear-elastic springs, and was found critical in order to explain experimentally-obtained measurements. The effects of cracking were found to be most obvious in the higher modes. Additionally, utilizing the modal flexibility method on the first mode (natural vibration frequency and mode shape) was an accurate predictor of flexural crack locations.
Linking Nuclear Reactions and Nuclear Structure to Study Exotic Nuclei Using the Dispersive Optical Model

The dispersive optical model (DOM) is employed to simultaneously describe elastic nucleon scattering data for 40Ca, 48Ca, and 208Pb as well as observables related to the ground state of these nuclei, with emphasis on the charge density. Such an analysis requires a fully non-local implementation of the DOM including its imaginary component. Illustrations are provided on how ingredients thus generated provide critical components for the description of the (d, p) and (e, e′p) reaction. For the nuclei with N > Z the neutron distribution is constrained by available elastic scattering and ground-state data thereby generating a prediction for the neutron skin.
Publisher Correction: High-harmonic generation from solids

In the version of this Review Article originally published, in Fig. 2b, the label ‘Inter-band current’ should have read ‘Intra-band current’. This error has now been corrected in the online versions.
Post-spawning bath treatments to reduce morbidity and mortality of pond-cultured pikeperch ( Sander lucioperca L.) broodstock

High mortality (88.9–91.4%) of pond-cultured pikeperch Sander lucioperca broodstock was found 10 days post-spawning primarily due to body injury (15.2–18.2% of body area) and secondary fungal infection (27.6–34.8% of body area). Ninety days post-spawning mortality was 97.1–98.1%. Surviving broodstock showed satisfactory condition with no observable pathology. Thirty-six treatments were evaluated for effects on post-spawning injury, fungal infection, and broodstock mortality: salt short (60–240 min) and long baths (36–144 h) at concentrations of 5–20 g L−1 and 2.5–10 g L−1, respectively, and formalin short (15–60 min) and long baths (24–72 h) at 0.15–0.30 ml L−1 and 0.015–0.030 ml L−1, respectively. The treatments most effective in reducing post-spawning pathology and mortality were salt baths for 144 h at 2.5, 5, and 10 g L−1 and formalin at 0.015 ml L−1 for 48 h. These treatments were evaluated in the following trial, and their positive effect was confirmed by low mortality of broodstock (0–8.3%) and low (3.0–10.5%) injury at 10 days post-spawning and no additional mortality or body injury at 90 days post-spawning. No secondary fungal infection was observed at either time post-spawning. The three salt baths are recommended as effective treatments for reduction of post-spawning morbidity and mortality of pond-cultured pikeperch broodstock.
Definitions and Clinical Signs and Symptoms

Rhinosinusitis is defined as inflammation of the nose and paranasal sinuses. Pediatric patients with rhinosinusitis are often thought to have other common conditions. The diagnosis is based on physical symptoms as well as objective signs seen on either nasal endoscopy or computerized tomography (CT) scan. Rhinosinusitis can be further categorized based on the duration of signs and symptoms, into acute, recurrent acute, and chronic rhinosinusitis. Parents report that children with rhinosinusitis have a negative impact on the quality of life of their children as compared to other common chronic diseases, such as asthma and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Ilioinguinal and iliohypogastric neuralgia as an etiology of bladder pain syndrome

Chronic neuropathic pain due to iliohypogastric (IH) or ilioinguinal (IL) nerve entrapment or injury may demonstrate as referred pain to the genito-urinary organs. Our patient is a 67-year-old woman who presented with a 9-month history of bladder pain, dyspareunia and nocturia that all began following a laparoscopic pyeloplasty. This report describes improvement of bladder pain syndrome following surgical resection of the II and IH nerves.
Transdermal Estrogen in Women With Anorexia Nervosa: An Exploratory Pilot Study.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by self-induced starvation, low body weight, and elevated levels of bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT). BMAT is negatively associated with BMD in AN and more than 85% of women with AN have low bone mass and an increased risk of fracture. Although a majority of women with AN are amenorrheic, which is associated with low BMD, oral contraceptive pills, containing supraphysiologic doses of estrogen, are not effective in increasing bone mass. We performed a 6-month, open-label study of transdermal estradiol (0.045 mg/day) + levonorgestrel (0.015 mg/day) in 11 women with AN (mean age ± SEM: 37.2 ± 2.3 years) to investigate the effects of transdermal, physiologic doses of estrogen on BMD and BMAT in women with AN. We measured change in BMD by DXA, change in BMAT at the spine/hip by 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and change in C-terminal collagen cross-links (CTX), P1NP, osteocalcin, IGF-1, and sclerostin after 3 and 6 months of transdermal estrogen. Lumbar spine (2.0% ± 0.8%; p = 0.033) and lateral spine (3.2% ± 1.1%; p = 0.015) BMD increased after 6 months of transdermal estrogen. Lumbar spine BMAT decreased significantly after 3 months (-13.9 ± 6.0%; p = 0.046). Increases in lateral spine BMD were associated with decreases in CTX (p = 0.047). In conclusion, short-term treatment with transdermal, physiologic estrogen increases spine BMD in women with AN. Future studies are needed to assess the long-term efficacy of this treatment. © 2019 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Psychometric Analysis of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale -- Long Form.

In a large, heterogenous sample, psychometric analyses revealed both strengths and weaknesses of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale—Long Form (Helms & Parham, 1996).
Therapeutic effects of glucocorticoids on the children nephrotic syndrome caused by acute nephritis after streptococcal infection

Objective To investigate the effects of glucocorticoids (GC) on the nephrotic syndrome (NS) caused by acute nephritis after streptococcal infection (PSAGN) in children. Methods Sixty-three children with the NS caused by PSAGN were studied controlly, all of them were administrated with standard long-term prednisone treatment based on the conventional treatment. The treatment outcome was compared with that of the conventional treatment group. Results 95. 2% (60/63) of patients in the GC group, the urinary protein became negative at the end of six months, 100% (63/63) negative at the end of twelve months.And in the conventional group the negative rates were 74% (37/50) and 80% (40/50) respectively at the same time. 95. 2% ( 60/63 ) of patients in the GC group microscopic hematuria disappeared at the end of twelve months, 100% (63/63) disappeared at the end of eighteen months. And in the conventional group the disappearance rates were 72% (36/50) and 84% (42/50) respectively at the same time. 92. 1 % (35/38)of patients in the GC group blood pressure returned to normal at the end of two months, 100% (38/38) normal at the end of three months. And in the conventional group the normal rates were 72.7% (24/33) and 84. 8% (28/33) respectively at the same time. 91. 7% (11/12) of patients in the GC group showed normal renal function at the end of one month, 100% (12/12) normal at the end of two months. And in the conventional group the normal rates were 42. 9% (3/7) and 57. 1% (12/12) at the same time. There were significant differences in the outcomes between the two groups( P ＜ 0.05 or P ＜ 0. 01). Conclusion With the useof GC for the NS caused by PSAGN in children.it can effectively reduce the duration of urinary protein and microscopic hematuria,and promote rapid recovery of renal function and blood pressure,thereby improving the prognosis. Key words: Nephrotic syndrome; Acute nephritis; Streptococcal infection; Glucocorticoids; Children
Bayes' theorem, COVID19, and screening tests

The COVID19 crisis has provided a portal to revisit and understand qualities of screening tests and the importance of Bayes' theorem in understanding how to interpret results and implications of next actions.
Bone formation around unstable implants is enhanced by a WNT protein therapeutic in a preclinical in vivo model

Objectives Our objective was to test the hypothesis that local delivery of a WNT protein therapeutic would support osseointegration of an unstable implant placed into an oversized osteotomy and subjected to functional loading. Materials and methods Using a split-mouth design in an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model, 50 titanium implants were placed in oversized osteotomies. Implants were subjected to functional loading. One-half of the implants were treated with a liposomal formulation of WNT3A protein (L-WNT3A); the other half received an identical liposomal formulation containing phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Finite element modeling estimated peri-implant strains caused by functional loading. Histological, molecular, cellular, and quantitative micro-computed tomographic (µCT) imaging analyses were performed on samples from post-implant days (PID) 3, 7, and 14. Lateral implant stability was quantified at PID 7 and 14. Results Finite element analyses predicted levels of peri-implant strains incompatible with new bone formation. Micro-CT imaging, histological, and quantitative immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses confirmed that PBS-treated implants underwent fibrous encapsulation. In those cases where the peri-implant environment was treated with L-WNT3A, µCT imaging, histological, and quantitative IHC analyses demonstrated a significant increase in expression of proliferative (PCNA) and osteogenic (Runx2, Osterix) markers. One week after L-WNT3A treatment, new bone formation was evident, and two weeks later, L-WNT3A-treated gaps had a stiffer interface compared to PBS-treated gaps. Conclusion In a rat model, unstable implants undergo fibrous encapsulation. If the same unstable implants are treated with L-WNT3A at the time of placement, then it results in significantly more peri-implant bone and greater interfacial stiffness.
Using computable knowledge mined from the literature to elucidate confounders for EHR-based pharmacovigilance.

Abstract Introduction Drug safety research asks causal questions but relies on observational data. Confounding bias threatens the reliability of studies using such data. The successful control of confounding requires knowledge of variables called confounders affecting both the exposure and outcome of interest. However, causal knowledge of dynamic biological systems is complex and challenging. Fortunately, computable knowledge mined from the literature may hold clues about confounders. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that incorporating literature-derived confounders can improve causal inference from observational data. Methods We introduce two methods (semantic vector-based and string-based confounder search) that query literature-derived information for confounder candidates to control, using SemMedDB, a database of computable knowledge mined from the biomedical literature. These methods search SemMedDB for confounders by applying semantic constraint search for indications treated by the drug (exposure) and that are also known to cause the adverse event (outcome). We then include the literature-derived confounder candidates in statistical and causal models derived from free-text clinical notes. For evaluation, we use a reference dataset widely used in drug safety containing labeled pairwise relationships between drugs and adverse events and attempt to rediscover these relationships from a corpus of 2.2 M NLP-processed free-text clinical notes. We employ standard adjustment and causal inference procedures to predict and estimate causal effects by informing the models with varying numbers of literature-derived confounders and instantiating the exposure, outcome, and confounder variables in the models with dichotomous EHR-derived data. Finally, we compare the results from applying these procedures with naive measures of association (χ2 and reporting odds ratio) and with each other. Results and Conclusions We found semantic vector-based search to be superior to string-based search at reducing confounding bias. However, the effect of including more rather than fewer literature-derived confounders was inconclusive. We recommend using targeted learning estimation methods that can address treatment-confounder feedback, where confounders also behave as intermediate variables, and engaging subject-matter experts to adjudicate the handling of problematic covariates.
Intermediate filaments: New insights are bublin up.

Summary Cytoplasmic intermediate filaments affect cell shape and tissue integrity, and mutations in the proteins that make up these filaments contribute to many human diseases. A new study has identified a conserved protein, BBLN-1/bublin, that is important for intermediate filament organization.